Pretend Worship

After preaching for 43 years, it took some time to become accustomed to sitting in the pews.  What afflicted me at first was a certainty that all the good preachers had retired with me.  Next came a serious case of "there is a better way of doing everything."  One of the things I learned during those years is that it is hard to really worship with the people of God when you are infected with a critical and judgmental spirit.  Every now and again that spirit shows itself when I settle in my place in the pew, but it is mostly gone now except as a memory.    

We do need to be careful what we take to worship.  Jesus points this out to us in one of His Sermon on the Mount teachings.  "So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift."  (Matthew 5:23-24). The prophet Amos spoke of how displeased God is when we come to worship focusing on the external acts of worship without looking at our hearts.  "let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."  (Amos 5:21-24).  

As we hear the prophetic words of Amos, we must remember that righteousness is not some super spiritual condition, but instead is a word that speaks of being in a right relationship with God and those around us.  I remember from one of my churches two men had such ill will toward each other that they would not come to the table together for Holy Communion.  With that in their hearts, I often wondered why they came at all.  What we bring with us to worship is important.  It may be the difference between worship that is acceptable and pleasing to God and pretend worship.

The Failure of Effort

Some of us have read the "fruit of the Spirit" passage the Apostle Paul wrote long ago and figured we could make it happen in our life.  What we discovered very soon is that determination and will power was not the viable word.  As we found out after times of trying to make ourselves into someone whose life reflected these qualities or virtues, the operative word was surrender.  It was a case when "my will" was insufficient and "His will" pointed to the only way.  We know the passage well.  "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."   (Galatians 5:22-23)

Where we have trouble is in the unguarded moments when spontaneous response takes the place of a planned response.  We may be loving and gentle in moments anticipated and for which we feel prepared, but let someone come along with something which goes against the grain of our plans or expectations, and something other than the fruit of the Spirit may surface.  The words Paul wrote are not about a plan for action, but about what the Holy Spirit can do in our life when we have surrendered it to His agenda.  

What the Spirit seeks to do is a transforming work of grace which shapes our spirit so that it begins to resemble the heart of Christ.  The more we allow the Spirit to control our life, the more we will naturally respond to the unplanned moments with the grace inherent within this fruit of the Spirit passage.  This passage from Galatians points us toward a way of life and not toward creating certain spiritual virtues in our life.  The way of life to which Paul points us can be realized in our life, but it will never be the result of our efforts, but according to our willingness to submit ourselves completely to His will. 

Flowing Rivulets

There have been times when the Kingdom of God has made itself know in our midst like a mighty tsunami that changed the landscape forever.  When Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God, He likened it to simple ordinary things which moved in inches.  Like a tiny mustard seed is the Kingdom.  At other times He spoke of it as something hidden such as a treasure in a field.  In contrast to these images there is the Day of Pentecost when the Kingdom of God poured upon the earth and into the hearts of people in such a way as to literally change the world.  There have also been other dramatic and powerful movements of the Spirit through revivals such as the Great Awakening, or through the persuasive ministry of some of the spiritual giants who have stood revealing a Kingdom powerfully advancing.   

Still another way to think about the Kingdom is to image a pool of water that is spilling over not in a torrent, but as a hundred rivulets of water slowly moving away from its source.  Such has been the history of the spiritual community known as the church.  What started with the twelve called to be disciples and Apostles has steadily grown in numbers as the message of Jesus went forth from Jerusalem to the churches of Asia Minor to Rome and to the rest of the world.  Steadily it has grown and gone.  If something appeared as a barrier, the Spirit pushed and created another channel for it to flow.  

The Kingdom of God invisible to some and powerfully present to others has prevailed into the present moment and though some speak of its demise, it is of God and will prevail in the the form He has designed for it. Today it is not the twelve who advance the Kingdom, but millions of folks like us whose lives have been radically transformed by an encounter with the living Christ.  Because of that encounter, we are not the same and the places where we move as a modern rivulet of living water can never be same as well

Easter is Coming

Lent is traditionally a season of preparing new converts for their baptism.  In its earlier days it was also a season when those who had through their sin separated themselves from the church could be restored.  Easter was and still is a traditional time for baptisms in the church.  In many places the baptisms have been moved to Palm Sunday or another Sunday since Easter is such a busy Sunday.  Folks still want to be in worship on Easter which is a good thing, but when the lunch bell at noon rings they also want to be set free to get to the eatery of choice.  Baptisms and the ritual that goes with them gets in the way of that process.   

Even at there is something unique and special about the ashes of Ash Wednesday, so is it true that there is something special about the water of baptism on Easter.  For the church to baptize new converts into faith in Jesus Christ on Easter is to step into a stream of new life that has touched and overwhelmed new believers for centuries.  In a era when old is defined as yesterday, it is good to be able to share in a spiritual ritual which has given life to the church since the days of its beginning.  When today's contemporary church culture shuns the rituals of faith that have had sustaining power for centuries, something of spiritual value is lost which cannot be replaced by some trendy substitution that will be used today and changed again tomorrow.   

Baptism is a singularly important important moment in the spiritual life of the believer.  It is also a singularly important moment in the life of the church.  In days gone by the congregation would gather at the river to share in the moment when some soul symbolically had their sins washed away.  Whether at the river or at the baptismal font, it is a serious and sacred moment which calls for celebration, but not frivolity. 

A Debt to Wesley

Back in 1971 I signed on as a Methodist preacher.  Methodist preachers were then appointed by the Bishop to go where they were assigned by him.  It was nothing like the call system which enables each church to decide who is going to be their preacher.  In this system, called the itinerant system, the preacher goes where sent.  The upside for the preacher is that he or she is guaranteed a place to preach and serve.  I remember my Dad, also a Methodist preacher, going to Annual Conference where such decisions were finalized, and calling home to tell us where we were going to be moving the next week.   

Over the years of my ministry, the system softened to allow for preachers to have input through a consultation process though the Bishop still had the final word.  There were times when the system seemed to break down as larger churches started sending their preference to the Bishop who seemed to be guided by their request.  During these last fifty years it often appeared that larger more monied churches were treated differently than some of the smaller struggling congregations.  Of course, all of this is simply a personal perception which may not have anything to do with reality.   

A recent note from a life long friend and colleague in ministry sent me down the rabbit hole of reflection.  I will be the first one to admit that the Methodist Church was a flawed church when I was ordained.  It remains so.  I also know that I am a Wesleyan.  John Wesley's theology is the foundation for what I believe.  I will always be a debtor to the church that baptized me, introduced me to Jesus, blessed my marriage, educated me, and gave me a place to preach and serve Christ.  I do not overlook or ignore what I believe to be a dangerous move toward becoming a church influenced too much by the consensus of culture instead of the Holy Spirit, but it is still the church of my spiritual roots as well as where I experience family.  For this church I pray that the heart and spirit of Wesley will always shine as a beacon beckoning us forward. 

The Bothersome Thing

I am a small town guy.  Big cities seem like roaring beasts.  A city is a place empty of silence and filled with the constant roar of expressway traffic.  Whenever some green space gets too green, bulldozers and builders congregate to cover more dirt with concrete so another towering building can be sent skyward.  Night time lights hide stars and moon, people live at elbow length without knowing one another, and walls become canvases for graffiti artist.  The modern urban environment simply overwhelms the senses of this man whose heart belongs to the small town.    

What makes me most uncomfortable about the city is something which is never seen in the small town I call home.  In the small town which has my post office box there is no homeless community.  There are no people with cardboard signs at the only intersection of my town.  There are no tent communities filled with folks pushing shopping carts.  It always jolts something deep inside of me when I come to the end of a busy city street and find my field of vision filled with tents and makeshift shelters which surely cannot provide protection from the rain.  Any sense of personal comfort is shattered in a moment.  One part of me says I should do something.  Another part says there is nothing I can do.  I suppose I could see and not see, but once seen is always seen.  

What is also true is that once we walk with Jesus and listen long enough to what He is saying about caring for the poor among us, we cannot live without knowing that we have heard what we do not want to hear.  When confronted with what was seen as an impossible task of feeding five thousand hungry people, the disciples wondered what to do and Jesus said, "....you give them something to eat..."  (Matthew 14:16). What is most bothersome about the whole business is that He is still saying the same thing to us. 

Hearing and Action

Some verses of Scripture bring comfort to us.  To think of verses that bring comfort is to remember the 23rd Psalm.  A verse which has led many a soul to the altar is John 3:16.  Other verses are like south Georgia sandspurs.  Sandspurs are pesky, tenacious, and painfully bothersome.  A sandspur will get picked up on your jeans, go with you to the house, go through a washer and dryer cycle, and be right there to stick you the next time you put on those clean blue jeans.    

So has been my relationship with I John 3:17-18 which says, "How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action."  I read those words, think I have responded rightly, and then run into a situation which sticks me again in such a way that the only thing I can say is, "Lord, have mercy."  There was a moment a few days ago when I sensed that I should give my coat away, but by the time the thought made the journey from my head to my heart, it was too late.  Before that missed opportunity the Lord spoke a word about caring not for the entire homeless community, but for some individuals who come my way and I continue to ponder the plan instead of acting on it.   

Those of us who have a relationship of sorts through this blog are part of an affluent community.  We may not count ourselves among the world's richest, but we have more than what can be defined as our basic needs.  There are those around us who do not have enough.  Most of us live with a surplus.  Jesus has a word for us that we not only need to hear, but one which should push us into action.