A Horrible Story

Hidden in the pages of the Old Testament book of Judges is the story of Jephthah, a mighty warrior of Gilead.  It is such a horrible story.  It seems to defy understanding.  "...the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah..." (Judges 11:29), but still he was afraid as he stood on the eve of a great battle with the Ammonites.  In an effort to secure the victory, he made a vow to the Lord, "If You will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious...shall be the Lord's, to be offered up by me as a burnt offering." (Judges 11:30-31).  When he returned home victorious his daughter, his only child,  comes out  of the house with timbrels and with dancing.  (Judges 11:34).  The story ends with the Scripture simply saying of this warrior and father, "he did with her according to the vow he had made."  (Judges 11:39).    

Try as we might to make it spiritually palatable and some commentators do, it is a story that is so repulsive it makes us sick to read it.  The only way to make any sense of the story is to see it as an example of how sin can destroy us and all those we love.  The Lord did not require the vow.  It was already in His heart to give the victory to Jephthah.  The vow was Jephthah's decision.  Human sacrifice was clearly forbidden by Yahweh. (Leviticus 18:21, Deuteronomy 12:3, 18:10-12).  Baal worship which was practiced by the tribes of the region as well as the Hebrew people themselves from time to time allowed for human sacrifice.  Jephthah's vow was not something required or desired by the Lord and was birthed from the sin in his heart.  It could reap nothing but destruction.  

What may seem like an ancient barbarian story that has no relevance actually has a great deal of relevance.  It speaks to those of us who try to live in the world that calls us to get ahead and accumulate at any cost while Jesus calls us to put self aside for the sake of the Kingdom of God.  Standing in both worlds is impossible.  We must decide where we want to stand.  Jephthah speaks to us of the disaster inherent in the sinful choice.  

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.