The Dream Factory

Removing the Barriers - Advent Gospels - Day 8

SolLuna, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 

 

Removing Impediments

12/5

Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. – Luke 3:5-6

God called John to be a smoother and a “straightener”. In many ways, John’s role was nothing more than to clear away the obstacles that might impede the message of the one who would come after him.

He was a voice.

He was a voice in the wilderness.

And he cried out with passion and conviction removing excuses and uncovering facades.

He was the one to come before Jesus who could really move some mountains and clear some paths. John was a co laborer with God as we are called to be and His mission was simple:

To be an agent through whom all flesh might see the salvation of God.

God has no desire to hide His salvation. He wants all to see it. He wants all to receive it.

We have the task of removing the impediments.

What kind of impediments are there? Sometimes mountains are too high, valleys are too low, and roads are too crooked and rough. We can cooperate with God to change that.

One impediment to people seeing God’s salvation is our tendency to speak religious jargon that no one understands. We mask the grace of God in a jungle of theological language and church talk.

Another is our insistence on traditions that have lost their meaning. Or it may be our own negativity or the contradictions of our lives – the dichotomy between what we profess and what we practice.

We have to remove the obstacles that keep people from coming to Christ or even hearing the Word of God. The problem is not so much that people don’t want to hear as much as they sometimes cannot hear over the irrelevant chatter. Remove the impediments and let everyone see the salvation of God.

 

God’s Delight

A Gambian girl smiling

“For the Lord taketh pleasure in His people...” – Psalm 149:4a

Again, God cares for your soul, Do you care for the souls of others? Do you care for your own soul?? Sometimes the way we treat our physical, emotional, and spiritual health is an affront to God. The soul is the totality of a person and God takes pleasure in all that you are. For you to decide that some aspect of your life is not worthy of being nurtured is not an act of sacrificial worship but of negligence.

We have seen that God cares for our souls and that we must exercise care as well – for our own lives and for the lives of others. Now we see the reason: God takes great delight in His people. He receives pleasure from His relationship with His children. It is had to fathom, but it is true.

Have you ever given someone you love a precious gift, something that you have received from another generation and a passing on through that person to subsequent generations? That gift is not really the possession of the person holding it as much as it is the heritage of the family line. You expect the recipient to care for it, protect it, and pass it on with care. You delight in seeing it displayed and honored. You are offended when it is treated with careless disregard for its significance and handled with common contempt.

It is a very imperfect example, but it points to some truth. We are not our own, the scripture sys, but bought with a price. We belong to God and have been made trustees of our lives in time and space. God’s purpose is to enjoy us and have a love relationship with us. He expects us to care for our own lives and nurture our souls with His Word, with fellowship, with healthy food and habits, and with life affirming relationships.

It grieves the heart of God when we do not take care of ourselves.

It also grieves the heart of God when we do not nurture and take delight in His other children. He expects us to see the loveliness other people. When we find that difficult, He promises to help us and to love them through us.

Let us worship God by taking pleasure in Him, in our own lives as consecrated to Him, and in His children.

God's Stuff - Advent Gospels - Day 7

SolLuna, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

12/4
Matt. 22:15-22

Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?"

But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax."

And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's."

When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

We have read and written much on this passage. Today's meditation will be laser focused. It will not be about taxes, citizenship responsibilities, how-to-shut-up critics, hypocrisy, or money. Those are all part of the context and backdrop scenery of the lesson, but our focus today is, "What Do We Owe God?"

What indeed?

There is a sense that, in Advent, we are recognizing that Jesus claim to reclaim what belongs to God.

We owe God our "stuff" because all stuff belongs to God.

When we recognize God's ownership over our "stuff," we are liberated from our "stuff owning us."

Those are really the only two choices. God owns it or it owns us. When it owns us, it controls our thinking, our living, our choices, our anxieties, and our vision of the future. It defines and defiles our purpose in life.

Let's look at "stuff" as an acronym for breaking down what God claims in us and from us in the coming of his Son into the world.

• S - Self. The first claim of God that i owe God is me. I owe God my life, my love, and my loyalty.

• T - Time. What defines my priorities most is my calendar and my clock, my time and how I spend it.

• U - Undefined everything. If you can name it; if you cannot; if you can conceive it or not; it's God's.

• F - Faith and faithfulness. We owe God a mutual trust for Him and trustworthiness in response to Him.

• F - Future - We owe God our futures and, in response, God gives us a bright and beautiful future.

Living this way foes not negate our freedom; it expands it. It does not limit our blessings; it brings them meaning. It does not deprive us; it enhances all that we receive as gifts from God's hand.

When people sought to sidetrack and detract Jesus, he went back to the basics. It is all God's stuff and we must render to God what is God's.

It is not about a competition between Rome's taxes and Temple taxes.

The Kingdom of God movement is about God.

Come to the Feast - Advent Gospels - Day 6

SolLuna, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 

12/3

You Are Invited to Be Chosen!

Matthew 22:1-14
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, 'Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.' But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.

Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."

κλητοὶ or ἐκλεκτοί, Invited or Selected

It is a party.

The host is the father and the guest of honor is the son. It is his wedding.

Invitations have been sent far and wide. The whole community is encouraged to come. Food has been prepared. Tables have beenb set. All that is necessary is to dress in the appropriate clothing, accept the invitation, and show up.

Some heard and ignored in Jesus' story. They were certainly and thoroughly inivted, wanted, and encouraged, but they were not among the select because they did not elect to accept.

Others were more hostile in their refusal to show up.

Still others came, but did not appreciate the importance and majesty of the invitation, the privilege of being welcomed, or the need to dress for the occasion. They were expelled and felt more than just left out. They anguished as if they had missed the event of their lives. They had been invited, but in their own way, had not really accepted the invitation for what it was.

The rest celebrated and it was a joyful time.

Jesus is talking about those who reject his invitation to the the great feast of his kingdom of love, righteousness, peace, andjoy. They were called, but in that they chose to reject the call, they were not chosen.

There is a rule of thumb among those who invite people to various sorts of meetings:

"A 'no' is a 'no' all of the time.
A 'maybe' is a 'no' 95% of the time.
A 'yes is a 'no' half of the time."

And there are the 'yes' folks who show up late or half-heartedly..

You have all heard of the professors who locked the classrooms after the time of class start. latecomers were not welcome.

Jesus is saying that God is a welcoming and inviting Father, but God will not coerce or compell people to come. He is calling all, but only choosing those who choose to show up dressed for the party. He loves all, desires all, and invites all, but leaves the ball in our courts.

Do we prefer to live on the outside of the banquet hall or might we consider walking inside?

This is also the message of Advent.

 

Cornerstone - Advent Gospels - Day 5

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12/2

Matt. 21:33-46

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country."

"When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another."

Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'"

"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.'"

"So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time."

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes'? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls."

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

What is Jesus trying to teach in this unusual parable that appears in all three of the synoptic gospels?

There are some hints in the context. He has arrived in Jerusalem and the reactions are mixed.

The crowds consider him a prophet and the leadership of the religious establishment considers him a threat to their power, peace, and stability. Maybe he is.

For the leadership to remain in power and for the rituals to proceed without interruption, a delicate balance had to be maintained. The local powers among the Jewish establishment had to appease the interests of their Roman occupiers. Anything that hinted at upsetting Rome or that balance was surely a threat.

Jesus peached the Kingdom of God and the masses considered him anything from a messenger of that kingdoms to a messiah to a king.

That sort of talk could be perceived as political, though Jesus declared that his kingdom was not of this world. Yet, to be thought of or heard as political is to rattle cages, offend, ignite, incite, and invite angst.

Jesus is a lightening rod in all that he is and says and does. He identifies himself as a rock of offense. Rocks do not bend. His sort of rockiness does not crumble. Everything that throws itself against him crumbles.

The parable reminds us that God is at least a bit like the landowner who, within his rights, sends servants and a son to collect what is his from people who resist him Jesus declares that people can resist him all they like, but he will not crumble or go anywhere.

He is the cornerstone.

 

By What Authority? Advent Gospels - Day 4

SolLuna, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 

12/1
Matt. 21:23-32

When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?"

Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?"

And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet."

So they answered Jesus, "We do not know."

And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."

"What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ’son, go and work in the vineyard today.' He answered, 'I will not' but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir' but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him."

The chief priests nd elders were looking for a good argument. To be more specific, they were setting a trap for Jesus so that they could "win" a public argument and score points in the court of public opinion.

Jesus tested them and found them calculating and insincere in their inquiries. They are not asking questions in order to seek, learn, and know. They were positioning themselves.

Moreover, he suggests that they were all talk.

They were interested in disputing matters of faith with no concern for applying them. That is what he illustrates in the brief parable, They are the sons who say they will go work in the vineyard, but never do. Tax collectors and prostitutes, on the other hand, had been coming to Jesus fo some time without any theological presuppositions or arguments. They were hungry for truth they could put into immediate practice.

They were the sons who initially refused to go, but then, changed their minds and believed. The word for this mind change is "repentance."

Repentance is what happens in the lives of those who desire to seek, learn, know, and follow.

Jesus did not come to earth to prove his authority, argue his philosophy, or accumulate points on a scoreboard. he came to change lives and systems through the reign of God and the redemptive reality of the cross. His Advent is an announcement, not an argument.

Those who followed Jesus and those who follow him today, are seekers who have been sought by the one who came to seek and to save those who are lost.

 

Come and See - Advent Gospels - Day 3

SolLuna, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 

11/30
John 1:35-42

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, "Look, here is the Lamb of God!"

The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?"

They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

He said to them, "Come and see."

They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day.

It was about four o'clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated Anointed).

He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).

Some of the big questions are answered best in proximity.

John is standing. Jesus is walking by.

The new recruits came and remained. One follows. One brings another.

Everyone is on the move.

Jesus says, "Come and see."

In the process, questions are asked and insights imparted:

What are you looking for?

Where are you staying?

The first words of the passage are invitation and admonition. "Look," John says, "here is the Lamb of God."

Here he is and he is urging people to investigate him by coming and seeing for themselves. Whatever question is in their minds will be answered in time and in proximity to him.

This discipleship was relational. All discipleship is relational.

Proximity to Jesus changes us. In some cases, it even changes our names, how we are known to all and how we are known to ourselves. We come to know ourselves and be known to others the way that God already knows us. Simon becomes Rocky.

Advent is about God moving into proximity to us and about us moving closer to him by hearing the words of Jesus, "Come and See."

 

Who Is this? - Advent Gospels - Day 2

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11/29
Matthew 21:1-11

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately. "

This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!"

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?"

The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."

Who Is this?

Sequence Not!

Advent will mess with your sense of sequence sometimes. Gospel portions will jump around in the life of Jesus thematically and defy chronology.

We are taken to the last week of Jesus' pre-passion earthly life to see preparation of a different sort. Here, he is preparing to enter Jerusalem for his final show-down with death.

"The Lord has need of them," seems to be enough for the owner of the donkey to allow the disciples to untie hisproperty.

"This took place to fulfill," introduces an age-old message of hope that the prophet announced centuries before. Jesus is intentionally acting it out as a message to this generation of oppressed people, "Your king is coming!"

The large crowd, without rehearsal or preconception shout, "God save!" which we record as, "Hosanna!"

"Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!"

The Advent question is the same as the question the people asked then, "Who is this?"

Who is this indeed?

That is why we have holidays, symbols, and rituals. they occasion the most important questions.

Who is this?
What is this?
What does this mean?

The faction of the crowd that believed they knew answered the faction of the crowd that was asking. There was probably a good amount of overlap in the factions, but the answer, to the best of their understanding, was, ""This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."

Who is this to you today in this decade of the 21st century in a time of pandemic and political-ideological-religious division?

Who is this and why are the crowds all worked up about him?

 

 

The Last Word - Advent Gospels - Day 1

SolLuna, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 

 

11/28
Luke 21:5-19

When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down." They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?"

And he said, "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. "When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately."

Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. "But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls."

THE LAST WORD

This last word in this translation of the passage is ψυχὰς (psychas) in Greek. In English scriptures, it has been variously translated "soul," "life," and "mind," depending upon context and preference.

I think it takes all three concepts to make sense.

It is the totality of who a person is, their life, their personality, their mind, and whatever endures when the body is gone.

Jesus is promising to preserve even those who are put to death. He is encouraging endurance.

Only one candle flickers through the first week of Advent. Just one.

The message and the scriptures of the day point to ultimate victory in the Parousia of Christ, but that hop is symbolized with a single candle.

Just one.

"Endure," Jesus adjures us.

In spite of and because of the difficulties, hardships, horror, and harrowing, endure. Endure the whole way through.

Don't worry about how you will defend yourselves. Don't worry about holding your ground. Don't worry. Endure.

Advent reminds us that we will come through all of this.

 

First Sunday of Advent - Be Alert

 

The Problem of Evil and the Mercy of God

By Dianelos Georgoudis - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,

I have studied the problem of evil since I learned to think philosophically, psychologically, and theologically.

I have all the easy answers in a short file.

I have the really tough ones in the question box.

We can dismiss it all with the word "sin," but that three letter word is far larger than we think or know. It is so deep and so pervasive that it requires divine intervention, sacrifice, and planning to correct. (While at the same time, requiring far less from us when we come to dealing with our own).

It is so nagging that, even after repentance and regeneration, the Apostle Paul still struggled with its residual effects.

It is simple, but it is not simplistic.

It is both human and dehumanizing.

It is a distortion of reality, yet part of our daily reality.

Does evil exist?

Some philosophical systems suggest that evil is but an illusion. If it is, it is like the apparition that can frighten someone to death.

Some days, the best I can do is to look at the evil, bitterness, coldness, anger, and bigotry in my own heart, cry out in despair, shake my head, and lift my voice to God, "Have mercy upon me!"

Leaning and Seeing

"We live with dying and we die with living. "

"By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped, leaning on top of his staff." - Hebrews 11:21 (NKJV)

He worshiped, leaning ...

Faith, in itself, is a kind of leaning. Blessing others, we lean into them. Proclaiming the blessing as if already accomplished, is a leaning into the future with faith. Worshiping is leaning into God.

"Leaning on the everlasting arms," we need a bit of support.

Jacob had a staff.

It worked, but still, he was dying.

But aren't we? We live with dying and we die with living.

Jacob chose faith in his dying days, he envisioned a future, and he fell upon his staff and found God supporting him. Thus he worshiped.
I am not exactly sure how this day will unfold, but I am leaning toward a faith that shall not falter with faith that cannot fail because it leans forward on a Father who receives my faith as an expression of worship.

The secret of endurance as discovered by Moses:

"... he endured as seeing Him who is invisible." (Hebrews 11:27b, NKJV)

Seeing the invisible God.

It really goes to the heart of faith for people of faith. We deal in that realm that an outsider might legitimately view as subjective ... and yet we see.

All people of vision, whether people of faith or not, see things that others do not see.
Some see the future.

Some see possibilities.

Some see realities too small or far away for the naked eye to surround.

If it can be captured and perceived through the optical nerves, it may not be faith and it may not be enough to produce endurance. If it requires a leap into the uncharted unknown, one has lengthened the distance of vision and shortened the gap between what is and what can be through the Eyes of the One Who Is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGbxrNqK4-4

or - the wonderful Hillary Klug!!!

Talking to Ourselves

 

I wonder what I would tell this kid if I met him in some time-warped, celestial vestibule during a meet and greet.

 

Could I tell him anything?

 

Or should I just play dumb and let him figure it out as best he could ... which ...

 

I suppose he did.

 

Would you actually try to tell your younger self anything if you had the chance?

 

We cannot love our neighbor without tears.

Photo by Nina Strehl on Unsplash

We cannot love our neighbors as ourselves if we refuse to take the effort to see the world through our neighbors' eyes or try to imagine life in his or her skin.

We cannot love our neighbor without learning to sing the songs of lament and the entire book of Lamentations.

We cannot love our neighbor by telling him or her what he or she should be or not be feeling.

We cannot love our neighbor without tears.

We cannot love our neighbor by having an answer for every word our neighbor speaks in fear or frustration.

We love our neighbor more with our ears than our words.

When we do use words, we love our neighbor more by what we speak on behalf of our neighbor than what we say to that neighbor.

We cannot love our neighbor by taking our scripts from Job's friends and having all the trite answers organized and ready to spout.

We cannot love our neighbor without working at it and putting aside our own interests and opinions long enough to understand.

We cannot love our neighbor while belittling our neighbor.

And we cannot love God without loving our neighbor.

 

Fresh Tomorrow

 

 

Tomorrow us a fresh new day.

 

Everything is new.

 

Opportunities are going to come our way that we have not yet imagined.

 

Hope will be reinforced.

 

Life will be enhanced.

 

Blessings will be spoken. Admonitions will be given and received with grace and mercy culminating in reconciled relationships with God and man. Grace will flow from our lives and be received with humility and gratitude.

 

Love will saturate all our words and deeds, molding our motives, fashioning our responses, filtering our perceptions.

 

Everything about today is released from the power of yesterday and any destructive influence of the past.

 

We are free. We have been set free. Our pain will be turned to gain as we embrace that pain as a teacher.

 

The God of all comfort shall comfort our souls. The wonder of new life will inspire us.

 

We shall meet our challenges with courage and our criticisms with a desire to learn, but assurance of who we are in Christ and a knowledge that whatever our failings and flaws, we are beloved.

 

We shall walk in the light of purpose and the confidence of a guiding hand upon our shoulders.

 

We shall quickly confess our sins and gratefully accept the forgiveness that is freely given.

 

We shall seek justice for the oppressed and extend the hand of mercy and healing to the broken, the hurting, and the lonely .

 

We shall live as people of God this new day and celebrate the joy of the Lord.

 

Rejoice!

 

And may it be so, amen and amen, in the name of Jesus, by the power of the Spirit and through the outreached hand of our Abba, our Father.

 

Amen.

First and Last

 

There was once a rich young man, in many ways, he was first in line. He was privileged and comfortable. He was also devout and meticulous about his spirituality and religious devotion. But he saw something in Jesus that made him feel empty and longing for more. He sought Jesus, but soon experienced what it might be like for a camel to squeeze through a needle's eye - How difficult! But not impossible! He just had to step to the back of the line, in a sense. He had to rely on God rather than himself. He had to ask himself what he would be willing to give up in order to follow Jesus and be part of the kingdom movement. He had some hard choices to make and he went away sad.

 

Fire, Salt, and Water

 

Fire, Salt, and Water

 

Take a Knee or a Stand?

Source: Library of Congress, Public Domain

 

Will you take a knee or take a stand?

 

On this day in 1814 – In a turning point in the War of 1812, the British failed to capture Baltimore. During the battle, Francis Scott Key composes his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry", which is later set to music and becomes the United States' national anthem.

 

The War was a skirmish over borders, land and, especially, who had the rights to take advantage of the indigenous people of America. Both sides were glad to see it end and were happy with the outcome. The war ended in a draw. Indigenous nations have been y seen among historians as the real losers.

 

The anthem was from a poem entitled "Defence of Fort M'Henry" by attorney Francis Scott Key. It was set to the tune of a British song written by John Stafford Smith as a theme for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club called "The Anacreontic Song"

 

"The Star-Spangled Banner" was first use by the United States Navy in 1889, and by U.S. president Woodrow Wilson in 1916. A congressional resolution on March 3, 193, made it the National Anthem. So, it is a rather recent tradition.

 

Before that, three hymns were more often used by Americans to express their patriotism:

 

• "Hail, Columbia"
• "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", to the tune of "God Save the Queen",
• "America the Beautiful",

 

At the time that he wrote the words, Key, a devout Episcopalian, was also a slave owner. In his later life as attorney, he represented both slaves and slave owners in issues regarding that institution.

 

Key represented several slaves seeking their freedom, as well as several slave-owners seeking return of their runaway slaves.

 

The third stanza of the Star-Spangled Banner makes disparaging mention of blacks and demonstrates Key's opinion of their seeking freedom at the time. There were slaves who were escaping to the British, who promised them freedom and that is what the reference in verse three is to.

 

Eventually, Key seems to have come to a place of seeing slavery as wrong, but it was a long and ambiguous road for him.

 

He was a founding member and active leader of the American Colonization Society. Their primary goal was to send free blacks to Africa. As a result of those efforts, the nation of Liberia was founded. He was firmly against immediate abolition of slavery whether it was with or without compensation.

 

The problematic third verse reads:

 

"And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,

A home and a country, should leave us no more?

Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

 

Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote 5th verse during the Civil War:

 

"When our land is illumined with Liberty's smile,

If a foe from within strike a blow at her glory,

Down, down with the traitor that dares to defile

The flag of her stars and the page of her story!

By the millions unchained, who our birthright have gained,

We will keep her bright blazon forever unstained!

And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave

While the land of the free is the home of the brave."

 

It should actually replace the 4th verse entirely, which is an abomination.

 

When the U.S. national anthem was first recognized by law in 1931, there was no prescription as to behavior during its playing. Beginning is 1942 and continuing to the most recent updates in 1976, suggested behavior is prescribed through law, with failure to observe it not being a violation of law. There are protocols with regard to standing, a formal salute by members of the military, and hand over the heart by civilians. There are some variations with regard to whether or not a flag is present and where people should face. There is general and widespread confusion over suggested flag and anthem protocols.

 

For instance, most people at baseball games violate one or more of them.

 

That is some of the history.

 

But, it is the future that matters most.

 

Shall we stand or shall we kneel?

 

I could enthusiastically stand for the America that Holmes envisioned, an America of justice for all, dignity, human rights, liberty, and truth. I could stand for the ideal, if if not fully realized. It is an America that is evolving and expanding in its vision while narrowing in its sense of self importance. I could stand for that.

 

I could kneel in prayer for those hopes and aspirations. Whether or not my body stands, my heart takes a knee.

 

"Oh say, can you see?"

 

We can see much through the eyes of faith, commitment and heart vision.

 

"By the dawn's early light" or the "twilights' last gleaming."

 

Both lights are dim but one is coming and the other going. Yes, I think I can see. 

 

I see a flag of freedom that flies from the lives of people who put their lives and reputations on the line in war or in board rooms or around supper tables or in the public arena who seek to unchain millions. That flag, I see and salute.

 

My body may stand in gratitude and resolve, but sometimes, it will kneel and shall always kneel in repentance, trust, and prayer for grace and mercy.

 

When i do stand, it is for your right to speak and do as you please.

 

When I kneel, it is a prayer for something greater than our will to prevail and it is an act of humility.

 

I stand and I kneel for full human rights protections for all people.

I stand and I kneel for full voting rights and protections for all.

I stand and I kneel for immigrants and refugees who see hope in America.

I stand and I kneel for dignity, respect, and community.

I stand and I kneel for representative democracy as the philosophical foundation of our republic.

I stand and I kneel for brotherhood and sisterhood.

I stand and I kneel for my neighbors, friends, and strangers.

I stand and I kneel for peace and stability.

I stand and I kneel for freedom of speech and religion.

I stand and I kneel for integrity.

I stand and I kneel for limits and accountability on power.

I stand and I kneel for racial justice.

I stand and I kneel for America.

 

God bless America and, America, bless God.

 

Who Do You Say I Am?

Who is Jesus?

Who do people say Jesus is? There is only one place they look --- in our faces.

Who are you?

Who is God according to you? According to your attitudes and deeds and face?

Do they see the smile of God or the scowling frown of God?

Where is the cross in all of this?

If the cross is not on our shoulders, it does not matter how many hills, walls, or necks it hangs on.

My Sunday  Morning Message

 

A Twenty Year Reflection

 

We Have Not Forgotten

 

We are being reminded to remember, but I would suggest that we also reflect. It is something I do on this day every year.

 

I wrote most of this in 2009. I am just touching it up a bit and maybe adding a thing or two or three or four or more.

 

After all, it has been two decades and we have hopefully learned something.

 

We have not forgotten what happened on September 11 in our recent past.

 

It has now been twenty years.

 

I remember where I was when the first hint of news came across the wave via NPR. I remember my thoughts.'

 

I remember how we came together and put our differences aside.

 

As Randy Sparks wrote in a song, "On September the 11th, we became just Americans."

 

It was sort of true, but we had some conditions and there was an expiration date on the sentiment.

 

I remember how some folks said that nothing would ever be the same again ... but they are in most ways except the ways that time and progress change everything.

 

Would that we might capture some of the spirit of empathy, caring, helpfulness, and community.

 

Then, we started using the tragedy to move from being a people who valued freedom above everything else to being a people who would surrender freedom for safety and security.

 

And we started a couple of wars, at least one clearly in response to a very real threat of terrorism in the world.

 

And we started rethinking the meaning of our Constitution - not that we shouldn't from time to time. We just need to hold on to what is true and just and good.

 

And we started bickering again.

 

We bicker a lot now and we divide entire groups of people along rather arbitrary lines.

 

Yet, we have not forgotten.

 

We are not exactly sure what the lessons were, but we learned what it meant to share a common heartbeat and a common heartbreak.

 

Let me say that again because words slip by:

 

Common heartbeat.

 

Common heartbreak.

 

They go together.

 

We remember what it was like to deeply care about one another.

 

I know, I said that. Some things bear repeating.

 

We remember what it was like, for a moment, to respect our leaders and give them a great deal of leeway and trust along with much prayer.

 

But, in the long run, we must also hold them accountable while also honoring their humanity and respecting their capacity to be wrong.

 

What stands out for me in my memory is a heightened value for the heroes among us, in and out of uniform who are willing to lay down their lives for others. Many of these are still placing themselves in daily harm's way.

 

Again, there is a balance. With any uniform, assignment of limited authority, and permission to use force, there comes great responsibility, accountability, and expectation for a higher degree of integrity and restraint.

 

We flew flags.

 

We did not always understand what those flags meant and sometimes forgot that they meant the right not to fly them or bow to them.

 

flags are great reminders and rallying points and very poor masters. What they symbolize at their best are ideals that are essential to what it means to be free.

 

We sought the comfort of God and of one another.

 

We sang together, mourned together, and worked together.

 

We can remember, but we cannot be defined by tragedy. Nor can we live in a perpetual state of emergency.

 

The world is dangerous. Horrible things could happen. We could all die -- but that is not the most important thing.

 

The most important thing is whether or not we will choose to live, and to live as free people until we die.

 

Will we love each other?

 

Will we pray when we are not in crisis?

 

We will show each other respect?

 

Will we be "just Americans" and not blue or red or whatever that is and whatever that means?

 

If we will remember, then we can commit to being our best as Americans and working together for common good.

 

The pictures that move me most are those of tears and hugs and moments of silence, workers tirelessly digging through rubble, first responders moving toward the danger, and people helping people.

 

You can't bomb any of that away.

 

For now, let us pause to remember.

 

And let us grow and keep growing.

 

Years ago, Mad Magazine parodied an attitude that I so often see cropping up. It is of a caricature of a man who boldly proclaims how much he love America with the Mad editorial tag, "while hating most of the people in it."

 

Remember this, that patriotism is not about you loving your self-interests, your group, or your ideologies. Patriotism is about loving the central ideas and people that honor people, protect their dignity, and create an environment where we can love one another.

 

Patriotism is about love and loving people.

 

God bless you as we all remember and reflect today.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------

 

7 Years Ago

I am thinking of whether or not to say something about 911 and maybe this is saying something about 911. There are always things we do not want to forget. There are always people that we always want to remember and honor. There are always lessons from the past that we want to build upon. There is nothing in our past that is tragic that we want to define or confine us. 911 was one of our collective travesties and tragedies and it brought to light the best of those folks who united across all sorts of lines to make a positive difference in the darkness.

 

Tragedies and travesties continue around the world. Our past is cluttered with them. We have perpetrated some as a people. Our ancestors from most every culture have done so, likewise.

 

We do not live in shame or regret. But we do not forget our shame or regret. We find redemption, reconciliation, and resolve to be better people individually and collectively by the grace of God.

 

We look for areas where we, in agreement, can stand together and work together.

 

We are human. We are frail. My theology teaches that we a "mark-missers (sinners in translation)." But we are also beloved and called.

 

Grace, mercy, and peace are God's gifts to us in the gaps that our resolve cannot fill. As a follower of Jesus, I am always looking through the lenses of God's desire for the redemption of everyone and everything, the call to a possibility and necessity of mind/life change (repentance) as good news, and the message of the rule of God (the Kingdom) as always present and imminent in every situation.

 

That is my bias and leaning and it opens doors to vast possibilities of love in the presence of hate, peace in days of war, hope in times of despair, light in darkness, possibilities at the place of dead-ends, handshakes and hugs when the gloves are off, and salt on the unseasoned mundanity of humanity.

 

911 was a day and is an emergency number. We do not live in a world dominated and ruled by emergency, but possibility.

 

9 Years Ago

 

9/11 - I remember well. It touches a place of sadness. It also touches a place of admiration and appreciation for the humanity that was so much stronger than the inhumanity and the courage, heroism, and sacrifice that have been an example to our generation. I also pray for peace and justice and a world where we demonstrate God's love to each other and receive love, even across the great divides of strong convictions. May God bless our country during these days of division and ideological sparring. If we could but join hands for the things that are not in dispute, we could find the time for our disputes, but always come together again as fellow citizens who esteem each other.

 

1o Years Ago

 

I had written something profound & when ready to post, the dog & 5 yr old conspired in play to disconnect my plug. Upon reflection - Who cares? What I say, what I remember, where I was - everyone has their own. We are here - still here - same heroism, courage, compassion, love, grief, anger, more love, and grace of a present God as then - at the ready to be summoned. The summons is now, daily. We can be great. We can love & work together. We must do it now. The plug could be pulled any time.

 

Also 10 or 12 Years Ago

 

My friend got me thinking about something in a Toastmaster meeting as he was lamenting the controversies and perceived restrictions in the open arena on religious symbols.

 

We think a lot about symbols these days..

 

There are lots of protests for and against the cross as a symbol of Christianity being displayed in public places - as a symbol, or even as a decoration. It made me think. Just thinking, 

 

His question was, "Just where is the cross lately?"

 

My musing answer was, "Hopefully, it is on our shoulders."

 

I think we sometimes think the cross is a symbol or a decoration rather than something we are called to take up daily and bear --- that it is always bearing, as did Jesus, the burdens of others. I suspect that if all Jesus followers would do that .... well, you can finish the sentence "

 

I am thinking, with this 2021 interjection, about symbols, flags, crosses, and others.

 

I am going with this thought.

 

If all the symbols came down and all the decorations disappeared, would the cross still be visible in America?

 

And, in light of the day, would there still be the liberty represented in our flag?

 

Would Jesus followers bear the cross into the streets of our cities?

Into hospital rooms?

Into jails and homeless shelters?

Into homes and workplaces?

 

Would it be visible in our selfless services? In our willingness to suffer? In our willingness to forgive? In Our love for people that Jesus loves?

 

The right to display the cross is not in the hands of any government or anyone outside of ourselves. the display of the cross in entirely on the shoulders of believers who decide to bear it upon their shoulders.

 

Are we taking up our crosses daily and going on display?

 

Just thinking ... and praying...

 

And asking myself as well.

 

11 Years Ago - Why I Never Called it a War on Terrorism

 

On 9/11, over 40 nations lost citizens.

 

Among these, Australia lost 11, Bangladesh, 6 Canada, 24, Colombia, 17, Germany, 11,Jamaica, 16, Mexico, 16, Philippines, 16, South Korea 28, and United Kingdom, 66.

 

Some were secular in religious persuasion; some were Christian, some Jewish, some Muslim, and some other.

 

The perpetrators were criminals who distorted their own religious teachings for their own fanatical and political ends.

 

They represented no legitimate government and no official religion.

 

To call it war legitimizes what they did. It was a crime inspired by irrational hate.

 

Many heroes rose to the occasion and went up the stairs to save as the masses (many of whom were also heroic) sought to go down to safety.

 

These we honor and remember.

 

________

 

Same Year

 

They said nothing would ever be the same. Not true. Things settle down. We mustn't forget what happened this day, but it does not define us.

 

It refines us.

 

Some of our responses have been noble, pragmatic, wise, necessary, and compassionate.

 

Others have been driven by fear, irrationality, and unbridled anger.

 

We cannot live in fear, hate, suspicion, and anger. Nor can we cling to grief. Ours is to live and love.

 

____________________________________________________

 

Just Americans

 

I heard Barry McGuire sing this and so, I dropped him a note asking about it. His wife got back to me and said it was Randy Sparks' song. Thanks, Randy Sparks!

 

 

 

"On September the eleventh
We became Just Americans
Other names were rendered obsolete
All I know about my neighbors
Is that they are Just Americans
Shoulder to shoulder, now, the circle is complete
And we will fight, side by side, in the trenches of the universe
The cause of precious freedom to defend
And let it be remembered that
We are Just Americans
May this day never end
And I pray this day will never end"
- Randy Sparks

 

------------------------------ 

 

God, help us to overcome our legacy of racism, classism, along with our vestiges of  bigotry, partisanship, nationalism, and pride in order to welcome one another into an idea of America that is bigger than all of these distractions. Amen

 

------------------------------ 

Psalm 119:49-50

Remember your word to your servant,

because you have given me hope.

This is my comfort in my trouble,

that your promise gives me life.

 

"God reigns over the nations;
God sits upon his holy throne."
- Psalm 47:8

 

More Heroes

 

Oswald Chambers put life on hold to become a YMCA chaplain in WWI. Egypt, 1917: He suffered an appendicitis but would not go to hospital for 3 days, unwilling to take a bed from wounded soldiers. He died of complications at 43 years old. 100 officers carried his casket. Mostly unknown during his lifetime, his wife spent the rest of her life transcribing his lectures including, "My Utmost for His Highest."

 

911 from Space

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1466.html

 

 

 

Music Heals the Soul

 

God bless you.

 

James 4:13-5:6 (NRSV):

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money."

Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that."

As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.

Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you.

Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days.

Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

 

 

Be a Doer!

Sunday, August 29, 2021 at the Fellowship of Joy

Be Doers of the Word and

Not Hearers Only!

 

 

 

Shake, Rattle, and Roll!

"See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”

Jeremiah 1:4-10 is resonating in my heart today.

Some folks seem to be appointed to pluck up, pull down, destroy, and overthrow so that they may build and plant.

“Do not say, ‘I am only a boy.'"

Read it! Here it is in NRSV:

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the Lord.”

Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,

“Now I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”

To be known, consecrated, and appointed is an awe inspiring insight into our own selves under God. It was never, "Will you go?" It was "You shall go."

It was never, "Figure out what to day." It was "You shall say what I command you to say."

But I am a very young boy?

Yes, that is me speaking at 66 and more than a half. I have much to learn and much growing to grow and I am a boy.

"Fooey!" God says in better words.

'"Don't say that. I am with you."

With me? Yes, with me.

That is a big deal. Do not gloss over it.

"Do not be afraid."

Could I be afraid with that reality etched into my consciousness?

Has your mouth been touched and words implanted? Has your courage been strengthened and your resolve reordered?

Words ... pluck up, pull down, destroy, overflow.... with PURPOSE: To plant and build!

Go and say ... today.

"In you, Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame." (Psalm 71:1, NRSV)

"Our God is a consuming fire,: (Hebrews 12:29)

"Awesome," the dudes on the street corner utter, "Awesome!"

He shakes things up.

He shakes me.

He shakes you.

And here we are, just boys and girls and we are shaking the world.

God shakes!

We shake!

The earth shakes!

What a dance!

God has to clear away some debris and old broken down buildings of our own contrivances and the rubble of our rusty rubrics.

There needs to be some bulldozing of old orders for the new order to take hold.

Jesus, by His sprinkled blood, the mediator of the new covenant (Hebrews 12)!

He too, was just a boy!

JUST?!?!

Just nothing ... but JUSTICE!

Yes! just-ice!

He came and healed on the Sabbath and exposed the rubric realm of reigning religiosity. (Luke 13:10-17).

But He was not just a boy! He knew the whole story. He knew what it was all about before we started messing with it, over-structuring it, and supervising it as supposed "deputies of God."

Why do we need anything but the words in our mouths and the God who is with us?

Jesus did not despise the Sabbath. He loved it, celebrated it, and restored it?

He did not come to tear down anything of essence. He came to clear the rubble around it so that it might be seen again, afresh, anew.

What have we come to? (Hebrews 12:18ff.) AWESOME!

There is fire ... always fire.

But there is also festal gathering! Mostly that. That is the THAT!

What cannot be shaken shall remain!

Acceptable worship with reverence!

At that time, a voice shook the earth and it is almost always ...

A VOICE!

Hello there, all you Jeremiahs!

You are not just anything.

You are known, consecrated, and appointed! You shall go! You shall speak! God is with you and His words are in your mouth.

Go shake a few things and see what remains!

There are treasure out there to be unearthed of God's own planting!

Shake, rattle, and roll in your role!

Grace, peace, and joy to you.

 

Be Strong - Today's Message

 

 

 

 

BE SMART - Today's Sermon Video

 

 

Here is the PPT!

Living in the Gap

 

 

Eleven years ago I was at the cemetery officiating the service of a man who had regularly attended our church. He was a quiet, decent, hard working, and interesting man with a deep commitment to Christ.

 

He found himself satisfied with very simple pleasures, few possessions, and a small circle of close friends.

 

He was a very good friend of Bill W. and participated in the groups that met at our church and helped many people as a sponsor.

 

I would not have considered him wealthy. He had a job that could not have paid a great deal of money. He walked almost everywhere he needed to go.

 

Yet, I am told, he left a small fortune behind.

 

It was not that he made a lot of money. He was just frugal and conscientious about savings and investments.

 

As I often do, I chose to talk about the space, dash, or gap on our tombstones between the date of our birth and death. We cannot control the dates, but we can control what happens in the gap to the extent that we are in charge of all of our choices.

 

It caused me to reflect on how I wish to spend my time in that gap.

G 

Growing in grace, gratitude, and giving.

A 

Acting so as to accept what is, acknowledge what is not, and attempt what can be.

P 

Pursuing a purpose that provides peace and promotes the positive, and produces fruit for God's kingdom.

 

How am I living in my gap between January 3, 1955 and that unknown date in the future?

 

Live the life you were placed here to live. Live boldly! Live large and loud!  Livew!

 

Final Frontier

Nasa.Gov

 

It is here. It is within us. It is beyond us. It is within our reach and far beyond.

 

Final Frontier

   Splendid

      Spacious

         Expanse,

Spreading forth to the west,

   The east,

      The north,

         The south,

Vertical and horizontal

   Space,

Waves of

   Wandering

      Wonder.

This is

   Universal unfolding,

      Unfettered movement,

         Undeniable understanding.

These are birds flying,

   Dreams soaring,

      Thoughts set free,

         Potential compressed and

            Released.

 

 

To Label Is to Negate

 

"Once you label me you negate me." - Soren Kiergegaard

That one simple observation, that we know intuitively, provides the best argument against hard and fast labels that I know.

It may also be the reason why people are so prone to use them ... on others.

When our arguments against issues or for our own positions are weak, we feel we can score an easy "win" by putting our adversaries into boxes of someone else's making.

Once we have categorized the person, we can dismiss him or her and that person's words as party lines from some villainous sect or persuasion.

It works except for one annoying reality. It is wrong.

And it counts us out of one of those groups that Jesus commended – truth seekers.

If we cannot seek truth in every situation, we cannot seek it anywhere.

Negate nothing but negativity and negate no one … ever.

 

Step Back

Step back for a wider view.

 

Sometimes I write things that seem very clever, insightful, and truthful to me and then ...

 

I delete them before I post them ...

 

... because they could hurt someone at a level that would be or seem to be unkind ...

 

... whether I intend it that way or not ... and then, sometimes, I miss.

 

Today, I caught two and deleted them.

 

The secret?

 

I stepped back and read them as a third party.

 

Try it.

 

have another cup of coffee while you read yourself.

 

How Sweet the Sound

“How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” – Psalm 119:103

 Do you remember the moment? Can you go back to the time? Can you recall the emotion when you first heard the word of grace in your soul?

Into what fertile ground was the word of grace planted in your life? How deep was your misery or despair? What secret wretchedness was hidden in your heart? How hopeless were your aspirations of a better way? How unacceptable did your life seem to yourself and to God? Was there a place in you that felt unloved, unwanted, and unworthy?

“Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” – Luke 7:47

Do you love much or do you love little?

It is the heart that was broken and burdened and then relieved by grace, mercy, and forgiveness that receives the word with gladness. To such a one, His voice, the voice of grace, is sweet. It soothes the troubled soul and sweetens the bitterness of guilt and regret.

There is no sin, no disappointment, nor groaning that is out of the earshot of grace.

There is no dissonance that cannot be brought into harmony when the overwhelmingly sweet sound of grace crescendos on the stage of personal history.

Grace notes swell against the chorus of our experiences. All other voices must tune themselves to the fundamental of grace. The instruments of destruction are transformed into the instruments of mercy. Grace takes center stage and all bow before Him who sings the song of the ages.

How sweet the sound of grace to those who have been forgiven much. Jesus opens His mouth and begins to sing to us. It is at the same time a lullaby of peace and a rousing call to arms. Yet, to the one receiving that sound as His Holy Word, it is always sweet. There is no sweeter sound.

Hear the Word of the Lord, dear sinner friend. It is the sound of grace. It is the sound of mercy. It is the sound of forgiveness and hope.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.

Chew That

 

Adams California Fruit Gum 1910s USA chewing gum sweets #AdvertisingArchives, Public Domain

Quick question," my friends say as a preface.

Absolutely. Ask away, but here is a warning, "Have you ever known me to give a quick answer?"

For instance, "Where do you want that box?"

"Hmmm ... there are multiple shades of meaning to the question and numerous possibilities available with multiplied consequences not to mention the unknown unintended ones. Let us explore ...."

"Yawn, never mind."

But I come to God this morning with such quick questions and quick prayers and He really understands all of these contingencies, possibilities, opportunities, consequences, and unfolding repercussions resonating from one stroke of a tuning fork of choice.

And I want a quick answer to a quick question with a quick fix.

Slow down, Tom! Are you a "laborer together with God (read: partner)" or are you just looking for a handout or a mindless assignment?

God has called us to participate in His kingdom and I would suggest that such participation might require allowing some time on my calendar for a few longer meetings.

Thank God He is open to quick questions and answers because He is so patient with me. He gave us Psalm 100, but He also gave us Psalm 119.

As I have taught some of my bible study students to say and do when they get a chew-able biblical vitamin: "CHEW THAT!"

 

When You Run Out of Words

 

When you run out of your own words, quote someone else.

You may agree with them or not. It does not matter. That is not the point.

The point is to lubricate your brain and everyone else's brain.

For instance:

Abraham Lincoln: The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time.

 

Malcolm S. Forbes: The best vision is insight.

 

Theodore Roosevelt: The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

 

And then, here is one of mine. Dare I call it a poem?

 

Chaos

The only thing that is consistently predictable in the universe is the consistent persistence of chaos...

And in that, we behold the emergence of divine order at a magnitude that stretches our minds ...

Beyond their capacity.

 

- Tom Sims

 

 

Then, once you have exhausted your own mind again with output, let more quotations flow through you and back into the world. At the risk of repeating myself, for instance:

 

God put me on earth to do a certain number of things.

Right now I'm so far behind I'll never die.

-- Calvin in Calvin & Hobbes, by Bill Waterson

 

Grace and healing are communicated through the vulnerability of men and women who have been fractured and heartbroken by life." -- Brennan Manning, Abba's Child

 

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.

-- Scott Adams

 

You can observe a lot by watching. -- Yogi Berra

 

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. -- Mark Twain

 

How will I know what I think

until I see what I write?

-- Lewis Carroll

 

Sometimes I lie awake at night and ask, "Why me?" Then a voice answers, "Nothing personal, your name just happened to come up." -- Charlie Brown in Peanuts, by Charles Schultz

 

That is about all I have to say on that subject today and ...

 

You can quote me on that!

 

Sheep Without a Shepherd

Changeless and Unchanging

 

Does the scripture contradict itself and does God change His mind?

 

Loaded questions #349a&b.

 

Text: 1 Samuel 15:24-35

Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray, pardon my sin, and return with me, so that I may worship the LORD."

 

Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel."

 

As Samuel turned to go away, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this very day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. Moreover the Glory of Israel will not recant or change his mind; for he is not a mortal, that he should change his mind."

 

Then Saul said, "I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God."

 

So Samuel turned back after Saul; and Saul worshiped the LORD. Then Samuel said, "Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me." And Agag came to him haltingly.

 

Agag said, "Surely this is the bitterness of death."

 

But Samuel said, "As your sword has made women childless, so your mother shall be childless among women."

 

And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.

 

 

http://www.cts.edu/ImageLibrary/Images/oldtest/TissSaul.jpg

 

The questions posed do not constitute the thrust of the text, but point to  an underlying idea.

 

The answer actually depends upon how you define the terms and the vantage from which you view the eternal realities of time and space and eternity.

 

Perspective matters.

 

From one perspective, there is a direct contradiction. Samuel says to Saul that God does not change His mind and, therefore, will not relent about rejecting you as king. Then, the editor inserts that God was regretful about choosing Saul in the first place. That conflict is reflected humanly in the heart of Samuel who grieves for Saul.

 

That cognitive dissonance over eternal paradox is often expressed as grief.

 

And paradox it is. God, who does not change, has a change of heart ... or so it seems.

 

And yet, are not all things eternally simultaneous within the Divine Godhead where there is no fixed past, present, and future?

 

It boggles the mind since our assignment is to live presently in time, space, and sequence.

 

BUT ... it is not just eternity that renders this ambiguous; it is often what we are learning about physics itself as we wrestle with the conundra of relativity theory and quantum mechanics.

 

Those things which complicate the matter also simplify both the questions and the answers and reduce them to something other than "yes" or "no," rendering them "yes and no." (with the quotation marks intentionally placed where they are.

 

Does the scripture contradict itself?

 

"Yes" if your hermeneutical tools exclude context.

 

"No" if you consider both context and intent. The circumstances changed and the drama played out in such a way that to not change His mind, God would have to change His ultimate intention.

 

That creates a seeming contradiction if we are trying to interpret the narrative in a limited and literal manner.

 

But that would miss the point and the question. Again: Does God change His mind?

 

"Yes AND no."

 

Not to change His mind, in this circumstance would require (grant it, by our limited and literal logic) a change of ultimate mind, purpose, and intent.

 

That requires us inquiring into the mind, purpose, and intent of God.

 

it also raises the old question: Who moved? Was it Saul or God?

 

Again, it plunged us into the mystery and raises the questions upon which we loved to place inordinate weight such as the human and individualistic implications of election, predestination, and providence. To us, they matter much because we tend toward spiritual narcissism and rugged individualism with a bottom-line of the equivalent of "fire insurance."

 

God's answer to those questions for us who live here is grace. "It is sufficient for you."

 

Thye larger question is the simultaneousness of the eternal reality of a God who is both eternally and temporally present in eternity, in temporal reality, and, as an extension, in quantum reality.

 

All of that is beneath the surface is what is both a mundane and historically significant encounter between Saul and Samuel and in the reconciliation of two, apparently contradictory statements and truths.

 

And none of this is particularly significant to the masses unless they care about entering into this encounter between the Eternally Present God of Grace and Glory and history that is being unfolding moment by moment around us and in us.

 

It is a grand invitation to enter in to something grander than ourselves.

 

God is love and God is holy, wholly Other, Righteous, Just, True, and all knowing-powerful, and God is love.

 

And God is love and it includes all of the above for love drives all of this power, truth, and creativity and is reflected in the regret of God and the grief of Samuel, God's earthly messenger.

 

Because God is love, at the "end of the day" when you have wracked your brain around unfathomable truth, there is only one truth you must know: the Love of God.

 

"...to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:19, NLT)

 

That is the reconciliation.

 

So, what eternally happened to Saul and Agag?

 

Those are not questions addressed in the text and are for another day's speculation. That is a fact that highlights the reality that not every text is scripture is about "fire insurance."

 

But you can know this: Whatever applications are true for us, were true for them as well.

 

Our present calling is always the invitation to enter into the present and eternal reality of the love of God.

 

That is enough.

-----------------------

 

 

 

Hymn excerpt:

"Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be
Great is Thy faithfulness ... "

 

 

No One Cared

Caring for a Soul

“… no one cared for my soul..”  Psalms 142:4

God cares for your soul.

How can a statement be true and untrue at the same time?

Many a man or woman has echoed the psalmist’s cry in lonely and despairing hours. Many have passed though the dark tunnel of desolation “like sheep without a shepherd.” In those times it is true that no one really knows the darkness within and no human being cares at the level that caring is needed. The statement is true in that it expresses the essential emotions of the moment.

It is not true in the deeper, larger sense, for there is always One and often, others, who are ready to come to your aid – yes, you, for the psalmist’s story is your story and my story. It is also our challenge to be present, sensitive, and ready to respond to the heart cry of others.

Who might you see as you look around, wandering in a sea of ambiguity and hopelessness? Who is it within your reach that needs to know that he or she is not alone? Who s it that can be reminded of God’s love by your loving touch? Who is it that can learn of God’s care through your care?

Start with yourself, wounded, and battered by life. Be reminded that God cares for your soul, your life, and your deepest self. Receive His love at the point of your most profound pain. Then allow Him to fashion you into an instrument of healing and grace.

Can God really use a wounded healer? Can He take a broken soul and accomplish His purposes through that man or woman? I think of David, and I say, “Oh yes.”

I also think of great men such as Abraham Lincoln, a man often haunted by his own inadequacies, fears, and pain – yet a man who found himself, more and more, turning to God for help – just to cope with the burdens of responsibility, leadership, and the healing of a nation.

God cares for your soul, and He has called you to trust Him and become an agent for His caring in the lives of other people.

 

Unfailing Compassion

Photo by Antón Jáuregui on Unsplash

Passion

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. -Lamentations 3:22

Compassion combines the concept of deep feeling with the idea of sharing (com=with). God feels with us, deeply and profoundly. That means that He shares our passion, pain, and emotion.

Passion if the at the root of our energy for ministry. It is that God-given quality that enthuses us with clarity of vision and depth of conviction. It moves us when we see the suffering of other people. It drives us when we understand what is to be done about it. Without passion, we whither. With a vibrant passion we can overcome obstacles and rise above our moods. Passion reminds us of our essential purpose and drives us forward. Some characteristics of passionate people are:

P—Positive Priorities

Instead of avoidance behavior, people with passion move toward their commitments aligning themselves with those activities that support the causes for which they are passionate.

A—Active Attitude Adjustments

Passionate people are constantly adjusting their own attitudes and actively tuning their minds in the direction of their goals and objectives.

S—Sincerity

There is no faking real passion. It bubbles up from within and is nurtured by our committed actions.

S – Simplicity

Passionate people can explain their mission to you in a few short sentences. Since it is clear to them, they can make it clear for you.

I—Inspiration

People with true God-given passion for ministry know the reality of God breathing His purpose through His Spirit into their lives. The calling is His and they are driven by that knowledge.

O - Open “Outwardness”

Not necessarily extroverts, passionate people love to talk about their mission and cause. It splashed out of their lives and is contagious.

N—Non-Negotiable

People with passion are not easily deterred from a mission. It becomes one of the non-negotiable values of their lives.

 

 

Bonus Video - this Morning's Online Service from

The Fellowship of Joy

God of the Oppressed

Order Here

 

Reflections on Psalm 9:9-20

Psalm for June 20, 2021

 

Confession: I am not James Cone. I cannot hold an intellectual or theological candle to James Cone These are just my meager reflections on a great Psalm of justice I have collected over time and moments of musing. 

Psalm 9:9 - The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

The oppressed are very dear to God. A rabbi once said that God must truly love the poor because He made so many of them. So it is with the oppressed. And the story is bigger than we imagine on the surface. We are all among the oppressed. Temptation, sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil oppress us on all sides and from within. When Israel was at the sea and the Egyptians were in pursuit, God called on Moses to lead His people into a wilderness of refuge. There appeared to be no walls and no shelter, but God had a plan to protect His people. He was their refuge and stronghold and He is ours. We, like them, must move toward Him in faith even when what is ahead looks like a vast wilderness without wall. God is your protector from all that oppresses you today.

Psalm 9:10 - Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

One of the gifts that God gave to Israel was His personal name. It was a secret that was not available outside of the covenant. It was a source of power, strength, and belonging. It was so sacred that no Jew would pronounce it or even consider it without the deepest reverence and awe. And yet, every Jew knew His name and to know it evoked a profound trust and stirred up memories of His faithfulness throughout the generations. To know His name was and is to know Him. We have, through Jesus, free access to our Heavenly Father and know Him by that name. In knowing Him, we trust Him. In trusting Him, we seek Him. And He never forsakes us. Nor shall He forsake you as you seek Him in trust today.

Psalm 9:11 - Sing praises to the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.

We must proclaim, not only amongst ourselves, but also among the nations all that our God has done. As we praise Him openly, we practice worship evangelism. Our sincerity, exuberance, and devotion all bear witness to His glory and His mighty deeds. Praise holds up His character, grace, and love for all to see. Praise declares the sovereignty and reign of God and announces His Kingdom with authenticity and believability.  If we will praise Him with our whole hearts and let His joy and power flow through us, we will bear witness in a manner that is compelling and truthful. Many do not know. As we worship Him transparently and openly, they will see and hear of His wonderful works and be drawn to Him. But remember this is not a show that we produce for the world. It is real praise that we direct to Him with the world looking on. If we keep these first things first we won't be able to avoid the fruit of evangelism.

Psalm 9:12 - For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.

Who can forget the image of old Jewish elder, disgusted with the injustices of the world, shaking his fist in prayer to the God he loves and adores, demanding God's attention and justice? And God does not strike him dead. In fact, God hears his cry for it comes from one of his faithful servants. Perhaps we would recommend an attitude of greater humility before a holy God, but we would not forget His willingness and determination to hear the cry of the afflicted. God forgets no injustice without remedy. He does not sweep the blood of martyrs under some cosmic rug and wipe their pain from His memory. God deals with it. Look at the cross. God is dealing with it there. He is remedying the injustice. He is correcting the wrong. He is answering the prayers of the afflicted for restoration and He is hearing your prayers as well.

Psalm 9:13-14 - O Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up form the gates of death, that I may declare your praises in the gates of the Daughter of Zion and there rejoice in your salvation.

When we are burdened and persecuted, is this the nature of our cry that of this psalmist? Are we seeing an end result in God's mercy merciful rescue that culminates in greater and more heartfelt praise for Him? Do we envision rejoicing that ultimately honors Him and brings glory to His name?  How wrapped up are our own wishes, emotions, and requests in His purposes, will, and desires? How deeply do we long for His will to be done and His reign to come on earth as it is in Heaven? Let us not cease to cry for mercy and deliverance - for we are in great need - but may we grow to see that our salvation is something intimately connected with the worship of God.

Psalm 9:15 - The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

Like the nations, we have often fallen into puts we have dug or have become entrapped in nets of our own making. This probably does not come as news to you since it is so common to our human experience. If we are honest, we will admit to our contributory role in our own troubles. Whenever we devise clever and sinister plots it is we ourselves who enter into forced servitude to the very forces that drove us to ambition. So powerful are the snares and false promises of success and competition among humans that we are lured into their captivity by a wink, a nod, or an image. The antidote is focus - clear and centered upon God through Jesus Christ. We face grave danger today if we lose our focus and untold possibilities for blessing if we keep seeking Him.

Psalm 9:16 - The Lord is known by his justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.

 Have you ever considered the reputation of God? That fact that He is known by His justice is a telling sign.  Before we encounter the love and grace of God, we already understand that He is fair and righteous and truthful. We also know that in the grand scheme of things, poetic justice dictates that their own devices ensnare the wicked.  If the world already understands this dimension of God and His ways, we have good news for them. Jesus came to brings us, as Paul Harvey says, “the rest of the story.” That story is that this same God passionately and jealously loves us with a love so deep that mercy and grace flow in unbroken succession from His heart. Do not wince at the justice of God, for it is His justice that leads us into His arms.

Psalm 9:17 - The wicked return to the grave, all the nations that forget God.

 There is no future for those who forget God. There is nothing that godlessness offers us but death. Even if we are saved by grace, nothing that we invest in sin will stand the tests of time of eternity. God will not circumvent His own ways in our lives to achieve His purposes. He is consistent and true to Himself and to His Word. Count on it and count on Him to be trustworthy and scrupulously committed to integrity in His dealings with us. If He declares that X + Y = Z, then we can plan our lives around the principle. That is not to say that He cannot and will not intervene in His grace, but we must not presume upon His character. He loves us and pines for us, but He will not force His love upon us. If we reject it and to the extent we reject it, we are left to our own devices which lead to death.

Psalm 9:18 - But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.

We have a God whose ways are not our ways and thoughts not our thoughts. He reverses the power of conventional wisdom and defies the accepted truisms of society to make His own order. He simply does not forget the needy. He has a bias for them. He will not abandon the afflicted. For those who are hopeless, He offers hope. Let us proclaim hope daily – first to our own defeated souls, weighed down with the worries and cares of life, discouraged in well doing, spent and depleted. Then let us proclaim the same message with the authentic credibility of a person who has embraced hope in his or her own life to a needy and broken world. May hope exude from our pores. May it be the aura that surrounds our lives, the given pitch that tunes our voices, the color of our countenances, and the tenor of our words. The good news of hope is the one word that broken people cannot create from wishful thinking. It is not denial; it is reality. May we live it and speak it daily.

Psalm 9:19 - Arise, O Lord, let not man triumph; let the nations be judged in you presence.

Man’s ways can be very frightening. The history of mankind is peppered with incidents of mob violence and injustice that was condoned by the crowd. Majority rule has often ruled out righteousness and minorities have been oppressed by masses simply because they had the power to do so. The prayer of the righteous man or woman always includes the desire for justice, for limits on evil, and for God’s restraint and ultimate judgment of all that goes against Him and His ways. We can pray this way with confidence because we are assured of the character and promises of God to set all things aright in His own timing and according to His purposes. Do not grow discouraged and do not stop praying for the right and for God’s will. And do not be alarmed when the evil one seems to be directing the political forces of the world. Evil shall not prevail. God wins – always.

Psalm 9:20 - Strike them with terror, O Lord; let the nations know they are but men.

There is a kind of terror that is to be desired within us and among men and women. It is that terror that absolutely melts our souls under the glaring reality of God. It is that terror that teaches us that we are but mere men. As we grow in grace, may we keep a sense of that terror. Even as we flourish in the wonderful awareness of God’s love, acceptance, dignity, and value of us as His children, may we avoid the conceit that marginalizes Him and maximizes our own importance. We are only human. That is not an excuse and not a put-down; it is basic truth. We do not overcome sin in our own strength. We do not grow in Christ because we have the best motives, the purest thoughts, and the most attractive personalities. We are absolutely, utterly dependent upon God. We are but men – male and female. It is a life-affirming and esteem-building exercise to realize this in the light of the truth that God, who also knows this, chooses to love and to grace us.

 

Bonus Content - The Video of My Sermon This Morning

Juneteenth - Truths Self-Evident

On and Off Topic, Come to the Table

The_School_of_Athens__by_Raffaello_Sanzio_da_Urbino  -  This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons. 

 

Quotes to Catch You Off-Guard

 

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." Albert Einstein

 

"No matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens." - Abraham Lincoln (according to some reports)

 

"A man's life is what his thoughts make it." ~ Marcus Aurelius (Sounds kind-a like Proverbs 23:7)

"No matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens." - Abraham Lincoln (according to some reports)

 

"Don't believe everything you read on the internet." - George Washington

 

"Not everyone on the internet is who they claim to be." - Aristotle

 

-------------------

"Reich Church" and the "Confessing Church"

When religious gatherings turn into patriotic rallies, one remembers when Christians were called upon to choose between the "Reich Church" and the "Confessing Church" led by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Pastor Martin Niemöller.

Gospel integrity will always conflict with nationalism.

This is not to say that patriotic rallies are bad. Just do not confuse them with religious gatherings or confuse religion with patriotism.

"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral." — Paulo Freire

-------------------

On and Off  Topic

 

You can come to social media as a student, teacher, commentator, advocate, seller, consumer, organizer, agitator, friend, community builder, entertainer, predator, gamer, or more or any combination. But whatever you choose, ask, "What can I contribute to others while here?"

 

Social media is, in part, a library of classics and current literature for me . I cannot learn everything from the titles, but I can make notes for future reading and build a bibliography.

 

Those who consistently comment on Twitter and FB headlines and summaries without reading the linked articles remind me of students who show up for class discussions without doing the reading homework. They usually get the whole class off topic.

 

 

-------------------

Revival Prayer

We pray.

Lord, send a revival.

Show us our sinful ways.

Purge our hearts.

Shake our false foundations, dismantle our pride.

Send us running to you.

 

Something stirs.

We pray against the stirring.

 

"Lord, send a revival."

 

"I am trying to."

 

"That is not what we meant."

"What did you mean, then?"

 

"Well, not that."

 

"Oh, well I thought you might have wanted the full dose."

Be careful about complaining about the tides.]

 

They may be in answer to your prayers.

 

-------------------

 

Lives that Matter

 

You do not have to love anyone less in order to love others more.

 

You do not have to give up your own story in order to hear and embrace the story of another.

 

You do not have to convince everyone in your tribe of the righteousness of the truth you are finding in order to keep hammering away at it.

 

This season of conversation is going to be a lot about exposure, relentless exposure to buried truths.

 

There will be a great deal of monologue and listening.

 

There will be talk of dismantling and fearful resistance, but everyone knows that dismantling comes before rebuilding and restoration.

 

Just watch “This Old House.”

 

There will be ignoring of criticism to be done.

 

You will have to repeat yourself many times.

 

You will have to accept that your good arguments will fall on deaf ears for the most part ... but you do not have to win every argument.

 

You must be true to what God is showing you.

 

You must participate.

 

“Send word to my brothers,” cried the rich man to Father Abraham.”

 

“They already know and have already heard,” replied Father Abraham. They will not believe, my son,” he said, “even if one comes back from the dead.”

 

Do not love less, those with deaf ears and hard hearts, but neither wait for them to understand and a agree.

 

Broaden your heart of love and sharpen your focus for what God is doing in this hour.

 

He has set a national table of conversation and invites all who will come.

 

All Things Are New

 

Sunday's Sermon

All in the Family

In 2009, when I first published this, I knew a number of people who told me they were sick of Christians. They were not sick of Jesus necessarily. In fact, if they had seen more of Jesus in Christians, it would have helped.

Has any of this changed?

Maybe.

I think that, perhaps,  intensified or has been more openly articulated.

Here is what I wrote then:

Sick of Christians?

The pot is being stirred and there is a lot of spillage. The church is struggling with its identity in a rapidly changing world. Everyone, inside and outside, has an opinion - maybe more than one. Sometimes we are fighting the world. Sometimes we are fighting each other. Sometimes we put our collective feet in our mouths.

Sometimes I get sick of Christians.

Sometimes I get sick of myself.

Many recent conversations have not brought out the best in me.

It is hard to hang out with people who have more answers than questions. This has been building up. Others are making definitions of who is what  and codifying them with really long and specific lists.

Sometimes I find it easier to relate to non-Christians who don't claim to have all the answers than to my brothers who are sure that they do.

"Are you biblical, traditional, emergent, liberal, conservative, seeker-sensitive, or what? Careful. Consult the list of criteria before answering."

"Pick a category. Hurry!"

I take Jesus' words, "Seek and ye shall find" to point toward an ongoing process of seeking and finding and seeking some more and finding some more and never being settled and done.

So I come to most conversations with a mixture of dogmatism and ambiguity, a tentative confidence grounded in solid faith, but flexible from the ground up.

I get frustrated with friends who want to finish every conversation with a hard and fast pronouncement. I want to say, "That tree is still alive and subject to quite a bit of movement as it grows upward."

What I know is that as it grows upward, its roots sink deeper - and that is what accounts for my peace and confidence.

If we put most of our focus on the roots without ignoring what is seen, we can do whatever it is we do with trees with the rest of our time and energy.

But it is the root of things that matters most and I see a lot of attention being given to leaves and bark.

What occurs to me is that Jesus said He was the vine; we were the branches; God handled the pruning; and our task was to abide.

I suppose I need to let Him handle the outgrowths that keep annoying and embarrassing me with their references to imprecatory prayers against anyone with whom they disagree or that they see as a threat to God - who has a pretty good track record of being able to take care of Himself.

And thank God He ignores ridiculous prayers where we presume to know who should live or die.

Maybe He chuckles at our assumptions that we must desperately rescue civilization so that his Kingdom will not die from our neglect. It is not that we are not called to engage, transform, influence, and preserve culture. It is a matter of balance and of seeing the larger Kingdom picture which includes thousands of years of chaotic world history and a big world that stretches far beyond our Western orientation.

It is not just the really obnoxious and grotesque examples of mean-spirited distortions of Christianity, but the more subtle things that are bothering me.

Everyone seems to know where things need to be pruned and I see a potentially lopsided bush forming. Many  Christians are just so sure of themselves and what they have "found" in their brief forays into seeking territory.

"We ought to do this and not that. We should be doing such an so. Everyone should stand up for this and against that and we all need to pull together and stand against sin and this is the sin we should be focusing on and isn't it awful that some people don't see it quite the way we do and don't you know that it is us against them and what we need is courage and courage is doing what I say you ought to be doing and please don't question it. And we have to get back to the Bible and these are the verses on which we should focus and this is how it should be done and don't forget to use the right words and slogans and we are right and everyone else is wrong and on and on and on."

So thank God that as much as it seems one party or another is setting God's agenda, He has not relinquished that prerogative to us. It really does not matter what we decide in our back and forth and circular conversations. God will do what God pleases and will continue to make all the definitions.

And God will prune and feed the vine and lead His servants and correct them when necessary and even use us in the process whenever He can trust us to love the sinner like He does.

Yes. I get sick of Christians sometimes - just people with the same personality quirks they would have if they were not Christians - people just as ornery as I am ( or less so because I have a big dose of it).

We get ticked off and opinionated and harsh and then we crash from time to time and ask a lot of questions and then we come back to center - but all the while, our roots are planted in the strong bedrock of God's grace and truth.

I get ticked off and harsh when I perceive people are ticked off and harsh and I judge judgmental people and I am just as human as the rest.

Jesus said He would not feel like spitting us out unless we went lukewarm. He can steer us when we are moving. He can guide us when we are seeking. He can change us when we stay open to change. He can bend us and mold us, and break the resistance of our hearts and He does.

Does Jesus get sick of Christians? When we just don't get it? When we act the same as the folks He was calling to repentance but with Bible verses to justify our rigidity and graceless living?

Maybe, but He doesn't give up. Surprisingly, He loves us passionately and is infinitely patient with us. He uses our crude attempts at service. He includes us in His purpose whether or not we get it.

I have not given up on the church because Jesus has not given up on the church or on me.

The Vinedresser has not retired.

The church has no corner on the market for dogmatism, rigidity, or critical judgments. Humanity is a common "disease" and a common blessing as well.

If I am ever sick of Christians, it is because they are my family and families get on each others nerves from time to time. I really love Christians and other people as well, but Christians are, with all their peccadilloes, my people and God's people.

We are called to be peculiar and even odd.

We are thrown together with our personality issues and commanded to "work it out" with God's help and guidance. We have to struggle and grow in our capacity for relationship. We march to a different drum and, in doing so, we don't flaunt it or push our weight around. That is the plan anyway.

Sometimes it works very well.

 

The pot is being stirred and there is a lot of spillage. The church is struggling with its identity in a rapidly changing world. Everyone, inside and outside, has an opinion - maybe more than one. Sometimes we are fighting the world. Sometimes we are fighting each other. Sometimes we put our collective feet in our mouths.

Sometimes I get sick of Christians.

Sometimes I get sick of myself.

Many recent conversations have not brought out the best in me.

It is hard to hang out with people who have more answers than questions. This has been building up. Others are making definitions of who is what  and codifying them with really long and specific lists.

Sometimes I find it easier to relate to non-Christians who don't claim to have all the answers than to my brothers who are sure that they do.

"Are you biblical, traditional, emergent, liberal, conservative, seeker-sensitive, or what? Careful. Consult the list of criteria before answering."

"Pick a category. Hurry!"

I take Jesus' words, "Seek and ye shall find" to point toward an ongoing process of seeking and finding and seeking some more and finding some more and never being settled and done.

So I come to most conversations with a mixture of dogmatism and ambiguity, a tentative confidence grounded in solid faith, but flexible from the ground up.

I get frustrated with friends who want to finish every conversation with a hard and fast pronouncement. I want to say, "That tree is still alive and subject to quite a bit of movement as it grows upward."

What I know is that as it grows upward, its roots sink deeper - and that is what accounts for my peace and confidence.

If we put most of our focus on the roots without ignoring what is seen, we can do whatever it is we do with trees with the rest of our time and energy.

But it is the root of things that matters most and I see a lot of attention being given to leaves and bark.

What occurs to me is that Jesus said He was the vine; we were the branches; God handled the pruning; and our task was to abide.

I suppose I need to let Him handle the outgrowths that keep annoying and embarrassing me with their references to imprecatory prayers against anyone with whom they disagree or that they see as a threat to God - who has a pretty good track record of being able to take care of Himself.

And thank God He ignores ridiculous prayers where we presume to know who should live or die.

Maybe He chuckles at our assumptions that we must desperately rescue civilization so that his Kingdom will not die from our neglect. It is not that we are not called to engage, transform, influence, and preserve culture. It is a matter of balance and of seeing the larger Kingdom picture which includes thousands of years of chaotic world history and a big world that stretches far beyond our Western orientation.

It is not just the really obnoxious and grotesque examples of mean-spirited distortions of Christianity, but the more subtle things that are bothering me.

Everyone seems to know where things need to be pruned and I see a potentially lopsided bush forming. Many  Christians are just so sure of themselves and what they have "found" in their brief forays into seeking territory.

"We ought to do this and not that. We should be doing such an so. Everyone should stand up for this and against that and we all need to pull together and stand against sin and this is the sin we should be focusing on and isn't it awful that some people don't see it quite the way we do and don't you know that it is us against them and what we need is courage and courage is doing what I say you ought to be doing and please don't question it. And we have to get back to the Bible and these are the verses on which we should focus and this is how it should be done and don't forget to use the right words and slogans and we are right and everyone else is wrong and on and on and on."

So thank God that as much as it seems one party or another is setting God's agenda, He has not relinquished that prerogative to us. It really does not matter what we decide in our back and forth and circular conversations. God will do what God pleases and will continue to make all the definitions.

And God will prune and feed the vine and lead His servants and correct them when necessary and even use us in the process whenever He can trust us to love the sinner like He does.

Yes. I get sick of Christians sometimes - just people with the same personality quirks they would have if they were not Christians - people just as ornery as I am ( or less so because I have a big dose of it).

We get ticked off and opinionated and harsh and then we crash from time to time and ask a lot of questions and then we come back to center - but all the while, our roots are planted in the strong bedrock of God's grace and truth.

I get ticked off and harsh when I perceive people are ticked off and harsh and I judge judgmental people and I am just as human as the rest.

Jesus said He would not feel like spitting us out unless we went lukewarm. He can steer us when we are moving. He can guide us when we are seeking. He can change us when we stay open to change. He can bend us and mold us, and break the resistance of our hearts and He does.

Does Jesus get sick of Christians? When we just don't get it? When we act the same as the folks He was calling to repentance but with Bible verses to justify our rigidity and graceless living?

Maybe, but He doesn't give up. Surprisingly, He loves us passionately and is infinitely patient with us. He uses our crude attempts at service. He includes us in His purpose whether or not we get it.

I have not given up on the church because Jesus has not given up on the church or on me.

The Vinedresser has not retired.

The church has no corner on the market for dogmatism, rigidity, or critical judgments. Humanity is a common "disease" and a common blessing as well.

If I am ever sick of Christians, it is because they are my family and families get on each others nerves from time to time. I really love Christians and other people as well, but Christians are, with all their peccadilloes, my people and God's people.

We are called to be peculiar and even odd.

We are thrown together with our personality issues and commanded to "work it out" with God's help and guidance. We have to struggle and grow in our capacity for relationship. We march to a different drum and, in doing so, we don't flaunt it or push our weight around. That is the plan anyway.

Sometimes it works very well.

Searching Me

The Importance of Self-Examination

Edison and his searchlight cart in 1915, from the Smithsonian. Public Domain

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you …” -II Corinthians 13:5.

“… Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.…  -Psalm 26:2

When we were children and we went to the doctor, we could be comforted by the words, “Don’t worry, its just an examination."

As we grew older, we came to understand that such examinations could be quite uncomfortable. Furthermore, we began to express concern over what the examiner might find and what the course of treatment might be. We have even deceived ourselves into thinking that if we could ignore a problem, it might go away. That does not work in the physical realm or the spiritual.

The tragedy of avoidance is that in trying not to hear the bad news, we miss the good news as well. 

Let God do the examination and show you what He wants you to know.  He has some things to say to you today about you and one is how much He loves you. He may also wish to show you some areas where He wants to work in your life to help you grow, to overcome some obstacles, and to exercise faith at a new level.  Nothing is too frightening.  He loves you and can transform even the darkest places with His light of the truth and love.

Listen, seek, and wait on Him.

Our task is to examine ourselves. The ultimate question for us to ask is the question of faith. Are we in THE faith and are we acting and living on faith?

If the answer is affirmative, there is no limit to what God can do in and through us.

Let God search your heart and life today and reveal Himself and yourself to you. Then, commit to taking whatever step of faith that He leads you to take with His help and in His strength.

We Have Heart Problems

 

Healthy Heart

We have a heart problem.

That means we do no heed the heart of the matter and hurt ourselves and others as a result.

We have no problem with details sometimes; it is the reason for the details that causes us to balk.

We can abide by the letter, but we use the letter to carefully avoid the principle and implications of the law.

We somehow think that God should be impressed with our religiously observant our words and rituals are as we stomp people into the ground and harshly judge their lives while doing whatever we please outside the walls of our carefully constructed "isms."

What kind of Healthy heart does real faith aim us toward?

Let's focus on the word, "HEALTH."

H - Healthy relationships with God and people. The healthy heart produces healthy life in all its dimensions.

E - Engagement with the meaning of our rituals - a willingness to look deeper than the words and symbols to the essence of what God is saying to us through them.

A - Attitudes of grace, and gratitude, free from the strident bondage of a faith based on rules and rigid judgmentalism.

L - Living what we profess so that God is honored and people are lifted, granted justice, offered compassion, and set free to live abundantly.

T - Testing the results of our beliefs in the crucible of how they effect our behaviors and the well-being of people.

H - Humility that causes us to examine our own lives before pointing the finger at other people.

Now, hear the Word of the LORD:

Matthew 15:1-20 The Message (MSG):

After that, Pharisees and religion scholars came to Jesus all the way from Jerusalem, criticizing, “Why do your disciples play fast and loose with the rules?”
But Jesus put it right back on them. “Why do you use your rules to play fast and loose with God’s commands? God clearly says, ‘Respect your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone denouncing father or mother should be killed.’ But you weasel around that by saying, ‘Whoever wants to, can say to father and mother, What I owed to you I’ve given to God.’ That can hardly be called respecting a parent. You cancel God’s command by your rules.

Frauds! Isaiah’s prophecy of you hit the bull’s-eye:

"These people make a big show of saying the right thing,
but their heart isn’t in it.
They act like they’re worshiping me,
but they don’t mean it.
They just use me as a cover
for teaching whatever suits their fancy.”

He then called the crowd together and said, “Listen, and take this to heart. It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life, but what you vomit up.”
Later his disciples came and told him, “Did you know how upset the Pharisees were when they heard what you said?”

Jesus shrugged it off. “Every tree that wasn’t planted by my Father in heaven will be pulled up by its roots. Forget them. They are blind men leading blind men. When a blind man leads a blind man, they both end up in the ditch.”

Peter said, “I don’t get it. Put it in plain language.”

Jesus replied, “You, too? Are you being willfully stupid? Don’t you know that anything that is swallowed works its way through the intestines and is finally defecated? But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart. It’s from the heart that we vomit up evil arguments, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, and cussing. That’s what pollutes. Eating or not eating certain foods, washing or not washing your hands—that’s neither here nor there.”

The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

 

Interfaith Friendship without Milk Toast Theology

The image was chosen to get your attention, not to imply that all religions are the same. Everyone knows that while most have some common themes, they are unique and have their own theologies, concepts of God, and core teachings, and values.

 

This image, which was originally posted to Flickr, was uploaded to Commons using Flickr upload bot on 9 August 2008, 02:30 by Russavia. On that date, it was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the license indicated. Temple of All Religions in Kazan, Russia

 

People of different faiths periodically fast and seek God as they understand God.

 

When this happens, two blessings I pray.

 

One is that they will be successful in that effort of seeking and finding.

 

I know that the reality is that God seeks us. It is the greatest reality, but there are also calls in Jewish and Christian scripture to seek God.

 

God spoke to the Magi as they sought truth through a star. They did not have a Yahwistic theology or concept of God.

 

May God surprise us all.

 

God taps me in the shoulder when I am not even paying attention, much lest being theologically on target.

 

May all who seek, find.

 

The second is that my Christian and even non believing friends would practice fasting or some other form of spiritual discipline to seek God and/or truth more deeply and to pray/empathize more effectively for themselves, for others, and the world.

 

May those efforts be blessed.

 

I do not surrender my faith in Jesus when I wish my neighbor well. I do not have to endorse or adopt the faith of another to find encouragement to go deeper in my own faith because of the commitment he or she has to his or hers.

 

God invaded my life though Jesus almost 60 years ago and radicalized me forever. I am unashamedly a Jesus follower and, a such, a friend to people.

 

"Seek and ye shall find," is a rather simple statement when applied to a sincere heart.

 

May God, who loves all people, give us all sincere and seeking hearts whatever the season and draw us all to Himself.

 

I am willing to give Him rather broad leeway to accomplish that and desire to make myself available to Him for that purpose.

 

Our theology does not have to be perfected before we can be met by God. He will help with that as we move forward in relationship.

 

Much love to all my friends today. Blessings.

 

 

 

The Culture of Giving

 

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Now it is not necessary for me to write you about the ministry to the saints, for I know your eagerness, which is the subject of my boasting about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year; and your zeal has stirred up most of them.

But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you may not prove to have been empty in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be; otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated-- to say nothing of you-- in this undertaking.

So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you, and arrange in advance for this bountiful gift that you have promised, so that it may be ready as a voluntary gift and not as an extortion.

The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.

As it is written, "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God.

Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 

- 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 (NRSV)

A Lifestyle of Giving

In a world of getting, Paul suggests a lifestyle and a culture of giving.

He suggests that it flow out of something deeper than obligation. In fact, he uses the word, "cheerful," which is rooted in "hilarity."

Giddy givers get greater gratification, gaining grace by granting grace.

Eagerness is cited.

Readiness is recommended.

Follow through is essential.

Thanksgiving is predicted and mandated.

Abundance is the atmosphere of generosity. It is the expectation rather than the exception. It is the flow from source, through force, and all along the course of it from the receiver who gives to the receiver who gives and perpetually moving in a n endless river of God's provision.

Sowing and reaping point toward the reality of the matter.

The church is planted to perpetuate a culture and atmosphere where giving becomes the norm and is seen as a joyous expression of the life of grace.

It is intrinsic to the gospel.

It is endemic in the nature of God.

It is reciprocal in our relationships with God and with other people.

Thanks be to God for God's unspeakable gift!

 

High Grounded Politics

 

 

If I do not tell you when I wrote this or who was in power, will it help?

 

It should not matter. I have lived through thirteen administrations and this has always been my approach.

 

People, like me , who often have serious moral issues with policies, philosophies, and words of government, do not need to resort to cruel pranks, hurtful attacks, or suggestions of violence to dispute, resist, and bear witness.

 

The "other side," whatever it might be at any time or place in history, generally delivers enough primary-source material that can be openly and objectively disputed in the light of day without embellishment.

 

It always weakens our arguments to call people names or gloss over the details and subtleties of debatable topics. It always dilutes our arguments if we use our energy to assign motivation.

 

I do not wish to see good arguments weakened or important issues marginalized by questionable behavior by mean-spirited actions of our allies.

 

If I don't like the deeds done to my side, I can't accept them from my side.

 

We need to take the high ground.

 

O, See! Can You Say?

 

“Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.” – Joshua 4:7

If, with star spangled enthusiasm one might gasp, "Oh say, can you see," might one also find an opportune moment to ask, "Oh see, can you say?"

Stones and flags and monuments are built with the best of intentions to remind future generations of past events that have lasting impact. Days are set aside so that we may not forget times and people who have shaped our present reality.

I am most likely to speak what I see and express what is temporally or metaphorically visible to my consciousness. I fix my eyes upon a flag to be reminded of the principles it attempts to symbolize. I gaze upon a facsimile of the cross to focus my attention on the cross of Jesus.

We set aside a day of remembrance to show our grief, love, and appreciation for men and women we must not forget because their sacrifices have reinforced a hedge of protection around our fragile freedom.

Can we see it? If so, can we say it? If I can get it, I can give it. If I can grasp it, I can pass it on. If it inspires me, I can use it to inspire others. Let us not allow our songs of patriotic fervor to be reduced to nostalgic sentimentality or rote formality. Nor let us pledge empty allegiance to the flag that flies over the land of the free.

Can you see what has been given you? Can you visualize the fruits of the labors of those who have given their lives? Can you grasp the full measure of the undeserved benefits that have come your way through their efforts and bloodshed?

We are the recipients of great gifts purchased at great cost in the realms of the Spirit and the flesh. Tomorrows is a significant day of remembrance and refocus. Don’t miss it. Oh see! Can you say?

_______________________

That being said, here is a tribute to our nation's Memorial Day as we continue to reach for the fulfillment of the aspiration of liberty and justice for all.

It's About Time

 

Photo by Pavel Kalenik on Unsplash

 

How to Be Rigidly Flexible About Time

First Posted in 2006

Let me start by saying that I only have a few minutes to compose this entry.

The fact that I have any time flexibility at all is because I was rather rigid about planning my day today. Having said that, I have already made several revisions in the schedule - lowering expectations in some areas and increasing them in  others, moving arbitrary deadlines and getting ahead on a few projects.

So, here I am with about 5 or 10 minutes to blog.

The title is a bit deceptive because I cannot really tell you how to do this. Having Outlook fully operational is helpful. Making attempts in the direction of realism is a plus. Commitment is necessary. Margins are indispensable. Grace is crucial.

Having things to do during the gaps is a useful tool - especially small jobs. Otherwise we slip into a pattern of time-consuming thumb-twiddling - which can be both tiring and frustrating.

Well, here are a couple of list items which are not meant to be exhaustive.

1) No matter if it does seem to be a waste of time, take time, and plenty of it to really think about your week and your day and what you really want to accomplish and plan it analytically, realistically, and rigidly, knowing that you will have to be flexible to cope with the unexpected.

2) Plan margins.

3) Plan projects that can fit into the margins.

4) Plan breaks and do not negotiate these away. If you are like me, plan changes of focus regularly.

5) Raise your expectations of yourself in some areas and lower them in others.

6) Use that infuriating alarm bell in MS Outlook. For instance, mine just went off telling me it is time to pack up and go - which I am going to do - even though I am not done.

I said this would not be exhaustive or plenary in nature - just some passing observations.

"Gotta go.'

 

Let me start by saying that I only have a few minutes to compose this entry.

The fact that I have any time flexibility at all is because I was rather rigid about planning my day today. Having said that, I have already made several revisions in the schedule - lowering expectations in some areas and increasing them in  others, moving arbitrary deadlines and getting ahead on a few projects.

So, here I am with about 5 or 10 minutes to blog.

The title is a bit deceptive because I cannot really tell you how to do this. Having Outlook fully operational is helpful. Making attempts in the direction of realism is a plus. Commitment is necessary. Margins are indispensable. Grace is crucial.

Having things to do during the gaps is a useful tool - especially small jobs. Otherwise we slip into a pattern of time-consuming thumb-twiddling - which can be both tiring and frustrating.

Well, here are a couple of list items which are not meant to be exhaustive.

1) No matter if it does seem to be a waste of time, take time, and plenty of it to really think about your week and your day and what you really want to accomplish and plan it analytically, realistically, and rigidly, knowing that you will have to be flexible to cope with the unexpected.

2) Plan margins.

3) Plan projects that can fit into the margins.

4) Plan breaks and do not negotiate these away. If you are like me, plan changes of focus regularly.

5) Raise your expectations of yourself in some areas and lower them in others.

6) Use that infuriating alarm bell in MS Outlook. For instance, mine just went off telling me it is time to pack up and go - which I am going to do - even though I am not done.

I said this would not be exhaustive or plenary in nature - just some passing observations.

"Gotta go.'

 

Just Living - A Play on Words

Photo by Kalea Morgan @kaleamorgan

 

Living Justly in an Unjust World

 

The blog I've not written, but know that I must has a title and a theme thus, a thrust

... to be just.

 

In a word it is to love that which is above us, surrounds us, envelops us, has created and is creating us and to love those who also are created and are being created ...

But it is an unjust world, you cry, protest, and flail.

 

We can try, resist, and ultimately fail to live justly in such a world ... and I say, "Hogwash!"

 

If it were not possible to swim against the tide, there would be no more salmon on the planet.

 

Grant it, it is hard and our charred, scarred, burned and battered selves must energize, prioritize, and optimize, but we can live justly in an unjust world.

 

In the end (and at the beginning), it is all we can do

 

... and what we cannot be stopped from doing.

 

It is just living, after all, and it is living justly.