Favorites XI

The story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42) is one of the most told and most treasured stories in the New Testament.  The friendship these two women and their brother, Lazarus, had with Jesus was something far beyond extraordinary.  Their home was the kind of place to which Jesus could go without invitation.  It was a place where He always knew He would be welcomed.  When Lazarus was near death., there was no debate among the sisters.  They sent for Jesus.  They knew He would want to know and they knew He would come.   

The tenth chapter of Luke is about another moment in their shared history.  With Jesus as their house guest, the two sisters responded in two entirely different ways.  Martha, the sequential host, went to the kitchen and began making meal preparations.  On the other hand, Mary simply sat at the feet of Jesus soaking up His every word as she lavished all her attention upon Him.  In a moment of anger and resentment at her sister, Martha complains to Jesus telling Him to tell Mary to get up and help her.   It is a story of the one who could not be still and the other who could do nothing else.  One sister modeled the life of doing and the other modeled the life of being.   

Jesus' response to Martha remains an important word for those of us who have such a high regard for doing that we cannot rest in the presence of the Christ.  "Martha, Martha, you are busy and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing."  (Luke 10:42)  The Psalmist points us toward that one thing as he wrote, "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise."  (Psalm 51:17)  May it be for each one of us. 

Holy Scars

More and more I live with the conviction that God seeks to speak to us and reveal Himself to us through  Creation.  Certainly, creation serves the purpose of giving and sustaining life, but it also provides a means of holy revelation.  We catch glimpses of His presence and hear whispers of His voice in the creation which is all around us.  The Creation is not silent.  Sometimes it requires hard listening and sometimes it shouts at us in such a way we must hear.  

Today I heard that voice that cannot be heard as I saw the broken cedar tree.  When I saw its brokenness, I immediately thought that the tree was bearing a scar for all who passed by to see.  I stopped and put my hand upon the scar and even drew close to smell its distinctive aroma.  The moment could not have been more holy had I been in the sanctuary filled with symbols of the Holy and the smell of smoke and incense.   

Suddenly the scarred broken cedar tree was pointing me toward the One who was "wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities..."  (Isaiah 53:5).  In the same moment I was taken into the room where Jesus appeared despite locked doors to watch Thomas touch the scarred hands and side of the crucified and resurrected Jesus. (John 20:24-29)  The scar of the cedar tree took me to the cross as surely as if I had received the blessing of the Holy Sacrament.  Nary a word was sounded for the world to hear, but it was still a Word which settled deep in my spirit. 

The Scars

What grabbed my attention as I walked by was not the sprawling foliage of the cedar tree which had obviously grown through many a year and many a storm, but its scar.  Some might call it a broken branch.  Regardless of what it is called, it revealed the beautiful wood that is unseen inside its outer bark.  Being the person I have come to be, I could not help myself.  Lest I forget the moment I wrote myself a note, "Our scars show the beauty of our inner spirit."     

It is true, is it not?  The message of the scarred cedar tree is true.  We may see the manicured, well groomed, and never a hair out of place person, and while they may think of themselves as one of the beautiful people, we know that the truly beautiful people are the ones who are unafraid to wear their scars for others to see.  Everyone has some scars.  Even those who think they have no scars have some.  They may be afraid to let them be seen, but they still have them.  We all do.   

What most of us have learned over the years of living and suffering scars of our own is that there is beauty in those scars.  The people we value are not those who look perfect, but those who are vulnerable enough to let others know about the pain that produced the scars.  It does not mean that we need to run around showing off our scars, but it does mean that we should not be afraid of letting others know of the things that have made us who we are.  The broken often find redemption and wholeness as they hear the pain of others and see their scars.  What we have found through seeing the scars of others can be given as we dare to live unafraid to share our own.  

Favorites X

No part of the Christmas story is told with more gusto and enthusiasm than the story of the shepherds who watched their flocks by night.  It is a story of night mystery and nocturnal mayhem.  The mystery is all over the story with the appearance of the angels and the mayhem surely took place when they those scared out of their wits shepherds ran to Bethlehem leaving their sheep unattended in the field.  It is also a story which places the unexpected on center stage.  Two poor young people are the parents of the Holy Child and the first visitors are bottom dwellers in the social world.    

Over the years of watching so many live nativity scenes, I have come to understand the children have the most fun being shepherds.  There is something about their persona and their presence which captivates the imagination of the young actors who present themselves.   The truth is the shepherds are all of us.  There is nothing exceptional about them.  They are just ordinary common folks.   As they show up in the story in such a prominent way, we are reminded that Christ came for those of us who see ourselves mirrored in those shepherds.  

They surely walked away humbled that they had seen the Lord.  They left with a story they surely never tired of telling.  They saw the Christ child and worshiped Him.  Their lives would never be the same again.  May we never lose the wonder of the moment of the Christ child being born and the joy of the shepherds in seeing Him again and again in our lives.

Favorites IX

Both Matthew and Luke wrote about the birth of Jesus.  Matthew did it through the lens of Joseph and Luke chose to tell it through the experience of Mary.   When the season for celebrating the Christ event comes, we always turn to Luke's story.  No Christmas Eve worship service is complete until the second chapter of Luke is read.  As wonderful as the story of that night is to read, the story of the angel Gabriel coming to Mary to announce her part in the holy birth is unparalleled in its scope and power.   

Tradition has it that Mary was just a teenage girl when the angel came to her.  The Word of the angel was too incredible for her to grasp.  She responded much as any young woman would respond to such an impossible word.  There was much to ponder from the very beginning and after everything had been said and she had time to realize in part what was being asked of her, she said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."  (Luke 1:38)  In those moments when it might seem that God is calling us to surrender too much, we only have to remember her story to know that she is the model for absolute surrender to God.   

We sometimes forget that absolute surrender is what God is calling us to embrace.  We might want our going with God to be conditional, or convenient, but it is never spoken in that context.  As a young boy I learned to sing, "I Surrender All."  Back then I never really understood that kind of surrender and while I see more clearly in these older years, the issue of my willingness to surrender all is still a struggle.  Mary, the mother of Jesus, is our model and she reminds us that most of us still have a way to go.

The Monastic Bell

I have books on my shelves that I have found, but never read.  Sometimes it is true that a book must find us before we are ready to receive its words.  Such a book came to me as a gift a few days ago.  The book is entitled, "Domestic Monastery," by Ronald Rolheiser and is centered in monastic life.  One of the disciplines of the monastery is living according to the ringing of the monastery bell.  Whenever the monastic bell rings, the monks are to lay aside immediately whatever it is they are about and move as the bell summons them to go.  If in the midst of deep meditation, they are to stop and go the activity to which the bell summons them.    

The author then takes a huge leap into the world outside the monastery to the world where mothers raise children.  A mother is always forsaking her own needs, sacrificing her own time, performing one unselfish act after another, and moving to the next task as the need summons her.  As surely as the bell calls the monk to God's unfolding agenda, so does the next need call the mother to God's unfolding agenda.  

It was at this point that the book really grabbed hold in an unexpected way.  It took me back to a time of intense care giving when it seemed that any extended devotional time was impossible.  It was a season of caring and meeting whatever need presented itself at the moment.  As I read the book it was as if the Spirit was reminding me that the summons of the next need, such as the ringing of the monastic bell, called me to step forward into God's unfolding agenda.  It is good when our life is filled with seasons enabling prayerful solitude; but, it is also right to live according to the way His plan is calling us to live even it means there is no time to sit quietly in His presence.  There is no need for guilt in the midst of such moments for it is the season God has given.

Remembering

It was not exactly a blast from the past, but it was a name from the past.  I had not heard or thought of the name in forever.  But, there it was once again calling forth memories from another time so long ago.  In those years between being called to preach and sitting in a seminary classroom, I was given a book entitled "You Can Preach!" by Dr. G. Ray Jordan. His name recently showed up on another of his books which made its way to my shelves.  By the time I made it to seminary, he had retired and died, but he will always be remembered with much appreciation as my first preaching professor.  

There are so many folks who have a hand in shaping our spiritual journey.  Dwight L. Moody remembered a Sunday School teacher and I suspect that many a teacher has labored tirelessly without ever being aware of the influence for Christ that was given to so many.  Charles Spurgeon came to Christ under the preaching of a layman who was filling in one snowy Sunday morning for the absent preacher.  While many of us may have some preacher who made an influence in our life, it is likely that there are more lay people who pushed us forward than we could ever count.   

I never saw G. Ray Jordan, but he was as important in my preaching ministry as the professors I would sit under in the classroom.  I wish I could thank him, my high school English and Lit teacher, the leaders of some Lay Witness Missions, and a baseball coach.  When we start looking back, we are amazed and humbled by the people who invested their lives in us enabling us to walk the way of Jesus.  Perhaps, those from our past who are beyond the sound of our voice can best be thanked as we live in such a way as to make a difference for Christ in the lives of others around us.

Favorites VIII

When it comes to being most read, Isaiah most likely gets the plaque for his wall, but that does not mean the other prophets have nothing to say.  I have always had a special regard for Jeremiah. He was a prophet with a heart for his people.  The message he was given by God for the people was not something that would make him popular.  Surely, Jeremiah was no different than those who are called by God to serve as prophets, or preachers, or leaders.  They all want to be liked by the people they serve, but sometimes the message they are given to proclaim makes popularity impossible.    

In the 20th chapter of the book bearing his name, Jeremiah speaks of this struggle which is going on inside of him.  He wants to be faithful to God, but it demands so much of him.  It is such a wearisome thing.  There are those moments when he would like to take off the mantle of prophet and just be an ordinary Joe, but he cannot.  "O Lord,...I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me...For the Word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long.  If I say, 'I will not mention Him, or speak anymore in His name,' then within me is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot."  (Jeremiah 20:7-9)  Being faithful to God's call put Jeremiah in a lonely place.  It even put him in prison.  As can be seen from the comment about being a laughingstock, he was not taken seriously.  He was dismissed as of no value.    

It is a hard thing for any servant of the Lord to speak a word which goes against the common consensus of popular opinion.  Many a servant has been tempted to stand in the pulpit and chose to say something as benign and powerless as "I think,...or maybe this is true...instead of saying something as powerful as "The Word of God says..."  Those who lead us need our prayers.  They need people praying that they will speak that word which if not spoken is like fire burning in their bones and then stand alongside of them when they do.

Favorites VII

I love the story of Isaiah encountering the Lord in the Temple.  I have turned to that sixth chapter of Isaiah more times than I can count.  It is a story that is filled with mystery, glory, and the holiness of God.  It is also a story of a man who found himself standing in a moment when heaven's glory broke in upon the things of the earth.  There are many "thin moments" described in the Bible, moments when glory invades the ordinary,  but this one experienced by Isaiah is one which simply cannot be forgotten.  Who is not stilled and removed from the ordinary of the earth when those words of the prophet are spoken, "...I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty, and the hem of His robe filled the Temple."  When I quote the verse, I am still likely to go back to my King James days and say, "...His train filled the Temple."     

Who can read these words and hear them in their spirit and not want to shout, "Glory!  Glory to God in the Highest!"  It might also cause a not so Biblical "Wow!" to be added to the praise generated by the passage and the images it invokes.  The passage brings to center stage the holiness of God.  The center of Asbury College from which I received my college degree is a building known as Hughes Auditorium.  When I attended back in the late '60's, we were required to attend chapel in that building three times a week.  At the front of the auditorium inscribed high on the wall were the words, "Holiness Unto the Lord."  It was something we all saw each time we sat down and it was a word which reminded us of our own calling to live a holy life.    

The God who loves us is a Holy God.  To think of Him as something less is a serious spiritual error.  It is an error which will take us into a diminished and powerless spiritual life.  We must never forget that the God who reveals Himself to us is a Holy God.  Neither can we forget what Peter wrote to the church, "...as He who calls you is holy, be holy yourselves."  (I Peter 1:15)  Amen!

On the Road

While extended vacations are not really so much a part of my memory during the growing up days, there were some and when those times did come, we always went somewhere to church on Sunday morning.  Please know it was not my idea.  I was more of the "you don't go to church on vacations" kind of guy.  But, I was not in charge which meant when 11 o'clock came on Sunday morning, we pulled off the road to visit some church that was on the way.  My parents were those kind of folks.     

This morning I remembered with gratitude my Mom and Dad as I pulled off the road to worship in a church along the way.  It is little different now.  When I was growing up, churches had worship at 11:00 am.  Today no hour on Sunday morning is immune to being a worship hour so just showing up is risky.  I pulled into the parking lot at 10:40 thinking I was twenty minutes early only to be ten minutes late.  What was most surprising took place after the benediction as we were surrounded by a crowd of friendly people who were enthusiastic about welcoming visitors to their church.  If I lived in the town, I would be back next Sunday.  

One of the most important resources for growing a church are the people in the pews.  Preachers can preach great sermons and the musicians can touch hearts with music, but if people come and go without the warmth of personal contact with others, the church is going to soon dry up and disappear.  Being indifferent and uninterested in the strangers around us on Sunday morning is not an option for a church that really wants to make a difference for Christ in the community.  It may sound like too simple a thing, but it is an important part of any evangelistic ministry of the church.

Favorites VI

One of the first Biblical stories many of us read and learned as children was the one about David and Goliath.  The story of this shepherd boy turned giant killer shows up in the 17th chapter of I Samuel.  His brothers were at the battlefield when Jesse sent his son, David, to deliver some battle snacks to his brothers.  Hardly had David gotten to the battlefield when Goliath challenged the soldiers of Israel and to the young boy's amazement, none stepped forward.  In the absence of others, David volunteered.  Though given the king's finest armor, David laid it aside and gathered five stones from a nearby creek.   The 40th verse of the chapter records that moment, "Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine."     

Any preacher can find a hundred good sermons in the story, but the one which always stood out to this worn out preacher was the one about the stones.  David took into battle not the fine armament of skilled craftsman, but some stones God had created and placed in the bed of the creek.  David picked up five up them, perhaps, to provide the security of a second thrown.  Of course, though David carried five, he needed only one.    

We often do as David did.  When we face huge challenges, we carry a thousand "what if's" into the fray when all we need is the empowerment provided by the Spirit.  When confronted with difficulties, we fill up our pouch with the advice of those who appear to know what to do, but all we really need is a single word from God that will prove to be more than enough to direct our path and to overcome whatever challenge lies before us.  The boy David was confident God would deliver and prevail.  We could use a good dose of that childlike faith when we face our giants.

Praise in the Morning

While every morning is meant for praise, there are some mornings when it seems that if praise does not come from the places deep within where the Spirit dwells, we shall surely choke on words not said which need saying.  Such is this morning which is now unfolding.  There is more glory to behold than the eye can see.  The earth and sky and sea are praising God as soft colors stretch out across a canopy that appears to have no edge.  Flocks of birds wildly fly out over the moving water and then back again all the while adding their unique sounds to the chorus of praise enveloping the sky as it waits for the sun to finally take hold on the new day.  Even the super moon lingers in the western sky to add its praise to the creation choir.     

The Psalmist must have found himself immersed and overwhelmed by such a day as he wrote from his heart, "Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord from the heavens...Praise Him all His angels...Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars!  Praise Him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!"  (Psalm 148:1-4)  He then goes on to call forth praise from sea monsters, hail and snow, mountains, fruit trees, wild animals, and cattle.   When praise goes forth to God, it is not just the praise of mortal folks like us, but also the praise of all things created by the God and Creator of the universe.  All creation praises Him!   

Today in this morning glory I am reminded again of the way we are called to join with the rest of creation in praising the One who brings all things, the things seen and unseen, the things visible and invisible into existence as parts of the created order.  I am grateful to be connected to all I can see with these eyes that see only on this side of the veil and I am grateful that my voice and heart can be raised up in praise in this place even as an even greater praise is offered in the heavenly place.

Favorites V

Sometimes God does not wait for a boy to grow into a man before calling him.  Jeremiah was called while he was just a youth.  Mary and Joseph may have been of a marrying age in their day, but according to the standards of our day, they were just a couple of teenagers.  Another young one called by God was Samuel.  I Samuel 3:1 says, "Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli."  In the still darkness of the night, Samuel heard a voice calling his name.  Twice this happened and each time he woke up Eli, only to be told to go back to bed.  When it happened a third time, Eli told the boy, "Go, lie down; and if He calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.' "  Samuel did as he was told and when the Lord spoke, he did as Eli had told him to do.    

I wonder sometimes about our own being awakened when the place is thick with darkness and full of stillness.  Could it be that the One who brings us into sleep and then wakes us up in the morning sometimes calls us to come forth in the night for a  purpose that is only revealed to us if we dare to wake and listen?  Could it be that sometimes we are too quick to seek again sleep instead of pausing in the still darkness to seek God?  There have been times when I have been awaken from sleep and felt a need to get up and pray for someone.  I know from being attentive to the witness of others that it is not something which has only happened to me.  Who knows?  It may be the only way God can get the attention of some of us!     

Years and years ago I would keep a pad and pen by my bed so that I could write down notes from a dream, or words I had been seeking, or even some awareness of holy presence in the night.  It is a ritual I probably should once again embrace for as surely as God speaks to us through the ordinary things experienced by our conscious mind, He is likely to speak into the sub-conscious part of us; thereby,  waking us to some moment of holy presence, or divine revelation.  Maybe the writer of Ecclesiastes should have added to that third chapter, "...there is a time to sleep and a time to wake up..."

Favorites IV

When I was a little more than a boy running around in my first parish with a seminary degree, I discovered Naaman.  For those who have still not found him, his story is told in the 5th chapter of II Kings.  Naaman was a man who lived at the top of his world.  He was a Syrian general. He had the favor of the King.  When he spoke, others listened and did his bidding.  He also had leprosy.  A captured Hebrew servant girl told him about a Hebrew prophet named Elisha who had healing powers.  After a time of battling with his ego, he was finally convinced to seek him out.    

When he arrived at the prophet's house with all the pomp and circumstance of his military power, Elisha sent a servant out telling him to go wash seven times in the Jordan River.  Naaman was incensed at the lack of regard for his position as well as for being told to wash himself in some inferior and dirty Hebrew river.  His ego was too big to be told what to do by someone he regarded as a nobody.  In the midst of his internal fuming, his servants finally convinced him he had nothing to lose by going and so he went, submitting himself to the words of the Hebrew prophet.  When he got out of the water the last time, the leprosy was gone.    

God does not always restore us to wholeness according to our dictates.  We do not hold enough in our hands to demand anything from Him.  A contrite heart is what He desires in us.  Psalms 51:17 tells us, "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise."  The contrite heart is the heart that does not depend upon itself, but one that has no claim to anything and casts itself on the mercy, grace, and goodness of God.  The road to Naaman's healing was so paved as will ours.  

Favorites III

There are times in life when major decisions have to be made about who we are.  These are not like the moments of deciding which ice cream flavor is going to be chosen from the ice cream buffet.  There are some decisions which speak of our core values.  When we make them, people around us know where we stand and what is important to us.  One such decision is highlighted in the life of Joshua in the 24th chapter of the Biblical book bearing his name.  The context for the decision is a time when Joshua, the leader of the Hebrews now that Moses has died, leads the people in a moment of covenant renewal.    

Before any kind of response is called forth from the people, Joshua reminds them of what God has done for them and who they are.  Speaking for God he says, "I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and towns that you had not built and you live in them, you eat the fruit of vineyards and oliveyards that you did not plants."  (Joshua 24:13)  The question he holds before them ask if they will serve this generous and kind God, or are they going to serve the false gods of the pagan people in whose midst they live.  Joshua makes his choice clear.  "...as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."  (Joshua 24:15).   

It is a choice which is before us in our own day.  Certainly, there are no hand made images of some mythical character on our mantle or bookshelf, but the temptations to worship the gods of culture are as present for us as they were for the ancient Hebrews.  What price will we pay for getting ahead?  What will we sacrifice to keep up with the Jones?  What, or who is the object of our ultimate dependence?  To whom do we look as the Ultimate Authority in our life?  As we consider such questions, we run headlong into the words of Joshua, "...choose this day whom you will serve..." (Joshua 24:15)

Favorites II

It would be a hard thing to go through the Bible looking for some of the classic stories and not underline the Moses and the Burning Bush story.  It is not nearly as long as the Abraham story, but the story of the burning bush is a part of the Moses narrative and not the whole thing.  It begins with chapter 3 and goes 17 verses deep into chapter 4.  As the story unfolds Moses is a settled fugitive hiding in plain sight out in the wilderness where he has married the daughter of his boss.  Like so many Biblical stories, it has its origin midst the sheep.  

It is a phenomena of creation which catches Moses' attention and draws him into a powerful moment of experiencing God.  From within the bush that was burning yet not consumed comes the voice of God calling Moses by name.  Moses is immediately told two things.  One is to keep his distance and the second is to take off his sandals.  He is told both things because he is on ground saturated with the holiness of God.   As Moses listens, he is reminded of what he has not forgotten and told that he is to return to Egypt to bring freedom to his enslaved kinsmen.    

In so many ways Moses is like most of us.  He knows that God is calling him to do something and he wants no part of it.  It takes more than a few minutes for him to be convinced that it is safer to risk the anger of Pharaoh rather than risk the anger of God.  I think often of my own calling to preach.  It took me over six months to accept what I knew God wanted me to do with my life.  Even today as I hear God calling me to involve myself with others at the  point of their need, I suddenly become like Moses again and need a moment of convincing.  God may not be calling us to something as grandiose as freeing an enslaved nation, but He is surely calling us to open our eyes to the misery and the need of a host of people who are living in our neighborhoods.  If we do not see them, it is only because we are blind and living with a heart hardened like Pharaoh for they are all around us.  

Favorites I

One of the most well known Biblical stories is the story of Abraham. It is a long story.  It takes thirteen chapters to tell and spans one hundred years.  (Genesis 12:1,  25:8)  From Ur to Egypt and back to the land of promise he goes before being buried in a cave he purchased from the Hittites.  His wife was named Sarah and he fathered a number of children; however,  Isaac and Ishmael were the two who buried him.  Many things could have been written in his obituary, but the writer of Hebrews did it best. (Hebrews 11:1-8)    

It is true that Abraham had a rather extensive geographic journey, but the journey which really counted and the one for which he is remembered is his journey of faith.  Genesis 12:1 remembers the Word the Lord said to Abram, as he was known in the beginning, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you."  Hebrews 8:8 speaks of the beginning of Abraham's journey with the words, "By faith Abraham obeyed...and he sat out, not knowing where he was going..."  As we see the story of Abraham unfolding, we see the spiritual prototype of all those who love God and seek to respond to the invitation of Jesus, "Follow me."  (John1:43)  

What seemed true for all of us in the beginning of our faith journey is never true.  In the beginning we have some notion that we know where the call of Christ is going to take us.  We start out thinking we have some notion about what to expect.  The truth is that those who hear the call of Christ to go accept a call to go to a land, or a place, or a life which might be called "Know not where" for in the beginning, we are like Abraham in that we really have no idea where heeding the call of Christ is going to take us.  To see the life of Abraham is to see what it looks like when we cast aside everything and walk where God through Christ leads us.

Favorites

I was fortunate growing up in that my mother made sure I had a Bible long before I could pronounce all the names of those Old Testament kings.  It was a red letter edition of the King James Bible.  It was a black bound book with a zipper around it and inside there were some colorful pictures of moments like Noah building his ark and David slaying Goliath.  Long before I had an understanding of the Bible as a book inspired by the Holy Spirit, I was reading all those great stories of the men and women of faith.  It was the beginning of a life long love for the Word of God.    

All of us have stories, or sections of Scripture which are considered favorites.  When I was a child going to a small country church that my parents attended when they were children, we were given the opportunity at Sunday night worship to stand and recite a memorized verse of Scripture.  When we did, a star was put by our name on a poster board which hung in a corner.  Since I liked stars, I made sure I memorized at least one verse of Scripture each week.  Over the years the stories which were favorites then have been replaced by some others, but I have never forgotten those first years of Biblical training.  

I sat down the other day and noted some of the passages to which I have gone time and time again over the years.  If you only could keep a dozen stories or sections of Scripture, which ones would you tear out for keeping and reading again and again in the future?  Over the next several weeks, I plan to focus on some which are on a listing I have done.  Perhaps, as you read these upcoming blog posts, you might find opportunity to share some of the ones you could list.  

The Gift of Hospitality

When I was a pastor with a Wednesday night program being offered each week, I was always  conscious of the way visitors were received and welcomed.  Even though there may be a program attached to it, the Wednesday night program is built around a fellowship meal.  However, it can become a tough place for a visitor because the regulars tend to sit at the same table with the same people week after week and newcomers can end up alone midst a crowd.   

After years and years of being absent from Wednesday night, my wife and I decided to attend and be one of those newcomers.  Though we arrived late and most folks were eating when we arrived, one guy welcomed us, showed us the way through the serving line, and later as we were eating, he showed back up at our table for some good table talk.  He was not wearing a name tag which identified him as the Wednesday night host.  He seemed more like a regular, but he brought with him to the table the gift of hospitality.  I doubt he thought of himself as practicing such a gift, but he truly was and it was a blessing.    

The Scripture talks about the way we treat the strangers in our midst.  We are to be hospitable, caring, and generous.  Our normal day affords us many opportunities to offer the gift of hospitality.  Certainly, as students gather, there will be those who stand out in their aloneness.  When we gather on Sunday for worship, there are people present who are worshiping alone.  If we are paying attention to the faces and the hearts of the people we encounter, we will see the stress and pressure of living etched upon their countenance and know that we are in the midst of a moment when we can generously offer the gift of kindness and care.  As we offer care to the strangers in any arena of our life, we are practicing this gift of hospitality and people are blessed.

Tear Up the Obit

Back in the day when I went to seminary, there were people who were saying that God was dead.  I went to theological school and got my degree anyway.  Today there are people looking around and saying that the church is dead.  If not dead, it is dying, on its deathbed.  There are some signs of its demise.  One sign is the lack of people who enter its doors.  Even though some churches may be full and need law enforcement officers to get folks in and out of the traffic, the percentage of the total population outside the walls is much greater than those inside. Secondly, never, or so it seems, has there been such denominational turmoil present within the organized structure of the church.    

I never really got out my sack cloth and ashes when I heard that God was dead and neither have I done so recently upon reading what I regard as premature obituaries of the church.  What is often forgotten by some of the current naysayers is that the church is more than an institution, it is a community.  To go a step farther is to say the church is not just a community, but a spiritual community.  It is as invisible as the Kingdom of God itself.  We see expressions of the Kingdom of God in our world, but we see nothing physical to limit, or confine it.  It is constantly expressing itself in the hearts of people who love God as well as through the actions of the Holy Spirit.  

Such is also true of the spiritual community.  It cannot die because it is of God. It may flow out of sight, underground like some rivers, exist out on the fringes of religious life, but as long as the Spirit moves among us, the church's survival is guaranteed.  It may be experienced in a different way, but make no mistake, as surely as God survived a death threat back in my seminary days, so will the church survive one in these days of my retirement.

Not Dead Yet

There was a time when I wondered about the leadership of the church for the future.  Maybe it was something born out of my egotism when I retired.  Maybe there was within me a deep seated thought that the church might not survive without me.  As time passed I saw that none of the churches I had served had closed their doors.  An even more ego crushing realization came when I realized no one, no District Superintendent and no Bishop, was going to be calling to seek my wisdom.  All during this time of waiting for some SOC (Save our Church) to sound, I was looking around lamenting the lack of leadership in the church.   

Finally, I came to my senses and started looking around with fresh eyes and began to see some preachers who could really bring it to the pulpit and some others who were very gifted in leading worship.  I started hearing people in the pews sharing stories of how their pastor had been there for them in some moment of need.  The pews had people in them, lots of people. The church I had figured to be on its death bed was not dying. It was actually thriving.  Without me!   

The truth is  God never stops raising up leaders for His church.  Some of them fill pulpits and some of them fill the pews.  While it is a good thing to hear a preacher bragging on his church, it is such a blessing to hear lay folks doing so with an enthusiasm that is contagious.  But, what is most exciting is to hear talk about the Christ, His love, and His transforming influence upon the people who know themselves as the ones called to be the church.  Hearing people talking about Jesus is good for the soul of this old preacher and surely good for the souls of those who are hearing it.

Keep On Praying

"Are you a preacher?"  the stranger asked.  Since I had just offered the invocation at an event we were both attending, it was not too risky a question.  "So why pray," she went on, "if God already knows the outcome of the election and Jesus said to pray 'Thy will be done.'   Not much reason to pray, is there?"  All I wanted to do was kick back and listen to some locals play country music and suddenly this strange woman was making me get my clergy robe out of the closet.   

Hers was a good question.  As Wendell Berry has his character, Jayber,  saying, "Once you pray Thy will be done, what's left to pray about?"  It was easy to be "preacherish"  and quote a couple of Scripture verses like the one which says to pray without ceasing and another which tells us the prayer of a righteous person counts much.  But, as I soon realized, she wanted to tell me more about what she thought than to hear what I might think so I brought our theological discussion to a close with another not so profound observation about our motivation in praying,  "Is it about getting, or being?"   

My new friend probably walked off more satisfied about the way she confounded the preacher than satisfied with the answer to her question.  It was not one of those moments when there was time to get an end of conversation survey so I will never know.  What I do know is that prayer is a greater mystery than can possibly be unwound in a two minute conversation.  What I do know is that God in His mercy makes use of our prayers in accomplishing the work He intends to do.  What I also know is that I am going to keep on praying.

Age Matters Not

When Jeremiah put into words the way God had worked in his life, he did so by remembering the beginning moments.  Beginning in verse 4 of the first chapter, the prophet wrote, "Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.'  Jeremiah tried to get out from under that word by reminding God that he was only a boy.  It was something the Lord knew when He spoke the calling words.  The Lord told him, "Do not say, 'I am only a boy;' for you shall go to all to whom I send you."  (Jeremiah 1:7)    

The Lord has called many a boy and many a girl to serve Him, to do His bidding, and to put their future in His hands.  I was not quiet eighteen years old when I heard the call of Christ in such a way that  I knew it was time to quit with the business of being half hearted in my response to Him.  Many of the men and women I have encountered on the walk of faith heard that call when they were only a boy, or girl.  Mary was a young teenage girl when the angel of the Lord spoke to her and Joseph was likely not too much older.  Many of the saints of the church responded to God at a youthful age.  Never should we take lightly the reality that God works in the lives of people of all ages.  

Over the years there have been a number of children who have shown up long before the age of confirmation declaring their love for Jesus and their desire for baptism.  It never seemed appropriate to suggest waiting until they got older.  It was not mine to question if God could call a child to faith, but to acknowledge that He could and did.  Those who are only boys and girls have a circle of influence for Christ far different than that of the gray hairs and God may have called them to Himself to reach one single soul who would not be reached apart from their witness and care.  Even as no one can be too old to be useful to God, neither can anyone be too young. 

Contact Card

Long years ago I did something everyone else was doing.  Well, actually, I have done what everyone else was doing more than once.  My mother used to ask me what I would do if everyone else was jumping off a cliff.  Maybe your mother did that one, too.  However, some years ago when I was mostly outside of her constant scrutiny, I had what I called business cards printed.  Most of the preachers I knew were doing it.  Later on I changed the name to calling cards so I could leave them at a door when no one inside want to open it for the preacher.  I know it happens because I remember being looked at from a side window as I stood ringing the doorbell.    

Life has changed.  What has changed is that house to house visitation is not done too much anymore.  A few weeks ago I had some cards printed and since I am not working like I did in the past, I felt obligated to find a new name for those cards so now the business cards/calling cards are contact cards.  I can pull one out of my shirt pocket and immediately the recipient knows how to get in touch with me in several different ways.  Life has changed and is changing.    

One thing which has not changed is that God does not need a contact card to know me, who I am, and how to find me.  The book of Psalms tells me that God "...has searched me and knows me...He formed my inward parts...(Psalms 139:1, 13)   As it was the prophet Jeremiah, so is it for each of us.  ""Before I formed you in the womb I knew you...(Jeremiah 1:5) .   God knows us.  He knows what makes us tick.  He knows the things we wish He did not know.  He know everything there is to know about us.  Why we would pretend it is any different only speaks to our foolishness.  One thing is certain.  When we stand at the entrance to the Pearly Gates, we will not need a contact card.

Not My Thing

Many have been the time when I have heard someone beg out of helping with some ministry with the words,  "Preacher, that is not my thing.  I am not comfortable doing it."  Recognizing discomfort with some ministry is thought of as a reason not to participate when it might be Gods' way of affirming to us that involvement would mean responding to His call, or leading.  We often want the Holy Spirit to lead us and, in fact, we often pray for such a thing to happen.  What we do not recognize is that His call, or leading, is likely to take us out of our comfort zones.   

How different the story of the people of God would have been had Moses persisted in His refusal of God's call!  He did not perceive himself as a leader, or a speaker.  He was a shepherd out in the wilderness.  Ananias who went to pray for Saul of Tarsus is another example.  What if he had declared what God was calling him to do as too risky and stayed in his comfortable chair at home?  Of course, no one was called to leave a comfort zone as much as Mary who heard the Spirit announcing God's plan for her.   If these people had persisted with "This is not my thing,' we would surely be telling a different story about the Kingdom of God.   

So, let us turn this thing around.  How different the story of the Kingdom of God will be if we say, "Lord, You know what You ask is not my thing, but here am I."  What if we say what Isaiah said, "Here am I; send me!"  (Isaiah 6:8).  The truth is when God calls us, or leads us forward, He is most likely going to be doing so in such a way that we will have to turn loose our comfort zones in order to be obedient.  When we look at those who walked on the Biblical stage, we always see them being led from a place of comfort to a place where it cannot be done apart from dependence.  When He leads us, it is to a life where we will grow in our faith and our dependence on Him.  Who among would not want to go to such a place?

Humming the Sermon

It was a Sunday worship with stirring music.  Sometimes those of us who lead worship choose songs that are thematic with the rest of the service, or which seem to fit hand and glove with the sermon.  Call me one who has been guilty of choosing music difficult to sing for the sake of it fitting the points of the sermon.  This past Sunday was not one of those days when the music was difficult and strange.  In many churches, the tradition of camp meeting is remembered in August and the songs are the old favorites and so it was in the sanctuary where I worshiped.   

The choir even got into the act as they sang a medley which began with "I'll Fly Away."  By the time they finished, most of us were tapping our feet on the floor, doing some light clapping, and singing the songs under our breath.  When the choir finished, the congregation broke out in applause.  I was so caught up in the moment that I spoke from my fourth row pew with enough volume to be heard by the director of  music, "Let them do it again and we will sing with them!"  Such enthusiastic spontaneity shocked this normally reserved Methodist preacher.    

It must certainly be understood that I have been a preacher all my life.  As a preacher I have always regarded the sermon as an important moment in the worship service.  Good preaching touches both mind and heart.  Preaching is not a moment for teaching, but a moment for speaking God's Word to the heart.  Good music does this as well and maybe even more so.  Many of the great hymns of the church teach good theology, but they also stir the heart.  What the preacher said last Sunday is also true as he said, "I have never heard of anyone leaving the church humming the sermon!"  Neither have I.

To Fish or Not to Fish

As a preacher and pastor, I invested my life in getting people inside the church building on Sunday morning.  On more than one occasion I had folks tell me they did not need to be in the building on Sunday because they could worship God on the golf course, or while they drifted down the river in a fishing boat.  I never doubted that God could be worshiped in those settings, but I did wonder if getting the ball in the hole, or catching fish on the line might not have been a greater concern than the worship of God.   

One thing I have certainly learned from these years of living midst the creation of the farm is that God can be worshiped outside of the sanctuary.  It is something which can be done at any moment.  When I made the transition to the farm, I had no understanding that God would make Himself known in the creation and speak through it at any given moment.  What was important was not Him revealing Himself, but me learning to listen and see and pay attention.   A lesson learned after some time of being immersed in the creation was the fact that the church provided a worship space within four walls for worship while the creation provided a grand cathedral with no walls at all.    

Despite being able to worship God in what I have come to know as the cathedral of creation, I still need the worship that takes place inside the four walls of the place known as the church.  I need the Sacrament.  I need lifting my heart in praise with other believers.  I need to be in the place where the saints have trod and sat.  I need what happens inside those four walls.  My golfing and fishing members made it an "either-or" thing, but it is not.  It is a "both-and" thing.  God can be worshiped inside the four walls, or outside of them.  What is important is that we live doing it.

In the Deep Crater

While I have always understood the value of a disciplined spiritual life and while I have for the most part fleshed out through practice such an understanding, I also know there have been times when practicing a disciplined spiritual life was something I could not do.   As I reflect over the years of walking the way I set out to walk when I gave my life to Christ, I remember two major moments in my life which so shook my life that I could not find my way to my knees and neither did I find myself with enough energy to read the Word.  There are times when life seems to blow up and we find ourselves in the bottom of a deep crater from which we cannot climb.   

In those moments when we cannot pray, when our spirit cannot speak the Godly words, and when we are too beaten down to look up, we need to keep before us the reality that others are praying for us.  A blessings in such times is knowing that when we cannot pray, others are praying for us.  Being in that kind of darkness does not speak of a loss of faith so much as it speaks of a need to be held up and sustained by the prayers of others.  A friend of mine who went through one of those after death experiences speaks of a moment in that world between here and there when he caught a glimpse of gathered saints praying for him.  It was life giving.

All of us have been a part of that crowd of praying saints as our family members and friends became the sufferers.  We held them up when they could not stand.  We prayed for them when they could not pray.  That such a moment might come to us may be a surprise, but it should not, for we all come to moments when the struggle is too great to stand alone.  When they come, and they will, let us receive with gratitude the grace that is offered to us when we are bent, broken, bleeding, and trying to stay on the road that takes us Home.  When we cannot hold ourselves up, others are doing the work of holding us up through their prayers.

Spiritual Disciplines

Having a daily time set apart for devotions which include disciplines like praying, reading the Bible, or sitting quietly listening for the voice of God is not going to happen with the kind of results we would like if we are not willing to make some kind of effort each day.  Knowing what we ought to do, or even wanting to do, will not enable us to grow into a deeper relationship with God.  If we are going to be the person of faith we talk about being, it will only be because we commit ourselves to a disciplined and loving relationship with the Creator who brought us into being.   

It is certainly clear that spiritual disciplines have no saving power.  The Word of God says that salvation comes to us because of a gift of grace on God's part and the response of  repentance and faith on our part.  Ephesians 2:9 addressed this illusion as it declares that salvation is "not the results of works."  Spiritual disciplines do not have the power to save; instead, they enable our hearts to experience intimacy with God. Spiritual disciplines remind us that God is interested in the things which stir within us.  They provide for us a means of understanding what God is about in the place where He has put and how we can share with Him in the work of the Kingdom of God.  If we are really not interested in such things, then spiritual disciplines are mostly a waste of time for us.   

Spiritual disciplines do not save us, but they put us in position to serve God.  They do not enable us to put pressure on God to what we think He should do, or what we want Him to do.  Instead, through spiritual disciplines we are enabled to see and understand what He wants us to do.  If we want to know what God wants us to do and how He plans for us to serve him today in the place where we are living, then the best and only way to really find out is to block out some time for Him each day and to do it out of love instead of duty.

Hungry at the Table

Mostly I was surprised when I found my pew, looked up, and saw the Table that had been prepared for all of us.  Like a child called in from play, I did not realize how hungry I was till I saw the Table there in the holy space.  Eager I became to see the bread lifted and broken with the words, "The body of Christ broken for you."   Like one overcome with thirst I watched as the pitcher was raised and the holy sacrament was poured into the waiting cup with the words, "The blood of Christ shed for you."  I did not mean to feel overwhelmed with the love which suddenly seemed to flood my soul and neither was I prepared for the tears which filled my eyes as I knelt in my place to wait.    

 

Charles Wesley's old hymn began to stir in my spirit.  "How can it be that thou my God shouldst die for me?  Amazing love!   How can it be...?  The Holy Sacrament which I have been privileged to offer to others an uncountable number of times in the past fifty years has never tasted so much like mercy, so much like grace, and so much like love as it has in these days of being on the outside of the altar as a beggar hungry and thirsty for the soul's life giving food.  All too soon the robed one spoke the benedictory words calling me to rise that another might come and take a place at the Table.    

 

Yet, I rose knowing that it was not my place that was taken for my place was special as was the place of the one who followed.  We were each, every single one of us, welcomed to the Table to be served by the sacred Christ and to be blessed by Him with an assurance that forgiveness was ours to claim and a place at the heavenly Table as well.  "Since I met this blessed Savior, since He cleansed and made me whole, I will never cease to praise Him, I'll shout it while eternity rolls.  He touched me, He touched me, and O the joy that floods my soul..."

What We Have Forgotten

More and more I find myself being drawn to the first chapter of Genesis and more specifically to the  31st verse of that first chapter.  The 31st verse comes at what the Word describes as the conclusion of the sixth day of creation which might also be understood in a sense as the completion of the creation.  Completion is not the precise word to use in that the creation of the creation is not a static event once done and forever completed, but something which is constantly happening and unfolding all around us.  Nonetheless, in the context of the Biblical record of the beginning of all things, the 31st verse is a word of being done and a word of completion.   

All of this is what makes this 31st verse so noteworthy for us.  After the creative act of creation is done and just before God enters into the rest of the seventh day, there comes this Word which says, "God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good."  As we read this word, "it was very good," we do so remembering that in six prior verses the Scripture reads at the conclusion of a creative act, "And God saw that it was good."  Only when it is all done, do we read this word which declares what God has done to be not just good, but very good.   

Does not this word of beginning speak something important to us?  Does it not speak a word we often appear to have forgotten?   Is it true that we have forgotten that we come from God?  As surely as we came from our mother's womb, so have we been begotten by God as His sons and daughters?  Is it not also true that it is not just what we have done that brings sin into our life, but what we have forgotten?

Enter the Mission Field

Over the years I have been to a few churches which had at the exit of the parking lot a sign which read, "You are now entering the mission field."  The every Sunday pew sitters in the those churches likely drive past that sign every Sunday without giving it much thought.  Sometimes a word said too often is a word not heard.  It is still a good reminder of the obvious.  We do not attend worship on Sunday just for the good feelings, but to allow the worship to do for us what reading the Word is intended to do, "...to equip us for every good work."  (II Timothy 3:17).   

There was a time in my ministry when it seemed to me that sending mission teams to other countries was a poor use of resources.  According to my misguided view back then, more could be accomplished by sending the money required to send people instead of actually sending the people.  Such was my view until I went to a church that was already committed to sending mission teams before I ever arrived.  My opinions did not cool their spirit.  Actually, their spirit enabled me to see that I was very wrong.  When people came back from mission team work, they had an eye to do missions out the back door as well as far away.      

Those returning mission team members understood that the mission field was just outside the parking lot of the church and they went.  Anyone who does not see them is not looking very hard.  Find a shut in, or someone who is doing full time care for a loved one, or a single parent whose life is stretched beyond belief, or some community feeding ministry, or some older person who has trouble keeping the grass cut and you may find beyond that exit sign at the church parking lot an entrance sign into the mission field.  

No Editing Needed

Of course, it is true that the Scripture contains words.  Another way of referring to the Scripture is to call it the Word.  It is a way of affirming its uniqueness, its holiness, and its authority.  The Scripture is not just any collection of words and phrases, but it is the Word, meaning there is none like it.   The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to young Timothy and one of the things he did was to underscore the place of the written Word of God.  "All scripture is inspired by God..." (II Timothy 3:16).  Some find it strange that the Word defines itself, but what must always be remembered is that the voice heard in the Scripture is not Paul's, or Peter's, or Matthew's, but God's.     

God is the One who takes credit for the Scripture.  How we view it makes no difference.  We can point out inconsistencies.  We can question some of the chronology.  We may even from our educated perspective declare that God did not mean to say what it appears that He said.  No matter what we think, or say about it, the author of the Scripture is still God.  He obviously used people like you and me to write the words on a scroll, but He is still the One whose Spirit led the writer to write what was written.  The Scripture is not simply a literary work created by one human being, but a holy writing which takes into account the faith journey, the experience, and the circumstances of the one who held the pen.  Even as the Spirit shapes our heart so that it more closely bears the resemblance of Jesus, so did the Spirit use what the writers brought to the table to jointly create a Word that is first of all inspired.  

"All scripture is inspired by God..." says the Word about itself and then it goes on to declare its sufficiency.  It needs nothing more from you and me, or anyone else.  God is perfectly willing to let His inspired Word stand alone with His name attached to the front page.  It is enough unto itself.  It needs nothing more.  We may think from time to time that something could or should be said differently, but it His Word and it needs no editors.

The Minutia

The one thing we will never know how to wear are the shoes that belong to someone else.  We may think that one size fits all.  We may think that having experienced loss, we can understand the loss of another.  There may be similarities between our experience and the experience of another, but the differences are always found in the minutia.  The minutia is where the real pain dwells.  The minutia is where life is lived and the minutia is where the memories are stored.  It is what makes the shoe fit differently even though it looks exactly like one we ourselves recently wore.   

Compassion does not require perfect understanding of another's plight, it only requires love and concern.  We cannot give understanding to another, but we can give compassion.   Compassion comes from our heart; if understanding comes, it comes from the mind.  When life is being turned upside down, we long for touches of the heart.  One of the most out of step words we can offer to a sufferer is to say, "I understand what you are going through."  We do not understand.  The minutia gets in the way.  I remember a friend who called in a very difficult hour only to say at the very beginning, "I do not understand..."  He did not, but understanding was not required for me to be touched by his compassionate spirit.    

In those dark hours, it is finally enough  to know that God understands and that He is with us.  What cannot be known by those who love us is known by Him.  Words from the Scripture declare this to us   "Tho' I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me, Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."  (Psalm 23:4).  "You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in Your bottle.  Are they not in Your record?"  (Psalm 56:8).  God is the One who understands and He is the One who is always alongside of us.