J.C.'s Jottings

Love Builds for God

2012-02-01T12:52:00.001-08:00

1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Mark 1:21-28

Paul writes about being vegetarian, because the churches in the Gentile cities most meats were prepared in a temple in honor of an idol. Of course Paul and others are quite aware there really are not other gods or idols, and thus the meat is fine to eat. However, Paul realizes that knowledge does not transfer smoothly to new believers, or believers whose family still worships at the pagan temples. As they discover the reality of the one true God through Jesus at the table, they may slip as Paul explains again in Galatians:

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods. Now, however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits? How can you want to be enslaved to them again? (4:8-9)

Paul sees this as an issue, but it is not knowledge that ultimately works to keep people focused on Jesus, it is love. Knowledge puffs, but love builds. Paul writes latter about maturing in the faith and you will notice knowledge is not mentioned:

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (13:11-13)

Not only is it love that is more important we do not see clearly until face to face. Which brings me to the Gospel scripture. If we think we have the correct knowledge, we may be just puffed up. In this scene with Jesus according to Mark it is not those following Jesus, those listening to Jesus, it is the unclean spirit that recognizes Jesus as the “Holy One of God.” This is a humbling reminder that Love is what builds up God.

February 2012

2012-01-31T13:19:00.001-08:00

As a boy in elementary school, I would sometimes tussle with other boys. Generally we would not hurt each other, but sometimes it would result in a visit to the nurse’s office. One such incident I hit my head against the cement wall. It hurt some but I felt I was fine, however, the teacher did not believe me, but who would argue with a teacher that was allowing you to go to the nurse’s office and miss some of class, as we were just coming in from recess. The nurse examined me and asked questions. I was determined to be fine, diagnosis “boy.”

However, the last question posed was, “Are you seeing double?” My response worried her, as I stated, “No more than usual.” See I was seeing double often while reading and I just trained an strained myself to read both images simultaneously. The nurse concerned and curious, did some tests and discovered what I thought was normal; I saw double. What I also remember about her is she did not make me feel stupid for thinking that seeing double was normal and she did not make me nervous about this situation.

I went to the optometrist, and I must say that was an exciting experience. It was explained to me that everyone has a focal point in which when you get closer to the eyes, one will see double, but generally it is centimeters from the nose, not an arm’s length. This doctor prescribed intense exercises. I had various contraptions and ditto papers and spent one to two hours a day strengthening my eyes, so my focal point would be in a normal range. I was committed because reading which I greatly enjoy was much easier with only one image.

I share this story to emphasize the importance of the visioning process we are just starting here at First Christian Church of Durant. We are a great and loving church and God has a vision for us. The question is what is that vision? We cannot be church without doing the work that is necessary so we can truly sate and follow the Divine’s Vision for us as a local congregation. If we simply continue thinking we are, without exploring it, we will find we have poor vision. So please continue to pray for the visioning process and I encourage you to look to the programs and events the team will bring forth in the coming year, so we can do the work together to have vision and grow.

Let us pray as the Psalmist shares in Psalm 86:11:

Teach me your way, O Lord,

that I may walk in your truth;

give me an undivided heart to revere your name.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor JC

Time Fulfilled

2012-01-24T12:41:00.001-08:00

1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20

Paul writes some provocative statements to the Corinthians. He is not advocating immoral behavior, he is emphasizing that this world has changed with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Time has been fulfilled, as Jesus states in this passage by Mark, and emphasized by the immediacy of the first disciples to follow Jesus. Time has changed.

Originally time was determined by the sun. This is clearly stated in Genesis with the creation of the first day. The Jewish people of Jesus’ day, and today, determine the day based on the end of the day. That is when the sun goes down the day ends, thus the next day does start, hence Sabbath starts at sundown on Friday. For the original followers of The Way (Jesus) who were Jewish, they would go to the Temple, or a synagogue, or perhaps down by the river in a Gentile city, to worship the one true God, listening to the Torah and the prophets. They would keep the Sabbath as well if they were able, but on Sunday morning they would be truly back to work (it would had been their Monday). These first Jewish followers of Jesus, would get up early on Sunday, before work and without an alarm clock, to celebrate the resurrection with communion, hymns, baptisms, and worship. They would do this as the sun rose. It was like an extra day to their week, empowering them for their work and their lives. There was an idea that the perfect creation will finally go to the eighth day with the resurrection at the end of all time. However, the early Christians were understanding that time had changed and the fulfilling morning of worship and sharing His meal was the eighth day.

I love sunrises, and having been a baker and pastry chef I have seen many. My favorite still was when I was a teen. I knew there was a snow storm coming the next Sunday morning. With 3-4 inches already on the ground it would be wonderful to get up early to watch the sun rise with the snow falling. So up early I got, and trekked up to the top of a cliff at the edge of the woods. I took a thermos of hot cocoa and was buddled up. I found a log to took in behind to protect me from the wind and settled in. Then it occurred to me I would really not see the sun through the snow. It was still the most amazing sunrise, so quiet, both the woods and the town below, save the wind. A few times I could make out a perfect white ball through the clouds. It felt like hours I was there, and it was a while since I remember dusting an inch of snow of myself when I departed. I treasure that sunrise that I never saw.

Everyday the sun rises, even if we do not see it. And it is equally true that everyday God’s Son Rises, even if we do not see it. When Jesus tells us time has been fulfilled he wants us to act as if we are starting the eighth day. Paul makes it quite clear that the new age started and our actions should match that of the kingdom of God.

However, we do not live in a kingdom, nor is their one person or power that really has the power on us anymore. Today we live where our cultures have power over us. Cultures we choose, and cultures that sneak into our subconscious. The culture of America, the culture of TV, the consumer culture, the culture of Rock music, the culture of drugs, the culture of politics, the culture of one’s family etc. Some are very powerful. Some more powerful than we want to admit. So I believe time has been fulfilled by the culture of God being near. We need to live as if we live in the culture of God, and not simply wait to live in heaven, for time has been fulfilled.

Come & See

2012-01-18T14:45:00.001-08:00

1 Samuel 3:1-10; John 1:43-51

Writing the article that is linked here, I realized that it worked well with the scriptures above. Basically my son may not answer to his name, but he seems to answer to the Divine who calls one to love perfectly. The article is not the sermon, but in written form it worked very well, and I thought it wise to simply link that written word in this week’s sermon jotting.

Many blessings, JC

http://dmergent.org/2012/01/18/autism-sculpts-divine-desire-asdd/

Unveiling

2012-01-10T10:44:00.001-08:00

Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11

Luke writes of Paul’s experience in Ephesus, where he found people that were following Jesus, but without the Holy Spirit. They did not even understand what Paul was talking about, so Paul asked then about their baptism and they responded with water, that is John’s Baptism. Notice Paul did not denounce them for not getting it, rather he explained that John’s Baptism was in preparation of the one to come, Jesus. They were thus baptized with the Spirit and all was well with these dozen believers.

So what is baptism to John. Was it simply a preparation for Jesus coming? Paul clearly explains it as a “baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come…” This is confirmed by Mark in verse four as it says John was “…proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” In Matthew’s account John preached this:

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near (3:2)

That is not to be confused with repent to call heaven near, or repent to get into heaven. It is repent for God’s realm has come near, and it was John’s job to prepare the way through proclamation of forgiveness. There were other sects of Jews and even Pagans who utilized similar ritual of water and the idea of washing someone clean. John makes it clear that his baptism is however not the baptism we are to live for, and Paul makes that clear to the dozen in Ephesus.

Even today there are Christians that emphasize John’s water baptism, over that of Jesus’ Baptism by the Holy Spirit. Let me be clear, just as Paul doesn’t dismiss John’s baptism, nor do I. There is great validity in the idea of being “washed clean” of sin (forgiveness), of “turning to God” (repentance), but John had people baptized of water in preparation of the Spirit. They repented in the Jordan because God’s Kingdom was at hand. However, to have the baptism act like a gate, such as babies getting into heaven, or adults for that matter, leaves baptism as an archaic earthly ritual and not a way to unveil the divine in our lives.

We still use the water, but we believe it is an outward physical sign of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus’ own baptism changed the ritual forever. The dove came down. Now did John continue to baptize? Did Jesus start baptizing? Well clearly John’s ministry stopped shortly after Jesus baptism, and no where did Jesus baptize anyone, and actually according to Mark 10, He expected the disciples to be baptized in the future. This came about when James and John approached Jesus with an awkward request, or so it seems to us who know the entire Gospel:

And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ They replied, ‘We are able.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.’ (Mark 10:37-40)

Were they baptized by John? Does it matter, they obviously did not receive the Holy Spirit at that time. According to Luke it would be at Pentecost after the Resurrection , or according to the disciple John in the upper room after the Resurrection. So when they ask about being part of Jesus’ power, His Glory. Earthly power was their model for His Glory, even though they had heard Him preach and heal. Something else must happen.

As Jesus alludes to in His response to the brothers, baptism would be combined with the cup. The cup representing the New Covenant, fulfilled by His blood on the cross. Thus baptism is not simply repentance but participation in Jesus’ baptism, death, and resurrection. For Jesus the cup and baptism are combined, and when we know that we accept the calling with the help of the Holy Spirit, who is unveiled in us and the entire church, the Body of Christ.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-27T10:00:00.001-08:00

Luke 2:1-20

Do you remember the first infant you held? The first infant that was yours, or a close family or friend’s? It is a miracle in itself. Each child is a little miracle and while holding the baby, you realize how helpless they are. A baby can’t walk nor do much of anything independently from parents, honestly they are not even aware they are independent from others. Every baby is a miracle and the Baby Jesus is no different.

Imagine one of the shepherds being a boy who comes to Bethlehem after hearing the angel, to see the child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger. This young shepherd is encouraged the hold the infant, his first baby to hold. Of course the chorus of Heavenly Hosts, he heard in the field would resonate in his heart, but you know that first time of holding a helpless infant is just as special. Imagine with me, that 50 years later he holds another baby and recalls that time in the City of David. Perhaps he even tells his experience to Luke. 50 years after that this baby, now a man, holds a baby, experiencing the miracle of a child. And another 50 years or so that child does the same, and so forth. That would mean that it would take only 40 people or so to have been directly connected to holding Jesus.

I share this illustration to emphasize that our movement, the church, is not as old as we think. First of all when the incarnation happened, Judaism in which Jesus entered was already over 3,000 years old. It is arrogant for Christians to believe their generation is the end of the Age. Jesus makes it clear we are to be ready and only God in Heaven will know. Calling the time of the incarnation “ancient,” and living in a time we call “post-modern,” keeps us from understanding the reality that we may simply be in the infancy of our faith. God’s time is not human time.

Jesus as a baby demonstrated His greatest power. The power of vulnerability. All babies posses that power and that is why they thrive, for the parents, and even society does what is necessary for each child to live. Jesus is no different and yet he walks into adulthood without shedding that great power. Jesus served. Jesus went to the cross and through that great vulnerability, the Divine Love was revealed in the empty tomb.

As Christians, we need to follow Emmanuel who demonstrated the power of vulnerability, servitude, and love. We must understand we are still each learning to do that, and even our movement, we call the church, is struggling to learn to be vulnerable for Love.

Father Richard Rohr’s Wish inspired this Christmas Day Sermon

Joy

2011-12-19T12:56:00.001-08:00

Luke 1:26-56

As we approach the celebration of the birth of Jesus, I think of other birth stories. Those on sit-coms are quite neat and honestly, unreal. We know that birth is hard word, labor even, and it is even stated in Genesis. I think of my own son’s nativity, which did not resemble a sit-com and rather ended with an unplanned c-section. (I encourage you to read my wife’s theological reflection based on her experience). This week good friends had a baby girl, who had to be taken by helicopter to a larger hospital for her lungs were not developed enough. The new mom commented that when people ask “How are you?” they are generally expecting you to answer “good.” She was not. She would honestly say, “empty, sad, angry, lost, heartbroken, scared, & just really, really sad.” not Happy. I share her words to help us understand joy. Many times joy and happy are simultaneous, but I believe when we use it as Christians we don’t simply imply happy. For I believe it is safe to say this new mother is not happy within this hard developing nativity, but she does feel joy. For joy is knowing hope, peace, and love, despite our human condition.

As we approach Christmas, we must be aware that Mary is pregnant, just as our mothers were. Jesus does not come down from Mount Olympus nor does he come riding a creature such as only Ezekiel could describe. Jesus is born just as any person is born. God incarnate is unique to Christianity and it is very good news, for we are not to ignore our humanity and the desires associated with the physical world. We are to try to bring our desires in line with the desire of divine incarnation which Jesus demonstrates and does with agape; Love.

Mary would certainly answer, “How are you?” like my friend. To have your first child and have to lay Him in a manger. To have had angels tell her how special this baby was, and yet still need to feed Him and take care of Him as any human mother would. I believe she would have thought of her own words and perhaps even said them again when she looked at Jesus worrying about Her son’s responsibility to the world and her own for Him to survive in the world as she felt “empty, sad, angry, lost, heartbroken, scared, & just really, really sad” and yet great and overwhelming JOY:

‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
   and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
   Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
   and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
   from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
   he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
   and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
   and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
   in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
   to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’ (Luke 1:46b-55)

Jesus brings that Joy despite the human condition. Not simply because He was a baby, but that He entered our humanity. Through His great love took on our human condition to the point of death, even death on a cross, thus giving us incarnate divine desire of love as our model. So despite our human condition we find hope, peace and love and celebrate Joy that only the Divine can provide.

Love

2011-12-14T09:05:00.001-08:00

Isaiah 61:1-4;; 8-11; Luke 4:16-21
I remember helping my father with the Christmas lights. I even remember one strand that if one was out or loose the whole strand was out. I am so glad that strand did not persist in our yearly tradition, but it was not as easy as today. Incandescent bulbs broke easily and they needed to be clipped on the tree. So when Mindi and I started celebrating Christmas as a married couple I was happy to buy a strand of the new LED lights. They were easy to put on and seemed to work well for the last 6 years and they worked perfectly fine the first night I put them up this year. The next day half the bottom strand stopped working. I changed the fuses and they still did not light.
I thus went out searching for similar lights and I did find something compatible at the second store. As a son of an engineer I was searching for a strand strung in a parallel circuit, not a series circuit. It is fine if you do not remember this information from grade school, as a son of an engineer I have to remember certain things. I will remind you the difference between these two type of circuits. A series circuit the current of electricity passes through each circuit element without branching, thus if one element is disconnected (for bulbs burnt or loose) the current is disabled. A series circuit also must share the voltage of the source, while a parallel circuit will have the same voltage draw of the source for each element is directly connected to the source. This is why a parallel circuit light strand will stay let if one bulb is burnt out or loose.
So I, as my father’s son, looked at the box of lights for the words parallel circuit, and found the trademarked term “Constant ON” with a accurate definition of a parallel circuit, including two illustrations. However, no where is it confirmed that the circuit was strung parallel, not even in parenthesis (I do like parenthesis). I have no problem with the company trademarking a catchy term, but if they were going to take the time to define it on each box, I feel it would be a good idea to share the official term within the definition. Do they really think we cannot handle the term “parallel circuit”?
I bring this up to demonstrate how terms meanings can be lost and or manipulated so easily in society. And as religious people we also let some of our important words to lose their meaning. Take for instance the word “love,” it is of great importance to the Gospel. We use it between, family members and friends. We say it to our children even before they understand language, and we use it to explain the feeling we have for them. We use it also for pizza, paintings, and presents under the Christmas tree. We are quite aware that feeling the word love varies as per the context. However, the word love is used only for half of its Biblical meaning. Feeling is important, but it is also used to refer to action.
Isaiah’s prophecy is about action for those oppressed, broken-hearted, captive, mourning and more. Jesus correctly states that the prophesy had been fulfilled in His reading, for Jesus is the incarnation of love. It is not that Jesus has a warm and fuzzy feeling, but came to earth as a baby to preach, heal, teach, and most of all love us beyond understanding, to the point of death. Isaiah’s words define the action part of the definition of Love, which is known as the Good News; Gospel.
I believe the best explanation how the definition is feeling and action is when Jesus answers what the most important law is:

He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matthew 22:37-40)

Yes it is important to have a wonderful feeling for God and simultaneously love your neighbor as yourself. As this is recorded in Luke, the neighbor is the Good Samaritan. It is clear that we are not simply to have nice and warm feelings, but to do compassion and merci to express this love. Just as Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 what we do to the least of these we do onto Him. The one that loved us so much he went humbly to the cross. This love is equally action, and we participate in the action of love we are in touch with the feeling for God with all our heart, soul and mind.
As church, we are to love each other, as Jesus told Peter when Jesus asked him three times if Peter loved Him. Peter would respond with affirmation and Jesus responded with a call to action; “…feed my lambs…tend my sheep….feed my sheep.” (John 21) And as a church we are not strung in a parallel circuit, we are strung in the old series circuit. The light of Christ is more than powerful enough to light each one, but if one is burnt out or loose we are all affected. Jesus is the strand itself, as He says He is the vine (John 15), but God does the pruning. We must love one another and the neighbor for we are all interconnected. God will fix and/or replace the burnt bulbs and loose ones, but we must realize we are strung together by God’s grace and love, and thus we shine Jesus’ love by our action of love, for Jesus fulfilled this prophecy and we are called to do the same:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
   because he has anointed me
     to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
   and recovery of sight to the blind,
     to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4: 18-19)

Peace

2011-12-07T14:53:00.001-08:00

Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-8

Isaiah tells the exiled people, to expect, to repent, because the comforter is coming. This voice is to come from the wilderness. That is literally where they would need to pass through to return to the Promised Land. They had lost not only their land but much of the structures that held them together as the “chosen people.” War brought them in exile, and even though

The Persians eventually send the Hebrews back to Jerusalem and the Promised Land. God I am sure was at work, yet the Persians were not naïve. They understood the importance of having a grateful ally near Egypt and on the coast of the Great Sea. This was military, economic, and political advantage, to have restored the Hebrew people to Canaan.

Not long after they were restored to the Promised Land they most have forgotten the comforter, God, was near, for they turned from the covenant. Depending on military and political boundaries for identity is the problem.

Identity as the people of God is not a matter of the state, it is expecting God and thus turning to God. Expecting the messiah to establish the Kingdom of David again, is repeating the same problem. The Jews understood the oppression of Rome under the title of Pax Roma. This peace established by the state can only go so far. Peace established by mandate, by gun, by oppression does not last long. Those in exile lived in peace but not in harmony. Those that lived behind the iron curtain lived in peace but not in harmony. Peace that God wants is a peace that surpasses all understanding, and includes harmony as well as no war.

So when John comes on the scene, he is baptizing on the border, in the Jordan, repentance. Not to usher in the Kingdom, but because it is near. Because John expects the coming comforter, Jesus, we turn to God. This is the peace we are to expect everywhere we go. John though is not actually leading us through the wilderness to a new land. He is on the edge of the Promised Land, and consumes the wonderful wild honey of the land of Milk and Honey. And he consumes the locusts of the land of slavery and from the decimated fields. John is preparing the way of a greater peace that cannot come from a state, a church, or humanity. Save one, the one that saves.

Jesus will bring peace not through calling the heavenly hosts. Not by leading an army. Not through violence or political mandate. Jesus does it and call us to follow him as our earliest known Hymn states as Paul records it in his letter to the Philippians:

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
   did not regard equality with God
   as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
   taking the form of a slave,
   being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
   he humbled himself
   and became obedient to the point of death—
   even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)

If we are of the same mind and give ourselves to Christ. To each other we will find peace. We are being called to our boundaries, to our learning edges, and we should expect God there, for God is near. To expect is to live in hope and not despair. To expect is because you know God is.

We expect God, not to do what we want. We expect to see God everywhere we turn thus we turn to God, repentance. Peace

December 2011 Newsletter

2011-12-01T08:40:00.001-08:00

There is a chill in the air and lights are strung. We are preparing for Christmas, and there is an excitement, especially for children. Within the preparation we will experience stress, but hopefully we will also experience great hope, peace, love, and joy. Certainly the reason for the season is Jesus who is our certain hope and love giving us joy and peace that surpasses all understanding. However, the excitement of the shopping, parties, and even traditions can distract us from Emmanuel.

The scriptures keep me focused and one of my favorite is from the beginning of John, as he explains how important it is having Jesus take on human form, Incarnation:

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. (John 1:14-18)

John makes it clear that we here on earth are able to know the Glory of God through only His Son Jesus. It was necessary for Jesus to be fully human as well as fully divine as to demonstrate God’s great love for humanity. Therefore during this season we prepare for Jesus coming into the world, not simply as a memory of a birthday celebration, but how Jesus breaks through the darkness everyday from the beginning, today and forever, as John writes earlier in his Gospel about Jesus, “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (1:3-5)

As the chilly busy days of December turn to night, I am reminded of the incarnation by the numerous Christmas lights. Each string of lights reminds me that Christ Jesus is in our lives in numerous and various ways. Each by themselves may be lost in the hustle and bustle of the “holiday” demands, but together it is obvious that the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ, is the light in all our lives that cuts through the darkness, providing us with hope, peace, love and joy.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor JC

Hope

2011-12-01T08:38:00.001-08:00

Mark 13:24-37

Mark writes this Gospel perhaps with the knowledge of the destruction of the temple. He writes earlier in the chapter Jesus’ prophecy of its destruction, thus Mark is aware of the great importance that destruction would be had it happened or not when the Gospel was originally written. For many it would have been a “sign” of the end of the world. Either way then as there are today many “signs” of the end of the world as Jesus refers to, but he makes it clear that only the Father knows. Jesus even admits He does not. It is important to understand that Jesus is pastorally telling us that there is a triumphant end, but not for us to worry about when, but to be vigilant in all we do.

Currently there are many lists in preparation for Christmas. The children’s lists filled with toys, and the adults with purchasing said toys, decorating, cooking, parties, gifts, etc. It can be a stressful time, and during the season we use the word hope, a lot. But we often confuse it with wish. First of all let us look at the proper grammar of the two words. If you say, I wish to pass the exam, you are saying you would like to. If you say, I hope to pass the exam, you are confident of that result. Truly we intermix these words all the time. The children may hope for a toy, and it may be true they are confident Santa (or a parent) will come through, but they may still say hope for the present they are certainly not getting. And vice versa.

Let us explore how we mix these words in a deeper and harder reality than Christmas lists. I knew a woman who was a victim/survivor of domestic violence. She shared many horrible aspects of the situation, including her own family origin. She is certainly not to blame, and would hope to the violence would end, or if things were going well that it had. She was honestly wishing not hoping at that time, for she hoped as if it would happen without any other changes to her situation. She was terrified of the financial and social realities of leaving him, and thus was wishing for it to stop. But almost as if the wish came true, she understood what hope was, to be able to imagine the future without violence, and that included the scary steps. First a shelter, therapy, a job, but hope was knowing the future without violence and seeing the little things along the way.

Such it is with families with military oversees. They don’t wish them home, they hope for their return. Knowing it through the small gestures of remembering the loved one, and thus even if the reality is a return under a flag, they know the greater victory.

Jesus is asking us to be hopeful people, not wishful people. We know the eventual outcome and we act as if it has happened. That is what His resurrection is; the victory over death and sin. We live connecting the small visible resurrection moments together moving toward the great victory. That is living in hope, that is being vigil and awake. The guard at the master’s house cannot just sit down on the porch swing and close his eyes, wishing he will hear the twig snap, the guard is to be alert looking out and searching for the moments of resurrection as that brings them together. We “Keep Awake” and we do that with Hope.

Keep Alert this Advent

2011-11-29T19:21:00.000-08:00

During December, I find our kitchen filled with more baked goods than any month of the year. As I write this I can smell a cake I have in the oven, and as usual my wife asked me how long it needed to bake, and as usual, I answered, “Until it’s done.” I am aware that it is an annoying answer, but it may help to know that I was an artisan baker and a pastry chef, and so I know not to depend simply on a timer. I remember giving the same answer to the interns that came from the culinary schools when they asked how long to bake something; I would never give even an approximate time until they understood that it is important to be able to use all one’s senses. I found in the bakery and in the kitchen those that depended only on the timer were more likely to pull items early or late from the oven. Thus I am not trying to be annoying, but true to my first vocation.

Now as a minister, I find some truths of baking to be relevant to understanding the Gospel. Jesus even said, “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” (Matthew 13:33) That parable is full of great meaning, especially the power of Christ’s Kingdom. During December we are getting ready for Emmanuel, “God with us.” The Christ Child will be born King of Kings. Jesus comes into the world as a small baby, and yet with all the glory of His Kingdom. This is a great miracle.

We hear about the number of shopping days and I know that children (and teachers) count the days until Christmas break. We wait in lines and wait for packages. We decorate our homes, our churches, our public spaces. We bake and we eat. All of this we do waiting for our Savior’s birth, every year during December.

We are preparing ourselves for this great birth of this great King. If we have an Advent calendar or wreath it seems we need to simply wait the specific number of days or weeks until December 25. It is true that day will come if we are ready or not, but if we look at the wait simply as a means of getting there, we may miss the miracle. Waiting and preparing requires us to be vigilant.

The season is about Jesus. We are waiting for the incarnation and this does deserve the preparation and celebration each and every year. However, our traditions can be like the timer in my kitchen. If I depend on them alone I can experience the incarnation, but if I am vigilant in all ways I will certainly know Emmanuel, God with us. Thus every year as I prepare for Christmas I am aware of the importance of keeping prepared to experience the reason for the season. “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” (Matthew 24:44) I will celebrate with my family and with all of you on December 25, but I will search with my soul for the miracle of the incarnation daily, and I will celebrate it whenever and wherever I find it.

God, Self, and Neighbor

2011-11-19T11:25:00.001-08:00

Matthew 25:31-46

If you saw someone with a backpack on you may assume they are backpacking, but they also could be homeless. Sure it may be easy to guess which by the quality of the items or where you see the individual, but you might be wrong. The real difference between the two is there is a planned end to the hike and no certain end to one who is homeless. However, when I hiked I did not take each step with the end in mind, it was assumed.

Jesus reminds us that we are to think eschatologically; that is about the end. In this passage He tells us the end will be like separated goats and sheep. Well when I have been on farms where there are these animals, and I spooked them they would run in their respective groups. At the end it will be easy to separate the two, but the judgment is less about then than it is about now. For we have received unconditional boundless grace which we do not deserve, so I believe Jesus is not making salvation based on one’s action, yet rather is reminding those that do believe this would be their reaction. They will run with the sheep.

For when Jesus adds himself as being part of the least of these, He is reminding us that love we do is to God, Self, and Neighbor. We realize we receive this grace we do not deserve and feel very unworthy, but Jesus wants us to take care of those that are considered unworthy'; the least of these. We are therefore to respond with love to ourselves, God and Neighbor as He states in Matthew 22:37-40:

He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’

This is the Law, according to Jesus and thus is where one would place judgment. However, it is all wrapped in grace, so it is not what we do that saves us, but we respond as if we would be running with the goats. We live as Christians doing what God commands for we do not live wandering, we live with the purpose of God.

‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

We know there is a final victory over all evil, and we live that way not simply with the feeling of “love,” but acting on love to God, Self, and Neighbor, for we know what fold we run with.

Let Us Worship Together

2011-11-18T12:53:00.001-08:00

November 18, 2011 Daily Democrat of Durant

There are numerous reasons to select a church: geography, family history, the people, programs, and many other reasons I could fill a book as they are as individual as the people in any one church. Yet we all know there is only one Jesus whom we all worship at various times, various buildings, and in many various ways. That is wonderful, for we can reach more people with the One Gospel. We even know that truly the Body of Christ is still united as Jesus is the head and each of us and each church is part of the body. This is truly an important fact of the church and Paul makes it quite clear with his metaphor of the church being the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians. Paul understands there are individuals and even different churches, yet his statement in Chapter 12 verse 12 still speaks to us today, even with different denominations, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”

If we concentrate on our differences we will me mired in a land of differing opinions and taste, most of all. Yes, there are differences in theological and Biblical interpretation, but if we look for the differences, you will find more to talk about in how we worship; if you search where the churches are similar, you end up at Jesus. We can agree with Peter’s response to Jesus asking “Who do you say I am?” when Peter proclaims, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (Matthew 16:15-16) This simple confession is what truly unites us and if we come together in Jesus’ name we will have more power to do what Jesus commands us, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

I believe when we gather at our respective churches we are truly part of a larger body, with Christ as the head. It is wonderful we can gather together from the various different churches in our community to offer Thanksgiving together for the many blessings we enjoy living in our community. We will give primary thanks to our Creator, to our Savior, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. This tangible act of gathering as one church will be at the Community Thanksgiving Service on Sunday, November 20 at 6 pm at Community Christian Church (5325 University Boulevard). I look forward to seeing everyone that confesses Jesus as the Anointed One, the Christ, Son of the Living God, so we can share how thankful we are Jesus provides salvation for all.

In Remembrance

2011-11-10T10:49:00.001-08:00

Joshua 214:1-3a, 14-25; Amos 5:18-24

Joshua has gathered the people who crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land to reaffirm the covenant with God. Joshua is making it clear that the people must choice to follow God and thus the ordinances set before them. Thus in response to God saving them from slavery they were to follow the statutes and ordinances and disregard the gods of of their ancestors beyond the river and the gods they picked up from the Amorites. They said a resounding “yes” because of God’s Love (Grace).

Amos a wonderful prophet speaking to the Northern Kingdom. The fact that at his time there were two kingdoms should expose there most be issues if the people are not united under the One God. Well he writes very harshly that God is not happy with the festivals and sacrifices; God is not happy with the fulfillment of the ordinances and statutes. It seems clear that the system has been used to control people rather than in response to God’s Love. Even those that want to respond to God, are now intertwined in this system of injustice. Thus Amos is making it clear that it is not the rules, rather the covenant that is important.

We Christians come to church every week (or try to) and we have ordinances and statues we follow. For Disciples, we come to Jesus’ Table each week, thus the question is do we come because we are supposed to? Are we doing church to fulfill a rule be it written or inherited by a parent? Do we lose the meaning of the ceremony to the ceremony? I hope to remind us that we are doing this “in remembrance” of Jesus. We remember that He saved us from Sin and Death, not because we did anything, but because of God’s Love (Grace).

It is clear in Luke 22:19 and in 1 Corinthians 11:24-25, that we are to come to the Table “In Remembrance” of Jesus. I believe this is what we need to do, just as Joshua wanted the people to renew their covenant, we do only if we remember our salvation.

Jesus did say “in remembrance” according to Matthew and Mark as well, but not at the table, rahter,

Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.’ (Mark 14)

Jesus tells us that the Gospel is proclaimed in remembrance of this unnamed woman that anointed Him. Well He did. We are to constantly make it clear that Jesus is the anointed one, and when we remember what He did for us with His love (Grace) we also remember all those that witnessed to us Jesus was the anointed one, the Christ, the Messiah.

The Potter’s Clay

2011-11-03T09:20:00.001-07:00

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13; Matthew 23:1-12

Language makes humans unique from animals. That is a fine statement, but it is also true that animals do have communication that could be termed language. Words are funny, they are powerful and flexible. Paul writes of the word of God, but he is not referring to scripture. Paul does refer to the written scriptures and their importance but hear it is the Word. In Greek, it is Logos, which I explain is the meaning behind a word. So if you take “chair” everyone will have a different, image, thought and yet an understanding of what it means. It is powerful and flexible, and if we look for the meaning of the three letter word “God” we will spend eternity finding the powerful and flexible understanding; Logos.

Paul wrote before the Gospels were written and this idea of Logos was cemented in the tradition by the Gospel of John.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it….And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5,14)

Jesus the incarnation is the Word of God; the Logos. We know from John, that the Word is full of Grace and Truth; love that is given without reason and pure righteousness. Of course these are simply words of our language to explain the great Divine. Jesus himself is the meaning.

In the Gospel message, we are told to be humble and to do the work of you one Father. We are not to be like the Pharisees who preach good work and do not do it, rather we are to follow the one teacher. This one teacher is the Logos, the Word of God, and is truly humble. Jesus went humbly to the cross to save us all that is the Word. We have the word in our hearts as Paul writes thus we are to emulate His humility, His Grace and Truth. We attempt to be the Word of God on earth, the Body of Christ. That requires us to be powerful and flexible.

We are to be like clay for the one potter, the one teacher. We are to be molded by God. We are not to be rigid and powerful nor flexible and weak nor rigid and weak. We are to be the potter’s clay.

For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. (2 Cor. 4:6-12)

We are to hold the grace and truth in us, the Word of God, and go out humbly in response to the Potter’s hand.

Steadfast Love

2011-10-25T15:01:00.001-07:00

Matthew 22:34-46

Axiomatic is the word of the day. The definition of this adjective is self-evident or unquestionable, and that is exactly what the Pharisees thought of Jesus’ question, “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They answered without much thought, David’s. Not unlike when the preacher asks a question of children, they answer Jesus and/or God before even thinking. The Pharisees and most other Jews of Jesus’ time were waiting for this “Son of David,” the Messiah. So Jesus gets them thinking by quoting a Psalm. Some scholars believe it was considered a Messianic Psalm at that time, and others did not, but what is clear is those that follow Jesus does, for it is referenced directly and indirectly thirty-seven times in the New Testament, and even made it into the Apostle’s Creed. So Jesus asked how can David be the father if he wrote:

Of David. A Psalm.
The Lord says to my lord,
‘Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.’ (Psalm 110:1)

Jesus is not denying the statement “Son of David,” as throughout Matthew who reports this scene, uses the term “Son of David” for the Messiah, for Jesus. However, when Jesus is Baptized, Matthew reports,

And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’ (Matthew 3:17)

When Jesus foreshadows His glory at the top of the mountain, transfigured, Matthew reports,

While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved;with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’ (Mathew 17:5)

We know Jesus called the Creator Abba. It is clear that the Messiah’s father is Our Father who art in Heaven. David through the lineage of Joseph is His step-father. Jesus the Messiah, the anointed one, is not a warrior for the Kingdom of Chosen people rather the Lord of the entire world. Who will not go to battle will rather, will be given victory by God. Jesus goes to the cross and God provides the victory in the resurrection over the enemies of death and sin. The Pharisees answered oh so quickly that the Anointed One, the Christ, is a David, and Jesus says basically be careful of thinking that question is axiomatic.

Now they had earlier asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was, and He answered with the Shema, which would be the axiomatic answer to that question even today. I imagine that others mouthed the words of His response along with Jesus nodding their heads. However, he also shared Leviticus 19:18:

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Jesus actually says that this second commandment He shares is “like” or better still the same as the first. Jesus knows the Shema is the axiomatic answer to that question posed, but this other commandment demonstrates how the one on the door posts truly works. He is telling them to love, and in Greek the word is agape. Nothing truly special about that word, other then it does not refer to romantic and/or lustful love. However, when the Messiah Himself, asks you to Love God (Love Him) and that is Like (or the same) as Loving your neighbor, one most realize that the Law or any commandment of God most not be considered axiomatic. Just as the Shema as the greatest commandment is given greater meaning by Jesus saying it is like Leviticus 19:18, we as Christians most look at Love our neighbor as ourselves more carefully. Most of us will mouth the two commandments Jesus shares when we read this scripture. You will hear Christians say love your neighbor as yourself.

When we Christians say “Love thy neighbor as yourself,” are we truly getting the point. We probably find the statement axiomatic. Thus I want to look at it closely, and remind you that the incarnate God-Man, Jesus, says this. We know we are to love Jesus with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our might and Jesus says that is done also by following the commandment about the neighbor. Incarnate Jesus, Emmanuel, says this an thus He had neighbors himself. So how would God love? The word agape is great because it demonstrated love that is not red hearts and romance. Hesed is the word for God’s Love and or the love of charity and kindness in Hebrew. This word is better translated in English as convental love, but to our ears that sounds legalistic. Remember that the covenant was the promise by God to protect and lead the Hebrew people and thus they followed the Law in response to this great love. A love they did not necessarily do anything to earn, but respond in kind. Or we may call it steadfast love. Love that is perfect such is our heavenly father, “…for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45b)

We need to look at our neighbors with the love Jesus, Himself, told us He wants for him for all other people. Steadfast Love; GRACE is axiomatic, that is it is the unquestionable answer, but we must find the answer as we strive toward loving as God loves, loving God.

Heads or Tails?

2011-10-19T12:09:00.001-07:00

Matthew 22:15-22

The Pharisees have been trying to trick Jesus, and this time they brought a group of Herodians, for a specific question. The question is about the Roman Census Tax, which honestly was something Pharisees were against in principle. Hence, they needed to bring another who would have been truly insulted by someone denouncing the tax. The Pharisees did not actively campaign against this tax in fear, but awaited a Messiah that would free them from all Roman control.

The Herodians were invested in the Roman system. They supported the “puppet” king Herod, whose power was enabled by the the Roman’s power. The tax was central to their power, to their identity. Thus the Pharisees knew that if Jesus answered against the tax, they would have him arrested. Even though they were against it themselves, they had apparently not questioned it, they would probably only go as far to say when the Messiah comes and saves Israel. If Jesus spoke that the tax was lawful, the Pharisees hoped he would lose some of His followers. Little did they know that even His closest followers would deny Him and He would still save the world. The Pharisees were hoping to expose Jesus as not the Messiah, for the Messiah would certainly stand against the tax.

Jesus spoke to the Pharisees and made it clear that He knew of their malice, and called them hypocrites. In part for they were saying nice things to Him while trying to trap Him, but also because Jesus knew they believed the tax as being against the Torah. So Jesus asked for the coin one would use to pay the tax, which required a Roman coin. Jesus asks whose image and title are on that coin. The Herodians so the coin and their power, so the answer given did not offend them. The Pharisees saw the emperor and saw the titled “Tiberius Caesar August Son of the Divine Augustus” (or something very similar). They knew that the Roman Empire was also the Roman Religion, and that they believed the Emperor to be a god. That certainly goes against Jewish Law. Jesus says you can give that coin, that idol, back to Ceasar, for it is his, but give to God what is God’s. Harkening to the creation when the image of God was put on earth:

Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’
So God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them. (Gen. 1:26-27)

While the Herodians looked at the coin and saw their own power, all others saw the image of God amongst themselves. They knew what was God’s and it was not the coin, it was the people. Paul emphasizes this very well,

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1)

Jesus answered quite bluntly that it was not simply about following the Torah (the Law) but that it is all turned head over heals, back to the garden. God wants each person to know the “garden” that is the Kingdom of Heaven as come near. For Jesus is quite clear on the mountain,

No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. (Matthew 6:24)

It is not a question of tax or no tax, head or tails, it is a new life in Christ, head over tails change.

Called to Live

2011-10-15T11:40:00.001-07:00

Exodus 32:1-14; Matthew 22:1-14

What can you do to deserve salvation? Is there anything one can do to be saved? Well this is a question I will return to.

The Hebrew Bible scripture shows good with great compassion and forgiveness, unlike the stereotypical image or a wrathful God. While Jesus tells a parable where the King (representing God) goes to war on a city and throws someone for not having the proper clothing into the outer darkness. These scriptures demonstrate the wonderful tension between the judgment and the forgiving nature of the one true God.

The people waiting for Moses did a horrible thing in the making of the golden calf, and they have this story as part of scripture. God was made and yet God forgave them. That did not make the sin of worshiping to another God any less.

Jesus uses this parable with the allegory of the King as God. It seems very harsh to expect a person from the streets to be properly dressed, which is our first clue it is truly an allegory and not a real event. Jesus tells of the king being ready to celebrate his only son’s wedding when his servants discovered most of the invited guests were not coming. The king sends a second set who are killed. The first represent the prophets and the second the Christian apostles, and then he decides to go to war on their city. That is odd that he would spend an afternoon on war when the food was ready for the wedding, not to mention war is usually not done in one day. The war is on the invited guests’ city, the king’s own city as well. This represents the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. This event changed Judaism for ever, including those that followed Jesus. The parable continues with the invitation of anyone, the gentiles for the wedding has opened up the chosen people to the people of the entire world.

Now the one without the proper wedding robe, represents someone that had entered the religious realm of following Jesus, without truly believing. A change of clothes represented a change of person in ancient times. The key is Jesus is speaking to religious people, and Jesus is always speaking to religious people when He speaks of Judgment. He is not trying to frighten us to believe.

The forgiveness God showed at Mt. Sinai, the forgiveness Jesus showed to those who came to Him for healings, the command to forgive 77 times, and especially the forgiveness he gave to us all upon the cross, cannot be separated from His statements of judgment. The judgment is for those of us that do believe not to scare us right, but to call us to live. We did not do anything to deserve salvation, not even putting on a new robe of belief. Nothing we can do is good enough to make us deserving of salvation, that is what Grace is, a free gift. Even accepting it is not the act, nor appreciating it. We are saved and in knowing that we live out today with the eschatological belief in judgment. This tension allows us to live following Jesus’ model of Love, yet knowing we are forgiven already.

Upward Grace

2011-10-04T10:10:00.001-07:00

Philippians 3:4b-14

Paul was a Jew of Jews as he claims in this passage, and it is important to note that he understood Jesus as per his Judaism. Paul persecuted the church with zeal because he believed it went against the Law. When Paul met the resurrected Jesus, he did not believe Christ as Lord and reject the Law, he understood Jesus to be Lord, because of his understanding of the Law. Paul even writes that Jesus came first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. Paul doesn’t care if you continue to follow the Laws, he did not tell the Jerusalem church to stop, he however did not like the hypocrisy and the requirement of the Law.

Paul understood like the prophets, that once the Messiah came that this one God would reign over the entire world. There were those that were monotheistic within their land, but Judaism was clear that the one true God was the God of creation. Of the entire world, thus once the Messiah would come the world would be part of God’s kingdom. Paul thus goes to the gentiles because of this Jewish belief. Paul is critical of Judaism that does not understand this, because Paul knows Jesus as the Messiah.

In this passage, Paul is talking about the Judaizers, who want to require those in the Philippian church to follow the Law as well as Christ. Paul is outraged at their requirement of others to know Jesus how they had discovered Jesus. Paul even shares that in their method, he is far better to these Judaizers, but he says that those ways are rubbish. Paul is not saying that was the wrong way to know Jesus, rather what is important is to strive to Jesus together. We need only that.

I am reminded of a workshop in which was required by clergy to attend. Early on in the workshop we were asked if anyone could help him out by cutting out some basic shapes for an illustration. Well three of us raised our hand, and even though I was thinking “shouldn’t he have done this earlier,” I realized quickly that this was the illustration. He gave us the paper with the three shapes and each a left-handed scissor. Needless to say we struggled to cut out the shapes.

Paul understands that it is not important how we get to Christ, but that we strive to the call of Jesus, to Grace, holding fast to what we attained (v.16). We can not require others to understand Christ exactly how we came to understand. Just as we cannot require right-handed people to use left-handed scissors. And if we make a requirement for Grace that is earth bound and not upward, heavenly bound, then those that don’t fit will not have them fully in our fellowship. Just as any left-handed person would not volunteer for they would assume you would hand them “scissors” (which is what we call right-handed scissors).

Humble as a Child

2011-09-30T07:28:00.001-07:00

October 2011 Newsletter Article

Jesus tells the disciples after they asked “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus called a child and stated, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:2-3). Well having a child and knowing many, I am very happy that Jesus does not stop with simply that statement, because there are a lot of things about children that I am happy I have out grown and that most adults have as well.

Jesus continues by saying one should become humble like a child. Often that is explained saying we should be as innocent as children. I can tell you that children are not always innocent (babies perhaps). We have to help them learn to share and be part of the group. That is actually the point. To be able to learn is what humility means here. Jesus wants us to continue to learn about God’s ways. We do not simply follow a bunch of legalistic rules; rather we are in a humble relationship with Jesus that teaches us constantly about God’s rightness.

That is a great lesson in itself, that we should be humble students, yet Jesus adds, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” (v. 5) Jesus desires us to remember hospitality is of foremost importance. In the beginning of the school year it is obvious that not every child in the classroom is equal on every subject, yet the teacher and especially the children welcome each other into the class. We all try to come humbly to church working on our relationship with Jesus, and we find ourselves working on different things. In worship when we shake each other’s hands and share some hugs, we are attempting to live up to this welcome of each other. It is wonderful part of our worship service and when we go out into the world let us welcome people by being children of God.

This reminds me of the prophet Micah’s words:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God? (6:8)

God Doing

2011-09-28T09:51:00.001-07:00

Matthew 21:23-32

The chief priests and the elders asked Jesus where His authority came from, and Jesus turned the question upon them by asking about John. They answered, “we do not know,” which generally is a great answer coming from a religious authority. However, we are privy to their argument. They know they had not been heeding John’s message, so they cannot answer from Heaven, yet they were terrified of the crowd who certainly believed John to be a prophet. So Jesus refused to answer them, yet rather told them a parable.

He told the parable of the two sons. The first said he would not do it and yet went out in the field to work, while the second responded with an affirmation, but never went out to the field. When they answered the obvious question so clearly, I believe they were reminded of David’s emphatic answer to the story of Nathans in 2 Samuel 12, about two men. One was rich and the other only had one lamb, which the rich man took for a meal. David thought it was so awful, Nathan giving his famous line, “you are the man.” (v.7) Which is what the temple authorities should hear especially when Jesus explains the parable.

Jesus tells us that the prostitutes and tax collectors, may not have said the right things before but they have gone and done the work. While they, the chief priests and the elders simply just say the right things but do not go do the work. This parable is for all of us who worry more about the legalism of church then the work of church.

I remember working on projects with my dad. He would want me to anticipate what tool he would need next. I learned through trial and error and often got good at it, but even when I was wrong he was much happier with me for trying. God simply wants us doing the work. God wants us to be righteous not right. God is doing is God’s authority, we also must follow God, for as Jesus called His disciples, called us, to follow him. We do not wait to be called into the vineyard, we are there with Him. We end up in the field for we found Him, not rules.

God’s Prerogative

2011-09-21T12:15:00.001-07:00

Jonah 3:10-4:11; Matthew 20:1-16

Jonah was the most efficient prophet. Well once he actually started warning people and stopped trying to run from God. Many of the other prophets never saw the people turn toward God, but Jonah did, and he was not happy about it. Jonah wanted the people of Nineveh to suffer for their bad ways. Jonah tells God, that he was aware “…that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.” It seems that Jonah wanted to determine who actually would receive such a wonderful God of mercy.

The Gospel parable is one of my favorites and when I say favorite, I mean difficult. (And there are many I call favorite.) This is one though that I was trying to teach to a group of fourth graders over a decade ago when I was their Sunday School Teacher. That spring we were learning about parables and I had it organized so we would end the spring semester with this parable. I told the class that I award those that brought their Bible to class. I had a chart with their names and each week I checked not only their attendance but if they had their Bible. Well the girls did the task remarkably well each week. The boys, including the pastor’s twins, were not doing so well. They all remembered the first week, but it was clear after a few weeks they had given up.

So it came time to give out the reward, and I did it before the lesson on the parable. I said I had prizes also for those that brought their Bible once, as each child did remember at least once. I gave the boys a small nice gift each, and they said “thank you.” Then it was the girls turn (why the response was clearly marked by gender, I do not know and honestly don’t care), they received the same gift as each boy, and they said “thank you.” I was expected grumbling from the girls and teasing from the boys over this “injustice.” However, there was none. I went through the lesson about the parable, and eventually one of the girls did say, “Like we all got the same gift even though some didn’t bring their Bibles.” I learned children seem to understand the message better.

It was not unlike the children’s moment prior to this sermon, while some kids were asked to do something for their candy, they all got candy and did not grumble. For when the children saw the candy bowl they knew they would all get candy. Adults need to realize when we see God we all receive grace, equally.

Yet I know it is difficult sometimes to keep that realization of God’s grace before us. We as adults will take it too legalistically, and therefore reject it fully in areas where life is unfair or feel guilty for feeling that way. We may simply apply the grace to the transhistorical salvation we know as heaven, and forget that people who are hungry today need salvation from hungry. Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 that our salvation has to do with helping those that are not able to help themselves. Yet we see people abusing the system, I know I do, and I feel awful for even having that thought. I try to help them but I have a lot to learn from the children. Life isn’t fair but grace abounds.

I remember reading an article by Eugene Peterson, where he talks about brining his daughter to visit in a nursing home. In one room there was a patient with Alzheimer's who repeated a story to the girl over and over again. When they were in the car he apologized to his daughter, and she said something to the effect, “that is who she is.” Eugene shares that he learned about pastoral visitation from his daughter.

This scripture is easy when we simply analyze it. Yes God’s grace is for everyone, even if they confess on the death bed. And God’s grace of life today is for everyone, so we support and help charities, but it gets difficult when we see people with nicer cars at the food bank than our own. This is where we become more like Jonah. Perhaps not as bad, but we desire to hide from God’s compassion or we take no joy in seeing it. I believe it happens to us all because we are not as keen as children to hear who God is through these scriptures. We approach it as if it is a law, “The last will be first, and the first will be last.” We squash our own feelings about working so hard for our food, for our church, because we feel guilty about being like Jonah.

As James Alison challenges us, we must be ready to relax into orthodoxy. He suggests it is like listening to a conversation where you have a hard time hearing, lets take the bedside of someone with dementia. If you try to listen carefully only to the words and what she is saying you tense up more and miss most of the meaning. If you begin to relax you may not even hear every word but you get the meaning.

We need to learn from the children and relax into this wonderful grace. Then we will know we too deserve it when we feel the world is unfair. Thus we will know God and all receive grace, equally.

Putting on Christ

2011-09-16T14:42:00.001-07:00

Article in Daily Democrat, 9/16/2011

It has not been cool enough to put on a jacket, but I am sure looking forward to doing just that. I hope to find a five dollar bill in a pocket, I certainly will find a receipt or a business card from the last time I wore the jacket. I will take this item out and recall the event that brought me to save said item in the pocket. Often I remember it quite well, yet my memory was jogged by the discovery. Would I have remembered the event without finding the item, perhaps, but I obviously forgot about the item tucked within the jacket.

The Christian cannon, we refer to as the Bible, is not something we can read from Genesis to Revelation in one sitting. Well that is if you have any other responsibilities in life, and fitting three books in a week is hard enough, making sixty-six very difficult even if some are as short at Philemon. Of course, no one expects someone to read the entire Bible between Sundays every week. However, even those of us that have read the entire Bible once is not enough. We must return to the scriptures every day. Yet I know many Christians who concentrate on certain scriptures, and there is certainly reasons to hang around the familiar, the friendly, and favorites, for they confirm and comfort. That is important.

We must also read the passages we find less familiar, for we will find things we forgot. Our memories will be jogged by our discoveries, even memories that were not ours individually. We are all part of the one body as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:12 “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” Therefore, our individual discoveries are assisted by others. Pastors, theologians, commentaries, scholars, church mothers and fathers, have all left important knowledge, be it in writings, sermons, actions, and questions, and all of them must be part of one’s Bible reading experience. We read the Bible and read the comments in our respective Bibles. We read old and new scholarship. We are in it together thus we go to Bible Studies and help each other. We do not simply have people tell us the truth, we together as Christians discover the truth of God’s Love and Grace, together. Every time we open our Bible we open it together as church, and we have personal epiphanies, assisted by our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Knowing the Bible is not done in a day and it is not done alone. It is done with a jacket that has many pockets, with many depths and textures. We read our Bible with this jacket of Christ’s that we share and explore all pockets of the truth united by the Holy Spirit.

Law of Love

2011-09-06T09:56:00.001-07:00

Exodus 12:1-14; Romans 13:8-14

In the Exodus passage God is telling Moses and Aaron how to prepare for the first and essential Passover. God does tell them that this is a day to be remembered as a festival of the Lord. Even today Jews celebrate the Passover, and they remember the events as if they were there. Not unlike when we remember Jesus at His Table, for we remember what He did for us at the cross, and we remember His presence throughout our entire lives. Jesus’ Table was set while He was celebrating a Passover Meal, remembering what God did on the first Passover.

The first Passover was a life and death observance. God heard the cries of the Hebrews, the descendants of Abraham, through Jacob. The Hebrews did not have the Ten Commandments, they did not have the law yet. They did not have anything that made them Jewish except for their family relations. They were not Egyptians. Pharaoh used the Hebrews as slaves and as scapegoats. They were oppressed but Pharaoh was also worried about their numbers and thus took actions against them. Actions that united the Egyptians as well. We do this to this day.

Why were the Hebrews in Egypt? Did God not give the land of Canaan to Abraham and Sarah? Jacob came back to this promised land with his family, and after wrestling with God receives the name Israel. And then we have the story of Joseph. The eleven other sons of Israel was jealous of Jacob’s love of Joseph. They were angered by Joseph’s dreams. They banded together and scapegoated Joseph. They were going to kill him but decided to profit from this awful violence upon the out casted brother, and sold him into slavery.

Joseph ended up in an Egyptian prison, and eventually demonstrates his capability to interpret dreams. Not only does he find himself in Pharaoh's court, Joseph saves Egypt from the horrific famine. Joseph becomes Pharaoh's right-hand man. The famine was felt back in the promised land as well. Eventually Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt looking for assistance. They do not recognize their brother, but he knows them. Joseph finally reveals himself when the entire family is in Egypt. And Joseph believes that God used his horrific experience to be able to save the entire family. This is repeated with the Passover as God uses a people that were violently oppressed and scapegoated to establish God’s Law, starting with this ordinance that did save them that night.

What is clear is that the one true God can and will use our own systems of violence to save us. With the Passover it was salvation from slavery, with Joseph it was salvation from famine. Now Jesus enters as the lamb. No longer is the blood to show God who is to be saved, but that we see His blood on our system of justice. We understand that God brings us salvation from sin. From this system of violence and scapegoating for everyone. “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” (Revelation 19:9) Through this the laws still stand, yet they are fulfilled by the love Jesus showed us. God used our own violence so we could see that the only law is Love. We all can follow Jesus to our salvation by following that law.

Experienced Belief

2011-09-01T14:10:00.001-07:00

Matthew 16:21-28

Peter had just answered Jesus correctly, in the previous scripture, about who He is, “Messiah, the son of the living God.” Jesus told him he would be the rock the church would be built on and that the keys to heaven were in his hand. He must have felt pretty good about himself, even if Jesus said it was knowledge from the Living God, His Father. So when Peter heard Jesus say he most suffer and die, he felt confident enough to rebuke him. Honestly can we blame Peter. First of all, if you are in a class and a teacher says something wrong a good teacher commends someone that corrects them. Peter knew Jesus was the Messiah, but he was still stuck on the idea that the Messiah would free the people from Rome. Peter was not unique, the Messiah was to bring back the Kingdom of God, but they believed it as an earthly kingdom. They looked back to the days of David as their hope of the future.

Peter heard Jesus say he would rise again, but to the Jews of the first century it was a given that everyone would rise on the last day. Peter was terrified of the idea of Jesus, his teacher, his friend suffering to death, let alone, believing that would be the end of the movement. Honestly, I understand Peter’s fear, and I know the resurrection. I still tremble on Good Friday, I still cry when I truly ponder the cross. It is horrific. It was necessary as Jesus states in this scripture but it is awful, sad, and horrific.

Paul picks up on this pun of Jesus’, that Peter is the rock and also the stumbling stone in 1 Corinthians 1:23: “A stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles…” Peter was getting in the way of Jesus’ inevitable journey to the cross, because like other Jews it is absolutely a scandal the great Messiah would be killed. And for those not looking for a Messiah, it was just absurd. Yet Jesus had to save us via those means. See the cross was part of our human justice system. True it was the ultimate punishment for a crime and a sign to others, but it is also true that humans have used violence for justice (and continue) and often it is one person or one group of others that are blamed to bring peace to the people. Thus the system of justice of the cross was both the literal justice system and the greater overarching system we use called scapegoating. Both are violent, horrific and sad.

So why does Jesus have to go to the cross. It is not something answered in one sermon, but essentially Jesus takes on our system with out guilt or sin to save us from our sins, especially our own violent idea of earthly justice. As Mark Heim pens,

God's justice machine. God volunteered to get into ours. God used our own sin to save us.

This is why Jesus told Peter to get out of way of the cross. It may be the earthly justice system, but it will be a heavenly verdict when Jesus is resurrected. Just as the angels remind us, in Mathew 28:6 “He is not hear; for he has been raise, as he said…” Our belief, not unlike Peter’s, is because we experienced the resurrection. Peter saw him in the unlocked room and according to John on the beach where he asked him three times “Do you love me?" The flesh and blood resurrected opens us to believe that the earthly way are archaic and violent, and we choose to follow the man that took them on so that we all can be saved from sin.

S. Mark Heim. Saved from Sacrifice: A Theology of the Cross (Kindle Location 52). Kindle Edition.

September 2011 Newsletter - Hope

2011-09-01T08:04:00.000-07:00

"Hopefully" in Irish is “le cuidiú Dé,” directly translated it reads "with the help of God."

Hope is an important word, actually an important part of one’s life. All humans live with the awareness of the future, the difference is that some see the future with hope and some without which leads to despair. As church we are to vision the future with hope. This of course is our promised inheritance, our life with The Divine in Heaven, which should allow us to live with hope. This is the promise for our eternal life, which has already started on earth. So how do we vision hope on earth as it is in Heaven?

Just looking at the Gospel of Matthew I am encouraged by Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, specifically the Beatitudes (Ch. 5). They read with a future promise. For example verse five, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Jesus also tells us, “So not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (6:34) And Jesus states this with the command that we do strive for the Kingdom of God. We are to pray according to Jesus, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” (6:10) We are to live our earthly lives with the knowledge of God’s promise made known to us through Jesus. This is the promise of an eternal life and a promise of it fulfilling on earth as well.

However, having hope does not mean it will be all rainbows and happy faces. Honestly, having hope is most evident when bad things happen. If we live looking at the future with Jesus’ teaching and the resurrection in mind, we will have hope. We look hopefully to the future and realize it is all because of God.

Nothing More—Nothing Less

2011-08-22T20:08:00.001-07:00

Matthew 16: 13-20

Peter correctly answers the question Jesus poses. Jesus says you are correct, but you did not know it yourself, “flesh and blood” did not revel it to you rather the Living God had, The Father. This is called the “Good Confession,” and it is essential. As Disciples of Christ, we say, “No Creed but Christ,” we say we have no creed. It is not that we reject creeds, but we reject creeds as a litmus test for fellowship. As it is stated in the first principle of the identity statement of the CC(DOC):

We confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and proclaim him Lord and Savior of the world, requiring nothing more - and nothing less - as a basis of our life together.

We start fellowship with a belief in Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God, we need nothing more or nothing less to bring us together as Church, which Jesus told Peter He would start with him, and this confession and handed him the keys.

Now Peter stated the correct answer, as Jesus made quite clear, the answer we depend on for our life together. Yet Peter did not understand his confession completely. First off a few verses later Matthew reports that Peter tries to rebuke Jesus’ passion prophesy, and Jesus said “get behind me Satan.” Peter claims he would follow Jesus and yet he denies Him three times. Peter was a first century Jewish man and thus his idea of the Messiah was influenced by that reality. The idea of the Messiah was to free the land from the Romans. They believed the Messiah would provide a victory, a military, and social victory for for the Jewish people. I find it quite evident that Peter must have had that hope with the sword on him, the sword he drew on the night of Jesus’ arrest, which Jesus rebukes and heals the victim. This is why Jesus said, “Shhhhhh!!!” about Him being the Messiah, Jesus realized that Peter did not get it, Peter had the correct revelation, but the true revelation would come through the flesh and blood on the cross and the resurrected man who told us “Peace.”

Peter had to be open to being wrong. Even after Jesus cooked him breakfast on the beach and asked him if he loved Him three times and told him to tend and feed His sheep, Peter still had to be open to being wrong. He believed the keys were about keeping people out, not to open the gates, as Peter was concerned about believers following the laws of the Torah, until God send him visions that made him realize:

Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. (Acts 10:34-36)

The key is that Peter was open to the joy of being wrong, a term I borrow from James Alison. This is not a joy of being lost or a joy of hurting others.

The best example of the joy of being wrong I can think of was a time I was driving the three hour commute from my seminary during my first year. I have many times I was wrong, but this one I believe can help you understand the joy of being wrong. See I told my friend I thought I was interested in a woman, but I was convinced that I should not pursue her. I was convinced she was not interested (later to learn she did not pick up on flirting well). I was convinced I was right. Half way home, I decided to ring her, I was open and hopeful. She answered, “who is this"?” but by the end of the conversation we had a date planned and rest is history, as we have been married for six years. That is the great joy of being wrong.

We do not expect young people who are just baptized to fully understand their good confession that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God. We expect them to continue their education to continue to disciple. All of us need to be like Peter and be open to being wrong, even looking for the joy of being wrong. For Peter it started with the Good Confession and ended up opening the Kingdom of Heaven to everyone.

We simply need Christ, nothing more—nothing less, to begin our life together as Christians and we need to be open to learn and change what we think we know the Messiah is. We could be wrong and that can be full of Joy.

Ichthys (Fish)

2011-08-03T13:13:00.001-07:00

Matthew 14:13-21

Ichthys is the ancient Greek word for fish. Fish is important to the early church. Not only the feeding of thousands with a few fish, the first disciples were fishermen who Jesus told would fish now for people. The resurrected Jesus makes a coal fire breakfast of fish, when he tells them to cast net on the other side of the boat and they miraculously catch 153 fish, and Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him, and tells Peter to feed and care for His Sheep. Today the cross has become the greatest symbol of Christianity, but in the first century it was still in use to kill criminals, including Christians. The fish became the most used symbol. The story of Jonah was also very important to early Christians and my favorite was the idea that followers of “the way” were little fish because they were born in the baptismal water.

Those reasons above would be enough to use ichthys as the symbol of the movement, but it was also an acrostic for Jesus Christ God’s Son Savior (in the ancient Greek). To remind you an acrostic is a word that the letters of the word are the first letters of the words, and in this case a wonderful saying that demonstrates who is Jesus. This was known and thus when they saw a fish they knew that others believed Jesus Christ God’s Son Savior, just as we now see it on the back of cars and business cards.

As for this scripture, Jesus has the disciples feed over 5,000 people. Amazing. I would love to had been there, but I did have an experience that makes me understand what the disciples were feeling and thinking. I will share with you that experience. I was in Jamaica leading a short-term mission trip. Our goal was to develop relationships with other Christians as we helped their church. Specifically put a new metal roof on top of their grade school, tile a bathroom, create a playground, and run a 5 day Vacation Bible School.

Each day after the VBS we would have lunch in the fellowship building, where we had the children. We would clear the room of anyone that was not of our mission team. We had to, we thought, we had limited resources for lunch and we especially had to make sure all of our team was well fed and well hydrated. The first two days we easily cleared the room of everyone but the team for lunch and we dined on either pork, chicken, or curried goat. However, on the third day the kids asked if we could perhaps try Jamaican Patties and sure enough someone arrived early with enough for our team to have 1 1/2 patties. However, the room was not cleared at that time, in part because lunch arrived early, I and the other leader were tired, and the people were more confortable with us. The other pastor and I tried to clear the room, we wanted our team to feel confortable as they ate and we had less food then other days. But someone forgot to cancel the orders of pork, chicken, and curried goat, which arrived at the normal time. Well us pastors kept on our perceived duty we were supposed to protect the mission team. Now we had our lunch and the addition of a patty (and a few extra). We wanted to help these people but we thought it was important for our team to be well nourished.

Well then there was Dylan. Dylan was the youngest member of our team, whose father was on the roof each day. Dylan though decided to be part of the VBS team, and in reality he was the only American participant of VBS. He would help when you told him something specific to do, but he was generally just one of the kids (which if you remember our goal was to create relationships, and he was doing just that). Well Dylan got up and grabbed one of the Styrofoam containers of chicken and offered it to a woman, who was just hanging around but was not asking for food. Dylan heard Jesus say, “you give them something to eat.” Dylan knew Jesus can feed 5,000 plus with just five loaves and two fish, that we could certainly feed all the people in that room. We realized that we leaders were resisting the the command “They need not go away.” And while I have had many confusions on mission trips with food, I never had a third lunch arrive, but sure enough on this day another greater amount of patties arrived. We needed to find people to take this food.

What a wonderful lesson that experience was, and I know who Jesus is via the acrostic of Ichthys, yet I need to remember what it means to be a Christian who follows Jesus the Christ God’s Son [our] Savior, so I remember an acrostic for fish; Fully I Savior’s Helper. I know who Jesus is and I realize that I need fully give myself and He will provide.

Saying Grace reminds us of Grace

2011-07-31T14:47:00.001-07:00

Article printed in Durant Daily Democrat on Friday, July 29, 2011

Saying grace can go something like this: “God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Amen.” I do suggest praying prior to every meal as it is a great way to remember what God has done to provide for us and our physical needs. In addition, we need to remember those that are struggling currently not only during our prayer but with our action of giving and volunteering. Not only does saying grace remind us that God has provided our meals, but that through Jesus the Christ we have been given salvation. We remember every time we break bread that Jesus gave His whole self for our wholeness. Saying grace is a wonderful practice and I encourage everyone to do it, and not only when company comes to dinner, and do note it does not need to be said aloud, for God hears every thought. And as I am on the subject, if you do want to get to eating before the food gets cold, you may want to start praying instead of asking the preacher, and some congregants of mine have figured that out over the years.

This may seem like a non sequitur, but I hope to tie it up in the next paragraph. More and more people are taking medicines. Some are prescribed for a specific duration, but many have been prescribed indefinitely. I have helped some congregants go to the doctor, and always the question comes up, “What medications are you taking?” The most organized patients will have a printed list with all the information printed, and from an experience a few years ago in my family I know that it is essential, not only for the doctor, but simply to know when and what medicines should be administered. Of course, like most people, I would want to avoid taking medicine; however, I know that many people have improved their quality of life as well as longevity. It is wonderful what the medical field can do with these assorted colorful pills, caplets, and injections we call medicine.

Back to saying grace, we say it when we are consuming meals that sustain us, but why do most of us not say grace when we take our medicine? Well I hope it is simply that you have not thought of it, for every time I suggest it to someone, they react with what a great idea it is. I will not take credit for this idea, but I want you to know why and how to say grace for your medicine. It is not the same prayer you would say at the dinner table, rather it would go something like this, “Jesus the Great Physician, help these medications to do the work as it is intended, protect me from any of the side effects. I thank You for my medical help that comes from you through my medical staff and caregivers. Most of all I thank You for making me whole through your death and resurrection.” Or something like that, as a preacher I may go on even longer myself. This additional grace over medications I believe helps the medication to work more fully, but more importantly it reminds us what really makes us whole is our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.

Saying grace at the meal table, or for a medication, reminds us of Grace. It is not what we do but what God does for us all that we are saved and made whole.

Sound the Trumpet

2011-07-28T14:08:00.001-07:00

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

There are five parables in this scripture. The last one about fish talks about the end of the age, and how there will be a judgment. However, these parables are not about the Kingdom of Heaven coming only at the end of the age, rather that it has come near, now. While it is true that it is all set with the knowledge of the escahton, that is not the key to the Kingdom.

The first two parables demonstrates the power of the Kingdom of God and how it only needs a little to create is large dominion. The parable of the leaven that is put into three measures of flour (about 50 pounds), demonstrates the power of God. The end result is bread, which is what sustains us here on earth. According to this parable the Kingdom of Heaven is a large quantity of bread, created with a small amount of yeast. It is a miracle that feeds. The mustard seed is sowed in the field and grows into a tree that reflects the following Hebrew Scriptures:

The tree that you saw, which grew great and strong, so that its top reached to heaven and was visible to the end of the whole earth, whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and which provided food for all, under which animals of the field lived, and in whose branches the birds of the air had nests (Dan 4:20-21)

On the mountain height of Israel
   I will plant it,
in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit,
   and become a noble cedar.
Under it every kind of bird will live;
   in the shade of its branches will nest
   winged creatures of every kind. (Ezekiel 17:23)
All the birds of the air
   made their nests in its boughs;
under its branches all the animals of the field
   gave birth to their young;
and in its shade
   all great nations lived. (Ezekiel 31:6)

The large tree that represents the Kingdom of Heaven is a home to many. And even beyond the realm of Israel. It is a home for everyone now.

The second two parables are about how one comes about experiencing this Kingdom of Heaven that has come near. The first happens upon it in a field, the second is searching for the greatest pearl, either way, both give their whole financial selves to the field or pearl respectively. One gives there whole selves when they either stumble on or find what they were searching.

I have a wonderful story from my life about finding the Kingdom of Heaven, on earth. This leavened bread, this tree, this treasure, this great pearl, but I don’t know if I was searching or if I stumbled upon it. I will share the story with you.

I was talking to my dad on the phone when he told me that me nephew was interested in playing the trumpet. Well I knew there was a trumpet of my dad’s in the attic of his house, I put it there. See 30 plus years ago my dad brought the trumpet home from his childhood home when I was 7 or 8. I was excited about it and learned how to blow it some. Well as a young boy I also found that a marble could be kept rolling around the horn with centrifugal force. Often the marble would shot out across the room, but twice it went into the horn. However, only once did it come out. I tapped on the trumpet, blew on it, used a long stick, and put a lot of valve oil down all in an effort to free the little white marble from the trumpet. I did not go to my parents, especially my dad, but I did know how to open the attic and I placed it in the attic.

A few years later I was in fifth grade and all the students were encouraged to be part of the band. They had older students come and demonstrate the different instruments and we were to write down the three we were interested in. I put down trumpet, for it what I wanted to play, but I was scared. I did write down drums as well for I was interested in percussion as well. The third I put down was sousaphone, because the school provided the instrument, and I could keep the attic door shut. Well the next week the band leader called me in and asked if I was serious about the sousaphone, apparently it is not popular. He got me excited about playing that large horn, and I could keep the attic closed.

Back to the phone conversation with my dad. He told me he got the trumpet down from the attic and it did not seem to work. So I said to him, look inside you should find a white marble. He said “white marble” with me as he must have turned the horn around and then asked, how did you know it was white? I then shared the story I have shared and we laughed and laughed. See I was scared of my father when I was young. I was not abused but I was scared. He was not always around and I projected his judgment and he certainly provided some. It was even how I thought of God, for a while. My relationship with my dad matured greatly, from work we both did.

Finding that great marble was stumbling on something I knew, that the Kingdom of God is found in the relationships, not our wealth and success. During the week I was preparing this sermon, a congregant sent me this link: http://churchwhisperer.com/2011/04/19/41911/

The writer, Blake Coffee, uses the metaphor of the church as a quilt. A wonderful metaphor that seems to emphasize Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12:12 “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” I have used that metaphor as well but what Blake adds is about the stitching. For a quilt is not simply many pieces laid out in as an image, they are connected by thread. Those represent our relationships. What I really enjoyed was the analysis that when an issue hits the church we worry more about the weight of the issue rather than the strength of our relationships. I should have had confidence in my relationship with my father when I was young, apologized and asked for forgiveness. I am sure I would have been sounding the trumpet.

The Kingdom of Heaven is found in those relationships. We search and stumble upon those relationships and give our whole selves. Forgiving and being forgiven or in a work Love. For it is not simply about the end time, or a future time, it is now. Even if you lost 30 years you can still find the Great Pearl (Marble) in your attic.

Tell It!

2011-07-22T08:25:00.001-07:00

Luke 10:1-24

This scripture reminds me of my wonderful hiking boots I had as a teen. They went over many miles of terrain, mostly in Maine when I was a teen. I was reminded of these boots and backpacking because Jesus sends out the seventy packing light. If you know anything about backpackers, they are always trying to pack light, not as light as Jesus orders the seventy, but that is because they will stop in each town for provisions, and the backpacker with have everything packed on their back. The similarities do not end there. Backpackers need to look forward. This is not just because they are walking, but with a pack on back one must be looking forward and up not just at their feet, as to keep their airways open and to be open for new experiences, not just each step. Nor can the backpacker obsess on the comforts they left at home. Eventually it is great to get back home eating fresh food, showering in a hot shower, and slipping between clean cool sheets, but during the trip you will miss the point of backpacking. You have to eat what is in front of you, and be flexible. I remember a time where we had a raccoon eat some of our fruit and we planned to walk along the shore of a large lake, which seemed very easy until we realized that the spring rain, brought the water level up to the tree line in most places. We had to bush-wack and walk a greater distance to cross the overflowing streams. However, staying flexible we simply kept on enjoying the experience, seeing where black bears had eaten berries, and realizing we could push ourselves further. The greatest part of a backpacking trip is how it made each of us feel more whole and this was most obvious around the campfire. We shared about how close we had come to the divine and celebrated that, not that we conquered the miles and hard work. We celebrated how we had become more whole and looked forward to bringing that feeling to our lives out of the woods.

Brian McLaren shared at General Assembly that we need to be a Luke 10 church, and that is what Disciples strive for. Jesus sends us out where He intended to go. We are followers of Jesus, but it is clear that Jesus sees us also as pioneers and agents of His work. We are to go out, and go out looking forward. Thus we must be flexible and “pack light” for we do not know what the future entails. We are to heal, that is make people whole, wherever we go and we tell people, not that Heaven is a future promise, but that the Kingdom of God has come near. A peaceable kingdom, for we say that peace upon this house, this town. And if they are not ready we move on, but we still mention the proximity of the kingdom. And we celebrate, but not over the powers we conquered but over the wonderment of our success despite being flawed small group. This is what we must tell. We are a flexible, future oriented church that sees the peaceable kingdom now and celebrates that.

Freedom Time

2011-07-05T10:56:00.001-07:00

Esther 4:11-16

I retold the story of Esther and then told the story of Margaret Gage. Two women that lived with a great lifestyle and risked it for their people. All of us need to realize that are privilege is not worth it if others will suffer. If you want more contact me, but my birthday present to myself was to simply note (and not fully write) what I preached on, for it was simply sharing the two stories and then compare the two and apply it to us today.

Blessings and Happy Fourth!!!

Transformative

2011-06-30T08:35:00.001-07:00

Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42

Paul writes about how we are now under grace and not the law. He is making it clear that we have done nothing for this grace, and also making it clear that we cannot simply except the grace once and then go sin. Paul makes it clear that we are to be obedient. As Paul writes in Romans 6:17, “But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.” It is clear that Paul believes that being under grace means we will act righteously. We will spread the Gospel as Matthew writes in this scripture.

This made me think about how I learned to ride a bicycle. My father, an engineer, made me read the manual, learn all the physical science, learn all the laws, and learn the history and tradition of bicycling (which was not too bad since it only started in the early 19th century) before I got on a bicycle. Well that is not true, but I wrote this to demonstrate how crazy it would be to require all that learning before climbing on a bike. When in fact we put a child on the bike with training wheels with only very basic instruction. I remember the first time I rode my bike without training wheels. I remember some basic instruction, but most of all the encouragement from my parents and the number of neighborhood children. It was wonderful.

Grace is to me like riding a bicycle. You are not required to learn all the church doctrines, tradition, know the Bible like a scholar, no you are simply are to go out practicing being Christian. Now I am a person that can ride a bicycle (I would say a bicyclist, but that has connotations of having the outfit), and so is Lance Armstrong. Now Lance practices riding a bike much more than I, and has even studied other parts to the art, and thus is a much better bicyclist, especially for races. While Christians are not practicing to compete and one someone is a Christian they are equally saved with all other Christians (no matter how well versed or practiced another is), it is true that we mature in our relationship with Jesus if we practice more and more.

The major point is that grace is a free gift and we have done nothing to deserve it. For most there was a transformative time when Grace turned us to God for the first time. We respond to that moment with baptism. It is like riding a bike for the first time, and we remember that moment dearly. The fact is grace is transformative always. If you are pedaling along as a Christian you need to realize that every day, every minute the free gift of grace is there and is constantly a transformative force. You are moving along in your faith and thus you are being transformed just as you were at your baptism. And for those that have stopped pedaling, and/or have gotten off “the way.” They need to simply remember the idiom “it is like riding a bicycle” for all you need to do is except the free gift of grace and head toward God as your teacher and practice Christianity.

God’s Mirror

2011-06-21T10:37:00.001-07:00

Psalm 8; Matthew 28:16-20

The Great Commission is one of the most essential scripture of our faith, and today I want to explore Jesus’ triune statement. It is one of the clearest places in the Bible where the Trinity is clear. “…in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit…” Jesus is clearly stating that they are one and yet unique. The Trinity is not clearly defined by our Bible, but it is an important tradition of the church. It allows us to know God by three “faces” and know God as one. While it is not defined directly it is certainly Biblical. There are a few verses in the Chapter 15 of the Gospel of John, that point to the meaning of the mystery of the Trinity. I share them below:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. (1)

‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. (12-17)

‘When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. (26)

Each of these scriptures show that there are distinct manifestations of the Divine, yet what is clear is they work together in relationship. We understand God as unified as One, yet demonstrates that God is in relationship with Godself. It is not clear cut as it is a great mystery, but I will explore why this is an important tradition.

While I prayed about these scriptures in preparation, and realizing this Sunday was also Father’s day, I thought about my own father. I had a great childhood, and I have a great relationship with my father today. However, he was not as present as I would have liked, but when I reflected on the times I remembered my father as dad, that is positively and with parental love, there were a number of memories to pick from, but the three that kept coming to mind were three that happened in front of the bathroom sink.

I remember my father shaving in the hall bathroom and I created my own “razor” out of Legos. I recall how he demonstrated the art of shaving and put some shaving cream on my hairless face so I could attempt to shave.

I remember that my mom would tie my ties from standing in front of me, but one day she asked my dad to do it. He attempted to the first time as she would have, but realized that he needed to do it from behind me and looking into a mirror. Not only did he succeed in tying the tie, he also taught me how to do it myself.

I remember cutting my finger in the woods and realizing it needed attention. My dad was home and he carefully attended to it at the sink. I recall seeing him in the mirror carefully and lovingly stopping the bleeding.

These three memories are understood greater by my recent time with my son in a mirror. AJ is a child that we are trying to encourage more eye contact (and he continues to improve), so when we look into a mirror and he looks into my eyes in the mirror and then turns to look at me, I realized that what we see in the mirror is not simply the physical image, but rather the relationship. It is why we treasure pictures of us with people, even if it is not the most flattering. We see the relationship.

Psalm 8 reminds us that we are different from all other animals we are as it says in Genesis, made in God’s image. We are set a little lower than God, so we can be a mirror of God. We reflect the God, the Divine Light, which is itself a relationship. Thus we are to reflect relationship through relationships.

Breathe Spirit

2011-06-15T13:07:00.001-07:00

John 20: 19-23

When we think of Pentecost, we first think of Luke’s account of the gift of the Holy Spirit. For Luke writes it was on the Jewish holiday of Pentecost, 50 days after the Passover. There was a loud wind and tongues of fire on the believers heads. Peter starts preaching and we celebrate this day as the birthday of the church.

Tradition does connect this gift of the Holy Spirit with Easter as we have kept the celebration of Pentecost 7 weeks from our Christian Passover, Resurrection Sunday. John however connects the gift of the Holy Spirit directly with that day, as He gives them the Spirit on that very day. Luke uses the term wind which in the Hebrew (ruach) means both Spirit and wind reflecting the wind of Genesis 1 that God used to create. John uses the word breathed, which would harken back to Genesis as well, chapter 2:7:

then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.

Or in Ezekiel 37 when God breathed on the dry bones to bring them back to life. John is emphasizing with the gift of the Spirit that those received New Life in the Sprit.

Peter and the disciples in Luke’s account knew exactly what to do with the gift of the Spirit; they evangelized. In John even seeing the resurrected Jesus, it is not long before they take that gift and go fishing. Jesus meats them at the lake and cooks them breakfast and reminds them, why He gave them the Holy Spirit, via his discourse with Peter:

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. (John 21: 15-17)

Jesus is saying as He said in the locked room, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” We are commissioned to share that gift.

Jesus breathed the Spirit to His believers. They breathed it in, but to live one must also exhale. We must breath the Spirit in and out. This gift of the Spirit it not a gift we keep, it is a gift we must share.

Sovereign Grace

2011-06-08T13:03:00.001-07:00

John 17:1-26

Today’s scripture is part of Jesus’ farewell dialogue. It is however, not to us, it is a pray to His Father. We are privy to this very personal prayer on behalf of the disciples, and for those that would believe because of their witness, thus ourselves. There is a great intimacy evident by this prayer. It is also very pastoral for us as there is a petition to the Father God that we see His glory, we make it to heaven. This is to happen because Jesus asks the Father God to protect the believers who are no longer of the world and to keep them united.

This reminded me of a wonderful illustration. There was an Admiral who decided to take the control room from the Captain of the USS Oklahoma. The sailors in the control room all had their respective jobs. One was on the helm, radio, radar, maps, etc. They knew their jobs and even knew the way to their safe harbor.

The night was foggy and dark, but the sea was not too choppy. The ship headed their normal direction. The admiral saw a light in the distance, and commanded the radio man to send a message that the ship change course. The report back was that we are requested to change course. This went back and forth a few times, when the admiral got up and grabbed the radio and barked into it, “This is the admiral of the fleet, I command you to move.” A second later, the response was, “Sir, I humbly ask you again to change your course, as the lighthouse keeper for two months and I have not figured out how to move.” The men and women in the control room held back their laughter as best they could.

See the ship represents the church, and it is important for everyone to be in the proper position. Just as Paul pointed out in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

It is true that the admiral did not depend on the people that knew the way, but neither did they speak up when they knew what the light was. It is important for the church to be together and to have us working together as our gifts are given. It is certainly much easier to navigate the sea of the world together then alone in a small dingy.

The lighthouse is the grace of God that shines out on everyone, but it is important we recognize it as Grace. The ship could have ran aground if the reality that the lighthouse was warning them was not realized. Grace directs us and protects us from the “evil one.” The lighthouse keeps us from hitting the rocky coast, it is the answer to Jesus’ pray to His father, that we be protected and unified. The lighthouse and the ship.

The ship may move with our help, but it is truly the lighthouse that should direct its every move. God is truly in charge, God’s Grace is Sovereign.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Paul sums it up well here. It is Grace that saves us and directs us, and we respond by good work of the church.

ALL ABOARD

2011-06-03T19:53:00.001-07:00

As printed in Durant Daily Democrat June 3, 2011

Have you been stuck at a railroad crossing? If you run your errands around Durant, it is likely for that to happen a time or two. Have you heard the train whistles? If you live in Durant I am sure you have. I write this to emphasize how important these locomotives and rail companies are to our town and county. For many of the new industries that have come and those that will come to the Durant Area, rail is a key ingredient for receiving and shipping, as well as the trucks on 69/75. There is currently nothing as efficient and connected to the rest of the country as our rail system.

Many communities such as ours are lucky to have a class one carrier, yet we have been serviced by three. These are names we should know, but do not worry—I also had to find out the names. Union Pacific, Burlington Northern Sante Fe, and Kansas City Southern are the three class one carriers, reaching across our whole nation. To receive cars from these three lines requires the important work of the short-line carrier, Kiamichi-Rail America. These four rail companies are an essential ingredient to our community’s growth. So when I hear the train whistles or need to wait for a train, I think about how important it is to our community.

Now you may be asking why a minister is so interested in our local trains. The answer has two parts which I believe are related. The first is very simple and that is that our local churches are part of the same community and the reality is that churches need the community to be healthy on many levels, including economically. While some of our citizens have fallen on bad economic times, we are able to provide services in the community, such as (but not limited to) Loaves & Fishes and Families Feeding Families because many are able to give their time, talent, and money.

The second is how the train symbolizes our interconnection with the rest of the nation and even the world. What makes trains so important are how they provide efficient transportation from sea to shining sea. When you see or hear the trains in town, you know that the cars are filled with many different raw materials and finished goods, going throughout the land. This is a wonderful fact. Just as we have different churches in town, we have only one Gospel, one track. Paul states this in 1 Corinthians 12:12-14: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.” All Christians are baptized into one body, yet there is a diversity of gifts among the body, with Christ as the head.

Therefore when I see or hear the trains I think about how Christians from all walks of life and of all denominations may be different but are united by the tracks set by the Father God, the train that Jesus is at the control, and the Holy Spirit that powers the train. I believe today as the popular slogan in many frontier churches of the nineteenth century stated, “In essentials, Unity; in non-essentials, Liberty; and in all things, Charity.”

So when you now get stuck waiting to cross the tracks, or simply hear one of those impressive locomotives, I hope you will think about how blessed we are. We are blessed to have a town that has industry and jobs in part because of these railroads. We are also all blessed to be part of the wonderful Body of Christ, the church, which expands over the world like the rails, connecting Christendom, for “…God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body.” (1 Corinthians 12: 18-20).

So I leave you with the words of the 1965 hit single by The Impressions:

People get ready, there's a train a comin'
You don't need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin'
Don't need no ticket, you just thank the Lord

We can all get on board. Be it for our community, but even greater for Christ.

June Newsletter

2011-06-03T19:51:00.001-07:00

June 2011

Summer is here. It is an important time of the year. Vacations, festivals, and the lake take precedent over high production. All the seasons of the year are also important and I embrace each of them as they come. I know that summer can also be a lot of work just to relax, both at home and away, but part of the goal is to find those times for your family and yourself to relax and “re-create.” Recreation is an important part of the summer season. One of the many ways we can participate in this season as we try to stay cool, find activities for children and grandchildren is to not worry. I know that is easier said than done. Jesus makes it quite clear, in Luke 12 and Matthew 6 that worrying about this life will not add an hour to our lives, and we should consider the birds that neither sow nor reap and the flowers that do not toil nor spin, “For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.” (Luke 12:23) This is the season when we can most practice the discipline of not worrying.

Jesus’ message is not to worry about the worldly things. “For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” (Luke 12: 30-31) How can we practice relaxing and strive for the kingdom? I believe Paul sums it up best in Galatians 5:22-23, “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” If we strive for these fruits we are striving for God’s Kingdom. Summer is a great time to strive for these fruits and shelve the worries of our world.

This year Pentecost falls on June 12, when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that works with us to help us and guide us toward the Spiritual Fruit. The Holy Spirit will help us to not worry, but to strive for God’s Kingdom. Jesus sends us out into the world to be that message as the church, according to John 20:21-22 “…‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” So when you find yourself worrying and fretting this summer call upon the Holy Spirit, call upon the church, call upon Jesus and you will find yourself striving for the Spiritual Fruit, for the Kingdom of God, and thus have a summer of relaxation and reCreation.

Through Water

2011-05-31T13:43:00.001-07:00

Psalm 66:8-20; 1 Peter 3:13-22

Noah, Jonah, Moses, and Joshua, are all Hebrew Bible stories that prefigure baptism, just as Peter wrote of Noah. All of them had to go through water. As I remember from Sunday School (as a youth and teacher) all of these stories are taught to our kids with a very joyful sentiment. Noah especially with the pictures of perfect arks with giraffe heads sticking out. I was obsessed with whales as a child so I truly enjoyed the story of Jonah and had a picture of a smiling whale to remind me of that Bible story. The Exodus and entry into the promise land was not as colorfully told, but it too was taught with the respective happy “endings.” When they crossed the Red Sea and then into the Promised Land across the Jordan.

Well as adults we realize these Hebrew stories are much more dark and scary. Noah had the hard work of building this ark. Being questioned by neighbors and then seeing them all perish. Even though God told him to build it, and that He would send that much rain, Noah and his family did not know what the future held for them and in the meantime were dealing with the reality of an arc filled with animals. (Not fun and certainly scary).

Jonah thought he was going to die when thrown into the sea and probably thought the large fish would end his life quicker. I am sure he thought he was dead. It was not like the scene in Pinocchio. Then he was spit out (the nice way to say it) and had to do the work he did not want to do. He then struggled with God who had saved him.

Moses and all the Hebrew people heard the chariots coming. They were correct in thinking they were going to die. And even when they crossed the Red Sea they had 40 years of wandering, until the next generation was led across the Jordan into the Promised Land. A land inhabited which they would struggle to establish Israel and Judah. The salvation did not wipe away all their troubles.

These are stories that prefigure baptism and should. On this Sunday we remember all those that served our Country and laid down their lives for others. They are great heroes. While I was a chaplain in a large metropolitan hospital I met many men who had served along side those that gave their lives in WWII. Inevitably they would talk about the war, and about those that died in their youth fighting for freedom. Many had not shared some of these stories with their family, and a common theme was the guilt of coming home. They held with them the death of many of their friends and came home to live not only for themselves but for those the laid their lives down for us all.

The best image of war (better yet worst) is that of D-day. The images I had seen always spook me, that men would jump out into the water and proceed through water and fire from the Germans inch by inch. I can imagine that some of the soldiers would watch their comrade die and would take their memory of them on with them, some of them inches or feet and those few I met years latter the rest of their lives.

According to Paul this is exactly what baptism should be as he writes in Romans 6:3-4:

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

We are baptized into Jesus’ death. We bring the scary aspects of the four Hebrew Bible Stories into our lives as we are saved. We are not baptized to a life that is perfect. We are baptized into a Jesus’ death so we might see the newness of life. We will suffer, but we will know the eventual promise. We will hold onto what Jesus did for us so we may live. Just as those soldiers lived out their lives for their fallen comrades, but it was Jesus’ death and resurrection that saved them from guilt as well as sin.

Jesus is the Way

2011-05-24T09:11:00.001-07:00

John 14: 1-10

I lived right near the Woodcock Nature Center growing up, and I would explore the trails with a few friends or alone. I knew the trails within the boundaries of the park, like the back of my hand. Well one summer day, when I was under the age of 10, I found myself with a group of kids, many were older than me. We went beyond the boundaries of the park and found ourselves in a new area of the woods. We ended up on the far side of a large fenced field with horses, which was very exciting and occupied us for a while. We then headed back on the this new trail but missed the trail head back into the nature center. We went back and forth on the trail looking for where we originally turned but could not find it.

I was getting scared especially as the sun lowered. However, I was even more frustrated that the older kids were not listening to me that I believed the turn was further down the trail, for when we came back I could not get them to go far enough the second time. I was tempted to go out on my own, but I was taught to not leave the group when lost in the woods (a good idea). I knew where to go, but I was limited by the group to wandering around lost.

In this scripture, John tells us about Jesus’ pastoral statement about the place He has prepared for us in the Father’s house. This wonderful pastoral statement is a scripture very appropriately shared at death beds and during funerals. There is nothing like hearing the promise of Heaven. Then Jesus goes on to tell them they know the way, but the disciples don’t get it once again. So Jesus states another pastoral statement,

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him. (John 14:6-7)

Jesus is making it clear they are to continue following what He had shown them, they are to continue following Him even after He is in Heaven preparing our rooms. Even before believers in Jesus where called Christians we were called followers of “The Way.”

How does Jesus show the way? Jesus healed many people and even commissioned the Disciples to do likewise.

Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. (Luke 9:1-2)

Thus we are to heal people as Jesus did and that will be in many forms. Jesus also speaking of when He will return to judge in Matthew 25 that we must also help others. We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the prisoners, if we want to be in the Father’s house. The way includes healing and helping.

Jesus also notes during John’s account of the Last Supper, He gives us a new commandment. It is given after He tells them He is with them only a little longer.

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)

So the way of Jesus is to Heal, Help, and Love. These are what Jesus wants us to do and then teach others. Commanding us to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..” (Matthew 28:19). Jesus shows us the way and opens it up with His laying down His Life and the Father resurrecting Him from Death.

The Prophet Micah says it best,

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6: 8)

To do justice is to heal and help, and to love kindness with humility is to Love one another.

So when we finally found the path back into the nature center, I knew I would be home shortly. When I got home I was happy, but I was ecstatic when I climbed over the fallen tree I knew so well. For when I knew I was back on the right path I knew the promise I would get home. We must follow Jesus, “the Way,” so we might know the promise of Heaven.

Called

2011-05-19T11:13:00.001-07:00

John 10:1-10

Jesus tells us he is the shepherd at that gate and then emphasizes He is the gate, when the disciples did not understand. Jesus tells us that only through the gate can you enter the sheepfold. That thieves and bandits jump the fence and use violence. In our contemporary language we see thieves and bandits as synonyms, but in the Greek thief does refer to someone who is stealing for their own benefit, while the word bandit would be better translated as insurgent, someone doing crimes for political reasons. Because some were waiting for a military messiah to save the people from the Roman occupation, it was a wonderful how Jesus combines both a petty thief and “bandit.” Jesus goes on in the chapter to say He is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life, completely in contrast to those calling for a military response to oppression.

That does set the scene for what Jesus says in these verses, He is the gateway to the sheepfold. That is not simply to heaven as it is sometimes stated, but to the church (thus eventually to heaven). This is an important nuance, for the church is called out of the society by Jesus and only Jesus. The sheepfold represents the church and we are to enter it by following Jesus’ call to us, just as the disciples did when He said to them at the sea of Galilee, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” (Mark 1:17)

Jesus calls us to be the church. The word “church” comes from a Middle English word referring to the “Lord’s House.” Today we do use the word to mean the building in which we worship, but we understand that the church is not simply the building and/or what occurs in the building. Rather it is the mission of the Body of Christ that defines church. In our Bible the word “church” is used once by Jesus. Jesus says in Matthew 16:18, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” Now it sounds like Jesus is using the term church as a building, at least in a metaphor, as He will build it on a rock. Of course when we use the word “rock” to refer to a person, it is a metaphor about their character, but more importantly the word we translate as church does not have the same root as the English word, it is not a word for a building at all. The word is more closely related to the definition of church we have come to understand, the mission of the Body of Christ.

The word is Ecclesia and it was a word used to describe a group of people gathered or assembled. Specifically gathered and assembled for a specific, generally political reason. Not unlike how we assemble people for jury duty. The word refers not to a physical building at all, but a group gathered for a specific purpose. Called. The church is inherently the group called and those assembled by Jesus.

I believe that the prophet Isaiah understood this when he wrote,

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’ (Isaiah 6:6-8)

Jesus the Good Shepherd, the gate, calls each of us, and has triumphed over death with the last needed sacrifice. The altar has been appeased, so that our sins are blotted out and our guilt departed, so we can hear Jesus asking and calling. We answer, “Hear am I; send me!”

The Light to See

2011-05-13T10:42:00.001-07:00

Luke 24:13-35

Where is Emmaus? It is seven miles from Jerusalem according to Luke, but it must not have been an incorporated town, for there is no hard evidence for its position. Luke is however not concerned with the town but rather that these two have left the scene of the day. The reality of the past three days had gotten to these two disciples. They needed out and it seems that the woman’s witness was the last straw, for they can share the story up to that point and they left for Emmaus. Did they have to be there for a reason? Perhaps, but it seems more likely that even if there was a reason it was a weak excuse to get away from the reality. Emmaus for all intention is a place of escape.

For us it may be a movie, a book, a vacation, it can even be church. It is the place or mindset to escape the harsh reality of the world. A harsh reality where we are not able to see the resurrected Jesus. These two could not see Jesus right in front of them and please note that Jesus does not rebuke them about their journey to Emmaus, rather their understanding of the prophecy. Jesus does not tell them to go back but it is the obvious reaction when they experience the revelation of Jesus at the table.

The table is the pivotal point of this scripture. They know the New Testament Gospel in that they experienced it, and even heard of the resurrection from the women. They couldn't handle it but when they met this “stranger” they shared the story. Yet they did not come to believe when the Hebrew Prophesies were revealed to them by Jesus, Himself.

The Lord’s Table set for us each Sunday has us remember Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. We know the name of this Table as the Lord’s Table (as I referred to it above), which makes sense since it is Jesus our Lord who invites us to this table. We will also here it called communion table, and it is true we are in communion with God at this table but also with each other.

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 1 Cor. 10:16 KJV

I believe this idea of coming together around the table for to remember and find the revelation of Jesus is perfect. Of course Jesus would leave the perfect rite to remember and know Him.

Think about what the everyday table is to you. Who do you eat with? We know the criticism of Jesus was often included stating who He ate with.

Think about who taught you your table manners. If you are like me many of your table manners were taught to you by your mother. My mom taught me what side the silverware goes on, that elbows were not allowed on the table, don’t talk with your mouth full, and many other important rules. Those rules I named fulfill etiquette, which are very important, but etiquette is simply cultural rules. Rules that change over time and geography. For example the fork as a utensil did not start making it to the table in Europe about a thousand years after the Last Supper.

Etiquette is important, but ethics is even greater. I believe there are ethics to table fellowship that really has never changed. My mom taught me gathering for a meal is not simply to eat, but to enjoy each other’s company and to share with everyone in the experience. This was emphasized by many things, especially the conversations and the laughter, but also the etiquette that we had to be dismissed.

Another ethic value was that everyone should have enough or a fair share of what was presented. The exception would be if there were guests. Leading me to share the third ethical value of table fellowship and that is hospitality. That sharing a meal is the greatest sign of hospitality. What I learned from my mother that it wasn’t only when we planned to have special dinner party, but even when one of my friends stopped by unannounced. Always the table was open.

Those three values have been the ethics of table fellowship. It is not just about the food, but about the fellowship, everyone should get what they need, and it also the greatest sign is hospitality. The Lord’s Table is no exception, and it upholds the three key ethics greatly. The table is not simply about food but is a communal relational experience between people and the Divine. Grace goes equally to all as they accept it at the table. Everyone is invited and we need to keep inviting people to His Table.

This is why they see Jesus at the Table. They demonstrated great hospitality and were in communion with each other and of course God. Of course, Grace is given equally and they see Jesus. But only for an instant, for Luke is making it clear that when we see Jesus we must act as those two did. They were on an escapist path when they went to Emmaus but as soon as they saw Jesus again in the breaking of the bread, they were back, within the hour, to evangelize.

All off us need a chance to get away from the world, but once we experience Jesus at the table (or wherever) we realize that Jesus is in control and we are to follow Him.

The Eighth Day

2011-05-07T15:03:00.001-07:00

John 20: 1-8

We gather this Sunday to celebrate Resurrection Day; Easter. I often talk of Resurrection Moments, and I believe these moments are easily distinguished, but very hard to define. Thus I am going to share three such moments. I would say that if a gathered group of Christians started naming such moments we would have millions to share and probably greater.

The first I want to share is that of Ottist Murduck’s death. He was 99 and a great Christian as well as an active member at First Christian Church of Durant. He had a Do Not Resuscitate order, but it was not on file correctly at the hospital, so when he went Code Blue on Thursday the doctors and nurses kept him alive. I talked to Ottist’s son on that Friday, and at first his son was unhappy about that glitch. Yet that Friday his son was able to be with Ottist as he passed away as well as friends and I was able to pray with him as well. With the DNR misfiled Ottist had family near him, and I believe that is a resurrection moment.

The second example seems so less deep and even silly, but I know for me this example was very important in my life. I was not sure where I was going in life and I felt very far from God. I happen to be living in Manhattan, and if you know anything about taking the Subway, it is rare to pass the turnstile and have your train be right there. The subway is the best way to travel in the city, but generally you do need to wait for your train for a few minutes. If your train was there right when you entered the tunnel it would probably be the first thing off your tongue when you arrived (not unlike a parking spot right in front if you drive into the city; you will need to take my word). Well this one week I seemed to be charmed for the trains were always on hand. By Wednesday, I felt like I could walk to the edge of the platform and on Thursday I felt like if I did not know where I was going in life I knew God was with me. That was the moment. It is not that God makes sure I travel quickly and easily, simply try to fly through New Orleans with me, but that week made me know God’s presence.

The third, is a story of my mom. She survived and battled ovarian cancer. She was still wearing her wig months after her last chemo therapy, and she was driving the two hours to visit my family. During the drive a semi kicked up a large piece of metal that went through her windshield, missing her by inches. Luckily she had her eyeglasses on as the glass from the windshield was all over her. Somehow she made it to the median, and two men who witnessed the accident pulled over to offer help. She reports that they were more freaked out then she was, she even asked if they thought she could continue her trip. She was trying to brush the glass of her clothes, and finally told the men not to laugh, as she removed her wig and used it to brush of the glass. It was the last time she wore that wig, she looked death in the face twice that year; resurrection.

Again we can tell stories for days that I would say are resurrection moments and we know what they are even if we cannot define it. Sometimes the moments are seen as the moment after the fact, such as all those above I shared. Each of those moments were seen as being part of the Kingdom of God, Resurrection, afterwards.

Let me share with you this story of the Hebrews on their journey from slavery in Egypt to the promised land. They were wining about being thirsty.

I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. Exodus 17:6

Well that is a miraculous story, but let us look at how Paul interprets this same story.

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. 1 Cor. 10:1-4

Well Paul sees that the rock was Christ, that the Hebrews were given water by Christ. A resurrection moment. The Gospels of Mathew and Luke share the birth of Jesus and so does the Gospel of John in verse 14 where John writes the Word became flesh, but even before that John makes it clear that Christ was with God in the beginning.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:1-5

Thus according to John, Paul is correct to interpret the great events such as the water from a rock is the work of Christ, as Christ has been with and is God from the start. These resurrection moments have been happening throughout history and are not only for humanity but for all of creation.

John writes that there were many signs of Jesus and could not be contained in his book, not unlike our own moments we know.

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31

This also makes us look at the signs that John does include and we discover that there are seven signs. Water into wine, healing of the noble man’s son, healing the lame man, feeding of thousands, calming the storm, blind man receives sight, & the resurrection of Lazarus. Seven is an important number and you cannot help think of creation, so Jesus’ resurrection will be the eighth sign, the eighth day.

There were Jews in Jesus’ day that were waiting for the “eighth day,” and for them it was the Last Day, the resurrection. However, Jesus’ resurrection demonstrates that the Kingdom of Heaven does come and touch this earthly world. We do have resurrection moments where God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, allow us to know God today.

Jesus is our Rock, Jesus is the living water, and we get to live the eighth day even when we go through our normal week.

May Newsletter

2011-05-06T09:37:00.001-07:00

May 2011

If you have not heard AJ, Mindi, and I will be closing on a house on North 10^th Avenue during this month of May. We are excited to own a home in our community. It has been over a year since I had a yard to play in as well as mow, and I look forward to both (of course the former most of all). We already feel at home here, and this is the obvious next step.

The two things I like about packing (if there I have to admit two things) are cleaning out things I do not need, and going through the meaningful memories. The cleaning out the old stuff and the things one does not need any more feels great. However, I find even more joy by finding treasures during a move that remind me of different periods of my life and seeing how they connect to the current move.

Of course moving from one home to another forces this process, but it is a good idea to do this process for our home now, and even more importantly with our own selves. What we discover is that we have varying gifts because of our experience and God-given talents. Thus we think of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12: 12-17:

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot were to say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body.

Paul goes on and tells us that “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.” Through prayer and careful self-reflection we can find where our skills, talents, and gifts fit for the Body of Christ, not simply at First Christian Church, but in our entire lives as the ministry of Jesus Christ. It is not limited to our congregation, but is how we live our lives everywhere: church, work, the library, the fields, malls, on the road, and of course at home.

So as you participate in your own spring-cleaning and clearing, remember the gifts you have been given and the experiences that have shaped your gifts for the work of Christ in the world. As we continue the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection, let us use our gifts in new ways for the building of Christ’s Kingdom.

Blessings,

Pastor JC

Emmanuel

2011-04-15T13:22:00.001-07:00

John 11:1-45

Preparing for this sermon I was pondering about clichés about not being present, and I thought about how it is important to train a new driver to change a tire. It may not be as important now with mobile phones, but we do it because we realize that we will not be present when it happens to someone, and we learn the skill because we realize we will not have the teacher present. So while I was pondering this example, I received an email from my wife that said her phone was not working. She had tried to turn it off and back on, because it was not working correctly, and it would not restart. On the rare occasion, this would occur she would hand the phone to me to deal with, but of course this time I was in the office. I emailed back that she should take the battery out for a minute and it should work. Forty-five seconds letter I received an email with just the word “how.” I wanted to be there, or at least phone her, because trying to explain how to take the back cover off in written words escaped me. I was just about to respond, it is the back cover and I will be home shortly, when the message “never mind I figured it out” arrived in my inbox. Sometimes it is simply important to be there.

Paul wrote much of our New Testament, and all of it is in the form of epistles. We have no record of his sermons or even straight theological writing, rather all of the writings we have are because Paul could not be there (wherever there was). His letter to Philemon, Paul needed to convince Philemon to take back his slave, Onesimus, as a brother in Christ and not simply as a slave. Paul had to make sure the churches he started did not get swayed by the Judaizers who came trying to have the churches follow the Torah as well as Jesus. Paul simply could not be everywhere, Paul was limited by being a human like us. It is interesting that all of our written records of his work are these letters he wrote because of that limitation.

In this story of Lazarus’ death, Jesus is not present. It is also clear in this story that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. His humanity is present by his physicality, in that He was not able to be there for His friend. Jesus was delayed and needed time to travel when he was able, and there was the concern by His friends about those that wanted Him dead. Yet Jesus knew He would “awaken” Lazarus, which only the Divine could know. Jesus demonstrated great emotion as well. Even knowing that Lazarus would walk again on earth, Jesus was moved by his feelings to cry. This to me demonstrates His humanity, and reminds me of how He was angry in the temple and His passionate prayer to His Father in the garden prior to the cross. And in this scripture Jesus tells us He is the resurrection and calls Lazarus out of the grave, fully divine.

Martha went out to met Jesus knowing he was coming to town and she greets him with this statement, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus responds that Lazarus will rise again, and Martha responds with a very good Jewish answer, and answer you would expect from a Pharisee, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” The resurrection was believed by Jews, but it was something that would happen far off, on the last day. Jesus turns that idea around, that it is something far off and distant, by stating, and her response in John 11: 25-27:

Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’

Clearly, the resurrection is started on earth and does not wait for the end of all time. Jesus has changed this idea of time.

Yet they still see Jesus as being only physically present. That His healings and miracles needed His presence. This is clear by Mary’s similar statement to Jesus, when she arrives and kneels at His feet, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” I do believe Jesus weeps because of the emotions of His own, and those around Him for the death of Lazarus, I cannot help and wonder if He is also sad that these friends do not understand. They believe Jesus has to be present for God’s Glory to be present, and that does seem to be true until the Holy Spirit is sent to gather us as the church, the Body of Christ.

During the Christmas season we often hear of Mathew’s translation of Isaiah 7:14, in Mathew 1:23:

Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means, God is with us.

Emmanuel is the Hebrew words that mean God with us, and during Christmas we are always pointing out the importance of God’s incarnation as Jesus the baby. This does not change, Jesus is the incarnation of God. God with our physical limitations, such as not being able to be everywhere at all times. God with emotions. God incarnate. John’s account of of Lazarus's resurrection reminds us that Jesus is both divine and human.

Paul talks about being untimely born because he was not able to meet the incarnate Jesus, but only the resurrected Christ. I must admit that at first I feel the same way, for if I did have a time machine, I would want to go to Bethlehem when Jesus was born, hear His preaching, witness the miracles and healing, break bread with Him, mourn His tragic and violent death, be in the upper room when he comes to show himself to Thomas. Then I do remember that I am part of the post Pentecost Church. I am part of the Body of Christ, the Resurrection and the Life. That we are doing the work of the Father who sent Jesus and gave us the Holy Spirit so that everyone will know God is with us.

Light of the World

2011-04-05T12:36:00.001-07:00

John 9

July 7, 1974 a woman pregnant with her second child had a vivid dream she would not be able to find her husband when she gave birth and that the child would be born with a heart problem, which there was no reason for her to believe. On July 8th she did go into labor and as you might have guessed, by the fact that I shared this story, her husband was not found. Thus when she was told by the doctors that her newborn girl would need heart surgery, her comfort came from that dream, that vision. God was with her during such a hard time.

In this chapter, Jesus, is asked about the man born blind, if it was the man’s parents or his sin that caused him to be born blind. Jesus clearly answers them “Neither.” Which is also confirmed by his statement in Luke 13:2-3:

He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.

Jesus is clear that an ailment or suffering is necessarily connected to sin of a individual or their family. I could not imagine my God would punish children because of their parents or grandparents, nor can I believe newborn know sin. Yet within the Old Testament there are many times that the writers did attribute a military loss or the exile as a punishment from God. Thus they seemed to believe that sins could cause punishment for others.

Many of the prophets do talk about punishment for the entire chosen people for living in sin, however they do begin to understand that it is not about passing sin, but an individual. A great example of this is when Ezekiel is warning that a punishment is coming and he says (14:14) “even if Noah, Daniel, and Job, these three, were in it, they would save only their own lives by their righteousness, says the Lord God.” Showing that only an individual can save themselves, and Jeremiah goes on in chapter 31 to talk of a new covenant that will be on our individual hearts.

The Pharisees don’t interpret sin as Ezekiel and Jeremiah are trying to demonstrate. Their interpretation is rule oriented. They call Jesus a sinner, because He healed on the Sabbath, not because of the miracle or even his identity claims. They are concerned only about the rules for to them it is about the societal order not the relationship with God. When Moses brought the covenant down to the people it was in response to their liberation that the people would follow the covenant with God. Once powers and principalities got involved it became follow the rules to prove your in relationship with God.

One could follow exacting directions to get through a pitch black room or field, but it is much easier with light. Jesus defines sin as not having a relationship with the one “who sent me.” And that while it is day Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus made it clear that ailments and suffering are not directly because of sin, but rather allow God’s work and glory may be known in the healing and comfort God provides. For my mom in 1974 with that vision that comforted her and the miracle of the surgeons working on my sister with Jesus’ guidance and the miracle of the man being able to see because of Jesus opening his eyes, are signs of Jesus as the light. If you are in relationship with Jesus you will be able to see the righteous path (no creed or rules as the only compass) but using only the rules of the power and principalities as your light one may say “we see,” and Jesus says “your sin remains” (v. 41).

We need Jesus as our Vision, our Dream!

April Newsletter

2011-04-01T15:41:00.001-07:00

April 2011

Jesus celebrated the His last Passover with His disciples in an Upper Room. Passover is the celebration of the Exodus from Egypt; freedom from slavery. The scriptures would require them to get rid of all leavening, in order to recall how the Hebrews in Egypt had to leave so quickly, and feel in solidarity with those who escaped Pharaoh’s rule. The ritual to this day does not simply recall the events of Moses and the Hebrews when God saved them from slavery, rather the Passover ritual is worded as if the participants are there. The reality is that Jesus and the other Jews present at The Last Supper where remembering God’s salvation of their ancestors from Pharaoh’s slavery, as if they were the ones that walked through the parted Red Sea.

In the 22nd chapter of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (vv 15-16) As they celebrated God’s deliverance from slavery to freedom, they did not simply remember the historical miracle, they reenacted the miracle; they tried to experience it through the ritual. “Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’” (vv 19-20)

The word that is used in this scripture for “Remember” is the Greek word anamnesis which means more than to simple recall, like what was written on a grocery list; it includes the idea of re-presentation and thus the real here and now. Such it is when we smell our favorite comfort food; we do not simply remember when it was prepared but are brought back to all the feelings and reality, for at least an instance. This is what is meant when we break bread in remembrance of Jesus’ body, we recall what he did on the cross and what Jesus’ presence has done in our individual lives. Barnett Blakemore states it well in The Revival of the Churches (1963) “The role of remembrance is not that it brings the Lord into our presence, but that remembrance opens our eyes to him into whose presence we have already been brought by faith.”

We remember not simply historically that Jesus died on the cross; we remember Jesus is saving us via that cross. Every Sunday we center our worship upon this important remembrance, additionally I invite you to participate in a Special Holy Thursday Service at 7 pm on April 21 to remember Jesus’ Last Supper.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor JC

Deeper Well

2011-03-30T15:33:00.001-07:00

John 4:5-42

In every town in America there is at least one pizzeria. I grew up in Connecticut where pizza originated, specifically New Haven. There you still need to ask for mozzarella for the original pies, only had shaved parmesan. And I, like many others, is passionate about how pizza should taste. Even within a town people have passionate opinions about different shops in the area. And how you like your pizza is generally how you were first exposed to it, so if humans are so passionate about pizza pies, you know how much more passionate they are about religious ideas.

The Samaritans were not liked by the Jews, yet they worshipped something closer to Judaism then any of the Gentiles. The Samaritans thought they were more pure then the Jews who returned from exile. This tension between the two groups is only exasperated by the fact they both claim to worship the One true God. We find Jesus in their geographical area, sitting alone at Jacob’s well.

Within this scripture Jesus crosses that boundary, but He also clearly crosses the boundary of gender, and with a woman with a reputation. She comes to the well for her water at midday, while the women without a past, would come in the early morning and late evening, to avoid the sun, and even to enjoy the fellowship. This woman might have even worried when she saw a man at the well and considered turning back. She may have thought she would just look down and quickly get the water she needed, but she was shocked when Jesus asked her for water. So shocked she simply stated “the elephant in the room” and said, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” Jesus quickly turns the question around and eventually states and proves that He is the Messiah the Christ. This is often what we pull from this scripture, but it is also important to see how the context amplifies His identification.

There is certainly tension that Jesus is talking to a woman but mostly that she was Samaritan as well. The tension between the two religions is evident by her statement

‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. (vv. 19-21)

Jesus tells her it will not continue to be worship in specific geographical areas, and with His reference to Living Water one would recall when the Jews were wandering through the desert and were crying out for water. They were at Mount Sinai (or Horeb as it is also called) when this occurred:

From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarreled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’ So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’ (Exodus 17:1-7)

The Jews received water for life there as well as the Ten Commandments. The covenant, which they carried in the tabernacle before creating the Temple in Jerusalem. Those that were exiled also discovered that God was with them wherever they would go, however this tension between the Jews and Samaritans, seems to claim God a geographically bound.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote:

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord’, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

And this is what Jesus is fulfilling with His statement about the Living Water.

Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’ (John 4:13-14)

Like the covenant on our hearts, this living water will be with us wherever we go. And this well is tapped by Jesus death and resurrection.

C. S. Lewis wrote many great works, and one of these works was a children’s story. It was to be an allegory for the Christ Narrative for Children. The title is The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, and it is the only children’s book I have ever observed quoted by scholars. The scene that I want to bring us to, is the death and resurrection of the story’s Christ figure, the Lion, Aslan. One of the brothers (sons of Adam), Edmund, had betrayed his siblings and his life is due the witch. Aslan makes a deal that his life would be taken instead. Anslan goes to the ancient altar for this death willingly, with only the daughters of eve as witnesses. He is abused and killed. And as the sisters mourn he does come back to life and the altar broke. Anslan then explains to the girls that there was a “deeper magic.” If someone willing goes to the altar for someone else, they will be saved and the altar will be destroyed. For it can only happen once. It is true that Jesus’ time on the cross has brought forth a deeper well, of Living Water.

God will cross all boundaries to love us. It may be geographical, gender, and/or reputation, but because of this Deeper Well that Jesus has opened within us with His time on the Tree, we have water for eternal life.

Don't forget Jesus' Legacy of love (Durant Daily Democrat 3/25/11)

2011-03-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

Remember the Forsythia

Rev. J.C. Mitchell

First Christian Church of Durant

There are many things I love about Oklahoma, but the first that comes to mind is spring. It comes earlier than where my wife and I grew up, especially my wife who grew up in Alaska. As I go around town I notice all the blooming trees, shrubs, and flowers. I especially notice the forsythia bushes as it reminds me of my childhood home. We had a wonderfully large bush. That blooming bush signaled spring.

I love the yellow and even enjoy saying the name “forsythia.” Not being a master gardener I never knew much about this plant, but with access to the World Wide Web, I thought I would look up why this plant has such a pretty name as well as beautiful flowers. I discovered that the name came for the royal British horticulturalist William Forsyth (1737-1804). I am sure there are many of you who knew that, but if you were like me it would be new information.

I then got to wondering about William Forsyth. Was he kind? Did he have a large family? Was this bush actually his favorite? Did he go by William, Will, Bill, or Billy? My curiosity was not strong enough to keep on researching; however, I realized that not all of us will be honored by having a plant named after us. I know it is natural to want to be remembered and for those of us not in heaven we do things to remember our beloveds. And what is it we remember of those that go before us?

We remember their blooms, their flowers; how they demonstrated the beauty of life. How they spread the love of God, not their inheritance. We remember their love and hugs most of all, not their 401k. For we know Jesus’ words from Matthew 5: 19-21 “‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also’” The true legacy is the love of God in one’s heart.

We get caught up on physical things while we walk this earth, including our dress. “And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.” (Matthew 6:28-29) We are not to worry but depend on God and leave only the legacy of loving as Jesus loved. When I consider the forsythia I am going to remember the beauty God provides. Sorry, William Forsyth, I know that yellow flower is God’s creation, and I recall the love of my family and the love of my Creator. I encourage everyone to take the time to remember Jesus’ legacy of love, by going out and consider all the flowers of God’s Garden.

“Spirit in the Sky”

2011-03-24T09:04:00.001-07:00

John 3:1-17

John 3:16 is a scripture that has become for many, including myself, such a pivotal and encouraging scripture and you just have to hear “John 3:16” to feel the promise of that scripture. When I read this scripture in preparation, I was thinking about songs that encourage in the same way as this essential paricope. The songs came to mind because Jesus talked about being “born from above” and “born of the Spirit” which made me think of the rock song called “Spirit in the Sky.” That song was very important to me when I was trying to discern if I was called to ministry. It was that song and “I’ll Fly Away” that I would turn up and listen to often during the time of discernment. Both those songs emphasize the promise of eternal life, and I played them over and over as I tried to figure out if I was called to stay a lay leader, go to seminary to be a pastor, missionary, chaplain, etc. and which school. These songs of the promised helped me concentrate on the work I was called to do on earth.

Friends of mine who were not believers did not understand these songs. They would only think about the eternal life starting after death, and could not relate that promise to their lives today. They did not understand that the promise relates directly to how I live my life now, for eternity starts now. Nicodemus did not understand Jesus in a similar way. Nicodemus was curious and perhaps open to believe, but he was not able to understand Jesus’ use of the word “born.” Nicodemus could only understand the word literally, and could not relate to it as a metaphor for a newness of someone that turned to God. This language of being “born from above” and “born of the Spirit” demonstrated a personal conversion that starts one eternal life here on earth. We are born again of the spirit so we may be the Body of Christ on Earth prior to that time when in a moment our earthly body’s glory becomes our heavenly body’s glory.

We read this conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus as emphasizing personal conversion. This is the major theme of being Born Again. This language only becomes relevant because understood once as it is written in verse 14, “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up…” This is essential for our personal conversion is only relevant because of Jesus. He is referring to what is recorded in Numbers 21:5-9:

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.

Jesus is to be lifted up on a tree for all of humanity. Father God lifts Jesus out of the tomb to demonstrate the promise of eternal life with God. Therefore we are baptized not by a pastor, but by the Holy Spirit to participate in the death and resurrection, starting our eternal life when we are born again.

Confession

2011-03-15T12:11:00.001-07:00

Psalm 32

If Jesus died for our sins why do we or should we confess our sins? Is the question before us today.

To begin with we should look at forgiveness and I believe the best story of Jesus’ forgiveness and His authority to forgive sins is contained in Mark 2:1-12. I will share you the scripture with some commentary.

When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. (vv. 1-4)

Now this paralyzed man we assume wanted to be healed, and we are not sure if the man asked these four friends to bring him or if it was their idea. I can even imagine that when they discovered the crowd, the paralyzed man was not the one to suggest trying the roof. He probably asked to wait, but these four wanted to bring their friend to the great healer, and the surprise for them, When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ‘Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, ‘Why do you raise such questions in your hearts?was that Jesus forgave his sins

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ‘Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, ‘Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? (vv. 5-8)

And this was especially shocking to the scribes, not because Jesus did not heal the man but because only God has the authority to forgive sins. To be clear, Jesus does not relate the healing to his forgiveness of sins, for He separates the forgiveness from the healing. Jesus even uses this separation to make His major point, He has the authority to forgive sins. Which the scribes understood as an authority of God’s alone, but of course Jesus is of the Divine.

Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Stand up and take your mat and walk”? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he said to the paralytic— ‘I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.’ And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’ (vv 9-12)

Jesus asks a great rhetorical question of the scribes. Can you heal someone or say someone’s sins are forgiven. And He demonstrates the healing to acknowledge His authority to forgive. Jesus does hint that we can also say to someone your sins are forgiven, for we know God does. God had in the Jewish religion as a yearly act, and Jesus does with His death and resurrection.

So we have established that God forgives, and since we are as the church the Body of Christ, we are to say on behalf of God that others are forgiven, but we still have not explored why we need to confess if Jesus died for all our sins. I will share with you a chaplaincy experience that I believe helped me to understand the need of confession. I was visiting a man who was hospitalized for days, and on the second visit he was sharing more about himself and his family. He told me he had three children and the youngest was a “surprise.” This youngest also has Downs Syndrome and he shared with me that this child had taught him so much about life, love, and living. He emphasized how great it is to have her as a daughter for him. He could have have simply shared it this way as a positive and hinting at his change of heart. However, he started by telling me how much he had sinned as a man, as a father, prior to this child. He was confessing to this to me as a representative of the church and thus God. It was clearly a confession. He though was already closer to all his children and his wife, active in his church, he was living a righteous life. The confession was not needed to change his life, it was to accept greater the grace of forgiveness he already knew.

Jesus saved us all from sin, and forgave us all from the cross as He states, “Forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). We don’t confess to receive forgiving grace, we confess because it allows us to accept the grace as the Psalmist writes:

Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’,
and you forgave the guilt of my sin. (Psalm 32:5)

Deposition

2011-03-09T08:30:00.001-08:00

2 Peter 1: 16-21, Matthew 17:1-9

The transfiguration must have been an awesome experience, in the truest sense of the word. Those who went up the mountain with Jesus were His disciples, but this experience should have casted out all doubt for them. We are of course born years latter and depend on the written accounts and our tradition.

The young adult class has been exploring the basics of apologetics through a study by Lee Strobel, titled “The Case for Christ.” Apologetics is the discipline of proving Christianity with reason and logic. There is a long and important history of apologetics. For us who believe it may not seem essential, however, exploring this field of study does provide assurance as well as important information, that people who do not believe may need to be shared.

Two of the interesting points that have been highlighted I will share. The first being how the Gospels seem to contradict each other. The fact is if you had four witnesses on the stand and their stories were exactly the same, the other lawyer and the judge, for that matter, would think their was collaboration. And exploring that further, it is clear the Gospels tell the same truths, and it is clear that the account of Jesus’ death and resurrection are the most similar. The pivotal event of the witnesses.

The second point I would like to share is the number of manuscripts we have of ancient writings. You may have read or learned about the Iliad, but did you know we only have about 60 ancient texts, while the Christian Bible in Greek we have over 5,500 texts, and many closer to the original written date then that of Homer’s Iliad. The point is that scholars consider the Iliad to be an important and influential text and that the translations we have are close to the original. The Bible can claim that with greater numbers.

Now those that claim to be Atheist, have actually concluded there is now God because of their reason and logic. Lee Strobel was one himself, until he took two years to research and as you may have guessed, concluded there is no other reasonable explanation then faith. It reminds me of a ride back from east of Durant on my motorcycle, when all of the sudden I was having a hard time keeping my speed up on Highway 70. Nothing seemed to happen except that I needed to provide more gas. Eventually I had the accelerator twisted fully open. I was convinced that there was something wrong with the engine. It did not sound different (except the higher RPM) but it simply had much less horsepower. I thought I should get back to town to have someone look at the power plant. At that moment the small gas station in Blue was there, and I thought there is no harm in stopping and checking even if I couldn’t get the bike started again, I wasn’t that far from Durant. Well as soon as I hopped off the saddle I could see that my rear tire was flat. All the sudden with that little piece of information, my whole theory that I truly believed, was turned upside down. The puncture was large, but it leaked at a pace that I did not notice, but a couple more miles and it would have started shredding and I would have been in the ditch.

Reason and logic are important for there are many that simply need to see something that will change their whole perspective. And thus open them to faith itself. Peter saw the transfiguration and writes about it as a witness for our benefit, yet Peter clearly writes in verse 19:

So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Peter compares the transfiguration, which he witnessed, as a light in a dark place. It seems he is saying it is like a flashlight in the darkness, it leads us and lets us see things, but it is not the full light. We need that light to dawn in our hearts. Even one of the witnesses of this awesome event, reminds us that we need our hearts to be filled with faith.

This reminds me of Anselm of Canterbury’s famous statement:

For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this I believe - that unless I believe, I should not understand.

March 2011 Newsletter Article

2011-03-03T08:23:00.001-08:00

Lent begins on March 9, and that is exciting because that means spring is closer. The old English word “Lent” means spring, but as we know it is not only a celebration of longer and warming days, it is a preparation for the great miracle of Easter. How we prepare is the question. The answer for many is to demonstrate the discipline of giving up something (a type of fasting). For some what they give up is something they love, and for others it is something they would like to get rid of forever. The latter certainly seems a positive use of discipline, and the former proves the ability to be disciplined, which is also positive. Yet I cannot help but wonder why someone should prove their discipline with restricting themselves from something they love, unless each time they add also the discipline of prayer. If every time the desire comes to mind and thus we turn to prayer and remember Jesus’ miraculous sacrifice for us, this practice of discipline will focus one towards the cross and the empty tomb.

I do believe the tradition the discipline of fasting is very useful and positive. I also recommend the addition of a spiritual discipline, hopefully one that will take hold after Lent. It may be daily devotionals, Sunday school, reading the Bible, or prayer. Adding these disciplines prepares us for Easter and helps us with witnessing the Gospel throughout the year.

During Lent we have traditionally as Christians been taught to be penitent, and I believe that is important. We must realize that we as individuals and we as society have sinned. We call out like the Psalmist :

Have mercy on me, O God,
   according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
   blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
   and cleanse me from my sin. (Psalm 51:1-2)

and we are always remembering what Jesus has done for us, remembering that we are Easter People.

Blessings,

Pastor JC

Don’t Worry, Strive…

2011-02-27T14:49:00.001-08:00

Matthew 6:24-34

Jesus knew that there were famines and droughts from the history recorded in the Old Testament, not to mention His own experience. Thus Jesus knew that there are times when there is not enough food for birds, or enough water for lilies to bloom. It is clear that Jesus is not saying we should not set our alarms for the next day’s work, or not to plan for retirement. Rather Jesus is telling us not to worry, and specifically in relationship with His statement of serving two masters. If one chooses to serve wealth the worry will be inevitable, but if you serve God you will not need to worry.

This metaphor Jesus uses of the the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, speak to us about following Jesus in three ways. The first being of ecology, that is how the earth operates. Clearly God created a world where the animals and plants depend on each other to survive, therefore they actually depend on God. Even in Jesus’ day people were beginning to be separated from the natural world, and today we are even more separated from the reality of how God’s creation is good and provides for itself. We should see in this metaphor that we need to appreciate the wonderful miracle of this world as we work for the Kingdom of Heaven.

The second way this metaphor speaks to us it that of equality. It relates to the first, in that we are to see the interconnectedness of humanity as we observe in nature. For we know there are some people that do not know where their next meal is coming from and Jesus knew that also, as he included in a parable:

And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.” (Matthew 20: 6-7)

This is a reality for people throughout history and continues today. They don’t even have the luxury of the same type of worry people with wealth would worry, they simply live as lilies and birds, dependent on God’s Grace. Those of us with some time, wealth, and ability become the Body of Christ for these people that live not knowing what tomorrow’s troubles is as they need to met today’s.

The third aspect is the greatest and that is of celebration. That if we do follow God (not wealth) we are to be taken care of just as the beautiful flowers and birds. I generally start my sermon preparation on Tuesday, but because of a funeral on Wednesday, I had to prepare for, I did not start until after the funeral was complete and some other important work was done. Late in the afternoon, I had the idea I would go home and rest, but realized I was going to be in a meeting all day on Thursday (it was on my calendar but it was not on my mind). I then got another cup of coffee (thank God for “dancing goats”). Read the scripture two times when two friends arrived at my door. I could feel the anxiety mounting as I considered sending these two away, who obviously wanted to talk and ask questions. I then glanced down at my open bible and saw verse 34 whish was highlighted from a previous time:

‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

I then thought, I should be here now with these friends. I then asked them to help with the sermon. I told them that there were still some flowers in the sanctuary from the funeral, and if they could go and observe them and tell me about them. They ran to see the flowers and ran back to tell me something about the arrangements. I should probably tell you that these two friends were young children. “They smell good,” “I like the purple one" etc. Then flowers and pieces were taken to my desk for decorations. I then realized that children do not worry about tomorrow. They may ask what is for dinner or what is next, but I have observed they often ask again for they forget. Then the scripture that was part of the service earlier that day was put on my heart by the Holy Spirit.

Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’And he laid his hands on them and went on his way. (Matthew 19:13-15)

Jesus tells us to be like children to inherit the Kingdom. Children appreciate the wonderful nature that is Creation. Children love and do not worry about tomorrow. Children celebrate when they know love. Paul says it well in Philippians 4:4-7:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Let us go out in the world serving only Christ. Not worrying but striving for God’s Kingdom, like the children who made a beautiful arrangement on my desk with broken flowers and pedals.

Special note to Hare, Douglas in “Matthew” edition of Interpretation. John Knox Press 1993

Plumb Line

2011-02-23T12:55:00.001-08:00

Amos 7: 7-9, Matthew 5:38-48

Jesus is asking us to not retaliate and to even go as far as to offer more to an enemy, to someone attacking you. This is a hard scripture. Jesus asks us to pray for our enemies, and love them. I do not believe Jesus wants us to get on our knees and propose to an enemy, nor have warm fuzzy feelings for said enemy, but He is asking us to love them, just as God loves us. We can pray that they will change their hearts and actions and that is certainly a fine and healthy prayer, but in this context I do not believe that Jesus is even upholding the Proverbs that Paul quotes (proverbs 25: 21-22)":

If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat;
and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink;
for you will heap coals of fire on their heads,
and the Lord will reward you.

In the Matthew passage Jesus is asking us to pray for our enemies so we may see them in God’s eyes, and to show them love. We actually determine our enemies generally by who is outside our group. Be it nation, religion, clique, for it is rare that we actually have someone who is specifically attacking another, without the support direct or more likely indirect from others. When we see someone as God seems them, it is hard for us to act as an enemy.

A great example of a man that knew he had an enemy is that of Dietrich Bonheoffer. See Dietrich watched as his church, the German Church, began to ignore the cross of Christ, so to be able to support Hitler. Bonheoffer knew Hitler and his followers as an enemy, and despite his Christian ethics, felt a need to participate in an assassination attempt. Eventually Bonheoffer was jailed. Despite being an enemy of what we, as humans, considered to be one of the most evil leaders, Dietrich treated each of his captors with respect and compassion. They may have locked him up and may be called on to execute him at any moment, Dietrich saw them as children of God.

The plumb line is being consistent and perfect like our Heavenly Father is perfect. To understand this, I share with you my experience of plumb lines. When I was a child we lived in a relatively new home and thus my father, the engineer, would require shelves and the like to be plumb level, that is the plumb line was based of gravity. And it worked. I then went in my early adult life on a mission trip to Virginia, where we were to reroof, put up siding, hang doors, replace windows, and put up a ramp to the front door. This group tackled this project in three days, and on one of the days I was helping with the ramp. Well the building was old and leaning some, it was not obvious to the naked eye, but when we started considering putting the ramp on the house we realized if we made it plumb to the building it would look very slanted, and if we made it plumb to gravity it would look slanted in the opposite direction. One of the elder contractors shared his experience, that in this situation you make the plumb line the average of the two. Sure enough that worked well, after carefully cutting the dowels in a specific order about an 1/8th of an inch different from the proceeding one. (We may had changed the design if we had more time or was aware of the plumb line issue previously). It worked out aesthetically wonderful, and even allowed for the water to run off well.

Jesus tells us that our plumb line is to not retaliate, to love and pray for our enemies, and thus as Jesus says:

…so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. …Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:45 & 48)

This plumb line cannot be averaged with the world. When we follow this line, it will be noticeably different then the world. When we love as God Loves, we bring Heaven to Earth.

Traction

2011-02-16T13:38:00.001-08:00

Matthew 5:21-37

The week before there was a wonderful children’s moment, in which the facilitator, Chris Pierce, gave the children each a candy bar, with the rule they could not eat it until after church. Chris then began to eat one himself as the lesson was on temptation. He suggested they open the wrapper and enjoy the aroma, and made it clear they were allowed to open the wrapper, but the rule stood that they could not eat the candy bar. Not one of the children would open the candy. It seemed as if they knew if they opened it they would have a hard time following the rule they were given. This is not unlike how rabbis interpret the Law, the Torah. They will add additional restrictions to the law so to insure following the original law. One of the greatest example that goes on today is how some Jews will respect the Sabbath with no work at all, including hitting a switch or pushing a button. While others are more liberal about their interpretation. The levels of restrictions differ, but they are to keep the original law followed.

With these antitheses Jesus seems to following in the rabbinic tradition of adding more layers on the law to insure the laws fulfillment. Jesus had made it clear earlier in this Sermon on the Mount, that He came to fulfill the law, and these additional requirements will certainly make sure one follows the ancient laws. However, I believe Jesus is not simply adding hoops, but is attempting to have behavior match intent. It is about having all of us try to be more like our Father in Heaven, as Jesus says in verse 48 “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” After Jesus tells us that the Father makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good. We are to be consistent like God’s Grace.

Jesus uses three illustrations to make this point. The last was to not bother with oaths, or swearing on heaven, earth, or one’s own head. Our word should be consistent. I do not believe that Jesus has a problem with our courts using oaths, or Doctors taking the Hippocratic Oath, the issue is if one’s word is only good when one swears. The first illustration was that of someone bringing an animal to the temple for sacrifice, realizing that their brother or sister has something against them, they are to leave the animal at the altar until they reconcile. This is truly not practical (first of all since Christianity and modern Judaism does not practice animal sacrifice), even then, for someone to return home to reconcile may mean days of travel from the temple. The animal could not be left at the altar for that amount of time. Even then this was a metaphor as we read it, that one’s behavior match intent. That the law is not just a rule, but the way to live.

The other illustration, is that of the right eye and/or hand. Jesus even uses this same illustration in chapter 6: 2-4:

‘So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Does Jesus believe we are like Peter Seller’s famous character from the movie, “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” Dr. Strangelove. Who was a former Nazi whose hand seemed to have a mind of its own. Jesus knows that our body does not actually have its own quarrels or need to hide something from itself. Jesus is emphasizing that we do have a conflict between following God and our “earthly desires.” We are to find where we are going toward sin and these desires based on others and attempt to remove them.

This reminds me of driving. Driving is a life or death act that most of us participate in as a driver or at least as a passenger. Yet we all go out on the road in our vehicles and travel at a high rate of speed with others next to us or coming toward us a few feet away, without thinking about the reality. We find ourselves talking to passengers, or on the phone, listening (and singing) to the radio, looking at the landscape, and I recall once seeing someone eating soup. It seems to me that this very dangerous mode of transportation is not taken seriously until we do something that reminds us of the reality. Like crossing over the line and hearing that “beep” from the other car. Or think about how it was going out these past two weeks with ice and snow on the ground. I am sure everyone was much more careful driving. When you have to think about the traction you will be much more attentive to your driving. Jesus wants us to live realizing we need to be consistently acting as if it is all for God and not for our earthly desires.

A great example of someone following his “earthly desires” over that of God’s is that of Jacob. To be clear when I say “earthly desires” I do not meant the desires that are based of that of the body or physicality alone, but what is created by desires of others. Jacob wanted his brother Esau’s birthright and thus tricked his way into getting it. Jacob wanted something that others had, and when he had it he assumed his brother would want vengeance. God wants Jacob to return and Jacob says to God in Genesis 32: 11-12:

Deliver me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him; he may come and kill us all, the mothers with the children. Yet you have said, “I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted because of their number.”

Despite knowing God wants to do him and his offspring good, Jacob is terrified of his brother’s anger, for Jacob was angry enough himself for being born second that he lied and cheated his brother. How much more would Esau be angry for actually being tricked then being born second? Well then this occurred the night before Jacob met Esau, according to Genesis 32: 24-30:

Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day is breaking.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’ So he said to him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’ Then the man said, ‘You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.’ Then Jacob asked him, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’ And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.’

Jacob still did not get it, until he fell before his brother the next day ran to him to embrace him and weep.

We need to be engaged with God at all times. We are to deny our earthly desires, as best we can. The good news is that Jesus says we are to hide what one hand is doing, or to cut it off, or to cut out an eye, for this means that Jesus knows we are in conflict. While we are to be like our Heavenly Father, Jesus forgives us all from the cross.

Snow, Seeds, & Soil.

2011-02-11T12:41:00.001-08:00

Feb. 11 in The Durant Daily Democrat
At Durant Main Street & Community Theatre’s Dinner Theatre Monday Night at Roma’s, I heard an old but powerful idiom during the performance: “A mighty oak tree was once a nut that just held its ground.” Before I go on I must compliment everyone that made this night out tremendously entertaining and fun. So if you were not there, I am sorry you missed it, and I encourage you to be at one of the numerous performing arts events in town.
However, I am not writing this to persuade you about the importance of art in culture, but because of the small nut that lies below the snow and ice-covered earth. This past Sunday, my wife sung the hymn by Natalie Sleeth and the first verse goes “In the Bulb Is a Flower; in the seed, and apple tree; in cocoons, a hidden promise; butterflies will soon be free! In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.” We know as we look out at the cold and seemingly dead landscape, life waits beneath the ground for the season of spring.
Jesus tells us the parable of seeds, according to the 13^th chapter of Matthew. The first seeds were eaten by birds, some fell among the rocks and were scorched, some grew among the thorns that choked them “Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (verse 8). This parable speaks to us on many levels, and I suspect that many of you concentrate on the importance of the soil, for I usually do the same. It is clear that throwing seeds on the roadway, among the rocks, or among the thorns will not produce much yield. This is the most important lesson, I believe, of this parable, thus I am always trying to tend to the “soil” as much as I am planting “seeds.” Today, though, I noticed something that the hymn I quoted above makes clear, “God alone can see.” Each of the seeds planted in the good soil as per Jesus’ parable does not yield the same amount, as verse 8 clearly states. Clearly even when the seeds are in the same soil, there will be different outcomes and that is for God alone to see. Jesus even explains the parable in full in the next part of chapter 13 and states in verse 23 “But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” Clearly there is no perfect formula.
We must continue to nourish seeds in the best possible soil. We know resurrection moments happen when we do that, as when someone gives their life to Christ. As Christians we are continually sharing the Good News with our friends and hopefully strangers, so they may get their roots in the good soil and turn toward the SON. We then must remember that once growing with and/or toward Jesus, their yield is in God’s domain, not ours. We can help with the soil, but God is in charge of the growth. This is a difficult part of discipleship, remembering that God is truly the only gardener and we are simply other seeds in His garden.

Low Salt Area

2011-02-08T10:17:00.001-08:00

Matthew 5:13-20
We have to follow the law even greater than the Pharisees and Scribes? That seems quite difficult since they were the experts in the Jewish Law, the Torah. Jesus says He came to fulfill the law not abolish it, so we need to explore what is the law according to the Rabbi Jesus. The best example would be in the Gospel of Luke when a young lawyer tests Jesus on the law.

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’ (Luke 10:25-28)

The lawyer answers with the Shema with an additional caveat of loving your “neighbor as yourself,” which is confirmed by Jesus as being the right answer. Of course the young lawyer is not satisfied with this, and asks who is his neighbor, which is when Jesus tells the parable of the good Samaritan. Making it clear our neighbor is not simply the person who lives next door.

There is this children’s book about two boys living in Jerusalem. One Jewish and one Muslim, who were both feeding the same stray white cat. Both had been raised on the rules of their religious tradition, and both thought the other was not their neighbor, until the day they both worrying about the cat who had been missing for a while. When they went looking for the cat and met each other, they followed the rules of their society and fought (specifically over whose cat the stray was). They followed the cat to a litter of kittens as a rare snowfall began concerned about her freezing. They realized that she wants peace and they worked together for their love of the cat. The book is called “Snow in Jerusalem” and is truly a oversimplification of peace in the Middle East. Or is it? The boys realized that love took precedent over the rules they had learned. They saw how the snow fell, as we noticed this week in Durant, on everything. Reminding me of Jesus’ saying in the end of this chapter five of Matthew:

‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters,what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The boys realize that the snow represents the Grace of God that falls upon everyone, so we are to love everyone as God does. That is the real law. It is not simply about the rules.

So what about this salt? It is a very strong metaphor that is understood when you explore how it was used in Old Testament. How the first believers would have understood salt as a religious metaphor. First of all culturally, one would say in the first century, “sharing salt” to refer to table fellowship. That is certainly powerful for Christians, whose worship centers around a holy feast. In Leviticus 2:13, “ You shall not omit from your grain-offerings the salt of the covenant with your God; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.” Which tells us to specifically to put salt in all offerings, because as the first half of the text says, it is a metaphor for the covenant itself. The next piece of scripture I have us turn to is Numbers 18: 19, “All the holy offerings that the Israelites present to the Lord I have given to you, together with your sons and daughters, as a perpetual due; it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord for you and your descendants as well.” Again telling us that salt is a sign of the everlasting covenant. And a very powerful sign of the covenant. We have been iced over the whole week and we have not had salt to through out on the roads to melt the ice. Up north we would call it a Low Salt Area, which you would see signs for such areas around reservoirs. Salt is so strong it contaminates the water supply, and I have known of houses whose wells are no longer good to drink from because of the salt that is put down on the roadway. This idea of salt being so powerful is also found in 2 Kings 2: 19-22

Now the people of the city said to Elisha, ‘The location of this city is good, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.’He said, ‘Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.’ So they brought it to him. Then he went to the spring of water and threw the salt into it, and said, ‘Thus says the Lord, I have made this water wholesome; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.’ So the water has been wholesome to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke.

Now we know that salt is seen as very powerful and even purifying, a symbol of table fellowship, and the Covenant, the Law.

Jesus says to the believers who were listening to him on the mountain, “You are the salt of the earth” You are the very powerful purifying, table fellowship that is the covenant. You are the Law. You are the law as He teaches and fulfills which is love of God and of humanity, our neighbor. We are not to lose our saltiness but to permeate the world and change it. To be a light for the true covenant that is embodied by Jesus’ love that He went to the cross for all of us, leaving us to be the church the body of Christ, the fulfillment of the Law, SALT.

Go out in the world as salt demonstrating this love and flavoring the earthly world with Heaven’s law.

Blessings

2011-02-01T13:01:00.001-08:00

Matthew 5:1-12

“The best thing since sliced bread,” hearing that I cannot help and wonder what people said before sliced bread. Many times in human history there has been moments that improve life, in many various ways. One of the greatest in history was when God gave Moses the Decalogue, better known as the Ten Commandments, or my favorite name for them comes from a Sunday School curriculum, “The ten best ways.” Moses went up the mountain to met God as they were wandering between the promised land and Egypt. God rescued them from Egypt, but there was a risk that they would turn back to Pharaoh. Some even wined that it would be best to go back to what they knew in Egypt, or worse establish a state like Egypt in the Promised Land. Thus God establishes laws for the people as a covenant between God and them, and thus between people. These Ten Best Ways are to establish a new society here on Earth, a society free from Pharoh and in relationship with God (the story continues with breaking and coming back to the covenant throughout the Hebrew Bible).

In this passage from Matthew, Jesus, who is God, is on the mountain. He does not tell the people not to come up, rather He is going up to rest, as I read it. He sees the crowds and goes up the mountain. There are many other scriptures that share that Jesus did need time alone, and time of rest and thus support this idea. The clincher for me is that it says that the Disciples were the ones who followed, which usually refer to the twelve, and while it may be more or less then the twelve, it was not a crowd if He sat to tell them of these blessings. These blessings are for those who believe; for the insiders.

The Beatitudes are different from the Ten Best Ways, as they are not simply rules that apply to society in relationship with God, but are telling the believers through the promise how radical Grace is. First of all, they use to verbs, “are” and “will.” Meek are blessed, and will inherit the Kingdom. While Jesus is telling us that the meek, the persecuted, the poor, the hungry, the peacemakers, pure in heart, merciful, and those mourning, are Blessed, they still need to await the fulfillment of the promise, the New Covenant. Christianity is not sliced bread, it does not promise to take away the headaches and the pain, but we are blessed knowing we will be with God’s inevitable victory. The Ten Best ways are also a covenant, and the promise does not insure no trouble or pain, but its promise is fulfilled with the freedom from Pharaoh and a new society.

These blessings being to the believers, the insiders, thus the church, is important. To tell someone that are poor (in spirit or financially as per Luke) that they are blessed, or if meek, that they are blessed, would not make sense to them unless they believe in Jesus and the new covenant. These blessings are for those that know they are part of the Body of Christ, the Church. While not everyone is poor, hungry, pure of heart, etc. there are people in our midst who are, and we know that we are all blessed not because we have the greatest military, but have enslaved ourselves to each other, including those that are not considered by society to be a blessings.

Jesus went to the cross, scolding Peter for cutting of the guard’s ear and even healing the victim. Jesus did not call the Heavenly Hosts down to rescue him from the cross. Jesus took on the violence and modeled what it means to be a blessing. His resurrection demonstrating the promise to come for us all, victory over death. Paul writes, “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) So for us to say “God died for your sins” to someone who doesn’t understand salvation through Jesus will think us foolish, just as the blessings seem foolish to outsiders, until they understand Jesus as savior. Thus model and preach Jesus’ love for humanity, Love for that person. Tell them your story how you realized God loves you and sent His Son to live with us, and they will with the help of the Holy Spirit understand the blessings and thus what happened on that tree.

February 2011 Newsletter

2011-01-29T15:50:00.000-08:00

We gathered for dinner after worship on January 23, and I was wonderfully surprised at the banner that read, “Pastor’s Appreciation Day” with a lovely snowman painted on the end. The spread of food looked amazing and tasted even better. It is a great joy to share a meal in Fellowship Hall, large such as it was that Sunday, as well as the lovely meals Sunday evenings and the first Wednesdays of the month (it will be baked potatoes this Feb. 2). Yet the surprise did not end there. I was honored, humbled and extremely thankful for the Proclamation of “Pastor J.C. Mitchell” day, a desk plaque, and the greatest gift, a basket of cards from various congregants (the children’s being the most dear and smile producing). I thank everyone who helped surprise me with such a wonderful honor, and everyone that celebrated with us that Sunday afternoon. Mindi, A.J., and I are very thankful and honored to be part of such a wonderful and loving congregation: our family.

Each week, while we may not share a meal in Fellowship Hall, everyone is welcome to come back Sunday evenings at 5:30 PM to do just that as well as stay and hear some wonderful music and enjoy a study; or if a child, a fun night of educational fun and games. We also share the wonderful meal of the Lord’s Table during worship. This is central to our worship and our identity as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). “In 1991 The Commission of Theology, a working group of our Council on Christian Unity, stated in 'Report to the Church on the Lord’s Supper' that the Lord’s Supper is a means by which we are nourished in the love of God in Jesus Christ and united with the church universal ‘is a truth the Disciples are made aware of more surely by our partaking of the Supper than by any statements we make about it.’” (Kinnamon, Michael; We Are Disciples: 2009) This is both because each person’s relationship with Jesus is personal, and the breaking and sharing of the bread has numerous theological implications. We are reminded of the sacrifice, the new covenant, the gathering of believers at one table, the banquet in heaven, the resurrection, and the great Love and forgiveness of God for all of us (and I am sure you can add more thoughts, for it is in our partaking that we know Jesus). We keep the Table central to our worship and identity, knowing it is Jesus who invites to this open table.

In the Gospel of John, the Last Supper is depicted differently from the synoptic Gospels. John tells us it is the night before the Passover and describes Jesus washing His disciples’ feet. During this Last Supper our Lord Jesus demonstrates a wonderful example of leadership. Jesus knows He will go to the cross, taking on our sins, and thus tells His disciples, and us today, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” I feel the love at First Christian Church; let us share the invitation to the Table, to the Love, to each other, and beyond the church walls.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor J.C. Mitchell

The Great Commission Begins

2011-01-25T14:11:00.001-08:00

Matthew 4: 12-23

When I was in High School, my friends and I would “hang-out” in the library. This was in part because we were generally nerds either on the debate team or National Honor Society, or both. For fun we would scour the microfilms and microfiche for interesting articles or pictures. It was our internet. We would debate and make games on various information and thus for fun we would debate the meaning of certain words. We would look them up in the various dictionaries and determine who had a better grasp of the meaning of the word in question. I can clearly remember the time we were looking in the “W’s” and I saw the definition for woman. I know we were not looking up the meaning of that word, for even though we certainly did not understand women, we were smart enough to know the dictionary would be of no value to us to understand. What I did notice was the small “n” and small “v” in the definition. I knew that woman was a noun, but I had never thought of the word as a verb. I then looked around the library and realized it was womaned by great librarians. (It is true that not every dictionary has woman as a verb, but it is clear that it was once a verb, meaning “to equip or staff with women” or “to put into the company of a woman” as per Dictionary.com) The point of this, is not about inclusive language, but that a word can mean something to us today, and we lost part of the meaning, and specifically in this case a tense.

Today’s word is μαθητεύω (Matheteuo). Which in the ancient Greek was a verb, yet it is often translated as a noun. The word is disciple as a verb, or “to make disciples.” In today’s scripture, we learn of Jesus’ first call of His disciples, near the sea of Galilee. This is actually really where the Great Commission begins, with Jesus’ preaching, teaching, and healing, and at the crossroads of Israel and the Gentile nations. This was not understood in entirety until the resurrection, when Jesus asks his followers to go back to Galilee and He gives them the Great Commission. Matthew 28: 16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

They and thus we were told to do exactly this, and we see the term make disciples and miss that it really is a verb. Even in English the word disciple is a verb and a noun. The noun is someone that follows the teachings of someone, generally assumed Jesus, capitalized it means a member of our denomination, but the verb tense is considered archaic and means to teach. Thus the above highlighted text should just say “disciple” or “teach,” for the “make disciples” hints that the goal is to make more nouns and not do the verb. Hope that makes some sense.

Let us return to the fishing metaphor Jesus used when He called the first disciples. When one fishes even for a living it is about getting fish, but there is a lot of knowledge and preparation that must be mastered to allow for the full nets. This is hinted at in the scripture, first of all that James and John sat with their father, implying that they learned the vocation of fishing from him, and they sat their mending their nets. This reminds me of the adage, “watch the pennies and the dollars will follow.” A good fisherman would know that there is a lot of preparation, knowledge, patience, and skill, to be awarded with the fish. Even today when we successfully accomplish something that we did with preparation, knowledge, patience, and skill, we rightly thank God.

When we try to fulfill the Great Commission we must remember that the first Disciples were told they would be fishing for people, and as fishermen, would understand the metaphor as the work they would do for God to provide the outcome. The word, μαθητεύω, should be a verb to us and let the noun be for God. Just as when I lower someone into the baptismal waters, it is God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus, who baptizes, not I the pastor, I am just there doing. We are to teach, to disciple and as any good teachers will tell you when you teach you learn, and God will make disciples.

God’s Time

2011-01-19T09:13:00.001-08:00

John 2:1-11

When Mary finds out there is no more wine at this wedding, she turned to her son, who replied that it was not their concern and his “hour” time had not come. His mother then says to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” She is not claiming to know it is His time, but she is confident in His authority and desire to help. Sure enough Jesus does decide to help, and according to John this whole miracle was about revealing His Glory. It is Jesus’ hour, and that is a major point of this paricope. Time is essential to this first miracle, this is highlighted by the introduction as specifically three days, Jesus’ mention of His “hour,” and most of all John’s commentary that this miracle was the first and thus the disciples believed, because His glory was revealed.

Today we are obsessed with time. We are obsessed with the instant. We need things instantly, coffee, tea, whatever you need. Our calendars are generally now electronic and to the minute. Our clocks (at least on the computer) update themselves. Athletes compete to the hundredths of a second and instant replay has become common for many. There are a lot of positive things to this obsession with time and the instant and there are negatives, as well, this scripture though speaks to time then and now.

Thinking about the instant, I can not help but to think of photography. Today most pictures are taken with digital cameras or what we call phones. Not only is the image of an “instant” of reality, we can share it instantly. How many times have you had your picture taken and the photographer turns the camera around to show you the captured image? I remember in Jamaica on a mission trip, the children who did not have cameras (let alone digital) would run to see the picture I took, which made a second take difficult. This is very different from how I did photography in high school and college. Not very long ago, but in a very different format, I was capturing “instants” with my camera. This would involve taking a picture with my camera, that itself meant focusing, setting the aperture and speed as per the lighting and film. Finishing the film with other photographs, rewinding the film and then in a bag that did not allow any light in, I would spool the film on a reel, then develop the film, dry it overnight. Then cut and put in the enlarger to expose a piece of photographic paper. I would also use dodging and burning to correct areas of the photo, develop the image as long as I thought, then stop it and fix it in those respective solutions. Dry the paper over night and then mat the image. Eventually I would share the image by either an art show or informally. This generally took weeks before I would share the “instant” I had captured on film, and today, I may take a picture, upload it to the web and have someone across the world make a comment on it within a minute. It is amazing what has changed in twenty years, and yet the truth is the aesthetic of a good photograph really has not changed.

The miracle of the water becoming wine is written by John with a lot of detail, the conversations between Jesus and His mother and the chief steward and the servants, the specifics of the stone purification jugs, but when the water becomes wine is not specified. Usually when the Gospel writers speak of Jesus healing someone, they mention when, generally “immediately.” We even know the woman that touched His cloak was cured instantly, and that is how Jesus knew to ask who touched Him. This is why I notice that John does not say exactly when the water became wine. Was it when the water poured into the jugs? Was it when they were filled? Was it as they sat there a minute? When the sample was taken or as it was taken to the chief steward? Or was it when it touched his lips? We will never know, we simply know that the miracle happened.

Before I tackle when the miracle happens, I must explain why the miracle of wine. This miracle is about Jesus revealing His glory and thus the start of the new era. The wine is a symbol of a new era coming as per both Amos and Joel.

The time is surely coming, says the Lord,
   when the one who ploughs shall overtake the one who reaps,
   and the treader of grapes the one who sows the seed;
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
   and all the hills shall flow with it. (Amos 9:13)

On that day
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
   the hills shall flow with milk,
and all the stream beds of Judah
   shall flow with water;
a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord
   and water the Wadi Shittim. (Joel 3:18)

You will notice that Amos says the “time is surely coming” and Joel says “On that day,” and the major sign is dripping sweet wine. This is to be the sign of the age to come, that Jesus ushers in. And surely six containers of at least 20 gallons would be plenty of wine for a wedding in Cana. We know there was wine already at the wedding, why didn’t Jesus just ask the servants to fill the empty containers? Doubling the wine would have surely been sufficient. However, this miracle was to demonstrate the beginning of a new era, and it is defined by the old forms of Judaism being filled with new content; not replacing Judaism, rather Jesus fulfills The Torah (the Law). This new era has begun and we know it as well, as the Holy Spirit fills us at our baptism; our old form is filled with the new content of the One Spirit of Love.

When I was a photographer, it would take me a lot of time before I had what I would term a photograph. I shared the process above, and emphasize that it was only when I “framed” the photo would it be a photograph. Many instants were left as film, or on paper in my folder. Today it may be quicker, but I have digital images I delete, and some that I have saved but I have not shared on facebook, on my phone, or in print, and those are not photographs. It is only the images I upload or even simply turn the camera around to share with someone that truly become pictures (not necessarily good). It is the act of sharing that defines when the captured instant becomes a visual art, a photo.

It does not matter when the water becomes wine. It became wine and if it just sat there it was not a miracle. When the wine was shared, that is the miracle, when it is known it is Jesus who reveled His Glory and that was shared. We are each filled with the Holy Spirit and we are thus charged to share this with others. We go creating miracles by sharing Jesus’ new era for humanity and every individual.

Baptismal Witness

2011-01-11T09:09:00.001-08:00

Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17

The Jordon River defines Israel. I do not simply mean geographically. Just as Noah and seven other from his family were saved by God, the Hebrews were saved through the Red Sea as we know, and completed when the people were delivered through the Jordon River led by Joshua. The Promised Land was was acquired by military victory. The salvation was completed through violence. I do not believe God desired this type of salvation, rather God wanted the Chosen People to follow God, alone, but humanity could not comprehend God’s salvation. The Hebrew scriptures are full of God’s compassion as well as the victories over the inhabitants of the land west of the Jordon River. Their salvation was defined by that river, in that, those promised that land were saved by the one true God.

Peter and all the disciples, too were confused about salvation as they also awaited for a Messiah that would save them from the oppression of Rome. They truly thought Jesus came simply for those of Israel. That was the question for first century followers of Christ, “Could non-Jews, gentiles, be saved?” (Not if Jews would be saved?) Paul is clear on that of course the gentiles could receive salvation, but Peter and James, among others, believed at first, as good Jewish men, that Jesus came to the Chosen People and one had to follow Jewish Law to accept the Messiah and His salvation. This conflict is hinted at through out the New Testament, and Jesus often pushes the envelope to include those outside the Jewish people, the most famous is the story of the Good Samaritan. Yet I share with you the story of the Canaanite Woman were even Jesus seems to suggest (at first) that He came only for the Jews, Matthew 15:21-28:

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’ But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.

Clearly it was an issue that some believed Jesus came to the “lost sheep of Israel,” and had to be convinced that Jesus brought salvation to all. This sermon that Peter preached (Acts 10) was the culmination of answering that very question, who could be saved. The greatest voice Peter listened to, was that of God’s through his visions and sending him to the centurion Cornelius’ home (Acts 10). Peter realized Jesus did not come only for the Jews, but for all humanity. Thus Peter says, “God shows no partiality…He is Lord of All.” We know Jesus came and made it clear that salvation was available for the whole world.

John the Baptist was baptizing people in the first century, and there were other Jewish sects that did that same, for various reasons. John baptized preaching, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Jesus did not need to repent or be washed clean of sin, for He has no sin, but He asked to be baptized. This was to change the meaning of this rite and the river. No longer would it be simply a washing of sin, but a reflection and commitment that we participate in the death and resurrection of Jesus, which opens salvation to all. Matthew writes, “suddenly the heaven was opened to Him.” Thus salvation was no longer about being rescued in the earthly sense, but rescued from sin. Peter understood what baptism is for us and writes in 1 Peter 3:18-22

For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight people, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

No longer would the Jordon River define the chosen people, no longer would it be a boundary, rather it becomes the heart of salvation. Both sides of the river could be freed by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Salvation came from this sacrifice that came with no retaliation. Thus Salvation was made known without violence. Victory was gained when the heaven was opened to us through our Lord Jesus death and resurrection, and our baptism is a witness to this salvation.

It’s the Little Things make the New Year (Daily Democrat)

2011-01-05T14:30:00.000-08:00

Daily Democrat Dec. 31, 2010

“Little things” are the best presents. I don’t mean a smaller gift, rather those small things we notice. A favorite in my house, I’ve heard, is when dishes are washed, especially without request. During Christmas many of us exchanged gifts, but I am sure most of you were more touched by a “little thing.”

Jesus told us that “‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches’” (Matthew 13: 31-32). Making it clear that just as something so little as a mustard seed becomes a home for birds, so is our faith. Jesus teaches us, “…if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20) It is not the moving of mountains or a large sign that tells us to have faith. It is the “little things.”

So what are the “little things” that expand into the Kingdom of God for you? Is it someone holding the door? Children doing things without being asked? Seeing a lovely bird of God’s Creation? A sunset? There are of course numerous “little things” that reminds us that God is calling us and loving us. If someone wants God to be revealed by a large sign, remind them it is the “little things” in which miracles and faith start to grow into the whole Kingdom of God. We are to find these manifestations of the Divine and let them grow until the Kingdom of God is on earth as it is in Heaven.

Jesus came to live among us, and just like us came as a baby, and that is the greatest “little thing” I received this Christmas, or for that matter, in my life. This King of all Kings grew into a man that would bring atonement to the world. To know Jesus as your Redeemer and Savior allows you to have a faith that grows by seeing all the “little things” that reveal God’s glory and grace in the world. Let us go into the New Year looking and sharing glimpses of Jesus’ Divine Love, with the help of the Holy Spirit, so more will do the same, and our mustard seed faith will become home for every person.

Gifts of Prophecy

2011-01-03T13:42:00.000-08:00

Matthew 2: 1-15

Christmas gifts are wonderful to give and receive. And in my home our boy who is just two still does not expect or understand gifts. He enjoyed many of the new items, including a shirt box and a empty tube. In my family we receive and exchange Christmas tree ornaments each year. It is wonderful to look at our tree each year and remember and recollect on the pass years. Some especially from my childhood are slipping from my memory and/or are physically deteriorating. My first ornament that started the tradition was given to me when I was but six months old. It is a small glass bird, but I have no memory of that gift, save the memories of being told about it by my mother. I recall she went out in the snow on Christmas Eve to get this special gift that started this Christmas tradition that now spans three generations.

The Magi brought three gifts to Jesus. Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh, are gifts one would present a king. Gold is of course very valuable, but so were the special resins, Myrrh being more valuable then gold at times in the ancient world, because of its scarcity. The child Jesus I assume enjoyed playing with the boxes more then the gifts themselves, if not for Him acting like all other toddlers, but because the gifts were way too valuable for a family of meager means. A family that would need to finance an extended stay in Egypt. Once he was old enough to understand, I imagine His parents shared the story of the wonderful visit of the foreign Magi, and Joseph’s dream to save the family from Herod’s infanticide.

Jesus must have known He was Divine, yet being also fully human I know He must have pondered these gifts. Why would they bring gifts for a king to a child of meager means? Why were they foreigners who knew of His heavenly kingship? And why Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh? Of course Gold, was a valued metal as it is still today, and both incenses were of great value, but of course these foreigners from the East would bring treasures from their land that was not native to Israel. It would had been strange enough for this poor family to have Gold and frankincense, but it was the myrrh that certainly seemed the most prophetic.

In learning the Jewish religion, Jesus would be exposed to the Torah. Within the tradition God was present in the Tabernacle and then in the Temple, and to anoint the altar and the priests there is a recipe for holy anointing oil (Exodus 30:33). The recipe includes other ingredients especially cinnamon and oil, but the text begins with liquid myrrh, thus concentrated, and verse 32 states, “It shall not be used in any ordinary anointing of the body, and you shall make no other like it in composition; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you.” This is interesting first of all because Jesus is the “anointed one,” the Christ (in Greek). And why does God tell Moses to have this anointing perfume created? This was to anoint the priests and the altar for the worship of God, and as specifically mentioned in verse 10 of Chapter 30, for the yearly rite of atonement. This is the pivotal point. Jesus will fulfill the law, the Torah. It will not be a yearly rite, rather one horrific sacrifice of this anointed one, and atonement becomes communicable through the resurrection of the Christ.

Joseph hears God in a dream to save the child from death, as it was not simply Jesus’ mission to die, but to love, heal, and preach the good news. Knowing full well that humanity would reject this perfect love with violence. Herod’s fear and distrust that lead to lying and infanticide foreshadows, Jesus’ passion. Rejected by His own people and the powers and violently killed, the young boys whose sins were that of babes were slaughtered by the King that should have protected them. The Magi foretold that this child was not simply the King of Israel, but the King of the entire world.

Can you imagine being a child that ponders these strange gifts, reserved for earthly kings? Coming across the recipe for the anointing perfume and knowing it relates to not simply the yearly atonement but something even more profound and important. A one time atonement for all, even beyond the Jordon and to the ends of the earth. And perhaps while in Egypt learning that myrrh was a primary ingredient in preparing their dead, Jesus knew that people and powers would react like Herod. However, as the King of Kings, as the anointed one, atonement would be achieved through His blood, and known by the resurrection. Like a star that shows us the way.

January Newsletter (Pastor's Pondering)

2011-01-02T06:39:00.000-08:00

“Appearance” or “manifestation,” are the English words for the Koine Greek word epiphaneia, epiphany. The feast day of Epiphany is the day after the twelve days of Christmas, January 6. In the Western tradition we celebrate the Magi’s arrival, the manifestation to the non-Jewish nations, the Gentiles. In the Eastern Tradition, it commemorates Jesus’ baptism and thus His being revealed to the world. Many will also commemorate His dedication to the temple and/or His first miracle, as both commemorate Jesus’ appearance to the world. This celebration and season of the church year is important as we are looking for the manifestation of Christ.

During the season we are not looking for Christ historically, or just in our Bibles, but in our very lives. We are to seek and search our soul, our relationships, our body, and our hopes for the hand of Jesus. We will find His work and His Love. When we experience the appearance and manifestation of Jesus, we will agree with Simeon’s words in Luke 2:29-32:

“‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.’”

We know that the Jesus is our Salvation and available to everyone, so let us keep our “eyes” open for His manifestation in our very lives.

Knowing Christ revealed in our lives and our church should compel us to share this news with others. I encourage everyone to share what Jesus says in the Gospel of John, “Come and See,” with friends, family, and especially the stranger. What a wonderful invitation to receive from someone who has “seen” the manifestation of God, “Come and See.”

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor J.C.

Peace

2010-12-22T11:59:00.000-08:00

Luke 2: 1-20

Luke and Matthew both write that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and emphasize that Joseph was of the house of David. Why was it important that Joseph and thus his adopted son Jesus be of the house of David? Those awaiting the Messiah were taught that the anointed one would be from the House of David. David was the idealized King and it all began when he brought peace to the land with one sling. David brought many other military victories for Israel, and why wouldn’t a people oppressed by Roman occupation, dream of such a King, such a savior. The Chosen People celebrated being freed from Egypt which included the Red Sea swallowing up those in pursuit, and they attributed God being on their side when they took the land they were promised by God from all the inhabitants. Yet Matthew and Luke knew by the time they recorded these Gospels that Jesus did not come as a military leader. All the disciples did not realize it until the resurrection, but they did eventually. So is it still important that Jesus be linked to the House of David? And the answer is found in the prophets that wrote of this new David, for they understood that it was not going to be the same type of kingship, or the same type of peace. I share three prophets and five texts to make my point:

Amos 9:11

On that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen, and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old;

Jeremiah 33:15

In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

Jeremiah 23:5

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

Isaiah 16:5

then a throne shall be established in steadfast love in the tent of David, and on it shall sit in faithfulness ruler who seeks justice and is swift to do what is right.

Isaiah 9:7

His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onwards and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

These prophets make it clear that the new David will bring peace through justice and righteousness and not through violent victory. This is clear from Jesus’ time on the tree, as He did not call down the Heavenly Army (the Heavenly Hosts), rather he triumphed over sin and death through the resurrection. A peace that surpasses all understanding as it is tied to the hope and faith we have in God’s inevitable victory over evil. Jesus’ victory and peace are tied to the eschatological Kingdom we have one foot in as we live in this world, as well. His peace is not simply about no war today, but no violence or death forever.

“Divine, Son of God, God, God from God, Lord, Redeemer, Liberator, and Savior of the World” (Borg & Crossan, Location 928).

These are terms used a generation plus before Jesus was born for Caesar Augustus. These terms we would think were unique to Jesus were exactly what people would call the victorious Octavian, who ended 20 years of civil war, to earn the term Augustus, which in Latin is One Who Is Divine. (Borg & Grossman, Location 904) Thus it was Augustus’ victory and actions that lead to his “divinity” status. That is even evident in his ancient biography as his “divine” conception was recorded not in the chronological beginning, but after the accumulation of his victories, while of course the Gospel writers make it clear of Jesus’ Divinity from the beginning, despite knowing it through the resurrection. Augustus followed “…the four successive elements of Roman imperial theology—religion, war, victory, peace. You worship the gods, you go to war with their assistance, you are victorious with their help, and you obtain peace from their generosity. …For Augustus and for Rome it was always about peace, but always about peace through victory, peace through war, peace through violence.” (Borg & Crossan, location 949) This is his claim to peace.

When the Gospel writers call Jesus Divine, Son of God, God, God from God, Lord, Redeemer, Liberator, and Savior of the World, they were committing high treason. We too are also to commit high treason to peace based only on violence. Peace based simply on the absence of fighting is not the peace Jesus brings. Jesus brings us a peace that surpasses all understanding and is based in righteousness and Justice.

Peace through violent victory is not real peace.

Peace through Justice & Righteousness thus gives us

Victory through Peace

Work Cited:

Borg, Marcus & John Dominic Crossan “The First Christmas; What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’ Birth” HarperCollens e-books Kindle Edition, 2007.

Way of Faith

2010-12-06T09:05:00.001-08:00

Matthew 3: 1-12

I knew two wonderful youth who were best of friends, but were extremely competitive. Everything was a competition, especially academics. I remember overhearing one ask, what grade the other got on a test. “A” was the answer, and the one asking said “A, also,” after a hesitation, “94” the other replied with a larger smile, “95.” They are very smart people, and their competitive nature I am sure had encouraged them to learn even more. I was not that competitive with grades, and was in part why I chose to go to go to an undergraduate college without grades. You may think that seems great, “no grades.” However, it meant most of us students put in even more, but of course some simply did the minimum. For most of us we worked hard to learn as much as we could. We could not compare our success, except within ourselves. I remember going to defend my senior thesis, there were two professors and a peer, and even though I had worked with my professors with drafts, I was still nervous I would not pass.

In this scripture John the Baptist is coming to prepare the way for Jesus, which is on our mind as we wait for the baby Jesus. However, John is talking about Jesus’ coming as our judge, not as a helpless baby. Hearing that Jesus is coming with a winnowing fork can be scary, until you realize that each piece of grain has chaff and needs that removed. Each of us needs our chaff, (sin) removed and how wonderful to know that Jesus will be down on the threshing floor working on each of us with the Holy Spirit (winnowing wind). This is like the professor working with me to get me to that final meeting and John does remind us that there is an ax and the base of each tree. Or how Paul puts it, “For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Cor. 5: 10) Jesus will work on us as individually helping to remove our sin, but ultimately there is a judgment. Just as John warned the Sadducees & Pharisees not to simply say “we have Abraham as our ancestor,” Christians should not simply say, “I have Christ as my savior,” for we will be judged not just on faith but how we lived our faith.

Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount, that we are the light of the world, and shares the Beatitudes, including, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.” (Matthew 5: 29-30) This tells me not that we must literally cut off our limbs but we must be self aware of the chaff that we have. We are going to be judged, by the judge that gets down on the threshing floor with us so we may be ready. I think the best scene for us to remember for the judgment, is when in John Chapter 8, the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to trick him (why just the woman I am not sure, since last time I checked it takes two). Jesus response was, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” I can imagine the silence, as he etched something on the ground. Slowly different men leaving as they examined themselves and realized they had chaff and sin to remove, and to be forgiven. Finally, Jesus looks up and asks, “’Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, sir.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.’” Jesus asked each of the accusers to look in on themselves and passes a judgment of forgiveness to her as well as all of us from the cross, “Father, forgive them…” We are not to judge others, for we are to worry about our own time before Jesus. The good news is that our judge loves us so much that He spent time on a tree for all of our sins. The way of faith is knowing we must “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 3: 2) That is “Act as you are judged, because the Love of God is near.”

Hope

2010-11-30T13:29:00.000-08:00

Matthew 24:36-44

During the season of Advent we wait for the coming Christ Child. Today’s scripture reminds us that we are always waiting for the Son of Man’s return. Jesus clearly states that no one except the Father knows when. It is important to realize that people that try to discern contemporary events and even scripture for the Eschaton, are missing Jesus’ message. We are to be ready and not know. Being ready is not simply looking forward to the event, but living today knowing it will happen. Jesus makes it clear that there will be a day when the elect will be gathered and God will dwell with us and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. But until the promise is fulfilled, “…you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” (v. 44)

So how are we to be ready? We can remember to see Jesus in the “least of these”, as he told us in Matthew 25, and we should be ready by teaching discipleship around the world, as per Matthew 28. To be ready we live by faith, hope, and love, as per Paul’s letter the Corinthians 13:13. These words can be attributed to human time; faith tied to what has happened, hope is about the anticipated future, and love is about the present. Now each is interwoven with the other, just as the Trinity, totally one and yet totally separate as well. When Paul says that Love is the greatest of these, I cannot argue with that, since love is how one acts at any present time, taking their faith and hope in mind, to act in the moment. To follow Jesus and be ready we should always be present with love. Of course our faith is important as well, for it is the basis of or current moment and. Today we look at hope as it is how we look to the future, the Christ Child and the Eschaton.

When I was a chaplain in a large hospital, I would do my rounds and thus visit patients I did not know. In the course of the visit, I was always trying to be present with love as I was to witness for the Divine. Every conversation would include some aspect of their faith. They would tell me of their lovely church and how they became close to God. Or they would tell me about the church that ostracized them and how they became distant with God. This was their history, their faith, and it affected how they looked to the future, but you would not be able to predict simply from their history. Some that had a wonderful history with God and church were just so angry they were ill they did not look forward with hope, while some that had a rocky past with God and church found the divine in their situation, and looked forward with hope. I would listen for the stories of hope, such as Thanksgiving meals despite their chart suggesting they would be in that bed on Thanksgiving, hearing about their plans after they were home, simply talking about future years, or the most powerful, talking about being with the Divine love in heaven. These are stories of hope, knowing God’s promise, and living it. It is not about being optimistic, rather it is to know God’s triumph (we are attempting to be ready for) and living as if it already occurred. Without it one lives in despair, and those stories in the hospital were limited to the reality of that bed, illness, discomfort and pain, or going home to a more the same, or the saddest, death. Not seeing death as being part of the resurrection and rebirth is despair, of course we are all scared of death, but with hope we see it as the fulfillment of God’s promise.

Let us live ready, living as if the promise of God has been fulfilled as we know it will. Let us await the Christ with Hope.

Christ the King

2010-11-24T12:23:00.001-08:00

Colossians 1:11-20; Luke 23:33-43

Do you remember the story of Kai Leigh Harriott? She was three years old when a bullet shattered her spine leaving her paralyzed. Her sister and she were playing on their porch in Dorchester, Massachusetts, when Anthony Warren shot into the air to frighten the occupants of the first floor apartment. The first bullet horrifically found Kai Leigh. Three years after Anthony Warren had his day in court, and Kai Leigh wanted to be there to confront her attacker. She did and said, “I forgive you Anthony Warren. What you did to me was wrong, but I still forgive you.” That story touches me every time I think of it and I appreciate that Anthony Warren changed his plea of “not guilty” to “guilty.” Kai Leigh is quoted as saying to the press latter, “It’s kind of hard [to forgive] but as soon as you do it, it’s not that hard anymore.”

Today’s scriptures are both about Jesus as King. The Colossians is straight forward as it is probably a baptismal hymn, and thus a proclamation of Christ’s supremacy. It is made clear that Christ’s power has been since the beginning and will continue, and we are reconciled to his power in the blood of the cross. Luke’s account of the crucifixion includes the ironic statements of the people crucifying him as well as the first criminal, as they deride him by calling him King or Messiah, and there is even a sign that reads “King of the Jews” on the cross. They did not realize how correct they were. More importantly the second criminal understood the situation, Jesus did not deserve to be on the cross like himself and the other bandit, and he asked Jesus to be remembered when he arrived in His Kingdom. As Luke writes in Chapter 19 v. 10, “For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost,” that is exactly what Jesus does for the second criminal when he promised they would be in paradise.

What is important is Jesus forgives and saves everyone from the cross. This is his Kingdom, unlike earthly kingdoms. Kings and elected officials get their power from the public. It does not seem obvious at first since the elected officials of today we know nee the public for the power, but that was also true to Kings, as well, even if the power came from intimidation. A week King would easily be taken over by another, but the power came from people, while Jesus’ power is beyond people. “He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Col. 1:17). So our King is this Christ, who lets His Kingdom be known by His blood and the greater power of Resurrection.

The question becomes for us to follow Christ, “Is this a Kingdom Issue?” If we want to follow our King, we need to see it not like our earthly Kings and Leaders. We do not give the power to be led, we ask for forgiveness and live on faith. We are to Forgive as we are forgiven, as we were taught to pray. Kai Leigh knew that it was a Kingdom Issue to forgive the man that paralyzed her, and what a wonderful model for all of us. I have a hard enough time asking the question to myself, “Is this a Kingdom Issue?” when a car cuts me off in traffic, so I try to remember Kai Leigh’s example. And better yet my King’s example that forgave even from the cross as He was saving all.

Timing is everything

2010-11-16T14:23:00.001-08:00

Isaiah 65: 17-25; Luke 21: 5-19

Jesus tells of the destruction of the temple, and Luke lived through that reality. Luke then records Jesus’ prediction of such a monumental event. However, Jesus was not simply telling us the temple would be destroyed or that it was a sign. Jesus is making it clear there will be an end, just as there was a beginning; there is an Eschaton just as there is a Genesis. As in each of the Gospels, Jesus tells us there will be an end time to the world as we know it; when good finally triumphs over evil, forever. This passage from Isaiah picks up on this as well, by telling us God is creating new heavens and a new earth. This is exactly what John the Revelator picks up on in his book of Revelation. Specifically Chapter 21 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’” This is the true accumulation of John’s Apocalypse (that word simply means Revelation). John shares his Revelation of the end time, but the point is not to demonstrate when, but rather that there is an Eschaton, in which God triumphs over evil. Jesus’ own words that make this clear that the end cannot nor should not be predicted. When Jesus was asked about the coming age, He responded, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!” and, “The time is near!” Do not go after them.” (Luke 21: 8) Jesus makes it also clear the end will come to the whole world and to the cosmos, by suggesting there will be wars throughout the world and signs from heaven, but he then says these “signs” do not determine when either, for “…the end will not follow immediately.” Jesus is making it clear that while there is an end we are not to try to predict the time, rather we are to endure. We are not to even prepare our argument as Jesus will protect us, every hair, and provide the words that cannot be questioned.

To explain the church year to people I will grab a piece of yarn (which I did during the sermon) and demonstrate that time is linear. God created and we know that eventually there will be end of the world, where God will ultimately triumph. We know that people are born and die (born anew), a beginning and an end with hopefully born again along the line. We know that football games end (despite the last two minutes lasting longer than any other), television shows begin and end, etc. We know that time as linear, both as a reality and theologically as discussed above. However, the church takes this linear time and makes it circular. Jesus is the beginning and the end (the Alpha and Omega). We make it a circle by the way we celebrate and worship Jesus through the church year. See every year we start with Advent, preparing for Emmanuel, God with us. Then Christmastide becomes epiphany where and we celebrate Jesus’ baptism. We then prepare for the great mystery of the death and resurrection with Lent, which brings us to the seven weeks of Eastertide (approximately 1/7 of the year, the Sunday of the year) and then we have Pentecost the birthday of the church. Then onto Kingdom Building period, which much of the scripture is Jesus’ teaching, capping off with Christ the King Sunday. Then we start it again. This also what we do each Sunday when we come to the communion table remembering the most important part of our faith. The death and resurrection of Jesus and this is how we live as Christians. We live in this circle. We know that there is an Eschaton, an end that reveals God to the whole new heaven and new earth. However we simply keep inviting people into this circle of love, for as Jesus tells us, “by your endurance you will gain your souls.”

Born Anew

2010-11-11T14:05:00.001-08:00

Luke 20:27-38

Sadducees were part of the aristocratic class and truly did not believe in the resurrection. We often hear of how the Pharisees were in conflict with Jesus in the scriptures, and that is because they were generally the group more similar to Jesus and His followers. The Sadducees did not uphold the prophets but only the books of Moses, the law. This is in part because they were most interested in keeping the status quo in which they flourished as many of their people suffered under Roman oppression, waiting for their Messiah. Here the Sadducees are determined to stump, Jesus with this rhetorical question about seven brothers and one wife. The problem is their idea of the resurrection was more like an escalator into heaven, continuing this life on another plane (if they could imagine of an escalator that is). Jesus answers not with a parable, but rather with a straightforward reasoning. There are two parts to Jesus’’ response the first being that this age is not like the age to come and the second is that God is a God of the living not of the dead (as per their own scripture). While Jesus clearly tells us that in the resurrection we are not simply continuing the life we know, but are rather like angels and are with God, this was an issue for some of the early followers. In Corinth it was a worry as they knew of believers who passed away and were now decomposing in their tombs. If they were to be resurrected how will the body go on to glory? Paul makes it clear as Jesus did in 1 Cor 15: “There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another.” And Paul admits it is a mystery later in the chapter: “What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” This is important that we will be changed upon the resurrection; it is not simply a new realm, but something gloriously different, where we dwell with God, where we are with God.

The early Christians often recorded one’s death as their Birthday, this is in part because they did not have records of everyone’s birthday, but it was also a theological statement that upon death you are born anew into the resurrection. This reminds me of my friend Mary Anne who can claim three birthdates, see she was born in Ireland 80 or so years ago, and her mother recorded the date in the family Bible. Her father was to record the date in town about a month or so later when he brought sheep to market. As she tells it, she believes, he may have visited the Public House prior to the Towne Clerk, and he remembered it was a Tuesday, but recorded the date later. Then in sixties she emigrated from Ireland to the United States, and somehow through the bureaucracy gave her a third birth date. While that may be a funny story, I believe it is true that we have three birthdays. The first being the one our mother’s told us, when we are born again, and then the one to come when we are born anew. Now some people are not as exacting about their born again date and others are, but that does not make it less true. Some people grew up in the church and did not realize a change as some did, but the fact is that if you believe in Jesus you have been born again.

Well this brings to mind the metaphor of the butterfly. It is a wonderful metaphor the caterpillar eats and eats, and worries about the physical body, until it is time to get in the cocoon, and it is dormant (dead), and comes out changed as a wonderful butterfly. This is a great metaphor especially that we are changed, but we are not caterpillars, we are not animals. We know or better yet believe in the God of Love through His Son Jesus whose “birthday” on the cross brought us reconciled to the Divine. Therefore we don’t just go eating and worrying about the perishable for we know that only the imperishable will inherit the Kingdom. We are Born Again and celebrate our Born Anew by participating in the resurrection today. Our belief does not allow us to simply wait to be Born Anew into the glory that is God, but we are to share this knowledge and belief with others, bringing aspects of Heaven upon earth. We participate in the Bodily Resurrection by being the Body of Christ on Earth, for our belief puts one foot on earth and one in heaven, it is the already but not yet. This is the mystery that we are changed by our belief and we are anticipating another change in a twinkling of an eye, but we know God as the God of the living and as we continue to live we live for God.

Made Well

2010-11-02T14:46:00.001-07:00

Luke 19: 1-10 (Zacchaeus)

He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax-collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.’ So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’ Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’

While reading, researching, and praying for preparation for this sermon, I had Leadership Durant which is once a month. This is a group of leaders from our community that the Durant Area Chamber of Commerce sponsors and we explore leadership on many levels. This month was economic development so we went to some very large places in the area. Such as Big Lots! Distribution Center, the new Choctaw Resort, and Cardinal Glass with a furnace that consumes the greatest amount of natural gas in the state of Oklahoma. There was also the large heart of REI that helps create businesses or help small businesses in rural Oklahoma, through education, loans, and various other resources. While all of these places I fell will help us to understand this week’s scripture, it was at Eagle Suspension that I heard something that brought the message to life. At Eagle Suspension they manufacture suspensions for large and small trucks, as well as orders for classic cars. They moved to this facility just over four years ago, from Canada, with three people who knew how to work the machines, now there are over 300 jobs at this plant and obviously still growing. I have as a Christian Minister served many people and I hope have also changed some lives (I have been told), but to be able to provide an actual livelihood is exactly what all these people we visited provide. This is important as the Gospel cannot be heard on an empty stomach and to simply fill it with charity is only part of the solution, people creating jobs are an important ministry for humanity.

How does this relate to Zacchaeus, preacher, you ask? Well I hope to make that clear and I will start by exploring what is happening at this sycamore tree. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector thus a sinner in the eyes of the Jewish people, as the tax collector was an essentially the extension of the Roman oppression. This is the only time that the term “chief” is used, indicting him as being even more involved in the unjust system. We know Jesus came for everyone, including sinners and thus often ate with sinners, which, just in this instance, was not received well by most. We realize that Zacchaeus had a personal conversion, either on his way up or down the sycamore tree (or before) that led him to this relationship with Jesus, who knew He was to stay at his house. Zacchaeus responds to this grace by a wonderful commitment to help the poor and to pay back those he had wronged greater than the Jewish law would require. Jesus then says, “Today salvation has come to this house…” This is a theme throughout Luke’s writings (Luke & Acts), that salvation would come to a house or household, (Acts 10:2; 11:14; 16:15-31; 18:8). One of these is the story of Lydia, who we also know as a rich person, like Zacchaeus. She has a personal conversion along the river hearing Paul witness Jesus. Thus her whole household is baptized. In the account of Lydia, we are not privy to her being a sinner, such as a tax collector, (of course all humans fall short), so when we hear of her entire household we read it as an extension of her witness to those that live and work in her house. I want to emphasize that in the first century a household is not like we think of it today, rather it is more accurately an economic unit. It is not even limited to one roof and certainly not one family, but rather a unit of workers under a patriarch and on rare occasions, such as Lydia’s, matriarch. This is essential to understand Jesus’ blessing of Zacchaeus’ house.

Salvation in the Greek (swñ or σωτηρία) is often translated as saved or salvation, but can alternatively be translated as, “healed,” “made well” and/or “made whole.” Recently in a sermon I explored how ten lepers were sent by Jesus to a priest, and on the way all were physically healed. One, a Samaritan (interesting in itself), turned back to thank and praise Jesus. Jesus then says according to the English translation, “your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:19). We know that he was physically healed and thus is why he came back to thank Jesus, and thus receives salvation (the same word). Zacchaeus had certainly repented and understood Jesus as Lord and Savior, and then spreads his salvation to others. Not in the sense that he gave them a personal relationship with the Lord, but he helped out their physical needs. He helped his household and the poor with half his wealth. This is the Good News that our personal conversions are to spread wholeness to others.

Our right relationship with God depends on our confession that Jesus is our Lord and Savior and we then must actually not simply hold that knowledge, we share and witness it to others. Yet someone may not be ready for such witness if they are hungry or oppressed. Thus I remember how Jesus explains the judgment in Matthew 25: 31-46:

‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’

Jesus tells us that it is not simply our personal belief or our personal conversion, but this important work. To help those in need, sharing the love Jesus showed us. A witness that is very powerful. To see salvation as both a personal and communal event is exactly what this scripture is demonstrating. Through Zacchaeus’ conversion, his household received salvation along with the community, or better healed and made whole.

The corporations and the people that got them to our small community, provide this wholeness to the community even if it is not directly in the name of Christ. This is as important work as ours to witness our personal salvation, as people need to have a living and purpose in order to be able to hear our witness. If three people can come with the knowledge of making suspensions and now over 300 people have a living from that knowledge in four years, how much more can us Christians share our knowledge and grow. This is important knowledge, that Jesus’ is our personal Lord and savior; knowledge that we must go out and help the “least of these,” in our community. This is a knowledge we must share as salvation for the individual and the community, the healing of the individual and the community, the wholeness of the individual and the community, depends on us sharing this knowledge.

I Thank Thee.

2010-10-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

Luke 19:1-10

Praying and researching this scripture I kept recalling two interviews I did in the library of Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. I was there studying how the University and the students had effected the growth of the city outside the downtown, as my senior thesis in my Bachelor of Arts. I would interview the students about their life at the University and prior. One day I was interviewing two, Protestants, Ulstermen, Orange Men, and/or Loyalist (which ever label you prefer) about growing up before university what they thought of the, Catholics, Irish, Nationalists, and/or Republicans (which ever label you prefer). The answer was I thought they had horns growing out of their head, was their answer. The next day I got the exact same answer in reverse. Both of parties went on to explain that their time at Queen’s University had changed that perspective. Yet I knew the majority still lived at home in their respective enclaves, perhaps only yards from their classmate separated by a wall.

This illustration comes to mind because the scripture emphasizes not only being humble but defining oneself against someone else’s identity. Humility is, in part, not defining yourself as what you are not, but to be yourself. This importance is emphasized in Prophet Jonah’s experience. We will often read Jonah as he was scared of God, and thus ran. If you look closely at the scripture one will find that Jonah was not scared of God, but was too invested in defining himself against those of Nineveh. See Jonah did not run because he was scared of God, but that the merciful God would save them from the doom he believed they were due. So when Jonah did prophesize Nineveh’s destruction, the people repented. Jonah was a great prophet to truly have them repent, that God saw and said, he would not bring the calamity upon them. Then in Chapter 4, Jonah makes it clear, it was not God he was scared of, but having those “others” saved that made him run and even made him angry, despite it being his work that saved them. It reads: “But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.’ And the Lord said, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’” Clearly Jonah could not understand himself, even with a personal relationship with God, without defining himself as other from another.

To truly be humble we must be able to simply say “I thank thee.” And not “I thank thee that I am not…” In today’s scripture the Pharisee is actually is more like us, in that he is doing all the proper religious things and thus reminds me that I may at times say or at least feel “I thank thee that I am not….” And the first that comes to mind are those people who say, “I am not religious, but I am spiritual.” I do believe from having met many people who claim that, most are saying it to change the subject of the conversation, but the small percentage, are actually perusing the divine in their own individualistic way. It is not, for those that are truly seeking God, unlike this parable in Luke, as the tax collector is repenting without all the tradition the Pharisee does and upholds in his prayer. The parable was told, according to Luke, to those “…who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt,” and this has been reversed by many that look on us who are religious and say, I am glad I am not like those church goers, yet we must look at ourselves and realize that despite being active in church that we are tempted to do the same. We must with humility look at those people earnestly seeking God and find what we can learn from them as well as they can learn from us and the great Christian tradition. Imagine if in the parable the Pharisee went over to offer the tradition of prayer, or better yet went over and learned from the man’s passionate and humble repentance.

We thus thank Thee “period.” We define ourselves with humility only through the Christ.

Mark your Calendar

2010-10-19T10:13:00.001-07:00

Luke 18: 1-8

I should have titled this sermon “Luke Your Calendar,” for we will be exploring prayer as per the Gospel of Luke. This parable is about our “need to pray always and not to lose heart” (v. 1). Luke writes about our teacher, Jesus, praying in such manner: Luke 6:12 “Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God;” Luke 22:44 “In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of flood falling down on the ground.” This model of prayer is hard to follow, praying all night and so intensely that sweat is like blood. Jesus models this, but what else does Luke tell us about what Jesus says about prayer?

Luke 11 Jesus teaches the disciples to pray the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus says “When you pray, say…” And the first part is about claiming God as a personal God, “Father hallowed by your name;” Then Jesus tells us to petition for our great goal as recorded in Revelation 21: 1-4 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’” This is exactly what we call for ultimately and in slivers of it currently, when we pray “Your kingdom come.” Each day we need substance, but not simply bread and we are reminded by Jesus’ words to the devil in Luke 4:4 “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone,’” for we do not simply ask for food for our bodies but also for our souls when we pray, “Give us each day our daily bread.” Then we are to ask to be forgiven, but with the caveat we must do the same, “And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.” Then one last petition is taught according to Luke, “And do not bring us to the time of trial.” These petitions are important for us to learn as the Lord’s Prayer, whatever version and/or language one prays it. Though it is not simply about saying these words, but knowing that every prayer contains a bit of what Jesus taught us to say. One may be simply acknowledging God and the relationship, or may be simply asking to be feed physically or spiritually and any infinite combination.

The last petition though seems difficult in light of today’s parable on prayer. If we are to pray so persistently and follow the model of Jesus, prayer itself seems somewhat like a trial. Thus let us look back at the scripture. The key is in verses seven & eight, “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them.” This is the Good News, yet we also know we need to pray persistently as Jesus models and the widow suggest in this parable. We are taught by Jesus what we must say in our prayers and we realize we must petition persistently. And we should realize the other half is that we must listen. Just as Elijah found God in the “…sound of sheer silence..” (1 Kings 19:12) we must Listen. We will be answered quickly, but if we do not hear and we often don’t because it is not what we want, we must continue to pray until we can hear. We must pray as Jesus models, because we do not listen as loudly as we petition. Let us pray constantly with our ears and heart open to God.

On the way...

2010-10-14T11:02:00.001-07:00

Luke 17: 11-19

Soda-Pop tastes much better in a glass bottle, and I remember walking an extra mile just to get a Pepsi in a glass bottle after my paper route in town every so often, into the late eighties, but I recall in 1985 finding a machine that sold pop in glass. It was a great find in rural Maine along with three old fire trucks, both of which were at this local mechanic’s garage. See we were heading to Acadia National Park for a family vacation when our sedan began to smoke and we pulled to the side of the road. This was not unusual and often my dad would get us on the road again, however this time it was clear that the radiator hose needed to be replaced. After waiting to see if a trooper or someone would stop my pa jumped the fence and headed to the farmhouse to call for a tow. Well it was stressful for the parents for we had to stay overnight in this small town waiting for this important part, but I recall having a great time climbing over the old fire trucks the mechanic maintained for local parades and enjoying the treat of pop in glass bottles. This event became part of the story of this vacation which was actually our last vacation before my parents’ divorce. It was a great vacation as I recall, even remembering a fight during the stay as well. Yet the event of breaking down on the way help to define the reality that even through all the stresses of life including divorce, my parents were able to stay calm and find joy for the children.

Luke writes about Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem often (9:51; 13:31-35; 19:28) and this scripture is quite specific about traveling to Jerusalem. This is the city “…that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” (Luke 13:34), this is where Jesus will be crucified and we will be saved. This is the event that is essential to us as Christians. And in this scripture Luke tells of two events that occurred “on the way.” As Jesus traveled between Samaria and Galilee, he was approached by ten lepers, who did keep their distance. They were following the rules for lepers as per Leviticus, keeping away from others in a group, and begging where travelers would pass. They asked Jesus to have mercy on them and he did, telling them to go present themselves to their priests, they were healed as they went. All ten received this miraculous healing. Now one of them we know was a Samaritan, and we assume the other nine were Jewish, we do know the other nine did continue to the priests to share their healing as Jesus had told them to, and as the Hebrew Scriptures would have commanded them so they could be examined and allowed to be part of society again. Now the Samaritan that was healed was overjoyed and returned to Jesus to thank him. Jesus does ask about the other nine and then makes it clear that this one that was praising God was a foreigner, a Samaritan. And Jesus says to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” Was not this Samaritan already healed with the other nine? Of course, for that is why he returned to praise Jesus. The verb, “made well” is usually translated as “to be saved,” which makes sense since the Samaritan was already healed, and thus his faith and belief ensures salvation, “made well.”

This event on the way helps us to realize aspects of the Cross, the event in Jerusalem. The Cross is a miraculous healing of everyone available to everyone. It is not the physical healing as per these recorded events but a grace that is for the entire world and if someone, even someone out of the chosen people, has faith and praising God, salvation is achieved. Thus the event of the Cross must be understood not simply as an event that could have occurred at anytime, but an accumulation of Jesus’ ministry, as well. The Cross is where the rubber hits the road, and humanity knows atonement, but we do need Jesus’ entire ministry to understand and respond to this event in history and our lives. We need not only where the tire meets the road, but also the radiator hose and the whole car, to get where we are going, as the journey helps us to understand our destination.