This morning, we come to the third mark of the church that is found in Romans chapter 15 verses 1-6. Verse 4 reads, “4For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.” This shows that one of the significant marks of the church is that it is rooted deeply in the Bible–it takes the scriptures very, very seriously.
Now, you may think at this moment, “Well, no kidding. Doesn’t every church take the Bible seriously?” The answer to that question is: yes and no.
You see, I remember one of the things I did my first week in college. I attended a Bible study slash gathering of college Christians. The group was called Koininia. For our first gathering, we sat in a circle, and we hand introductions and the like. Now, I can’t remember exactly what led up to the next moment, but I remember it vividly. There was a sophomore student sitting in our circle who was studying to be a pastor. I can’t remember if it was part of the introduction or part of the discussion, but he slammed his Bible on the ground and stepped on it. He said something to the effect of, “This book is just a book. I take what I need from it, and that’s it.” I was a bit shocked, and yes, this guy went to seminary. Now, you could argue that he did take the Bible seriously–but it was only the parts that he liked that he took seriously.
That’s not exactly being rooted and grounded in Scriptures.
Neither is simply randomly picking things out of the Bible as little inspirational quotes. This too is dangerous. There is the story about the guy who was looking through the Bible to find out God’s will for his life. He flipped through the pages, closed his eyes and put his finger down. The verse that his finger fell upon read, “And Judas went out and hanged himself.” The guy thought, “That can’t be right.” So he flipped through the pages once again, closed his eyes, and put his finger down. This time the verse read, “Go and do likewise.” The guy was thoroughly perplexed and knew this couldn’t be right, so he flipped through the pages one more time. He closed his eyes, put his finger down, and read the verse. This one said, “Whatever you are going to do, go and do it quickly.”
Okay, that’s a joke, maybe a really bad one, but there is a point to it. The Bible is not simply meant to be a book of advice telling you how you should live. Oh, many of us love that aspect of the Bible. We love to pull out quotes that give us inspiration–that give us joy–that give us a sense of power and hope in our lives. Some churches build their congregations on those sayings, and some of those churches do very, very well.
And why wouldn’t they?
• “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three. And the greatest of these is love.”
• “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
• “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
• “If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.”
• “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
• “What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”
• For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Who isn’t inspired by such things? Who doesn’t feel those statements deep within their soul? They are heart warming. They are affirming. They make us feel really, really good about ourselves.
So, what’s wrong with simply quoting these things over and over and over again? What’s wrong with simply focusing on these quotes and others like them? Well, as the great Bible Scholar Dwight Moody said, “The scriptures were not given for our information but for our transformation.”
And that, my brothers and sisters and neighbors is why a church must be deeply rooted in the scriptures. That, my brothers and sisters and neighbors is why we must be deeply rooted in the scriptures. The Bible, with everything that is in it leads us towards transformation–it leads us to become different; it challenges us in our status quo, makes us see that we fall far short of what we should be, and then gives us the avenue towards becoming the people God has intended us to be. If we simply read the parts of the Bible that we like, we will never be challenged; we will never discover our sinfulness; we will never truly meet Jesus and find the fullness of His grace.
Consider this, my brothers and sisters and neighbors, the Bible consists of 66 books written by 40 authors over a span of 1500 years. In nothing short of a miracle, those 40 authors over all those years were telling one consistent story–the story of how God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life. It is the story of how God could have condemned the world, but instead sent the Son to save it. Nothing must be read outside of the context of that story. Nothing must be omitted. Nothing must be cast aside as superfluous. This book is God’s revelation of Himself to us!
Last week, I told the parable of the blind men and the elephant. Some of you were here and remember. Others might not have been, so let me go through it once again. A group of blind men stumble upon an elephant in the jungle. They all want to figure out what the elephant is like, so they each touch a piece of the elephant. Afterwards, as the men continue their travels, they begin arguing what the elephant is like. One who touched the tail argues, “The elephant is like a rope, long and stringy.” One who touched the torso says, “The elephant is like a wall, solid and strong.” One who touched the tusk says, “The elephant is like a spear, long and with a sharp point.” One who touched the leg says, “The elephant is like a tree stump, short and stout.” And on and on it goes as the men argue with one another what the elephant is like. As I said last week, this parable is usually used to talk about religion saying that each religion has part of the truth, but none has the full truth. I also said, don’t get too comfortable with that conclusion–it’s easily refutable.
And for us as Christians, one of those refutations comes in what Pastor Kevin DeYoung said–the question he asked. “What if the elephant could talk?” What if God could talk? What if we didn’t have to wonder about who God was and what He could do? What if God could communicate with us?
Well, the answer is: God did. God communicated with us. God spoke to the people of Israel. God spoke as Jesus Christ. The writers of the Bible were so infused with the Spirit of God as they wrote it was as if God Himself were communicating with us. This book that we call the Bible is
nothing less than God’s revelation of Himself to you and to me and to the world.
And so, the more and more we study the Bible, the more and more we know who God is. The more and more we study the Bible, the more and more we understand who we are. The more and more we study the Bible, the more and more we see that there is much more than information and trite sayings that make us feel good about ourselves. No. Instead, we are led to admit as St. Paul did in Romans chapter 3, that all–meaning everyone, including ourselves–all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. This is terrible news. This is awful news. We have not done what we should have done. We have not become who we should have become. Yet...yet, the news does not stop there. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but we are now justified–made right; declared innocent–by grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God set forward as the sacrifice of atonement effective through faith. God has acted through Jesus Christ to bring us into a right relationship with Him. God has acted through and in Jesus Christ to bring us forgiveness and wholeness. God has acted through and in Jesus to ensure that even though we die, we will live with our heavenly Father forever. This is the good news!! To quote Dr. David Jeremiah, “The Bible began with God, and it solves the human’s most pressing need: how to know God and be reconciled unto Him.”
The Bible is God’s love letter to you. A love letter that tells you how much He loves you and what He is willing to do to make things right between you and Him. This letter is meant to transform your heart and soul so that you find joy in Christ. It is a letter to be read over and over and over because the more you read it, the more deeply in love you fall; and the more and more Christ-like you become. And if this is the goal of the Christian life, the church and we must be deeply rooted in the Bible. Amen.
Showing posts with label transformation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transformation. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
More than Just Greetings: Romans 16:1-16
At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be a lot to talk about in our lesson from the book of Romans this morning. I mean, essentially all you have Paul doing is sending greetings. Greet such and such. Greet so and so. Greet this person who is beloved. Greet that person who is a member of that house. Over and over again–27 people worth of greetings. I mean, if that is the sum and substance of Paul’s paragraph here, what more is to be said than simply getting up here and saying, “Greet one another. Amen.?” Short. Sweet. To the point. Done. Let’s call it a day.
But let’s take a moment to dig a little deeper. Let’s go beyond the superficial and look at some of the details and see what is revealed about what it means to live a life that is convicted by the Gospel.
The first thing that stands out to me is how many people Paul actually knew in the church that he had never visited. Think about this with me for just a moment. Remember, Paul has admitted that he has never been to the church in Rome. He has yet to travel there, even though he has desperately wanted to. If that is the case, how is it that Paul knows the names of so many people? How is it that he somehow can ask for greetings for over 20 folks whom he has yet to see face to face?
This gives us some insight into the early Christian church. It tells us that in the early Church, folks knew of fellow Christians throughout the Roman Empire. They were not isolated in their little enclaves, thinking only about themselves, and connected to their small circle of friends and relatives in their communities. No. They had a much larger perspective of what the church was. They had a much larger perspective of where the Gospel was supposed to go. They knew that the church was struggling to gain a foothold in the Roman Empire. It faced trials and tribulations. It faced some persecution. It faced shortage of resources. So, people stayed in contact with each other. People prayed for one another. People in Achaia and Macedonia cared for the people in Jerusalem. People in Jerusalem prayed for the people in Rome. The early Christians knew that the church was much, much larger than their local congregations, and they made it a point to reach across the distances to get to know folks in other places.
I must confess that this is an area of growth for me. I tend to be rather short-sighted. I tend to focus right here on this community and neglect others throughout the world. I tend to forget that the church is much, much larger than Saint John Lutheran Church of Cat Spring. I tend to focus my prayers right here and forget about the rest of the world. I do not know many people outside of this congregation and the congregations I served previously. It is a challenge for me to think on a grander scale...to think about the larger church. Perhaps this is also a challenge for our congregation.
The second thing that stands out for me is the diversity of people that Paul greets. There are men and women. There are Jews and Gentiles. There are people who own houses, and there are slaves. These early house churches cut across racial, gender, and socio-economic status. When you walked into those churches, you did not see row after row of people who looked the same, had the same background, and had the same status in society. The Gospel had broken down these boundaries and replaced them with a new set of boundaries.
For you see, the Gospel proclaimed that each and every person was in Christ Jesus. Each and every person had been clothed with Christ Jesus. Each and every person had a new identity that went above and beyond any other identity conferred upon them in society. People did not cease having a Jewish or Gentile background. They did not cease being rich or poor. They did not cease being slave or free. They did not cease being male or female, but those identities were nothing compared to their identity in Christ. Therefore, there was only one status that was important in the church: that you were a child of God.
That’s it.
Nothing else.
You were not given special privilege because you were wealthy. You were not given special privilege because you were male. You were not given special privilege because you were Jewish. All of these things, which at one time did bestow privilege, were gone. You were a new creation being made into the image and likeness of Jesus.
This too has implications for the church today. For it is awfully easy to flip back into the distinctions of status and privilege. It is awfully easy to believe that our job or our title or our bank accounts or our possessions or any other distinguishing mark gives us a special privilege. This is something we must resist. When the church begins allowing these distinctions, we fall away from the promises we have inherited in our baptisms. We fail to remember how Jesus has claimed us and clothed us. We fail to remember what Christ has done for us and instead focus on, well, us. And we are not the focus of the church. Jesus has been, is, and always will be. When a church fails to focus on Jesus, distinctions get made, and we are another step further removed from the becoming the body of Christ.
Finally, in this passage, we see a deep, deep sense of love and respect between church members. Paul’s initial words about the deaconess Phoebe are a recommendation to end all recommendations. They are very, very flattering and are intended to paint her in the best possible light as she, in all likelihood, brings Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. We then see just how far members in the church are willing to care for one another in the next statement. “Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, 4and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.”
I must confess to you that I don’t think I had ever paid that much attention to this sentence the previous times when I had read through the book of Romans. Prisca and Aquila literally “risked their necks” on behalf of Paul. Whatever they did, it put them in great risk for their fellow brother in Christ. Whatever they did, it could have cost them their lives. In the early church, folks were willing to risk their lives for one another!!! Chew on that for just a minute.
Being a part of the early church literally could put your life in danger. Much like being a part of the church in Iran today, or in the areas still controlled by ISIS. Much like being a part of the church in China. Christians in these parts of the world are apt to suffer greatly at the hands of the ruling authorities, and being a part of the church there could literally jeopardize your life.
And yet, the church is actually growing rapidly in these parts of the world just as it grew rapidly in the Roman empire. There was something so deeply moving about the Christian faith that it led people to do things that were almost unthinkable. It led people to take unbelievable risks for one another–risks that were not done out of any sort of self-interest or personal gain, but risks that were taken out of great love for fellow believers.
And why wouldn’t they take such risks? They knew what Jesus had done for them. They knew what Jesus had endured for their sakes. They knew that Jesus had come into this world as God-incarnate. They knew that Jesus had lived the life that God desired of mankind. They knew that Jesus was spotless and blameless before God. They knew that Jesus offered Himself as the sacrifice for their sins. They knew that they didn’t measure up to God’s standards. They knew that they fell woefully short. They knew they deserved eternal punishment for their shortcomings before the Almighty Creator of the universe. But instead of that punishment falling on their heads, Jesus took that punishment for them. Jesus interceded on their behalf and faced hell for them. Jesus faced rejection for them. Jesus faced divine wrath for them. And then He became the first fruits of a new creation as he was raised from the dead. He became the first sign of God’s new kingdom breaking into the world and reversing all evil and hatred. He became the unleashing of God’s rule in the world where death and the devil would be defeated. These early Christians were grasped by this marvelous act of Jesus. They were grasped by this undeserved love. They were grasped by the wonder of God dying for them when they least deserved it, and their hearts were moved to love God and love one another so that they would lay down their lives for each other. They would take great risks for one another. They would sacrifice their time, their talent, and their treasure for one another. The Gospel changed them deeply from within!
And O how desperately do we need this Gospel today!! How desperately do we need to have Christ’s love poured into our hearts so that we are willing to have our lives changed again!! How desperately does the church need an infusion of God’s love reawakened within it! How desperately does the church need to rediscover its roots so that it has the energy, drive, and hope of the early church! For as the rest of the world saw how different the church was; as the rest of the world saw the changed hearts and self-sacrifice of the church; the rest of the world noticed that this change was not brought about by self-will and determination. The rest of the world saw that God had indeed touched the hearts and minds of the church. The rest of the world saw that God was real and had come to earth as Jesus the Christ. The rest of the world saw that God’s kingdom was breaking into the world, and they wanted to be a part of that kingdom as well. The rest of the world’s hearts became changed because the Gospel captured them through the love, preaching, teaching, and risk taking of the church.
Oh, my brothers and sisters, this text has so much more within it than simply greeting one another. It helps us see what the church can be when it loves God and then loves one another. May God’s love find us so that we may be the Church!! Amen.
But let’s take a moment to dig a little deeper. Let’s go beyond the superficial and look at some of the details and see what is revealed about what it means to live a life that is convicted by the Gospel.
The first thing that stands out to me is how many people Paul actually knew in the church that he had never visited. Think about this with me for just a moment. Remember, Paul has admitted that he has never been to the church in Rome. He has yet to travel there, even though he has desperately wanted to. If that is the case, how is it that Paul knows the names of so many people? How is it that he somehow can ask for greetings for over 20 folks whom he has yet to see face to face?
This gives us some insight into the early Christian church. It tells us that in the early Church, folks knew of fellow Christians throughout the Roman Empire. They were not isolated in their little enclaves, thinking only about themselves, and connected to their small circle of friends and relatives in their communities. No. They had a much larger perspective of what the church was. They had a much larger perspective of where the Gospel was supposed to go. They knew that the church was struggling to gain a foothold in the Roman Empire. It faced trials and tribulations. It faced some persecution. It faced shortage of resources. So, people stayed in contact with each other. People prayed for one another. People in Achaia and Macedonia cared for the people in Jerusalem. People in Jerusalem prayed for the people in Rome. The early Christians knew that the church was much, much larger than their local congregations, and they made it a point to reach across the distances to get to know folks in other places.
I must confess that this is an area of growth for me. I tend to be rather short-sighted. I tend to focus right here on this community and neglect others throughout the world. I tend to forget that the church is much, much larger than Saint John Lutheran Church of Cat Spring. I tend to focus my prayers right here and forget about the rest of the world. I do not know many people outside of this congregation and the congregations I served previously. It is a challenge for me to think on a grander scale...to think about the larger church. Perhaps this is also a challenge for our congregation.
The second thing that stands out for me is the diversity of people that Paul greets. There are men and women. There are Jews and Gentiles. There are people who own houses, and there are slaves. These early house churches cut across racial, gender, and socio-economic status. When you walked into those churches, you did not see row after row of people who looked the same, had the same background, and had the same status in society. The Gospel had broken down these boundaries and replaced them with a new set of boundaries.
For you see, the Gospel proclaimed that each and every person was in Christ Jesus. Each and every person had been clothed with Christ Jesus. Each and every person had a new identity that went above and beyond any other identity conferred upon them in society. People did not cease having a Jewish or Gentile background. They did not cease being rich or poor. They did not cease being slave or free. They did not cease being male or female, but those identities were nothing compared to their identity in Christ. Therefore, there was only one status that was important in the church: that you were a child of God.
That’s it.
Nothing else.
You were not given special privilege because you were wealthy. You were not given special privilege because you were male. You were not given special privilege because you were Jewish. All of these things, which at one time did bestow privilege, were gone. You were a new creation being made into the image and likeness of Jesus.
This too has implications for the church today. For it is awfully easy to flip back into the distinctions of status and privilege. It is awfully easy to believe that our job or our title or our bank accounts or our possessions or any other distinguishing mark gives us a special privilege. This is something we must resist. When the church begins allowing these distinctions, we fall away from the promises we have inherited in our baptisms. We fail to remember how Jesus has claimed us and clothed us. We fail to remember what Christ has done for us and instead focus on, well, us. And we are not the focus of the church. Jesus has been, is, and always will be. When a church fails to focus on Jesus, distinctions get made, and we are another step further removed from the becoming the body of Christ.
Finally, in this passage, we see a deep, deep sense of love and respect between church members. Paul’s initial words about the deaconess Phoebe are a recommendation to end all recommendations. They are very, very flattering and are intended to paint her in the best possible light as she, in all likelihood, brings Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. We then see just how far members in the church are willing to care for one another in the next statement. “Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, 4and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.”
I must confess to you that I don’t think I had ever paid that much attention to this sentence the previous times when I had read through the book of Romans. Prisca and Aquila literally “risked their necks” on behalf of Paul. Whatever they did, it put them in great risk for their fellow brother in Christ. Whatever they did, it could have cost them their lives. In the early church, folks were willing to risk their lives for one another!!! Chew on that for just a minute.
Being a part of the early church literally could put your life in danger. Much like being a part of the church in Iran today, or in the areas still controlled by ISIS. Much like being a part of the church in China. Christians in these parts of the world are apt to suffer greatly at the hands of the ruling authorities, and being a part of the church there could literally jeopardize your life.
And yet, the church is actually growing rapidly in these parts of the world just as it grew rapidly in the Roman empire. There was something so deeply moving about the Christian faith that it led people to do things that were almost unthinkable. It led people to take unbelievable risks for one another–risks that were not done out of any sort of self-interest or personal gain, but risks that were taken out of great love for fellow believers.
And why wouldn’t they take such risks? They knew what Jesus had done for them. They knew what Jesus had endured for their sakes. They knew that Jesus had come into this world as God-incarnate. They knew that Jesus had lived the life that God desired of mankind. They knew that Jesus was spotless and blameless before God. They knew that Jesus offered Himself as the sacrifice for their sins. They knew that they didn’t measure up to God’s standards. They knew that they fell woefully short. They knew they deserved eternal punishment for their shortcomings before the Almighty Creator of the universe. But instead of that punishment falling on their heads, Jesus took that punishment for them. Jesus interceded on their behalf and faced hell for them. Jesus faced rejection for them. Jesus faced divine wrath for them. And then He became the first fruits of a new creation as he was raised from the dead. He became the first sign of God’s new kingdom breaking into the world and reversing all evil and hatred. He became the unleashing of God’s rule in the world where death and the devil would be defeated. These early Christians were grasped by this marvelous act of Jesus. They were grasped by this undeserved love. They were grasped by the wonder of God dying for them when they least deserved it, and their hearts were moved to love God and love one another so that they would lay down their lives for each other. They would take great risks for one another. They would sacrifice their time, their talent, and their treasure for one another. The Gospel changed them deeply from within!
And O how desperately do we need this Gospel today!! How desperately do we need to have Christ’s love poured into our hearts so that we are willing to have our lives changed again!! How desperately does the church need an infusion of God’s love reawakened within it! How desperately does the church need to rediscover its roots so that it has the energy, drive, and hope of the early church! For as the rest of the world saw how different the church was; as the rest of the world saw the changed hearts and self-sacrifice of the church; the rest of the world noticed that this change was not brought about by self-will and determination. The rest of the world saw that God had indeed touched the hearts and minds of the church. The rest of the world saw that God was real and had come to earth as Jesus the Christ. The rest of the world saw that God’s kingdom was breaking into the world, and they wanted to be a part of that kingdom as well. The rest of the world’s hearts became changed because the Gospel captured them through the love, preaching, teaching, and risk taking of the church.
Oh, my brothers and sisters, this text has so much more within it than simply greeting one another. It helps us see what the church can be when it loves God and then loves one another. May God’s love find us so that we may be the Church!! Amen.
Monday, April 24, 2017
The Spirit Prays for Us: Romans 8:26-27
I remember when I was training to be a pastor and working as a chaplain in a hospital as part of my requirement. My “congregation” was one floor in the hospital, and that consisted of the Intermediate Care Unit where the folks who weren’t sick enough for ICU but still needed more care than a regular room were cared for. On that floor was a gentleman whose heart was failing. He had been in the hospital for several months awaiting a transplant. I had visited him several times over the course of my training, and I won’t forget the second to the last visit I had with him.
After our conversation, I asked him if there was anything he would like me to pray for, and he responded, “I really am not trying to be selfish, but I would like for you to pray that I receive a new heart.” I gladly prayed for such a thing. In less than 24 hours, he did indeed receive a new heart.
I spoke with my supervisor, a seminary professor about this event, and he pointedly asked me, “Do you think that your prayer worked to get him a new heart?”
I paused before my response. Whenever you deal with seminary professors, there is oftentimes the answer you want to say, the answer that the professor wants to hear, and several variations of that. At this particular time, I wanted to make sure that I gave the answer the professor wanted to hear because I was in no mood for a long theological discussion. The deepest part of me wanted to answer, “Yes, indeed my prayer made a difference.” But I was quite sure that the conversation that followed would not be fun. And so I said, “I don’t know.” I figured that was the safest bet, and indeed it was. We moved on from there rather quickly.
But as I reflect upon this scenario, I can faithfully say: I hope that my prayer was not responsible for this gentleman receiving that heart. You may scratch your heads in wonder that I am saying that, but hear me out. For you see, in order for that patient to receive his heart, a local husband and father lost his life on I-35 in a tragic car accident. Would any of you like to think that your prayer caused someone to lose his life so that someone else could benefit and live? Would you like it on your conscience that your prayer caused a wife to lose her husband and children to lose their father? I don’t. Not in the least.
And yet, yet wasn’t it the compassionate thing to pray for the patient to receive a heart? What do you do? How do you pray for such a thing? What if you are thrust into a situation where someone needs a kidney, heart, or lung transplant and someone must die for the other person to live? How do you pray? What do you pray for? Sometimes, prayer is a difficult prospect, and we need help understanding it and practicing it.
Let us now pray. Heavenly Father, you have called your people to be people of prayer. Jesus prayed. Jesus taught His disciples to pray. But what do we do when faced with such difficulties? What do we do when words fail us? If we are to be your disciples, teach us indeed how to pray. Amen.
Prayer is one of those interesting subjects that even science has dabbled in. They have set up studies to see if prayer “works.” They have set aside two sets of subjects–who as best as they can are similar, and have one set prayed for while the other not prayed for. Setting aside the ethics of the matter–I mean what do you say, “Oh, we are praying for you and not for you. If you die, too bad.”–the end game is to study the results; to see if somehow prayer brings about healing or what have you. I can remember when I first started out in my trek to become a pastor that some of the studies that had been done showed that prayer was indeed effective. However, since that time, there have been other studies which showed that prayer was not effective, and in some cases, those who were prayed for had worse outcomes than those who were not prayed for.
Fundamentally, these studies miss the mark because they treat prayer as some sort of giant, cosmic, candy machine. You put the prayer in. You hope you use the right amount of currency. You kick, shake, and rattle the machine, and you hope that something comes out. Of course, you might get one of those plastic balls that when you open it up has a little piece of paper in it that says either yes, no, or you’ve got to be kidding me. This is not the purpose or reason for prayer.
In fact, as I have learned more and more about prayer, I have come to understand that prayer fundamentally isn’t about changing the circumstances around my life or the lives of others. I have come to understand that prayer isn’t fundamentally about getting a particular desired outcome. Prayer is something we participate in to show our utter and total dependence on God. Prayer is something we turn to so that we acknowledge that we are powerless to affect certain situations and that we place our trust in a higher source and power.
Fundamentally, this is at the heart of the prayer that Jesus taught His followers to pray. We recite it every Sunday and we commonly call it the Lord’s Prayer. It begins, Our Father, or our Daddy who is in heaven. The prayer begins that we are addressing someone beyond ourselves, and yet someone who we are extremely intimate with. Like children who go before their parents and ask and talk, we go before God.
Hallowed be thy name. We acknowledge that God is fundamentally set apart from us and from all other false gods. And then we get into the true dependence on our part in the prayer.
Thy kingdom come. Can any of us fundamentally bring about God’s kingdom in full? Can any of us make God’s rule happen here? No. We acknowledge that we are dependent upon Him to bring His kingdom to us.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We are asking here that God make heaven come down to earth. Can any one of us do this fully? Sure, there are times when we can make things better here, but can we bring about what it means to ultimately be in God’s presence? No. That again, is up to God alone, and we express our dependence on Him.
Give us this day our daily bread. Can any of us make a seed grow? Can we produce life? Can we manufacture the things we need to survive? No. These things all originate with God, and we simply help after the process gets started. Again, our dependence goes back to God.
Forgive us our trespasses. Here again we acknowledge our inability to make ourselves right with God. We are fallen and in need of forgiveness. We cannot overcome our debt to God without His forgiveness.
As we forgive those who trespass against us. How easy is it to forgive someone who has hurt you? For minor things, maybe relatively easy, but for those who have been sexually or physically abused; for those who have had a loved one murdered; for those who have been lied to continually and a host of other things, forgiveness does not come easy in the least. We must have our hearts changed so that we can forgive others, and that comes when we first realize we have been forgiven. Therefore, in order for us to forgive, we are dependent upon God’s grace.
And lead us not into temptation. Temptation bombards us at all points. We are tempted to think of ourselves more highly than we should. We are tempted to make all sorts of things into our god. We are tempted by sex, money, power, fame and status. We need protection, and we recognize our dependence upon God for that protection.
And deliver us from evil. Evil too lurks, and we are almost powerless to resist it. If a gunman walked into this church right now, we would be at his mercy. I mean, maybe some of you are packing heat and have concealed carry licences, but I don’t. I would have to appeal to God for protection and deliverance because I would be powerless in its face. Most of us are, and we recognize this with this petition.
For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory. Again, we acknowledge that all belongs to God. All. We are dependent upon Him in totality for all things.
This prayer is a model of what prayer is. We are dependent upon God for everything, and in prayer we acknowledge this. When we are faced with difficult situations, we acknowledge that we need God’s guidance. When we are faced with a troublesome medical diagnoses, we go to God recognizing our need for His healing. We submit ourselves to His power and His authority. Almost every prayer could be summed up in the words, “Thy will be done!” Prayer is not a candy machine where we are trying to manipulate God to give us a certain outcome. It is instead recognizing that we have no control and place ourselves into the care of our Creator.
But even if we acknowledge this, we are still at a loss sometimes of how to pray. How do you pray for someone who needs a lung or heart transplant? How do you pray when you enter into a situation when words fail? What if the Lord’s prayer doesn’t immediately address a particular situation? What do you say? How can you avoid coming across as selfish?
Here is where prayer becomes fascinating–at least as I read today’s lesson from Romans chapter 8. It’s just two verses, but they are profound in what they say and in their implications for our prayer lives as Christians.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness;
This introductory phrase is important because of the word that is used for help. The word in Greek is only used one other time in the New Testament in Luke chapter 10 when Jesus is visiting his friends Mary and Martha. Mary is sitting listening to Jesus while Martha is preparing a meal. Martha gets angry at Mary’s perceived laziness and says to Jesus, “Lord, make Mary help me.” The word means, essentially, “I’m doing my part, now get her to do her part.” Paul says here that we have a part in prayer, but the Spirit comes and does its part to assist us.
But why do we need assistance? “...for we do not know how to pray as we ought.” This goes back to my original story about the heart transplant. How do you pray in that kind of situation? Do you pray for someone to die so that another can live? That’s tough. It’s also tough to think deeply about why we pray for others. Most of the time, I have a kind heart. I hate to see people in pain. I hate to see suffering. So, when someone asks me to pray because they have lost a job, are suffering from illness, are grieving, or are going through a rough stretch, I gladly offer up petitions. But why? Yes, it’s part of my job. Yes, because I know it’s the right thing to do. But I know deep within that one of the reasons I pray is selfish. I don’t want to see people suffer. I want them to be happy. If we take some time to reflect upon some of our prayers, I think we can see that selfishness come through as well. It’s there when as kids we pray for certain toys or for God to hurt the school bully. It’s there as adults when we pray that God will let us win the lottery–because you know I will use the money to do good. So, there is some selfishness to our prayers. And there is also those times when we just don’t know what to say. There are times when we are confronted with something too overwhelming–too emotional that we cannot even begin to form the words. We are at a complete and total loss. What do we say? What do we do? When we mix our motivations and needs with the messiness of life, we don’t know how to pray.
“... but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” Here is the good news. The Holy Spirit takes our prayer. In a sense you could say that it intercepts our prayer, and then it begins its work. It begins to transform our prayers. It begins to mold them and make them into something else. It begins to intercede for us. To pray for us. Because we don’t know how to pray fully, the Spirit helps–does its part and transforms our prayers to bring them before God the Father.
“27And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” What Paul says here should be terrifying and comforting at the same time. For Paul speaks about the God who searches the heart. The word used here for searches gives the impression of someone taking a lighted torch and going into the darkest parts of a cave and shining a light. This is what God does in our hearts–even as we pray. If you think about what He discovers down there–that can be terrifying. But, remember there is the Spirit also interceding. There is the Spirit transforming those things–transforming your thoughts into holy thoughts. There is the Spirit transforming those prayers that are really about your will and turning them into prayers for God’s will. There is the Spirit making your prayers acceptable to God when you don’t know how to pray.
This is a mirror of what Jesus does for us as He makes us acceptable before God. Both Jesus and the Spirit are in the transformation business. For just as we do not pray as we ought, we also do not live as we ought. Confronted with the reality of life and God’s holy Law, we know that we fail to live up to it. We know we don’t follow it completely. We know that we don’t even follow the laws of our land as we should. But Christ intercedes for us. Christ takes our unholiness upon Himself, and He gives us His holiness. He dies for our sins, so that we might have abundant life. He takes our imperfect lives and makes them perfect–not because of who we are, but because of who He is and His love for us. This is what we call grace. Jesus bestows grace in life. The Spirit bestows grace in prayer.
So, what does this mean? What are the implications of Jesus’ transformation and the Spirit’s transformation? It means we can be bold and be at peace. We don’t have to live a perfect life to be accepted by God. We don’t have to be paralyzed by trying to figure out exactly what we are supposed to do at every single juncture of life. We can count on the transformative power of Jesus to work even when we mess up. We do not have to be paralyzed by the fear of failure. Likewise, we can be bold in our prayers. We don’t have to wonder what to say. In fact, during those times we can’t put words together, guess who is already praying on our behalf? Guess who is transforming our silence into an acceptable prayer before God? Go to God and pray. Say whatever you need to say. The Spirit is interceding. Go out and live for God. Don’t be paralyzed by always trying to figure out the right thing. Jesus is interceding. Start doing. Start praying. You have heavenly help.
Let’s pray. Gracious God, you can take our weakest attempts to do your will and you can take our weakest attempts at prayer and make them acceptable. You can take our falling down and make something good come out of it. You can take our fumbling words and make them into the most beautiful poetry. Remind us of the work of Jesus. Remind us of the work of the Spirit so that we can be bold in living our lives and praying our prayers. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
After our conversation, I asked him if there was anything he would like me to pray for, and he responded, “I really am not trying to be selfish, but I would like for you to pray that I receive a new heart.” I gladly prayed for such a thing. In less than 24 hours, he did indeed receive a new heart.
I spoke with my supervisor, a seminary professor about this event, and he pointedly asked me, “Do you think that your prayer worked to get him a new heart?”
I paused before my response. Whenever you deal with seminary professors, there is oftentimes the answer you want to say, the answer that the professor wants to hear, and several variations of that. At this particular time, I wanted to make sure that I gave the answer the professor wanted to hear because I was in no mood for a long theological discussion. The deepest part of me wanted to answer, “Yes, indeed my prayer made a difference.” But I was quite sure that the conversation that followed would not be fun. And so I said, “I don’t know.” I figured that was the safest bet, and indeed it was. We moved on from there rather quickly.
But as I reflect upon this scenario, I can faithfully say: I hope that my prayer was not responsible for this gentleman receiving that heart. You may scratch your heads in wonder that I am saying that, but hear me out. For you see, in order for that patient to receive his heart, a local husband and father lost his life on I-35 in a tragic car accident. Would any of you like to think that your prayer caused someone to lose his life so that someone else could benefit and live? Would you like it on your conscience that your prayer caused a wife to lose her husband and children to lose their father? I don’t. Not in the least.
And yet, yet wasn’t it the compassionate thing to pray for the patient to receive a heart? What do you do? How do you pray for such a thing? What if you are thrust into a situation where someone needs a kidney, heart, or lung transplant and someone must die for the other person to live? How do you pray? What do you pray for? Sometimes, prayer is a difficult prospect, and we need help understanding it and practicing it.
Let us now pray. Heavenly Father, you have called your people to be people of prayer. Jesus prayed. Jesus taught His disciples to pray. But what do we do when faced with such difficulties? What do we do when words fail us? If we are to be your disciples, teach us indeed how to pray. Amen.
Prayer is one of those interesting subjects that even science has dabbled in. They have set up studies to see if prayer “works.” They have set aside two sets of subjects–who as best as they can are similar, and have one set prayed for while the other not prayed for. Setting aside the ethics of the matter–I mean what do you say, “Oh, we are praying for you and not for you. If you die, too bad.”–the end game is to study the results; to see if somehow prayer brings about healing or what have you. I can remember when I first started out in my trek to become a pastor that some of the studies that had been done showed that prayer was indeed effective. However, since that time, there have been other studies which showed that prayer was not effective, and in some cases, those who were prayed for had worse outcomes than those who were not prayed for.
Fundamentally, these studies miss the mark because they treat prayer as some sort of giant, cosmic, candy machine. You put the prayer in. You hope you use the right amount of currency. You kick, shake, and rattle the machine, and you hope that something comes out. Of course, you might get one of those plastic balls that when you open it up has a little piece of paper in it that says either yes, no, or you’ve got to be kidding me. This is not the purpose or reason for prayer.
In fact, as I have learned more and more about prayer, I have come to understand that prayer fundamentally isn’t about changing the circumstances around my life or the lives of others. I have come to understand that prayer isn’t fundamentally about getting a particular desired outcome. Prayer is something we participate in to show our utter and total dependence on God. Prayer is something we turn to so that we acknowledge that we are powerless to affect certain situations and that we place our trust in a higher source and power.
Fundamentally, this is at the heart of the prayer that Jesus taught His followers to pray. We recite it every Sunday and we commonly call it the Lord’s Prayer. It begins, Our Father, or our Daddy who is in heaven. The prayer begins that we are addressing someone beyond ourselves, and yet someone who we are extremely intimate with. Like children who go before their parents and ask and talk, we go before God.
Hallowed be thy name. We acknowledge that God is fundamentally set apart from us and from all other false gods. And then we get into the true dependence on our part in the prayer.
Thy kingdom come. Can any of us fundamentally bring about God’s kingdom in full? Can any of us make God’s rule happen here? No. We acknowledge that we are dependent upon Him to bring His kingdom to us.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We are asking here that God make heaven come down to earth. Can any one of us do this fully? Sure, there are times when we can make things better here, but can we bring about what it means to ultimately be in God’s presence? No. That again, is up to God alone, and we express our dependence on Him.
Give us this day our daily bread. Can any of us make a seed grow? Can we produce life? Can we manufacture the things we need to survive? No. These things all originate with God, and we simply help after the process gets started. Again, our dependence goes back to God.
Forgive us our trespasses. Here again we acknowledge our inability to make ourselves right with God. We are fallen and in need of forgiveness. We cannot overcome our debt to God without His forgiveness.
As we forgive those who trespass against us. How easy is it to forgive someone who has hurt you? For minor things, maybe relatively easy, but for those who have been sexually or physically abused; for those who have had a loved one murdered; for those who have been lied to continually and a host of other things, forgiveness does not come easy in the least. We must have our hearts changed so that we can forgive others, and that comes when we first realize we have been forgiven. Therefore, in order for us to forgive, we are dependent upon God’s grace.
And lead us not into temptation. Temptation bombards us at all points. We are tempted to think of ourselves more highly than we should. We are tempted to make all sorts of things into our god. We are tempted by sex, money, power, fame and status. We need protection, and we recognize our dependence upon God for that protection.
And deliver us from evil. Evil too lurks, and we are almost powerless to resist it. If a gunman walked into this church right now, we would be at his mercy. I mean, maybe some of you are packing heat and have concealed carry licences, but I don’t. I would have to appeal to God for protection and deliverance because I would be powerless in its face. Most of us are, and we recognize this with this petition.
For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory. Again, we acknowledge that all belongs to God. All. We are dependent upon Him in totality for all things.
This prayer is a model of what prayer is. We are dependent upon God for everything, and in prayer we acknowledge this. When we are faced with difficult situations, we acknowledge that we need God’s guidance. When we are faced with a troublesome medical diagnoses, we go to God recognizing our need for His healing. We submit ourselves to His power and His authority. Almost every prayer could be summed up in the words, “Thy will be done!” Prayer is not a candy machine where we are trying to manipulate God to give us a certain outcome. It is instead recognizing that we have no control and place ourselves into the care of our Creator.
But even if we acknowledge this, we are still at a loss sometimes of how to pray. How do you pray for someone who needs a lung or heart transplant? How do you pray when you enter into a situation when words fail? What if the Lord’s prayer doesn’t immediately address a particular situation? What do you say? How can you avoid coming across as selfish?
Here is where prayer becomes fascinating–at least as I read today’s lesson from Romans chapter 8. It’s just two verses, but they are profound in what they say and in their implications for our prayer lives as Christians.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness;
This introductory phrase is important because of the word that is used for help. The word in Greek is only used one other time in the New Testament in Luke chapter 10 when Jesus is visiting his friends Mary and Martha. Mary is sitting listening to Jesus while Martha is preparing a meal. Martha gets angry at Mary’s perceived laziness and says to Jesus, “Lord, make Mary help me.” The word means, essentially, “I’m doing my part, now get her to do her part.” Paul says here that we have a part in prayer, but the Spirit comes and does its part to assist us.
But why do we need assistance? “...for we do not know how to pray as we ought.” This goes back to my original story about the heart transplant. How do you pray in that kind of situation? Do you pray for someone to die so that another can live? That’s tough. It’s also tough to think deeply about why we pray for others. Most of the time, I have a kind heart. I hate to see people in pain. I hate to see suffering. So, when someone asks me to pray because they have lost a job, are suffering from illness, are grieving, or are going through a rough stretch, I gladly offer up petitions. But why? Yes, it’s part of my job. Yes, because I know it’s the right thing to do. But I know deep within that one of the reasons I pray is selfish. I don’t want to see people suffer. I want them to be happy. If we take some time to reflect upon some of our prayers, I think we can see that selfishness come through as well. It’s there when as kids we pray for certain toys or for God to hurt the school bully. It’s there as adults when we pray that God will let us win the lottery–because you know I will use the money to do good. So, there is some selfishness to our prayers. And there is also those times when we just don’t know what to say. There are times when we are confronted with something too overwhelming–too emotional that we cannot even begin to form the words. We are at a complete and total loss. What do we say? What do we do? When we mix our motivations and needs with the messiness of life, we don’t know how to pray.
“... but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” Here is the good news. The Holy Spirit takes our prayer. In a sense you could say that it intercepts our prayer, and then it begins its work. It begins to transform our prayers. It begins to mold them and make them into something else. It begins to intercede for us. To pray for us. Because we don’t know how to pray fully, the Spirit helps–does its part and transforms our prayers to bring them before God the Father.
“27And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” What Paul says here should be terrifying and comforting at the same time. For Paul speaks about the God who searches the heart. The word used here for searches gives the impression of someone taking a lighted torch and going into the darkest parts of a cave and shining a light. This is what God does in our hearts–even as we pray. If you think about what He discovers down there–that can be terrifying. But, remember there is the Spirit also interceding. There is the Spirit transforming those things–transforming your thoughts into holy thoughts. There is the Spirit transforming those prayers that are really about your will and turning them into prayers for God’s will. There is the Spirit making your prayers acceptable to God when you don’t know how to pray.
This is a mirror of what Jesus does for us as He makes us acceptable before God. Both Jesus and the Spirit are in the transformation business. For just as we do not pray as we ought, we also do not live as we ought. Confronted with the reality of life and God’s holy Law, we know that we fail to live up to it. We know we don’t follow it completely. We know that we don’t even follow the laws of our land as we should. But Christ intercedes for us. Christ takes our unholiness upon Himself, and He gives us His holiness. He dies for our sins, so that we might have abundant life. He takes our imperfect lives and makes them perfect–not because of who we are, but because of who He is and His love for us. This is what we call grace. Jesus bestows grace in life. The Spirit bestows grace in prayer.
So, what does this mean? What are the implications of Jesus’ transformation and the Spirit’s transformation? It means we can be bold and be at peace. We don’t have to live a perfect life to be accepted by God. We don’t have to be paralyzed by trying to figure out exactly what we are supposed to do at every single juncture of life. We can count on the transformative power of Jesus to work even when we mess up. We do not have to be paralyzed by the fear of failure. Likewise, we can be bold in our prayers. We don’t have to wonder what to say. In fact, during those times we can’t put words together, guess who is already praying on our behalf? Guess who is transforming our silence into an acceptable prayer before God? Go to God and pray. Say whatever you need to say. The Spirit is interceding. Go out and live for God. Don’t be paralyzed by always trying to figure out the right thing. Jesus is interceding. Start doing. Start praying. You have heavenly help.
Let’s pray. Gracious God, you can take our weakest attempts to do your will and you can take our weakest attempts at prayer and make them acceptable. You can take our falling down and make something good come out of it. You can take our fumbling words and make them into the most beautiful poetry. Remind us of the work of Jesus. Remind us of the work of the Spirit so that we can be bold in living our lives and praying our prayers. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Monday, April 11, 2016
It's not Luck. It's Redemption.
I want to begin this morning by assuring you that you are indeed one of the luckiest beings to ever exist. Now, you might be going through an awful lot in your life right now and you may beg to disagree with me, but I would like to lay out a few facts for you this morning to help you see why you are extremely lucky.
First off, do you know that you live in a universe that is perfectly tuned for your existence? What do I mean by that? Let me quote to you what John Lennox wrote in his book God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God:
Theoretical physicist Paul Davies tells us that if the ratio of the nuclear strong force to the electromagnetic force had been different by 1 part in 1016, no stars could have formed. Again, the ratio of the electromagnetic force-constant to the gravitational force-constant must be equally delicately balanced. Increase it by only 1 part in 1040 and only small stars can exist; decrease it by the same amount and there will only be large stars. You must have both large and small stars in the universe: the large ones produce elements in their thermonuclear furnaces; and it is only the small ones that burn long enough to sustain a planet with life.
To use Davis’ illustration, that is the kind of accuracy a marksman would need to hit a coin at the far side of the observable universe, twenty billion light years away. If we find that difficult to imagine, a further illustration suggested by astrophysicist Hugh Ross may help. Cover America with coins in a column reaching to the moon (380,000 km or 236,000 miles away), then do the same for a billion other continents of the same size. Paint one coin red and put it somewhere in one of the billion piles. Blindfold a friend and ask her to pick it out. The odds are about 1 in 1040 she will.
Those odds are almost incomprehensible, and let me now say that this is just one–yes THIS IS JUST ONE mechanism that requires fine tuning. There are several others which are also inconceivably small. If you struggle with math and the odds, let me be blunt. We should not be here. There is literally a zero chance that all the things that should happen for a universe to sustain life could actually come together and happen–and yet it did. If you believe that this universe is here by chance, then you have more faith than I do because the odds are not in your favor.
But, this is not the end of our luck because we are highly privileged in this universe on this particular planet. You may scoff at such a statement because you might say: with all of the billions of stars and billions of planets in the billions of galaxies, surely there are other planets with life on them. Quoting Eric Metaxis in his opinion piece to the Wall Street Journal: “astronomer Carl Sagan announced that there were two important criteria for a planet to support life: The right kind of star, and a planet the right distance from that star. Given the roughly octillion—1 followed by 27 zeros—planets in the universe, there should have been about septillion—1 followed by 24 zeros—planets capable of supporting life.”
Well, it just so happens that Carl Sagan was quite wrong. There are not simply two important criteria for a planet to support life. As astronomers and physicists continued to study the conditions that made for life as we know it, more criteria started to come to light. The numbers grew from two to ten; then to twenty; then to fifty; to the present day where we know that there are more than 200 known parameters needed for a planet to sustain carbon based, intelligent life. What does this mean? It means that the SETI project–the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, is a waste of money. The odds are almost nil that there is another planet in the universe that life as we know it exists.
So, to reiterate the point that I began with, do you know how lucky you are? Do you realize how special you are? And, given the non-existent chance that this universe just happened and was a product of chance; and given that this universe very much looks like it was finely tuned for life by some sort of intelligence; and given that if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and eats like a duck, then it is a duck, then this universe and this planet were put here by some sort of intelligence. Why is all of this important?
Let’s now turn to our biblical text this morning from the 13th Chapter of the book of Mark. Last week, we saw how Jesus spoke about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and how God had turned His judgement toward that Temple because it was rotten on the inside even though it was a structure of absolute beauty and magnificence on the outside. The disciples asked when these things would occur, and Jesus began to teach them.
First, Jesus said that there would be false Messiahs, then wars and rumors of war; there would be earthquakes and famines. The disciples would be handed over to councils and synagogues and beaten. Families would turn against one another, and these would be the beginnings of the birth pangs.
Some scholars have tried to link these things with the destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 A.D., but as I have continued to study this text and read the commentaries, I am not sure that these statements of Jesus and the temple destruction walk hand in hand. Why? First off, we know that there are still stones standing upon stones in Jerusalem. You have heard of the Wailing Wall, no doubt? Secondly, if Mark knew about the destruction of Jerusalem, he probably would have written this section differently because the city was destroyed by a great siege and then with a horrendous fire. There is no mention of this. Thirdly has to do with what Jesus teaches today.
He begins with these words, “‘But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains...” How to interpret Jesus’ words here depend greatly on what exactly the “desolating sacrilege” is. Walter Liefield in the Expositors Bible Commentary says this: The first word of the phrase, bdelygma (abomination) suggests something repugnant to God, while the second, eremosis (desolation) suggests that because of the abomination the temple is left deserted, desolate. The holy and pious worshipers vacate it.
The question is, has such a “desolating sacrilege” appeared in the Temple? That is a matter of historical debate–if what Jesus is saying here has already come to pass. If it hasn’t yet come to pass, then this is a future event–an event that we must be watchful for because it’s going to be bad. It’s going to be bad, but it is not going to be the end of the days.
Some of you who might have gotten caught up in all the rig-a-ma-roe about the end times might be scratching your head at that comment, but hear me out. Look at what Jesus says and then ask yourself, “If what Jesus is talking about is the very end of the world, then why run?” Why flee to the hills if this is the end of the world? Why come straight down from the house tops and flee without going in to get anything? Why take off straight from the field without going back into the house to get your coat if this is the end of all time? Why try to save yourself–if this is the end of the ages? At the end of the ages, there will be no escape. At the end of the world, it doesn’t matter if you run or if you stand still, you are screwed!!!
But Jesus encourages His followers to run when they see this desolating sacrilege. It is one of those moments when you have to know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, and know when to run. This is a moment to run! –Because there will be great suffering; for everyone. There will be such a suffering as has not been seen since the creation of the world. This means, things are going to get really, really bad.
Last week, I talked about those preachers who paint a rosy picture of following Jesus–how He will make your life absolutely perfect; how He will make you healthy, wealthy, wise, and loved. Somehow, I think those preachers missed this part too. There will be suffering, and then I think we get to the crux of the matter. Jesus says, “21And if anyone says to you at that time, “Look! Here is the Messiah!” or “Look! There he is!”—do not believe it. 22False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23But be alert; I have already told you everything.”
This is the second time in a few short verses that Jesus warns against false Messiahs and false teachers, and this time He places that warning in conjunction with suffering and the threat of death. I don’t think there is a coincidence in the placement of this teaching.
You see, more than any other time in people’s lives, people question the goodness and graciousness of God in the midst of suffering. More than any time in people’s lives, people question the love and mercy of God when they experience suffering. “Why has God done this to me?” is a pleading question. “Has God abandoned me?” is another gut wrenching plea. As I have talked with people whose bodies are wracked with pain; whose bodies are being devoured by cancer; who are sitting at the bedside of a dying spouse; who are shedding tears next to the casket of a child taken far too early, they want answers. They want understanding. They want to know the meaning and purpose behind all these trials and tribulations. Oftentimes, I don’t know.
And when things are falling apart in society, people want solutions. When terrorism hits close to home; when stock markets crash; when people lose their jobs; when the Supreme Court overturns what many consider common sense values; when churches see more empty pews than full ones; people want answers. People want solutions. People want someone to swoop in and make everything right. When anxiety rises because of suffering and perceived threat; people want a savior, and anyone who comes along with a glib tongue who seems to give them the answers they want can easily lead them astray.
Just believe enough, and your problems will vanish.
Just give enough, and your cancer will cease.
Just change the core of your teaching, and your church pews will be filled.
Just vote for me, and I will make all the problems disappear.
Trust what I tell you and do what I say, and all will be well.
The words are seductive, especially when you feel like you are abandoned; especially when you are hurting; especially when you are in the despair of suffering.
But do you know how special you are? Do you remember how the Creator of this universe has designed this universe for life? Do you remember how the Creator designed this planet for you to live on? Do you remember that given the odds, you shouldn’t even be here? You are a special creation.
And if you have difficulty remembering that, let me tell you how much the Creator cares for you. You see, the Creator knows about your suffering. The creator knows about your pain. The creator knows about your despair, and He is not above it. It pains Him to see what has happened to His creation. It pains Him to see how people are in agony and the trials they face. And He knows the cause. He knows that the creation does not live in accordance with the Creator’s will. He knows that creation has rebelled against Him and lives apart from it.
And so, He enters into creation. He becomes like you and me, clothed with human flesh. He lives the life we should live, and then He faces death. He faces the ultimate in suffering. He faces the brokenness of human relationships as He is betrayed, denied, and abandoned. He faces the injustice of the human “justice” system as He is falsely accused and sentenced to death. He faces the pain of human brutality as He is tortured, mocked, beaten, and nailed to a cross. He faces abandonment by God and cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?!” He feels utter darkness; utter punishment; utter abandonment. He dies in such a state and is buried in a tomb. The God who created this universe with you in mind has entered this world and suffered as we suffer; died as we die. He is not above our suffering, and He has taken that suffering upon Himself. And He redeems that suffering. He changes that suffering. He changes that brokenness.
For on the third day, He rose again from the dead to transform all that was evil into good. He rose again from the dead to make darkness into light, despair into hope, evil into good, hate into love. This is the God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him.
Anyone else who promises you salvation is a false Messiah. Anyone else who claims to offer you true freedom or redemption is a liar. Anyone who demands something from you without first laying down his or her life for you isn’t worthy of consideration. They want your trust with no cost to them. Jesus wants your trust, and He has already given His life for you. He has told, shown, and done everything for you already. In the midst of your trials and tribulations, never forget this. Never forget the one who has already died for you and has shown you what the end will be. Hold on to Jesus. Amen.
First off, do you know that you live in a universe that is perfectly tuned for your existence? What do I mean by that? Let me quote to you what John Lennox wrote in his book God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God:
Theoretical physicist Paul Davies tells us that if the ratio of the nuclear strong force to the electromagnetic force had been different by 1 part in 1016, no stars could have formed. Again, the ratio of the electromagnetic force-constant to the gravitational force-constant must be equally delicately balanced. Increase it by only 1 part in 1040 and only small stars can exist; decrease it by the same amount and there will only be large stars. You must have both large and small stars in the universe: the large ones produce elements in their thermonuclear furnaces; and it is only the small ones that burn long enough to sustain a planet with life.
To use Davis’ illustration, that is the kind of accuracy a marksman would need to hit a coin at the far side of the observable universe, twenty billion light years away. If we find that difficult to imagine, a further illustration suggested by astrophysicist Hugh Ross may help. Cover America with coins in a column reaching to the moon (380,000 km or 236,000 miles away), then do the same for a billion other continents of the same size. Paint one coin red and put it somewhere in one of the billion piles. Blindfold a friend and ask her to pick it out. The odds are about 1 in 1040 she will.
Those odds are almost incomprehensible, and let me now say that this is just one–yes THIS IS JUST ONE mechanism that requires fine tuning. There are several others which are also inconceivably small. If you struggle with math and the odds, let me be blunt. We should not be here. There is literally a zero chance that all the things that should happen for a universe to sustain life could actually come together and happen–and yet it did. If you believe that this universe is here by chance, then you have more faith than I do because the odds are not in your favor.
But, this is not the end of our luck because we are highly privileged in this universe on this particular planet. You may scoff at such a statement because you might say: with all of the billions of stars and billions of planets in the billions of galaxies, surely there are other planets with life on them. Quoting Eric Metaxis in his opinion piece to the Wall Street Journal: “astronomer Carl Sagan announced that there were two important criteria for a planet to support life: The right kind of star, and a planet the right distance from that star. Given the roughly octillion—1 followed by 27 zeros—planets in the universe, there should have been about septillion—1 followed by 24 zeros—planets capable of supporting life.”
Well, it just so happens that Carl Sagan was quite wrong. There are not simply two important criteria for a planet to support life. As astronomers and physicists continued to study the conditions that made for life as we know it, more criteria started to come to light. The numbers grew from two to ten; then to twenty; then to fifty; to the present day where we know that there are more than 200 known parameters needed for a planet to sustain carbon based, intelligent life. What does this mean? It means that the SETI project–the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, is a waste of money. The odds are almost nil that there is another planet in the universe that life as we know it exists.
So, to reiterate the point that I began with, do you know how lucky you are? Do you realize how special you are? And, given the non-existent chance that this universe just happened and was a product of chance; and given that this universe very much looks like it was finely tuned for life by some sort of intelligence; and given that if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and eats like a duck, then it is a duck, then this universe and this planet were put here by some sort of intelligence. Why is all of this important?
Let’s now turn to our biblical text this morning from the 13th Chapter of the book of Mark. Last week, we saw how Jesus spoke about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and how God had turned His judgement toward that Temple because it was rotten on the inside even though it was a structure of absolute beauty and magnificence on the outside. The disciples asked when these things would occur, and Jesus began to teach them.
First, Jesus said that there would be false Messiahs, then wars and rumors of war; there would be earthquakes and famines. The disciples would be handed over to councils and synagogues and beaten. Families would turn against one another, and these would be the beginnings of the birth pangs.
Some scholars have tried to link these things with the destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 A.D., but as I have continued to study this text and read the commentaries, I am not sure that these statements of Jesus and the temple destruction walk hand in hand. Why? First off, we know that there are still stones standing upon stones in Jerusalem. You have heard of the Wailing Wall, no doubt? Secondly, if Mark knew about the destruction of Jerusalem, he probably would have written this section differently because the city was destroyed by a great siege and then with a horrendous fire. There is no mention of this. Thirdly has to do with what Jesus teaches today.
He begins with these words, “‘But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains...” How to interpret Jesus’ words here depend greatly on what exactly the “desolating sacrilege” is. Walter Liefield in the Expositors Bible Commentary says this: The first word of the phrase, bdelygma (abomination) suggests something repugnant to God, while the second, eremosis (desolation) suggests that because of the abomination the temple is left deserted, desolate. The holy and pious worshipers vacate it.
The question is, has such a “desolating sacrilege” appeared in the Temple? That is a matter of historical debate–if what Jesus is saying here has already come to pass. If it hasn’t yet come to pass, then this is a future event–an event that we must be watchful for because it’s going to be bad. It’s going to be bad, but it is not going to be the end of the days.
Some of you who might have gotten caught up in all the rig-a-ma-roe about the end times might be scratching your head at that comment, but hear me out. Look at what Jesus says and then ask yourself, “If what Jesus is talking about is the very end of the world, then why run?” Why flee to the hills if this is the end of the world? Why come straight down from the house tops and flee without going in to get anything? Why take off straight from the field without going back into the house to get your coat if this is the end of all time? Why try to save yourself–if this is the end of the ages? At the end of the ages, there will be no escape. At the end of the world, it doesn’t matter if you run or if you stand still, you are screwed!!!
But Jesus encourages His followers to run when they see this desolating sacrilege. It is one of those moments when you have to know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, and know when to run. This is a moment to run! –Because there will be great suffering; for everyone. There will be such a suffering as has not been seen since the creation of the world. This means, things are going to get really, really bad.
Last week, I talked about those preachers who paint a rosy picture of following Jesus–how He will make your life absolutely perfect; how He will make you healthy, wealthy, wise, and loved. Somehow, I think those preachers missed this part too. There will be suffering, and then I think we get to the crux of the matter. Jesus says, “21And if anyone says to you at that time, “Look! Here is the Messiah!” or “Look! There he is!”—do not believe it. 22False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23But be alert; I have already told you everything.”
This is the second time in a few short verses that Jesus warns against false Messiahs and false teachers, and this time He places that warning in conjunction with suffering and the threat of death. I don’t think there is a coincidence in the placement of this teaching.
You see, more than any other time in people’s lives, people question the goodness and graciousness of God in the midst of suffering. More than any time in people’s lives, people question the love and mercy of God when they experience suffering. “Why has God done this to me?” is a pleading question. “Has God abandoned me?” is another gut wrenching plea. As I have talked with people whose bodies are wracked with pain; whose bodies are being devoured by cancer; who are sitting at the bedside of a dying spouse; who are shedding tears next to the casket of a child taken far too early, they want answers. They want understanding. They want to know the meaning and purpose behind all these trials and tribulations. Oftentimes, I don’t know.
And when things are falling apart in society, people want solutions. When terrorism hits close to home; when stock markets crash; when people lose their jobs; when the Supreme Court overturns what many consider common sense values; when churches see more empty pews than full ones; people want answers. People want solutions. People want someone to swoop in and make everything right. When anxiety rises because of suffering and perceived threat; people want a savior, and anyone who comes along with a glib tongue who seems to give them the answers they want can easily lead them astray.
Just believe enough, and your problems will vanish.
Just give enough, and your cancer will cease.
Just change the core of your teaching, and your church pews will be filled.
Just vote for me, and I will make all the problems disappear.
Trust what I tell you and do what I say, and all will be well.
The words are seductive, especially when you feel like you are abandoned; especially when you are hurting; especially when you are in the despair of suffering.
But do you know how special you are? Do you remember how the Creator of this universe has designed this universe for life? Do you remember how the Creator designed this planet for you to live on? Do you remember that given the odds, you shouldn’t even be here? You are a special creation.
And if you have difficulty remembering that, let me tell you how much the Creator cares for you. You see, the Creator knows about your suffering. The creator knows about your pain. The creator knows about your despair, and He is not above it. It pains Him to see what has happened to His creation. It pains Him to see how people are in agony and the trials they face. And He knows the cause. He knows that the creation does not live in accordance with the Creator’s will. He knows that creation has rebelled against Him and lives apart from it.
And so, He enters into creation. He becomes like you and me, clothed with human flesh. He lives the life we should live, and then He faces death. He faces the ultimate in suffering. He faces the brokenness of human relationships as He is betrayed, denied, and abandoned. He faces the injustice of the human “justice” system as He is falsely accused and sentenced to death. He faces the pain of human brutality as He is tortured, mocked, beaten, and nailed to a cross. He faces abandonment by God and cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?!” He feels utter darkness; utter punishment; utter abandonment. He dies in such a state and is buried in a tomb. The God who created this universe with you in mind has entered this world and suffered as we suffer; died as we die. He is not above our suffering, and He has taken that suffering upon Himself. And He redeems that suffering. He changes that suffering. He changes that brokenness.
For on the third day, He rose again from the dead to transform all that was evil into good. He rose again from the dead to make darkness into light, despair into hope, evil into good, hate into love. This is the God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him.
Anyone else who promises you salvation is a false Messiah. Anyone else who claims to offer you true freedom or redemption is a liar. Anyone who demands something from you without first laying down his or her life for you isn’t worthy of consideration. They want your trust with no cost to them. Jesus wants your trust, and He has already given His life for you. He has told, shown, and done everything for you already. In the midst of your trials and tribulations, never forget this. Never forget the one who has already died for you and has shown you what the end will be. Hold on to Jesus. Amen.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Loving Deeply From the Heart
As we finish up 1 Peter chapter one today, I would like to let you know that verse 22 caught my attention at the very outset of this sermon series. I don’t know why, but the vision of a community of people loving one another deeply from the heart made me pause and say, “What a beautiful thing. What a beautiful idea that people would gather together with genuine love; real love; and they would love one another deeply from the bottom of their hearts.” I don’t know if that picture grasps your imagination, but it grasps mine, and I don’t know about you, but it grasps mine because very, very few of our relationships in this day and age even come close to this kind of relationship.
You might wonder why I say that–especially those of you who are in a relationship with a significant other who you love and cherish; especially those of you who are parents who dote on your children and would die for them. Aren’t these relationships from the heart? In one sense, yes, but let’s delve a little bit deeper into what I think it means to love another person deeply from the heart.
Just what does it mean to love another person deeply from the heart? I think this: entering into a relationship with another person even if you know you will get nothing out of it. Think about that for just a moment. Loving another person deeply from the heart means that you knowingly love another person and support another person and care for the well being of another person without getting anything in return. I want you to think about that for just a second here, and I want you to think about the relationships you have in your life. I want you to think about the people you love. I want you to think about the friendships you have. I want you to think about the people you hang around, and I want you to be honest–blatantly honest with yourself. Do you receive something from these relationships?
I think, if you are brutally honest with yourself, you would answer yes. You would affirm that in every relationship you are a part of, you benefit in some fashion from that relationship. You get something out of that relationship. Theoretically, you receive love and affection from your spouse or significant other. You receive joy from watching your children grow and develop. You receive companionship, laughter, and a sense of camaraderie from your friendships. If you are in a business relationship, you receive money for your time or for your goods. If you are helping another person out, you receive joy and satisfaction that you helped someone in need. In just about every single relationship we have, we receive some sort of benefit. And here is the question: if you received absolutely no benefit what-so-ever from a relationship, would you still stay in it?
• If you received no love and affection from your significant other, would you stay with him or her?
• If you received no satisfaction from raising your children, would you continue to provide for them when they yelled and screamed at you?
• If your business partner paid you nothing for your time and efforts, would you stay at that job?
• If you paid for a product and the company refused to send what you paid for to you, would you order from them again?
• If you did not feel a sense of satisfaction from helping others in need, would you continue to do it?
• If your friends continuously kept taking advantage of you and your good nature, would you continue to hang around them?
Most of us, I think, would not continue in such relationships. Most of us would, at some point, realize that our love, our energy, our time, and our money is being thrown down a vacuum which literally sucks the life out of us. We would wake up to this realization and say to ourselves, “I don’t get anything out of this relationship. I am tired and worn out from giving and giving and giving and getting nothing in return. I am out of here!”
And yet, if we were truly loving others deeply from the heart, we would not exit such relationships. We would not walk away from those who take advantage of us. We would not turn away from abuse or neglect. We would stay even at great risk to ourselves. It’s terribly hard to really and truly love another deeply from the heart. In a very real way, we simply are not built to have this kind of love.
But there is One who indeed had this kind of love. There was One who implemented it at great cost to Himself. Today is Palm Sunday, and we are reminded of Jesus who came riding into Jerusalem triumphantly on the back of a donkey. The imagery is priceless as it hearkens back to the Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah would enter into Jerusalem riding upon a donkey. Those who were spreading their garments and laying palm branches knew this. They understood the imagery. They understood the prophesy. They were terribly excited given the burden of taxation and rule they had experienced under the Greeks and then the Romans. They knew of Jesus’ acts of power and might. They knew He claimed power and authority from God. It was only a matter of time before He would call down God’s mighty hand to deliver them from oppression. They would soon be free! It is no wonder they shouted “Hosanna!”
But I want to shift the perspective a little bit. I want to shift the perspective to Jesus’ perspective. The people believed they would benefit from Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem, but I want to ask you this morning: what benefit would Jesus receive from His arrival into Jerusalem? What benefit would Jesus receive from engaging the crowds? What benefit was Jesus going to get from this whole ordeal? Think about this very, very hard. So often, when it comes to Christianity and the faith you and I espouse, we think about ourselves. We think about what God has done. We think about the resurrection. We think about it from our perspective and the benefits we receive. But now, at this moment, think about what benefits Jesus was going to get. Think about what benefits Jesus stood to receive by riding into Jerusalem into the heart of His enemies strength and power. Can you think of
any benefits to Jesus? Can you think of anything good that He is about to get?
You see, here’s what Jesus is about to receive:
• He will be betrayed by one of His closest followers.
• He will be deserted by all of His followers.
• His closest friend will deny he knew Jesus three times.
• He will be arrested.
• He will be tried in a kangaroo court.
• He will hear the crowd that proclaimed, “Hosanna” cry out, “Crucify Him!”
• He will be beaten.
• He will be forced to carry a cross.
• He will be forced to wear a crown of thorns.
• He will be bloodied and mocked.
• He will have nails driven through His ankles and wrists.
• He will hang and see His mother weeping.
• He will see soldiers gamble for His clothing.
• He will feel abandoned by His Father in heaven.
• He will feel the wrath of God descend upon Him as payment for the world’s sin.
• He will have a spear pierce His side.
• He will die.
This is what Jesus will receive. This is what Jesus will experience. This is what Jesus will get for being in a relationship with humankind. This is what God will receive from you and me. What benefit does Jesus get from being in a relationship with us? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He gets nothing from us, but He gave everything for us.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world may be saved through Him.
You see, Jesus loved you deeply from the heart. Jesus loved me deeply from the heart. Jesus loved the world deeply from the heart–when we gave Him nothing in return. He died for you when He received nothing from you. He died for me when He received nothing from me. When you contemplate this, you see just what kind of wondrous love Jesus has for us! It truly is wondrous. It truly is amazing.
And when you begin to understand this kind of love; when it begins to capture your heart; when you know that Jesus died for you when you didn’t deserve it, you begin to experience deep transformation. Your heart begins to change. You begin to look at others and think, “Jesus died for them. Jesus loves them, just like He loves me. Maybe I cannot love perfectly; deeply from the heart. Maybe I can’t enter into a relationship without receiving some sort of benefit. Maybe I can’t give completely and sacrificially with no thought of return, but I will give it my best shot. I will give it my best shot because Jesus gave me His. Jesus gave me everything. Jesus gave me Himself, and now I will strive to love another deeply from the heart.”
And here’s the marvelous thing. Imagine a community of people who understand what Jesus did for them. Imagine a community of people who understand that Jesus poured Himself out for them. Imagine they now pour themselves out into each other, but they never feel empty. They never feel taken advantage of. They never feel worn out or tired or upset that no one cares what they do? Why? Because, of a couple of things. First, they realize they have an unending source of love and fulfillment. They realize God, Jesus is still pouring Himself out for them. They do not worry about being taken advantage of because they continue to be in a relationship that sustains them. That’s the first point. The second point, I’d like to put it in these terms to illustrate: I as a pastor, empty myself into you, and you as a congregation empty yourself into me. We freely give to one another without thought of receiving anything, but we do so because we love one another deeply from the heart. And this doesn’t just happen between pastor and congregation: it happens between each of you as you walk with each other. We unceasingly fill one another with love and compassion. Can you imagine a community filled with such love? Can you imagine a community filled with such joy? Can you imagine a community so transformed because of what Jesus accomplished on our behalf? I can. And it’s beautiful. “Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.”–because Jesus loved you deeply from His. Amen.
You might wonder why I say that–especially those of you who are in a relationship with a significant other who you love and cherish; especially those of you who are parents who dote on your children and would die for them. Aren’t these relationships from the heart? In one sense, yes, but let’s delve a little bit deeper into what I think it means to love another person deeply from the heart.
Just what does it mean to love another person deeply from the heart? I think this: entering into a relationship with another person even if you know you will get nothing out of it. Think about that for just a moment. Loving another person deeply from the heart means that you knowingly love another person and support another person and care for the well being of another person without getting anything in return. I want you to think about that for just a second here, and I want you to think about the relationships you have in your life. I want you to think about the people you love. I want you to think about the friendships you have. I want you to think about the people you hang around, and I want you to be honest–blatantly honest with yourself. Do you receive something from these relationships?
I think, if you are brutally honest with yourself, you would answer yes. You would affirm that in every relationship you are a part of, you benefit in some fashion from that relationship. You get something out of that relationship. Theoretically, you receive love and affection from your spouse or significant other. You receive joy from watching your children grow and develop. You receive companionship, laughter, and a sense of camaraderie from your friendships. If you are in a business relationship, you receive money for your time or for your goods. If you are helping another person out, you receive joy and satisfaction that you helped someone in need. In just about every single relationship we have, we receive some sort of benefit. And here is the question: if you received absolutely no benefit what-so-ever from a relationship, would you still stay in it?
• If you received no love and affection from your significant other, would you stay with him or her?
• If you received no satisfaction from raising your children, would you continue to provide for them when they yelled and screamed at you?
• If your business partner paid you nothing for your time and efforts, would you stay at that job?
• If you paid for a product and the company refused to send what you paid for to you, would you order from them again?
• If you did not feel a sense of satisfaction from helping others in need, would you continue to do it?
• If your friends continuously kept taking advantage of you and your good nature, would you continue to hang around them?
Most of us, I think, would not continue in such relationships. Most of us would, at some point, realize that our love, our energy, our time, and our money is being thrown down a vacuum which literally sucks the life out of us. We would wake up to this realization and say to ourselves, “I don’t get anything out of this relationship. I am tired and worn out from giving and giving and giving and getting nothing in return. I am out of here!”
And yet, if we were truly loving others deeply from the heart, we would not exit such relationships. We would not walk away from those who take advantage of us. We would not turn away from abuse or neglect. We would stay even at great risk to ourselves. It’s terribly hard to really and truly love another deeply from the heart. In a very real way, we simply are not built to have this kind of love.
But there is One who indeed had this kind of love. There was One who implemented it at great cost to Himself. Today is Palm Sunday, and we are reminded of Jesus who came riding into Jerusalem triumphantly on the back of a donkey. The imagery is priceless as it hearkens back to the Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah would enter into Jerusalem riding upon a donkey. Those who were spreading their garments and laying palm branches knew this. They understood the imagery. They understood the prophesy. They were terribly excited given the burden of taxation and rule they had experienced under the Greeks and then the Romans. They knew of Jesus’ acts of power and might. They knew He claimed power and authority from God. It was only a matter of time before He would call down God’s mighty hand to deliver them from oppression. They would soon be free! It is no wonder they shouted “Hosanna!”
But I want to shift the perspective a little bit. I want to shift the perspective to Jesus’ perspective. The people believed they would benefit from Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem, but I want to ask you this morning: what benefit would Jesus receive from His arrival into Jerusalem? What benefit would Jesus receive from engaging the crowds? What benefit was Jesus going to get from this whole ordeal? Think about this very, very hard. So often, when it comes to Christianity and the faith you and I espouse, we think about ourselves. We think about what God has done. We think about the resurrection. We think about it from our perspective and the benefits we receive. But now, at this moment, think about what benefits Jesus was going to get. Think about what benefits Jesus stood to receive by riding into Jerusalem into the heart of His enemies strength and power. Can you think of
any benefits to Jesus? Can you think of anything good that He is about to get?
You see, here’s what Jesus is about to receive:
• He will be betrayed by one of His closest followers.
• He will be deserted by all of His followers.
• His closest friend will deny he knew Jesus three times.
• He will be arrested.
• He will be tried in a kangaroo court.
• He will hear the crowd that proclaimed, “Hosanna” cry out, “Crucify Him!”
• He will be beaten.
• He will be forced to carry a cross.
• He will be forced to wear a crown of thorns.
• He will be bloodied and mocked.
• He will have nails driven through His ankles and wrists.
• He will hang and see His mother weeping.
• He will see soldiers gamble for His clothing.
• He will feel abandoned by His Father in heaven.
• He will feel the wrath of God descend upon Him as payment for the world’s sin.
• He will have a spear pierce His side.
• He will die.
This is what Jesus will receive. This is what Jesus will experience. This is what Jesus will get for being in a relationship with humankind. This is what God will receive from you and me. What benefit does Jesus get from being in a relationship with us? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He gets nothing from us, but He gave everything for us.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world may be saved through Him.
You see, Jesus loved you deeply from the heart. Jesus loved me deeply from the heart. Jesus loved the world deeply from the heart–when we gave Him nothing in return. He died for you when He received nothing from you. He died for me when He received nothing from me. When you contemplate this, you see just what kind of wondrous love Jesus has for us! It truly is wondrous. It truly is amazing.
And when you begin to understand this kind of love; when it begins to capture your heart; when you know that Jesus died for you when you didn’t deserve it, you begin to experience deep transformation. Your heart begins to change. You begin to look at others and think, “Jesus died for them. Jesus loves them, just like He loves me. Maybe I cannot love perfectly; deeply from the heart. Maybe I can’t enter into a relationship without receiving some sort of benefit. Maybe I can’t give completely and sacrificially with no thought of return, but I will give it my best shot. I will give it my best shot because Jesus gave me His. Jesus gave me everything. Jesus gave me Himself, and now I will strive to love another deeply from the heart.”
And here’s the marvelous thing. Imagine a community of people who understand what Jesus did for them. Imagine a community of people who understand that Jesus poured Himself out for them. Imagine they now pour themselves out into each other, but they never feel empty. They never feel taken advantage of. They never feel worn out or tired or upset that no one cares what they do? Why? Because, of a couple of things. First, they realize they have an unending source of love and fulfillment. They realize God, Jesus is still pouring Himself out for them. They do not worry about being taken advantage of because they continue to be in a relationship that sustains them. That’s the first point. The second point, I’d like to put it in these terms to illustrate: I as a pastor, empty myself into you, and you as a congregation empty yourself into me. We freely give to one another without thought of receiving anything, but we do so because we love one another deeply from the heart. And this doesn’t just happen between pastor and congregation: it happens between each of you as you walk with each other. We unceasingly fill one another with love and compassion. Can you imagine a community filled with such love? Can you imagine a community filled with such joy? Can you imagine a community so transformed because of what Jesus accomplished on our behalf? I can. And it’s beautiful. “Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.”–because Jesus loved you deeply from His. Amen.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Saying Goodby to an Old Friend
When I attended my last Bowen Family System's class, I had one of those moments of clarity--one of those moments which made me see the transformation which had occurred in my own life since getting a better understanding of the Gospel.
As I sat in class, I heard again the words I have heard so often over the last 14 years, "Self-differentiation; knowledge of self; changing one's position in one's family of origin; changing one's position in a particular system; working on one's self to the point of not reacting to another's position; being able to state one's own position without trying to convince another of one's "rightness."
I started dabbling in Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST) while on internship. I read the book Generation to Generation by Rabbi Ed Friedman. I was hooked. BFST seemed to offer a different way of looking at things--a way separate from the left/right; Democrat/Republican; liberal/conservative way of thinking. It seemed to offer a path of transformation and leadership based, not on making people do something or convincing them right from wrong, but on the presence of a leader and being clearly defined in what one believes.
But there were several things which began rubbing me the wrong way over the years. There was a subtle but important thread which stated a leader concentrating on self-definition didn't worry about talking about what was right and what was wrong. Those things were evidence of someone who was not well differentiated. And I asked myself, "So we cannot call murder wrong?" BFST focused on what in a particular system led to murder and not the act of murder itself. While I do appreciate the powers at work that influence people, I simply cannot stop. I have to point out the wrongness of murder.
There was also a recent discovery as I read Luc Ferry's A Brief History of Thought. When I read Ferry's following words, I realized that BFST was really nothing new under the sun:
(Kindle locations 322 and 367)
There is more that could be quoted, but one of the tenets of BFST is to look at nature; how nature operates at the systemic, cellular, and other biological levels and apply it to human relationships. BFST is essentially Stoic thought revisited!!!
Ah, but then there is the clincher, BFST's incessant call for self-definition; self-transformation; self-management. It believes human beings have the power to transform themselves by their own actions and thought processes. It teaches a person to put his or her trust in his or her own abilities--own ability to be non-anxious; own ability to be differentiated; own ability to stay connected; own ability to manage anxiety; own ability to retain clarity; etc. It's all about how a person handles and transforms his or her self.
This is in direct conflict with the nature of the Gospel!
Transformation does not occur in one's life because of one's own actions. If we could transform ourselves and could do a good job of it, self-help sections in bookstores wouldn't be so huge!
As Christians, we believe transformation comes from without. We believe and articulate that transformation comes from Jesus--from His actions as He lived the life we are called to live and died the death we deserved. This good news cuts into our hearts as we come to understand it and it grasps us. It alone challenges us and comforts us. It alone gives us the ability and strength to change.
Case in point. Yesterday, there was some discussion regarding the shrinking mainline church in relation to pastors and how pastors are paid. The suggestion was made that clergy might ought to think about finding employment outside their congregations so that "they are not trapped by those who pay their paychecks." "It would make things cleaner," was another argument.
I responded, "I disagree. I think, if we are indeed talking about emotional processes, money is just an symptom of a deeper problem. It wouldn't make things cleaner at all. It just depends upon where you put your trust. Do you put your trust in Jesus or do you put your trust in yourself and in your congregation?"
The Gospel brings us to the place where we put our trust in Jesus. We are able then to say what needs to be said. Might we get toasted by our congregations? Sure. Especially if we come across as self-centered and arrogant. However, the Gospel doesn't allow you to do that either. It humbles you, and so when you point out sin--that which is right and which is wrong--you are doing so as a sinner yourself; you are doing so who is under the same condemnation as those who are being called out. And so, you don't arrogantly go around telling people what to do, you humbly point out what God has done through Jesus and how we can be different by putting our trust in Him.
It all comes back to Jesus. At least for the Christian, it all comes back to Jesus and what He has done for us on the cross and in the resurrection. Change comes through this good news. Transformation comes through this good news. It comes from no other place.
And so, I say good by to an old friend at the end of this year's class period.
There are those who have remarked, "Rabbi Jesus saved my soul, but Rabbi Friedman saved my ass." Sorry, what Jesus did accomplishes both, we have just failed to see how.
As I sat in class, I heard again the words I have heard so often over the last 14 years, "Self-differentiation; knowledge of self; changing one's position in one's family of origin; changing one's position in a particular system; working on one's self to the point of not reacting to another's position; being able to state one's own position without trying to convince another of one's "rightness."
I started dabbling in Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST) while on internship. I read the book Generation to Generation by Rabbi Ed Friedman. I was hooked. BFST seemed to offer a different way of looking at things--a way separate from the left/right; Democrat/Republican; liberal/conservative way of thinking. It seemed to offer a path of transformation and leadership based, not on making people do something or convincing them right from wrong, but on the presence of a leader and being clearly defined in what one believes.
But there were several things which began rubbing me the wrong way over the years. There was a subtle but important thread which stated a leader concentrating on self-definition didn't worry about talking about what was right and what was wrong. Those things were evidence of someone who was not well differentiated. And I asked myself, "So we cannot call murder wrong?" BFST focused on what in a particular system led to murder and not the act of murder itself. While I do appreciate the powers at work that influence people, I simply cannot stop. I have to point out the wrongness of murder.
There was also a recent discovery as I read Luc Ferry's A Brief History of Thought. When I read Ferry's following words, I realized that BFST was really nothing new under the sun:
For the Stoics, the structure of the world--the cosmic order--is not merely magnificent, it is also comparable to a living being. The material world, the entire universe, fundamentally resembles a giant animal, of which each element--each organ--is conceived and adapted to the harmonious functioning of the whole. Each part, each member of this immense body, is perfectly in place and functions impeccably (although disasters do occur, they do not last for long and order is soon restored) in the most literal sense: without fault, and in harmony with the other parts...
For if nature as a whole is harmonious, then it can serve as a model for human conduct, and the order of things must be just and good...
(Kindle locations 322 and 367)
There is more that could be quoted, but one of the tenets of BFST is to look at nature; how nature operates at the systemic, cellular, and other biological levels and apply it to human relationships. BFST is essentially Stoic thought revisited!!!
Ah, but then there is the clincher, BFST's incessant call for self-definition; self-transformation; self-management. It believes human beings have the power to transform themselves by their own actions and thought processes. It teaches a person to put his or her trust in his or her own abilities--own ability to be non-anxious; own ability to be differentiated; own ability to stay connected; own ability to manage anxiety; own ability to retain clarity; etc. It's all about how a person handles and transforms his or her self.
This is in direct conflict with the nature of the Gospel!
Transformation does not occur in one's life because of one's own actions. If we could transform ourselves and could do a good job of it, self-help sections in bookstores wouldn't be so huge!
As Christians, we believe transformation comes from without. We believe and articulate that transformation comes from Jesus--from His actions as He lived the life we are called to live and died the death we deserved. This good news cuts into our hearts as we come to understand it and it grasps us. It alone challenges us and comforts us. It alone gives us the ability and strength to change.
Case in point. Yesterday, there was some discussion regarding the shrinking mainline church in relation to pastors and how pastors are paid. The suggestion was made that clergy might ought to think about finding employment outside their congregations so that "they are not trapped by those who pay their paychecks." "It would make things cleaner," was another argument.
I responded, "I disagree. I think, if we are indeed talking about emotional processes, money is just an symptom of a deeper problem. It wouldn't make things cleaner at all. It just depends upon where you put your trust. Do you put your trust in Jesus or do you put your trust in yourself and in your congregation?"
The Gospel brings us to the place where we put our trust in Jesus. We are able then to say what needs to be said. Might we get toasted by our congregations? Sure. Especially if we come across as self-centered and arrogant. However, the Gospel doesn't allow you to do that either. It humbles you, and so when you point out sin--that which is right and which is wrong--you are doing so as a sinner yourself; you are doing so who is under the same condemnation as those who are being called out. And so, you don't arrogantly go around telling people what to do, you humbly point out what God has done through Jesus and how we can be different by putting our trust in Him.
It all comes back to Jesus. At least for the Christian, it all comes back to Jesus and what He has done for us on the cross and in the resurrection. Change comes through this good news. Transformation comes through this good news. It comes from no other place.
And so, I say good by to an old friend at the end of this year's class period.
There are those who have remarked, "Rabbi Jesus saved my soul, but Rabbi Friedman saved my ass." Sorry, what Jesus did accomplishes both, we have just failed to see how.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Why Worship...In (a) Church...That You Disagree With
Because of a lack of time--and the lengthiness of the post, I did not come full circle as I wrote about worship. Today, I'd like to finish the thoughts on worship and come back to the extended quote by Timothy Keller:
If we worship to come in contact with Jesus--to hear about what He has done and how we are saved purely and solely by His action...
And if it is at worship where we attempt to shut out all the other false gods of the world and concentrate on Jesus...
And if in the midst of doing so, Jesus begins tuning our hearts toward Him...
...then we should feel quite a bit of discomfort.
And I know we do not like feeling uncomfortable. Take another quick look at the reasons I wrote for folks skipping worship on a given Sunday (or for an extended period of time):
Me. Myself. And I.
It's understandable, really. We live in a consumer oriented culture. We live by the mantra, "Have it your way." (Even though I detest Burger King.) If we find a restaurant does not tickle our taste buds, we find another. If a repair shop does not satisfy us with the job of repair, we find another. If we do not like the prices at one store, we find another. Hey, I'm just as guilty as the next guy when it comes to this. I needed a part for my SUV, and after consulting with a few shops, I gleefully ordered it online and saved $30!!! Saving money made me happy and much more comfortable.
And we really, really like our comfort zones.
In quantum mechanics, there is a rule which governs atomic particles: those particles like to remain at the lowest possible energy state. It takes extra energy to get them "excited" and changing or maintaining a particular position. If everything is same ol', same ol', they simply will not change or move to another level.
The more I have studied humankind, I believe we too are influenced in the same manner. We are all to happy to remain right where we are. We are all to happy to stay entrenched in our thought processes, beliefs, and actions. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing in all circumstances. For instance, you would be hard pressed to get me to change my belief that Jesus is the Son of God, second person of the Trinity, and resurrected Savior. But am I so comfortable in that belief that I do not ask myself why I believe it to be true? Am I so comfortable in that belief that it makes little difference in what I do and how I do it? What challenges that belief and makes me think through why I believe what I believe and do what I do?
If I go to a church where I never end up asking myself those kinds of questions, I have a Stepford Church. I have a church/congregation that simply affirms me and makes me feel good about myself. I have a church that never challenges my ideas or makes me do the messy work involved in a REAL relationship.
And face it, real relationships are messy at times. We disagree with others. We misunderstand others. We are forced to examine our own contributions to the problems in relationships. We have to invest time and energy and money into real relationships. We argue. We fight. Sometimes we don't talk to one another for a while. But within those real relationships, we also find love, compassion, caring, and intimacy at a level far beyond most of the superficiality we experience each and every day.
You will find neither challenge nor true intimacy without engaging an "other" who is different from you and does not see everything just like you.
A few have asked me why I remain in a denomination that I tend to disagree with on many levels theological and philosophical. Why stay in a denomination that I feel has gone astray doctrinally?
Unless said denomination has people within it who challenge it (and vice versa) it will never grow, and neither will I. Unless said denomination has people of differing theologies, it simply has Stepford Members, and if I find a denomination that fits all my beliefs, then I have a Stepford Denomination. There is no growth, and there is no intimacy.
Whether it is a Stepford God, Stepford Denomination, Stepford Congregation, or Stepford Member, none of these are real relationships. Relationships should make us uncomfortable as we engage the "other." It's how we grow.
And if you are not engaging the Holy Other--Jesus the Christ, on an extremely regular basis, you are not growing; your heart is not being changed; you are maintaining your comfortable place at the lowest energy state.
Perhaps you are happy with such a thing. Perhaps you believe you have no need to change or become a better person than you are. Then church and worship definitely isn't for you. Church is for people who know they fall short. Church is for those who know they miss the mark. Church is for those who know there is more to life than what they currently experience. Church is for those who know they have plenty of room to grow. Church is for those who want transformation of themselves, their relationships, and the world.
And that transformation comes from Jesus who changes hearts at worship.
If you don't trust the Bible enough to let it challenge and correct your thinking, how could you ever have a personal relationship with God? In any truly personal relationship, the other person has to be able to contradict you. For example, if a wife is not allowed to contradict her husband, they won't have an intimate relationship. Remember the (two!) movies The Stepford Wives? The husbands of Stepford, Connecticut, decide to have their wives turned into robots who never cross the wills of their husbands. A Stepford wife was wonderfully compliant and beautiful, but no one would describe such a marriage as intimate or personal.
Now, what happens if you eliminate anything from the Bible that offends your sensibility and crosses your will? If you pick and choose what you want to believe and reject the rest, how will you ever have a God who can contradict you? You won't! You'll have a Stepford God! A God, essentially, of your own making, and not a God with whom you can have a relationship and genuine interaction. Only if your God can say things that outrage you and make you struggle (as in a real friendship or marriage!) will you know that you have gotten a hold of a real God and not a figment of your imagination. (Kindle Location 1901-1907)
If we worship to come in contact with Jesus--to hear about what He has done and how we are saved purely and solely by His action...
And if it is at worship where we attempt to shut out all the other false gods of the world and concentrate on Jesus...
And if in the midst of doing so, Jesus begins tuning our hearts toward Him...
...then we should feel quite a bit of discomfort.
And I know we do not like feeling uncomfortable. Take another quick look at the reasons I wrote for folks skipping worship on a given Sunday (or for an extended period of time):
- I am spiritual, but not religious.
- I can worship God anywhere. I do not need to be in church to do so.
- I do not find anything compelling when I attend worship.
- This person hurt me, and I do not want to run into them at worship.
- I do not like the decision the church made, and I will not worship.
- I do not like the way the pastor preaches.
- I do not like the music.
- I want more organ music.
- I want more contemporary music.
- I like being anonymous when I go to church and do not like small crowds.
- I like being welcomed and part of an intimate group and do not like large worship services.
Me. Myself. And I.
It's understandable, really. We live in a consumer oriented culture. We live by the mantra, "Have it your way." (Even though I detest Burger King.) If we find a restaurant does not tickle our taste buds, we find another. If a repair shop does not satisfy us with the job of repair, we find another. If we do not like the prices at one store, we find another. Hey, I'm just as guilty as the next guy when it comes to this. I needed a part for my SUV, and after consulting with a few shops, I gleefully ordered it online and saved $30!!! Saving money made me happy and much more comfortable.
And we really, really like our comfort zones.
In quantum mechanics, there is a rule which governs atomic particles: those particles like to remain at the lowest possible energy state. It takes extra energy to get them "excited" and changing or maintaining a particular position. If everything is same ol', same ol', they simply will not change or move to another level.
The more I have studied humankind, I believe we too are influenced in the same manner. We are all to happy to remain right where we are. We are all to happy to stay entrenched in our thought processes, beliefs, and actions. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing in all circumstances. For instance, you would be hard pressed to get me to change my belief that Jesus is the Son of God, second person of the Trinity, and resurrected Savior. But am I so comfortable in that belief that I do not ask myself why I believe it to be true? Am I so comfortable in that belief that it makes little difference in what I do and how I do it? What challenges that belief and makes me think through why I believe what I believe and do what I do?
If I go to a church where I never end up asking myself those kinds of questions, I have a Stepford Church. I have a church/congregation that simply affirms me and makes me feel good about myself. I have a church that never challenges my ideas or makes me do the messy work involved in a REAL relationship.
And face it, real relationships are messy at times. We disagree with others. We misunderstand others. We are forced to examine our own contributions to the problems in relationships. We have to invest time and energy and money into real relationships. We argue. We fight. Sometimes we don't talk to one another for a while. But within those real relationships, we also find love, compassion, caring, and intimacy at a level far beyond most of the superficiality we experience each and every day.
You will find neither challenge nor true intimacy without engaging an "other" who is different from you and does not see everything just like you.
A few have asked me why I remain in a denomination that I tend to disagree with on many levels theological and philosophical. Why stay in a denomination that I feel has gone astray doctrinally?
Unless said denomination has people within it who challenge it (and vice versa) it will never grow, and neither will I. Unless said denomination has people of differing theologies, it simply has Stepford Members, and if I find a denomination that fits all my beliefs, then I have a Stepford Denomination. There is no growth, and there is no intimacy.
Whether it is a Stepford God, Stepford Denomination, Stepford Congregation, or Stepford Member, none of these are real relationships. Relationships should make us uncomfortable as we engage the "other." It's how we grow.
And if you are not engaging the Holy Other--Jesus the Christ, on an extremely regular basis, you are not growing; your heart is not being changed; you are maintaining your comfortable place at the lowest energy state.
Perhaps you are happy with such a thing. Perhaps you believe you have no need to change or become a better person than you are. Then church and worship definitely isn't for you. Church is for people who know they fall short. Church is for those who know they miss the mark. Church is for those who know there is more to life than what they currently experience. Church is for those who know they have plenty of room to grow. Church is for those who want transformation of themselves, their relationships, and the world.
And that transformation comes from Jesus who changes hearts at worship.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
10 Things Pastors Hate to Admit Publically
I was exposed to this article by the ELCA Facebook page.
And I won't disagree with Pastor Matt at all. Not in the least. In fact, I would add my voice to his comments and say, "Right on, brother! Preach it!"
It's true--at least for me.
Did I/Do I take it personally when people leave for another congregation? Yes.
Did I/Do I feel pressure from week to week? Yes.
Did I/Do I struggle with getting my worth from ministry? Yes.
Did I/Do I regularly think about quitting? Yes, with qualification. I don't think about quitting the ordained ministry. I am almost as certain as I can be about what God has chosen me to do.
Am I completely transparent? No.
Did I/Do I measure myself by the numbers? Yep.
Did I/Do I spend more time discouraged than encouraged? This is a hard one, but leaning toward yep.
Did I/Do I worry about what you think? More than I would like to admit, especially when you are paying my salary.
Did I/Do I struggle with competition and jealousy? Yes. This one was a killer for me not too long ago.
Did I/Do I feel like I've failed you more than helped you? Sometimes. This was actually something I was trained heavily in while in seminary--I know I can't help everyone, but I sure would like to.
I understand these things very, very well. Much of my sense of worth had been based upon just these things. And in previous years, I would have done one of two things:
1. Continue to suffer in silence.
2. Blame my congregation for these things and insist they need to change so that I no longer felt these things.
That would have been my tact.
But things have changed in my life. Because I have been converted to the Gospel. Take a listen to this video beginning at the 30 minute mark. This is Timothy Keller talking at a conference on Evangelism and ramming the concept of grace home. Listen through until the 36 minute mark. Please give it a listen:
When Keller hit me between the eyes regarding where I was getting my self-worth, I knew I stood condemned. I knew I stood in the wrong place. I was getting my justification from the wrong place.
And I knew bearing it in silence wasn't an option.
I knew I couldn't beg my congregation to change.
It wasn't their problem.
It was mine.
I had and still have to an extent a heart condition.
But, things have changed.
Things are different.
Down deep, there is something within my soul which has been transformed, and I can only describe it as grace. God's worked down deep to lessen the way I feel about those top 10 things. Do I still have moments? Yep. You bet I do. But they are fewer and far between.
Grace means your self worth comes, not from all the stuff you do; not from your job; not from your accomplishments; not from your bank account; not from your family; not from how your children are doing; but from the Lord.
I don't know if Pastor Matt is going to follow up on his post. I hope he does, but I want to state the following: I do not believe pastors need to suffer in silence; I do not believe they have to change their congregation; I do not believe they have to work hard to change their stance (believe me, I think that if you try to change your perception of these things, you will fail and become even more depressed); instead, I do believe pastors need to realize the nature of grace.
"I may not have accomplished much in the eyes of the world, but the Lord and I are on very good terms."
My grandfather's statement awakened within me the reality of grace for he highlighted the most important thing in the world--the Lord and I are on good terms. And that didn't come from me. It came from Him. As does my salvation; as does my self-worth; as does my sense of whether or not I am accomplishing anything at all. It's grace. Pure, unadulterated grace, and it changes you.
And I won't disagree with Pastor Matt at all. Not in the least. In fact, I would add my voice to his comments and say, "Right on, brother! Preach it!"
It's true--at least for me.
Did I/Do I take it personally when people leave for another congregation? Yes.
Did I/Do I feel pressure from week to week? Yes.
Did I/Do I struggle with getting my worth from ministry? Yes.
Did I/Do I regularly think about quitting? Yes, with qualification. I don't think about quitting the ordained ministry. I am almost as certain as I can be about what God has chosen me to do.
Am I completely transparent? No.
Did I/Do I measure myself by the numbers? Yep.
Did I/Do I spend more time discouraged than encouraged? This is a hard one, but leaning toward yep.
Did I/Do I worry about what you think? More than I would like to admit, especially when you are paying my salary.
Did I/Do I struggle with competition and jealousy? Yes. This one was a killer for me not too long ago.
Did I/Do I feel like I've failed you more than helped you? Sometimes. This was actually something I was trained heavily in while in seminary--I know I can't help everyone, but I sure would like to.
I understand these things very, very well. Much of my sense of worth had been based upon just these things. And in previous years, I would have done one of two things:
1. Continue to suffer in silence.
2. Blame my congregation for these things and insist they need to change so that I no longer felt these things.
That would have been my tact.
But things have changed in my life. Because I have been converted to the Gospel. Take a listen to this video beginning at the 30 minute mark. This is Timothy Keller talking at a conference on Evangelism and ramming the concept of grace home. Listen through until the 36 minute mark. Please give it a listen:
When Keller hit me between the eyes regarding where I was getting my self-worth, I knew I stood condemned. I knew I stood in the wrong place. I was getting my justification from the wrong place.
And I knew bearing it in silence wasn't an option.
I knew I couldn't beg my congregation to change.
It wasn't their problem.
It was mine.
I had and still have to an extent a heart condition.
But, things have changed.
Things are different.
Down deep, there is something within my soul which has been transformed, and I can only describe it as grace. God's worked down deep to lessen the way I feel about those top 10 things. Do I still have moments? Yep. You bet I do. But they are fewer and far between.
Grace means your self worth comes, not from all the stuff you do; not from your job; not from your accomplishments; not from your bank account; not from your family; not from how your children are doing; but from the Lord.
I don't know if Pastor Matt is going to follow up on his post. I hope he does, but I want to state the following: I do not believe pastors need to suffer in silence; I do not believe they have to change their congregation; I do not believe they have to work hard to change their stance (believe me, I think that if you try to change your perception of these things, you will fail and become even more depressed); instead, I do believe pastors need to realize the nature of grace.
"I may not have accomplished much in the eyes of the world, but the Lord and I are on very good terms."
My grandfather's statement awakened within me the reality of grace for he highlighted the most important thing in the world--the Lord and I are on good terms. And that didn't come from me. It came from Him. As does my salvation; as does my self-worth; as does my sense of whether or not I am accomplishing anything at all. It's grace. Pure, unadulterated grace, and it changes you.
Monday, May 12, 2014
If Only We Could be Like That...: Sermon on Acts 2:42-47
I’ve used the following story as an illustration before, and it still hits home with me. It’s a story that a respected Christian author and speaker, Tony Campolo tells about a man named Joe.
Joe was a drunk who was miraculously converted at a Bowery mission. Prior to his conversion, he had gained the reputation of being a dirty wino for whom there was no hope, only a miserable existence in the ghetto. But following his conversion to a new life with God, everything changed. Joe became the most caring person that anyone associated with the mission had ever known. Joe spent his days and nights hanging out at the mission, doing whatever needed to be done. There was never anything that he was asked to do that he considered beneath him. Whether it was cleaning up the vomit left by some violently sick alcoholic or scrubbing toilets after careless men had left the men’s room filthy, Joe did what was asked with a smile on his face and a seeming gratitude for the chance to help. He could be counted on to feed feeble men who wandered off the street and into the mission, and to undress and tuck into bed men who were too out of it to take care of themselves.
One evening, when the director of the mission was delivering his evening evangelistic message to the usual crowd of still and sullen men with drooped heads, there was one man who looked up, came down the aisle to the altar, and knelt to pray, crying out for God to help him change. The repentant drunk kept shouting, “Make me like Joe! Make me like Joe! Make me like Joe!”
The director of the mission leaned over and said to the man, “Son, I think it would be better if you prayed, ‘Make me like Jesus.’”
The man looked up at the director with a quizzical expression on his face and asked, “Is he like Joe?”
I believe every time I’ve told this story, I’ve held up Joe as an example of what it means to live the Christian life. I believe I have encouraged each and every one of us to “be like Joe.” I believe I have focused all my efforts in telling you how you should live your life–because if you live your life like this, then others will notice how you live and become a Christian and become a part of our church. We will grow and become important, and we will shine like a beacon of light in a dark world.
This sounds great on the surface. It really does. I mean, for fourteen years, I’ve preached it. It’s difficult to admit that I was a bit wrongheaded in how I approached such matters.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I believe there is a standard of Christian living into which we are called to live. I believe that doing good things and living a life of service is a worthy task, but sometimes, our motivations get all out of whack. What do I mean by that?
Think about this question for just a moment: why do you do many of the things that you do? What drives you to act in a particular fashion? Work at a particular job? Buy a particular item? Travel to a particular destination? Why do we do the things that we do?
Usually, and I am painting with a large brush stroke, we do the things we do because of what we get in return. I volunteer at a local charity because it makes me feel good to help other people. I buy a particular car because I enjoy driving it. I work at a particular job either because I love doing it or because I get paid a lot of money and feel happy chasing down a particular social status in living. I travel to a particular destination because I feel relaxed and happy when I am there. I hang out with a group of people because I like those people, how they make me feel about myself. These are usually our motivations. Of course, that does change from time to time. I mean, there are times when we engage in activities that we don’t really like to do. There are times when we go to various functions, not because we want to be there, but because we feel a sense of obligation in being there. I may not want to make an appearance at the local fundraiser, but I know there will be a lot of important people there, and if I am not there, then I risk being seen as uncaring; unappreciative; or anti-social. That’s just one example, but there are others that could be listed which are similar. So, let’s look at this again, we do the things we do because we either get something out of it–some sort of satisfaction, or we feel obligated to do them because of some sort of external pressure. We either feel good about it or get some sort of recognition by those outside of ourselves.
You might ask, “Well, what’s the problem with such matters? Why is this such a big deal. I’m finding things that make me happy. I’m working to influence others. Is this such a bad thing?”
Well, maybe not at first. I mean, there are times when we feel greatly satisfied by such things. There are times when we are truly happy and excited. There are times when we feel appreciated and recognized. But the real question is: what happens when that happiness fades? What happens when that recognition fades or begins to be put on something or someone else? What do you do then?
You see, when we try to find satisfaction in the things that make us feel good or in how others see us, we are bound to eventually become unsatisfied. We will eventually become jealous. We will become hungrier and hungrier for more good things and more recognition. Sooner or later, we will begin saying things like, “If I only had a better paying job. If only I could be as popular as that guy. If only I were as good looking as that woman. If only I could travel more. If only I could find more time to get away. If only I could find a moment of peace and rest. If only I could be like Joe. If only...If only...If only...”
Let’s break from this train of thought just a moment so that I can show you how oftentimes even in the church, we get caught up in this kind of idea. In our first lesson from the book of Acts, the writer, Luke, shows us some of what the earliest disciples did. He shows us how they gathered together to study, listen to the apostles’ teaching, to hang out and talk about life, to break bread–eat together, worship together, and pray. The new life they had in Christ also manifested itself in how they treated possessions. They sold everything they had and distributed the proceeds to anyone who had need. Their lives revolved around God, and they had generous hearts, generous lives, and they helped out anyone who had a need. We are told that people were in awe of this.
Folks in the church today look at this passage and have a tendency to say, “If only we were like that. If only we were like that early church which gave away everything, took care of those in need, worshiped, prayed, ate together, engaged in fellowship; and devoted ourselves to Bible study, then our church buildings would be full. We would truly make an impact in society. We would see tons of visitors, and they would be impressed with what we were doing. They would be in awe, and they would join us. They would see our works and want to be like us. If only...If only...If only...If only I could be like Joe. If only we could all be like Joe.
That last sentence of our lesson this morning is rather intriguing, I think. Day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. Who was adding to their number? Who was bringing people to salvation? Was it because of the works of the disciples that people were being saved? Or was it the work of the Lord? Who brought people to faith: the disciples, or the Lord? Of course, it was the Lord. Folks might have been in awe of what the disciples were doing, but it was the Lord who brought about salvation. It was the Lord who added numbers to the growing church. And it is the Lord who brings such salvation to you and I as well. It wasn’t about the “if onlys.” It’s never about the “if onlys.”
Look, whenever we get caught up in those if onlys, we are simply trying to justify ourselves. We are trying to find our worth, our happiness, our satisfaction, our joy in the things that we do. And we can never do enough. We can never buy enough things to fully satisfy our desires. We can never make enough money to fully satisfy our desires. We can never travel enough or have a good enough job. We can never impress others enough because sooner or later someone else will show up who will gain their attention and draw them away from us. No matter how hard you work at it; no matter how much time, energy and effort you put toward it, you will never find yourself being fully satisfied by your efforts to justify your worth or your existence. It won’t happen. Some of you may know this already. Some of you may be sensing it deep down. Some of you know that no matter how hard you try, someone else always seems to be better than you; wealthier than you; prettier or more handsome than you; have a better house; a seeming perfect life; happier than you. And the more you compare yourself to them, the more miserable you become.
And the solution isn’t to try harder. That’s the one many of us fall into. I certainly did. Try harder. Try to be nicer. Try to be more enthusiastic in what you are doing. Surely I will make a difference. Surely others will notice! Surely I can be like Joe and others will want to be like me–they will notice me!
What if I told you you no longer had to worry about justifying yourself? What if I told you you no longer had to try to get your self-worth from anyone else? What if I told you you didn’t have to do anything to find satisfaction or happiness or joy? What if I told you that such things are beyond your reach, but instead have already been provided for you?
You might think I am nuts, but then again, after you work and work and work and find no peace, perhaps you might consider what I am about to say. You see, you can’t be like Joe and you can’t be like those early disciples through your own efforts. You can’t make anyone be like Joe or those early disciples through any sort of coercion or argumentation. You can’t change your ways and make yourself more peaceful and content. It’s too hard. It’s darn near impossible.
But there is one who can. There is one who can enter into the recesses of your very heart to give you a sense of well being and worth. There is one who can give you a sense of justification and joy–not because of what you have done but because of what He has done.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but so that the world may be saved through Him.
Christ died for you and loves you despite the fact that you are broken–that you can’t be perfect–that you can’t be like Joe–or those early disciples–or anyone else for that matter. Christ died for you and loves you so that you don’t have to worry about the if onlys. Christ died for you and loves you beyond compare. Hear that message and let it sink in. Really, let it sink in and contemplate it. It will change you. It might even make you like Joe. Amen.
Joe was a drunk who was miraculously converted at a Bowery mission. Prior to his conversion, he had gained the reputation of being a dirty wino for whom there was no hope, only a miserable existence in the ghetto. But following his conversion to a new life with God, everything changed. Joe became the most caring person that anyone associated with the mission had ever known. Joe spent his days and nights hanging out at the mission, doing whatever needed to be done. There was never anything that he was asked to do that he considered beneath him. Whether it was cleaning up the vomit left by some violently sick alcoholic or scrubbing toilets after careless men had left the men’s room filthy, Joe did what was asked with a smile on his face and a seeming gratitude for the chance to help. He could be counted on to feed feeble men who wandered off the street and into the mission, and to undress and tuck into bed men who were too out of it to take care of themselves.
One evening, when the director of the mission was delivering his evening evangelistic message to the usual crowd of still and sullen men with drooped heads, there was one man who looked up, came down the aisle to the altar, and knelt to pray, crying out for God to help him change. The repentant drunk kept shouting, “Make me like Joe! Make me like Joe! Make me like Joe!”
The director of the mission leaned over and said to the man, “Son, I think it would be better if you prayed, ‘Make me like Jesus.’”
The man looked up at the director with a quizzical expression on his face and asked, “Is he like Joe?”
I believe every time I’ve told this story, I’ve held up Joe as an example of what it means to live the Christian life. I believe I have encouraged each and every one of us to “be like Joe.” I believe I have focused all my efforts in telling you how you should live your life–because if you live your life like this, then others will notice how you live and become a Christian and become a part of our church. We will grow and become important, and we will shine like a beacon of light in a dark world.
This sounds great on the surface. It really does. I mean, for fourteen years, I’ve preached it. It’s difficult to admit that I was a bit wrongheaded in how I approached such matters.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I believe there is a standard of Christian living into which we are called to live. I believe that doing good things and living a life of service is a worthy task, but sometimes, our motivations get all out of whack. What do I mean by that?
Think about this question for just a moment: why do you do many of the things that you do? What drives you to act in a particular fashion? Work at a particular job? Buy a particular item? Travel to a particular destination? Why do we do the things that we do?
Usually, and I am painting with a large brush stroke, we do the things we do because of what we get in return. I volunteer at a local charity because it makes me feel good to help other people. I buy a particular car because I enjoy driving it. I work at a particular job either because I love doing it or because I get paid a lot of money and feel happy chasing down a particular social status in living. I travel to a particular destination because I feel relaxed and happy when I am there. I hang out with a group of people because I like those people, how they make me feel about myself. These are usually our motivations. Of course, that does change from time to time. I mean, there are times when we engage in activities that we don’t really like to do. There are times when we go to various functions, not because we want to be there, but because we feel a sense of obligation in being there. I may not want to make an appearance at the local fundraiser, but I know there will be a lot of important people there, and if I am not there, then I risk being seen as uncaring; unappreciative; or anti-social. That’s just one example, but there are others that could be listed which are similar. So, let’s look at this again, we do the things we do because we either get something out of it–some sort of satisfaction, or we feel obligated to do them because of some sort of external pressure. We either feel good about it or get some sort of recognition by those outside of ourselves.
You might ask, “Well, what’s the problem with such matters? Why is this such a big deal. I’m finding things that make me happy. I’m working to influence others. Is this such a bad thing?”
Well, maybe not at first. I mean, there are times when we feel greatly satisfied by such things. There are times when we are truly happy and excited. There are times when we feel appreciated and recognized. But the real question is: what happens when that happiness fades? What happens when that recognition fades or begins to be put on something or someone else? What do you do then?
You see, when we try to find satisfaction in the things that make us feel good or in how others see us, we are bound to eventually become unsatisfied. We will eventually become jealous. We will become hungrier and hungrier for more good things and more recognition. Sooner or later, we will begin saying things like, “If I only had a better paying job. If only I could be as popular as that guy. If only I were as good looking as that woman. If only I could travel more. If only I could find more time to get away. If only I could find a moment of peace and rest. If only I could be like Joe. If only...If only...If only...”
Let’s break from this train of thought just a moment so that I can show you how oftentimes even in the church, we get caught up in this kind of idea. In our first lesson from the book of Acts, the writer, Luke, shows us some of what the earliest disciples did. He shows us how they gathered together to study, listen to the apostles’ teaching, to hang out and talk about life, to break bread–eat together, worship together, and pray. The new life they had in Christ also manifested itself in how they treated possessions. They sold everything they had and distributed the proceeds to anyone who had need. Their lives revolved around God, and they had generous hearts, generous lives, and they helped out anyone who had a need. We are told that people were in awe of this.
Folks in the church today look at this passage and have a tendency to say, “If only we were like that. If only we were like that early church which gave away everything, took care of those in need, worshiped, prayed, ate together, engaged in fellowship; and devoted ourselves to Bible study, then our church buildings would be full. We would truly make an impact in society. We would see tons of visitors, and they would be impressed with what we were doing. They would be in awe, and they would join us. They would see our works and want to be like us. If only...If only...If only...If only I could be like Joe. If only we could all be like Joe.
That last sentence of our lesson this morning is rather intriguing, I think. Day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. Who was adding to their number? Who was bringing people to salvation? Was it because of the works of the disciples that people were being saved? Or was it the work of the Lord? Who brought people to faith: the disciples, or the Lord? Of course, it was the Lord. Folks might have been in awe of what the disciples were doing, but it was the Lord who brought about salvation. It was the Lord who added numbers to the growing church. And it is the Lord who brings such salvation to you and I as well. It wasn’t about the “if onlys.” It’s never about the “if onlys.”
Look, whenever we get caught up in those if onlys, we are simply trying to justify ourselves. We are trying to find our worth, our happiness, our satisfaction, our joy in the things that we do. And we can never do enough. We can never buy enough things to fully satisfy our desires. We can never make enough money to fully satisfy our desires. We can never travel enough or have a good enough job. We can never impress others enough because sooner or later someone else will show up who will gain their attention and draw them away from us. No matter how hard you work at it; no matter how much time, energy and effort you put toward it, you will never find yourself being fully satisfied by your efforts to justify your worth or your existence. It won’t happen. Some of you may know this already. Some of you may be sensing it deep down. Some of you know that no matter how hard you try, someone else always seems to be better than you; wealthier than you; prettier or more handsome than you; have a better house; a seeming perfect life; happier than you. And the more you compare yourself to them, the more miserable you become.
And the solution isn’t to try harder. That’s the one many of us fall into. I certainly did. Try harder. Try to be nicer. Try to be more enthusiastic in what you are doing. Surely I will make a difference. Surely others will notice! Surely I can be like Joe and others will want to be like me–they will notice me!
What if I told you you no longer had to worry about justifying yourself? What if I told you you no longer had to try to get your self-worth from anyone else? What if I told you you didn’t have to do anything to find satisfaction or happiness or joy? What if I told you that such things are beyond your reach, but instead have already been provided for you?
You might think I am nuts, but then again, after you work and work and work and find no peace, perhaps you might consider what I am about to say. You see, you can’t be like Joe and you can’t be like those early disciples through your own efforts. You can’t make anyone be like Joe or those early disciples through any sort of coercion or argumentation. You can’t change your ways and make yourself more peaceful and content. It’s too hard. It’s darn near impossible.
But there is one who can. There is one who can enter into the recesses of your very heart to give you a sense of well being and worth. There is one who can give you a sense of justification and joy–not because of what you have done but because of what He has done.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but so that the world may be saved through Him.
Christ died for you and loves you despite the fact that you are broken–that you can’t be perfect–that you can’t be like Joe–or those early disciples–or anyone else for that matter. Christ died for you and loves you so that you don’t have to worry about the if onlys. Christ died for you and loves you beyond compare. Hear that message and let it sink in. Really, let it sink in and contemplate it. It will change you. It might even make you like Joe. Amen.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
A "Waste" of $30,000+
Someone might say such a thing. Someone might actually believe it. I don't.
This past week, I was privileged to have a conversation with the president of the Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic (LCCAR).
One of the initial posts on this blog concerned a fundraising effort spearheaded by my congregation to raise money to purchase motorcycles for the LCCAR. Many people participated. Many congregations added their support. We raised over $30,000. That was enough to purchase 12 motorcycles. We were overjoyed with how we were able to help.
I told President Golike that our congregation helped him get the motorcycles for his church.
He replied, "The rebels stole all our motorcycles."
For those who do not know the political situation in the Central African Republic, well...it sucks. It's bad. There's been a lot of fighting. Lots of people have been killed. Many of the leaders and intellectuals in the country have found themselves as targets. President Golike has been shot at numerous times. He escaped certain death when rebels tried to burn down his house but couldn't find gasoline. We raised many, many prayers for peace for this nation.
But all the motorcycles are gone. Now perhaps being used for nefarious purposes.
Some might say it was a waste of $30,000.
I don't.
During the four years the LCCAR had these motorcycles, they were the ambulances for many sections of the country. They carried people to hospitals. They saved many, many lives. Their use accomplished much good.
And now, they are gone.
I am convinced that this is one of the reasons Jesus doesn't want us to get hung up on possessions. One day, all is well and good, but the next, they could be gone. If your life revolves around possessions, and suddenly they are taken away from you, you are devastated, broken, destroyed.
But if Jesus is at the center of your life, possessions are simply things to be used for a time. They are not the be all and end all of existence. They are meaningless in the grand scheme of things. They are tools to be used until they fulfill their purpose.
If something breaks...who cares?
If something is stolen...who cares?
If something is destroyed...who cares?
Things do not bring life.
Things do not bring happiness.
Things do not add value to our lives.
They just don't.
Christ accomplishes all of the above as He transforms your heart and lives at the center of your being.
That means more than anything--anything at all.
It's why President Golike and I didn't mourn the loss of the motorcycles, and it is why he was filled with hope that one day peace and reconciliation will return to the CAR.
And I loved what a congregation member told me this morning as he left church, "Let's not let it stop."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's not let it stop. If those motorcycles brought healing, let's make sure they get them again."
Sounds like a good use for another $30,000.
Or more.
This past week, I was privileged to have a conversation with the president of the Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic (LCCAR).
One of the initial posts on this blog concerned a fundraising effort spearheaded by my congregation to raise money to purchase motorcycles for the LCCAR. Many people participated. Many congregations added their support. We raised over $30,000. That was enough to purchase 12 motorcycles. We were overjoyed with how we were able to help.
I told President Golike that our congregation helped him get the motorcycles for his church.
He replied, "The rebels stole all our motorcycles."
For those who do not know the political situation in the Central African Republic, well...it sucks. It's bad. There's been a lot of fighting. Lots of people have been killed. Many of the leaders and intellectuals in the country have found themselves as targets. President Golike has been shot at numerous times. He escaped certain death when rebels tried to burn down his house but couldn't find gasoline. We raised many, many prayers for peace for this nation.
But all the motorcycles are gone. Now perhaps being used for nefarious purposes.
Some might say it was a waste of $30,000.
I don't.
During the four years the LCCAR had these motorcycles, they were the ambulances for many sections of the country. They carried people to hospitals. They saved many, many lives. Their use accomplished much good.
And now, they are gone.
I am convinced that this is one of the reasons Jesus doesn't want us to get hung up on possessions. One day, all is well and good, but the next, they could be gone. If your life revolves around possessions, and suddenly they are taken away from you, you are devastated, broken, destroyed.
But if Jesus is at the center of your life, possessions are simply things to be used for a time. They are not the be all and end all of existence. They are meaningless in the grand scheme of things. They are tools to be used until they fulfill their purpose.
If something breaks...who cares?
If something is stolen...who cares?
If something is destroyed...who cares?
Things do not bring life.
Things do not bring happiness.
Things do not add value to our lives.
They just don't.
Christ accomplishes all of the above as He transforms your heart and lives at the center of your being.
That means more than anything--anything at all.
It's why President Golike and I didn't mourn the loss of the motorcycles, and it is why he was filled with hope that one day peace and reconciliation will return to the CAR.
And I loved what a congregation member told me this morning as he left church, "Let's not let it stop."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's not let it stop. If those motorcycles brought healing, let's make sure they get them again."
Sounds like a good use for another $30,000.
Or more.
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