Two Words

Time is more of an issue for us than it is for God.  While what I know about heaven is limited, it does appear to me that God does not wear a watch on His arm and neither are there any calendars hanging on celestial walls.  It is certain that time is in the hands of God and it is also certain that it is in good hands.  The Word does tell us that He does not count time as we count it.  II Peter 3:8 tells us, "that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day."   Isaac Watts, the song writer, described time as "an ever flowing stream."  We most likely would have written, "a fast whitewater river."  

God would hardly agree with our "whitewater river" definition for one of the things we know about God is that He does not hurry.  Abraham discovered this about God's time as did the Hebrew people who waited in Egypt for Moses to come and when he did come, God led them on a circuitous route to the promised land.  Certainly, He was in no hurry for Bethlehem to happen and it is obvious that when Christ comes again, it will be according to His timing and not ours.   

Recognizing God's perspective on time should help us in our praying and in our living.  We are not going to hurry God.  Even though we may be spending all our time telling Him what He should be doing and when He should be doing what we want Him to do, it is all to no avail.  One of the basic truths we learn about prayer from Jesus is that all things are according to the will of the Father.  "Thy will be done" is the basic prayer He taught us and it also speaks of the essential thing which guides the eternal work of the Kingdom that is always unfolding before us.  We say, "Hurry."  He says, "Wait."  We do not want to hear His word and He is surely is not going to change when He hears our word.

All, Not Some

When the Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Galatian Christians, he knew that some who read the letter would be shouting, "Amen!" while others would dismiss him as irrelevant and out of touch with reality.  Some who read his letter would remember his visit among them and others would only know him as a name.  While the Apostle Paul directed some anger at those who he believed were leading the church astray as he wrote, "I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves" (Galatians 5:12), he also spoke the all inclusive word of Galatians 3:26 which has him declaring, "...for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith..."     

It is an easy word to forget in the heat of a disagreement, or difference, or argument.  I know this to be true not just because I have read or heard acrimonious, divisive, and mean spirited words spewing forth from both sides of a denominational dispute, but because I have been caught up in some local church battles which certainly brought no joy to the heart of Christ.  What is often forgotten is that everyone on both sides of the struggle are "children of God through faith." When Paul wrote these words, he did not refer to those who agreed with him as children of God, but instead, he spoke of all being his brothers and sisters through Christ.    

We may disagree with one another and we have and we will.  We may even believe to the core of our being that those on the other side of the table are absolutely wrong, but we must not forget who they are and who we are.  It might be good to remember another word Paul wrote to another church, "Be angry, but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger."  (Ephesians 4:26)  It also might be good to remember Jesus saying, "...love one another..." (John 13:34).

A Troubled Church

One of my favorite and most used New Testament letters is the one written to the Galatian Churches.  The plural is used because it seems that this letter of the Apostle Paul was passed around and read by a number of churches in the region of Galatia.  Becoming a fan of this letter started in seminary.  One academic quarter was spent studying this particular letter and the grade for the course was determined by a self written commentary each of us did on the entire letter.  I still have my hand written composition book (or personal commentary) and have used it numerous times over the years of ministry.    

This afternoon I sat down on the deck outside and read the letter again.  Using a new Bible purchased this year enabled me to read with what I hope was fresh eyes.  At least there were no under linings and margin notes to steer me toward the truths which shimmered before me in past readings.  Somehow I felt led to it.  While such may sound strange to some, I have come to a place over the years of trying not to ignore inner urges to read certain sections of the Word.  Galatians is not a long read and even a slow read does not and did not take an inordinate amount of time.   

As I reflected on the reading, I came to the conclusion that part of the urge to read this letter had to do with its context and mine as well.  It was written by the Apostle Paul to a church in trouble.  The heresy which concerned the Apostle was a rising Jesus-plus theology which declared that one thing more was needed in addition to faith in Christ.   The church which baptized me, nurtured me, and ordained me is in trouble today and its troubles, trouble me.  I am not sure I found that for which I was searching, but then I do not know exactly the thing for which I was searching.   Whatever it might have been, the reading reminded me the church has endured and survived  many a theological storm and I pray this one will not be the exception.

Divine Leading

When we think that God's leading us is limited to some grandiose moment, or to some calling which sets the course for our life, we are likely to miss out on the extraordinary way God leads those who seek His way over any other way.  Some may hold that life is more about coincidence, or the location of the stars, or a destiny set by birth, but the Word teaches us a different way.  Our Father God is not one who brings us into His creation and then stands back to see how we fare.  Instead, the Word teaches us that we are never deserted by Him, never forsaken by Him, and most assuredly never forgotten by Him.    

But, to understand His leading is to know it is not about what He does not do, but about what He does.  When we look at the way God led Abraham, Moses, the many women whose stories are told in the gospel, as well as the disciples, we see a story which speaks of ongoing, intimate, and intentional involvement.  The leading offered by God is not a once and done kind of thing, but something which touches our life every day we breathe this earth's air.  To read the teachings of Jesus and the Holy Spirit is to see that divine leading, divine presence, and divine care is a daily matter.  It could even be said that it is a moment by moment matter.    

There is no reason to step forward into any day's sunrise without an inner assurance that God is planting our feet on the floor, is going to sustain and provide according to our needs, and is leading us into the always unfolding moments of expressing His love and care to others whom He will put in our path.  God may lead some to pulpits and platforms to speak to thousands, but most of us will be led to the stranger who bumps into us in the grocery store, the working servant at the cash register, or some friend or family member who may need nothing more than a listening ear and a receptive heart.  God has a daily plan for each of us.  He has some way in mind for us to be useful for His Kingdom's work each day and He is always leading us toward it.

A Prayer for 2024 Grads

In this graduation season in which I have seen two grandchildren graduate high school, I have tried to remember my own graduation.  When I attempt to go there, I end up with something that reminds me of the first black and white television set my Daddy brought home.  It had a picture, but it was grainy and full of static.  Such is my memory of that momentous event fifty eight years ago.   I know it happened as there is ample evidence of it including a picture of myself, a diploma, some friends, and an annual invitation to attend a class reunion.   

As I watched this class of graduates, I wonder how this moment is for them.  Some of us thought back when I made my walk that we would change the world.  It was a dark world back then with a war in southeast Asia and social upheaval here at home.  In such a time anyone who figured on changing the world was surely one of an optimistic bunch.  Today's graduates live in a world with problems that have different names.  If this ancient baby boomer should start naming them, it might likely be a different list than the ones written by those who are walking across the stage to get a handshake and a piece of parchment.   

I pray for my grandchildren and the host of young people who are making the journey from a season that is ending to a new one that is just now beginning.  As one of my grandchildren said, "It is a bittersweet moment."  I pray they will not be afraid of new beginnings for life can be defined as thousands of short seasons each with an ending and a beginning.  Every morning is a new beginning.  I pray, too, that they will find a faith in God that is like a rock, not a small pebble, but a huge boulder.  May it be solid enough to be unbreakable and big enough to prevail when the next new beginning seems more like shadows than sunshine.  Whether or not they are able at the end to remember the beginning steps with God on the journey He has planned for them, I pray when the end is near, they will know it has been a good journey filled with the realities of love and grace and promises of eternity.

Swirling Holy Mystery

One of my favorite Old Testament calling stories is found in the sixth chapter of Isaiah.  It is about a man who sees a vision.  It is about a man who becomes overwhelmed and immersed in the vision.  It is not a vision in which he is a spectator, but a participant.  It is a vision filled with a holy mystery that flows over into the ordinary and one in which the ordinary becomes a part of the vision.  It was surely difficult for Isaiah to see the boundaries of the mystery and the ordinary.   When we truly stand midst holy mystery, it is like standing on a mountain top that is overwhelmed by swirling clouds which take away any sense of being able to see.   

Long years ago when I was young enough to think there was no danger which could not be overcome and the years would go on forever, I drove my car filled with some friends up Brasstown Bald which is Georgia's highest peak sometime after midnight.  Smart people would have turned around when the fog became so thick we had to hang out the window to see the edge of the road.  As we reached the parking lot, we left the car and started the final walk to the top only to have someone ask if it were possible a bear might be prowling around in that thick fog.  We all stopped for a brief moment, sanity took hold, and we raced back to the car as fast as we could on a trail we could not see.   

Isaiah knew he was in a place where the way forward was impossible to see.  Mystery was swirling all around him.  In the midst of such holiness, he knew he was undone for he was an unclean sinner in the midst of unclean people.  It was not a bear which came to the prophet in that never before walked land, but seraphs who came to cleanse him, blot out his sin, and open his ears to hear the calling Word of the Lord.  Whenever holy mystery is swirling around us and we cannot see our way forward, there will be a reason.  God takes us into such moments as Jesus took James, John, and Peter up the Mount of Transfiguration so that we, too, might carry holy mystery with us wherever He calls us to go.

A Minority of One

I am still trying to figure out whether to attend worship this Sunday. It is Memorial Day weekend.  Of course, this is not the only secular holiday the church celebrates.  I am know I am in a very small minority of people who have a problem with the church celebrating secular holidays.  There are a lot of secular holidays on the calendar.  Mother's Day, Father's Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day are a few.  My problem in attending church on those holiday weekends goes back to a question I heard years ago.    

When I was pastor at the Vidalia Church, I met weekly with a group of pastors from a diverse denominational background.  The Episcopal priest became a good friend over the ten years I was in Vidalia.  The focus of our weekly gathering was the gospel lectionary passage for the upcoming Sunday.  On those Sundays when a secular holiday showed up on the calendar, I knew my friend was going to ask us, "Are you going to preach the secular holiday, or the gospel this Sunday?"  His question caused everything from disbelief to uncomfortable squirming.  It even caused him to be called unpatriotic a time or two.    

It was not then, nor is it now a question easily dismissed.  Is it the church's place to observe 4th of July Sunday or Memorial Day?   Is such a celebration more the business of the nation, or the community instead of the church?  Should preachers preach the message of the secular holiday, or the message of the gospel?   To ignore the holiday means risking the ire of those who attend with different expectations.  I remember one Sunday when I failed to produce a rousing and inspiring tribute to Mothers on Mother's Day.  An angry woman came out the door, refused my extended hand, and told me that was the worst Mother's Day sermon she had ever heard.  She was likely enough telling the truth.  There is some tension present midst the gathered people on these Sundays.  Some may not notice, but others like myself find themselves squirming and wondering if the church has lost its moorings when the celebration of the secular holidays takes precedence over the celebration of the risen Christ in our midst.

A Big Promise

The Word of God is full of promises.  An old gospel hymn reminds us we can stand on the promises of God.  His promises are sure footing.  Some of those promises are within the range of what we regard as possible, but there are others which seem beyond anything possible.  One such promise is found in John 14:12-14.  It records a teaching of Jesus and says, "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.  I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If in my  name you ask Me for anything, I will do it."    

Here is an amazing text and a powerful promise.  The first time I read this text and it really took hold was back when I was at the Vidalia Church preparing to preach at a District Conference.  This Word of Jesus took hold of me and I preached what was surely a feeble sermon when it was laid alongside the inherent power of the Word of Christ being proclaimed in these verses of Scripture.  The thing our ego often helps us to miss is that we can be enabled to greater works not because we are so spiritually put together, but because of the implied partnership of Christ held forth in these verses.  Our impossibilities become possibilities and realities when Jesus touches them.   

The end results of our reaching toward the improbable possibilities and realities of God may never be seen by our eyes. Even as seeds cast into the ground take time to germinate, break the surface of the ground, and grow into a harvest, so does it often take time for what we offer to Christ as an act of love to take root and grow into something which can transform lives and circumstances.  Jesus made it clear in one of His teachings that as disciples we are sowers of the Word.  The rest is up to Him.  It is all about a holy partnership.  We share in a ministry of greater things because of that partnership.

The Larger Heart

The other day after posting a blog in which I confessed to forgetting the last name of a pastor friend who would stop by my office to pray for me, someone blessed me by responding with Bill's last name.  When I read the name, it made me feel that the story I was trying to tell was complete.  Brother Bill McClellan is how my friend remembered his name.  Bill was a "Rev," but "Brother" was a more appropriate title.  Brother Bill is how folks knew him.  I never heard Bill preach, but I knew of his pastor's heart.  He was one of those men of the cloth who did not have to think about what he should do when he heard of someone in need; instead, in a very natural and spontaneous way he went and stood as the presence of Christ with folks. Not all of us do it as easily as my friend and brother, Bill.    

In the beginning of our faith journey with Christ, we know what we should do, but doing it is not often a spontaneous act.  When confronted with some need, we stop and think about what we should do, sometimes calculating the cost or the risk, and then deciding what we will do.  As we walk with Christ for a spell, some of His Spirit begins to rub off on us.  To put it in a more dignified and theological structure, the Holy Spirit begins a work of grace in us that enables our spirit to bear some resemblance to the heart of Christ.  Sanctification is the big theological word for this transitioning of our spirit from one bent on doing what we want to what God desires for us.  

One of the things lost in these days when we choose to live under the authority and control of the Holy Spirit is the calculating spirit.  We find ourselves moving into acts of love and kindness not because we have weighed the pros and cons, but because we are constrained to act according to the love of Christ which has taken root and is growing in our lives.  My friend, Bill, was one of those saints whose heart led him into self sacrificing and spontaneous acts of love.  I may have served a larger church than the one Bill served, but he surely had the larger heart.

The Vine

The seventh and last of the self identification statements of Jesus recorded in John's gospel is about intimacy that grows out of dependency.  John 15:1 contains the word, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower."  There are two levels of intimacy lifted up in this passage.  The first is the intimacy between Jesus and the Father.  The presence of Jesus as the true vine is a part of the plan of the Father God.  It is not something which has evolved or simply happened circumstantially. In every respect Jesus is dependent upon the plan of the Father.    

The second level of intimacy lifted up in the passage is the intimacy between Jesus and the disciples.  Even as Jesus is dependent on the Father, so are the disciples dependent on Jesus.  Jesus is spoken of as the true vine dependent on the vinegrower (the Father) and the disciples are spoken of as the branches of the true vine (Jesus).  The branches are subject to removal or pruning according to the level of fruit production (obedience to the will of the Son). As grandchildren are connected to their parents and the parents are connected to the grandparents of their children, so is there a connection of life and dependency between the disciples, Jesus, and the Father.  

Of course, all analogies are prone to reveal their flaws and limitations and so does this DNA analogy, but it does point to the way our levels of intimacy are dependent and connected.  Being the true vine, Jesus stands in the middle.  He is the One who connects us to our Father God and the One through whom we know spiritual intimacy with our Creator.  Jesus is the divine intermediary.  Without Him we end up in the burn pile for no branch can prune itself in order to be true to its reason for being.

The Way

The sixth word of self identification spoken by Jesus in the gospel of John may not be the most quoted, but it surely gets the award for generating the most controversial conversation.  John 14:6 records this word:  "I am the way, and the truth, and the life."  What makes it such an article of conversation is the next verse which has Jesus saying, "No one comes to the Father except through Me."  It is a word which is offensive to many.  For anyone, even Jesus, to declare Himself to be "the way" with the accompanying implication of being the only way is too much of a stretch for those who want to make the way wide enough for everyone.    

In addition to this word which smacks of the creation of the spiritually elite, there is that other word from Jesus in the passage of Scripture we know as the Sermon on the Mount.  "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction  and there are many who take it.  For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it."  (Matthew 7:13-14)  These words are taken by many to speak of God not loving everyone equally instead of a word which upholds the importance of the faith response to Christ.  

The magnitude of divine love is seen in the grace of God as He acted on the cross to make a way for everyone to reclaim their identity as one created and marked with the imprint of the Holy.  One of the things surely evident in this passage of self identification is that Jesus is the way pointing us, directing us, and taking us to God.  All of these "I Am" passages speak of Him in the essential sense, not as one who is optional.  There is no taking or leaving Jesus.  He is either Who He claims to be, or He is no one at all.  C.S. Lewis said it best, "Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse." 

The Resurrected One

If those seven words of personal identification from John's gospel were listed in order of significance instead of as they appear in the text, it would be hard not to put number five as number one.  While each one of these self-identifying words of Jesus are powerful, number five is full and running over.  In John 11:25 this super word appears as Jesus says about Himself, "I am the resurrection and the life."  What is not surprising is that this word comes at the about to be empty tomb of Lazarus.  This friend of Jesus had been in the tomb for four days when Jesus arrived.  This power filled word of Jesus comes in response to the "if only You had come earlier" lament of Martha.  (John 11:17-22)   

In a place of grief and mourning, in a place filled with flowing tears, and in a place where Jesus was reproached for not doing better, He speaks a word which splits the heavens and tore the power of death apart.  "I am the resurrection and the life."  What is strange is that it is a word hardly preached from the pulpit except on Easter Sunday and in services at the cemetery, and even then, it is often watered down by making it a symbolic word conveying some truth other than the reality that death does not have the last word.   

Without the resurrection the gospel is a collection of empty religious platitudes.  It is not an optional part of the message of Jesus, but the essential part.  Early on there were those in the church who preached a false gospel denying the resurrection which prompted the Apostle Paul to write, "If there is no resurrection from the dead, then Christ has not been raised...If Christ has not been raised, you faith is futile and you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have died in Christ have perished.  If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.  But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died."  (I Corinthians 15:13, 17-20).   The One who said, "I am the resurrection and the life" was raised from the dead and now and forever lives and because He lives, so shall we.  Hallelujah!

Pray for the Preacher

I wish I could remember his name.  All the gray matter seems to have remembered is Bill.  The last name is gone.  I met Bill when I served the Vidalia Church and he was the pastor of a neighboring church out in the county.  There was a time during my ten years there that Bill would stop by the church office on a weekly basis.  He came in saying, "Brother Bill, I know you are busy and I am not going to take up much of your time.  I just came by to pray for you"  And, he did.  And, true to his word, he was gone.  The first time it happened, I was surprised, but it was not long before I was looking forward to his voice calling out to me from the open door.      

Preachers need people praying for them.  I was reminded of Bill and his ministry yesterday while in worship.  The preacher who preached is a good preacher.  He is also a high energy guy who gives what he is doing everything he has to give.  When I walked out the door, most folks had left, been greeted, and he was sitting in a chair next to the door looking mostly worn out.  As I left, I thought, "This preacher needs someone praying for him."    I know there are folks in the church who pray for him as their pastor, and I am going to join with them in lifting him up that he might continue to know the power of the Holy Spirit, not just on Sunday, but every day.  

As I look behind me at the preaching ministry God gave me for over forty years, I see a host of faces who have prayed for me, who invested their time with the Father in me, and who enabled me to preach and serve as I would not have been able without them.  Maybe my praying for yesterday's preacher is "paying it forward," or maybe it is just responding to something God is calling me to do.

The Good Shepherd

Using an image His listeners could not fail to understand, Jesus said about Himself, "I am the good shepherd."  (John 10:11)  It is an interesting image for Jesus to invoke considering shepherds were those who inhabited the lowest social ranks of first century Israel.  They stood on the same social rung as tax collectors.  Their work which kept them in close contact with sheep made them religiously unclean.  No one had any desire to have social contact with them.  They were outcasts.   

So, along comes Jesus declaring Himself to be "the good shepherd."  Jesus is no ordinary smelly old shepherd, but the shepherd who is inherently good.  He is so good and so caring of His sheep that He will lay down His life to protect them from those who mean them harm.  "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."  (John 10:11)  Unlike some hired hand who will run when the wolf attacks the sheep, the good shepherd puts Himself between the sheep and danger.   

Sheep are defenseless and dependent.  They cannot defend themselves against those who mean them harm  and they are dependent upon the shepherd for life itself.  As are the sheep, so are we.  "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 cosmic powers of thi present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God , so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day."  (Ephesians 6:10-13)  Against such we are defenseless.  We cannot depend on ourselves to stand safely.  We need "the good shepherd" and He has come to be with us.

The Gate

Jesus invoked an image familiar to those who heard Him when He spoke of Himself with the words, "...I am the gate for the sheep...I am the gate."  (John 10:7, 9).  Few of us have been around sheep, but such was not the case in the world in which Jesus came to live among us.  Shepherds and sheep were commonly seen in the countryside.  It is remembered that the first visitors to the Christ child born in Bethlehem were shepherds.  When Jesus started this teaching which described how sheep come and go into and from a place of care, everyone who listened surely was shaking their head in understanding.   

The gate of the sheepfold was a place easily guarded and protected.  The sheep were safe from those who would steal them from the shepherd and the predators that would kill and destroy,  As Jesus used the gate imagery as a teaching point, He said, "Whoever enters by Me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." (John 10:9-10)   With these words Jesus speaks of His primary role among us.  He came to preach, to announce good news, to teach, and to heal, but He came primarily to bring us Home to the place where we belong.  

Our identity is with our Creator.  It is an identity that we, along with those first century folks, have forgotten.  As the sheep find security, life, and well being by going through the gate, so we know such through the person of the Christ who came to live among us and show us the way to the Father God.  To see Jesus, to embrace by faith who He is and the reason He came to live among us is life giving.  Through Him we know the provision of green pastures, the safety of the still waters, and the restoring of our soul.  (Psalm 23:1-3) 

The Light of the World

There are several contrasting themes set forth in John's gospel.  One, of course, is the overriding contrast between belief and unbelief.  This is explicitly stated toward the end of the gospel as John writes about his purpose.  "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book.  But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ." (John 20:30-31)  Another equally dominant contrasting theme is the one between light and darkness.  The first Words of the prologue speak of the eternal light upon which every created thing, both inanimate and animate, are dependent. (John 1:1-5)  Later in the text we hear Jesus identifying Himself as this eternal light as He declares, "I am the Light of the world."  (John 8:12) 

It is a statement so large it cannot possibly be comprehended by those with finite minds.  What Jesus is saying is something that goes beyond any image we might carry with us of light in the darkness.  A candle is too small.  A shining lighthouse is not big enough.  Even the sun which sends its light across the universe only gives a glimpse of the inherent eternal Light of the Christ.  One of the places in the Word where we must go to see with eyes veiled is the first chapter of Genesis which actually speaks of two lights.  One is a lesser light and is known as the sun.  The second which is actually mentioned first before the second is the greater light and is the eternal light which gives light to everything that has been, is in the present, and still to come in the future.  It is the same light of which John speaks in those first few words of his prologue.  

Even as the creation which includes the things of the heaven, the things of the earth, the living creatures, the flying animals, and the man and woman, all dependent on this eternal light, so does Jesus speak of Himself as the Light of the world to declare Himself to be the light upon which the soul of humankind is dependent if it is to live according to the holy purpose for which it was created.  Reclaiming and being restored to our identity as one who bears the essence of the Creator is impossible without standing within the power of this Eternal Light, first present in creation, and now present in the Incarnate One who came to live among us and reveal Himself to us as "the Light of the world."

The Bread of Life

When Jesus said, "I am the bread of life,"  (John 6:35) the Hebrews who listened looked back.  As those who had feasted on the five loaves and two fish, they were anticipating another free meal.  Not only were they looking for more food, but they also challenged Jesus to give them a sign that what He did was a work of God as had been the case with the daily provision of manna in the wilderness.  "What sign are You going to give us...our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness..."  (John 6:30-31)  What they wanted was a bread that would keep them from ever being hungry again.    

As we hear these self descriptive words of Jesus, we are more likely to look ahead instead of back.  The image of "the bread of life" will be expanded by a holy meal and a teaching about a broken body.  The "bread of life" does not satisfy physical hunger, but spiritual hunger.  The bread of which Jesus speaks is not food for the body.  It is food for the soul.  Unlike the body which is here for a time and gone, the soul is that part of us which bears the essence of the holy and is fit for eternity with the One who created us.    

Jesus' primary concern was not the stomach, but the soul.  In verse forty of that sixth chapter of John, we hear Jesus saying, "This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day."  When Jesus said, "I am the bread of life," He was speaking of this life.  He was not referencing the physical life.  Instead, He was declaring that His concern was about the soul which would be given life eternal in that day determined by Him.  He is the bread which sustains and provides eternal life, not the few days given to us between conception and death.     

I AM

When Moses was having his great argument with God at the burning bush, he was trying to find some word which would persuade God to find someone else to confront Pharaoh about the plight of the Hebrew people.  One of his choice arguments came in the form of telling God he did not even know His name.  "What shall I say to them (when they ask) what is His name?"  (Exodus 3:13)  Not to be hushed, or turned aside, "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM....this you shall say to the Israelites, I AM has sent me to you.' "  (Exodus 3:14)  In a rare moment of self identification, God revealed Himself as "I AM."   

It is a word which says that there is nothing more which needs to be said.  No titles are necessary.  No superfluous words of description are required.  "I AM" is sufficient.  It is a word which speaks of self sufficiency.  His existence is not contingent upon anyone else, or any set of circumstances.  God as the "I AM" is completely sufficient and will always exist as the eternal, ever lasting, and unchangeable constant.   

Surely, it was not by accident that Jesus used this ancient word of divine identification when He spoke His own words of self identification.  The gospel writer John records seven instances where Jesus spoke of Himself as the "I AM."  The first was "I am the bread of life"  (John 6:35) and as John's gospel unfolds, there will be six more such words.  Unlike the ancient word Moses heard, each one of the seven self identifying statements of Jesus is accompanied by a predicate nominative which enabled those who heard, and those of us who hear, to know something more about the very nature of God.

Words of Identification

As we read John's gospel, we hear the words of self identification on the part of Jesus.  There are seven.  The first comes in the sixth chapter of John, verse 35:  "I am the bread of life."  The second word is found in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world."  "I am the gate for the sheep,"  (John 10:7) is  third and John 10:11 follows with "I am the good shepherd."  John 11;25 says, "I am the resurrection and the life."  The last two of the seven are found in John 14:6 which reads, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" and John 15:1, one which declares, "I am the true vine."      

Anyone who seriously seeks to undertand Jesus is going to spend some time with each one of these autobiogaphical statements spoken by Jesus.  A good starting point for such a study is to lay aside any pre-conceived notions about the meaning of the key words of identification.  It is an easy thing to use our contemporary meanings which are often used in some of the trendy versions of the Bible.  These may be easy to read, but they often lead us away from the images Jesus had before Him and what He might have had in mind as He spoke to those who were listening.   

Another tool to be used in any serious study of these words is prayer.  Toward the end of what we know as the 14th chapter, John wrote another word from Jesus which says, "But, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything , and remind you of all that I have said to you."  (John 14:26).   Biblical commentaries may shed additional light on any verse, but before turning those pages, it is a wise thing to seek out the Teacher who knows exactly what it is that our spirit needs to hear and know about the things Jesus has said and is saying to us.  Praying enables us to listen.

Constant Change

Everything about our life is constantly changing.  It is not an awareness that we carry with us on our sleeve.  What we like to think is that things are normal which we often translate into much the same today as yesterday, but such is never true.  From the moment of conception, life is always moving in the direction of changing.  Not seeing it happen does not change the reality of the changing until some unforeseen and unanticipated event comes crashing down upon us creating a crisis which causes us to confront the changing pattern of our own life.   

Those things which put change on fast forward bear many names.  It might be the sudden loss of a job, or finally coming to the day of retirement.  It may be the diagnosis of a a life threatening disease, or the death of someone we love. It may be marriage, or the birth of a child.  Some of the change agents in our life are life affirming and some are life threatening, but regardless, they still come to us in such a way that ignoring their impact on our life is an impossibility.    

One of the things we search for in this life of such uncertainty is a constant.  Deep within us is a desire for permanence.  We want some connection to something or someone that cannot be broken and which gives our life a purpose that is unaffected by the external changing circumstances of life.  When we were conceived and created, we were marked with the essence of the Creator.  When we lose sight of this basic and primary connection, we find ourselves dealing with the turbulent life changing powers as a boat without a rudder.  Christ has come in our midst to lead us back to the place where we belong.  As we connect with Him through faith, we find the way to the life we were created to know from the very beginning.  

Revelation in the Dark

Last night in the dark mountain sky, I saw something I never imagined seeing.  As one who has not envisioned a trip to Alaska, or other far northern regions, I never figured on seeing the Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights.  I would have missed it completely had a friend not called me out to see in the heavens what had been missed.  It was for this old guy who has lived out life within the boundaries of deep Southern regions a moment akin to watching a glorious sunset, or standing in the waters of a surging surf.    

The creation is as marvelous as it is mysterious.   When it seems that there is nothing more to see, there is still some new amazing thing which unfolds in awe inspiring splendor.  What we have never seen, we suddenly see and what we see is suddenly gone.  Such is the nature of the creation and such is the nature of the Creator.  The means through which He reveals Himself to us are more numerous than the sands of the seas, or the stars of the sky, but those moments of holy revelation are more like the pulsating colors of the Northern Lights in that only those who pay attention with the eyes and ears of the heart are able to see and know.   

Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it..."  Since the earth bears the imprint of the holy Creator and since it all belongs to Him, what should cause us to doubt that there is some part of it which does not have the capacity to reveal the Creator to us and to bring glory to Him?  It is not that the Creator God is the tree, or the roaring sea, or the Northern Lights, but that all things are a means of revealing Himself to those who are paying attention to what He is doing.  He is always revealing Himself in the ordinary things which are all around us and every now and again, there is that moment that belongs to the extraordinary and the unexpected which break in upon us as surely as the bush that burned but was not consumed burned in the life of Moses.

An Unusual Ministry

There are surely some among us who seem to have done, or are doing, extraordinary ministry for the Kingdom of God.  Their efforts for Christ appear to be a like a wave that ripples across a stream wider than the imagination.  Their influence goes on and on and on.  And then, there are folks like you and me who wonder if what we do for Christ moves away from us enough to get out of our shadow.  I suspect that the way we measure the Kingdom's work is far different from the way Christ sees it.  If He would applaud and lift up the widow who gave her mite, it is likely that what we do in the name of Christ is valued in ways that would be unbelievable.     

I learned about a simple woman who offered an extraordinary ministry for the Kingdom today when I attended her funeral.  She fought cancer for too many years and from the treatment rooms where chemo drips slowly into veins, she learned to give to others.  She gave away small wooden crosses made of olive wood from the Holy Land.  As her story was told, it was said that she bought and gave away over 1800 of those crosses to those she met on her journey.  The stories of her crosses reminded me of the stories Gideons tell about the Bibles they give away.  Blessing upon blessing she gave to so many by a very simple act.    

Christ does not require us to do what we might call exceptional acts.  He does not require us to do what someone else is doing.  Actually, He requires nothing from us other than what we choose to give.  What we are to do in ministry will come forth from within us as we seek to be useful in serving the Kingdom.  It is within that the Holy Spirit dwells.  The Spirit seeks to shape our heart after the heart of Christ.   If we listen to that inner prompting, we will know how it is that we can serve Him and His Kingdom in a way that will cause Him to say, "Well done."  (Matthew 25:21)  

A Sack of Sweet Feed

The cows in the pasture have a way of teaching without speaking.  In the fourteen years of sharing the farm with them, I have learned more than just a few things.  One of those learned things is that it is always good to have sweet feed around.  Sweet feed is sack feed with an extra dose of molasses.  When they taste it, they will go almost anywhere you carry the sack.  If they get out of the pasture, show them some sweet feed and they will walk back in the gate with you in a heartbeat.  While the sweet feed is not a steady diet for my grass fed beef, when they get some, they are prone to quit grazing so they can stand at the gate and wait for me to bring them another sack.  Instead of grazing, they want another hand out.   

Jesus ran into some folks like my cows on the day after He fed the five thousand with the boy's fish and bread.  The next day as the crowd gathered, they noticed that neither Jesus nor His disciples were around.  So, they went looking for Jesus.  (John 6:24)   Jesus knew immediately why they were looking for Him.  "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves."  (John 6:26)  Like the cows in my pasture, those folks were looking for another free meal.  They were not as interested in Jesus as they were in what He could give to them.    

More times than most of us want to admit, we have clamored for what Jesus could give to us instead of simply seeking to be in His presence.  If it is not a free meal, we want something from Him.  We want some blessing.  We want some favor.  We want something we think He owes us, or something we deserve because we have been faithful. We often find ourselves at the gate waiting on some sack of sweet feed instead of going out into the places where self sacrifice is required to to do the work He is calling us to do.  It is good to feast with thanksgiving on the blessings that Christ gives, but not to the point that we neglect the heart that gives them. 

Mind Boggling and Life Giving

There are some sections of the gospel in which we could walk around for a lifetime and still find ourselves treading on ground not understood.  One such section of Scripture begins with the twenty-second verse of the sixth chapter of John and continues till the end of the chapter.  It is the passage where Jesus says, "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35, 48).  It is also a passage which brings to mind the conversation Jesus had with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well.  Verse 34 which has people in the crowd  saying, "Sir, give us this bread also," (John 6:34) is a word which reminds us of the Samaritan woman saying,  "Sir, give me this water."  (John 4:15.   

The crowd had been fed fish and bread by Jesus and was looking for another free meal and the woman of Samaria was looking for a way to get her daily water needs met without going to the well to draw it.    It seems like folks have been wanting the quick fix from Jesus since He walked in the flesh among us.  Wanting the things He gives has always been an easier choice than just being content with knowing His presence in our lives.  What is truly life giving is not what He provides for us to hold in our hands, but what He provides for us to hold in our heart.  

As we clamor for things to sustain physical life with its inevitable limitations, He holds Himself up as that which sustains the unlimited spiritual life.  The Hebrews ate manna found on the ground each morning and drank water from a rock, but they still died.  What Jesus offers as He speaks of being the provider of bread and water is eternal life with Him.  For some strange reason we spend more time seeking the things which sustain our physical life for a limited amount of time instead of the One who provides for us a spiritual food which readies us for life eternal.  As my old Episcopalian priest friend used to say, "Go figure."

Seasons of the Heart

There are times when I wonder about myself.  This afternoon as I was reading the biography of Ignatius, the 16th century founder of the Jesuits, I had such a moment.  The question turned into an even larger question as I thought about recent readings.  In these recent years since leaving the pulpit, I have been turning the pages, reading about spiritual saints like St. Francis,  Claire of Assisi, the Desert Fathers, Pelagius, John of the Cross, St Patrick, Eriugena, Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Richard Rohr,  John O' Donohue,and Esther de Waal.    

I wonder what I am doing.  I wonder who I am becoming.  Most of the people mentioned were people I would never have read before retiring and now I devour anything attached to their names.  They were not on my radar.  Certainly life is profoundly different since I traded the pulpit for a tractor.   My ministry is more about writing than preaching and the spiritual food which once fed my soul no longer satisfies me.  This is not to say that I am at a better place, but instead, that I am at a different place.     

Ecclesiastes tells us "For every thing there is a season, and a time for every matter under the sun."  (Ecclesiastes 3:1)  We all move through different seasons of our life and the seasons are not just four in number symbolized by such words as Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.  In fact, there are a multitude of seasons to be experienced in our living.  There are seasons of new beginnings, seasons of letting go, seasons of unexpected joy, and seasons of grief.  What is obvious is that there are many others and they may be seasons that are mostly peculiar to the way we experience our own life.  What works at one time in our life may not be what works for the whole journey, but the God of Creation not only knows the seasons of the creation, but the seasons of the heart as well.

The Place of Worship

A basic and simple definition of worship with which I have lived a long time is,  "Worship is our response to God."  It is, therefore, something which can be experienced in the sanctuary where symbols of holy presence prevail and it is also something which be known in quiet moments of solitude and stillness, or in the busy streets of the marketplace.  Actually, this simple definition is something which reminds me that every moment has within it the potential to be a moment of worship.  Nothing external is required.  A heart open to what God is doing in our lives is really all that is necessary for us to enter into a time of worship.     

It is likely that many of us experience unexpected moments of holy presence with some kind of adoration or praise or thanksgiving without calling it an act of worship, but anytime we pause to receive from Him with gratitude or praise, it is just as much a moment of worship as any that might be experienced in the places filled with the bells and whistles of Sunday's gathered worship.  I had no idea when I retired and moved to the farm that it would be a place where divine revelation would constantly unfold before me.  As the poet so aptly expressed it long ago, "..Earth's crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God...."  What surprised me when I arrived here was the truth of these words written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  

When we gather in the sanctuary on Sunday, we begin by offering an invocation, or an invitation to the Almighty to be present among us.  Out here there is no invitation, but there are so many signs which point to Him being here ahead of me.  Wherever we go, He has arrived ahead of us.  Wherever we are, in the sanctuary or in the midst of creation, He is present and ready to receive our worship.  

Dancing and Grieving

While some of us who know ourselves as United Methodists are dancing in the street and others have put on sack cloth and ashes, there has never been a more troubling time for this United Methodist pastor ordained back in 1971.  I have been through many a battle in the local church and I have remembrances of one particular Annual Conference which seemed more like a blood bath than a love feast, but I do not recall any moment which has caused such rancor and division within our church.   

The sweeping changes passed this past week at the General Conference in Charlotte, N. C. set the stage for the jubilation and the grief experienced by so many in the last few days.   It seems inevitable that there will be a permanent division between people who have belonged to the same spiritual community for so long, but find themselves no longer able to do so.  Of course, the division has been going on for a long time.  It was not precipitated by the General Conference, but in a sense culminated by it.  Nonetheless, it is a sad moment which surely does not bring pleasure to the heart of Christ.    

Going forward out of loss and brokenness is never easy and as long as both groups see the other as the sinner in the room, there will be no healing.  The way forward out of the animosity is in letting go.  We need to graciously let go of people who believe going a different way is the right way.  There is nothing gained by hoping failure will fall upon their heads and everything to be gained by praying that God will find a way to do His Kingdom work through our common brokenness and grief.  Jesus' command to "love one another..."  (John 13:34) is really the only way for those who dance and those who grieve to touch one another again with respect and compassion.

The Fix

We live in a world that is broken, fractured and fragile.  Some think it is beyond repair.  When asked by her brother if they lived on a blighted world, or a splendid one, Thomas Hardy's, Tess, said, "A blighted one."  Most people would agree with her.  However, it is not really the world which is broken and needs fixing, but the people who live in it.  To think of the creation in which we live is to affirm along with the writer of Genesis, "...it was very good."  (Genesis 1:31).  The creation is not only very good; it is also very beautiful, very powerful, very life giving.     

When we talk about the world being broken and beyond repair, we are thinking of its systems of relationships which cause us to touch not only those who are close and like us, but also far away and very different.  A casual glance brings into view people of different political parties speaking into existence chaos instead of compromise, an us-and-them mentality which strengthens the storms of separation, and all the extremisms of war, racism, and nationalism.  Not even the church is exempt as it tries to find a place of acceptance in an ever changing culture.  The creation is in good shape.  It is not broken, but firmly in the hands of the creative and sustaining Creator God.  We, the people, who live in this marvelous creation are broken, fractured, and beyond repair.  

The solution to the brokenness of our human condition is found in the story of the gospel.  The holy message acknowledges that we have forgotten that we were conceived and born with the imprint of the Creator.  Some have said through the centuries that we are born in sin, but it seems more appropriate to say that we are born with the essence of God within us.  It is this essence of God that we have lost.  The gospel speaks of the length of the love of God as He seeks to show us the way back to who we were created to be.  The unconditional love of the Christ on the cross shows us how much we are loved and how we are to live with one another.  The fix to human brokenness is not in us, but in what God has done for us through Christ on the cross.

Rainy Morning Message

The message of a rainy morning is to slow down.  It is a message often ignored.  It goes unheard by most of the 9-5 folks who have a time clock to punch, or if not, at least a mental one.  Even though it is a proven fact that slowing down in rainy weather is a safe thing to do, we rush on to meet the deadlines imposed upon us by others or ourselves.  Interestingly enough, even the folks who have no time clock to punch go about a rainy day grumbling over the inconvenience of the rain.   

When God created the order of things, the Word tells us there was a season for staying busy with the work at hand, but that there was also a season for resting.  Unfortunately, the season of resting is largely being lost for so many of us who seem to have more to do than can be done in six days.  The Creator says slow down even as we hurry on our way.  It is the message of the first chapter in the Book of Beginning, it is the message of rainy mornings, and if we are noticing, it is the message of a color filled sunset, the message of a full moon breaking over the horizon, the message of a child seeing wonder and mystery for the first time, the message of the ocean roaring, and the message of the mountains rising toward heaven.  Slowing down and resting is written into the fabric and the voice of creation even though we seem unable to see or to hear.   

There was a time in my journey through the work world when I was truly addicted to working, getting ahead, and getting more.  I am not bragging, but confessing.  I was a little over forty years old which is why I was surprised by the pain which reminded me of what I had read about heart attacks.  I went to the ER, was taken from our small county hospital to a larger one in the city, checked out only to find no medical reason for the pain.  When it was all said and done, my cardiologist said one word as a diagnosis:  stress.  I could have diagnosed myself.  I knew better than the lifestyle I was living.  I had forgotten to smell the roses.  I had forgotten to smell the coffee.  Most of all, I had forgotten about being still and resting in the presence of the Creator.

Who Would Praise God?

Life brings to us its storms and sunny days, its hard days and its easy days, its days which are so bad they never seem to end and days so filled with joy they race away leaving us feeling as if we have had a quick glimpse of the best of life.  One of the hardest things for so many is to live this life with an even keel.  Today was a day filled with an unspeakable moment of blessing which caused me to know such tears of joy as I have seldom known.  It was a day, too, of deep gratitude to God for His blessings.  It could have been a different day.  The news which brought unspeakable joy could have been news which brought unthinkable horror.    

Had the day been one of unthinkable horror, would it have also found me expressing gratitude to God for blessings which were, perhaps, invisible to me?  I remember Paul writing to the Philippians, "I have learned to be content..." (Philippians 4:11).  I remember, too, that he wrote to the Thessalonian Church, "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (I Thessalonians 5:18)  Had the day been different would I have been content?  Would I still have given thanks?  Would I have still praised God?    

I know what I would like to say my answer to such questions would be, but honesty calls me to hope such would be true all the while knowing it might not have happened.  Like so many, I have been in the dark places on other days and not always stood knowing that the Eternal Light was still shining.  I have not always stood in the moments of trial in the way that the Apostle Paul was able to stand.  What is known by all of us is that the key to Paul's life of contentment and thanksgiving was not personal determination, but absolute trust in Christ.  For Paul circumstances did not matter for he knew Christ was constant and sure.  May it be so for each one of us.