A Slow Read

If you are like me, the first eighteen verses of the fifth chapter of John are read with much attention, but as we go forward into the rest of the chapter, we start getting bogged down. It seems that the wordy bog which at first is grabbing our ankles is soon grabbing at our knees pulling us deeper into some bog which demands too much effort.  What we end up doing is finishing up the healing story told in the first half of the fifth chapter and moving ourselves to the feeding of of the five thousand at the beginning of the sixth chapter.  

As a result we miss the hard challenging words that Jesus spoke to the Jews who were attacking Him.  It is a bold section of teaching in which Jesus draws a line in the sand.  He clearly speaks of a Father-Son relationship existing between Himself and God.  "Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him."  (John 5:13).  A very bold word is being spoken to these Jews who have been taught to look for Him, but they cannot see Him.  "The Father has sent me...Yet you refuse to come to Me to have life." (John 5:36, 40).  

It is interesting and tragic that so many of our day refuse to hear Jesus as He speaks words that continue to have life and power even though centuries have past.  Our society is filled with people who like the Jews of Jesus's day are looking for another.  They do not have eyes to see the One who has been sent from the Father God to us and for us. They seem unable to hear His Words.  The Words recorded between the two stories is worthy of a slow reading.  It is a Word which points us to the Son who has come to reveal the way for each one of us.

Jesus' Encounter with Religion

The fifth chapter of John tells the story of Jesus healing a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years.  Jesus found him at a pool called Bethzatha where "lay many invalids--blind, lame, and paralyzed." (John 5:3). It was believed that when the water was stirred up, it had healing powers, but only for the first one who stepped into the pool.  Having no one to help him, the man who had lived with a thirty-eight affliction was always too late.  Jesus saw him and told him, " 'Stand up, take your mat and walk.' At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk."  (John 5:8-9). 

It was then that religion walked into the room.  When the self-righteous Jews saw him, they could not see that he was healed and rejoice with him.  All they could say was, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat."  (John 5:10).  They could no see a man sick for thirty-eight years made well, but a man who was breaking Sabbath law.  Religion can really get in the way of spirituality.  It can bind seekers of God by demanding they adhere to restrictive rules.  Religion says what we do is more important than who we are.  Religion says only those who are like us can come to table where the Sacrament is served.  Religion tells us where to give our gifts of money and how of it we should give.  Religion tells us we can only support and be a part of the body of Christ by supporting the institutional church. 

I must confess I got tired of religion before I retired from the ministry of the church.  I became weary of those who could not see the service given to others because they could only see the money it cost.  I became weary of dealing with those who saw others in terms of how much financial benefit they could bring to the church while not really pursuing the broken.  I love the church.  I have loved and served it all my life, but I have also seen it when it seemed too occupied with serving self instead of the Christ.  I love the church, but I grieve for it when it puts its security above the spirituality of its people.

Long Distance Work

I found myself reading the story of Jesus being in Cana of Galilee for the first time since He changed water into wine at a wedding.  (John 4:46).  While there, an important official came from Capernaum to plead for the healing of his son "...for he was at the point of death." (John 4:47).  As the official begs for Jesus to accompany him home where his son is dying, there is a verbal exchange between the official and Jesus which ends with Jesus saying, "Go; your son will live." (John 4:50).  The official believed and headed home.  Jesus stayed in Cana of Galilee.

On the way the father met one of his servants who told him, "Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him." (John 4:52).  It was the next verse which really spoke to me as the Word of God for this day and for this moment in my life. Verse 53 reads, "The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, 'Your son will live.' " Of course, it said what is obvious. The power of Jesus is not limited by distance.  It was not necessary for Jesus to be standing beside the child's bedside in order to bring healing into his life which brings up an equally obvious truth.  

While it is true that Jesus abides with us, being able to see Him present is not a requirement for Him to work in our lives.  When we struggle with pain or illness, feel alone and abandoned. and wonder if Jesus is really hearing the desperate prayers we are crying out to heaven, it is assuring to realize that though unseen, He is able to touch our lives with His hand of mercy, compassion, and healing.  Distance, time, and the physical circumstances in which we live matter not.  When we pray, "Lord, have mercy," He is with us.

There and Back

I have read a good bit about heaven, but I have never been.  In recent years there have been some who say they made the trip, stayed awhile, and came back to their lives on earth.  They have told their story in books and even movies.  I am not one to say their story is not true.  The reason I cannot live with skepticism is because of the story of Lazarus.  It is not in me to say that the Holy Scripture propagates untruth and neither can I imagine Jesus not bringing Lazarus back from the dead. This is the story of 11th chapter of the gospel of John.   

Either Jesus went to the tomb of His friend who had been dead for three days and cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" (John 11:43), or He did not.  I choose to believe He did and Lazarus did as he was told.  Did the spirit of Lazarus wander around in some invisible virtual space, or was he united with the God who created him?  I choose to believe not in his floating around in some strange world, but that in those days he experienced the glory of heaven.  I wonder, too, if Lazarus grabbed hold of the gate of heaven when he heard his name, or if he returned willingly at the call of Jesus. These are thoughts for speculation and might embellish a weak sermon, but the truth is Lazarus made the trip to the eternal home and then was called by Jesus to return.  

The truth is I know very little about the ins and outs of heaven, but I do know that the Word of God speaks of it as home.  God has not only come to dwell with us in the person of Jesus, but the Word tells us He will dwell with us, His people.  "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be His peoples, and God Himself will be with them." (Revelations 21:3).  What heaven looks like is unimportant because of the One who dwells in this invisible realm.  It is and will be a realm empty of tears, empty of death, empty of "mourning and crying and pain."  (Revelation 21:4). I would not be a bit surprised if old Lazarus did not grab the gate and hold on for everything he was worth!

At the Cross

When I was a seven year old boy grieving for a father who died too soon, I thought a lot about heaven. I was told my father who was not here was in heaven.  I had no reason to doubt what I was told by those who knew more than me.  About the same time I concluded that if there was a heaven, there had to be a God.  I remember looking for Him in the white billowing clouds that blew across the sky.  Not knowing exactly where God could be found, it made sense to look upward toward where I figured heaven to be.  

Some respond to loss and tragedy with anger directed toward God.  Some declare He cannot possibly exist, or He would prevent tragedies like mine and others.  The seven year old boy I once was discovered his first awareness of God in the midst of impossible to understand loss.  From that time going forth, I had my eye open for God.  Of course, I never found Him with my seven year old understanding of God and heaven.  It was actually some years later that He found me and called me to forsake a dead end search.  Knowing God does not begin with finding Him, but in coming to see and know His revealing presence in the world.  

The One for whom so many like myself have searched cannot be found through our futile search, but can only be known through His revealing grace.  Many years after I was seven, I knelt at the foot of the cross of Calvary and the One I sought as a seven year old boy was revealed to me.  There I came to know God as the One who loved me enough to willingly suffer loss, grief, and a broken heart.  There at the foot of the cross, God revealed Himself as One full of forgiveness, unconditional love, and unfathomable grace.  At the foot of the cross the God I sought revealed Himself and showed me the way Home to the prize of heaven.    

Kneeling

Recently I have worshipped in the Catholic Church and the Episcopal Church.  I am not turning in my credentials as a Methodist pastor, I have just been visiting.  One of the things I have noticed is that these folks spend a lot of time on their knees.  Kneeling rails are on the back of each pew and everyone but me seemed to know exactly when the knee time began and ended.  Some people even come in and immediately go to the kneeling posture.  

I grew up in a Methodist tradition when kneeling was not as uncommon as a shooting star.  We did not kneel on kneeling rails in the pews, but went to the altar up front to kneel and pray.  Most Sunday night worship services (another anachronism) ended after prayer time at the altar.  It has been a long time since I have seen a Methodist kneeling.  Why, we don't even bother to kneel while receiving communion.  We just get up, walk up front, hold out our hands and receive the Communion without breaking stride.  It could be said that it is almost as fast as the drive through at the fast food joint.  

I commend my Catholic and Episcopalian brothers and sisters for kneeling so much.  I wish the church that ordained me could once again embrace the practice of inviting people to kneel.  Kneeling is good for the ego.  It gives it some much needed perspective.   Kneeling is good for the soul.  Modeling a contrite heart is a good thing.  An old friend and Episcopal priest used to say, "There is a God and it ain't you!"  Kneeling helps us remember. 

Morning Repentance

"Lord, I am not what I seem to be.  I find myself doing those things I ought not to do and at the same time I do not do those things that I ought to do. (Romans 8:19).  It is not the visible things I do which trouble me, but those thoughts and attitudes lingering in a heart which looks like to others that it longs for nothing but Your love.  Forgive me, Lord, Jesus.  Each time I come to the moment of receiving the bread and the cup in holy gatherings, I see Your unconditional love and the sin in me which still seeks to control.  

Along with all the others I must confess that I have sinned against You, not once, but more times than I can count.  How grateful I am for Your mercy and grace.  I must also confess, Lord Jesus, that my sin is not just in my thoughts, but also in my word and deed.  I see my neighbor in need and look the other way.  I find it too easy to justify my not doing by saying I know not what to do.  You have never asked anything of me except to love You with my whole heart and even this I fail to do.  The heart I have given is the heart I often reach out to take back.  Lord, how can You invite me to Your table?  

I know I am not worthy to be present, but to be present is life giving to this weary soul.  Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me and once again I ask for the blessing of Your forgiveness.  Strengthen me, Lord.  Keep showing me the way.  Enable me by the power of Your Holy Spirit to live in Your will and to know nothing but hunger for righteousness.  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit I pray and ask once more for the blessings of grace which abide in Your heart.  Amen"