Day 14 - Thirty Six Days

John 1:4-5 (NRSV) ...in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There is a lot in the Bible about seeing and blindness, about light and darkness. Jesus is speaking to people, but they are not always understanding. That was a part of his work. God had commissioned Isaiah to invite and warn the People of God and gave him this rather strange message...

Isaiah 6:9 (NRSV) And he said, "Go and say to this people: 'Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.'

God was bringing judgment. The people would be stubborn. They would choose to go their own way (that is what hell is). I wonder if we would listen. I wonder if we would have our eyes opened, even if we found it disillusioning.

Leo Tolstoy said, “I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleagues, which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives.”

Change is hard when we think we know, when we have been the teacher, when we have lived with particular assumptions. Rather than see, we will close our eyes.

Not my will, Father, but yours be done! (But if your will pleased me that would be really great!)

Day 13 - Thirty Six Days

Psalms 32:5 (NRSV) Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Michelle wandered down to my office with an interesting question. They were putting their son in a Christian school and the application was pretty detailed. One question had a about fifteen lines of blank space, indicating that they were prepared for a long answer. The question: When you stand before God in judgment, what will you say?

What will you say? I am sure that this was a tool for the school to determine whether or not you are a Christian. It occurred to me to answer with song lyrics. “I can only imagine what it will be like!” Or “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!”

And then I thought of a courtroom scene.
“How do you plead?”
“I plead guilty, with a stipulation.”
“State your stipulation.”
“God be merciful to me, a sinner (Luke 18:13). I plead Jesus!”

I sure would hope to avoid allocution. You know, where you have to give an account of the details! Kyrie Eleison! Lord, Have Mercy!

What will you say?

Day 12 - Thirty Six Days

Romans 5:8 (NRSV) But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

We are seeing a theme in these Thirty Six Days. Of course it is the love of God for people.
I would bet that you have some people in your life that you find annoying. There may be people that you do not like. You may know some dangerous people. I hope you don’t have people in your life that hurt you on purpose. I would guess that you have been hurt. You probably have hurt some people, too. These are the situations where love is put to the test.

Those who are Christians are commanded to love just as God loves (Eph 5:1). We are to love our neighbors. We are to love one another. We are to love our enemies. Does that leave anyone out? Oh! And yourself! “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt 22:39).

In the next sermon (Post Easter – 2008) series I want to explore the idea of the sacrifice of God. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten.” What did he give? How was it love? I suggest that the sacrifice that God made was eternal.

• John 1:1 (NRSV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
  
• John 1:14 (NRSV) And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.
  

The Word had been with God from the beginning, whenever that was! The community of God, the Elohim, had always existed in close fellowship. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were intertwined from eternity. Was it like inseparable eternal triplets? The word I learned to describe this is perichoresis. The sacrifice of God began with the incarnation. There was no turning back from this point. The eternal proximity, the close fellowship, was broken...forever. The Word became Jesus. Jesus does not appear to ever return to be Word again. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father (Eph 1:20). When Jesus ascended angels told his disciples...
Acts 1:11 (NRSV) They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

Is it strange to say that Jesus will be Jesus forever. The cross was a powerful example for us, but it is not the sum of the sacrificial love of God for us. The death of the innocent Jesus is a powerful moment, but thousands of people have been crucified. I also think innocent people have died unfairly. The sacrifice of God was not a three day stay in the realm of the dead (I think Lazarus had four!).
God loves you enough to make a forever sacrifice. That is big love.

Day 11 - Thirty Six Days

This Wednesday evening I was teaching from the gospel of Luke. John the Baptist had begun his revolutionary ministry. He was baptizing people for the forgiveness of their sins. That drew a crowd. Could one get forgiveness of sins without the usual sacrifices? That must have been appealing! As the crowd came, John must have sensed a lack of sincerity. Listen.

Luke 3:7-8 - John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

The fruit was not easy!

• "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
  
• The tax collectors, those who were considered traitors to Israel, could they be baptized? Could they receive forgiveness? They were told, “Don’t collect any more than you are required to.”
  
• The soldiers, those who fought and killed for a living, could they receive forgiveness in their baptism? Yes, if they would stop extorting money, making them fearful. If they would stop bearing false witness as a matter of intimidation, and be content with their wages, then yes indeed.
  

Is this difficult? You know what we ask, if someone is lacking a tunic? If they don’t have a coat or a shirt, we want to know why. Have they been irresponsible? Are they going to take advantage of us? And if I do this, I will be impoverished. Can I afford to be generous?

And for tax collectors to only collect what they are ‘required to’ collect would put them personally out of business. Could a soldier survive on the wages of the day? I think the answer is “unlikely.”

Here is the point. In the world that God has in mind, his people operate like Jesus does. He gives to everyone regardless of their gratitude or their relative responsibility. Jesus has been good to you and me. We have not earned that goodness. Sometimes we are grateful. Would we dare to imitate that?

God help us!

Day 10 - Thirty Six Days

Hebrews 2:14-15 (NRSV) 14 Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. This was the love of God for the world, for all of human life. This was the most astounding cultural move in history. God was changing his location. He was moving in with us. He was going to experience humanity in a remarkable way. God made himself vulnerable by coming as a baby born in the midst of a scandal. Here is this young woman who was not married who got pregnant with God’s baby. Is that hard to believe?

Jesus is born to poor parents. When they came to present Jesus in the Temple on the eighth day, they brought a pair of turtledoves or pigeons. It was the offering if one could not afford a sheep. I find that interesting. God came to draw close to us in our struggles. He did not come to show us ‘the easy life.’

He also followed through. Yes, he physically suffered. More than that, he knew what it was like to be separated from God, to be lonely, to be afraid that ‘things’ would not turn out alright. I think that it began at his birth, but the cross took that sacrifice to a pointed peak.

And the point of it all? He knows. God knows what your life is like. He knows about loneliness. He understands love and pride and grief and unfairness. He knows about darkness and beauty. He knows temptation. He knows about politics and religion. He knows about being a baby and about dying.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten. I don’t see this as a light-hearted present. This was a deep and profound gift. This was a heart-breaking gift. This was love for you and me. This was a love lesson. Do you love? This is what love really is. Could we learn it? I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!

Day 9 - Thirty Six Days

Philippians 4:8 (NRSV) Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

What you think matters. We have some control over what we think. That is exactly why we would involve ourselves in a forty day discipline of reading Scripture together. We are thinking together!

The whole ‘gospeling’ enterprise is about mind renewal (See Rom 12:2), about thinking differently. We are thinking about the most important questions. What am I doing here? What is the purpose of my life? What is my destination? Are you asking those questions?

When our son was a toddler, we would ask him questions. As toddlers do, he was working on his sentence structures and word choices. Instead of saying, “I don’t know,” he would say, “I can’t know.” I would just smile at my little philosopher. Maybe we can’t know, exactly.

However, I think we can come to some decisions. We can make some choices about the purpose of our lives. We can think about those things that interest and motivate us. We can think about God. We can spend some serious time pursuing whatever is true, honorable, just and pure.

When we see it, we have an experience of reverence. It is beautiful, WONDER full, and worthy of praise. I hear Paul calling us to worship. He is calling us into the presence of that which is Holy. How can we keep from singing? These ‘things,’ the true, honorable, just, excellent things are around us every day. When we see them, and when we respond with praise, I think we are encouraged. God is with us. We are not alone. Life is good.

Be joyful! This is God’s love made visible. That is what I think!

Day 8 - Thirty Six Days

Romans 4:5 (NRSV) 5 But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.

In the Church of Christ tradition, there has been this lingering belief that we are set right before God by certain things that we do. If you were to hear the words ‘plan of salvation’ often the speaker would mean a list of things that you do. You hear. You believe. You repent. You submit to baptism. It sounds like you are saving yourself.

When we say that salvation is by faith it generates quite a conversation. Some would point to 1 Peter 3:21 (NRSV) which says, “And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you--not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

I have a hard time thinking that baptism is much of a work. It is an easy work, if it is one. Some have turned it into the main issue and I think that is a mistake. When that happens, we end up with an empty ritual. Apart from faith, baptism has no power. The bottom line for salvation (wholeness, the peace of God, living in the world that God has in mind) is the work of Jesus.

Romans 3:21-22 (NRSV) 21 But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction.

I know that it is a bold thing to suggest that the translation is wrong, and I do not do that on my own biblical expertise. My teachers have suggested to me that in verse 22 the correct translation should be (an objective genitive), “the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe.” A righteousness, a right standing before God, has been disclosed, that does not come from your good behavior, from your ability to do the right things all of the time. How could that be? Through the faithfulness of Jesus, through his work on the cross (there is a work for you!), for all who believe. That is the plan of salvation.

Whom do you trust? Do you trust in your own goodness? Do you trust in self-righteousness? For me, I don’t think I have enough of that. Lord, have mercy!

Not my will, Father, but yours be done!

Day 7 - Thirty Six Days

Do you remember being chosen?  That might be the greatest experience we ever know.  I wonder if it happens to us nearly often enough.  It happens when we are ‘making friends.’  We meet people and share a moment, a conversation, or an event.  We may give some indications that we hope to meet again, talk again, or share a meal together.  We then wait for a response.  We are hoping to be chosen.

 

I met Stephen in graduate school.  He was preaching for a church in Wichita Falls, TX and I was working with a small church in the Rio Grande Valley.  We recognized in each other a kindred spirit.  The class was an Old Testament course on the Pentateuch taught by Dr. David Wallace. Stephen was interested in reading my work.  In graduate education, that is always a very friendly gesture!  When a preaching position came available in Wichita Falls in the summer of ’96, Stephen encouraged me to apply.  He said, “There is no one like me here.  I need a theological friend!”  I got the job (as I recall I was their unanimous ‘second’ choice for the job!) and Stephen and his family and me and my family began a new level of friendship.  Stephen and I met every week for half a Schlotsky’s and some church talk.

 

He invited me into a small group.  We read a book by Elisabeth O’Connor entitled Called to Commitment.  That small group has been a circle of friends for a decade.  We vacation together with the Wagners, the Heyens, the Burnams, and the Johnsons.  Last November I traveled with Dr and Mrs Wagner to Gettysburg for a Lincoln Forum.  We are curious together and I think that is wonderful.

 

What I feel from this group is adoption.  We have been chosen to share their lives.  We love them.  They know us.  We have become family.  They love our children.  We love their children.  It all began in a moment, in a classroom, in a conversation.

 

This is an enactment of the drama of your relationship with God.  You are wanted.  God wants to read your work.  God wonders if you will respond to an invitation to relationship.  God has already decided that you are worth knowing.  God has already decided that he loves your children, and wonders if you might love ‘his’ children.  God would like to meet you at Schlotsky’s on Tuesday for lunch to share a sandwich and to talk about your work.

 

It is adoption that really interests ‘him.’  “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption.  When we cry, “Abba!  Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, - if in fact we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom 8:15-17).

 

You have been chosen.  You are wanted.  And we turn around and are involved in that work, too.  We are to be making friends, changing the world.  That is important work.  

Day 6 Thirty-Six Days

Do you think people are basically good? I tend to think that way. Maybe we hope that people, including ourselves are basically good. Most of us think that kindness is a good thing. We know that sharing is right, even if we are sometimes fear of the high cost of sharing. I live in a city where there are several million cars on the commute every day. Somehow, most of us get home. We follow the rules. Of course, that could be mutual self-interest, but I still find it amazing cooperation and a faithful commitment to some form of social contract.

I think we, the people, are also deeply and fundamentally flawed. I am interested in the definition of goodness. What does it really mean to be good? Do you remember this comment from Jesus?

Mark 10:18 (NRSV) Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.”

Our only chance of considering ourselves as good is when we are the standard of goodness. For people, when we are not fearful, when we compare ourselves to other people, might be good. It is like saying, “For a cannibal, he is a fine young cannibal.”

When we see ourselves in light of God’s expectations for us, we don’t measure up so well. Love your enemies? Turn the other cheek? Give to everyone who asks? Forgive seventy times seven times? Be perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matt 5:48). There is a high standard for you!

And here is an interesting Bible fact. There is one psalm that is a duplicate. Look at Psalm 14 and Psalm 53. Psalms is a collection of songs and here the collections overlapped. They could not decide which one to leave out, so they kept them both!

Psalms 14:2-3 (NRSV) 2 The LORD looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God. 3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.
Psalms 53:2-3 (NRSV) 2 God looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God. 3 They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.

I think we will need this prayer, every day. Not my will, Father, but yours be done. We can lean toward perfection. That is probably as ‘good’ as it gets.

Day 5 - Thirty-Six Days

Day 5 – Thirty-Six Days

What happens that opens your eyes to God? Is it music? Is it beauty? I wonder if there is some sensibility that God has placed within us that gives us glimpses. There are very few non-religious societies. People want more. They hope that there is a Force that will work with them, cooperate with them, enable them to survive and thrive.

The Teacher says, Ecclesiastes 3:10-11 (NIV) 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

I believe that there is a force that is interested in you and me. There is such a thing as Inspiration (in the New Testament the word is theo-pneustos, God-breathed). There is such a thing as Providence. God provides. I believe that God places people in your path. I believe that God opens doors for you. As you pray, God is involved in your inclinations. The Holy Spirit leads you, when you will allow (Rom 8:14).

As I sit down to my computer to write, I almost always pray with King David. Psalms 51:11 (NIV) 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. I am praying for inspiration, for the Spirit of God, the Breath of God to exist in my mind so that I might be a vehicle for His Will.

That Presence gives me confidence, even at times audacity. Do you have that experience?

Not my will, Father, but yours be done!

Day 4 – Thirty-Six Days

Instant messaging can be a strange world. Most of the time I use it to dash a message between offices. It is more urgent than e-mail but less intrusive than a phone call. However, when I signed up for the service I made my profile public. Someone might need a minister/theologian! Hey! It could happen! Matter of fact it does happen, and that is where the ‘strange world’ comes in.

I have been talking to a guy. And then I must say, I don’t know who this person is. I don’t know that what he has told me is true. He wants to talk about some personal things and I try to help, but I am on guard. I wonder what the real agenda is. There have been two conversations (IM sessions), and I think I am done. I am encouraging him to ‘do no harm.’ Love seeks the true best interests of others.

I share this as a background for our conversations about grace.

Matthew 9:12-13 (NRSV) 12 But when he (Jesus) heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."

I think Jesus means that everyone is sick. No one is righteous through their own discipline.

Are we fundamentally self-interested? Maybe we do not even operate in our own best interests. We eat Twinkies and pizza. We use credit cards. We are so often reckless with relationships that are in our own best interests. We really struggle with the greatest commands. Love can be a real challenge for us.

God is the gracious physician. He loves and shows us, through Jesus how to act unselfishly. In our best moments, we are trying to follow that example. That is what makes us Christians.

Day 3 - Thirty-Six Days

Day 3 – Thirty-Six Days

Isaiah 55:9 (NRSV) For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

It is one of those amazing things about us as human beings that we can acknowledge this idea. There have been times when we begin to deny that it is true. There have been times in our history when we thought that Science and Reason would triumph over the problems faced by humanity. We thought that we could think it through. We could eradicate disease. We could be happy. We could confront all of the potential threats to the family of man. We have been humbled, however. We have not been able to stop warfare. The twentieth century was terribly bloody. We have seen new plagues. We have not successfully created a world of harmony.

God says, “My ways are higher. My thoughts are higher.” The story that we believe and teach, the story of the Bible says that God created and creates. God is breathing life and love into human beings. God has breathed life and love into you. We may wonder from time to time what we are doing and where we are going. We are praying that there is a point to it all. When we see Jesus, when we choose to follow Jesus in the Way for the sake of the world, I think we get a glimpse of the point of it all, of the ‘high’ way and the high thoughts of God.

I read this sentence this morning, “Saying kind words that are truthful and sincere and putting those words into action is a sure way to experience joy.”

Not my will, Father, but yours be done!

Day 2 - Thirty-Six Days

God says, "To whom will you compare me or count me equal?  To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?"  (Isaiah 46:5).  Human beings have always been trying to create a god that they could have some tangible contact with.  The ancients would make gods out of gold and silver.  These gods could not speak.  They could not keep themselves from being knocked over.  They did not have the power to move from place to place.  I suppose you could hug  god like that, but I am not sure it helped!

God, YHWH, speaks.  This God knows the very real you.  He knows our fears and weaknesses.  He knows you!  And loves you. 

Isaiah reports that God says, "My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please" (46:10).  It pleases him to love you.  It pleases him to set the world right.  It pleases him to use broken folk to accomplish his will on earth as it is in heaven.  That means that you are involved in the most important work in the universe.  You have a future!!

Day 1 - Thirty Six Days

John 3:16 (NRSV) 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

This is a Scripture that most people have heard. I don’t know if it still happens, but sports fans used to see someone at the game holding up signs reading “John 3:16.” John Mayer has a song called “Belief,” that asks “Is there anyone who ever remembers changing their mind from the paint on a sign? Is there anyone who really recalls ever breaking rank at all for something someone yelled real loud one time?”

Where could one hear this Word from John 3:16? Where could we consider that the world was loveable? I think we are conflicted about that. There is so much in the world that is violent and abusive. God loves the world. I just find that astonishing. God sends the most precious part of himself, a one and only, an un-replaceable Son, into the world. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, beginning as a baby, conceived by an unwed mother who gave birth in a barn. What an interesting way to show love. He became one of us, even one of the least of us.

Who is the world? I am the world. We are the world. God became vulnerable to us. The Almighty chooses to be vulnerable.

I wonder if we could follow that example? Could we lay aside our pride? Could we love in such a sacrificial way? I wonder if that is the only way we can change the world. It goes against our natural inclinations toward self-preservation. I wonder, if we would dare to try, if we would share the DNA of the Only Begotten? I think that is what it means to be children of God.

Ephesians 5:1 (NRSV) Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

Peace!

Self-Image

In our broken world, our self image is largely determined by what kind of messages we have received on any given day from our friends, from our co-workers or colleagues. Do they like me? Am I valuable? Am I loved?

When we read the parables of Jesus, I think we are hearing a message from God about us. I am a sheep the shepherd has sought. I am a reckless child who was welcomed home. I am a worker who has not worked all day, but I have still been paid a whole day’s wage. I have been welcomed and blessed by the Father. I am a beloved child of God, sought and wanted. Like the writer of the Gospel of John who sees himself as “the one Jesus loves,” could I see myself that way regardless of the other messages of the day? That changes my self-image!

Jesus changes things...real things. He invites me to live in a better world, and to help make the world better. God likes me. God thinks I am, valuable. God loves me anyway and always. Our Christianity cannot be merely theoretical. What Jesus does, his people do. That is the way.

Ten Commandments for Drivers

The Roman Catholic Church has issued some road rules! I have thought that driving anywhere is an exercise in a covenant of mutal benefit. Somehow in Houston, and other large cities one can travel at high speeds and most days arrive home alive and undented! That is a miracle, don't you think?

I like these ten commandments for driving in traffic!

Drivers' "Ten Commandments"
I. You shall not kill.

II. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.

III. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.

IV. Be charitable and help your neighbour in need, especially victims of accidents.

V. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.

VI. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.

VII. Support the families of accident victims.

VIII. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.

IX. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.

X. Feel responsible towards others.

Grief - CS Lewis

Friends,

Some in our extended family expereinced another rush of grief this last week. It is more than one family should endure. One son died in a plane crash. Another son died fighting a fire. Now, a third son has found life too difficult and the urge to exit trumped his obvious love for his family.

Then I got a brief e-mail from a friend who simple said that her son had died. Her grief reminded me of a litte book published in 1961 by CS Lewis. Here are some excerpts.

A Grief Observed: CS Lewis

No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing.

At other times if feels like being mildly drunk, or concussed. There is a sort of invisible blanket between the world and me. I find it hard to take in what anyone says. Or perhaps, hard to want to take it in. It is so uninteresting.

Yet I want others to be around me. I dread moments when the house is empty. If only they would talk to one another and not to me.

Then to paraphrase:

Sometimes there is a voice inside of me that says that all of this is really going to be okay. Love is not the whole of my life. I have resources. People get over these things. I will be okay. Then I am ashamed to listen to this voice. Once in a while, while I am thinking this way there is an onslaught of a ret-hot memory and all of this ‘common sense’ thinking vanishes, burned in the hot furnace of my loss.


“An odd by product of my loss is that I am aware of being an embarrassment to everyone I meet. At work, at the club, in the street, I see people as they approach me, trying to make up their minds whether they will ‘say something about it’ or not. I hate it if they do, and if they don’t. Some funk it all together. R. has been avoiding me for a week.”



Wondering if God was playing some cruel joke with cancers seemingly in remission, wondering if Jesus was lured into a trap at the cross, then remembering…But he (some cruel child) would never have thought of baits like love, or laughter, or daffodils, or a frosty sunset. He couldn’t make a joke, or a bow, or an apology, or a friend.


“Aren’t all these notes the senseless writhings of a man who won’t accept the fact that there is nothing we can do with suffering except to suffer it? (38)


Bridge players tell me that there must be money on the game, or else people won’t take it seriously. Apparently it’s like that. Your bid – for God or no God, for a good God or the Cosmic Sadist, for eternal life or nonentity – will not be serious if nothing much is staked on it. And you will never discover how serious it was until the stakes are raised horribly high; until you find that you are playing not for counters or for sixpences, but for every penny you have in the world. Nothing less will shake a man – or at least a man like me – out of his merely verbal thinking and his merely notional beliefs. He has to be knocked silly before he comes to his senses. Only torture will bring out the truth. Only under torture does he discover himself. (43)

“After that operation either the wounded stump heals or the man dies. If it heals, the fierce, continuous pain will stop. Presently he’ll get back his strength and be able to stump about on his wooden leg. He has ‘got over it.’ But he will probably have recurrent pains in the stump all his life, and perhaps pretty bad ones; and he will always be a one-legged man.”

Wait Your Turn?

Mark 7:24-37 (MSG) 24 From there Jesus set out for the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house there where he didn't think he would be found, but he couldn't escape notice. 25 He was barely inside when a woman who had a disturbed daughter heard where he was. She came and knelt at his feet, 26 begging for help. The woman was Greek, Syro-Phoenician by birth. She asked him to cure her daughter. 27 He said, "Stand in line and take your turn. The children get fed first. If there's any left over, the dogs get it." 28 She said, "Of course, Master. But don't dogs under the table get scraps dropped by the children?" 29 Jesus was impressed. "You're right! On your way! Your daughter is no longer disturbed. The demonic affliction is gone." 30 She went home and found her daughter relaxed on the bed, the torment gone for good. 31 Then he left the region of Tyre, went through Sidon back to Galilee Lake and over to the district of the Ten Towns. 32 Some people brought a man who could neither hear nor speak and asked Jesus to lay a healing hand on him. 33 He took the man off by himself, put his fingers in the man's ears and some spit on the man's tongue. 34 Then Jesus looked up in prayer, groaned mightily, and commanded, "Ephphatha!—Open up!" 35 And it happened. The man's hearing was clear and his speech plain—just like that. 36 Jesus urged them to keep it quiet, but they talked it up all the more, 37 beside themselves with excitement. "He's done it all and done it well. He gives hearing to the deaf, speech to the speechless."
Sometimes we get tired (Tyred?) Jesus had retreated. Is that okay? We would like to not be subject to fatigue, and when we are fatigued, I think the gospel suffers. The good news is the coming reign of the kingdom of God. The Way is asserted and demonstrated by those who are empowered by the Spirit of God. But there are days when the Southwest Airlines commercials are our real life…we want to get away.

Is Mark producing propaganda against the synagogue in Rome? That is possibly a way that this story could be used, but I doubt that the characterization of this narrative in those terms helps our people adopt the narrative of the story of God as their own. Why could this not be a report that Peter shared with John Mark, part and parcel to the question that the disciples ask (Who is this? 4:41). Who is this that upsets the status quo?

Here Jesus has sought a quiet moment for himself, and does not get it. Ever get snippy when you are really hungry, or when you are weary? Ever say something that could be perceived as unhelpful, or even ugly. Is it permissible for Jesus to have such a moment? Does the humanity of Jesus threaten our sensibilities? Jesus does not tell this outsider, this Greek woman, no. He uses a metaphor that I don’t like, where she is a dog. Can we hear it, even? I find the distance in time and language and the culturally specific communication difficult to nuance. As I have been living in the text of the Sermon on the Mount, I know the Way would be to give to everyone who asks. Is Jesus reminding himself of his priorities? God had made some promises to Abraham and the ‘people of God’ along the way. God’s promises needed to be kept. Through a certain people would come a blessing for all people. The ‘certain people’ project is not quite over. Blessing for all people is coming. He uses a metaphor for a household animal (some people love their pets quite a bit, too!). She chooses not to be offended. Her need outstrips her pride. I think that is an amazing and helpful realization. Perhaps Jesus, as the one who knows hearts, has set this up to make that point. (Who is this who knows the hearts of human beings?)

Jesus was impressed. That is not in the text, but it is reasonable inference. Her response was so genuine that her blessing came in a very dramatic and immediate way. Sometimes that happens.
Then Jesus travels to another region where outsiders live. Any surprise that these outsiders, too, will get a hint of blessing? Would you let Jesus put his fingers in your ears? Would you let him put some spit on your tongue? That is so strange. Who is this who can make such a process function? It is relational. It is personal. It is intimate. It is supernatural. Of course, it is the type of thing that was to accompany the new alternative world (eschatological world) promised in Third Isaiah 61:1-2. It was hard to keep quiet about that. Mark’s Roman audience might think, “Jesus did this for those who were not the old insiders? Could this story be for me? Who is this who opens my hears and loosens my tongue?”

How fascinating!

The Examen - A Prayer Pattern

The Examen

Tonight we are going to pray. What does it mean to pray? Yes, it is a conversation with God. He invites it.

Philippians 4:6 (NRSV) 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Sometimes our prayers are quick and as you go type conversations. When that is the regular form of prayer for us, we can begin to take God for granted. It is less of an encounter and more of a I will call you when I need to relationship.

Tonight I want to give you a pattern that might help you spend a little bit of relationship time with God. God has some ambitions for you, as I see the story of Scripture unfold.

He is seeking your peace.
He is seeking your transformation into the image of Jesus.
He is seeking you.
His power is for you. His love is for you. Your life is for Him.

So, let’s work through this pattern.

1. Recall that you are in the presence of God. God is not far off. He has drawn near in Jesus. He has sent his Holy Spirit to live in each of us. Close your eyes and think. Wherever you are; walking on the beach and the ocean ripples or roars. You are in the mountains, and the wind comes blowing through the valley. You are in the city and the traffic is crazy. Everywhere…., in a crowd or alone, you are God’s beloved and sought after child. As you quiet yourself, become aware that God is present within you, and in the creation that surrounds you, in your body, in these people around you. The Creator, the one who knits you together in your mother’s womb, is concerned for you. The Spirit of God, sent by Christ, right now reminds you that you are useful, able. You make the world complete. Your relationships are important. Your work is important. God is working through your love, through your relationships, through your participation, to bring creation to its fullness. Ask the Holy Spirit to let you look on all you see with love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-6 (NRSV) 4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.
You Are In God’s Presence. (Song)

2. Spend a moment looking over your day with gratitude for this day’s gifts. Remember today with gratitude. Warm water in the shower. Clean clothes to wear. A job to go to. People to talk with. Recall the smell of your morning coffee, the taste of something good that you ate, the laugh of a child, the fragrance of a flower, the smile that broke upon your face when you saw something wonderful…the clouds…a friend, or a kind word spoken to you, a lesson that you learned. What did you give today? What have you received? Say to God, “Thank you!” Thank you for love. Thank you for challenges. Thank you for opportunities. Thank you for the tools (books, wrenches, transportation). What about the gifts that are more permanent? Talents. Abilities. Your family. All of those gifts were at work in this day. Thank God for the gift of the hope for a better day. Every day is another chance. Thank God for your sense of humor, if you have one! Thank you, God, for faith. Thank you for the gifts of thinking and feeling. Thank you for breath and vision…and flavor! Thank you, God, for friends. Thank you for the friends that are still coming into our lives! Thank you for boundaries. God the Father gives you these to draw you into the fullness of life. As you move through the details of your day, give thanks to God for His presence in the big and the small things.
God has been with you today. Praise Him! (Song)

3. Invite God to send His Holy Spirit to help you look at your actions and attitudes and motives with honesty and patience. Hebrews 4:12 (NRSV) 12 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. The Spirit of God knows the truth about you. So we come in this moment with humility. Remember that God really does love you, knowing you. Let that love and that truth flow in you. Lord, I am sorry when my actions bring harm, or drive people away, or diminish them. Thank you for the actions that were good and right and helpful. Lord, forgive me when my attitudes are poor, when my faith is small, when I forget that you are able. Help me be joyful. Father, you know how often I am prone to selfish motives. Help me to act without taking care of my own needs all the time. Lord, I know that you are patient with me. Help me to be patient with others and with myself. You know me! You know the intentions of my heart. Have mercy. Help me.
Come, Holy Spirit.

4. Deeper in your day. With your eyes closed. Recall the events of your day; explore the context of your actions, even if you were at home with little to do. Search for the internal movements of your heart and your interaction with what was before you. What were you thinking about? Were you happy? Where you anxious? Who was you with? Were you helpful or discouraging? Did you listen? Whom did you ignore? What did you leave undone? Did you forgive anyone? Did you encourage? This is not a time to be hard on yourself, but to see the opportunities of the day. God was at work and you were His partner. And you could do more! Notice where you acted freely—picking a particular course of action from the possibilities you saw. See where you were swept along without freedom. See where the Spirit of Jesus entered your decisions and where you might have paused to receive His influence. 2 Corinthians 13:5 (NRSV) 5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!
His influence comes through His people, the Body of Christ.
His influence comes through Scripture, the Word of God.
Now, as you pray, Christ’s spirit will help you know His presence and concern.
God, help us to see how we might act in concert with you. Help us to pay attention to those around us. Give us the will to speak, to encourage, and to bless. Guide me. Prompt me to speak and to act. Help me to be still enough to cooperate with you. Challenge me. Speak to me. Encourage me. Teach me your ways. Help me to love my neighbor. At work. In the mall. Next door.
God I am Yours. Here am I. Use me.

5. A heart-to-heart talk with Jesus. Do you talk to Jesus in your prayers? (See Stephen Acts 7:59.) Just a little talk. I don’t think that makes it right. But it sure helps. “Jesus you know my day. You know the good that I did today. You know the temptations that I have faced. You know the moments that I was not very much like you. Thank you for coming. You knew that I needed you. Thank you for compassion. Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for such amazing love. Maybe you need to express sorrow for sin, the obscuring darkness that surrounds us all, and especially ask forgiveness for the times you resisted God’s light today. “Yes, I am sorry for obscuring the light, Jesus. May your glory shine in me.” I know you’re your steadfast love is new every morning. It never comes to an end. Help me rest. And tomorrow, we will do more.

Our Father, who is in heaven. Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread.
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

The View from Mt Nebo

Moses, like most of the heroes of the Bible, was subject to substantial mistakes. The people he was leading into the wilderness had been complaining. They were afraid that God could not meet their needs, even though God had been with them all through the wilderness journey. At a place called Kadesh, there was a rock. Moses was supposed to speak to the rock and water would flow for the people. Instead, Moses took his staff and struck the rock (Num 20:8ff). He was irritated. He was reacting out of frustration. “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”

It was this moment that kept Moses out of the Promised Land! He was to climb the mountain and God would show him the whole land. From the top of the mountain he could see from Dan to the Negev. He could see all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. He could see it, but he could not cross over into it.

What do you think of that? Does that seem fair to you? Kay Bessler Northcutt comments, “What if fairness is not the ultimate issue to be wrestled with on Nebo? What if the view from Mount Nebo is ultimately found in the quest for the unattainable? And what of the definition of a great life is one that consciously lives (and dies) with the attainable for which one has worked one’s entire life just beyond one’s grasp? Surely this is the good news of Mount Nebo.”

God is gracious. In every story, we see a lesson. Perhaps the lesson here is: One life-time is not enough. Moses had a long and eventful life. If we could do so much in cooperation with God, would that not be enough? Yes, we want to finish. However, I think there is a reason for life after life. Accomplishing what God has in mind with a life, or within a community, is more than one life can attain.

So what? As I look for a cure for dissatisfaction, I find this to be a peaceful truth. The goals remain and are fiercely sought. However, our dreams are not what really matter. We work hard, making ourselves available to the Divine Design. One day, on the other side of what we can see in our lives, or in our community, there will be more. The ‘more’ will be better than our ambitions, dreams, or imagination. Reinhold Niebuhr said, “Anything worth doing cannot be accomplished in one lifetime.”

Maybe we will have the gift of standing on Nebo, looking into the future, seeing the fruit of our labor with God. If we can catch a glimpse, that will be enough.