Middle of the Night Prayers

The boy Samuel heard God calling his name in the night.  Maybe he was awake, but it seems more likely that he was sleeping and found himself brought into consciousness by the sound of a voice in his ear.  Joseph, the husband of Mary, seems to have had a nighttime caller in his bedroom as well.  The Scripture says an angel appeared to him in a dream which strongly suggests he, like Samuel, was sleeping.  Maybe there was something to folks sleeping during my preaching that I never considered!

 

However, as we think about just those two stories of God coming in the night, it makes us take a second look at those moments when we find ourselves being strangely awaken during the night and unable to fall back into sleep.  Could it be that God sometimes wakes us up because it is a moment when praying would be of greater value than sleeping?  A friend who nearly died from a gunshot in the middle of the night writes about his wife being awaken in their home to pray even as he was near death.  Not only was she awaken, but twenty other folks in their church came out of their sleep to pray.  ( "Afterlife: A Personal Journey"  by Dr. Jim Jackson)

 

Those souls who rose to prayer and intercede without even knowing for whom they were praying were not the first to be called to this ministry in the dark hours of the night and they will surely not be the last.  When we find ourselves suddenly awaken from our sleep, perhaps, instead of beating the pillow a time or two, it might be a good thing to ask the Lord if there is a reason why we have been awaken.  I heard someone recently say that being awaken each morning was something God did in his life bringing him out of the darkness of sleep into the light of conscious living.  Like a resurrection each day is the way he put it.  So, maybe this One to whom we entrust ourselves as we go to sleep and the One who wakes us up each morning might decide to disturb that sleep to share with Him in some important business.  It is something to think about when we find ourselves looking at the ceiling in the middle of the night.  It could be God instead of something we ate.

Simplify, Simplify.

Labels abound in theological circles.  Some go by the name of their denomination; other take pride in their no-denomination status.  Some call themselves liberals, or conservatives, or moderates.  Evangelical and orthodox are a couple of others.  Sometimes the labels are worn proudly and other times a label might be thrown upon someone's shoulders in derision.  The one thing labels are almost guaranteed to do is divide and separate. 

 

Perhaps, it is an inevitable phenomena.  After all, we may feel so strongly about what we believe and how we express our belief that we do not want to be confused with someone of a lesser religious value system.  The truth is there is room for all of us with our different labels under the umbrella of God seekers.  The Church that was jumpstarted in Jerusalem on Pentecost was at first unsuccessfully put into a box labeled Jewish, but it was not a church for a box.  It was a church for the world and all of its peoples.  As the Church finally moved away from the box and toward the outermost ends of the earth, the label Christian seemed to be the label which identified the Jesus people.

 

One of the things with which we struggle in our day is a mindset that declares the Church cannot be so simply understood or described.  Like those first century legalist against which Jesus struggled, we tend to impose our interpretations and opinions upon the life of the Church as if those personal views equal the written Word of God.  There was a day when it seemed to a young Christian that everything was simpler.  Maybe it never was true.  Maybe simple was never the right word.  Maybe it should be.  Just maybe the Word itself is all that is needed to move the church forward.  But, then if such were to happen, labels would have to be forsaken so that folks who are Jesus people would simply be known again as Christians. 

A Great Way to Go

As I have become more and more acquainted with Celtic spirituality, the more it resonates in my spirit.  It is as there has been this part of me that I knew was present, but did not have a way to express it.   For a long time there has been this growing conviction that eternity is so close to earth that it is just beyond sight, but always there behind the "thin veil" which is the language of Celtic spirituality.   Other aspects of it which draw me toward it is the emphasis on the Trinity and the holiness of the earth.  But, one of things which I have really come to appreciate are the prayers and blessings.

 

One of those prayers I find myself repeating at night as I am about ready to drift off into sleep.  It is a simple word which prays, "I lie down this night with God, And God  will lie down with me,  I lie down this night with Christ, And Christ will lie down with me,  I lie down this night with Spirit, And the Spirit will lie down with me, God and Christ and the Spirit Be lying down with me."   Of course, this single prayer cannot take the place of the normal praying we do, but it does serve as something which introduces another dimension that is rich and powerful in its meaning.

 

One of things I have discovered with this prayer which speaks about the presence of the holy in the ordinary moment of sleeping is the way it can be used in so many other things of life.  When we are driving down the road, the prayer can be adapted so that we might pray, "I go down this road with God, and God  goes down this road with me..."  And, the wonder of it is that there is no end to the way this simple prayer can be adapted to remind us that in all our going and in all our doing God, and Christ, and the Spirit are present with us.  What a great way to go!

A Ton of Faith

While it is grace that is more than sufficient for the journey with Christ, it takes a ton of faith to walk the road where He leads.  Grace makes it all possible for us to have a road upon which to put our feet, but it is the act of faith which keeps them in motion once we are enabled by grace to see the road.   If it is true that faith has to do with living in the presence of what cannot be seen, then a ton or two is going to required for us to make it down the road to the place where our home awaits us.

 

What we could never really possibly figure when we started with Christ are all the things which are ahead.  Some of it might have been obvious to us, but most of it falls into the category of the unexpected.  To look back over the years of following Christ is to realize how impossible it would have been for me to know what was ahead down the road and into the years.  And to be honest, if we had some window through which we could look ahead and see all the tough stuff which awaits us, we might very likely turn and try to find another way. 

 

Satan tried to tempt Jesus in this way at the very beginning of His ministry.  The temptations which are recorded shortly after His baptism were not temptations to do the outrageous or terrible things.  Satan surely understood the goals of Jesus and simply sought to offer Him an alternative route to accomplish them.  It is much the same for us as we walk this road of faith in Christ.  The way forward with Jesus can be really hard.  The road often leads us into some places we would not choose to go, into some darkness we would rather avoid, and into some difficulties which seem to be insurmountable.  The tempter seems to walk along with us showing us other paths to take.  It takes a ton of faith to stay on the road trusting that Jesus will get us through even though other options suggest an easier way. 

Not Getting It

As we read the gospels we are often amazed that the disciples did not get it.  Jesus kept saying things to them and it often seemed to simply go over their heads.  While He was talking to them about going to Jerusalem to die, they were pre-occupied with trying to determine who among them was the greatest.  When He was struggling in prayer in those last hours of His earthly life, they could not see the urgency of the hour and went to sleep.  And even after the resurrection, Thomas did not get what had happened even though Jesus had provided a spoiler alert and the rest of those who knew Him as he did told him what Jesus said would happen had happened. 

 

We are those who know the end of the story.  Not a one of us started out this journey of faith without knowing the whole story.  Before we set out we knew the beginning and the end.  It is strange that the end of the journey is often accompanied with an awareness that so much was missed along the way.  And, along with that awareness comes the distinct sense that there is even more to learn and know.  We have missed so much and are likely not going to be able to make it up because the wrong end of the hourglass is filled with too much sand.

As we walk the road ever closer to the end of our journey, we know that we are not really the ones to throw stones at the disciples for failing to get it.  Every now and again as we read the Scripture there comes a moment of such clarity that we cannot believe we have not seen a particular Word in the light we presently see it.  Maybe it is ok that we are like the disciples.  Maybe it is ok that we do not understand today what will be clearly seen tomorrow.  Maybe it is ok since each day we walk with Jesus, we are seeing Him and knowing Him through the window of a new experience never seen or known at any moment in our past. 

Then and Now

It was ten years ago that I wrote my first blog.  Another way of writing about the distance between then and now is to say then was over 1300 blog postings ago.  Had I been told back in 2008 that I would write that many of these things, I would have moved away from the keyboard and declared it too big a task.  And, if it had been necessary to write them all in one day, or one week, or even one year, it would have been impossible.  Fortunately, it was only necessary to write one at a time.

 

Our journey of faith can be understood in much the same way.  In the beginning we had no idea what was going to be ahead.  We could not have imagined the great moments we would share and the tough overwhelming moments we would experience.  Mountain tops and deep valleys are hard to see at the beginning of the journey.  If we make it to tomorrow and the tomorrow afterwards, it will be because of the grace of God and our willingness to walk one step at a time, one day at a time.  Grace sustains us for the journey of faith, but it is our faith in the Giver of grace which keeps us on the road.

 

In the beginning most of us figure moving forward with Christ is "all about me."  It is about those things of the human spirit like determination, and will power, and discipline.  It is about learning the lessons of experience and fortifying ourselves with the spiritual inspiration of others.  As the years slip by us and we see them gathering in a number that we know is far greater than the ones awaiting us, we come to a place of realizing how the journey is more about the Christ who walks ahead of us and with us.  Were He not alongside of us, we would have never made it from then to now.  The road which stretches far ahead He does not allow us to see.  All we can see is where the next foot is to be planted and sometimes not even that far.  And, so we walk knowing only that He is with us and that He has every intention of getting us from then to now and even beyond. 

Where He Leads

When we said "Yes" to Jesus and started the journey, we thought we knew where it was going to take us.  But, the truth is that we really had no idea.  Many of us started out with the illusion that it would take us down a road which would cause us to think that each day was better than the one before it.  To walk with Jesus meant that the way forward was mapped out for us.  After journeying with Christ for a spell, we begin to realize we had not a clue where the road was taking us.  And, we discovered that staying the course was going to require more faith than we ever imagined we could muster.

 

To walk with Jesus for more than just a few days, or a few years, or a few decades is to get a clearer understanding of what it might have been like for Abraham who heard the Lord say, "Go from your country, and your kindred, and your father's house to the land that I will show you."  (Genesis 12:1) and disciples like Philip who heard Jesus say, "Follow me." (John 1:43)  No one replied, "Tell me more," or "Where," instead they just went not knowing where they were going, or what it would mean to go. 

 

Many miles after the first steps it comes to us that the final step on the road will take us home, but everything between then and the now part of our life is unknown.  When we look behind we see that the road already walked had many twists and turns with surprises and disasters that came unexpectedly which causes us to know that the road ahead will be no different. All we can know for sure is that Jesus said, "Come with Me," and we decided to go wherever He chose to lead. 

A Prayer for the Day

Just before Jayber Crow made his departure from Pigeonville College where he was a pre-ministerial student, he experienced a sort of spiritual meltdown.  When this character created by Wendell Berry in his book entitled "Jayber Crow" started seriously reading the New Testament, he ran into things he could not simply ignore.  One of those things impossible for him to ignore was a moment of insight about prayer.  "...I was unsure what it would be proper to pray for, or how to pray for it.  After you have said 'thy will be done,' what more can be said.  And where do you find the strength to pray 'thy will be done' after you see what it means?" 

The prayer which troubled Jayber is one we pray most every week when we gather for worship.  But, then it is also a part of prayer that  we pray more from rote memory than from the heart.  As what we know as "The Lord's Prayer" is reaching toward the "Amen," we speak this word, "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" into existence.  By that point in the prayer, we are no longer really thinking about what we are praying.  We are on auto pilot and inwardly are moving rapidly toward the place where the prayer is done.  Regardless of its place in the prayer, these words are powerful life changing words.  It is a final petition which declares that we want the will of God to take precedence over anything we might want or think we need.

"Our Father, I pray now for those who read these words.  May each one who passes this way be aware in this moment that prayer has been lifted up in their behalf.  I know, Father God, that those who come this way bring with them troubles which cannot be laid down, loads that are overwhelming, and fears that take away hope.  Bless each one, Father, with Your mercy.  Bless each one, Lord Jesus, with Your love.  Bless each one, Holy Spirit, with Your healing presence.  Bless each one with a deep awareness that the perfect will of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is being worked out in their lives, and so I pray.  Amen."

Thanksgiving

Back in  2013 I read a book entitled "1000 Gifts" by Ann Voskamp.  Actually, I read it once and then again several times.  It was that kind of book.  And while I have not done a re-read recently, I still continue with the "Gratitude Journal" which was an idea that held the book together as well as one which resonated enough with me to give it a try myself.  I know people who journal and that it can be an important spiritual discipline, but my movement in that direction has always been sporadic. 

 

Such is really how I would have to describe the writing I do in my "Gratitude Journal."  Listing things for which we are thankful is what Voskamp encouraged her readers to do.  She listed a thousand in a year.  I have been at it now for over five years and am a long way from that number.  But, still it has brought benefit to my spiritual life.  It has made me more conscious of the many things which are blessings in my life.  One of the things she wrote which I found noteworthy is, "Thanksgiving is the evidence of our acceptance of whatever God gives." 

 

Honesty requires confessing that my life is not yet at that place.  Perhaps, I am moving closer, but I still come to those moments of ranting and raving and hollering out, "Why me?  Why don't You do things differently, Lord?"  Ephesians 5:20 calls us to "give thanks for everything."  Maybe one day I will get to that place where that kind of thanksgiving flows seamlessly out of my spirit, but most days it seems there are still miles to go.  In the meantime I continue writing down those things which bring forth gratitude.  Sometimes now I can even see some things under the dark clouds.  Nothing to brag about.  But, at least I have been given an understanding that there is in everything something for which to be thankful.  I pray one day the head knowledge will become my heart's response. 

Heaven Came Down

Dressed in a head-to-toe white robe she stands there with head and shoulders thrown back.  Both arms are stretched out parallel to the ground beneath her and several blue birds are perched on either arm.  She is not a commanding figure, but then she is only a little under six inches tall.  For six or seven years her home and pedestal has been the tall chest in the corner of the bedroom.  I walk by her going to and from the bed, but have never really seen her....at least not until this morning.

 

This morning I was literally stopped in my tracks as I saw this Willow Tree figurine named "Happiness" for what is surely the first time.  The rising sun was pouring through the bedroom window and the place where she stood was lit up by its  bright blaze.   It first seemed to me that she was embracing the new day and its sun with her arms outstretched and her head thrown back.  And, then, as I took the second look, I saw the perfect shadow she was casting upon the wall behind her. The sun was lighting up her face and behind her was what looked like the place where the One who called Himself the Light of the World died.

 

It was no longer just an ordinary trek from the bed to the kitchen.  I sat down and watched as the sun slipped higher and higher and the bright illuminating light passed over her bringing to close a moment of holy morning glory.  For those fifteen or so minutes, the room was filled with the Holy.  I will never be able to pass by her again without remembering those few minutes when light filled the room and the glory of heaven seemed to invade it.  When some inanimate object is so used to bring the glory of God with all His holiness into our space, it is never seen the same again.  Every morning now as the sun streams in the bedroom window, my opening eyes will be drawn toward her to see if once again heaven has broken in upon the earth. 

A Long History

My history with the Methodist Church is one that spans almost as many years as I have lived.  It started when I was seven years old and my father was buried in a country Methodist Church cemetery.  This small church was accessible only by dirt roads, one of which required driving through a black water branch.  Later we went to a First Church before settling into a small neighborhood church where I was baptized and started Sunday School.  The number of Methodist Churches which have been a part of my life would take all my fingers and toes to count and then some.

 

When I came to  the moment of saying "Yes" to Jesus and hearing a call to preach, it was once again because of the ministry of the Methodist Church.  My marriage was at its altar as was my ordination.  My faith and the faith of my family has been nurtured and sustained over the decades by its ministries.  My life has been filled with going from one of its churches to still another as one of its preachers.  I have always been grateful to be a part of a spiritual tradition that was birthed by John Wesley back in the 18th century.

 

I think often of something Wesley once said,  "I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out." (‘Thoughts Upon Methodism,’ 1786.)  It seems that words like "doctrine, spirit, and discipline" are little regarded today in a world where compromising opinions take precedence.  While living in the past is a dangerous thing, it is also a dangerous thing to throw away the tradition that has brought us this far.

Down and Up

As we get older, kneeling gets harder.  It is not necessarily the ego which is the issue, but the knees.  Older knees do not work quite like younger knees.  And once older knees get bent and down, getting back up again is another issue altogether.  I always remember an older guy who told me as a younger man, "When I bend over to tie my shoes, I always check around while I am down there to see if anything else needs doing."  As we put on the years, the challenge is not in getting down, but in getting up!

 

Over the years I have watched older people gather around the altar.  Some of them come and stand which is always appropriate, but some insist on kneeling.  More than just a few times, I have felt a need to lean over the altar rail and offer a hand of support while someone was rising.  As I have gotten into the seventh decade, I can appreciate more fully their struggle with desiring to do something and not being able to do it as it was done in earlier years. 

 

What I have witnessed over and over through the years it is the determination of some of the older folks to do what they felt was the right thing to do in terms of expressing their faith even when it was difficult.  I have often been amazed at the way some get to worship while dealing with what seems to be insurmountable troubles while the trouble free find the most flimsy excuse.  I have known folks who hear very little of what is being said, but still come every Sunday because they always have done so.  I remember one older widow who had very little only to give up a subscription to a newspaper so she would have something to give to a missionary.  Let it not be said that those who cannot get up once they get down have nothing to teach the rest of us. 

The Point of Intersection

I must confess to being somewhat like the guy in the old story who fell into a well one night after leaving the local tavern.  By the time he had dug his fingers and toes into the side of the well and pulled himself out, he had as it is sometimes said, "found the Lord."  He became such a devout soul that he went to the tavern, not to drink, but to find others who could hardly walk so he could lead them to the well so they could fall to the bottom and "find the Lord."

 

Now, the way I am like the guy in the story has nothing to do with visits to the local tavern, but instead, has to do with visits to altars.  There is a part of me which wants to believe that if folks can get on their knees at the altar it will make a world of difference in their relationship with God.  Of course, I have been on enough dry runs at the altar to say that an altar trip equates with a stronger spiritual life, but it still seems that it is a good place to start.

 

Kneeling at an altar, or kneeling anywhere if we are seeking to kneel before God, can be a life changing moment.  When we are kneeling, there is nowhere to look but up.  And, if we take a moment to look around we are likely to realize that everyone around us is on the same platform.  An altar is a great equalizer.  In the old days when revivals and altar calls were the norm, people wanting to deal with the sin in their lives gathered on their knees.  And even when kneeling people are not necessarily seeking a first experience with Jesus, they are there because of some unmanageable need in their lives.  It has always seemed that the altar is a place where raw human need and the grace of God intersect which is a good place to be. 

"You Ain't Him!"

Through the years I have knelt at a lot of altars.  Being in a Methodist Church since age seven has meant that there was always one somewhere around.  My first trips to the kneeling place was in a small country church where my father is buried.  I was just a boy then trying to figure out things that were far beyond my years.  Along the way to where I am now, I have knelt at some altars that held several times the number that could have knelt at that first country church.  The length or ornateness of the altar never mattered.  Kneeling people are not usually looking at their surroundings, but in their hearts.

 

I am one of those preachers that always believed more altar time would be a good thing for the church.  As I moved through the years of ministry, preachers started getting shy about preaching invitational sermons and extending "altar calls."  Maybe the assumption was that there were no longer any people in the church who needed to accept Jesus as Savior.  Or, maybe folks were getting what they needed from the counselor's office and the self-help books.  It has always seemed to me that important spiritual work gets done at altars, but if no one invites, getting there becomes too difficult a journey for many to make.

 

It may be too simplistic to say that more trips to the altar would lessen some of the struggles of the church today.  But, then again, more praying is certainly not something that is going to do harm to the church.  One thing is certain.  Our perspective is different when we are viewing the world from our knees.  It also puts us in a position to better realize the truth of what an old friend loved to say to those of us who gathered for a weekly dose of honesty.  "There is a God and you ain't Him!"

The Good Exercise

When I was a boy learning to pray, my regular time of prayer was bedtime.  In the beginning I remember my mother coming and praying with me.  After a time it became such a habit that I started praying at bedtime even though she was not present.  My early praying was done on my knees.  Before getting into bed I would kneel beside it and pray my prayers.  I am grateful for that early beginning and grateful, too, for a church tradition that had altars.  Altars are for kneeling.  Kneeling is good exercise for the soul.

 

Of course, kneeling in prayer is something we do not do so often as adults.  Most of my praying these days is done while sitting instead of kneeling.  Maybe kneeling would make for better praying.  The posture of kneeling is an act that reminds us of who we are and Who is hearing our prayers. There is no place else in our culture where we are encouraged or invited to kneel.  Certainly, there is no other man or woman to whom we would even consider kneeling.  Kneeling is an act of submission.  It is an act that declares that someone else has the authority over us.  It is unfortunate that kneeling has become an anachronism. 

 

I am of that old school that still believes a church is its strongest when its people are on their knees.  We spend too much time in meetings and not enough in praying.  Our obsession with meetings is surely an indicator of who we perceive to be in charge of the church.  It is easy to give lip service to the idea that Christ is the head of the church, but another matter entirely to submit to Him as the One who has the final word.  Perhaps, more times set aside for kneeling would be a healthy discipline for the church as well as for our souls. 

The Wesley Quadrilateral

Trying to figure out what is theologically sound is no easy matter for most of us.  Theology may sound like too big a word for many folks who would like to say it is just a word for preachers, but it is actually a word that has a bearing on all of us seek to live a life of faith in Christ.  Differences in theology have caused bloodshed and disruption in the life of the Church.  These are days when the winds of change are blowing so hard that it seems the church will either make significant changes or be blown away.

 

One of the guiding factors for the denomination that ordained me (The United Methodist Church) has always been something known as the Wesley Quadrilateral which simply means that four things are used to determine sound theology.  Those four elements are Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience with Scripture always holding the trump card.  When these four elements of faith are in alignment, there is a greater likelihood of sound theology and doctrine being at the core of our individual spiritual life as well as the life of the church.

 

We live in a day when experience and the reason birthed by the popular opinion is having a great influence on the shaping of our personal faith and the life of the church.  It is difficult to understand how some would declare common consensus to have such power as to shape what the Word (Scripture) is saying.  It would seem to make more sense for the Word to shape what is regarded as common consensus.  Looking at what we are giving authority is an important matter for each one of us for it is the decision that results in the foundation for our life.

Thin Places

Whenever I have read the story of the resurrected Jesus appearing to the disciples on the evening of Resurrection Sunday, the reference to the locked doors has always directed my view of what was happening  (John 20:11ff.) .  It is interesting how our minds can get locked on one detail to the point that any other possibilities are impossible to see.  Such has been the case all these years.  E. Stanley Jones wrote that the disciples met behind locked doors because they were afraid.  Those called to go into all the world were meeting in secret behind locked doors to keep the world out. 

 

My mind always went to one thing.  Jesus passed through the locked door to get into the room.  Nothing else seemed plausible.  However, in recent days I have been reading a good number of books on Celtic spirituality.  The Celtic tradition has a strong sense that there are thin places in the world. There are places where the veil between earth and heaven is very thin.  While I never knew to call it a part of the Celtic tradition, it has seemed to me for a long time that there was indeed a thin veil between here and there.  During All Saints Day communion it always seemed that we had unseen company at the end of the table that extended just beyond our sight. 

 

Maybe there is another possibility other than the one which points to Jesus passing through a physical door.  Maybe the door was only there because the disciples needed an entrance and an exit.  Could it not be that during that resurrection period Jesus was stepping in and out of that thin veil which separates earth and heaven?  Could it not be that the thin place was in the room and Jesus simply moved from it into the room and then back again?  For the skeptic there is the Transfiguration story and the appearance of Moses and Elijah.  Maybe there was something thin on the mountain besides the air.  Maybe there was a thin place in that room where the disciples gathered and just maybe there are thin places all around us. 

Boss Cow

I have been told not to name the cows that roam the pasture because they are not destined for the life of a pet, but for the livestock market.  Still, each of the ten ended up with some kind of moniker.  A young steer I call "Freezer," another is know as "Brown Cow" for obvious reasons, and still another "Pilgrim' since she was birthed while we were eating Thanksgiving turkey one year. There is another one who was named "Pearl" as she was born on December 7, but her title has become "Boss Cow."  It is a role she inherited from her mother and she wears it well out in the pasture.  When some other cow dares to get in her way, she is likely to give them a "head butt" to remind them of their place.

 

I must have too much time on my hands in these retirement years as I notice things and think too much.  As I watch pasture life, I wonder about the importance of authority in our lives.  None of us likes to be the one getting the "head butt."  But, is it not true that we all recognize someone or some thing as the authority in our lives?  Or, maybe what is true is that we give authority to someone or some thing outside of ourselves.  Whatever the case, living under the authority of someone or some thing outside of ourselves seems to simply be the way life is lived.  To watch the pasture is to see that it must just be a part of life.

 

So, maybe the real issue has to do with the object of the authority over us.  Who or what determines how we live, our values, and our priorities?  It appears that it is not only an issue for us as individuals, but also for many churches.  The Word no longer seems to be the final authority.  Instead, it is often replaced with a version of "what I think Jesus really meant," or an ever growing popular opinion which claims more authority than Jesus, or the Word of God.  Despite all the winds of change blowing around me, I still have trouble getting away from that Word which says, "All scripture is inspired by God...so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work."  (II Timothy 3:16-17)

What is Truth?

"Truth" is an important word and theme in John's gospel.  One commentary indicated it is referenced twenty-five times in this particular gospel.   Among the more memorable references comes in the 14th chapter of John as we hear Jesus saying, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life." (vs. 6)  "I am...the truth,"  comes from the mouth of Jesus.  And, of course, another memorable reference to this word comes from the lips of Pilate as he asks Jesus that question which hangs out there for all generations to consider.  "What is truth?"  is Pilate's question.  (John 18:38)

 

In the Prologue of John's gospel, we hear the Word of God declaring, "And the Word became flesh and dwelled among us and we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth."  (John 1:14)  We may try to play loose with the truth, and we may seek to define it in many different ways, but if the Word of God is taken seriously, truth is always found in the person of Jesus Christ.  It is not that Jesus is described in the gospel as a speaker of truth, or someone who models a life of truth; instead, the gospel equates truth with Jesus.  The "I am..." (John 14:6) declares Jesus and the truth to be one in the same.  And, the Prologue declares that the divine One who became flesh is full of truth.  To be full means that there is room for nothing else.

 

Of course, the world around us looks everywhere but to Jesus for a Word about truth.  The truth  is not culture based, nor is it based in secular philosophies, or the guiding light of common consensus, but is Kingdom based and centered.  If what we know as the truth does not fit inside the reality of the Kingdom, it is no truth at all, only a misleading falsehood which leads to destruction.  As we answer Pilate's question, we need be careful for our answer will define who we are in our relationship with Jesus. 

Grace and Truth

Back in the Sermon on the Mount we hear Jesus say numerous times those words, "You have heard that it was said.....But, I say to you..."   Jesus was making it clear that He had not come to abolish, or do away with the law, but to offer a way of life that went beyond it.  Toward the end of the Prologue in that first chapter of John, there is another word which calls attention to the difference between the law giver and Jesus.  Verse 17 says, "The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." 

 

The law serves us a guide, but it is often applied without any measure of grace.  When Jesus became "flesh and dwelled among us..." (John 1:14),  the era of the Kingdom was ushered into our midst.  The Kingdom of God is different from the era of Moses.  In the time of Moses and beyond, the central factor in faith was the law, but with Jesus and the Kingdom the central factor of the era of Moses was upended by grace and truth.  With the law folks got what they deserved, but with grace folks received not according to what was deserved, but according to mercy.

 

Not many people really want to live in a world where people get what they deserve.  We may declare that such is the way life should be, but only a fool would choose a world where there is no margin for error, no opportunity to do things again, and no forgiveness.  Grace changes the landscape of life.  Jesus is the One who has brought this grace and truth into the world.  Jesus is the One who has changed the way we are ultimately able to live.  Grace.  Grace and truth.  May our world be filled with these gifts of the One who lived with God and was God and became flesh to live among us.

Earthy Language

What has been called "The Gospel in Nine Words" is found in the 14th verse of the first chapter of John.  "And the Word became flesh and dwelled among us."  This is also John's version of the incarnation told by Matthew and Luke in a much longer narrative form.   In the setting of the Prologue of John's gospel, it is indeed a most powerful Word.  The One spoken of back in the beginning with the words, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"  is now being proclaimed as the One who has forsaken everything to become flesh among us.

 

The language is earthy.  The language is filled with all that is part of humanity.  The divine One who was with God and was God is caught now in the web of the entire human process becoming like us in every sense of the word. It is truly an amazing thought to consider.  Our minds reach for analogies to render it plausible and sensible, but there simply are none which prove to be adequate.  They all fall short and fail to measure up to those words in the 14th verse of John.

 

John uses language here that invokes the sweat and dirt, the strains and stresses, the laughter and the grief, the successes and failures.  Human is what the divine becomes as He "became flesh and dwelled among us."  And, of course, to take flesh upon Himself means dying.  His death was not an ordinary death with family members gathered on every side, but one filled with suffering and pain in a public place emptied of any sense of decency and compassion.  He came because of His love for us.  He came to call us home.  It was the only way it could be done and He willingly chose to walk that road. 

The Offer of Adoption

The gospel writer John makes it clear that we do not become "children of God" through a natural process.  Not even some divine decree or promise such as Abraham heard has been directed our way.  Unlike the Hebrews of the Old Testament, we were not designated as the children of God.  The gospel writer says it has nothing to do with our physical birth, or the will and passion of our parents.  The only reason given is found in those words which speak of an intentional act on the part of Jesus.  Jesus is the one who was given the power that brings us into the family of God. 

 

As we look for the details of this divine act, we run into the word "adoption."  It is mentioned in Romans 8:15 and then with even surer language in the letter to the Galatians Christians.  "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children." (Galatians 4:5)  The one being adopted has no power, no choice, and no will in the matter.  The whole business which so dramatically alters the life of the one being adopted is completely in the hands of another.

 

In our case, our adoption is in the hands of our Father God.  To be adopted means being chosen.  It means being loved and in the human realm, it means being loved before being known.  But, with God, He knows us, knows all about us, knows about the things with which we will struggle, knows things about us we do not even know about ourselves, and still He loves us and chooses us to belong to Him as His child.  Yet, unlike the child being adopted by earthly parents who usually has little or no choice in what is happening, we have the freedom to choose to belong to Him.  The final word belongs not to the One who has all the power, but to the ones who really have none. 

A New Group

Consider for a moment the new group to which we belong as "children of God." (John 1:12)  It is indeed a unique group, one to which we could never belong if it depended on earning membership, working for it, or being born into it.  How we enter into that group is explained in that Word which says, "But, to all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God."  (John 1:12)  We become children of God because of divine love and grace.  Had there not been love and grace in the heart of God, Jesus would not have come to walk among, die  on a cross for us, and make a way for us to once again experience belonging to God.

 

Without Christ we would truly be in a mess.  We would not just be in a mess, but we would be in an inescapable mess.  And the truly tragic and sad part of it is that it is a mess of our own doing.  Given the choice between doing the right thing and the wrong thing, there is something within us which seems bent on choosing the wrong thing.  Given the choice between doing things our way instead of God's way, we always seem to think our way should be the first choice and God's way the last resort.  Before we can ever become children of God, it is necessary for us to realize that we are all children of our wrong choices.  When we choose against the way of God in whatever form that takes for us, we put ourselves in such a mess only a Savior can save us.

 

Ah, that name, "children of God" is such a wonderful sounding name.  It means we have been loved and chosen even though we seem bent on sinning.  It means a way has been made for us to be delivered and brought into the family of God.  It means we are no longer separated from the One who brought us into being.  It means we are home.  It means we are where our soul longs to be.  Breathe again a prayer, "Jesus, I receive once again You in my life.  Jesus, I believe in You and trust You for all that touches my life.  Jesus, forgive me and touch me so that I know in my heart that I belong to you.  In Your name I now pray.  Amen"

Something New

Hold onto your hats and grab your seats!  Something extraordinary and impossible to comprehend is out there in those words of the Prologue.  While it might all be described as something which takes your breath away, verse 12and 13 is that and more!  "But, to all who received Him (the Word, Jesus), He gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God."   How can we read such a word and not be blown away?  Even though our first name is sinner and our last name is man (or woman), Christ has the power to make us children of God.

 

This extraordinary word is the prelude to the 3rd chapter of John which tells the story of Nicodemus.  To this nighttime stalker Jesus said, "...no one can see the kingdom of God without being born anew."  (John 3:3) When Nicodemus asked, "How can anyone be born after growing old?" (John 3:4), Jesus assured Him it could happen through the power of the Spirit of God.  An amazing word is being cast out into the span of time for all people. 

 

Some folks settle short of what Jesus is saying.  Some folks believe the Christian faith is about starting over, but it is about more.  Some say it is about being better, but better is still far short of what the Word is proclaiming.   And some will settle for being made good and decent and moral and upright, but still not enough.  What Christ has been given the power to do is to make those believe in Him new.  When we say "Yes" to Jesus, a person who has never before existed or lived comes into existence and it is accomplished by the power of the One sent from God to live among us. 

The Words of Sadness

There is a sense of sadness which comes as we read verses 10 and 11 of the Prologue in John's gospel.  It is not something which is expected, but something which just comes and settles over us as we slowly read.  As the Word speaks about Jesus, we hear it saying, "...yet the world did not know Him...His own people did not accept Him..."  Of course, there is no surprise in those words for those of us who have read the story and know how it is going to end.  Maybe we read too fast.  Maybe we know too well the ending.  Maybe this is why we miss the sadness of those words.  Maybe.

 

The truth is we usually read the Word too fast.  I am one who does this too much.  Being able to read fast is something I have always been able to do.  It is just the way I read.  And, often I miss stuff.  Maybe this is why I am one of those who goes back to read books a second or third time.  It takes me longer to get the stuff many folks get on the first read.  Certainly, one of the things we often miss in reading the Word is the feeling stuff.  We read for the details and do not always let our emotions interact with the sensuous stuff of the Word.

 

My rapid reads cause me to miss smelling the candles burning, the fragrance of the oil, and the sound of sheep bleating in the fields.  I get the details, but I miss the feeling and sensory part of it.  I have read these words John wrote many times, but never really sensed the sadness that came over me as I read those words this time.  Maybe I need to slow down.  Maybe it is not just in the reading that I need to slow down.  Maybe I am not paying as much attention to what is around me as I thought. 

The Real Issue

Even as the light-darkness contrast is a theme of John's gospel, so it true to an even greater degree  that the belief-unbelief contrast is an important theme.  Actually, some might even say it is the only theme.  Over the years I have kept a one volume commentary on the gospel of John named, "The Gospel of Belief" written by Merrill C. Tenney.   The main point of his book is that the main point of John's gospel is the issue between belief and unbelief.  As we read about the many encounters Jesus had with folks like you and me, we see this theme come to life.

Early on in the Prologue, we see this theme sounded.  Surprisingly, it is not first associated with Jesus, but John the Baptist.  Verse 6 and 7 read, "There was a man sent from God whose name was John.  He came as a witness to the light, so that all might believe through Him."  Here at the very beginning we hear a word which echoes the well known words from John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life."  Some folks who came to life on the pages of John's gospel believed and some did not.  It was always their choice.

Such remains true for each person today.  It is true that each of us has a choice.  And, it is equally true that a primary and basic choice before each one of us has to do with our response to the presence of Jesus in the world as the One who came solely for the purpose of inviting people to believe in Him as the One sent from God.  According to John's gospel, Jesus did not come to make us theologians, or pillars of the church, or even advocates of social change.  What is clear is that John's real concern is that folks believe and enter into both the abundant life and the eternal life.  Here is the real issue for John, and believe it or not, it remains the primary issue for each of us today. 

The Shadow Dweller

John the Baptist always seems to show up as the unexpected guest.  We go to the gospels for a word about Jesus and John shows up right there at the beginning.  And, each year as we come to the beginning of the Advent season and begin to set our sights on the shepherds and the angels, he comes walking in with locust breath that spews out words about repenting.  His appearance in the Prologue of the gospel of John is not something anyone would expect.  Our spiritual senses have  been filled with the language and images of those first words and, then, suddenly we are thrown into a river setting where our physical senses are overwhelmed by the smell of camel clothing.

Of course, there is an obvious connection being made as the Apostle finishes verse five writing about the "light shining in the darkness" and the following words which speak of John the Baptist as one who bears witness to the light.  "There was a man sent from God whose name was John.  He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through Him." (John 1:6-7).  The Apostle John makes a few things clear.  John the Baptist was sent from God.  He was not the Word, but a man.  And, finally his mission is to point people to the Word (Jesus).

John the Baptist is always a character worthy of reflection.  He was a shadow dweller.  There may have been a moment when he first appeared at the Jordan when it seemed that he was at the center of what God was about to do, but as soon as he saw Jesus, he immediately stepped into the shadows so that the "Light of the World" could step onto center stage.  At this moment in history, God was about to do an unbelievable thing.  John understood and was intent on staying faithful, but out of the way.  Surely, the Baptizer's life preaches a message to us telling us that the mission is more important than the messenger. 

The Overcomer

A friend whom I have known almost as long as the adult years of my life was way back in the beginning more of an acquaintance and colleague in ministry than the valued friend he has become in these later years.  While we were both pastoring churches in Columbus, Georgia, Jim was shot and lingered between life and death for several days.  In his recent book "Afterlife; a Personal Journey," Dr. Jim Jackson wrote of a near death experience.  "I was lifted away from my body, so that I could literally see the surgical team at work on me.  I felt myself being pulled away, through a long tunnel, and eventually into the presence of a radiant light.  I heard no sound and saw no faces.  There was only a warm, glowing light that filled the space."

 

Of course, my friend is not the first to bear witness to a light in the darkness beyond death.  As we reflect on the Word of God and the life of Jesus, it should be no surprise that an unexplainable and powerful light would penetrate the darkness we know as death.  Early in the Prologue of John's gospel we read about the Word (Jesus), "What has come into being in Him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." (John 1:5)  Later on in his gospel the writer enables us to hear Jesus saying, "I am the light of the world." (John 8:12)  There is no doubt as to the origin of this light which darkness always fails to overcome.

 

As we read the gospel written by this Apostle, we are caused to see the ongoing struggle between light and darkness, good and evil.  While the victory has been secured through the cross and the empty tomb, neither darkness or evil has disappeared.  It continues to show itself and wreak havoc in the lives of people like you and me.  But, the truth to which my friend bears witness and the truth to which the Word points us is that the darkness was overcome in Christ, continues to be overcome in Christ, and will be overcome in Christ, even in the midst of death itself. 

Confusing, but Simple

Those first verses of John's gospel not only carry us to a place of thinking about the relationship between God and the Word, but they also take us to a place of considering the creation.  While the opening words of the Prologue bring to mind those first words of Genesis, "In the beginning, when God created...(Genesis 1:1), they also leave us with more questions than we can answer.  The writer of the ancient creation story had nothing to say about the Word, but the gospel writer speaks of Jesus not only being present, but also an integral part of the beginning creative act.

 

After addressing the way the Word was involved in bringing all things into being, he goes on to say, "What has come into being in Him was life, and the life was the light of all people." (John 1:4)  The word "life" is a much used word in the gospel of John.  It only takes a moment of remembering to recall numerous usages of the word.  It is interesting to consider these few beginning words.  Surprisingly, the pronouns used bring some understanding.  While I never was a Greek scholar, but instead more of a struggling student, I do remember that the pronoun "into" conveyed the idea of something outside taking action against, or into something else.  An example might be the wind stirring tree branches.  However, the pronoun "in" speaks more of something not dependent on what is outside, but something which has an inherent power inside of itself to act.

 

If it sounds confusing, when I read what I have written it looks confusing to me as well!  But, the point to be made is that there is within the Word power to act and bring into being life, both the life that is dependent on breathing and the life that requires no breath.  It is as if the wind that stirs the creation, creating life, comes from within the Word as the wind which stirs the branches of the tree comes from an undefinable source. (John 3:8)  What we make confusing and complicated, the gospel writer makes simple by saying that all life, the one dependent on physical birth and the one dependent on spiritual birth, emanates from Jesus, the Word. 

The Snake Handler

Recently I saw a picture of a guy who worked alongside of me at one of the churches I pastored.  Actually, he stood behind me a lot as he directed the choir and led all the music ministry.  The picture featured him out in his flip flops in the middle of the highway.  He held a long stick which he was using to gently push and direct a copperhead snake out of the traffic lane and into the grass alongside the roadway.  While I have seen folks stop to tend to snakes in the road, I am certain I have never seen anyone guide one to safety off the road!

 

Perhaps, my friend, Marc, was more in touch with something written in the gospel of John than the rest of us.  "All things came into being through Him (the Word...Jesus), and without Him not one thing came into being."  (John 1:3)  I reckon that all inclusive word includes copperhead snakes.  And, to carry things a step further, I reckon if something has been held in the hands of our Creator before finding its way to the earth, it is a special and holy thing.  All the earth, everything on it and in it, is something holy.  Marc obviously has this figured out and responded in accordance to that understanding as he saw the snake in the road.

 

Sometimes it is hard to remember that the creation around us is holy.  It is hard to realize that each part of it is purposeful.  We may not see or understand what God had in mind as it put some of it in place, or allows some of it to work as it does, but it does not change the reality that it remains a part of what is holy.  The dirt, trees, snakes, and people are just some what has come into being through him.  If we try to see things as the snake handler did, it just might be that we would be more attentive to all that is holy around us.