A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her small daughter was very sick with a fever.
She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication. She got back to her car and found that she had locked her keys inside!
She didn’t know what to do, so she called home and told the baby sitter what had happened. The baby sitter told her that the fever was getting worse. She said, “You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door.”
The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had been left on the ground, possibly by someone else who at some time had locked their keys in their car. She looked at the hanger and said, “I don’t know how to use this.”
She bowed her head and asked God to send her help. Within five minutes a beat up old motorcycle pulled up, with a dirty, greasy, bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his head.
The woman thought, “This is what you sent to help me?”
But she was desperate, so she was also very thankful.
The man got off of his cycle and asked if he could help.
She said, “Yes, my daughter is very sick. I stopped to get her some medication and I locked my keys in my car. I must get home to her. Please, can you use this hanger to unlock my car?
He said, “Sure.” He walked over to the car, and in less than a minute the car was opened. She hugged the man and through her tears she said, “Thank you so much! You are a very nice man!”
The man replied, “Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison today. I was in prison for car theft and have only been out for about an hour.”
The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out loud,
“Oh, Thank you, Lord! You even sent me a professional!”
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Friday, September 29, 2006
Our Big Day
A big day in the life of our parish happens tomorrow, Saturday, September 30th, 2006, when we will welcome our bishop, +George Councell, and together with him celebrate the new ministry of our Vicar. We will also give thanks for our new building and dedicate it for the use of our parish. The celebration begins at three pm in the former St. Theresa's RC church on Main Street in Tuckerton, which is now known as The Church of the Holy Spirit, Episcopal.
Come, Holy Ghost
Creator blest
And in our hearts take up Thy rest.
Come with Thy grace
And heavenly aid
To fill the hearts
Which Thou hast made
To fill the hearts
Which Thou hast made.
Come, Holy Ghost
Creator blest
And in our hearts take up Thy rest.
Come with Thy grace
And heavenly aid
To fill the hearts
Which Thou hast made
To fill the hearts
Which Thou hast made.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Who Is St. Therese of Lisieux?
We are now moved into the former St. Theresa's RC Church on East Main Street, Tuckerton! That building will now be known as Holy Spirit Episcopal Church.
Who is the Theresa for which our new parish home was named in its first incarnation?
There are a few saints with this name, but this Theresa was also known as "the Little Flower" of Jesus. She stumbled upon a brand of spirituality that is absolute genius, because anyone at all can follow it.
As a young girl, Theresa dreamed of doing grand things for God. She often fantasized about becoming a missionary in a wild, dangerous place, or becoming an explorer, or some daring and courageous person who would die a dramatic death and become a martyr.
Instead, she died of tuberculosis after having lived as a cloistered Carmelite, and did not live to see her thirtieth year.
But Therese discovered a great spiritual truth more or less by accident: it was that sanctity was available to everyone, no matter what their station in life, or their occupation. It was, she realized, simply a matter of doing whatever you were doing as well as you possibly could, and dedicate it all to God. No matter where you were in life--a doctor or a dishwasher, it didn't matter--the path of holiness and sainthood was open to you.
Such a simple and obvious truth. No wonder we all missed it until Theresa pointed it out to us.
Theresa is known for her love of roses. She said, "I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth, and I will send a shower of roses so that you know I am with you."
St. Theresa
Who is the Theresa for which our new parish home was named in its first incarnation?
There are a few saints with this name, but this Theresa was also known as "the Little Flower" of Jesus. She stumbled upon a brand of spirituality that is absolute genius, because anyone at all can follow it.
As a young girl, Theresa dreamed of doing grand things for God. She often fantasized about becoming a missionary in a wild, dangerous place, or becoming an explorer, or some daring and courageous person who would die a dramatic death and become a martyr.
Instead, she died of tuberculosis after having lived as a cloistered Carmelite, and did not live to see her thirtieth year.
But Therese discovered a great spiritual truth more or less by accident: it was that sanctity was available to everyone, no matter what their station in life, or their occupation. It was, she realized, simply a matter of doing whatever you were doing as well as you possibly could, and dedicate it all to God. No matter where you were in life--a doctor or a dishwasher, it didn't matter--the path of holiness and sainthood was open to you.
Such a simple and obvious truth. No wonder we all missed it until Theresa pointed it out to us.
Theresa is known for her love of roses. She said, "I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth, and I will send a shower of roses so that you know I am with you."
Sunday, May 14, 2006
May 14, 2006
Today, throughout this country, we honor one of the most important roles of humanity. Today, we honor Motherhood.
In today's culture, you would think that this day would be decreed to be something a little more inclusive. Parent's Day, maybe? But no, over time, this day has managed to keep its significance, and identify the role of Mother as being unique to the role of Father. Is there a difference?
In today's households, many roles are shared by the parents, making the line between Moms and Dads a little more blurry. The stereotypical roles no longer define parents in today's world. The reality is that we are each a composite of many different characteristics; some masculine, and some feminine. More than ever before, the title Parent seems more appropriate.
Our Parent, who art in heaven... That doesn't quite have the same ring to it, does it? That's the problem with language. It is not always a rational endeavor. And maybe that's a good thing, as our images of God are not always rationale, either. When it comes to the nature of God, we know very little. We talk about God using metaphors. Sometimes metaphors are helpful. Sometimes they're not. If our reference to God as Father leads us to believe that God must be male, much like our earthly fathers, and our experience of earthly fathers is negative, then the metaphor of God as father may hinder our relationship and our understanding of God. Speaking of God as Parent probably isn't much better, as our relationship with God might become yoked to our interaction with our earthly parents.
Our Father/Mother, who art in heaven... This is a cumbersome way to address God, but it does have some merit. It is a complex image, a unique image, and one that is not readily accepted literally. It contains an element of mystery. But, once again, it just doesn't sound right to our ear, does it?
Our Mother who art in heaven... This metaphor has the same problem as the Father metaphor. Referring to God as Mother makes it easy to let our earthly Mother become our model of God. Yet, it is a metaphor worth exploring, as I think it is an option that has been neglected for much too long.
God is both Father and Mother. God has both masculine and feminine characteristics. You may have never thought of God before with feminine characteristics. I invite you today to consider God as Mother; to consider God as the One who gathers us under Her wings.
Mother's Day is not specifically a religious holiday, although it is interesting that the lectionary provides us with today's Gospel for the Sunday set aside to honor mothers. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments…and I will love you and reveal myself to you."
If there was ever a human metaphor for the love of God, it would probably be the love of a mother for her child; an unconditional love. God's love is totally unconditional.
I invite you to recall some of your memories of unconditional love from your life. They don't have to be memories of your mother's love. You might remember such love from your father, grandparents, spouse, or any other significant person in your life. We are referring to this "no strings attached" love as motherly love, but it didn't have to come from your mom. We've all experienced this kind of love, expressions of care that were unearned and undeserved. Even though it may not have been your personal experience, the idea of unconditional love, born through the ages in song and literature, has been wrapped up with the image of Mother.
This morning I want to suggest to you that the term Mother is an appropriate way to address God, who offers us unconditional love, and who gives us a new commandment, that we love one another.
Let me tell a story to illustrate the difference between the masculine and the feminine, a story that might help illustrate why I think right now, in this time in history, the image of Mother is a good way to envision God. It is a story told by Ed Gentry, a bible study leader at a church in Texas.
Today, I have invited you to stretch your understanding of God, to explore the possibility of seeing God as your heavenly Mother. I have found this metaphor to be helpful in my life. I suspect it may be helpful to some of you.
Let us celebrate motherhood this day, and give thanks to God our Mother. Let us also honor God as we encounter Her in those around us. Express your love for the mothers in your life. They are created in the image of God.
In today's culture, you would think that this day would be decreed to be something a little more inclusive. Parent's Day, maybe? But no, over time, this day has managed to keep its significance, and identify the role of Mother as being unique to the role of Father. Is there a difference?
In today's households, many roles are shared by the parents, making the line between Moms and Dads a little more blurry. The stereotypical roles no longer define parents in today's world. The reality is that we are each a composite of many different characteristics; some masculine, and some feminine. More than ever before, the title Parent seems more appropriate.
Our Parent, who art in heaven... That doesn't quite have the same ring to it, does it? That's the problem with language. It is not always a rational endeavor. And maybe that's a good thing, as our images of God are not always rationale, either. When it comes to the nature of God, we know very little. We talk about God using metaphors. Sometimes metaphors are helpful. Sometimes they're not. If our reference to God as Father leads us to believe that God must be male, much like our earthly fathers, and our experience of earthly fathers is negative, then the metaphor of God as father may hinder our relationship and our understanding of God. Speaking of God as Parent probably isn't much better, as our relationship with God might become yoked to our interaction with our earthly parents.
Our Father/Mother, who art in heaven... This is a cumbersome way to address God, but it does have some merit. It is a complex image, a unique image, and one that is not readily accepted literally. It contains an element of mystery. But, once again, it just doesn't sound right to our ear, does it?
Our Mother who art in heaven... This metaphor has the same problem as the Father metaphor. Referring to God as Mother makes it easy to let our earthly Mother become our model of God. Yet, it is a metaphor worth exploring, as I think it is an option that has been neglected for much too long.
God is both Father and Mother. God has both masculine and feminine characteristics. You may have never thought of God before with feminine characteristics. I invite you today to consider God as Mother; to consider God as the One who gathers us under Her wings.
Mother's Day is not specifically a religious holiday, although it is interesting that the lectionary provides us with today's Gospel for the Sunday set aside to honor mothers. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments…and I will love you and reveal myself to you."
If there was ever a human metaphor for the love of God, it would probably be the love of a mother for her child; an unconditional love. God's love is totally unconditional.
I invite you to recall some of your memories of unconditional love from your life. They don't have to be memories of your mother's love. You might remember such love from your father, grandparents, spouse, or any other significant person in your life. We are referring to this "no strings attached" love as motherly love, but it didn't have to come from your mom. We've all experienced this kind of love, expressions of care that were unearned and undeserved. Even though it may not have been your personal experience, the idea of unconditional love, born through the ages in song and literature, has been wrapped up with the image of Mother.
This morning I want to suggest to you that the term Mother is an appropriate way to address God, who offers us unconditional love, and who gives us a new commandment, that we love one another.
Let me tell a story to illustrate the difference between the masculine and the feminine, a story that might help illustrate why I think right now, in this time in history, the image of Mother is a good way to envision God. It is a story told by Ed Gentry, a bible study leader at a church in Texas.
When I was a kid, we used to go to my grandparents dairy farm for a week each year. Each morning my grandmother would wake up at 4am and head out to the pasture to round up the cows and take them to the barn for milking. I will never forget the day I came of age. It was announced the following morning I would be allowed to get up and go with my grandmother as she performed her duties.Our Mother, who art in heaven, softly calling our names in the darkness. God the Creator giving birth to all creation, nurturing and sustaining Her creation, and expressing an inclusive love for all of creation. I think our world needs this metaphor for God right now. One who creates, nurtures and sustains.
By the time grandmother was ready to go, so was I...decked out completely with cowboy boots, plastic chaps, genuine leather holster, metal cap gun, bandana, cowboy hat, and, if memory serves, she found me digging around for a piece of rope to be used to wrangle the particularly reluctant doggies.
You can imagine my surprise when, as we started to walk to the barn, she began to softly call out the cows names into the darkness. By the time we got to the barn, the first few cows were lining up to come in and get milked. I don't remember if the surprise knocked me off my feet or I slipped on a cow patty, but I was really bothered. This was not how you were supposed to round up cattle. It bothered me for a long time. As we studied Psalm 23 last month, this memory came rushing back. My vision is of God gently calling our names in the dark as we walk through our lives. I think cattle prods would be more effective.
Today, I have invited you to stretch your understanding of God, to explore the possibility of seeing God as your heavenly Mother. I have found this metaphor to be helpful in my life. I suspect it may be helpful to some of you.
Let us celebrate motherhood this day, and give thanks to God our Mother. Let us also honor God as we encounter Her in those around us. Express your love for the mothers in your life. They are created in the image of God.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
April 30, 2006
The resurrected Christ appears to his disciples and tells them, "You are the witnesses of these things."
The disciples were called witnesses. What do you think of when you hear the word "witness"? I think of Perry Mason, one of my favorite shows as a kid. A good witness could steal the whole episode. What else leaps to mind? I have another image that springs to mind; from my childhood Pentecostal days, of witnessing on street corners. Sometimes it felt more like shoving Jesus down someone's throat if they wanted it or not. But we understood that's what Jesus called us to do.
And, to some degree, I think this approach is correct. I don’t think aggressive evangelism is very successful today, but if we really believe that we have found a way that gives meaning and purpose to our lives, it would seem that we would be bursting to share what we have found with those we encounter each day. We are called to be witnesses. But I'm not sure that street corners are the best place to find people who are open to the Gospel.
We are each being called to be witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today, it is the church that keeps Jesus alive in our midst by becoming the risen body of Christ. Jesus the Christ has become known to us, through the witness of scripture, and through the witness of how Jesus Christ has touched our lives.
How has Jesus Christ touched your life? What are the particular things that you can proclaim as a witness for Christ?
Being a witness can be difficult. We don't know what to say, or when to say it, or when to stop. Don't feel bad. At first, right after the resurrection, the disciples didn't feel up to the job, and they weren’t. Jesus told them to wait, to not start being his witness yet. Jesus knew that though the disciples were full of enthusiasm and good intentions, when push came to shove, they were really only ordinary people. They were to wait, until they were filled with the Holy Spirit, until they were filled with the presence of the living God.
It is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that allows the Church to become the body of Christ. When we try to run on our own power, or our own strength, we are setting ourselves up for failure. We cannot present an authentic witness to Jesus Christ without the Holy Spirit.
Who are the witnesses for the Church? Who affirms that we are indeed the resurrected body of Christ? If the Church is to be heard in this world, if the Gospel is to be preached to open ears, the Church must also have witnesses. Who speaks for the church today?
Unfortunately, the church’s witness to the world has not always been a positive one. Mahatma Gandhi followed the teachings of Jesus, but said he could never become a Christian because of the example of Christianity he had witnessed. Today, there are young people who will not even consider Christianity as an option because of the harsh message they hear coming from the Church.
But, we do have other examples in the history of the Church. One of these examples would be St. Lawrence, who was martyred in 258. He was the Archdeacon of Rome. His assignment was to maintaining the sacred vessels and disperse alms to the poor. Governor of Rome took Pope Sextus captive. He demanded to know, "Where are the treasures of the church?" When the Pope refused to give up the treasure, he was tortured to death. The Governor gave Lawrence the same demand. “Bring me the treasures of the Church. "Give me three days, and I will grant your demand," said Lawrence. When he returned threee days later, he was accompanied by crowd of the lame, blind, and deaf, the nobodies of society. “Here are the treasures of the church," proclaimed Lawrence.
If our message is to be heard, we need to proclaim it in both word and deed. If we are to be effective witnesses to Jesus Christ in today's world, we need witnesses that will say, "Yes, these people live the life that they profess."
We are called to be witnesses. May God grant that each of us might encounter the risen Christ, be empowered by the Holy Spirit, and show forth in our lives what we profess by our faith.
Alleluia, Christ is risen!
The disciples were called witnesses. What do you think of when you hear the word "witness"? I think of Perry Mason, one of my favorite shows as a kid. A good witness could steal the whole episode. What else leaps to mind? I have another image that springs to mind; from my childhood Pentecostal days, of witnessing on street corners. Sometimes it felt more like shoving Jesus down someone's throat if they wanted it or not. But we understood that's what Jesus called us to do.
And, to some degree, I think this approach is correct. I don’t think aggressive evangelism is very successful today, but if we really believe that we have found a way that gives meaning and purpose to our lives, it would seem that we would be bursting to share what we have found with those we encounter each day. We are called to be witnesses. But I'm not sure that street corners are the best place to find people who are open to the Gospel.
We are each being called to be witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today, it is the church that keeps Jesus alive in our midst by becoming the risen body of Christ. Jesus the Christ has become known to us, through the witness of scripture, and through the witness of how Jesus Christ has touched our lives.
How has Jesus Christ touched your life? What are the particular things that you can proclaim as a witness for Christ?
Being a witness can be difficult. We don't know what to say, or when to say it, or when to stop. Don't feel bad. At first, right after the resurrection, the disciples didn't feel up to the job, and they weren’t. Jesus told them to wait, to not start being his witness yet. Jesus knew that though the disciples were full of enthusiasm and good intentions, when push came to shove, they were really only ordinary people. They were to wait, until they were filled with the Holy Spirit, until they were filled with the presence of the living God.
It is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that allows the Church to become the body of Christ. When we try to run on our own power, or our own strength, we are setting ourselves up for failure. We cannot present an authentic witness to Jesus Christ without the Holy Spirit.
Who are the witnesses for the Church? Who affirms that we are indeed the resurrected body of Christ? If the Church is to be heard in this world, if the Gospel is to be preached to open ears, the Church must also have witnesses. Who speaks for the church today?
Unfortunately, the church’s witness to the world has not always been a positive one. Mahatma Gandhi followed the teachings of Jesus, but said he could never become a Christian because of the example of Christianity he had witnessed. Today, there are young people who will not even consider Christianity as an option because of the harsh message they hear coming from the Church.
But, we do have other examples in the history of the Church. One of these examples would be St. Lawrence, who was martyred in 258. He was the Archdeacon of Rome. His assignment was to maintaining the sacred vessels and disperse alms to the poor. Governor of Rome took Pope Sextus captive. He demanded to know, "Where are the treasures of the church?" When the Pope refused to give up the treasure, he was tortured to death. The Governor gave Lawrence the same demand. “Bring me the treasures of the Church. "Give me three days, and I will grant your demand," said Lawrence. When he returned threee days later, he was accompanied by crowd of the lame, blind, and deaf, the nobodies of society. “Here are the treasures of the church," proclaimed Lawrence.
If our message is to be heard, we need to proclaim it in both word and deed. If we are to be effective witnesses to Jesus Christ in today's world, we need witnesses that will say, "Yes, these people live the life that they profess."
We are called to be witnesses. May God grant that each of us might encounter the risen Christ, be empowered by the Holy Spirit, and show forth in our lives what we profess by our faith.
Alleluia, Christ is risen!
Monday, April 17, 2006
Easter, 2006
Easter 2006
Sometime between Friday and this morning, over 2000 years ago, something happened. We don’t know exactly what happened. All we have is the testimony of those who saw evidence of this “something” that first Easter morning. A wandering rabbi by the name of Jesus had been executed by the Romans for the crime of treason. They said he claimed to be king of the Jews.
Three days later, his tomb was found to be empty. Some of his followers told stories of seeing him alive. Throughout his small band of followers spread the message; “He is Risen!” At first, these followers weren’t sure what that meant exactly, except that one they loved, whose loss they had mourned, had somehow appeared once again in their midst.
Over time, this “something” that happened, this event, became the definitive moment in the faith tradition known as Christianity. Eventually it came to be understood to mean something like this; “through Jesus Christ, death, our ancient enemy, has been cast down and trampled underfoot.”
We are no longer held captive by our fear of death. That is a wonderful thing in and of itself, but is that it? Is that what Easter is all about? Not being afraid to die?
I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t seem to cover the myriad of emotions I feel when confronted with the story of the resurrection. I think overcoming fear is a big part of it, but I’m not sure it is simply overcoming the fear of dying.
In the Gospel account, the risen Christ tells the women, “Do not be afraid.” That’s all well and good for them. If I was able to see Jesus Christ, the son of the living God risen from the grave, I wouldn’t be afraid either!
With those in the Gospel story, we proclaim, “He is risen!” What do we mean by that? If he is risen, then where is he?
It’s time for my thunderstorm story again. A little boy was scared during a thunderstorm. His Mom tried to comfort. “Don’t be scared,” she said. “God will keep you safe.”
“But Mom!” the little boy cried. “Right now, I need a God with skin on!”
Sometimes we all need a God with skin on. In order for this idea, this concept of resurrection and immortality to not just float away, it needs to be concrete; it needs to put on some flesh.
One way of understanding a sacrament, an outward sign of an inward grace, is that these things, wine, bread, water, oil, words, people, in a sense become for us concrete ways that we can hold on to the lofty concepts that they represent. We understand Jesus to be the sacrament, the outward and visible sign, of God. We understand the Church to be the sacrament, the outward and visible sign, of Jesus Christ. We, those who are baptized and filled with the spirit of the living God, are the Church. Each one of us is a living sacrament. Each one of us can be God, with skin on for each other. We can represent the risen Christ to one another.
It isn’t always easy to see Christ in your neighbor. Sometimes it’s because your neighbor is a jerk. But most times, I think we cannot see Christ clearly in others because our own vision has become cloudy. How do we clear our vision?
Friday night I spoke to you about suffering and death, and suggested that sometimes we have to let something die in order to make room for the new thing God might be doing. Sometimes we have to let go of something that we have been clinging to desperately in order to see the risen Christ in our midst.
I spoke of the little pit bull that lives within me, and the need for me to let my old friend die. I mentioned that the reason that now is the time to finally let go of the attack dog inside of me that has kept me safe for so long was because I felt God doing something new within me, and this pit bull, with his growls and long teeth, was barring the way for this new thing.
What is this new thing? I promised you if you came back this morning I’d tell you about it. Now I’m not sure just how to describe it. It’s a particular way to view our relationship with God, and our relationship with each other. It’s not really that new, I suppose. It’s Christianity in its most basic form, actually. It seems that somewhere along the way, most likely while paying too much attention to the barking of my pit bull, I seem to have forgotten some of these basic themes.
I’m relearning this relational approach to God through the writings of one author. Right now, I’m allowing this writer to be God, with skin on, for me.
I’m not going to mention the name of the author who seems to be ushering in a new chapter in my own spiritual life, as some folks might be inclined to run out and buy his books. That would be a mistake. Most likely you would be disappointed. He’s not a great writer, and his ideas are not that novel. He speaks to me right now. I’m not sure he would speak to you.
This guy describes himself as an evangelic, catholic, poetic, biblical, charismatic, contemplative, anabaptist, calvinist, anglican, green, incarnational, depressed, unfinished Christian. I love it! He refuses to be put in a box. I’ve worn most of those labels at one time or another in my life, but the idea that I don’t have to take one off to put another one on is refreshing to me. It eliminates a lot of the internal arguments I have with my little pit bull.
He speaks of evangelism; proclaiming the Good News of God in Christ, as a dance! A dance…how wonderful. He talks about nature as God's artwork, God's text, showing us so much about the Creator.
He describes the tension between science and faith this way; “Science sought to explain the world without God, it produced a story without meaning. And Christians, trying to recast the gospel in the language of science and reason, produced a propositional belief system that lost touch with the story that gave it power. I am interested in seeing science and faith as collaborators.”
He reminds me that diversity is a good thing. “Life evolves to thrive in many different niches. The same should be true among Christians,” he says. "We need incredible diversity to fill many, many niches."
And most importantly, he speaks of Christianity as a relationship, not a set of beliefs. He calls for more conversations, and fewer debates.
The pit bull in me doesn’t like this guy. But right, now, he represents, for me, the whisperings of God.
How do I know that this author is right? I don’t. But when I close the book, and look around, I see evidence surrounding me of the truth of his words. And I see even more evidence for why the pit bull must be allowed to die. I want more conversations, more relationships, and the snarling attack dog within me is in the way.
If I am honest, the main reason I kept the pit bull around was because of my fears; fear of being rejected, fear of being wrong, fear of losing the debate, fear that God could not keep me safe. It’s time for me to hear my Risen Lord saying, “Do not be afraid!” It is time to place my faith in God, instead of an internal pit bull.
Christ is risen, and in our midst this morning. How do I know? Because I feel a new life emerging within me. Because I’ve encounter the risen Christ in the writings of a wonderful man. Because I see Christ being made manifest in the love Cherie offers me each day.
And, I know that my redeemer lives, because I see him in each one of you gathered here this morning.
Do not be afraid. He is risen. Alleluia!
Sometime between Friday and this morning, over 2000 years ago, something happened. We don’t know exactly what happened. All we have is the testimony of those who saw evidence of this “something” that first Easter morning. A wandering rabbi by the name of Jesus had been executed by the Romans for the crime of treason. They said he claimed to be king of the Jews.
Three days later, his tomb was found to be empty. Some of his followers told stories of seeing him alive. Throughout his small band of followers spread the message; “He is Risen!” At first, these followers weren’t sure what that meant exactly, except that one they loved, whose loss they had mourned, had somehow appeared once again in their midst.
Over time, this “something” that happened, this event, became the definitive moment in the faith tradition known as Christianity. Eventually it came to be understood to mean something like this; “through Jesus Christ, death, our ancient enemy, has been cast down and trampled underfoot.”
We are no longer held captive by our fear of death. That is a wonderful thing in and of itself, but is that it? Is that what Easter is all about? Not being afraid to die?
I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t seem to cover the myriad of emotions I feel when confronted with the story of the resurrection. I think overcoming fear is a big part of it, but I’m not sure it is simply overcoming the fear of dying.
In the Gospel account, the risen Christ tells the women, “Do not be afraid.” That’s all well and good for them. If I was able to see Jesus Christ, the son of the living God risen from the grave, I wouldn’t be afraid either!
With those in the Gospel story, we proclaim, “He is risen!” What do we mean by that? If he is risen, then where is he?
It’s time for my thunderstorm story again. A little boy was scared during a thunderstorm. His Mom tried to comfort. “Don’t be scared,” she said. “God will keep you safe.”
“But Mom!” the little boy cried. “Right now, I need a God with skin on!”
Sometimes we all need a God with skin on. In order for this idea, this concept of resurrection and immortality to not just float away, it needs to be concrete; it needs to put on some flesh.
One way of understanding a sacrament, an outward sign of an inward grace, is that these things, wine, bread, water, oil, words, people, in a sense become for us concrete ways that we can hold on to the lofty concepts that they represent. We understand Jesus to be the sacrament, the outward and visible sign, of God. We understand the Church to be the sacrament, the outward and visible sign, of Jesus Christ. We, those who are baptized and filled with the spirit of the living God, are the Church. Each one of us is a living sacrament. Each one of us can be God, with skin on for each other. We can represent the risen Christ to one another.
It isn’t always easy to see Christ in your neighbor. Sometimes it’s because your neighbor is a jerk. But most times, I think we cannot see Christ clearly in others because our own vision has become cloudy. How do we clear our vision?
Friday night I spoke to you about suffering and death, and suggested that sometimes we have to let something die in order to make room for the new thing God might be doing. Sometimes we have to let go of something that we have been clinging to desperately in order to see the risen Christ in our midst.
I spoke of the little pit bull that lives within me, and the need for me to let my old friend die. I mentioned that the reason that now is the time to finally let go of the attack dog inside of me that has kept me safe for so long was because I felt God doing something new within me, and this pit bull, with his growls and long teeth, was barring the way for this new thing.
What is this new thing? I promised you if you came back this morning I’d tell you about it. Now I’m not sure just how to describe it. It’s a particular way to view our relationship with God, and our relationship with each other. It’s not really that new, I suppose. It’s Christianity in its most basic form, actually. It seems that somewhere along the way, most likely while paying too much attention to the barking of my pit bull, I seem to have forgotten some of these basic themes.
I’m relearning this relational approach to God through the writings of one author. Right now, I’m allowing this writer to be God, with skin on, for me.
I’m not going to mention the name of the author who seems to be ushering in a new chapter in my own spiritual life, as some folks might be inclined to run out and buy his books. That would be a mistake. Most likely you would be disappointed. He’s not a great writer, and his ideas are not that novel. He speaks to me right now. I’m not sure he would speak to you.
This guy describes himself as an evangelic, catholic, poetic, biblical, charismatic, contemplative, anabaptist, calvinist, anglican, green, incarnational, depressed, unfinished Christian. I love it! He refuses to be put in a box. I’ve worn most of those labels at one time or another in my life, but the idea that I don’t have to take one off to put another one on is refreshing to me. It eliminates a lot of the internal arguments I have with my little pit bull.
He speaks of evangelism; proclaiming the Good News of God in Christ, as a dance! A dance…how wonderful. He talks about nature as God's artwork, God's text, showing us so much about the Creator.
He describes the tension between science and faith this way; “Science sought to explain the world without God, it produced a story without meaning. And Christians, trying to recast the gospel in the language of science and reason, produced a propositional belief system that lost touch with the story that gave it power. I am interested in seeing science and faith as collaborators.”
He reminds me that diversity is a good thing. “Life evolves to thrive in many different niches. The same should be true among Christians,” he says. "We need incredible diversity to fill many, many niches."
And most importantly, he speaks of Christianity as a relationship, not a set of beliefs. He calls for more conversations, and fewer debates.
The pit bull in me doesn’t like this guy. But right, now, he represents, for me, the whisperings of God.
How do I know that this author is right? I don’t. But when I close the book, and look around, I see evidence surrounding me of the truth of his words. And I see even more evidence for why the pit bull must be allowed to die. I want more conversations, more relationships, and the snarling attack dog within me is in the way.
If I am honest, the main reason I kept the pit bull around was because of my fears; fear of being rejected, fear of being wrong, fear of losing the debate, fear that God could not keep me safe. It’s time for me to hear my Risen Lord saying, “Do not be afraid!” It is time to place my faith in God, instead of an internal pit bull.
Christ is risen, and in our midst this morning. How do I know? Because I feel a new life emerging within me. Because I’ve encounter the risen Christ in the writings of a wonderful man. Because I see Christ being made manifest in the love Cherie offers me each day.
And, I know that my redeemer lives, because I see him in each one of you gathered here this morning.
Do not be afraid. He is risen. Alleluia!
Monday, April 03, 2006
April 3, 2006
In this morning’s Gospel, we hear of two resurrection appearances of Jesus. The Gospels were written to proclaim the Good News to all people. I think that these two resurrection stories are told so close together for a specific reason. They offer a witness to the ability of the resurrection to transform the lives of two very different kinds of people.
First, we have the disciples, minus Thomas, gathered behind a locked door, afraid that if anyone found them, what happened to Jesus would happen to them. They were afraid that they would become Act II, with matching crosses. So they were hiding,
Most of us can identify with this kind of fear. Fear of what might happen. Fear of what someone might do to us. Fear that something might happen to the children. Fear of the stranger. Fear of the unknown.
Our fear of the unknown can lead to our fear of change. If everything is orderly, everything is routine, then we believe we can be safe. Maybe we can, but I think we need to realize that this safety is often based on an illusion. Change is inevitable, no matter what we do.
There was a little boy who was learning to tie his shoes. When he finally mastered this skill, his mother praised him, telling him what a big boy he was now. Suddenly, the young child broke into tears. “What ‘s wrong?” his mother asked. “You should be so proud of yourself! Now you can tie your own shoes just like all the other kids.”
“But Mom!” the boy wailed, “now I’m going to have to do it myself for the rest of my life!”
William Auden once said;
We would rather be ruined than changed
We would rather die in our dread
Than climb the cross of the moment
And see our illusions die.
Change is inevitable. And maybe we suspect we won’t like it. It’s hard to see our illusions die. But its going to happen anyway. And we have no crystal ball. The fear of the unknown lurking in the misty future is something that no amount of planning, no carefully structured routines, no locked doors or gated communities, can protect us from.
The change in the disciples from the Last Supper to this scene of them huddling in fear is quite dramatic. Jesus was dead, and their world had turned upside down. The future was now completely unknown; but from what they could guess, it was not a very bright.
Then, suddenly, Jesus appears to the disciples in the midst of their fear. He didn’t come to them to take away their fear, but to be present with them in the midst of it. Jesus brought them a word of peace, but not necessarily a word of safety. Most of the disciples went on to face violent deaths. The peace Jesus brought was a peace born of courage. This was a peace that sprung from them seeing who they really were and what they had been called to do.
The situation outside that room did not change. They were still being hunted as criminals. Everything they had been afraid of was still the same. The change happened inside the room; inside each one of them. Jesus said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The spirit of the living God, dwelling within them, transformed these frightened men into messengers who boldly went out into the world proclaiming God’s love revealed through Jesus Christ.
That’s the story of the first resurrection appearance. Now let’s move on to the second one; the one starring Thomas.
Among every culture and every time in history, there are a few people who are unusual in that they seem to not react to fear the same way as the rest of us. Some of these people are the stuff of legends, the heroes of their generation. Their courage often draws us more timid souls to move beyond our fear, and to move forward into the unknown. I think Thomas was one of these types.
Notice that Thomas was not with the rest of the disciples hiding behind a locked door. He didn’t care if he got arrested. He wasn’t going to cower behind some locked door. He had things to do and people to see. He went on about his business.
You might recall earlier, during Jesus earthly ministry, there was a debate among Jesus and his disciples about returning to Judea, where the people had already tried to kill Jesus by stoning him.. Some of the disciples were afraid if they did, they all might be killed. But Jesus was insistent. Finally, Thomas spoke up saying, “Let us all go, that we may die with him.”
We can imagine that Thomas was a brave, no nonsense kind of guy. He was not afraid to face flying stones. After the crucifixion, he was not afraid of being arrested. But, as it is with some people with this kind of strong personality, he was a bit of a cynic. He is known by the label of “doubting Thomas.”
It does take a bit of courage to doubt, doesn’t it? Some people seem to be willing to believe anything, if such beliefs will help them feel safer. Sometimes, I think we are afraid to question some of our beliefs, as we are afraid that we might lose them; we are afraid of we dig too deep, we might somehow lose God. There is a danger of doubting so much that one becomes skeptical of everything. But, for the most part, I think that doubts can often be the springboard for spiritual growth.
The Thomas we meet in the Gospel has become quite the cynic. Here comes his friends, all excited about Jesus suddenly appearing to them. “Yea, right,” thinks Thomas. “The whole thing was a waste of time. We follow this carpenter around, and what happens? He is executed like a common criminal. And now these airheads show up with this bizarre story. They are in denial, big time. Face it fellows. He’s dead! It’s over! Go back to your homes, and get on with your lives!”
But they will not stop jabbering about this ghost they have seen. Finally, in frustration, Thomas shouts, “Look, here’s the deal; unless I can touch the wounds, unless You give me some kind of evidence that he is real, not some phantom projected out of your heads, I’m not buying it. Now leave me alone!”
But, his friends just keep on babbling about it, for all of the next week. Finally, desperate to shut them up, Thomas agrees to return with them to the room.
And Jesus does appear. And Thomas experiences the risen Christ. This strong, courageous cynic drops to his knees, proclaiming, “MY Lord and My God!”
Thomas was transformed that day, as the disciples had been a week before. The cynicism born from doubt was gone. His courage now became even greater. Some early traditions claim that Thomas carried the message of the Gospel as far as India.
I think we need to take to heart these two stories. We might be people bound by fear. Or we might be one of those courageous folk who have become a bit skeptical of those who lean on what we see as false hopes for protection. Regardless of what kind of person, or community, we are, Jesus stands in our midst, offering us peace, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. “Christ comes to Christians regardless of what their quality of life together may be.,” writes Herbert Driscoll. Christ’s unfailing love and unconquerable power penetrates all locked doors. Christ’s presence among us has nothing to do with our deserving his presence, or our willingness to receive it.
Easter sets us free of our fear, and of our bitter cynicism. We are strengthened through the Holy Spirit to affirm that the risen Christ is in our midst. We become bold enough to dare to see the face of the risen Christ in the person sitting next to us this morning. We are empowered to go forth from this place and proclaim that our savior lives, and offers us a life that is deathless and everlasting.
Jesus is saying to each of us today; “Take courage; for I have overcome the world!” This is the message we are called to offer all of humanity. We no longer have to hide in fear. We no longer have to live in bitter cynicism built on broken dreams. We have been given a new spirit, and a new vision, that goes beyond this world. We have been given the gift of God’s love. We have been given God’s spirit, making us the hands of the risen Christ in the world today. Let us proclaim this good news to the world with our every word and deed.
Alleluia Christ is risen!
First, we have the disciples, minus Thomas, gathered behind a locked door, afraid that if anyone found them, what happened to Jesus would happen to them. They were afraid that they would become Act II, with matching crosses. So they were hiding,
Most of us can identify with this kind of fear. Fear of what might happen. Fear of what someone might do to us. Fear that something might happen to the children. Fear of the stranger. Fear of the unknown.
Our fear of the unknown can lead to our fear of change. If everything is orderly, everything is routine, then we believe we can be safe. Maybe we can, but I think we need to realize that this safety is often based on an illusion. Change is inevitable, no matter what we do.
There was a little boy who was learning to tie his shoes. When he finally mastered this skill, his mother praised him, telling him what a big boy he was now. Suddenly, the young child broke into tears. “What ‘s wrong?” his mother asked. “You should be so proud of yourself! Now you can tie your own shoes just like all the other kids.”
“But Mom!” the boy wailed, “now I’m going to have to do it myself for the rest of my life!”
William Auden once said;
We would rather be ruined than changed
We would rather die in our dread
Than climb the cross of the moment
And see our illusions die.
Change is inevitable. And maybe we suspect we won’t like it. It’s hard to see our illusions die. But its going to happen anyway. And we have no crystal ball. The fear of the unknown lurking in the misty future is something that no amount of planning, no carefully structured routines, no locked doors or gated communities, can protect us from.
The change in the disciples from the Last Supper to this scene of them huddling in fear is quite dramatic. Jesus was dead, and their world had turned upside down. The future was now completely unknown; but from what they could guess, it was not a very bright.
Then, suddenly, Jesus appears to the disciples in the midst of their fear. He didn’t come to them to take away their fear, but to be present with them in the midst of it. Jesus brought them a word of peace, but not necessarily a word of safety. Most of the disciples went on to face violent deaths. The peace Jesus brought was a peace born of courage. This was a peace that sprung from them seeing who they really were and what they had been called to do.
The situation outside that room did not change. They were still being hunted as criminals. Everything they had been afraid of was still the same. The change happened inside the room; inside each one of them. Jesus said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The spirit of the living God, dwelling within them, transformed these frightened men into messengers who boldly went out into the world proclaiming God’s love revealed through Jesus Christ.
That’s the story of the first resurrection appearance. Now let’s move on to the second one; the one starring Thomas.
Among every culture and every time in history, there are a few people who are unusual in that they seem to not react to fear the same way as the rest of us. Some of these people are the stuff of legends, the heroes of their generation. Their courage often draws us more timid souls to move beyond our fear, and to move forward into the unknown. I think Thomas was one of these types.
Notice that Thomas was not with the rest of the disciples hiding behind a locked door. He didn’t care if he got arrested. He wasn’t going to cower behind some locked door. He had things to do and people to see. He went on about his business.
You might recall earlier, during Jesus earthly ministry, there was a debate among Jesus and his disciples about returning to Judea, where the people had already tried to kill Jesus by stoning him.. Some of the disciples were afraid if they did, they all might be killed. But Jesus was insistent. Finally, Thomas spoke up saying, “Let us all go, that we may die with him.”
We can imagine that Thomas was a brave, no nonsense kind of guy. He was not afraid to face flying stones. After the crucifixion, he was not afraid of being arrested. But, as it is with some people with this kind of strong personality, he was a bit of a cynic. He is known by the label of “doubting Thomas.”
It does take a bit of courage to doubt, doesn’t it? Some people seem to be willing to believe anything, if such beliefs will help them feel safer. Sometimes, I think we are afraid to question some of our beliefs, as we are afraid that we might lose them; we are afraid of we dig too deep, we might somehow lose God. There is a danger of doubting so much that one becomes skeptical of everything. But, for the most part, I think that doubts can often be the springboard for spiritual growth.
The Thomas we meet in the Gospel has become quite the cynic. Here comes his friends, all excited about Jesus suddenly appearing to them. “Yea, right,” thinks Thomas. “The whole thing was a waste of time. We follow this carpenter around, and what happens? He is executed like a common criminal. And now these airheads show up with this bizarre story. They are in denial, big time. Face it fellows. He’s dead! It’s over! Go back to your homes, and get on with your lives!”
But they will not stop jabbering about this ghost they have seen. Finally, in frustration, Thomas shouts, “Look, here’s the deal; unless I can touch the wounds, unless You give me some kind of evidence that he is real, not some phantom projected out of your heads, I’m not buying it. Now leave me alone!”
But, his friends just keep on babbling about it, for all of the next week. Finally, desperate to shut them up, Thomas agrees to return with them to the room.
And Jesus does appear. And Thomas experiences the risen Christ. This strong, courageous cynic drops to his knees, proclaiming, “MY Lord and My God!”
Thomas was transformed that day, as the disciples had been a week before. The cynicism born from doubt was gone. His courage now became even greater. Some early traditions claim that Thomas carried the message of the Gospel as far as India.
I think we need to take to heart these two stories. We might be people bound by fear. Or we might be one of those courageous folk who have become a bit skeptical of those who lean on what we see as false hopes for protection. Regardless of what kind of person, or community, we are, Jesus stands in our midst, offering us peace, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. “Christ comes to Christians regardless of what their quality of life together may be.,” writes Herbert Driscoll. Christ’s unfailing love and unconquerable power penetrates all locked doors. Christ’s presence among us has nothing to do with our deserving his presence, or our willingness to receive it.
Easter sets us free of our fear, and of our bitter cynicism. We are strengthened through the Holy Spirit to affirm that the risen Christ is in our midst. We become bold enough to dare to see the face of the risen Christ in the person sitting next to us this morning. We are empowered to go forth from this place and proclaim that our savior lives, and offers us a life that is deathless and everlasting.
Jesus is saying to each of us today; “Take courage; for I have overcome the world!” This is the message we are called to offer all of humanity. We no longer have to hide in fear. We no longer have to live in bitter cynicism built on broken dreams. We have been given a new spirit, and a new vision, that goes beyond this world. We have been given the gift of God’s love. We have been given God’s spirit, making us the hands of the risen Christ in the world today. Let us proclaim this good news to the world with our every word and deed.
Alleluia Christ is risen!
Sunday, March 05, 2006
March 5, 2006
"Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan ... And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan" (Mark 1:9-13).
I have lots of problems with this passage. First of all, it seems to have things a bit backwards. Jesus is baptized, claimed as a member of the household of God, and then goes through a period of preparation or purification.
Shouldn't the preparations be made first, and then the baptism? Before an adult is baptized, they prepare themselves. Before we receive communion, we prepare ourselves. Before ordination, the ordinand traditionally makes a retreat.
Just possibly, we have it backwards.
Maybe we need to remind ourselves that there is nothing we can do to earn the sacraments. We cannot earn the right to Holy Baptism, Holy Communion or ordination. These are free gifts of grace offer by God through God's Church. They are given freely. But we do need to keep in mind that the sacraments are a means by which we receive God's grace, and once God's grace gets involved, things are going to change in our lives. Maybe we need a retreat after we have acknowledged the reception of God's gift of grace. Maybe that's when we need to stare in the face the new thing that God has done in our lives.
Jesus is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness. He didn't go by his own volition. The Spirit of God drove him, forced him, to undergo this forty day fast. Such aggressiveness on the part of God makes me nervous. What do we do with that? It appears that God was still preparing Jesus, and time was of the essence. Jesus had more to learn before he would be ready for his ministry.
Seminary was not the wonderful experience I had expected it to be. There is a point when almost every seminarian has a crisis of faith. Most seminaries won't admit it, but I think that its built into the process. The seminaries want their students to face their own doubts, fears, and inadequacies while still in school, and not while serving in their first parish. At times, seminary did seem like being driven into the wilderness by God. I didn't like it, but I wouldn't give up my seminary years for anything. Sometimes, God can be rather insistent, whether we like it or not!
Jesus is driven out into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. If God drove him out there, then Satan is functioning as an agent of God. This is what we also see in the book of Job. Somehow, we have to get a handle on the reality that Satan has to be under God's authority. This brings up lots of problems with evil in the world, but that's another message. This passage refutes the idea that there are two powers fighting it out somewhere, and that there is some danger that God might lose this bout of cosmic fisticuffs! There is only one God of all.
The season of Lent, the forty days preceding Easter, is a call for each of us to enter the wilderness. The wilderness is a frightening place. We have no map. We don't know what we'll encounter. But we are driven into our own wildernesses just the same.
God calls us to enter those strange places in our lives, the places we avoid. God calls us to look into our hearts, and seek out those unexplored wildernesses, and begin to learn who we really are.
Lent is a time to expand our horizons, by charting the unknown wildernesses in our lives. We are called to stretch our understanding of God, and to try on new ways of responding to God. Lent is a time to enter the wilderness within our relationships as well. It is a time to seek reconciliation with those from whom we have been cut off for much too long.
God is pushing us out of our nice, comfortable lives into the unknown of the wilderness. Let us look at those dark places within our hearts, and allow God to heal them and bring them into the light. Let us allow God to stretch us in the wilderness and reveal new ways to respond to God's love with acts of mercy. Let us enter the wilderness with joy, knowing that we will emerge with a heart no longer hardened, but a heart desiring reconciliation with God and one another.
I have lots of problems with this passage. First of all, it seems to have things a bit backwards. Jesus is baptized, claimed as a member of the household of God, and then goes through a period of preparation or purification.
Shouldn't the preparations be made first, and then the baptism? Before an adult is baptized, they prepare themselves. Before we receive communion, we prepare ourselves. Before ordination, the ordinand traditionally makes a retreat.
Just possibly, we have it backwards.
Maybe we need to remind ourselves that there is nothing we can do to earn the sacraments. We cannot earn the right to Holy Baptism, Holy Communion or ordination. These are free gifts of grace offer by God through God's Church. They are given freely. But we do need to keep in mind that the sacraments are a means by which we receive God's grace, and once God's grace gets involved, things are going to change in our lives. Maybe we need a retreat after we have acknowledged the reception of God's gift of grace. Maybe that's when we need to stare in the face the new thing that God has done in our lives.
Jesus is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness. He didn't go by his own volition. The Spirit of God drove him, forced him, to undergo this forty day fast. Such aggressiveness on the part of God makes me nervous. What do we do with that? It appears that God was still preparing Jesus, and time was of the essence. Jesus had more to learn before he would be ready for his ministry.
Seminary was not the wonderful experience I had expected it to be. There is a point when almost every seminarian has a crisis of faith. Most seminaries won't admit it, but I think that its built into the process. The seminaries want their students to face their own doubts, fears, and inadequacies while still in school, and not while serving in their first parish. At times, seminary did seem like being driven into the wilderness by God. I didn't like it, but I wouldn't give up my seminary years for anything. Sometimes, God can be rather insistent, whether we like it or not!
Jesus is driven out into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. If God drove him out there, then Satan is functioning as an agent of God. This is what we also see in the book of Job. Somehow, we have to get a handle on the reality that Satan has to be under God's authority. This brings up lots of problems with evil in the world, but that's another message. This passage refutes the idea that there are two powers fighting it out somewhere, and that there is some danger that God might lose this bout of cosmic fisticuffs! There is only one God of all.
The season of Lent, the forty days preceding Easter, is a call for each of us to enter the wilderness. The wilderness is a frightening place. We have no map. We don't know what we'll encounter. But we are driven into our own wildernesses just the same.
God calls us to enter those strange places in our lives, the places we avoid. God calls us to look into our hearts, and seek out those unexplored wildernesses, and begin to learn who we really are.
Lent is a time to expand our horizons, by charting the unknown wildernesses in our lives. We are called to stretch our understanding of God, and to try on new ways of responding to God. Lent is a time to enter the wilderness within our relationships as well. It is a time to seek reconciliation with those from whom we have been cut off for much too long.
God is pushing us out of our nice, comfortable lives into the unknown of the wilderness. Let us look at those dark places within our hearts, and allow God to heal them and bring them into the light. Let us allow God to stretch us in the wilderness and reveal new ways to respond to God's love with acts of mercy. Let us enter the wilderness with joy, knowing that we will emerge with a heart no longer hardened, but a heart desiring reconciliation with God and one another.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
February 26, 2006
Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings..."
You gotta love Peter. He is so...well...human! Faced with a wondrous mystical experience on the mountaintop, he sees no reason to let it end.
That's how it is with mountaintop experiences. The euphoria is so intense, we never want it to stop.
But most of us don't live on the mountain. Eventually, we have to return to the valley.
For many people in this world, there are few if any mountaintop experiences in their lives. If the Transfiguration is the definitive mountaintop experience, probably most of us don't have much of a mountaintop to climb down from.
Walter Wink and Marcus Borg, among others, have tried to point out that the way we often think about god really doesn’t work if we are honest. It depicts a transcendent God who occasionally intervenes in human affairs. They suggest a God who, as Wordsworth would put it, "rolls through all things."
The difficulty in separating experience into categories of "supernatural" and "natural", or mountaintop and valley, is that it encourages us to believe that God is only encountered in the unusual, the miraculous, the spectacular. The natural world is seen as mundane, or even profane.
The movement of God is always from one moment of glory to the next moment of glory. We might split things up as natural or supernatural, secular or sacred, mundane or momentous, but our perception is not necessarily the reality. We are called to move from faith, to faith, trusting that God is in our midst, moving all around us and through us; transforming all of creation.
Those fishermen on the mountain with Jesus saw this glory, and their eyes were opened. If we open our eyes, maybe we might also? Of course, we may have to redefine what we consider glorious and sacred.
What might be often considered mundane, but might also be considered full of awe and wonder?
Watching the sun rise...amazing!
Beautiful music...awesome!
A child snuggling close...glorious!
Fresh fallen snow...beautiful!
Reconciling an argument...peace!
Quiet prayer...refreshing!
Once we begin to look for God's glory, we find it all around us. It's a matter of perspective.
Beyond the glory we stumble across in our daily routines, we can also be co-creators with God, by transforming our environment.
Recently I came across an article by James McGinnis entitled Households of Faith. He tells about taking each of his young children to a large park, and encouraging them to pick out their own special prayer place. For the next years, as the children grew up, one of their parents would take them to their prayer place the day before any special religious commemorations, such as first communion or confirmation, so that together they could prayerfully reflect on the upcoming event. What a wonderful example of creating a mountaintop experience!
I still say that we need to live in the valley, to serve those who know nothing of the mountaintop. But, if we are to be of service, we need to have something to offer; which may require us to redefine the mountaintop.
It just may be that we may encounter the glory of God in the face of those we serve, if we look carefully, and listen closely.
You gotta love Peter. He is so...well...human! Faced with a wondrous mystical experience on the mountaintop, he sees no reason to let it end.
That's how it is with mountaintop experiences. The euphoria is so intense, we never want it to stop.
But most of us don't live on the mountain. Eventually, we have to return to the valley.
For many people in this world, there are few if any mountaintop experiences in their lives. If the Transfiguration is the definitive mountaintop experience, probably most of us don't have much of a mountaintop to climb down from.
Walter Wink and Marcus Borg, among others, have tried to point out that the way we often think about god really doesn’t work if we are honest. It depicts a transcendent God who occasionally intervenes in human affairs. They suggest a God who, as Wordsworth would put it, "rolls through all things."
The difficulty in separating experience into categories of "supernatural" and "natural", or mountaintop and valley, is that it encourages us to believe that God is only encountered in the unusual, the miraculous, the spectacular. The natural world is seen as mundane, or even profane.
The movement of God is always from one moment of glory to the next moment of glory. We might split things up as natural or supernatural, secular or sacred, mundane or momentous, but our perception is not necessarily the reality. We are called to move from faith, to faith, trusting that God is in our midst, moving all around us and through us; transforming all of creation.
Those fishermen on the mountain with Jesus saw this glory, and their eyes were opened. If we open our eyes, maybe we might also? Of course, we may have to redefine what we consider glorious and sacred.
What might be often considered mundane, but might also be considered full of awe and wonder?
Watching the sun rise...amazing!
Beautiful music...awesome!
A child snuggling close...glorious!
Fresh fallen snow...beautiful!
Reconciling an argument...peace!
Quiet prayer...refreshing!
Once we begin to look for God's glory, we find it all around us. It's a matter of perspective.
Beyond the glory we stumble across in our daily routines, we can also be co-creators with God, by transforming our environment.
Recently I came across an article by James McGinnis entitled Households of Faith. He tells about taking each of his young children to a large park, and encouraging them to pick out their own special prayer place. For the next years, as the children grew up, one of their parents would take them to their prayer place the day before any special religious commemorations, such as first communion or confirmation, so that together they could prayerfully reflect on the upcoming event. What a wonderful example of creating a mountaintop experience!
I still say that we need to live in the valley, to serve those who know nothing of the mountaintop. But, if we are to be of service, we need to have something to offer; which may require us to redefine the mountaintop.
It just may be that we may encounter the glory of God in the face of those we serve, if we look carefully, and listen closely.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
February 19, 2006
February 19.2006
This morning I want to invite us to hear the message from this morning’s Gospel by considering the story from four different perspectives.
First, let’s consider the paralytic man who was healed. Being paralyzed, there wasn’t much he could do to help himself, was there? So, he asked his friends for help. Asking for help is not always easy to do. It means swallowing our pride. “Pride,” says the writer of Proverbs, “goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). We want everyone to think we’ve got it all together. We don’t want to admit we can’t make it on our own. And so we suffer in silence, out of prideful ness.
In the United States, 33.6 million people including almost 13 million children live in households that experience hunger or the risk of hunger. This represents approximately one in ten households.(10.7 percent).
In America, it is a shameful thing to be poor. It means that you have failed to live up to the American dream. To admit you need help means that you are somehow flawed. Consequently, many of those who are suffering from poverty try to say invisible. They don’t ask for help.
We may all have enough food, but I would imagine that there are some of us here today that need help of some kind, but don’t ask for it, because of their pride. Here is the lesson for us from the perspective of the paralytic man; if you want help; if you want God’s healing, you have to humble yourself enough to ask for help.
The next perspective I want us to consider is the friends who lowered this man through the roof so that he could be healed by Jesus. These are some pretty creative friends. When they see the huge crowd filling Jesus house, they didn’t give up on their promise to help their friend. They got creative, and got the job done.
A couple of weeks ago, I talked to you about an effective form of evangelism based on the saying, “Make a friend, be a friend, bring a friend to Christ.” This story is a literal picture image of how to do this kind of evangelism. When we commit to befriending someone, we don’t give up when things get difficult. We stick with the, we be a real friend. And we never forget that in the end, we cannot offer them the help, the healing that they seek. We bring our friend to Christ.
Next, let’s consider the perspective of the crowd watching this man being lowered from the roof. I would imagine that some of the crowd were not that pleased. Here they had stood in line, pushed and almost trampled by the crowd, in hopes of getting near enough to Jesus to receive his healing touch. And this guy cuts right in. It’s not fair. He cheated! Why should he get healed, when I’m the one whose been waiting in this crush of flesh for hours!
Life isn’t fair all the time, is it? And sometimes God doesn’t seem fair. The wind of the Spirit blows where it will. We don’t see the big picture, so we may never know why this person is touched by God an another is not. But, if we give in to feelings of resentment and envy, one thing is assured; we will have moved farther away from God. When another is blessed by god, rejoice with them, and give testimony to others of the mighty acts of God.
And finally, let’s consider the scribes. They are not pleased that Jesus had the audacity to declare the forgiveness of sins without all the ritual their tradition required. Once again, the wind of the Spirit blows where it will. And yes, especially on this point, I am preaching to myself. We must be careful not to limit our experience of God by trying to put God in a box. Our ways are not God’s ways. If you want to know if something is of God, consider the fruit of the work. The man was healed. The healing offered by Jesus was obviously of God. Instead of rejoicing, the scribes are complaining that Jesus didn’t use the right liturgy! Don’t let your pride block your view of God moving among us, loving us, and healing us.
Ask for help. Be a helper. Bring the wounded to God. Rejoice in the good fortune of others. And be open to experiencing the healing of God in unexpected places.
This morning I want to invite us to hear the message from this morning’s Gospel by considering the story from four different perspectives.
First, let’s consider the paralytic man who was healed. Being paralyzed, there wasn’t much he could do to help himself, was there? So, he asked his friends for help. Asking for help is not always easy to do. It means swallowing our pride. “Pride,” says the writer of Proverbs, “goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). We want everyone to think we’ve got it all together. We don’t want to admit we can’t make it on our own. And so we suffer in silence, out of prideful ness.
In the United States, 33.6 million people including almost 13 million children live in households that experience hunger or the risk of hunger. This represents approximately one in ten households.(10.7 percent).
In America, it is a shameful thing to be poor. It means that you have failed to live up to the American dream. To admit you need help means that you are somehow flawed. Consequently, many of those who are suffering from poverty try to say invisible. They don’t ask for help.
We may all have enough food, but I would imagine that there are some of us here today that need help of some kind, but don’t ask for it, because of their pride. Here is the lesson for us from the perspective of the paralytic man; if you want help; if you want God’s healing, you have to humble yourself enough to ask for help.
The next perspective I want us to consider is the friends who lowered this man through the roof so that he could be healed by Jesus. These are some pretty creative friends. When they see the huge crowd filling Jesus house, they didn’t give up on their promise to help their friend. They got creative, and got the job done.
A couple of weeks ago, I talked to you about an effective form of evangelism based on the saying, “Make a friend, be a friend, bring a friend to Christ.” This story is a literal picture image of how to do this kind of evangelism. When we commit to befriending someone, we don’t give up when things get difficult. We stick with the, we be a real friend. And we never forget that in the end, we cannot offer them the help, the healing that they seek. We bring our friend to Christ.
Next, let’s consider the perspective of the crowd watching this man being lowered from the roof. I would imagine that some of the crowd were not that pleased. Here they had stood in line, pushed and almost trampled by the crowd, in hopes of getting near enough to Jesus to receive his healing touch. And this guy cuts right in. It’s not fair. He cheated! Why should he get healed, when I’m the one whose been waiting in this crush of flesh for hours!
Life isn’t fair all the time, is it? And sometimes God doesn’t seem fair. The wind of the Spirit blows where it will. We don’t see the big picture, so we may never know why this person is touched by God an another is not. But, if we give in to feelings of resentment and envy, one thing is assured; we will have moved farther away from God. When another is blessed by god, rejoice with them, and give testimony to others of the mighty acts of God.
And finally, let’s consider the scribes. They are not pleased that Jesus had the audacity to declare the forgiveness of sins without all the ritual their tradition required. Once again, the wind of the Spirit blows where it will. And yes, especially on this point, I am preaching to myself. We must be careful not to limit our experience of God by trying to put God in a box. Our ways are not God’s ways. If you want to know if something is of God, consider the fruit of the work. The man was healed. The healing offered by Jesus was obviously of God. Instead of rejoicing, the scribes are complaining that Jesus didn’t use the right liturgy! Don’t let your pride block your view of God moving among us, loving us, and healing us.
Ask for help. Be a helper. Bring the wounded to God. Rejoice in the good fortune of others. And be open to experiencing the healing of God in unexpected places.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
February 5, 2006
February 5, 2006
In this morning’s epistle, St. Paul writes to the church in Corinth these words;
“I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.”
For the Jew, he becomes a Jew. For the Gentile, he becomes a Gentile. This flexibility, this ability to meet the other person where they are in their spiritual life, and avoid the temptation to drag them to where we think they should be, is the Christian ideal when it comes to evangelism. Unfortunately, that’s often not what happens in the world today.
There’s a story about a man walking across a bridge one day. He saw another man standing on the edge, about to jump off. He immediately ran over and said "Stop! Don't do it!"
"Why shouldn't I?" he said.
The first man said, "Well, there's so much to live for!"
"Like what?"
"Well ... are you religious or atheist?"
"Religious."
"Me too! Are you Christian or Jewish?"
"Christian."
"Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?"
"Protestant."
"Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?"
"Baptist."
"Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?"
"Baptist Church of God."
"Me too! Are you Original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?"
"Reformed Baptist Church of God."
"Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?"
"Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!"
To which the first man said, "Die, heretic scum!" and pushed him off the bridge.
What an sad witness such an attitude offers the world of what it means to be a Christian! What is even more sad is that often this same approach is how some Christians respond to those who are not Christian.
We are facing a new world today. The way we understood Christianity during to 50s and 60s will simply not do today. Since the 70s, many people have simply dropped out of the church. Their children, and their grandchildren, have no idea of what the bible or Christianity is all about, except what they see on the TV. At least two generations are unchurched today. The majority of Europeans have no connection to any organized religion. We live in a different world, a world that requires new approaches to evangelism, the ways in which we proclaim to the world the Good News of Jesus Christ.
When looking for new ways to witness to others, Paul’s words give us some good guidance. Our response to those who do not know Jesus must be more flexible. For the weak, we appear weak; to the strong, we are strong.
Loren Meade of the Alban Institute has looked more closely into the difficulties in our approach to modern day evangelism.
In one of his presentations, “The Once and Future Church”, Mead breaks down the history of Christendom into three eras; the Apostolic, the Christian, and the Emerging. He identifies three different environments in which each era existed. During the Apostolic era, the environment was hostile to the message of the Gospel. During the Christian era (which lasted through most of the 20th century), the environment was primarily Christian, as that was the dominant world view. In the Emerging era, the external environment is, at best, ambiguous to the message.
Some of us have witnessed this shift from the Christian to the Emerging era in our own lifetime. Here's just a few of the indicators;
In the Christian era, all of society was understood to be religious. In the Emerging era, society is often not religious at all.
In the Christian era, most public institutions were permeated with religious values. In the Emerging era, most public activities have no reference to religion.
In the Christian era, most people were expected to be members of a church. It was almost considered un-American not to be. In the Emerging era, church is for religious people, not ordinary people.
In the Christian era, religion was very public. In the Emerging era, religion is private, irrelevant, or optional.
In the Christian era, almost everyone is acquainted with the biblical story. In the Emerging era, few people know anything about the bible.
I think much of the Church is in denial of this reality. The energy seems to be drawn towards trying to recapture the glory days; to turn back the clock. In the meantime, God has continued to work in the world, but not always in the same ways as the Church has perceived the movement of God in the past.
The apostolic mission of the Church has to be rethought; no longer can the mission of the Church be primary. It has to give way to the mission of God, which can often be discovered outside the traditional boundaries of what we understand to be "church" or "religion."
Our mission of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ is hindered when we understand that to mean we are taking something out into the world that does not already exist; that our message is the most important one. That blocks our ability to see what God might already be doing in the life of someone else. When we insist on others accepting our understanding of God, and use the bible as a weapon to beat them into submission, we turn them away from Christ with our arrogant manner.
The world has changed. Today, we are called to meet people where they are in their spiritual life, and not drag them to where we think they should be. We listen to their story, offer our story, and look for the places that God's story intersects them both.
This doesn't dismiss the need for a catechumenate process, continuing education, amendment of life and spiritual disciplines. Those are elements that will gradually become meaningful to a person who is nurtured into developing a relationship with Jesus Christ. To demand it all from the beginning is blocking the way into the kingdom for others. It seems to me this is the error that Jesus saw within the Pharisees. Are we doomed to continue to make the same mistakes over and over again?
So how do we do evangelism today? There’s a saying in the Cursillo movement that might be good for us to keep in mind. Make a friend, be a friend, bring a friend to Christ. We begin our witness through our actions; being a real friend to someone else in their time of need. Through our lives, we testify that we are different, that Christ has made a difference in us. Eventually, if we have been a good friend, the other person will ask about this difference. That is our opportunity to tell them about how your relationship with God has transformed your life. Make a friend, be a friend, bring a friend to Christ.
In this morning’s epistle, St. Paul writes to the church in Corinth these words;
“I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.”
For the Jew, he becomes a Jew. For the Gentile, he becomes a Gentile. This flexibility, this ability to meet the other person where they are in their spiritual life, and avoid the temptation to drag them to where we think they should be, is the Christian ideal when it comes to evangelism. Unfortunately, that’s often not what happens in the world today.
There’s a story about a man walking across a bridge one day. He saw another man standing on the edge, about to jump off. He immediately ran over and said "Stop! Don't do it!"
"Why shouldn't I?" he said.
The first man said, "Well, there's so much to live for!"
"Like what?"
"Well ... are you religious or atheist?"
"Religious."
"Me too! Are you Christian or Jewish?"
"Christian."
"Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?"
"Protestant."
"Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?"
"Baptist."
"Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?"
"Baptist Church of God."
"Me too! Are you Original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?"
"Reformed Baptist Church of God."
"Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?"
"Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!"
To which the first man said, "Die, heretic scum!" and pushed him off the bridge.
What an sad witness such an attitude offers the world of what it means to be a Christian! What is even more sad is that often this same approach is how some Christians respond to those who are not Christian.
We are facing a new world today. The way we understood Christianity during to 50s and 60s will simply not do today. Since the 70s, many people have simply dropped out of the church. Their children, and their grandchildren, have no idea of what the bible or Christianity is all about, except what they see on the TV. At least two generations are unchurched today. The majority of Europeans have no connection to any organized religion. We live in a different world, a world that requires new approaches to evangelism, the ways in which we proclaim to the world the Good News of Jesus Christ.
When looking for new ways to witness to others, Paul’s words give us some good guidance. Our response to those who do not know Jesus must be more flexible. For the weak, we appear weak; to the strong, we are strong.
Loren Meade of the Alban Institute has looked more closely into the difficulties in our approach to modern day evangelism.
In one of his presentations, “The Once and Future Church”, Mead breaks down the history of Christendom into three eras; the Apostolic, the Christian, and the Emerging. He identifies three different environments in which each era existed. During the Apostolic era, the environment was hostile to the message of the Gospel. During the Christian era (which lasted through most of the 20th century), the environment was primarily Christian, as that was the dominant world view. In the Emerging era, the external environment is, at best, ambiguous to the message.
Some of us have witnessed this shift from the Christian to the Emerging era in our own lifetime. Here's just a few of the indicators;
In the Christian era, all of society was understood to be religious. In the Emerging era, society is often not religious at all.
In the Christian era, most public institutions were permeated with religious values. In the Emerging era, most public activities have no reference to religion.
In the Christian era, most people were expected to be members of a church. It was almost considered un-American not to be. In the Emerging era, church is for religious people, not ordinary people.
In the Christian era, religion was very public. In the Emerging era, religion is private, irrelevant, or optional.
In the Christian era, almost everyone is acquainted with the biblical story. In the Emerging era, few people know anything about the bible.
I think much of the Church is in denial of this reality. The energy seems to be drawn towards trying to recapture the glory days; to turn back the clock. In the meantime, God has continued to work in the world, but not always in the same ways as the Church has perceived the movement of God in the past.
The apostolic mission of the Church has to be rethought; no longer can the mission of the Church be primary. It has to give way to the mission of God, which can often be discovered outside the traditional boundaries of what we understand to be "church" or "religion."
Our mission of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ is hindered when we understand that to mean we are taking something out into the world that does not already exist; that our message is the most important one. That blocks our ability to see what God might already be doing in the life of someone else. When we insist on others accepting our understanding of God, and use the bible as a weapon to beat them into submission, we turn them away from Christ with our arrogant manner.
The world has changed. Today, we are called to meet people where they are in their spiritual life, and not drag them to where we think they should be. We listen to their story, offer our story, and look for the places that God's story intersects them both.
This doesn't dismiss the need for a catechumenate process, continuing education, amendment of life and spiritual disciplines. Those are elements that will gradually become meaningful to a person who is nurtured into developing a relationship with Jesus Christ. To demand it all from the beginning is blocking the way into the kingdom for others. It seems to me this is the error that Jesus saw within the Pharisees. Are we doomed to continue to make the same mistakes over and over again?
So how do we do evangelism today? There’s a saying in the Cursillo movement that might be good for us to keep in mind. Make a friend, be a friend, bring a friend to Christ. We begin our witness through our actions; being a real friend to someone else in their time of need. Through our lives, we testify that we are different, that Christ has made a difference in us. Eventually, if we have been a good friend, the other person will ask about this difference. That is our opportunity to tell them about how your relationship with God has transformed your life. Make a friend, be a friend, bring a friend to Christ.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
January 29, 2006
Jesus teaches at the synagogue in Capernaum, and the people are amazed because he teaches with authority, not like the scribes. He then heals a man with an unclean spirit, and Jesus’ authority is confirmed.
We’re not told what Jesus taught in the synagogue that day. We don’t know what it was that initially signaled to the people that Jesus was a person with authority.
Let’s consider some ways that Jesus might have signaled to the people in the synagogue that he had authority.
Maybe he expressed his authority by talking very loud. Haven’t you met people like this? I served a bishop who used to signal that all discussion was over by increasing the volume of his voice. Some people attempt to win an argument through increasing the volume, don’t they? Usually, the weaker their argument, the louder these folks tend to get. But, I doubt if Jesus convinced the crowd in Capernaum of his authority by getting in a shouting match.
Or maybe Jesus did a bit of name dropping. We’ve probably all met people who use this technique to convince us they’re important. And, yes, this method also shows up in the church. Among the clergy, the biggest give away is when someone refers to the bishop by his first name. “I was talking to George the other day, and I told him…” Most folks are not too impressed by this method. Of course, Jesus had a pretty good name to drop…”I was chatting with God Almighty, creator of heaven and Earth the other day…” but I doubt if Jesus did that either.
Or, maybe Jesus impressed the people in that synagogue with his credentials. Those with graduate degrees often like to put lots of letters after their name on their business cards, in an attempt to let folks know that they are educated people. I used to put M.Div. after my name…master of divinity, but no one ever knew what it meant, so eventually I dropped it. If I was a doctor, and could put MD after my name nurse, or a nurse with a RN suffix, I might still do it. Imagine Jesus’ business card; Jesus the Christ, SOG. Now that would be impressive!
But, I doubt if Jesus used any of these methods to convince the Capernaum crowd that he was a person of authority.
Most likely, what Jesus used was a blend of four sources of authority;
The bible. Jesus knew the Hebrew bible well. He quoted it often. Some would say that the bible, the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian New Testament, should be our only authority. And, on many issues, that is true. Certainly on all essential things, all things necessary for our salvation, we need to accept the authority of the bible.
But then there’s all those other things in the bible that just aren’t very clear. The way the many Christian denominations differ is evidence that we all don’t interpret the bible to be saying the same thing. Some say that we should baptize babies. Others say we should only baptize adults. Some say a priest shouldn’t get married. Some denominations never allow instrumental music. All based on their understanding of the bible. Each denomination pile verse upon verse from the bible to prove that their way of being the church is the one that is “true to scripture.”
This is what the scribes of Jesus time did. They used biblical texts and saying from the rabbis to make complex rules that usually only they could understand. This morning’s Gospel tells us that Jesus teaching was not like that of the scribes. It appears that quoting bible passages was not the only way that Jesus expressed his authority.
Maybe Jesus taught with authority by revealing to that crowd God’s Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God dwelled within Jesus. He often expanded on the meaning of the scriptures. “And you have heard it said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy,' but I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Such inspiration would have to be seen as a manifestation of God’s Holy Spirit.
Or maybe it was Jesus’ use of reason that made his authority so obvious. Unlike the scribes, Jesus often used home grown stories that made sense to the people to make his points. They understood him, and heard the wisdom in his words.
Or maybe Jesus’ teaching passed the test of experience. Our past experience is certainly an authority for most of us. We know something to be true because we have tested it through experience. Jesus’ words rang true because those who heard them had experienced that truth.
Today, we can look for these same sources of authority to inform us on our spiritual journey. But I think we need all four. If we lean on the bible alone, we begin to treat the bible like an idol. If we depend just on the Holy Spirit, we might fall into the error of emotionalism. If we just use reason, we will fall into the maze called philosophy. And experience by itself is nothing more than humanism.
But, when combined, we can depend on scripture, the Holy Spirit, reason and experience to reveal to us what is true and good. When kept in balance, we can use these tools to discover the will of God.
Jesus granted us his authority here on earth. We are called to be the teachers and healers in the world today. Let us go out into the world, and use the tools God has given us; scripture, the Holy Spirit, reason and experience, to proclaim to this world the Good News of God’s redemptive love.
We’re not told what Jesus taught in the synagogue that day. We don’t know what it was that initially signaled to the people that Jesus was a person with authority.
Let’s consider some ways that Jesus might have signaled to the people in the synagogue that he had authority.
Maybe he expressed his authority by talking very loud. Haven’t you met people like this? I served a bishop who used to signal that all discussion was over by increasing the volume of his voice. Some people attempt to win an argument through increasing the volume, don’t they? Usually, the weaker their argument, the louder these folks tend to get. But, I doubt if Jesus convinced the crowd in Capernaum of his authority by getting in a shouting match.
Or maybe Jesus did a bit of name dropping. We’ve probably all met people who use this technique to convince us they’re important. And, yes, this method also shows up in the church. Among the clergy, the biggest give away is when someone refers to the bishop by his first name. “I was talking to George the other day, and I told him…” Most folks are not too impressed by this method. Of course, Jesus had a pretty good name to drop…”I was chatting with God Almighty, creator of heaven and Earth the other day…” but I doubt if Jesus did that either.
Or, maybe Jesus impressed the people in that synagogue with his credentials. Those with graduate degrees often like to put lots of letters after their name on their business cards, in an attempt to let folks know that they are educated people. I used to put M.Div. after my name…master of divinity, but no one ever knew what it meant, so eventually I dropped it. If I was a doctor, and could put MD after my name nurse, or a nurse with a RN suffix, I might still do it. Imagine Jesus’ business card; Jesus the Christ, SOG. Now that would be impressive!
But, I doubt if Jesus used any of these methods to convince the Capernaum crowd that he was a person of authority.
Most likely, what Jesus used was a blend of four sources of authority;
The bible. Jesus knew the Hebrew bible well. He quoted it often. Some would say that the bible, the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian New Testament, should be our only authority. And, on many issues, that is true. Certainly on all essential things, all things necessary for our salvation, we need to accept the authority of the bible.
But then there’s all those other things in the bible that just aren’t very clear. The way the many Christian denominations differ is evidence that we all don’t interpret the bible to be saying the same thing. Some say that we should baptize babies. Others say we should only baptize adults. Some say a priest shouldn’t get married. Some denominations never allow instrumental music. All based on their understanding of the bible. Each denomination pile verse upon verse from the bible to prove that their way of being the church is the one that is “true to scripture.”
This is what the scribes of Jesus time did. They used biblical texts and saying from the rabbis to make complex rules that usually only they could understand. This morning’s Gospel tells us that Jesus teaching was not like that of the scribes. It appears that quoting bible passages was not the only way that Jesus expressed his authority.
Maybe Jesus taught with authority by revealing to that crowd God’s Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God dwelled within Jesus. He often expanded on the meaning of the scriptures. “And you have heard it said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy,' but I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Such inspiration would have to be seen as a manifestation of God’s Holy Spirit.
Or maybe it was Jesus’ use of reason that made his authority so obvious. Unlike the scribes, Jesus often used home grown stories that made sense to the people to make his points. They understood him, and heard the wisdom in his words.
Or maybe Jesus’ teaching passed the test of experience. Our past experience is certainly an authority for most of us. We know something to be true because we have tested it through experience. Jesus’ words rang true because those who heard them had experienced that truth.
Today, we can look for these same sources of authority to inform us on our spiritual journey. But I think we need all four. If we lean on the bible alone, we begin to treat the bible like an idol. If we depend just on the Holy Spirit, we might fall into the error of emotionalism. If we just use reason, we will fall into the maze called philosophy. And experience by itself is nothing more than humanism.
But, when combined, we can depend on scripture, the Holy Spirit, reason and experience to reveal to us what is true and good. When kept in balance, we can use these tools to discover the will of God.
Jesus granted us his authority here on earth. We are called to be the teachers and healers in the world today. Let us go out into the world, and use the tools God has given us; scripture, the Holy Spirit, reason and experience, to proclaim to this world the Good News of God’s redemptive love.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
January 15, 2006
January 15, 2006
When Samuel is called, he responds with, "Speak, for your servant is listening." Listening is not always an easy thing to do, especially when we have prejudged the message to be something we'd rather not hear. However, sometimes such messages are important, so we have to overcome our resistance and preconceived notions in order to fully receive the message being offered. Here's how I envision the way the encounter between Nathanael and Jesus unfolded.
Philip finds Nathanael sitting under a fig tree. He excitedly tells him that he has found the one spoken of by Moses and the prophets. Nathanael responds with, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" We don't know what Nathanael was brooding about as he sat under the fig tree, but this rather insulting reply suggests that he was responding from a very dark place within himself.
When I am full of doom and gloom, I am inclined to mutter the most awful things in response to anyone who attempts to enter the dark cloud surrounding me. For instance, if someone mentions some news about Texas, I might grumble, "Can anything good come out of Texas?"
Now I've never lived in Texas and have never visited the state, yet I have all of these preconceived notions about its inhabitants. There's a word for this kind of attitude: prejudice, a term defined in the dictionary as "an adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts. " What might we call one who expresses such prejudices? A bigot, defined as "a prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from his own."
We don't know why Nathanael was so prejudiced toward anyone from Nazareth. But we can surmise the effect such bigoted attitudes might have had on his interior life.
Prejudice builds walls which we hide behind to avoid facing the truth. Prejudice also forms mental barriers within ourselves. When hiding behind these self-made walls, we become dependent on own ideas, the stone and mortar from which these walls are made. When these ideas are challenged, our safety feels threatened. We defend our walls by all means possible. Prejudice is an attempt to guard our safety. It is a response that springs from fear, a deadly poison that will eventually destroy us all without the proper antidote.
For some reason, Nathanael decides to go meet this man from Nazareth. When Jesus sees him approaching, he shouts out, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" This comment makes no sense, unless we consider it a retort to Nathanael's bigoted remark about Nazareth. Here is an Israelite who does not hold his tongue. Here is an Israelite who disregards the social mores, who is not restrained by being "politically correct," but who speaks his mind and doesn't care whether others are offended.
Nathanael is rather taken back by this response. How did this man from Nazareth overhear his conversation with Philip? "Where did you get to know me?" he asks. Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you." This stranger from Nazareth knew what Nathanael had said to Philip. He also knew that dark place Nathanael had been in under the fig tree. Yet, here he stood, knowing Nathanael's ugliest inclinations, yet still smiling with an invitation to join him in his mission. Could it be this man from Nazareth was indeed the one promised by the prophets? As his prejudices against Nazareth begin to fade away and a new hope stirs within him, chasing away those dark clouds, Nathanael finds himself transformed. He blurts out, ""Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"
Jesus is amused by this sudden transformation. "You will see greater things than these," he tells him. "You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." Nathanael would have recognized the reference to the story of Jacob's dream of a ladder stretching from earth to heaven. Jacob, the original "Israelite," was quite the rascal, yet was blessed by God. It might just be possible that even a bigot like Nathanael, a tax collector like Matthew, a hothead like Peter, or a sinner like you and me could also be blessed by God and become a follower of the Messiah.
St. Paul reminds us that we are a temple of the Holy Spirit. Here is our antidote to the prejudices that dwell within each one of us: God's healing Spirit. But we first have to do all we can do to make a place in ourselves for this gift. We have to bring to light the prejudices that dwell within each and every one of us. We have to see the walls that we have built. And then we need to trust that God will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, that God will tear down those walls that are beyond our strength. Free from these barriers, the light of God's Spirit can then shine brightly, allowing us to offer freedom to a world trapped behind walls of bigotry, an antidote to the poison of prejudice.
When Samuel is called, he responds with, "Speak, for your servant is listening." Listening is not always an easy thing to do, especially when we have prejudged the message to be something we'd rather not hear. However, sometimes such messages are important, so we have to overcome our resistance and preconceived notions in order to fully receive the message being offered. Here's how I envision the way the encounter between Nathanael and Jesus unfolded.
Philip finds Nathanael sitting under a fig tree. He excitedly tells him that he has found the one spoken of by Moses and the prophets. Nathanael responds with, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" We don't know what Nathanael was brooding about as he sat under the fig tree, but this rather insulting reply suggests that he was responding from a very dark place within himself.
When I am full of doom and gloom, I am inclined to mutter the most awful things in response to anyone who attempts to enter the dark cloud surrounding me. For instance, if someone mentions some news about Texas, I might grumble, "Can anything good come out of Texas?"
Now I've never lived in Texas and have never visited the state, yet I have all of these preconceived notions about its inhabitants. There's a word for this kind of attitude: prejudice, a term defined in the dictionary as "an adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts. " What might we call one who expresses such prejudices? A bigot, defined as "a prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from his own."
We don't know why Nathanael was so prejudiced toward anyone from Nazareth. But we can surmise the effect such bigoted attitudes might have had on his interior life.
Prejudice builds walls which we hide behind to avoid facing the truth. Prejudice also forms mental barriers within ourselves. When hiding behind these self-made walls, we become dependent on own ideas, the stone and mortar from which these walls are made. When these ideas are challenged, our safety feels threatened. We defend our walls by all means possible. Prejudice is an attempt to guard our safety. It is a response that springs from fear, a deadly poison that will eventually destroy us all without the proper antidote.
For some reason, Nathanael decides to go meet this man from Nazareth. When Jesus sees him approaching, he shouts out, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" This comment makes no sense, unless we consider it a retort to Nathanael's bigoted remark about Nazareth. Here is an Israelite who does not hold his tongue. Here is an Israelite who disregards the social mores, who is not restrained by being "politically correct," but who speaks his mind and doesn't care whether others are offended.
Nathanael is rather taken back by this response. How did this man from Nazareth overhear his conversation with Philip? "Where did you get to know me?" he asks. Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you." This stranger from Nazareth knew what Nathanael had said to Philip. He also knew that dark place Nathanael had been in under the fig tree. Yet, here he stood, knowing Nathanael's ugliest inclinations, yet still smiling with an invitation to join him in his mission. Could it be this man from Nazareth was indeed the one promised by the prophets? As his prejudices against Nazareth begin to fade away and a new hope stirs within him, chasing away those dark clouds, Nathanael finds himself transformed. He blurts out, ""Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"
Jesus is amused by this sudden transformation. "You will see greater things than these," he tells him. "You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." Nathanael would have recognized the reference to the story of Jacob's dream of a ladder stretching from earth to heaven. Jacob, the original "Israelite," was quite the rascal, yet was blessed by God. It might just be possible that even a bigot like Nathanael, a tax collector like Matthew, a hothead like Peter, or a sinner like you and me could also be blessed by God and become a follower of the Messiah.
St. Paul reminds us that we are a temple of the Holy Spirit. Here is our antidote to the prejudices that dwell within each one of us: God's healing Spirit. But we first have to do all we can do to make a place in ourselves for this gift. We have to bring to light the prejudices that dwell within each and every one of us. We have to see the walls that we have built. And then we need to trust that God will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, that God will tear down those walls that are beyond our strength. Free from these barriers, the light of God's Spirit can then shine brightly, allowing us to offer freedom to a world trapped behind walls of bigotry, an antidote to the poison of prejudice.
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