God is Good...All the Time!

Signs from God

2009-12-16T06:09:00.000-08:00

John 3:7-18

Did you hear about the “holy cow” that was born last week in Connecticut? If you didn’t hear about it, this brown jersey Holstein calf was born with a distinct birthmark. Just between his eyes, there is a white marking that is clearly in the shape of a cross. People have been coming from all over to see this special calf, which children near the farm have named “Moses.” That’s a great Christmas story, isn’t it? It’s heartwarming. It’s special.

If you read the Bible, you’ll find out that God shows up in all kinds of places. God shows up in chaos of an unformed creation-and shapes it in our world. God shows up in a burning bush, speaking to Moses (the real Moses!). Later, God shows up in Egypt with frogs and darkness, with rivers of blood and locusts, and frees an oppressed people. God showed up in a vision to the Prophet Jeremiah of two baskets of figs. So, maybe God does show up in a white, furry cross on the forehead of a newborn calf.

This image, by the way, gets way more publicity, far more press, than the image we have in front of us today: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath that is to come?” This is how John the Baptist greets the crowds who have ventured all the way out into the wilderness to see him and listen to what he has to say. This is the same John, by the way, who Matthew tells us was dressed in camel’s hair and a leather belt, and who ate locusts and wild honey.

When you open your newspaper or turn on your television and see the story of Moses the Calf, my guess is that your response will be something like: “Awww.” When we read about John the Baptist-a half-naked man with bugs in his teeth, shouting at us and calling us names, we may be more likely to go: “Ewww.” And that’s why you’ll hear stories about Moses this calf this Christmas season, and none about John the Baptist.

Who knows if this calf’s special cross marking is more than just a nice story to read in the paper around Christmas time? Who am I to say that God can’t send a vision of Jesus on a piece of toast, or a picture of Mary burned into the face of an iron? How can we know for sure that God doesn’t regularly make Himself known through grilled cheese sandwiches?

But, before Jesus arrives on the scene, God sends us John-shouting about vipers, calling for repentance, and warning us of sharpened axes and fiery flames. The only thing he and Moses the calf have in common is that they both get our attention. And I think that’s the idea. John wants your attention. More importantly, God wants our attention.

This season God calls us to get ready for the coming of Jesus. More than anything, to do this-God seems to tell us- we must pay attention. Pay attention, John says. If you’ve got too much stuff, if you’re constantly grasping after more, and if you’re not treating people with compassion and understanding-pay attention, because now is the time to make a change. Repentance means exactly this: get ready. Give up what you don’t need, stop grasping, and revisit your relationships. Now is the time.

When I think about it, this is probably why we hear more about calves with crosses and visions of Mary on irons, and less about guys like John the Baptist. John brings a mandate for change, and not only is change difficult, but change is often unpopular. We don’t like change.

Whether we like it, or not. Whether we’re ready, or not. In just a couple of weeks a big change is coming. In a couple of weeks, the image in the toast, the cloud in the wilderness, the burning bush, and all those other images will pale in their significance and their impact-when all of a sudden God shows up as clear as day and looks back at us through the eyes of a baby boy.

Jesus and Moses the calf have a lot in common. They were both born in a stable. They were both cute. They both could make us stop and look and say “Awww.” But the most important thing they have in common is that they both bore the mark of the cross. Moses has it gently placed in the fur on his forehead. Jesus carried it on his shoulders.

God shows up in all kinds of places-some are clearer than others. The clearest place, though, is a place that doesn’t always get the most publicity, but it is the most important. The cross stands as a sign of how far God is willing to go for you. The cross is the reminder that there is nothing God won’t give up for you. The cross is the place where God grasps not for life or power, but instead resigns himself to give it all up and die. The cross is the place where God makes sure that you and I will have a relationship with Him forever. It’s like Paul says when he writes: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”(Romans 8:38-39) Paul was paying attention. Are we?
If we haven’t been, it’s ok. It’s ok, because there’s still plenty of time. Plenty of time to drop everything and head for the wilderness for awhile. Plenty of time to listen to John’s advice and get ready for Jesus’ arrival. Plenty of time to repent and change.

God may show up in all of those great stories we hear throughout the year-Jesus burned into a piece of toast, Mary on the grilled cheese, and Moses the cross-marked calf. God definitely shows up through John and his message this week to repent and get ready. God always shows up in the suffering world-walking with the crosses we carry and carrying us to new life beyond them. Have you heard this story? Have you seen his cross? Are you paying attention?

God's Positioning System

2009-12-16T06:04:00.000-08:00

Luke 3:1-6

Do you have a GPS unit in your car? Do you have a Garmin, or a TomTom? Do you have one that came installed from the factory? Do you find comfort in that voice that guides you along the way as you drive? Have you come to rely on that voice that comes from your GPS unit to get you where you need to go? Are you, at this point, used to typing in your destination and then listening as that familiar voice guides you through each turn?

Did you know that you can download different voices for your GPS unit? So, instead of the standard voice, you could get your directions from Clint Eastwood, or Marilyn Monroe. If you wanted, you could set your GPS so that it was Darth Vader or Yoda who was guiding you along the way. There are tons of voices you could use if you wanted: John Cleese, Sean Connery, Mister T, Knight Rider, Austin Powers, or Homer Simpson. In today’s world, if you have a GPS, then you could listen to any voice you choose as you navigate your way through life.

In our gospel lesson for today, there is a definitive voice that is about to speak. He’s in a remote place, that the residents of ancient Israel may have needed a global positioning device to find. Before Jesus arrives, it’s this voice that is guiding people to God. In the words of Isaiah, his is a voice that is crying out in the wilderness-and his message for the people is: “PREPARE”!

In a way, you might say that John was God’s GPS in those days. Before there was GPS he was calling everyone who would listen to take to the highways-make the paths straight, cut out the crooked roads, and flatten the mountains along the way. He was guiding people, giving directions for them as they prepared for this amazing thing that was coming their way.

It’s no different today. Where are the deep valleys in your life? What lies at the bottom of them? Where are the mountains that stand in between you and your relationship with God? What are they made of? Where have the roads that were once straight, easy paths, become crooked and treacherous? How did they get that way?
The good news is, no matter how deep the valley, how high the mountain, or how crooked the road, God has given us a positioning system-a way to level the rough terrain of life. God has given us a clear direction-a message that takes the twists and turns that leave us dizzy and disoriented and makes them straight once more.

God’s positioning system has a voice, no longer crying out in the wilderness, but speaking to your heart. God’s positioning system is here, closer than the Garmin that sits on your dash, clearer than the TomTom fixed to your windshield, and easier to use than your factory-installed navigation system. His is the voice that John called the people in the wilderness to prepare for. His is the voice that calls us to direct our lives toward God’s unending love. His is the voice that we will hear in just a few short weeks in a baby’s cries from the manger.

God’s positioning system calls us to drop everything during this season of hope and prepare for a fresh start, a new day, a brand new destination. When John stood in the middle of nowhere and shouted-“PREPARE!”-this is what he was talking about.
God’s positioning system will guide us this season by starlight, to an out-of –the-way town where everything will change forever. God’s positioning system will guide us to the stable beneath the inn-open to the night air, and wide open for anyone who wants to come in and see. God’s positioning system will guide us to forgiveness in the flesh, the birth of possibility, and the child who will lead us to new life.

He brought a message that no one before him, and no one since has dared to share quite the way he did. He set his own positioning system for the places in the world that needed God most. He met people who had been buried under mountains of illness-and he healed them. He walked with people who had been living in valleys of rejection and pain-and he guided them into pastures of peace and acceptance. He met people traveling along roads that had become crooked and twisted without the real presence of God-and he straightened them so that people could see that God was there for them all along.

In the end, he navigated a path that led from the table to the garden, then from the garden to the cross-going to the place that leaves us all lost. He charted a course through the darkness of death, walking through that dark valley guided by God, until he emerged on the other side to stand in the sunshine of the resurrection.
You can’t download Jesus’ voice for your GPS, but you can carry it in your heart. No matter where you go, his words can guide your path-leveling mountains of worry, guiding you through valleys of fear, and straightening the twists and turns of life-leading you straight into God’s undying love.

Where are the places in your life that need to be leveled? Where do you need to be lifted up the most? What turns seem to leave you lost again and again? How can you use God’s positioning system during this season of hope to prepare for the one whose voice can guide you through it all? How can you set your heart to God’s guiding voice? There are so many voices out there to listen to, but only His can get you to where you really need to go. Let God’s voice be your guide through the dark valleys, over the mountains, and through the twists and turns, and before long, God promises-you’ll see the Son.

20 Questions with Christ the King

2009-11-23T06:09:00.000-08:00

John 18:33-37

Can you remember the last time you played a really good game of 20 Questions? Thanksgiving is coming this week, and I wonder how many times that game has been played by children, sitting in the back seat of the car while mom and dad drive to visit relatives. Before there were dvd players and Nintendo DS’s-it was games like: I Spy, license plate bingo, and 20 Questions that kept children occupied during those long drives.

This morning it may seem as though Jesus is in the middle of a game of 20 questions, but if he’s playing, he’s not doing very well. Everyone but Jesus seems to know that the only acceptable answers in this game are “Yes” and “No”. That’s all that Pontius Pilate wants from him: “Are you a king? Yes or no?” But, Jesus doesn’t seem to get it. He answers Pilate’s questions with some of his own: “Why do you ask?” “Am I a King? You tell me.” “Do you think I look like a King?” And, even though he seems to be toying with Pilate, at this point I think Jesus is done playing games. Maybe that’s the problem.

Or, maybe the real problem is that Pilate doesn’t realize that he’s playing 20 questions with God Himself. I would bet that God loves a good game. I would guess that God is more than willing to play around and have fun with us. But, I also believe that when we play, it’s always by God’s rules. Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea isn’t used to playing by anyone’s rules but his own. Maybe that’s why he’s having a hard time with Jesus.

Have you ever played 20 questions with God? I have. On most days, though, I’ve got way more than 20 questions for God, and on most days I want answers to all of them. If you were standing face to face with the Son of God this morning, which ones would you like to ask?

Jesus is more than willing to help us find answers to even the toughest questions of life. He answered all kinds of questions with the way he lived his life. When people wondered who was welcome, he answered-“Everyone”. When people wondered who was acceptable in God’s eyes he answered the same thing. When people wondered how to have a relationship with God, he answered their question by showing up and spending time with them wherever they happened to be-at work, at the table, drawing water at the well in the hot sun, even in the middle of the night. Jesus is more than willing to sit with just about anyone and help them find answers for the questions of life.

Jesus is more than willing to do this as long as we’re willing to let him. When we try to limit God’s voice in our lives to simple, one word answers-“Yes” or “No” –then we miss out on the great possibilities that a relationship with God holds. Pilate experienced this that day. You and I have, too. When we press God for answers that we’ve already come to all by ourselves, we are bound to end up confused and frustrated. When this happens, I’ll bet God feels the same way.

So much of our relationship with God lives in the questions. In fact, if you think back far enough ,you may remember that your relationship with God began in the questions. They were asked way back when and they sounded something like this: “Do you desire to be baptized?” “Do you believe in God, the Father…Son…and Holy Spirit?”

For many of us, someone else answered those questions. At the font, they held us and they responded: “Yes, and I ask God to help me.”

That day with Pilate, Jesus began to answer the most important questions of life and death for us. If he were like other kings, he wouldn’t have bothered-he would have sent someone else to do it. Or, he would have gathered troops and sent them to face his accusers while he sat safely at home. If he were like any other king, he’d save a place for himself instead of taking your place and mine. If he were like any other king, he wouldn’t be our savior, our Lord, our Christ.

There are all kinds of questions that we ask every day. We find answers for some, and others remain uncertain or unclear. Because of Jesus, we can ask any question we choose…we can pray to God anytime, and anywhere. The answer may not come right away or the way we wanted, but because Jesus answered the toughest questions of life and death on the cross, we know for sure that God’s listening ear is always close by.

So the next time you find yourself wondering about something-anything at all-try asking Jesus about it first, you may be surprised what happens. You may be surprised by the answers, the conversation, and the possibilities that are opened up before you. You may be surprised by the new life you find in the God who took your place, walks with you, and is always ready to help you find the answers you’re looking for. As long as you’re willing to ask the questions.

Time...

2009-11-16T06:10:00.000-08:00

Mark 13:1-8

Last week we heard a story about a woman who took her last penny and gave it to God. This week, I’ve been thinking about what we do with our time. In particular, I’m thinking about a question that gets asked all kinds of ways: “If you had one day left to live, how would you spend it?” Think about it for a moment…really think. What would you spend that last 24 hours doing? Would you spend it with the people you love the most? Would you enjoy your last day with family and friends? Would you do something crazy? Steal a car? Rob a bank? Something crazier? Would you spend that last day enjoying your favorite location on earth? Would you drive to the mountains, head to the beach and sit by the ocean, walk through the streets of your favorite city? Would you tell someone something you’ve been meaning to say, but haven’t found the time or words yet? What would you say? “I’m sorry”? “I love you.”? “I really can’t stand you”? Would you, instead, be paralyzed by fear? Would you stay at home and sit and wait and worry? What would you do if you knew you only had one day left to live?

Of course, we have no idea when our last day will come or what we will do with it. But think about it for just a minute.

Essentially, this is what Jesus’ disciples are concerned about. It’s what Peter, Andrew, James, and John are thinking about as they sit on the Mount of Olives with Jesus. Really, who could blame them for thinking about it? Just a few minutes earlier, as they were all heading out of the Temple, one of them happened to mention how impressive the whole structure was-“Look at these stones, they’re huge! Look at these buildings, they’re bigger than anything I’ve ever seen!” Then, instead of agreeing, Jesus told them with a less-than-casual tone in his voice that one day the whole thing would be reduced to a pile of rubble.

Once they’re safely across the way, sitting up on the Mount, they ask Jesus a question like the one I began with this morning. “When will this happen? How will we know?” If we were there that day, we would probably ask the same kind of thing.

I wonder if this same kind of thing was on Paul’s mind when he wrote the letter to the Hebrews. In fact, I think what he writes in 10:24-25 makes a pretty good answer to questions about what to do with the time we have left-whether it’s one day or a hundred years, I think they make good sense:

“Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.” -Hebrews 10:24-25 (MSG)

If you know that the time you have left is limited, then Paul says: encourage love, help out, make time to gather together, and in all of it go above and beyond-be inventive-do it all in ways that the world has never seen before.

This verse becomes even more important when the things that Jesus tells his disciples to watch out for start to happen. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars… When people try to get you to compromise on your beliefs… When there is conflict… When there are earthquakes… When there are people without enough to eat…

You know what? All of those things are happening right now… War, conflict, messages that compete for our attention, natural disasters, hunger… So Paul’s words are important for us today. They were happening back then, too, when Paul wrote those words. They’ve been happening since nearly the beginning of time.

So what do you do when you know that the time you’ve got is limited? I’ll bet Jesus was aware of this question every day of his life. I’ll bet it never drifted too far from his thoughts. I’ll bet he lived with it throughout nearly every moment. I’ll bet he thought about it during those last twenty four hours of his life. From sitting at the table sharing a meals with his best friends to praying in the garden for strength in those final hours. From being arrested and hauled off, to being raised on the cross. I’ll bet he thought about how he had spent his life especially in those last moments as friends scattered while others stayed…as people mocked while others couldn’t bear to look. I’ll bet he thought about it a lot at the very end.

I wonder how Jesus thought about his time on earth on the other side of the cross. When the stone was rolled away and the sun streamed in? When his friends stood in disbelief at his living, breathing body?

Time is precious when you know you don’t have a lot of it. Time may be even more precious when you find some you didn’t know you had, or even better when you get some you thought you’d never live to see.

I think, in essence, this is what Jesus’ message on the Mount of Olives is about. Live your life while you have the time to live it. Be the person God created you to be while you can. Find time for what’s really important when you have the time.

If you’ve got ten minutes, twenty four hours, or twenty four years, then you’ve got time. Time to invent something new. A new person to reach out to. A new friend to make. A new chapter to open in an old relationship. A new message to share with the world. A new stone to turn over. Until that day when everything is new…remember what Jesus did for you and what Paul told you, and live lives that let the people around you know that you’re making the most of your time and they can too.

An Empty Boat

2009-11-16T06:08:00.000-08:00

John 11:32-44

I want you to use your imagination for a moment. I want you to imagine that you are in a boat on a river. It can be any kind of boat you choose: a canoe, a rowboat, a kayak… Can you picture it? O.K, you’re in your little boat, paddling along, minding your own business, heading down river. The water is still and calm. The leaves on the trees around you are just beginning to change color and you can see all of the yellows, oranges, and reds reflecting off of the water all around you. An occasional leaf falls off of a branch and drifts gently down in front of you. As you watch it fall, all of a sudden WHAM! Another boat bumps into you from behind. You turn around and see that the driver of the other boat was busy furiously texting on their cell phone, oblivious to where they were they were going when they bumped into your little boat.

Now, let me ask you: How do you feel about that person? What do you say to that person?

Shortly after this happens, you get your boat going back down river, your blood pressure returns to a normal rate, and you once again begin enjoying the still water, the changing leaves, and the ride that you’re taking in your little boat, when all of a sudden WHAM! It happens again. Another boat slams into your little boat. But this time when you turn around you see that this boat has no one in it all. It’s an empty boat. What do you do this time? Do you shout at the empty boat? Are you angry at it? Do you say anything at all? How does life change when you get bumped by an empty boat?

Chuang Tzu was a Chinese philosopher who lived in the 4th century before the birth of Christ. This lesson about the “empty boat” was one of his stories.

Have you ever been bumped? Can you remember the last time you really got bumped in life? When someone or something came along, often without warning, and knocked you off course? When something bumped you out of the comfort and security of the life you were living and left you trying to paddle back on course?

We’ve all been bumped. And when it happens, it’s jarring. It’s startling. It can make us angry. In fact, many of us have been bumped so many times that we’re no longer paddling along through life, enjoying the scenery and the moment, but instead we’re spending all of our time on the lookout for the next boat that may come along and bump us. Can you relate?

Mary and Martha have been bumped. In our lesson for today, they’re still reeling from a big bump-one that startled and shook them. One that has sent their lives off course. Lazarus, their brother, has died, and they are feeling bumped in a big way because of it. They’re angry. They’re tearful. They’re searching for answers and looking for hope. They’re worrying. Really, they’re doing what we would do.
What they learn that day is that God has the power to make every painful experience, every threatening thing, every worry inducing bump in our lives into an empty boat. Jesus, filled with every human emotion his body will hold, as he fights back the tears, appeals to God to do just that. In the face of death, Jesus prays to God and opens the grave. At the end of that day, with the bandages still hanging from his head, arms, and legs, Lazarus’s death is nothing more than a momentary bump from an empty boat.

We still get bumped. Every day. The problem with this isn’t in the bumping, but it’s in what we do with it. If you get bumped enough, you begin to worry about where and when the next big bump will come from and what it might do to you. When this happens, you spend most of your life worrying instead of living. You start looking not at the changing leaves or the still water that God has blessed you with, but at the boats all around you, the one way out there on the horizon…and you worry that it’s coming for you. When this happens, the whole world shrinks to the size of your little boat and you spend all your time wondering how you’ll protect it. The end result is that even an empty boat can rob us of the present-the only time we really ever have.

Jesus came, in part, to liberate us from the idea that worrying accomplishes anything. He told his disciples, at the most uncertain point in their lives: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me.”

In Jesus, we are given the power and the strength to become the very thing that we spend so much time running from. In Jesus, we can become empty boats. Chuang Tzu put it this way: “If you can empty your own boat crossing the river of the world, no one will oppose you, no one will seek to harm you....” When we become empty boats floating through life, then God becomes the one who charts the course, drives our lives, and watches out for the bumps along the way.

Jesus, seeing the pain that death causes and the power that it holds over the lives of the people he loves, does something about it. That afternoon, he opened the grave, prayed to God, and called for Lazarus to come out. Later, in order to destroy the power of death forever, Jesus ventured right into it. He walked into the darkness that Lazarus emerged from. He set his course for the heart of it and never allowed himself to be bumped off course by anything. Before he did, he emptied himself completely, he prayed for God to take over, and when he set his compass for the cross he became an empty boat-driven by God. In the emptiness, God does something amazing. Death is conquered and new life emerges.

No one likes getting bumped. We’re bumped by all kinds of things and all of them add up in many ways to death and loss. We’re bumped when we lose a loved one. We’re bumped when we lose a relationship. We’re bumped when we lose a job. Every bump interrupts our life. Every bump knocks our little boat off course. Every bump hurts.

In the God who raised Lazarus, in the God who was raised on the cross, and in the God who raised Christ to new life, we’re reminded every day that these bumps cannot defeat us. These shocks cannot drive us off course forever. These traumas will never have the last word…because with this God, one day the waters will become calm once more, the sun will shine again, and even at the end of life, our boat will still sail on.

Becoming Children of God-Reformation and Liam's Baptism

2009-11-16T05:52:00.000-08:00

John 8:31-36

Martin Luther, the founder of our church, the “igniter” of the Protestant Reformation, the man who was bold enough to compile a list of 95 issues with the church of his day, and then bold enough to nail them to the door of the castle church in his own Wittenburg, Germany on October 31, 1517. This Martin Luther, who holed himself up in a tiny room to avoid being burned at the stake, and while he was there translated the entire Bible from Hebrew and Greek into German, so that the average person could read it. This historical figure, who psychologists say, is the only person in history who could be completely analyzed based on the large volume of writing he did…they say he never had a thought that he didn’t put on paper…This man, this “legend” among Lutherans, when it comes down to it…is exactly like you…and me. His name may be in the history books, but he’s no different than us.

When it comes down to it, Martin Luther, with all of his credentials, accomplishments, achievements, and history-making works…is just another disciple of Jesus, another child of God. He’s just another person who heard the words of Jesus when he said:“Follow Me” and did exactly that.

“The truth will make you free” Jesus says. The truth of the matter is, a disciple is anyone who leaves behind the pressures of this life, makes a turn somewhere along the way, and begins following Jesus first.

The disciples did it: Peter and Andrew left their nets lying in the sand and followed Jesus. James and John, jumped out of the boat and left the family fishing business to follow Jesus. Tax collectors and sinners flocked to Jesus’ side, leaving behind their old lives and starting something new. Each of these people, when Jesus came into their life and asked them to “follow”, they stopped what they were doing, and they did it. They followed Jesus. They became disciples.

Just like Peter and Andrew, James and John, our first movement as disciples is to drop whatever it is that keeps us from answering the call, and begin to follow Jesus. Just like Martin Luther, our first task is to let go of anything that stands in the way of our relationship with God and begin to follow Jesus…
Is it easy? Think for a moment about all the things you have to do today. Could you drop them all and never return to them again?

There is someone here this morning who in just a few short moments will make it look really easy. In just a few short moments Liam will come to the font, feel the waters of baptism trickle gently over his forehead, and just like that…become a child of God…become a disciple of Jesus. It’s just that simple…come to font…feel the waters rush.... It’s easy, and it happened exactly the same way for you. Baptized into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we become his followers.

Jesus, in the end, the one we’re following, leads us to the cross…the sacrifice that he makes to bring the unconditional love of God to the world is the sacrifice of his own life. In this supreme gift lies the heart of what Martin Luther discovered: God’s love is free…for you, for me, for the world. God’s forgiveness is free….God’s approval of you…is free. It can’t be bought, not with money, not with good deeds, not with self-denial, or self-sacrifice, or anything else that you or I have or hold. It is God’s to give, and God gives it for free.

Of course, it’s not free for God. For God the cost is huge, it means life and death, it means pain and suffering, it means the cross for his son, the grave for his own flesh. But in this incredible act, God says “You’re worth it”

Today, we remember and celebrate the Reformation, a shift in the church toward the God who is gracious, the God who forgives without charging us a thing. The God who rejoices in the possibility of new and continual reformation and rebirth in the church for years to come. This is the movement that Martin Luther began. This is the Reformation commitment we are called to continue as disciples of Jesus.

The best part of this is that there are as many ways to do it as there are people in the world. The possibilities are limitless. You can do it as a teacher, a mechanic, a tax man, a saleswoman, a doctor, a lawyer, a stay-at-home mome, a cashier, a toll booth worker, a builder, a child, a friend, a husband, a wife, a son, a daughter, a grandparent, a baby… The list goes on and on. At the end of the day, all you have to do to follow Jesus is be yourself. Exactly the person God created you to be. That’s why Liam makes it look so easy-he has absolutely no problem being the person God created him to be. In fact, at his age, it’s all he knows.

Luther nailed the 95 theses to the door. Peter and Andrew dropped their nets. James and John jumped out of the boat. The tax collectors left their tax booths. The sinners found forgiveness. Liam came to the font and was baptized. What will you find in the words of Jesus, standing before you, saying: “Follow Me”? How will you be a disciple, in the spirit of the first disciples, the tax collectors and sinners, Martin Luther and the other Reformers? How can you receive God’s love the way Liam did this morning? How will you change the world tomorrow as a disciple of Jesus? What can you do today with the gifts God gave you and the unconditional love God shows you?

Wild Things

2009-11-16T05:49:00.000-08:00

Mark 10:35-45

There once was a rich man who was near death. He was very grieved because he had worked so hard for his money and wanted to be able to take it with him to heaven. So he began to pray that he might be able to take some of his wealth with him. An angel heard his plea and appeared to him.

"I’m sorry, it doesn’t work that way. You can't take your money with you."
The man begged the angel to speak to God to see if He might bend the rules. The man continued to pray that his wealth could follow him into heaven.

The angel reappeared and informed the man that God had decided to allow him to take one suitcase with him. Overjoyed, the man gathered his largest suitcase and filled it with pure gold bars and placed it beside his bed. Soon afterward, he died and showed up at the gates of heaven to greet St. Peter.

St. Peter, seeing the suitcase, said, "Hold on, you can't bring that in here!"
The man explained to St. Peter that he had permission and asked him to verify his story with the Lord. Sure enough, St. Peter checked it out, came back and said, "You're right. You are allowed one carry-on bag, but I'm supposed to check its contents before letting it through." St. Peter opened the suitcase to inspect the worldly items that the man found too precious to leave behind and exclaimed, "You could bring anything you wanted, why did you choose to bring pavement?” (The streets of heaven are paved with…)

There was another man who had worked all of his life and had saved all of his money. He was a real miser when it came to his money. He loved money more than just about anything, and just before he died, he said to his wife, "Now listen, when I die, I want you to take all my money and place it in the casket with me. I wanna take my money to the afterlife."

So he got his wife to promise him with all her heart that when he died, she would put all the money in the casket with him.

Well, one day he died. He was stretched out in the casket, the wife was sitting there in black next to her closest friend. When they finished the ceremony, just before the undertakers got ready to close the casket, the wife said "Wait just a minute!" she had a shoe box with her, she came over with the box and placed it in the casket.

Then the undertakers locked the casket down and rolled it away.

Her friend said, "I hope you weren't crazy enough to put all that money in the casket."

She said, "Yes, I promised. I'm a good Christian, I can't lie. I promised him that I was going to put that money in that casket with him."

"You mean to tell me you put every cent of his money in the casket with him?"

"I sure did, " said the wife. "I got it all together, put it into my account and I wrote him one big check. If he can cash it, he can spend it.”
Today, we hear a story about James and John. In it, we find out that just like the two men in these jokes-they want to go to heaven with gold bricks in their pockets and a big check in their wallets. “

Jesus sets them straight, or at least he tries to when he essentially tells them “It doesn’t work that way.”

Others have captured this wisdom over the years. Someone somewhere said “You can’t take it with you.” Another anonymous person put it into these words “Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have.” Maurice Sendak, author of “Where the Wild Things Are” understood this too. Here’s what he said about it: “There must be more to life than having everything.”
His book was recently made into a movie that was released this weekend. In short, the book is about a little boy who imagines a world of Wild Things and retreats there when his mother sends him to his room without supper.

When we’re not satisfied with what we have we run the risk of becoming like James and John. When this happens our imaginations run wild with impossible ideas of personal greatness. Ideas that include special seats at the right and left hand of God. Ideas of suitcases that are full of gold bricks. Ideas of big checks to stuff into our wallets.

As we find out in today’s lesson, these are ideas that God cannot bless. If we listen closely, we realize that we are fortunate that God does not bless these ideas.
I think God wants us to use our imaginations to come up with all kinds of wild things. I think those wild things might include working to make seats, not for ourselves, but so that other people will have a place to sit. A wild thing that God could bless might look less like a suitcase of gold bricks, and more like bricks that build foundations for places where people can gather to hear a story of hope for all, not just a few. I think God would like us to make some wild things happen by opening our wallets and checkbooks to find more imaginative uses for what we find there.

Maurice Sendak wrote the book, but I think God is the master of wild things. God created this wild world, but He wasn’t satisfied with it until people like you and I were living here. When we came up with all kinds of wild ideas that God couldn’t bless-God came up with the wildest one yet. Jesus was born. God was born into our world. He lived as we do. He saw what we see. He walked through the world and shared wild things like unconditional love, complete forgiveness, and real life with anyone who was willing to listen. In this wild world, Jesus does all kinds of wild things-but none was wilder than venturing into the wildest, most untamed place we could imagine-into death and back out again. In doing this one wild thing, Jesus frees us from all those misguided imaginings and frees us to be wild things just as he was.

When we’re not satisfied with what we have we become like James and John. We start thinking about ourselves more and more, and thinking about the people around us less and less. When this happens, we come up with all kinds of wild things-seats in heaven, suitcases full of gold, and big checks with our name on them.
I think God wants to let us in on a little secret: When we get to that place where God’s glory shines the brightest, that place where James and John wanted those two special seats on either side of Jesus-we won’t care about most of what we had in this life. It just won’t matter anymore.

But, all of those things we had in this life will be left here when we go. They will speak to what kind of people we were in this life. Will people tell stories about you and I? They certainly will. And you and I will write those stories today. It’s up to us. They can tell stories of the gold bricks we packed up in our suitcases and the checks that went un-cashed and unused. Or, they can tell stories about people with great imaginations who realized that there was more to life than having it all, and upon realizing that-did some really wild things to serve the people and the world that God loves. If we’re successful, one day people will point to the seats that we set, the places we build, and the things we imagine and say: “That’s where the wild things are.”

"how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God"

2009-10-15T06:51:00.000-07:00

Mark 10:17-31

Late one night there is a knock on the pearly gates. St. Peter looks out and a man is standing there. So, he goes to grab his clipboard and is about to begin the interview he conducts with all the new arrivals to heaven, but when he opens the door, all of a sudden the man disappears.

No sooner is St. Peter back in his chair when there is another knock at the door. He gets up, opens the door and sees the same man standing there. As he opens his mouth to speak, the man disappears once again.

Finally, at the third knock, St. Peter has had it. He throws the door open and shouts “Why, are you messing with me?!” As the man disappears once more, he shouts back: “I’m not! They keep trying to resuscitate me down here!”

“how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God.” Like it or not, Jesus is right. It is hard to enter the kingdom of God.

I think the biggest reason it’s so hard, is because we are so much more accustomed to living in our own kingdoms. It’s hard to enter God’s kingdom, because if we’re honest with ourselves, we’d rather live in our own kingdoms.
The young man who comes to Jesus in our gospel for today learns this lesson-and when he does it shocks him and makes him walk away saddened. His kingdom is one that is full of lots of possessions. Jesus invites him to enter God’s kingdom, but tells him that all of those possessions can’t come with him. Just the prospect of leaving the kingdom of possessions behind shocks the man, and when he realizes he can’t do it-it saddens him.

“how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God.”

I thought a little bit this week about all the things that make us comfortable in our own kingdoms.

If we read the gospel stories of Jesus carefully, we will find that the Kingdom of God is vastly different than the kingdoms we build for ourselves to live in.

Our kingdom says that there are winners and losers, and we live in the kingdom trying our best to win as often as possible...but Jesus says: “those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake...will save it.” God’s kingdom is for the losers.

When our kingdoms are built for winners- then “how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God.”

Our kingdom says that the best indication of blessing is in how much we have-money in the bank, food in the refrigerator, clothes in our closet, cars in the garage...Jesus says: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” God’s kingdom is for the poor.

When we measure our kingdoms in numbers of possessions-then “how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God.”

Our kingdom says that a good life is a life that is full of comfort, security, and safety...Jesus says: “If any want to become my followers let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” God’s kingdom doesn’t always call us to the safest, most secure places.

When our kingdoms are marked by comfort and safety-then “how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God.”

On top of the need to live in our kinds of kingdoms-rather than God’s, there is another problem that we share with the young man who comes to Jesus. I think, often, we too are asking the wrong questions. Listen again to what he asks: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Looking for something he can perform to get into the kingdom-the young man is crushed when Jesus suggests something he can’t bring himself to do.

Maybe this is another significant difference between God’s kingdom and our kingdom-in God’s kingdom everything is up to God.

You and I have a choice today, as we sit and listen once more to a story about the Kingdom of God. We can look around at the kingdom we live in and become shocked because it is so different than God’s kingdom. We, like the young man, can walk away saddened because we don’t want to give up life in our kingdom. Or, we can see the good news in what Jesus has to say about life in this new kingdom.

You can’t bring the possessions with you into God’s kingdom because God doesn’t want them, doesn’t need them, can’t use them. In fact, God gave you all of those things so that you would use them to make life on this side of the kingdom better for people who have less than you do. God wants you in the kingdom, not the possessions.
God doesn’t care if you’re a winner or a loser. God knows what you’re capable of, who you are, and what you mean to him. God doesn’t need to see a medal around your neck to know that you belong in the kingdom.

God’s kingdom-the eternal life-that the young man asked about will be a place of comfort, security, and safety. God knows that this world is not-but He put you here to live in it and to work for the comfort of others, the security of those who are insecure, and the safety of those who live in dangerous places. God wants you to live in complete safety and security, but not just yet.

“how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God.” In fact, Jesus says- for us it is impossible. But not for God. For God, all things are possible.

Jesus didn’t measure the success of his mission based on how much he had-but instead chose to let God provide-in God’s kingdom 5 loaves and 2 fish can feed thousands of people. In God’s kingdom it’s possible for the Son of God to be born into an unsafe world, in an unsafe place. From the manger to the cross, Jesus chose to live among those for whom there was no safety or security, and little comfort. He walked with people who were living in the valley of the shadow of death-and reminded them that in God’s kingdom they would never walk alone. In the end, Jesus was willing to lose everything that God had given him-his reputation, his credibility, even his life-to bring God’s kingdom to this world. The end of Jesus’ life reveals the most striking difference between God’s kingdom and ours. In our kingdom-death gets the last word. In God’s kingdom-death is the gateway to a new beginning. After death comes resurrection-life in a kingdom that is greater than we ever could have dreamed.

“how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God” without the help of God. When we try to go it alone, when we try to build our own little kingdoms to live in, and when we try to resuscitate them over and over again as they fail to give us the life we want-we run the risk of becoming shocked and saddened time and time again. When we learn to trust God to provide, we begin to really live-maybe not the life we imagined, but the real life that God blesses.

In the end, God doesn’t want your awards, your possessions, or your little kingdom…God wants you! Until we reach that day, God wants us to use these things as witnesses to the new kingdom that God is building for us all to live in one day.
God gives us the words to pray when we, like the young man, struggle with leaving our kingdom for God’s: “Your kingdom come, your will be done.”

Receive the Kingdom of God

2009-10-05T11:17:00.000-07:00

Mark 10:13-16

Meditate on these for awhile:
What’s the sound of one hand clapping?
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

These are two common examples of what is, in Zen Buddhism, called a “koan”. A koan is a puzzling, often paradoxical statement or story, used as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening. Ponder them for just a moment and you may find yourself stepping into a whole new reality.

A more contemporary koan is this one: “Why are there locks on the doors at 7-eleven?” Think about it, why does a store that is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year need to have locks on its doors? The path to enlightenment begins here.
While you’re thinking on that one, let me offer you another. Jesus offers us a sort of koan of his own in today’s lesson. “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”

I think this is a sort of koan that Jesus offers because, at first glance it seems so easy to understand-children are open, loving, unbiased, creative, caring…the list goes on and on. So, if we recover some of that child-like openness and faith, then we too can expect to enter God’s kingdom. If we can’t recover it, then we may never find the life God intends for us. Easy enough, right?

But, apparently, it’s not that simple. This is the second time in less than a chapter of Mark’s gospel that Jesus has had to make this point to his disciples. First, when they argued about who among them was the greatest-Jesus essentially told them: “Do you want to see who God thinks is great?” and then he took a little child in his arms and said “This is who God thinks is really great.”

And now, as people stream to Jesus with these little children just like that one, the embodiment of greatness in God’s eyes, the disciples only instinct is to speak sternly to them, shoo them away, tell them to get lost. Apparently they haven’t meditated on the koan of the child long enough.

Maybe they should spend some time with the 7-eleven koan, too. Why are there locks on the doors of a store that’s open all the time? These disciples have seen how Jesus is open, to all kinds of people, all the time. And yet, they still feel the need to install locks on the gates of God’s kingdom. They’ve seen it with their own eyes-that Jesus is like a 7-eleven-open all day every day. Yet, today they seem to be telling all of these people, bringing their children that Jesus is closed for business. The doors are locked.

Do you and I need to spend some more time with these two bits of wisdom, too? Are you sometimes like Jesus’ disciples? Do you sometimes see the need to stand guard at the door, at the gate, at the entrance, ready to lock it all up tight if the wrong kind of person happens to come along at the wrong time? Have you ever felt the pressure of feeling like it was up to you to guard something, and you were afraid of what might happen if the gates were left wide open? Have you felt that kind of fear?

Or, are you like the people who bring their children? Do you find yourself wanting some kind of contact with someone who has wisdom to bring to the troubles of your life? Do you find yourself looking for someone who could listen to all the things that fill your heart and mind each day? Do you long for someone who could touch your life and remind you in a meaningful way that it is blessed by God?

The good news today, if you’ve ever felt this way, is that Jesus is here for you. There’s no need to be on guard when he’s around. Stop guarding, put away the keys, leave the door and live your life without fear. Jesus has it covered. There’s no need to carry those troubles alone. You don’t have to look far for that listening ear. Your life is blessed, look around, Jesus is here.

Jesus has a passion for teaching these lessons. They are important to him. Notice how he feels when the disciples stand guard and lock the doors to keep people out- “when Jesus saw this he was indignant.” Indignant literally means: angry, offended, annoyed, pained. Jesus seldom gets this way. In fact, this is the only place in the Bible where it happens.

It doesn’t happen when Jesus is accused of lying about being God’s Son. He doesn’t get angry this way when the accusations turn into a guilty verdict. He isn’t indignant when they lock him up like a criminal, when they dress him up in a purple cloth and a crown of thorn, when they make fun of him. No indignation at all when they lead him to the cross, nail him up on it, and then mock him as he dies. Through all of these things, Jesus expresses no anger at all.
But when he sees someone trying to close up shop on God’s kingdom, he’s indignant.
Indignant, he passes right by the doors that the disciples are trying to close and lock, and he takes the children up in his arms, lays his hands on them, and blesses them. Indignant at the idea that God’s kingdom could ever be closed, Jesus reaches out.

What we find, ultimately from this little koan is that the kingdom of God IS these little ones. It is these little ones and anyone else who is open enough to give and receive God’s love the way they do.

What happens that day is a metaphor for what happens at the end of the story. The disciples tried to lock the doors and close off access to Jesus. The cross and the grave were attempts to lock the doors and close off access to God. But Jesus passes through every locked door, every dark place, every gate that leads to death, and emerges to embrace us with new life on the other side. That day it was blessings for all who came. Today, it is the blessing of the resurrection for all who receive him the way those little ones did.

What’s the sound of one hand clapping? Does a tree that falls in the forest make a sound if no one is there to hear it? Why do they have locks on the doors at 7-eleven? I’m not sure. But, why isn’t Jesus concerned about offending his disciples? Why does he push past them without a second thought? Why does he bless the little children? I think he does it because they ARE the kingdom of God. You and I are as well when we become like them. Meditate on that for awhile and you will be enlightened.

Running

2009-08-03T09:40:00.000-07:00

John 6:24-35

Last Sunday morning, the police in Plain City, Utah were busy with a car chase. Although the pursuit never exceeded 40 miles an hour, it was memorable nonetheless. Police followed a white Dodge Intrepid that appeared to be driven by an underage driver. The car drove through the deserted Sunday morning streets, ran through stop signs, and made a u-turn in the local high school parking lot, all with the sirens and flashing lights in its rear-view mirror. The driver even eluded an attempt by one officer to block the road by turning down a side street at the last minute. Finally, the chase ended when the driver-seven year-old Preston Scarbrough, pulled into the driveway of a local home, put the car in park, got out and ran inside.

Inside the home, Preston found his father, sitting in the living room watching t.v. and told him: “Dad, the cops are outside.”

If you saw the story on the news this week, then you’ve seen it: the car slowly winding through the town’s streets, the police following along, and little Preston running as fast as he can up the dirt driveway and into his house. If you’ve seen it, then you also know why he did it all (or, at least why he says he did it). He says he did it all because he didn’t want to go to church.
So let’s be honest here, how many of us have ever felt like Preston did last Sunday? You wake up Sunday morning and think to yourself: “Man, I really don’t want to go.” Or, you plead with your parents to let you stay home. Be honest. How many of us here this morning felt that way today? I wonder how many of our friends felt that way today, and are still in bed or sitting in their pajamas in front of the television, or are out joyriding just like Preston was.

For me, the timing of this story couldn’t be better because today we’ve got a Gospel lesson where nearly the opposite thing happens. It tells us: “when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.” This crowd of people doesn’t spend their Sunday morning joyriding, trying to avoid the Lord. Instead, they’re purposefully looking, searching, pursuing him. Why would they do this?

They do it because they are the same crowd that just one day earlier had been fed by Jesus. This crowd of people was the same crowd, 5,000 in all, who had been fed until they couldn’t eat another bite when Jesus made five loaves of bread and two fish do more than anyone ever imagined.

So now, they’re looking for him because they want to see what he’ll do next. They had heard about his teachings. They had been told about the miracles of healing. They watched as the leftovers were gathered, filling twelve baskets. And now they’re wondering: “What will he do next?” This crowd is running after Jesus because they want to see or experience the next big thing.

We’ve felt like that as well, haven’t we? We spend a lot of time, if we’re honest with ourselves, running after the next big thing. We run after the next paycheck, the next experience, the next relationship, the next … You could fill in the blank with all the “next” things that you’re running after. We spend a lot of time running after things, and often the running leaves us exhausted and worn out.

At other times we’re more like little Preston, running from things. We know what those things are too. We run from the past, the mistakes, the words we never had the courage to say, the words we wished we had the restraint not to say, the relationship that didn’t turn out the way we had hoped… Again, fill in the blank. What do you run from?

In our lesson for today, Jesus invites all of us who run-from the things in our past or toward the next big thing in the future-to stop running. He tells the crowds who pursue him of something that will feed every hunger and quench every thirst…something that is closer to them than they might imagine.

When we gather together to worship and praise God each week we’re reminded that it’s o.k. to stop running. We gather and remember the waters of baptism that washed over us and made us children of God, children whom God was glad to love just the way we were. We also gather at the table and are fed by the bread of life-and reminded that God still loves us just the way we are. Because of all of this, we don’t to run from anything or for anything.

Many people in the crowds imagined that the next big thing for Jesus would be a seat on a throne. Even his disciples may have pictured him heading there. But Jesus didn’t. He didn’t run to the throne, and he didn’t run from the cross. Instead, he stayed true the person he was meant to be, and he did all of it for you. He gave his own life in place of yours and mine.

The next big thing after that was the new life that God raised him to live. It became the new life that you and I now live. A life that is free from running after things and running from things because this is the life God has given to us.

Abundantly Far More

2009-07-26T05:06:00.000-07:00

Ephesians 3:20, John 6:1-21

A couple of years ago at a family gathering, a cousin of mine told us all about a restaurant she had visited whose philosophy was summed up in the following statement:

“Yes is the answer. What’s the question?”

Think about what that means for a moment. It’s about a commitment to caring for customers in a way that opens up all kinds of possibilities. It’s an experience where the word “no” isn’t a part of the vocabulary.

The idea came from a man named Cameron Mitchell. The story goes that Mr. Mitchell was in a restaurant with his family, when his young son ordered a milkshake and heard the word “no.” The server didn’t see any other response, because “milkshake” was not on the menu. Mr. Mitchell was frustrated by this because he knew that all of the ingredients needed to make a milkshake were there-“ice cream” was listed under desserts, and “milk” was printed under beverages. He was also positive that somewhere in the kitchen there was a blender. Everything to make a milkshake was there, except for a line printed on the menu. This experience sparked Mr. Mitchell’s philosophy for customer service: “Yes is the answer. What’s the question?”
Today, because of his philosophy, Cameron Mitchell now oversees 24 different successful restaurants that are committed to this kind of customer care.

“Yes is the answer. What’s the question?”

That sounds nice, doesn’t it? But as my sisters and I listened to it, we realized it’s not always possible. Although my cousin didn’t appreciate it, we put it to the test. I asked her: “So if I went to a Cameron Mitchell restaurant and ordered a Brontosaurus steak-medium rare, they would make me one?” Then my sister chimed in: “And if I was really hungry for Dodo Bird sandwich, they would serve it to me?” And finally, my other sister jumped into the mix: “You know what I’ve always wanted to try? Barbecued Pterodactyl wings! Where is this restaurant, anyway?” (It was funny because all of those animals are extinct!) Cameron Mitchell’s philosophy is great, but there’s no way anyone can deliver on it all the time.

Well, almost no one! (Did you see that one coming?) I think God could adopt this as a catch phrase if God chose. But, I think it would get flipped around on us. God might say:

“Yes is the answer…Now what was I going to ask you?”

Ephesians 3:20 is fast becoming my favorite verse in the Bible. Paul writes:

“Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine…”

Notice that the verse talks about the “power at work within us.” God sees something special in each of us, that we may not even know is there. Then, Paul says that God is able to do “abundantly far more” with this power. He needs three words to describe the scope of what God can do with what’s inside of us! Finally, when God does this, we will find that it is beyond anything we could have asked or even imagined! So, God sees something inside of us, and does something “abundantly far more” than we ever could have dreamed of with it.

That’s why God could mean it if God chose to say:
“Yes is the answer…Now what was I going to ask you?”

In fact, this kind of thing is written all over the Bible.

First Samuel 17 tells the story of a young shepherd boy who, with nothing but a slingshot in his hand, defeats an enormous battle-tested giant. The boy’s name was David. The giant was Goliath.

In chapter three of the book of Exodus, another shepherd stands in front of a burning, speaking, bush and hears the voice of God. That shepherd’s name was Moses, and later he stood before the most powerful man in the world and demanded freedom for his people.

Before Paul wrote Ephesians 3:20, he was a really irritable guy who spent most of his time threatening and bullying Christians. One day, God knocked him on his rear-end, blinded hi, spoke to him, and made him one of the greatest followers of Jesus who ever lived.

All three had one thing in common: no one expected much from them and yet they did abundantly far more than anyone imagined they could.

Those are just three stories, but the Bible is full of them. God has a way of seeing things that we just can’t.

“Yes is the answer.”
“Now, will you face Goliath?”

“Yes is the answer.”
“Now, will you free my people?”

“Yes is the answer.”
“Now, will you follow me?”

Just as God did it with David, Moses, and Paul, God sees what’s inside of you and can do “abundantly far more” than you could ever ask or imagine.

Today’s Gospel lesson has two more examples in it…
Picture the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus asks Philip: “Can we feed all these people?” And what does Philip say? “No…We would all have to work six months just to come up with the money to buy all the food…it’s not possible.” But notice also what the lesson says. It says that Jesus asked Philip “to test him.” Jesus already knows that the answer to the question is “yes.” Jesus knows this because he realizes that they have everything they need. They have bread-five loaves of it. They have two fish. Most importantly, they have the God who is able to do “abundantly far more” with those things than we could ever ask or imagine. Just for added emphasis, God makes sure there is a heaping basket of leftovers for each of the disciples to lug back to the boat afterward. Abundantly far more!
T

hen, in the second half of the lesson, when the disciples get into the boat without Jesus (some friends!), and start rowing across a rough sea, they realize how abundantly far LESS they are able to accomplish without God. After rowing for three or four miles, Jesus shows up, doing something no one could imagine-walking on the waves. Then, he jumps in the boat, and “immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.” Twelve men, rowing as hard as they could made it three or four miles, one God jumping on board took them the rest of the way. With Jesus in the boat, they were able to do “abundantly far more” than they could have done without him.

When God is involved, you can always count on experiencing “abundantly far more” than you could ask or imagine, because “abundantly far more” is God’s philosophy. In Jesus, the world receives “abundantly far more” healing, teaching, and feeding. On the cross, Jesus gave us all “abundantly far more” than we could have asked God to do for us. In rising to new life, Jesus offers us all “abundantly far more” than we ever could have imagined.

So, what’s our role in the whole thing? Paul tells us in the first four words of Ephesians 3:21 “to him be glory…” Our role is praise God for this. To open our hearts and minds to this. Our role is to listen for the questions God is asking, and to trust that when God asks them, our answer is always going to be “Yes!”

Cameron Mitchell can’t possibly deliver on his philosophy all the time. “Yes is the answer. What’s the question?” He’ll find this out if my sisters and I ever visit one of his restaurants.
He can’t, but God can, and does. God delivers “abundantly far more” than we could ever ask or imagine, when He looks at us and says: “The answer is yes. Now, what was I going to ask you?”

Water-Processed

2009-07-20T06:03:00.000-07:00

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Are you a coffee drinker? How many cups a day do you typically drink? What do you feel like when you don’t have your morning coffee? I used to be a big coffee drinker, but a couple of years ago I switched to drinking strictly decaf coffee.

Recently, though, learned something that surprised me enough to make another change. I learned how they get the caffeine out of the coffee to make decaf. Do you know? My sister told me that the most common way to decaffeinate a coffee bean is to soak it in a variety of chemicals, and the most common chemical used is formaldehyde. Did you know this? We know what formaldehyde is, right?

Formaldehyde is a chemical that is used in, among other things, embalming. Think back to your middle school science teacher’s classroom. If it was anything like mine, there were jars somewhere in that room that held things like frogs, floating in a yellowish liquid. That liquid was formadelhyde! I decided, after I found out that this is what my decaf coffee beans had been soaking in, that I wasn’t ready to be embalmed just yet…even if it was just in small doses through my daily morning coffee.

But, I also didn’t want to give up coffee completely. I was disturbed enough to make a change, but didn’t know if I could live without coffee. It was then that my sister went on to tell me about an alternative to chemically decaffeinated coffee. It’s called “Swiss Water Process Decaffeination” and now I’m a big fan of it. It’s a process that removes the caffeine from the coffee beans using only pure, clean, water. No chemicals, just water.

Because of this change to drinking only water-processed decaf I met a man in the grocery store who knows his coffee. I was there, in the coffee aisle, reading the labels on each bag, searching for those words: “Swiss Water Processed” when he came my way. I must have looked lost, because after he selected two bags and put them in his cart he looked at me and asked: “What kind of coffee do you like?” His question launched us into a conversation about coffee. He told me about his favorites, the ones he and his wife loved, including a variety that you can only get in Vermont. He pointed to bags on the shelf and told me about the flavor-mild or strong. Then, when I told him about my search for the water-processed decaf, he offered a couple of choices I might like. He even told me where to get coffee at the best price.

I called him the “Coffee Man” and told him that he must have been sent that day just for me. He smiled, and I thanked him and then we parted ways to finish our shopping. From our brief interaction, I could tell at least two things about this man. First, he LOVED coffee! Secondly, he enjoyed sharing what he knew about it, especially with someone who was so obviously lost there in the coffee aisle at the grocery store. That day, I was thankful to run into a real “Coffee Man.”

In our gospel lesson for today, there are lots of people who share something in common with my friend the coffee man. Only, they’re not in love with coffee, but with Jesus. These people are running all over the place in Gennessaret by the time Jesus and his disciples pull their boats into town. When they see him, they do exactly what the man in the grocery store did, they start telling people about it. They start running, this way and that way, telling everyone they know and bringing everyone they can to come and see Jesus. And every single person who comes experiences an enormous change in their life once they meet him. We’re told that all who even brushed up against the fringe of his coat were healed of whatever ailed them.

Imagine the conversations that were taking place in the grocery stores, the pharmacies, and the coffee shops of Gennesaret that week. People who loved Jesus, running into friends and even strangers who looked lost, or sick, or unhappy, and saying: “You know who you should go see? Jesus!” And then these Jesus fans would tell them where he was, or they would bring them, some literally carrying friends and neighbors to meet the man who could change everything for them.

So, wherever Jesus was, people would follow. Crowds and crowds of them. Wherever he traveled, there were already people there, ahead of him and waiting.

Imagine how our world would change if all the Jesus fans did this same thing. If we told people, brought people, met people…wherever Jesus was. What if even a fraction of the Jesus fans did what the people in Gennessaret did that week, and rushed to wherever we heard that he was.
Just as only a small fraction of our time each week is spent here in church, only a small fraction of Jesus’ time is spent here. I looked through all of Mark’s gospel this week, and made notes about where we’re told that Jesus spent time. (I could do this because at just sixteen chapters, Mark’s is by far the shortest gospel) Here’s what I found. Jesus spends about 1 ½ chapters in “holy” places: synagogues and the temple. The rest of the time, he’s elsewhere. He’s in the wilderness. He’s at the Jordan river. He’s walking the shores of the sea of Galilee and talking to fishermen. He’s at someone’s home. He’s praying in a deserted place. He’s at a tax booth. Then, he’s at the tax collector’s table, having dinner. He’s in a boat, on a mountain, beside the sea, in a crowd of people. For 14 ½ chapters, the bulk of what we read in Mark’s Gospel, this is where Jesus is. Mark even goes out of his way to tell a story where Jesus is in a grainfield on the Sabbath. On the one day when he’s supposed be in a “religious” place, he’s not. He’s with his disciples, walking through a field.

In his longest stay at a “holy” place-in the temple in chapter twelve-Jesus spends most of his time telling the most religious people around how they’ve misunderstood just about everything when it comes to God and the Bible.

In the culmination of the whole story, Jesus winds up in the least holy place you could imagine: nailed to a cross and hanging among criminals…and then laid in a tomb and left among the dead.

After reading through all of that, I began to think of all the ways that Jesus changes what it means for something to be called “holy.” The shores of the Sea of Galilee became holy when Jesus called fishermen to change and become disciples. The wilderness became holy when Jesus went there and overcame temptation. The tax collector’s dinner table became a holy place when Jesus came and told all of the guests something no one else had ever told them: that God loved them just the way they were. The crowds, in our lesson for today became holy when Jesus came and healed all of them. Even the cross, an instrument of punishment and death, became holy when Jesus went there for us and rose to new life beyond it.

Maybe you’re not a coffee person. Maybe you could talk to a complete stranger about something else: movies, cars, flowers, stamps, sports, birds, politics, restaurants… Maybe you’ve done something for someone like what the coffee man did for me-saw them when they were completely lost and took the time to help them, and tell them about something that you loved.

Maybe you’re not a coffee person, but you are a Jesus person. You became one the same way that the coffee I now drink became decaffeinated: by water. In baptism, Jesus washed us all in pure, clean, water, and when he did, he changed us forever. He changed us, not with something abrasive or harsh, but with water. He does it because he loves us, each and everyone one of us, without exception or condition.

Today, you and I have gone through our own water process, and we’ve been made into God’s children. As we remember this and give thanks for it, can we become also like the people of Gennessaret? Can we become Jesus’ men and women who hurry to wherever he might be-in town, by the lake, in the grocery store, at the bar, in the office, at school, on the street-and tell the people we meet there about someone we love, and someone who loves them just the way they are?

Changing the Rules

2009-07-12T04:58:00.000-07:00

On the morning of August 15, 1969, Michael Lang knew he had a real problem on his hands. His concert, planned as a big weekend of music that would include the most popular acts of his generation had been completely overrun. The gates had come down. The New York State Thruway was closed, with cars backed up for 20 miles, some abandoned on the side of the road as their passengers decided to go the rest of the way on foot. 500,000 people had crowded onto Max Yasgur’s farm.

Mike flew over the scene in a helicopter. Looking down onto that sea of people, some still streaming toward the stage confirmed it all: he had a real problem on his hands. So what do you do when you plan a show for 100,000 people and five times that amount show up? What can you do when there isn’t enough food and water, bathrooms, and even, space? What can you do when everything you planned: every detail, provision, and contingency fails? What would you have done?

Here’s what Mike Lang did. He stepped up to the microphone that afternoon, looked out at that sea of people, and told them what was already apparent: “it’s a free concert from now on!”, and then he let the music play. He changed all of the rules: his own and the world’s and because of that, the concert became three days of peace, love, and music, called Woodstock.

Late one afternoon, our lesson for today tells us, King Herod knew he had a real problem on his hands. In the midst of all the excitement of a good party with special guests, he had gotten swept up and promised more than he realized. Maybe it was all the food and drink, or the festivities, but he made an oath to a woman that he would honor any request she had. Now, he was beginning to understand that the word “any” was pretty broad, and what she eventually asked for was tearing the King apart. Every guest was silent, and her words seemed to hang in the air around them: “I want the head of John the Baptist on a platter”. That’s when Herod knew he had a real problem on his hands.

What can you do when you promise something you’re not sure you can, or want, to deliver? What can you do when all eyes are on you, waiting to see what you will do? What can you do when there don’t seem to be any easy options? What would you have done?
As horrifying as it is, we just read the story of what Herod did. Even though he respected John… even though he knew that John was a special person, a holy man…even though he liked talking to John and listening to what he said about God…in spite of all of those things, Herod called for it to be done, and that afternoon John was executed.

Herod was torn up over it. He was devastated by it. But, in the end, in order to save face in front of his guests, he did it. He just couldn’t change the rules. “An oath is an oath…” he thought, “…and I would look like a fool if I didn’t deliver on the oath I made.”

The best fortune I’ve ever gotten out of a fortune cookie said “If you want to be successful in life you have to go berserk every once in awhile.” I think that’s true. Call it “thinking outside of the box”, call it “improvising”, call it “changing the rules”, call it whatever you like, but some of the greatest moments in our lives, and in history come when people go a little berserk. Mike Lang did it when he let the gates come down and made Woodstock a free concert. Herod couldn’t do it, and John lost his life.

People of God are able to do it. The prophet Amos did it when he told people about the vision of the plumb line that God had dropped on him, and what it meant for their lives. John the Baptist did it when he left everything behind and headed into the wilderness, surviving on bugs and honey, all to tell people about the coming of God’s Son

Sometimes when you change the rules, you lose, and maybe that’s why we don’t do it as often as we could. Lang lost money when he made Woodstock a free concert. He and his associates say that it took 11 years before they ever broke even from Woodstock. He was willing to do it, and it went down in American History as one of the greatest concerts ever, and not a complete disaster
King Herod, had he changed the rules, and refused to carry through on his oath, would have lost face in front of all of his guests…he wasn’t willing to do it, and John the Baptist lost his life.

God changed the rules. When man-made gates prevented people from coming to him. When the open roads of faith became backed up, and when the number of people who couldn’t gain access to God became too big, God came to live among us. God changed the rules that said that a god had to be mysterious, far off, removed from our daily reality. God tore down the gates, made the pathways clear and open, and embraced all who came to know Him. Because of this, God lost a Son.

Jesus, throughout his life, changed the rules, and he did it all the time. He turned tables over and turned hearts toward God. He changed the rules about forgiveness and acceptance, and who could receive these things. He changed the rules about what a successful life looked like. In the end, all of it meant that Jesus lost a lot. In fact, he was willing to lose it all, to give up everything he had, to embrace the cross that would mean the end of his life.

Ironically, with God, even when you lose…you win. It’s just another way that God has changed all the rules for us. Saint Paul captures this in Philippians 3:7-8-“whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Paul found, after living life all on his own, that his life got better when God became a part of it. So he changed the rules, and let God in.

We might find the same kind of new life that Paul spoke about, and that Jesus made possible, if we were willing to forget about saving face and saving ourselves enough to change the rules and see what happens.

Maybe we change the rules and start answering the tough questions about life that we’ve avoided for too long. Maybe we change the rules and offer the real dilemmas, the real problems that tear us up to God. Maybe we change the rules and let down our guard and tear down the gates that prevent us from inviting all people to come and meet the God who changed the rules for us.

Maybe it means we go a little berserk every now and then, and are totally surprised by what happens, how God comes through for us, and where we go because of it.

After Woodstock was over, Max Yasgur, owner of the farm where the concert was held, said this about the people who gathered for the peace, love, and music: "if we join them, we can turn those adversities that are the problems of America today into a hope for a brighter and more peaceful future.”

Today, you and I don’t have a big problem on our hands, but instead a big opportunity in front of us. It’s an invitation to see the world as an unchanging, hopeless place…or to look at it through the eyes of God, as a place where rules can change and lives can be saved…as a place where people can go a little berserk and experience the presence of a God who is willing to lose everything to gain the love of people like you and I.

Can we change the rules? Can we go a little berserk when we need to? Can we be the people of God today?

YES!

2009-07-06T06:52:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Kathleen and I rented the movie “Yes Man”. Have you seen this movie? The movie itself was just o.k, but I thought the plot was really intriguing.

Jim Carrey plays a man named Carl whose default setting is “No”. Do you know people like this? No matter what opportunities, invitations, or possibilities present themselves, he always says the same thing: “No.” When the film opens, we find him at his worst. He screens his calls, and won’t answer, even when it’s from his best friends. When they do track him down and ask him to come out with them he always says no. He works as a loan officer in a bank, and spends each day stamping “rejected” on loan applications, saying no to each one. No matter what comes along, his answer is always the same: “No.”

Again, do you know someone like this? I do. I know lots of people for whom the word “no” is always easier to say than the word “yes”.

But something happens to Carl. An old friend invites him to attend a seminar…and the title of the seminar is “YES!” There, he learns the power of this three-letter word…and is encouraged to use it in response to every single question, opportunity, and possibility that comes his way. Almost overnight, Carl goes from being a person whose default setting is “no”…to becoming a “Yes Man.”

I was thinking about this movie as I read today’s Gospel lesson this week. Jesus’ hometown is full of people whose default setting is “no”. “Could Jesus the carpenter really be this wise?...NO!” “Could Mary’s little boy, all grown up really do these powerful things?...NO!” “Do we really believe all that he’s telling us about God?...Of course not!” Jesus comes back home after stilling a storm, healing, and forgiving…he brings all of this to the people he knows best…places it right in front of them, offers every bit of it to them…and what do they say? “NO.” No thanks. No interest. No faith.

So what happens to them? The lesson tells us…nothing… “he could do no deed of power there.” So, for the people of Jesus hometown, when the Son of God comes to visit…there is no healing, no forgiveness, no stilling of storms…all because their default setting seems to be “no.”
Do you know people like this? I do. In fact, sometimes, I’m a person whose default setting is “no.” Maybe you’re like me. Maybe sometimes it’s easier to say “no” to things because when we say “no” we can control the outcome, it’s more predictable…it’s safer.

Where does this get the people of Jesus’ hometown? Maybe the scariest part of the lesson is how Jesus responds to all those “no’s”. He has two reactions. First, we’re told that he was “amazed by their unbelief”-translation: he is dumbfounded that they have NO FAITH. Then secondly, the lesson tells us: “Then he went…” After offering all that he had to offer, and hearing “NO” over and over again, what does Jesus do? He leaves. “Then he went…” left his hometown and traveled elsewhere. Jesus doesn’t seem to have much time for people whose default setting is “NO”.

Who says “YES” in today’s lesson? There is a whole group of “YES MEN” and they have been saying “YES” ever since they first met Jesus. Maybe that’s why he likes them so much. Maybe that’s why he spends so much time with them.

The disciples know how to say “yes”. In fact, they seem to say “yes” to just about anything. Jesus asks: “Do you want to go out into strange towns and villages you’ve never visited?” and they say “Yes!” When you go will you leave all your food behind? “Yes” Will you leave all your money? “Yes!” Will you leave everything? “Oh, yes!” And that’s what they did. They left everything behind and went out to tell people about God’s love.

In essence, Jesus is asking them: “Will you trust God enough to provide everything that you will ever need?” and they say “YES”.

Disciples of Jesus are people who say “Yes”…they are people who have switched their default setting from “NO” and never looked back.

How do we switch our setting from “no” to “yes”? In the movie, Jim Carrey’s character finds that life begins to change for him when he says “yes” to things? Our lives will change if we begin to say “YES” to things as well.

“Yes” to letting Jesus carry some of the weight of our problems for awhile. “Yes” to opening our hearts and minds to new ways of thinking and doing. “Yes” to new people we have yet to meet, speak to, or know. “Yes” to the forgiveness that we’ve said “no” to for so long… “Yes” to the God who is more than willing to provide everything that we need to live.

In fact, whenever the question relates to us, if you notice…God’s answer is always “YES.” In fact, Jesus seems to be the ultimate “Yes” man. Will you come and heal my daughter?...Yes. Will you help me find meaning for my life?...Yes. Will you quench my thirst?...Yes. Will you forgive my sins?...Yes. Will you help me live?...Yes.

In fact, Jesus is so yes-oriented that when he’s asked to give his own life in place of ours…the answer, without hesitation, is yes.

We have a God who says “yes” to us. Even when our default setting is “no.” Even when we stumble and fall. Even when we make mistakes. Even when we have a hard time getting to “yes”…God still says it.

So what kind of person are you today? What kind of person would you like to be tomorrow? What kind of people could we be, if we only let go enough to say “yes” more often? Could we become the kind of disciples who are yes-men and women..the kind who trust God enough to say yes to the journey and yes to the new life that Jesus said yes to for us?

The Downward Spiral

2009-07-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

In Mark 5:21-43, Jesus finds himself dangerously close to one of the most dangerous places in the world. In fact, he seems to be in this territory at every turn in our lesson for today. It’s a place the you and I have encountered as well. We’ve been dangerously close to it. We’ve felt it’s power. We’ve walked right into it, and we’ve spent time there.

There are all kinds of names for it, but my favorite is the one that Benjamin Zander, author of “The Art of Possibility” gives to it. He calls it “The Downward Spiral.”

Zander describes the downward spiral this way, he says it: “stands for a resigned way of speaking that excludes possibility.” He goes on to say that the downward spiral “tells us compellingly how things are going from bad to worse.”

So, you and I know the downward spiral and we are all too familiar with downward spiral talk.
When was the last time you visited the downward spiral? When was the last time it popped into your life? When was the last time you found yourself spending time there…or teetering on the edge of it? Maybe you spend a lot of time there. Maybe you’re there right now.

Jesus was there…or at least near it in the lesson that I just read. Listen to some of it again. It’s there for the woman who had suffered for 12 years, spent all of her money, and “was no better, but grew worse.” She lives in the downward spiral-no possibility for healing, things going from bad to worse. Then there’s Jairus, whose daughter is on the verge of death… Both of these people are on the edge of a downward spiral.

There are plenty of people who are more than happy to tell the two of them how things ARE going from bad to worse, and how there are no possibilities. The woman has been to doctors, religious people, healers, anyone who will take her money and all of them have told her the same thing: IT’S HOPELESS! No healing is possible.

Jairus, when he brings Jesus to his home to heal his daughter is met at the door by friends, and what do they say to him? “Your daughter is dead.” Give up, Jairus. It’s hopeless, Jairus. She didn’t get better, Jairus.

Even Jesus experiences it. When he stops to see who touched him in the crowd, his disciples give him a hard time. “how can you say ‘Who touched me’?” Come on Jesus, be serious. And in front of Jairus’ home, when he tells the crowd to step aside because he’s going to wake Jairus’ daughter up…they laugh at him.

The downward spiral-the talk, the feeling, the idea that there is no possibility, that things can only go from bad to worse-is written all over this lesson...and the voices sound pretty compelling.
The problem, too often for many of us, is that the downward spiral gets written all over our lives…and we are compelled by it. In fact, the birthplace of the downward spiral is right here. Well, not in this church per se, but here, in our hearts and minds. It’s in you and it’s in me because sometimes when we look at our life, or the world around us, or the things that are happening to us, we begin to talk less about the hope and more about the hopelessness…less about the ways things could get better and more about the ways in which they seem always to be getting worse…And when that happens, you and I inch closer and closer to one of the most dangerous places in the world-the downward spiral.

One thing we might notice, though, is that Jesus may get close, but he never falls into it. He may walk right on the edge, but he never falls in. When the woman whose condition is hopeless touches him, he stops, approaches her, and finds out why. Even when his disciples tell him it’s not possible, he goes. When Jairus comes to him, Jesus goes to the home, to meet the crowds, the laughter, the worst-case thinking…and even when they tell him that it’s too late, it’s not possible, he still goes to the little girl…and wakes her up.

Jesus walks on the edge of the downward spiral, but never succumbs to it. He does this every day of his life. Facing the hopeless talk with eternal hope. Confronting the worst-case laughter with overwhelming optimism. Walking into the dangerous places marked only by the darkness of death and bringing the light of life with him when he goes. Jesus does it for the people around him who are living in the downward spirals of life…and he does it for you and I.

In his own life, Jesus found himself always drawn into the downward spiral. People told him that the world couldn’t work the way he said. They told him that relationship with God couldn’t be as easy as he made it out to be. They reminded him, every chance they got that life is less about forgiveness and starting over and more about guilt and remaining in the spiral. He saw it, he heard it, and he felt it…and at every turn he challenged it. The cross is the ultimate symbol of the downward spiral-that there is no more possibility, that all hope is gone…that things have surely gone from bad to worse. Jesus went to the cross, embraced it, and in the process turned it into an eternal symbol of hope…of new life. He made it for us, a reminder that when God is present…the downward spirals of life, have no power over us.

When the woman with the hemorrhage and the man whose daughter is dying are on the verge of a downward spiral, what do they do? They go to Jesus. “If I but touch his clothes, I WILL be made well.” And she was made well. “Come, lay your hands on her and she WILL be made well.” And she was made well. When everyone and everything around them said it’s not possible…Jesus reminded them that “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

When we’re on the verge of a downward spiral, we can do the same thing. We can listen to the crowds, the voices, and even our own hearts…and sink further into the downward spiral. Or, we can go to God. We can take our problems, our pains, and our fears, and bring them to Jesus, knowing that if nothing else, he won’t let us sink into the spiral…he won’t laugh at us…he won’t tell us how hopeless everything is…he won’t turn us away. Instead, he’ll do what he did for Jairus, and the woman…he’ll give us his undivided attention and his loving presence.

So, the next time you feel as though you’re on the edge of that dangerous place-the downward spiral-remember, Jesus will walk with you…talk with you, and remind you that no matter what anyone says-with God all things are possible.

We are Never Sunk!

2009-07-06T06:41:00.000-07:00

Mark 4:35-41

I think the biggest mistake that Jesus disciples in the boat, in the middl of the storm make is that they have convinced themselves that there is no possibility for survival. Notice what they say to Jesus in verse “Do you not care THAT we are perishing?”=the same as saying: “We’re sunk!”

As far as I can tell from the story, though-even though they stopped bailing, stopped rowing, stopped straining to go to the back of the boat to get to Jesus, wake him up, wait for him to wipe the sleep out of his eyes, and then look at them and say “What’s up?” so that they could say “Do you not care THAT we are perishing?”…in all the time that it took to do all of that-we have to assume that the boat is still floating, they are still in it, not tossed into the sea, and even though they are probably wet, cold, and trembling-still alive. NOT, as they put it, “perishing.”
These disciples made the mistake of making up their minds to fail, instead of to succeed. Making up your mind to fail, by the way-and you can look this up in a thesaurus-is the opposite of faith. Which is why Jesus responds the way he does: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” It’s the same as saying: “Boy, you ARE sunk!”

This is a story about a mistake, but it’s a mistake that every disciple makes every now and then. We jump in our metaphorical boat, we push off from a metaphorical shore, and we expect to coast through life as if it were a metaphorical sea that always stays as still as glass. But, before long, a metaphorical “mega-storm” suddenly arises-and when it does the wind, and the waves, and the water that rises around our feet seems awfully real. And when it happens, sometimes we make the same mistake Jesus’ disciples made-we look at it all, and we say “We’re sunk!”

Guess what? When we get to that point, we are sunk!

It would have taken a miracle for the disciples in the boat to feel anything other than that the end was near. Fortunately for them a man who was capable of miracles was in the boat with them, lying in the back, asleep on the cushion.

Sometimes it seems it will take a miracle for us to feel anything other than the deadly power of all those metaphorical winds, waves, and deluges. Fortunately for us, the man who is capable of miracles is always nearby.

I want to share a story with you of a group of people who felt that the end was never near. It goes like this. A long, long time ago there was a ruthless king named Nebuchadnezzar who built an enormous golden statue-it was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide. When it was finished, he called everyone in his kingdom, he gathered them together and he told them: “This is what you will worship. So, from now on, when you hear my royal band strike up a tune, when you hear the horns blowing, the pipes whistling, the strings strumming and the drums beating-you will know it’s time to worship. And when that happens…” he said, “I don’t care what you’re doing, you’ll worship. At the sound of my music, you will stop whatever you’re up to, and you will look to my golden statue, and you will fall down on your knees and you will worship with all your heart.” Then he added: “The ones who don’t do this will be gathered up and thrown into a furnace of blazing hot fire.”

Now, in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom, there were three guys. You may have heard their names before: Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego. If you have, then you know that this is their story. When they heard this decree, and when they saw the enormous golden statue, they looked at each other and said “Where have we heard this before?” Then, at once, they remembered a story from their Bible-about the time when the Israelites were wandering through the wilderness and they made a golden statue of a calf and said to one another: “This is what we will worship.” And they did. They bowed down to it and worshipped it. Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego remembered this story and they agreed with one another that the golden calf seemed eerily similar to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue, and that the people bowing down to that golden statue seemed eerily similar to the Israelites who bowed down to the golden calf. Well, Abednego looked at Mesach and said “What happened to those Israelites? How did it turn out for them?” And Mesach looked at Shadrach, who had gone to fetch his Bible and was just opening to that story. And as Shadrach read silently, he shook his head, looked at his friends and said “It didn’t turn out well for them. The golden calf was a fake god, and unfortunately for them, the real God was nearby as they worshipped it…and that God wasn’t happy about it.” And right then and there, Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego decided among themselves that they would worship the God they knew from the Bible, not the god that Nebuchadnezzar had created. Furnace or no furnace, they agreed, they would never bow down to it.

Before long, word got back to King Nebuchadnezzar that three men in the kingdom weren’t worshipping. They weren’t stopping what they were doing, they weren’t fixing their gazes on the statue, and they weren’t falling down to worship. Needless to say, Nebuchadnezzar was not thrilled. He called for these three men to be brought before him. When Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego arrived, he gave them one more chance. “I’m going to strike up my band” he said, “and when they do, you will fall down and worship my statue. If you don’t, I’ll have you thrown into the fiery furnace.”

And do you know what they said? They looked at the king and told him “Don’t waste your time. Don’t strike up the band. We would rather go into the fire. If the God we believe in, the God we worship , saves us, then He saves us. If he doesn’t, then he doesn’t. But we will NEVER worship anyone or anything else.”

So, into the fire they went. The king stoked the flames, and made it seven times hotter than normal. His had Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego tied up, and ordered them thrown into the fire. It was so hot that the servants who threw them in died themselves. And the king stood and watched. But then, something strange happened. While the 90 foot tall, by 9 foot wide golden statue stood on the hill in the distance and did nothing, the real God…the one of the Bible, the one that Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego knew, stood in the fire with them. Not a hair on their heads was singed. Not a scrap of their clothing was burned. When they came walking out of the furnace, they didn’t even smell like smoke! These three men were ready to die before they worshipped any God but the God they trusted for everything.

I tell this story again because I don’t believe that the words “We’re sunk” were in Shadrach, Mesach, or Abednego’s vocabulary. They walked into the most dangerous place on earth, expecting to find God there…and they weren’t disappointed.

Unfortunate though it may seem, mega storms and mega fires seem to make themselves at home right in the middle of our lives. We don’t want them there. We didn’t invite them to come. We wish they didn’t, but the reality is: they arise. That’s life.

The good news is, God doesn’t mind walking right into even the fieriest of furnaces. In fact, God feels right at home in the middle of the raging winds, the drenching downpours, the thunder, the lightning, and the high waves. If you don’t believe me, go back and re-read today’s lesson and look at what Jesus is doing when the mega-storm arises: “But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.” Storms don’t bother Jesus. Fiery furnaces won’t scare God away.

When people told Jesus to worship their way, practice their religion, and play by their rules…or die….well, you know what he did. He walked straight toward the cross and the grave because he believed that God would be waiting for him there. Then, when he walked out of the tomb, he didn’t look like death, because as painful as the whole thing was-God was there!

So, the next time you’re getting ready to sail your metaphorical boat out onto that metaphorical sea, and that very real mega-storm arises, remember that Jesus isn’t phased by storms. And the next time you’re standing in front of what feels like a fiery furnace, remember if you walk into it-God will too. But, if all you can say when the wind and the waves and the rains pound against you is “I’m sunk.” Then chances are, you will be, because faith in the God that walked Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego out of the flames…and the faith that turned the mega-storm into a mega-calm doesn’t know the meaning of those two words.

2009-07-06T06:33:00.000-07:00

How many of you know who Ian Ferris is? Does that name ring a bell for anyone here this morning? I’ll give you a hint: he made news earlier this week in Red Sox nation. In case you missed it-Ian Ferris is the Yankees fan who planted “Yankee” grass seed in the infield at Fenway Park.

He did it while attending the recent Phish concert that was held inside the ballpark while the Red Sox were on the road. [The first indication that Mr. Ferris is trouble is that he was attending a Phish concert.] I am sure that most of us agree the only suitable punishment for this kind of thing would be to lock Mr. Ferris up and throw away the key, right?
But, I guess that’s only half the story, though, isn’t it? After all, if you asked Mr. Ferris he would probably tell you he was just returning the favor after Gino Castignoli, a member of Red Sox nation planted a David Ortiz Jersey in wet cement while the new Yankee stadium was being built.

Whether you side with Mr. Ferris-or you’re a member of Red Sox nation- you have to agree it’s fun being a fan. Strange, at times, but fun.

As for that Yankee grass, it’s not a problem-because as St. Paul wrote: only God can give the growth, and as we all know, God must be a Red Sox Fan.

The problem is, even if God were a Red Sox fan, God might be an even bigger Ian Ferris fan, because God is always a fan of growing new things. To be more clear, I think God is a fan of anyone who plants a seed-because planting a seed is an act of hope. Planting a seed is an act of complete faith. Planting a seed means being willing to let go of control and enter into the growth only God can bring. And God loves growing.

Maybe that’s why Jesus loved children so much. Children are just like the seed that sprouts without the farmer knowing how it happens…it’s automatic-Children grow. When they’re little it seems that this is all they do-each day growing a little bit more. It’s more than just, physical, as well. Children, if we let them, aren’t afraid to grow, to try out something new. They don’t have the same fear of failure that we do. For them, growing is just a part of everyday life.

God is a huge fan of little things. Jesus tells the story of the hidden power of the mustard seed-a tiny little package of potential just waiting to sprout and grow. He spends the time, standing in front of an enormous crowd of people, to tell them about a tiny seed and what it means for Gods’ kingdom.

Just as the farmer in Jesus’ story that we read today planted seeds, he was also planting hope. He hoped that they would grow. Then, when they do, he is full of faith. He is humble and honest, because when he looks at the little sprouts that emerge from the ground he has to admit, he has no idea how they do it.

“Automatically” is the word the original text uses to describe this kind of growth.
Today, God reminds us all that he is one of our biggest fans…and there is nothing we could do to ever change that.

God loves things that grow, and I think he loves it when we grow-when we take chances, when we step out on a limb, when we risk failure to try something new. God will always give us room to grow…permission to plant seeds and make mistakes…and God promises to offer plenty of forgiveness when we do.

Jesus was planted into our world to bring hope, to fill people with faith. He taught a kind of love that was meant to be just like the way a seed sprouts and grows-automatic. He shared a kind of acceptance that was just as sure-without bias, open, and growing to embrace every kind of person. Jesus, like the farmer, scattered powerful seeds of forgiveness everywhere he went-sitting by the well in the hot sun with a woman who thirsted for new life-inviting tax collectors to come and share a meal when no one else would ask them-touching the hands of those who were untouchable-he did it all to grow a new kind of love in the world that God created.

In the end, Jesus found that he had made many fans-crowds and crowds of them. But he also found that there were many who weren’t a fan of what he was growing in the earth-they couldn’t see the potential to live the love he planted. So, instead, they cut him down. They raised the cross. They tried to stopped the spread of his growing message of love.

But, like I said, God is a huge fan of growth…so three days later, somehow, that love sprouted again, and kept on growing with new life that can’t be contained-this is the new life that God wants to grow in your heart-a new life that isn’t afraid of letting the growth of God become a mysterious, certain, automatic thing in your life and in the world around you.

Today we’re reminded by them what it means to grow in God’s grace-it means that you become the kind of person who sees that God’s love for all people is “automatic” and even if we don’t know how it happens, we’re thankful to spend our time living in it and trying to live it out for the world around us.

Holy Trinity

2009-07-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

John 3:1-17 Holy Trinity

On this first Sunday after the day of Pentecost, we celebrate the Holy Trinity.
Holy Trinity=One God, Three Persons-God (Father)-God(Son)-God (Holy Spirit)=all one God, yet three distinct persons. Any questions? Yes, of course we’ve got questions.

First, some background on “Trinity.” It’s not a term found in the Bible. It’s a term that we-the church have made up. Here’s how I picture it: some theologian years and years ago read his Bible and noticed this language- Jesus refers to God as “Father” himself as “Son” and tells his followers of the Spirit that will come after he returns to heaven. That theologian read this and said “I’m going to make this really simple to understand-I’ll call it the “Trinity” and tell everyone that it’s one God, three persons.” And from that moment on, people like you and I have heard this and said things like: “What the heck does that mean?”

Also, since then, some people have been offering all kinds of crazy explanations. They talk about how H20 can be water, ice, or steam-all are H2O, but in different forms. Someone once told me to think of a pie cut into thirds. It’s all the same pie, but three separate pieces. Or, what about an egg? You’ve got one egg with three distinct parts: yolk, white, and shell. So God is like H2O? God is like a pie? God is an egg? I don’t know how you feel, but these images leave me with more questions, and less understanding.

Leave it to us to take something that God has freely given us and make it really complicated and confusing…sometimes it seems that it’s just what we do best.

But it’s also good, because it makes us think. It makes us wonder. It makes us ask questions, even if those questions are as simple as just saying “What the heck does that mean?”

And if ideas like the “Holy Trinity” cause us to ask questions of faith, then I guess Nicodemus is the perfect person for us hear about today-he’s full of questions. The problem is, he’s afraid to ask them. Why? Because he’s under the completely incorrect assumption that everyone around him knows everything. He’s believed for a long time that he’s the ONLY one with questions about God and how God works. So, he’s afraid if he asks the questions that are rumbling around in his heard. He’s afraid that if he does, he’ll look foolish…so he goes to Jesus at night…when no one else will see or hear him.

Have you ever felt like Nicodemus? I know I have. In fact, I feel like Nicodemus all the time. When it comes to faith, I think most often I have many more questions than I have answers.
Sometimes we live under the false assumption that our faith is a faith of answers. For too long, this is the image the church has presented of itself…a house of answers, absolutes, and definitions, when in reality, if we’re honest, we are house full of people whose hearts are full of questions. In reality, if we’re honest, faith itself is almost always more concerned with the questions…lots of them.

Jesus didn’t come to give answers, at least not easy answers, but to inspire people to ask the questions that others were afraid to give voice to.

What does he say in Luke 11:9 when he’s speaking to his disciples who have posed a question about how to pray? He tells them: “Ask and it will be given you, search, and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you.”

The emphasis here, if we notice, is not in the answers, the destination, or the opening, but in the willingness to ask, to search, to knock on the door even though we have no idea what lies beyond our questions, our searching, or the door itself.

Nicodemus did all three-and he got a good, simple answer about who God is and what God does… “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.”

In fact, this is the answer God gives to the whole world about who God is. God is love. The kind of love that is willing to endure hardship, and struggle…hunger and temptation…rejection and despair…shame and injustice…suffering and death…all so that we won’t have to. God is the kind of love that triumphs over all of these things with a new life that no one can explain, but everyone can share. God is the kind of God who is so big that one term, one person, one word isn’t enough to adequately illustrate God’s largeness.

This week, after visiting someone at the hospital, I saw a sign in one of the stairwells with a quote from Aristotle that read: “We are what we repeatedly do.”

Now there’s a thought-provoking statement that begs the question: “What do we repeatedly do?”

Maybe we need to think more about this on this day when we remember a term we invented that just might make understanding God a little more confusing than God really needs to be.
When we repeatedly become a place that offers answers, before long we’ll have a hard time welcoming people who are struggling with difficult questions. When we repeatedly stifle the creativity of people who are seeking the new things that God is saying in our world, then before long people will stop searching for God here. When we become people who see our primary task as guarding doors and keeping them secure, then before long, we’ll stop knocking on them looking for God.

God doesn’t seem to mind if we ask questions…in fact, when we read the Bible carefully we just might find that Jesus loved it when people like Nicodemus who asked things like, and I’m paraphrasing here, “What the heck is life all about?” On the other hand, read the Bible closely and you’ll find that he had a very different relationship with the people around him who claimed to have all the answers…he had a special word for them, but that’s a sermon for another day.
Today, I’d like to ask: “What questions do you and I need to be asking God?” Better yet, what questions do you and I need to be asking ourselves about life with the God who is Father, Son, and Spirit, and no matter which words we choose…God, time and time again…repeatedly…chooses to love the whole world enough to give us everything?

"All Together in One Place"

2009-07-06T06:17:00.000-07:00

Acts 2:1-21

Nearly every time we gather here, the same person takes center stage. I don’t even need to name him, do I? We celebrate his birth on Christmas. We remember his baptism on another day. We remember the time he called his first disciples, those fishermen on the lakeshore. We listen to the time he went to a wedding and made it the party of a lifetime. We remember his life. We tell the story of his death. We gather on Easter and remember surprisingly that, for him, death was not the end. And because of all that, every time we gather here, no matter what part of the story we hear, we are reminded that because of him, for us, death is not the end, either. He is the main attraction. The center of attention. The man of every hour when we gather. Well, nearly every hour.

Today is different. Go back and re-read the lessons we just heard from Acts and Romans and you’ll find that his name isn’t included in any of them. We hear his words in the reading from John’s Gospel, but that’s it. Today, the man of the hour takes a backseat to someone else…and he’s glad to do it.

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.”

That mighty wind rips through the room, filling the house. Those “tongues” of fire ignite among them, above them. The Holy Spirit fills them, giving them new ability, new voices, new words that they’ve never spoken.

How could we not give a day for something that makes these kinds of things happen? How could we not gather, for at least an hour and remember the morning when everything in the lives of this young community of faith changed forever? Each year, on this day-fifty days after Easter-we give a little time to the Holy Spirit. Today belongs to the Holy Spirit…but it also belongs to us, too.

Something that may be even more amazing than the violent wind, the tongues of fire, and the spirited words is the fact, that when the day arrives: “they were all together in one place.” All of them, together, in one place. When I think of that one fact, I am amazed that Pentecost-the day the Holy Spirit claimed us-even happened. All those followers of Jesus-reclaimed by the risen Christ and reunited-were actually “all together in one place.” The day of the Holy Spirit’s arrival is equally the day of the disciples’ sticking around, together.

Today, when you and I gather to remember this, we remember this same thing-it’s about the Holy Spirit…and it’s about us. So really, today is no different than any other day since the beginning of time-every day of your life and mine, because they’re all about the same thing-they’re about God and about us.

As I think of this, it also occurs to me that those first disciple’s lives were different than ours. They didn’t have cell phones or blackberrys that rang, buzzed, or beeped with a steady stream of phone calls, emails, and text messages. They didn’t have 9-5’s or 7-3’s or 3-11’s or 11-7’s like we do. That first group that gathered didn’t have mid-terms or finals, no book reports, or research papers. They didn’t have family that lived hundreds or even thousands of miles away. So maybe being “all together in one place” was a little easier for them. Which makes this Pentecost, and the fact that we are here together in one place-even more special.

It is especially important that we continue to find ways to be “all together in one place.” Together, we need to commit ourselves, more often than just on the day of Pentecost…more often than just one hour each week. Together, we need to give one another permission to turn off the cell phones and the blackberrys, to take a day off from the 9-5’s and to put the mid-term’s on hold. Together, we need to find ways to be “all together in one place.” Because it is important for us, for the world, and to God.

Imagine if those first disciples hadn’t made the time to be together. Just think if they couldn’t schedule that day to be all in one place. What would have happened on Pentecost if they were “all alone, in different places.” Maybe the wind would still have rushed, but there would have been no one to turn to and say “Did you feel that?” Maybe the flames would have ignited, but there would have been no one to look and say “Can you see that?” Maybe the words would have come, but there would have been no one there to look back at us and say “Could you repeat that?”

For as many reasons as the disciples could have come up with not to be together, each one of them knew that there was one very important reason why they needed to be together. So, once again, today becomes about that one person who came and changed everything-we just can’t get away from him. It was Jesus, who after he gave his life for them…and rose again for them…gathered them together and said “You are my witnesses…so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Jesus invites us all today to hear his words with open hearts, and to remember that it’s awfully hard to live lives, spend days, or even share hours that are about God and one another when we don’t make a point of being all together in one place.

Two Things Jesus Loves to Do

2009-04-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

Luke 24:36b–48

If we were to make a list of the things that Jesus loves to do, what do you suppose might make the list?

Here are some things I can think of:

heal the sick, find the lost, eat and drink-go to parties, challenge assumptions about God, talk to people about God’s love, forgive sins, spend time with friends…

After reading today’s Gospel lesson, though, I thought of two things we can add to that list of things that Jesus loves to do:

1. “pop-in” on people-show up unannounced
2. Surprise, startle, even shock people

In fact, after he is raised from the dead, he seems to really enjoy doing these last two.

On the road to Emmaus, he walks with two disciples but they don’t even know that it’s him…then as they sit down to eat dinner-he takes the bread and blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them-in an instant they realize who they’ve been walking with-to their surprise, it’s Jesus…he surprises them at the table.

In Matthew 28-the two Mary’s watch as an angel descends from heaven, the earth shakes, the stone in front of Jesus’ tomb rolls away…and as if that weren’t shocking enough, when they turn to head back home-Jesus “pops-in” on them.

In John 20-Mary Magdalene is crying outside of Jesus’ grave when a man whom she had mistaken for the gardener calls her by name and she realizes-to her surprise-that it’s Jesus.

Then there’s Thomas, whose story we heard last week-After popping in on the disciples once, Jesus returns a second time, suddenly appearing among them even though the front door of the house is locked-He pops in, shows Thomas his hands and side-and Thomas believes.

And what about the story we read in John 21? Peter and the other disciples have gone back to fishing after Jesus’ death-when Jesus’ arrives on shore, tells them as he did once before to cast the net on the other side of the boat-and he surprises them with an enormous catch of fish.
After his death and resurrection, Jesus spends most of his time doing these two things-popping in on the people he loves-and surprising them.

In our lesson for today, he does both. He shows up unexpectedly, he pops-in among them. And he does startle them-the lesson says they are “terrified” because at first they think he’s a ghost-and then they are surprised to see that it is really him-alive again, beyond the cross and the grave-living and breathing, and speaking to them.

So this leads me to believe that you and I, as Jesus followers today should always be prepared for Jesus to “pop” into our lives at any moment. And, when he does, we should be ready to be surprised, shocked, even startled by his presence.

When you think about it, Jesus’ story is shocking-God lives…and then, unexpectedly, God dies.

Jesus’ message is startling- he tells one follower to sell everything he owns, he asks people to forgive seventy times seven times, he stands up for people when no one else will, he asks all who follow him to carry the cross just as he does-all of it startling.

And maybe the most surprising thing of all about Jesus is how much he loves us-his love is bigger than the cross, and stronger than death.

In fact, maybe that’s why Jesus seems to enjoy popping in and surprising us so much-because that’s exactly what God did to him. When the lights went out, and laid lifeless in the grave-God popped in. Then, in the biggest surprise of all-God raised Jesus to new life. Jesus knows how good it feels when God pops into your life, and when God surprises you with something you never dreamed was possible…I think he wants that same joy for us. That’s why he spends all of his time doing those same things for us.

How often do we as the church follow the example of our Lord? When and where to we “pop-in”-showing up in the real world for real people? When was the last time we surprised someone? Or shocked the world? Or startled our neighbors with God’s grace?

Maybe we should pay more attention to the resurrection stories of Jesus-because here’s what happened every time he popped in and surprised people:

The two disciples who were surprised at the table-they jump out of their seats and run seven miles to tell their friends about it!

The two women who are startled when Jesus pops in on them on the road run and tell the men what’s going on!

Mary Magdalene, when Jesus calls her by name falls on her knees, and then shouts “I have seen the Lord” for all to hear.

Thomas cries out “My Lord and My God!”

Peter jumps out of the fishing boat and swims a hundred yards to shore to see Jesus

And the disciples in our lesson for today-even though they are startled and terrified by Jesus sudden appearance, they go on to start the church!

We are here today because Jesus popped into people’s lives and startled them enough to respond to the amazing new life that God gives. We are worshipping because of unexpected visits, surprising sights, and startling words from Jesus that yielded more visits, more sights, and more words from the people who knew him best.

How can you and I, as people who know Jesus in today’s world get back to that? Where can you show up unexpectedly this week? Who can you surprise with a sense of God’s grace? How can you startle the people around you with God’s love? Where can you be a presence that shocks the world with the kind of forgiveness Jesus loved to share?

Because Jesus loved to do all of these things, and I’ll bet he loves it even more when he sees people like you and I doing them!

Listen...God is Calling!

2009-01-21T18:09:00.001-08:00

Try to picture this for a second. You’re at home, watching television, and all of a sudden the picture goes dark and you hear a voice that sounds one hundred times clearer than the high definition sound you were listening to, and it’s speaking directly at you. Or, it’s an average day at work, and the phone rings and there’s this majestic voice speaking over an angel choir, addressing you by name and asking if you’ll hold for a call from God. Maybe it happens as you’re sitting in the classroom, scribbling furious notes about the Pythagorean theorem when the pen flies out of your hand and begins writing all on its own. Then, when you read the words, they are spelling out a message from God to you! What if this happened? What would you say? What would you do?

This is exactly what happens to Samuel. He’s minding his own business one day, when all of a sudden, he hears it: “Samuel! Samuel!” He hears it loud and clear, and he does what you and I might do. He starts to wonder: “Who’s behind this?” He runs to the only other person there, his mentor Eli… “I’m here, I’m here!” But it wasn’t Eli who called. Three times this happens and three times Samuel does the same thing, jumps up and runs to Eli.

You and I would do the same thing. We’d turn off the tv and look around the house. We’d sit on the line and try to figure out which one of our friends concocted this elaborate prank. We’d search the classrooms for the hidden cameras. “This has got to be a joke, right?”

God calls Samuel three times to put down the remote control, put all of his other calls on hold, stop writing theorems, and instead start speaking to the people. God’s call is clear: “I made you to be a prophet, and now I’m asking you to get started.” Samuel, this is what you’re here for.
Who could blame Samuel if he didn’t figure this out the first time? Who can blame him if it takes three separate calls :

“Samuel…Samuel…Samuel!”

After all, this little story begins by telling us that “the word of the Lord was rare in those days…” (1 Samuel 3:1) Things like this just weren’t happening.

Some people would say that the word of the Lord is rare today…that the things that happened to Samuel don’t happen at all any more.

I met someone this past Sunday, though, who would argue with that, and I happen to think that she would make a case that would be very convincing. She’s less than a year old, yet if you asked her, she would say that God is still speaking, and things are still happening. She won’t use words to tell you about it today, but give her some time and one day she’ll let you know all about it.

On Sunday, she had a Samuel-esque experience. She was held by the people she knows best as she listened to a lot of words. There, in the mix of them, she heard one word that she already recognizes: her name. “…child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.”

Right in the middle of this, something strange happened to her. Amid the swirl of words she felt a sudden and cool rush of water trickle over her forehead as she was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Like Samuel, she may have wondered: “Who’s behind this?” Like you and I, whenever something unusual happens, she may be asking “Is this a joke?” Later, she’ll learn just as Samuel did, and just as you and I do…that God is behind this, and it’s no joke…because in the water God spoke her name, God called to her, and God made her His own child.

I can almost hear you asking the question, though. Thinking about an infant and wondering: “How do you know she’ll remember any of this?” “How can you be so sure that she will know?”

Why will she remember it? Because she’ll have plenty of people to help her to remember it. How will she know that God spoke on January 18 2009? Because her mom and dad and her baptismal sponsors: will tell her about it. She and her brother will get used to hearing the story of how God spoke to each of them. When she’s older, she’ll hear all about how the people who loved her most bundled her up on a very snowy day and brought her to the font because the God who loves her more than anything had something special to say to her. Samuel had Eli to point him in the right direction. She’s got people who will do the same thing.

Nathanael had a similar experience. When his friend Philip told him that God was in their neighborhood, he was skeptical. Then Jesus walked up to him and told him that he had been there the whole time, that he knew him better than Nathanael had ever dreamed. Then, he told him, this is just the beginning, there’s a whole lot more to come… “you will see greater things than these.” (John 1:50)

It’s the same with us, God meets us first in the waters, but then follows us every day of our life. At work, in the classroom, even when we’re lounging in front of the tv. God comes to us and calls us by name…always inviting us to be a part of what He’s up to in the world, always inviting us to share his message of love and forgiveness with a world that sometimes thinks he’s stopped speaking altogether.

Jesus called the world with his life, every bit of it. He did things for God that no one else could ever, or would ever do. He gave all that he had, and trusted that God would call his name even when things seemed dark and hopeless. He gave everything, He gave all that he had to meet you, to meet me, and this past Sunday to meet a little girl who he’s known before anyone else.

God comes just to tell us that He loves us, and He has a very special plan for each of us.

If you heard God’s voice, booming loud and clear through the speakers on your television or the receiver on your phone, you’d listen, right? If God’s own hand started writing a message in your notebook, you’d read it, right? If God interrupted your life to tell you what He wanted you to be and do with the rest of your days, you’d do it, right? It’s ok if you’re not sure…it took Samuel three times before he got it. It took Nathanael a little while before he heard. It will take you, and I, with the help of God most of our lives to hear it…but if we listen, we’ll find out sooner or later that God is here, and he’s calling us.

ALL IN

2008-11-18T06:36:00.000-08:00

One of my not-so guilty pleasures, something I look forward to each holiday season, happens when we gather with my wife’s side of the family. Typically, whether it’s Thanksgiving or Christmas, after the dishes have been cleared, my father-in-law, my two brothers-in-law, and myself gather at the kitchen table to play cards. Lately, our favorite game has been Texas Hold-Em…or as my niece and nephew call it: “poker checkers.”

In these games, at least once, one of my brother-in-law’s will sit at the table, look at his cards, look at the pile of chips in the center, look at us, look at our stacks of chips, look back at his cards…take a long pause, and then says two words: “ALL IN”

ALL IN means just what it sounds like. It means I’m putting up all that I’ve got…I’m playing it all on this one hand.

Now, when he does this, I always say two words as well, and those words are “I FOLD” I usually fold because going all-in, even in a game where there’s no real money involved scares the heck out of me.

I’m not sure what God would think about our games of Texas Hold-Em or if God would approve of teaching our niece and nephew how to play “poker checkers”, but my hunch is God just might smile when he hears those two words my brother-in-law isn’t afraid to say: ALL IN.

There are two people in the story Jesus tells in Matthew 25:14-30 who go all in…and they don’t even hesitate as long as my brother-in-law does to do it. The master gives one of them 5 talents and the other 2 and they go off “at once” to trade them all away. They go ALL IN. In the end, it pays off, they each double their investment and their master is thrilled.

But there’s a third person in this story too, who might be more like me. He gets one talent, and he goes off at once to bury it. He doesn’t trade it. He doesn’t put it in the bank to earn even a small amount of interest. He takes it, finds a safe place, digs a hole in the ground, and buries it. Whatever he does is the opposite of ALL IN…maybe we could say he does what I do…he folds…he takes himself out of the game altogether. He buries the talent.

I think this story is why I say that God smiles when people go ALL IN…because the two servants who do hear things like: “Well done!” and the servant who folds hears this: “You wicked and lazy slave.” In the end, this becomes a story about what happens when we go all in, and what happens to us when we fold.

There’s another story that illustrates that God is in favor of going ALL IN even more clearly.

It’s the story of Jesus. God goes ALL IN when he sends his one and only Son to save us. God doesn’t fold when there’s no room at the inn… “Even if my son is born in a barn, I’m still in God says.” God doesn’t fold when the stakes get high because of Jesus’ message, and people turn against him, and people call for his life…This is how far God is willing to go to go all in for you and I. Because of it, Jesus is a beautiful savior for us.

He’s a beautiful savior, but he would be a terrible poker player. He’d be terrible for at least two reasons that I can think of: he shows his hand way too soon, and he’s always, just like his Father, going ALL IN. Jesus shows his hand early, he tells the world exactly why he came and what he’s about. Then, he proceeds to go all in on every hand that he plays, no matter how many chips are in front of him. For instance, Jesus doesn’t fold when the crowds are starving and hungry, and there seems to be no food. He goes ALL IN and he feeds them. Jesus doesn’t fold when they tell him your friend Lazarus is dead and buried…he goes ALL IN and rolls the stone away and calls into the darkness. Jesus doesn’t fold when people tell him “You can’t do that!”…he goes ALL IN and heals the sick, and turns the tables, and forgives the sins.

Even when the cross is laid on his table, he looks at it, looks at the hand he’s been dealt, looks at the crowds…and still goes ALL IN. The difference maker in this wager, is as Jesus goes ALL IN, so does God…God goes into the darkness, into the tomb, into death itself, refusing to fold until new life emerges for his Son and for you and I.

God goes ALL IN for you ALL THE TIME and he invites you to do the same.

When was the last time you looked at the hand you’ve been dealt, the stack of chips in front of you…no matter how large or small it seemed…and REALLY went ALL IN?

When you saw something in the world that needed changing…you went all in. When you saw something in your life that needed improvement…all in. When you heard a call from God, took it to heart…and went all in.

Or do you fold? The world will never change…so I’ll take my chips and throw in my cards and fold. My life will never change, so I’ll toss my cards on the pile and fold. God’s call isn’t really for me…so I’ll bury my talent in the ground and fold.

God’s promise for you today, even if you’re like me and want to run and hide and grab hold of all your poker checkers when you hear the words “ALL IN”…God’s promise is when you refuse to fold, when you take the chance to go ALL IN…you’ll never go alone because God doesn’t just smile when he hears those two words, he pushes all of His chips into the middle with you and echoes them…ALL IN!

Inviting All

2008-10-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

Do you enjoy a really good party? That’s probably a silly question. Who doesn’t love parties, right?

Have ever thrown a good party? If you have, then I am sure you still love a good party, but you also know how much work it can be to throw one. Picking a date, a place, a menu, and a guest list can all be lots of work.

Take that last one for example…can you remember that last guest list you put together? Sometimes, it’s tougher than we might imagine. Sometimes, when we begin making out the list of the people we’d like to invite to our parties, we start to say things like:

“If we invite Jim…then we have to invite Jerry and Bill, too…because they all work together, and Jerry and Bill will be really angry if they find out Jim went and they weren’t invited.”
“But then, we’ve got to remember that Bill doesn’t get along with Darlene, so if they both show up, we’ve got to find a way to keep them separated.”
“And don’t forget about Daryl, he’s always telling those terribly inappropriate jokes…make sure to keep him away from Pastor Dan.”
“Yeah, we’ll put Pastor Dan and his wife at a table next to Darlene and her husband, and Jerry and Bill can go with Daryl and his girlfriend, they love a good joke!”
“Oh my gosh, I just realized…we’ve invited Aunt Bertha and Uncle Henry…remember? She still hasn’t forgiven him for that time when they were ten years old and he told the boy up the street that she really liked him!”

Does any of this sound familiar? My guess is, if you’ve ever thrown a party, you’ve had these conversations. Guest lists and seating charts alone can take up lots of time and give us lots of headaches. The end result, though, the day of the big event, makes it all worth it. When everyone arrives and the party begins, fortunately, we forget about all the headaches…as long as everything goes smoothly and nothing gets broken.

I’ll bet the king in the story that Jesus tells in Matthew 22:1-14 went through all of this as he planned a party for his only Son. He chose a date. He chose the place. He planned his menu…who doesn’t love fatted calf? And then, he made out his guest list. He put everyone who was anyone on it. All of his closest friends and advisers got invitations. Every wealthy landowner in the kingdom was asked to save the date. Every shopkeeper, every rich patron, every A-list person in all the land got to RSVP, and the list went on and on. The king invited them all, he ordered his servants to make the preparations, and then he waited…He couldn’t wait to see the look on his Son’s face when he walked into the banquet hall and they all shouted, SURPRISE! It would be great

When was the last time you threw a party and no one came? This isn’t just being disappointed that Aunt Bertha can’t make the long car trip up. When was the last time you had something really big to celebrate, but no one seemed to care? This is much bigger than Jerry and Bill getting angry that you left them off the guest list. When was the last time something big happened in your life, and there was no one there to tell about it? What happened to the king is much more unbearable than what happens when Cousin Daryl, unknowingly tells Pastor Dan that really tasteless joke.

This is what happens to the king in Jesus’ story. He sends the invitations, he calls his friends, he gets everything ready, and then he stands at the gate…and no one comes. None of the landowners head up his driveway. None of the shopkeepers enter the hall. No A-listers make it to the party. How do you think that felt? You went through all the careful preparations, all of the work, all of the headaches…and you’re not going to experience any of the joy.

Our lives together aren’t really all that different than the guest lists we create for the parties we throw. If we think long and hard enough, I am sure we can begin to map out, even in our own families, the complex and touchy relationship quirks that exist between us. Differences in friendships…long-held grudges from some distant event in our past…senses of humor that just don’t mesh…values that conflict…behaviors that grate on us…the list, like the list of the king’s guest, goes on and on.… With all of that going against us, it’s enough to say “forget it” and tear down the streamers, throw away the menu, and shred the guest list…give up on the party altogether.

But before we do any of that, we may want to pay attention to the end of Jesus’ story.

Jesus seems to be saying, stop being so choosy about who your friends are, and start paying attention to who God’s friends are. The king invites everyone…after the wealthy and the powerful turn down the invitation, the king invites everyone to come to the party. God does the same thing. God invites all people.

God doesn’t waste any time the way we do, wondering who will behave once they get to the party, God doesn’t seem too concerned that two people with a grudge between them might run into one another, I would venture to guess that God doesn’t really care how terrible Cousin Daryl’s jokes are, or how self-righteous Pastor Dan may be…Instead, God puts us all together, often right next to each other, and invites us all to live this way, despite our differences…and…even learn to CELEBRATE them!

Every good party needs an invitation, a reason for the gathering, and great menu. The party that God throws for the world has all of these things wrapped up in one. Jesus is the invitation…he’s the one who heads out into the streets, the neighborhoods, and into your heart, inviting you to stop what you’re doing and come to the party. Jesus is the reason for the celebration, the Son of God just walked through your front door and isn’t here to inspect the work you’ve done so far. Instead he’s here to bring you joy. The menu when we gather, at God’s invitation, is Jesus as well. It is his body and blood that make the celebration possible.

When human life had become so tangled and confused that we had all but forgotten how to attend a great party, how to celebrate life, with all of its imperfections, that’s when Jesus showed up. He came to show us that life is difficult, relationships are messy, and it’s all imperfect…But God is still here… and that is worth celebrating!

In this life, Jesus’ guest list included tax collectors and fishermen, women and men, the rich and the poor, the sick and the well, people with great references and also many with the worst reputations…He met them all face to face…he sat with them at the table, he drank wine with them at the wedding, and he cried with them at the graveside. In it all, he invited the people around him to celebrate the life God gives, in all of its fullness…the good and the bad.

In the end, he made this kind of celebration possible for eternity…he stretched out his arms on the cross, to invite you into God’s unconditional love. He called you to come and experience real forgiveness and freedom. He sent out word that there was a place saved for you at his table of grace, where the menu would be bread and wine that hold his presence and life…all of it given for you.

The table is set, the doors are open, the meal is waiting. God is inviting you to come, but before you do, you may want to stop agonizing over preparations, stop judging who makes your guest list and who doesn’t, and to stop trying to coordinate and control the messy world of human relationships, and instead start celebrating the loving God who redeems them all.
Imagine a party where you don’t have to do all the work, you don’t have to feel responsible for how the guests interact, you don’t have to worry when something gets broken. In fact, you don’t have to worry about a single thing. This is the party that God is throwing for the world…inviting all people to come and see and taste and hear how much there is to celebrate when we invite everyone to gather together.

Worshipping Faithfully

2008-10-06T13:36:00.001-07:00

I’ve got some bad news for you…right now, at this very moment…you’re not accomplishing anything at all…I can almost guarantee you…when you walk out of this room later on this morning…when you drive out of the parking lot later today…you will not have accomplished very much.

-The dirty laundry sitting in the hamper at home, will be just as dirty when you get home.
-The leaves in your yard…well, they will have grown…there will be more of them to rake up once you return later today.
-Unless you’ve written “go to church” on your to-do list this morning, then I guarantee you there will be just as many things to check off…as many things left to do as there were yesterday.
-If you went to the bank and checked the balance on your account, it will not have grown during the time you spent here.

That’s the truth…you’ve chosen to invest your time here in church this morning, but if you try to measure what kind of return on your investment you’ve received later today, you may end up disappointed…because in the hour or so that you and I spend here together…we really don’t accomplish too much. That’s the bad news…if you’ve chosen to invest your time here today…you won’t find much of a return.

In the last several weeks, we’ve been talking a lot about our vision here at Zion…a vision for GROWING. We’ve talked about the importance for our lives of GIVING forgiveness away unselfishly. We’ve thought about how each day in our life might be different if we were to practice RECEIVING God’s grace each moment. And, we’ve looked to Jesus’ as someone who can help us to OPEN new doors of possibility without fear. Today, we’re talking about WORSHIP.

One of the things that I love the most about our GROWING vision statement, is that today’s point is located in the exact center of it. WORSHIPPING FAITHFULLY isn’t just the center of our vision, but as Jesus reminds us, it’s the center of our life. Worshipping Faithfully means that we make our relationship with GOD the most important relationship in our life…it becomes the center of who we are, every moment of every day.

Sometimes, though, we confuse WORSHIP with INVESTMENT. We go to church and wonder, what will I get out of it? What kind of returns can I expect from this investment? What’s in it for me? Believe me, I do this all the time, wondering “How many people will show up?” “What will the giving look like, will it help us to meet the budget?” “What will I say? How will it make an impact.” Maybe you’ve done this, too…wondering what kind of return you’ll get out of the investment that you make when you come to worship.

The problem is, when we do this, we get dangerously close to the mindset of the people in Jesus’ story in Matthew 21:33-45.

From their perspective, they think that they’re really accomplishing something. They think that the investment strategy that they’ve come up with will really pay off for them in the end. They’ve convinced themselves that they’re in for a huge windfall…they’ve got visions of the entire vineyard…every vine, every grape, every drop of wine that comes from that winepress…all of it belonging to them! They can already hear the cash registers ringing in the profits they’ll receive…once that pesky landowner is out of the picture. They are one hundred percent certain, that they are on the verge of accomplishing something great.

How does it work out for them in the end? My guess is, it doesn’t turn out at all how they thought it would. Maybe they should have invested differently. Their plan to sever the relationship with the landowner backfires on them in a big way.

I think Jesus tells this story for a reason. I think he’s illustrating what happens when we lose sight of how important relationships are in life. WORSHIP reminds us, whenever we do this, of just how important they are. In fact to God, they are priceless.

Relationship with us is so PRICELESS to God, in fact, that He sends us the everything that is most valuable to Him. God’s only Son walks into the vineyard to give us his life. He’s less concerned with the number of grapes on the vine than he is with the number of people who are working there. Jesus doesn’t seem to look at his journey to live among us as an INVESTMENT…and if he does, then we might say that in the end he made a poor one. Instead, he just might see it as a PAYMENT…he gives away everything he has to purchase our lives…In the end, when he goes to the cross it looks like his whole life will have been wasted…and the investment that he’s made won’t yield, produce, or accomplish anything.

With Jesus’ death and resurrection, though, God reminds us that life isn’t always about what you can see: the laundry pile shrinking, the leaves being raked into piles and cleared away, the to-do list growing smaller, or the bank account growing larger…sometimes the most priceless things in life are unseen…like the new life that is silently happens inside the darkness of Jesus’ tomb.
Worship, just like life, isn’t about what WE can accomplish when we gather together…sing a few songs…pray a few prayers…and pass the plate (although often we make the mistake of believing that it is.) A life of WORSHIPPING God FAITHFULLY seems to be less about the things we accomplish…the growth we can see….and Instead, WORSHIP is all about what GOD can accomplish through us. The returns on the investments that we make are often intangible, immeasurable…but in the long run, they are priceless.

Think about what happens in the hour or so when we gather in worship.
We begin by confessing our sins…we open our hearts to God and one another and admit that we’re not perfect…we allow ourselves to become vulnerable…and then, the moment we do…we hear not a punishment, but a word that reminds us that we’re forgiven for all of them! I can’t think of another place where this happens.

Bishop Payne once pointed out to a group gathered here that church, in today’s world is one of the only places where people sing together. No matter what your voice sounds like…if you’re more at the “Pavarotti” end of the spectrum…or if you live in my musical neighborhood…you still get to sing together…to God.

We do something else here when we gather that’s unique…we stop what we’re doing to get up out of our comfortable seats to cross the aisle and shake hands, hug, and offer peace to people. Can you think of another place where this happens?

When we gather, we approach a table and share a meal where there is always enough for everyone, and there is always room for everyone…and we don’t ever clear the dishes until everyone has had something to eat and drink…that , I think, is truly unique.
Finally, and to me, this is one of the best parts of WORSHIP…we never say that we’re finished until we receive God’s blessing, and THANK God for sending us out into the world to share the love we’ve found in here with other people!

When we invest our time in WORSHIP, our laundry won’t get clean, but our souls will get cleansed…the leaves in our yard will still pile up, but all of the guilt from our mistakes will be carted away…our to-do list might not shrink, but our sense of being overwhelmed by it all just might…Our bank account may not grow, but I guarantee you, our hearts will!

When WORSHIP…trusting God to be in charge of everything, becomes the center of our life…we GROW…in love for God and in love for one another and the world God made.

For some of us, it may seem like bad news that our investment this morning won’t accomplish too much…but, I’ve got worse news for you…there are many people that you and I know and love…and many people who we have yet to know…who at this very moment are trying to make investments all by themselves, and wondering why none of them are working out. There are people fretting over mountains of dirty laundry at this very moment…there are people crying because the leaves keep falling faster than they can clear them…there are people trying to get everything on the to-do list done all by themselves and working themselves to exhaustion…and there are certainly many people worrying about the balance in their checkbook…You will run into some of these people tomorrow morning…you’ll sit next to them on the bus…you’ll stand beside them in the coffee shop…you’ll say “Good Morning” to them at work…You’ll do it all after coming here, and receiving the PRICELESS return from the investment that God made for you, but they will be struggling without knowing the benefit of it. WORSHIP is at the center of our lives, but we’ll find out next week that it always leads us to invest, not in a return for ourselves, but in the life of someone else…Maybe you can get a headstart on investing this week by inviting one of those many people into God’s investment plan…His life for yours and theirs.

Opening Doors Fearlessly

2008-09-29T05:08:00.000-07:00

I’m not a big fan of scary movies, but this week the stores were filled with Halloween stuff, so maybe that’s why I’m thinking about them. And even if you’re not a fan of scary movies, I’ll bet you’ve seen the scene that’s been written into many of them. It starts with a shot of someone sitting at home alone on a dark and stormy night. Then, all of a sudden this person hears a “bump” from upstairs…the same upstairs that’s supposed to be empty. So they get up from their chair, and head to the foot of the stairs. Then, at that point the camera angle switches so that you and I see what they see as they tiptoe up the stairs and creep toward the door to the room where that bump in the night came from When they get there, we see their shaking, trembling hand slowly reach out to open the door… I think that’s the moment when the person in the row in front of you at the movie theater yells out “Don’t go in there!” and you jump out of your seat and spill your popcorn all over your lap. You know that scene, don’t you?

We’re familiar with this kind of thing…the tension…the feelings of trepidation that fill us as we follow the character up the stairs…the fear that we can feel as they reach out with that trembling hand to open the door…we know this well…but I’m not sure that Jesus does.
I’ll bet that when Jesus arrived at the temple in Matthew 21:23-32 that there wasn’t an ounce of fear in him. Picture him, walking across town, down the street to the temple, up the front steps, and making his way to the entrance. How did he open the door when he got there? Do you picture him tiptoeing up the stairs? Do you envision him creeping toward the door? Do you see his hand trembling, shaking in fear as he reaches out to open it and enter? I don’t. In fact, when I read this story, I can’t picture Jesus approaching anything that way.

If you skip back to verse 12, you’ll find, I think, a very different picture of Jesus’ entrance that day:

“Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you are making it a den of robbers.” (Matthew 21:12-13)

Turning tables, driving people out, making bold proclamations? This doesn’t sound like someone who opened the door to the temple that day with fear and trepidation. Instead, I think Jesus opened the door that day with purpose, with confidence…when it comes down to it…I think he opened it…FEARLESSLY.

In fact, if you read Jesus’ story, I think you’ll find that he opens most doors without fear. He opened the door to a fishermen’s heart and asked him to follow…without fear of rejection. He opened the door to the room where that same fisherman’s mother-in-law suffered with a terrible fever…without fear of catching what she had. He opened the door to his friend Lazarus’ tomb…without fear of the smell of death that was inside it. Jesus opens lots of doors, and he opens them all fearlessly.

He invites you to do the same thing…with doors that lead to new possibilities…with doors that have been bolted shut for too long…with doors that prevent you from living life in all of the abundance that God intended...Jesus invites you to do it with every door you face.
We’re invited to open doors fearlessly because that’s what Jesus himself does. I think he must get that from his Father.

God isn’t afraid of opening new doors. God isn’t afraid to open the door that leads from heaven to earth and send his only Son down to live with us. God isn’t afraid to open the door of the tomb that holds His Son’s lifeless body. God certainly isn’t afraid to open the door to your heart, and invite you to follow His way.

How did Jesus open the door to the temple that day? Timidly? Fearfully? With uncertainty? I’ll bet not! He opened it fearlessly and walked right in. Even though he knew there were challenges waiting for him on the other side of it.

The people Jesus meets in the temple that day aren’t very good at opening doors…fearlessly or otherwise. In fact, maybe because of their fear they prefer to close doors and keep them shut. We might not be all that different. When you see a door in front of you that may hold a new, but scary opportunity behind it…what do you do? When you pass by the doors that have been slammed on relationships, and hold nothing but old wounds and grudges behind them…what do you do? When you stand before the door that leads to new life…how do you stand? Do you tiptoe past them? Do you creep by them? Do you stand and tremble with fear…debating whether or not to open them?

I think Jesus is always inviting us, but never forcing us, to open these doors in our lives and know that because he’s with us that we can open them FEARLESSLY!

God opened the door from heaven to earth and Jesus walked through it…on the other side he saw some pretty scary things…he saw people using God’s name to get rich…he saw people struggling to eat with no one to help them…he saw people dying alone because people were afraid to reach out and touch them…in the end he saw possibly the scariest thing of all…a wooden cross with his name on it! He saw it all, and yet he never crept, he never trembled, he never gave in to any fear he may have had. In the end, I think Jesus goes to the cross because his love for us is so strong that it far outweighs any fear he feels.

There is one exception to this, though. On the evening when Jesus was raised from the dead, we’re told that his disciples were gathered in a house and they had locked the doors because they were afraid. These may be the only doors that Jesus doesn’t open. Mysteriously, he simply appears in the house. The doors remain locked as he stands among his disciples, shows them the marks of the nails in his hands and offers them his peace. He doesn’t open the door when he comes to show his disciples that he’s alive and well…He appears, and then he leaves that last part up to them…to let go of everything that scares them, and fearlessly open the door to step into the life that God has in store for them. We know they did it because we wouldn ‘t be here otherwise. Will you do the same?

Receiving God's Grace

2008-09-22T04:40:00.000-07:00

When the alarm clock goes off on a Monday morning, what’s the first thought that typically comes to your mind?

If you’re like me, then that thought, most Mondays just might begin with the word “Ugh!” “Another Monday.” Have you ever felt that way? If you have, then you know it’s even worse when you wake up on Monday and it’s dark and grey outside, and the sky is cloudy, and the air is cold. On a day like that it’s enough to want to just stay in bed, pull back the covers, and hide from the world. Have you been there before? Me too.

Now, shift gears for a moment and think back the last day you can remember when you woke up, and the first thoughts in your mind, the first thing you said to yourself was “Man, today’s going to be a great day!” Maybe the sun was shining in through the window, the birds were chirping outside, the sky was blue…maybe you’re like a friend of mine, and your automatic coffee maker had dutifully made the coffee and you can already smell it wafting in from the kitchen…and all you can think in the middle of that perfect scene is “Man, today’s going to be a great day!” Wouldn’t it be nice if every day could begin that way?
Well, if you think so, then I’d like to let you in on a secret…ANY day CAN be a great day. It doesn’t matter if the sky is blue or grey, if the sun is shining or buried behind a thick wall of clouds, if the birds are chirping sweetly or there are a flock of crows cawing wildly…any day can be a great day.

Too often, I know I’m guilty of it, when the day doesn’t start the way we wanted, when the air’s too cold, the sky is too grey…you forgot to plug the coffee maker in the night before…we didn’t get enough sleep…when all these things collide to make us wake up on the wrong side of the bed…too often the first thoughts we think or the first words we say…fall into the category of complaints. Before we’ve even pulled back the covers, we’re complaining…
We all complain, some more than others..but when complaining becomes a daily habit…an every morning routine…then pretty soon the things that can ruin a day become smaller and smaller…and it doesn’t take long before the words “Man, today’s going to be a great day” disappear from our vocabulary altogether…THIS DOESN’T HAVE TO HAPPEN…Like I said…any day has the potential for being a great one.

Think about the story that Jesus tells in Matthew 20:1-16. There is a group of people in that story for whom the day is starting to show signs of going south. I’m talking about that 5 pm group who are still standing around.

They may have rolled out of bed saying “Man, today’s going to be a great day!” but then when the clock struck 9, noon, 3, and 5 and they were still standing around, un-hired, they may have begun question their initial assessment…the reason this is turning out to be a bad day is because they know that if they don’t get picked, they don’t work, and if they don’t work, then their family doesn’t eat that day.

Have you ever felt like that? Like a day that had so much potential just sort of ran out of steam? Or took a wrong turn somewhere? Or came to a screeching halt altogether? What did you do when that happened? What are the things you started to think? What did you say? What did you do about it?

The interesting thing to me, about the 5 o’clock group is their strategy. They don’t start complaining: “What a rotten day!” or “How come he got picked over me? Everyone knows I always work hard and he’s a slacker!” Instead of letting the grey clouds get the better of them, instead they seem to say “Let’s wait and see! The day’s not over yet.” At the end of the day, for them it was worth it…they finally get picked, and they receive far more than they ever expected. I’ll bet when the checks were handed out at the end of the day…that 5 o’clock group looked at them and said “Man, I KNEW today was going to be a great day!”

There is word for what those workers received, and it is the key to the secret of every great day…the word is GRACE. Being paid for a full day’s work, when you only showed up at 5 is GRACE…it means the difference between food on the table or empty stomachs. GRACE is the key to our lives, too because it means the difference between whether a day is rotten or good.
The complainers in Jesus story grumble because they worked all day and got the same thing as the ones who showed up late. My guess is, most of us might do the same thing if we found ourselves in their shoes. I think they complain…and most of the time we do too…because we have a hard time recognizing GRACE. Jesus’ story reminds us that GRACE is all around us…it’s as available to you the moment you wake up, before the day has even started, as it is late in the day when you’re exhausted and ready for bed.

The question is, is it ENOUGH for you? Is what God provides enough…or do you find yourself worrying about what others have? Is what God provides enough for today or do you find yourself fearful of what tomorrow might bring? When you look at what God has given you, do you find yourself complaining about what you’re receiving…or not receiving?

Many of you probably know who Randy Pausch is…he’s the Carnegie Mellon Professor, who at the age of 47 was diagnosed with a terminal pancreatic cancer that this past summer took his life. For Randy, that one day at the doctor’s office changed his life forever. With a wife and three small children, no one would blame Randy if he complained…if he said that this wasn’t fair…if he cried out that he didn’t deserve what he had received in this diagnosis. In his book, “The Last Lecture” he says something profound about complaining. He says this: “Complaining doesn’t work as a strategy.” I would agree with him.

Complaining doesn’t work as a strategy…but I believe that Receiving God’s Grace does. When you don’t receive what you had hoped out of a day, a week, or a life…complaining won’t change any bit of it. God’s Grace might.

Take Jesus for example. We’re told that on one particular Thursday night, he had a nice meal with all of his friends, but that later on he wound up spending the rest of that night in a jail cell. Then, Friday morning he woke up and stood trial. He listened as large crowds of people called not for his release, but for his life. Then at noon on Friday he trudged up a hill with the cross on his shoulders…and that afternoon he felt the nails in his hands…then that night, he died.

As far as I know, he never complained about any bit of it. But he did say things like: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Even when the day showed no signs of improving, and only got worse as the hours went by, Jesus spent every minute of it still trusting, hoping, and counting on somehow receiving God’s grace. No matter how you look at it, that Friday for Jesus was not a “good” day.

But then, something happened…something no one could have foreseen or predicted. If you think that the 5 o’clock workers were surprised that day when the checks were handed out, then imagine how surprised Jesus was when Sunday morning rolled around, and he opened his eyes, breathed in and looked around, and saw that the sun outside his tomb was shining and the door was opened. My guess is, he smiled, rolled out of that cold, dark tomb and said to himself “Man, today is going to be a great day!”

Jesus reminds us all that no matter what happens, whether it is morning, noon, or night, God’s grace is always there…sometimes we don’t see it right away, but if we hang around long enough it always shows up. Complaining, though we do it often, is never a strategy that will improve our day or our life…But, waiting on God’s grace just might!

Giving Unselfishly

2008-09-22T04:36:00.000-07:00

If you wanted to read a really great work of literature, you could go to your local library and borrow: War and Peace, The Old Man and the Sea, The Great Gatsby, or countless others. But, as far as I’m concerned, there aren’t too many books that rival a classic from my childhood. “The Berenstain Bears: Trouble with Money” is without a doubt one of the greatest books you’ll ever read. If you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor and pick it up, you’ll be glad you did. It’s a quick read, but what it lacks in length, it more than makes up for in meaning.
The Berenstain Bears Trouble with Money is a portrait of a young bear family, and their struggles to teach their children about money. Brother Bear and Sister Bear have a problem with money, namely they have a hard time holding onto it. It burns holes in their pockets, they spend it frivolously, they have a hard time saving. For them, that’s the trouble with money, they can’t seem to spend it or get rid of it fast enough. Often, they spend it on the wrong things. The book is all about Mama and Papa Bear trying to teach their young cubs how to save money, how to value their money, and how to put some away for a rainy day. Again, if you have yet to read this classic of American literature, go out and pick up a copy. Ours is well-worn and well-read.

Chapter 18 of Matthew’s Gospel (v. 21-35) contains a quick lesson, too, but it is also full of meaning. You could call this story “The Trouble with Forgiveness.” It all begins with a simple question from a sincere disciple. Peter asks Jesus: “Lord, how many times should I forgive?” Already, he’s recognizing that when it comes to forgiveness, he’s having trouble. Maybe his question is an effort to make this difficult concept somehow simpler: “Should I forgive seven times?”

Jesus’ words remind Peter, and you and I, that forgiveness doesn’t really work that way. His story is an illustration of the trouble we often have with forgiveness.

Whereas the Bears in the book have trouble holding onto their money, often you and I have trouble letting go of our forgiveness. Sometimes we guard it as if it were pricelessly irreplaceable. Sometimes, we treat it like money: we bank it, we save it, we hold onto it. Sometimes, we lock our forgiveness up in an air-tight vault with thick walls, that only we have the combination to. Sometimes, we don’t let forgiveness out enough.
The trouble with forgiveness, that Jesus communicates, is that you have to GIVE it for it to work. The king in the story that Jesus tells gives forgiveness, he forgives an outrageous debt…and the servant is relieved. But, he still has trouble with forgiveness, because just a few moments later…he can’t do the same thing for a miniscule debt. Because of this, he winds up in trouble. When we don’t give our forgiveness away, and instead keep it all to ourselves, then we wind up in trouble.

What he never realized, is that you can never “bounce” a forgiveness check. You can never deplete your “forgiveness” bank. In fact, it’s impossible to ever run out of forgiveness. Peter is probably more ambitious than you and I could be “Can I forgive up to seven times?” Jesus still says he’s being way too conservative with his forgiveness.

We’ll never run out of forgiveness because God has already given us more than we could ever imagine. God knows how to give out forgiveness.

When we owed God and one another big time, God handed himself over to cancel our debt. No matter what we owed, Jesus came to forgive it. Unselfishly, he gave all that he could to erase every debt. He gave us his time, his listening ear, his loving presence…in the end, he gave us his life. Jesus’ death cancels our debt…forgives us completely. His new life, in rising again, helps us to get on a brand new payment plan…one that runs on love and forgiveness.

Because of all this, you will never “bounce” a forgiveness check, so write them often, and make sure they’re in large amounts.

Our Vision at Zion is for GROWING and the first challenge we’ve set to help ourselves grow is the commitment to GIVING UNSELFISHLY. I can think of few things more challenging to give unselfishly than forgiveness, but if we are really interested in GROWING in our faith, then this a good place to begin…by giving forgiveness unselfishly.

When you and I forgive from the heart, we grow! We grow closer to one another, and we grow closer to God. Jesus makes it abundantly clear in his last words to Peter that God is really interested in our trouble with forgiveness, and God is concerned with helping us overcome it.

When you think about your own trouble with forgiveness, who comes to mind? Who might benefit this week, if you decided to crack open your forgiveness vault and give some of it away? Who might you know who needs for you to open up your forgiveness checkbook and write one great big check? Who is that person whose whole life might change, all because you trusted God enough to confront your own trouble with forgiveness and give some of it away?

Forgiveness isn’t like money…it’s not something we should save up and bank throughout our lives. Instead it’s something God wants us to spend frivolously, generously, unselfishly…every day. He did it for you and it made your troubles easier to bear…you can do it for someone else and do the exact same thing.

Water is still wet!

2008-08-12T13:41:00.001-07:00

In his book, The Shack, William Young tells the story of a man named Mack who spends a weekend with God in a shack in the wilderness, sorting out the tremendous pain that a devastating loss has brought into his life.

In one very poignant scene, Mack takes a walk with Jesus, who suggests that the quickest way to get to where they’re headed is to walk, not around the lake at the foot of the hill, but across it…on top of the water. At first, Mack is skeptical, but then he remembers “If Peter could do it…why not me?” Before he takes his first faith-filled step, Mack has one important question for Jesus. He asks: “Will my feet get wet?” Jesus tells him: “Of course, water is still wet.”

Maybe this was Peter’s problem when Jesus invites him to walk on water. (Matthew 14:22-33) Even though he gets over the shock of seeing someone walking on water, even though he establishes that it is not a ghost standing in front of him, and even though he decided to take that first faith-filled step…he forgot: water is still wet!

Maybe that’s what happened. Maybe this is why he’s distracted, startled, and becomes fearful. He steps on to the surface of the water and his feet get soaked. He takes a few steps and the sea sloshes beneath him. He walks over to Jesus, and standing on the water, those first waves crash around his feet, and soak his shins, he becomes worried…he loses focus on Jesus…he starts to sink. Maybe he thought that because he was walking on water, that the waves and the wind would become less real…that they would lose their power over him…but he learns: no matter what…water is still wet!

God loves to make the impossible possible. In the Bible this looks like Peter walking on water, Jesus changing water into wine, and five loaves and two fish feeding thousands until they can’t eat another bite.

God makes the impossible possible for you and I, but in our lives the miracles are often more subtle. After a devastating loss, somehow we pick up the pieces and move on with God’s help. When life becomes difficult, when waves crash and the wind is in your face, God shows up and helps you keep going. When life becomes uncertain, God is there to stand beside you.

God makes the impossible possible, and yet we sometimes still make the same mistake that Peter made. How often do you and I forget that the water is still wet? God helps us through the pain, but the pain still stings….because pain hurts. God gets us through the storm, but the waves still crash on our little boat and soak us to the bone…because that’s what waves do. God helps us live in uncertain times, but our heart still races, our mind still wanders, and our breath sometimes gets taken away, because that’s what fear does to us.

What if the miracle is not that God comes to our side, walking across the water to our boat, and the storms clear out? What if the real miracle isn’t when God takes us by the hand and at once the pain disappears? Could it be that the miraclet is not that God puts his arms around us and the fears dissolve? What if the real the miracle is simply that God comes to us, God takes our hand, and God puts his arms around us? Even though he does these things, often, the waves still crash, the pain still hurts, and the fears still fill our heart…but the miracle is that we are no longer alone in them.

Peter gets out of the boat, I suspect, because he wants to walk with Jesus. Jesus comes down from the mountain, I also suspect, because he wants to walk with us. He isn’t content to sit on the mountaintop while we’re being battered by the waves on the sea below.

When God sees the waves that crash and the winds that blow…when God watches the losses that fill us with pain unfold…when God notices that our hearts are filling up with fear…his first action is to come to wherever we are.

It’s what Jesus did that day for his disciples. It’s what Jesus seems to do all the time. He comes to us out of the safety of heaven, to be with us as we face the waves and the wind. He comes to our side to walk with us through the pain and the loss. He puts his arms around us as we stand in the middle of our greatest fears.

Maybe Peter and the other disciples were so scared when they saw Jesus walking on the water, not because they didn’t recognize him, but because they knew that no one in their right mind would stand where he was standing. Who would get their feet wet, walking into the middle of the storm, just to be with the men whose boat is filling up with water?

Who would walk into the rooms that fill with loss, just to be with someone whose heart is filling up with pain? Who would venture into the fearful places, just to sit with someone whose heart is trembling? Who would do all this? There’s only one person, who in every storm, at every loss, and for every fear, will promise to show up…he’s the same Jesus who came down the mountain and walked on the sea.

He walked through this life, and lived it his way He showed up when the storms raged. He appeared when loved ones died. He came out to be with people whose hearts knew only fear.

Even when the skies darkened over his own life, and the waves of accusation crashed around him, and the winds of rejection blew into his face, he still stuck around. When the pain became real, and the cross was placed on his shoulders, he kept on. Even when he hung there and wondered aloud whether or not he was completely alone, and the fear of death filled his heart, still he stuck around.

The lesson that Jesus himself learned through all of this, is that no matter what happens, God is there when you need him. Jesus may not have felt his presence when he hung on the cross, breathed his last breath, and the darkness began to descend upon him. I’ll guarantee you that he felt it when he opened his eyes , breathed once more, felt the sunshine streaming in through the open door of the tomb!
When that happened, once more he walked out into the world. He walked out of the tomb to be with people who were still feeling the pain of loss, still huddled in fear, and for whom the storm had yet to subside. When he did, he still had the scars, because the pain of death still hurts, but now he knew that God was there, is there, and will always be there when his children need him.

The next time you wonder about whether or not God is around: because the pain seems to be too much, the loss seems to be too strong, and the fears seem to be too real…remember even if you walk on water, you’re still going to get wet. If your shoes are soaked, and the waves are still crashing, it doesn’t mean that God’s not there. Peter found out when he started to sink, sometimes that’s when you and I realize, too.

a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter

2008-08-05T13:57:00.000-07:00

“A loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter.” You remember these words, don’t you? Are they etched in your brain? Do they emerge as you walk the aisles of the supermarket with your shopping list in hand, trying to make sure you don’t forget a single item? If you grew up when I did, or had children who did, then you know these familiar words.

If you don’t know what I am talking about, they come from a Sesame Street cartoon in which a little girl is asked by her mother to walk down to the store. She tells her daughter: “Now, don’t forget: a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter.” Then she says: “If you can’t remember, I’ll write it down for you.” But the little girl is confident and says: “That’s o.k. mommy, I won’t forget, I’ll remember.”(Watch it now at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jdP7HUPbVs )

How does she remember? She remembers those three items by repeating them to herself over and over in her head as she walks down the block and into the store: “A loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter…a loaf of bread a container of milk, and a stick of butter…a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter…”

Memory is important. Not just for remembering the things on our grocery list, or the important things that people tell us, but also, it seems for our spiritual life.

Do you know about the five loaves and the two fish? Do you know about the five thousand

people who were fed by them? Matthew tells the story in chapter fourteen of his gospel (14:13-21) The story begins when Jesus and his disciples are out in the middle of nowhere among a crowd of over 5,000 people who have been determined to follow them wherever they go. Out there, at the end of a long day of listening to Jesus speak, as the sun begins to set , suddenly the disciples realize: everyone has forgotten to bring something to eat. Over 5,000 people, and among all of them, all they can gather up are 5 loaves of bread and two little fish. Whether they never intended on staying this late, or they just plain forgot, no one brought anything to eat.

Fortunately, the disciples have thought about this, and to avoid an angry, grouchy, hungry crowd turning on them, they’ve come up with a plan that they propose to Jesus: “We’re out in the country and it’s getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.”

Now, when these disciples should be glad that Jesus didn’t look at them and say: “They don’t need to leave, you give them supper. Go into town and don’t forget: 5,000 loaves of bread, 5,000 little fish…and a stick of butter…If you can’t remember, I’ll write it down for you.” While they may not have liked it, they might have understood better if this had been what Jesus says. Because, what Jesus does say to them is: “No one needs to go away. You give them supper.”

Can’t you picture them standing there, speechless, looking at one another? One of them is holding those five loaves and two fish and they sort of put them right in front of Jesus…”Aren’t you forgetting…this is all we’ve got! 5 loaves. 2 fish…5,000 people! This isn’t a sample portion, this is the whole menu!”

Go back to that Sesame Street cartoon for a moment. When the little girl finally arrives at the store, after repeating that shopping list over and over to herself the whole way, she walks up to the counter, looks at the clerk and says: “Sir, can I have a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and…and…I can’t remember…” At the most important part of the trip, she forgot. She remembered as she left the house, as she walked down the street, but at the counter, standing in front of the clerk, on the spot…she forgot! What does she do? She closes her eyes, pictures her mother standing in the kitchen, giving her the instructions, and then, it all comes back to her: “A loaf of bread, a container of milk, and…a stick of butter!” “I remembered!” she shouts.

I think that Jesus’ disciples would have benefited from watching this short cartoon, because if they had, they might have borrowed a page from the little girl’s book and thought back and remembered all other things that Jesus had told them and done with them, instead of giving up so soon.

That day, out in the middle of nowhere, they forgot all about what he said, but I bet you remember, don’t you? You remember when Jesus spoke about the seed that produces thirty, sixty, and a hundred times over! You remember the tiny mustard seed that grows into a tree. You remember that he told you that a mustard seed’s worth of faith can move mountains and uproot trees. You remember all of those stories that Jesus told about small things producing huge results?

His disciplese made it all the way out to the wilderness, they saw the crowds, they listened to Jesus, but when it mattered most, they forgot about all that they had heard and seen.
What does Jesus do? When his disciples seem to be forgetful? Matthew doesn’t mention it, but I like to think that he smiled when looked at them, with those five loaves of bread and those two little fish, and said “Give them to me.”

We know how it turns out. Jesus asks God to bless those five loaves and two fish, and then he breaks the bread and everyone is fed. In the end, it happens just as Jesus said, the disciples give everyone something to eat. All 5,000. Until they couldn’t eat another bite. There are even leftovers to wrap up and take home.

Memory is important, and I would be willing to bet that the disciples never forgot what happened that day. Or, maybe they did. Or maybe Jesus was afraid they would. Later on, when he knows it will matter the most, he goes over it all with them again.

At the Last Supper, Jesus sits them all down and gives them the most dramatic illustration there is of small, simple things producing big results. Maybe his talk with them was just like the mother in that Sesame Street cartoon: “Now don’t forget: the bread is my body, the wine is my blood…If you can’t remember, I’ll write it down for you…” and you can almost see the disciples around the table, repeating it back to him: “No, Jesus ,we won’t forget the bread is your body, the wine is your blood…”

He goes over it with them there, because when they get out into the real world he knows it may be easy to forget. At that critical moment, when his hands are tied and the cross is placed on his shoulders, it would be easy to forget: “the bread is your body, the wine is your blood…” At that critical moment, when he is raised up, and breathes his last breath, you could understand if what happened at the table with the bread and the cup escaped the memory of the disciples.

How well-versed are you in remembering that because of what Jesus has done for you on the cross, that small, simple things can produce huge results? When you reach the critical moments in your life, do you sometimes forget? I know I do. I know that many times, I must seem just like the disciples, standing before God, worried and trembling, saying: “Don’t you see, this is all I’ve got” Then I stand there, and raise up the equivalent of those five loaves of bread and two little fish for God to see.

How about you, do you ever do the same thing? Somehow, at those moments we forget about the mustard seed, the feeding of the 5,000+, and the faith that Jesus showed us on the cross, and all we can think about are how little we have, how bleak it looks, and how God needs to understand the situation our way.

Maybe what we need at that moment is what the little girl in the cartoon had. She had the ability to stop all the worry, the fear, and the wandering of her mind, and remember what her mother had told her. Maybe we need the same thing.

Jesus’ disciples finally remembered. After the cross, after he was dead and buried, three days later, he appeared again. He met two of them on the road and walked with them. All they could talk about was how bleak it was, how little they had, and how their hopes had grown small. Then, Jesus sat with them at the table, and did what he did at the feeding of the 5,000 and at the Last Supper: he took the bread, asked God to bless it, and broke it…and do you know what they said at that moment? “We remember! We remember!”

Every day of your life you have the same chance. Bring all of your hopes that have grown small, all of your skepticism about the future, all of your worries, and bring them to Jesus. Show them to him, and every time he will do the same thing. He will smile, take them from you, ask God to bless them, and show you that with God, no matter how little you feel you have, huge things are possible! Then, before you go, he’ll feed you and ask you to remember that no matter what happens that week: “The bread is my body, the wine is my blood…given for you!”

It's not easy being you

2008-07-29T13:56:00.001-07:00

Kermit the Frog sang about it. Rodney Dangerfield made a comedy career out of it…. “It’s not easy…Being green. It’s not easy when you get “no respect!” You probably know how it feels, too. Like it or not, sometimes it’s hard being you.

Any of us could understand why Kermit could relate, right? Being a frog in a man’s world has got to be hard. We all understand where Rodney was coming from when he complained about getting no respect. You’re well-acquainted with the feeling, especially when life starts to get the best of you. It’s not easy being you and no one knows that better than you do.
But, the next time you fall into a Kermit the Frog mode or you start to feel a little Dangerfield-esque, remind yourself that everyone has to deal with this. There are no exceptions. Everyone, at one time or another faces the unavoidable reality that sometimes it is just plain hard to be you.

If you don’t believe me, you can ask King Solomon. Sitting on the throne that his father made famous, he feels it. Ruling over an empire doesn’t make it go away. Power, riches, fame, none of these things can overpower the feeling that being King is hard. Solomon may not know what it feels like to be green, he may not be able to complain about getting no respect, but he does know that life isn’t always easy, even for a king! Solomon knows this as well as any of us, but you won’t hear him complain about it. Not even for a second.

Lord knows, he had the chance to complain, too. Literally. God knows. One night, God visited Solomon in a dream. He stood right in front of David’s Son, and said “Ask what I should give you.” (1 Kings 3:5 NRSV) I’ve had dreams where I’m flying. I’ve had dreams where I’ve somehow left the house and forgotten to get dressed. I’ve had other dreams that I couldn’t explain at all. I’ve never had a dream where God showed up and invited me to ask him for anything in the world. Solomon had one. Because it was dream, he could have said anything at all. He could have asked for everything his heart had ever desired. He could have told God anything at all. He could have even said:

“Being king is too much pressure. I’m not sure I can fill my father, David’s, shoes. The people in my kingdom expect so much from me. I live in constant fear of my enemies coming to defeat me. Make me something other than a king. What can you do for me, God? How about getting me out of this!”

He could have said all of that, but he didn’t. Instead, he thanked God for making him king, and then he asked God to help him be the best king he could possibly be. When God showed up in a dream and said: “What can I give you? Ask.” Solomon looked back at God and said:

“Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil” (1 Kings 3:9).

Solomon knows that it was God who put him on the throne, and he also knows that without God there’s no way he can continue to sit there, so he asks God for the ability to be the person God created him to be. Even though it’s difficult, Solomon asks God for help to be himself. He’s willing to lead God’s kingdom if God will help him to do it well.

Jesus loves to tell people about God’s kingdom. The good news is, we’re all a part of it, every single person on earth! The bad news (maybe) is that it is unlike any kingdom you’ve ever imagined. It is built from tiny seeds that grow into low-lying shrubs instead of tall trees and heavy timbers. It is like a hidden treasure that no one but God knows about. It is like a single pearl that God searches passionately for. It is like a net full of fish…and you are in the net! Are you ready for life in this kind of kingdom? Because this is what Jesus tells his disciples that life in God’s kingdom is like.

I don’t know about you, but there are several places I can think of where I would rather live than in the branch of a shrub. And while I may not mind being called “treasure”, I’m not sure I’m willing to be buried in the dirt in middle of the field in order to do it. Pearls are great, but you and I know where they get their start…in oysters. And finally, while I wouldn’t mind being the person pulling in the net full of fish, I’m not sure I want to be the fish sitting in that net.
This, I think, is what makes Solomon’s request to God so remarkable. He doesn’t ask to be something other than what he is. He doesn’t ask for something that he doesn’t aready have. He doesn’t ask for an easier life. He doesn’t say: “Get me out of the shrub and plant me in a tall, strong tree where I’ll be safe from the rest of the world.” He doesn’t ask God to give him more treasure than he’s already got. He’s not interested in getting out of the oyster shell. He’s content to stay right in the net that God cast for him. He doesn’t ask for any of these things, or anything else that would change him from what he is, remove him from where he’s at, or free him from his responsibilities.

Instead, when God invites him to ask for anything in the world, all he asks is for God to make him good at what God made him in the first place. “You made me king, help me to be the best one I can be.” I don’t know if I could do the same thing. Could you? If God showed up in a dream and invited you to ask him for anything at all, could you ask the way Solomon does? Asking, not for more riches, more success, or for more power, but instead asking God simply to help you be a better you. IT IS TOUGH!

If you don’t believe me that it is challenging to ask God to help you be what you are, just ask Jesus. He speaks to God in the middle of the night after he has shared the Last Supper with his disciples. Unlike the conversation Solomon had with God, this is no dream. In fact, it’s a nightmare, and Jesus knows it. That night, kneeling in the garden, he prays to God, and this is what he says: “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this.” That’s an honest prayer. That’s a prayer I can relate to. That’s a prayer that screams to God that it’s not always easy being us. But Jesus’ prayer doesn’t stop there. His conversation with God in the garden continues with the words: “But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?”. (Matthew 13: The Message) To even give voice to these words is so difficult, so challenging, that it causes him to sweat. Luke’s gospel tells us that as he prayed, his sweat fell “like great drops of blood.”
In the garden, where olives are grown to be pressed into oil, Jesus is pressed into saving our world. When every human muscle in his body screams “Get me out of this!”, every divine cell within him quietly asks God to help him to continue to be who God wants him to be. What Jesus does in the garden that night is exactly what Solomon does in his dream: he asks God to help him be who God made him to be. “You sent me to save the world, help me to do it…even if it means my life.”

“Not what I want, but what you want” is possibly the hardest prayer ever prayed. But Jesus does it. The reason is simple. Jesus does it all, prays for strength to face the cross, prays for God’s will to be done instead of his own, carries through on the life God gave him to live-even when that life is on a nonstop collision course with death. Jesus does it all so that you will have the chance to live the life God made just for you.

Jesus knows that it is God who put us all on earth, and without God none of us can live here. Jesus gives his life for yours. He gives his life so that nothing can harm you, nothing can defeat you, nothing can prevent you from living the kind of life God knows you can. Jesus gives up his life so that you never have give up yours.

God made you. Who you are is no accident. God made you to do things that only you can do. What are they? God made you to be someone that only you can be. Who is that person? Do you know what God put you on earth for? Are you doing something about it everyday? If not, how can you pray to God, asking for help to find out what you’re here for?

If you do know what it is, how can you be the best at it? Do you have the strength to do what Solomon and Jesus did? To speak to God and ask, not for wealth, or fame, victory over your enemies, or even in Jesus’ honest words for God to get you out of whatever you find yourself in…but instead for the strength, the power, and the tools to become who God created you to be?

Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” Quarterback Johnny Unitas heard a similar mantra from his mother, who taught him that "If your job is to scrub toilets, then make them shine!"

The streetsweeper and the King , if they are living the life God gave them, know that they can’t do any of it without God. They also know that they are doing all of it, in the end, for God. Solomon’s prayer is a tough one: “Help me be who I am.” Jesus’ is even tougher “Not what I want, but what you want”. If you and I are going to live in God’s Kingdom, we will need these prayers-to avoid the temptation to try be mighty redwoods when we’re called to be mustard shrubs. We’ll need to be well-versed in these words if we are going to be able to sit in the field and wait for God to uncover us as the treasure we really are. We will need to pray these words regularly, as we sit clamped tight in that oyster shell as we slowly and steadily become the pearl God made us to be. We will be glad when we can say these words, when we sit lumped together with all the other fish in the net, waiting for God to pluck us out and keep us forever.

Being what God made you to be is never easy, but with God’s help, it is worth it. Along the way, we’ll find that out: as we grow, as we are discovered, as we become that precious gem, and as we are caught up in God’s net just because we are who he made us to be.

Weeds and Wheat

2008-07-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

God loves things that grow. In fact, God started all of this, everything we see around us, in a garden. Genesis chapter two tells the story of that garden and the first people, whom God put there to “till it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15) From the beginning, God is sharing His love for growing things with us.

Jesus seems to share God’s passion for growing things. He tells all kinds of stories about things that grow. He tells stories about seeds, a fig tree, vineyards, vines, and branches. In Matthew chapter 13, he tells a story about “weeds and wheat” (13:24-30, 36-43)

What makes this story so interesting to me is the weed that this person sows into the wheat field in the middle of the night. The Bible names it: zizanium (in Greek). It’s scientific name is Lolium Temulentum. It is commonly known as darnel or cockle. In some places, this weed is called “false wheat” and here’s why: it grows right alongside wheat and looks nearly identical to it. But, when the seed in the zizanium, which is heavier than the seed in wheat, appears it makes the plant bow over. Worse yet, the seed of the zizanium is inedible, and can even be poisonous.

The farmer sows seeds that will grow into wheat that can be harvested to feed his family. He sows the seeds with the hope that they will grow and produce ripe grain. He sows only the best seed he has. Then, when he goes to sleep someone sneaks in and sows zizanium. This intruder is as passionate about ruining the harvest as the farmer is about growing good, healthy crops.
Think about it for just a moment. Do you garden? What do you love to grow? It would be like someone coming into your garden at night and planting something that looked just like it, but when it grew and blossomed, destroying everything around it!

If you’re not a gardener, then what are you passionate about? I have a friend who is passionate about his car. He works on it every chance he gets, he keeps it clean, waxed and polished. Sowing weeds among he wheat would be like someone coming in the middle of the night and putting sugar in his gas tank.

Are you passionate about the appearance of your home? The story that Jesus tells could be about you, too. Picture this, you’ve just repainted your house, then someone comes in the middle of the night and eggs it!

The simplest explanation is that what this night-time planter does is mean, malicious, and intent on stopping the growth from happening.

What if it happened to you? You wake up in the morning to find zizanium growing in your wheat field. You leave the house, start the car and it’s dead because of the sugar in your gas tank. You’re coming in after picking up the morning paper and your house is covered in whites, yolks, and shells! How would you feel? What thoughts might coarse through your mind? What would you do about it? What if you knew who had done it? What would you like to say to that person? What might you like to do to him?

Jesus’ story is a story about God, his Father, who began creation in a garden and makes it his passion to help it to grow. How does God feel when someone comes into His garden and sows things that will ruin it? What does God do when this happens?

Amazingly, in the story that Jesus tells his followers, God does nothing! There’s no retribution. God doesn’t go storming over the malicious weed-planter’s house to confront him. God doesn’t begin dreaming up ways to repay the favor. Instead, God does nothing. After these poisonously destructive weeds begin to come up, growing right alongside the farmer’s precious grain, what does he say: “Let both of them grow together until the harvest…”

This doesn’t make sense to me. This is the same all-powerful God, who, the moment He said “Let there be light,” the sun burst into the brightest ball of flame the world will ever know. This is the same creator who watched his people flee slavery and reached down to part the sea in front of them so that they could escape. This is the God, by the way, who sent ten nasty plagues: frogs, locusts, darkness, a river of blood, to free those people. And now, Jesus tells a story where the character who is supposed to represent this same all-powerful God does nothing when someone sows nasty weeds into his garden? It doesn’t make sense. Not to me, and not, apparently to Jesus’ disciples. “Explain the parable of the weeds to us…” they ask. “Make this clear to us, because we’re just not getting it.”

Maybe the disciples are having a hard time, because up to this point they had thought that as followers of God’s Son, that it was their job to pull up all the nasty weeds in the world. Now they’re confused because Jesus seems to be saying: “leave them alone”. Maybe they’re wondering why God doesn’t do a better job of guarding the garden. Maybe they’re starting to wonder which kind of plant they are “Are we the weeds or the wheat? Please explain it to us!” Jesus’ story, rather than make something about God clear to them, seems to leave them more confused. Sometimes, we have these same kinds of confusions.

Jesus’ story, and his explanation to his followers, is a reminder to us all that God is always only concerned with growing. God loves the garden he has created, and wants nothing more than for everything in it to grow and grow. God lets the weeds grow, for now, because He’s never willing to do anything that might harm the things that He’s passionate about growing. If pulling up these nasty weeds, as offensive and poisonous as they may be, could in any way hurt the grain, then God is content to leave them until the wheat is safely harvested and stored in His barn.
The message for us seems to be: Grow! Let God worry about everything else, you just grow where you’re planted. Because, the reality is, God knows exactly what to do with the weeds and God will do whatever it takes to make sure that they never, ever harm the grain.

God is serious about the business of growing. There’s another story that takes place in a garden, and like the story that Jesus tells, it happens at night. After he and his disciples have eaten at the table, after he told them about the bread and the wine and how from now on they would be his body and blood, and how they needed to remember everything they had done at that table…After all of that, Jesus and his followers went to a garden called Gethsemane, and there, in the middle of the night people came for him. They came with charges of everything from blasphemy to treason, they came, ultimately to take him to the cross. His disciples offered to intervene, they tried to stop it, they jumped at the chance to keep Jesus right there in the garden. But, do you know what Jesus did? When people came to take him, and his life, in the end, that night in the garden, he did NOTHING. He didn’t protest. He didn’t fight. He didn’t run. He went with them. To the courts, and then to the cross.

Jesus is just like his father. Rather than lose a single follower. Rather than lose a single grain of wheat, He goes instead. Jesus won’t let anything uproot a single person from being rooted firmly in God’s loving garden…even if it means his own life, he’ll give it.

The story that Jesus tells ends in the fall. It ends when the whole field is harvested. Only then, does God worry about the weeds, and even then, his top priority is getting the wheat into the barn.

How much of your time in life is spent worrying about the weeds? Weeds that pop up out of nowhere. Weeds that ruin your garden. Weeds that poison your life? God’s strategy, when it comes to weeds, is don’t worry about them at all. Just keep growing. If you're having trouble with weeds, and they're getting in the way of your growth, then go back and re-read the story about the weeds and the wheat. In it, God promises that if we focus on growing, in faith, in grace, in our awareness of the people God has planted in this world with us…then He’ll worry about the weeds, and we won't have to!

2008-07-07T07:01:00.000-07:00

When was the last time you visited a major city? While you were there, did you ever take public transportation? The T in Boston? The Subway in New York? The Metro in Washington D.C? If not, did you walk along the city streets? Think back to those times. Was there ever music playing as you waited for your train? As you walked down the street, was there music on one of the corners? Where did it come from? Who was playing it? What did you do when you heard it? Can you remember what instrument that person was playing? What piece of music did they perform? How long did you stay and listen? How much money did you throw into their instrument case?

The Washington Post recently explored all these questions with a little experiment. This past January 12, they invited a man to stand in L’Enfant Plaza in Washington D.C. and play his violin. Dressed in a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans, he stood and played for 43 minutes, while the folks from the Washington Post surreptitiously videotaped the whole scene. (Read the entire article and watch a video at: “Pearls before Breakfast” http://www.washingtonpost.com/)

During that time 1,097 people passed by him. How many people do you think stopped to listen? A total of seven people stopped, each one listening to his music an average of only one minute. How many do you think threw money into the open violin case at his feet? That number was higher. Twenty-seven people dropped something into the case, most of them not even breaking stride as they did it. At the end of the performance, the violinist had a little more than $32 to take home with him. As he played his violin, a crowd never formed, there wasn’t any applause, and more than 1,000 people passed by, seemingly oblivious that there was anything happening at all.

You’re probably thinking: “Isn’t this what happens when most street performers set up shop in train stations, street corners, and public squares?” You would be right, except the difference this time was that the man playing the violin wasn’t an average street performer. The man that the Washington Post invited to stand in the plaza and play was a man named Joshua Bell, considered by many to be one of the best classical performers in the entire world. The violin that he played wasn’t just any violin, either. It was a Stradivarius that was made in 1713 that still had its original coat of varnish. Its estimated value is around $3.5 million. Three days before he played his 43 minute concert in D.C. he had filled Boston’s own Symphony hall to capacity. If you wanted to hear him play there, you would have had to pay $100 for an average seat.

So, when one of the world’s greatest musicians stands in a public place and plays some of the greatest music ever composed for free on a 3 million dollar violin, what happens? The answer is, apparently, nothing. He didn’t draw a crowd, not even for a second. He didn’t receive an ovation of any kind. At the end of the day, his work had earned him the price of dinner for two at an average restaurant.

What did Josh Bell have to say about it?
"At a music hall, I'll get upset if someone coughs or if someone's cellphone goes off. But here, my expectations quickly diminished. I started to appreciate any acknowledgment, even a slight glance up. I was oddly grateful when someone threw in a dollar instead of change."

This little experiment happened this past January. Jesus described the very same thing 2,000 years ago.

He compares the people of his time to children, sitting in the marketplace, calling out: “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance.” (Matthew 11:17) I think what he’s pointing out is our capacity to miss some of the greatest things that life has to offer because we’re focused on other things.

Has it ever happened to you? When was the last time you felt rushed, like you didn’t have enough time to get everything on your “to-do” list done? When was the last time you missed something that someone was telling you because while they were speaking your thoughts were on other things? When was the last time you walked right past something beautiful and breath-taking and didn’t even know that it was there?

Jesus understands. He knows that our lives are often overloaded. He knows that our shoulders are often weighed down with heavy things: responsibilities, schedules, deadlines, worries. He doesn’t need to videotape our lives to notice any of it. He watches us as we hurry here and there, as we pile more and more into our life, and as we exhaust ourselves. If you’ve ever felt this way, you don’t even have to tell him, he already knows.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest…Keep company with me an you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28 The Message)

Jesus invites us to stop hurrying, stop carrying so much extra baggage on our shoulders, and stop exhausting ourselves so that we might notice and enjoy this beautiful life that God has given us to live.

With Jesus, though, this is more than an invitation. It’s a way of life. In fact, it is his only way of life. In John 10:10, he tells us “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” The “they” he’s referring to are people like you and I. This is why he came, so that people like you and I wouldn’t have to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. So that we wouldn’t be depleted of all our life and energy by working ourselves to exhaustion. He came so that we might begin to live the kind of life that God intended for us. A life that is awake and alert to the world around us, and ready to take it all in

Jesus made this possible by taking the weight of the world off of your shoulders and putting it on his own. He made an abundant life a reality for you by exhausting and depleting every bit of life that he had in him. By giving up the life God intended for him on the cross, he made it possible for you to live a real life of your own.

When you let go of the heavy burdens, the hurried pace, and the drive to work yourself to exhaustion, God does what he did for Jesus, he gives you a real life. After the cross, God opened up a new life for Jesus to live, and it was a life that was stronger than death. God does the same for us. God gives us the opportunity to live a life that is stronger than all those heavy burdens and exhausting things that have made you miss the real life that is all around you for so long.

There were two moments during Josh Bell’s performance when people did notice. The first was a man who worked for the Department of Energy who stopped to listen for a full three minutes. Afterwards, when asked to describe why he stopped, here’s what he said about what he heard: "Whatever it was, it made me feel at peace." He felt something, so he stopped to listen.

The other moment came when a mother hurriedly led her three year-old son through the plaza. She was too hurried to stop and notice or savor the music, but her son was intrigued. He twisted and turned while his mother grasped his hand, trying to see Bell as he played. Even when his mother stepped between he and the musician, he craned his neck and strained to stay and listen. When she was asked to describe what had happened, she said: "There was a musician,and my son was intrigued. He wanted to pull over and listen, but I was rushed for time." When she was told who had been playing, and what she had missed out on, all she could say was her son must be “very smart!”

Jesus thanks God that when it comes to his plan for the world that it has been “hidden” from the “wise and intelligent” and “revealed to infants.” (Matthew 11:25)

What would happen if we recovered some of the child-like faith that Jesus speaks about? What might happen if we made it a priority to stop and listen to the music of life and dance to it when it is played? What might change in our life if we stopped rushing, carrying, and doing so much and instead let God handle it while we savored some of the abundance he’s given us? What might happen if you and I trusted Jesus with our burdens and noticed the people around us a little more? Maybe people like Josh Bell would get an ovation in the plaza, and the little boy who was mesmerized by the music might not have to strain so hard to hear. Maybe, just maybe, we might even feel at peace more often.

Start with the small stuff

2008-06-26T13:02:00.000-07:00

An often repeated story from an unknown author tells of a young boy who was so upset with his parents that he decided to run away from home. He packed two cans of root beer and two twinkies into his knapsack and he left the house and started walking. He walked to the end of his street, and toward the center of town. Every step of the way he muttered to himself about how angry he was, about how unfair his parents had been, and about how he would never go back. He walked and walked. By the time he made it to the park, he was thinking less about how upset he was and more about how hungry he felt, so he sat down on a bench and opened his backpack.

There was an elderly woman sitting on the bench next to him as he opened one of the twinkies and started eating. Without saying a word, he offered the second twinkie to her. She smiled at the young boy and took it from him. When he opened the first can of root beer, again, without saying a word he offered the woman the other one. She gave him another huge smile and took the second can of root beer. The two of them sat there in silence, together on that bench in the park, eating the twinkies and drinking the root beer. When the little boy had finished his twinkie and his root beer, the little boy wasn’t muttering to himself anymore, he wasn’t as angry as he had been, and now, he didn’t know what else to do, so he got up and decided to walk back home. He took a few steps and started to leave, but then stopped, turned around and gave the woman on the bench a hug. She smiled at him once more.

When he walked in the door of his house and went into the kitchen, his mother couldn’t help but notice that this wasn’t the same angry boy who had stormed out of the house earlier that day. “What’s gotten into you?” she asked. “I just met God in the park,” the little boy said, and before his mother could say a single word, he added “and she’s got the nicest smile I’ve ever seen!”

Later that day, across town, when the elderly woman’s son stopped by her house to say hello, he noticed that she seemed to be in an especially good mood. “What’s gotten into you?” he asked. “I just met God in the park,” the elderly woman said, and before her son could say a single word, she added “and he’s a lot younger than I thought he would be!”

Whenever we meet God, we’re never the same afterward. Problems seem less difficult to bear. Something that at one time seemed insurmountable, now seems manageable. Grudges that seemed to be permanently wedged into our hearts now seem to be loosened, and we’re capable of un-wedging them and even letting them go. The places in life that seemed lifeless, now seem to blossom with new life.

I think this is what Jesus is getting at in Matthew 10:40-42, as he begins to conclude a long message to his followers. In his words to them, he’s been preparing them to enter the world and bring his compassion, his healing, and his forgiveness to people who desperately need it. These two verses are the last words he says to them before they go:

“We are intimately linked in this harvest work…this is a large work that I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it…start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance.” (10:40-42 The Message)

Start small. A twinkie and a root beer can lead to an unexpected encounter with God. A phone call and a reassuring word could open up the lines directly to God’s heart. A cup of cool water may not seem like much to you, but to the person dying of thirst it could mean salvation.

We are linked together in this business that God has invited us into. When you open the door to welcome someone new, God gets to come inside with them. When you share a word of forgiveness with someone, God reminds you of how many times he’s forgiven you. When you share what you have, even down to something simple: a twinkie and a root-beer, a cup of cool water, God reminds you of how abundant he’s made your life…that you are comfortable and you have enough to share. The smile you get in return, may at the end of the day turn out to be something priceless…something that changes everything.

There’s another story that gets told, about another boy who left home. This one takes place in a small town in Spain. One evening a man named Jorge had a bitter argument with his young son Paco. The next day Jorge discovered that Paco's bed was empty--he had run away from home.
Overcome with remorse, Jorge searched his soul and realized that his son was more important to him than anything else. He wished he could go back and take back all the things he had said and the way he had said them. He found that more than anything, he wanted to start over. Jorge went to a well-known store in the center of the town and posted a large sign that read, "Paco, come home, I love you. Meet me here tomorrow morning."

The next morning Jorge went to the store, where he found no less than seven young boys named Paco who also run away from home. They were all answering the call for love, each hoping it was his dad inviting him home with open arms.

Sometimes, when we’re angry, we don’t stop walking when we get to the park, and we don’t post the invitation for reconciliation and forgiveness. Instead, we keep trudging through life, muttering on about how angry we are, and about how many times the world has wronged us, and about how unfairly we’ve been treated, and how we’ll never go back. Too often in life, we sit at home and wait, too stubborn to go out and make things right, too stubborn to forgive, too stubborn to welcome the people we’ve disagreed with back into our life. When we choose these paths, in the end, we lose out. We miss the smile from God’s own face. We miss the embrace that washes away all the regret, that seals the reconciliation, that re-solidifies the love.

The Bible is full of situations where the people that God has created fall short of what God had hoped for them. Our human story is filled with these same things. The times when we’ve walked out on God to try to carve our own path. The times when we’ve shut God out of our lives, not content to share our space with him. The Bible communicates the pain God feels when these things happen. It’s no different when they happen in our life. God feels the pain.

In the end, though, when God faces these things, God chooses the path of love. God chooses to welcome us back into His loving arms. God chooses to give us the cool waters that quench our thirst for forgiveness and keep us in relationship with him. When God does this, it isn’t with something simple like two twinkies and a couple of cans of root beer. God doesn’t repair the relationship with a hand-written note. God doesn’t just sit down with us over a cup of cool water.
Instead, God does something that costs a great deal. In fact, it costs him everything he loves most. Jesus himself, the only Son God has, repairs the relationship with his own broken body, he extends the forgiveness with his own outstretched arms, he welcomes us into God’s love forever by welcoming the pain and the rejection of the cross into his own life. In the end, it kills him to fix the places where our relationship with God has become broken. Somehow, it makes the gift that much greater, it’s like what Paul writes: “God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus.” (Romans 6:23 The Message)

God does the large work of forgiving you so that you can do the small work of getting to know him by offering what he’s given you to others: forgiveness and twinkies, cups of cool water and words of deep forgiveness, messages of hope through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and hand-written letters of hope for broken relationships. Who might need to find God’s face in your smile this week? Who might hunger for grace and find it in the first bite of that twinkie that you share? Who could thirst for acceptance and taste it in the cool water you pour for them? Who might need to read the words “Please forgive me” as only you can write them? You won’t how it will reach them, or you, unless you share what you’ve got, write the note, or offer the cup to that person. It’s a large work that we’ve been called into. It doesn’t have to overwhelm us if we start with the small stuff.

"know-it-all"-ism

2008-06-20T12:13:00.000-07:00

Matthew 10:24-39

A.J. Jacobs is a “know-it-all,” and I know he wouldn’t mind me saying so. In fact, he devoted a large portion of his life to becoming one. He did it by reading the entire Encyclopaedia Brittanica from cover to cover. All 32 volumes. All 32,000 pages, all forty-four million words. Along the way, he learned: “the name of Turkey’s leading avant-garde publication…that Bud Abbott was a double-crosser and John Quincy Adams married for money...[and] that there’s a heated controversy over who invented the accordion”. All that, among other things, was just in the first 100 pages! In the end, he made it the title of his book “The Know-it-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World” (2004, Simon and Schuster).

You and I are most likely nothing like Mr. Jacobs. If we’ve read any bit of an encyclopedia, it was probably when we were in grade school collecting facts for a report, and even then we probably “skimmed” or “gleaned” more than we read. Most of us would shy away, and even resent the implication that we were in any way a “know-it-all.” Yet, if we are followers of Jesus, then much of the world sees us this way.

In an open-ended study of impressions of churches and church-goers by people ages 17 to 29, the top three characteristics listed about Christians were: “hypocritical, insensitive, and judgmental” (unchristian:What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity…and Why it Matters. Kinnamon and Lyons. Baker, 2007). All of this can be summarized in one term: “know-it-all.” A.J. Jacobs may have written the book on it, but it seems that when it comes to being “know-it-alls” that we’ve made a household name for ourselves out of it.

Don’t be alarmed, though. This doesn’t seem to be anything new. Two-thousand years ago, Jesus confronted “know-it-all”-ism as well. In Matthew 10:24 he tells his followers: “The learner isn’t above the teacher and the servant isn’t above the master…it’s enough that you’re like me; the idea isn’t that you are me.” Whenever you or I are tempted to become “know-it-alls” for Jesus, he seems to remind us that we’ve still got a lot to learn.

So how can the Christian church today shed this “know-it-all” image that we seem to have gotten ourselves into? Jesus has a solution: “Forget about yourself.” Forget about the answers, forget about being “right”, forget about trying to be above the teacher, and forget about outdoing the master. No matter how much energy you devote to it, no matter how many pages you read, no matter how many facts you memorize, there is only, and there will only ever be, one true “know-it-all”. The antidote to “know-it-all”-ism of every variety is to always let that one be the only one in your life.

God is THE “know-it-all”. There have been some pretty smart people throughout history. Yasumasa Kanada is one of them. He and a team of people used a supercomputer to calculate pi to one trillion, two-hundred forty one billion, one hundred million places. That’s impressive, but God knows the one trillion, two-hundred forty one billion, one hundred million and first digit and He can calculate it in his head! Ken Jennings holds the record for consecutive wins on the game show “Jeopardy!” with 74. The question he lost on was “Most of this firm’s 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year.” Jennings thought it was Federal Express. God knew that it was really H&R Block. You may know that Barry Bonds holds the record for the most home runs in a single season with seventy-three. Did you know that God knows who will break that record, when it will happen, and what kind of bat the player will use. A.J. Jacobs read the entire Encyclopaedia Brittanica. God was there when everything written in the book actually happened.

I am prone to “know-it-all”-ism, too. I know what my wife Kathleen’s birthday is, what her favorite color is, and what her favorite food is. Jesus reminds me that all of that is just fine, but God knows all of it as well, and he also knows the exact number of hairs on her head!

Jesus invites us to make God the ONLY “know-it-all” in our lives, but he knows that because we are human, it won’t always be easy for us to do that. It will take a great deal of trust. To help, Jesus invites us to let him worry about knowing it all, and tells us to “have no fear”. It will take a lot of patience, and Jesus invites us to “follow behind” him, let him lead, and go at his pace. It will take faith to let go of our “know-it-all”-ism, and Jesus reminds us that if God knows everything, down to what happens every moment in a sparrow’s life, then God knows what we’re going through every moment as well. If you and I are interested in following Jesus, then one of the first things we’ll have to do is forget ourselves and let God be the one and only “know-it-all” in our life.

If we are going to let someone do this, it might as well be God. One thing that God knows with certainty is that when our life gets rough, when people criticize and insult us, when things happen that fill us with fear, that He will stick with us. God knows without a shred of doubt that even when things get really bad, when our life is overcome by shadows, whenever we find ourselves wandering through dark valleys, and when the future looks uncertain or even bleak, that even at those moments God knows that He will give His own life before He lets anything destroy ours.

It’s always enough that you and I are like Jesus: compassionate, forgiving, and faithful. It will never be enough if we try to become him, outdo him, or out-wit him. It will forever be sufficient that you and I resemble Jesus: obedient, focused on God, and diligent. It will never be enough if we try to out-work him. No matter what we say or do, there will, always and forever, be only one true “know-it-all.” He’s the God who told Isaiah: “when you were in your mother’s womb, I named you." He is the God who was there before the world existed and who will be there when it comes to an end. He is the God who knows what makes you happy, fearful, sad, and hopeful. He is the only one who knows it all, and when we let God be God, soon we’ll learn that life is a lot easier when we don’t have to know it all because God does, and that is always enough!

“The only grace you can have is the grace you can imagine.” –Benjamin Zander, The Art of Possibility

2008-06-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

In his book, The Art of Possibilty, Benjamin Zander re-tells “The Monk’s Story.”

A monastery has fallen on hard times. It was once part of a great order which, as a result of religious persecution in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, lost all its branches. It was decimated to the extent that there were only five monks left in the mother house: the Abbot and four others, all of whom were over seventy. Clearly it was a dying order.

Deep in the woods surrounding the monastery was a little hut that the Rabbi from a nearby town occasionally used for a hermitage. One day, it occurred to the Abbot to visit the hermitage to see if the Rabbi could offer any advice that might save the monastery. The Rabbi welcomed the Abbot and commiserated. “I know how it is,” he said, “the spirit has gone out of people. Almost no one comes to the synagogue anymore.” So the old Rabbi and the old Abbot wept together, and they read parts of the Torah and spoke quietly of deep things.

The time came when the Abbot had to leave. They embraced. “It has been wonderful being with you,” said the Abbot, “but I have failed in my purpose for coming. Have you no piece of advice that might save the monastery?” “No, I am sorry,” the Rabbi responded, “I have no advice to give. The only thing I can tell you is that the Messiah is one of you.”

When the other monks heard the Rabbi’s words, they wondered what possible significance they might have. “The Messiah is one of us? One of us, here, at the monastery? Do you suppose he meant the Abbot? Of course—it must be the Abbot, who has been our leader for so long. On the other hand, he might have meant Brother Thomas, who is certainly a holy man. Or could he have meant Brother Elrod, who is so crotchety? But then Elrod is very wise. Surely, he could not have meant Brother Phillip—he’s too passive. But then, magically, he’s always there when you need him. Of course he didn’t mean me—yet supposing he did? Oh Lord, not me! I couldn’t mean that much to you, could I?”

As they contemplated in this manner, the old monks began to treat each other with extraordinary respect, on the off chance that one of them might be the Messiah. And on the off off chance that each monk himself might be the Messiah, they began to treat themselves with extraordinary respect.

Because the forest in which it was situated was beautiful, people occasionally came to visit the monastery, to picnic or to wander along the old paths, most of which led to the dilapidated chapel. They sensed the aura of extraordinary respect that surrounded the five old monks, permeating the atmosphere. They began to come more frequently, bringing their friends, and their friends brought friends. Some of the younger men who came to visit began to engage in conversation with the monks. After a while, one asked if he might join. Then another, and another. Within a few years, the monastery became once again a thriving order, and—thanks to the Rabbi’s gift—a vibrant, authentic community of light and love for the whole realm.

“One of you is the messiah…”

In Matthew 9:35-10:8, Jesus invites his disciples to start doing what he’s been doing. He’s been telling people about God’s powerful love, now it’s their turn to go out and do it, too. He’s been curing sick people, now it’s they will give it a try. He’s been raising the dead to new life, now it’s their turn to visit the people whom death has touched. He’s been cleansing lepers and he’s been casting out demons, now they will cleanse and cast out, too.

I wonder what was going through their minds as he sent them out into the world for this? I wonder what we might think if he asked us to do the same things?

In the end, I think this is less a lesson about the number of sick people you cure, dead people you raise, lepers you cleanse, or demons you cast out, and more a lesson about what happens when you venture out into uncertain and even dangerous territory for God. I think this is a lesson about what happens to twelve people who have already abandoned their former lives as fishermen, tax collectors, and whatever else they may have been before, and now are asked to abandon the values of the world and begin to live God’s values. I think it’s a lesson about what happens to these twelve people and what happens to the sick, the people who mourn the death of loved ones, the lepers, and the afflicted people they meet when they go out because of Jesus’ command.

I think this story is about what happens to us when we believe that God is with us.
When you believe that God is with you, you may have the courage to go out and try to do the impossible. When you believe that God is with you, you may find that you’ve lost your fear of the unknown. When you believe that God is with you, you just might make a difference in someone else’s life.

Jesus did it all first. In chapters 8 and 9 of Matthew’s gospel alone, he does it all: tells people about God’s love, cures the sick, raises the dead, cleanses the lepers, and casts out the demons. He does it, because he is the Messiah. He is the compassionate Son of God who was sent to change the world. He does it also, I think, because he can’t help but believe. In fact, he knows every moment of every day that God is with him. It gives him courage in the face of fearful things, it gives him confidence in the face of criticism, and it gives him the perseverance to keep going, living and telling the world that God is here.

Even when it looks to all who stand and watch, as if he were wrong about it all. Even when the cross blocks sight of anything that would ever seem to come from God. Even when death silences his voice, Jesus is reminding us that God is with him. We are saved, in the end, because Jesus kept going. No matter how much suffering he saw, no matter how much suffering he experienced, he kept going on believing every moment that God is with us.

The dying monastery, in the end, was saved because they reclaimed a sense of awe at the presence of God among them. When they thought each day that God could be just an arm’s length away: across the dinner table, sitting next to you during a prayer, working alongside you out in the garden, then they began to look at their world, and the people around them very differently.

How would your life change this week if you believed that God was with you? In the car next to you on the highway as you drove to work? Across the table from you as you sat down to breakfast? Sitting at the desk just in front of you in the classroom? Would your thoughts about life change? Would your actions in life change? Would the things that make you impatient and angry seem as important to you as they do right now? Would the things that bring you joy somehow seem even better?

Imagine the sick person, who the world had abandoned for fear of contagiousness, when Bartholomew and Philip arrived, took her hand, looked into her eyes and prayed for their health. Imagine the leper who no one dared to touch because his condition was interpreted as a punishment from God. What did he think when James and John knelt down with him in the street and bathed his sores? Imagine the family who mourned the loss of a child when Thomas and Matthew came by to sit and talk about the child’s life and remind her parents that God loved their daughter. Imagine the person whose life is in total chaos, who struggles with even the simplest tasks, and because of this he has lost every friend, and his family won’t even return his calls. Imagine what might happen when Peter knocks on the door and says: “God sent me, how can I help you?”

Who are the nearby people in your life that God would have you call, whose door God would have you knock on, whose wounds God would have you attend to? If you believed that God was with you every step of the way would you go, would you call, would you knock, would you reach out? And if you did, how might your life, and theirs, change?

2008-06-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when he heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners." -Matthew 9:9-13

Which crowd do you run with most of the time? It’s no secret that people tend to share the same values as the people they associate with. As human beings, we will tend to reflect, and even adopt, the beliefs, behaviors, and styles of the people that we spend most of our time with.
Think about this for a moment. How true has it been in your life? Think back to when you were a child. Did you ever befriend someone who was popular hoping that it would make you popular, too? Did you ever play a sport? When you were on the junior varsity team, did you hang around the kids who had made varsity hoping to pick up some of their skills and abilities? At your job, have you ever felt pressure to shift your values or beliefs in order to get the job done?

Think now about the people over the course of your life with whom you chose not to associate. Which social circles did you avoid? When you were a teenager was there a “crowd” that your parents warned you about. Did your mom or dad ever wonder about someone being a “bad influence” on you? Were there people over the years who seemed so different from you that you weren’t sure how to relate to them? What did you do when you encountered them? Did you start a conversation to learn more about one another? Did you avoid them altogether?

Sometimes, when we experience people who are different from ourselves, we retreat. We return to the circles of people where we feel most comfortable, and oftentimes we stay there. As a result, these people begin to shape who we are, who we become, and who the world understands us to be.

If you understand this, then you can understand the position that the Pharisees find themselves in. They wander past a crowd of people who have bad reputations. There are tax collectors who take money from people and are dishonest in what they do. Along with them are sinners of every variety. When the Pharisees wander by, this crowd is doing what they do best: causing a scene. They’re eating and drinking, and partying. They’re using all kinds of foul language, and whooping it up. To borrow a word from St. Paul that I’ve grown fond of in recent weeks: they’re doing quite a bit of “carousing”.

It’s hard not to notice, in the middle of this scene, who’s sitting with them, joining in the festivities. Jesus and his disciples are there at the party and this really bothers the Pharisees. You can guess what they might be thinking:

“The nerve of this guy? How can he talk to us about God and the Bible and goodness and truth, and faith? Who does he think he is? How can he claim to be sent from God if this is where he’s spending his time? Look at him sitting there with tax collectors, and prostitutes, and homeless beggars, and criminals!”

You can hear the conclusion they draw even before they say it:

“If he enjoys hanging around in that crowd, then he must be one of them, too!"

It bothers them. By eating with these people, Jesus is sending a clear message that he doesn’t see things the way the Pharisees do. It might bother us, too. In many ways Jesus’ life, and the way he lives it, are a signal that he doesn’t see the world the way we do, either.

Amazingly, Jesus doesn’t seem too worried about the reputations of the people at the party that night rubbing off on him. He doesn’t avoid the criminals, the homeless, the prostitutes, the sick, or the tax collectors. In fact, he goes out of his way not to avoid them. Jesus isn’t worried about what the neighbors will think of him, or what people might say about him.

Jesus, when it comes down to it, meets the people of the world with acceptance. He’s constantly loving the people the world says are unlovable and accepting the people who the world might say are the most unacceptable. He makes it clear that he hasn’t come to call the ones who have made the team, or the ones on the honor roll, or the members of the “in” crowd. Instead, he’s come to call the sinners. In the process, he doesn’t seem overly concerned with figuring out whether they’re worth it, or not.

Jesus is all about inviting everyone: sinners, outcasts, the forgotten, the ones the world has written off completely. He offers each of them his time, his love, and his acceptance before he takes the time to figure out who their friends are, what their GPA might be, or how much money they make. When Jesus stops at Matthew’s tax booth and says “Follow me” he’s reminding us all that there is more than enough room in the “Jesus” crowd for everyone. The high-achiever and the perpetual failure, the captain of the team and the water-boy, the prom queen and the girl who’s never been asked out can all find a place at the table Jesus has set. There’s also a place there for you, and for me.

Which crowd have you been spending most of your time with lately? The crowd that gathers to enjoy this life that God has blessed, no matter how imperfect it is most of the time? Or the crowd that stands on the outside and complains about how anyone could celebrate in a world like ours? Which crowd have you been hanging out with these days? The crowd that loves to spend most of their time pointing out what’s wrong with the rest of the world , or the crowd that’s been trying to reach out to the world? Which flock do you find yourself in?

Jesus embraced people for who they were, then he invited them into the life God gave him to share. “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” He tells the Pharisees. In Jesus, no matter who you are or which crowd you spend most of your time with, Jesus offers you his mercy. Most of the time, it’s all he wants to do. He is so set on this that in the end, when a sacrifice is made, it is his sacrifice. His life in place of the tax collector, the prostitute, the perpetual failure, the criminal…and you. With his death he sacrifices it all so that you and I won’t have to. With the new life God gives him, he lives on to continue to invite us all into relationship with him at a table of forgiveness where all are welcome.

"It could be worse"

2008-05-25T05:50:00.000-07:00

“Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you--you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?” -Matthew 6:26-31

It always amazes me, when I read stories about Jesus, at how well he knows us. In these words from Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to his closest friends. With them, he draws a picture of natural beauty to illustrate a point. Birds don’t worry about where their next meal will come from. Flowers don’t fret over what they look like to the outside world. Both of these things: the birds and the flowers, Jesus says, are content to let God handle it. The meals, the way they look, their entire life, he says, are completely in God’s hands. Take some time this week to watch them: the birds and the flowers. If you do, then you’ll see that they are just fine with this arrangement.

Peppered throughout his illustration, Jesus uses the word “worry.” “Worry” is a word that is completely human. If you’re human you worry, and Jesus knows it. He knows us well enough to know that we spend a lot of time in life worried about things. Deep down, we know he’s right, no matter how hard or how often we worry, it won’t change a thing. In the end, no matter how much worrying we do, it won’t add a single minute to our life.

Two weeks ago, I gathered with the family of one of the members of our church who had passed away last December. Stella’s family gathered for a memorial service to remember her and lay her to rest. Stella was a woman who was most at home in the natural world, in the outdoors, living close to the plants and the animals. Her life was lived on a farm. Over the many years of her very full life she became intimately connected to that farm. She loved the land, the plants, and the animals.

I used to look forward to visits with Stella, because I found if I was worried about something before I went to see her, after our visit it really didn’t seem to matter. Often, we would sit at the kitchen table and after I had asked how she was doing, she would tell me. She would talk about the intense pain in her knees. She would tell me how difficult it was to do simple things. She would speak about how frustrating life had become. When all she wanted to do was go out and weed the garden or plant something, or feed the many varieties of birds that lived just outside her door, the aches and pains, the physical limitations often prevented her. As she spoke, I could hear how passionate she was about the life outside, and how much she wanted to be able to do all those things she had done for so long. Then after she had finished listing off all the problems and all her frustrations, she would always look me right in the eye, and the sad look would vanish from her face and a smile would appear and she would say: “But…it could be worse…it could be worse.” I think she could have trademarked that saying. It was a favorite of hers that I heard each time I went to see her.

Jesus has a trademark on a concept of his own, and in all things it seems to be “Trust God.” When you wake up in the morning, when you go throughout your day, and when you lay down at night: “Trust God.” Stella knew this idea well, too. She knew that each and every day, no matter what the day would bring: whether it would be more aches and pains or some relief, whether it was bright sunshine or driving rain, whether it was good news or bad…she knew that through it all God was with her, and with us all. How well acquainted are you and I with trusting God for everything? If you’re like me, then you could use always use some help in this area.

Jesus told his closest friends about the importance of trusting God. He did it by using just a few loaves and a couple of bread and fish to feed thousands of people. He did it by reaching out to touch blind eyes and leprous hands. He did it by telling stories about birds and flowers, and the beauty of the world God made for us and for them. He did by being a friend to those who had no friends and a savior to those who had been told that God didn’t care about them. In the end, Jesus teaches us all about trusting God by literally throwing his life into God’s hands. On the cross, Jesus shows us what it really means to trust God completely. With the new life that God raises him up to, God shows us that it always pays off.

Each day, when we trust God, one thing that’s bound to happen is that we will recognize that our lives are rarely, if ever, perfect, but God’s love always is. Even when we feel like it couldn’t possibly get any worse, we’re reminded that with God at our side, we are never alone for anything that life throws our way. Stella was someone who knew this, and I suspect she taught it to those of us who were lucky to know her. She taught it with the way she lived her life. Today, after a lifetime of knowing that it could always be worse, now she lives completely in the perfect love of God. One day, we will too.

God isn't afraid of messes

2008-05-21T07:57:00.000-07:00

I’m told that the word in Hebrew is “tohu wabohu” and that it means: “formlessness and normlessness.” If I could put it into my own words, I would call it a “mess”. Not just any mess, either, but the kind of mess that you really don’t know what to do with. The sort of mess that stops you in your tracks, and all you can do is stand there and stare at it. This is the kind of mess that you just don’t quite know how to begin picking up. “tohu wabohu” a chaotic, formless, ball of confusion. In the beginning, this is what God starts with. In Genesis 1:2 we read about it: “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void…” God starts with a formless void, tohu wabohu.

The word in ancient Greek is distazo. It can mean: to wrestle with two thoughts at once. It’s what happens to us when the extent of our faith is only “maybe”. The word describes what it feels like to have a heart that’s overflowing with questions. In Matthew 28:17, it’s where Jesus leaves his disciples: “When they saw him they worshipped him and they doubted.” Jesus leaves them with doubts. He departs while their hearts are bursting with questions. He takes off when their faith is at just that “maybe” level.

Think back to the last time you had doubts. If you’re like me, then most likely, right now you’re thinking back a matter of minutes, or hours, or, if you’re lucky, days. Think back to the last time you can remember when you could honestly say that your life was completely free from chaos? Was there ever a time?

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Jesus leaves his disciples in this condition, on their knees worshipping him, while their hearts are still full of questions, while their minds are wrestling with all kinds of competing thoughts, while their faith, if we’re really being honest, is an absolute mess. You can almost hear them saying: “Let’s get this straight: you came down to earth, you died, then you came back from the dead, and now after all of that, you’re leaving again?!” What they’re experiencing is chaos. Chaotic faith at the rollercoaster ride Jesus has just taken them on. Chaotic questions about what happens next. He was the center of their universe, and now they’re wondering what they will do without him. We know the feeling when it happens. Often, we call it a mess.

It’s hard, most days to look at the world around us and not see a mess. I don’t need to list the places, you know them. If you turned on the tv this week or read a newspaper, you saw the chaos in our world. If you spoke to a co-worker who was wading through the struggles of life, then you heard it in their voice. If you went out of your house, walked down the street, passed by strangers looking for meaning, then you caught a glimpse of it. All of it points to a messy world that is rarely as orderly as we would like. Then, there are the messes in our own lives. The chaos we can’t seem to bring order to. Everywhere we look, we see that we still live in a chaotic world. And yet, we still worship…and, we still have our doubts. We’re just like the disciples.

If, when you look at your life, you feel that’s the case, then you ought to be thankful. If your life is messy, you are blessed. If you have chaotic places in your relationships, job, inner person, then rejoice! Rejoice because it seems as though God does his best work when things are messy. Think back to that formless void that was there in the beginning. What did God do with it? God reached down. God touched it. God took it in his hands and pulled the chaos apart and made things like: light, day and night, sky, land, plants, fruits, vegetables, all kinds of animals, and last but certainly not least, humans! Out of the chaos, out of the mess, God made you and I.

God takes that ball of messiness that is swirling around in all different directions, and this is what God makes out of it. And then, God gives every bit of it to you and I. Think about that for a minute. God creates order out of confusion, beauty out of formlessness, a world that makes sense out of something that had no sense to it at all, and then…God gives it to people like you and I. God gives the world to people whose lives often swirl with doubt. God trusts people whose lives are often messy with the sun, moon, and stars.

God doesn’t seem to mind working with messes. At the end of a ministry in which blind people saw, paralyzed people walked, hungry people were fed, and sinful people were forgiven, Jesus, God’s own Son, winds up in a real mess. The crowds are shouting for his life, the disciples are scattering in all different directions, the cross is being raised, the nails are being sharpened, and God is in Heaven, somehow ready to deal with all of it. Somehow, God is ready to reach down to touch the pain and the rejection, the sorrow and the shock, the death and the silence, and make something new out of all of it. Ready, once again to create new life out of a senseless, formless, messy void.

When it’s all done, after the death is conquered and the darkness is dispelled, and the Son of God rises to new life and appears to disciples who worship, even as they doubt. Then, once again God reminds us “I made all of this possible, and I’m giving it to you” Jesus stands on the mountainside and tells his worshipfully doubtful, his sanctified messy people to go into all the world with his blessing, with his forgiveness, and with his life. No matter how messy, no matter how chaotic, no matter how unsure you are, he says “Go and tell them about me. I’m the God who works miracles out of messes.”

The next time you feel overwhelmed, uncertain, full of doubt, or like your life is a complete mess, remember, God isn’t afraid of messes. In fact, God does some of his best work with the messiest stuff there is: tohu wabohu, distazo, and you and I!

When you know you can't fail...

2008-05-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

What would you say, that you’ve never said before, if you knew you couldn’t fail

What would you do, that you’ve never done before, if you knew you couldn't fail?

What chance would you take if you knew, that no matter what, you could not fail?

I don’t know if he had the chance or the time to think about these questions, but on the first Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21) that's what Peter did. When the gust of wind blew through the house without warning. When he and his friends started speaking uncontrollably in ways they had never done before. When all of it drew a crowd and people in the crowd asked “What does this mean?” and others said “It doesn’t mean anything, they’re full of new wine.” In the middle of all of this chaos…Peter did something….he stood up. In the middle of all of this excitement…Peter said something. In the middle of the winde and the noise…Peter took a chance.

Why did he do it? Maybe he did what he did…said what he said…took the chance that he took…because long before that, someone built him up. Someone told him: “You are a rock” and then he said “I’m building all of this, and I'm beginning with you.” And then, that someone stayed with him through thick and thin. He answered his questions and calmed his fears. When the storms raged and the doubts arose, that person stuck around. Even when the time came for that faithful companion to leave, he didn’t depart before telling Peter: "Remember, I'm with you always, until the end of time.” Long before the wind blew and the flames blazed and the people gathered and asked questions or sneered at him…Peter was given the courage, the confidence, and the gift to do what he did that day: to stand up, to say something, to take a chance, all because Jesus took the time in his life to build him up.

Of course, you never know you won't fail. There is never a surefire guarantee. You and I never know with 100 percent certainty that when we stand up, when we speak, when we take a chance that what we do will work out the way we hope that it might.

So, what do you do when the wind blows? When you feel that spark of inspiration well up inside you and burst into a flame? What do you do when you have the urge to take a chance? To say something? To do something? Do you act on that urge? Do you see it through? Do you ever actually get up out of your seat? Do you ever actually open your mouth and speak?

Or, do you sit there and let it pass. Do you hope that someone else will do something or say something? When the wind blows and the fires ignite, are they followed immediately by a voice in the back of your mind that reminds you “That will never work!” or wonders “What would they say about you if you did that?” or “What would they think of you if you said that?” When you hear that voice, do you then let it get up quietly and close the door that the wind had blown open and pour water on the flames that had sprung up? So that, in the end, you don’t really do or say anything? You don’t really take the chance at all?

The chance that Peter took that first Pentecost made a difference. If you fast-forward to the end of the speech he had made, this is what happened next (Acts 2:37-42). After he stood up, after he spoke, after he took a chance, someone in the crowd said: “Now what do we do?” And Peter told them “Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized.” And do you know what? That person in the crowd did just that, and when he followed Peter down to the river that afternoon, some of the rest of the crowd followed him. Do you know how many? 3,000! 3,000 people began a closer relationship with God that day, because Peter took a chance! It was chance was that began when Jesus built him up, walked alongside him, and convinced him that he couldn’t fail.

What did Jesus say because he knew he couldn’t fail? He said things like: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me…and drink.” He called to people with words like: “Come to me, all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” He told people: “Your sins are forgiven.” He said all these things and more because he knew he couldn’t fail at these promises. He knew he could deliver on them.

What did Jesus do when he knew he couldn’t fail? He put his hands on blind eyes and opened them so that they could see. He invited the lame to walk, and they did! He called into the grave of a dead man and asked him to live again, and he did! He did all these things and more because he knew that when he touched those sightless eyes, those immobile legs, and even the darkness of death, that he could change all of it.

What chance did Jesus take because he knew he couldn’t fail? He took the chance to bet everything he had on us. He took the chance to pick up the cross and carry it for you. He took the chance to give his own life because he knew, that with God at his side, he could not fail.

Jesus did all of this and more, and he did it because he trusted God completely, and he knew that “with God all things are possible.”

There is no guarantee that anything that we say or do, or any chance that we take, will be successful. But there is one surefire way to make sure we will fail- don't say anything, don't do anything, don't ever take any chances. & you WILL fail. It’s guaranteed.

The next time the wind blows through your house, and the spark of inspiration ignites inside of you, before you do anything else, remember that Jesus' words were for you and this could be your Pentecost. This could be your chance to say something and make a difference in someone else’s life. This could be your chance to do something and change the world for the better. This could be your chance to take a chance because you know that with God on your side, you have nothing to be afraid of.

So, when the world looks at you sideways and says you're full of it, stand up, say something, do something, take a chance, because who knows? Maybe that's the moment the wind is blowing through your house and the fire is blazing in your heart, and God is standing right beside you, just waiting to see what you'll do with it!

this is the salt shaker

2008-03-06T16:09:00.000-08:00

Jesus said: "Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?"
-Matthew 5:13 the Message

"Wherever your center lies, know it, name it, stick to it, and believe in it. Everyone who works with you will know what matters to you and will respect and appreciate your unwavering values. Your inner beliefs about business will guide you through tough times...But, when you cede your core values to someone else, it's time to quit." -Danny Meyer, "Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business" HarperCollins Publishers, 2006.