Sunday, November 18, 2007
More on the Disciples and the Emerging Church
Well, it seems like someone in my denomination is paying attention to this Emerging Church business. Disciplesworld, ran a story on the Emerging Church and focused on the story of Missiongathering, a DOC church start in San Diego. Still snooping....
Sunday (Half) Sermon- November 18, 2007
Today was the 90th anniversary celebration of Lake Harriet Christian Church, a church that I have attended. I teamed preached this morning with Tammy, the Associate Pastor. Here is my half of the sermon.
“Faithworks”
James 2:14-26
November 18, 2007
Lake Harriet Christian Church
Minneapolis, MN
When Tammy told me that this was the passage we would focus on this Sunday, I was both looking forward to it, and dreading it. This is kind of the whole thing I have with the book of James: I love it because the writer puts such concern on care for the poor, but un-nerved by its seeming emphasis on works over faith. I truly believe that we are loved by God and there is nothing we can do about that. I am not alone in feeling some ambivalence about James. Martin Luther who talked so much about “faith alone,” said of this book, “I almost feel like throwing Jimmy into the stove.”
So what is this all about? Are we supposed to go to soup kitchens in order to get God's love?
Short answer is no. We are loved by God regardless if we are the most perfect person in all the world or the biggest loser. But we do go to show our love for God, and also to show that are faith is still alive.
In doing some research on this text, I found out that most common mistakes someone does is to try to compare the Apostle Paul's condemnation of works to what James is talking about. However, Paul was talking about religious rituals that some thought had to be done to become part of the family of God. Paul didn't not believe such works were necessary to please God. Paul was talking about the front end, how someone can come into faith. James is talking more about discipleship-how one lives a life as a follower of Christ. James assumes that most of the listeners to his writing are already involved in the life of the church. So for Paul, works was something that could prevent someone from becoming a follower of Christ. For James, works was the evidence of faith in the life of a Christian. Of course, they are loved by God, but how are they responding to that love? That was what James was asking.
James is pretty blunt. Faith without works is dead. No sugar coating that. Works was not what made one a follower of Christ, but it was the proof that one was a follower.
James had no patience with those who saw people without daily food and did nothing but give poor platitudes.
So what does this have to do with this church? Well, lots. Lake Harriet is at an interesting place. Today, we are celebrating 90 years as a church. Ninety years, that is quite an accomplishment. We are also trying to discern our future as a congregation. As this congregation makes its way to the century mark, I'd like to offer some advice if I may. It's pretty short and to the point. Love God, love others, do justice. That's it. There is no doubt that this congregation loves God. I see it in those who come on Wednesday nights for prayer, and from the wonderful words I hear from the elders at the Table as share communion. I hear it in the sermons that come not from pastor-types like myself and Tammy, but from those of you like CJ and Karin and Wanda, who have shared what God is telling them to the wider community.
I also think we love others. We have prayed for people near and far. People we know and people we don't know. I have seen the congregation welcome people regardless of their sexual orientation and make them part of the family. When you get a call from 10 people who pray for you right then and there, you know you are loved.
We do justice. We have been a part of Minnesota Foodshare, bought gifts for persons with HIV/AIDS, walked on a grey day in the CROP Walk and raised money for three pigs to help feed people in other parts of the world.
So my message is this: don't stop. Do more. As a congregation, we need to look more into how we can help the poor and discarded. And again, I say don't stop. A few years ago, I wrote a newsstory about several Baptist churches in the Washington,DC area that chose to open their membership to African Americans. One pastor commented that those churches that decided to extend hospitality to all were still in existence. Those that did not were now only remembered in the historical records. The truth of the matter is, these churches died long before they closed their doors because they did not do works that help others.
Do you want to know how you can be a witness and maybe even help the congregation grow? Do justice. Show your love for God, by caring for the poor, by welcoming everyone who walks into the doors of this church as a child of God. Fail to do this and your faith is empty and dead. People want to be a part of community where faith is vital and alive; a church that is dead tells people that God is not present in this place.
On Thursday, we will all sit down and eat lots of turkey. Thanksgiving is a day we give thanks. Let me throw something to you: do works of justice is way of showing our thanks to God for God has done in our lives. As the theologian, Karl Barth once said:
“Grace and gratitude belong together like heaven and earth. Grace evokes gratitude like the voice an echo. Gratitude follows grace like thunder lightning.”
If we believe what God has done through Jesus Christ has saved us, then we will want to express that in giving thanks-not simply in words , but in actions of love towards others.
Happy Anniversary, Lake Harriet. Keep doing what your doing, and do more. Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Why I am Still a Disciple (Part One)
There are days that I wonder why in the world I belong to this crazy group called the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Over the last few years, I have had a lot of temptation to leave. not because of any issue, but because the our little family seems so messed up. Maybe it's just because I am in Minnesota, the land of, as my Lutheran husband likes to state, "Lutheran, Catholic or Other," but we Disciples are in a bad state here. It's a tough climate for a church to grow in and I should know, as the pastor of a church start that failed. All of the congregations are small and losing members. They are struggling in various ways. In the recent past, we have been disconnected from each other and as a pastor in this denomination in this part of the world, you feel alone, cutoff from any help or advice from the Region or from local churches.
There are a lot of reasons that we are in this state (not the state of Minnesota), reasons that I think are bigger and more complex than I want to believe. For someone who is very missional and wants to explore new ways of being church in this time, it can be very frustrating and one feels like jumping this ship and finding one that has less holes.
But here I remain, not because I'm a sadomasicist, but because as messed up as the Disciples are, this little denomination has a hold on me. I am a Disciple.
So, I've been wondering what makes me stay? I could think of several reasons, but only one comes to mind right now:
Communion every Sunday.
Sounds odd, but that is what does it. We Disciples aren't fancy with our communion like our Lutheran friends, but it is still vital. In our tradition, it is the laity that comes forward with the bread and wine and say the words of institution and lead the prayer. I am always amazed at how these people, with no seminary education can make this time so holy.
I truly believe God reveals Godself in a very real way through the sacrements. The sermon can be the worse sermon imaginable, but the simple sharing of bread and wine, can make the service the best worship ever. Week after week, we go to the table to be reminded of God's goodness, of God coming to earth to live with us, die for us, and give us life. Reminded of God's goodness, we go and share the message in word and deed.
I have some dear friend who is a Presbyterian pastor. For a time I visited the congregation where she was a minister. Her preaching is phenomenal and strong. However, the congregation only had communion a few times during the year. She explained why this was citing Calvin. If you have communion too much, it loses meaning. While I respect her reasoning, it made no sense to me, since I had communion every Sunday and it never lost meaning to me.
Alexander Campbell, one of the founders of the Disciples wrote this concerning gathering at the Table:
“You, my brother, once an alien, are now a citizen of heaven; once a stranger, are now brought home to the family of God. You have owned my Lord as your Lord, my people as your people. Under Jesus the Messiah we are one. Mutually embraced in the Everlasting arms, I embrace you in mine: thy sorrows shall be my sorrows, and thy joys my joys. Joint debtors to the favor of God and the love of Jesus, we shall jointly suffer with him, that we may jointly reign with him. Let us, then, renew our strength, remember our King, and hold fast to our boasted hope unshaken to the end.”
The act of communion reminds us that this is not my Table, but God's the one who brings us all together; who loves us all the time. All are welcome at the Table.
So, that's why I remain a Disciple.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
a+b=h
I really hate waiting. Several years ago,my friend Scott noted that I tend to have a bit of a linear way of thinking: that is, I tend to think a + b =c. Thing is, life doesn't always work that way and in my life it certainly doesn't happen that way AT ALL.
But I keep expecting it to.
But I keep expecting it to.
When I graduated from seminary a few years ago, I expected to find a church and be a pastor. That hasn't happened the way I expected. So, because I so wanted to be a pastor, I worked to create a church. It worked for a while, but in the end, I created something in name only that had no true community.
At the same time that I had this supposed drive to be a pastor in a church, I also had some fear of being a pastor. I had seen someone who modeled being a minister rather poorly and in some way, I internalized this fear of being like this person. So, I took jobs in churches that were really not suited for me, because I wanted to be in the church, but afraid of the whole pastor thing.
Right now, with Community of Grace gone the way of the dodo and no prospects of open pulpits in the near future,I am in this ambiguous time and of course, being a linear, logical person, this just drives me batty. I get restless because I am not doing anything, at least it seems. Then there is there fear that nothing will ever change, that all that I have worked for will be for naught and that God is pulling a some sick joke on me.
I've had some good conversations with two women that have helped me. One said I need to intentional in what I want: which in my view is a called position in a church. She figured out my fears about being called and that I have to be honest in what I truly want. The other woman is another pastor friend that told me that I need to believe in myself because people can smell desparation.
So, I need to face my fears and that's the hard thing. I've had a few expereinces before and just after ordination where I was viewed in a poor light. I think all the experiences took a hit to my psyche. And they still do, because I don't know if the people in the pews really like me. It's a fear that I constantly deal with. It's not all in my head- in true Minnesota nice fashion, I have people be nice to me in my face and talk about me behind my back.
But regardless of what they think, I have to believe that I can do this, and I can. I can preach and teach. I can lead worship and I know I can be pastoral when the time is right.
But I still have to wait and that can take a toll on self-esteem because as time passes, you wonder why people are ignoring you or so it seems.
I know that when I have to wait, I start looking for things to do. Recently I've been asked about helping to start another church again and I've been working with the this Lutheran pastor-cautiously. At first I thought this might be God working, but what if it is just me wanting to do something. The negative reactions of two people close to me have me wondering. Maybe I need to tell this person, no way and just sit and wait?
I don't know. I do feel excited to do something. I have this dream (or vision) of creating some kind of emergent community that had good worship along with my Lutheran pastor friend's small groups/house church. It's still in a dream stage right now. Will it happen? I dunno.
Life was supposed to be sooooo much simpler...
At the same time that I had this supposed drive to be a pastor in a church, I also had some fear of being a pastor. I had seen someone who modeled being a minister rather poorly and in some way, I internalized this fear of being like this person. So, I took jobs in churches that were really not suited for me, because I wanted to be in the church, but afraid of the whole pastor thing.
Right now, with Community of Grace gone the way of the dodo and no prospects of open pulpits in the near future,I am in this ambiguous time and of course, being a linear, logical person, this just drives me batty. I get restless because I am not doing anything, at least it seems. Then there is there fear that nothing will ever change, that all that I have worked for will be for naught and that God is pulling a some sick joke on me.
I've had some good conversations with two women that have helped me. One said I need to intentional in what I want: which in my view is a called position in a church. She figured out my fears about being called and that I have to be honest in what I truly want. The other woman is another pastor friend that told me that I need to believe in myself because people can smell desparation.
So, I need to face my fears and that's the hard thing. I've had a few expereinces before and just after ordination where I was viewed in a poor light. I think all the experiences took a hit to my psyche. And they still do, because I don't know if the people in the pews really like me. It's a fear that I constantly deal with. It's not all in my head- in true Minnesota nice fashion, I have people be nice to me in my face and talk about me behind my back.
But regardless of what they think, I have to believe that I can do this, and I can. I can preach and teach. I can lead worship and I know I can be pastoral when the time is right.
But I still have to wait and that can take a toll on self-esteem because as time passes, you wonder why people are ignoring you or so it seems.
I know that when I have to wait, I start looking for things to do. Recently I've been asked about helping to start another church again and I've been working with the this Lutheran pastor-cautiously. At first I thought this might be God working, but what if it is just me wanting to do something. The negative reactions of two people close to me have me wondering. Maybe I need to tell this person, no way and just sit and wait?
I don't know. I do feel excited to do something. I have this dream (or vision) of creating some kind of emergent community that had good worship along with my Lutheran pastor friend's small groups/house church. It's still in a dream stage right now. Will it happen? I dunno.
Life was supposed to be sooooo much simpler...
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Disciples of Christ and the Emerging Church
For the past few weeks, I've been chatting with a Lutheran pastor that is interested in the Emerging Church. I've been interested in the movement as well. I've noticed that there are groups for Lutheran Emergents and Presbyterian Emergents. Hell, there is even something for Anabaptist Emergents. But I have googled my brains out trying to find a group for Disciples interested in this. There is at least one faith community- Missiongathering- that is Emergent, so maybe I will chat with them. The whole talk of a missional church that is living as a community is something I think is sorely needed in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). I will do some more investigating...
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Sunday Sermon-October 28, 2007
“The Prius and the Publican”
Luke 18:9-14
October 28, 2007
Lake Harriet Christian Church
Minneapolis, MN
I admit it: I am a gearhead. I love cars. I guess that shouldn't be so shocking considering I was born and raised in Flint, Michigan a city that is know for making cars and the fact that both my parents worked for General Motors. I remember the excitement I would have going to a car dealer and seeing all the shiny new cars. I still love going car shopping, though I could do without some of the pushy car salesman.
I'm also an environmentalist. I try to recycle as much as I can, use flourescent lights and I currently drive a very fuel effiecent VW Jetta. I'm concerned about global warming and I want to do what I can to stem the damage.
The time is coming that I might want to look at another car. I've been thinking about various cars and thinking about their fuel mileage. I love the Dodge Charger, the reincarnation of the 70s muscle car, but as much as I like the stylish looks and powerful engine, it's not the most “green car” out there. I've thought about getting another diesel powered Jetta which will get even better milelage than my current diesel VW. Lately, I've been thinking also about the Toyota Prius because it's a hybrid and also because I'm looking for something in the hatchback/station wagon design.
Now, I have to say I am a bit hesitant about getting a Prius even though it satisfies my green thumb. What has me hesitating is that I don't want to appear to showy or ostentatious.
Let me explain. As global warming becomes a greater issue, people are choosing hybrids. Not a bad thing, in fact that's a good thing. What is interesting is that some hybrid vehicles are more equal than others.
In a July 4 article in the New York Times, shows that the main reason people by Toyota's green machine is to make a statement. In a survey done this year, 57 percent of Prius owners said they bought the car because “it makes a statement about me.” That higher than fuel economy which came in at 36 percent, and even lower emissions which came in at 25 percent. “I really want people to know that I care about the environment,” said Joy Feasley of Philadelphia, owner of a green 2006 Prius. “I like that people stop and ask me how I like my car.” The Prius is outselling other hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Camry and the Honda Civic. Mary Gatch of South Carolina chose the Prius over the hybrid Camry because...well, I will her speak for herself: “I felt like the Camry Hybrid was too subtle for the message I wanted to put out there,” Ms. Gatch said. “I wanted to have the biggest impact that I could, and the Prius puts out a clearer message.”
Today's gospel at first doesn't seem to have anything to do with people buying a car, but in fact it does. Jesus tells a parable about two men. At the beginning we are told the reason Jesus tells us this story was because some trusted in themselves and held others with contempt. Anyway, two men go up to the temple to pray. One is a Pharisee and the other is a tax collector. The Pharisee prays to God and thanks God that he is not like all the bad people in the world, thieves, rouges...or this tax collector. The tax collector stands off at a distance and doesn't even look up to heaven. He says, “Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.” Jesus says this one went home justified.
Now, you have heard me say this enough that you are probably sick of it, but parables are not moral tales, but showing us the world in God's eyes. If you walk away from this sermon thinking Pharisee=bad and tax collector=good, then I have failed you in helping to understand what this passage is saying.
A lot of people see the Pharisees as stock villians, but that is too simple. In doing some reading about this passage, we find out that the Pharisees are responsible for basically keeping Judaism alive and prospering. The Pharisee in this story was probably not a bad person, but trying to do good. He was trying to follow the law handed down by Moses and was trying to make sure that the Jews were trying to uphold their law in the midst of an alien power that controlled the land.
When you are involved in a cause, it is so easy for pride to start creeping in. We are doing something good and we start to see those that aren't part of the cause as somehow less than worthy. So you have this religious leader, doing what he can to keep the community faithful and sitting next to him is this tax collector. Tax collectors of that day worked for the Roman Empire, so they were seen as collborators. In addition, they also collected more than what the government wanted and pocketed the extra money. So, they conspired with the enemy and they extorted money. That didn't endear them to the community. If you were the Phraisee and this traitor was sitting next to you, you might even say the same thing he said. He was doing what he could to keep the community together. The tax collector was doing all he could to help destroy it.
Now, we all want to identify with the tax collector who was humble. But that's the problem; because in reality, we are closer to the Pharisee than we would like to think.
Pride is a funny thing; it's so insidious that you don't know how full of yourself you can be. If you want to see a place where pride is operating in full force, just go to church. The issues that we get involved in, whether it's the Iraq War or homosexuality, is full of people on both sides who are “full of it.” We tend to think and say to God, “thank God I am not like those liberals or conservatives or fundamentalists, or Democrats or Republicans,”or what have you.
The Bible says that the tax collector went home justified. He went home justified because he knew that the only One that could save him, that could have mercy on him was God. He went home justified by faith. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Church at Ephesus, it is by grace that we are saved through faith.
We human beings tend think it is what we do that makes us justified. But we are justified not by our works but by what Jesus has done on the cross. By grace we are saved though faith.
Concerning the Prius owners, I am not saying people should not buy the car. We all should be considering choices that will not hurt God's earth. However, there is something wrong about wanting to buy are car to make a statement about how good you are. In a way, that seems close very close to the Pharisee's own pride.
The thing is, even though we are prideful beings, God still loves us.
For our Lutheran brothers and sisters, today is Reformation Sunday. It is the Sunday they remember when a young monk by the name of Martin Luther pounded his document called 95 Theses on the door of a building in Germany. As I was putting together this sermon, I was reminded of a saying attributed to Luther as he was asked if he would recant his beliefs which were considered hertical. He said to have replied, “Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me.”
Here we stand. We try to seek God's will and seek to do justice and be merciful in the world. But as Luther, we are called to do this with humility. Because in the end, it's not what we do that saves us, whether that's tithing or buying a Prius, it is our faith in the one that loves us even when we are self-righteous.
He we stand. We can do no other. God help us all. Amen.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
I Must Be Nuts....
I wrote this on Sunday, but I'm publishing it now:
Hmmm....it's been a few months since I said goodbye to Community of Grace. Sadly, it was time put the church out of its misery. The thing is though, I am still interested in church planting. I have looked at other churches for open pastorates and I am keeping my mind and heart open to where God might be leading me...but this whole crazy idea of planting a church is still there.
The sad thing is that I really don't know of anyone who is committed and interested. I dunno, Minnesota can seem so barren at times when it comes to mission. All I can do is pray that there are people who might be interested in starting something new.
I keep getting the feeling that there needs to be something different among the few Disciple churches in the area. I think the current churches are trying, but there needs to be something more.
If I did start again, it would be different. We wouldn't try to be a new "old" church with a board and all that, but we would be a bit more organic: meeting for prayer, worship and doing works of justice. We would of course be open and affirming and it would be a Disciples of Christ congregation. I would also not be so interested in big numbers. I would rather have 10 strong people than 1000 who are pew warmers.
I have more I want to write, but it's late. Please keep me in your prayers as I think this through.
I feel like I'm a nut here...
Hmmm....it's been a few months since I said goodbye to Community of Grace. Sadly, it was time put the church out of its misery. The thing is though, I am still interested in church planting. I have looked at other churches for open pastorates and I am keeping my mind and heart open to where God might be leading me...but this whole crazy idea of planting a church is still there.
The sad thing is that I really don't know of anyone who is committed and interested. I dunno, Minnesota can seem so barren at times when it comes to mission. All I can do is pray that there are people who might be interested in starting something new.
I keep getting the feeling that there needs to be something different among the few Disciple churches in the area. I think the current churches are trying, but there needs to be something more.
If I did start again, it would be different. We wouldn't try to be a new "old" church with a board and all that, but we would be a bit more organic: meeting for prayer, worship and doing works of justice. We would of course be open and affirming and it would be a Disciples of Christ congregation. I would also not be so interested in big numbers. I would rather have 10 strong people than 1000 who are pew warmers.
I have more I want to write, but it's late. Please keep me in your prayers as I think this through.
I feel like I'm a nut here...
Why Did I Get Ordained?
Every so often, there are days that I just feel down on me.
This was one of those days.
When I was about eleven, I remember playing softball. I was up at bat and trying to hit the ball. Being that I was never good at sports, this was going to be bad. I struck out and in frustration, I slammed the aluminum bat on the ground. I was mad that I couldn't hit a damn ball.
That's sort of how I've been feeling lately in regards to the church and my calling as a pastor. I feel like I'm up at bat again and I keep swinging and missing.
Church life and being a pastor is an odd thing. You go to seminary and learn about the importance of mission and social justice, you get excited about doing ministry in a parish and then when you get out into the real world, you have to do deal with churches that aren't so gung-ho for mission, pastors who see their roles as leaders as just a job or worse yet, something to lord over others and lay people who bitch about how much church sucks and yet won't do anything about it.
But what is really frustrating is having this heart to do ministry and churches not knowing what to do with you. Actually, they don't do anything with you- they just seem to ignore you and hope you will go away.
I shared my concerns once with a friend and she thought this was about demanding a job after ordination. Please. Yes, I would love to be paid, but this is about giving someone with a calling something to do, instead of ignoring them.
Sometimes I would like to meet someone who passionate about mission and not just wanting to complain. I want to meet someone who has read the gospels and wants to be Christ in the world.
I wish people would stop thinking I'm just being crabby Dennis and be the goddamn church.
This was one of those days.
When I was about eleven, I remember playing softball. I was up at bat and trying to hit the ball. Being that I was never good at sports, this was going to be bad. I struck out and in frustration, I slammed the aluminum bat on the ground. I was mad that I couldn't hit a damn ball.
That's sort of how I've been feeling lately in regards to the church and my calling as a pastor. I feel like I'm up at bat again and I keep swinging and missing.
Church life and being a pastor is an odd thing. You go to seminary and learn about the importance of mission and social justice, you get excited about doing ministry in a parish and then when you get out into the real world, you have to do deal with churches that aren't so gung-ho for mission, pastors who see their roles as leaders as just a job or worse yet, something to lord over others and lay people who bitch about how much church sucks and yet won't do anything about it.
But what is really frustrating is having this heart to do ministry and churches not knowing what to do with you. Actually, they don't do anything with you- they just seem to ignore you and hope you will go away.
I shared my concerns once with a friend and she thought this was about demanding a job after ordination. Please. Yes, I would love to be paid, but this is about giving someone with a calling something to do, instead of ignoring them.
Sometimes I would like to meet someone who passionate about mission and not just wanting to complain. I want to meet someone who has read the gospels and wants to be Christ in the world.
I wish people would stop thinking I'm just being crabby Dennis and be the goddamn church.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Sunday Sermon-July 15, 2007
I've been doing a lot of supply preaching lately. Here is a sermon I gave at a church in the Western suburbs of Minneapolis.
“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Louisiana...”
Luke 10:25-37
July 15, 2007
Pilgrims United Church of Christ
Maple Grove, MN
I love summer for many reasons, but the reason I love it the most is because of vacations. When I was younger, my family embarked on several trips from my native Michigan to my dad's home state of Louisiana to visit his relatives. Spending time in Central Louisiana was always an adventure to me. I got a chance to have fun with my southern cousins and eat some wonderful Southern cooking.
My dad is now in his late 70s. When he was in a young man in his twenties, he left Alexandria, Louisiana to move to my hometown of Flint, Michigan to make a new start. His sister, Nora, was already living here, so he had family to help him get on his feet. Like many African American men at that time, he took a job in the many auto plants found in Flint. Dad worked at the old Buick plant for nearly 40 years.
Early on, Dad would go back home to see his Mom. What I learned that the trips he took South were quite different from the ones he would take with my mother and I some twenty years later. You see, it was mid-1950s. Dad had grew up in the Jim Crow South were segregation was the law. When Dad would go back South, my Aunt Nora would make a basket of fried chicken for the journey. My Dad's mother would do the same thing on the journey back. You can probably guess why. Fifty years ago, it was not so easy for a young black man like my father to stop at a local restaurant and get food. Dad also couldn't stop a hotel, so that meant sleeping on the side of a road until a cop told him to move along.
Of course, the civil rights movement made such practices illegal. By the time I came around, we stopped at restaurants and hotels in South without a stare. But every time I do, I remember that it was not too long ago, that someone like me wouldn't get in the door.
I love the parables of Jesus and the parable of the Good Samaritan is probably one of the most well known. You all probably know it by heart. Now, people have seen parables as moral tales that tell us how we should live. I tend to think that parables are a peek into what God's kingdom or reign looks like. Yes, we should try to live according to the principles set out in these parables, but what is important is to see how God is acting in the world and to join in.
Like many of you, I have looked at this story again and again. I thought I knew the story until I looked at it again. The young lawyer asked what he had to do to inherit eternal life and Jesus gives him a straightforward answer: “You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, soul and stregnth and love your neighbor as yourself.” The lawyer said he was doing all these things. But for this person, just doing all this was not enough. He was self-righteous and frankly, was looking for a loophole. “Who is my neighbor?” he said.
Who is my neighbor? The lawyer was focused on himself. He wanted to know who he had to be nice to get into heaven. It's almost as if he saw this as some sort of initiation: be nice to so-and-so and you get bonus points to eternal life!
We are a lot like the lawyer in this aspect. When we read this story, we think it means that we should love our neighbors. I'm not saying that we shouldn't, but that is not the point of this story. Jesus tells the story. A man is traveling down the highway and is overcome by theives who leave him for dead. A priest and a Levite see the man on the road, injured and dying, and simply pass him by. The third person, a dreaded Samaritan, sees the injured man, puts bandages on his wounds and takes him to a nearby hotel to recuperate. The crux of this story comes next. Jesus asks, “who was a neighbor to the man?”
That, my sisters and brothers, is the point of this story. It is not who is our neighbor, but are we a neighbor to others? Are we moved with pity to help those around us who are friend or foe?
The America that my father encountered in the 1950s was one that wasn't neighborly. Restaurants and hotels did not extend welcome to my father, simply because he was black. It was when people like Martin Luther King who believed we should be neighborly to those around us, that this inhospitality changed for the better.
If there is a “moral” to this story it is not to love our neighbors, but to be a good neighbor. God in Jesus Christ was a neighbor while on Earth. He met with the lowly, healed the sick and even forgave those who killed him. The God we love and serve is the Ultimate Neighbor, who loves and cares for creation.
How do we become good neighbors? Maybe it means that we befriend and be Christ to a gay man that was never made to feel welcome at the church of his youth. Maybe it means working to bring affordable housing to a community. I think you all get the idea. We are called by Christ to be good neighbors.
I should add, that being a good neighbor doesn't mean that we are loved by the world. The Samaritan might not have been seen in a good light by the man by the side of road when he recovered. Some will not receive our help. And you know what? God understands. God and Jesus came to be a good neighbor and it got him killed. But then we don't do this because we are looking for a reward. We do it because we follow a God who loved the world so much that he became one of us, suffered with us and died for us. This God lives again and is with us as we seek to be good neighbors to those who in our midst.
In 1989, our family went down South yet again. We were making our way through Mississippi and stopped at a rest area. I was a sophomore in college and Dad was pushing 60. As we were about to get into our car and continue of journey to Louisiana, a middle age white man came forward. You could tell this man was down on luck. He said he and his family were from Alabama and were without food. He pleaded for some food. Now, my mother is known for packing our car with lots and lots of food- more than we were ever going to eat. We headed back to our car and gave the man what we could. He was quite thankful and went to his car and his waiting family. I could see from their station wagon, that they seem to be carrying all of their possessions in that vehicle.
I never did ask why my parents why they did what they did, but I gather they did it because they were Christians and took taking care of others seriously.
Looking back I found it somewhat ironic that here was this black family that showed compassion to a white family that needed help, when a few decades prior, white people would not allow my father a place to eat or sleep.
I don't think my parents were better than those people of the Jim Crow era; I just think that they knew that being a Christian was more than talking about your religion, it was about living out that faith.
In the end, what really determines our faith is not how holy we are. They priest and the Levite were holy men, but their faith meant very little when it mattered. What matters is how we live this faith out.
Go and do likewise. Thanks be to God. Amen.
“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Louisiana...”
Luke 10:25-37
July 15, 2007
Pilgrims United Church of Christ
Maple Grove, MN
I love summer for many reasons, but the reason I love it the most is because of vacations. When I was younger, my family embarked on several trips from my native Michigan to my dad's home state of Louisiana to visit his relatives. Spending time in Central Louisiana was always an adventure to me. I got a chance to have fun with my southern cousins and eat some wonderful Southern cooking.
My dad is now in his late 70s. When he was in a young man in his twenties, he left Alexandria, Louisiana to move to my hometown of Flint, Michigan to make a new start. His sister, Nora, was already living here, so he had family to help him get on his feet. Like many African American men at that time, he took a job in the many auto plants found in Flint. Dad worked at the old Buick plant for nearly 40 years.
Early on, Dad would go back home to see his Mom. What I learned that the trips he took South were quite different from the ones he would take with my mother and I some twenty years later. You see, it was mid-1950s. Dad had grew up in the Jim Crow South were segregation was the law. When Dad would go back South, my Aunt Nora would make a basket of fried chicken for the journey. My Dad's mother would do the same thing on the journey back. You can probably guess why. Fifty years ago, it was not so easy for a young black man like my father to stop at a local restaurant and get food. Dad also couldn't stop a hotel, so that meant sleeping on the side of a road until a cop told him to move along.
Of course, the civil rights movement made such practices illegal. By the time I came around, we stopped at restaurants and hotels in South without a stare. But every time I do, I remember that it was not too long ago, that someone like me wouldn't get in the door.
I love the parables of Jesus and the parable of the Good Samaritan is probably one of the most well known. You all probably know it by heart. Now, people have seen parables as moral tales that tell us how we should live. I tend to think that parables are a peek into what God's kingdom or reign looks like. Yes, we should try to live according to the principles set out in these parables, but what is important is to see how God is acting in the world and to join in.
Like many of you, I have looked at this story again and again. I thought I knew the story until I looked at it again. The young lawyer asked what he had to do to inherit eternal life and Jesus gives him a straightforward answer: “You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, soul and stregnth and love your neighbor as yourself.” The lawyer said he was doing all these things. But for this person, just doing all this was not enough. He was self-righteous and frankly, was looking for a loophole. “Who is my neighbor?” he said.
Who is my neighbor? The lawyer was focused on himself. He wanted to know who he had to be nice to get into heaven. It's almost as if he saw this as some sort of initiation: be nice to so-and-so and you get bonus points to eternal life!
We are a lot like the lawyer in this aspect. When we read this story, we think it means that we should love our neighbors. I'm not saying that we shouldn't, but that is not the point of this story. Jesus tells the story. A man is traveling down the highway and is overcome by theives who leave him for dead. A priest and a Levite see the man on the road, injured and dying, and simply pass him by. The third person, a dreaded Samaritan, sees the injured man, puts bandages on his wounds and takes him to a nearby hotel to recuperate. The crux of this story comes next. Jesus asks, “who was a neighbor to the man?”
That, my sisters and brothers, is the point of this story. It is not who is our neighbor, but are we a neighbor to others? Are we moved with pity to help those around us who are friend or foe?
The America that my father encountered in the 1950s was one that wasn't neighborly. Restaurants and hotels did not extend welcome to my father, simply because he was black. It was when people like Martin Luther King who believed we should be neighborly to those around us, that this inhospitality changed for the better.
If there is a “moral” to this story it is not to love our neighbors, but to be a good neighbor. God in Jesus Christ was a neighbor while on Earth. He met with the lowly, healed the sick and even forgave those who killed him. The God we love and serve is the Ultimate Neighbor, who loves and cares for creation.
How do we become good neighbors? Maybe it means that we befriend and be Christ to a gay man that was never made to feel welcome at the church of his youth. Maybe it means working to bring affordable housing to a community. I think you all get the idea. We are called by Christ to be good neighbors.
I should add, that being a good neighbor doesn't mean that we are loved by the world. The Samaritan might not have been seen in a good light by the man by the side of road when he recovered. Some will not receive our help. And you know what? God understands. God and Jesus came to be a good neighbor and it got him killed. But then we don't do this because we are looking for a reward. We do it because we follow a God who loved the world so much that he became one of us, suffered with us and died for us. This God lives again and is with us as we seek to be good neighbors to those who in our midst.
In 1989, our family went down South yet again. We were making our way through Mississippi and stopped at a rest area. I was a sophomore in college and Dad was pushing 60. As we were about to get into our car and continue of journey to Louisiana, a middle age white man came forward. You could tell this man was down on luck. He said he and his family were from Alabama and were without food. He pleaded for some food. Now, my mother is known for packing our car with lots and lots of food- more than we were ever going to eat. We headed back to our car and gave the man what we could. He was quite thankful and went to his car and his waiting family. I could see from their station wagon, that they seem to be carrying all of their possessions in that vehicle.
I never did ask why my parents why they did what they did, but I gather they did it because they were Christians and took taking care of others seriously.
Looking back I found it somewhat ironic that here was this black family that showed compassion to a white family that needed help, when a few decades prior, white people would not allow my father a place to eat or sleep.
I don't think my parents were better than those people of the Jim Crow era; I just think that they knew that being a Christian was more than talking about your religion, it was about living out that faith.
In the end, what really determines our faith is not how holy we are. They priest and the Levite were holy men, but their faith meant very little when it mattered. What matters is how we live this faith out.
Go and do likewise. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Sunday Sermon-September 23, 2007
I haven't really posted in a while. It's about time I start up again, so I will leave you with this sermon.
“The Parable of the Dirty, Rotten Scroundrel”
Luke 16:1-13
September 23, 2007
Lake Harriet Christian Church
Minneapolis, MN
I remember getting up early on some school monrings to watch the cartoons on TV. Before the days of “Good Morning America,” some local stations would show kiddie fare in the early hours. I remember watching “Rocky and Bullwinkle,” “Underdog,” “Tennessee Tuxedo,” and of course, “Dudley Do-Right.” Some of them, like “Underdog,” were serials, that went over several episodes. What I remember from these cartoons are the characters, especially the villians.
“Rocky and Bullwinkle” had Boris and Natascha. “Underdog” had Riff-Raff and Simon Bar Sinister and Dudley Do-Right had Snidely Whiplash. The villians were over the top. Where the heroes were the embodiement of all that was good and true, the villains were the exact opposite. Simon Bar Sinister had this weird voice that sounded like he was perpetually inhaling. Snidley Whiplash seemed to be this odd shade of green that I guess was to tell us he was bad. Boris and Natasha had Russian sounding accents, that indicated their badness to the world.
The villians in these shows were bad to the bone, there was nothing to be learned from them except what not to do. In the end, the good guys won and the bad guys got what they so richly deserved.
Today, we read the parable about the Dishonest Manager. This has always been a puzzling parable for me, because it seems to be lifting up the manager as the hero of the story. I mean Jesus can't possibly be telling us that this crook is a hero, can he?
That's exactly what he's doing.
Let's start at the beginning. There is a rich man that owns a ton of land and has to have a manager to handle everything. So he hires this guy who is supposed to be managing his immense wealth. The manager wasn't doing that. Instead, he was taking a bit of the money on the side. Well, you can only do that for so long before you are caught, and the manager got caught. The rich man was quite upset and for good reasons. Here was a man that he hired to manage his money and instead of doing his job, the manager was embezzeling. The rich man lays down the law and tells the manager he should get ready to pack his bags.
The manager is of course scared. He is not good with his hands, so working in the fields is out. He doesn't want to beg. He knows he needs to do something and fast to save his own skin. So, he goes to those people who owe debts to the rich man. “How much do you owe?” he says to one man. “Fifty thousand dollars,” says the man. “Well, you now owe $25,000. Next!” He does this with all of the rich man's debtors. The rich man gets wind of this. Now, you think that he would be really mad right now. Not only was this weasel skimming money off the top, but he is dispensing money that isn't even his to the debtors! Instead, he honors the manager for being so shrewd. The crooked manager is now in the best of positions: he has the respect of both the rich man and the debtors.
So, what in the world is the point of this story? Why in the world is Jesus lifting up this thief?
Well, if you have heard me preaching about parables before, you know that parables should not be seen as moral tales, telling us how to live. I don't think Jesus is telling us to go out and embezzle money. Instead of a moral tale, a parable is a clue to what the kingdom of God is like.
The manager is very generous with his master's money. He is going around forgiving debts left and right. People who were worried how they were going to repay a debt, now have their debts drastically cut. The manager is a lot how some people are in this world. They may not be the nicest people in the world, but they are generous and treat people with kindness. They tend to put the church to shame. Mohondas Ghandi was not a Christian, but they way he lived life; working for justice, caring for the least of these was more Christian than his British counterparts, who were steeped in their Christianity and did not live it out. He was rumored to have said: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
The God that we serve is one that is incredibly generous. It might even look wasteful to some. The famous parable of the prodigal son, shows a father whose love is so freely given, that he embarrasses himself by showing love to his wayward and scheming son. The son didn't deserve the love he was given, but the old man gave it anyway. The parable of the Sower has a man spreading seeds anywhere, not caring where they fall. God shows his love, even when God is not loved back. That is the kind of God we serve. Some people who would be called “children of the world” are more generous in how they live life than those of us so-called “children of light.” I think that is what Jesus is getting at here. The Pharisees and even the disciples, the insiders, did not understand that following God means being generous with others. The ones on the outside did get that.
How generous are we? Are we willing to forgive people of their debts? Do we welcome the strangers in our midst? Do we care for the forgotten ones? Are we stingy or generous? Are we Christians willing to be like the Christ we profess to follow?
The villain in this story becomes the hero. This scalawag shows us how we are to live our lives and about the God we serve. But that's the way it is in God's upside-down kingdom. Thanks be to God. Amen.
“The Parable of the Dirty, Rotten Scroundrel”
Luke 16:1-13
September 23, 2007
Lake Harriet Christian Church
Minneapolis, MN
I remember getting up early on some school monrings to watch the cartoons on TV. Before the days of “Good Morning America,” some local stations would show kiddie fare in the early hours. I remember watching “Rocky and Bullwinkle,” “Underdog,” “Tennessee Tuxedo,” and of course, “Dudley Do-Right.” Some of them, like “Underdog,” were serials, that went over several episodes. What I remember from these cartoons are the characters, especially the villians.
“Rocky and Bullwinkle” had Boris and Natascha. “Underdog” had Riff-Raff and Simon Bar Sinister and Dudley Do-Right had Snidely Whiplash. The villians were over the top. Where the heroes were the embodiement of all that was good and true, the villains were the exact opposite. Simon Bar Sinister had this weird voice that sounded like he was perpetually inhaling. Snidley Whiplash seemed to be this odd shade of green that I guess was to tell us he was bad. Boris and Natasha had Russian sounding accents, that indicated their badness to the world.
The villians in these shows were bad to the bone, there was nothing to be learned from them except what not to do. In the end, the good guys won and the bad guys got what they so richly deserved.
Today, we read the parable about the Dishonest Manager. This has always been a puzzling parable for me, because it seems to be lifting up the manager as the hero of the story. I mean Jesus can't possibly be telling us that this crook is a hero, can he?
That's exactly what he's doing.
Let's start at the beginning. There is a rich man that owns a ton of land and has to have a manager to handle everything. So he hires this guy who is supposed to be managing his immense wealth. The manager wasn't doing that. Instead, he was taking a bit of the money on the side. Well, you can only do that for so long before you are caught, and the manager got caught. The rich man was quite upset and for good reasons. Here was a man that he hired to manage his money and instead of doing his job, the manager was embezzeling. The rich man lays down the law and tells the manager he should get ready to pack his bags.
The manager is of course scared. He is not good with his hands, so working in the fields is out. He doesn't want to beg. He knows he needs to do something and fast to save his own skin. So, he goes to those people who owe debts to the rich man. “How much do you owe?” he says to one man. “Fifty thousand dollars,” says the man. “Well, you now owe $25,000. Next!” He does this with all of the rich man's debtors. The rich man gets wind of this. Now, you think that he would be really mad right now. Not only was this weasel skimming money off the top, but he is dispensing money that isn't even his to the debtors! Instead, he honors the manager for being so shrewd. The crooked manager is now in the best of positions: he has the respect of both the rich man and the debtors.
So, what in the world is the point of this story? Why in the world is Jesus lifting up this thief?
Well, if you have heard me preaching about parables before, you know that parables should not be seen as moral tales, telling us how to live. I don't think Jesus is telling us to go out and embezzle money. Instead of a moral tale, a parable is a clue to what the kingdom of God is like.
The manager is very generous with his master's money. He is going around forgiving debts left and right. People who were worried how they were going to repay a debt, now have their debts drastically cut. The manager is a lot how some people are in this world. They may not be the nicest people in the world, but they are generous and treat people with kindness. They tend to put the church to shame. Mohondas Ghandi was not a Christian, but they way he lived life; working for justice, caring for the least of these was more Christian than his British counterparts, who were steeped in their Christianity and did not live it out. He was rumored to have said: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
The God that we serve is one that is incredibly generous. It might even look wasteful to some. The famous parable of the prodigal son, shows a father whose love is so freely given, that he embarrasses himself by showing love to his wayward and scheming son. The son didn't deserve the love he was given, but the old man gave it anyway. The parable of the Sower has a man spreading seeds anywhere, not caring where they fall. God shows his love, even when God is not loved back. That is the kind of God we serve. Some people who would be called “children of the world” are more generous in how they live life than those of us so-called “children of light.” I think that is what Jesus is getting at here. The Pharisees and even the disciples, the insiders, did not understand that following God means being generous with others. The ones on the outside did get that.
How generous are we? Are we willing to forgive people of their debts? Do we welcome the strangers in our midst? Do we care for the forgotten ones? Are we stingy or generous? Are we Christians willing to be like the Christ we profess to follow?
The villain in this story becomes the hero. This scalawag shows us how we are to live our lives and about the God we serve. But that's the way it is in God's upside-down kingdom. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Friday, August 17, 2007
The End of the Road...For Now
It's been a while since I wrote something here...I don't even know if anyone reads this...
Back in June, the decision was made to close Community of Grace. We had tried hard to get people interested in the church, but many who were first associated with us moved on, and after several years of trying to get people interested in coming, Dan (our music guy) and I were just plain tired. It's a community that makes a church, and well, there weren't that many people interested.
We had tried everything to get the message out that we were around and tried to get local churches involved, but nothing really worked, so we decided to let this dream die.
My feelings over the last few months have ranged from relief to anger, to loss and sadness. I wish I had done things differently. I wish other churches in the area cared more. I wish we could have found that core group. I wish, I wish.
But even though this didn't work, I can say that Community of Grace made a difference in someone's life. I met my friend Jim a few years ago through Log Cabin Republicans, a GLBT group. I had invited him to Community of Grace and he came and became a vital part of the church. For a long time, Jim didn't feel welcomed in the Episcopal and Catholic churches of his youth because he is gay. But he did feel welcomed at Community of Grace. He is now back in the church.
Jim accepted a new job in San Diego and one of the first things he asked me was if he knew of any Disciple churches out there. I gave him a few contacts. Community of Grace might not have succeeded as a congregation, but it did bring one person closer to God. One person heard the message that God loves everyone-no exceptions and that is mind blowing.
I have no idea what I will do now. I am looking at an opening in a UCC church and I am doing some supply preaching at other churches. I do know that I want to do parish ministry in some form. I also know that there is a part of me that still wants to do a new church. Who knows, maybe something will happen that will get me back in the saddle to start a church. Maybe there is a church in the Twin Cities that is will to do some sort of outreach ministry. I'm just waiting to see what God has in store for me.
Please keep me in your prayers as I try to search where God is leading me. Feel free to drop me a line at dennis.sanders@gmail.com. If you know of anyone interested in doing some new ministry or here in Minnesota, let me know.
Godspeed!
Dennis Sanders
Back in June, the decision was made to close Community of Grace. We had tried hard to get people interested in the church, but many who were first associated with us moved on, and after several years of trying to get people interested in coming, Dan (our music guy) and I were just plain tired. It's a community that makes a church, and well, there weren't that many people interested.
We had tried everything to get the message out that we were around and tried to get local churches involved, but nothing really worked, so we decided to let this dream die.
My feelings over the last few months have ranged from relief to anger, to loss and sadness. I wish I had done things differently. I wish other churches in the area cared more. I wish we could have found that core group. I wish, I wish.
But even though this didn't work, I can say that Community of Grace made a difference in someone's life. I met my friend Jim a few years ago through Log Cabin Republicans, a GLBT group. I had invited him to Community of Grace and he came and became a vital part of the church. For a long time, Jim didn't feel welcomed in the Episcopal and Catholic churches of his youth because he is gay. But he did feel welcomed at Community of Grace. He is now back in the church.
Jim accepted a new job in San Diego and one of the first things he asked me was if he knew of any Disciple churches out there. I gave him a few contacts. Community of Grace might not have succeeded as a congregation, but it did bring one person closer to God. One person heard the message that God loves everyone-no exceptions and that is mind blowing.
I have no idea what I will do now. I am looking at an opening in a UCC church and I am doing some supply preaching at other churches. I do know that I want to do parish ministry in some form. I also know that there is a part of me that still wants to do a new church. Who knows, maybe something will happen that will get me back in the saddle to start a church. Maybe there is a church in the Twin Cities that is will to do some sort of outreach ministry. I'm just waiting to see what God has in store for me.
Please keep me in your prayers as I try to search where God is leading me. Feel free to drop me a line at dennis.sanders@gmail.com. If you know of anyone interested in doing some new ministry or here in Minnesota, let me know.
Godspeed!
Dennis Sanders
Saturday, June 16, 2007
What Does It Say About Us?
I wrote the following piece in my other blog called NeoMugwump. I thought I would share it here.
Two events on the same day reminded me how screwed up we are these days. The first was the reaction to Rev. Jerry Fawell's death on Tuesday. That same evening, almost all of the GOP contenders for the presidential nomination seemed to endorse using torture in the War on Terror. Concerning Fawell, it was disturbing to see how many people in the gay community were downright mean concerning his death. It was also disturbing to see so many Republican presidential candidates (inlcuding Rudy Giuliani, my leading favorite) seem not to have a problem with using tactics like waterboarding on terror suspects.
It's interesting in this age where we are so self-reveling about every level of our lives, with blogs and services like YouTube, we don't seem to be so interested in examining our lives and how we live. We are wonderful at telling others how to live, but not so interested in wondering how we are living our own lives.
For example: torture. Many of my compatriots on the right side of the spectrum seem to not have a concern with torturing someone for information. "If it saves lives, then it's okay," they seem to think. They forget the adage that Senator John McCain, who happens to know about torture in a very intimate way, that torture does damage to our reputation more than it provides information to prevent a terrorist attack. The funny thing among a lot of conservatives is that we don't seem to care one way or another about the consequences. There is a certain amount of smugness among some on the right in that America is great, not because of how we live our lives in the world, but by who we are. America is good because it is America. That is a dangerous conotation, because it ignores the fact that people are judge as good or bad by their actions, not by who they are. Some kid in Iraq or Iran is not going to ignore how we treat prisoners. You can rest assured that someone like bin Laden will use such moral failings to prove his point that America is evil and needs to be destroyed. The GOP presidential candidates, minus McCain, are basically doing bin Laden's work.
Now to Fawell. I have to be honest and say that I didn't miss Fawell, but I didn't see his death as a good thing either. Maybe what has saddened me is to see the gay community show such gracelessness towards this death. I can understand the anger, but I have a hard time understanding the basic lack of humanity.
Many in the gay rights movement have talked about the connections between our struggle for rights and the struggle of African Americans. They leech on to the legacy to Dr. Martin Luther King and talk about our movement as the same moral struggle as the civil rights movement. As an African American and as a gay man, I can say this is complete bullcrap. My gay brothers and sisters are clueless to the true meaning of that movement. Dr. King did preach justice for African Americans and condemned those that blocked the progress of African Americans. But you know what? He also loved those same people. He loved them enough to believe they could be redeemed. His Christian faith taught him to seek the wholeness of both the oppressor and the oppressed.
Sadly, most gays and lesbians do not show the same grace that King and many African Americans did back in the 50s and 60s to those that hated them. Instead of showing love when one hates, we have decided to hate them as much they hate us. We celebrate when they die.
Dr. King was working for the redemption of America. He saw racism as this nation's original sin, and wanted to find ways to not only bring freedom for African Americans, but to heal the entire land. His nonviolent campaign of love is responsible for the change that has happened in our society. No, racial progress hasn't been easy, but it has happened.
Frankly gay people need to learn to care for those that oppose us. No that isn't easy. But we need to have more pity for them than hate. I am more sorrowful that Rev. Fawell never understood that we gays were not the threat he thought we were, than scornful of him. True justice won't happen, by "winning" against the far right, but by urging them to repent. Love, seeing the enemy as a human being loved by God or whatever higher being, is what changes society. Storing up wounds does nothing but hurt us.
In both cases, people need to do some introspection. We are not righteous in our own being. We are judged by how we live our lives. Yes, terrorists and bigots are judged, but so are we. Torturing someone, or rejoicing in the death of someone you don't like says a lot more about your moral character than it does your enemy.
The Bible states that we need to look at the planks in our own eyes instead of the specs in our brother's eyes. It's time for gays and conservatives to do some heavy-duty introspection, to save their own souls.
Two events on the same day reminded me how screwed up we are these days. The first was the reaction to Rev. Jerry Fawell's death on Tuesday. That same evening, almost all of the GOP contenders for the presidential nomination seemed to endorse using torture in the War on Terror. Concerning Fawell, it was disturbing to see how many people in the gay community were downright mean concerning his death. It was also disturbing to see so many Republican presidential candidates (inlcuding Rudy Giuliani, my leading favorite) seem not to have a problem with using tactics like waterboarding on terror suspects.
It's interesting in this age where we are so self-reveling about every level of our lives, with blogs and services like YouTube, we don't seem to be so interested in examining our lives and how we live. We are wonderful at telling others how to live, but not so interested in wondering how we are living our own lives.
For example: torture. Many of my compatriots on the right side of the spectrum seem to not have a concern with torturing someone for information. "If it saves lives, then it's okay," they seem to think. They forget the adage that Senator John McCain, who happens to know about torture in a very intimate way, that torture does damage to our reputation more than it provides information to prevent a terrorist attack. The funny thing among a lot of conservatives is that we don't seem to care one way or another about the consequences. There is a certain amount of smugness among some on the right in that America is great, not because of how we live our lives in the world, but by who we are. America is good because it is America. That is a dangerous conotation, because it ignores the fact that people are judge as good or bad by their actions, not by who they are. Some kid in Iraq or Iran is not going to ignore how we treat prisoners. You can rest assured that someone like bin Laden will use such moral failings to prove his point that America is evil and needs to be destroyed. The GOP presidential candidates, minus McCain, are basically doing bin Laden's work.
Now to Fawell. I have to be honest and say that I didn't miss Fawell, but I didn't see his death as a good thing either. Maybe what has saddened me is to see the gay community show such gracelessness towards this death. I can understand the anger, but I have a hard time understanding the basic lack of humanity.
Many in the gay rights movement have talked about the connections between our struggle for rights and the struggle of African Americans. They leech on to the legacy to Dr. Martin Luther King and talk about our movement as the same moral struggle as the civil rights movement. As an African American and as a gay man, I can say this is complete bullcrap. My gay brothers and sisters are clueless to the true meaning of that movement. Dr. King did preach justice for African Americans and condemned those that blocked the progress of African Americans. But you know what? He also loved those same people. He loved them enough to believe they could be redeemed. His Christian faith taught him to seek the wholeness of both the oppressor and the oppressed.
Sadly, most gays and lesbians do not show the same grace that King and many African Americans did back in the 50s and 60s to those that hated them. Instead of showing love when one hates, we have decided to hate them as much they hate us. We celebrate when they die.
Dr. King was working for the redemption of America. He saw racism as this nation's original sin, and wanted to find ways to not only bring freedom for African Americans, but to heal the entire land. His nonviolent campaign of love is responsible for the change that has happened in our society. No, racial progress hasn't been easy, but it has happened.
Frankly gay people need to learn to care for those that oppose us. No that isn't easy. But we need to have more pity for them than hate. I am more sorrowful that Rev. Fawell never understood that we gays were not the threat he thought we were, than scornful of him. True justice won't happen, by "winning" against the far right, but by urging them to repent. Love, seeing the enemy as a human being loved by God or whatever higher being, is what changes society. Storing up wounds does nothing but hurt us.
In both cases, people need to do some introspection. We are not righteous in our own being. We are judged by how we live our lives. Yes, terrorists and bigots are judged, but so are we. Torturing someone, or rejoicing in the death of someone you don't like says a lot more about your moral character than it does your enemy.
The Bible states that we need to look at the planks in our own eyes instead of the specs in our brother's eyes. It's time for gays and conservatives to do some heavy-duty introspection, to save their own souls.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Thoughts from a Fixer
I've come to realize something about myself: that I like to fix things.
No, I am not talking about fixing something around the house, but I want to fix problems that people or churches are facing. I see something wrong or someone in pain and I feel compelled to do something to stop whatever is going wrong in their lives.
Just today, I wanted to offer a solution to stop something from happening. If this problem isn't "fixed" then someone will have to leave their job, something that they love. I don't want to see them leave, and want to do something to stop it. My partner, Daniel, asked some questions that made my perfect plan of fixing the issue go up in smoke. I was mad because I was afraid that if nothing was done, then this person would leave and things would go to hell.
And maybe they will. And maybe that's not a bad thing.
I've been thinking lately that maybe, things have to fall apart at times, that things have to "die" for change to happen. It's kind of like an alcoholic hitting bottom.
In a way, I've been an enabler, trying to keep something broken running along. Maybe it needs to fall apart because it's broken anyway.
And yet, that's hard. You don't want to see someone in pain, as this community will be when this person that has been so intergral to their life leaves. But sometimes, pain can be good. Sometimes hitting rock bottom can be good, because all the illusions we had are stripped away. We now have to deal with reality.
So what does this have to do with things religious? Well, I don't Jesus came to "fix" things. He came to save us, which doesn't mean protect us, but heal us. That means we have to realize that we are broken to begin with. Things are not okay.
I think I have a lot more to contemplate on this issue of fixing and healing. More to come later.
No, I am not talking about fixing something around the house, but I want to fix problems that people or churches are facing. I see something wrong or someone in pain and I feel compelled to do something to stop whatever is going wrong in their lives.
Just today, I wanted to offer a solution to stop something from happening. If this problem isn't "fixed" then someone will have to leave their job, something that they love. I don't want to see them leave, and want to do something to stop it. My partner, Daniel, asked some questions that made my perfect plan of fixing the issue go up in smoke. I was mad because I was afraid that if nothing was done, then this person would leave and things would go to hell.
And maybe they will. And maybe that's not a bad thing.
I've been thinking lately that maybe, things have to fall apart at times, that things have to "die" for change to happen. It's kind of like an alcoholic hitting bottom.
In a way, I've been an enabler, trying to keep something broken running along. Maybe it needs to fall apart because it's broken anyway.
And yet, that's hard. You don't want to see someone in pain, as this community will be when this person that has been so intergral to their life leaves. But sometimes, pain can be good. Sometimes hitting rock bottom can be good, because all the illusions we had are stripped away. We now have to deal with reality.
So what does this have to do with things religious? Well, I don't Jesus came to "fix" things. He came to save us, which doesn't mean protect us, but heal us. That means we have to realize that we are broken to begin with. Things are not okay.
I think I have a lot more to contemplate on this issue of fixing and healing. More to come later.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Frustrated Pastor, Indeed
I decided to google the words, "frustrated pastor" and came up with this interesting blog post about a young guy in LA who is not very happy about the situation that he finds himself in. The writer says:
Sounds familiar, though I want to work in a local church setting to empower people to do mission. The writer continues:
After all that has happened in my life, I do wonder at times if I'm going to be a pastor in five years. I remember when I was seminary that the future seemed so bright, full of opportunities. Now, it just seems bleak and hopeless and I feel tired and worn. More often than not, I have wondered if it is even worthwhile to stay in ministry. It seems fruitless at times.
At the end, Sam Metcalfe (that's the writer's name), concludes:
There are times that I wonder if something is wrong with me. I do hope Sam is correct that things are not hopeless.
For the longest time, I've had a passion to do ministry. As a dear friend has said, it seems like I am ready to burst. The sad thing is that I don't really have a viable channel for it. I tried with a new church plant, and that didn't really work out. So, I need to find something, but I need to find a place where that can happen. Whether I can find that place remains to be seen.
The sad thing is how many people like Eric I meet on a regular basis …men and women with apostolic fervor and passion desperately thrashing around to find their niche in ministry. And all too many have been led to believe that the only path they can travel to fulfill God’s calling on their lives is pastoral ministry in a local church setting. How tragic.
Sounds familiar, though I want to work in a local church setting to empower people to do mission. The writer continues:
Until Eric and those like him find their niche in apostolic entities where they can thrive, move beyond maintenance to missionality, and be cut loose to see their vision soar, their lives will be models of frustration with a numbing lack of meaning.
Eddie Gibbs notes that 50% of those who graduate from American seminaries and who eventually end up in pastoral ministry drop out within ten years. My guess is that an uncomfortable percentage of that number is made up of the Erics of this world.
After all that has happened in my life, I do wonder at times if I'm going to be a pastor in five years. I remember when I was seminary that the future seemed so bright, full of opportunities. Now, it just seems bleak and hopeless and I feel tired and worn. More often than not, I have wondered if it is even worthwhile to stay in ministry. It seems fruitless at times.
At the end, Sam Metcalfe (that's the writer's name), concludes:
So to Eric and other like him, there is hope. You’re not crazy. You’re not a rebel. There is nothing “wrong” with you. May God lead you to right apostolic entity in the days ahead where you can make your ultimate contribution to the Kingdom.
There are times that I wonder if something is wrong with me. I do hope Sam is correct that things are not hopeless.
For the longest time, I've had a passion to do ministry. As a dear friend has said, it seems like I am ready to burst. The sad thing is that I don't really have a viable channel for it. I tried with a new church plant, and that didn't really work out. So, I need to find something, but I need to find a place where that can happen. Whether I can find that place remains to be seen.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
God With Us
This has been a hard weekend for me emotionally. I've been trying to figure out a lot of things about my vocation. Come September, I will have been an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for five years. It hasn't been a easy five years. I think for quite sometime, I've been trying to find ways to be useful. I think I have done a lot of good, and yet there is this sense that I am not working at my full potential.
Add to this, is all the struggles concerning Community of Grace, the new church start. I feel pulled between wanting to continue this venture and feeling tired and bitter at how things have gone so far. There is something of a seed in this venture that I keep feeling has to germinate. While people have left, there have been others that have expressed interest. Jim, the one person who has stayed with the church and feels it should stay open has been a beacon of faith, I just wish I had the faith he had.
I'm starting to think a lot of my frustration concerning Community of Grace comes from not praying. Now, I'm not saying prayer is magic, but I think that I got so involved in doing God's work, that I forgot God- I wasn't running on God's power.
So, I am trying to pray more regularly and read Scripture. One of the themes that has been running in life (God must be trying to say something)is this feeling that God is always with us. Today, I read this psalm from the Daily Lectionary:
Psalm 117:1-2
1Praise the LORD, all you nations!
Extol him, all you peoples!
2For great is his steadfast love towards us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures for ever.
Praise the LORD!
God's steadfast love is always with us. The psalm never said that God will solve our problems, but that God is always with us. Now, I would love if God would solve my dilema. I wish that more people would come to CoG. I wish that I could feel more fulfulled as a pastor. But I might have to deal with those things for the time being. What matters is that God is with me. I'm not alone.
God at times likes to speak in the form of musical showtunes. I'm not joking. For some reason, the song "For Now" is resonating in my head. It comes from the musical"Avenue Q," which is kind of Sesame Street meets South Park. The song talks about the fact that we may never get what we want out of life, but all things, good and bad, only last a while. In the end, we need not take life so seriously and enjoy what we have.
God is with us. Life may never be what we want, but God always there. And maybe I need to learn to not take church or being pastor so seriously. Enjoy what I have...for now.
Oh yeah, here are the lyrics:
PRINCETON:
Why does everything have to be so hard?
GARY COLEMAN:
Maybe you'll never find your purpose.
CHRISTMAS EVE:
Lots of people don't.
PRINCETON:
But then- I don't know why I'm even alive!
KATE MONSTER:
Well, who does, really?
Everyone's a little bit unsatisfied.
BRIAN:
Everyone goes 'round a little empty inside.
GARY COLEMAN:
Take a breath,
Look around,
BRIAN:
Swallow your pride,
KATE MONSTER:
For now...
BRIAN, KATE, GARY, CHRISTMAS EVE:
For now...
NICKY:
Nothing lasts,
ROD:
Life goes on,
NICKY:
Full of surprises.
ROD:
You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes.
CHRISTMAS EVE:
You're going to have to make a few compromises...
For now...
TREKKIE MONSTER:
For now...
ALL:
But only for now! (For now)
Only for now! (For now)
Only for now! (For now)
Only for now!
LUCY:
For now we're healthy.
BRIAN:
For now we're employed.
BAD IDEA BEARS:
For now we're happy...
KATE MONSTER:
If not overjoyed.
PRINCETON:
And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid, for now...
GARY COLEMAN:
For now...
TREKKIE MONSTER:
For now...
KATE MONSTER:
For now...
ALL:
But only for now! (For now)
Only for now! (For now)
Only for now! (For now)
Only for now!
Only for now!
(For now there's life!)
Only for now!
(For now there's love!)
Only for now!
(For now there's work!)
For now there's happiness!
But only for now!
(For now discomfort!)
Only for now!
(For now there's friendship!)
Only for now (For now!)
Only for now!
Only for now! (Sex!)
Is only for now! (Your hair!)
Is only for now! (George Bush!)
Is only for now!
Don't stress,
Relax,
Let life roll off your backs
Except for death and paying taxes,
Everything in life is only for now!
NICKY:
Each time you smile...
ALL:
...Only for now
KATE MONSTER:
It'll only last a while.
ALL:
...Only for now
PRINCETON:
Life may be scary...
ALL:
...Only for now
But it's only temporary
Ba-dum ba-dum
Ba-dum ba-dum
Ba dum ba-dum
Ba-da da da da
ba-da da-da da da-da
Ba-dum ba-da, ba-dum ba-da
ohhhh-
PRINCETON:
Everything in life is only for now.
-Music and Lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Pentecost Sunday- May 27, 2007
Row in Blue. Eddie Hamilton, 2007.“Waiting to Exhale”
Act 2:1-21
May 27, 2007 (Pentecost Sunday)
Lake Harriet Christian Church
Minneapolis, MN
When I was about two years old, I was diagnosed with asthma. From about age two until maybe age 9, I dealt with constant asthma attacks where I had hard time breathing. I can remember sitting in the doctor’s office of Dr. Cory Cookingham, who was my allergy and asthma doctor, who would sometimes have to give me a shot of adrenalin to open up my constricted lungs. More than once he worried if this didn’t work, that the hospital would be the next stop.
Growing up as a kid with asthma was not fun in the early 70s. I still had a pretty full childhood, but there were things I was limited in doing. My Mom made sure all the schools I attended were clean and not dusty so as not to trigger an attack. I remember when I was very young, not playing outdoors again for fear of an attack.
As I got older the spectre of asthma grew smaller. I was able to play outdoors and have fun, no longer fearful for another attack. In fact I went without an asthma attack for eight years until the summer I graduated high school. I still have attacks few and far between, but I do carry an inhaler just in case.
Today is a big day in the life of the church. This is Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the church. It is also the day that we focus on the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. The text that was read today, has the Holy Spirit as the prime mover, the One that transforms the timid disciples into fearless apostles, a community huddled in a room is sent out by the power of the Spirit into the world.
Many of us don’t really know what to do about the Spirit. We know what to do with God. We are pretty sure what to do with Jesus. God is our Father and Mother, Jesus is the Son, the Lamb of God, but who is this Holy Spirit? We don’t know what to do with this third person. And, well, the word spirit brings up thoughts of ghosts and goblins…things that are rather creepy.
When we think of the Holy Spirit, if we ever do, we tend to think of our Pentecostal brothers and sisters. They are the ones that will sometimes dance up and down the isles and speak in something that sounds like complete gibberish. We “sophisticated” mainline Protestants look at such things with fear, because we most definitely don’t want to be like that. Having grown up in a charismatic Baptist Church, I am familiar with people who are “slain in the Spirit” and start yelling and flailing their arms like crazy. For a little kid, such mannerisms were scary and I didn’t know if I wanted anything to do with the Holy Spirit.
So, mainline Protestants tend to ignore the Spirit. If rolling around is what makes one “filled with the Spirit,” we will stick to our more sedate and sensible brand of worship, thank you very much.
But in throwing the baby out with the bathwater, we tend to miss seeing the world through God’s eyes and in the end, we end up missing God.
Our text from Acts opens with the disciples holed up in a room in Jerusalem. These were the same bunch of people who never seemed to understand what Jesus was all about. And when the going got rough for Jesus, they abandoned him. This group was hardly the group that was going to lead the church.
And then, a wind comes through and envelopes the room. And then fire descends on each of them and they began to speak in other languages, which was quite a feat for these simple small-town men from Galilee. Peter addresses the crowd with wisdom we have never seen before. He tells them that in the last days, God would pour out the Spirit and sons and daughters would prophesy, young men will see visions and old men will dream dreams and even the slaves would prophesy.
Wow. So is all that happening now? I think so, but we need to be filled with the Spirit to see it. Notice that Peter didn’t say the Spirit was being poured out on the church, but on all flesh. So, God’s Spirit is at work in the world, even among those who may not know of Christ. Men and women are doing God’s work of justice in word and in deed. Even the lowly outcast is being used by God.
God’s spirit is at work in the world, but can we experience it?
One of the few things I remember from my seminary days is that the word for wind and spirit in Greek is the word pnuema. For the more mature people in the congregation, this is where we get the word pneumatic tires from- tires filled with air. I think it’s interesting that this word mean both spirit and wind, because it give us some insight into what the Holy Spirit is all about. The wind is something that can’t be contained; it goes where it wants to go. God’s Spirit is not contained in churches, but is alive beyond these walls in the world. Our job is not to bring the Spirit to people but to find out where God is already at work and join God in that work.
The Hebrew word for spirit is even more fasicinating. That name is ruach, which also means breath. Think back to the creation story when God creates humans. God fashions the bodies, but they were still dead- until God breathes into their bodies and then they come to life. Spirit here means life, because to breathe means you live, you aspire. To not breathe is to die, to expire.
We are a God-breathed people, or at least we should be. Are we a people that sees where the Spirit is blowing in the world? I can’t answer that question, only each us in our hearts can do that. I can say that looking at the world through the Spirit’s eyes is a lot like seeing the world through the eyes of a child. I want to show you a painting that was done by a local artist, Eddie Hamilton. Many of his paintings are made up of these seemingly simply figures. Now, I’ve seen a lot of paintings and they tend to be pretty serious. Eddie’s paintings tend to be childlike. There is something freeing about this picture. There is a soul of a child in these paintings and it reminds me that we are called to be like a child. Jesus said that we are to have the heart of child to be part of God’s kingdom, and it seems that the church has to have a heart of a child to see God’s Spirit at work in the world.
When I was old enough, not to mention healthy enough, I would ride my bike around the neighborhood. Being a young kid, I would have an adventure. Nevermind, that I really never rode my bike more than a block or two, I had entered into a marvelous world that was full of possibilities.
Shouldn’t that be what the church is all about? That we can go from out of the walls and see a world where God is at work and we can’t wait to a part of that?
The truth is that too often we are bogged down by the daily realities of church, we are worried that we are too small, or we fret about the finances and the phyiscial plant. I’m not saying we shouldn’t care about these things, but we get so wrapped up in these matters that we miss what God is up to in the world.
A few months ago, I had the opportunity to hear the General Minister and President of our denomination, Sharon Watkins, speak. She said something that I has stuck in my head until today. She said that the church is not here to bring people to it, but to going to the world and bring the church to the world. Too often, the goal has been to bring people to church so that they can connect with God. The assumption is that God isn’t in the world and it’s up to us to help people know God. But the fact is, God is pouring God’s Spirit out on all of creation. God is already at work in the world and our job is to work with God. There are many people who are doing God’s work and don’t know it. Our job is not to bring them to church, but to do what Peter did: tell the story of Jesus, the One who has brought salvation to the world.
Dennis McKee a former member used to ask us how we knew how God is at work in our lives. So, have you seen God at work? Were you paying attention? I am seeing God at work in the Circle of Prayer that meets for prayer. I am seeing it in someone like Jim Galvin who has a faith the size of the Grand Canyon. I see God moving all the time, when I’m paying attention.
I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Can you see the wind? Can you breathe in the Spirit? That’s a question only you can answer. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Note: The picture at the beginning is not the one that I have. However, the picture above shows the child-like spirit that is a part of Eddie's paintings.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Why the Lectionary Matters (At Least to Me)
At the church that I attend in the morning, we haven't been using the Revised Common Lectionary. In fact, we haven't used in several months. The pastor doesn't care for it as much.
I really didn't know much about the Lectionary until I entered seminary. Most of the churches I attended growing up never used a lectionary, so this was new to me. As someone who loves order, this was kinda cool, so I started using it and as long as I have been preaching, I've used the lectionary.
I've been wondering why one would use it. Of course, there is nothing in choir that states "thou shalt use the lectionary," but as I've thought about it more, I think I've come up with a reason why I use it and why it might be good for churches to use it:
Democracy.
Let me explain. The lectionary is something that is pretty public and shared with everyone, so the average joe can look up the scripture for the coming Sunday and read and study the scripture. In the old way, were the pastor chooses the scripture, the knowledge of what the texts are rests with the pastor. The congregation doesn't always know what is going to preached that Sunday and can't really look at the texts ahead of time. Maybe it's me, but I like that fact- parishoners can look at the upcoming texts along with the pastor.
The other thing is that it tends have the pastor preach texts that they would not ordinarily preach from. When the pastor decides, there is too much temptation to find verses that one likes instead of having to preach some very uncomfortable texts and wonder where the gospel can be found.
Again, the lectionary is not some law handed down from God. However, I think it has it's plusses and this is one of them.
I really didn't know much about the Lectionary until I entered seminary. Most of the churches I attended growing up never used a lectionary, so this was new to me. As someone who loves order, this was kinda cool, so I started using it and as long as I have been preaching, I've used the lectionary.
I've been wondering why one would use it. Of course, there is nothing in choir that states "thou shalt use the lectionary," but as I've thought about it more, I think I've come up with a reason why I use it and why it might be good for churches to use it:
Democracy.
Let me explain. The lectionary is something that is pretty public and shared with everyone, so the average joe can look up the scripture for the coming Sunday and read and study the scripture. In the old way, were the pastor chooses the scripture, the knowledge of what the texts are rests with the pastor. The congregation doesn't always know what is going to preached that Sunday and can't really look at the texts ahead of time. Maybe it's me, but I like that fact- parishoners can look at the upcoming texts along with the pastor.
The other thing is that it tends have the pastor preach texts that they would not ordinarily preach from. When the pastor decides, there is too much temptation to find verses that one likes instead of having to preach some very uncomfortable texts and wonder where the gospel can be found.
Again, the lectionary is not some law handed down from God. However, I think it has it's plusses and this is one of them.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Daily Lenten Thoughts- Ash Wednesday, 2007- "Extreme Makeovers"
I'm trying something for Lent. I've never been that great at doing Lenten disciplnes, but I'm still going to try again this year. For the next six weeks, I will be reading the Daily Lectionary and offering my thoughts on the text. I will do my best to post them in the morning, so you can use them if you want to follow along.
Daily Texts:
Jonah 3:1-4:11
Luke 18:9-14
Ash Wednesday Texts:
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Psalm 51:1-17
Isaiah 58:1-12
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
It's interesting that the two daily texts I read (Jonah and Luke) are also very fitting texts for today. This is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent, and what better themes to talk about than repentance and piety?
As I was reading the texts, the passage from Joel seemed to strike me the most with the phrase "rend your hearts and not your clothing." Maybe it was because I heard a report on National Public Radio this morning. The story was about presidential candidates trying to woo social conservative voters and for a moment it focused on one Tammy Bennett who is the founder of Makeover Ministries which is about "inspiring women to look good from the inside out and to be supermodels for Christ. " Ms. Bennett went on to talk about one the most important issues for her which was the "sanctity of marriage," which ususally means trying to make sure that gays and lesbians don't access to civil marriage.
As I thought about that, I then went over to the Isaiah text for today which states:
Isaiah and Joel wanted to give the Israelites a "come to Jesus" moment. God wasn't interested in outside repentance that was only mechanical, while the people were still treating others like crap. God wants a "total makeover" an examination our lives, a willingness to stop treating others terribly and start proclaiming justice in the land.
Ms. Bennett is good at outside piety, but she is also wanting to make sure that those of us love someone of the same sex are barred from even basic protections. The outside might look amazing, but the inside? Not so much.
As we begin Lent, all of us are called to look at our lives. How are we living? Are we giving honor by trying to live the life God calls us to live, or are we all for show? Can we, like the tax collector and the king of Nineveh to come before God and ask for mercy and repent? Will we allow God to "makeover" our lives?
Daily Texts:
Jonah 3:1-4:11
Luke 18:9-14
Ash Wednesday Texts:
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Psalm 51:1-17
Isaiah 58:1-12
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
It's interesting that the two daily texts I read (Jonah and Luke) are also very fitting texts for today. This is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent, and what better themes to talk about than repentance and piety?
As I was reading the texts, the passage from Joel seemed to strike me the most with the phrase "rend your hearts and not your clothing." Maybe it was because I heard a report on National Public Radio this morning. The story was about presidential candidates trying to woo social conservative voters and for a moment it focused on one Tammy Bennett who is the founder of Makeover Ministries which is about "inspiring women to look good from the inside out and to be supermodels for Christ. " Ms. Bennett went on to talk about one the most important issues for her which was the "sanctity of marriage," which ususally means trying to make sure that gays and lesbians don't access to civil marriage.
As I thought about that, I then went over to the Isaiah text for today which states:
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
Isaiah and Joel wanted to give the Israelites a "come to Jesus" moment. God wasn't interested in outside repentance that was only mechanical, while the people were still treating others like crap. God wants a "total makeover" an examination our lives, a willingness to stop treating others terribly and start proclaiming justice in the land.
Ms. Bennett is good at outside piety, but she is also wanting to make sure that those of us love someone of the same sex are barred from even basic protections. The outside might look amazing, but the inside? Not so much.
As we begin Lent, all of us are called to look at our lives. How are we living? Are we giving honor by trying to live the life God calls us to live, or are we all for show? Can we, like the tax collector and the king of Nineveh to come before God and ask for mercy and repent? Will we allow God to "makeover" our lives?
Dear God,
You are not interested in surface repentance. You call us to change and change is hard. Lord, it is easier to live for show and to please others than to actually seek repentance and renewal. In this time of Lent, rend our hearts Lord. Let us not be satisfied with rending mere clothing. As the psalmist says, Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Amen.
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