Kevin's Reflections

The state of resurrection

2011-04-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

Here follows a wonderful quote from Olivier Clement's "The Roots of Christian Mysticism."

We are continually tempted to appropriate the world, to take possession of it as a kind of prey. We thus increasingly enslave it to death, and today we are in danger simutaneously of collectively committing suicide, and destroying nature. But by the intervention of the mystery of Christ and of the witness of his followers a state of death is transformed into a state of resurrection. In Christ the world becomes Eucharist. In him we can transfigure the world by integrating it into the human consciousness of the Risen Christ, who offers resurrection to everyone and everything. It is up to Christians to show people that the cross, all the crosses of history, call upon us to advance from possession to sharing and offering, to discover the Giver through the gift. They invite us to respect nature and spiritualize it, and to share the blessings of the earth like brothers and sisters, because, as Dumitru Staniloae, whose thought is summarized here, writes, "They are destined to serve interpersonal communion" (Dogmatic Theology, I, 344). Sanctity imparts the divine light not only to our bodies but to the whole cosmic environment. Today, when history itself is raising the ultimate questions, we are called to what Simone Weil termed a "holiness of genius" that is able to communicate the light to the very foundations of culture.

Good Friday reflection

2011-04-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

A beautiful prayer by Isaac of Nineveh:

Lord Jesus, our God, who wept for Lazarus, and shed for him tears of grief and compassion, accept the tears of my bitterness. By thy sufferings assuage my suffering. By thy wounds heal my wounds. By thy blood cleanse my blood. Pour out on my body the perfume of thy life-giving body. For the gall that thou was given to drink changes the bitterness of my soul into sweetness. May thy body stretched on the wood of the cross draw to thee my spirit crushed by the demons. May thy sacred hands pierced with the nails snatch me from the pit of damnation and bring me back to thee, as thou hast promised. May thy face which suffered blows and spittle enlighten my face that is defiled by my wrongdoing. May thy soul which on the cross thou didst give back to thy Father lead me by thy grace to thee. I have no broken heart to start me on the quest for thee, no penitence, no tenderness. I have no tears with which to pray to thee. My spirit is in darkness. My heart is cold. I know not how to make it warm again by tears of love for thee. But thou, Lord Jesus Christ, my God, do thou give me complete repentance, the breaking of my hearts, that with my whole soul I may set out in quest of thee. Without thee I should be without all reality. May the Father who in his womb begot thee in eternity renew in me thine image. I have forsaken thee. Do not thou forsake me. I have wandered far from thee. Do thou set out in quest of me. Lead me back to thy pastures with the sheep of thy flock. Feed me together with them on the fresh grazing of thy mysteries where the pure heart dwells, the heart that bears in it the splendour of thy revelations. May we be worthy of such splendour through thy grace and by thy love for humankind, O Jesus Christ our Saviour, for ever and ever. Amen.

reflection on the Trinity

2011-03-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

I had to share this new insight I just read about the Trinity that resonated with me. The Father is God apart from us, the Son is God with us, and the Holy Spirit is God in us. The other thing I read went something like this: in any living thing, we can view it in a Trinitarian way. For example, consider a bird. The existence of the bird is made possible by the Father, who is the Creator. It's design and purpose is made possible by the Son, who is the Word of God. And the vitality, dynamism and growth of the bird is made possible by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of life. Imagine comprehending the whole world through the eyes of the Trinity!

How Are People Called Out?

2010-05-06T06:11:00.000-07:00

This is a section from one of St. Cyprian's letters that gave me pause. He is writing about the tradition of how people are claimed for ministry. Instead of a person saying, "I think I have a call to ministry" and going to their pastor about it, perhaps the congregation should say to a person, "We think you have a call to ministry." Looking for comments. It does seem logical that people who are truly called to ministry and would be effective clergy would be limited to those who are called out by the people, and not those who present themselves on their own. Thoughts?

From Cyprian, letter 67, to the clergy and people living in Spain:
Which very thing, too, we observe to come from divine authority, that the priest should be chosen in the presence of the people under the eyes of all, and should be approved worthy and suitable by public judgment and testimony; as in the book of Numbers the Lord commanded Moses, saying, "Take Aaron thy brother, and Eleazar his son; and let Aaron die there, and be added to his people." (Num. 20:25,26) God commands a priest to be appointed in the presence of all the assembly; that is, He instructs and shows that the ordination of priests ought not to be solemnized except with the knowledge of the people standing near, that in the presence of the people either the crimes of the wicked may be disclosed, or the merits of the good may be declared, and the ordination, which shall have been examined by the suffrage and judgment of all, may be just and legitimate. And this is subsequently observed, according to divine instruction, in the Acts of the Apostles, when Peter speaks to the people of ordaining an apostle in the place of Judas. "Peter," it says, "stood up in the midst of the disciples, and the multitude were in one place." (Acts 1:15) Neither do we observe that this was regarded by the apostles only in the ordinations of bishops and priests, but also in those of deacons, of which matter itself also it is written in their Acts: "And they twelve called together," it says, "the whole congregation of the disciples, and said to them;" (Acts 4:2) which was done so diligently and carefully, with the calling together of the whole of the people, surely for this reason, that no unworthy person might creep into the ministry of the altar, or to the office of a priest. (italics mine) For that unworthy persons are sometimes ordained, not according to the will of God, but according to human presumption, (italics mine) and that those things which do not come of a legitimate and righteous ordination are displeasing to God, God Himself manifests by Hosea the prophet, saying, "They have set up for themselves a king, but not by me." (Hos. 8:4)

On Working

2010-05-04T08:06:00.001-07:00

A great nugget from John Chrysostom, from his commentary on the Book of the Acts.

What can be less pleasant than the condition of a man who has nothing to do; what more wretched and miserable? Is it not worse than all the fetters in the world, to be always gaping and yawning, as one sits in the market-place, looking at the passers by? For the soul, as its nature is to be always on the move, cannot endure to be at rest. God has made it a creature of action: to work is of its very nature; to be idle is against its nature. For let us not judge of these things from those who are diseased, but let us put the thing itself to the proof of fact. Nothing is more hurtful than leisure, and having nothing to do: indeed therefore has God laid on us a necessity of working: for idleness hurts everything. Even to the members of the body, inaction is a mischief. Both eye, if it perform not its work, and mouth, and belly, and every member that one could mention, falls into the worst state of disease: but none so much as the soul. But as inaction is an evil, so is activity in things that ought to be let alone. For just as it is with the teeth, if one eats not, one received hurt to them, and if one eats things unfitting, it jars them, and sets them on edge: so it is here; both if the soul be inactive, and if inactive in wrong things, it loses its proper force. Then let us eschew both alike; both inaction, and the activity which is worse than inaction. And what may that be? Covetousness, anger, envyings, and the other passions. As regards these, let us make it our object to be inactive, in order that we may obain the good things promised to us, through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, honor, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Beginning to Pray Part V

2010-04-28T04:13:00.000-07:00

"Very often we do not find sufficient intensity in our prayer, sufficient conviction, sufficient faith, because our despair is not deep enough. We want God in addition to so many other things we have, we want His help, but simultaneously we are trying to get help wherever we can, and we keep God in store for our last push. We address ourselves to the princes and the sons of men, and we say, 'O God, give them strength to do it for me.' Very seldom do we turn away from the princes and sons of men and say, 'I will not ask anyone for help, I would rather have Your help.' If our despair comes from sufficient depth, if what we ask for, cry for, is so essential that it sums up all the needs of our life, then we find words of prayer and we will be able to reach the core of the prayer, the meeting with God."

This is my last post in this series. As I read further in Anthony Bloom's book on prayer, I may be moved to post some more selections. Ancient Faith radio also has a new series of podcasts on this book. Go to http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/eastwest

Beginning to Pray Part IV

2010-04-27T05:11:00.000-07:00

"This is the point at which we can begin to knock at a door which is still closed, but beyond which there is hope, that hope which Bartimaeus, the blind man at the gates of Jericho, felt, out of his utmost despair, when Christ was passing.

We know from the Gospels that Bartimaeus found himself landed by the side of the road, hopelessly blind, having lost all faith and all hope in human help, and reduced to beg for his living, to hope not really on charity (the word meaning 'cherishing'), but on the kind of charity which consists in throwing coins to someone without ever having seen him. And one day this man, who had now given up hope, who was installed in the dust in his present blindness, heard about the man, a new prophet, who was now working miracles throughout the Holy Land. Had he had his eyes he would probably have got up and run throughout the country to find him, but he couldn't possibly keep pace with this itinerant wonder-maker. And so he stayed where he was, and the presence of one who might possibly have cured him must have made his despair even greater, even more poignant. And one day he heard a crowd that passed by, a crowd which did not sound like any other crowd. Probably, as the blind do, he had developed the sense of hearing and a sensitiveness greater than ours, because he asked 'Who is it that passes by?' and he was told 'Jesus of Nazareth.' And then he stood at the point of utmost despair and of utmost hope. Utmost hope because Christ was passing within reach, but at the background the looming despair because a few paces would have brought Him level with Bartimaeus, a few more paces and He had gone and would probably never pass by him again. And out of this desperate hope he began to cry and shout 'Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.' It was a perfect profession of faith. And at that moment it was because his despair was so deep that he could summon such daring hope in order to be healed, saved, made whole. And Christ heard him.

There is a degree of despair that is linked with total, perfect hope. This is the point at which, having gone inward, we will be able to pray; and then 'Lord, have mercy' is quite enough. We do not need to make any of the elaborate discourses we find in manuals of prayer. It is enough simply to shout out of despair 'Help!' and you will be heard.

Beginning to Pray Part III

2010-04-26T05:08:00.000-07:00

"Theophon the Recluse says, 'Most people are like a shaving of wood which is curled round its central emptiness.' If we are really honest, we must admit that this is a very apt description of the state of practically all of us.
Then we must be able to fight this anguish and to say, 'No, I will stick it through, and I will come to the point where the anguish itself will prompt me to do what good will is incapable of doing.' Indeed, a moment comes, a moment of despair and anguish and terror, which makes us turn even deeper inward and cry, 'Lord, have mercy! I am perishing. Lord, save me!' We discover that there is nothing in us that can give us life, or rather is life; that all we called life, imagined life to be, was outside and inside there was nothing.
Then we look into the abyss of nonentity and we feel that the deeper we go into it the less there will be left of us. This is a dangerous moment, this is the moment we must hesitate.
At this point we have reached the first layer of depth where we begin to be able to knock at a door. For on the layer where we were just resting from our neighbour before we felt bored, on the layer where we are simply bored and feel offended that we should be, on the layer on which we begin to fidget and worry, then feel slightly anguished, we have as yet no reason to cry and shout with a despair that fills all our mind, all our heart, all our will and all our body with a sense that unless God comes I am lost, there is no hope, because I know that if I emerge out of this depth I will simply be back in the realm of delusion, of reflected life, but not real life.

Beginning to Pray Part II

2010-04-23T05:02:00.000-07:00

"So first of all, you must learn to sit with yourself and to face boredom, drawing all the possible conclusions.
After a while this becomes worse than boredom, bcause we are not simply bored in a way that allows us to say 'I am an active person and am of use to my neighbour. I always do good, and for me to be in the state of suspense where I am not doing anything for anyone else is a severe trial.' We begin to discover something else. We are bored when we try to get out of this boredom by turning inward to see if there is anything in ourselves that will put an end to it. Quite soon we discover that there is nothing, since all we have to think about we have already thought about dozens of times. All the range of emotions which we have in store are there like a piano which we have closed because we are not used to the piano playing itself. We must have someone else playing on the keys. We are not in the habit of doing nothing, and so it becomes worrying and can lead us to the point of anguish. If you read the Desert Fathers, who had good experience of this, or the monks who spent their lives in monasteries, you will see that there are moments when they simply ran out of their cells shouting for help, trying to meet something or someone, whatever they could find. The devil himself would have been better than this emptiness of self-contemplation. One of the spiritual writers, Theophan the Recluse, says 'Most people are like a shaving of wood which is curled round its central emptiness.' If we are really honest, we must admit that this is a very apt description of the state of practically all of us."

Beginning to Pray Part I

2010-04-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

Over the next few days, I'm going to post a brief section from a longer passage in Anthony Bloom's spiritual classic Beginning to Pray. I just read this whole section this morning and it is deep stuff. I'm feeling compelled to share it with others. I hope others are reading this.

"There is a passage in Dickin's Pickwick Papers which is a very good description of y life and probably also of your lives. Pickwick goes to the club. He hires a cab and on the way he asks innumerable questions. Among the questions, he says 'Tell me, how is it possible that such a mean and miserable horse can drive such a big and heavy cab?' The cabbie replies 'It's not a question of the horse, Sir, it's a question of the wheels', and Mr. Pickwick says 'What do you mean?' The cabbie answers 'You see, we have a magnificent pair of wheels which are so well oiled that it is enough for the horse to stir a little for the wheels to begin to turn and then the poor horse must run for its life.' Take the way in which we live most of the time. We are not the horse that pulls, we are the horse that runs away from the cab in fear of its life.
Because we don't know yet how to act without an outer reason, we discover that we don't know what to do with ourselves, and then we begin to be increasingly bored. So first of all, you must learn to sit with yourself and to face boredom, drawing all the possible conclusions."

Antidote to Busyness

2010-04-21T04:57:00.000-07:00

I read the following passage from Beginning to Pray by Anthony Bloom. It spoke to me because, lately, I've been thinking about how to be more efficient in my work. His reminder is that there has to be much more to me than always responding to outside stimulus.

"You cannot go inwards if you are completely outward. Try an experiment and you will see, you will discover a number of other useful things on the way. Try to find a time to stay alone with yourself: shut the door and settle down in your room at a moment when you have nothing else to do. Say 'I am now with myself', and just sit with yourself. After an amazingly short time you will most likely feel bored. This teaches us one very useful thing. It gives us insight into the fact that if after ten minutes of being alone with ourselves we feel like that, it is no wonder that others should feel equally bored! Why is this so? It is so because we have so little to offer to our own selves as food for thought, for emotion and for life. If you watch your life carefully you will discover quite soon that we hardly ever live from within outwards; instead we respond to incitement, to excitement. In other words, we live by reflection, by reaction. Something happens and we respond, someone speaks and we answer. But when we are left without anything that stimulates us to think, speak or act, we realise that there is very little in us that will prompt us to action in any direction at all. This is really a very dramatic discovery. We are completely empty, we do not act from within ourselves but accept as our life a life which is actually fed in from outside; we are used to things happening which compel us to do other things. How seldom can we live simply by means of the depth and richness we assume that there is within ourselves."

Could not put this book down

2010-03-05T17:24:00.001-08:00

I strongly urge anyone who lives in the midwest United States to pick up Caught in the Middle: America's Heartland in the Age of Globalism by Richard C. Longworth. He writes an engrossing, provocative, distressing, and hopeful portrait of how the midwest has largely been left behind by globalism and must get their act together in order to shape, not only the future of the midwest, but the future of America. The book made me think about my own role as a pastor, and how the forces of globalism impacts the church, not only because globalism impacts the people in the church, but it even impacts the institution of the church. Lots to think about. And I'm glad this book has a bibliography.

Wesley on faith and good works

2010-02-16T11:45:00.000-08:00

This quote is from one of John Wesley's sermons on Matthew 6:16-18:

It is by this very device of Satan, that faith and works have been so often set at variance with each other. And many who had a real zeal for God have, for a time, fallen into the snare on either hand. Some have magnified faith to the utter exclusion of good works, not only from being the cause of our justification, (for we know that man is justified freely by the redemption which is in Jesus,) but from being the necessary fruit of it, yea, from having any place in the religion of Jesus Christ. Others, eager to avoid this dangerous mistake, have run as much too far the contrary way; and either maintained that good works were the cause, at least the previous condition, of justification, -- or spoken of them as if they were all in all, the whole religion of Jesus Christ.

3. In the same manner have the end and the means of religion been set at variance with each other. Some well-meaning men have seemed to place all religion in attending the Prayers of the Church, in receiving the Lord's supper, in hearing sermons, and reading books of piety; neglecting, mean time, the end of all these, the love of God and their neighbour. And this very thing has confirmed others in the neglect, if not contempt, of the ordinances of God, -- so wretchedly abused to undermine and overthrow the very end they were designed to establish.

John Wesley on suffering

2010-02-11T08:19:00.000-08:00

It has been so long since my last post. I have gotten away from typing a manuscript for my sermons, so I haven't been posting them. The blog will now be a place to put thoughtful writings I come across.

As Lent approaches, I found this passage from John Wesley's sermon, "On the Holy Spirit." This is a beautiful expression of the necessity for suffering in our lives, because it is through suffering that we are able to tap in to real hope, acknowledge the truth of ourselves, and discover the blessing of the Holy Spirit within us.

"You want a reason why you should renounce the world. Indeed you cannot see the prince of it walking up and down, "seeking whom he may devour;" and you may be so far ignorant of his devices, as not to know that they take place, as well in the most specious measures of business and learning, as in the wildest pursuits of pleasure. But this, however, you cannot but see, that the world is not still a paradise of God, guarded and ennobled with the light of glory; it is, indeed, a place where God has determined he will not appear to you at best, but leave you in a state of hope, that you shall see his face when this world is dissolved.

However, there is a way to rescue ourselves, in great measure, from the ill consequences of our captivity; and our Saviour has taught us that way. It is by suffering. We must not only "suffer many things," as he did, and so enter into our glory; but we must also suffer many things, that we may get above our corruption at present, and enjoy the Holy Spirit.

The world has no longer any power over us, than we have a quick relish of its comforts; and suffering abates that. Suffering is, indeed, a direct confutation of the pretences which the flattering tempter gains us by: For I am in human life; and if that life contains such soft ease, ravishing pleasure, glorious eminence, as you promise, why am I thus? Is it because I have not yet purchased riches to make me easy, or the current accomplishments to make me considerable? Then I find that all the comfort you propose is by leading me off from myself; but I will rather enter deep into my own condition, bad as it is: Perhaps I shall be nearer to God, the Eternal Truth, in feeling sorrows and miseries that are personal and real, than in feeling comforts that are not so. I begin already to find that all my grievances centre in one point: There is always at the bottom one great loss or defect, which is not the want of friends or gold, of health or philosophy. And the abiding sense of this may possibly become a prayer in the ears of the Most High; -- a prayer not resulting from a set of speculative notions, but from the real, undissembled state of all that is within me; nor, indeed, so explicit a prayer as to describe the thing I want, but, considering how strange a want mine is, as explicit a one as I can make. Since, then, suffering opens me a door of hope, I will not put it from me as long as I live: It helps me to a true discovery of one period of my existence, though it is a low one; and bids fairer for having some connexion with a more glorious period that may follow, than the arts of indulgence, the amusements of pride and sloth, and all the dark policy of this world, which wage war with the whole truth, that man must know and feel, before he can look towards God. It may be, while I continue on the cross, I shall, like my Saviour, put off "principalities and powers;" recover myself more and more from the subjection I am indeed in (which he only seemed to be) to those wicked rulers, and to "triumph over them in it." At least, it shall appear, in the day when God shall visit, that my heart, though grown unworthy of his residence, was too big to be comforted by any of his creatures; and was kept for him, as a place originally sacred, though for the present unclean."

You Are Mine

2010-01-11T16:41:00.000-08:00

I have been reminded recently of the power of parental blessing, having your mom or dad say to you, “I love you. I am proud of you. I am so glad you are my son, my daughter.” Hearing such things from your parents has a big impact for the good on your life. When you don’t hear this from your parents, or, worse, hear negative things from your parents, the harm it can do to you is deep. To receive the blessing of your parents, or to not receive it or have it taken away truly makes a difference in your life.
First, your identity is impacted. One primary way we know who we are is based on knowing who our parents are. I am the son of Howard and Margaret Orr, for example. I am a part of this family. I am not on my own, disconnected from anyone. If a person does not have a connection with their father or mother, or were rejected by their parents and cut off, this can cause severe confusion about one’s identity. There is a sense of being alone, abandoned, and lost.
Second, by having a parental blessing, it impacts your self-worth in a positive way. To hear regularly from your parents that you are loved, that they are proud of you, that you are in the family, lays a solid foundation for feeling good about yourself, respecting yourself, and living responsibly and well. Without that foundation, self-worth can be harmed. And to have the blessing of your parents withdrawn, or to be told negative things, your self worth can be terribly diminished. And with a low sense of self-worth, of truly feeling that you are worthless and a bad person, leads you into a downward spiral that could end very badly.
So, having or not having blessing from your parents impacts your self worth in a good way or a bad way. If you have a healthy sense of self-worth, then you are more likely to make good and responsible decisions. Not that you won’t make mistakes. The point is though that you will generally respect yourself if you know you are loved and wanted. But if you have received the message that you are not loved and not wanted, then why care about yourself and what you do? The tendency is to be irresponsible and to not respect yourself, because you feel worthless. To not have the parental blessing negatively impacts the life decisions you would make.
Finally, whether or not you have the blessing of your parents impacts how resilient you will be in tough times. It also impacts how powerful you can be when personal strength is called for. With a foundation that you are loved, that your parents are proud of you, that you are part of a family and not completely on your own, then when the hard times come, you can rely on that love and that family support. And with that solid backing, you are in a position to act, to make decisions, to take risks, knowing that if things don’t work out, you still have people in your life. But if you don’t have that backing, then who can you lean on in the hard times? Fear of failure is huge when you feel like you are on your own and no one is around to support you. And fear makes us weak, not powerful. So, to not have that blessing can have the tendency of impacting how resilient one can be in a crisis, and can weaken one’s capacity to take charge of their life.
One disclaimer: just because someone has the blessing of their parents doesn’t mean they will surely be successful in life. Just so, to not have the blessing of one’s parents does not mean that person is guaranteed to have a miserable and tragic life. We are all ultimately responsible for our own lives. God will judge each of us by the life we lived. People from loving homes can throw that love away. People who did not experience a loving home can overcome it and live a good, healthy life. Still, it must be admitted that the blessing of parents can help if one has it and can hurt if one doesn’t have it.
With this context, we turn to the baptism of Jesus. His baptism marks a turning point in his life. It is at this stage in his life where Jesus begins his public ministry. It is after his baptism that Jesus begins to gather his disciples, teach, and heal people. His time of anonymity as the son of a woodworker in Nazareth is coming to an end. He will be leaving his parents’ home and fulfilling his purpose.
And as Jesus rose out of the water, and was praying, the Holy Spirit came upon Him. And a voice sounded from heaven. We immediately recognize this as an example of the Trinity. But, the point I want to highlight today is the parental blessing that Jesus receives from his Father. In this significant moment in Jesus’ life, he hears his Father claim him as his beloved son in whom he is well pleased. It is significant to note that as Jesus begins his public ministry, where he will face many great challenges, and eventually betrayal and death, he receives from his Father a blessing.
Acknowledging the full humanity of Jesus, surely having received this blessing from His Father must have impacted him. Jesus experienced the affirmation of his Father that they are together. Jesus is not alone in this, but he has his Father and the Holy Spirit with him. This is affirming, no question. Jesus is experiencing acceptance. And with that acceptance comes empowerment. Yes, we know Jesus is empowered by the Holy Spirit coming upon him. We can also affirm that Jesus is being empowered as a consequence of receiving a blessing from his Father.
Now, here is the good part. Just as Jesus is the Son of God, so are we by adoption. As we heard in the prophecy from Isaiah, God loves us. God claims us as his own. We can be assured that we are loved, because we are loved by God. We can be assured that we are accepted, because God claims us as one of his kids. We are not alone, because at the core of our being, we are God’s. And nothing can separate us from the love of God. God’s love for us is eternal. And it is God’s good pleasure to love us and claim us. This is the good news that has the potential to empower each of us to live our lives free from fear, free from the anxiety of being abandoned. There is no reason for us to have low self-esteem if we truly believe that God loves us right now and in spite of the mistakes we’ve made in our lives. If, like Jesus, we can hear this blessing from God and receive it, we are then opening ourselves to receive the power of the Holy Spirit, and this is what empowers us to live the abundant life that God desires for us to live, a life that has peace, a life that can be a blessing to others. Truly, the foundation for having a good life is receiving the blessing that God our heavenly Father offers us.
But why? Is there something any of us did to earn God’s blessing? The prophecy from Isaiah tells us why God has chosen to love us and claim us. It is God’s good pleasure to do so. In other words, God loves us just because. It is pleasing to God to love us. It is pleasing to God to claim us as His children.
If we have received a parental blessing, this is something to cherish and stand on. If we have not, without doubt, this is painful. But there is another source of blessing. There is the deeper and more reliable blessing, the blessing that comes from our Heavenly Father. Receive this blessing. Trust it. Live your life cherishing the blessing you have been given from God.

Light Effects

2010-01-05T10:24:00.001-08:00

I remember, a few years back, when we were living in Columbus, that for the entire month of January, the sun did not shine once. It was cloudy, it seemed, for one, whole month. It was so gloomy. And it affected me as well as a lot of other people. That long without sunshine causes many people to feel cloudy inside, depressed, lethargic, gloomy. When the sun finally did peak out of the clouds, it brightened up everyone’s spirits. It was an amazing thing to experience, the effect sunlight can have on someone who has been deprived of it for a long time. It is invigorating and revitalizing. Life did not seem as burdensome once the sun started shining again.
There is something about sunlight that can really make a difference. Light in general has such a powerful influence. Walking through a dark building can be creepy. It makes a big difference if a light gets turned on. Even the small light of a candle can have a positive influence. It is a beautiful sight to be in here on Christmas Eve to see all the candle-lit faces. A remarkable thing these days is to attend a concert when everyone is asked to open up their cell phones. It looks like a galaxy of stars throughout the arena. All of these light effects impact us in a real way.
This truth is certainly not lost on God, and how God reveals Himself to the world. As the prophet Isaiah said, “Arise, shine, for your light has come.” Jesus Christ is the light of the world. The wise men followed an extraordinary star that led them to Jesus. References to light and the effects of light are interwoven throughout the Scriptures. A few points can be made about light, the light of truth, and how this light impacts us and impacts the world.
We turn to the wise men, who were star-gazers. They saw in the sky what appeared to be a star that symbolized for them the birth of a king. They were compelled to follow this star. But we discover that this is no ordinary star. Only the wise men seem to have made sense out of it since Herod and his advisors had no knowledge of this birth of a king. But it wasn’t even a star, because this star moved. The star led the wise men to Bethlehem, even setting upon the house where Jesus was. This was not a star. It was a supernatural sign given by God in order to get the attention of these star gazers from Persia. The Jews had the prophets to give them signs of the birth of Jesus. The Persians had their knowledge of astrology, and God offered a sign that got their attention. This star, this supernatural light, drew Persians to Bethlehem in order to worship this new-born king. What an amazing impact this light effect had on these wise men, that they would take on such a long, risky journey in order to worship and offer gifts to a baby, for whom they did not need to impress or get on the good side of. Persians had nothing to fear of Israel. There was no obvious reason why these wise men needed to do what they did. But there was something about that star that compelled them to go on this journey. There is something about Jesus that continues to draw people to Him. People of every nation are drawn to the light of Christ. This is what the wise men symbolize for us. In various ways and means, God sends signs that relate to people of various cultures, which lead them to Jesus.
Again, what did the wise men do when they came before Christ? They fell down on their faces and worshipped him. And then, they gave him gifts. These actions fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah and in the Psalms that the nations will come bringing gifts for the king. These wise men, when they completed their quest, when they found what or who they were looking for, did not ask questions, did not talk among themselves, they worshipped and gave of their treasures. This is what happens when we encounter God, when we encounter the One our hearts have been yearning for. It’s not a time to ask questions or be chatty and light hearted. It is a time to fall down and worship, and give the best we have. This is worship in spirit and truth. This is the effect Jesus had on these wise men from Persia and the effect God continues to have on those that encounter Him in Jesus Christ. When we gather for worship and offer what we have, we are repeating this action of the wise men, and doing our small part in fulfilling God’s purposes for all of creation, which is to be united in worship of God. Yes, we are fulfilling the purposes of God when we, like the wise men, come into the presence of God and worship Him.
After the wise men worshipped Christ, they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod but to go home by a different way. We know this needed to happen because of Herod’s evil intentions. However, since the wise men did not tell Herod where Jesus was, Herod went to plan b and had killed all boys under the age of 2 in Bethlehem. Tradition tells us that soon after this slaughter took place, Herod became ill of a disease that ate away at his flesh, causing him to die a painful death. But the damage was done, and Herod’s slaughter of the innocents reminds us that although the light has dawned, darkness remains, and it is a thick darkness. We live in a perpetual dawn. There is a little light on the horizon, but for the most part, there is darkness. The birth of Jesus and the slaughter of the infants remind us of this ongoing reality.
So, the wise men followed the directions of the angel in the dream. They did what they were told, a mark of obedient faith. They did not question or argue among themselves. They simply did what they were told. This is a good example for us in that when we receive instruction on what direction we should live our lives, we ought not resist or argue about it, but faithfully do as God is directing us. This is what wise, faithful people do.
But there is something else we can take from the wise men going home by a different way. This, too, is an example of the effect an encounter with the light of God can have on us. When we encounter God, we are changed. When we step out of our routine lives and encounter the timeless God in worship, we do not go back to our ordinary lives by the same road. When we encounter God, new roads are opened to us. Our path of life changes when we see the light. We take a different path. We continue on our journey of life, but by a different way. We change our priorities. We see ourselves and others differently. The world looks different. The wise men returned to their familiar home, but they were different. They had found who they were searching for. They were returning home, no longer as seekers, but as ones who had seen the light. In varying degrees, this is true for us as well. Yes, we will always be seekers. As Paul tells us, God’s wisdom is manifold. That means every door unlocked in God’s storehouse of wisdom opens up to whole new vistas. God’s wisdom and knowledge is unfathomable. We are always being enlightened and can never “know it all.” Still, when we encounter God, when we first see the light, we are at least pointing ourselves in the right direction. We are not completely lost, stumbling in the dark. In the confusing and darkened world, at least we have a candle to see where we are going. In this perpetual dawn the world is in, at least we are facing east.
There is a great story that is told by a missionary about an experience he had in India. It was the early dawn, and he and many others were walking home which happened to be toward the west. It was dark and everyone was hard to see; shadowy figures in the early morning. Some people approached them. They were walking toward the east, toward the rising sun. And the missionary noted that these who were facing east, their faces had a faint glow as their skin reflected the light that was coming from the rising sun. And it struck him that this is a symbol of the effect the light of God has on followers of Christ, on those who have repented, turned their lives toward the east, toward the Sun of Righteousness. Their faces light up as they reflect the light of the Son. Let us continue on our life journeys, committing ourselves to continue facing east, letting the light of God shine on us, that we might reflect God’s light in a way that draws others to the light.

Receive the Gift

2009-12-26T14:40:00.000-08:00

A Christmas Eve reflection:

This night beckons us to enter into joy, that is, to simply rejoice and celebrate. There are times that we come to church for no other reason than to celebrate with others. Today is one of those days.
And what are we rejoicing about? Of course, we are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. The Son of God, the one through whom everything was created, the one who holds creation together, the one begotten of the Father before time itself, took on human nature by being born. Divinity and humanity becomes united in one person.
And why is that worth celebrating? Because, in a profound mystery, the curse of Adam is broken. Never before had there been a human that was sinless. God has always wanted to be in a union with humanity. Yet, because of sin, that union could not be maintained, because God is holy and cannot be united to anything or anyone that is not holy. Only in the Garden of Eden before the Fall did God have what He desired in His relationship with Adam and Eve. But when the Fall took place, the break between God and humanity occurred and it has never been breached…except one time. We believe that Jesus is the only sinless human. In the person of Jesus Christ, the gulf between God and humanity is closed. And although we continue to struggle under the reality of sin in our own lives, we can look to Jesus, who lived a perfect life for us. And as the scriptures tell us, if we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, we will be saved. Jesus lived a sinless life for us, accomplishing for us what we cannot accomplish for ourselves. Thus, because of Jesus, we have hope and a confident faith that we too will be saved, if we can keep our faith in who Jesus is and what Jesus has done on our behalf. So, why are we celebrating? We celebrate tonight because the birth of Jesus was the beginning of our salvation.
But we also rejoice today because, in a way, it is our birth as well. Rather, we celebrate our rebirth. As Christians, we are the Body of Christ. And Jesus is the Head of that Body. So, as Jesus the Head is born today, so is His Body, the church. On this day, we can celebrate our re-birth as members of the Body of Christ. We can celebrate the new life made possible for us as Christians. So, the birth of Christ is, indirectly, our own re-birth. The old order of things is passing away, and for us all things are being made new. And this is our salvation.
And this salvation we have is a gift from God that has been offered to us. We exchange gifts to each other this time of year, and it is appropriate to do so. Gift-giving reinforces for us the reality that we have been offered a gift from God. And that gift is salvation, eternal life in God’s presence. Gifts, by nature, are not earned. Wages are earned. And the wages of sin is death. We earn death for ourselves because of our sins. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. We don’t earn our eternal life, it is a gift given to us.
And what will we do with this gift? Do we not receive the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ? Do we not open the gift, by coming to church, singing the songs of faith, hearing the gospel, coming and seeing what God has done? Do we not express our appreciation for the gift by offering prayers of thanksgiving to God and worshipping Him? Do we not make use of this gift by striving to live a life of righteousness, following the example of Christ and of the great cloud of witnesses that surround us?
On this point, Martin Luther said, “Therefore see to it that you do not find pleasure in the Gospel only as a history, for that is only transient; neither regard it only as an example, for it is of no value without faith; but see to it that you make this birth your own and that Christ be born in you. This will be the case if you believe, then you will repose in the lap of the virgin Mary and be her dear child. But you must exercise this faith and pray while you live, you cannot establish it too firmly. This is our foundation and inheritance, upon which good works must be built.”
So, yes, to give our celebration of Christmas integrity, we must receive and utilize the gift of salvation that has been offered us. We must deny ourselves and allow Christ to be born in us. We can, in these beautiful words of Martin Luther, humbly repose in the lap of the virgin Mary and be her dear child, as we die to self and be renewed as brothers and sisters of Christ our God. And if we are God’s children, yes, we must strive to live like God’s children and avoid hypocrisy, even as we pray for forgiveness and continually repent for our shortcomings. All of this is involved in making Christmas more than just an annual remembrance or excuse for holiday traditions.
But, tonight, let us set aside the reasons why, or how the mystery of our salvation works. Let us set aside talk about what we ought to be doing. Let us set aside our questions and doubts. Tonight, let us give ourselves permission simply to rejoice. Let us allow ourselves to be filled with joy. Tonight, let us simply enter into the joy that has been prepared for us by our Master. Let us only do this tonight…rejoice!

On Extravagant Generosity

2009-11-23T11:08:00.000-08:00

For a Christian, generosity is about being unselfish and willing to give or share what one has in order to make a positive difference on behalf of Christ. At the heart of being a Christian is dying to self in order to live for Christ. The Christian life is about putting the needs of others above one’s own needs, while at the same time being humble enough to receive from others. To give and give without receiving is a recipe for burnout. We need to receive with gratitude whatever anyone gives us, while we give what we can to others, so that there is mutual giving and receiving, a constant flow of blessing one to another. And all of this, the receiving and the giving, is done for the purpose of making real and tangible what Jesus declared in his opening sermon, that he came to announce the year of the Lord’s favor. Jesus came that we might have life, and that more abundantly. And the abundant life that God desires for all of us is made possible by the consistent flow of receiving and giving. Freely have we received; freely, we give.
Of course, this is an ideal situation. The reality is that there are some who have an inordinate amount of wealth and a multitude who have hardly anything. There is no economic balance in this world. So, Christians, being the salt of the earth, must be unbalanced in their generosity. We must be extravagant in our generosity for the purpose of having that balance that God desires for His economy. To be extravagant in generosity means to go well beyond what is expected. It is important to stress the importance of proportionality as opposed to how much is given. Proportional giving means giving a portion of what you have. An historic benchmark is the tithe. The actual amount, of course, will vary. One person’s tithe is another person’s walking around money. I will say more about proportional giving later when we look at the teachings of Jesus.
The point I am making now is that a fruitful congregation is one that is extravagant in its generosity, going beyond what is expected as a result of being sacrificial, and unselfish. Not only are we called individually to be unselfish in our giving, but as a congregation, we are called to be unselfish, to make sacrifices regarding what we want so that we can give to ministries outside of our own congregation, apportionments being a key way we do this.
Bishop Schnase tells the story of a finance committee that was struggling with how to pay a bill of $465 due to an emergency repair of the air conditioner. The congregation had already spent all the money allocated to building maintenance. They spent a lot of time stewing over where the money should come from. Should they take money from one budget item to cover this? Should they ask the congregation for a special collection? Should they have a bake sale or dinner? All these solutions seemed hard to pull off. The committee was really struggling with what to do. Then, the finance chair said, “Let’s all just take a time out and be quiet for a few minutes and ask God for guidance on what we should do.” They all agreed and started praying. After a few minutes, the chairwoman said to them, “You know, any one of us around this table could probably write a check for $465 and it would not dramatically impact our lifestyle or financial security.” She pulled out her checkbook and wrote a check out to the church for the full amount. And then she invited everyone else on the committee to do the same. Some also wrote the full amount, while others wrote a check for less. Because of this finance chair’s leadership, not only was the bill for the air conditioner paid, but the church now had an extra $1,695 from the finance committee in which to help launch new ministry initiatives. This is an example of extravagant generosity.

Now, let’s look at three teachings of Jesus Christ that relate to extravagant generosity. The first one is the familiar story of Jesus watching the widow putting in two coins. In this story, we are taught the amount of money given is not as important as the proportion of what is available. The widow, of course, has set the standard way above what any of us could hope to achieve, because she gave all she had to live on. We certainly will not give all our money to the church. But can’t we give a portion? Absolutely. It is our practice to give a proportion of what one has, a percentage of one’s income. The major benchmark of proportional giving is the tithe, which is 10% of your income. For some, that 10% would be $10 a week and for another $100 per week. It’s not how much, it is the proportion that we are to strive to increase. If this year, you gave 4% of your income, this year see if you can do 5%. If you are already giving 10%, see if you can give 11%.
The second teaching we will look at from Jesus comes from the story of the man who built bigger barns. The farmer was blessed with a bumper crop of grain. God had provided so much grain that he couldn’t fit it in his barn. He couldn’t leave the grain outside because it might go to waste. He decided to build a bigger barn. Then, he could kick back and relax because he had more than enough. He didn’t have to grow grain anymore. But God said to him, “You fool! This night, your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” Storing excess wealth is folly because it can be taken from us. Then what will we do? This is why John Wesley instructed his followers to save all they can and give all they can. It is prudent to set some back so that you can care for your needs and that of your family in an emergency. But to hoard wealth is folly. It is better to give your excess wealth away. Not only do you have a say in where it goes, it will also do good, easing the suffering of those who lack.
The third teaching from Jesus we will look at is the parable of the talents. Jesus told a story about a man who was going on a journey. While away, he entrusted his property to his servants. To one he gave ten talents, to another, five, to another, one. One talent would be equivalent to more than fifteen years’ wages of a laborer. So, you see that the servant who was given responsibility over ten talents was caring for a lot of wealth. To the credit of all the servants, they didn’t run off with the money. The first two took the money and invested it with the bankers, doubling their master’s money. When the master got back, and they reported what they had done, they were greatly rewarded because they had responsibly invested the money given to them. But the third servant, who had simply put the money under his mattress, so to speak, was berated for his irresponsibility. This story teaches us that responsible money management is an aspect of being faithful stewards of what God gives us. Money is a resource. And if it is handled responsibly, then much good can come from it. To handle money irresponsibly limits what can be done. So, as an individual and as a congregation, we must be responsible with the money we have in trust, so that this financial resource can be maximized for the benefit of the ministry of Christ in the world.
Extravagant generosity, like all the other fruitful practices of a congregation, is motivated by a deep love for God and for people. We give because God gives. We give extravagantly because God gives extravagantly to us. And we give because we want to make a positive difference in the world, and making a positive difference requires material resources. We give, not because the church needs money, but because as Christians we need to give, and give with joy and gratitude for all that we have received. We give because we serve God, the giver of all good gifts.
I just said that we give not because the church needs money, but because we serve God who gives. Giving is central to the life of a Christian and a practice that assists us in our maturity as Christians. Still, it is also true that the giving of material support is critical to the mission of the church. Look around you. Everything you see in this sanctuary is the fruit of someone’s extravagant generosity. We are beneficiaries of the sacrificial giving of those who went before us. Now it is our turn to be benefactors of future generations. Money isn’t everything. But it is critical. The ministry we can do, the impact we can make, the lives that we can touch, will be either enhanced or will deteriorate based on the money we have available through our giving. Without extravagant generosity, our ministry as a congregation will diminish.

Reflections on Risk-Taking Mission and Service

2009-11-17T11:56:00.001-08:00

We begin by asking, “What is mission and service?” Mission and service are projects and on-going efforts that seek to address human needs, to ease suffering and bring healing and wholeness. And this care is offered to people whether or not the people helped will become members of the church. They are helped because they are in need and we can help them. There is no other agenda save alleviating suffering.
By “risk-taking,” we mean addressing the needs of people we don’t know or who are very different from us in the way they look and act, or who perhaps live in communities where we are uncomfortable being in, or who have needs that strain our capacity to meet them. By reaching out to these who are suffering requires more from us than we would find convenient or safe.
So, what is “risk-taking mission and service?” It is reaching out to people we normally do not associate with or whose needs are substantial in order to alleviate their suffering in the name of Christ. A congregation that practices risk-taking mission and service is a fruitful congregation. And like all the other practices we have discussed, the motivation for doing this practice comes from the heart. It comes from a heart that loves God and God’s creation deeply and longs to increase in love.
Perhaps no other congregational practice stretches us in our discipleship. The increase in amount of risk taken on to meet the needs of others, this is where the rubber really meets the road and our faith is proved by our deeds. As Bishop Schnase writes, “The stretch of Christian discipleship is to love those for whom it is not automatic, easy, common, or accepted.” It is our capacity to take risks in reaching out to those who are suffering that reveals how far we are willing to go to love our neighbor.
And who is our neighbor? That’s the question that Jesus answers in one of his best known and loved parables, the story of the good Samaritan. As you may remember, Samaritans were to Jews as the Taliban would be to one of us. They mutually despised each other. And in this story, you have a Samaritan crossing over well-defined boundaries in order to tend to the need of his neighbor, who happens to be a Jew. Just so, we are challenged by Jesus to cross over boundaries if need be in order to tend to the needs of our neighbors. Every person is our neighbor, whether this person is across the street or on the other side of the world.
Jesus also teaches us that we will be held to account for our refusal to care for those around us who are in need. We recall Jesus describing the final judgment, the separation of the sheep and the goats, and the measure of that judgment being whether or not one cared for “the least of these.” It is no surprise to us that as followers of Christ, lovers of God and of God’s creation, that we are called forth to care for those who are suffering, whoever they are and wherever they are. We know we need to do this. But it is not easy for us.
It is not easy because most of us are risk-adverse. Especially when one gets older, the tendency is to conserve because one doesn’t have as much time to recover from mistakes. It’s expected to be risky when you are young and have your whole life ahead of you. The older you get, or, when you have more, either more responsibility or more wealth, the tendency is to conserve and play it safe. We also value the capacity to not be conned or taken advantage of. Plus, let’s face it; when going through economic challenges, everyone tends to hold back and preserve what you have out of fear of not having enough in the future to maintain your standard of living. Prudence reigns supreme and the more immediate response when made aware of the needs of others is, “I can’t help. I have my own bills. I have to take care of my own needs and the needs of my family.” Knowing what we should do, and actually stretching ourselves in order to respond to the need is a real challenge for most of us.
I’m not going to talk too much more about money. That’s next week’s sermon. The focus today is on how far we are willing to go to help people who make us uncomfortable or who live in places that are deemed “unsafe.” Are we willing to take the risk of being misunderstood as a result of helping certain people? For example, are we willing to respond to the needs of illegal immigrants among us? By caring for illegal immigrants, this could bring some controversy our way. But is that a risk we would be willing to take if we are presented with a need from that community that we can address? What if we had the opportunity to meet the needs of prostitutes? Drug users? Pedophiles? People who are trans-gendered? White-supremacists? Who will we risk associating with in order to alleviate suffering? How far are we willing to go to follow the example of Christ, who ate with sinners? Please remember, Jesus did not condone sin. But He did break bread with sinners. He came to heal the sick, to proclaim good news to the poor, to set at liberty the oppressed. And Jesus’ actions stirred up controversy because of who he was willing to touch and heal. How far can we go in following His example?
This is a tough practice. To practice the risk-taking mission and service that Jesus patterns for us requires much from us. It requires first a profound love for God and all people who are made in the image and likeness of God, including prostitutes and pedophiles. To care for people like this also requires a heavy dose of humility and the willingness to be misunderstood and criticized by good, Christian people.
But there are rewards. One is the experience of building relationships with people that we do not understand, and, frankly, are afraid of. Another potential reward is seeing the lives of people redeemed and transformed, of sick people being made well because of what God is able to do through us. Think about it. God wants to heal those who are sick, like prostitutes and pedophiles. But in God’s wisdom, this healing does not happen out of thin air but must flow through the hands of real people. Would it not be a great joy to know that God used you and me to bring healing into the life of someone that society has cast off as a degenerate?
Of all the fruitful practices we have looked at so far, this is the one in which we are in desperate need of grace. There is great need around us. But for many reasons we fail to respond. Are we even willing to respond? We need to ask God to give the grace to respond. We need to ask God to forgive us of our hardened hearts and our tendency to look past the need around us. We need to ask God to give us greater capacity to be self-sacrificial, humble, and courageous in our response to the needs of others, whoever they might be. A church that is practicing risk-taking mission and service is a church that is fruitful because it is extending the ministry of Christ to the downcast and fallen. By the grace of God, may we all grow in our capacity to take risks in service to our neighbors, especially to those for whom loving them is not “automatic, easy, common, or accepted.”
Let us pray. God of love, grace, and mercy, who desires that the whole world might be saved; forgive us for our hardness of heart. Forgive us when we divert our eyes, close our ears, or turn our backs on people who are sick and need healing. Give us grace to separate the condition of a person from who they are as human beings, made in Your image and likeness. Your heart breaks with the suffering that ravages the world. Let our hearts break as well. As Jesus wept over Jerusalem, help us to weep over Cincinnati. As Jesus touched and healed the leper, enable us to touch the modern-day leper. As Jesus was condemned for eating with sinners, let us be willing to be condemned as a consequence of eating with sinners. Finally, O God, make us humble and acknowledge that we too are sinners and in need of healing. We ask this, our Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ our Healer, through the Holy Spirit our Comforter. Amen.

Reflections on Intentional Faith Development

2009-11-09T12:02:00.000-08:00

The purpose of intentional faith development is to mature in the faith. In the letter to the Hebrews, Paul writes: “We have much to say, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” The message is clear. It was Paul’s expectation that Christians train themselves constantly, to grow and mature in the faith, so that they can gain a deeper understanding of the truth. We are to move beyond spiritual milk to spiritual meat. And this maturing process happens through intentional faith development. I think we all know this and have a desire to grow in our faith, not just intellectually but also in our hearts. We want to become more like Christ. We want to have an ever more maturing faith that is richer, deeper, more solid. And we know that this maturing of our faith must be done with intentionality.
Faith development happens in community. As we read the gospels, we see that Jesus primarily taught in a communal setting. Either Jesus was teaching publicly before a crowd, or Jesus was teaching his disciples in a small group setting. Very rarely does Jesus offer one-on-one instruction. Another thing we see is that when Jesus is teaching in public, he often teaches in parables, or in ways that cause the people to want to repent or make some kind of decision about how they are living their lives. But when Jesus was with his disciples in a smaller setting, he would explain the parables. He gave them instruction that was not offered to the crowd. It was at a deeper level. So, in Christ, we see a format for intentional faith development. There is the public teaching and preaching that is evocative and stirs people to make decisions about the kind of life they are living. And there is teaching reserved for a smaller group that provides more content and depth of instruction. In both cases, the teaching takes place in community.
John Wesley followed this pattern in his ministry. He understood the importance of public preaching. He looked for and empowered people to go and preach. Wesley was willing, although it was beyond his comfort zone, to preach out in the fields. There are accounts of Wesley going to coal mines to preach to the miners. His sermons have great content. They are very well thought out. And they lead the hearers to reflect on their lives and make some kind of commitment. Wesley’s sermons and preaching were clearly evangelistic. However, John Wesley also insisted on the critical need for those who want to grow in their faith to be engaged in some kind of small group. These class meetings were designed to hold one another accountable in their daily living, so that personal faith can mature. So, John Wesley, in the formation of what became the Wesleyan movement within the Church of England, was designed to provide connections of small groups, or bands, so that when people are moved to dedicate their lives to Christ as a response to public preaching can have a format in which their desire for faith development can take place. All of this, the public preaching and the class meetings are forms of community. There were no correspondence courses or a guided reading list in John Wesley’s program. For Wesley, faith formation is a communal activity and not an individual pursuit.
Why is community a consistent aspect of intentional faith development, as we see it with Jesus, with the apostles, with John Wesley, and others? There are two reasons why community is important in faith development. One is that community allows for accountability. Again, this is primarily why John Wesley encouraged people who were moved through his preaching to be more intentional in their faith to join a small group. It is in the small group that accountability can take place. We need this accountability in our faith development for a few reasons. One is that when we are reflecting on our lives and on the teachings of Christ and the Scriptures, our ideas or insights can be tested by others. This can help us, that we don’t go too far off the mark when we reflect on our lives and the things of God. Testing our insights with others, or reflecting on our life and on the scripture with others, can guard us from being deluded. It is risky to limit our reading and reflection on scripture and our lives alone. Scripture study and reflection is best done with others.
Not only is it good to study scripture and reflect on your life in community so that you don’t delude yourself, but also because in a group, different perspectives can be brought forward. Various perspectives, and the testing of these perspectives, regarding living the Christian life, can be very rich. Because each of us is unique, we gain different insights on life. We all have something to share which can be of benefit for others. So, faith development in community allows for broader perspectives that can produce a more wholesome faith development.
Another aspect of accountability we get in a small group setting is the support we get to keep with it. Some of us are self-starters and highly disciplined. But for many of us, it is hard to keep working on something if we don’t have others who are counting on us to be there. For example, it is easier to stick with your goal of going to the gym when you have a friend that is going to meet you there and who will call you and ask you where you were if you don’t show up. Just so, intentional faith development, whatever our plan is to make that happen, will be more consistent if we have some others who are going to be checking on us to see if we are doing what we said we would do and will motivate us to keep working at it when the desire to grow in our faith wanes. We all know what it’s like to have an early burst of energy and zeal when we start some process for spiritual growth. But after awhile, the energy subsides and we need a bit more motivation to keep at it. If we don’t have anyone cheering us on, it’s easy to just drop it. But if we are in a group that cares about us, we have a better shot of keeping it up when the motivation wanes.
One reason we do intentional faith development in community is because of the need for accountability. The other reason it is done in community and not alone is because the faith can best be learned in community. We can’t learn forgiveness unless we have an opportunity to forgive other people and be forgiven. We can’t experience grace unless we receive it from others or offer it to others. We can’t love alone, but in community. We can’t grow in our patience unless we are with those who try our patience. We can’t become more humble unless we have the opportunity to practice humility among others. The fruits of faithful living are manifested in community. So, this is why Jesus, the apostles, and our ancestors in the faith designed faith development to happen in community, because it is in community that faith is most effectively developed.
We know what the purpose of faith development is. We know that it is to be done in community and not alone. What is our responsibility as a church in practicing intentional faith development?
A fruitful church offers a variety of high-quality opportunities to gather in community to learn about and practice the faith through caring and nurturing relationships. These could be Sunday school classes. They can be fellowship groups or ministry groups, like United Methodist Men and United Methodist Women, as well as a mission committee, and even the finance committee and the Trustees. They can be short-term studies. In other words, every group in the church, whatever its purpose or responsibility, can be a faith forming group if it is seen that way. Yes, even the finance committee, if we understand that those of us on that committee are practicing our faith and nurturing our faith as we reflect on the financial need of this congregation and discuss together what we must do to bring about financial health to the church. It is a primary responsibility of the church to provide small group settings for intentional faith development. Every group in the church can be that opportunity if those in that group understand it that way. Every group in the church provides an opportunity to develop our faith.
And so, there are many ways to intentionally develop our faith. Again, we turn to John Wesley, who was committed to intentional faith development. He had a list that gives us a good foundation for our faith development. Wesley required all who would be a part of the Methodist movement, to do the following things: attend public worship, hear the scriptures read and preached, receive Holy Communion, have family and private prayer, study the scriptures, and practice fasting or abstinence. All of these activities, that we as United Methodists are called to maintain, are to be done in supportive community. As I said earlier, John Wesley insisted that members of the Methodist movement must be in a class, a small group, whose purpose was to check on each other, to make sure each person is still actively working to grow in their faith. In these meetings, each person was asked to respond to the question, “How is it with your soul?” This is the intentionality that we need so we can develop our faith. As Bishop Schnase says, “By joining a Bible study or class, we place ourselves in the circumstances that are most advantageous for growth in faith.”
I also want to say one quick thing about the groups that we participate in for faith development. Whatever faith development activities we participate in are not primarily about self-improvement. The purpose of these activities is to open oneself up to be shaped and transformed by Truth. Faith development is not about self-improvement. It is about self-transformation, to leave behind the old and become new creatures in Christ, with a renewed mind and a purified and transformed heart.
So, our church as a whole has the responsibility to create many high-quality opportunities for spiritual development. We have individual responsibility as well. It is the individual responsibility of every one of us to connect with a small group for faith formation, and through this, to connect with God so one can be healed. If you are not in some kind of group where you can develop your faith, it is your responsibility to get in one. It is my responsibility, and that of our education team, to try different ways to provide more opportunities for faith formation. There is mutual responsibility, myself and others to provide small group opportunities, and yours to be in a group. What ideas do you have? Perhaps you could start a new group? My goal is that every person in this church be in a small group for intentional faith development. We will produce much more fruit, as each of us intentionally develop our faith, maturing in our commitment, and becoming more and more like God, a people formed in the living Truth revealed to us in Jesus Christ.
Let us pray. We recall in our mind, O God, that scene, when Mary and the others gathered around Jesus to hear his teaching. And Martha, who was busy with other things, asked Jesus to tell her sister to come and help her. And Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, you are busy with many things. Mary has chosen the better part.” We gather here, and in many other settings, to sit before you, our Teacher. Teach us, O Lord. Continue to send us the Holy Spirit, Who leads us into all Truth. By your grace, renew our minds, strengthen our faith, enable us to receive spiritual meat, so that we might be mature and strong Christian men and women, that we might be fruitful servants, for your glory, of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Reflections on Worshiping with Passion

2009-11-02T11:38:00.000-08:00

The purpose of worship is to encounter God in Christ through the Holy Spirit, so that God might heal us, change us, transform us, or encourage us. Worship is about connecting to the divine, of being attentive to the presence of God in our midst. And as Moses teaches us, when one is in the presence of God, that person is changed. Moses had a glow that was so bright, he had to wear a veil over his face when he came down from the mountain. By worshiping God, being in the presence of God, we anticipate that something will happen to us. We expect, in the act of worship, to be changed.
To be passionate means to express desire. To do something with passion means to do it with feeling, expressing something deep within. To do something with passion means to do it with soul rather than going through the motions or just being present. To be passionate is to give your all to the moment, with great focus and driven by the need to express yourself. You are fully engaged and caught up in whatever you are doing with passion.
So, passionate worship is being fully attentive, fully engaged, expressing a deep desire to encounter God. A person who is worshipping with passion is giving it their all, their heart and soul, completely caught up in the act of worship, out of a deep longing to connect with God. That deep desire to connect with God lies in all of us, because in that connection we are healed. We want that connection, and worshipping God with passion is what gets us there because we are totally focused and actively engaged in worshipping God.
There are four things that worship is not. First, worship is not a performance. Now, of course, there are some of us up front, exercising worship leadership: myself, the choir, the organist, the lay reader. But we are not performing for you. To perform would be like putting on a show, and you all would be the audience watching us and responding to what we are doing. Our intention as worship leaders is not to perform for you, but to assist you in your worship. To be worship leaders means to lead the congregation into worship. It is not a performance, it is the providing of content, the establishment of a context, the provoking of inspiration, so that the congregation can join us worship leaders in the worship of God. So, worship is not a performance, not the putting on of a show, not something done so that we can be seen and approved by others.
Second, worship is not forms and rituals. The structure of a worship service, the order of worship, the written responses and prayers, the rituals, the saying of the Lord’s Prayer, these are like musical notes on a page. They give structure, form, and content to the service so that everything is done in order and it’s not a wild free-for-all. It is critical to have forms and rituals in worship so that there is a shape, something that we all can work with. But, you know the difference between a musician playing the notes on one hand and making music on the other. There is a difference between a singer singing the notes and making the song come to life. Just singing the notes is not enough. You eventually have to know the notes so well that you don’t even have to look at them anymore. You’re then singing from your heart. Just so with the forms and rituals of our worship; we have to move past just saying the words and following the order so that the worship comes to life, so that we are saying the words and following the order by heart, so that it’s not rote and rigid, but living and vibrant because we have moved from reciting words to speaking them from the heart. That is where worship takes place, when we take the forms and rituals and sing them, breathe life into them, connect the words with our hearts.
Third, worship is not self-focused. Although I understand what people are saying when they judge the effectiveness of a worship service as to whether they have been “fed” or not, I cringe a little when I hear it. Now, of course, we worship God with the expectation that something will happen. We cannot stand in the presence of God and be unchanged. But the focus of Christian worship is God, and not one’s own needs. Yes, we come to worship with needs. We are broken people in need of healing and wholeness. But our healing does not come from focusing on our own wants, needs, and desires, what makes us feel good about ourselves. We don’t want to say we are worshipping God when really we are worshipping our own cultural values and preferences. Again, if we want our needs met in the worship experience, this happens when we forget about ourselves and worship God.
Fourth, worship is not automatic or accidental. It is not a formula, where you do this and this and expect a certain result. And worship is not something that just happens to you as a passive observer. No, to worship God requires preparation and intentionality. We have to prepare our hearts. We have to set aside our worldly cares and focus on God. We have to center ourselves in the worship space. We have to be intentional participants in the worship act and not passive observers hoping to catch something of the holy if we’re lucky. Worship takes effort, attention, and focus. When worship is over, you ought to leave here just a little tired because you have been putting forth some effort rather than sitting here and zoning out for an hour.
So, what is worship? It is an expression of your love and devotion to God. The degree to which you love God determines the intensity of your worship. If you have little love for God, worship of God is going to be a bit perfunctory. But if your love for God is deep and passionate, worship for you will have a bit more significance and intentionality. The intensity and seriousness of your worship experience can be a sign of the intensity of your love and devotion to God.
Worship is what breathes life into the community of faith. Primarily public worship on Sunday morning, what we are doing together gives life to us as a community. It is a common experience that shapes our identity as a unique congregation, a small part of the universal body of Christ. Public worship is the lungs and the heartbeat of our community of faith. In worship we encounter God, individually and as a community. We are shaped by God, individually but also as a community through the act of worship. When we worship together, something happens. As a community, we are given fuel which we need to function. We are filled up in worship so we have something to pour out through the week, until we come back to the well to be filled up again.
Of course, it must be said that worship can happen pretty much anywhere. Public worship typically happens in a sanctuary. But public worship can take place anywhere, when two or more gather in Christ’s name. And we must not neglect private worship. Public worship is an extension of private worship. Public worship typically only happens one hour a week. That is certainly not sufficient for a Christian. If worship was understood as dining on spiritual food, none of us would survive if we ate one meal a week. Our daily bread is received by daily worship. We worship privately every day, and come together one day a week, Sunday, in order to celebrate the resurrection of Christ and be encouraged by worshipping with fellow believers. So, since most of our worship life is private, it can certainly happen in places other than the sanctuary. The home, actually, should be considered the primary place of worship, not the church. But, you get the idea. God’s creation provides limitless inspiration for focusing on God and worshipping God’s goodness. So, we must not limit our worship to Sunday morning in the sanctuary. Public worship is an extension of our primary worship life, which is a private affair that likely takes place in your home. In fact, Jesus suggests that when you pray you should go into your closet and shut the door, doing it in secret. “And the Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you”, Jesus said.
Finally, worship is the context in which we most likely encounter God in our midst. We know God is always around us. We just don’t pay much attention to this reality because God is invisible and His voice tends to be a whisper in the midst of so much noise. Worship, then, filters out the noise so we can hear the quiet whisper of God within and around us. And when we hear the voice of God, or sense God’s presence, we are connecting to the holy, and that changes us, and heals us. The more we take time to focus on God through worship, the greater the opportunity God has to heal us and make us well.
Quickly, two things I want to share about what the practice of worship requires. First, worship requires effort on your part. Like I’ve said earlier, worship is something you do, not something that happens to you. Worship is the act of focusing on God that requires our intentionality. And the more passionately we focus on God and worship God, the better. Worship is work. It is a participatory activity, and the intensity of your participation relates directly to the effectiveness and fruitfulness of the activity. Like Jesus said, “Knock and the door will be opened.” If you don’t knock, the door won’t be opened. And perhaps a heavy banging may be more effective than a light tap.
Second, public worship requires flexibility and diversity to help people connect to God in different ways. How good it is to know that our worship is primarily a private activity. Privately, we can feel free to do what helps us best connect with God. Publicly, though, the needs of many have to be accommodated the best we can. And that’s where it gets tricky. As United Methodists, we have traditions that have been handed down to us. Traditions are good because they force us to get out of our own individuality and conform to a broader shared experience. Still, people have different tastes and can more easily connect with God in different ways. This is the main reason why we have a traditional worship service and a contemporary service. By offering this variety, we are utilizing the worship leadership we have to provide greater opportunity for people to connect with God than if we only offered one option. And in public worship, not every song and not every aspect of the service will resonate with you all the way through. Again, privately you can tailor your worship experience and utilize resources that resonate with you. But in a public setting, flexibility and generosity is required so that the maximum number of people can participate in some way. We need to be open to the diversity among us and be grateful that whatever part of the service that doesn’t really “work” for us does “work” for others. Again, worship is primarily an activity where we focus on God and not get caught up on the forms and rituals, or the style of music or quality of the singing, playing, and preaching. And remember, public worship must not be the only worship you do. It supplements your primary worship life, which is in private, where you can utilize whatever most effectively leads you into worship. You deprive yourself if your only experience of worship is one hour on Sunday morning.
The bottom line is this: passionate worship springs from an attitude and has little to do with styles or forms. What is done in worship, and the quality of what is done does have an impact. Styles and forms, and the execution of them, do matter. But for worship to be passionate, the key factor is not the quality of the worship leadership but the attitude of the worshipper. One who worships with passion is one who is deeply in love with God and wants to express that love. One who worships with passion is one who anticipates and longs to encounter God, knowing that God will bring healing into their lives. One who worships with passion is one who is putting forth the effort to be attentive and focused on God. Styles and forms only provide a framework and some inspiration for the primary activity, which is all of us actively focused on God and expressing to God our love for Him.
What is your attitude toward worship? What or who are you focused on? What level is your passion? A healthy, fruitful congregation is one where the majority of worshippers are worshipping with passion. Are you one of that number? Let us pray.
God of wonder, we do worship You. We long to be in Your presence. We desire to encounter You so that we can be healed and renewed. We know that You desire that we worship You in spirit and in truth. Give us grace, dear Lord, to worship You with greater passion and devotion, every day of our life. Help us to grow in our capacity to worship, so that when our time on earth comes to an end, we may more fully join with all the saints and the angels, gathered around Your throne, offering up a pure sacrifice of praise. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Reflections on Radical Hospitality

2009-10-28T07:53:00.001-07:00

Christian life can be described as a set of practices. For example, prayer, fasting, giving, worship, scripture study, witnessing to your faith, these are all practices. A practice is something you do, something you work at, so that you can get better. Micah is in band, learning to play the trumpet. For him to become a great trumpet player, Micah is going to have to practice. And no matter how good a trumpet player he will be, he will always have to practice. It is the same with becoming a Christian. We have to practice. And no matter how great a Christian we grow to be, we never stop practicing.
Doing Christian practices over time makes us into better Christians. We become better servants of Jesus Christ our Lord as we practice the Christian life daily and diligently, with the help of God’s grace.
Churches also have practices. The Christian life is not just an individual matter. It is also a communal matter. Not only are we to practice in order to become better individual Christians, we are also to practice being a better church, so that we can be a more effective body of Christ. These are examples of church practices: radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk-taking mission and service, and extravagant generosity. A church that does these practices over time becomes a better church, a more effective and fruitful community of servants.
Today marks the beginning of a five week series on these five practices. The catalyst for this series is that as a district we are emphasizing these practices, using the insights of Bishop Robert Schnase in his book Cultivating Fruitfulness. When Charge Conference comes up in a few weeks, this will be the focus of our time together. So, this wasn’t just my idea, it’s a concerted effort by all the churches in our district to turn to this theme. It will be good for us as a reminder of what we are to be about doing, the purpose of our being a church. And we will discover over the next few weeks that, as a congregation, we are doing these things. These practices are not unfamiliar to us at all. My hope is that through this series we will be encouraged to keep doing what we are doing and improve what we are doing, so that we can stretch ourselves more and grow, to become more effective servants of Jesus Christ our Lord. To grow as a musician, what you practice needs to become more difficult so you can grow. So it is with our Christian practices, individually and collectively. We need to challenge ourselves in our practice so that we can grow and be effective. Hopefully this series will inspire you to stretch yourselves in your participation in these church practices, so that our church will grow and be more fruitful, by the grace of God.
The first practice we will reflect on is radical hospitality.
Imagine what it is like to enter a church as a stranger? You first have to find your way in the building. Where’s the bathroom? Where’s the sanctuary? You might wonder if there is anyone there you might know. You may wonder where would be a good place to sit, hoping you don’t take someone else’s seat. And you wonder what’s going to happen during the service. Will anyone say “hi” to me? You tend to be paying great attention to what’s going on around you to pick up non verbal cues, the body language of others, so you can tell whether you are welcome or being held at arms length. And, when you enter into a space for the first time you notice things that become unnoticeable as time goes by: the smell, the neatness of the space, the lighting, and the behaviors of the more colorful people that are present. Coming in to a strange place is a little confusing, lots of questions, a little uncertainty, it’s slightly uncomfortable.
Now think about how you might respond when you see this stranger enter into the sanctuary? How might you approach that person? It would seem that the best body language to have would be a smile, and not one of staring at and sizing up. Introducing yourself may be a good thing to do. And then maybe before asking questions like, “Who are you? Where are you from? Why are you here?” You could say, “Do you have any questions about the service or can I help you find anything?” It’s helpful for us to try to get into the shoes of a stranger, to imagine what we might be feeling or wondering about, so that when we have the opportunity to meet a stranger, anywhere, not just in church, then we can respond more effectively to what they need. Not to mention the biblical teaching that when we entertain strangers, we may be entertaining angels without knowing it.
But if you are like me, sometimes it is hard to even see strangers, or visitors. There have been a few Sundays where during joys and concerns, someone who has been ill a long time is present and asks to speak, and it’s the first time I notice they are here! It is surprising, when you become so familiar with a place and the people in it, that those you don’t come into immediate contact with become almost invisible. We have our regular seat. We participate in worship. We head out. And unless we are intentional about scanning the room, we can easily not know all who are here. Just look right past them. It’s a strange thing. Many people have said that the loneliest place can be in a city, surrounded by people you don’t know. People can walk right past each other all day long. It’s possible for us to look right past each other even in this worship space if we aren’t attentive. I know this from personal experience, because I’ve done it.
There’s something else that needs to be said about visitors to our church. Visitors come to our church because they are looking for something and they feel our church might have something they need. Depending on the person, it takes a lot of nerve to enter a church where no one knows you. That’s one reason why a vast majority of newcomers to a church come because someone invited them. People just showing up, of course, happens. Most people don’t have that kind of courage. If we want more people in our church, the main way that will happen is by you inviting someone to come with you.
What are visitors to our church looking for? Perhaps they are looking for answers to faith questions. Maybe they are looking for solace and peace in the midst of their stress filled life. Maybe they are lonely and are searching for a community where people will know their name and genuinely care about their welfare. Maybe they are here because something is stirring in their spirit. They feel that God is pulling them toward the church. And they have driven by this building for quite some time, and every time they drove by, they had this inner voice saying, “You need to visit there.” And finally, they make that visit. There are a number of reasons why someone visits a church. But it is not by accident. It’s not because they were wandering aimlessly down the sidewalk and thought to just stumble in on a Sunday morning. It’s safe to say every visitor of this church intended to be here.
So, visitors come here in need of something. They believe, or at least hope, that we have what they are looking for. Do we have it? Do we have the capacity to help them search for the answers to their faith questions? Do we provide that peace, a sanctuary, from the stresses of life? Can we be that community where a stranger’s name is known, and that person is cared for? Could it be that God actually leads people to us? Believe it or not, we have something that people are looking for. We do have something to offer. God does meet the needs of people through us.
But also, visitors have something that we need. They remind us that we are not here just for ourselves, but that we are a part of a wider community. They come with a fresh perspective, not burdened by the past troubles, issues, and history of this church. They have life experiences to share and new gifts to offer. Visitors add to the vitality of our community. Truly, when visitors come to us, we should see them as precious gifts sent from God.
The truth is, we need each other. We need the familiar and the stranger, those that have been dear friends for years and those who can become new friends, so that as a community we can be more whole, more diverse, more vibrant. We are less than we can become without new people among us. New people have need for spiritual community which we can offer. This is what hospitality, then, is about. It is about enabling interdependence, giving and receiving. We have something to offer the visitor. The visitor has something to offer us. Mutuality, interdependence, community, all of this is characteristic of a healthy and vital church. The practice of hospitality helps to nourish mutuality.
Hospitality as a Christian practice does not have to be limited to people who visit the church. Hospitality can be something that is offered to anyone out in the community. What happens when a new family moves into your neighborhood? Or you have a new co-worker? Or you find yourself having to interact with someone you don’t know?
In the end, radical hospitality is a matter of the heart. It is an attitude and behavior. It’s much more than simply being polite. It is how you look at the stranger. It is seeing the stranger not as a threat, but as a gift; not someone you need to keep at a distance, but someone you ought to get to know; not someone you have to do something for, but someone who has something you need. What is your attitude toward people you don’t know? How you answer that will go a long way in shaping how well you practice hospitality.
So, what can you do to be more hospitable? A healthy church is a church that practices radical hospitality. That practice is not about warm handshakes, coffee and cookies. It is not a program or the job of a committee or the ushers and greeters. It is an attitude. And each of us should have a similar attitude toward the stranger. What is your attitude toward strangers? How do you see them?
Let us pray. O God, when we look through the scriptures, we see how often you revealed yourself as a stranger. You were the three wayfarers that had a message for Abraham. You taught us that when we welcome the least of these, we welcome Jesus. You led Paul to teach that we should offer hospitality to strangers, for some have entertained angels unawares. We confess that we often are reserved toward the stranger. We are often shy and uncomfortable around people we don’t know or don’t look like us. Forgive us when we look past the stranger. Forgive us when we keep strangers at arm’s reach. Shape the attitude we have toward the stranger, that we might see them as the precious gift that they are, for we are all made in Your image, and we are all here for a reason, and we all have something to share. We offer this prayer in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God, now, and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Life on the Road

2009-10-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

Reflections on Hebrews 4:12-16

When someone says to you, “I love you,” how does that affect you? Doesn’t that cause you to look into your heart so you know how to respond? You may ask yourself, “Do I love that person?” Or, you may ask, “Do they really love me?” I remember when my fellow pastors first met with our district superintendent, Rev. Stearns, and he said to us, “I love you.” I never had a D.S. say that to a gathering of clergy. It took me aback. It was a little awkward. He loves me? Do I love him? What he said caused me to look at my own heart. Such can be the power of words. They can strike us to the heart.
So it is with the word of God. Paul writes that the word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword that divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow. The word of God is able to judge the intentions and thoughts of the heart. The word of God is truth. God’s Truth is not relative. It is something that we must contend with and respond to. So, when we hear Jesus saying to us, “You did not choose me, but I chose you,” we have to respond to that. What does it mean, that I didn’t choose Jesus, but Jesus chose me? Just take a minute. Let that settle in. Jesus said, “You did not choose me, I chose you.”
The word of God is like a two-edged sword that judges the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. When we allow the word of God to enter in to our minds and hearts, something should happen. There should be a piercing, a stirring within, rumination on what we are hearing or reading. And along with that is the acknowledgment that we stand naked before God. No secrets. We don’t know very much about God, but God knows everything about us. There’s another piercing truth to mull over. God knows the inner recesses of our hearts. God knows every one of our thoughts and intentions. Should this not give us pause?
It should. Because, as Paul continues, the day will come when each of us will give an account of our life. Our thoughts, our words, and our deeds, the good and the bad, will all be laid before us one day when we stand before God. What will God see? Certainly, for all of us, it will be a mixed bag. None of us will come out smelling like a rose.
And so, we need a savior. We need an advocate. If God is the judge, we need a lawyer. Or, in the language of the church, we need a priest. A priest is someone who stands before God on our behalf. The priest is a sort of intermediary, or an advocate. For the Jews, during the times when there was a Temple, God had appointed for them that they have priests who would do their assigned work, receiving the offerings of the people and then sacrificing those offerings on their behalf. And once a year, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies, to represent all of the people before God, asking for the cleansing of sin of all the people.
The work of the high priest entering the holy of holies for the annual plea that God cleanse all the people of the stain of sin is a symbol of another high priest, whose name is Jesus. By his own blood, Jesus offered up the sacrifice that cleanses the sin of all people for all generations. That is what happened at Calvary. But, the work of Jesus is not done. When he said on the cross, “It is finished,” Jesus was talking about the destruction of the power of death. It did not mean that Jesus was going to sit back and wait until the time comes for him to return as judge of the heavens and earth. No, Jesus is still active.
Jesus is our high priest. None of us can stand before God, for God is holy and nothing corrupt can stand before Him. We cannot stand before God by ourselves. We need to stand behind someone else, someone who is incorrupt, who can stand before God on our behalf. That someone is Jesus. And Jesus, the God-Man, is standing before God interceding for us, representing us.
And since we have Jesus standing before God on our behalf, Paul says, let us hold on to our confession. What is that confession? It can be as clear cut and simple as saying “Jesus is Lord.” No one can say that except by the help of the Holy Spirit. Our confession can be stated in various creeds, either the Apostles’ Creed or other affirmations of faith. Paul is telling us to hold on to what the church has received as truth. Jesus is representing us. Let us not forsake him who will never forsake us.
The temptation does come, from time to time, to quit. Life can be a long and weary struggle at times. Sometimes, life becomes a real burden. Prospects don’t look good. We sometimes relate to the psalmist who cried out, “For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked. All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning. When I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end. When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in my heart, I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you. Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Yes, living the life of a Christian at times can be a struggle. We can become weary in doing good. We can become frustrated with ourselves, for try as we might, we continue to stumble, we continue to do the things we don’t want to do and fail to do the things that we know we should do. Sometimes, it may seem our Christian journey is similar to wandering around in a wilderness, and the temptation besets us to give up.
But we must hold on to our confession and trust that although life can be weary at times, that there is an end point, the Promised Land of rest. Eventually, we are all going to get there. And when we do, our life will be laid out before God and we will be judged. What will God see?
This thought may cause us to want to give up again. But that would be folly, because right now, the throne of judgment is the throne of grace and mercy. Jesus stands before the throne, and He knows what we are going through. He is sympathetic because He has experienced every temptation that we have and will experience. He’s been there. He knows how tough life can be, and how hard it is. Just because Jesus didn’t sin doesn’t mean it was easy for Him. Being fully human, Jesus knows what it’s like to be human, save sinning. So when Jesus prays for you and me, He prays as one who understands how hard it is. And so Jesus pleads to God on our behalf to have mercy on us. And Jesus, being righteous, offers an effective prayer. God answers that prayer. And God is merciful to us. And Jesus asks God to give us grace so that we can live a righteous life. And God answers that prayer too.
So, we can come before the throne of God, and we should regularly, both in public worship and privately, so that we might receive mercy and grace. Now is the time for us to receive this mercy and grace, so that we can become more righteous, so that we can live a better life, so that we can receive the strength we need to press on for the prize that awaits us. There is no good reason for us to quit in the journey of our life in Christ. God is our refuge and strength. We can receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. And we can come before the throne any time we want. Certainly, this is why we come to worship here, to receive God’s mercy and grace. But it doesn’t have to be only in this building that we come before the throne. It is as simple as whispering the prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.”
So, brothers and sisters in Christ, “let us make every effort to enter that rest,” the rest that is the Promised Land. The doors to heaven have been opened to us by Christ Jesus. We are now on our journey through the wilderness, laboring to walk on the narrow path, surrounded by temptation and danger. We are not alone. Jesus never stops praying for us. Trusting that, let us hold on to our confession, and never grow weary in doing good.

But What About Them?

2009-09-29T06:39:00.000-07:00

Reflections on Mark 9:38-50

“But what about them?” That’s the question that John asked Jesus, and people in the church have always asked. So and so is ministering in Christ’s name, but he isn’t one of us. Do they have the right? Do they have the authority? Are they leading others astray? Are they competing with us for the same person?
I confess, I’ve been a part of that. I have my own prejudice against certain ministers of whom I question their integrity who are ministering to a lot more people than I am. Perhaps you have done the same thing. It is a subtle form of religious bigotry, to either dismiss or actively undermine others who are ministering in Christ’s name who do not fit with our theology, tradition, or way of doing things.
We have to avoid and abhor this sort of attitude toward other Christians, pastors, and churches who minister in Christ’s name but who don’t belong with us. First of all, to be in ministry at all is a challenging thing. It gets Satan’s attention. The Evil One never stops seeking to undermine and disrupt ministry. Why should we assist the devil by piling on? We need to encourage anyone who is trying to minister to others in the name of Christ, not help the devil by running them down or discouraging them.
We must also avoid this attitude because it does not build up the body of Christ but tears it apart. The hand cannot say to the eye, “I have no need of you.” The church, to be whole and healthy, needs everyone who is seeking to serve God and minister to others. How does dismissing or trying to prevent or undermine the ministry of another person or church help build up the body of Christ?
Finally, we must avoid this attitude because the truth is no one can minister in Christ’s name without the grace of God working through that person. If people are being ministered to, are drawing closer to God and maturing in Christ as the result of someone’s efforts, for us to dismiss or oppose that person is equivalent to opposing God. And that is a losing proposition.
So, when Jesus was confronted with one of his disciples revealing a bigoted attitude toward someone who was ministering in Christ’s name but wasn’t “one of them,” Jesus is very magnanimous by saying, “Whoever is not against us, is for us.” In other words, if a person is not explicitly an enemy of God, then they should be treated as a friend. Jesus does not say this other person is correct in all matters. Jesus is not saying the disciples have to take this person in as “one of their own.” Jesus didn’t say, “Go and be like them or do what they are doing.” Jesus is simply saying, “Leave them be, and be grateful that people are being healed.”
Jesus then goes on to talk about being careful that one does not cause a person who is weak or young in the faith to stumble. Jesus refocuses the disciples’ judging spirit in a different direction, not on “others,” but on themselves. And Jesus makes it very clear, as we saw last week, that He takes very seriously the care of those who are young, or vulnerable. Like last week, Jesus said that when you welcome a little child, you welcome Him, and the One who sent Him. This week, Jesus says that a person that causes a little one to stumble should desire to have a millstone tied around their neck and be thrown into the sea, because what God is going to do to that person is much worse than that. This should get the attention of all of us. Jesus makes it very clear, He is less concerned about who is authorized to minister in His name and more concerned that people who are weak in faith do not lose their faith.
And one way people who are not grounded in their faith can lose their faith is when they see disciples, committed Christians, casting aspersions on other Christians. Divisiveness is a scandal. A new Christian is not going to understand all the nuances of doctrinal differences and reasons why some Christians do things this way and some another way. They aren’t going to know why there are all these different denominations or ways churches are organized. What they see is that Christ changes lives through people. And if they see someone, or some church, where people are coming to Christ, a new Christian is not going to get hung up over that, but are going to naturally give thanks to God. But when they see other Christians run down or dismiss another church or another person just because they aren’t “one of us”, that causes the new Christian to be confused. “How can this person or this church be wrong if people are coming to Christ?” And that confusion may cause someone new in the faith to lose their faith. And when that happens, where will God’s anger be directed?
A healthy community safe for those who are weak or new in faith is a community where there is love and charity for all, and where there is a spirit of support and encouragement for the ministry of other churches. A healthy community is one that is secure in its own identity, heritage, traditions, and understandings of God, and feels no need to run down other churches in order to feel secure about itself. A healthy community is one that appreciates and celebrates the church of Christ that is diverse, and yet united by one Spirit, one Creed, one Eucharist. A healthy community can say about others, “Yes, we are not a part of that church, they are not one of us, we have our ways, they have theirs, but we are all ministering in the name of Christ, and God is working through them like God is working through us. Glory to God!” This is a healthy attitude that Christ desires for His Church.
For those within the church who do not hold this attitude and try to infect a community of faith with a spirit of divisiveness and religious bigotry, Jesus instructs: “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off, for it is better to enter the kingdom maimed than have both hands and go to eternal punishment.” This is a teaching about internal discipline. We are not to judge others who are not a part of our fellowship, but we must hold each other accountable and cut off those who would seek to poison our fellowship, not out of hatred or animosity, but for the sake of the community, and especially for those who are weak in faith.
Consider, you discover that one of your eyes is diseased. To keep that diseased eye in your body would lead you to a painful death. But to have that diseased eye removed would allow you to live well for many more years. Although it is painful and not a pleasing thing to do, because you would want both of your eyes, but for the sake of your whole body, you must have the diseased eye removed. It is of this spirit that we watch over one another in love and, if need be, cut off those among us who are harming the whole body. What a difficult thing. It is an action that requires much discernment and hesitancy. By God’s grace let it never be. But Christ is clear. A healthy community is critical for the protection of those who are weak in faith. Rigorous internal discipline must be there, and we all must make every effort to build one another up.
It is a difficult struggle. God knows this. And it is a battle to maintain a healthy community of faith because the Adversary never tires in disrupting our fellowship. God is gracious, and full of mercy. God can heal every wound if we turn to Him in repentance and humility. May the Holy Spirit continue to work among us and within our hearts, that we might grow in our love for God, and for all whom God loves, that there would be increasingly among us a spirit of unity in the bond of peace, for the sake of the least of these and for the glory of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

So, You Want to be First?

2009-09-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

Reflections on Mark 9:30-37

The vanity of the disciples is on display in this passage. But, you can’t really blame them. They were victims of their own misunderstanding of what it meant for Jesus to be the messiah. The disciples thought that the longed for messiah would be a charismatic leader that would mobilize the masses, renew the strength of Israel, bring back the golden days. And they were blessed to be hand-picked by the messiah, in spite of their humble background, to be on the inside of this great restoration. Surely, visions of grandeur played out in their cumulative fantasies. Filled with such glorious and foolish thoughts, their minds turned naturally toward figuring out who among them ought to be first in command, underneath Jesus of course. Perhaps there had been some internal bickering. Why did Peter, James, and John get singled out as the inner circle? What did it mean that Peter was going to get the keys to the kingdom?
And so, while Jesus was announcing to His disciples a second time that He would be betrayed into human hands, be killed, and on the third day be raised, the disciples were truly flummoxed. What does this mean, that the messiah would be betrayed? Not by any of them! Who would be so foolish? And how does being killed help the cause? And what does Jesus mean that he will come back to life? No one comes back to life. Their conception of Jesus and their place in relationship with Him did not square with what Jesus was telling them. And in that moment of confusion, that seemed to call into question their fantasy of future glory, they chose to be silent and feared to ask Him about it, for fear of what Jesus might say. Instead, they all set what Jesus said in the back of their minds and went on discussing with one another who ought to be second-in-command, first among the disciples. Instead of coming to terms with reality, they decided to stick with their fantasy.
Once again, Jesus demonstrates His great patience and compassion for the disciples He chose. He did not lash out at them for their foolish vanity. Instead, he turned this situation into a teachable moment. He sat down, taking the position of a teacher. And He gathered the disciples around Him, as if they are His students. We are drawn into this, seeing that what Jesus is about to say is very important, not only for the disciples, but for us. Jesus is about to state another core teaching.
The teaching begins with the phrase, “If you want…”. It is similar to last week’s teaching on being a follower of Jesus. Jesus again makes it clear that free will is critical. Nothing is coerced or forced from Jesus. Everything about our relationship with Christ, and with God for that matter, is based on free choice. We can choose to believe or not believe, to follow or not follow, to love or not love, to be obedient or do our own thing.
And so, Jesus teaches, “If you want to be first, you must be last of all and servant of all.” This is a teaching that is aimed squarely at the vanity and envy of the disciples. It is aimed at those who jockey for position and status, who force their need to be heard, to have the final word, to be the decider, or to be the person in charge. Jesus disarms this kind of cunning and politicking. Jesus dismisses such envy, arrogance, false pride and vanity. Instead, Jesus points to the truth of the matter, that those of first importance are those who assume the lowest place and assists everyone who is in need. It is the truth that those who are most highly regarded are those that are too busy serving others that they don’t have time or interest in arguing about who is most important, pushing themselves to the top, or protecting their preeminence. They are too busy serving to worry about who is calling the shots, or who may be questioning their authority, what little they have.

Of course, the One who should have first place in our lives, the One calling the shots, Who has the greatest influence on our life is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ, who did not consider equality with God the Father as something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking on the role of a servant, condescending to suffer death, and now has ascended to the highest heaven, and exalted, so that His name is above all names. Jesus our Lord became a servant of all. The One through whom all life came to be, emptied Himself of life and suffered death so that the permanence of death could be undone by His resurrection, so that through Him all may be saved and have eternal life. In this way, Jesus has been a servant to all humanity, for through Him death has been defeated for all and the gate to eternal life has been opened for all to walk through who choose to. Eternal life is available to all through the servant work of Jesus.
And Jesus serves those who can in no way reciprocate tangibly for the service rendered. Not one of us can offer our life to redeem Christ’s life. We can do no good thing without the grace of God that works in and through us. We cannot bestow any honor or dignity on the Lord of Lords. We can only receive gratefully what Christ has done for our behalf with a thankful heart. We can’t elevate Jesus any higher than He already is, sitting at the right hand of God the Father. His name is already above every other name. We can’t return the favor for what Jesus has done for us. Jesus will not get any extra benefit from us for the service He rendered us.
Nor does Jesus demand repayment from us. All Jesus wants is to be in relationship with us, to live in our hearts, to be in communion with Him, to come and enter into the joy of the Master.
This leads Jesus to place before them a little child. In what way can we, in serving a child, be compensated by that child for our service? Can the child grant us a promotion? Can the child put us in a position of greater authority and responsibility? Can the child pay us money as compensation for whatever we have done for them? What can a child do to reciprocate for what you have done in meeting their needs?
Children cannot pay us back when we help them. They cannot grant us any privilege or benefit. They cannot return the favor. We cannot “network” with a child. And so it is, that by serving a child, by assisting those, offering hospitality to, welcoming and associating with those who cannot compensate us for our efforts, this causes us to follow the example of Christ, who has served us who can never adequately compensate Him for His effort. So it is, that by welcoming a child, we welcome Christ, and the One who sent Him, our Heavenly Father. This is a mystery that we can’t comprehend. But we can comprehend following the example of Christ, who came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for our lives, for us who cannot give our lives as a ransom for His, for Jesus is the giver of life, every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights, all power and authority comes from God, and the name of Jesus is above every name, and at the name of Jesus every knee will bow in heaven and earth.
We are, then, to put to death within us all vanity, envy, and desire for power and influence, to empty ourselves, and to be servants to all. Our goal, our struggle in life, should be to seek the lowest position and not the highest. And when we are placed in positions of honor, or of authority, we must submit to this position with genuine humility and with hesitance, and with a true sense of unworthiness. As an example, we look to Paul, regarded as the greatest of apostles, yet he was one untimely called, for he was not one of the Twelve, he persecuted the church, and he considers himself the chief of sinners.
Maybe you don’t want to be first. Maybe you do not desire a place of honor. You are perfectly content to be unremarkable, unknown, of no consequence, behind the scenes, unacknowledged. If that is true for you, keep it that way and do not change your course. Remain motivated simply to follow the example of Christ, and be rewarded in knowing that when you welcome a child, or one who is similar to a child in lack of power or ability to repay or reward you, then you welcome Christ, and the One who sent Christ for our salvation.

The Most Important Question

2009-09-15T10:39:00.000-07:00

Reflections on Mark 8:27-38

“Who do you say I am?” This question that Jesus asked his disciples, and asks each of us, is the most important question we have to answer, because the answer to that question has profound implications on our life, and on our salvation. It is no trivial matter in coming to terms with the identity of Jesus. What a person thinks about Jesus, believes about Jesus, matters.
Some believe Jesus is a wonder-worker, a healer. They look to Jesus as one whom they hope will save them of their problems or bring healing into their life. They are looking for a blessing. They are looking for prosperity. They are looking for a victorious life. They look to Jesus and believe, as Jesus says, “whatever you ask for in my name, I will do it.” Jesus wants to bless us. Jesus wants to give us the victory. We just have to trust Jesus and everything will be all right, because Jesus works miracles. He will give us an abundant life. He is a wonder-worker.
Some believe Jesus is a prophet. He speaks truth to power. He uncovers the hypocrisy of the religious leaders and lifts up the dignity of the downtrodden and discounted. He comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable. He proclaims a call to true holiness based on the heart and not on external appearance or ethnicity. Jesus echoes the message of all the great prophets, calling the people to repent and return to God with a pure heart.
Some believe Jesus is a great teacher. Through his parables he imparts deep spiritual truths that instruct us on how we should live. His wisdom is profound. In Jesus’ teachings we find truth that is purer than gold, that is timeless, and a sure foundation upon which to build one’s life.
When Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” all the disciples answered. The responses of the people were unbiased. They reflected what they had seen and heard about Jesus. Their opinion of Jesus was not completely correct. The opinions of the masses was only partially true. People in general had impressions of who Jesus was. But they did not have the complete picture.
So it was that Jesus invited his disciples to reflect more deeply by asking them, “But who do you say I am?” That question infers that Jesus is more than what most people believed. And whereas before, all the disciples responded to the question Jesus asked, this time only Peter spoke by saying, “You are the Christ.” God gave Peter that revelation. By God’s grace, Peter was able to confess that Jesus was more than a wonder-worker, more than a prophet, more than a teacher. He is the anointed one, the redeemer, the messiah, the Christ. Making that confession has implications too. If Jesus is the Christ, then the implication would be a desire to follow Him, for the Christ comes to save, to redeem, to lead out of bondage into freedom.
So, if the disciples believe that Jesus is the Christ, then Jesus tells them what the implications are. Jesus says, “If any want to become my followers…” Note here that no one is compelled to follow Jesus. No one is coerced. But each person is free to choose whether or not they will follow Jesus. Along with answering the question, “Who is Jesus,” is the related choice, “Will you follow Him?” If a person, who believes that Jesus is the Christ, desires to follow Him, this is what that person must do.
First, you must deny yourself. The word used for “deny” is the same word used when Peter denied knowing Jesus. When Peter was questioned whether he was one of Jesus’ followers, Peter denied it. He said, “I do not belong with him. I do not know him.” Peter renounced Jesus. He separated himself from any relationship with Jesus. He distanced himself from him. This is what Jesus is demanding of one who would follow him. The follower of Jesus must first renounce himself. You are to distance yourself from yourself. That is, you are to renounce any attachment to your self-interest or selfish desires and ambitions. You are to disregard any notion of what belongs to you, what you deserve, what is in your rights to have. You are to care nothing for your self. How many of us stumble at this beginning point? How many of us are often more concerned about self-preservation, self-interest, for what makes us comfortable? Our self-centeredness is profound and is nourished by a self-centered society. The only way to break out of our selfishness is by the grace of God to assist us. We cannot do it on our own.
Second, you must take up your cross. The cross was the first century version of the lynching tree or the electric chair. It is designed to be a shameful way to die. What does it mean to embrace the first century version of the lynching tree as your lot? When Jesus tells us to take up our cross, it is to be ever mindful of our mortality, and the truth that in the great scheme of things, our deaths will be hardly noticed by anybody. In a way, constantly acknowledging our mortality and our general insignificance in the scope of time helps us put into proper perspective our own self. Why get caught up in your own life, in what you want and desire, when your life is basically meaningless? You can gain the whole world, and you will still die and be forgotten as time rolls on. How much do we resist contemplating our own mortality. How much we refuse to own up to the truth that when we die, most of the world won’t even know we existed, and even those we leave behind, although they will grieve, will pick up and move on in their lives without us. To ponder our mortality is truly depressing. And Jesus says, if you want to follow him, you have to carry your cross, you have to be ever mindful of your own mortality. Only by the grace of God can we get to this second implication of being a follower of Jesus. Disavowing self-interest and acknowledging one’s mortality go hand in hand.
Third, Jesus says that by denying your self, by being mindful of your death that will be unacknowledged by most people, you then follow Jesus. Where is Jesus? Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven. By following Jesus, you eventually end up before the Throne of God. You end up in Paradise. You end up in a place so beautiful, so peaceful, so filled with life, beauty and rapture, that puts all the glories of this world to shame. The greatest riches of this world pale in comparison to the great riches that await those who enter paradise. The end of the journey to where Jesus is, is a glorious end. And as the grace of God helps us deny ourselves, and helps us be mindful of our mortality and general insignificance, so it is by God’s grace that we find ourselves eventually before His Throne. And it is by God’s grace that we will hear those glorious words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master.”
If any of you are like me, I’m still stuck on the first requirement of following Jesus. I believe Jesus is the Christ, as I’m sure you all do as well. But my selfishness is deep. I suppose I am not alone. Let this be continually our prayer, that God would forgive us, that God would help us die to ourselves, fill us with the Holy Spirit and with joy, and grant us grace and mercy. If there’s anything we learn from this passage, it is that we cannot save ourselves. We don’t need a miracle worker. We don’t need a prophet. We don’t need a teacher. We need a savior. And Jesus Christ is our savior. And if we are mindful of Christ’s invitation to follow Him, and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, day by day, year by year, we can hope to slowly deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him into paradise.

Reflection on Mark 7:24-37

2009-09-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

It is one of the more shocking sentences that comes from Jesus’ mouth when he says to the woman, “It is not right to give the children’s bread to the dogs.” It flies in the face of what we think should come out of Jesus’ mouth. We presume Jesus would never say such a thing. But He does, and we are scandalized.
However, this woman has no presumption at all about what Jesus might say. And her humility is truly astounding. How many of us, in her position, would have been discouraged and ashamed and run off after being told this? Or would we perhaps have gotten angry and defensive? She did neither, but willingly admitted that in fact she is a dog, and not a child of God. She makes no claim to have any right to sit at the table. Nor does she presume that this is necessary. She believes that if she could just receive a crumb of blessing, that would be enough.
When Jesus tells her that it is not right to give the bread to the dogs, Jesus is not talking about literal food. The bread he is talking about is spiritual food. It is precious and holy and must be handled with care. She understood that she was not deserving of, nor could lay claim, to this spiritual food, this bread that Jesus provides. She is fully aware of how precious this bread is and would not presume to eat of it or be served it. She does not demand a seat at the table. She knows that if she just had a crumb that fell from the table, that would be enough to heal her daughter. It’s just like the woman with the hemorrhage, that believed, “If I just touch the hem of His garment, I will be healed.” It is like the centurion who sought the healing of his servant, who said to Jesus, “I am not worthy that you enter my house, just say the word and I know he will be healed.” In these three people, they display a deep sense of humility and show no sign of presumption regarding what Jesus might do for them. They are great examples to emulate, that we too might have that same humility and guard ourselves from being presumptuous of God’s favor.
But note this, although the woman was extremely humble and placed no demands on Jesus, she also was bold in her request and self-possessed enough to respond to Jesus’ words with great clarity. She was humble and courageous, not presuming any blessing yet persistent when first denied. We also should develop this capacity in ourselves in our relationship with God, and perhaps with others, to be both humble and courageous, to presume nothing yet be bold and persistent in asking for help from those who we believe can help us or those we love, and to ask for help from God who can do all things.
What is common in both healing stories is that the one who is ill needs someone to pray on their behalf, to go and ask Jesus to heal them. The little child could not speak for herself, nor could the deaf-mute man. They were dependent on the advocacy of others. Not everyone who is ill has the capacity to pray to God to heal them. Perhaps they are too young. Or they have some physical or mental limitation. Or perhaps they are not a believer, or they have lost their faith, or so deep in despair that words escape them and find themselves unable to pray.
We see in these healing stories that the prayers offered on behalf of others are prayers that God can answer. People can be healed for whom we pray. We have heard many testimonies of this truth in our congregation during times of sharing joys and concerns. It is a great privilege and obligation that we have, to pray on behalf of others for their healing.
Praying for the healing of others is an act of love. See how in these healing stories, the mother and the friends did not ask Jesus to strengthen themselves. The mother did not ask Jesus to strengthen her so she could care for her daughter in her illness. The friends did not ask Jesus to strengthen them so that they could care better for their friend. Of course, there is nothing wrong about asking for strength if you are a caregiver. I can imagine the strain placed on those of you who find yourself caring for an aging parent. But the people in these healing stories did not ask that God might strengthen them in their care giving capacity. They prayed that the one they love would be healed, so that they can take care of themselves. The mother wanted her daughter to be healed. The friends wanted their friend to be able to see and speak. They wanted those whom they loved to be made whole. They were not asking for strength and endurance in adversity, they were praying that the situation would change, that things would be made right, that there would be life, deliverance, and wholeness.
The mother and these friends did not want those they loved to remain in a state of illness. Motivated by love, they came to Jesus to seek healing. And they came with no preconceived notion of how Jesus would heal. The woman was grateful for a crumb of blessing. The friends were fine with the unusual way Jesus healed their friend by sticking his fingers in their friend’s ears and on his tongue and spitting on the ground. However, and even if, Jesus could heal the one they loved was up to Jesus. All they wanted was for there to be healing and they were confident that Jesus could heal them, undeserving though they are for such a blessing. In other words, the woman and the friends, out of love, were desperate for healing and were willing to humbly but boldly ask for Jesus to heal if He so chooses.
Praying for the healing of others is a loving act. It is a proactive way that we can respond to the suffering of those who love, to ask God to heal them, to deliver them, to make them whole, to forgive them, and to receive them in His arms when death comes. To pray for others, and not just for ourselves, is an act of love. So let us be steadfast in praying for the healing of those we love, with humility and not with a sense of entitlement to God’s blessing, and with no preconceived ideas of how this healing should take place or even if it will, and be grateful for whatever healing takes place. And let us not take for granted the great privilege we have to pray on behalf of others. With humility, boldness, and persistence, let us continue to pray on behalf of the world and all the people.

Choose Your Battles

2009-08-31T07:25:00.000-07:00

Reflection on Mark 7:1-23

The central teaching of this passage is that the keeping of traditions and customs, although important, are not as important as following the commands of God. Pharisees were watching Jesus and his disciples with a critical spirit. They noticed that some of Jesus’ disciples were eating without washing their hands, which was against the tradition of the elders, and bad hygiene. So, they called Jesus on it. But Jesus knew their hearts, and rather than defending his disciples, he zeroed in on the hearts of the Pharisees, the heart of the matter, and challenged them in their spiritual pride.
In challenging the Pharisees, he is not saying the traditions are meaningless and should be discarded. He did not say to the Pharisees, “So what if they didn’t wash their hands? They don’t have to. That’s a meaningless tradition.” To be fair, the disciples were in the wrong. They should have washed their hands before they ate. They were probably hungry and when the food came around they started eating. Washing their hands just slipped their minds. Obviously, washing their hands would have been the right and good thing to do. Traditions and customs are often based on good common sense and good order. Traditions and customs are important for living a good and ordered life. It’s just that the minor infraction of the disciples was not so severe that they deserved judgment by the Pharisees. They were in no position to say anything over a relatively small, quibbling matter.
The fault of the Pharisees was their hypocrisy. Their hypocrisy was that they were big on the small things, and less concerned about the more important things, like obedience to the commands of God. To be fair with the Pharisees, they served a very important role for the Jews in Jesus’ day, having inherited a tradition and set of customs that were thousands of years old. Traditions and customs become antiquated and somewhat irrelevant if not taught and modified in changing times. The Pharisees helped keep traditions and customs relevant and reasonable. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, it is helpful. It was certainly helpful for the Jews so that they could maintain their traditions, their cultural identity, their way of life, even as times changed.
The problem was that traditions and customs became the main thing rather than faithfulness to the commandments of God. This was the ongoing battle Jesus fought with the Pharisees all the way through the gospel. The Pharisees erred on the side of strict obedience to the tradition, even if that meant not adhering to the commands of God. No healing on the Sabbath. No touching of a leper or a dead body. No eating with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus broke all these traditions so that he could heal the sick, raise the dead, and redeem sinners. The Pharisees had the traditions and customs down. Yet their hearts were far from God. As Jesus said, he linked the prophecy of Isaiah with these Pharisees, “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” On the outside, the Pharisees looked good, pure, holy. Yet, on the inside, their hearts were unclean. A whitewashed tomb is still a tomb. It may look good on the outside, but inside it is full of stinking, decaying flesh.
To criticize or judge people concerning how well they follow customs or traditions reveals an unclean heart. The uncleanness of the hearts of the Pharisees was revealed by the fact that they were criticizing the disciples over their failure to adhere to tradition or custom. How does picking on the disciples over a relatively small thing like hand washing further love? How does pointing this out assist the disciples in being healed of their sin sick soul? If a person is fighting a war, is it that important whether they brushed their teeth that morning? Yes, the soldier should have brushed his teeth. But in the context of fighting a war, that is a bit obnoxious to make a big deal over. Perhaps one who makes a big deal over small things reveals a person that is trying to avoid the more important issues, or trying to avoid dealing with their own inner sickness.
This is the bigger issue, a clean heart. It is from the heart that we can obey the commands of God or go a different way. A heart that is being cleansed from the stain of sin is critical to live a life that is pleasing to God. God knows the intentions of our hearts, and it is those intentions that we will be judged on. Good intentions come from a good heart. Bad intentions come from a diseased heart. We are all in the process of having our hearts healed from the disease of sin. Thus, our intentions are a mixture of good and bad. Our hearts are divided. Our goal is to be healed. Our goal is to have an undivided heart. Our goal is to always have good intentions. Jesus Christ our savior is our healer, and by the Holy Spirit over time, and with sincere repentance and surrendering our wills to God’s will, we will be healed.
Being clean on the outside is important, but such outward purity proceeds naturally from a purified heart. Our bodies are made in the image of God. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. We have been fearfully and wonderfully made. When God made us, He declared us to be very good. For that reason we should be mindful of how we treat our bodies. We need to be good stewards of our bodies, to eat right, get the right amount of sleep, exercise, good hygiene, and all of that. We should care about our appearance. But this concern ought to come naturally from a heart that is being cleansed. It is not out of vanity that we take care of our bodies. It is out of obedience to God’s command and an understanding of how precious we are to God, not only mind, soul, but also body. We are taught to love our neighbors as ourselves. Part of loving ourselves is to care for ourselves. We love ourselves because God loves us and commands us to love ourselves. So, loving ourselves because God loves us, we take care of our bodies, our outward appearance.
To be externally pure while retaining an impure heart is a grave sin. This is a common source of delusion. The delusion is to be concerned about how one looks, and how others see them. They are concerned about outer appearance. They look good. But what’s going on inside them? Is there vanity? Is there pride? Is there anger, bitterness, resentment? Is there lust for power, for acceptance, for material things? Is there a judging spirit? Some may think that if they look the part of a good Christian, that is sufficient. But how sincere are they? What happens when the storms of life come? Is there any substance behind the person who looks good? The point that Jesus is making is that outward purity and adherence to customs and traditions flow from a heart that is being cleansed. Outward purity without a corresponding purifying of heart is hypocrisy.
Again, our greatest responsibility is to fulfill the commandments of God, summed up by loving God, neighbor, and self, which is fundamentally a matter of the heart. External traditions and customs assist in the fulfilling of God’s commandments, not ends in themselves. The way we do things as Christians, the traditions and customs that have been handed down to us, are ways that have emerged from a community of people who are seeking to live the Christian life. They are practical ways of ordering life that assists us in living the Christian life. Traditions and customs are sort of like the tableau, the “rules of the road” so to speak. By tending to traditions and customs, we are helped in living a Christian life. It’s just important to be mindful, however, that traditions and customs are not ends in themselves. They are resources to assist us in obeying God’s commandments to love, to love God, to love our neighbors, to love our families, to love our enemies, to love our friends, to love the stranger, to love ourselves.

Watch Your Mouth

2009-08-12T07:53:00.000-07:00

Reflections on Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is a letter that focuses on the need for unity in the church. Over and over, Paul drives home the message that the church must be united as one body in Christ. Each person is responsible for building up and maintaining the unity of the church. The disunity that is present in the church is a scandal. Divisiveness among Christians sends a confusing message to those who are outside of the church. It’s hard for us to talk about peace and love when we fail to exhibit it. We have the resources to be united, with one Lord, one Spirit, one baptism, one faith. We have Holy Communion as a living symbol of our unity in Christ. Yet, our unity is not complete. We are divided. We must ask God to help us be united in one heart and mind.
The passage read for us this morning gives us some instruction on what we can do to build and maintain unity in the church. They are clear and practical. They are simple to understand, but, of course, hard to do. We have to ask God to help us do these things and keep at it without growing weary of doing good. It’s a life time of effort. But if we keep at it, slowly but surely we can do what we are taught to do in this passage. After all, why would we be instructed in these things if it was impossible for us to achieve? So, let’s look at what this scripture instructs us to do.
It starts with the mouth. You’ve heard the old saying, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” There’s more to it than that, but that’s not a bad way of summarizing what we are being taught about what we say. Listen to what is said about our speech: “Speak the truth to your neighbor; let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.” It has been said that God has given us mouths for two purposes: to give praise to God and to build up others. God forgive us, when we think about what we say that does not fit into those two categories. The Bible has a lot to say about the mouth, and how careful we have to be about what we say. “There is he who is silent, and who is found wise; and there is he that is hated for much speech…” It is a good discipline for all of us to err on the side of saying nothing. The more talkative we are, the more likely we are to say something that is not worthy of being said. John Chrysostom, nick named the “Golden Mouth,” suggested that the seal of the Holy Spirit that we have received we should consider placed over our mouths.
So, to build up and maintain unity as a church, it starts with the mouth. Don’t lie to one another. Do not flatter someone and then turn around and criticize behind their back. Instead, speak truth to one another. Be forthright in your speech. Say what you mean. But say it with humility, appreciating the fact that when you speak to or about someone else, you are speaking about someone who has been sealed with the Holy Spirit and is claimed as one of God’s flock, as you are. It is God’s possession that you are speaking of. And when speaking to another, speak in a way that lifts up and encourages, and does not beat down. We need to encourage one another, not tear down one another. We want to talk to each other in a way that brings us together rather than pushes us apart.
Think about a building made out of brick. As long as the bricks are bound closely together and there are no gaps, then the building is firm and strong. But if gaps start to appear and are left that way, the building becomes weak and, eventually, could collapse. Our words to each other can be the mortar that holds us together and keeps our community strong. Or, our words can push people away and break the bond between us, which threatens the stability of our community. So, we need to be careful, that we speak truthfully to each other and speak in ways that builds up rather than tears down.
This is one reason why our anger toward each other must be dealt with promptly. How often have we said things out of anger that we wish we could take back. Anger is a flare up of passion that needs to be put out as soon as it is kindled. If left to smolder, it will eventually burst into flame and cause great harm to everyone. If we can’t make things right with the person that has angered us, we have to at least give our anger over to God and ask for Him to heal us and calm us down. Again, the quicker we get rid of our anger the better. Depending on when it happens, you can basically stay angry no longer than about eight hours. The sooner you get over your anger, the better for everyone. In fact, this is the next thing that we learn in this passage; the importance of getting rid of the weeds.
Before you plant a garden, you have to pull out the weeds and thorns. This is true for our souls as well. Over time, weeds start popping up within us; weeds like anger, bitterness, wrath, wrangling, slander, malice. We need to pay attention to ourselves, constantly be assessing ourselves and asking God to root out from us all these weeds. It is critical for us to be cleansed from these weeds that crop up within us so that we can be more effective in building up one another. Having these weeds cleared out goes a long way toward improving what comes out of our mouths. It is from the heart that the mouth speaks. With a more pure heart, we have more pure speech. But if our heart becomes filled with the weeds of bitterness, resentment, and anger, it will show by what comes out of our mouths. So, we need to pay attention to ourselves and get rid of the weeds.
But it is not enough to pull out the weeds if good seeds are not planted. What happens after you have pulled up all those weeds and then leave the flowerbed alone? Weeds naturally start growing again if left untended, and eventually you have a bed full of weeds again. So, it is not enough to get rid of the weeds that pop up in our hearts. We have to also plant some good seeds in our hearts. These are the good seeds of kindness toward one another, being tenderhearted, and forgiving each other as God in Christ has forgiven each of us. This is what is so great about this passage. Not only are we instructed what we are not to do, we are also told what we need to do.
John Wesley, when he was establishing his discipleship groups, gave them three simple rules. The first two are: do no harm and do good. It’s not enough just to do no harm. We also have to do good. What good is it for a gardener to be clean cut, not smoking or drinking, being morally upright; and who sits around all day without pulling weeds, watering the flowers and mowing the grass? Refraining from smoking and cussing is nice as far as it goes. But the gardener also is supposed to do something. Just so, it isn’t enough for us to be well behaved, look nice, and then sit around and watch while others are doing good works. Paul uses the example of a thief. The thief must stop stealing. And the thief needs to work honestly with their hands so that they can have something to share with the needy. So, it’s not enough to stop stealing. He also has to contribute to the common good through labor. We all have things that need to be done. To be kind to one another is to do good things for each other. To be tenderhearted is to help each other and be thoughtful when someone is going through a hard time. Being good little boys and girls isn’t sufficient. We all have to participate in the life of the church.
By refraining from doing harm and by doing good, we see the following results. First, unity is maintained. We are each doing our part to have strong, healthy relationships with each other. The stronger those relationships, the stronger will our community be, and the stronger will be the body of Christ, of which we are a part.
Second, Satan gets squeezed out. Where God desires unity and peace, Satan desires division and discord. So, Paul instructs us to not make room for the devil. The closer, the tighter knit, we are to each other, the better. If our bond is solid, there are no gaps for Satan to work his way into, like water that can leak into the cracks of the foundation of a house. By sealing our leaks through strengthening our relationships with each other, we leave no room for the devil to work his mischief in pushing us apart from each other.
Third, by refraining from doing harm and by doing good, we imitate God. God has no bitterness, nor does God slander. God can be angry, and can be filled with wrath. But as the psalm says, God’s wrath is for a day, His loving-kindness is for eternity. Rather, God is kind and tender-hearted, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, allowing the sun to shine on the good and the wicked. His mercy and grace is beyond understanding. When put to death on the cross, Christ did not call down wrath on those who crucified Him, but He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” So, when we are kind, tender-hearted, and forgive those who offend and hurt us unjustly, we imitate God. And isn’t that what we want to do? Children that are beloved by their parents live after their example. If we would dare to consider ourselves to be the beloved children of God, then we would seek to live our lives after the example of our Heavenly Father.
All I have said can be summarized by three words found in Eph. 5:2; “Live in love.” This is our fragrant offering, our sacrifice to God; to love God and to love who God loves. I was visiting with a young man who is exploring whether God may be calling him into ordained ministry or some other ministry of the church. He said he heard this sermon recently. The teacher was talking about how Israel used to offer animal sacrifices, and they would be referred to as a sweet smelling sacrifice. We, too, are called to offer our lives as a sacrifice to God. And so, the preacher asked, “what does your life smell like?” Is there the stench of bitterness, wrangling, and slander? Is there a hint of the sweet smell of kindness and forgiveness? Is there a lack of smell, like that of an empty room that has been sterilized? Does your life have a rich, pungent odor of active engagement, of inner growth and vitality? When Jesus gave himself up for us on the cross, it was a fragrant offering and sacrifice for God. What is the smell of our offering to God? What does this church smell like?

Rooted and Grounded in Love

2009-07-27T07:49:00.001-07:00

Reflections on Ephesians 3:14-21

I want to share with you a story about two old men who had dedicated themselves to being serious Christians for many, many years. One is named Epiphanius and the other Hilarion. I came across this story in a wonderful book by a professor of mine, Roberta Bondi, who wrote To Love as God Loves.
One day Saint Epiphanius sent someone to Abba Hilarion with this request, “Come, let us see one another before we depart from the body.” When he came, they rejoiced in each other’s company. During their meal, they were brought a fowl; Epiphanius took it and gave it to Hilarion. Then the old man said to him, “Forgive me, but since I received the habit I have not eaten meat that has been killed.” Then the bishop answered, “Since I took the habit, I have not allowed anyone to go to sleep with a complaint against me and I have not gone to rest with a complaint against anyone.” The old man replied, “Forgive me, your way of life is better than mine.”
Which was a better way of life, refusing to eat meat, or forgiving others and making things right with those you have offended? Dr. Bondi comments, “No amount of pious behavior or Christian discipline can replace love.”
Love is essential in our life. It is human nature to love. To love badly, as many of us do most of the time, is not natural. It’s a sign of how far we have fallen from our original design, as those made in the image of God, who is Love. Remember what Saint Paul wrote, “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” To love is what our life in Christ is all about.
It is only for love that we can stay strong in our faith and resist the temptation to give up on being a Christian. It is only for love that we can sacrifice our own wants for the sake of those who we love. It is only for love that we keep doing what is right when all we seem to get for our effort is frustration and rejection. I remember hearing a musician who has been very successful say that when he is talking to those just starting in the music industry, he tells them that if they don’t love the pursuit of fame, then they won’t make it. Fame, for him, was frosting on the cake. His love, his passion, was making music and sharing it with others. Going platinum and selling out arenas was more than he ever dreamed of, and he knows that kind of fame is fleeting. Our love is in the pursuit of being like Christ. Whether or not we become the next Billy Graham or Mother Teresa is peripheral to the pursuit of being like Christ. That’s all we should really be passionate about, loving like Christ loved.
Paul prayed that the Ephesians be rooted and grounded in love. To be rooted in love means receiving nourishment for your soul. The root is what feeds the plant. To be rooted in love is to be nourished by love, to gain and maintain a soft, compassionate and forgiving heart. Without being nourished by love, our hearts will ossify, will become jaded hearts of stone. Without being rooted in love, we die.
To be grounded in love is to be able to hold on in times of chaos and uncertainty. When you are grounded in love and you are in a situation where you don’t know what to do, then love. When everything else has failed, love. When faced with a confusing situation, or you feel trapped by circumstance and your back is against the wall, love. When problems mount and you don’t know which way to turn, love. For those grounded in love, the default action in every situation is to love, to do what love requires in the moment.
So, the goal of the Christian life is to increase our understanding of the breadth, length, height and depth of God’s love. The breadth of God’s love extends to all people. The length of God’s love extends across all time. The height of God’s love fills the heavens and lifts us to the heights of joy. And the depth of God’s love stretches down to those who are at their lowest point, and even into hell. Yes, God’s love is even in hell. God’s love remains for the unrepentant sinner. For those who long to be in the love of God will be in bliss, while those who have rejected the love of God will find that even after death it cannot be escaped, for neither life or death can separate us from the love of God. And so while those who sought to love in this life enjoy the fruits of their labor in paradise, spending eternity with those they love and with the God of love, those who rejected love in this life will be in torment, for from a distance they will eternally gaze on those who loved them, and God who loved them, and will realize what they lost. This is what Saint Isaac the Syrian said about God’s love many centuries ago:
“I also maintain that those who are punished in Hell are scourged by the scourge of love; what is so bitter and vehement as the torment of love? It would be improper for a person to think that sinners in Hell are deprived of the love of God. The power of love works in two ways. It torments sinners and thus, I say, this is the torment of Hell; bitter regret.”
It is hard for us to comprehend that God’s love even extends into the pits of hell. It is hard for us to contemplate that while we were yet sinners, enemies of God, unaware of God, that God loved us even then. It is hard for us to understand that God allows the rain to fall on the good and the bad, that God allows those He loves to be tested while those who turn their back on God, He seems to favor. It is hard for us to understand how it is that God gives blessings to those who surrender to His love at the moment of their death as well as for those who have served God for many years. We don’t understand how it is that God throws a big party and pulls out all the stops for a repentant son while those who are always faithful receive no special recognition. But the greater our comprehension of the mystery of God’s love, the greater capacity we have to love God, one another, and ourselves. As we find in Scripture, “We love because God first loved us.” As we look at the heroes of the faith, those we look up to as role models for how to live the Christian life, we find that their deepest desire was to love God and love people. The Christians we most look up to are those who have an amazing capacity to love; to love God, to love others, to love life. If we dare to try to live up to the examples before us of the true Christian, the place to begin is to contemplate the breadth, length, height, and depth of God’s love for us and for all creation.
The Holy Spirit helps us. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to the Church in order to guide us into all truth. So it is the Holy Spirit that assists us in comprehending what is incomprehensible. It is the Holy Spirit within us that enlarges our heart so that we can be filled with the fullness of God, that we might contain the uncontainable, just like Mary who carried in her womb the one who contains within himself the universe. Our bodies wear out. But our minds and our hearts can continue to expand in the capacity to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul.
God’s power is at work within us. And with this power within us, God can accomplish exceedingly, abundantly more than we could ask or imagine. We may not think we can love our enemies. We may not ask for God to let us love those who spitefully use us or betray us. We may not want to be delivered from the grudges we carry. We may look at people like Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela and think, “I could never love like that.” Don’t be so sure, for the power of God at work within us is able to accomplish exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ask or even imagine. To God be the glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

A Big House

2009-07-19T06:46:00.000-07:00

Reflections on Ephesians 2:11-22

“All walls serve a purpose, but not all walls serve the purposes of God.” This is a quote from Kevin Baker, reflecting on the passage before us this morning. Walls are necessary at times. We need walls to hold up a ceiling. We need walls to mark off property. We need walls to protect us from wind and to provide security. Walls provide boundary markers. Boundaries are needed in order to define identity, to establish limits. Everything has limits. Our bodies have limits. Land and water establish limits. Buildings have limits. Cities have limits. Communities have limits. The Church has limits.
But not all limits, not all walls, serve the purposes of God. Denying participation in the life of the church based on race, on ethnicity, on gender, on sexual orientation, on age, on social class, none of these walls serve God’s purposes. Walls that divide people based on distinctions that people have no choice about are contrary to God’s purposes. We must be aware of and dismantle walls that divide people based on that which they have no control over. No one has control over their race or ethnicity, their gender or sexual orientation. Age and social class have no bearing on our participation in the life of the Church either. These barriers need to be removed because they do not serve the purposes of God.
God’s purpose is that all things be brought together in Christ, including all people. It is God’s purpose that all people be saved, be incorporated into the Body of Christ, which is the Church. The Church is truly a universal fellowship, where all nations and peoples of every persuasion are brought together through a common faith in Christ.
What are the implications of this unity? One is that our differences as individuals and all the other external and internal differences we have by birth are secondary to what we have in common. We have all been reconciled to God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are all loved by God. The door to God has been opened to all of us and the Holy Spirit is trying to lead all of us through that door. When I say “we”, I am talking about all people everywhere, not just us gathered here this morning. The work of Jesus Christ was not just for some of us, but for all people for all time. There is a fundamental unity that already exists and can be embraced.
But there are limits. Jesus saves all people, but obviously not everyone believes that or accepts it. The door is open to all, but not everyone walks in. Many have not heard of the door. Others refuse to believe there is a door or refuse to go in. Some have gone through the door, but later chose to walk back out. Our claim that Christ died for all and saves all comes across to some as profoundly arrogant and presumptuous. The good news we share, for some, is a great offense.
Then there are the internal divisions that we must deal with. From the beginning, there were competing groups and divisiveness in the one body of Christ. Paul complained about this when he said, “Some say they follow Paul, others Apollos, others Christ.” We continue the reality of disagreement and division, which sometimes can be very painful. A recent example is what has taken place in the Episcopal church. At their general convention, by a large majority, the church declared that God may call gay and lesbian people who are in a life-long monogamous relationship to every ministry in the church, including ordination and even the ministry of bishop. Further, they are researching to produce prayers that can be used to bless same-sex partnerships. They also affirm their desire to remain in connection with the rest of the Anglican communion. However, these decisions strain deeply this connection. For some, these pronouncements are received with great joy and affirmation. For others, profound sadness and distress.
What are we to do?
First, we must be committed to building relationships with all people, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. Unity, inside and outside the church, is not achieved by decree, but in one-on-one relationships. Again and again, we are taught by the church to love one another, forgive one another, serve one another. As Christians, we are to be deeply relational. We believe God is relational in His essence as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three Persons in one perfect unity. Our unity is manifested in our relationships, one-on-one, person to person, church to church, community to community.
So, while not denying our differences and disagreements, we must also affirm our oneness in Christ, with humility and gentleness, seeking peace. Looking again at what is happening in the Episcopal church, there is presently profound differences. Yet, the claim is made that there is still unity around their Book of Common Prayer, as well as faithfulness to the Apostolic faith, although both of these claims are challenged by those within and outside of the Episcopal church. Episcopalians still confess the historic creeds of the church. It is certainly my hope that in the years ahead a spirit of humility and gentleness will prevail among Episcopalians as the impact of these decisions play out. We can pray that peace will be sought, along with an appeal for God’s mercy. The struggles, pain, and divisiveness that the Episcopalians and the Anglican communion are experiencing are not theirs alone. Divisiveness, schism, heresy, misunderstanding, is present throughout the Church and has always been so. We all must stay true to our beliefs and convictions, to what by God’s grace has been revealed to us, while at the same time embrace a spirit of humility, relying not on our rightness, but on God’s mercy.
Finally, in spite of the potential to offend, we must live Christologically and keep our arms open, awaiting for the embrace of those who have not yet come to belief. As Christians, we make the claim that salvation is in Christ alone, that no one comes to the Father except through the Son. This is an exclusivistic claim. Not all paths lead to God. Not all religions are the same. We believe God has acted in a particular way. For those who do not accept this, our claims will be perceived as arrogant and presumptuous. Still, as Christians, we believe that Christ truly died and rose from the dead so that all humanity is delivered from death. God sent His Son so that the world, the entire cosmos, would be saved, healed, made whole. So, we relate to all people as those for whom Christ redeems, whether they believe it or not. We are bricks in a wall, a wall constructed by God, with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone. We are part of a building, a holy temple where the fullness of Christ dwells. And the door, which is Christ, is wide open for all who would come. Some walls need to be torn down. But some walls remain, walls so strong that not even the powers of hell can knock them down. These are the walls God has built. As Christians, we are bricks in these walls. And God has not finished building these walls. The temple God is building is still expanding. Let each of us be content to be bricks in these walls, and hold fast to each other, and to the Bricklayer who has incorporated us into His building project, the Big House that will eventually contain the universe.

On Mark 6:1-13

2009-07-13T08:09:00.001-07:00

The reflections below are very specific to issues that the congregation I am pastoring face. They may or may not relate to your situation. However, there may be something helpful for you. If anything else, these reflections give you an insight into what the congregation I pastor faces these days.

As we celebrate our independence as a nation this weekend, we celebrate while in the midst of hard economic times. Some communities went without a big fireworks display. Ours in Mt. Healthy seemed shorter this year. The national unemployment rate is now at 9.5%, the highest level in 26 years. Our economy is still dragging. Many states have huge budget deficits they have to contend with, forced to pass balanced budgets. California is issuing IOUs. Our state’s budget is forcing our government to have to make some painful cuts and concessions. Townships and cities are also having to tighten their belts. Our congregation faces similar challenges because we don’t receive enough in offerings to cover all our expenses and our endowment funds are dwindling. We have begun to make adjustments to our spending and will continue to do so while we look for more creative ways to increase our income. The Kroger card program has been a real shot in the arm for us and I encourage all of you to be involved in this simple fundraiser. The extra income is a help, but we still have some belt tightening to do around here so that as a congregation we are more sustainable financially.
So these are anxious times. Downsizing and sacrificing are difficult. Not knowing how much to cut because of the uncertainty of how much income you might receive makes decision making a sort of gamble on the future. Then the question arises as to whether there is even enough for basic expenses. Financial uncertainty definitely creates anxiety. But, these times are also an opportunity to focus on the basics, to get lean, to commit to being servants rather than being served, and to be creative about accomplishing our purpose in ways that require fewer material resources.
Our purpose as a congregation is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Our challenge is to accomplish this purpose with fewer material resources and money. The Scriptures give us examples of what is possible with little resources.
The disciples traveled light. When Jesus left his hometown, where he was not able to do much because he was too familiar with the people, he went to the nearby villages to preach and heal. In order to cover more territory, he sent out his disciples two by two. He commanded them to travel light. No money. No bag. One cloak. One staff. As far as material possessions went, the disciples had very little. But Jesus did give them something that is more priceless than anything else, a great treasure that cannot be stolen, rust or fade. Jesus gave His disciples the Holy Spirit.
And the disciples did awesome ministry. They fulfilled their purpose of proclaiming the message that the kingdom of God was near and that people need to repent. They healed people and cast out demons. They bore much fruit, healing people and transforming lives. And it cost virtually nothing. Because what made things happen was the power and authority they had been granted and their faithfulness to the command they had been given.
What lesson is there for us as we struggle financially as a congregation?
We do not have a lot of material wealth in comparison to other churches or in comparison to what we used to have. As a congregation we are smaller and poorer; although it must be said that, in comparison to other congregations, we have a lot of people and resources. Size is relative. We do have wealth, just not as much as we used to and we will likely shed even more resources in the next few years. However, we do have something that cannot be taken away or lost or liquidated. It is a great treasure, a pearl of great price, the very life of this congregation. We do have the Holy Spirit and the authority to speak and act in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that counts for something. The power and authority of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon us as a congregation is the greatest treasure we possess. It is the Holy Spirit that is the real engine that drives this congregation. With the Holy Spirit we can speak, we can touch, we can pray for healing, we can come alongside those that are hurting and are possessed by demons. We can become faithful disciples of Jesus Christ and participate in the transformation of the world without a lot of material resources. Lack of resources does not equal lack of effectiveness. It means that we live out our discipleship as Christians in ways that don’t require money. Talking to people doesn’t take money. Coming alongside people who are lonely or struggling doesn’t take money. Praying for people and for our community doesn’t take money. Treating every person with the dignity they possess as ones created in the image and likeness of God, that doesn’t take any money but has the power to transform lives and transform the world. Really, it is amazing to realize what a difference it can make in our world if we treated every person with the dignity each is due as ones made in the image of God.
There is another part of the scripture reading for today that we need to take note of. Notice how Jesus’ ministry effectiveness was limited when he was among familiar surroundings and around people who knew Jesus when he was a kid. It really is amazing that in this community, where Jesus was too familiar, too well known, that He couldn’t be heard and could heal only a few. Jesus displayed great power outside the familiar surroundings of home. But here, it just wasn’t happening. Jesus himself was amazed. It seems the people, who knew Jesus when he was kid, knew where he came from as a carpenter, they just couldn’t get past that to allow for the possibility that Jesus was anything other than Joseph the carpenter’s son. Their familiarity with Jesus had locked him in a box which limited his effectiveness among them. He was too well known.
Perhaps here is a lesson for us. Perhaps we would be more fruitful, more powerful, in our ministry as disciples of Jesus if we were engaging with strangers rather than always relating to family and friends. Perhaps we would discover that if we take the care, concern, and support that we give to our family and friends and make it available to strangers, that we might participate in the transformation of lives. It is possible that there are people outside of our family and social networks who don’t have any support, who are sort of out there on their own. They don’t have anybody who really cares about them. They are lost, like the sheep who strayed from the 99. Could it be that if each of us were more willing to build relationships with strangers rather than spending our time only with family and friends, that we might make a greater difference in the world? We may be surprised at how influential we can be in the lives of others who aren’t familiar with us. Among family and friends we are known as a buddy, a brother, or so and so’s daughter. To a stranger whom we have reached out to and blessed, we become known as a life saver, a saint, a woman of God, a hero.
The scripture also teaches this morning that when we get out there among strange, unfamiliar surroundings, that we should go two by two. Doing ministry or helping people out all by yourself has some unnecessary risk attached to it. You might get caught in a compromising situation. You could more easily be taken advantage of. Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs for a couple reasons. One was so that they could encourage each other and remind each other why they were doing this. The other was so that they could hold each other accountable for what they say and do. Besides, it is both safer and more fun exploring new and strange territory with a friend.
So, let’s pull this all together. As a Christian, having been baptized, you have received the Holy Spirit. You have the authority to participate in the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. With the Holy Spirit, you have the power to speak and to act in order to fulfill the mission. You are sent out to the surrounding villages outside of your familiar home to share the good news and to heal the sick. Your faithfulness is the question that you must answer. The question is not about money. It is not about your skill set or physical health. The question is not about your intellectual ability. The question to be answered is how faithful are you able to be. With the Holy Spirit, the grace of God, and with your brothers and sisters in Christ, you have what you need. The mission, to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world is clear. How will you respond? This is the question that you must answer and will be judged by. Will you be faithful?

The Big Picture

2009-07-13T07:04:00.001-07:00

Reflections on Ephesians 1:3-14

There once was a community of fish that lived in a small puddle. The puddle fish spent their days swimming around in circles, resting at night. One day, a strange thing happened. A fish they never saw before splashed into their puddle. The fish had many colors, like a rainbow. The rainbow fish told the puddle fish a strange story about there being more out there than the puddle they were swimming in. There was a river that flowed right by the puddle. And this river hooked up to another, wider river. And if a fish swam down that mighty river, he would end up in a vast ocean. The puddle fish could not believe what the rainbow fish was telling them. The rainbow fish said, “All you have to do is jump out of this puddle and you’ll land in the river.” But the puddle fish were not willing to do that. They knew what they knew. They only knew of the puddle and had never seen or heard of what the rainbow fish was saying. It was too strange. So they all ignored the rainbow fish and continued to swim around in their puddle. Sadly, the rainbow fish sighed and then jumped out of the puddle back into the river and swam off. None of the puddle fish saw him jump out and before the day was done, they had forgotten all about that strange fish and his strange story about rivers and oceans.
What we believe determines our reality. Our reality shapes our identity and our behavior. If we will not accept a reality that is told us, then we can’t live in the reality that we rejected. The puddle fish would not leave their puddle because they rejected the reality being described by the rainbow fish. So they lived happily ever after in their puddle, while the rainbow fish swam to the ocean. The reality of the puddle fish and of the rainbow fish informed their identity and behavior.
The author of Ephesians, either written by Paul or by a student of Paul, is describing a reality. And the reality he describes, the big picture, is one that, if believed, impacts one’s identity and behavior. What is the reality that the author of Ephesians describes?
He says that there is a God who has given us a destiny. It’s not fate, for we don’t have to follow our destiny. But there is a destiny set for us by God. The creator of all that is has a destiny determined for us. And what is our destiny?
It is our destiny to be holy and blameless before Christ in love. To be holy means to be set apart for a special purpose. So, our destiny is to be set apart for a special purpose. We are also destined to be blameless before Christ. This is our destiny, not our present reality. None of us are blameless. All of us are guilty. We all have issues. Yet, our destiny remains…one day we will stand blameless before Christ by the grace of God, who wills this to be so. God loves us so much that He is willing to forgive us of everything. It is grace beyond comprehension. And the longer we live, the greater God’s grace becomes for us.
It is our destiny to be adopted by God as His sons and daughters. We are not merely part of God’s creation. We are His children. This makes us co-heirs with His Son Jesus Christ. This makes Jesus our elder brother. We are chosen to be God’s children, with all the benefits and responsibility that come with it. Jesus Christ is the king, Mary is the Queen mother, and we are princes and princesses. This is our destiny.
We are presently redeemed from bondage to sin and corruption. Our redemption was achieved when Jesus defeated the power of death. And since Jesus was a man, He defeated death for us. We are being forgiven of sin, of our weakness and shortcomings. We are being made right with God through Christ. This is the grace of God, being lavished on us. God is favoring us. God is not leaving us in our mess. God is patiently pointing us in the right direction and encouraging us to get better and be better, to achieve the destiny that God has determined for us.
God has revealed to us a secret. It is the secret of His will. It is something that the people of the Old Testament did not know. The prophets had some hints. They had some insights or feelings of what God was up to. But now, God’s hidden purpose is revealed to us. God’s secret is out.
This is not a secret that we keep to ourselves. We are not to hold tightly to this secret as special knowledge that only certain people are entitled to receive after going through tests to prove their worth. It is an open secret. We share the secret of God’s will openly for all to hear, and for those with ears to hear, they will receive it.
God’s secret, the mystery of God’s will that is revealed to us, is the mystery of salvation. God’s hidden purpose now revealed is that all things visible and invisible will be gathered up in Christ Jesus. Where there is now brokenness, division, and discord; chaos and confusion; all will be made right and put back together. The shattered glass of creation will be pieced back together again. Jesus Christ is the frame that will hold everything together.
Christ has already initiated this gathering up in Himself, for He is the god-man, who has the visible and invisible bound up in Himself. He is visible and invisible. He is comprehensible and incomprehensible. He is timeless and exists in time and space. He is fully human and fully divine. He has always existed and was born of a woman. In Christ, the creator and the created are in perfect harmony. The division between God and creation is healed in Christ, and by God’s grace, we will be healed also, as the division between us and God will eventually dissolve.
The Church is an example, a foretaste or foreshadowing of what will come to pass. The Church is comprised of all nations, all peoples, across centuries. It is not only a global reality, it includes those who have faithfully lived and died. The Church is a body, a physical, visible entity with Jesus Christ as the head.
The Church is a heavenly reality, not a man-made institution. The Church was founded by God, established by Christ, held together by the Holy Spirit, of which the powers of hell can not destroy. People may be a part of the church or outside of the church, but the church will always be because it is the vehicle by which God’s plan of bringing everything into unity in Christ is unfolding. And we are participants of the unfolding of God’s will. When we participate in the life of the Church, we live out our identity as members of the body of Christ. When we see others as brothers and sisters in Christ, or potential brothers and sisters in Christ, then we are participating in the unfolding of God’s will. Holy Communion is a symbol of that unity that we embody as members of the Church, the living, visible body of Christ on earth. In short, we are at the center of God’s plan for the salvation of the world, embodying a global community of unity and love for each other.
We have been marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit. When we said, “Lord, I believe,” the Holy Spirit came upon us. This seal of the Holy Spirit, it is like an invisible mark that God can see. We may all look like puddle fish, but God sees rainbow fish in us. This Holy Spirit that is in us is working on us from the inside, slowly but surely transforming us from puddle fish into rainbow fish.

How does this view of reality impact us? One way is that embracing such a reality compels us to worship and give praise to God for His grace. We didn’t do anything. God made this happen. God gave us this destiny. God has blessed us. It is only right and natural then to give glory to God for what God has done for us, to live a life of praise and gratitude. Anything less is short of where we should be. If we truly embraced the reality that is being laid before us in Ephesians, how could we not help but praise God and be grateful and humbled by the blessing and grace God has lavished on us.
We are also motivated to live a life of grace, of beauty, of love, and to seek unity, to seek to live in harmony, so that we can be a living witness, a reflection of what God is bringing to pass. By our manner of living, each of us can participate and reflect what God’s intentions are for creation. We can choose to extend grace to others. We can choose to create beauty rather than be satisfied with ugliness and mess. We can choose to love rather than turn our backs on others. We can choose to find common ground and build a sense of unity rather than focus on what divides and separates, building walls that keep people apart. We can choose to go with the flow in our lives, to not resist but bend with what is happening, to not force our will but harmonize with our surroundings, to constantly be in tune with what is happening and seek ways to make things better, to surf the wave rather than try to stop waves from coming.
This is what we seek to manifest in our lives, a life of order, harmony and beauty that reflects who we understand God to be about. God brought order out of chaos. God is an abundant creator, diverse and extravagant in His creation. Why can’t we try to bring about order in a chaotic world? Why can’t we try to highlight the beauty of what God has made?
We don’t confine our lives to the mess, disorder, division, and turmoil around us. We know there is more than our little puddle. There is a river and a vast ocean. Our vision is much higher than our present situation. We live in a puddle but our eyes are on the river that leads to the ocean. And what we see, we begin to realize. We can try to manifest what we keep our eyes on. We can live as rainbow fish while we are swimming in the puddle, until our time comes to jump out of the puddle and swim down the river to the ocean. We can manifest a divine discontent with how things are because we know that the way things are is not the way things are destined to be. We know that our puddle, one day, will merge with the river.
We manifest a different spirit, a spirit of life and not death, of joy and not indifference, of peace and not mean-spiritedness, a spirit that is influenced by the Holy Spirit that animates us, motivates and enables us to be who we are destined to be, destined to be bearers of God’s glory, destined to stand before the glory of God in complete unity with God.
This is our destiny. It is a destiny that is beyond belief. It is a destiny that is greater than our ability to fully comprehend. It is the destiny that God has granted to us. But destiny is not fate. Destiny can be denied. The author of Ephesians, the Scriptures and the teaching of the church through the ages describes for us our destiny…your destiny. Will you follow your destiny and keep your eyes on your destiny? Will you chase after your destiny? Or will you deny your destiny and choose your own path or let others choose your path for you? The choice is yours.

The Power of Desperation

2009-06-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

Reflections on Mark 5:21-43

There is nothing like desperation to give a person motivation to act and some focus. I don’t know how the term “deadline” came to be, but it’s a term I’m familiar with. How about you? It’s a great term. If you cross the line marked on the calendar without the assignment complete, you are figuratively dead. And it is amazing how focused and motivated one can be when faced with the potential of losing one’s life. And when time is running out, and your back is against the wall, this generates the state of desperation. And in the state of desperation, life can get really interesting.
In the scripture passage read this morning, we have accounts of two people who are desperate. They are at their wits end and are struggling to make things right. They find their options limited and filled with risk. But out of desperation, they must act, and act with swiftness, with firmness, and without concern of what the ramifications may be for themselves or others.
Jairus was the leader of a synagogue. Being so, he was looked upon to be the guardian of the tradition. Those who guard the tradition tend to be those who are most vociferous of their denunciation of renegades and rebels, those who break off from the tradition or push back against it, people like Jesus. Yes, Jesus was a miracle worker. But he did things and said things that did not conform to the tradition. Not only that, there was word that he perhaps was making claims about his relationship with the Almighty that bordered on blasphemy. Yet, he was drawing a crowd. And people were being healed.
Jairus knew his position. He knew what he was putting at risk as the leader of the synagogue if he ran to this renegade Jesus to get help for his young daughter who was dying. But in this state of desperation, with the life of his daughter on the line, concerns about his own standing with the people, concerns about being a guardian of the tradition, concerns about maintaining his own integrity as a faithful Jew, all of that was laid aside by putting his hope in Jesus, the man who could heal, and, hope against hope, would be willing to heal the daughter of one who opposed Jesus and even denounced him to the people. What an act of humility. What an act of self-sacrifice out of love for his daughter. What an act of desperation. And Jesus knows Jairus’ heart. Although he had somewhere else to go, Jesus responded to this need expressed by a loving father who cared only for his daughter. After all, Jesus knew something about humility and self-sacrifice for the sake of love and the hope to bring healing. Jesus saw in Jairus something of himself.
As they hurry to Jairus’ house, crowd in tow, we are introduced to another person who was in a state of desperation. This unnamed woman with the blood flow has a story and is desperate in a way that is common in these days. How many of us can relate or can sympathize with her story? She has had this medical condition for twelve years, spent all she had on doctors, following their prescriptions for health. And she has gotten worse rather than better. Her hope and faith in doctors has failed her and she is bankrupt as a result. Suddenly, an opportunity falls into her lap. Jesus the miracle worker is coming by. The woman can’t believe her luck. And out of desperation, she hatches a plan of stealth, but also of sensitivity. She wants to get healed, but she is hoping that in doing so, she won’t be noticed, and that will save Jesus from the hassle. The hassle would be causing Jesus to become declared ritually impure. Since she had this hemorrhage, she was ritually impure and anyone who touched her would be the same. She had hope that Jesus would be able to heal her if she but touched the hem of his garment. And, hopefully, if she did it without being noticed, then neither Jesus or anyone else would be the wiser, and, although Jesus would be technically unclean, he wouldn’t know and would not be inconvenienced. So, out of desperation, grateful for her luck, and acting in a way that seemed most responsible, she slips through the crowd to touch Jesus with the hope of being healed.
To be in a state of desperation is not a state we long for. To be desperate drains us. Daily life becomes distorted as we obsess over what we need or long for and the odds that stand in our way. Desperation and fear go hand in hand. The sense of powerlessness can be overwhelming. Anger lurks underneath the surface, occasionally exploding, lashing out at those we love or turning it inward on ourselves. In times of desperation, there is a thin line between desperation and despair. The temptation to give up, to surrender to fate, can loom large. Whatever our hopes were for something better, or for a better day, drifts away like mist. Doom is certain. To continue to hope would be a fool’s hope.
However, it can’t be denied that there is something powerful about being in the state of desperation. This is when miracles happen. In all the great stories of heroes, it is desperation that drives them. It is in a state of desperation that life becomes most basic. In this state, we discover a lot about ourselves. We discover where our moral and ethical limits are. We discover how courageous we can be. We find inner resources, an inner strength and durability we did not know we had. It can call forth humility and self-sacrifice. Desperation can call forth the hero in us.
And what prevents desperation from leading into despair is faith, hope, and love. Jairus and the unnamed woman put their hope, perhaps a fool’s hope, in Jesus. They hoped against hope that this miracle worker would work for them, to whom they had nothing to offer in return. They put their faith in the miracle worker. And Jairus demonstrated the love he had for his daughter by publicly begging, in spite of how it looked, for the sake of his daughter. Despair could have won the day in both of their lives. Jairus, not allowing himself to ask for help from the renegade, could have passed it up and succumbed to the fate that his daughter would die. The woman, had she not had just a little more strength to try one last thing, to reach out to Jesus, would have succumbed to her illness and died, having spent the last twelve years of her life having not been physically touched. But, no. In them faith and hope remained. Love for his daughter was strong enough. And these two people, out of desperation, responded as heroes.
Do we live in desperate times? In degrees, yes, we do. Some of us are experiencing desperation more than others. And it could well be that in the years ahead, desperation will become a greater reality for more of us. Denial, of course, is a wonderful defense mechanism and an excuse not to act. But denial will only go so far and all of us, in our sober moments, will look around us, look at our own situations, and that gnawing sensation of desperation may begin to surface.
Well, when we acknowledge the desperation that we are in, if Jesus were here, you know what he would say. “Do not be afraid.” Times of desperation are also times of renewed commitment to what we value, times of self-sacrifice, times of serving a greater cause than one’s self interest, for when everything is on the line, personal self-interest can become secondary to the greater cause of mutual survival. Times of desperation are times when new partnerships are forged, or broken partnerships are mended. Times of desperation are times of heroics. Times of desperation are the times of miracles, times when stories are written, legends are born, and the virtues of faith, hope, and love have the greatest potential to shine like bright lights in the gathering clouds of doom: faith in God who holds our lives in His hands, hope for better times, and love that will not allow us to give up.

Fear or Faith?

2009-06-22T07:52:00.000-07:00

Reflection on Mark 4:35-41

Several people have asked me, “How was Annual Conference?” I’m going to put together a report soon to give all of you a general sense of what happened there. But what is really neat is that you can see for yourself what annual conference was like. We have a web site. The address is www.2009annualconference.org. Those of you that are receiving a weekly email from me got the link. If there are any of you with email that have not been receiving emails from me, call the church office and let Bridget know what your email address is so that you can get them.
At this website, the best part is a collection of videos. There are the ministry moment video clips, which share different ways that we are in ministry. You will find the bishop’s address, the worship services, and the teaching times, including the one given by Mike Slaughter of Ginghamsburg church. It was his teaching where he shared the story about how their church is responding to Darfur that I had mentioned last week. I encourage you to hear the story for yourself. But I also encourage all of you who are able to watch the last video in the collection. It is the report of the District Superintendents. But really it was a testimony shared by Duane Anders, who is going off this year as the District Superintendent of the Miami Valley district. He shares about an experience he had jumping off a bridge in South Africa, sitting on a bungee swing.
To give you a condensed version of his story: A couple years back, Duane lived through the deaths of several people close to his life, beginning with his brother. It was a wave of grief that he had never experienced. To get away from it all, the family went to Africa to visit mission partners and friends. Something that he had always wanted to do was bungee jump off a bridge. But he knew that if he survived the jump, his wife would kill him. Well, near the end of the trip, they were in South Africa. They were made aware of an outfit that does bungee jumping. Duane wanted to do it and, surprising to all, his wife said, “If you want to jump, jump.” His 8 year old son said, “I’ll jump with you, dad!” He looked at his wife and said, “Really?” And she said, “If he wants to jump, let him jump.” So they went up there and Duane asked which of the three options were the scariest. They told him it would be the bungee swing. So that’s what they did.
Getting ready for the jump seemed like hours. After receiving their instructions by the 18 year old “expert,” then they had to get on all the safety gear and then wait their turn. Finally, it was time for Duane and his son to take their position on the edge of the bridge, having been firmly attached to a swing from which they would plunge hundreds of feet down and then swing high into the air. Duane’s son was getting nervous and Duane tried to laugh it off. Before they jumped, by the way, the jump is video taped and you can watch it on the web site. Before they jumped, they were asked if there was anything they wanted to say to the camera. Duane looked at the camera and said, “I love you all.” His son didn’t want to say anything. They are led into the position. They are instructed to step off the bridge left foot first. The gate is lifted, they count down, “three…two…one…” and then they are lightly pushed off the bridge, Duane screaming all the way down as they plunge toward the river. Within feet of the river the swing lifts them high in the air. Back and forth they swing for at least a minute, suspended in the air. Then, slowly the swing stops and they are led over to the side of the river, where someone is there to gently place them back down on the ground. They are unhooked and look up toward the bridge waving their arms in victory.
Duane said he wanted to jump off the bridge, even though it was scary, because he wanted to know he was still alive. Life had been so full of grief and loss and confusion, that he needed to exercise a heavy dose of courage, of acting in spite of his fear. He said that sometimes you have to stop being the one sitting on the sidelines watching others have all the fun. The line that really stuck with me throughout this presentation, however, was what his wife told him after he joined her back at the top of the bridge. He asked her what she thought, and she said, “It was scarier watching from the bridge.”
That is true. Fear is at its greatest intensity when you are anticipating something will happen, but you don’t know what or you don’t know when. The fear was standing at the edge of the bridge looking down, more than the jump itself. When the jump happened, you just get carried along, enveloped in the adrenalin rush of the experience. I imagine it’s the same with jumping out of an airplane. The fear must most definitely be waiting to jump out, but, I’ve been told that the exhilaration of free falling simply cannot be put into words. Of course, there is one little thing about this bungee jumping and parachuting out of planes that makes the actual experience a rush, and not one of sheer terror. You are trained. You are prepared with all kinds of safety harnesses or a parachute. And you know that someone will be there to meet you when you get to the ground. Yes, there is some risk. Duane says that before the jump they had to sign their life away. But you know that people have done it before and lived to tell the story. So, even though its scary, you have faith that it’s all going to end well.
The fear is completely understandable, however. Duane thought to himself, while his anxiety level increased, “What we are doing right now is stupid!” It’s not natural, it’s not second nature, to jump off of bridges. It’s counter-intuitive, if you will. Fear is one way our brain tells us that our bodies are in danger. Fear is a good thing, so that you don’t go off and do something rash.
Yet, we have this phrase repeatedly in the gospel. Either Jesus or an angel says “Do not be afraid.” There are several instances in the gospels where people are afraid. They are faced with something beyond their control or understanding, and the natural response of fear kicks in. Yet, they are told, “do not be afraid.” On hearing this, a tension is established. Try as you might, it’s really hard to will away fear. But fear can be overcome. The paralyzing nature of fear can be overcome by acting in spite of your fear, and this is what courage is. And we find our courage if we have hope that things will work out somehow, that we will survive. Duane could have the courage to jump because he knew he was prepared, every safety concern was addressed, and there would be someone at the bottom to meet him. As Christians, we can act even though we are afraid because we know that God is with us and wills good things for us, and that although our lives and everything in this world pass away, that our souls will be with God for an eternity. So although we are afraid at times, we have a deep faith and abiding hope in God who holds our lives in His hands. We know this, but the disciples were not so sure.
Isn’t it strange that these seaworthy disciples were afraid? The Mediterranean Sea is known for storm squalls to come out of nowhere, and surely these fisherman disciples had faced their share of storms. They knew what to do. They knew how to bail water. And yet, this time, they are afraid, thinking their going to die even. They run to wake up Jesus who amazingly is sleeping through all of this. Instead of asking him to give them a hand in bailing water, they accuse him of not caring that they’re all going to die. What a strange accusation. Why would they draw the rash conclusion that Jesus didn’t care? Clearly, they had no idea who Jesus was.
The disciples lacked faith in Jesus, because they did not understand who Jesus is. They did not understand that this man, Jesus, was also God. They did not know that God was with them in the flesh. If they had known, they would have had no fear. Well, yes, they would have been afraid. If you were on a boat being battered by wind and waves, taking on water and appearing to sink, would you not have been afraid even if Jesus was with you and you knew you would be o.k.? I think I would. Fear is natural. But you and I wouldn’t accuse Jesus of not caring. Maybe we would have asked Jesus to give us a hand in bailing water or asking Jesus what we should do to survive this storm.
What storms are we in these days? We are all in a storm. We are in a financial storm. Some of us are facing storms of failing health or of trying to take care of parents or strained family relationships. We as a society as well as Christians, are going through a stormy period of history. A great transformation is happening, not only socially but also in how Christianity is expressed. We are going through a time of transformation equivalent to the days of the Great Reformation of the 15th-16th centuries. Our children and grandchildren will live in a world and will be in a church that will look profoundly different from what we know. When the storm settles, and Christianity adjusts, it will look different. For right now, we are fated to be faithful in the midst of a storm, and our boat is taking on water.
But God is with us. God is still the master of all. Sometimes God will still the wind and the waves, and we experience moments of peace. But for us, we must ride through the storm, bailing water as we go, watching parts of our boat fall away while we hold on to the parts of the boat that are most firm, most “seaworthy.” And we hold on, having faith and hope, that God, the master of all, will see us safely to the other side, a place where we have no knowledge, but a place that we all need to be, for as God has said before in past ages, God is saying again, not just to us Christians, but to the whole world, “Let us go to the other side.”

The Power of Small Things

2009-06-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

Mark 4:26-32

Great movements are launched by a single idea. “All men are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” That’s the idea that undergirds our nation. John Wesley, when he put together his society of Christians who were desiring to become disciples, came up with three simple rules: do no harm, do good, and keep the ordinances of God. When the time was right for God to save us, He sent Jesus. And the seed of the gospel is this: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” When Jesus was asked to summarize the Law of God by giving the greatest commandment, Jesus gave two: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength; and you shall love your neighbor as your self.”
All these movements, as well as the Law of God, and the gospel message, have at its heart an idea, a seed, that is easy to say, easy to remember, easy to understand, yet very powerful; powerful enough to change the world, to transform a life. This is why Jesus says the kingdom of God is like a seed.
An ancient disciple wrote about this parable of Jesus by saying the seed that is planted is the simple doctrine of the gospel, that by believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, one is saved. Yet, the branches that grow from this seed, all the other doctrines, the understanding of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that Jesus was fully human and fully divine, two natures in one person, that Mary gave birth to God, victory over death and sin by grace, the church as the body of Christ, and all the others, these branches become like a great tree, where wise disciples of Christ can build nests in and find comfort in its shade. The small seed of the gospel grows to such a size that the believer can live in and find shelter under this gospel. This is the kingdom of God, a single idea that has the power to transform the world, that has the power to transform a life.
Great people, great projects, great nations, a great church, all start with a small seed, proper tending, some luck, and time. This congregation began as a small seed, a group of German Methodists who believed this community needed a Methodist church. But just thinking it wasn’t enough. This small group had to invite others to join them. There had to be a lot of prayer. There had to be great sacrifice and calls for help in order to have the money and resources necessary to construct the building and pay the preacher. There had to be a long term commitment to the vision of having a Methodist church in Mt. Healthy. And we are heirs to that vision, that seed, that was planted and nurtured, some 140 years ago. It is this same vision that we are stewards of. We are charged with nurturing this tree, the United Methodist church of Mt. Healthy. We share the vision that has been nurtured all these years, the simple idea that Mt. Healthy needs a Methodist church. It is an idea that is true. Mt. Healthy needs us, and God needs us, to be a witness of the gospel and to provide hope and healing for the brokenhearted of this community. For the sake of those who started this congregation, for the sake of the people who live here, and for God’s sake, who gave the vision and provided the resources that made it happen and continues to make it happen, we support this church, by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service.
One of the great things about Annual Conference is that you get to hear some great stories. One of the stories shared was by Mike Slaughter, who is the pastor of Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church. It is a congregation located just north of Dayton, near Tipp City, and is a leading congregation, not just for United Methodists, but for evangelical Protestant churches across the nation. And it all began when Mike, who served as a youth director in North College Hill by the way, was appointed to Ginghamsburg 31 years ago. That’s right; a United Methodist pastor beginning his 31st year at the same appointment. When he got to Ginghamsburg, there were 90 worshippers. By the next year, there were 60. But that was part of the price that was paid for the vision he received of a church that would have 2000 in worship on a given Sunday and would be multi-cultural in an area that had the Ku Klux Clan burning crosses when he first came. It was a huge vision, crazy even, considering his present reality of less than 100 in a lily-white, racist community. But the vision God gave him 30 years ago has come to pass.
Mike shared another story with us. One day, back in 1998, he was reading the paper and saw an ad for a BMW Sedan. On the other page of the paper was an article about the genocide going on in the Sudan. And it hit him. He knew more about the sedan than he knew about the Sudan. And as he learned more about the Sudan, and the humanitarian crisis taking place there as the result of yet another genocide, just like Bosnia, just like the Holocaust, just like so many other campaigns of slaughter, this Slaughter, Mike Slaughter, did not want his kids to know that this genocide took place and their dad did nothing about it.
So, Mike was convicted that the church needed to respond to what was happening in Darfur. Six years after his initial conviction about Darfur, Ginghamsburg church launched a campaign centered around a simple idea: Christmas is not your birthday. Mike challenged the members of the church to give as much as spent on their families for Christmas to the church for Darfur. So, if a family spent $1000.00 on themselves for Christmas, they were to give $1,000.00 to the Darfur campaign. The church responded, having raised around 4 million dollars over the past four years. This is an amount that, through United Methodist Committee on Relief, has built over 100 schools and provided education for thousands of children that otherwise would not have gotten any education at all. It is an amazing testimony to the power of a single idea, properly nurtured over time.
What seed, what idea, what vision, is being planted in you? What simple idea do you possess that, if nurtured and given time, could change the world? We all can be blessed with these visions. Scripture tells us that in these days, the days of the Lord’s reign, the Holy Spirit will come down on all people, and young people will have visions, and old people will dream dreams. Have you received a vision? What have you dreamed lately?
These seeds of faith, these visions and dreams, they don’t grow and bear fruit all on their own. The conditions have to be favorable. The seedling has to be taken care of. But if we set the stage, then the Spirit will cause things to happen, the vision to grow. This is synergy, the co-operation between us and God to make God’s dream and our dream come to pass. The vision that Mike received about responding to Darfur did not come to fruition on its own. A partnership had to be established with UMCOR so that the work could be done on the ground. A campaign had to be organized and resourced, along with promotional pieces and video clips, in order to communicate in a compelling way the simple idea that Christmas is not your birthday. The leadership team had to buy in to this plan. There was a lot of work that had to be done before the campaign could even be launched. And then, as the money came rolling in, it had to get into the hands of the right people in order to actually construct all those schools. And who would teach the kids? How would the books and lessons get there? So, we see that a vision alone, although critical, is not sufficient. It is just like the gospel message. The gospel, to be effective, must be received and nurtured; there must be repentance, complete surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ, dying to self-will, transformation of the heart, holiness in living, all these things. However, we see again and again, that if the seed is received, and the hard work is done in order to cultivate and nurture that divine seed, God will make the seed grow, and it could produce fruit beyond our wildest imaginations. But it cannot be underestimated, the truth that for the seed to grow there must be planning and perseverance. This is true for big projects like the Sudan project. This is true for planting and growing a church, like our forebears did here in Mt. Healthy. It is true for the growth of a movement that the Wesleys launched 250 years ago. It is true for the experience of the kingdom of God within you. You have received the seed of the gospel, the pearl of great price. What is your plan to nurture that seedling? Are you paying the price? Are you persevering?
The truth is that our lives are mostly made up of small choices, small acts, repeated over and over, that accrue over time, shaping a life. Each day, we make a hundred choices. We perform a hundred small acts. Only occasionally do we find ourselves having to make a big decision or perform a major act. Most of our days, though, are comprised of small choices and small acts, that are like the drip-drip of water that, over time, has the power to carve stone. Our small choices, our small acts, can contribute or hinder the growth of that seed, whether it be a vision for your life, a vision for a community or a church, or the world, or the vision that is the kingdom of God within you; small choices and small acts that, over time, make a difference. And each day is a new day. As you look over the state of the garden that is your life, where should you begin? What choice do you need to make today? What action can you take that can contribute to what God wants to do in your life, to manifest the kingdom of God, to be the body of Christ in this world that God loves so much?

Pentecost Sermon

2009-06-01T07:47:00.000-07:00

Have you experienced feeling the presence of those who have gone before you? What I mean is, when you enter the house of your parents who have long passed, do you sense their presence? Or if you enter an old church, do you sense a feeling that this is a place that is still filled with faithful saints of the past? How about in this space, especially for those of you who have been members of this church for many years? As you look around, whose faces come to mind who are no longer with us? Do you perhaps, even now, sense their presence with us?
An experience I have had that probably many of you share: as I have told you all before, my parents passed away when I was in college. So, when I graduated from college, and then from seminary, when I got married, and when I got ordained, at all those milestones in my life, I felt the presence of my mom and dad. I am convinced they were looking down on me and were fully present at these moments, in spirit.
Maybe I was being sentimental. But I want to believe that it was not sentimentality, but truth, that my mom and dad were present in a spiritual sense. I want to believe that even though those we love have gone from us through death, that they remain with us, certainly in our memory, but also they are present with us in spirit, looking on us, praying for us, grieving with us, and celebrating with us. As Christians, we confess our belief in the communion of the saints, which means that those who die in the Lord are at home with God, join with us in worship, and pray for us. And sometimes we can even feel their presence among us, which can be very comforting and encouraging, even empowering.
I share this with you as a way to get at what Jesus is teaching us about the Holy Spirit, on this day when we celebrate the empowering of the church as the church began its ministry in Jerusalem to be a witness for Christ. The Holy Spirit is the spiritual presence of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit serves as a link for us. Jesus is not with us physically, and He was soon to leave His disciples. But He remains present in Spirit, with them and also with us. Christ remains with us, through the Holy Spirit that is in our midst and fills us.
We have been looking at this “Farewell speech” from Jesus for the past few weeks. As a reminder, Jesus is about to finish His work on earth, to suffer, die, be buried, then rise from the dead and ascend to heaven, to be seated at the right hand of the Father until the time comes for Him to return to judge the heavens and the earth. As He prepares to physically leave His disciples, His friends, He is preparing them for His departure. He knows that they will grieve, they will be confused and uncertain. So He wants to assure them now that everything will be fine. In fact, in the passage this morning, He tells them it is for their benefit that He goes. But, as we all can relate to, when the emotion of the moment hits, it is hard to respond to what the one you love is telling you. The disciples, in spite of these encouraging words from their friend, are so sad they can’t even speak. Can any of you relate to that, to a time when your sorrow was so great all you could do was sit silently, hanging your head? That’s how the disciples were.
But, they had enough presence of mind to hear enough of what Jesus said in order to reconstruct it later. For, after Jesus ascended to heaven, the disciples did as instructed. They returned to Jerusalem to wait for the Holy Spirit. And they talked about all they had experienced after the resurrection. They shared favorite memories and stories. They recalled some of his greatest parables and sayings. And they reminded each other of the various things He said in that upper room before He was betrayed by Judas. They reminded each other what Jesus had said about the Holy Spirit.
So, what did Jesus teach His disciples about the Holy Spirit?
First, Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit is Jesus’ advocate. In other words, the Holy Spirit speaks for Jesus. That’s what an advocate does. In a court, for children that are not able to speak for themselves, they may be assigned a court appointed special advocate. The role of the CASA is to advocate, or speak on behalf of, the child, to make sure that the child’s best interests are addressed. Advocates speak on behalf of those who can’t speak. The Holy Spirit speaks on behalf of Jesus, who cannot speak for Himself because He is presently seated at the right hand of the Father.
Now this is of great benefit for the disciples. Do you know what it’s like when someone you have depended on is gone, and a sticky situation comes up, and you wish you could ask that person, “What am I supposed to do now?” When I went to college, one of my friends gave me a book that was entitled, “What To Do Now That Dad is Gone,” filled with all kinds of instructions and tips on things people need to know how to do once their living on their own. The book came in handy from time to time. The disciples were bound to come up on some sticky situations and would have wanted to ask Jesus for advice on how to handle the problem. Well, guess what. Jesus wouldn’t be around to ask. But there would be the Holy Spirit to speak on His behalf. The disciples would not be on their own when thorny and confusing issues came up. The Holy Spirit would be with them to guide them and help them know what is best. They are not on their own to figure things out as they go along. The Spirit would guide them.
This is what Jesus teaches about the Holy Spirit, the one who is co-equal with the Father and the Son in trinity. Jesus taught that He only did what His Father wanted Him to do, and taught them everything that the Father had revealed to Him. So it is with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit says only what He hears from the Father. The Spirit is in perfect unity with the Father and Son, both in mind and heart. This is our basic understanding of the trinity. The Spirit speaks what the Father and Son speak. Where the Holy Spirit is present, there is the Father and the Son. When the Spirit acts, the Father and Son act with Him. The Holy Spirit does not speak for Himself, but for the Father, from which He proceeds.
Second, Jesus teaches that the Holy Spirit convinces the world of the truth. It is the Spirit that prompts, woos, cajoles, illuminates. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to lead people to faith in Christ and grow in that faith. This also is of benefit for the disciples, and a word of encouragement. They are not responsible to change the hearts of anyone. That is the Spirit’s job, to convince. All they have to do is witness to what they know and be open to be used by the Spirit, to be, as Paul imaged it, jars of clay, cracked containers of the Holy Spirit. Another image that Paul uses to get at the good news of this understanding of the Spirit is when he says that he plants the gospel, others water it in the life of a community, but the Holy Spirit is what makes a community grow. Or, it can be said that we as disciples point others to the living water, even lead them to the water. It is the Holy Spirit that takes it from there, leading the person to make that move to drink from the water. We can’t make people drink from the fountain of life. Truth be told, the Spirit doesn’t make people drink either. It is always an action of free will. But it is the Spirit that pushes one to do it. Can you all relate to that? Do you know of a time where the inner drive to do something was so strong, so relentless, that you just had to do it? Perhaps it was at the closing worship of church camp, or an altar call at a revival. Perhaps it was that nudging to change careers. Or it was the conviction that this was the woman you are meant to marry, and you resolved to get an engagement ring. That inner drive, this is the realm of God’s influence on us, the working of the Holy Spirit to convince us of the truth of the gospel. It was the working of the Holy Spirit in your life that brought you to Christ, to baptism, to public confession of your faith, your decision to join this church. That is what Jesus says is the function of the Holy Spirit, to convince others of the truth about Himself, as truly the Word made flesh, the incarnate God.
Third, Jesus teaches that the Holy Spirit is what guides us into all truth. Now, perceptive Bible readers might note an apparent contradiction in the scriptures. At one point, Jesus told His disciples that everything the Father had told Him, He had told the disciples. But then here Jesus says there is more He wishes to tell them, but they can’t handle it now. If there is more to be told, what does it mean that Jesus already told them all He needed to tell them? This is where the Holy Spirit comes into play.
The truth is that Jesus had told them everything that needed to be told. But that did not mean they understood the implications fully. It’s just like how Jesus taught in parables. The story has a meaning beyond itself. The story is not just about a farmer scattering seeds. It’s about preaching the gospel and the spiritual receptivity of those who receive the gospel. The gospel of Jesus is so simple that even a child can understand it. Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. But the implications of that love, the meaning of such a simple phrase, the depths of it, the challenge of it, this is what the Holy Spirit leads us to. The gospel is simple, and at the same time immensely profound. In particular, it is the implications of the gospel where the Spirit continues to lead the disciples, and us.
For example, Acts 15 is the first church council, when the church had to address the issue of what to do about Gentiles, who were coming to faith in Christ and receiving signs that they too had received the Holy Spirit. Did they have to be circumcised and conform to purity laws and maintain a kosher diet as part of being a Christian? How Jewish did they need to be in order to be a Christian? That was the issue. And after all the discussion, James, the brother of our Lord, who was the bishop of the church in Jerusalem announced the consensus of the council by saying to those Gentile Christians, “It seems good to us, and the Holy Spirit.” Here is an example of the Holy Spirit at work in their discussion, leading them to all truth.
Another example was the vision that Peter had, of the canopy coming down from heaven filled with food that was not kosher, and God telling him to sit down and eat. Peter said, “Lord, you know that no impure thing has passed my lips. How is it you ask me to eat these unclean foods?” And the Lord responded, “What I have declared clean is clean.” Again, the Spirit was leading Peter to understand that the gospel included Gentiles. Jesus didn’t come just to save the Jews, but everyone. Even Gentiles could become his brothers and sisters in Christ.
The Spirit continues to lead us into all truth. Our tradition is a living tradition. The apostles didn’t know everything. But they did know some things, and it was handed down to the next generation. And in that generation, they received the apostolic tradition. And facing a new context, with new situations, the Spirit helped that generation understand the tradition more fully. Then they passed that down to the next generation. The process continues into our own. We have received a tradition that is thousands of years old. And the Spirit continues to lead us into truth, to see how the tradition remains true and valid in our time, a time that in some ways is the same but in other ways is profoundly different from the time of the apostles, who believed the world was flat, heaven was up, hell was down, and the earth was the center of the universe.
Again, this function of the Holy Spirit is a benefit to the disciples, and to us. We don’t have to understand it all to share the gospel. Nor do we have to be cleaver. Paul said all he did was preach Christ crucified. All we need to do is share what we know of Christ in our own words. We can keep it simple. The Holy Spirit will lead us, and those who are exposed to the gospel, into all truth. When we are ready, we will hear the simple gospel in a way that becomes ever more profound and challenging. We hear it differently when we are 12 and then again when we are 80. We comprehend, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so,” based on our life experience and spiritual sensitivity. Again, the good news for the disciples, and for us, is that we don’t have to be theologians to be witnesses of the gospel. We don’t have to have it all figured out. We will never have it all figured out, because the mystery of God is beyond comprehension. But the Spirit has revealed some things to us, and that we share, with the confidence that the same Spirit that is opening our eyes will open the eyes of those to whom we share what we do know.
So, where can the presence of Christ be experienced? All over. Jesus taught that the Spirit is like the wind which blows where it will. Jesus prefigured this after his resurrection, when He could appear and disappear, entering rooms with locked doors. The Spirit of God is present everywhere. We can be surprised where the Spirit of God might show. There is one place where we can be assured that the presence of Jesus, the Spirit of God, is present. That place is the church. The Spirit of God is found here, among us, who are gathered in the name of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the breath of God that enlivens the body of Christ, which is the Church. The Holy Spirit is what has held the church together these 2000 years. When we gather here, in this place, we can sense the presence of the faithful saints who have gone before us. And we can sense the presence of Christ, who has sent us the Holy Spirit, so that we can know that we are connected to God. And we can witness to the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those among us. And especially today, as we witness and celebrate how the Holy Spirit is working in the life of Brittney Williams, who comes before the altar this morning to be baptized, to publicly confess her faith in Jesus Christ, and to become a professing member of this church. How great, how awesome, to know that the Spirit of God that moved over the primordial waters, the Spirit that inspired the prophets, the Spirit that empowered the apostles to be witnesses of Christ in Jerusalem, the Spirit that strengthened the martyrs of the faith, that inspired and convicted our ancestors, is with us now, in this place, in this time! We praise the Lord, the Father, the Son, and today especially, the Holy Spirit! Amen!

More great stuff from Chrysostom

2009-05-27T09:46:00.000-07:00

This is attached to the end of John Chrysostom's reflections on John 16:15. It is a great statement on the power of unity, both of mind and heart.

There is nothing equal to unanimity and concord; for so one is manifold. If two or ten are of one mind, the one is one no longer, but each one is multiplied tenfold, and you will find the one in the ten, and the ten in the one; and if they have an enemy, he who attacks the one, as having attacked the ten, is vanquished; for he is the mark not for one, but for ten opponents. No, he is not in want, for he is wealthy in his greater part, that is, in the nine; and the needy part, the lesser, is concealed by the wealthy part, the greater. Each of these has twenty hands, twenty eyes, and as many feet. For he sees not with his own eyes alone, but with those of others; he walks not with his own feet alone, bu with those of others; he works not with his own hands alone, but with theirs. He has ten souls, for not only does he take thought for himself, but those souls also for him. And if he be made a hundred, it will still be the same, and their power will be extended. See the excess of love, how it makes the one both irresistible and manifold, how one can even be in many places, the same both in Persia and in Rome, and that what nature cannot do, love can. If then he have a thousand or two thosand friends, consider again whither his power will extend. Do you see what an increase-giving thing is love? Why then do we not acquire this power and place ourselves in safety? This is better than all power or riches. Suppose a man without a friend, a mark of utmost folly, what sort of life will such a one lead? For though he be infinitely rich, in plenty and luxury, possessed of ten thousand good things, yet is he desolate and bare of all. But in the case of friends not so; though they be poor men, yet are they better provided than the wealthy. For this cause we salute one another at the Mysteries, that being many we may become one; and in the case of the uninitiated, we make our prayers common, supplicating for the sick, and for the produce of the world, for land and sea. Do you see all the power of love? This is what causes all good things. If we hold carefully to this, we shall both rightly dispense things present, and also obtain the Kingdom; which may we all obtain through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom and with whom, to the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory, for ever and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

First thoughts on John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15

2009-05-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

Jesus identifies the Holy Spirit as the Advocate, or Helper. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and is sent by the Son. It is the Spirit of truth, who testifies on behalf of Christ. So, the Spirit is the Advocate of the Son. Often, at least for me, I think of the Spirit of the Advocate for us. Actually, Jesus is our Advocate, because He prays for us. But the Holy Spirit is Jesus’ Advocate, speaking on His behalf. And we, His disciples are also to testify on behalf of Jesus. We are Jesus’ advocates.
Jesus is telling His disciples these things now because He is about to leave them, as we talked about last week. He is preparing them for His ascension and for what they will be called on to do after He leaves. The disciples, realizing that Jesus will leave them, are so sorrowful they cannot speak. Jesus needs to go so that the disciples can receive the Advocate, that is, Jesus’ Advocate. The Advocate will be of benefit for the disciples because it is the Advocate that proves the world wrong about sin, righteousness, and judgment. It is not all on the disciples to convince the world. This is what the role of the Holy Spirit is, to be the Advocate sent from the Father, by the Son, to convince the world. The Spirit, as an Advocate, will also further convince and guide the disciples into all truth. The Holy Spirit does not speak on His own, just as the Son does not speak on His own. The Spirit, the Son, the Father, they are of one mind and will. What the Spirit speaks is in agreement with the Father and the Son. When the Holy Spirit speaks, the Father and the Son speak. He glorifies the Son because He is an Advocate, or testifier on behalf of the Son. The Spirit testifies to the glory and power of the Son, to whom the Father has given all things.
Verses 12-13 are significant. Jesus was not able to share with the disciples everything they needed to know because they could not bear it all. The Holy Spirit continues to reveal the truth to the church over time. The book of Acts, especially Acts 15, shows how the Holy Spirit continues to guide the church into all truth. We believe that the Spirit continues even today to guide the church into all truth. Much of what is truth has been settled. The Spirit does not lead us into truth that contradicts what has been received. The mystery of God is endless and unknowable. Yet, the Spirit continues to guide us into what we once did not know. It is important to remember that the example of how the Spirit leads the church into truth is through conciliarity. It takes time, and it isn’t always smooth. But the main point is that we do not know everything there is to know about the mystery of God. The Spirit still speaks, still testifies, still guides the church into all truth. So while we defend what has been revealed, we remain open to deeper understanding.
When Jesus says the Spirit will tell the disciples what will happen, I wonder if this could mean that as we look at the past and find parallels to our own time, the Spirit helps us discern what will happen because we see the patterns. For example, we are going through a period that has a parallel to the time of the Great Reformation. Perhaps the Holy Spirit will guide us as we look to the past to find markers for where we may be heading in the future. Also, prophets speak by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Prophets are not fortune tellers, however. They don’t predict the future, except to the extent that this is what will happen if people don’t change, or that God will restore the righteous and destroy the wicked. With this first idea, that by looking back the Spirit can guide us into an understanding of what will happen, that this is an aspect of how the Spirit continues to guide us into all truth. This is of advantage to us, because if we can affirm previous patterns, then the future becomes less mysterious and frightening, and hopefully less bloody than previous times of transformation, such as the 15th and 16th centuries.
Tertullian makes the point that the disciples did not know everything about God. But they did know some things because the Spirit guided them in to what they did know. We hold to what the apostles taught, because it was revealed by the Spirit. But we also acknowledge that there is more to know, that the apostles did not know everything. Still, they knew something. And the something they knew we have received as Tradition.
Related to this, Cyprian points out some of the predictions that Jesus and Paul gave. Christians can expect persecution. This will happen. But those who suffer for Christ can expect a reward in heaven. This “prediction” is based on past experience. The Spirit is the revealer of what will be when we look back on what has happened, for we can anticipate patterns.
Augustine points out that the sending of the Holy Spirit not only comforted the disciples, enabling them to be bold witnesses of the truth, but the Spirit also convinced those who before had cried out for Christ to be crucified, leading them to repentance. The Holy Spirit gives the believer confidence to be a witness, and convicts and convinces those who before were enemies of Christ.

On John 17:6-19

2009-05-26T06:41:00.000-07:00

Thursday marked the 40th day after Easter, which is the day when Jesus ascended to heaven. His ascension into heaven is as important as the rest of his ministry on earth. It is not an add-on. It is important because of who Jesus is when he returns to heaven. When he came down from heaven he was fully divine. But when he returned to heaven he was fully divine and fully human. He came down as God. He returned as God and human, as one of us. Jesus was the first human to enter heaven. It was necessary for him to return to heaven to fulfill His purpose, which is to make a way for all of us to go to heaven. The ascension completes Jesus Christ’s mission to earth. Now He sits at the right hand of the Father. And He prays for us. Isn’t it good to know that of all the people that may be praying for you, there is another person that is lifting you up in prayer, and that person is Jesus Christ?
What we have in ch. 17 is Jesus praying for His disciples, and for us. The disciples, and us, are overhearing this prayer that Jesus is offering. And there is a lot in this prayer. You know, the way John writes, with a limited vocabulary and with words and phrases that are woven together and have layer upon layer of meaning. He can pack a lot of meaning in an economy of words. And sometimes it’s hard to unravel all that is being said here. So it is with his writing down of the prayer Jesus offers for his disciples. It’s a challenge to understand everything being said in this prayer. We’re going to try to follow a few threads.
Before getting into some of what Jesus is praying for, let’s reflect on what the disciples would be facing once Jesus left them. Most of us have experienced the realization that the one we depended on for daily life, for guidance, for security, for stability, that this person has left us. Maybe it was your mom or dad. Maybe it was your wife or husband. Maybe it was your closest friend. And life without that person is a life that feels very different. Your world is turned upside down. You are lost. This person was such a part of your life that without them life just doesn’t seem like it can hold together. It is a confusing, uncertain, and unsettling place to be. It could perhaps even make a person wish that they could die too.
Jesus knew that once He left His disciples, that they were going to be vulnerable. Their whole life was wrapped around Him. They would be confused and uncertain about what they were supposed to do now that Jesus was gone. It was because of what the disciples were going to need, in order to keep it together and keep living the life Jesus taught them, that Jesus prayed to His Father. He cared about His disciples. He loved them. He wasn’t going to just leave them on their own. He was going to lift them up in prayer so that they could be confident and unified after He leaves them.
One of the things Jesus prays for is for His disciples to be protected. Jesus says in the prayer, “I have protected them while I was with them. And I have kept them together, united in their faith, except for one who by necessity had to betray me in order to fulfill the scriptures. So now, I put them in Your hands. You protect them.” While Jesus was with them, He protected His disciples from straying away from the faith, except Judas, of course. By His teaching and His example He was able to show them how to live, how to be truly human as God made us to live. Now that He was leaving, He knew that the disciples were still going to need some help in this area because living like we are meant to live, ironically, is very hard to do. Sin is rampant. We have a tendency to not live as we ought. So Jesus is not willing to leave us on our own because He knows that won’t work out so well. So, He prays to His Father to protect us. And that’s what the Father does, by sending down the Holy Spirit to be a paraclete. Paraclete means to come alongside. The Father protects the disciples, protects us, by sending the Holy Spirit to come alongside us, to teach us, to compel us, to correct us, to show us the way, to heal us of the ravages of sin that afflict us, so that we can more fully live our lives as God intends for us. So, one thing that Jesus prays for is that they not be left on their own but that the Father now protect them, and us. And the Father answers that prayer by sending among us the Holy Spirit. And that’s what we will celebrate next Sunday, which is the Day of Pentecost.
The other thing Jesus prays for is for the disciples to be sanctified. To be sanctified is to be set aside for a special purpose. Jesus is sanctified. He, being a man, was set apart for a special purpose, which is to redeem all of humanity from slavery to sin and death. Jesus prays that the Father would sanctify His disciples, set them apart, for a special purpose. The Father answers this prayer. The disciples, and us, are being sanctified, that is, being set apart for a special purpose. We are becoming something different from what is common. We are uncommon, or, as Paul once described us Christians, a peculiar people. There is something qualitatively different about us. Jesus talks in the prayer about how He is not of this world and says that His disciples are also not of this world. Here, world means worldview, the way one understands reality. It is our experience as Christians that when we look at the world and our lives through the lens of faith, that the world looks different and our place in the world, our understanding of the world and what most matters, it all changes. It is as if we have been born again. As followers of Jesus, we are being set apart, in the world but not of it. We live here, but our citizenship is in heaven. You could say that as Christians we have a sort of dual citizenship. We are Americans but we bow our heads only to God. We love, support, defend, and pray for our nation. And we are grateful for those who have died to protect and extend the principles upon which this nation was formed and seeks to perfect. We pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. But there is another country, another nation, a holy nation, with a King and a Law, to which we obey and are ultimately accountable to. The king is Jesus and the Law is the Law of love. And that holy nation is the church, a nation that is held together by Christ, a nation that recognizes no border of geography or even of time. For we, the church, are a nation in which it matters not if you are an American or an Iranian. Nor does it matter if you are alive on earth or in heaven, for we believe in the communion of the saints, that all who have died in faith are gathered together and are among us, looking down on us. So, dual citizenship, maybe that captures the set apartness that Jesus prays for us. William Willimon has captured something of the dynamic of who we are by saying that we are resident aliens. Our true home is heaven and we are a colony, God’s kingdom on earth. Paul talks about how we are ambassadors of Christ. Our church buildings can be understood as embassies, or “heavenly consulates.” This is what Jesus is getting at in this prayer, that just as He is not of the world, so we are to not be of the world but separate, distinctive, an alternative way of being. Still in the world, but not of it.
I know, this is getting kind of deep. Let me try to tie this down by pointing out the impact of this prayer on the disciples. What is reassuring to the disciples, and for us, in this prayer is that as Jesus is leaving them, He is not leaving the disciples to fend for themselves. He’s not turning the keys over to Peter and the rest and saying, “Good luck. Don’t mess it up.” No, Jesus is praying for them. And He’s praying for us. We have the Holy Spirit, to guide, guard, and protect us. We, as the church, are not on our own. Even though Jesus is not physically present, He is still connected to His disciples. Jesus did not place His disciples into the hands of some great, divinely appointed leader. He placed His disciples into the hands of His Father. There can be no greater assurance of protection than this, to know that we are in good hands, the hands of the One who created us.
Their future, our future, the future of the church, is in the hands of God. And that is good news. The church has faced ups and downs all through its history. The church has been and still is persecuted and threatened. The church has and still is experiencing great vitality and growth. There have been high points in our life together and there have been low points when the church was hanging on by a thread, a barely flickering candle. Through all the threats, external and internal, the church remains. And the future of the church is secure, of this we can be certain. That is because the future of the church is not in our hands. The future of the church is in God’s hands. It is not our burden to save the church. It is our burden to be the church. Our burden, our task, is to follow the Spirit. Our task is to be who we are, children of our heavenly Father, the hands and feet of the Son, being born anew and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Our task is to be one, even as the Father and the Son are one, that is, united in mind and will. It is a big task. But we are not on our own. Our future is in God’s hands. So, let us learn from the past, live for today, and trust our future to God.

about helping the poor

2009-05-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

This is an excerpt from John Chrysostom teaching on John 17:6-13. It doesn't really fit with the passage. But I love what he says about the benefit of helping the poor.

Wherefore I pray and beseech you not to bring loss on yourselves, nor, keeping hold of mire, rob yourselves of the treasures which are above, bringing your vessel to port laden with straw and chaff. Let each say what he will concerning us, let him be angry at our continual admonitions, let him call us silly, tedious, tiresome, still we will not desist from continually repeating to you that of the Prophet, "Break off your sins by almsgiving, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor (Daniel 4:27)". Do not act in this way today, and desist tomorrow. For even this body has need of daily food; and so too has the soul, or rather that much more; and if it give not, it becomes weaker and more vile. Let us then not neglect it when it is perishing, choking. Many wounds it receives each day, by being lustful, angry, slothful, revilling, revengeful, envious. It is therefore necessary to prepare also remedies for it, and no small remedy is that of almsgiving, which can be placed on every wound. For "give alms, of such things as you have, and behold all things are clean for you." (Luke 11:41) Alms, not covetousness, for that which proceeds from covetousness does not last, you who give to those who need. For almsgiving is that which is free from all injustice. This makes all things clean. This is a thing better even than fasting, or prostrations; they may be more painful and laborious, but this more profitable. It enlightens the soul, makes it sleek, beautiful, and vigorous. Not so does the fruit of the olive hold up the athletes, as this oil recovers the combatants of piety. Let us then anoint our hands, that we may lift them up well against our adversary. He that practices showing mercy to him that needs it, will soon cease from covetousness, he who continues in giving to the poor, will soon cease from anger, and will never even be high-minded. For as the physician continually tending wounded persons is easily sobered, beholding human nature in the calamities of others; so we, if we enter upon the work of aiding the poor, shall easily become truly wise, and shall not admire riches, nor deem present things any great matter, but despise them all, and soaring aloft to heaven, shall easily obtain the eternal blessings, through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ; to whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Ritually real

2009-05-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is the bulk of an email written by Taylor Burton-Edwards, who is with the General Board of Discipleship of the UMC and also a member of the Order of St. Luke, which I affiliate with. This is a thought provoking connection between ritual practice, neuroscience, and the experience of God.

What Is Ritual Realism?
Actually, I don't know exactly where this phrase came from. I may have
coined it, I don't know. But it seems to me to capture, as does Sr Sarah's
excellent description of real presence, what I am finding to be a point of
convergence in the circles where I travel in the UMC and ecumenically.

If I were to try to summarize what I mean by it, or what I understand it to
mean, it would be this:
What we do in ritual is just as real as what we do in other venues of our
discipleship to Jesus Christ. Ritual is not merely metaphorizing our truth
before God. Ritual action compresses and intensifies the reality of our
lives with God and each other.

Put positively, what ritual can accomplish, in this sense, is a powerful
connection by all present with what is "really real" or "real beyond real."
This kind of perception of "super-reality" that emerges both from ritual
action and from more intensive "spiritual practices"over time is now being
explored rather deeply in both ritual studies and neuroscience. I would
commend Newberg and d'Aquili's "Why God Won't Go Away" for one of the more
recent explorations in this direction. Newber's work is also being featured
this week on All Things Considered. Yesterday's installment (transcript and
audio) is here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104310443 Barbara
Bradley Hagerty's new book, Fingerprints of God, also explores this
territory. (See the Time Magazine interview and review, here:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1898804,00.html

Given that ritual and spiritual practice have this capacity to connect
people to the "really real," what happens in ritual does matter. The symbols
matter-- they are not "merely referential." We are not pretending, but we
are making believe. From a neuroscientific perspective, we are wiring our
brains and strengthening the neuronal connections every time we repeat the
same practices. This is why for those who receive the Eucharist regularly,
for example, there is actually not a sense that it is "less important" over
time. Quite the reverse: the importance is amplified, the reality more
concretely felt-- perhaps not in each instance, but definitely so over time.

Put negatively, the failure to recognize how our brains are wired for ritual
realism, and not just for "pretending," means we create the potential to
reinforce actual neural disjunctions for people every time we "interrupt"
the reality of what we're doing with any sort of "explanation" that says,
"Well, we "say" this is the body of Christ, but, you know, we don't really
MEAN that."

That neuronal disconnect-- and its reinforcement-- can happen through words,
symbols, or actions. I've just given an example of the words. Or, one of my
pet peeves, not singing AMEN at the end of "Praise to the Lord, the
Almighty" when the final line is "Let the Amen, sound from God's people
again, gladly forever adoring"... and then instead, "You may be seated." An
example of symbols doing this might be the use of hardly any water in
baptism, or the use of bad tasting bread or wine/juice at the Eucharist, or
not actually reading from scripture in the service of the word. Examples of
actions doing this include reading rather than praying the Eucharistic
prayer, failing to use any sort of "manual acts" (failing to embody the
prayer), or, as the example that started the previous thread, treating the
consecrated bread and wine with disrespect, thus violating the principle of
real presence we SAY we believe.

Ritual realism, among other things, invites us to recognize how our brains
actually work and so to embody by our words, our symbols, and our actions
such coherence between what we say, what we show, what we sense (taste,
hear, smell, see and touch), and what we do (gesture, rhythm, motion) that
no neuronal disjunctions take place. When these things happen with deep
coherence, stronger neuronal bonds are made and deeper encounters with God
are made more possible for all in the assembly.

Transubstantiation and consubstantiation, as I see them, are both ways of
trying to explain, after the fact as it were, what is already sensed at the
Eucharist when it is offered well. We do encounter the body and blood of
Christ there in our own bodies. Transubstantiation tries to explain that in
categories of substance and accidents, borrowed from Plato and Aristotle.
Consubstantiation rejects that kind of description of ontology (that somehow
the substance, whatever that is, is more real than its physical form, the
accidents) and rather than claiming transformation of substance
(transsubtantiation) claims instead the real presence of Christ, perhaps
"added," "in, with and under the signs of bread and wine." Ritual realism
can live with either explanation but needs neither of them. What it cannot
live with is the insistence that the ONLY right way to understand this
mystery is either of them. That is because, from a neurological perspective,
the moment you leap from the ritual reality of the presence of Christ to an
explanation of the same, you have just created a disjunction, or at least
you have just interrupted the inputs from the limbic system and placed the
primary focus in the pre-frontal cortex. You have moved from the reality
itself, Christ present, to an abstraction of that reality, the explanation
of how.

More reflections on John 17:6-19

2009-05-21T08:35:00.000-07:00

I could talk about the distinctions between the worlds. Jesus was in the world, now is no longer in the world. He is not of this world. We, as believers, are also no longer of this world. We are in the world, but not of the world. We are not of the world because we are increasingly able to see the unseeable. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we perceive what those without faith can’t perceive. To those without faith, Jesus speaks in parables. But for us who have the Holy Spirit, Jesus speaks plainly, in the sense that we are able to understand the parables which Jesus speaks. He opens our minds to understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45).
Augustine points out that Jesus is referring to the Church in vs. 6, and not to the 11 apostles only. What glory is there in being known only by 11 people? Not the apostles only, but to the Church, the Bride of Christ, who belongs to the Father and has been given to Christ, to whom Christ has made His name known, and the Church which keeps His Word. However, Jesus also is speaking specifically of the apostles.
Reflecting on vv. 12-13, Augustine says that Jesus is talking about his bodily presence only. When he was physically present with the apostles, he protected them. But now that he was about to ascend bodily back to the Father, he prays for them. Jesus is still with us spiritually. But now he is physically at the right hand of the Father and will, physically, return one day to judge the nations.
The Father and Son are one in essence. We, as Christians, are one in essence. This unity, when it is manifested, stirs joy within us. Our hope is to fully realize our unity in Christ, which will be the fullness of joy of which Jesus speaks, who is fully human and fully divine in one Person. Joy is manifested in unity.
By the Holy Spirit, we are regenerated, born anew. This is how we are drawn out of the world, by being born of water and the spirit. Jesus has never been of the world because he was born by the Holy Spirit. We were not born of the spirit, which is why we entered life in the world. But now, by the grace of God and by our response, we are born anew, and are now not of the world. However, we remain in the world, but not of it. We remain in order to witness to Christ, even as we know that our citizenship is now in heaven.
When Jesus says He sanctifies Himself, He means that He sanctifies humanity in His Person. We, as humans, are being sanctified in our humanity as we live our lives in Christ. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

notes on John 17:6-19

2009-05-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

I have decided, in addition to posting my sermons, to also post my notes as they come along as I prepare my sermons. They may provide further grist for anyone who reads them. It will be the weeds and wheat. So, here goes.

This passage is a portion of a long prayer offered by Jesus. It begins by Jesus speaking on behalf of his disciples. He acknowledges that they belong to the Father, who has given them to Jesus. He affirms that they believe in Jesus and have received the words that Jesus received from the Father. In other words, the disciples are on the same page. They are faithful believers. Then, Jesus asks on their behalf for something. And he is asking only on their behalf, the disciples, and not on behalf of the whole world. A clear distinction is being made by Jesus. And he defends his distinction by affirming that the disciples he has belong to the Father. He clarifies that all He has belongs to the Father and that Jesus has been glorified in his disciples. With all these preliminaries, Jesus gives the reason for why he is offering this prayer on their behalf: because he is making a shift. He is leaving the world and returning to the Father, but the disciples will remain in the world. This has an impact on them. He asks, in vs. 11, for the Father to protect the disciples for a specific purpose: that they be one, even as the Son and the Father are one. Jesus’ greatest concern is unity among the disciples, that is, unity of mind and will, because that describes the unity of the Father and Son. Jesus affirms that while He was with the disciples, He protected them and kept them united in their faith, except Judas, who was destined to be the betrayer so that scripture might be fulfilled. I am not sure what verse 13 means. Perhaps what Jesus is saying is that as the disciples recall this prayer that Jesus is offering that it will inspire fullness of joy among them. I wonder what it is about what Jesus is saying that would inspire such communal joy. Jesus then repeats that He gave the disciples the Father’s word which has caused the world to hate the disciples as a result. The world hates the disciples and hates Jesus because he is not of this world and now, assuming because they belong to the Father, the disciples do not belong to the world either. Are there people who do not belong to the Father? Is there some kind of distinction between people in general and those who belong to the Father in a special relationship that removes them from the reality of the rest of the people of the world? I’m not sure what is being communicated here. I am weary of spiritual elitism or predestination. At any rate, Jesus repeats His request that the Father protect them now that Jesus is leaving them, that they be protected from the evil one. He repeats a second time that the disciples do not belong to the world just as Jesus does not belong to the world. I wonder if the reality of being united in mind and will among the Father, the Son, and the disciples is what marks a perhaps distinction of world view between them and those who are in the world. Perhaps those that are in the world, who fail to understand what Jesus is saying, do not understand because they cannot see, they are blinded by how they perceive reality. The disciples, however, have been illumined, and now have a different world view, thus, capable of believing in what Jesus teaches. This shift of world view is what shifts them out from remaining “in the world.” And they must be protected by the Father so that they do not shift back into the world view held by people “in the world.” Indeed, Jesus asks God to sanctify them in the truth. To be sanctified is to be set aside for holy purposes, turning what is common into what is holy. The sanctification of the disciples is enabled and guarded by the Truth which comes from the Father and which they have been enabled to receive. The disciples are sanctified, or, being sanctified, as they grow in their understanding of the truth. Thus, Jesus is sending them into the world, just as the Father sent the Son into the world. Verse 19, I’m not sure what that means either. What does it mean for Jesus to sanctify himself? How does He do anything “himself” since He and the Father are one? At any rate, the consequence of Jesus sanctifying Himself is that the disciples will also be sanctified in truth. I wonder if this relates in any way to their evangelistic and missional work that they are to do as those sent by Jesus into the world? After all, the disciples do not point to themselves but to Christ as the Light of the world. Jesus sanctifies himself so that the disciples can point others, not to themselves who are being sanctified, but to the One who is sanctified, Jesus Christ. I wonder why Jesus says that the disciples may be, and not will be, or are, sanctified. There’s a lot in this passage! Typical John.
One area to explore is the importance of unity in the church and how that relates to our ability to enjoy communion with God.

Jesus is Our Friend

2009-05-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

Reflections on John 15:9-17

I want to start with a proposition that may seem obvious to all of you, but bears repeating. God is not our enemy, but our friend. God, the almighty, all powerful, and just. God is not against us. God is on our side. God is our friend. And this is in spite of our behavior. Even though we disregard God from time to time. Even though we don’t nurture our relationship with God as we should. Even though at times we have doubts about God. God remains our friend.
And this is real grace. Amazing grace. And great condescension. That the creator of the universe is even interested in us and wants to relate to us as friends when we aren’t even very good servants. Jesus reconciled us to Himself while we were enemies. We should remain reconciled now that we are friends. He also loved us while we were enemies. We should love Him now that we are friends. He loves us without any benefit from us, for He needs nothing. We should love Him because of the benefit we do receive. Jesus leads the way. We could at least follow. But the truth is that we consistently fail to do all these things. John Chrysostom said, “We have been ransomed by Christ, and are the slaves of gold. We proclaim the sovereignty of one and obey the other.”
The friendship that we have with God is initiated by Him, and not by us. This is what Christ is saying in the passage read for us this morning. Christ initiates the relationship, for our benefit and not His own. Christ chose us to be friends not for His own benefit. Christ needs nothing, lacks nothing. There is nothing we can give that will make Christ complete. Christ initiated this relationship, not for his benefit, but for our benefit. Nor did Christ choose us because of our accomplishments or how good we are. The truth is that Jesus chose to be our friends because we needed His friendship. We need it because He finds us sick. Jesus is the friend of sinners, of which we are the worst. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and that describes us. Christ chose us and befriended us so that we could become well, that we would become better people as a result of this friendship offered to us by Christ. God sees us and knows what we can become. God “sees something in us” and wants to befriend us so as to help lift us up and bring out the good potential that is in us all.
Now it is clear that although Christ calls us friends, that we are friends of God, that does not mean we are buddies. There is no question who has the rank in this relationship. It is not an equal relationship among peers. We remain servants and we must submit to God and obey His commands. By no means are we in an equal relationship because we are friends. However, and this is so important, we do submit and obey God, not out of fear or by force, not by means of oppression or with bitter resentment, but as friends, as acts of love, as ways to nurture this great privileged relationship we find ourselves in.
We are God’s servants. But we are not pawns. We are not expendable to God. We are not faceless cogs in God’s divine plan. Nor are we just a number on God’s employee list. Nor do we have to make an appointment to talk to God, only get a glimpse of Him at the “company picnic.” We can have a word with God at any time and God knows us on a first name basis. In fact, God knows us better than we know ourselves. And so we serve God, acknowledging the supreme power of God and that God is just and does hold us accountable. Punishment and destruction remains in God’s arsenal, if you will. God is no push over. We should always maintain a reverent fear of God. Yet, at the same time, we are compelled to be good and faithful servants out of love. We serve God, not because we fear God, but because we love God, who calls us His friends.
Last week, Jadon and I, along with his Tiger Cub den, got to take a tour of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Sharon Morgan, I believe, was the name of our guide. She has worked for the Enquirer for 21 years. She started as a young woman, only given work on the weekends. She worked on the weekends for eight years, until she finally was given more responsibility. We expressed how impressed we were with her dedication all those years. She admitted it was tough, but she loves it. She loves the newspaper. She loves working here. And what other reason than love would be a motivation to stick it out so long, especially when you have the option to walk away. And that’s the point here. This is why God wants to be our friend. This is why we are to be motivated to serve God out of love and not of fear. Because love is the motivator that lasts. Only love keeps us going through the tough times. Only love enables us to stick it out when we always have the freedom to walk away. And as servants of God, the freedom to walk away from God is always an option. God does not have a chain around us or a gun pointed at our heads. This is the truth of the matter, only love is sufficient to motivate us to serve God for a life time.
And what is our command from God? What is our job? To love one another. We are to love. And we love because God first loved us. God exemplifies self-giving love to us. We look to Christ as our first and greatest example of love. You could say to be a disciple of Jesus is to be a student of love. We look to Christ to show us how to love so that we can love one another. We are loved first. Then we are commanded to love. Christ loved us first. Christ chose us first to be His friends. The relationship was established first. Then came the command, the appointment, to bear fruit that lasts.
And this is the fruit that lasts: love for one another. I was privileged to see that love before my eyes these past few days, witnessing the celebration of the life of Patti Brown and the celebration of the marriage of Yeti Osinbowale and Ade Okunye. The love everyone had for the other who had been brought together in a time of need, the friendship that was on display, I can only say that God was pleased, indeed was present with us in a very real way. These were no throw away experiences, like yesterday’s news. These were events that will carry lasting memory, the funeral, the wedding. Fruit was produced over the past few days that will last among those of us that were privileged to share in thess acts of love for one another.
At the end of 1 Corinthians 13, we are told that these three abide: faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these three is love. Love is the most abiding, the most lasting, of all the fruits. Love is the summation of all the commandments of God. To love, this is our primary task, as friends of God and as servants of God. And the extent to which we produce this love cannot be exhausted in our life, and pushes us, compels us, to contemplate a love for each other that goes far beyond our comfort level. For we are called not just to love our family, which sometimes can be hard indeed. Nor are we called only to love our friends, or friends of friends. Yes, we are called, commanded, to love our enemies. When we love our enemies, we are realizing a depth of love that very few achieve.
A few chapters later in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 28, is a verse that drives our mission and points to what is at stake as we make our feeble attempts to love one another, even the unlovable. God have mercy on us. The verse says, “Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” This verse points to where all of history is headed, to a point where God may be all in all. When we love others, that is, submit to others, for love is expressed in submission to the one you love, then we are bringing about God’s will to be all in all. What I’m saying is this: when we love our enemies, we are claiming them for God. We are loving them as God loves them. We are loving God through them. We love others not for their own sake, and not for our own sake, but for God’s sake. As imitators of God, we love those of whom we will receive no benefit. We love those who do not love us first. We love those who are our enemies, because even while we were enemies of God, Christ died for us. That proves God’s love toward us. Can we prove our love towards God by following His example? How far we fall short. How amazing is God’s grace.

On John 15:1-8

2009-05-13T08:58:00.001-07:00

This morning, our gospel reading teaches us of the interrelationship among the Father, Jesus Christ, and us. The key word in this interlocking relationship is the word “abide.” To abide is a state of being. To abide with someone is to have your identity melded with that person. The mother-child relationship is abiding. Husband-wife is the same. You are living your life within the context of this relationship. It is always present. You are in a married relationship, whether your spouse is presently with you. You are always the child of your mother. Just so, when we say about ourselves that we abide in Christ, as this passage calls us to, we are saying that our relationship with Christ is ongoing and always on. We don’t leave Jesus at the door of the church. We live our whole life as Christians, in relationship with Christ, wherever we are and at all times.
The other key word in this passage, a word that, although not in the scripture, describes the relationships is that of “interrelationship.” What this passage tells us is that “we are all in this together.” The branch needs the vine to produce fruit. The vine needs branches also to produce fruit. After all, a vine can’t produce fruit by itself. That’s what the branches are for. So if the vine is to be fruitful, it needs branches that will produce the fruit. And the vine grower also needs the vine and the branches to be functioning properly so that fruit can be produced. Again, the vine grower can’t produce fruit out of thin air. Finally, the world needs the vine grower, the vine, and the branches because the world needs the fruit the vine produces. That’s why the vine grower planted the vine, so that the vine grower could provide good fruit for the world He loves, and also so that He might be glorified as the greatest Vine Grower. So, you see, no one in this scenario acts on their own or is self-contained. The Father needs the Son, and the Son needs the Father. We need the Son. The world needs the Father, the Son, and us. God, us, we are all wound up together in this life, interconnected, interrelated, all in this together.
Now this needs to be looked at more closely. Let’s start with ourselves. To produce fruit, that is, to live a life that fulfills God’s purpose for us, we have to be connected to the vine. We have to abide in Christ, who is the vine. We cannot fulfill our purpose without abiding in Christ. Indeed, we can not be fully human, our truest and best selves, unless we abide in the true vine, which is Christ. The Holy Spirit, that energizes us and nourishes us, passes from Christ the vine into us. If, somehow, we close ourselves off to the Spirit, or to the vine, we whither and die. So, as John Wesley often said, we do no good thing on our own, but only by the grace of God do we do any good thing. It is only with a vital relationship in Christ that we produce fruit.
But also, Christ needs us to produce fruit. What good is a vine if it produces no fruit? What good is Christ if we are not producing fruit? Christ cannot produce fruit of himself. We are his hands. We are his feet. We are his witnesses. Jesus says that with the Holy Spirit we will be able to do works greater than what He himself did. Jesus wants us, needs us, to produce fruit. When we are connected to the vine, then we are doing what the vine wants us to do and will feed us so that we can produce the fruit the vine wants us to produce. When we produce fruit, we continue the ministry of Christ in the world, the ministry that He entrusted to us. So, the good works we do as Christians is not about us, or our vain glory, or need to be needed. It is done for the sake of Christ who enabled us to do these good works and in fact is the author of them. We are producing fruit of the vine, good works of Christ, not of ourselves. Without us, there would be no works of Christ, no fruit. And to the extent that we are fruitful, Christ is fruitful.
But also, the vine grower, the Father, needs both the vine and the branches to be working together in order to produce fruit. The vine grower planted the vine so that fruit would be produced. The vine grower had a purpose in mind when the vine was planted. The Father had a plan in mind when he sent His Son and planted Him in the earth. The purpose was not to destroy the world but to save it. The Father, the vine grower, wants the vine, His son, to produce fruit of righteousness, fruit of salvation, for the sake of the world that needs saved. Without the vine, the world cannot take from the fruit of salvation. Without the branches, us, there can be no fruit. So, the vine grower needs us to be connected to the vine so that we can produce fruit that brings the world to the vine, to Christ, to receive the fruit of salvation. Without us producing the fruit, those in need of salvation will not be able to get the fruit of salvation, which defeats the purpose of the vine grower. People come to Christ, come to the Father, because of the attractiveness, the nourishment, and the blessing which is the fruit that we produce. Our fruit, our good works, our active love, is what draws people to the vine, to Christ. Without the fruit, or a vine that produces little fruit, the people of the world pass by, and miss out on the fruit of salvation. The vine grower needs the vine to feed the branches so that we, the branches, can produce an abundance of fruit that draws the people of the world to the vine to eat from the fruit and live. And perhaps, like what has happened to us by the grace of God, those who come may be grafted into the vine and become branches themselves.
And that’s what this is all about. The vine was planted for the sake of people who have not yet been grafted into the vine. To be fully human means being grafted into the vine and producing fruit. This is our purpose, our reason for existing. We, as Christians, do not exist for ourselves. We do not live our Christian life for our own sake. We do what we do for the sake of the world, for the sake of others and to the glory of God. We do what we do so that others will be drawn to Christ, to benefit from the work of Christ produced by us, and be incorporated into the life of Christ, be grafted into the vine by baptism, and become yet another branch in this great vine which is the body of Christ.
It is the understanding of these intertwining and interdependent relationships that help us understand verse 7, a verse that, taken out of context, can be misused and can be a source of confusion. If we are abiding in Christ, connected with the vine in order to produce fruit for the sake of the world, then whatever we ask will be given us because we will ask for what God wants for us. We will not get what we ask for if we do not ask for what God wants for us. To ask for what God does not want for us is a sign of a less than complete relationship with God. And that’s where all of us are in our relationship with the vine . . . incomplete, less than perfect, because of the disease of sin. The goal here is to wish for what God wishes, to want what God wants. To the degree that we wish for what God wishes, and want what God wants, we will receive what we ask. This is what we should desire, to have the mind of Christ, to be of one mind with each other and with God, to abide in Christ, to be on the same page, to want the same things, wish for the same things, to be united in mind and heart with God and one another. To the extent that we can do that, the fruit that can be produced through us will be awesome.
And that leads to a final key word, “pruning.” In order for a plant to keep producing fruit it has to be pruned so that it can be revitalized, so there can be more growth. The more fruit we produce, the more pruning we experience, so that we can be even more fruitful. Pruning means being cut. Remember when Jesus said, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.” This is pruning, having cut off what is unfruitful or even harmful to us, so that what is left of us is vital, effective, and healthy. We are never done being pruned. Being pruned by the Father, the Vine Grower, is necessary for rejuvenation. If we were not pruned we would turn to wood and become barren. We are in constant need of discipline, of repentance and amendment of our lives. God is never done tending to us.
So, let me pull all this together. The image of the vine and the branches relates to us as a congregation in this way. The more of us as a community of branches are abiding in Christ the vine, the more fruit we as a whole will produce. It is not sufficient for only a few of us to produce fruit. It is not sufficient because it runs against God’s purpose for us, it causes people to pass us by. It is incumbent on all of us to abide in Christ, to be in relationship with Christ through prayer, reflection, worship, repentance, to be nourished by the Holy Spirit that flows through Christ into our lives, so that each of us can bear fruit. Further, we as a congregation experience pruning. We are disciplined. We are in need of repentance as a body. We have to be pruned so that we as a congregation, as a whole, can be more fruitful. There are parts of our life together as a congregation that needs to be cut off, such as gossip, grudges, self-centeredness and vanity, insincerity, failure to mutually submit, and apathy, still looking back rather than looking forward. Yes, we as a congregation of branches, stand in need of repentance, of being pruned, so that we can produce even more fruit, not so we can keep this thing going, not so we can survive, but for the glory of God and for the sake of those who live around us who need the fruit of salvation, who need to be grafted into the vine. That’s why we do what we do, not for our own sake, but for the sake of others and to the glory of God who makes every good thing we do possible.
So, let us remember these simple things. God is the vine grower. Jesus is the vine. We are the branches. God prunes us so that we, individually and as a congregation, can produce more fruit, so that we can be a greater blessing to others. And to the extent that we, as a congregation, abide in Christ and draw closer to Christ, the greater the fruit we will produce, the greater the glory God, the Vine Planter and the Vine Grower, will receive.

Dying to Live

2009-03-29T12:08:00.000-07:00

John 12:20-33

There are a few accounts in the gospels that tell us Jesus came first to connect with the Jews and that Gentiles, or non-Jews, were not his concern until after his resurrection. For example, he told his disciples when he first sent them out two by two to go to their fellow Jews. Further, there’s that disturbing account when the Syrian woman asks Jesus to do something for her and Jesus says it is not right to cast pearls before the swine. Then she came back with, “Yes, master, but even the dogs get the crumbs from the master’s table.” After saying that, Jesus grants the woman’s request. I don’t want to get into what that story is about, only to say that the impression we get is that Jesus came first to minister to the Jews. And this helps us understand why Philip and Andrew act the way they do when a couple of Greeks approach them with a request to speak to Jesus.
These Greeks approached Philip with a request to speak to Jesus. For some reason, they were either unable or unwilling to go directly to Jesus himself. Philip didn’t say, “Of course, right this way.” Rather, his response was, “Wait here.” Philip went to find Andrew. “Andrew, there are some Gentiles that are wanting to speak to Jesus. What should we do?” Neither of them knowing what was appropriate, they go to Jesus to tell him there are some Gentiles over there that want to speak with him. When they pointed them out to Jesus and told him who they were and what they wanted, I can imagine the expression on Jesus’ face. It would have been a knowing look, a realization that the time for him to complete his earthly work was at hand. He knew that his crucifixion was on behalf of the whole world, and that his death and resurrection would draw all the nations to himself. Now, it was already starting.
Reflecting on his upcoming passion, suffering, abuse, crucifixion, prompted Jesus to share this paradox: “If you love your life, you will lose it, but if you hate your life in this world, you will keep it for eternal life.” What does this mean? Especially, what does it mean to hate your life in this world? Teenagers will scream it out, “I hate my life!” People who are miserable say, “I hate my life.” Surely, this is not what Jesus had in mind. He doesn’t want us to be miserable.
Jesus doesn’t seem to me like a person who was miserable, who hated his earthly life. He did know that his earthly life was something he had taken up of his own free will. He chose to be born and to walk this earth. And he chose to lay his life down by dying on the cross, and in the process, defeating the power of death. He truly died, and then took up life again in the resurrection. Jesus knew his life is eternal. And, like what we talked about last week, those who look on the cross in faith will be healed from the poison bite of the serpent, the sickness of sin, and have eternal life. And as Jesus did, so we are invited to do: to be willing to lay down our life, if called upon, knowing that we will keep it for eternal life. We know this because we have the hope of resurrection. As you know, Jesus had a tendency for hyperbole, saying things like, “If your arm causes you to sin, cut it off.” Obviously, he doesn’t mean physically cut off your arm. Just so, when Jesus says we are to hate our life in this world, he is inviting us to not be attached to our life on earth. Our time here is brief in comparison to eternity. There truly is more to life than this.
Yet, we are in love with our life on earth. And we don’t want to think about losing it, but will go to great lengths to protect our lives, especially our self-constructed islands of familiarity. It is a shock to us to hear words such as this:
Come, brothers and sisters, before the end, and let us look upon our clay, upon the infirmity and meanness of our nature. Let us see that man is dust, food for worms, and corruption; that our bones grow dry, and have no breath of life within them. Let us gaze on the tombs. Where is man’s glory? Where his outward beauty? Where is the eloquent tongue? All is dust and shadow. Why does man deceive himself and boast? Why does he trouble himself in vain? For he is earth, and soon to the earth he will return. Why does man not reflect that he is formed from clay, and cast out as rottenness and corruption? Yet though we are clay, why do we cling so closely to the earth? For if we are Christ’s kin, should we not run to Him, leaving all this mortal and fleeting life, and seeking the life incorruptible, which is Christ Himself, the illumination of our souls?

This is the issue that Christ lays before us. Where is your primary attachment? What is your primary concern? Is it to do your own thing, live your life, get all you can and protect all you got? Or is it to think nothing of what you want, or what you have, but rather have as your ultimate concern what God wants of you? Is your life driven by love of yourself or love of God? Who comes first? If our overarching concern is to do our own will, we can be assured that we will discover the vanity of this kind of life when we die, or are in the process of dying and realize we can’t do what we want. Our bodies won’t let us. Or, we can make of our life the overarching desire to run to Christ, to follow his example, to live out his teachings and do His will, sacrificing our own will for the purposes of God, seeking first the kingdom of God. Doing this, and we can be assured that all we need for a blessed life will be provided, and we have as our future reward the knowledge that we will stand in God’s presence as one who is known.
But, again, there is nothing easy about this. We live in a culture, a media-driven consumer culture, that barrages us with the message that it’s all about me, it’s my life, and I should live as I see fit. Further, it is natural to protect your life. Of course we want to avoid pain, suffering, and sacrifice. Jesus acknowledges as much. For as he thinks about the suffering he will soon endure, he says, “Now my soul is troubled.” The prospect of suffering, especially on behalf of people, some of whom hate you but most of whom don’t even know you exist, is naturally very disturbing. It is perfectly natural to want to protect yourself, defend yourself, perhaps even assert yourself. True humility, dying to self-will, of always trying to get your way or get some benefit in every situation, is very hard, an ongoing struggle.
Now when Jesus said, “My soul is troubled.” This did not mean Jesus was having second thoughts. His will and the Father’s will were one will. There is no doubt Jesus would do what His Father wants Him to do. Jesus says he made this comment for our benefit, so we can be comforted in knowing that although Jesus did what was needed, it troubled him. Jesus was not brimming with excitement and a big, goofy grin on his face when he realized his crucifixion was a matter of days away. Of course, he was troubled. But his feelings didn’t prevent Him from doing His Father’s will. We, then, can be encouraged to do what God’s will is for us in spite of the troubling of our souls, to submit to the will of God by an act of will, rather than by how we feel about it.
And this is true freedom, to love not based on feelings, or the drive to protect oneself, but a love for others that is sheer act of will, regardless of personal risk or one’s feelings at the moment. This is a high calling for us to strive toward.
However, we must beware of taking this to an extreme, where we damage our bodies, or our well-being. There is the problem of giving of yourself so much that you have nothing left to give, thus rendering yourself useless. Living for God and putting others’ needs before our own is sort of a false either/or. If we don’t take care of our own needs, or allow our needs to be cared for, then we can’t be helpful. This is an aspect of humility too. Rather than always helping other people, we need help ourselves. We also are needy. We have to allow ourselves to be the ones receiving help. We need to allow others to meet our needs, even as we meet the needs of others. This is what enables community life, mutuality, interdependence. We need each other. Humility calls for giving and receiving, of leading and being led, of helping and being helped, of sacrificing and of benefiting from the sacrifice of others.
Again, what does it mean to hate your life? One way to look at it is the relationship of teacher and disciple. You could say that you hate your own self-directed life in order to follow the life as directed by your teacher. You say to yourself, “My life was going nowhere until I fell in love with Jesus. And now my life has meaning and purpose and direction, because now I’m not chasing my dreams and fantasies but obediently following my Teacher, my Lord and Savior.” This is the kind of attitude that we can adopt for our lives. Paul criticized some people in Philipi by writing in Phil 2:21- “All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.” John said it very clearly in one of his letters, 1 John 2:6- “Whoever says, ‘I live in Christ,’ ought to walk just as he walked.”
And so, whatever we do, we are to do it with the intention of serving Christ. This is the responsibility of all would identify themselves as Christians. Augustine said:
“Every one, therefore, is the servant of Christ in the same way as Christ also is a servant. And he that serves Christ in this way will be honored by His Father with the signal honor of being with His Son, and having nothing wanting to his happiness for ever. For even that noblest service of suffering has been rendered by many of your class; for many who were neither bishops nor clergy, but young men and virgins, those advanced in years with those who were not, many married persons both male and female, many fathers and mothers of families, have served Christ even to the laying down of their lives in martyrdom for His sake, and have been honored by the Father in receiving crowns of exceeding glory.”

We are to see all aspects of our life, our relationships and responsibilities and vows, within the context of being servants of Christ, with the assurance that in doing so, seeking to live out the will of God in every area of our life, that we will be honored by our Heavenly Father when we stand before Him.
There is one other benefit to dying to self and living for God. This is how we participate in the driving out of the ruler of this world, the devil. By choosing to follow Christ, as God gives us the grace to do so, we resist the devil, of whom Christ has already dethroned through the victory of the cross, that defeated the power of death and of hell. Because of what Christ accomplished on the cross, Satan, the ruler of this world, has been kicked off his throne and left out in the street. The devil, of course, is still with us. As Scripture says, Satan is like a lion, wandering about seeking who he may devour. If we were fortresses, the devil and his army of demons would be on the outside besieging the gates and trying to break in. He cannot enter unless we open our gate and let him in.
In our weakness, we do allow the devil in. But when we repent, the Holy Spirit is there to cast out the devil from our fortress again. And when the devil does wound us, with one of his fiery arrows, we have an Advocate who prays for us, a Great Physician that can heal our wounds and restore us to health. So we pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” We pray this because, on our own, we are too weak. We need to rely on God to help us against the onslaught of Satan, as it says in Ps. 127:1, “Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.”
But this is the good news for us. The power of Satan has been defeated. The ruler of this world has been dethroned. We can be ruled by God’s will and no longer must serve our self-will that has been corrupted by the devil. Since Adam and Eve, our self-will has been our weakness. We didn’t have a chance. Now, by God’s grace, we do.

Let this be our prayer, this prayer written many centuries ago:
“Christ is risen, releasing from bondage Adam the first-formed man and destroying the power of hell. Be of good courage, for death is slain and hell despoiled; the crucified and risen Christ is King. He has given incorruption to our flesh; He raises us and grants us resurrection, and He counts worthy of His joy and glory all who, with a faith that wavers not, have trusted fervently in Him.”

Step Into the Light

2009-03-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

John 3:14-21

Have any of you been snake bitten before? How about a spider bite? Bee sting or wasp sting? Those hurt, don’t they. The sting is painful enough, but as the venom starts working it’s way through your body, the pain gets worse and worse. And, as you know, for some, the body reacts to these stings and bites in such a harmful way that one could even die if medical attention isn’t forthcoming. Again, it’s not so much the sting itself that causes harm, but the poison that spreads through your body that hurts so much.
I mention this as a way to get to a powerful way sin is portrayed in scripture, as well as the remedy for sin, which we have for us today. Jesus compares his saving work for all humanity to when Moses lifts up a bronze serpent in the desert. Sin and the effects of a snake bite go hand in hand. Sin is more than doing something bad. Sin is more like a poison that lingers and causes great harm if the antidote is not applied. Sin is sort of like being snake bit.
Listen to the story that Jesus is referring to in this conversation he has with Nicodemus. It is in Numbers 21:4-9:

From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

It is clear how Jesus takes this event in the history of Israel and shows that it is a symbol of what is happening when Jesus is raised up on the cross. The serpent, which was causing the people harm, when lifted up and gazed upon in faith, brings healing. Just so, Jesus, who took on the sin of all the world, when lifted up on the cross and is gazed upon with faith, brings healing to those who are dying from the poison of sin. It is a vivid image for us, and inspires us to turn again to Christ, to dare to look at him on the cross, the Lord of life sacrificing his life on the cross so that everyone who looks on him in faith might not perish, but have eternal life.
This is the good news of the gospel, that we can be healed from the corrupting poison of sin in our lives by looking upon Jesus and believing that he is like the bronze serpent in the desert that brings healing to those who look on him in faith. Those who refuse to look upon Christ are hurting themselves. They hurt themselves by refusing to stand in the light of truth, look upon the crucified Christ, and live.
So many people refuse to do this. So many people refuse to acknowledge the depth of their sickness, and their need for healing. Or, they believe that if they just try harder, that somehow they will be able to make everything right. Many of you are familiar with the 12 step recovery program for those trapped in addiction. It is the teaching of this program that the first step toward recovery is acknowledging your need for help; that you are powerless to help yourself. Many people will acknowledge their lives are not as they should be. They know they need to change their life. But they will not admit their helplessness. This is the hardest thing, which we have to rediscover as we go through different stages of our life, that we don’t have the answers, that we don’t have the strength necessary, that we can’t make it on our own, that we need help. The first step toward healing, from addiction, from sin, is to acknowledge one’s complete powerlessness and need for help.
What scripture teaches us this morning is that those who acknowledge their powerlessness over the effects of sin, and allow themselves the vulnerability and humility of standing in the glaring light of God’s truth, to not trust in their own goodness but trust in Christ with faith, these receive the blessing of God and become healed from the poison of sin. This is the crucial step that so many people miss. John Wesley speaks of the “almost Christian.” It is one who believes that Jesus saves us from sin. They assent to it mentally. Or, caught up in the passion of the moment, they come forward and pray the sinner’s prayer. But they still refuse to acknowledge the truth of their lives, how completely poisoned and corrupt our lives are by sin. The poison of sin is so strong, to the extent that we have to turn again and again to Christ, allow the light of God’s truth to shine ever more fully into the dark corners of our lives to have the truth of our deeds exposed, so that we can humbly plead again for the mercy of God. This is the ongoing act of salvation that we live in to. Our life in Christ is one of being saved. It is a process.
It is hard to submit ourselves to the glaring light of God’s truth, especially when we are living a good life. Think of Job, who was without question a man of great piety. God was even bragging on him. But when the time of testing came, Job increasingly grew angry with God. It revealed in Job the sin of pride. He could not understand why God had done this to him. He did not deserve it. He argued with God about it and demanded of God a defense. Then, God finally answers by blowing Job away with his arrogance and presumptuousness. God impresses upon Job how insignificant he is in the great scheme of things. The light of God’s truth shines brightly on Job, and instead of being defensive or hiding from God’s truth, he makes a statement of contrition. From Job 42:1-6:

Then Job answered the Lord: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

Dorotheus, a wise teacher from the past, taught from experience that the closer we draw to God, the more evident it becomes to us of how sinful we truly are. Nearly all of us live with blinders on, content in our self-delusions, even those of us who have given our lives to Christ. Like Job, so it is for us, that although we have heard the gospel and have responded to it positively, how many of us have seen God? And if we did, would we not realize that all our falsehoods would drop, and we, like Job, would find ourselves in need to despise ourselves, and repent in dust and ashes? When we look upon Christ, who is God in the flesh, suffering and dying on a cross, drawing out the poison of sin that has corrupted all of creation, are we not pierced to the heart, humbled, and find ourselves letting go of the façade of having ourselves all together, but rather in desperate need of healing?
This is what is involved in allowing the light of God’s truth to shine upon us. It is the painful acknowledgement of our complete infatuation with our own self-image. I think I am like many of us, to truly be confronted with my false-self, the delusions I have constructed in order to cope with my insecurities and live out my fantasies. That’s too painful, too brutally honest, too raw. Yes, I believe in Jesus. I trust Christ for my salvation. But when the searchlight of God’s truth gets flipped on, I join Adam and Eve and run for cover. Am I the only one here for whom this is the case? How many of us, with complete honesty, say to God what the psalmist said, in Ps. 26:2, “Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and mind.” How many of us request that test?
For many of us, me included, we have to go beyond believing in the name of Jesus. We have to trust completely in the power of Jesus to save us. We have to move beyond believing about Jesus, but rather believe in Jesus. We have to trust not in our own goodness, our own motives, our own will, our own desires, our own feelings, but rather trust in the mercy of God expressed in the unconditional love of Jesus, who suffered and died in order to redeem the whole of creation by drawing out the poison of sin.
This story Jesus teaches should haunt us, when he tells of how people will come to him saying, “We healed in your name, and cast out demons in your name.” But Jesus will say to them, go away from me, for I do not know you. Their fault lay in what they said. They said “we healed, we cast out the demons, in your name, of course.” Rather, we should be like Paul, who said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Paul did not trust his motives, his power, his strength, his moral effort, his emotions. He relied on the strength of Christ. Paul had allowed the truth of God to shine on him and reveal his complete bankruptcy and total dependency on the grace and power of God to do any good thing. The poison of sin is so great. Or, as John Wesley taught, any good we do is made possible by the grace of God.
And so, this is the good news for us: that we can’t save ourselves. But God can save us. God loves us so much. God has acted. God has saved us. God has provided the remedy for the poison sting of sin that is killing us. We can look upon the cross and be healed, and believe that by looking on the cross, and trusting in the healing power of the cross, that we will have eternal life. The poison of sin is drawn out of us when we gaze upon the cross. This is the mystery of our faith. We don’t know how it works. It is what God has revealed to us. We can receive this healing and be thankful. We can trust in the saving power of God to such a degree that we can allow the truth of our lives to be in the glaring spotlight, and be able to say, “Do not look on my many sins, but have mercy on me, O God, in your loving compassion, and save me.”
That’s a scary thing. It’s scary to acknowledge that we are hopelessly messed up. It’s scary to confront the painful truth of ourselves. It is scary to acknowledge that our lives, which may last seventy, eighty, even ninety years or longer, are but a puff of wind, a flower that blossoms during the day, but dries up and withers away at night. It is scary to acknowledge that all our hopes and dreams, our successes and disappointments, our goals and plans, are but a flash in a pan. And the years of pain, rejection, and abuse we have been inflicted with, and the wearing out of our bodies over time, to face our mortality, it is a fearful thing.
Sarah Foulger offers a powerful perspective on this. She points out how interesting it is that God has Moses make a bronze serpent, that which the people feared most. The people did not want to see snakes. They were frightening and the source of so much death. But, if they could muster up the courage to gaze upon what they feared, the snake, then they would be healed. If they could confront their fear, and realize that the power of God can overcome what they fear, then they will be healed.
Foulger makes the connection for us. We fear rejection. Christ was rejected. We fear pain. Christ suffered. We fear being abused. Christ was abused. We fear death. Christ died. And as we gaze upon Christ on the cross, we can realize that our fears of abuse, pain, suffering, rejection, even death, can be overcome because we can know that God does not condemn us. God does not condemn us, He loves us. God does not reject us, He forgives us and claims us as His own, by His own choice. We come to realize that God’s love is so steadfast that nothing but our own choice can separate us from God’s love. We begin to discover that the poison of abuse, suffering, rejection, and death, has lost its sting in Christ who conquers, and that we need not fear anything, for perfect love casts out all fear. And to live without fear is to live an abundant life.
This is the gospel. We can stand in the glaring spotlight of God’s truth, and allow our life, our thoughts, our deeds be tried by God. And we can be assured that they will be found wanting. Yet, God loves us anyway, for He knows of what we are made. He knows we are but dust. We can be assured that God still loves us, in spite of our many shortcomings; because God loves us, not because of our purity, but because of God’s mercy.
I invite you to pray this psalm with me. Psalm 62:

For God alone my soul waits in silence;
From him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
My fortress; I shall never be shaken.
On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
My mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.
Those of low estate are but a breath,
Those of high estate are a delusion;
In the balances they go up;
They are together lighter than a breath.
Put no confidence in extortion,
And set no vain hopes on robbery;
If riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
Once God has spoken;
Twice have I heard this:
That power belongs to God,
And steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
For you repay to all according to their work.

amazing words

2009-03-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

I was listening to Ancient Faith Radio (ancientfaith.com) and heard these words from St. Silouan that blew me away. Read this and be inspired! http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/willofgod.aspx

The best thing of all is to surrender to God's will and bear affliction having confidence in God. The Lord, seeing our affliction, will never give us too much to bear. If we seem to ourselves to be greatly afflicted, it means that we have not surrendered to the will of God.

The soul that is in all things devoted to the will of God rests quiet in Him, for she knows of experience and from the Holy Scriptures that the Lord loves us much and watches over our souls, quickening all things by His grace in peace and love.

Nothing troubles the man who is given over to the will of God, be it illness, poverty or persecution. He knows that the Lord in His mercy is solicitous for us. The Holy Spirit, whom the soul knows, is witness therefore. But the proud and the self-willed do not want to surrender to God's will because they like their own way, and that is harmful for the soul.

recommendation

2009-03-18T11:09:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this blog of a classmate of mine in seminary. Jan Richardson is an accomplished artist. I just came across her blog this morning, but my first impression was very strong. Check it out. http://paintedprayerbook.com/

Clean it Up

2009-03-16T07:25:00.000-07:00

Sermon
Mar. 15, 2009
Third Sunday in Lent – Year B
John 2:13-22

On the surface, the story read for us this morning is about Jesus chasing merchants and moneychangers out of the temple and, when questioned as to why he thought he could do this, makes a cloaked prediction of his death and resurrection, which his disciples did not catch until after the fact.
The merchants and moneychangers were trying to provide a legitimate service. It was the time before the Passover and animal sacrifices had to be offered. For many people, bringing their own animal along to sacrifice was too much trouble. So it was convenient to have priest-approved animals available for purchase. And the moneychangers had their job to do. All kinds of currency circulated through the empire, all of them stamped with the head of the emperor. This money would not be appropriate on the temple grounds, because of the graven image. That broke the first and second of the Ten Commandments. So, the money had to be changed into temple currency that would not have the head of the emperor stamped on it, for a small fee of course. So, this was all legitimate business, meeting specific religious needs of the people.
But this was holy ground, this temple. All of this activity could easily have been done at the market. The only reason it was going on at the temple was so that the priests could make sure they got their cut. For the priests, as well as for these merchants and moneychangers, Passover had become less about piety and more about profit. So Jesus had to send them out. He didn’t confiscate the money, or the animals, or set the birds free. The moneychangers were free to pick up the spilled money. The merchants could follow their animals to the market. Jesus told the merchants with the doves and pigeons to take them and go. Nothing wrong with the service they were providing. It’s just that it was taking place in an improper manner, and with the wrong spirit, an impure spirit.
However, we can go deeper into this story.
One way to go deeper is to remember who Jesus is. Remember, back at Christmas, we sing the song about Jesus being Emmanuel – God with us. Jesus is God. As Jesus says, “I and my Father are one.” And the Holy Spirit rests upon Jesus. So, just as the Temple is where the presence of God can be located for the Jews in Jesus’ day, so it is with Jesus. Where Jesus is, God is present. Jesus is the temple. He essentially says so himself when he tells his questioners, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it in three days.” Obviously he is not talking about the bricks and mortar temple. He is talking about his physical body. His body is the temple in which the presence of God can be found. The body of Jesus is a temple.
And we can go deeper still. We, as Christians, are members of the body of Christ. We are the body of Christ. When two or three gather in his name, Jesus is present, which means God is in our midst. We, the church, the body of Christ, are a temple.
Further, as Paul teaches, our individual bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. When we are baptized, the Holy Spirit descends upon us and rests upon us. Jesus stands at the door and knocks. If we open the door, then he enters in and dwells in us, individually. Each of us, physically, are temples.
Holding on to this truth, that we are temples of the Holy Spirit, that Christ dwells within us, let’s recall what Passover is all about. The time in which the story read from scripture this morning takes place is a period of preparation before the Passover. Passover is when the Jews remember how God delivered them from slavery in Egypt. The angel of death went through the land to kill the first born of every family in Egypt. But when the angel came to the house of a Jewish family, and blood from a lamb was found smeared on the doorpost, the angel would pass over the house, and the family inside the house would be safe.
Now in the days leading up to the Passover, no yeast was to be used in bread, just as God had instructed Israel, when it was time for them to leave Egypt, not to take time for bread to rise but to make their bread hurriedly. It became the practice among the Jews to do a little spring cleaning of their homes. Specifically, they were to get all the leaven out of their house. To sweep their house clean of old leaven. It was an opportunity to purify their homes. To start a new batch of dough.
As Jesus entered his Father’s house, he took the opportunity to do a little spring cleaning himself, not with a broom, but with a handful of small cords. He swept out the old leaven that was the moneymaking taking place inside his Father’s house. It was in the spirit of Passover that Jesus took this action of purifying his house.
This also is our time of purification, as we prepare ourselves for the celebration of our Passover, our deliverance from slavery to sin and death, the great celebration of Easter. Now is our time to sweep out the old leaven and put our houses in order, to make something new out of our life.
Since we are trying to follow Christ’s example, we should also share in his same zeal for his Father’s house. Our temple is the church. And we should protect the church, purify it, make sure the church is in order. We should love, honor, and care for the church, which is the body of Christ. Jesus refers to his church as the bride of Christ. So we should care about the church. We are the church. We are the bride of Christ. We should look out for one another and make sure we are about the Father’s business, to make sure that this house is a house of prayer. It’s certainly not a moneymaking venture! Far from it. We’re not in the black around here! But that’s another sermon. I did hear someone say that God has given us all the money that is needed to pay our bills and provide for all the ministry God has for us to do. The problem is that the money is in our pockets. But that’s another sermon.
Our first priority is to deal with our own individual impurity. What housecleaning do we need to take care of in this season of Lent, this season of preparation? This is what that prayer I shared last week from St. Ephraim of Syria is pointing us toward. Let me repeat the prayer: O Lord and Master of my life, give me not a spirit of sloth, meddling, lust for power, and idle chatter. Rather, grant me a spirit of soberness, humility, patience, and love. O Lord and King, grant me to see my own faults and not to condemn my brother; for blessed are You to the ages of ages. Amen.
This is what Lent is about. It is about focusing on the log in our own eye rather than the speck in our neighbor’s. It is about purifying ourselves from vice; to get rid of laziness, especially laziness regarding our relationship with God. We need to get rid of our tendency to meddle in other people’s business, of being a busybody or always striving to be “in the know” or get sucked in to the gossip that passes for news and entertainment in the media. We need to get rid of the need to assert ourselves and be in control all the time. We need to get rid of chattiness, which opens ourselves up to spreading gossip and talking behind the backs of others. Like we find in James 3, “The tongue is itself set on fire by hell. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God.” Or like this other saint said, “You fast from meat, but you devour your brother!” Our tongues need to be tamed. We need to rid ourselves of all this, so that we become more pure: body, mind, and soul. We are made in the image and likeness of God. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. We need to purify our bodies.
But, let us not forget the story Jesus told of the man who had a demon cast out of him. He says in Matt. 12:
When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but if finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.

The man was free from the demon. But then he failed to fill that void with good works and scripture reading and prayer. There was a void in his life. And the demon came back with seven other demons. And they filled the void the man had failed to fill, leaving him much worse off than before. So, we have to rid ourselves of our vices, but we also have to fill ourselves with virtues. And that’s what the second half of this prayer is about. We need for God to give us a spirit of soberness, which means to take life seriously, and to take others seriously. We need for God to give us a spirit of humility, to not be prideful, demanding of our rights, or feeling entitled. We need for God to give us a spirit of patience, because we know that being a Christian is hard, and there are a lot of setbacks and we fail all the time. We need to be patient with ourselves. And, we need from God a spirit of love, for God is love. This is why we are Christians in the first place: because we have been loved, and we are to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. So we need a spirit of love.
And that leads to the last line of the prayer: O Lord and King, grant me to see my own faults and not to condemn my brother and sister. Of course, we see the faults of others. That’s easy. This prayer does not ask God to prevent us from seeing the faults of others. That’s not realistic. In fact, it is necessary for us to be mindful of other’s faults. We have to look out for one another and hold each other accountable. No, we are to ask for God to help us not to condemn others. We can’t condemn others because we have faults of our own. And so, as Paul writes, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” When it comes to purifying the church, we all need to focus on our own troubles. It’s just like when scouts go camping, and you have to police the grounds. You know what that means? It means you line up and then walk across the campground, and whatever trash you see in front of you, you are responsible to pick up. And if everyone is diligent to pick up the trash in front of them, one walk across the campground and all the trash is picked up.
This is our task. We are preparing for Easter. It is time for us to look at our lives, what lies in front of us, and pick up our trash and dispose of it, and in the process leave behind a life that is clean and in good order. This is our challenge. And we all need a lot of trash bags, for we all have made a big mess of things. It will take more than one pass through the campground. In fact, the cleanup won’t end until we hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” So, let us keep working at it. God will help us all along the way.

The Ochlophobist: american liturgies; following the r.s. thomas poem below

2009-03-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

The Ochlophobist: american liturgies; following the r.s. thomas poem below

It Comes with the Territory

2009-03-13T07:22:00.000-07:00

Sermon

March 8, 2009

Mark 8:31-38

“It Comes with the Territory”

Stanley Harakas wrote, “Lent is the time when we struggle to accept an unpalatable truth: growth toward victorious living comes through trial and sacrifice. There is no resurrection without the cross.”

To achieve anything in life, it takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice. Relationships take a lot of hard work and sacrifice. So does parenting. So does getting through school. So does, I observe, navigating through old age. So will getting through these tough economic times. Those moments where we get to celebrate milestones in our life: graduation, the last child out of the house, fifty years of marriage, are undergirded by a lot of trial, struggle, and sacrifice. It can’t be helped. It’s comes with the territory.

The disciples had gotten a good view of Jesus’ power. They had seen him heal people. They had seen him cast out demons. They had heard him preach and teach. They had seen the miracles, and the huge crowds. And they must have looked at each other and said, “We are the luckiest men on earth. Jesus is the messiah of God and we have the privilege of being his entourage. And not too worse for wear, either.” See, the disciples didn’t have to sacrifice too much. Essentially all they had done was leave behind their families and employers to wander through the land with a rabbi who, it seems, is the messiah, the long-for waited king, improbable it may seem. All things considered, these guys had gotten a big break. Their families and employers actually got the worst end of the deal. And the visions of what was possible for these disciples flooded their imaginations. Their self-confidence was building. Perhaps a feeling of elitism or entitlement began to creep in as they adjusted to the reality of their new-found fame and fortune. In comparison to what they had to sacrifice for the position they found themselves in . . . they were doing well for themselves without too much pain.

Then, Jesus threw cold water on them in a big way. He reminded them that victory does not come without sacrifice. No one achieves victory without making enemies along the way. No one fulfills their purpose in life without generating criticism. Suffering and rejection is part of life, even for the messiah. As for sacrifice, nothing less than death.

After having offered this bitter pill, and making sure every one heard the prediction Jesus gave that his life was going to get rough, in fact, that he was going to lose it, Peter had to pull him aside. We don’t know Peter’s motive. Motive is very hard to discern. Was Peter upset because Jesus was bursting his bubble? Did he have genuine concern for Jesus and was trying to encourage Jesus not to be so negative? We don’t know Peter’s motive. But we do know that Peter’s character was one of opening his mouth before he has thought everything through. Sometimes what he says is brilliant, like confessing that Jesus is the messiah. But most of the time, Peter reveals his ignorance. And this is one of those times.

Peter is a man who is clearly controlled by his feelings. Self-control and prudence are not his strong suits. He also has a tendency to be a bit presumptuous. How is it that the man who just confessed that Jesus is the messiah dares to pull him aside to rebuke him? Is that his place? Does he consider himself to be a peer with Jesus, or some advisor? Clearly, such considerations were not on Peter’s mind. All he heard was that the messiah said something that caused distress for Peter and so he gave a knee jerk response.

How surprised Peter must have been, and perhaps put off, even had his feelings hurt, that Jesus would respond to Peter’s rebuke, whatever his motive, by turning his back on Peter and saying, “Get behind me, Satan!” Peter and Jesus traded rebukes, and I am sure that Jesus’ rebuke packed more of a punch. Peter, once again, is called out for speaking before knowing what he was talking about. As Jesus put it, “You are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Peter was only thinking about his limited situation, and his perception of things, rather than acknowledging that there is a much bigger plan unfolding that he just does not comprehend.

We can’t be too hard on Peter. He represents us well. Most of us respond to situations based on feelings and self-preservation. When presented with a situation that demands a response, our typical approach is along the line of: does this affect me? What’s in it for me? Will this hurt me or help me? Is it worth my time and effort? Does this fit in with my own personal agenda? This is our common approach to life: self-interest. After all, it’s your life. It’s all about the pursuit of happiness, individual liberty to pursue individual dreams. We teach our kids this and hold it up as a guiding principle: you can be whatever you want to be. This is the mind set in which we live as a society. It is a mindset that is set, not on divine things, but on human things, and individualized at that. Without question, we are a profoundly self-centered society. And we are willing to sacrifice a great deal, if that’s what it takes to achieve what we want. And if someone comes along and puts up a roadblock on our pursuit of happiness, our tendency, like Peter, is to react negatively, to pull aside and rebuke, or try to go around, or work to undermine, whatever it takes to get around this obstacle, this imposition, so we can continue on our pursuit of happiness. Jesus was providing an obstacle for Peter, who had his mind set on his own dreams, rather than God’s plans. His opposition to God earned him a stern rebuke.

Jesus took this episode as an opportunity to teach about human life, instruction on how we ought to live our lives. He did it by aiming a laser beam on our tendency to focus on our own self-interest rather than submit to God’s demands on us. It is a tendency that stretches back to Adam and Eve, who, rather than remain in submission to God’s command and live in harmony and peace, decided to put themselves first. Even if that meant disobeying God and breaking their relationship with God. Jesus aims directly at our sinfulness, our tendency toward self-centeredness and self-preservation, and says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake and the sake of the gospel will save it.”

Let’s face it, nobody wants to submit to anybody. We may be willing to submit for a while. We will do what mom and dad say while we are living under their house, or hold the keys to the car. We’ll do what the teacher wants us to do so we can pass the class. We’ll listen to the boss and give her what she wants so that we can keep our job and maybe impress her enough for a promotion. If the perceived future benefit is more freedom, more personal control, more power, more wealth, then we are willing to submit. If it’s clear that failure to submit will lead to some painful consequences, if it might hurt us, then we are willing to submit, at least enough to get by. But when it comes to relationships that we tend to take for granted, our spouse, our family, our friends, our church, our heavenly Father, and what is demanded in the relationship threatens our own personal agendas, submission to the other becomes a problem. The boss has the leverage of firing you, so you will submit. The law has the leverage of throwing you in jail, so you will submit. The professor has the leverage of failing you, so you will submit. The one who loves you has the leverage of withholding connection with you, but if you don’t really need that other person, if they are holding you back from your own pursuit and desires . . . so what?

Jesus is making it clear to his followers that if they want to continue as his followers, they need to submit to God and deny their self-interest, their hopes and dreams, their individualized pursuits of happiness, their need to call the shots and direct their lives. Jesus is calling them to a life of submission. And this is the heart of the matter. We get to choose. Will I submit to my own agenda, my own vision for my life, my hopes and dreams, or will I submit to God’s righteousness and let God direct my life. Either path we choose will include a cross. Whether our life is self-directed or God-directed, it’s hard and has much sacrifice and generation of enemies. This cannot be escaped. What is really at issue is the end result. Where will you end up when it’s all over.

Herein lies a great irony. The most enlightened form of self-interest is self-denial. To truly live, to be all you can be, to achieve all you are meant to achieve, requires letting go of control over yourself. It requires submitting to God’s righteousness. By losing self-focus and being God-focused, we end up being our truest selves. And, as Christ promised, we have life, and that abundantly. Thus, the sacrifice, the trials, the criticism generated, the enemies made, all of this cross-bearing that is done for the sake of Christ is redeemed in the end if we forsake our own wants and desires, hopes and dreams, and instead diligently pursue God’s righteousness, conforming to the example of Christ.

There is a traditional prayer that is repeated frequently during Lent by many Christians that was written long ago by a Syrian named Ephraim. It goes like this:

O Lord and Master of my life, give me not a spirit of sloth, vain curiosity, lust for power, and idle talk. But give me Thy servant a spirit of soberness, humility, patience, and love. O Lord and King, grant me to see my own faults and not to condemn my brother: for blessed art Thou to the ages of ages. Amen.

This prayer gets at the heart of our life in Christ, and our ongoing struggle between two extremes, setting our minds on human things or divine things. To whom will we submit? Will it be what is easy for us or what is hard? Will it be what interests us at the moment or what interests God? Will it be to the pursuit of more power or the use of the power of the Holy Spirit? Will the goal be to say all the right things or do all the right things, regardless of the price that will be paid in doing it? Either way we go, there will be suffering. There will be sacrifice. But if we choose to suffer as a result of following Christ and submitting to God’s righteousness, the suffering can be redeemed. As Philip McLarty reminds us, “one of the costs of discipleship is the sacrifice of personal freedom.” But in the end, it truly is in our best interest to surrender control of our lives, our individual pursuits of happiness, and submit to God’s rule. Because when we do that, we discover what life is meant to be, we discover true freedom, true liberty, true happiness, not only in the afterlife, but here and now. Evidence of this is well documented through the pages of church history, and some of us have first-hand accounts.

Charles Everest wrote:

Take up thy cross, the Savior said,

If thou wouldst my disciple be

Deny thyself, the world forsake

And humbly follow after me

Take up thy cross and follow Christ

Nor think til death to lay it down

For only he who bears the cross

May hope to wear the glorious crown.

Let us dedicate ourselves, day by day, to submit anew to the way of Christ, to the rule of God, and deny our self-interest and self-preservation. And let us submit, not with a spirit of bitterness but with a calm assurance and humble trust in the One who created us, and loves us completely. Day by day, even now, let us deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow Christ our Lord and God.

Ash Wednesday

2009-02-25T11:40:00.000-08:00

Sermon

Feb. 25, 2009

Ash Wednesday – Year B

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

“Keep the Fast”

This passage is about giving alms, praying, and fasting in a way that others don’t know you are doing it. It is to be done privately in order to gain greater reward from God. It is done privately because there is no place for vanity and pride from showing one’s piety out in the open, to be seen and praised by others. If you are doing your piety with the intention that it be seen and emulated by others, then perhaps that is good for the edification and inspiration of others. But the danger for us is vanity and pride.

However, just because you do your piety in secret does not exempt you from the temptation of pride. You can be prideful of your efforts and look down on others who you perceive (perhaps mistakenly) as not being as pious as you. So, doing your piety in secret, in order to remain beneficial and not a source of spiritual pride, should be done with an attitude of matter-of-factness or disinterest. Perhaps it could be understood as basic as brushing your teeth. This is not a fair equivalent, but the point is not to make yourself all puffed up by your pious accomplishments.

Another point to make is that Jesus assumes that we will give alms, pray, and fast. It is not a requirement, but it is an assumption. We should attempt to do these things regularly and faithfully. Any excuse or reason we come up with not to do these things should be labeled as a spiritual attack and resisted. Satan, who is always trying to get us off track, will place all kinds of thoughts and feeling and obstacles in our way from doing what we feel led to do in our piety. They must be acknowledged as such and overcome, by God’s help. Nor should we feel guilty and despair when we are unable to maintain the level of piety we feel led to attempt. The important thing is to be faithful and try the best you can. It should be hard and setbacks are to be expected. This is, after all, spiritual exercise, which is necessary to run the race in order to obtain the prize. (1 Cor. 9:24-27)

I will focus on fasting. I will talk about the reasons for fasting, the benefits for fasting, and the spiritual aspect that must be paired with the physical aspect for fasting to work.

How many know of the wonderful feeling of a hot shower after being deprived of one for awhile? How about a hamburger after you have recovered from surgery and your diet restriction has come to an end? How about finally being able to get outside without a coat to take a walk, with a warm wind and the smell of warming earth in the air?

Whenever we have been deprived of something, and then finally get to enjoy it again, our senses are increasingly heightened. The hot water is extra tingly. The hamburger is especially juicy. The spring air is intoxicating. The enjoyment of these simple pleasures is dramatically increased as a result of being deprived of them for a significant period of time.

This common experience lies at the heart of the timeless spiritual practice of fasting. Fasting has been done by many cultures and religions for ages. It is globally recognized as an effective tool for spiritual growth and renewal, and an appropriate response to times of great need and concern.

Fasting is a method of suppressing appetites that are always screaming to be fulfilled so that we can focus on other matters, in particular, prayer. Fasting is a period of time where we master our appetites, exercise self-control, so that we can be more focused and intentional about relating to God and serving others. It is a practice that has always been done by the church and that Jesus assumed we would do.

There are a few misconceptions about fasting that I want to address.

One is that fasting is only for monks and nuns and other super-spiritual people, not for average Christians. This is not true. Although the scriptures do not command that we fast, it is assumed by Jesus that his followers would fast. And the church has always commonly practiced fasting. In the earliest days, Wednesday and Friday were days of fasting and there have been set periods of fasting in preparation for major days in the church, for example, the days leading up to Easter. Although some people have the grace and zeal to fast more rigorously than most of us, that doesn’t mean the rest of us are off the hook.

Others are concerned about fasting by thinking it is not healthy to deprive yourself of food, that our bodies require three meals a day. This is not true. Most of us eat much more than what is necessary for our health. On the other hand, there are legitimate reasons not to fast from food, or to be more selective in what you refrain from eating. If anyone does have health issues, it’s best to talk to a doctor before fasting.

Further, abstaining from certain foods for awhile, especially hard to digest foods like meat, is a good thing for your body. It allows your digestive system to rest for a bit and be able to catch up with all the impurities that need to be flushed from your system. So, if done appropriately, occasional fasting actually can improve your health.

Others consider fasting an example of a negative attitude toward the body, that the appetites of the body are inherently bad and have to be beaten into submission so that our spirit can be strengthened. It reflects a false attitude that flesh is bad and spirit is good. Sometimes fasting gets lumped in with sleep deprivation or other extreme measures of self-abuse.

This is clearly a bad attitude toward fasting. First of all, as Christians, we do not hold that the flesh is bad and the spirit is good. Our bodies are good because God made our bodies. Our body and soul are to be in harmony. Fasting is not about beating the body into submission as it is an exercise in self-control, so that we place our appetites under submission to our greater aim of seeking the kingdom of God. As Jesus tells us in Matthew 6, God knows we need food and clothing. If we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, then all these other things will be given to us as well. Fasting is not about an either/or. It is about not letting our appetites control us in our pursuit of righteousness. We need our bodies to be as healthy as they can so that we can serve God and others. Fasting, when done properly, is affirming of our bodies, not punitive.

Another voiced concern is that fasting is too hard, too unrealistic in our day and age, so why even try. Well, fasting has always been hard. And that’s the point. Also, just like anything else, one shouldn’t give up on something just because it wasn’t easy or successful the first time. You don’t learn how to swim by jumping into the deep end. Fasting, if it’s new to you, can be eased in to. When fasting, it’s important to be reasonable and don’t set expectations that are impossible to meet. You should stretch yourself so that you have to give some effort. But don’t make it so hard that you get discouraged quickly and give up. Keep in mind that fasting is not an end in itself. Nobody gets brownie points for fasting. The purpose of fasting is to assist us in growing closer to God. If a person makes fasting into an end in itself, they lose the value of it, and might has well not have fasted at all.

Why food? Restricting the kind and amount of food one eats has always been part of fasting because our physical hunger is ongoing and insatiable. No one ever stops being hungry again. It is relentless. So, hunger, our need to eat, should be controlled. One of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control. We often think of self control along the line of keeping your cool or not partaking of certain vices. But our appetite should also be included. We should not allow our stomachs to control our lives. Of course, we need to eat. But we also need to pray. And let’s be honest, our physical hunger often gets our attention much more than our spiritual hunger. You know the old saying that the squeakiest wheel gets the grease. Sometimes that squeaky wheel needs to be left alone so that others who have needs can be attended to. Sometimes we need to say to our physical hunger, “Not right now, instead I’m going to pray, I’m going to serve someone, I’m going to take the money I would have spent to buy lunch and instead give it to the church or to someone in need.”

Of course, hunger is not our only appetite. We hunger for all kinds of things. We hunger for attention. We hunger for comfort. We hunger for information. We hunger for intimacy. We hunger for power. We hunger for control. All of our hungers, not just our physical hunger, need to be placed under the authority and lordship of Jesus Christ. When we say Jesus is our Lord, that means Lord of our whole being, including our hungers. And Jesus knows what we need. Jesus knows our hungers. And he desires that our hungers be satisfied. He came that we might have life, and that more abundantly.

Yet, it is our tendency to strive with all our effort to fulfill all our hungers by ourselves, on our own terms. We get to decide when and what we eat. We position ourselves so we can get in the spotlight. We do whatever we can to make sure no one threatens our status quo. We spend countless hours filling our heads with information. We struggle to be close to other people on our own terms, without getting vulnerable ourselves and risking the possibility of being hurt. We contemplate ways and manipulate people so that our preferred outcomes and personal agendas and preferences are achieved. And all through such self-centered living, some of us, me included, ask God to bless our efforts rather than submitting our own wills, desires, and hungers, and trusting God to take care of everything.

So, why fasting? So we balance our physical needs with our spiritual needs. And so that we can reaffirm that we ultimately depend on God for all that we have and need. We fast so that we can grow spiritually, to mature in Christ. We fast so that we can become more humble, more grateful for what we do have, and more intentional about our life in Christ. We fast because Jesus fasted and assumed that we would too. That in itself is good enough reason for me, aside from the fact that the church has always fasted from the beginning.

So, I invite you to join me, and consider fasting in the weeks ahead. If it is new to you and you need more information, please let me know and I can help guide you. Whatever you do, don’t allow it to be a source of guilt. If you set out on it and you just can’t keep it up, then just either try to start it up again or let it go. Don’t allow fasting to be a burden. Remember, fasting is all about helping us tend to other matters, such as praying, reading the scriptures, helping others, and spending our money on other things besides food. Fasting is not an end in itself, simply a means to a greater end. And I can tell you from experience that times of fasting can be very powerful. I have found my spirit re-energized. I have felt more alert and sensitive to my surroundings. And when the fast ended, boy did that hamburger taste so good!

first post

2009-02-25T11:13:00.000-08:00

Blogger up and got bought by Google, or I had to get a Google account, or whatever. Anyway, I can't get back to my blog, which I haven't posted anything to in forever. So...starting over. On this blog I will be posting random thoughts and rants. I also will post my sermons and study notes, for anyone who may be interested. And, who knows, maybe other essays. And this blog will be in a perpetual state of construction.