Time Fulfilled

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. 

Merry Christmas

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

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.

The Potter’s Clay

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.

Upward Grace

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).

Putting on Christ

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.

September 2011 Newsletter - Hope

 "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. 

Ichthys (Fish)

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

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.

Transformative

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.

Sovereign Grace

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.

Don’t Worry, Strive…

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

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.

God's Weather Forecast

January 17, 2010

God’s Weather Forecast.

Matthew 5.43-6.5

‘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.

This text I choose for my first sermon because I had an overwhelming fear that I must be perfect. I looked up this text and first saw the line, be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. At first this did not help. How could I be perfect like God? Was not Jesus the only human that could be called perfect? What does Jesus mean here? Well if someone sticks simply on one piece of scripture without looking at the full context one can come up with strange ideas. First of all we know that Jesus was the only perfect human in the sense we generally think of as perfect. Jesus, fully human and fully divine, without sin fulfills our definition of perfect.

We so often think we have to be perfect, be it our family baggage, and/or society, and that gets in our way. It affects everything we do and if we worry about being perfect we try too hard or avoid doing it all together so we cannot fail. I know for myself I worry less about a sermon being “perfect” I am more likely to preach a Spirit filled good sermon (I can rip all them apart myself but that is my own issue to work on).

But as I wrote above God cannot be telling us to be “perfect” as we understand it in the vernacular, so back to the Bible. Jesus says “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” And earlier in the passage where is our heavenly Father mentioned? Most of the passage are commands to us, but God is present in this part, “he [God] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” So it has something to do with God’s weather. God sends rain on everyone, good and bad. For me it is Grace. Prevenient grace is the grace that precedes our decision to accept God’s call and salvation. Or better yet our ability to understand and hear that Jesus has saved us, as we are not active participants in salvation but active participants because of our salvation. This grace that is offered to us does require our free-will to accept, and thus I described it as opening up to collect such rain that follows this knowledge of salvation. It is as if you had a rain barrel to collect and thus share this Grace. Of course once it is accepted it is not Prevenient Grace but rather sanctifying Grace, or simply Grace. Anyways I heard that some in the congregation were ordering rain barrels on their mobile devices, I heard as a joke later (I hope a joke).

So we know it has to do with God giving grace upon the good and the bad. This grace before grace, but how can we be perfect like God, well if God is consistently offering this to all perhaps we most also be consistent like God. To be perfect in context of this scripture is to treat everyone as you would treat another, (like ourselves I would say but many of us our harder on ourselves then others). If we are consistent with those in the pews and with everyone we meet we will be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. This is not easy but it is important for someone may choose to start collecting in their barrel today or better yet may share some of the Grace they had collected. We tell our story by living it.