Unexpected Great Expectations

Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy wearing a linen ephod. His mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year, when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord repay you with children by this woman for the gift that she made to the Lord”; and then they would return to their home. And the Lord took note of Hannah; she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord...Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and with the people. (1 Samuel 2:18-21;26 NRSV).

Samuel is a very interesting character in the Old Testament and in the entire bible. I believe is the only child ever given straight to the Lord as a gift for a gift. Many of you are familiar with Samuel's story but for those who are not, Samuel's mother, Hannah, after years of being unable to have children, in desperation prayed at the alter where Eli was priest. In the temple she prayed, “O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death.” As she continued praying, Eli watched and he could not hear her for she was praying silently so Eli thought she was drunk. Eli chastises her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.” But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord.” Eli answered, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.”

Time came and went until Hannah discovered she was with child. When Samuel was old enough and weaned, she took him to Eli, presented him, and said, “I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me the petition I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.” And there she left him for the Lord.

There are stories throughout the scriptures that take your breath away or cause you to ask a lot of questions that begin with “why”. Samuel's story is one of them and I imagine when his mother would visit with his brothers and sisters, someone would eventually ask, “Why is Samuel not coming home?” I am sure while at the market place someone would ask Hannah, “Tell me again where Samuel is?” I am sure the rumors of the reasons why Samuel was living in the temple with Eli were beyond speakable and occasionally demeaning. Not that I have any proof of this, it is just an assumption based on knowing people.

Samuel's life reminds me a lot of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. In Great Expectations, a little boy named Pip helps save an escaped prisoner and as the years pass, Pip receives a great deal of wealth from a benevolent benefactor. The book explains that there were great expectations for Pip (at least what I recall. I must admit that I did not get past the first chapter) and I imagine there were great expectations for Samuel as well. After all, Eli's sons were not pleasant fellows and according to our scripture passage, the Lord has intended to kill the boys. So, it would seem that as Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord and grew in stature and favor with both God and the people, there would indeed be some heavy great expectations.

Samuel's story fascinates me because he does not really get a choice regarding his life. Many of us chose our professions, even if we felt called to do them, we still made the choice but the right to choose has been removed from Samuel's hands. His mother made the choice for him before she even had conceived him and throughout his ministry to the people he faces a lot of unexpected great expectations. He is expected to intercede before God on behalf of the people. Eventually he is expected to choose a king for the people and when chosen king does not live up to expectations, he is expected to choose another to take the king's place. These expectations are not unreasonable for a prophet and judge but they are great. If we think voting is a heavy task, imagine being responsible for the souls of the people and choosing the person who will be the king, those are some heavy expectations. Yet, we will see Samuel handle those expectations with grace and dignity and remain in favor with the Lord.

When Lacy and I were going through premarital counseling we were asked to make clear reasonable expectations of one another. For example, I expected Lacy to do the dishes. Lacy expected me to take out the trash. Honest, clear and reasonable expectations. Of course, ten years later, we end up both doing the dishes and taking the trash over. Expectations are good things and it helps to know those expectations. For example, you expect me to prepare and preach a sermon on Sunday mornings. I expect you to get out of bed and attend church. Reasonable. You expect me to fly and I expect you to read my mind, unreasonable. There are reasonable expectations and there are unreasonable expectations. In fact, most marriages and relationships fall a part because of unreasonable expectations of the person. It is surprising to me that Samuel is able to grow both in stature and in favor of both God and the people; specifically the people due to our often unreasonable expectations of one another.

Each of us have been victims of unreasonable expectations; whether it is in our marriages, friendships, jobs, relationships with our children or our parents or other family members, we have all been victims of unreasonable expectations. The problem is that our egos feed into those expectations. In other words, we believe we can live up to those expectations or we desire that challenge to live into those expectations. The biggest unhealthy and unreasonable expectation is that one in which we all think that one person can fix all our problems. We think if I just marry that right person, befriend that right person, elect that right person, hire that right person, work for that right person, attend that right church with the right people all my problems will be solved. We place messianic expectations on people and when those people fail us, we are bewildered and cannot fathom how it happened.

Take a moment and think about expectations you place on yourself and others. Do an honest reflection on those expectations, are they reasonable or unreasonable? Some are, like the ones I mentioned before, are reasonable. It is reasonable and healthy to expect your children to pass their classes and possibly attend college if they wish. It is reasonable to expect them to get a job if they choose not to and reasonable to expect them to get a job after graduation from either high school or college. It is reasonable to expect our parents to love us, care for us, and provide for us in the best possible manner they can. It is reasonable to expect our spouses or significant others to love us unconditional. It is reasonable to expect certain things but sometimes we do expect too much and people crumble under those expectations. Often the most important things in our lives fail to live up to our expectations because our expectations were just too much for any poor soul or poor thing. In the words of Doc Holiday, “We're just too high strung.”

What does this have to do with Samuel growing up before the Lord and growing in stature and in favor with God and the people? From a psychoanalytical perspective it is a deep part of the Samuel story. Samuel grows to understand the unreasonable expectations of the Israelites. They expect to not encounter any set backs or problems because they worship the one true God. The problem is that God often seems absent or does not respond quickly or in fact does not live up to their expectations so they will turn to things of their world and will long to be just like everyone else. People are okay with being different, living differently, being chosen, until the journey takes an unexpected twist and it stops living up to the expectations they set in their mind. Somehow, through a majority of it, Samuel does not fall prey to their expectations. He is comfortable with his role and understands his role as priest, prophet, and judge of Israel. He cares deeply for the people but when the people desire something that is not good for them or not of God, he is not afraid to speak out, he is not afraid of his prophet role. Samuel would make a terrible politician and pastor.

Thus brings me to my final point. If I might be honest, I would like to admit to you that I believe New Year's Eve and the New Year to be the most overrated, over-hyped, unreasonable and unhealthy expected days of the year. Every year people write out their little resolutions and some stick to them very well while others are lucky if they make it past the first hour of the new year. We place a lot of pressure on two days of the year and those days fail us continually. It is like attending every Broadway showing of Les Miserables and being a little let down when you watch the new movie. The event, the day, the person, will never live up to so much hype and that much expectations. It is why many of us are continually disappointed every year, every two years, every four years, etc. We expect too much.

As I said, this does not mean we should not have any expectations, it means we should set reasonable expectations for one another, for others, and for our world. We need expectations that can be met and reached. We need expectations that do not place others or ourselves above God. We need expectations that are healthy and seek to move forward the kingdom of heaven and not our own desires. We need to learn and realize that the people beside us are human and humans are not heroes or gods. They are good, decent people who will do what they can for you, and will not let you down, as long as you do not have unreasonable expectations of them.  

An Unexpected Journey to Love and Joy

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We live in a violent and dark time. At least that is how it feels. After watching Mankind: The Story of All of Us, I am not really convince it is more violent or darker than it was in years past but it feels that is. Perhaps it is because our world has grown smaller. It feels that when there is joy and love in the air, something/someone comes along and wipes it away. It is as if our broken world does not really ever truly want to live in peace and with joy and love. We come up with reasons why our world is like this. We blame poor gun laws and poor healthcare. We blame politicians and the so called removal of God from society. We blame violent video games and movies. We blame dark forces that inhabit our world. We are good at finding reasons why the candles of hope, peace, joy, and love are continually snuffed out just when they start to burn brightest.

Yes, it is important during dark days to ask ourselves why and to question our culture as a whole. It is equally important to ask ourselves the very question we avoid: Am I a child of love and joy or am I child of the dark and dejected? Do I prefer to live in the light of the kingdom of heaven? Or do I prefer to live in the darkness of my world?

John writes that the light came into the world but the world refused it but the light could not be snuffed out. The light of Christ shined in the midst of the darkness for the world to see even when those who claimed to follow the light of God hung God's light on a wooden cross. The light of God came into our world and attempts to immediately have it removed from our world began before Jesus ever had the chance to tell a story, change water into wine, or preach of what the kingdom of heaven is like, the world, the powers that be, did their best to keep us in the dark. Now, in the not too distant future, we keep finding ways to snuff out that light.

The light of God has come into our world. It has shone in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it. Micah tells us that the messiah will come from Bethlehem, the littlest of clans, the runt of the litter. From the littlest of places our hope, our peace, our joy, our love will come into being, God will come to us from the most unexpected place. The light shines from the smallest of clans in Israel, it is a light that if it shone today would shine out of the smallest of houses, the smallest of ghettos, the smallest of towns, the smallest of villages. If the light were to shine today it would shine brightly from the most of unexpected places in the most unexpected ways. The light of God would shine and we would deny that light to shine in our own lives and in our own world. Why? Because it does not shine from our expected places of power and prestige.

The breaking in of the kingdom of heaven during this advent season shines the light of God so brightly that it exposes all we hide in darkness. We see the imperfections in our lives, we see the plank that sticks out of our eyes and so we turn to see the speck of saw dust in our neighbors. We hold up our mirrors that expose who we really are to deflect the light so it might shine on others. We deny our own sins so we can cast our stones and place the blame on the sins of the world. We blame “them” for snuffing out the light when we have refused to allow the light shine out of church basements, Sunday school classrooms, sanctuaries, and from our homes. It is us who claim to love the light of God which brings us hope, peace, joy, and love, who snuffs out this light. We snuff it out because it did not come as we expected. It did not come in the corrupted ways televangelists and politicians have said it would come. The light shined out of the ghetto of Bethlehem, surrounded by animals and filth, and the light shined brighter and brighter as lowly shepherds ran into town, as wise men traveled years, all to see this light of God. That night the light of God lit up the heavens and the kingdom of heaven broke through.

I am drawn to Micah's words, “And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his god. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace” (Micah 5:4-5a). His words captivate my own self and force me to ask myself this question: Have I snuffed out the light of God? And the answer is yes.

Every time I have denied someone something to eat, something to drink, something to wear, a place to sleep, I have snuffed out the light of God. Every time I have denied a child an encounter with Jesus because they have chosen to meet him in their own way, I have snuffed out the light of God. Every time I choose to respond in anger and in violence, I snuff out the light of God. When I put my own selfish needs before others, I snuff out the light of God.

Likewise, as I ask myself that question, the church must ask if they have snuffed out the light of God. Have we, as followers of Christ, extinguished the light of God? Yes, we have. Every time we choose tradition and rituals over God's call, we extinguish the light of God. Every time we choose power over service, we extinguish the light of God. Every time we deny others a place at God's table, at God's manger, we extinguish the light of God. Yes, when we seek to take tweezers to remove the speck of saw dust from our neighbor's eye before even touching the plank in our own, we extinguish the light of God.

Fortunately, for us, by the grace of God, the light does not go out. The light from these candles burn in spite of us. Hope, peace, joy, and love find away into our dark world no matter how many times we try to put out the flames. The light of the kingdom of heaven breaks through our drapes and curtains and shines brightly even when we wish it would not. The light of the kingdom of heaven shines brightly even in places and at time we did not think it could.

The beauty of the scriptures is God's light finds a way to shine through the darkness. The poet tells us that God spoke light into darkness. The gospels tell us that the light of God was in the world and the darkness did not overcome it. The light of God's hope, peace, joy, and love never leaves us or escapes. Yes, we may extinguish these candles but the light they produce is too great to not appear elsewhere.

Yes, the light burns us because we have lived in the dark for so long. We have grown accustomed to believe that peace requires war and bloodshed. We have grown accustomed to mass shootings, and epidemics, and poverty, and hate, and oppression that we fear the light because the light that John the Baptist speaks to is a light that burns away all that keeps us from God. He is like a refiner's fire and a fuller's soap and the pain of being made whole, of having our world turned right side up, is too new, too amazing, too real, too majestic so we bury ourselves in our hobbit holes hoping the star of the angel does not appear at our door and beckon us to the manger; for we know we will be changed inside and out and we are accustomed to our nice warm beds. We prefer to walk the crooked paths with our crooked backs than to walk straight and upright.

Yes, the light of God burns us all. Our imperfections are exposed but the light also exposes something greater: God's eternal, majestic, amazing, unyielding, unrelenting, omnipresence, captivating love. The light of God shines God's greatest gift of love because love hopes in all things, believes in all things, bears all things, and endures all things. Our human love may fail one another but God's enduring love continues to light these advent candles in the midst of the darkness.

Yes, I must admit to you these past few weeks and month have slowly extinguished these candles in my own life. I have felt the tears of the world drain the hope, peace, joy, and love out of me; often it has been done by others who share my own faith. I can attest to you that the darkness can be a very powerful thing. It can encase you in a moment before you even realize that it has happened. We have all been there before in some way. We have all had those moments it feels like every ounce of our love and faith have been wiped away. In those moments, like the psalmist, we cry out, “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us! Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” (Psalm 80:1-3 NRSV).

But then something happens. A kind word from a stranger; a note in the mailbox; a hug and a thank you; a laugh or a kiss; something happens and slowly the light begins to shine in the darkness. Slowly we see the light of the kingdom of heaven breakthrough. Slowly our eyes begin to adjust and we see laying in a manger the light of God, the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings, the messiah, God's hope, peace, joy, and love. Slowly our faith is renewed, our path made straight, and yes, we begin to desire to bath in the light of God. Slowly the light makes its way into our hearts and our lives and we are lifted on the wings of eagles. Yes, slowly we are healed by this light and thank God almighty we are.

Yes, thank God almighty for the light that shines in the darkness and for the darkness could not overcome it. Yes, thank God almighty for this unexpected journey filled with hope and to peace, joy, and love. Yes, we give thanks in the midst of darkness for the light that shines from the manger. Yes, thank God almighty that we, who have walked in darkness, have seen a great light. Yes, thank God almighty for the star which shined so brightly that dark night so long ago. Yes, thank God almighty for Christ's unending, unfailing love. Yes, thank God almighty for the manger.  

My Dearest Connor,

You are safe in your bed right now after a fun night of playing games and toys. At this time the only worry you have is the cold you are currently getting over. I am sad to say that you are going to grow up in much more violent world than I did. Perhaps it is a violent as it ever was but if the world has grown smaller and by the time you are my age the world will be closer than it is now. One day you may ask me why your mom and I ever thought having a child in this crazy world and I am not sure what I will say.

Your grandfather used to say, "My greatest hope is that my son is a better man than I was." Perhaps that will be my answer. Maybe I will look at you on that day and tell you that I tried to do my best to make this a better and more peaceful world. Maybe I will look at you on that day and tell you why the world is the way it is. Or maybe I will look at you on that day and tell you that you will make the world a better place.

No pressure.

Do not worry, the pressure is all on me and your mother. It will be up to us to provide you with enough love to know that this world can be a better place. We will work to show you that violence does not have to be a response to anger or frustration. We will work to show you that every person is a gift from God and deserving of our kindness and love. We will work to show you that Christ's love belongs to all people. We will work to set the example of all that we will work to show you.

My promise to you is to work towards a day where you will not have to fear walking out the door, going to school or to see a movie. My promise to you is to love you, your friends, your neighbors, and everyone you know as I love you. I make these promises to you because you represent the hope of Christ to our world. You and every child on this earth represent the best of us and I promise to do my best to protect that. I promise that you will be a better man than I ever could be.

Connor, you are a beautiful soul and every person you meet will be changed by your smile. Every person you meet will change you. My hope is that change will be for the better, always.

You and every child are our best hope for a better world. I promise to not let you down.

Love,

Dad

An Unexpected Journey Filled With Joy

I do not have to preach this Sunday! Our youth and children are performing their annual Christmas pageant so I do not have to preach which is fantastic and sad at the same time. I treasure the rare moments when someone else preaches or something like the pageant is going on so I do not have to worry about writing a sermon during the week. Plus, I think the congregation likes the break from hearing me ramble on and on about the kingdom of heaven. Sometimes we all need a time out from something we've been doing consistently for several months without pause. I am a little sad though.

I am sad because I had this wonderful theme running for advent entitled, An Unexpected Journey to the Manger. Each Sunday the theme of advent would carry us to the most unexpected place, the manger. There would fine hope, peace, joy, and love. It is of course heavily inspired by The Hobbit which I finally read the other day, well listened to. I am sad that I will miss out on continuing the series. It's a four part series with only three parts. What am I to do? What am I to do?

I know! I will write it on my blog, right here, right now and you can read it! You saw that coming didn't you? Eh...what can I say I am somewhat predictable. BOO! Bet you didn't expect that.

I have not really ever connected well with advent, it was not something I grew up knowing anything about because our church did not celebrate advent. In fact, around Christmas time, I do not recall anything related to advent or Christmas until Christmas Eve. I could very well be wrong, in fact I hope I am because my memory is not what it never was. Any place. Since I do not have any specific church related memories of advent, I could never connect to it when it started becoming a tradition in a couple of the churches I was on staff at. I enjoyed the season and the preparation but I did not get the joy I was hoping for. Christmas came and went and it was nice but it was never impactful. It was never meaningful.

Now that is not to say that I did not have meaningful Christmases outside of my church experience. In fact I had several meaningful Christmas gatherings with my family. I absolutely love being around family during Christmas, moreso than Thanksgiving (that's a whole other issue. Seriously, we get, what, two days to celebrate Thanksgiving and most of that time is spent cooking and watching football, which I like, but the holiday feels like a rest stop before the big holiday). I have very fond memories of Christmas trees, gifts (still have several that were given to me when I was a kid) but from a church related standpoint, I could never connect to the advent story.

That all changed when Lacy was pregnant and I learned Connor would be arriving around February 17th. For the first time ever during advent, I connected to the story. I found myself relating to Joseph and Mary. I connected to the four pieces of advent: hope, peace, joy, and love. I finally connected in a way that I could not connect before. I was able to relate to the story, to the expectant coming of a child, in every sense of the word because I was in the midst of expecting a child of my own and it has changed my view and appreciation for advent.

The words: hope, peace, joy, and love were no longer words. The prayers for hope, peace, joy, and love were no longer empty or vain prayers. They were real and I cannot express the joy that I experienced when I finally connected to them. What has connected you to the advent season? What draws you in during this season and compels you to want to be a better person? What about this time of year brings out the good in you?

Do you find joy during this season of waiting? Do you find the joy of waiting expectantly for this little Christ child to come? Are you finding joy in waiting for this Christ child to return?

Is your heart full of joy when you hear the words of Isaiah: "Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 12:2-6)?

Do you rejoice when you hear the declaration of the Lord in Zephaniah: "The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more...At that time I will bring you home, at that time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the Lord." (Zephaniah 3:15b, 20)?

If not, what is it that is preventing you from finding your role in this epic story God is writing?

The joy in these scriptures is not just in the promises but in the story God is writing. It is a story in which we are all being given a part and it is a story that can bring joy to a joyless world if we work to make it so. Let us sing with a grateful heart, "Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel."

An Unexpected Journey to Peace

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Money stresses me out.

It really does. No matter how much I have, I feel like I do not have enough. I could be a millionaire and I would still stress over money. Of course the stress may be a little different but I do not find any peace when it comes to dealing with money. I could take every Dave Ramsey “class” offered at a variety of churches, buy every financial book available, and be the best money manager in the world and money would still stress me out. It is impossible for me to have any peace when it involves money.

I have been told that if you want peace then you need to prepare for war; and of course, to an extent, it is true. Peace cannot be achieved without engaging in some conflict. Conflict though does not always have to be an extreme such as war. But if you want peace you are going to have work for it and give up something to achieve it. It is interesting that we light the candle of peace today because Jesus himself said that he has not come to bring peace but a sword; that sword, not meaning war, would be a divider. He would divide friends, families, neighbors, and kingdoms; yet, Paul tells us that Christ unifies us and that Christ is our peace. So, is there peace with Christ? Is there peace in this coming manger?

Yes, yes there is. The issue though is that the peace of the kingdom of heaven comes at a cost. If we are to prepare the way of the Lord and if we are to make his paths straight, then we are going to have to give up something. We are going to have give up our pride and sense of control and desire for power. The way of the Lord is not these worldly things. The way of the Lord leads to peace. The way of the Lord fills every valley, lowers every mountain and hill, and straightens the crooked, and smooths the rough paths; and the salvation of God is seen by all. The way of the Lord leads to peace.

If we do not expect to find hope in a manger then we also do not expect to find peace laying there beside it. Our unexpected journey to the manger not only gives us hope but it will bring us peace. The way of the Lord that John preaches is a way of life. To prepare the Lord's way is to set our own paths straight and to find peace in our own lives. What is it that steals our peace away and replaces it with stress, anxiety, anger, or frustration? What is it that seeps into our lives giving us restless nights of sleep? The way of the Lord leads to peace if we are willing to work for it; if we are willing to lay down our own arms at the foot of the manger we could very well find the peace we are searching for.

This past week has been a struggle for me. There is so much angst in our world and society that results in children being shot because they didn't turn their music down, or they crossed the road at the wrong time, or they stay out late. It seemed on every news page there was a link to a story about a murder suicide, a fight between friends that escalated into shots being fired, sports fans jumping and beating fans of other teams, and babies being orphaned because of violence. I felt tired this week. I began to long for a time when there would be no guns, knives, or weapons of destruction of any kind. I longed for a time when no one would die as a result of a violent death. I longed for a time of no illnesses taking people's lives. I longed for a time when the wolf and the lamb would lay down beside one another. I longed for the peace Isaiah writes:

For I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice for ever
in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
or the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it
an infant that lives but a few days,
or an old person who does not live out a lifetime
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain,
or bear children for calamity;
for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord—
and their descendants as well.
Before they call I will answer,
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
but the serpent—its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
says the Lord. (Isaiah 65:17-25 NRSV)

I long for such peace. I long for such a time. I long for such a time when we our Christianity is not judged by where we eat or who we voted for or what we drive but how we love. I long for such a time on the holy mountain. I long for our unexpected journey to the manger to lead us to the still waters and lay down beside the Christ child and forever be at peace. I long to prepare the way of the Lord so that everyone's mountains and hills will be lowered, their valley filled, their rough and crooked paths made straight and smooth. I long for such a day and as I gaze up on the manger and the expectant child, I find myself filled with hope and with peace.

Yes, I believe a day is coming when there will be no more tears, sorrow, war, or famine. I believe that day is being ushered in before our very eyes. I believe such peace is found in the unexpected manger. So I wait patiently for his arrival. Until then, until that day comes, let us work together to lay down our weapons of violence and hate; our arms of pride, prejudice, and envy; our destructive choices that lead us to death and chaos. Though it will take some work, we can help bring forth the peace of the kingdom of heaven, if we try; if we start with our lives and if we choose to work with God, the peace in the manger does not have to be a far off reality. The peace of the manger can be in the right here and the right now because God is doing something amazing in the most unexpected of places and we are being called to join with him as he brings forth the kingdom of heaven.

An Unexpected Journey of Hope

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up; and he shall execute justice and righteousness. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. 

                                                                                                               Jeremiah 33:14-16

“Even now we simply do not expect

           to find a deity in a stable.

Somehow the setting is all wrong:

           the swaddling clothes too plain,

           the manger too common for the likes of a Savior,

           the straw inelegant,

           the animals, reeking and noisy,

           the whole scene too ordinary for our taste.

And the cast of characters is no better.

With the possible exception of the kings,

          who among them is fit for this night?

          The shepherds? Certainly to crude,

          the carpenter too rough,

          the girl too young.

And the baby!

Whoever expected a baby?

Whoever expected the advent of God in a helpless child?

Had the Messiah arrived in the blazing light of the glory

          of a legion of angels wielding golden swords,

          the whole world could have been conquered for Christ

                    right then and there

          and we in the church—to say nothing of the world!—

                    wouldn't have so much trouble today.

Even now we simply do not expect

          to face the world armed with love.”

                                     Unexpected by Ann Weems

I imagine when the people read Jeremiah's prophetic words from the Lord, “In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land” they were not thinking about a baby in a manger. I imagine they were thinking of a great and glorious king on a gallant white steed, riding in from the east with the sun gleaming off his long blonde locks, waving a sword and an army of thousands behind him. At least when I hear of a Branch springing up and saving Judah and Jerusalem living in safety, that is what I imagine. Of course I grew up on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, so that may have a small influence. Still, I seriously doubt the Israelites expected the coming Branch, the expectant Messiah to show up in a manger, as a baby.

The majesty of this coming Branch, the coming of the Lord, the coming of the Messiah, is that our wait takes us on an unexpected journey to the manger. The hope that Jeremiah declares from the Lord is a hope that we find in the midst of animals and hay. The hope is not some great warrior king but a little baby, asleep on the hay; that is the majestic magic of the Advent and Christmas story. We witness the breaking in of the kingdom of heaven, the springing of the Branch that Jeremiah promised, taking place in the most unexpected place. How beautiful is that? How majestic is that?

Hope comes in all forms. The problem is we often look for it in the greatest of forms. We look for it in people with money, power, prestige, or influence. We look for hope in expected ways. Often we miss the hope that is right before eyes in the simplest forms because we think, “God's great hope cannot be in such a thing.” But there it is, with every flower that blooms in the spring, with every child's laugh, with every wedding, funeral, or birthday, with every song that is sung, the branch of hope springs forth and shines its light upon our faces.

The kingdom of heaven gives us hope because we witness the majesty of God's kingdom in the tiniest of places, in a manger. Our search for hope takes us on adventure that leads us to an unexpected place and that hope is something that transforms our lives. When we encounter this hope, we do not return home the same. The beauty of the Advent story is this expectation of the coming Messiah. We wait with hope that he will arrive, bringing with him the kingdom of heaven. We wait expectantly and we are being taught to wait with patience. The Advent story gives way to the Christmas story and our waiting is over. There in the strangest of places, we encounter God's greatest gift, God's greatest hope, lying in a manger. Once we encounter that hope, once we see the baby, our lives are changed forever. The Branch that springs up is not a Branch of the status quo. It is a Branch that is changes the world, it brings righteousness, saving Judah and Jerusalem will live in safety. A Branch that carries the Lord's righteousness is a Branch that will change any who encounter it. Even the shepherds were changed by the encounter with the baby Christ. How beautiful is their singing? How majestic is their encounter?

Everything about the Advent and Christmas story is unexpected. How it all comes about, how it all plays out is unexpected. The kings who arrive a few years later are about the only part of the story we would expect. You would expect other kings to arrive and pay homage to another king. Everything else from the shepherds to the manger to even the slaughtering of the little ones a few years later is unexpected. We may be expecting this Branch to spring up but we are not expecting it to spring up in a manger.

I imagine the Branch breaking through the paved roads of Jerusalem and as people come into the great city they are taken back at this Branch, this tree, growing in the midst of the rubble and stone. The hope of this Branch feels magical to me. It makes Advent feel magical because we are waiting for this branch to spring up in the most unexpected way. I think, for many of us, we have lost the magic of this season. We get caught up in buying presents, decorating trees, arguing with stores who tell us to have a “Happy Holiday” instead of a “Merry Christmas.” We get up in the busyness of the season we come to church and we're not expecting much. Sure we look forward to our traditions and such but do they still feel as magical as they once did? Do the stories of Advent and Christmas still bring about the feeling of hope as they did when we were young? Do we still sit in front of our lit trees and feel the sense of awe and wonder we did decades before? Do we expect to find the hope of the Christ child in the unexpected manger?

Perhaps that is the real beauty of this Advent season in the church. It is the deliberate purpose of slowing down on a holy day to be mesmerized by a very holy moment. The beauty is found in the newness of the waiting and the expecting and the overwhelming beauty of God's love found in a manger surrounded by animals and shepherds. I hope we will slow down in the midst of this stressful month and fix our eyes on the unexpected hope found in a manger.  

"Dancing" With the Good Ol' Boys

I am in a mood.

Something happened today and it has set me off. I am not going to go into the details or explain what happened because that's not important. What is important is that I am in a mood and that is what you need to know before you continue to read.

Earlier today I posted the following status: The one constant in Baptist life: You have to fight get anything past the "good ol' boy" network and if they do not want you involved, you will not get to be involved, no matter how passionate or excited you are. It is one the big reasons people my age are leaving Baptist life.

During my lifetime I have been told that I am the future, my generation was the future and we needed to take a more invested interest in whatever our passions were. I have heard older folks often say, "We need the younger people to step up and do this or do that." In fact I am a part of a cohort in the CBF whose purpose is to create healthy future leaders of the church and CBF. I have heard those things and what I have experience is this: If you want to invoke change in a system or you really want to have an active role in that future, you have to fight for it because those older folks, no matter how much they want you to "step up" will not let go.

Not everyone is like this and that needs to be made very clear. Just because someone is of a certain age does not mean anything. However, the truth that I have experienced is that when people gain control and power of any kind they will not relinquish it. You have to wrestle it away from them and you can get a few bruises.

I do not like to use that type of language. I think it furthers an "us vs them" mentality but breaking into a closed group like the "good ol' boys" network is a fight. You have to break through the glass ceiling and once you get in, you have to work at staying in. It's very much like the episode of Friends when Rachel takes up smoking just so she can stay involved in the decisions being made at her work. The difference is that those who fight their way in rarely allow room for others who come after them.

We have a strong tendency to get ourselves in position of power only for ourselves. We look to "meet up" with people who are going to advance our agenda or our place in the "pecking order". Those with the name or the money are the ones who get the "honorary doctorates" just so they will name a seminary, school, university, or church beneficiary to their wealth. That is how institutions do business, the problem is that they end up ignoring the wonderful stories of others who cannot afford to have them told.

During seminary several of us experienced exclusion of our stories and ministries because we did not work at either Richmond's First Baptist or Tabernacle Baptist or Second Baptist. Those were the places, ministers, and students who received the attention because they were in the "it" club. This is not a knock on the pastors there (all very good men and men I actually like being around) and it is not sour grapes, it is the truth. If you are not a part of the "it" group or do not have the right connections then you are going to have to work harder to invoke change than those with the right connections.

The "good ol' boys" network is a corrupt system designed to keep us in control and in power just so we can feel important or feel like we matter. It is designed to designate which people really matter and whom we should not upset because if we do, we risk losing their money. It is wrong. Giving honorary doctorates to people who have nothing to do with the school they are receiving them from just so the school can remain in their good graces is wrong.

I know this comes off as sour grapes but it is not; it is simply an acknowledgment of how we each buy into this corrupt system and if the system is going to change then that change cannot happen from our couches or leaving to start our system because eventually that system will become just like the system we left. If we want to change the system we need to start with ourselves and in our circles. If our own circles are closed instead of expanding, our system will be the same.

As I said, I'm in a mood.

Christ is the King!

“John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:4-8 (NRSV)

Over the past two weeks I have spoken on the meaning of giving to a better reality. I describe that reality as the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God. Often those words paint a picture of a far off land in which we, as CS Lewis described, board a bus and take a trip beyond space and time to a land far far away; however I believe the kingdom of heaven to be something greater than a far off land of spirits and heavenly bodies evoked in our imaginations. I believe the kingdom of heaven is something that is to come and is indeed coming. I believe the kingdom of heaven to be near and at hand and I believe it to be a way of life we are each being invited into being a citizen of this kingdom. I believe we are catching glimpses of that kingdom and I believe with each new day, new month, new year, new decade, new century, and new millennium, the kingdom of heaven comes closer to being our true reality. But it is not here, yet.

One of the worse feelings I get is when someone says, “I need to talk with you.” Immediately, my mind conjures up the worse possible scenario and I start running through everything I might have possibly said the Sunday before or during the sermon or at Bible study or during a meeting or on Facebook or something I tweeted or blogged. I begin to work myself up in a frenzy especially when I ask, “What would you like to talk about” and they respond, “Oh, I'll just tell you when we meet.” Not cool, bro. Not cool. I wonder if the seven churches who received this letter, and others who would eventually read it, wondered when it arrived in the mailbox, “Look, a letter! Yay! Oh, wait it's from an apostle.” I wonder if they worried it would concern the most horrific news. I wonder if they thought, like I do, they were in serious trouble; then they read, “Grace to you and peace from him who is, was, and is to come.”

Grace to you and peace from him who is, who was, and who is to come. Grace: Unmerited favor. Peace: the conflict is resolved and wholeness is restored. Impactful to these churches who were experiencing great persecution at the hands of the Roman empire for not bowing down and worshiping Caesar. The words let them that the letter they received is more than a critical letter or an instructional letter, it carries weight because the grace and peace do not come just from the author, they come from the One who is, who was, and who is to come. The words of grace and peace come from Christ and the news that follows reminds the churches of the One who has their world in their hands. They are reminded of his promise to return and that he is the beginning and the end.

The author uses three titles to describe Jesus: faithful witness, firstborn of the dead, and ruler of the kings of earth. Jesus is the faithful witness, a beneficiary of a special revelation from God. He can authentically reveal God's purpose to the church community; thereby enabling the church to become a witness in its turn. Jesus described as a witness empowers the church to act as a similar witness in the world. As the firstborn of the dead, the author is insisting on the eschatological role of Jesus, something the gospel and letters attributed to the disciple John stress as well. The author is telling the church through Jesus death and resurrection Jesus has begun the new eon.¹ Jesus has not just returned to life like the resurrections of the little girl and Lazarus in the gospels, it is the beginning of something new. It is the beginning of a new kingdom.

In this new kingdom the author describes Jesus as ruler of the kings of the earth. The author is challenging the imperialistic ideology in their current world. He not only challenges who truly rules the world but also challenges the church concerning loyalty: to whom should the people of the church show ultimate faithfulness?² The Roman empire ideology, through coins, statutes, inscriptions, buildings, statues, proclaim to the world that Caesar is the ruler of the kings of the earth. The author replaces the Roman empire with his own kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. The true ruler, the true king of the earth, of the universe is Christ and it is to this ruler the church should show loyalty to, not Caesar.

It is here, we hear the author's words of grace and peace to you from him who is, who was, and who is to come. We are reminded once again of the kingdom that is coming. We are reminded once again who it is the king of all. We hear the words of grace and peace with a sense of hope, all wrongs are slowly being righted. The kingdom of heaven is being birthed before our eyes, and with each glimpse we catch, we become renewed, knowing this new kingdom will be worth the birth pangs.

I ended last week's sermon saying, “God is not writing a story about us. It is a story about the world and that gives us hope and given time, we will come to trust in that hope.” The peace that the author, that John writes, comes from the One who is, who was, and who is to come. The peace is not coming from someone who just is or just was or just is to come. It belongs to the One who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. We are trees in a story about a forest and that forest belongs to God. We have to learn that not only all gifts come from God, and to endure the pains of life, but we also must learn to fully place our faith in the One who is, who was, and who is to come.

Placing our faith in the One, in Christ, is to trust that this coming kingdom of heaven is a kingdom that we need. It is to trust that there is a place for all of us in this kingdom and that we belong in this kingdom. It is to trust that we are giving our time, our energy, and our money to is worth the pain and struggle. It is to be able to stand next to one another with the assurance of who is the One writing this story. Placing our faith in One who is, was, and is to come, is to not fear for the future. Instead, such faith only gives hope to the future because Christ is king.

My favorite Lord of the Rings movie is the Two Towers. Out of the trilogy, I find that one to be the best because the conflict is greater than in the Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King. It is the middle of the story and the heroes are divided into four different groups without any contact between them. Gandalf has taken off to find help for the army at Helms Deep and he says, “Look to my coming on the first light of the fifth day, at dawn look to the east.” He is telling Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas that if they can just hold on and fight off the dark forces of Sauron, he will arrive with help at dawn. The whole story has a very apocalyptic feel and just when it feels like all hope is lost the sun rises in the east and hope appears on the hillside.

As I hear the author's descriptions of Jesus, I feel like he is telling us to have just a little extra faith. I feel like with the words of grace and peace, he is giving something for us to hold on to, something to believe in, something to know that “It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.”

The kingdom of heaven is breaking through. With it comes birth pangs and struggles but if we persevere and love the Lord God with all our hearts, souls, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves we will slowly see the shadows of the valley give way to the sun in the east. For me, that's something worth living for. As Jim Somerville says, “We can remember that Jesus didn’t have to be elected to his office (thank God). The world didn’t give him his kingdom and the world can’t take it away. And, we can joyfully sing, “He shall reign forever and ever. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!””

1Anderson, Valerie Nicolet. Revelation 1:4b-8 http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=11/25/2012&tab=3

2Anderson. http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=11/25/2012&tab=3

The Birthpangs of Thanksgiving

“When you hear of wars and rumors of war, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.” (Mark 13:7-8 NRSV)

Jesus is very prophetic in today's gospel reading. He's short explanation of the upcoming future is not painted by words of rainbows and puppies or group singalongs. The world Jesus paints for us is a very bleak world with what appears to be without hope because these events are just the beginning of the birthpangs. We could think of our world around us and we could say without doubt that there is great evidence of these birthpangs and grieve; but are we really without hope? Are Jesus' words absent of hope?

There is an old quote from one of my favorite movies that I am reminded of when I read this passage: “Life is pain, Princess. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something.” Life is very painful. If you're not careful just stepping outside your front door can be a painful experience. You might be whisked away on an adventure to save the world; you might stub your toe or get stung by a bee; you might fall in love and have your heartbroken; or you may even get in an accident and lose your life. Life is pain but life is not hopeless. The pain of life is not something we may want but life, a life that is well lived, is a life that bears the scars of its journey and it is a thankful life.

We have become a peculiar society in many ways but the most peculiar for me is the effort we put into to living comfortable lives. We seek life without pain or hardship and this is evident of a little creation known as indoor plumbing. To protect ourselves from the elements, creatures, and long walks after $1 taco night, we created indoor plumbing. We dump (pun intended) a lot of money into things that will provide us comfort and make life easier and we do the same when it comes to the world we live in.

People invest in things, people, companies, or ideas that make their lives better. Some of the things we invest in are good such as investing in companies that work to provide clean water to poverty stricken countries, medical supplies for those who need them, shoes for kids, Christmas gifts for needy families, etc. For a majority of us, we constantly invest in things that do not necessarily provide us with a better life, they just pretend to do so. We are sold on the idea that this product, this person, this car, or this dish-washing soap will make our lives better so we send them our money. People invest in things that they believe or are told they need to have to live an easier life: Life is pain so we must have lights that clap on and off so we do not have to get out of bed.

But is joy and hope possible without a little pain? Is it truly possible to enjoy life without life's birthpangs? Is it possible for Jesus to usher in the kingdom of God without a little bit of pain?

The Christian story is full of birthpangs: from the massacre of apostles and followers of Christ by the Roman Empire to the struggles of today. We forget that the scriptures speak to suffering and pain as being a part of being a Christian, of being a part of the Christian community, of the ushering in of the kingdom of God. We are told that following Christ means there will be moments of great pain and great joy. As the hymn goes “my joy comes in the morning light” and I cannot have the joy of the morning light without the darkness of midnight. I cannot know the need for peace if I never walk through the valley. Pain and joy are not absent of one another and our Christian tradition reminds us of a God who is faithful in times of great joy and great despair. Christianity is not supposed to make our lives easier. Christianity is supposed to fulfill our lives.

The Christian life is not something we come to on Sundays but something we live into every day of the week. The Christian life does not avoid the pains of life instead the Christian life embraces it, trusting that God does indeed have the whole world in his hands. The writer of Hebrews urges the Christian community to endure the hardships and to look to Christ as they run their race for they have not suffered yet to the point of losing their lives. The writer of 1 Peter argues that we are blessed when we suffer for the name of Christian. The birthpangs are more than a foretelling of the signs, Jesus is telling us that the kingdom of God comes with pain. If we wish to build a beautiful city, there will be some pain and discomfort, there will be blood and there will be suffering. The story of God is not a story about the individual but a story about the whole world. We live as if the story is about a tree in a forest when the true story is about the forest itself. And that should give us hope.

Last week I said the widow's offering gives us a glimpse into what it means to be a part of the kingdom of God. She offers us, in her offering, a way to see life as a gift and all gifts come from God. Jesus, in his description of the coming times, offers us a dose of reality in the coming of the kingdom. The kingdom of God takes work, effort, and enduring the birthpangs.

If the story of the widow's gift is an offer to live in a different reality, the reality of the kingdom of God, then Jesus is telling us the cost of living in the kingdom of God; that being follower of his comes with pain as well as joy. The disciples do not get to experience the joy of resurrection without the pain of the cross. They do not get to experience the joy of walking on water without crossing the sea. They cannot experience the calming of the storm if there is no storm to calm. This does not justify suffering in our world but it allows to approach the pain of life with a spirit of peace and hope.

Every day I get a variety of emails on a variety of ideas and concepts regarding church, specifically church growth. I recently received one from a prominent Christian author that guaranteed our church would grow 30% in three months if we used his study. I received one titled, “Does Build It And They Come Still Work?” I received an email once on how to turn around the statistics of a recent survey that said only 18% of people go to church. Each one promises to grow our church within a year and each one has a reason why people are not coming to church. Each email I receive gives reason why giving is down and church participation is down. The reasons range anywhere from too much stuff going on, priorities to the negative perception of the Christian church in America. Those reasons reinforce the question I asked last week, “Is what we are about worth the time, energy, and money, we are asking people to give to it?” In other words, are we, the church, worth being invested in?

If I may offer my own opinion about the decline of attendance in the American church, I would say the reason has to do with two perceptions by those outside the church walls: 1) The story we tell is different from the story we live. 2) We care more about investing in “stuff” that protects our place of power. The story we tell is one of a loving God who created the earth and everything in it, culminating in the coming of the Messiah, fulfilled in Christ, whose death of the cross and resurrection defeated the power of sin and death, and a faith of a people who were persecuted to the point of death. The story we live is the complete opposite. Instead of being a people who live by the hope of the scriptures, we place our hope in things of this world because, I believe, deep down inside, we are afraid God is not really all that loving. So we look to invest our time and money in “things” that are not of the kingdom, things that keep us remaining in control and in power. To quote a former popular Christian rock group: “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

We can change our programs, our sanctuaries, our music, our worship style, our Sunday school time; we can close our doors every other Sunday and do mission projects; we can take hardline stances on social issues and encourage people to vote for the right cause or the right candidate; but what that says to people is that we are not really about the kingdom; it says we are about protecting what is ours. The most common factor the birthpangs bring with them is nostalgia but nostalgia can be a dangerous thing. Nostalgia is what led the Israelites to believe they were better off as slaves in Egypt then they were starting over as the nation of God in the Promise Land. Nostalgia urges us to turn around and go back to the way life was, remembering the good and ignoring the bad. The story we ask people to invest in is a story of nostalgia, not a story of the kingdom of God; and that is not a story worth investing in.

A story that is worth investing in is a story of a people who seek to honor God and live faithfully to their call as God's people in the midst of the birthpangs and holding onto the hope of the One whose kingdom is coming. The birthpangs will bring joy and we must not give into the temptation to return to a time that was but strive for a kingdom future that will be and live out the kingdom in the present that is. We can build a beautiful city if push through the birthpangs and allow God to continue to work in our world. We can give people something worthwhile to invest in and use their gifts to bring about the kingdom of God if we just try and have a just a mustard seed of faith.

The story God is writing is not a story about us. It is the story about the world and that gives us hope and given time, we will come to trust in that hope.

A Crisis of Faith: He's Got The Whole World

Two things are a crisis of faith for me: money and hurricanes. I grew up in East Texas where the most natural disaster we had to worry about was occasional flooding, a random ice storm, and maybe a tornado. In college, at Oklahoma Baptist University, I came to know the fear and wonderment of tornadoes; but they were never a crisis of faith for me. Tornadoes are random. They appear and disappear and while their destruction is greater than any hurricane, the tornado does not normally last for a very long time and is usually contained to one area. Hurricanes on the other hand are very stressful for me.

We're given a lot of information ahead of time and the meteorologists do a very good job of predicting the path of the hurricane. We know when to expect it and we are usually told to fear the worse: being without power, water, gas and food shortages, etc. Waiting out a hurricane takes time, sometime the entire day and into the next day and it is a real crisis of faith for me. It causes me to worry, no matter how prepared I am, I worry that I've not prepared enough.

Likewise, money is a great stress for me. No matter how much I have it never feels like it's enough. I feel like I'm supposed to have more. I'm supposed to be able to pay my bills and then have enough to go on vacation or put into savings or tithe. Finances are a great stress for me and it when it comes time to work on the church budget or seeing the giving for the week, I get myself worked up. My greatest fear about it all: How it affects me. My worry is about myself and that is the cause for my crisis of faith in those moments.

We all have those moments, don't we? We hear about the impending weather, an upcoming bill, a health concern, and our immediate thought is “how is this going to affect me”. The media sells us on this concern. A majority of the news on the big news networks is about how world events affect you and I. Very rarely is it about it affects others and very rarely is about how we should be concerned for others. The individualistic nature of our culture causes us a lot of worry and worry becomes our master.

Standing on the mountain, Jesus began to speak to the crowd that gathered around him. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit eternal life. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

He told the people gathered with him that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. He told them he had come not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. He said, “You have heard it said, “You shall not murder.” But I say to you that if you are angry with your brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment. If you say “You fool,” you will be liable to the hell of fire. You have heard it said, “Do not swear falsely, but I say to you do not swear at all. You have heard it said, “An eye for an eye, but I say to you turn the other cheek. You have heard it said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

He warned them of practicing piety before others. He warned them not to be like the hypocrites when they pray or fast. He told them not store up treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and thieves steal; but store up yourselves treasures in heaven, where there are neither moth nor rust nor thieves. For where our treasure is so will our hearts be. Therefore we cannot serve two masters. We cannot be devoted to God and wealth. We can only serve one or the other.

He then tells the people not to worry. He tells them not to worry about their lives, what they will eat or what they will drink, or about their bodies, what they will wear. “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?”

He asks, “Why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.”

There is a lot of worry in our world today. We worry about elections, nuclear weapons, taxes, super storms, global and local economy. We worry about our jobs, our children, our homes, our families, our friends, our cars. We worry about where our next meal is coming from, if we'll have enough to make rent or pay the mortgage, or if we can pay our electric bill. Life is full of worry. Why else do we end up with little gray hairs? Life is stressful and Jesus seems to be out of touch with reality. Obviously he wasn't paying attention over the past year else he would know that things he says not to worry about are exactly what we're worrying about and we are worrying about so much more.

We're having a crisis of faith, Jesus.

Our worry has lead us to place our faith in things not of the kingdom. Our worries are urgent and painful, causing great stress on our families and in our lives, and we are in need of a reminder to hold fast to the One whose love endures forever. We are in need of a reminder that our worries will not be eased by Councilmen, Senators, Congressmen, Presidents, or anyone in power. We are in need of a reminder that peace for our worries comes from Christ. We are in need of a reminder that Christ is here in our midst. We are in need of a reminder that Christ is continually writing this story. We are in need of a reminder of who the One is that has written the ending. We are in need of a reminder that the song, “He's got the whole world in his hands” is not just a happy tune we teach to our children. It is our faith and it is our trust in the truth of that song, the truth that our scriptures speak to, that God does indeed have the whole world in his hands.

We're having a crisis of faith, Jesus.

We worry about things that we cannot control. We worry about our votes, our 401ks, the weather, our government, our schools. We worry that we're not keeping up with the Jones and we're falling behind. We worry and we worry. Our worries lead us down a rough path. Our worries lead us to things that can tear down our souls. Our worries damage our friendships, our relationships with our families. Our worries turn our neighbors into enemies. Our worries, when allow them to, can be dangerous to our spiritual lives. So let us again remind ourselves, “He's got the whole world in his hands.”

We're having a crisis of faith, Jesus.

Our worries are infecting the way we live. We live as a people who throw their money at their problems instead of working together for a solution. There has been a few reports on how much candidates have spent on their campaigns this election season. The presidential candidates spent nearly $1 billion on television ads and other campaign advertizements. The men who ran for our district's congressional seat raised close to $1 million for their advertizements to be elected. Several Christian organizations gave close $600 million for advertizements to try and get someone elected. So much worry was tied up in who was elected that people gave willing to a cause that is not of the kingdom. Let us ask ourselves this serious question: Could that 1.7 billion dollars have been given to a better use? Could that amount of money gone to organizations who work to ease the worries of the homeless, the hungry, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned. Could that amount of money gone to something that is more important than an election?

Our worries over this past election season gives an honest look at Christians in America and we need to remind ourselves once again, “He's got the whole world in his hands.”

We are having a crisis of faith, Jesus.

Jesus says we need to look no further than the birds in the air and the flowers on the ground to see God's amazing work at hand. We need to look no further than the birds and the flowers to see that God truly does have the whole world in his hands. So why do we worry so? Why are so concerned about tomorrow? Is it our fear of the unknown? Does it have to do with issues of control? Does it concern our faith? Do we really have faith in Christ? Do we really have faith in God? Let us listen once again to the words of Christ:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matthew 6:25-33 NRSV).

Let us be a community of faith that looks to Christ when our worries consume our lives. Let us be community of faith that helps ease our worries by sharing with one another the gifts Christ has given us. Let us be a community of faith that knows and believes in the One whose steadfast love endures forever. Let us be reminded that God is the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning and the end and that he truly does have the whole world in his hands. Amen.

Offering Us a Look Into a Better Kingdom

http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=219647373

Tithing and faithful stewardship in the church is difficult to talk about. It's difficult to talk about because finances are very personal and our finances are often uncomfortably stretched thin. Between taxes, mortgages or rent, bills, groceries, and other random expenses, it is hard to think about giving 10% of your wages to the church. It's hard to think about giving 5% of your wages. It is hard for me to talk about tithing because 40% of the church's budget goes to my salary. Likewise, it is hard to talk about giving your extra time to the church. Not only do we value our finances, we value our time. Each of us have busy lives that include more than waking up and going to work and going home. Families are constantly stretched with activities for their kids and church events end up in competition for the kids' attention with sports, school activities, and other extra-curricular activities. Time is a valued commodity just as is our money.

But is our time and money really ours?

Jesus is teaching in the temple and as he taught, he tells the crowd to beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in the finest suits, and to be greeted with respect at the local associational meeting. And to have the best seats at banquets and the prime television time slots. They devour the houses of the widows and elderly and for the sake of appearance run ads in local papers telling you of their upcoming revival and which candidate they are endorsing. They will receive greater condemnation.

He sits down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowds putting money in. Many of the wealthy put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the budget. For all of them have given out of their wealth; but she has given out of her poverty, giving everything she had, all she had to live on."

In A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller recalls a very similar story. Don had a signed up to bike across America (from Los Angeles, CA to the east coast in Delaware) to raise money and awareness for clean water in Africa. During his trip, he stopped a convenient store to get a coke and take a short rest before continuing his ride. As he paid for his drink, the young lady behind the counter asked him why he was doing what he was doing. He told her about the project and she reached into her pocket and handed him a $20 bill. Don walked outside and fell asleep on the bench, when he woke up he heard the young lady talking to another customer. She lamented about her car being repossessed and Don realized she had given him the last of her money.

Jesus makes the observation that the woman has given more because she has given out of what she does not have. She gives out of her poverty, meaning, what we see as ours she sees as a gift. Jesus is neither condemning the wealthy or glorifying the poor, he is simply making the observation of who is giving more than whom. Jesus is not making a statement about sacrificial giving; instead he is making the observation that there is a difference between those who give out of what they have and those who give out of what they do not. There is a difference between giving out of our wealth than there is giving out of our poverty. There is a difference between worshiping in humility than in boasting.

We normally give out of our wealth; in other words we give out of what we have. We pay our taxes first, our bills second, groceries third, and then maybe we think about giving to the church what we have left, if we can spare it. Many churches face difficult budget crises every year. Most of the time the budget crisis is over the giving being down. Rarely a church takes the time and see why the giving is down; normally they react and immediately start cutting items in the budget and like most arts programs in a school budget, the children, youth, and associate ministers become victims of the cuts.

Now, if the church took a moment to look at the numbers and explore the reason why giving is down they would find numerous reasons ranging from unemployment, unexpected expenses, medical bills, withholding their tithe because they are mad at the pastor, etc. We would find that the problem is affected by a variety of circumstances and the solution to the crisis is not cuts but responsible spending and use of the budget.

What does all this budget talk have to do with the widow? Everything because it raises the question: what are the people giving to? Why should they give a portion of their income to the church? Because God says so? Because they can use it as a tax write off? I've been around church long enough to know that neither of those are strong enough reasons for people to give. I've been around church long enough to know that when it comes to our money and our time we see it as that, ours. Which in some ways is funny because I bet if we asked each other about this church or our neighbors about their church, they would begin by saying, “My church” or “Our church”. So, we see the church as ours as well but is it really ours? Is our time and wealth really ours. What's that phrase that got a lot people riled up over the summer: You didn't build it.

Our wealth, our time, our church, everything we have is not ours if we are Christians. Instead they belong to God and God's people. The early church seemed to understand the reality of their situation and understood that the gifts they had among themselves were gifts to be shared. The reason none went without, as Acts reports, is because each member of the community cared for the other by giving not only their wealth but their time. They used creative ways to give to the church whether it was by hosting a missionary, an apostle, or by selling a piece of land and giving the proceeds to the church. They valued what they were giving to. They understood what they had not to be theirs. It was a gift.

All that we receive in this life is a gift and gifts are to be shared. The rich man, Luke's parable, is only called a fool because he hoarded his gifts and thought only of himself. He placed his hope in materials and wealth instead of placing his hope in God. Faithful Christian community is only faithful if we share, care, and love another.

Again, what does this have to do with the widow?

The widow's faithfulness in her giving is not sacrificial because she gives what remains or all she has. Her faithfulness is in her gift to God because what she has does not belong to her. She sees it as a gift given to her by God not something that she's earned. Our money and time are things that we did not earn. True, we may have worked for it but is it not God who created the trees that are cut down and turned into paper on which our money is printed? Is it not God who placed the silver, copper, and gold in the ground that we mine to place our engravings images on? Is it not God who continually provides with the air we breath? Is it not God who gave us the animals and vegetables to eat? Is it not someone else who pays you for the work you do? And is it not God who has really provided you the skills for that job? Is it not God who has provided you employment or a source of income? If our answer is yes then all belongs to God.

I have long struggled with this concept of professional ministry. I do not call ministering a living or a profession. It is a way of life, a calling if you will. I would still do this even if I did not get paid for it. I have struggled with the living many of us make because the money does not come from a corporation or a bank but from you. I cannot say that my house is my house because it belongs to you. I cannot say that my car is my car because it is paid for by you. I cannot say claim any food or clothing purchased to be purchased by me because it comes from your tithes. My vacations, my comic books, anything I purchase is not purchased by my money because my money comes from you. It is your gifts every Sunday that my family and I live off of.

My junior year high school, I had a breakthrough, life changing moment during a track meet. I finally won the 1600m and I won it at the final district track meet. Myself and two of my other teammates finished 1, 2, and 3, securing the district championship. After the race my friend who finished second said that he let me win. I was furious that implied that he was better than me. I didn't understand that it didn't matter who won but that we all won. I didn't see what he did for me as a gift but eventually I did. I do now.

The following Sunday I gave the church the medal. I went down during the invitation time, laid the gold medal at the 'altar' and went back and sat down. The pastor eventually returned to it me after the service saying it wasn't necessary; but my understanding in giving it to the church was not about returning it to God but sharing the accomplishment with my church family past, present and future. The clouds of witnesses as the scriptures say. Interestingly enough, it took this passage to remind me of that memory.

The widow offers us a better reality than the one we are living. She offers us a glimpse into what it means to be a part of the kingdom of God where all our treasures are and where there are no moths and no thief will be break in and steal it. The widow is our window into the kingdom of God; she is our example of what it means to live as followers of Christ and what she shows is us is the complete opposite of capitalism or socialism.

Our budget, our monies, our time, our lives are gifts from God and how use them says a lot about what we believe. But once we find the center of our life to be Christ and the center of our hearts are focused on him, we are then able to fully offer ourselves to another. Our defenses are taken away since we are no longer protecting or defending what is ours; instead we are able to say, “Please enter—my house is your house, my joy is your joy, my sadness is your sadness, and my life is your life.” We have nothing to defend since we have nothing to lose but all to give.¹

This leads us to ask, “Is what we are about worth the time, energy, and money people are giving to?” Are we being good stewards by using their gifts wisely? For that question we'll have to wait until next week, same bat-time, same bat-channel. Until then let us seek to place our faith in Christ and see others as a gift and all that we've been given as a gift. May we be free to give the gift to others in return.

1 Nouwen, Henri. “Hospitality” Show Me the Way. The Crossroads Publishing Company, 1992 pg 31

Ode to a Playful Son

He scatters his toys on the floor
A plane here, a truck there, an action figure flying in to save the burning house
A car jumps from the coffee table and suddenly able to fly
I hurt my foot stepping on his battlefield.

"Sorry, daddy" as I scream in anguish
He hugs me as he goes back to playing
"I'm Buzz Lighyear Connor," he yells
Flying into the room and jumping on the bed

His nose is scratched from a recent battle with the door
He laughs uncontrollably, "Tickle me, momma!"
The house is full of life as he runs around
I wonder if it ever was before he arrived