Looking in the Mirror

When the final flicker of the fire of God licked up the last drop of water from the altar on Mt. Carmel, Elijah called all the watchers of Israel together, "Seize the  prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape."  (I Kings 18:40)  In response to the word of the prophet, "...they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon, and killed them there."  (I Kings 18:40)  A lot of blood was shed that day.  No doubt the Hebrew watchers were participants in this dramatic act against the idol worship connected to Baal.

 

I wonder what these folks who were on the mountain witnessing the mighty work of God and who then joined Elijah in doing away with those who had been leading the people in the worship of Baal did when they got home.  Surely, they told the story of what happened to anyone who would listen.  But, did they do anything with the carved wooden idols in their homes?  Were they content with the slaughter of the prophets of Baal, or did that act cause them to look more closely at how rooted the false worship was in their lives?  Grandiose were their actions on the mountain, but did they make the simple choices at home which cleansed their homes and spoke of a changed heart?

 

Most of us know it is easy to do the external things which speak of our revulsion at sin in our midst.  It is easy to point in judgment to the bad choices of others.  It is easy to identify the bigotry, prejudice, and unresolved anger in those around us, but looking honestly in the mirror is often an entirely different thing.  It is easy to call the sinner a sinner until we see the one staring back at us in our reflection.  Nothing really changes until there is change in the person in the mirror.  Without that change, everything out there always remains the same. 

Very Dry and Very Hot

These days have been unbearably hot.  One hundred and more degrees of temperature is rough to handle.  And, as is often the case, the unbearable heat has been accompanied by a lack of rain that has caused blueberries to dry like peas on the bush.   Late in the afternoon while the sun was close to disappearing, I felt something hit my arm.  And, then something else hit my neck.  It was wet.  It was rain drops which caused me to look upward at what looked like a barren sky.  Finally, my wishing and praying and dancing squeezed enough out of the clouds that it actually rained enough to see. 

I do not say lightly that I have been praying for rain.  When those drops hit my arm, my first words were, "Thank You, Lord.  Send more.  Let these drops prime the pump for the water we need."  Out here on a farm, rain is not an inconvenience.  It is not something to be wished away because it is Saturday.  Rain is a necessity.  Our blueberries hanging on the bush will never make a sweet harvest without it.  The grass in the field growing for winter hay will be shortstacked this fall if rain does not come.  Some farmers may lose row crops recently planted, or have to take cows to market before they are ready.  The pecan trees which show promise of the first good harvest in several years will once again have a diminished and low quality crop if they suffer too long in this dry heat.

So, I confess to praying for rain.  I am sure others look toward the heavens and make similar hopeful offerings as well.  But, the promise of rain felt today was soon only a memory that gave birth to hope for tomorrow.  Today my prayers were not answered with life giving rain.  What has dared to fall will soon dry up in the overnight heat.  What shall I do?  I will keep praying.  I will keep persisting in my praying.  It is what people have always done when they faced need and God seemed slow to respond. I will keep praying for rain and when it comes, I will be first in line dancing for joy and giving thanks.

Clashing Powers

When Elijah and King Ahab face off on Mt. Carmel, we see once again a clashing of powers.  It is a recurring Biblical theme.  We see it with Moses and the Egyptian pharaoh.  We see it in the stories of Esther and Daniel.  But, it is not just an Old Testament story.  As we turn the pages of the Word into the New Testament, the clash of powers continue.  Herod sought to destroy Jesus causing Him to be taken by Joseph and Mary to Egypt.  Of course, His whole life speaks of a power confrontation with the powers that existed.  And finally, on Calvary there is the clash of power between God and the power of evil unleashed in the world. 

We do not normally read the Word through this particular window, but it is ever present.  While some may want to dismiss this aspect of the Biblical narrative in such a way as to view it solely as an expression of God's love and mercy, there is still that Word and others like which we find in Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus, "Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities...against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."  (Ephesians 4:11-12) 

There is an ever present clashing of the powers of God and the powers of evil in this world around us.  Minimizing it, or explaining it away through contemporary logic is a temptation for many, but it does not take away the reality of the struggle which is a part of the experience of every one who professes faith in Jesus Christ.  The way of Christ stands in opposition to the way of the evil one in our day as surely as it was on that dark day when the sun refuse to shine on Calvary.  It was the struggle of Christ.  It is our struggle.  Thanks be to God that Jesus came down from the cross the Victor. 

Eutychus

Retired preachers are given something at retirement.  A place in the pews.  From that new place, things are surely seen differently.  A few Sundays ago I was sitting there waiting and as I watched the choir members wander in to find their places, I remembered why I liked the processional moment at the beginning of worship.  Practically speaking, it gets the choir members to the choir area in an orderly manner, and secondly, it gets the worship service started.  Not only does it get the worship service started, but it does it with a flourish.

 

While the processional is not something practiced in many churches, it always seemed to be a great way to begin.  In some respects it was like a parade.  A holy parade.  As the musicians up front hit the first notes of the song, voices started singing from the back and then those voices started filling up the space as they moved forward.  Along the way, the rest of the congregation was joining in the singing.  By the time the choir members reached their spots, the sanctuary was filled with singing voices.  This preacher was one of those who loved it!

 

One of the things I liked about the moment was the way it announced that something was happening, maybe even breaking loose in our midst that was out of the ordinary, maybe even extraordinary.  It tended to get the service off on an upbeat and enthusiastic note.  Processional music is not like "In the Garden" but more like "Holy, Holy, Holy."  I was always in favor of those moments which energized  the ritual, the congregation, and the preacher.  Energy is something often missing in many worship services which might account for so many of us wearing the name tag which says, "Eutychus."

The Need for Troublers

After Elijah told King Ahab that a drought was coming which could only be ended by the prophet's word, the King probably paid little attention to him.  However, as flowing streams became dry creek beds and well water became unreachable, Ahab started looking for Elijah.  Nearly three years passed between the time the drought was announced and the time that Elijah made his appearance to the King.  And when the two met, Ahab greeted the prophet of the Lord with the name, "Troubler of Israel."  (I Kings 18:17)

 

Elijah was called a troubler because of the way he challenged and called into question the values of the world around him.  No longer was Israel a nation that worship Yahweh, but instead, under the King's leadership, it was kneeling at the altars of Baal.  It was a pagan system that was diametrically opposed to the value system of the worship of Yahweh.  Elijah's challenge threatened not only the King's authority, but the morality of a religion that was corrupt and had no real values.  It was a system that was leading people away from God instead of toward him.

 

Our culture needs some troublers.  Being silent in the presence of so many subtle changes in the value system of our spiritual culture is not a luxury which the church, its leaders, and its people can embrace.  Every day it seems that the secular culture invites the church to take another step away from the Biblical faith which has served the church and its people through the centuries.  And, while the values of our culture do not require an abandonment of Christian faith, it does call for its people to simultaneously kneel at another altar.  The road of blending in with culture is the road that takes us away from our Biblical faith and as it does so, it take us further and further from God. 

A Story Still Being Told

When Elijah told King Ahab, "...there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word..."  (I Kings 17:1), the King likely dismissed both the prophet and the message as the rantings of a lunatic who had been in the sun too long.   Perhaps, he forgot about it for a time, but after the cisterns and wells which provided water at the palace started drying up, he surely remembered.  What we do know is that he did his best to find Elijah during those years, but Elijah was not in Israel.  He was in the Gentile region of Sidon living with the widow of Zarephath. 

 

When Elijah chose to reappear before the King, Ahab said, "Is it you, you troubler of Israel?"  (I Kings 17:17)  Maybe in the beginning, Ahab dismissed Elijah, but before it was over he came to understood that the prophet was a man of such power that he could cause the rain to be withheld turning the land into an unlivable place.  Elijah was no longer a man to be ridiculed, but a man of power.  Such it the only explanation for the prophet's safety in the presence of an antagonist who could have had him killed.  And, as the story continues to unfold it is not the King who dictates the future, but the man of God. 

Of course, what is clear to us as we read the story and what must have broken into the consciousness of King Ahab as a terrible thought was the reality of the power of the Lord.  What Ahab really feared was the God of Israel.   The power of God is more than just a amazing thing to consider.  It is beyond amazing that God takes ordinary people like you and me and then empowers them in such a way as to accomplish things which would be impossible if it was all about human strength and ingenuity.  Elijah was as flawed as the most of us, but God used him to write a story that is still being told.  Long after we are gone, our story of faithfulness will surely linger in the hearts and minds of those we have touched for the sake of Christ. 

Confusing Stories

Obadiah is not exactly a household name in the Biblical narrative.  He shows up in the Elijah story toward the end of the drought.  His story which is found in I Kings 18 is a perplexing one.  He is one who worships God as does Elijah, he knows about the prophet and has great respect for him, and he actively saved the lives of one hundred and fifty of the Lord's prophets when they were threatened by Jezebel.  He also becomes a seeker of Elijah for King Ahab and a messenger of Elijah to the King.  Though feeling a great deal of fear for his own life, he dares to carry the message back to the King which Elijah needed delivered.

 

One thing often noted by us as we read the Word and its stories is the reality that they are not always neatly packaged.  Sometimes they are confusing as if some important information has been left out of what we are reading. And, sometimes we find ourselves reading between the lines and doing a little figuring as we try to make sense of what is happening in the story.  Some people might point to these issues as an inconsistency which takes away the credibility of the Word, but for others of us, it is one of the things which makes the Word so credible.

 

Is it not true that are own stories are riddled with inconsistencies?  Is it not true that sometimes our stories present a confusing picture for those who see them and sometimes even to us?  Most of the stories we live out are not neatly packaged, but are still in the process of being worked out to completion.  And, the truth, is we may not see the end.  We may not know where the story we are living is taking us.  We just know it is taking us somewhere.  And like Obadiah, we live with a hope that our story is simply a  part of the greater story which God is writing and working out in order to accomplish His plan for us and those around us.  If such is indeed happening, and it is, then it is more than enough. 

Counting Blessings

When Elijah arrived at the home of the widow of Zarephath, she gave him a drink of water and a morsel of bread.  Her giving to him seems to have been given grudgingly, but she gave it, nonetheless.  In some ways it brings to mind the poor woman Jesus saw giving the gift of two copper coins at the Temple.  Like the woman of Jesus' day, the widow of Zarephath appears to have given all she had.  In response to her gift, Elijah spoke a Word from the Lord, "The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth."  (I Kings 17:14)

 

Every day this woman had a reminder of the provision of God.  Surely, the first mornings she was amazed at the unending source of meal and oil.  In the beginning she probably could not believe her eyes, but after a time, the amazement must have turned into expectation.  When expectation takes the place of amazement at the blessings of God, gratitude is quickly replaced by an entitled "take it for granted" attitude.  What prompts all this reading between the lines is the widow's response to Elijah being used by God to bring life back into her dead son.  "Now I know that you are a man of God, and the word of the Lord in your mouth is true."  (I Kings 17:24)

 

How we can fall into the same mindset as the widow of Zarephath is hard to figure, but we often do.  Our amazement at God's gifts to us can turn into expectation.  When we are truly mindful of the way we are being blessed and when we start each day looking for the blessings that abound, we are much more likely to live with gratitude.  Taking for granted the blessings of God leads to a thankless life, but counting blessings and naming them one by one does indeed have a way of creating a grateful heart.

 

 

Blessing One Another

When Elijah left the dried and caked up cracking creek bed, he went according to the Word of the Lord.  "Go now to Zarepheth...for I have commanded a widow there to feed you."  (I Kings 17:9).  However, as we read the story which unfolds in the next few verses, it would seem that the widow failed to get the message.  When Elijah asked for some water and food, she gave him the water and said, "...I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we eat it, and die."  (I Kings 17:12)  There is nothing about her words which speaks of a long term source of food for the hungry prophet.  She must have missed the commanding voice of God!

 

But, it turned out to be a very special relationship between the two people in such need.  The woman blessed the prophet and the prophet's presence blessed the woman and her son.  As long as the drought lasted she always had meal and oil and both she and the prophet had food to eat.  Had the prophet not come, she and her son would have died.  Her generosity with the little she had was used by God in a way which was nothing short of a miracle. 

 

Miracles happen when people realize that they are in a blessing relationship.  It may not be a miracle as big as an unending supply of food, but miracles come in all shapes and sizes.  It may be in the form of playing for an unexpected moment with a child, or in a moment of helping someone load groceries in a car in the middle of hot parking lot, or simply taking a moment to ask someone about their day with a sincerity that provides for time to listen.  Elijah and the widow of Zarepheth blessed each other.  As we look across our day, we are likely to see blessings given and received as well. 

Count on God

Count on God to be unpredictable.  None of us would come up with some of the things He did to work out His plans for His people.  After telling Elijah a drought was coming, the man of God settled into routine life near what we might call a creek or small stream.  It was enough to sustain him, or so he figured until the day the water flowed no more and what was once clear drinking water turned into a dry caked cracked creek bed.  What was an inconvenience for Elijah was just part of the plan God was working out in those days.

 

God did not forget the needs of his faithful servant.  The one who provided his continued sustenance was a poor widow who was about ready to die.  But, she was blessed with an unending source of food which was much like the manna and quail the Hebrews ate in the wilderness.  And because she was blessed, Elijah was blessed as well.  God used the most ordinary and unexpected way to take care of this prophet whose destiny was waiting for him on Mt. Carmel some three years later.

 

We can always be assured that God has a way for us to go forward.  It may not be clear.  It may surprise us and require a measure of faith we did not know we possessed, but God always presses forward leading and sometimes dragging us along.  Most of us have been in those moments when we faced dried caked and cracking places like busted dreams and such darkness that despair seems to be the only thing in our future.   God does not give up.  Actually, it is not a matter of Him not giving up, but of us being patient, faithful, and trusting as we live with an assurance that no matter what comes, He knows about it coming and has prepared a way for us to get through it.  Count on God to be unpredictable, but also count on God to be faithful. 

Blind Man Walking

Late this afternoon when the clock said it should be cooler, I went out to the tractor shelter to do what was a simple enough job.  As simple got complicated I discovered the clock was not telling the truth.  There was nothing about that moment of a simple job getting complicated in a closed in space as darkness was settling in which spoke of cooler.  It was hot.  It was hot enough my shirt was soaked not with water, but sweat.  Stifling and sweaty and hot was how it was when I finished my task and stood up to head back to the house.

 

As I stepped out of the confines of the tractor shelter, I received a blessing.  It was the blessing of an evening breeze which so touched my wet sweaty shirt as to almost send a shiver across my body.  The coolness I could not find in the midst of my work was all over me in those moments of walking across the ground toward the house.  Almost instantly I thought about the wind of the Spirit.  It comes from where we know not, but always to bring renewal and refreshing.

As I walked I thanked God for the blessing of a cool wind.  And, I thanked God for the gift of His Holy Spirit touching my life.  In these days I find myself walking in amazement at the way God reveals Himself and speaks His Words through the things of creation which have always been present, but not seen or known for such a long time.  It is as if I have been a blind man walking.  And, so even as I am grateful for cool winds on sweaty shirts, so am I grateful for every ordinary way God chooses to bring sight to these eyes which have been blind too long.   

Yellow Day Lillies

This is the season for flowers.  While most of the dirt work around here results in things like tomatoes, squash, peppers, and other things to eat, somewhere along the way a lot of different flowers ended up finding a home in the dirt around here as well.  Color is everywhere, but the ones most intent on putting on a show at the moment are the yellow day lilies.  Coming up out of that deep lush green base, they create a stunning sight to behold.  However, day lilies are short timers.  They bloom, put on a show, and within a day or two they are gone.

 

It brings to mind the way of all things created.  And even though the yellow blooms are beautiful to behold, they also speak a word to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear about the fragile finite nature of all our lives.  Is there a moment in the span of our years when we are at our best?  Or, is it simply true that no matter how many are our years, they are still but a speck in the calendar of creation and the endless span of eternity.  Like those yellow lilies around the house, my time is like your time.  It is measured by shortness instead of longevity.

 

Making the most of the days given to us is not just a Scriptural admonition, but it is also a word which bears the mark of common sense.  It makes no sense to waste a single one of the days which God has given as a blessing to our living.  It makes no sense to let anger prevail, or to have a frivolous spirit about the many abundant parts of the creation which bless us.  It makes no sense to live with disrespect and disregard for those who share this life with us.  And certainly, it makes no sense to live as if we are the ones in charge of our life instead of the God who is the Creator of all that is, including you and me. 

The Harsh Word

Never be surprised at the way God reveals that His plan is working in our lives.  Elijah stands in a special place in Biblical history.  Not only did he walk in faithfulness while living in a time when his faith put him in danger, but he also appeared with Moses on the Mt. of Transfiguration.  His story begins with the 17th chapter of I Kings where Ahab, the King, is told by God speaking through the prophet  "...there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my Word."  (vs. 1)   These years turned into three.  Elijah was told to go and wait and live by the Wadi Cherith.  The ravens fed him and the water came from the Wadi.  However, one day Elijah knelt to drink and the stream was empty of flowing water.

 

The empty stream bed was a harsh word.  Elijah had learned to depend on that water for his daily sustenance.  The Word says, "But after a while the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land."  (vs. 7)  Even though the dry stream bed was something Elijah should have expected, it is likely there was a surprised look on his face that first day when the water flowed no more.  Surely God could have found a more gentle and less threatening way to let him know the plan started was being worked out.

 

Could it not be that some of the harsh circumstances of our life, the kind which lend themselves to complaints and whining, are but one of the ways God is giving to us assurance that what He started somewhere in the past part of our life is still coming to fruition?  While it certainly is a possibility which could be filled with truth, it is not really one we want to consider or receive.  We would rather God give to us assurances that grease the way forward and make us comfortable every step of the way.  But, God has never been predictable.  He has never made the way easy just because He could.  Faithfulness means walking through some of the harsh circumstances even as Jesus did as He walked toward His death on Golgotha. 

 

A Place to Rest

If Sabbath keeping is only about what we do on Sunday, then I am in serious trouble.  At the end of this journey the heavenly ledger is surely going to report that I have done a lot of work on Sunday which is, of course, regarded by the majority of the Christian community as the Sabbath Day.  Maybe preachers get a Golden Gate Exemption, but I doubt it.  The preacher's only hope may be the "One in Seven Rule," but mostly it is going to be about mercy.  While some preachers may hardly work, others work too much. 

 

If we read carefully that verse from the Ten Commandments, we hear a Word about Sabbath and work. "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work.  But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord Your God; you shall not do any work."  (Exodus 20:8-10.  Instead of a rendering which speaks of a specific day, the commandment can be interpreted as a pointer to a lifestyle of no work on one of the seven.  From what are we to abstain on Sabbath?  Work.  And what is work?  Work is that part of our life upon which we depend to sustain our life and the lives of our family?  One day a week the Word calls us to live our life in such a way that our living does not depend our ability to provide, but instead, gives expression to the reality that God truly is the provider for all that touches, blesses us, and sustains us.

When we come to such a place of realizing Who God is and who we are in all these earthly pursuits of ours, we are likely to come to a place of balance that causes us to worship and enables us to live with a real spirit of gratitude.  And, as we consider the issues of balance and gratitude, we come to a place of understanding what it means to experience Sabbath and share in its blessings.  Such an awareness may not be the final word on Sabbath keeping, but it is a place to start and rest on the journey.

The Rhythmic Flow

Ignoring God's call to Sabbath rest takes us out of rhythm with the Creation which surrounds us.  Of course, there are less obvious decisions we have made which reflect this choice.  When God separated the light from the dark, thereby, creating day and night, He put in place a segment of each day for working and another one for resting.  Electricity gave us another option.  We can take home work from the workplace and work at home.  No one suffers from this choosing to be out of rhythm with creation except our family.  And, farmers around these parts and others as well have lights on their tractors so the sunlight no longer is heeded when it sounds the bell signaling the working hours are over. 

 

As subtle as these choices may seem, the ones we make in the supermarket are even more subtle.  If we want fruit and vegetables out of season, we can depend on modern day transportation to get them to us.  No one has to wait for grapes to ripen on their vines when Chili or some other country is ready to export them.  Waiting on something to be in season is no longer necessary.  We can get what we want when we want it.  Forget about waiting.  And as we pop the juicy fruit in our mouth which has traveled thousands of miles, we have taken still one more step further away from the rhythm of the creation.

 

For some this might sound like a stretch.  It might sound like the thoughts of someone who has too much time on his hands, but the truth is, there is less time on these hands than ever there has been.  Maybe older years brings things to mind which the younger years are unable to see.  Certainly things are seen differently as the decades start piling up.  One of those things seen differently is a relationship to the creation and the One who put me in it that speaks of paying attention to the rhythm, the ebb and flow, of that creation.  While this may not bother the most of us, it seems somehow that we are the only part of the creation which chooses to ignore its rhythmic flow.  Maybe it is not a problem, but then again, maybe it speaks of a heart choosing one way when God has ordained another.

 

The Rhythm of Life

Figuring out what to do with the Sabbath is not something with which the secular culture is concerned.  It is only a concern for those who regard the Scripture as a sacred Word that has bearing on the way we live.  Certainly no one thinks that God is going to bring terrible things upon someone who disregards His admonition to rest on the seventh day as the Creation story tells us He did when He brought all things into being.  Keeping the Sabbath holy is interpreted in so many different ways that anyone has a license to do anything. 

 

At a deeper level than the things we do or do not do is where the harm to the soul is done.  The Creation speaks of a rhythm to life.  The changing seasons, the change from day to darkness, the pull of the moon on the tides, and the life we humans live from within the womb to the grave all speak of an ongoing rhythm.  When we disregard the Word about Sabbath, we choose to move outside of the rhythm for living that God ordained for us from the very beginning.  While some might say the fears, worries, and stresses of life come from the external pressures all around us, is it not also possible that they come from within because we choose to live our lives out of sync with the rest of creation.?

 

A basic understanding of sin is that it represents us finding a way better than the way of God.  And, once we find that better way, we choose it.  Such choosing is our undoing.  Whatever it is that puts us outside the intentions of God results in a brokenness we cannot fix.  We can call it by any word that sounds sophisticated, but the Word simply uses the term sin.  From the very beginning God ordained not just the best way for us to live, but the only way for us to live.  To ignore that Word is something which only dimishes our living.  To walk and live in step with the Created order is far more important than it might seem on the surface.  It is not just a matter of a body in need of rest, but of a soul in need of its Creator.

Still Figuring

In the book of beginning the Word says, "And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all the work He had done.  So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that He had done in creation."  (Genesis 2:2-3)  Some time later on Mt. Sinai God spoke again and said, "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work.  But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord Your God; you shall not do any work."  (Exodus 20:8-10)  It is, therefore, not hard to figure from these words that there is something special about one of the days God created.

 

When I was growing up in South Georgia, the special nature of the seventh day was defined by a list of things which could not be done.  You could not shop (stores were closed), you could not fish (my father said the fish needed a day off), you could not go to the movies or go swimming (fun was disallowed), but you could go to Sunday School and Church on Sunday morning.  Visiting uncles and aunts and cousins was also acceptable.  Mostly, though Sabbath was defined by what could not be done.

 

Certainly, it is different today.  As far as the marketplace is concerned, Sunday is just like any other day.  Doing most anything from fishing to swimming to going to the movies is no problem as is doing work around the house like yard work and household chores.  What has come to be difficult for many a believer is coming to some workable understanding about what it means to rightly observe the Sabbath Day.  One thing is certain.  According to the Word, the Sabbath Day is to be a different day.  It is to be a day which is to be lived and experienced in a way different from the other six.  Holy is how the Word described that seventh day.  It has been a long time since Moses went up Mt. Sinai, and even longer time since the book of beginnings, and we are still trying to figure it out. 

Soul Stretching

What we see in the sanctuary where we worship is often more telling than we might realize at first glance.  When I first started preaching, the pulpit stood behind the altar in the center of the worship area.  As the years moved along, it became rather common to see the altar open in the center with the pulpit on one side and a lectern on the other.  What took the pulpit's place at the center of the worship area was a communion table.   Instead of worship being preaching centered, the new arrangement announced that worship would be Table centered. 

 

In my denomination which is the United Methodist Church, the change in pulpit and table placement did not really change much about the worship life of the congregation.  Unlike some Table centered churches which offered the Holy Sacrament every Sunday, the practice continued of offering the bread and wine only on first Sunday.   And it was also true that a communion Sunday was often not as well attended as the other Sundays when preaching was the main event.  Some of those folks who stayed home on first Sunday did so saying, "It wasn't real church."

Perhaps, this speaks of the theology from above running ahead of the theology in the pews.  Or, maybe it speaks of leadership leading without the kind of communication that facilitates a meaningful understanding.  I remember an ash marked guy who came to me after an Ash Wednesday service asking, "What was that all about?" He was a full participant without any understanding which spoke to my failure as his pastor and worship leader.  Doing things because "I say so" or because the church calendar calls for it is a poor substitute for enabling people to have meaningful worship experiences which provide a stretching of the soul. 

 

 

Look at the Preacher

When I was in those first days of preaching, it was not uncommon for folks to speak of the music setting the table for the preacher.   Of course, those days were also days when worship was preaching oriented.  Everything centered around the preaching which was the main event.  Nowadays, it is different.  The other day someone told me that music was the major reason they chose the church they attended.  Instead of setting the table for the preacher, many a preacher wants to go and hide somewhere after the music is finished.  If worship was once preaching oriented, it is surely music oriented now.

None of this is to say that music is not an important part of any worship experience.  It has birthed life into many a dead congregation.  And when it is well done, it inspires and touches deep places in the heart.  It is most likely to reach us at an emotional level which is something preaching should do, but does not always do.  In some places so much time is spent with the music there is little time left for the preaching which may be acceptable to some preachers, but this one always tenaciously guarded preaching time.

Maybe what caused the shift was not so much the attractiveness of the music as the failure in the pulpit.  Mediocre preaching is easy.  Preaching that is excellent requires more time and energy than most of us want to put into it.  Preaching professors always said an hour in preparation in the study for every minute in the pulpit.  Too many preachers have gotten too immersed in being a CEO which translates into a diminished spiritual life.  Too little knee time, not enough time being saturated with the Word, and too much time at the altar of staying busy has ruined many a preacher.  Before we start fussing too much about way people are drawn to the music, it might be a good thing for those of us who preach to look at the preacher. 

The Holy Place

There was a time when it seemed that the sanctuary and the ground upon which it stood was ground that was distinctively holy ground.  It was ground and space set apart for the sacred work of God.  Whatever happened in and on that place should somehow be done to bring glory to God and further the mission of His Son upon the earth.   What further underscored this perception were the prayers and acts of dedication which preceded the creation of the church space.

 

In these years when life is not quite as centered around the physical entity known as the church, it seems more likely that the church is but one holy place in the world and that every time we put our foot on the ground of the earth we are in fact walking on holy ground.  It is ground which bears the mark of the Creator God.  It is ground that was brought into being by Him and ground which belongs to Him.  What is holy is not just the space we make holy through our prayers, but all the creation.  Every part of it is holy, not because of our prayers and rituals, but because it belongs to Him.

 

This new view of the world has not changed my view of the church nearly as much as it has changed my view of the earth that is all around me.  While the church continues to be a sanctuary in the midst of a secular society, the earth is a great cathedral which stretches from one horizon to another and has within it everything and everyone brought into creation by the Creator.  The holy place is no longer confined to a building, but is a small part of a holy creation.  The church's mission and the creation are in some ways one in the same.  They both are to here to glorify God. 

The Next Step

Out here in the country just beyond the edge of the boundaries of what is called the city limits, we have an intimate relationship with trash and garbage.  In the years I lived as an urban dweller, we had trash days when big trucks would come and swallow up the trash we had collected in a big blue plastic container and placed on the edge of the street.  Curbside pickup was the dressed up name for this handling of our garbage.  But, in these days the garbage is bagged in the house, carried to the outdoor cans, loaded on a utility trailer and transported to the nearby recycling center where it is handled once more and thrown into open bins.

Spending so much time with the trash causes one to reflect on many things.  One of those things often thought about is the way food processing these days encourages trash collection.  When I was growing up my sister and I went with our parents to places like the butterbean patch, the long okra rows, and the longer rows where corn waited to be pulled and peas hung on the vines.  After a hot morning in the sun, the rest of the day was spent shelling and shucking and cooking and freezing and, finally, eating.  There were no containers to throw in the trash. 

I remember years ago holding up some peas as an object lesson in a children's sermon as I asked, "Where do we get this food?"  The answer came back, "In a can at the grocery store."  Unfortunately, the further along we go toward progress, the more we seem to get disconnected from the earth.  The herds who walk around us looking at their hand bear witness to how pervasive the disconnect from the present has become.  The core of who we are speaks of being a part of the creation which God has put into being.  We live in the creation, yet, apart from it.  And, even as that disconnect is made, the one which disconnects us from the Creator is only a step away.

Blessed and Grateful

The creation is indeed a spectacular thing to behold.  What one of us has not marveled at the coloring of a sunset, or been mindful of infinity at the place where water and earth meet, or spent time in amazement at the diversity of the creatures which share this space with us?  The stars send our thoughts heavenward, the storms send us scurrying for safety, and the people around us have more stories to tell than there are books to read.  Indeed, what God has put before us is nothing less than astounding and amazing!

But, to think about all of this another way is to consider how what we see in the creation blesses us.  Why is this of significance?  It is significant because what blesses us becomes something for which we are likely to express gratitude.  To be aware of how we are blessed by all that is around us just might enable us to live with an ongoing spirit of thanksgiving.  We might even find ourselves coming to the point of being thankful in the difficult and dark moments of our life.

So, instead of just marveling at the sunset, we could allow ourselves to think in the midst of the moment about the many ways the sun blesses us.   It warms us on cooler days.  It provides light for our work.  It is the source of order for the planets that spin around it.  It blesses us.  Or, consider the tree which is caught in the fading light of the evening.  Its foliage provides shade.  Its leaves create mulch to enrich the earth.  And, some even produce fruit and nuts for us to eat.  It blesses us.  Once we turn our mind loose to roam, there is no end to the ways creation blesses us and no end to the many more things for which we become thankful. 

Weed Pulling

I know Jesus told a parable about weed seeds being planted midst freshly planted wheat seeds.  In the parable the master told his servants to let things be.  "Let both of them grow together until the harvest..." he told them.  (Matthew 13:30)  Around here it is a hard word to follow.  Around here one of the major tasks is pulling weeds.  When your grow a garden, or when you are watching blueberries filling out on the bush, or when the flowers start disappearing midst the unwanted green growth, pulling weeds seems like a natural and necessary thing to do. 

 

While it is true that weeds are as much a part of the creation as the blueberries, the weeds tend to diminish the vitality of the plants deemed by us as more desirable.  From the time I first was being sent to the butter bean patch, I was told that weeds take the nutrients out of the soil which the fruit producing plants could and would use.  In the garden battlefield where the weeds are battling the blueberries for the nurturing power of the soil, the weeds always seem to win so around here we pull weeds hoping to turn the tide.

 

It is a visible task which brings to mind an inner one in our spiritual life.  In our desire for spiritual health and wholeness there are many things which can take away and distract and diminish.  Our spiritual life is weakened by the presence of the negative things in our heart which hinder the Holy Spirit in producing fruit that resembles the heart of Jesus.  If we want our heart and spirit to be nurtured, it is always going to be necessary to do some weed pulling.  The Word of God often refers to the work as repentance and confession.  Like pulling weeds, it is hard work no one really wants to do, but it is an imperative for the soul that seeks after God. 

Woodpecker Drilling

For some reason I have been more than conscious of the woodpeckers around the farm in these recent days.  Occasionally, I see one on the trunk of a pecan tree working away as if it is sure tomorrow is not going to be coming.  But, most of time, it is what I hear that alerts me to their presence.  Throughout the day I hear their drumming going on down in the  branch which is a sure indicator that some woodpecker is drilling away for lunch or supper.  If there is any bird in the bird family which seems to constantly have a hard time of life, surely it is the woodpecker.

 

There are times when it seems to me that I have something in common with this red headed bird.  I know what it is to run into such difficulty that it seems to me that I am beating my head against some hard immovable object.  No matter what I do and no matter how hard I work, things do not seem to get any better.  It just ends up being me beating my head against the old proverbial wall.  And like anyone, in those moments I long for an easier way and often ask God to do some removing miracle. 

 

I suppose the Apostle Paul must have felt some of this when he wrote the Corinthian Christians about what he called his thorn in the flesh.  "Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.'" II Corinthians 12:8)   What Paul is saying is that nothing changed.  The thorn remained.  All he got was an assurance that grace would finally overcome and prevail.  Since God often chooses not to remove some things we have been beating our head against, it must be true that there is something about the difficulty which will finally bring some measure of nurturing to our soul as surely as the constant drilling of the woodpecker brings nurture to his body. 

The Road

The road taken on this spiritual journey of faith in Christ is not quite as clear as the yellow brick road that took Dorothy to the Emerald City.  Neither does it always have the visual appearance as did Bunyan's road from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City.  In the beginning the road ahead may seem certain and clear, but what we soon find out is that it is actually nothing like we expected.  In a recent reading entitled "The Soul's Slow Ripening," Christine Valters Paintner quotes a line of poetry from Antonio Machado which reads, "wanderer, there is no road, the way is made by walking."

 

Sometimes we read something and every part of us seems to step back at the profound truth before us.  The image created by the lines of the poet has a kind of power to awaken us to such a moment.  It is an image that reminds us that the road we would pave with our own expectations is not really the road upon which Christ walks and leads us.  What we have found out through the years of walking is that the only step which is certain is the next step.  And, sometimes we realize that the next step is not guaranteed, but is only anticipated by faith. 

"A way made by walking" creates an image that is more faithful to reality than any road paved with personal expectations.  Some days in the summer when the hay fields are thick and lush, I walk out through it to see if it ready for baling, or to see if it is being attacked by army worms in some distant place.  As I move through the knee high grass, a way is created by each step.  I can look behind and see the pushed down trail I have left, but the way forward is only created by the next step.  Such is how it really is on this road we call our faith journey.