Giving

Tonight, at our Maundy Thursday service, I felt as if this season of Lent had come full circle – for me. All during Lent I encouraged my flock to carry a nail with them – on their keychain, in their pocket, or in their purses. A nail to remind us to pray and meditate on the things that had been nailed to the cross with Jesus. Things like our pain, our brokenness, our sorrows, our fears, death, evil, sin…just to name a few!

But tonight I realized that this entire season is about GIVING! As I heard scripture read that reflected Jesus’ words to his disciples on the last night he was to spend with them, I heard about giving….”This is my body given for you…” This is my blood of the new covenant, given for you and for many….” Then we read the Gospel of John that tells that also that night, Jesus took off his robe and put a towel around his waste and again, he gave. He gave his time. He gave his service. He gave himself. He gave his unconditional love.

He gave everything, even when he knew, as scripture tells us, that one would betray him! We know that they all eventually betrayed him – seems to be a pattern with humanity. He gave and continued to give until it seemed as if there was no more to give. Not to the world anyway.

Although we know that the resurrection is coming, those who loved him couldn’t grasp that idea, even though Jesus had told them he would rise on the third day. So, after the “First Supper” (as my Lutheran friend Rev. Guillory pointed out) all they knew, all they remembered was how Jesus gave.

He gave the bread and wine and told them to remember him each time they ate together. He gave of himself when he washed their dirty feet – a task only the lowest of slaves would have done – and told them to love others in that same way. He gave and then asked them to give.

As Jesus went to the cross, it appeared to many that he had given up. In reality, he was just giving more.

May we also go and do the same.

Rip Van Winkle

Romans 11: 6 – 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

Remember the story about Rip Van Winkle? Rip was a man who didn’t want to work and had a wife who nagged him about it every day. He was loved in the town, especially among the children because he could really tell a good story. He loved the outdoors also and spent most of his time in the woods rather than helping out at home or getting a job. One day, he’s out wandering around when he meets a man carrying a jug of liquor. He hikes around with this guy and drinks his liquor, finally falling asleep under a big tree. He wakes up 20 years later.

I remember hearing this story as a child and wondering how he must have felt when he realized that 20 years had passed him by. His wife was now dead. His children were grown. The town that once loved him no longer knew who he was. What joy he had missed out on.

There are many people in the world today living in a Rip Van Winkle stupor as they try to earn God’s favor in some way. The sad part is that they miss out on so much joy, so much living, as they continue to build their identity as a “Christian” around the work that they DO for God. For the past 50 years or more the Church has promoted this idea that if a person works for the Lord, then they will grow closer to God spiritually.

What we are left with is are spiritually hungry people.

Falling in love with God, accepting the gift that is our birthright (Genesis 1: 26), and receiving the radical gift of grace seems to be so difficult for we humans! I suppose it is difficult because we like to be in control. I suppose it is difficult because if we surrender to the Divine, where will it lead? There is something to be said for the fear of the unknown and there is much mystery when it comes to God. But there is also great groundedness (i.e.,love, comfort, joy, mercy, hope, relationship, peace) found in God. Many however, are so overwhelmed with the mystery that they miss out on the fullness of living in the Lord NOW.

Father Richard Rohr writes, “The divine indwelling is never earned by any behavior whatsoever or any ritual, but only recognized and realized.” – from The Naked Now, page 22. Wake up you Rip Van Winkle’s! There is so much more to this wonderful life and you have already missed out on enough! God WANTS us to experience hope, love, and faith as we live in grace-filled lives of joy and presence NOW.

“To live in such a way is to live inside of an unexplainable hope, because your life will now feel much larger than your own. In fact, it is not your own life, and yet, paradoxically, you are more “you” that ever before.” – Father Richard Rohr, The Naked Now, (New York: Crossroads Publishing, 2009), 24.

Genesis 28: 16 – God, you were here all along, and I never knew it.

The Gospel According to my Dog

Just recently I took a vacation and was pleased to have a friend come to my house to care for my dog and cat. I haven’t had my dog for very long – about 4 months. He was a shelter dog, overweight, and about 8 years old. Sweet nature does not adequately sum up his wonderful personality. My friend said something that spurred the old brain into thinking. She said, “Your dog is just wonderful. He is so present.”

HE IS SO PRESENT. This is what made me stop and think. Yes, Max is present. He looks at you with those big brown eyes and you know he just wants to be loved. Or eat. Or go out. Or go for a walk. His body language and those eyes speak volumes. Gently. Not rushed (unless of course I’ve ignored him and he really has no water or needs to pee). But most of the time he is just laid back – present with me, present for me, present in this moment. Max does not seem to worry about what happened yesterday. I wonder if he even ever thinks about it. Max does not seem to worry about what will happen tomorrow. No, Max is just present in the NOW.

Jesus was recorded as saying, “Don’t worry about your life – what you will eat or drink or wear….and don’t worry about tomorrow….don’t pile up more stuff here on earth but work to build kingdom stuff as you treat others as you want to be treated….love everyone, especially your enemies…” (my paraphrase) I will go out on a limb here and suggest that he probably told folks to stop being a slave to their past and to move forward as they learned from their mistakes.

I’ve never seen my old dog so worried about his future that he used all his energy to save stuff or get ahead. I’ve never known him to continue to try to play with my cat, after the cat let him know that he did not want to play. I’m pretty sure Max is not enslaved to his past – when he was abandoned and maybe neglected and hungry. He appears to be very happy with his life in the now. What I cannot be sure of is if he could or does love his enemies. But I can’t be sure of that with people either most of the time.

My point here is that perhaps we can take lessons from our four-legged friends. Perhaps we can, by watching them, learn to be present in the NOW. I wish Jesus had told just one story about a dog or a cat. Maybe he did. After all, he seemed to be telling his friends that being present in the NOW was important – see a need, meet it; hungry person, feed them; hopeless, offer hope. NOW. Not later. Not in a minute. Not when you have time. NOW.

I believe if we practice more NOWness, lives (including our own) would be transformed in ways that would make the world a much better place to live and love. I guess Jesus and Max are on to something.

This Little Light of Mine

Isaiah 60: 1-6 NRSV

60 Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
2 For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
3 Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
4 Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
5 Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,[a]
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.

How many of you here today have been to a concert? I remember going to my first concert when I was in college. Yes, I’m that old – old enough to remember that concerts were just getting popular when I was in college. Before they were popular I remember thinking – why would I spend money for a ticket to go see a band when I could just listen to their music on my record player at home? See how old I am?

Well, my first concert was a rock-n-roll concert and I got to go for free because I worked at campus security. I got to sit right in front of the band – at the foot of the stage on a table used to keep the rest of the crowd back. Most of the time, I was under the table because the fans were crazy!

But I was hooked. I could have reached out and touched the band members. It was fabulous. But the thing that amazed me most about the concert was at the end. Now this wasn’t my first outing to a big event. I’d been to see Billy Graham when I was 16. And I knew what a standing ovation was. But what happened at the concert that night – I had never seen.

Yes, they stood up, clapped, screamed, yelled…but then something amazing happened. Everyone lights a lighter. I had no idea what was going on when I saw this happen! The entire arena was lit up! Everyone was holding them high above their heads. It was a signal to the band that the crowd wanted more. And sure enough, the band comes back and sings for another 20 min. or so.

Whoever thought of that was a genius. That such a little light could have such a big influence. Well, today, they still do the whole light thing – but they can no longer use lighters – they use glow sticks or cell phones. And while this may convey the same message, it doesn’t seem nearly as effective to me.

But it is light – shining in the darkness – calling back the band. Stating in no uncertain terms that the band was awesome and they couldn’t wait to hear more.

What if we felt that way about our faith? What if we let our lights shine so brightly that Jesus knew that we couldn’t get enough of him and that we wanted to know more! What if our lights were shining so bright that everyone around us knew that we believed that being a Christian was the most awesome thing ever!?

Think about that for a few moments while I tell you what was going on in our text for today…
The Book of Isaiah is broken up in to 3 sections. Today, we have read from section 3. This final section is often called the “Book of Comfort” because in it the prophet Isaiah tells the people that they will be released from their captivity. They had been in captivity to the Babylonians for so many hundreds of years, they had given up hope. Darkness seemed to surround them. It even seemed that God had abandoned them.

Try to think about how they must have felt! The Hebrews that were left had been born in captivity! They knew no other world except from the stories passed down by their ancestors.

And now, Isaiah brings them some hope. He tells them that they will be restored as a nation! He tells them that one will rule over them – a righteous servant – who will extend salvation to all people on earth. The light that Isaiah talks about is a sign of the freedom they hope for AND it is a hope that they will also become a light to all nations.

That was God’s purpose for his people – but they had forgotten that. They were supposed to be a light – shining so brightly that all people came to know God, that all people would become a part of God’s family.

Isaiah is not only bringing them hope, but reminding them that they are the hope of all nations – even in captivity!

Isaiah gives these people such good news – probably the best news they had had in years! You will be blessed! You will be set free! But it will be according to what you do with the light that is within you!

Over the years that they had been in captivity, they had just stopped shining. The light – God’s light – that was always there with them, within them, died. It died to the world, it died to captivity, it died to hopelessness.

Have you ever had your light die or be snuffed out by circumstances?

I certainly have. There are probably many life experiences that we all have that threaten to snuff out our light. When my light was gone, when I had given up all hope for living, my friends could see that my light was gone. It was them who got me the help that I needed. It was them who reminded me that God had never left me and that God’s light was still inside somewhere.

I had been living in captivity to my circumstances. I was choosing to let my brokenness, my hopelessness put out the light of Christ that was within me. What I had forgotten, just like the people of Judah, was that God’s light is not a flicker that can be easily extinguished. NO! God’s light is eternal.

Today is Epiphany Sunday – when we are reminded that Jesus came into our broken, dark world so that everyone could see God’s light. And Jesus didn’t keep that light to himself – no one can! He offered it to us, for us to take into the world for all to see, for all to know.

When the wise men finally got to see the baby Jesus, they recognized God’s light. They had followed this star for two whole years and immediately they knew that Jesus was different. A King among all Kings.

As Jesus grew, people knew he was different! They could see within him hope, love, mercy, grace, wisdom. Things that for years people had kept to themselves!

Arise, Shine! Isaiah says. FOR YOUR LIGHT HAS COME!

Can you see it? Or are you living as though the light is out? The Gospel of John says that when the Word of God became flesh and lived among us, it was then that we could see ‘the glory of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.’

Grace and truth – the GLORY OF GOD! The light of God through the Son.

The people of Judah could no longer see it. The people of Judah no longer let it shine in their own lives.
A thousand years later, when Jesus was born, the world was also a dark place. Herod, the reigning king at the time of Jesus’ birth had had his brother-in-law killed, his uncle, and his wife. And he didn’t stop there! He had all infants 2 years old and under all over the land killed in an attempt to kill Jesus.

Darkness is going to come! BUT if we focus on God’s glory – on the light – even in the dark times of our lives, times of disappointments, failures, temptations, tension, chaos, financial problems, even depression – Jesus will throw light into the darkness.

The light cannot be put out by anything we humans can do to one another in the darkness!

A new year is here – full of God’s marvelous light! Are you going to look for it – in others, within yourself? Are you going to make this the year that you allow the light to heal you, to make you whole again, to restore your relationship with God? Is this the year when you’ll take whatever it is that you have put over the eternal light within you off – letting it shine brightly into the darkness?

Is this the year that you’ll hold that light high – stating emphatically that Jesus IS the one you cannot get enough of? Will your light show others who you are in Christ Jesus?

This Little Light of Mine – I’m gonna let it shine….

NATIONS WILL COME TO THIS LIGHT! But they have to see it first! KINGS TO THE BRIGHTNESS OF ITS RISING! Is your light that bright?

May 2013 be the year that we all allow Christ’s light to shine more brightly each and every day as we draw closer to God and to one another.

On Being Human

The shootings in CO this week have left most of America shocked, outraged, disgusted, _____________ (you can insert your adjective).  As I’ve read the various comments and watched some of the coverage on the news, I get this growing feeling that none of us know what to do when evil rears its ugly head in such a profound and public way.  It is much easier for us to let evil be private, hidden, not spoken of, so that our lives can just go on in peace.  The ironic thing for me is that keeping evil in a covered bucket is evil in itself.

The fact:  Evil exists – it always has and it will until the Lord returns and restores creation in peace and love.  Until this, it is “evil” for us to try and hide from it, keep it hidden, and not assume responsibility for our part in spreading it.  But this is difficult work – work that causes us to have to change!

Most of humanity would rather place blame on something else…the violence in video games, the lack of respect in our society, greed, mental illness, the movie industry, etc., etc., etc.  No one really wants to take on any blame for evil happening around us.

We all however, have blame in not caring for the oppressed, the ill, the struggling among us. Sin is not only actions done, but those left undone as well. Our obsession with violence, money, sex, consumerism is hurting all of us. Our insistence on individualism is also. We are created to be in community with one another, to hold each other, to care for each other – and that means all of God’s children. We all have strayed. We need to own it and ask for God’s amazing grace so that we can turn in a new direction. There is hope.   The condition of the human heart is a vital part of how we deal with evil in our society.  For those who are trying to live a life following Jesus, it is time that we stopped blaming others and start working together to offer (in words and deeds) God’s grace, hope, joy, love, and peace to the world.  It is time we begin to take responsibility for our choices in this society and realize that these choices affect more than just ourselves.

Evil can be conquered!  But not with evil…instead, with love, with peace, with forgiveness, and with grace.  What would our world look like today if THESE were our standards?  What would the world look like if Christians weren’t so busy judging those who didn’t believe like they did, and instead were busy offering them Christ?  The heart can be changed.  I know because Christ came into my heart and hasn’t stopped changing it since.

Offer them Christ.

 

Love and our struggle with it

John Wesley is quoted as saying that humanity has a “bent towards sinning.” We, like the Apostle Paul, “have the desire to do what is good, but cannot carry it out. For (I )do not do the good (I) want to do, but the evil (I) do not want to do—this (I) keep on doing.” (Romans 7: 18b-19)

This evil, this sin, is not a list of rules to follow; it is not as simple as “right vs. wrong.” In fact, the superficiality of the world is the true sin that is destroying most of God’s children. (That’s another post!)

Sin, translated “to miss the mark” is whatever separates us from what God wants for our lives. For some it is anger or the love of money or power or hate or gossip….the “vice list” can go on and on. But the good news is that when we fall, when we go to the depth of this sin, that’s when we find God and God’s love and grace pour over us.

You see, God loves us with a love that is so amazing it is, for me, almost indescribable. It is a love without judgment, without conditions, without a time limit. It is a love beyond all measure. In fact, God sent God’s Son, Jesus into the world, not to condemn, but to show humanity the fullness of God’s love.

Why, with such examples, do we struggle with Love so much? I think perhaps it is because it is so much easier to think of God as Santa Claus – with a list that is checked off for those who are naughty or nice. It is easier to somehow think that “there are those out there who sin worse than I do.” It is for some reason very difficult to believe that we could be loved that completely, with no strings attached.

I am saddened today that my home state is struggling greatly with this idea of unconditional love for all of God’s children. I am saddened that the world struggles with this. Even at the United Methodist General Conference last week, there was so much “hate speech” toward “others” that love did not abound.

Jesus told us to go and love others. First to love God with all we are, and then to go and love others as ourselves. And how we American’s love ourselves! But somewhere along the way, we have forgotten how to love someone else that way; to love someone who is different from us that way; to love someone that we disagree with that way; to love – unconditionally and completely.

Instead, we have become great at rules and regulations that continue to separate and divide us from entering into relationships that can build on God’s love.

Perhaps this is the human struggle. But I for one, refuse to let anything but love light my way. While I am saddened by the actions of those who cannot grasp the true meaning of God’s love, I continue to love them. While I am saddened by the hate and divisions that are so prevalent among us, I will continue to promote love and positivity instead of the negativity that comes when love is absent.

Until we, as followers of Christ can love in the face of lovelessness, the world will not be able to see God working in and through us. Let us unite in the power of this true Love.

The Non-Violent Atonement

I have truly held belief in a non-violent atonement for years but have had difficulty finding peers that could grasp this. After all, Jesus died violently on a cross! But today Richard Rohr reminded me of why I believe this.

The God that loves me, the God that I know and serve cannot be a God that needs to be satisfied by spilled blood. It just goes contrary to everything I know about God. Richard said, “Jesus did not come to change the mind of humanity about humanity, but to change the mind of humanity about God!” Again, we have to “get it” that all of this really isn’t about us as much as it is about God.

Calvary revealed to us all that had always been true – we kill what we should love. Richard reminded us of Leviticus 16 where on the Day of Atonement, the priest would put all the sins of the people onto a goat, and then the goat would be beaten into the desert (thus the term scapegoat). Christians still continue this practice today by putting our sins onto other people as we hate or oppress them. A sociologist once said that there is no other culture that hates another group and then kills them with impunity. It starts by hating ourselves and trying to hold onto that. But it has to go somewhere so we put this hate of ourselves onto others. People who don’t live like we do, or look like we do, or work like we do, etc. This scapegoat mechanism is THE building block of culture and it holds groups together with the enemy as the common thread. The Tea Party is good at this for example. Richard reminded us that true worship is gathering around what we love, not what we hate. However this type of worship won’t build mega churches or fill stadiums. For that to happen, people have to be against something!

Jesus became the problem to reveal the problem. You kill what you should love. Jesus, the most perfect man who ever lived, was judged by not only the church, but by power. Was judged wrong to show how wrong power could be. The crucified Jesus is the great clarifier of the issue where culture wants to exclude or expel people. He critiques those who expel or exclude. He includes all! When Jesus met people, he never asked if they were a member in good standing in their religion; he never asked if you had been married before; he never asked if you were gay; he never asked – he just touched and healed and loved. The centrality of the cross revealed the scapegoat mechanism so we wouldn’t scapegoat anymore!

Jesus could do this because he was more than just Jesus of Nazareth. He was the Cosmic Christ, the blueprint that revealed the cosmic eternity. God would have revealed God’s self whether or not we had done right or wrong. Jesus came to point out that “religion” was flawed! That instead of being in the sin management business, we should be in the LOVE ALL/FORGIVE ALL business.

After all these years, you would think that we would have gotten it by now! But we still build temples and churches that separate the sacred from the profane or secular. All that God created is sacred! The Christ mystery overcame that separation. Jesus is the blueprint of LOVE!

Humanity started worshiping Jesus rather than following him. Jesus invites us to follow him into the sacred creation of God’s love. Can we do that without projecting our sin onto others? Can we honestly and completely love others? With God’s love we can.