God's Changing Call

What God asks us to do is not set in stone for a lifetime.  In other words, the urgency for a particular act of service may not be the same tomorrow. For some of my retired clergy friends, it is hard to accept the possibility that God could release them from the call placed on their lives at the beginning of ministry and lead them into a different era of service.  It does not mean that the call to serve Christ which we all embrace at our baptism is ever lifted, but simply to say that His expectations of what that means for us may change through the course of the years.    

I never thought I would be content with a life empty of preaching, but have discovered an awareness of usefulness through writing and what I would have at one time described as pastoral acts.  I have numerous friends who at an earlier age traveled all over the world as mission team members, but have found that the urgency of that calling has been lifted for other things.  Recently, I visited with a friend who spent the better part of his life directing choirs only to experience God's leading toward becoming one who plans worship services for his church instead of maintaining a music ministry.   

The thing of which we should not be afraid is change.  What we have done in faithful obedience to God's call on our life may be part of His preparation for the next season.  Both Isaiah and Jeremiah started ministry as priests, but ending up wearing the mantle of a prophet.  David was anointed to be a king, but is best known for a body of spiritual literature which still stirs our souls.  What God wants us to be about today may change as tomorrow comes.  We need not fear.  We simply need to do what we have done since the beginning which is to go with Him in faith.

A Post Helene Prayer

Back during the dark days of covid,  families learned to be families again.  Maybe it is more correct to say that families were forced to become families again as parents spent more time with children, board games and puzzles were found in the dusty dark corners of closets, and people sat down at tables to eat meals that were cooked at home instead of coming into the home by way of a bag.  We all said in those days that we hoped such would last beyond covid, but, of course, we knew deep inside that we would once again become fast food junkies and cell phone addicts.    

There is no doubt that the recent storm will be one of those events not forgotten.  Despite all the destruction of the landscape and the more primitive life power outages cause, it has been refreshing to see the human spirit at it best again.  People are helping people.  Neighbors are learning to be neighbors again.  Helping each other and sharing resources and sweat.  The new world expressed by "We are in this together" has brought us into a kinder and more giving community.  Even with the chaos still to be given order, folks are speaking words of gratitude for what has once again proven to be the most important things of life.  Faith, family, and friends.   

I do not think God sent the storm that has ravaged our towns and countryside to give us this reminder, but in some ways it has been a reminder that has resonated in many of our spirits.  We do not have to live divided by the things which we allow to create an "us and them" world.  We do not have to live in such a hurry that we cannot tend to the needs of the present.  Neither do we have to live alone and isolated.  Finally, we do not have to keep living as if tomorrow is guaranteed.  Let us pray that the days after Helene will be days of living differently and days of being grateful to God for the precious gift of life. 

Going to Church

Back in the day of growing up, our primary Sunday event was called "going to church."  It was not something which was discussed weekly in our home.  When Sunday morning came, we all knew where we were going.  We not only went to church which was really another way of speaking of 11:00 AM worship, but Sunday School was included in the package as well.  While I am remembering those days, I must also confess that we were not allowed to watch "The Ed Sullivan Show" or "Bonanza" as did so many of my friends because Sunday evening worship took place at the same time.  Of course, before Sunday evening worship came what was called "MYF" which was my denominations definition of youth ministry.     

No doubt four hours seems like a lot of time to give to church attendance by today's church goers, but it did have its benefits.  Being somewhat hardheaded, a weekly exposure to what the church offered was helpful in many ways.  I learned a lot by osmosis which is to say, being there was better than being elsewhere.  Hundreds of hymns shaped the songbook I carry in my memory.  Learning to kneel at the altar as we often did on Sunday nights kept me grounded.  It took me almost to the end of my teenage years, but I finally came to understand that life with Jesus was the most important thing.   

There were surely those times I rebelled against the parental plan such as the weekend I came home from college and told my mother on Sunday morning that I would not be going that Sunday.  I remember that Sunday.  I do not think I have ever gotten dressed for church so quickly.  Going to church was seen back then as a chore.  I figured I could get along with less, but less was not an option.  The discipline ingrained in me was one I later embraced.  It not only helped set the course of my life, but it has been a foundation for living through these decades which have been filled with sunshine and storms.

Unwanted Memberships

There are fellowships none of us want to have memberships.  I encountered one this evening at a local hospital as a woman stood in the middle of a sliding glass door to keep it from shutting.  If it had shut another woman who was trying to get her car unloaded for her overnight stay with her husband would have been locked out and had to find a not so convenient entrance through the emergency room. The woman standing in the doorway made sure it did not happen.  Once all the stuff was inside the door, the two women introduced themselves. Both had husbands on the oncology floor of the hospital and both walked to the nearby elevator like old friends.   

While it may be true that some who suffer, or who have care giving thrust upon them, become bitter, experience has taught me that those who suffer are more likely to embrace other sufferers with family like warmth and care.  I have seen it over and over again as people go through tragedy, sickness, grief, and even horrific storm damage.  There are those moments when the barriers we hold up get broken down and we suddenly become like brothers and sisters.   

In some reading this evening, God was described as "the most passionate presence in the universe."  I have seen that passionate presence through the caring acts of the sufferers.  Some relive their pain to share with others who have experienced loss.  Some who have nothing but a few bags they carry with them reach inside one of those bags to share a morsel of leftover food.  Some who sit in chemo treatment rooms give encouragement to the newbies.  And, some keep doors from shutting so that for a moment life is made a little easier for the one who has no rest.

Still No Answers

It is hard to figure what to write on this day when death and devastation and overwhelming despair are present among so many who were in the path of the storm which raged through darkened countryside.  It is a day which will be remembered and talked about as long as folks gather and remember.  Praying that the storm would find a different path only meant that we were praying that others would suffer instead of us.  Praying that Jesus would step into the moment with a word which would calm the fury of the storm was a challenge for even the most faithful as everyone watched its relentless journey toward the waiting shore.  We knew no liturgical words to save us.  We only knew to ready ourselves and then to sit and wait. 

Of course, the greater question which we are often afraid to ask is,"Why the storm?  Why does God allow such to come?  Why did He not put a stop to it while it churned over deep waters where no one could be harmed?  Where was He during the dark horror endured by so many?"  I wish I had the answers to my questions.  At least, I wish I had answers that would give explanation to what has been endured.  I wish I had answers that would make all the personal pain more bearable, but I do not.  I never have.  As much as I have wanted to give some good answers to folks who were the sufferers and not just academic seekers, I have always come up empty.    

On this aftermath of a day not to be forgotten, I am still empty.  I do know it is not the first time I have sought an answer I cannot find.  The first time I ran into the question was sometime in my seventh year when my father's life ended suddenly in an airplane collision.  Over the years, I have asked it a thousand times at the juncture of tragedy personally experienced, or experienced by someone whose care was entrusted to me.  What I do not know has not kept me from continuing to live inside what I do know which is the certainty of God's eternal care.  The Word of the Lord was spoken through the prophet Isaiah and, thus, we hear God saying, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways...so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9).  I do not have the answers to my questions, but I do have a God who, even in the moments I cannot understand, still is in control.

In the Storm

Across a wide swath of land stretching from the south to the north, from the shores to the mountains, from the small rural towns to the skyscraper cities, people are watching the coming of a storm.  Like so many things which come to us, storms with such potential for destruction and harm are hard to understand.  The creation is such a beautiful setting for us to live with its breathtaking beauty and spirit renewing moments.  It is a strange thing that we can find ourselves kneeling in awe one day and looking for a hiding place the next.      

The creation is in some ways a microcosm of life.  Within what we know as the Sermon on the Mount we hear Jesus saying,"...He (your Father in Heaven) makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and send rains on the righteous and the unrighteous." (Matthew 5:45)  Numerous are the examples of injustice, years of exile, persecution, storms and shipwrecks inside the pages of the holy story.  The creation can be beautiful and frightening, orderly and chaotic, life giving and deadly.   Nothing about is predictable.  Nothing about it is within our control.  There is a season for weeping and laughing, mourning and dancing.    

In these hours of waiting on the storm, I am reminded of the ones which have ravaged not the landscape around me, but the core of my soul.  I am remembering the ones which have driven me to my knees in despair.  I am remembering that the sun rose on the day after the greatest darkness and that blessings came again when it seemed that all had been withdrawn.  As the old song of my youth taught me, "I don't know about tomorrow...but I know who holds the future and I know who holds my hand."

Ode to a Tree

I watch them often

  to see their faithfulness,

    to hear their assurances,

      to know their presence,

        to sense their changing,

always in awe and amazement.

 

Far above me they rise, 

   stretching and reaching,

     waiting and watching, 

        to tell the many stories

          of all of us below

who have lived and labored.

  

Who they are is but a tree, 

   and who I am is but a man,

     here not as long as they,

       the new part of creation,

         and they always the old

with God's lessons in their limbs.

 

Teach me, Lord of the trees,

    to see the invisible before me,

      to hear You in passing wind, 

       to join their uplifted branches

         with hands raised in praise,

to rejoice that You made each and all.      

Words from Timothy

Some words within the Scripture have such sticking power that we never really get them very far away from our conscious mind.  They become like some life long mantra.  They are words never forgotten and always remembered.  They serve us a light to the unknown path before us and an anchor when storms of confusion and doubt seem to sweep over us.  Everyone carries such words with them.  Some are as well known as the 23rd Psalm and others are shrouded in Biblical obscurity.  

When I was a very young man with college years unfolding around me and a deep consciousness of being called to ministry, I often found myself reading from the letters the Apostle Paul wrote to young Timothy.  Even now as an old man whose ministry is mostly in the past, those two letters still have calling power.  Whether young or old, new to the faith or a worn out pilgrim, there are words in those letters that have always had resonating power.  One is I Timothy 4:14 which says, "Do not neglect the gift that is in you..."  and another from the second letter bears a similar theme with the admonition, "...I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you..." (II Timothy 1:6).  When I reflect back over the years and remember moments when blessings to others have come through my life, I am reminded that it has never been about me, but about the gift of God that His grace gave to me.   

I am always amazed that God has found a use for me and continues to use me for some small part in the work of His Kingdom.  It is not hard to look around and see others who are far better suited and who have been more faithful to His calling.  I can never understand why my life has been extended over more years than so many and why there is still a sense of being useful in the work the Christ.  The only explanation that I can find is grace, something never deserved, but always given out of love.

Prayer and Poetry

While it is true that every moment is a moment filled with the possibility of an encounter with God, it is also true that there is great spiritual value in having some time that is dedicated and set aside to focus our attention intentionally on Him.  When we read the record of some of those we regard as spiritual giants, we see evidence of that daily time with the Father.  The gospel makes it clear that being alone with the Father was an important part of the life of Jesus.  He did powerful things while here among us, but He was also constantly drawing aside to pray.    

It goes without saying that no amount of prayer can take the place of God's grace toward us and our faith response toward Him.  No amount of praying can provide for us the salvation God offers to us as a gift of grace.  What it does do is turn our spirits toward Him in such a way that we become receptive to the His purposeful presence in our life.  The prayer we know as the Lord's Prayer does teach us to practice the discipline of intercession in our prayer life; however, prayer is more than just telling God what we think He needs to know, or do.  Prayer creates in us a posture for listening and being aware of how God is directing our lives.   

In these years of retirement I have come to a place of reading more poetry than I used to read.  Reading poetry takes time.  It is not something done hurriedly.  It creates a thoughtful and seeking heart.  We read with wonder.  We ponder over words listening for a meaning not seen at first glance.  Reading poetry in these last few years has taught me some important things about the way to pray.  Many times I have wished for the presence of the poet to let me know what was really meant by something framed in the white space.  When we pray we are blessed to have the presence of the Creator of our souls to help us understand what is meant for us to live in the space of the years He has given to us. 

Where to Know God

Every moment has some manifestation of God's presence.   Every leaf on every tree is full of God's glory.  Even the rocks and stones stand among us as to speak of His majesty.  All of earth is indeed full of God's glory. It can be no other way as every thing that is, has been, and will be bears the imprint of the Holy Creator.  Nothing we see, or hear, or feel around us is present apart from the creative breath of the Holy One who is not only in our midst, but desires to make Himself known to us.   Not to see is no excuse.  Those who claim it is only some scientific process involving matter and trillions of years look for evidence of the divine creator in places which really cannot be seen.   

There may be evidences of Him walking in the Garden among us in centuries that have long come and gone, but to look for Him in the past is to look in the wrong direction.  Where He is best known and where He chooses to reveal Himself to both the seeker and the student is in the present.  It is where we each live.  It is where our senses and heart are made to experience all that is around us.  We have been gifted with these gifts not to simply do geological or astronomical studies, but to know the  Creator who still walks in the cool of the evening moments of our life.  He is not back there in the hidden years of the past, or out yonder in one of those black holes of space, but here among us.  

Such is the message of the Incarnation.  He came to be here in a way not even experienced by the One who brought it all into being.  Could it be said that prior to that moment between Bethlehem and Golgotha, God had no memory of what is meant to be in flesh among us?  Perhaps not, but surely it was a refresher moment for the One who put the imprint of holiness upon us.  It is not hard to see and to know the reality of His presence.  He is constantly revealing Himself in every moment and in everything which touches us and amazing as it is to consider, He has chosen to abide and dwell in us as well.

Sermon Notes

When I first retired some fourteen years ago, all I could do when I left worship was lament the poor preaching.  It seemed like every preacher was somehow not up to snuff.  This morning I surprised myself.  I was listening to the sermon and without thinking much about it reached in my pocket for a pen and a scrap of paper.  It was not only a good sermon, but I heard something I wanted to be sure to remember.  I learned long ago that any words can be forgotten if trusted to my memory.   

I can remember times when I was preaching and someone would write down a note.  I never figured it to be an addition to an already started grocery list, but someone wanting to remember something I said in a sermon.  The old ego can really play tricks on you if given an opportunity!  But, seriously it happened a few times.   Someone would do what I did this morning and start writing furiously.  As a preacher who was preaching, it was always good to see the note takers in the congregation.  It caused several reactions.  Seeing them caused me to stay with the current point since it was obviously a good one,  On other occasions, it would make me want to preach a little longer since someone was actually awake and  listening.  It made me wonder if I should join the ranks of those preachers who put a sermon outline in the bulletin which, of course, would include plenty of white space just in case someone needed to keep one of my sermon gems.   

As I reflect over those years of preaching, I hope the note takers had better luck then than I did today.  I wrote down several sentences this morning so I would remember certain parts of the sermon, but when I got home today I could not figure out my handwriting.  It was as if I had written it in another language.  Perhaps, it was divine punishment for all those ego trips I took when note takers took note of something I preached years ago. 

Walking in Our Own Shoes

Walking in someone else's shoes is not an an easy thing.  Too often we approach our attempts at being a helper with the idea that one size fits all.  What works for us, or what we read about what should work often does not work.  While someone may have the same illness which has touched our life, the circumstances which brought them to the moment that seems so similar to ours are never the same.  In the same way some expression of family dysfunction may look like the exact thing we have already experienced, but, of course, things are never really the same.  The one thing we should never say is "I understand what you are going through..." because we do not.  We cannot.    

Sometimes there is really nothing we can say with any sense of integrity.  Mostly, it is our presence that will be remembered in the tough and dark moments.  Someone coming is remembered long after we remember what words were said.  In my own life I often revisit two dark occasions.  One was nearly forty years ago when three friends simply came and spent the night in a lonely hospital room where there seemed to be no hope.  What they said, I do not remember, but that they came, I have never forgotten.  Another moment was just a short time ago.  Two couples came to sit with me and as long as I have memory, I will remember their coming with gratitude.  

There are times when someone we know has to go through such a tough time that we are tempted to stay away because we do not know what to say.  Forget that excuse.  What will truly matter is our going, not our words.  Another excuse often used is that they need to be alone.  Most likely they need the warm contact and the care expressed in the going more than sitting alone in darkness.  We may feel uncomfortable sometimes as we consider going, but we do not have to walk in their shoes, we just have to let our own take us to them.

Clean Water

My pastor friend, Bobby Gale, turned 65 a few days ago and set out on a bicycle ride that will take him from the place where John Wesley stepped on Georgia soil to the Washington Monument.  A long time ago Bobby stepped out of the itinerary system of the United Methodist Church to follow God's leading into a faith mission to serve others.  One of the most visible expressions of this ministry has been raising funds to build deep water wells in Africa so that people accustomed to getting their drinking waters from dirty germ infested rivers could have access to clean water.    

He calls this bike ride "The Jerry Can Ride" after the name of the oversize 40 gallon container people use to carry their water from the river to their homes.  His stated purpose is to raise awareness of the need so many people have for clean water.  I have watched Bobby over the years.  He has a heart for those who are often thought of as the least of God's children.  He also has a relentless quest to make the world a safer and better place.  As he does this work of responding to the needs of people, he has always remembered the need those around him have for a personal faith in Jesus Christ.    

I wish there were more people like my friend.  I wish I had more of his spirit in me.  While I know God's calling on him is different from the calling I know, I know I need more of the "won't quit" spirit which resides in his heart.  Someone who adopted children who lived in desperate situations in other countries once told me, "I cannot save all the world's children, but I have saved this one."  One child at a time people like her are giving children hope.  One well at a time, Bobby is giving deprived people hope and clean water.  If you would like to know more about my friend's ministry, search "Jerry Can Ride" on Facebook.

Doors

Life is about going through the doors that are opening and closing the doors which are behind us.  When life is lived as it is intended to be lived, it is not in love with the status quo.  Instead, to live life well is to move toward the unfolding change.  It is only in the letting go of what is behind us that we are able to take hold of the new things of the present and the future.  It is simply impossible to walk forward while looking over our shoulder.   Things change around us.  We change.  The person we are is not the person we were.   

It is not the intent of our Creator for us to stay the same.  It never has been.  When we perceive that we are the same, we have a false sense of comfort because reality points to everything being new each morning, including each one of us.  What we see in all the outward changes which are constantly taking place are surely reminders to. us that change is taking place in the invisible part of our life.  The writing we know as Lamentations reminds us that the steadfast love and unending mercies of God brings something new into our lives each morning.  (Lamentations 3:22-23).  The Apostle Paul wrote about the way everything becomes new within us as we trust in Christ.  (II Corinthians 5:17).  And, of course, everything in creation is changing, almost by the minute, but it is a change we do not see.  No river and no tree is the same today as yesterday and the same is true of every part of Creation including each one of us.   

In the midst of all the change that is unfolding around us and within us, new doors of opportunity are opening.  It goes without saying that walking through the new door means closing the door behind us.  We cannot be there and here at the same time.  God has a way of using the easy and the hard circumstances of our life to bring us to a new day, a new season, and an awareness that He is moving us toward something new.  To go we must take a risk, trust Him, and believe that looking ahead is truly better than looking over our shoulder.

Sneaking up on Glory

It never happens all at once.  It is a kind of glory that sneaks up on those who go looking for it.  Already traces of it can be seen around the edges.  Not everywhere, but in places, the dark green foliage is starting to edge into a burnt orange, sometimes faded yellow.  In the beginning the change is so subtle no one really pays any attention and then, suddenly, there is enough showing for the unseeking eye to see.  As the calendar moves deeper into the year and the temperature shows signs of changing, the season of fall is just beyond the next curve and glory right behind it.    

The truth is we all live on the edge of glory.  There are those classic moments of breakthrough such as the evening sunset, the morning sunrise,  the mountain panorama, or the sweeping horizon filled with the joining of sea and sky.  Glory really does not sneak up on us.  It is always out there for us to see.  As those who are brought into being by the divine Creator there is a bit of glory within each of us and because we live midst what bears the imprint of His holy hands, the glory of God is never far removed from us, but instead, always and everywhere ever present.  The problem with not seeing the glory all around us is a problem of not seeing and not a problem with the Creator revealing it in our midst.    

There are times when our comprehension of the glory of God in the Creation around us is spectacular and other times when seeing requires the silence of stillness and a spirit that has learned the discipline of waiting instead of demanding.  Watching the change taking place around us each day makes us aware that glory is not just on the way, but here for those who take the time to see what is breaking in all around them.  The burnt orange and faded yellow of today is glorious in itself and assures us that glory is slowly sneaking into our midst in an even greater way than is revealed today.  So it is with the glory of creation and so it is with the glory of God.

Favorites XXI

It is not a story, but a verse.  It is not even an oft quoted verse.  It is just a verse that tells the story after the story has been told.  It is the word which reminds us of the famous radio commentator who would end his comments with "And that is the rest of the story."  It is in John 20:30 that we hear the word about the unfinished story, "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book."  Here is a reminder that there is more to the story than we could ever know.  The writers of what we know as the Old and New Testaments used a "pick and choose" method of writing the Word.  No pen could possibly tell it all.    

The final two verses in the book of Acts point us toward the untold part of the story as it says,"  He (Paul) lived there (Rome) two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance."  While we do not know the details of the story which went on those two years, we do know that the story is still being written and told now for over 2100 years.  It is a story that has no end.  It is a story that is as old as the beginning and as new as yesterday.  

Missionaries have sown seeds that have still not born the full fruit.  Prayers have been prayed that are still being held in the sacred places of eternity waiting for that moment when the time will be full and the plan of God will use those prayers for the work of the Kingdom.  Young people are seeing visions never before seen and going after them while old ones like myself are still daring to dreams of a future when "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," (Matthew 6:10) becomes reality.  No, the story of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the story which speaks of His Church is still being told.  It is the story of hearts that have been transformed by the living presence of the risen living Christ.  It is a story that transcends the ages.  It is the story of those who have come before us; it is our story; and it is the story of those who are still to come.

Two Things

I have been wearing a three inch carved wooden Celtic cross around my neck for nigh unto a month or so now.  While I have seen many men wear stuff around their necks, I have never had any interest in wearing anything which resembled a necklace so I was surprised when I felt an inner compulsion to buy this one and wear it.  When I saw it, there was this feeling that it was calling my name

Two things have happened.  One I expected and the other has been a surprise.  I expected it to be a conversation piece.  It is artfully carved and though rustic in appearance, it does call attention to itself.  It is not uncommon for someone to ask me about it, or show me their own cross, or to tell me that they love Jesus, too.  I have enjoyed the way it has become a way of engaging others in conversations about shared faith in Christ.  It is not only a conversation starter, but has become a tool for sharing Christ with others.  

The second thing which has been a surprise is the way it has affected me personally,  It has made me more aware that I am representing Christ in the world.  While I take no pride in admitting it, there have been moments when my impatience was beginning to turn into some shortness of tongue which I was about to verbalize when I remembered I was wearing this cross that spoke of belonging to Jesus.  The surprising thing has been the way wearing the cross has made me see myself differently.  I do not want to make someone wonder if I made a mistake by wearing a cross that might speak of my own walk with Jesus.  Wearing the cross around my neck is not just wearing a piece of jewelry, but a reminder that I belong to Jesus.  It also reminds not to live in such a way that others would think otherwise.

Lurking Glory

Glory lurks 'round every tree,

   neath every blade of grass, 

     in the shining roadside eyes,

       midst the flitting lights of fire,

         within the boisterous water,

and even in the deep dark stormy sky.

 

No dearth of glory here and there, 

   it is within and all around, 

     visible to a fraction of the few,

        invisible to those who hurry by 

          looking for know not what 

which is finally all that's found.

 

Splendid, serendipitous glory,

    eternal since time's beginning,

      shining and breaking through 

        the darkness that hides and hinders

         souls from seeing and knowing

who and whose they are.

The Rockwell Moment

If I were an inspector sent by some heavenly committee to evaluate worship services, I would give the one I attended this morning a high mark.  It had a lot of good things going for it.  Friendly people.  Good music. The right amount of liturgy.  Well delivered sermon.  Surroundings that encouraged worship.  Other things could be added, but the high water mark of the service came during the Children's Sermon.  At the end of this part of the service, the leader invited the children to pray.  I watched as a four year girl bowed her head over hands joined by entwined fingers to pray.  As she bowed her head over those tiny hands and took a quick peek at her Grandpa before closing her eyes, it was like looking at a Norman Rockwell painting.  It was more than precious.  It was heavenly.   

I have discovered over the years that some of the best moments of worship come from the unexpected sources.  I remember an older woman from some years ago who took the Sacrament on bent knees and then looked up to say "Thank you."  Her eyes were shut so I knew she was not seeing me.  I can never forget the child at another church who would stand on the pew during the singing and mimic the movements of the song leader as he led us in our singing.  And while I have heard a few folks cry out "Amen!" at some moment of worship, I think often of the young man who muttered "Wow!" under his breath, but still loud enough for the rest of us to hear as well.   

On those Sundays when we leave worship thinking that there was nothing there for us and it was a waste of our time, maybe it has more to do with us than what happened during the worship hour.  My preaching professor always told us to be sure the Scripture was read during worship so that the people would hear the Word of God even if our sermons was a dud and the choir stayed off key. The little girl with folded hands and bowed head was not listed in the order of worship, but God used her, nonetheless.  If we go expecting,  it is likely that we will see more and hear more of God and from God than we would on those days when we show up, do our duty, and go home.

Favorites XX

It is a simple story with an underachieving first line.  "Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias."  (Acts 9:10)  For three days a blind and helpless Saul of Tarsus had reflected on his life in the house of Judas on a street called Straight.  (Acts 9:11).  As Saul prayed, the Lord spoke to this disciple of Damascus saying, "Get up and go...At this moment he (Saul) is praying...and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias..." (Acts 9:11-12).  It was not what Ananias wanted to hear so he reminded the Lord that Saul meant him harm.  But, the Lord once again said, "Go," and this disciple of Damascus went.    

There are two miracles in this ninth chapter of Acts.  One took place in that moment on the road when Saul met the living Christ.  The second took place when Ananias went to this persecutor of the Jesus people, laid his hands on him, and said, "Brother Saul..." Acts 9:17)  The second may seem to be overshadowed by the first, but it is a powerful miracle all its own as Ananias calls his would be persecutor, "Brother."  One miracle shows us the power of Christ to change lives and the other fleshes out and shows the changed life.   We may think walking with Jesus is going to be full of sweet blessings and smiles everywhere, but it is really a life that will call us to do those hard things which go against the grain our human nature.  

Human nature would have had Saul of Tarsus die in the darkness, but the power of Christ brings surprising mercy to overwhelm his darkness.  Christ is not just going to ask us to love those who love us.  He is going to ask us to love and forgive those whom we do not want to offer either love or mercy.  Christ is going to ask us to live as the forgiving Christ on the cross.  Ananias figured it out and did the bidding of Jesus.  Maybe it is time we quit making excuses for not forgiving someone who has meant us harm.  Maybe it is time for us to go with forgiveness.

Favorites XIX

When Saul of Tarsus rode down the Damascus Road, he had one thing in mind.  It was his intent to do everything in his power to put an end to this Jesus business.  When he rode down that road with his murderous intent, he had the power to do exactly what he had set out to do.  If Saul of Tarsus had been able to have his way, the Christian movement would only have been known as a short lived spiritual phenomena.  He was a man possessed with  purpose.  He was a man full of himself. He was a man of authority and power.    

What Saul of Tarsus did not know when he got on his horse for his last ride as an antagonist of Christ was that God had a plan that had not yet been revealed.  Along the way that plan of God shook the earth under the foundation Saul had built under his life.  The antagonist suddenly found himself in the presence of the all powerful Christ. The dead Jew who had caused so much chaos became known as the resurrected Jesus who had all power and who had a different plan for the antagonist.  In a moment that came and went quicker than the blinking of an eye, the great antagonist of the Christian faith became its greatest advocate.   Those who have doubts that Christ really has the power to change lives need read no more of Scripture than this story in the 9th chapter of the book of Acts.  

Actually, the story of Saul of Tarsus has been re-told so many times throughout the history of the church that it is impossible to count.  Many of us have books on our shelves that tell of the great life changing moments of many of those we think of as saints.  It is also true that there are many of us who look at ourselves every day in the mirror and shake our heads in amazement that God could change such as we were and enable us to be useful in the Kingdom enterprise. 

Favorites XVIII

Though there are many things which could be added to anyone's narrative about Simon Peter, one thing which surely must be included is his encounter with Cornelius.  Found in the 10th and 11th chapters of Acts, it is a story which lifts up the power of prayer, the importance of obedience to the Holy Spirit, and the inclusiveness of the community of faith.  The story begins with both men praying.  Cornelius, a Gentile, is in Caesarea and Peter is in Joppa.  Each hears a word in their prayer which joins them to a plan God is about to work out which will connect their lives.     

Cornelius is directed to send messengers to Peter and Peter is directed to go with the messengers when they arrive.  Neither one is able in the moment of praying to see the end result of what God is doing.  The important thing which makes the plan of God work is their trust in God and their willingness to take a risk of faith.  At the end of the story, Cornelius and those with him are blessed with a the same kind of spiritual blessing as the disciples received on Pentecost and Peter realizes in that moment that God is the God of all.  Jew and Gentile alike belong to God and the God of no partiality welcomes both.     

It is a critical moment for the church.  Without the encounter between Cornelius and Peter, the church could have continued without the inclusiveness that was within the plan of God.  We can only wonder what the Holy Spirit might be saying to the church today about its struggles.  We can only wonder where it is that our resistant to what the Spirit of God is seeking to do is hindering the forward movement of the Kingdom's work in our midst.  It may not be as easy as affirming our own personal persuasion which in the long run may be the very thing which has gotten us into the quandary we find ourselves today.  When we choose listening to our own voices instead of the voice of the Spirit, there can only be trouble ahead. 

Favorites XVII

When Simon Peter stepped forward out of the crowd to preach to the gathered crowd on the Day of Pentecost, there is nothing about him which reminds us of the Peter we saw in the dark courtyard where he denied knowing Jesus.  In the courtyard he had cursed and denied knowing Jesus out of fear for his own life, but on the day known as Pentecost, he stood boldly and fearlessly.  Prior to that moment of the Spirit's empowering, he along with the other disciples had been meeting behind closed and locked doors for fear that their fate might be the same as Jesus.    

It was surely a moment for Simon Peter of claiming and accepting the person Jesus had called him to be.  After Peter declared Jesus to be the "...the Christ, the Son of the living God,"  (Matthew 16:16), Jesus cast a heavy mantle upon the once upon a time fisherman, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven..." (Matthew 16:18-19).  It was a mantle he picked up and wore boldly on that day of wind and fire.  The crowd to which he spoke that day was a hostile crowd and from it were raised voices accusing them of being "filled with new wine."  (Acts 2:13).  

Anyone wanting to see the difference the Holy Spirit can make only need look at the fisherman who fished as a breadwinner only to become the Chief Fisherman of the church that was being breathed into life on that day.  It would be a church that would finally break the bonds of conventionalism and regionalism and spread out across a world which was present in that moment and unfolding into the generations to come.  It was a church that had as its first preacher, Simon Peter, the one who had cursed and sworn an oath saying of Jesus, "I do not know the man!"  (Matthew 26:75).  It is the church that it still standing and still prevailing against the evil that would destroy it.  And, so, it always will!

Favorites XVI

One of the biggest characters in the New Testament story is Simon Peter.  He is a character who evolves from a fiery hothead to a man with a disciplined spirit, from a man fearful for his own life to one who takes no thought for it, and from a broken man overcome with failure to one full of confidence in himself and the Christ.  The sermons which have been preached and the lessons taught are lessons about the power of fear and the power of faith.  When Simon Peter steps on center stage of the Biblical story, we can be sure there is going to be some kind of drama.  

One of my favorite stories about this disciple and Apostle is found in the 21st chapter of John.  With the light of the resurrection still shining brightly, Simon Peter does a surprising thing as he says to the others, "I am going fishing,"  and they all go with him.  (John 21:3). We can only wonder what Peter was thinking.  Did he need that moment of working with his hands to figure out what was happening in his heart?  Was he making a retreat to the past?  Had he decided that he was such a failure as a disciple that all he could do was to go back to the familiarity of the nets and the smell of the fish?  What we do know is that it was a morning of new beginnings.  

The resurrected Christ appeared on the beach cooking fish over a charcoal fire.  Perhaps, the smell of the fire on the beach reminded Peter of the smell of the fire in the courtyard of denial.  However, it is not a morning, nor a story centered on failure, but one centered on forgiveness.  As Peter walked alongside Jesus that morning on the beach, he knew the forgiveness of the Christ he loved and he also knew he could now live without looking over his shoulder and seeing himself as a man overcome by his failure.  Christ set him free from the past in such a way that he could look ahead to the plans Christ had for him in places still unseen.

Cemetery Thoughts

Today as I left the cemetery and the moment of committal for one I claim as family and who claimed me in the same way, I thought of the many cemeteries of my life.  The first one remembered is the one in which my father is buried.  I was seven years old when I made that first trip.  In the years that followed my mother would often visit his grave after an afternoon of visiting with family at the home place.  It was a country graveyard at the end of several sandy dirt roads that at the end took us to a ford of a blackwater creek which ran across the road.  With night falling, my sister and I would sit in the backseat shaking in fear only to hear my mother say to us, "There is nothing to fear here."    

She was right, of course.  Mothers have a way of being right.  I have learned over the years that there is nothing to fear in those places which once upon a time long ago seemed so full of things to fear.  The faith in Christ which has grown in me has also taught me that there is nothing to fear in the graveyard, but it has gone far beyond this assurance to tell me that death is not to be feared.  The Apostle Paul wrote some incredible words in his letter to the Corinthian Church.  "Listen, I will tell you a mystery!  We will not all die, but we will be changed.  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet....Death has been swallowed up in victory.  Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting.?"  (I Corinthians 15:52, 54-55).   The Apostle Paul knew that death had no sting because he knew of the power of the resurrection.  He knew the Christ who said,  "...because I live, you also will live."  (John 14:19).  

The man whose body we committed to the ground today was also one whose spirit we commended to God for He was one who also knew the Christ and believed in the power of Christ to deliver us from death.  My mother was right.  There is nothing to fear in graveyards.  The last word from the graveyard was the word spoken at the empty tomb to the women who came to mourn, "He is not here, He is risen." (Luke 24:6).  There is nothing to fear in graveyards and there is nothing to fear when we come to the moment of dying for Christ has risen and He has opened up the way Home for us.

A Doxology

What a blessing it is to be alive today!  It is a blessing that brings into my memory the names and faces of so many who have slipped away from this life far too soon.  I have never understood and often wonder why they lived so few years and I have been blessed with the many.  It is also a blessing which causes me to do what the old gospel song says we should do which is "Count your blessings, name them one by one...,"  but how can we?  How can we count blessings which are like the stars of the heavens, or the sand along the ocean's shore?    

I live in gratitude to God for the blessings which have unfolded into my life along its way.  I have been loved and I have been given people to love.  The journey has not always been easy, but God has been present each step of the way.  I have wanted to live a life that is giving, but the longer I live the more I understand I can never out give those who have given to me.  My generosity can never exceed the generosity given to me.    I know not why I have been graced with more blessings than can be measured.  My questions about such grace will never be answered as I breathe this earth's air.  

What I do know is that God is good, gracious, generous, giving, and forgiving. He has been and is the ultimate constant in my life.  He has been and is the primary shaper of my life.  All the good I might have done in the days He has given can only be explained by pointing to Him.  I am grateful to be a part of something as big and as lasting as the Kingdom of God.  Even as I do not understand why He has blessed me for so many years, neither do I understand why He would choose me to be a part of the work of that great and eternal Kingdom.  "Praise God from Whom All blessings flow!"

Favorites XV

As we read the story about Jesus feeding the 5000 with a young boy's five loaves and two fish, we wonder why there are still people who are hungry.  While it is true that there are more than 5000 in our world who will go to sleep hungry tonight, it seems that if Jesus could handle the problem with a few thousand, He could handle the larger number who long to be at today's table.  All four of the gospel writers note this feeding event so there is little reason to doubt that it happened.  What troubles us is that we do not see such things happening more often.   

The truth is that people are being fed.  All of the world's people may not be fed, but maybe it is at least fair to say more are being fed today than yesterday.  In John 14:12 we hear Jesus saying, "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."  It is striking that Jesus says more will be done by an absent Jesus than a present One and it is also noteworthy that the more getting done is placed in the hands of those like us who follow Him.  Back in the day of the miracle, He depended on the generosity of a young boy who had a lunch and a willingness to share it.  The miracle of more being fed today is likely going to happen in the same way.  Who among us is going to be generous enough to share their lunch?    

Of course, lunch is not being defined here as a "baloney" sandwich, but the generous and willing sharing of what God has placed in our hands.  This is exactly how that powerful image of John 14:12 is going to be fleshed out in our world.  Feeding the hungry who live in the web of poverty, or beneath some expressway bridge is a possible thing because Jesus is behind the feeding ministry, but it does seem that what He would choose to accomplish is also contingent upon people like the young boy of the story as well as those like us who hold in our hands far more than we need to sustain our own life.

The Best Day

What right do I have but none

      to be alive on this day? 

         I, the unshaped clay of earth

           have seen the soaring glory

             of things never before seen,

and though standing, my soul kneels.

My soul knows nothing else to do.

     Having seen Sinai burning, 

        the small prairie dogs sunning,

          cold waters finding their way,

            and huge elk rubbing branches, 

I can only walk in praise.

      

I know not all that is known,

      but who can look and not see

         at least some of God's glory

            that blows in the wind from where

              the Creator spoke the Word

to make today the best day?              

Favorites XIV

The Sermon on the Mount is very likely the most read section of the New Testament.  Beginning in chapter five, it spans three chapters.  The first few words of the chapter describe Jesus speaking to a large crowd gathered up on a mountain.  Even though it is called a sermon, his sitting posture speaks of the position of a teacher.  The beginning section is called the Beatitudes and is the most quoted portion of the Sermon.  The remaining chapters include teachings on a wide range of subjects, but  overriding them is that love, not duty, should motivate those who seek the Kingdom of God and that love always carries us beyond the boundaries of what is required by religion.   What Jesus taught in this section of the gospel is not that religious law should be abolished, but that we should live knowing that love will always take us into a realm of life that goes beyond duty.  

For example, it is not enough to love only those who love us: we are to love our enemies as well.  (Matthew 5:43ff)  He goes on to say that there is no place for being judgmental, (Matthew 7:1ff), our prayers are for God's ears and not for the ears of those who might applaud us for our words, (Matthew 6:7), and those who follow Him are to be like light and salt to those around them. (Matthew 5:13-16).   It is no wonder we are drawn to the Sermon on the Mount.  

It calls us to a life that is greater than the one we could live alone and separate from the power of God.  It is a word which calls us to embrace a way of life that is shaped by the very heart of Christ.  At the end of the fifth chapter, we hear Jesus saying to us, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."  (Matthew 5:48)  This call of Jesus to spiritual maturity has always beckoned us and it always will.

The Reason for the Welcome

This past Sunday was not exactly a regular church day.  It was a travel day which meant finding a church along the way for worship.  I tried a local Methodist Church, but when I arrived at the front door about 11:10 am, one of the ushers told me the organ music I was hearing was the closing hymn.  So, I went across the street to the Baptist Church.  This time I was told the service had already started, but there was plenty more to come as they usually finished up around 12:30 pm.  I mumbled some excuse as I turned away, but the truth was I feared there might be more church there than I wanted.    

One thing about showing up in some strange place is that you never know what you are going to get.  I know some who always make sure they go to a different denomination than their own while traveling, but I still find myself seeking out the Wesleyan crowd first.  While I have experienced a lot of different things in different places, one of the constants has been the way the churches I have visited gave flesh to the word "welcome. I was not welcomed by the few, but swarmed by the many.  It is heart warming when it happens and gives me hope for our church.   

It is easy to get comfortable where we are and to hurry to the local restaurant after the benediction.  The Bible reminds us often about the care we should offer to the strangers in our midst.  They are to be received and made to feel at home.  We are called to go out of our way to serve them.  Caring for the stranger in our midst on Sunday morning is not just something we should do as a part of our desire to grow our church, but something we should be doing because God is calling us to do it.  

Favorites XIII

While Luke's rendering of the Mount of Transfiguration is not the only telling of this event, it has always been my favorite.  I like the way Luke tells us the story, but I also like the context he creates around it.  For Luke it is that moment in the story of Jesus when everything starts moving toward the cross.  When Jesus comes down from the mountain, He once again speaks of His upcoming death, but Luke also writes a commentary about those days as he wrote, "When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem."  (Luke 9:51)   They were not days of casually encountering whatever might be experienced on the road, but days of intentional and steady movement toward the waiting cross.   

In some ways the Mount of Transfiguration has the feel of a moment of affirmation for Jesus as He is visited by Elijah and Moses and the voice coming from the clouds saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen..."  (Luke 9:35).  It also has the feel of a moment of preparation for Peter, James, and John as they find themselves overwhelmed by the holiness of God breaking in upon that hill so covered with glory. Surely, both Jesus and those three disciples would remember this extraordinary moment of revelation in the horrible days which were beginning to unfold before them.  

Over the centuries of preaching, preachers have turned this moment into the epitome of what is meant by a mountain top experience in our spiritual lives.  It may indeed help us define such a moment, but even more it teaches us to live with the expectation that the holy is only a breath away.  We can never be sure when it is that God is going to reveal Himself to us.  The disciples went with Jesus that day expecting it to be a day for praying, but it soon turned into something far beyond their expectations.  Such can be said of every day.  Every day can turn into a moment when God makes Himself known and in doing so, He outraces our feeble expectations.

Favorites XII

Even though John the Baptist was deeply devoted to God and in love with the unfolding plan for the Kingdom of God, he would not be the kind of fellow a father would want to have his daughter bring home with the words, "This is the one..."  He was more than rough around the edges.  Some thought he was Elijah returned, or some wild man from the wilderness, or a man who had gone off the deep end when it came to religion.  His camel hair clothing and his beard matted with honey and locust surely did nothing to improve his first impression.  When he spoke, he told everyone there was something wrong with them and that they needed to repent. What is surprising is that people went out to hear him.   

John the Baptist would not only be unwelcome as a husband candidate for our daughter, but he would also not be warmly received in today's church.  John had a way of calling things as he saw them.  No, better to say, he had a way of calling things the way God revealed them to him.  He was brave, outspoken, unafraid to speak even at the cost of his own head.  The church may have a few prophets and preachers like him, but only a few and if John showed up, he would likely be shown to the door by four strong men who would make sure he made a exit far from the door that said enter.   

There is something about John the Baptist, though, that makes you love him and long for him.  The church needs his kind of leadership.  He was not concerned about being in the spotlight.  His primary concern was to point people to Jesus.  Being in the shadow of the Christ was more than enough for him.  When Jesus showed up, he pointed Him out to his own disciples and took no offense when they left him for Jesus.  I love John the Baptist.  I wish I had been more like him in the ministry Christ entrusted to me.