Praying with Honesty

I have had this prayer above my desk at home since I was in seminary. It speaks to the core of faith and doubt and is honest about an unwillingness to completely submit to our Creator and Savior. And you know what...I think that's ok, even with God.


Lord, I want to love you, yet I'm not sure.
I want to trust you, yet I'm afraid of being taken in,
I know I need you, yet I'm ashamed of the need.
I want to pray, yet I'm afraid of being a hypocrite.
I need my independence, yet I fear to be alone.
I want to belong, yet I must be myself.
Take me, Lord, yet leave me alone.
Lord, I believe, Help thou my unbelief.
O Lord, if you are there, you do understand, don't you?
Give me what I need but leave me free to choose.
Help me work it out my own way, but don't let me go.
Let me understand myself, but don't let me despair.
Come unto me, O Lord - I want you there.
Lighten my darkness - but don't dazzle me.
Help me to see what I need to do and give me strength to do it.
O Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief.

AMEN

Wrap your mind around this.

Yesterday I was on my way to work, listening to NPR, like every morning. There was a story about this college student who was doing astronomy research with a prof and caught something quite amazing...a .005 second radio flash located about 1 billion light years away from earth.

It doesn't sound all that amazing, does it? But think about it. They measured something as short in time as a 50th of a blink of an eye that is located in a place that we couldn't get to in a million life times! Wow!

Let me get a little theological, for just a minute. When people who believe in God (I'm one of those) pray to the Lord of the universe and the Lord of all creation, God is present 1 billion light years away from all human experience at the same time that God is fully present in daily life here. Now that's a leap of faith, but one that I am willing to put stock in. Who wants a little God that we can place in our pocket? I'd rather have the God who is creative enough to be here and there and everywhere and has the power to care about my life as much as God cares about other parts of the universe.

Let me take it one step further...if God sent Jesus to redeem creation (read Revelation 20-22), doesn't that mean that the scope of God's redeeming action is far beyond the lives of Christians, even far beyond the live of humanity? What might be the most faithful role the Christians play in the world? Do Christians sell God short when the only concern is the eternal residence of people's lives? Aren't there more positive and productive acts that Christians can do to make the fullness of God's care and realm known to the world that often needs a gracious and redeeming word for their lives today? I'd think so. As a Christian, the call to follow Jesus leads me to believe that there is action to take in order to make the world that God has given us a more gracious and God-shaped place to live, here and now.

Do you have ideas of how to live as a follower of Jesus that makes a difference for the world in which we live? I'd love to hear them. Let's do this together.

Gross!

So, I took my dog for a walk yesterday and when we came back to the house I saw him eat the neighbor dog's poop. I don't get it! What possesses an animal to eat poop? I suppose if we let toddlers play with their poop, they would eat it too. I still don't get it.

Witnessing Hope in the Midst of Unsettled Times

This sermon is based on Luke 10:38-42 and Colossians 1:13-28

Arriving in New Orleans a few of weeks ago, I knew things would be different, I just didn’t realize how different. I had come to this place for fun in past times, but this time, I was with a group of people who had a different purpose. We were on a mission bring hope to people whose lives had been torn apart by Hurricane Katrina nearly two years ago. Yet as the week went on we realized this experience was going to be different than we first expected, it didn’t only involve gutting and rebuilding structures and houses, we had been sent to help people rebuild, restore and renew their lives and witness to the hope that is for them through the love of Christ. What we discovered is that hope had already come and we were but companions on their journey of rebuilding, restoring and renewing what was theirs to begin with.

The 14 people who traveled to New Orleans were messengers and workers who represented People of Hope and ultimately were faithful representatives of Jesus Christ to those we met and befriended there. We were a bunch of Marys and Marthas and Pauls, and throughout the week, we learned more deeply the value of each of these gifts, to serve, to sit at the feet of Jesus and to suffer for the sake of others.

Anytime we serve beyond ourselves, it can be easily overwhelming. As the mission trip group drove through the streets of the now infamous lower 9^th ward, where the water rose high above the houses right after the storm, we saw twisted trees and overgrown grasses that now covered what remained of dilapidated houses. We couldn’t help but think that something was missing, some things were missing…above all else, in this neighborhood the most prominent thing missing seemed to be real hope of rebuilding, restoring or renewing.

We had questions like:

“How, in heaven’s name, is it possible that two years after Katrina, there is no hope in some parts of this once vibrant city? Why wouldn’t people return? On the other hand, how could they return? And how is it possible that the families that we are working with have the strength and vision to believe they can rebuild?”

The rhythm of the week was to pray, work, question, work, and pray some more. Most of the time, these things were happening all at the same time.

As we come into Martha’s house with Jesus, in Luke’s gospel, we see a dispute break out as to what is best to do, serve or sit at the feet of Jesus. Martha is the dutiful host to Jesus, serving her hardest, and her sister Mary appears to be the doting listener of Jesus, unconcerned with the work of the household. When Martha asks Jesus if it’s right that Mary isn’t helping, Jesus’ response is that Mary has chosen the better decision.

Although this story seems simple and to the point, there seems to be much more to this story than a simple right or wrong answer. The answer is not as clear as it seems because right before this story is the better known story of the Good Samaritan.

The order of these stories is not an accident, the scholar of Moses’ Teachings asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, and the man answers his own question by saying that we must love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength and with all our mind and our neighbor as our selves. Jesus responds to him by telling the story of the Samaritan who went out of his way to serve the abused stranger; and at the end tells the scholar to go and do the same.

So how is it possible that Mary has chosen the better option?

Given the way these stories flow, one from the other, Luke seems to be making the point that living as God wants us to live is not an either/or choice; either service or devotion, but rather a both/and kind of life. We both devote ourselves to God through Jesus, and live to help our neighbor.

Now the group from People of Hope spent the week in New Orleans in two different work teams. Equipped with fresh energy and a desire to do good work, one team met Kevin and his family, they worked side by side all week long. Kevin worked 11 PM to 7 AM, fixing other people’s homes so that he could fix his own, yet he was faithful to his family in making this house a home for them again. He had the work ethic of Martha.

The other team worked most of the week at Miss Rosetta’s 130 yr old duplex. She was living next door with her son and working 2 jobs as a social worker and elder care provider while working on her master’s degree at almost 60 years of age. She was trying to get the house back together so that her daughter and family could live next door to her. She was dedicated to having family close. She seemed to have the work ethic of Martha as well.

Although we came to help and to bring hope to these families by working on rebuilding their homes, we found ourselves listening like Mary in the midst of our working like Martha.

I talked to Miss Rosetta one afternoon and asked her where her strength has come from to make it through the last two years, and she just looked me in the eye and said, “God will get me through…God will get me through.” It seemed too simple to me, yet, we were standing on the porch, looking at the guts of her house sitting on the curbside, and her response was, “God will get me through.” In that moment she pointed me to Jesus and to the trust that is ours through faith in all life’s circumstances.

Her mind was not full of anxiety or worry, but it was on the goodness and mercy of God who blesses us with hope. She understood in the core of her being and through the power of her experience that Christ was her source of hope and that a big ol’ nasty storm may change her, but it will not shake her from the presence of God.

In that moment, I was sitting at the feet of Jesus, or at least sitting at the feet of someone who knew Jesus well, being reminded that all material things wither and die, but God has been here from the beginning and God will be here to see us through to the very end. Nothing in our lives has the right, nor the power to separate us from God, who restores, rebuilds and renews us everyday. When we live in this promise we can’t help but recognize Jesus in those that we serve. AMEN

Grace Happenings

I went over to my wife's coworker's house last night. She had some boxes to give us because we are moving next week. While we were there she asked if I would help her try to figure out why her garbage disposal and outlet by her sink wouldn't work. As she was talking I saw a reset button on one of the other outlets and dumbly pushed it. As I did that, she was saying, "See it just stopped work..." at that time she flicked the switched and low and behold the garbage disposal began to grind away, doing its job.

She was elated that it was working again. I thought that she was going to pick me up and spin me around. The look of joy and relief on her face was simply priceless. In that moment, I experienced undeserved grace. Thanks and more thanks came from her mouth. And all I did was push a button, but what she experienced was freedom. One never knows what actions will lead to. Gratitude is amazing. It's infectious and beautiful, and not always expressed as it ought. When one woman is so grateful for her garbage disposal working again, how great it is to be reminded of all the gratitude I have for all the wonderful and unexpected little grace happenings in my life.

Inviting to Community without Distinction

I recently read an article by the leader of a evangelically minded group within the ELCA. (I would hope that we are all evangelically minded.) I am so glad this group exists and is getting positive attention from the wider church. I consider myself a partner with them in raising up the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world beyond the church. However, there are a couple of terms used by groups like this one that I can't seem to buy into: "unchurched" and "dechurched".

I will admit, I have used these terms myself, but the more I think about it, this is yet one more church word that creates "us vs. them" distinctions that divide and shame instead of invite and encourage. These words assume a superiority of class in being "churched" or a member of a church. I have observed that for many of people of faith, and in particular, the upper Midwest (as this is really the only Christian culture I know) we are much more comfortable and conversant in the language of "church" than we are in the language of "faith". It is easier to answer the question, "What's your church doing for your life and in your community?" than it is to answer "What's God doing in your life and in your community?" This is a critique, but one that I make with care and concern for the life of the church, the people.

There are great benefits to being "churched" like having a caring community around you, being prayed for, having a group of people to share in the joys and disappointments in life, being encouraged in one's walk of faith, having a place to ask hard questions, and connecting with God in community, among others. But, I urge those of us in the church to celebrate these things in such a way that we honor and respect those who have yet to experience the benefits and blessings of the living Go.

I haven't heard Jesus calling out those outside of the faith to be indoctrinated, I hear Jesus calling the world to find its uniqueness in the Risen Savior. I would argue that Jesus' hope for the world is not that we all join a church, but that we be the church in everything that we do. I hear Jesus invite those outside of faith to consider the ways of God and to follow them.

We have all been created in God's image whether we are "churched", "unchurched" or "dechurched", therefore are we not all brothers and sisters trying to find our way in the world and in the community of God?

A Mindless Day

Friday is typically the day I take off. Today, I took a mental holiday that would rival any other's. I vegged out so much that I hardly came into the day. Mindlessness and pure emptiness, with interspersed episodes of good intentions to do things, but really never developing was the rhythm of the day. I should feel guilty...nah. Sometimes I think that I can be washed over with the desire for rest to the point that I am numb, paralyzed even. That is kind of how today was. Every once in a while, I think it's ok to be paralyzed by nothingness. It was rest and I will be ready for new experiences tomorrow.

Lent - A Season of Reflection

Lent is the the 40 days before Easter when Christians have historically taken spiritual inventory of their lives and repented for sins. Sin isn't a four-letter word, it is simply an honest statement about being human. We sin.

As a kid, I loved Lent. I remember how we "put away" the Alleluia, sometimes even physically in a box. The thing I remember most is the way the music changed. Christmas and Epiphany were filled with melodies that let you know everything was right with the world, Jesus was here and we knew that he was the one God had chosen to bring salvation to all the world. But, Lent was something wholly other. Because Jesus was the one who had come to bring the world freedom, there had to be a season of struggle, a journey that was more difficult than Immanuel, "God is with us". The music made a dramatic change into minor keys, darker tones and unresolved chords. The music itself anticipated Easter, but would not go there until the resurrection. Then on Easter morning the trumpet would sound...oh wait, we're not there yet. I'll come back to it at Easter. It's worth the wait.

Journeying from past to the future

The other night, I decided to stop into a Bible Study that is led by Pr. Gary. We were talking about the Last Supper, it's Jewish roots and the way that it has been celebrated throughout the centuries in the church.

When Jesus celebrated the Lord's Supper, it was really a celebration. Passover was a commemoration of God's deliverance of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. There was wine and food, and ritual, and good conversation. The wine was there, so was the flat bread and the sacrificial Lamb. When Jesus picked up the bread and said, "this is my body" everything changed. The ritual was broken and something new was begining the past was becoming the future for those that followed Jesus.

One of the components of Passover was the empty seat at the table that was reserved for Elijah, who it was said would come to usher in the time of the messiah. It was the cup reserved for Elijah that Jesus picked up after supper and who said, "this cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sins." Jesus claim was that the messiah had come, in spite of Elijah's absence from the Passover.

Yet, there was a time that Elijah came, with Moses, who led the people out of Egypt. They met Jesus and a few of his disciples on the mountain at the transfiguration. In that event, God was drawing together the past, present and future into a single scene. God's blessing was on Jesus to bring the past and the future together.

The people of Israel celebrated their deliverance at the time of Jesus, in spite of the fact that they again were occupied and again were under another power's political authority. This is a miracle of faith.

We have much to learn from the Jewish people, when we reflect on our own lives and our hearts are heavy. There is strength in weakness, there is light in darkness.

The other night I was talking with some people and a question arose about where people get their hope. What came out of that conversation was an incredible witness to the power of hope when things are very discouraging, dark and when weakness is all one can feel. Stories flowed freely and the depth of pain expressed was almost tangible. At the end of each story emerged an inexpressible sense of hope. It was against logic and reason, but it was real. God was in the middle of all of it. It was as though God's own hand carried us through these stories into hope and light.

I felt so alive, so connected to everything. I only pray that I may have the courage to go to those places with others so that new hope may emerge. It is in confronting and confessing the darkness of our past that the future may show hope and promise, as God showed to us in the night in which the Lord was betrayed.

Peace to your house.

We are the Eucharist: Isn't She Beautiful Part II

In the opening session of the conference, Rob Bell made the claim that as the body of Christ, we are the Eucharist. We have our bodies and our lives broken or given and our blood poured out for the sake of the world. This is a defining experience and activity of the Church. Paul explains this phenomenon in 2 Corinthians 4:10-12. As followers of Jesus, we give our life over to death for Jesus' sake, so that others may have life. In this way, the Eucharist, the good gift or the thanksgiving is not only a gift that benefits the Church, but it is made visible to the world through Christ's work in those who participate in the Eucharist. If this is indeed the case, then we are joined to Christ's suffering, we are commissioned by God through the elements to respond and join ourselves to the suffering of the world.

Martin Luther takes this notion of joining Christ one step further in his treatise "The Blessed Sacrament of the Holy and True Body of Christ, and the Brotherhoods". "The significance or effect of this sacrament is fellowship of all the saints...To recieve this sacrament in bread and wine, then, is nothing else than to receive a sure sign of the fellowship and incorporation with Christ and all the saints...This fellowship consists in athis, that all the spiritual possessions of Christ and his saints (all those who believe in Christ) are shared with and become the common property of [the one] who receives this sacrament. Again all the sufferings and sins also become common property of [the one] who receives this sacrament."

We are incorporated in a mystical way into communion with Christ and all believers and are mutually included in the blessings, sufferings and sins of those who participate in this with us. In light of the fact that Luther was arguing for the proper understanding of the worldview of Christendom and today we are most certainly living in a world that has rejected the notion of Christendom, I would argue that our participation in the Eucharist places us in communion with the suffering, sins and blessings of the world which God desires to reclaim, reconcile and re-create anew.

So what does this mean? It means that in a very practical way, the Church is not fully participating in the Eucharist, and perhaps not even being faithful to Christ unless the members of the Church are in communion with those in our world that are suffering, poor, oppressed, rejected, neglected, abused, disempowered, discriminated against, etc. God uses the Church to bring hope, peace joy, love and wholeness to all the world because she is the body of Christ who has already experienced the power of the Gospel. The way that any of this happens is through the Church, the people of God.

More to come tomorrow.

Isn't She Beautiful?

What if the world saw what the church, the people of God was doing and said, "Isn't she beautiful!" What if the church took seriously the life to which Jesus calls all disciples to reach out to the lost and be compassionate to the marginalized? What if the church stopped measuring itself by the three Bs, buildings, budgets and butts? What would the church look like?

Over the last two days, 2,000 people have been wrestling with this question at Mars Hill Bible Church, in Grandville, MI.

Lots of people have been talking about this in churches across the globe for the last several years. Walt Kallestad wrote a book called, "Turning Your Church Inside Out". I don't think that even starts to get at what these questions are asking because behind them are still concerns about the 3 Bs.

In the opening session, Rob Bell, founding pastor of Mars Hill said this, "The Church is the only organization that exists for non-members." Is that possible? Can we put our trust in the God of the cross to the point that we actually believe and follow this? Isn't it possible that discipleship is less about the number of people in a worship area or sanctuary on a Sunday morning and more about the number of lives affected by the gospel in their ordinary lives during the week?

I am going to be posting a number of reflections on what I took in from this conference over the next few days. I am not going to promise any answers because when I look back at my notes, there are probably 10 times more questions than there are answers, but I hope to create space for us as a community of readers, believers, humans, or what ever else we may be, to discuss what it might mean for us as humans, created by a God who comes to us over and over again, to engage and live faithfully in the world in which this God loves.

It's late, so this is it for now. Please join the conversation and ask your own questions!

Peace to your house.