Sixty Years on the Road

It occurred to me a few days ago that it has been sixty years since I knelt by my bed in a Methodist parsonage and received Christ into my life.  While that moment was not my first encounter with God, it was the one that has carried me through this long journey.  When I was seven years old, my father died which resulted in a conclusion that there had to be a God and there had to be a heaven.  I could not conceive of any other alternative.  At age seventy-eight, I still stand by the conviction of my childhood except now I would not use the words, "had to be."  Instead, I would use the words "there is." 

I was baptized at age nine by a pastor who my mother would later marry and the influence he had on my faith journey could never be measured.  Though baptized I can only confess to dabbling with what it meant to be committed to Christ during my teenage years.  I went to many altars during those years, but nothing really took with holding power until that night in the Alamo parsonage.  I have not made that moment of beginning the whole of my story, but being the beginning, it will always be an important part of it.  

While there are many people of faith in Christ who speak not of a moment of beginning, but of a lifetime of not knowing what it is to live without loving God, we are all somehow mysteriously given a life which can only be described as a new creation.  While there are many who have cast a strong and lasting shadow of influence on our life, there is not one who has worked the miracle of change and transformation as has Christ Jesus.  Like the father of the prodigal son parable, He is the One who enables us to know home.  We were marked with His holiness at conception and though we choose wandering, He waits with patience for us to turn toward the home He has been preparing and holding for us.  I am grateful for both his patience and His grace. 

A Freight Train of A Word

I cannot really say that I remember hearing the word before I arrived at Asbury College in 1968.  It is a word that carries enough letters to be a long freight train.  I ran into again a few days ago as I was reading a daily devotional from Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest."  I started using the devotional guide back in my Asbury College days and ever since it has been no further than a reach away.  After his death in the early part of the 20th century, Oswald's wife actually compiled the readings from his talks, writings, and devotionals.   

A few days ago I read, "Sanctification is not my idea of what I want God to do for me; sanctification is God's idea of what He wants to do for me and He has to get me into the attitude of mind and spirit where at any cost I will let Him sanctify me wholly."  It is a word that brings to mind I Thessalonians 5:23 which says, "May the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly..."  The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible has the word "wholly" reading "entirely," but in this instance I am going to hang on to the way I memorized the verse.  For many of today's believers that freight train of a theological word is scary.  It is scary because it is misunderstood.  

The sanctified are not some group of spiritually elite souls removed from the trials and temptations of life, but those are seeking the help of the Holy Spirit so that they can leave a life of total surrender to God each day.  Though both Scriptural and Wesleyan, it is not really preached or taught in a way that calls those committed to Christ to step into a life of absolute abandonment to God so that the Holy Spirit is free to do with us, to shape us, and to lead us regardless of our own desires, wants, and wishes.  

A "Do Over"

What is done is done and cannot be done again.  As one of John Wesley's worn out preachers, I look back from time to time and wish I could do some things differently.  I was always convinced that worship was one of the most important ministries of the church and worked in a very intentional manner to be faithful to that conviction.  Having said this, there are still things I would do differently if I could be given a "do over."  One of those things is that I would make more space for the Sacrament.    

I know our historical tradition is one of a pulpit centered ministry.  Circuit riders preachers showed up, but certainly not every Sunday.  Though Wesley encouraged the Methodists of England to go to the Anglican Church for weekly communion, such never happened in the rapidly expanding American frontier.  In the South in which I lived as a boy, the Holy Sacrament never really had the place of importance that it did for Wesley.  When I was ordained the church in many places offered the Sacrament only quarterly.  In the span of the years, the first Sunday became a Communion Sunday which is the practice of most Methodist churches of the day.  

While the Sacrament was offered with more frequency, some of the back room conversations revealed a strange reluctance.  In some places people stayed home because it was not real church.  Preachers often lamented the way first Sunday offerings were down because of lower attendance.  And even now, the liturgy is so neglected that most have forgotten "The Prayer of Humble Access" and the Prayer of Consecration is done so quickly it would be missed by God if He blinked His eyes. The moment of the Sacrament is no longer entered into reverently, but raced through as it must be done by noon.  If I had a "do over," I would be more intentional about reversing what was then a trend, but is now something that has been incorporated into the life of the church as normal and enough.

A Different Rhythm

Years ago I taught several sessions about worship to a group of young preachers.  It was mostly about how to lead worship.  Looking back is to realize what I offered was mostly about how to do worship.  While there was nothing wrong with what I presented back then, if I were to do it over today, some things would certainly be different.  The passing of some twenty years, the experiences of those years, and hopefully the way the Holy Spirit has been nudging me to move has revealed some things that apparently were invisible to me back then since I seem not to have seen them.   

While I know it sounds redundant, worship should create a place for worship.  The church seems to have moved far away from worship even though what it does still goes by that name.  Worship is more synonymous with entertainment and performance.  It is so choreographed that the Holy Spirit has no room to wiggle in.  It creates spectators instead of participants.  The rhythm is a hurried one.  There is always movement.  Seldom is there any silence, or time for being.  Even though the walk by communion participants are invited to kneel at an altar after receiving the Sacrament, the very atmosphere is one of come quickly and hurry to your seats.   

There is no place for being anymore.  Maybe it never existed.  Maybe it existed only in a memory that is filled more with fantasy than reality.  Maybe it is the part of worship for which my heart longed, but could not find.  What gave birth to all these thoughts on worship was attendance at a service of worship in another tradition where the preacher sat down after the sermon and there was simply silence for what seemed like several minutes.  No one jumped up to announce a hymn; the people just sat in a silence that gave opportunity to reflect on what had been proclaimed as the Word of God.  It made me think that the church needs to find a different rhythm for worship, one that allows not for doing, but being.

The Unresolved

When Jacob fled the home of his father, Issac, it was to escape the wrath of his brother, Esau, whom he had cheated out of his birthright.  As he walked that road of looking over his shoulder, he acquired many of the things men seek to acquire, but there finally came a time when the desire for home could no longer be ignored.  As he prepared himself to meet his brother, he was fearful.  

On the night before the meeting, he sent his wives and all his possessions ahead across the final stream to be crossed.  He was at that moment separated from his two wives, his eleven children, and everything he possessed.  Everything dear to his heart and all the wealth which gave his life identity was on one side of this stream and he was on the other.  The Scripture says, "Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak."  (Genesis 32:24).  It was a strange wrestling match.  All through the night the struggle continued.  Just before the sun rose, the struggle ended with Jacob being "...struck...on the hip socket at the thigh muscle."  (Genesis 32:32).  Jacob limped till the day he died.

It is strange that the story identifies the one who wrestled with Jacob as a man.  (Genesis 32:24). Jacob knew differently for during the struggle, the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for  you have striven with God..." (Genesis 32:28) and later Jacob would say, "...I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved."  (Genesis 32:30).  It is a story full of mystery.  Certainly, it is possible it is the story of a dream which reflected Jacob's fear of possible retribution from his brother, but it could have been a dream of a life which had been lived with the guilt that had been a part of his life since the day he decided to take his life in his own hands instead of trusting God with it.  Perhaps, you and I have had such dreams as we wrestled with the unforgiven issues in our own life.

Crucified

When I read Paul saying, "...the world has been crucified to me and I to the world," (Galatians 6:14), I could not help but remember the Desert Fathers a few centuries later who spoke of going to the desert as a way of escaping a shipwreck of a society.  In both cases the word is separation.  Both realized life in Christ and life in society is not possible.  Of course, this sounds strange because everything we have learned about the Christian life calls us to be the presence of Jesus in the world.   

We remember, too, something Jesus said in the passage known as the High Priestly Prayer.  As we read John 17:14-16 we hear Jesus praying, "I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world.  I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but I ask You to protect them from the evil one.  They do not belong in the world, just as I do not belong in the world." Again we find a word about separation and belonging.  What Paul was declaring is that we cannot allow ourselves to be influenced, directed, and controlled by the values of the world and for Paul the only way to maintain this way of life was to consider himself one to whom the world had been crucified which means it, therefore. no longer has any bearing on how he lives.  

The Apostle Paul calls us in many places to the surrendered life, the abandoned life, the life where all that matters is serving and living for Christ.  The kind of crucifixion of which Paul speaks is one where things like accumulating, looking out for number one, and climbing some ladder which makes us feel more important no longer have any influence over us.  The kind of crucifixion of which Paul speaks is the one where the Holy Spirit has absolute control over our heart.  Only then is our self seeking and self serving ego crucified.

A Call to Pray

Over the forty-three years of my preaching ministry, I have served ten different congregations.  Some were small, some were not so small, and some were larger.  They were all different; however, one thing they all had in common were problems.  As we read the Apostle Paul's letter to the churches of Galatia, we see that Paul had the same kind of churches.  Though he left them for other missions, he still felt responsibility for the spiritual life of the churches into which he had poured himself.  Paul spends a good portion of the first part of the letter defending his apostleship.  

Apparently, there were those who said he was a pretender instead of someone with real authority like Simon Peter.  As we read into the letter, his dismay, disappointment, and anger become obvious.  He is a shepherd who has been accused of not caring for his sheep.  "Some...are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ,"  (Galatians 1:7) he told them.  He was astonished that the people had allowed themselves to be led astray by false teachers who were actually declaring him to be the false teacher.  So real was the danger that Paul wrote, "I am afraid that my work for you may have been wasted."  (Galatians 4:11).  

He reminds them of their previous kindness toward him.  They did not scorn or despise him because of his physical infirmity.  The goodwill of the past was gone and now he was seen as the enemy.  Despite the things which are falsely being said and accepted about him, he wrote, "I wish I were present with you and could change my tone, for I am perplexed by you."  (Galatians 4:20).  Some may say that the letter Paul wrote to the Galatians is an angry letter, and indeed it is, but it is also a letter which comes from a broken heart.  He loved the people and cared for them even though they were speaking ill of him.  It is a word which reminds us to pray for our preachers and spiritual leaders instead of talking about them.  

A Transforming Passage

When we read that section in Galatians about the fruit of the Spirit, we must realize that it is not about us, but about the Holy Spirit,   There was a time in my life when I read these characteristics of those who live by the Spirit and decided that those words would speak of my daily goals.  I thought I could do a makeover that would enable me to be such a person.  I would be loving. I would be joyful.  I would be a person of peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, and self control.  (Galatians 5:22-23). I approached the fruit of the Spirit like we approach New Year's resolution.  Everyone knows how long that works.   

Here is the thing.  We cannot do for ourselves what only the Holy Spirit can do in us.  This passage is not setting forth a list for us to accomplish; instead, it speaks to us about the way the Holy Spirit can reshape the life of one who lives the abandoned life.  The abandoned life is the one in which the will of God takes  precedence over the desires of personal ego.  I may be able to make myself respond over the short haul with kindness and love, but the problem comes in the unplanned and spontaneous moments.  It is in those moments that most of us all fall short.  

This passage is a transforming passage because it speaks of the way the Holy Spirit seeks to take our heart and make it into something that begins to resemble the heart of Jesus.  If our lives are going to truly reflect the life of Jesus, it will not be because of what we do, but because of how we have allowed the Spirit to transform the motivational core of our spirit.  The fruit of the Spirit is seen in us not according to what we plan to do, or strive to do, but according to the way the spontaneous moments give expression to what is happening in our heart because the Spirit abides there and is given complete control.

One or the Other

A reading of Paul's letter to the Galatian Christians reveals that the Apostle put all people into two categories.  It had nothing to do with being Jew or Greek, male or female, slave or free.  There were those who chose to "live by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25) and there were those who live to "gratify the desires of the flesh." (Galatians 5:16).  It is clear that it is an "either-or" choice.  The two life choices are not compatible.  Anything less than an absolute surrender to the life in the Spirit means that the choice is to gratify the desires of the flesh.  There is no room for any kind of compromise in the heart.  

While it is true that Jesus was talking about wealth when He said, "No one can serve two masters..." (Matthew 6:24) it is equally as true that we cannot live according to the Holy Spirit and the life of the flesh which the evil one entices us to embrace.  The Scripture characterizes those who live according to the flesh by saying, ""Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fortification, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these."  ((Galatians 5:19-21)  What is described here is the undisciplined, out of control  life of a self seeking ego.   

On the other hand those who live by the Spirit are bearers of "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control." (Galatians 5:22-23)  These characteristics are called "the fruit of the Spirit" meaning that they are produced from within the heart by the Holy Spirit. Those who choose life in the Spirit submit themselves to the controlling influence of the Holy Spirit so that their hearts begin to resemble the heart of Jesus.  Those who live according to the Spirit live not to satisfy the undisciplined ego, but to live according to the will of God.  Such is our choice.

The Higher Way

In his letter to the churches of Galatia, Paul calls them to a higher way.  The higher way as Paul spoke of it did not begin with the Jewish law.  According to the Apostle, the law was of value in that it served God's people as a disciplinarian "until Christ came."  (Galatians 3:24).  The law's value is affirmed as we hear Jesus saying in the Sermon on the Mount, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill. (Matthew 5:17).  

As important as the law was to the Jewish people, it was meant to be a light which led the people of God forward until the Light came as flesh among us.  The Incarnation changed everything.  No longer would righteousness be defined by doing; instead, it would defined by a faith response to what God did through His son on the cross.  The law was confined within the constraints of a specific time.  Faith in Christ opened up the doors of eternity. The law divided people into two groups.  There were Jews and there were Gentiles.  There were the people of God and there were the heathens.  

With Christ all the divisions were shattered, "for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith....There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."  (Galatians 3:26-28).  When Christ came the exclusivism of the law was replaced by the inclusive faith in Christ that opened the door for everyone regardless of the way old labels had provided for separation.

The Table of the Hypocrites

Simon Peter was Jesus' right hand man.  He is one regarded with super saint status.  Of course, we also know he was a man with one or two flaws.  Like the other disciples, he became more concerned about status instead of serving.  When Jesus needed someone to pray while He went apart to pray, Peter went to sleep.  When Jesus was being tried, Peter was out in the courtyard warming himself in front of a fire and mixing his language with a few expletives to prove he was not one of the disciples of Jesus.   

It might seem to some that Peter had gotten all the kinks worked out on his walk with Jesus on the beach.  On the Day of Pentecost this disciple who had been filled with the blowing wind of the Spirit preached a sermon which converted over three thousand people.  Those who are tempted to think that the baptized in the Spirit Petehad arrived at some super state in his spiritual life only need to read what Paul reported in his letter to the Galatian Christians.  Paul tells a story which tells of a Peter who still struggled with what people thought of him.  "But, when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face...for until certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But, after they came, he drew back and kept himself separate for fear of the circumcision faction." (Galatians 2:12). 

Peter ate with the Gentiles until a visiting group of Jewish Christians showed up and then he backed away from the table.  His behavior is, of course, a visual definition of hypocrisy.  Peter, like any hypocrite said he believed one thing, but his actions betrayed him.  He wore two faces, one to please the Gentiles and then another as he tried to please the visitors from Jerusalem.  Whenever we preach one thing and practice another, we end up sitting at the table of the hypocrites with Simon Peter.  It is like sitting on a barb wire fence.  It becomes very uncomfortable.

The Angry Apostle

The letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatian Christians show us a "get in your face" kind of guy.  One thing he does not do is mince words.  No one in the room wonders what Paul is saying when he sits down.  He comes at you like a freight train!  From the very beginning, those who read the letter have a feeling that there is something different about what is coming.  There is no long section of blessings in the beginning.  In this way this letter is different from Ephesians, or Philippians, or Colossians.   

It is obvious that he is deeply concerned about the voices within the church which are undermining everything he has done and he is equally disturbed by those who hear those words as gospel truth.  Paul begins the letter by asserting that his authority as a prophet is not suspect.  In verse one he declares that he is "sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead." Paul is not boasting or waving credentials in the air; instead, he is declaring that his authority is God given. Immediately, we run into Paul's chastising words, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel."  (Galatians 1:6).  

Such verses are ever present through the letter. "I am afraid that my work for you may have been wasted," he wrote.  (Galatians 4:11).   "You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth?"  (Galatians 5:7) and "You foolish Galatians!  Who has bewitched you?" (Galatians 3:1) are two other examples of his anger, but none speaks of his anger as much as Galatians 5:12.  "I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves."  The church of our day could use a few voices like the Apostle Paul.

Crucified With Christ

An image based in Scripture gets very little attention these days.  In Galatians 2:19-20 the Apostle Paul wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who lives, but it is Christ who lives in me."  This verse is not acceptable for those who preach a comfortable gospel.  It is not for those who will sacrifice anything to make people feel accepted.  It is word which is often watered down to make it more palatable.  It is a word which leaves no margin for compromise.   

The image of crucifixion is, of course, not something people of our generation can visualize through their own experience.  We can read about it.  It is something so horrible and something so incompatible with our understanding of God as a God of love, that it is hardly mentioned in the church today.  Going through any kind of spiritual experience which resembles crucifixion is inconceivable.  Yet, here is Paul speaking of his witness by saying, "I have been crucified with Christ..."  

To be crucified with Christ as Paul speaks of it is an intentional decision.  It is not something to which we come by rambling.  It is a moment of choosing a letting go of what is past so that we can enter fully into what is ahead.  To be crucified with Christ speaks of finality.  There is no going back.  It involves a commitment to go forward into whatever it is that is ahead of us that we cannot see so long as it is according to the will of God.  It is about choosing His will over our will.  It is not an easy way and few really choose it.  To be crucified with Christ is about abandoning all rights to self  and choosing Jesus with no conditions and no reservations.

Jesus Alone

While my seminary experience has faded in the unfolding of decades of living, but there are a few things that became so much a part of who I am that they are impossible to forget.  One class I always remember is a quarter long course on the letter Paul wrote to the church at Galatia.  In addition to the daily lectures our class project was to write our own commentary on the letter which involved reading Galatians in several different translations, extensive commentary research, and word studies.  

Whenever I found myself in a situation of needing to lead a Bible study on short notice, Galatians was my first and natural choice.  While the Bible has relevance for the contemporary church, the letter Paul wrote to the Galatian churches is amazingly relevant.  The primary heresy which afflicted the church was what I have come to speak of as the "Jesus Plus Theology."  There were those in the church who were declaring that while faith in Jesus was a good thing, it was also necessary to submit to the Jewish practice of circumcision.  For the Apostle Paul, it was either the law which was a dead end street, or faith in Christ which provided the abundant life.  

Paul was quite emphatic.  In the fifth chapter we heard him saying, "Listen!  I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you...For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision or uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love." (Galatians 5:2, 6).  His anger over false teachers leading the church astray is best heard when he said, "I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves."  (Galatians 5:12)  Even after all these centuries, faith in Jesus is the necessary and primary response for anyone who seeks to walk after Christ.

A Seldom Used Gift

Recently I heard some poetry read that I had previously read.  Read not once, but many times.  As I listened carefully to the verbal rendering, I began to hear things I had not heard during the many readings. It sent me to thinking about the way I have often read the Psalms.  I read them like I read everything else.  I read them silently.  Not a sound is heard except for the turning of pages.  It occurred to me midst the reading of the poetry that reading silently may not be the best way to experience the Psalms of the Old Testament.  

One thing leads to another.  Perhaps, the  prayers I offer to God would be better if they were heard by ears other than His. Maybe there is value in my ears hearing the thoughts of my heart even as He does.  It might also help us when our minds began to wander.  Our quiet time does not have to be quiet.  It can be filled with our voice directing our thoughts to God in a more intentional way.  Somewhere a very long time ago, we were taught to pray by thinking our prayers instead of speaking them.  Maybe a change would be a good thing.  

Another thought which comes to mind as we think our quiet times is interrupting the quiet with singing.  So many times during our devotional moments some hymn or song of faith comes to mind.  Would it be such a serious break with the personal pattern we have established for praying to break out singing a song of praise or a hymn of meditation?  We may not be the best singer, but nowhere is it written that God takes no delight in our attempts to worship Him with our singing?  God has given us a voice and it seems to be one gift that we use the least in our private moments with Him. 

The Singing Dead

Back in the day when my seat in the sanctuary was the pulpit chair, I was the first one to hear the music from the choir as it left the choir loft and headed toward the upper confines of the balcony.  I loved being so close to such good music.  I am not sure if the Minister of Music who directed the choir realized I often sang softly along with the choir during their anthems.  If they did, no one ever chastised me.  I simply could not help myself.  

Even though the pulpit chair is no longer available to me, I am still prone to do a one man sing along either with the choir, or during a piano or organ prelude.  Since I usually sit on the first or second row, I figure soft singing will not bother anyone and so far no one in authority, or who sits beside me has told me to hush!  I indulged myself this past Sunday morning when the pianist was playing an old gospel hymn during the offertory. I had not heard "At the Cross" in such a long time.  "At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, and the burden of my heart rolled away.  It was there by faith I received my sight, and now I am happy all the day."  Maybe it sounds like a little sappy to some, but for me it was like fresh cool water being poured over my soul.   

John Wesley encouraged those who worship the Methodist way to sing.  The preface in the Methodist Hymnal has his seven directions for singing.  Number 4 is "Sing lustily and with good courage.  Beware of singing, as if you were half dead, or half asleep, but lift up your voice with strength."  I love to sing.  I wish I could do it better.  I wish we did more singing in our church and I wish, too, that it did not sometimes sound like the singing dead, singing.

Give the Best

When I was going through a dark and difficult time, I ceased attending worship at the church I normally attended and went instead to the local Episcopal Church.  What I needed was to be immersed in a service of worship that was more liturgical than what I could find in my Methodist community.  The liturgy included such things such as prayers of confession, words that spoke of a faith as ancient as Abraham,  acts of worship that had served the church and its people for centuries, and the Sacrament.   

I felt a need to be connected to the community of faith and immersion in a liturgy that was not trendy, but one rooted in an ancient spiritual heritage.  I have often lamented the lack of liturgical worship in my own denomination.  Some folks think any prayer read from a book of worship lacks the power of a spontaneous prayer.  A prayer which used to be prayed often in Communion services enables the gathered people to pray, "Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, maker of all things, judge of all people: We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, which we from time to time most grievously have committed, by thought, word, and deed, against thy divine majesty..."  

I continue to believe that many our contemporary worshipers would find meaning and spiritual power in such words. Unfortunately, the opportunity is seldom afforded them.  The church has become too conscious of the twelve o'clock hour to risk running past it with the benediction still not pronounced.  Worship is not something to be choreographed as it is in many places.  When such happens, our hurrying society may seem pleased, but so much is being missed.  Worship is about offering our best to God which is something many worship leaders seem to overlook in favor of entertainment.  

A Bone to Pick

There are a few bones I am always ready to pick with the church that ordained me, but its open Table is not one of them.  In fact, whenever I come to the moment of Holy Communion, I am grateful for a Table where everyone is welcome.  As I received the Sacrament today and watched others go to the altar, kneel, and receive this means of grace, my heart was filled with gratitude.  One of the hardest things to understand is how some can deny the Sacrament to some and still say they welcome everyone.  

When we read the gospel story of Jesus sharing the meal with the disciples, there is the admonition to "Do this in remembrance of Me." (Luke 22:19).  There were no conditions and requirements spoken on that night.  It saddens me that in some churches, people are excluded.  In many churches of our day, there is a  theology of communion that is much like the " Jesus plus theology" which Paul condemned in the church of Galatia.  When children are excluded because they are not old enough, or when someone is denied the Sacrament until Confirmation, or when membership in a certain church becomes a requirement, it is questionable if the Table from which the Holy Meal is served is really the Lord's Table.  

In the day of Jesus, there were hundreds of rules and regulations in addition to the Ten Commandments which were imposed upon the people.  There were the Commandments given by God and then there were the religious rules created by the religious authorities.  Much the same has happened today in the church.  So many of the things the church declares to be requirements have nothing to do with what the Scripture says; instead, it is the rulings of some church body.  No one should be denied the means of grace offered to them through the Sacrament, but there are still some among us who say otherwise.

The Plan

The plan to advance the gospel is older than the gospels.  It goes back to the time of Jesus.  It did not require an advertising campaign.  There was no upper level hierarchy to fashion a program to be implemented at the local level.  It was a program which required no funding.  It was simple and nothing about it smacked of the complex.  The gospel writer Luke tells us about it.  "Then Jesus called the twelve together...and sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal."  (Luke 9:1-2).   

Mark adds that Jesus sent them out two by two (Mark 6:7). There is also a record of their return after finishing the mission.  "On their return, the apostles told Jesus all they had done."  (Luke 9:10).  There is a word here we often miss.  Jesus is interested in what we do in His name.  He is interested in what we do to advance the Kingdom.  It is not just the Apostles who have been called to go out in service, but each one of us who accepted the calling Christ has placed on our life.  

It is not just about what Jesus would do, but about what each one of us is willing to do in His name.  Everywhere we go, we go in His name.  Everywhere we go there is an opportunity to advance the Kingdom.  Everywhere we go there is an opportunity to express the love of Christ, to model the love which has transformed our life, and moments for offering acts of healing and compassion.  The plan of Jesus to change the world includes each one of us.  We are a part of what God is doing in the world and there is much to do.

It Takes a Lifetime

It takes a life time of living to get where we are.  This is true whether we are young or old.  It is the many experiences of life that bring us to the place we have arrived.  We may have arrived where we are with some bruises and scars and, perhaps, a few blemishes, but from each moment there has been a lesson taught and hopefully learned.  Life is never about arriving, but going.  It is never about the destination, but the journey.  

The Biblical patriarch, Abraham, is really the prototype for the journey God calls us to embrace.  The Abraham narrative makes it clear that Abraham was called to a journey with no destination.  The question he faced was not about choosing a place God wanted him to go, or a task God wanted him to accomplish, but choosing to go with God into the land of "know not where."  This is the context of the original summons on our lives as we choose the way of obedience to the One who brought us into being.  When we respond to that call, it might seem to us the way forward is clear and it may be for a time, but never should it surprise us when obedience takes us down a road not seen in the beginning.  

Perhaps, it is our moments of faithful going that God gives us experiences that will enable us to move into places, situations, and relationships not seen in the beginning.  The experiences which become a part of our journey can be a part of the equipping He does as He readies us for the more that is before us.  Whether the road brings us to joy or sorrow, He can as His Word declares use all things to bring about good, or to bring us into the new which He had planned for us from the beginning.

A New Word

Looking for something to read, I pulled from the shelf a book with the strange title, "The Soul's Slow Ripening"  by Christine Valters Paintner.  In the introduction she wrote about visiting some of the sacred Celtic shrines and ruins in Ireland.  She also introduced me to a new word and a concept for which I had searched in my own trips to some of the sacred places of my past.  It actually came in a quote she used from John O' Donohue who wrote, "ruins are not empty.  They are sacred places full of presence...The life and passion of a person leaves an imprint on the ether of a place."  

By definition "ether" refers to the invisible, spiritual domain which connects the four physical elements of wind, water, earth and fire.  "Ether" is that word which speaks to why some physical places seems so full of the spiritual.  It is something I have sensed in years of standing to preach in a pulpit filled with the shadows of preachers of other generations. It is the overwhelming awareness of God's presence when I return to places where His mighty works are remembered.  "Ether" refers to the holy places of our past which call us to take off our shoes before walking once again the holy ground.  

While I am more firmly convinced than ever that all the Creation is holy because it bears the imprint of the Holy Creator, it also seems true that entering into some places is like becoming immersed in an invisible spiritual air that is seen and experienced by some, but not by all.  It brings to mind the often quoted lines of a poem learned in high school literature class, "Earth's crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God, but only he who sees takes off his shoes, the rest sit round and pick blackberries."  The Creation is holy, but they are places made special because of the way they are for us filled with "ether."

The Small Church

I recently read a report that the mega church had grown and the small church had declined in these post pandemic years.  I was surprised.  I remember a quiet personal prediction that that the small church would begin to grow again.  It appears that I was wrong which is not the first time.  My experience with the mega church is slim.  I have been the pastor of  some small congregations, have watched them suffer through decades of decline, and was hopeful that the post pandemic years would bring about a re-emergence.  

The small church has suffered as rural communities have watched its young rush toward higher paying jobs in urban areas.  This has resulted in the disappearance of the family farm, the loss of inter-generational communities, and small churches counting funerals instead of new members.  Though I never served a large mega church, I did pastor a few larger congregations before retirement came.  The larger church can offer whatever money can buy, but the small church provides things money could never buy.  

Community is the most obvious.  The small church is filled with people who have lived with one another through thick and thin, from birth to death, and whose definition of family is not just biological.  It is the village which rears all the children.  Most of all it is a community grounded in a faith in God which will not quit.  It is a breeding ground for sinners who are beginning to look like the saints we are all called to be.  Anyone who wonders if there is more to church than being just a spectator on Sunday morning should visit a nearby small church.  It is a place where people know your name and will share your joys and woes.  It is also a place where the pastor is more knowable than the face seen from a distance on the big screen.

A Sunday Morning Question

The preacher this morning finished up a month long series on Paul's letters to the Church at Corinth. Unfortunately, life has taken me elsewhere during the month of the sermons so today was a moment for hearing the final sermon of the many preached.  Somewhere in the midst of the sermon, the preacher verbally considered the possibility of Paul writing a letter to the church of today.  It sent me scurrying to find an offering envelope with white space on the back so I could write my own question. "If Paul were to write a letter to the church today as he did to Corinth, who would want to read it?"  

"Who would want to read it?"  I fear not the church.  I fear the church would dismiss someone like Paul as one had been hiding from reality too long.  I fear the church has no real interest in hearing the prophetic voices which would call it to repentance.  Regardless whether we are liberal or conservative, we are sure we have it right and everyone else has it wrong.  The church is like the altar worker who kneels beside someone confessing their sins to tell them they are not so bad.  Maybe there was a time in the life of the church when sin was seen lurking behind every bush, but nowadays, it is doubtful the always right among us would recognize sin if it stared them in the face.  

I cannot help but believe that Paul would have something to say to a church which is more about self-preservation than sacrifice.  I cannot help but believe that Paul would have something to say to a church more interested in making "me" the center of its proclamation instead of Christ.  I cannot help but believe that Paul would have something to say to a church too interested in tickling ears instead of stepping on toes.  I cannot help but believe that the letter would end up in the trash instead of the heart.   

Lay Him There

"Lay him there, " He said.

And I said, "Are You sure?

He's a good boy, You know,

Gathered all the wood below.

When asked, he always does.

How 'bout we talk this over

Like reasonable folks do?"

"Once more, lay him there."

"But, Lord, he's all I got.

You promised him long ago

to me and a barren woman.

If's he gone, how will she 

live without him, and with me.

I'll have no heir,  and no hope." 

I said, "Lay him there!

What can't you understand?

Who do you think I am?

A liar and  deceiver,

A breaker of promises?

I promised You blessings.

Why can you not believe?"

"Once again, lay him there!"

So loud He spoke, I awoke,

A shaking body by Sarah.

Freed now to breathe again,

Still afraid, but now I know

Who has spoken in the dream

and so I will lay him there.

(Genesis 22:1-19)

A Morning for Pondering

While I am not one prone to climbing a hill and flying a kite during a thunderstorm, or even walking across the farm during those stormy moments when thunder and lightning come in the same second, I must confess to enjoying the rain.  When I was a student at Young Harris College, I would often take walks across the campus on rainy nights.  Later in my middle years when running was a part of my routine, rain never kept me away from lacing up the running shoes.  At the farm the front porch is a favorite place to sit and be a part of the rain that is falling.  

As anyone who has ever dabbled in the dirt knows, rain is a blessed gift.  The story of Elijah reminds us what happens to the earth when the rain ceases to fall.  The creek, or wadi, from which the prophet drank his water dried up and worse than hard times came upon the land.  And even as too little can be a serious problem, we know, too, that too much of it at one time can bring flooding, destruction, and even death.  Jesus spoke of the rain falling one the wise and the foolish.  Indiscriminately, the rain falls.  Sometimes it comes and sometimes it does not.  Sometimes it rains buckets and sometimes a thimble is enough.

From my window there seems to be much to ponder as the rain falls.  This morning it seems to be speaking about the nature of life itself.  We have no real control over our life.  It unfolds bringing seasons of tears and laughter.  It is unpredictable.  It is full of things not understood.  Some speak of it as mystery.  Perhaps, life can only be rightly understood and lived when we see it as a gift.  Though we live through the dark stormy days, the sunshine comes.  There is no darkness which can overcome the Eternal Light.  There is no power, not even death, which will keep us from finally reaching the glorious light of Home.  

Rainy Morning Musings

The first rain of the morning was gentle.  It would have been good walking weather.  Such is not the case now. The rain is pounding the ground.  Walking would put the walker at risk of drowning!  It is also the kind of rain which sets the mind going off in directions not anticipated.  One of my thoughts as I look out the window is to wonder why there is no mention of rain in the Genesis account of creation.  A little head scratching and page turning revealed the first word about rain in Genesis 2:5 which said, "the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth."  How strange that the first mention of rain is a report that it exist only in the mind of God.   

The first record of rain comes in Genesis 7:2 where we hear the Lord saying to Noah, "There's going to be a floody, floody, get them children out of the muddy, muddy, children of the Lord."  Forgive me for getting carried away with a memory of a childhood song.  The Scripture actually says. "For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights."  Another big and memorable rain came of Mt. Carmel at the end of Elijah's battle with the prophets of Baal. (I Kings 18:45).  And, of course, there a few good storms described in the gospels, one of which is famous for the moment Jesus walked on stormy seas.  

What are the takeaways from this morning of musing about the rain?  Not everything visible to us was mentioned in the Genesis story of Creation.  It took seven chapters before we are able to see a decent rain.  How many years did the wheel lurk in the realm of the invisible before it became a means of transportation?  How long did the technology of airplanes and computers exist in the realm of the invisible before we were able to see it?  The creation is not yet done. There are things out there unseen which will one day be revealed.  The cure for diseases like cancer is surely one of those things.

A Heritage Lost

Although contemporary Methodism seldom gives cause to think of holiness, holiness was a dominant theme in John Wesley's theology.  It could be said with some justification that Wesley would, as some folks in this neck of the woods say,, "roll over in his grave" at the disappearance of holiness in the church that speaks of him as its theological father.  He spoke of Methodists as "people who profess to pursue holiness of heart and life, inward and outward conformity...to the revealed will of God."  

The holiness of which Wesley spoke was an inward matter of the heart and also something outwardly expressed through a life which reflected the heart of Christ.  Theological words which show up in Wesley's theology are Christian perfection, sanctification (both gradual and entire), and purity of heart.  When I was ordained back in 1971, we were asked by the Bishop at our ordination, "Are you going on to perfection?" In these words of covenant, the Wesleyan heritage was verbally and visibly affirmed.  

Like many denominational groups, there seems to be an abandonment of the inward part of Wesley's theology of sanctification as the outward aspect of it becomes more and more dominant.  Holiness must always include the work of the Holy Spirit on the believer's heart in order to be true to its meaning.   Holiness is about that work of the Spirit which shapes and transforms our hearts so that they more clearly reflect the heart of Christ.  It can never be one or the other, but both if our holiness heritage is remembered correctly.

A Second Work

In many holiness circles where sanctification was preached, it was often described as "baptism of the Spirit" or "a second work of grace."  The preaching was more focused on sanctification being an event to be experienced through an intense time of seeking this gift from God than it was preached as a moment in a believers life which began a process of living in submission to the will of God.  One of the common elements of the different approaches to the Spirit filled life was the desire in the heart of the believer for something more in their spiritual life.    

Those who disliked the image of a second work of grace affirmed, and rightly so, that at the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit came to abide in the heart.  There was no need to talk about Him coming a second time.  The Spirit did not come on the installment plan.  When we said "yes" to Jesus we received all of the Holy Spirit and not just a part of Him.  The problem experienced by many of us is that while we received all of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit did not receive all of us.  

Beginning faith can often be filled with enthusiasm, but also filled with the conditional.  This results in the kind of life the Apostle Paul described in a moment of confession, "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me." (Romans 7:19-20).  It is when we grow weary of such a life and when we long for something more that we find that our heart is receptive to the Spirit calling us to surrender not a part of ourselves but all of ourselves so that the emptiness cannot only be filled, but also controlled by the Holy Spirit.

"Them Holiness Folks"

Not far from the small town Methodist Church that licensed me to preach was an empty lot that stayed vacant except for one week out of the year.  On that exceptional week a big brown tent would suddenly appear along with at least a hundred wooden folding chairs and several hundred funeral homes fans.  The people who showed up in the evening to sit in those chairs and wave those fans were not like the orderly dignified Methodist folks who drove by this tent revival after dark to see what all the singing and shouting was about. 

When asked, the keepers of righteous order would say, "It was them holiness folks!"   Never did it occur those of us being shaped by the Methodist Church on the corner that "them holiness folks" was really us.  Holiness was not mentioned much on Sunday morning.  When the words, "baptism of the Holy Spirit" sounded across town from that turned wide open speaker system at the tent, we were mystified.  Sanctification might have been a part of the spiritual heritage of those Methodists on the corner, but it was mostly kept a secret.  

It was years later when I went to a college that had, "Holiness Unto the Lord" written in large bold letters across the front wall of the auditorium that I began to see and understand a different understanding of holiness.  It was true that the Scripture called believers to holy living (I Peter 1:15-16) and a familiar and much quoted word said, "Blessed are the pure in heart..." (Matthew 5:8), but it required a season of soaking before such words settled in my heart.  In a world in which the church seems to have lost its spiritual identity, maybe it needs to have a season of soaking in the words of Peter, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people..." (I Peter 2:9).

A Surrendered Heart

It has been over 56 years since that day I knelt at an altar during the Asbury Revival of 1970.  I had been a believer about four years, but the fervent faith of the beginning had turned into confusion and cynicism.  In my heart I knew there had to be something more to following Jesus than I was experiencing.  I also knew that if what I was experiencing was as good as it could be, it really was not worth having.  When I went to the altar that Tuesday afternoon, I went with a desperate spirit, a hungry heart, and a frail faith that led me to search for something more.   

For the two years I had been at Asbury College, I had heard sermon after sermon that called for holiness of heart.  Frankly, the word holiness scared me to death.  As preachers through those two years droned on and on about sanctification and the work of the Holy Spirit, I turned a deaf ear.  I wanted no part of what they were "selling" as my cynical spirit called it.  For some reason which can only be accounted to the grace of God, the Holy Spirit broke through the hard shell I had built around my heart.  In a moment of clarity, I understood that the Spirit was calling me to the life of a surrendered heart.  

There at the altar on my knees, it became clear that what God wanted was not a pledge to change the world, but a heart surrendered to His will.  He did not want a heart filled with what I wanted, but a heart that desired to be filled with what He desired for my life.  I knew He was calling me to a faith that was unconditional.  I knew that the day I accepted Christ and said "yes" to a call to preach had brought me to this moment of spiritual preparation.  A heart and will surrendered completely to Him was what He wanted from me in order to be the servant He had called me to be.  I have always been amazed that He saw me as being useful to His Kingdom's work and I have also always been amazed that a moment of entering into the surrendered life made all the difference in the life I have lived and the ministry He entrusted to me.

Dead to Sin

Death is not dying.  Romans 6:10-11 says, "The death He (Jesus) died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.  So you must also consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."   Getting better at not sinning is not what the Scripture has in mind when it speaks of considering ourselves dead to sin.  Dying is more of a process; whereas, death is an event that speaks of something having happened with finality.  

Those of us who are believers are tempted to do a dance with the reality of sin.  We learn to live with it.  We rationalize our sin by declaring we are only human.   The Apostle Paul takes us in a totally different direction.  Unless we die suddenly it is usually a process of letting go.  We let go of things we hold in our hands.  We let go of our bank accounts and our titles.  We let go of one thing after another until there is nothing left but family.  Finally, there comes a moment when even family is let go and all we have is ourself and then we let that go as well.  Death comes as a result of dying, but there finally comes a moment when nothing is left for we have let go of everything.   

When we consider ourselves dead to sin, it is a moment of letting go of ambitions, the self serving seeking ego, and the gratifying desires of self.  We let go of all those things which have been hindrances to being at one with Christ and come alive to the reality that our life is now being lived to serve Him and to please Him.  Being dead to sin is knowing that the life we now live is not about us, but it is about Him.  No longer is it about our will, our wants, and our wishes.  Life in Christ is about living so that "thy will be done on earth (and in me) as it is in heaven. 

Help in Praying

There are time when we know not how to pray.  In such times we are reminded of something Paul wrote to the Roman Christians, "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words...the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."  (Romans 8:26-27).  We can also find some encouragement as we remember that Jesus has prayed for us. "I ask not only on behalf of these (the disciples), but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word..." (John 17:21).  

The praying of Jesus is not just in the past.  "Consequently, He (Jesus) is able to save those who approach God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."  (Hebrews 7:25).  Still another thing to remember is the way the Psalms can guide us in our praying.  When we are praying for our nation, we might find ourselves at a loss to know how we should pray.  The 85th Psalm offers us several words that provide help.  Verse 6 says to the Lord, "Will You not revive us again, so that Your people may rejoice in You?"  As we continue in the Psalm we can according to the Scripture pray that "Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet, righteousness and peace will kiss each other, and righteousness will look down from the sky." (Psalm 85:10-11).  

One thing which happens as we pray the Scripture is that we find our praying moves into a different realm.  We are no longer using the same words.  We are no longer praying prayers that reflect what we want, but what God desires to do.  Psalm 85 serves us well as it leads us to ask God to forgive our iniquity, (vs. 2) and to a prayer of asking God to bless us with what is good so that our land will yield its increase. (vs. 12).  These are the prayers that reflect the heart of God, the will of God, and we can pray such prayers with boldness and confidence.

Getting Older

When Old Man Age comes creepin' in,

calling me "old as dirt" or "the ancient one,"

touching my aching legs with rheumitis,

my swollen joints with "arthur-ritus," 

I could sign myself in at the old folks home,

and join the gray hairs in a rocking chair,

making everyone happy 'cept for me.

 

Somewhere between old and getting older

the also old children start their planning

as they figure out what's best for me.

No one asks what I think since thinking

is not what they see me doing anymore.

Though I be of sound mind and breathing body

what I think is not a thing to consider.

 

The plans I have are those of taking the risk,

for failure is no longer a frightening thing.

Having lived with that companion all my life

it scares me less now than ever before.

There are still things to do, trips to take,

fields where being fruitful is still possible

and people who can learn from a slower one. 

 

Retiring is living on less, not, not living.

The poet said, "The best is yet to be"

and the longer the years, the more I believe

letting go and finding new is the better place

for those who may be slower, but not through

with all those things God had in mind

when He said, "I have plans for you."  

 

The Prophetic Voice

Democracy has its own unique way of silencing the prophetic voices which would speak to those in authority in the church.  One of the things which has happened in my denomination, the United Methodist Church, is a multi decade process of agitation and conflict that finally resulted in the departure of those who are considered to be the conservative traditional members of the body. Two large groups, one liberal and the other conservative, finally came to a place where finding a way forward together was deemed impossible.  

The end result of such a division is multi faceted, but one of the things which has happened is that those who continue with the name United Methodist no longer have anyone to speak a dissenting voice.  Any votes now taken concerning direction of the church are nearly unanimous since there is no one to say "No."  There is no such voice now being spoken to those in authority as that voice as has been voted into extinction. It is dangerous ground for any person in spiritual authority to walk.  It is a dangerous place for a church to place itself.

The prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos may not have been heeded, but their voices continued to be spoken to those in authority.  They might have been thrown into prison, or been ridiculed, or ignored, but their voices remained. Those in authority are better able to serve when there are those around them who are given permission to be naysayers instead of yes people.  This is true in political circles and it is true in the church.  There are no prophetic voices in the church which ordained me long years ago and it is the source of much anguish and grief.  

Biblical Trivia

While I hesitate to use the word "trivia" to speak of some things written in the Bible, it is a word which seems appropriate when we run into surprising little details which are a part of the major story being told in unfolding story of the Word of God.  In recent readings in Jeremiah, I came across a record of the Lord saying to the prophet, "You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons and daughters." (Jeremiah 16:1)  Of course, this personal aspect of Jeremiah's life was a part of God's prophetic message through him.  As is often the case, one things leads to another.  

I wondered about the personal life of other prophets.  Isaiah 7:3 speaks of the prophet's son accompanying him and Isaiah 8:3 says of Isaiah, "I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son."  Hosea's marital situation is a major part of what God was saying through him.  "...the Lord said to Hosea, 'Go take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom.'"  (Hosea 1:2). When she left him, Hosea found her and bought her back from a life of prostitution. (Hosea 3:1-2).  Ezekiel's marriage story is the strangest.  "The Word of the Lord came to me: 'Mortal, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes; yet, you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down...' So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died." (Ezekiel 24:15-18.  

As we read the personal details of these prophets, we do so in the context of the the ministry and the message of the prophet.  God had a word He wanted to say to His people and He used not only the prophets voice, but often used the personal lives of the prophets as well as visible enactments to speak that word and message.  It is not always easy to understand.  When we read, we can only shake our heads in wonder at why God did what He did.  What we often discover is that what we might call Biblical trivia is an integral part of what God was doing through Israel's prophets.

The Hard Way

Jeremiah was a faithful prophet, but it was not easy,  He was told by God, "You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons and daughters in this place."  (Jeremiah 16:1). He was put in stocks and thrown in prison.  He was told by God to speak His word, but no one listened.  He said of himself, " I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me..." (Jeremiah 20:7).  He wanted to give it up.  He spoke of the conflict within which centered around his desire to be liked by his peers and being faithful to God, "If I say, 'I will not mention Him, or speak anymore in His name,' then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in and I cannot." (Jeremiah 20:9).   

Being a faithful speaker of God's word did not earn him any popularity award.  All of us want to be liked by others and Jeremiah was no exception, but it was not the reward he received.  His reward came from God for being a bold prophet who stood to speak the uncomfortable word no one one wanted to hear.  Because of his trust in the Lord, he was blessed.  "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord.  They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream...it does not cease to bear fruit."  (Jeremiah 17:7-8).  

Anyone who seriously studies the prophets comes to the conclusion that faithfulness to God will likely result in persecution.  Persecution today may not take the form of being hung on a cross, or burned at the stake.  It may be something as simple as not being taken seriously, being dismissed as being old fashioned and irrelevant, or speaking but not being heard.  To be traditional in this progressive society often results in becoming a laughingstock.  Faithfulness to God has always been the life of swimming upstream, of being different, and of being tolerated but not really accepted in the circles of the powerful and all knowing ones.  It is good to count the cost at the beginning for it is certain that the life of faithfulness to God will be costly.

Where Are the Prophets?

Preachers and prophets may have in common a call from God, but the role to which they are called is different.  When I say that preachers are " a dime a dozen," I mean no disrespect.  I have and still do regard myself as one of them.  Instead, it is to say there are a multitude of preachers, but very few prophets.  A preacher may speak prophetically from time to time, but the preacher is the "general practitioner" of the church while the prophet has a more specific function.   Prophets are hard to find because it is a tough calling to embrace.  

The life of Jeremiah certainly illustrates this reality.  Jeremiah is often called the reluctant prophet.  His calling came at a young age and when he heard it, he said, "Ah, Lord God!  Truly, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy."  (Jeremiah 1:6).  Immediately, he heard the Lord telling him he was to speak to authority, to rulers, and priests as well as those under their authority.  He was told his message was a message of judgment and destruction against Jerusalem and Judah.  Imagine the fear in young Jeremiah's heart when he heard the Lord saying to him, "...gird up your loins; stand up and tell them everything that I have commanded you.  Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them." (Jeremiah 1:17)  

Anyone interested in being a prophet?  It is no wonder that there few among us.  Prophets speak to authority.  They are easily dismissed as fanatics, or fringe dwellers, or one issue people.  They find themselves ignored because their message is so uncomfortable to hear.  They are told to find the compromising way but they cannot because of their faithfulness to God and His calling.  Again, who among us wants the prophet to live among us?  Who wants to live and speak prophetically?

An Unpopular Word

Sin is not such a popular word in our culture.  Many modern day Christians view it more as an anachronism than a present danger.  The defining word about sin now belongs not to the Holy Word of God, but to society's interpretation of that Word once regarded as holy and inspired by God.  Contemporary Christian thinkers would have us delegate sin to the counselor's couch instead of the altar of repentance.  The one thing to be avoided in the contemporary church is to make people feel bad.  Folks should always feel good when they leave worship is the mandate given to today's preachers and worship leaders.  

It is, therefore, no wonder the church of our day is more comfortable with the New Testament message about God's love than some of those disturbing thundering words of the prophets who speak from the pages of the Old Testament.  To read a prophet like Jeremiah is to understand that sin is a serious issue when it comes to being in a faithful relationship. Sin is a breech of trust, a breech of a covenant relationship, and God does not just turn His head and say, "Maybe you can do better next time."  

Jeremiah 16:17-18 speak of a side of God we would rather not acknowledge, "For my eyes are on their ways; they are not hidden from My presence, nor is their iniquity concealed from My sight. And I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin..."  Perhaps, some do not take sin seriously, but God does.  It is no trifling matter with Him.  To view sin from any perspective other than the cross where Jesus died is a mistake.  The cross may speak of God's love, but it also speaks of the cost of our sin.  For God our sin is no inconsequential matter, but an issue which breaks His heart.

The Gift of Completion

As the years accumulate they bring us to a season of life that is lived slower, a season that is marked by limitations, and a season of letting go.  They also bring us to a season of abundant gifting.  The gifts that come are not like the gifts of the past known as accumulation, recognition, and unending possibilities.  The gifts that come in the season of accumulating years come like precious treasures.  Gifts of grace is what they are and as we slowly unwrap them, we do so with amazement that we never knew they were out there to be given.   

Completion is one of those gifts that never comes earlier, but always later.  It is not the gift of seeing and reaping the fruits of our labor secured by the sweat of our brow, but the gift of sensing that the important, lasting, even eternal things of life are finally becoming visible to our longing heart.  Completion is about coming to terms with who we are, why we have been given more life than we ever really considered possible, and the difference our living has made.  Completion is not about retiring to the rocker on the front porch, but accepting the ending of the past and the unfolding of a new season of usefulness.  

This season of abundant giving gives us time to laugh over things past and present.  It gives us time to cherish the love of those who have shared and are sharing love with us.  It is a season of overflowing gratitude.  It is the season of knowing and celebrating "'tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home,"  Completion is truly experienced as we embrace the realization that life has always been about grace.  Too much of life we have been too busy to notice.  This season of abundant gifting brings us to an awareness that even in the beginning, as it is now, life is all about God's unending grace. 

The Potter's House

"Go!" was what I heard.

    "No buts, no ifs, or ands,

      No whining either.

         Just get up and go."

            So I up and went

to the potter's house.

In a place of wet clay  

     sat a bearded man,

       the ancient of days

        was surely his name

           And so, I said,

"Old One, here I am."

"Been waiting," he said,

    "What took you so long?"

        My head was spinning,

          no words did I know,

            so I sat to watch

the hands, wheel, the clay.

"Why the potter's house?

    Why did You say 'Go?' 

       There is nothing here,

         but the smell of clay

           and this bearded one

who has nothing to say."

"Watch, be quiet, be still,"

     spoke the voice of "Go!"

       Through the day we sat,

         He, the potter, and I.

           Nary a sound was heard,

but wet spinning clay.

"Damn!' the potter cried.

    "That won't do," he said

        as he stopped the wheel,

          took the messed up clay

            in his hands like dough

and started over again.

In my watching I knew

   why the voice said, "Go!"

     The potter's house, the place

       where the Word of God

         is heard by those who fear 

they might be thrown away.

       

(Jeremiah 18:1-6)

Encountering Jesus

When we read the story of Zacchaeus and Jesus, we spend too much time seeing the sycamore tree.  It may be an interesting sight to behold, but something which happens in the home of Zacchaeus is far more important to see.  Jesus went to the home of the tax collector that day.  Since the story begins with "He (Jesus) entered Jericho and was passing through it," (Luke 19:1), it would seem that Jesus had a change of plans.  He was so impressed by Zacchaeus that he invited Himself to his home.  Everyone was no doubt amazed.  

What must have really amazed them and what is more significant than a short man climbing a tree is how the tax collector's life was changed.  Exactly what happened in the house, we do not know, but we do know that Zacchaeus's life was radically changed by this unexpected encounter with Jesus.  Before the day was done, we hear the tax collector saying, "Look, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to then poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." (Luke 19:8).  

The story of this man's transformation tells us that an encounter with Jesus is not only something to be experienced personally, but that it changes the heart in such a way that no longer can the poor and broken be ignored.  When we encounter Jesus, we find ourselves encountering those around us in a different way.  We no longer want to relate to those around us from a position of power or privilege, but as one who wants to care for the needs of a brother and sister.  We become one of those who no longer is owned by what is held, but instead, becomes one whose hands are open to give generously and to serve with love.

Amazing, is it Not?

Christianity brings two earthshaking and life changing words.  One is incarnation and the other is resurrection.  There is nothing in all of history which can cause these two realities to be shadowed.  Go to the story of Bethlehem for the truth of the incarnation in narrative form, or go to those eight words in the gospel of John for the theological language.  "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1:14).  Listen to Jesus declaring, "I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live" (John 11:25) or go to the ending of each of the four gospels for a first hand account of the event upon which the Christian faith is centered.   

The common denominator in both history altering events is Jesus.  There is none like Him in all the pages of history.  He is known as Good Shepherd because of His compassion.  He is known as Son of God as He is the sent one of God.  He is known as Savior because of His redemptive sacrifice on the cross. The name of Jesus is the name above all names.  The gospel message centers on this One who came from God, lived among us, died for us, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven.  

The creed we proclaim on Sunday when we gather for worship is about more than nice sounding words.  As we stand and recite the ancient creed, we are declaring two things.  The first is "This is what God has done for us."  The second is, "This is what I believe and upon this foundation I live."  The gospel is not a theological event, but a moment in history that is transforming and life changing. Jesus is not just a character in a story.  He is one who invites us into a personal relationship with Him.  Amazing, is it not?

The One Revealed

The Scripture has been important to me almost since I learned to read.  I was baptized when I was nine years old.  Exactly when I got my first Bible I am not sure, but I know it was probably one of the first books I owned.  None of this is to say that I have been the faithful reader I could have been, but it is to say that it is a book which has never been very far away.  As the years have added up, it has stayed even closer.  I am grateful that the Scripture has been a constant in my life.  Throughout my ministry, I have always thought of myself as one of Wesley's preachers and have grown to appreciate the "one book" tradition which is a part of my Methodist heritage.   

There have been times when I have said that my life is based on this holy book, but as I pause I realize that as important as the Bible has been in all my days, my life has been based not on the book as much as the One revealed in the book.  I have been influenced by many saints who have gone before me.  I have learned to glean some of the truths proclaimed from other faith walks, but Jesus is the One who is the foundation of my life.  There is no one like Him.  He has done for us impossible things.  

John 1:18 declares, "No one has ever seen God.  It is God the only Son who is close to the Father's heart, who has made Him known to us."  In another place in the same gospel we hear Jesus saying to Philip, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14:9).  These are amazing, mind boggling words.  To see and know Jesus is to see and know the heart of God and this is only one of so many things revealed to us through this book we carry with us on the journey.

Unbelievable

Some things are hard to believe.  Sometimes we think our eyes must be deceiving us.  Such is what I experienced not long ago when I noticed that the page view counter of JourneyNotes was at 1,001,176. This has nothing to do with my blog presence on Facebook.  Instead, this number reflects the number of times someone has seen my blog from blogspot.com.  If you have never seen it on blogspot, the url address is http://billjourneynotes.blogspot.com/ and once there you can subscribe via email.  It was never my intent back in 2008 when I started JourneyNotes to write a daily blog, but it is to such a place that I have come.  

What I have come to understand in these years of seeing the blog turn into a daily writing venture is that it reflects God calling and blessing me in a ministry transition from preaching to writing. I am grateful to Him for enabling me to fulfill this ministry and even more grateful for the way so many have shared being blessed by what He has enabled me to do.  The congregation who used to hear me preach all lived within shouting distance of the sanctuary and through JourneyNotes it now goes beyond boundaries I could never have imagined being crossed.   

I know that JourneyNotes is not about what I have done, but what God has done and is doing through the gifts for ministry that He has bestowed upon me.  As unbelievable as one million page views is, it is even more unbelievable that He called me to ministry back in 1966 and since the day of calling has had the patience to allow me the privilege of being useful in His kingdom's work.  Another unbelievable part of this whole writing venture is that so many have become faithful readers and to each one of you I am grateful.  

The Real Thing

Christianity is not about associations, but a relationship.  The heresy is that we are made Christian by our association with the faith of our mothers and father, a religious affiliation, our peer group, or an identity in a community that seeks to do good through service.  Such an understanding of Christianity does not need Jesus. Jesus was not and is not about institutional membership, but is instead about knowing those who come after Him, being known by them, and beginning a journey together.   

It is not what we do that makes us Christians.  Others may look at us and see a good person who is doing good things and declare us a Christian and we may do the same when we look in the mirror and see ourselves, but the only thing which identifies us as a Christian is that we have chosen a relationship with Jesus.  The relationship with Christ is not one we can initiate, but one God has initiated and made possible through the sacrificed blood of Jesus on the cross.  We become Christians not when we join, but when we accept this relationship which is always about the grace of God. 

Until we identify with Christ in this divinely ordained relationship, we may be worthy of the name good, or the name respectable, or even the name pillar of the church, but we only become Christians when we say "Yes" to what Christ has done for us and allow the Holy Spirit to begin God's work in us.  The church's witness and ministry in the world is diminished when we equate membership, or a willingness to serve others with being a Christian.  We become Christians not by joining a church, or associating with certain groups, but by choosing a personal relationship with Jesus.  Anything less is counterfeit.  It only looks like the real thing.  

Praise in Praying

When we pray and most of us do, our praying can become like other things we do.  We hurry.  It is not a thing like leaving late and hurrying to arrive late, but embracing a pattern of prayer which makes us hurry to our intercessory prayer list.  Make no mistake.  Intercessory prayer is a good thing which is useful in the hands of God.  Instead the question being posed is, "When was the last time we came to our time of prayer and soaked ourselves in a season of praise?"  

If we wonder what this kind of praying might look like, or if we need some models to help us break with the way we have always done things, we might read the last six Psalms (145-150).  A further suggestion would be to start with Psalm 150 and read backwards to Psalm 145.  The suggestion is not to read them all at one time, but to allow these verses so full of praise to God to reveal a form for praising God in our prayers.  And finally, this paragraph of suggestions might also include the suggestion that the praise be allowed to come from a stilled and unhurried heart.  

One of the things which happens with this kind of praying is that it creates a different spiritual atmosphere.  It might be likened to walking into a cooling shade filled with the evening breeze after a day filled with scorching heat and soaking humidity.  It becomes a place that we do not want to leave.  It becomes a place where our spirit is powerfully refreshed and renewed by being in the presence of the Holy.  Once we arrive at such a place in our praying, the hurrying spirit is soon replaced by a spirit that longs to linger.

An Old and New Timepiece

Just before I retired, my watch gave out.  I remember looking at it one day and realizing that it no longer was keeping up with time.  In the moment I made a radical decision.  I decided not to replace it.  Perhaps, it was intuition leading me toward an unseen season which was about to dawn when I would leave the world of the day planner for a life more attuned to the sun dial I placed in a sunny spot on the farm.  Looking back I can see that laying aside the watch was a step that served to prepare me for a different lifestyle.  

As I walked into those early years of retirement, I was drawn toward a lifestyle of paying attention.  One of the things to which I learned to pay attention was the movement of the sun from the faint light of the morning to the soft fading light of the evening.  Without some conscious decision, I started noting the location of the sun and the shadows it set in place on the ground.  As the months began to add up,  the creation of which I was becoming a part started telling me the time as surely as had the wrist watch of a more hectic past.  What was interesting was that the more I paid attention to the present and the people in the present, the more I saw and heard.  

I not only began to see and hear the messages sent by the Creation, but also the messages sent by the Creator God who revealed Himself and made His voice known through the Creation.  Most folks who come to the farm speak first of the silence, but staying awhile and embracing the life it unfolds brings to the ear and the eye things which once seemed silent and invisible.  The Creation is really not such a silent place.  There is always a stirring in the trees, hawks and crows hollering in the sky, and "the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze." (Genesis 3:8).

Wrath and Righteousness

Talking about the love of God is far more popular than talking about the wrath of God.  Most preachers would prefer ignoring it in preaching and most people of the pews would rather not hear it mentioned in preaching.  The common consensus is to stay focused on positive and uplifting things.  The only problem is that the Bible speaks often of the wrath of God.  Romans 1:17 reads, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth." The problem of a God of wrath is compounded by another word Paul wrote a little later in the letter, "But now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed..." (Romans 3:24)  

The Word of God calls us to live with the tension created by holding in the same hand "the wrath of God" and "the righteousness of God."  Understanding the wrath of God is more difficult than understanding the righteousness of God.  The wrath of God is not about vengeance, or uncontrollable anger, but about the justice of God.  The wrath of God is empty of grace as it is about evil getting what evil deserves.  Even as the wrath of God is empty of grace so is it empty of the lovingkindness which is implicit within the Old Testament word, "hesed."  It is hard for us to think of God in such terms. 

John the Apostle wrote, "...God is love...(I John 4:8, 16).  Of course, nothing makes this truth clearer to us than the presence of Jesus in the flesh in our world.  The righteous God who is disclosed to us is one of love.  He is one filled with lovingkindness.  He is one who gives the free gift of grace.  Thus, we live midst a mystery filled with theological tension that is not about choosing one or the other, but both.

The Purpose of Preaching

Back in the day when I started preaching, old sermons were written long hand on yellow legal pads.  The process produced a lot of yellow paper in the trash can as well as sermon filled yellow pages for the file cabinet.  As my fingers wore out, I stepped into the hi-tech world and started using a manual Royal typewriter which got rid of the yellow paper.  At some point a word processor came into the office which made such a quiet process that I had to program my mind to write without the noise of pounding keys.  I still went on to use a small forest of pine trees before my mind could grasp the paperless process where "hard copies" were no longer necessary.    

I have never embraced change easily.  I can remember the number of years I spent at each step of the sermon writing journey.  While the means of writing has changed, the process of writing sermons has changed very little.  The rules or guidelines with which I started are the ones still embraced.  Every sermon needs a heavy dose of praying before the first word becomes visible.  The starting point of the sermon is not about a social issue, or a personal opinion, but a text from Scripture.  My preaching professor from seminary said what I still remember, "No one comes to hear your personal opinion, they come to hear the Word of God." 

Another thing always remembered is that the pulpit is not for teaching.  There is a difference in preaching and teaching.  Teaching is informational and preaching is persuasive.  Preaching is to bring people into an encounter with Jesus that will unleash transforming power in their hearts.  Another word which might be used instead of persuasive is invitational.  It is imperative that the invitational dimension of preaching not be forgotten or neglected by the preacher.

God or Mammon

Jesus never said money was evil, but He did warn those who were investing in the Mount of Accumulation  to be careful.  It is in that section of Scripture known as the Sermon on the Mount that we hear Him saying, "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and wealth."  (Matthew 6:24).  According to Jesus, there is nothing wrong with having wealth.  The important thing is to be sure the wealth does not have us.  Money can be a problem for the poor man who only has a coin or two in the pocket just as a great portfolio of investments can be a problem for the wealthy.  

When we hold our money in our hand, what is really important is not the amount we see, but the attitude we have toward it in our heart.  Mark 12:41-44 tells the story of Jesus watching the giving of a widow who only had two small coins and the rich who gave large sums.  Jesus points to her as the one who carried the right attitude in her heart.  She could give everything because she knew God would take care of tomorrow.  The rich gave a lot but it was not enough to put themselves at risk for tomorrow.  If God did not come through, they had enough put back to take care of tomorrow.

Does the way we accumulate and give reflect anything about our faith in God?  Does our tight hold on the money in our hands speak of the hold it has on us?   Money did not have such a hold on the poor widow that she could not be generous in giving to God.  She knew God could be counted on to take care of her tomorrow.  On the other hand, the rich gave a lot, but it was out of their abundance.   What they gave they never missed.  They kept back enough to weather any of tomorrow's storms.  In the final analysis, giving answers the question, "Who do I trust?"