"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

A house flies an American flag in their front yard
Underneath flew the Christian flag
Their allegiance is made known:
America first; Christ second

Convinced that serving one master is the same as serving the other
Allegiances are demanded, constructed to be one in same
One cannot serve both.
It is one kingdom or the other

Life Within a Coffee Shop

In this place I see older women consoling younger men
Sitting with my hot chocolate I observe computer screens
Best selling books, quiet study, gentle loneliness

Avoiding social interaction is interrupted by a gentle smile from a stranger
A smile returned, grateful for the random unsaid kindness
Interviews take place next to a student writing on the works of Keats

Life within a coffee shop
A practice of the ideal reality
With bartistas serving each their requests

That Which We Hear

That which we hear is not what we see
Lies contorted, shaped into truths
Neighbors become enemies
Longing for reconstructed nostalgia

Convinced of greener grass
And better ways, reason is abandoned
The narrative is spun
Calling the elite the oppressed

The oppressed elite
Jesus a political tool
Manipulating the faithful
With dreams of power, of rightful place

That which we hear is not what we see
Lies contorted, shaped into truths

Not Far From the Kingdom of God

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’ —this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question. Mark 28-34

When I noticed this passage in the lectionary I thought that I might have preached on this verse before. Turns out I have, well sort of. I preached from Matthew's interpretation of the text not Mark's. I was very tempted to just use last year's sermon because I doubt many remember it and I could get away with it. But I think the general rule is to wait three years before you do reruns and Mark's text is very different from Matthew's and Luke's.

Jesus is debating with several scribes when one, seeing that Jesus answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Now Jesus has a lot of commandments to choose from, 613 Levitical laws to be exact; but he chooses two commandments. The first, from Deuteronomy 6:5 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” The second, from Leviticus 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus goes on to say that there is no greater commandment than these.

The scribe, amazed, responds, “You are right, teacher; you have truly said that 'he is one, and besides him there is no other'; and 'to love him with all your heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself,' this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Jesus tells the scribe, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

Not far from the kingdom of God.

A friend of mine asked several of us what our personal code was. She got several fascinating answers ranging from selfless acts to one crazy guy who quoted the VCU Ram saying, “Don't start no stuff there won't be no stuff” who turned out to be her crazy husband. The question got me thinking, what was my personal code? What is your personal code that you live by? What commandments, in other words, are the greatest in your mind? Are your answers the same as the ones Jesus gave?

Are we far from the kingdom of God?

I only had two strict rules when I was a youth minister: 1) Edify 2) We don't say "hate".

You can ask any number of my former youth and they will tell you that I was a stickler when it came to those two rules. My hope was for the youth group and myself to become builders and not destroyers of others. I strongly believe that if a group of teenagers are constantly being taught and shown why we lift one another up and not tear down, strangers who visit will find a safe place where they are encouraged and loved for who they are. Something I think every teenager truly wishes to feel. Of course it didn't always work. I mean they're teenagers and we're adults, we're people and we sometimes use words that tear others down even if we do not mean too so we all are in need of a gentle correction from time to time.

I do not like the word "hate" because it is an extreme. It is the extreme opposite of love. I think it's okay to not be a fan of something (I'm not a fan of Carytown) or not like something (I do not like fried okra) but to use the word hate means you have removed all hope of love. Though I may not be a fan of Carytown, VA and think it's overrated, it does not mean that given time I will never eventually come to see it for the unique place it is. Likewise just because I do not like fried okra, it does not mean that given time I will never eventually try it, even if it made me throw up when I was four.

That's why I try very hard to never say I hate ____. If I hate something or if I use the word hate, I believe I am opening myself to all forms of hate from hating beansprouts to hating dragons to hating people. If I use the extreme opposite of love to describe my feelings for something, I remove any hope of love and any hope of reconciliation.

Silly, I know. I get it. It's just a word, right? It's no big deal

Except it is for me.

Hate has a way of finding its way into our lives through our words and our actions. If I hate the smallest of creation then I have the possibility to hate the biggest of creation. If I say I hate meetings then I open myself up to say I hate where I work and the people I work with. Eventually I will find myself saying, I hate you and the moment I say “I hate you” I remove all hope of loving you and reconciling with you. You then become my enemy and my hate then becomes something that has no bounds.

In the terms of our gospel reading I am far from the kingdom of God the moment I start hating.

You may think it is an extreme interpretation of the word and it is to a degree. Surely if I hate a messy room that doesn't mean I hate the person who keeps it messy? Perhaps not. Perhaps it eventually does. Perhaps the thing that you severely hate eventually becomes what you hate about the person. What if what you hate about the person becomes the reason you hate said person? It is why I cannot say "Love the sinner, hate the sin." because if I hate the sin I will eventually hate the sinner because the two are not separated. If you hate my sin then you hate me because I am the one committing the sin. Forgiveness and love cannot, in my mind, exist in the same structure as hate.

Loving the Lord with every ounce of our being and loving our neighbor as ourselves means we cannot have room for hate in our vocabulary. I cannot love my neighbors and hate them at the same time. Love and hate cannot exist together because one will eventually become greater than the other. Hate takes us away from the kingdom of God and to go one step further, I do not believe we can fully love God if we use the word hate. I do not believe we can say, “I love God” and in another breath say, “I hate ___”.

John writes, “If anyone who say, “I love God” and hates his brother is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” Our love for God is only true if we love our neighbor. In a time when we are pitted against one another based on party lines, tax brackets, race, doctrine, or who hasn't returned the lawnmower, the reminder of the greatest commandment is important for us. If I may speak honestly for a moment I believe we have lost our way when it comes to these two commandments. I believe that in trying to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength, we've been afraid to fully love our neighbor because we are afraid of what God might say. We're afraid that we might love the wrong people.

The Japanese troops approached the abandoned American university a couple of miles outside the little Chinese village. Morgan, the lone American missionary, could hear the menacing rattle of machine guns in the distance, but he decided to stand his ground at the the gate of the institution where he had taught until the invasion drove the school westward.

They came along the road—dirty, disheveled, tense, and utterly wear. “As tired looking bunch of men as I've ever seen.” Morgan thought. It was a small contingent, a sort of advance guard. They would trot along the road a hundred yards and then squat down, set up a machine gun, and spray the road ahead. They paid little attention to the man standing by the gate as they went by.

By the next day the nearby village had become a field headquarters for the Japanese, and Morgan's tribulations began. As he had anticipated, the Japanese officers cast covetous glances at the university buildings. Soon a group of them called on Morgan and demanded the keys. The missionary declined, politely but firmly. He explained that the property belonged to American mission boards, that it had been entrusted to his care, and that the was not at liberty to hand it over to anyone else. An hour and a half of discussion, with the missionary remaining always courteous and friendly but firm, convinced the Japanese and they left.

Unfortunately, that was not the end. Periodically, on an average of every two weeks, the village garrison changed, and each new contingent had to be persuaded all over again. Through it all Morgan did his best to remain calm and friendly. But then a major crisis. This time something had happened to make the Japanese less patient, less willing to listen to the missionary's arguments. Morgan sensed the tension in the air immediately. He could not help reflecting that, isolated as he was, the Japanese could do with him as they would. No “neutral” witnesses could be summoned to testify against them. A dead missionary could easily be explained by a “stray bullet—so sorry!” Nevertheless, he greeted them cordially, as always, and refused their request for the keys of the building with his usual regretful firmness. This time, though, the most eloquent of arguments appeared only to inflame the soldiers more. Finally the officer in command delivered an ultimatum.

“Surrender the keys,” he demanded flatly, “or we shoot you!” The missionary stood a little straighter. “I have told you how it is,” he replied quietly. “I wish you no harm, but I cannot do what you ask. I cannot.” Grimly the officer counted off three men and lined them up facing the missionary. “Ready!” he commanded, and the rifles were raised to shoulders. He turned to the missionary. “Surrender the keys!”

“I cannot. I have told you I cannot. I have no hatred against you. I have only the friendliest feelings for you. But I cannot give you the keys.” Morgan thought he could see admiration in the soldiers' eyes—admiration and baffled wonderment, as though they could not understand what held him erect and smiling in the very face of death. “Aim!” The officer's voice was gruff as he turned once more to the missionary. “You're last chance,” he said, “Surrender the keys!” There was a pause. Morgan looked directly at the men who stood leveled with rifles facing him. He spoke to them, as one man to other men, as brother to brother.

“I cannot,” he said, “you know that I cannot.” The stillness was absolute. The missionary looked steadily at the men. The officer seemed uncertain, the men uneasy. Then one at a time they relaxed. Rifles lowered; sheepish grins replaced their looks of grim desperation. But the danger had not passed. One man of the firing squad apparently was disgusted and embarrassed at the outcome of the situation. He gripped his rifle and glared at Morgan.

“Father,” the missionary prayed, “a little more love. Let me show a little more love.” The soldier had decided. Abruptly, with fixed bayonet on the end of his rifle, he launched himself full tilt at the missionary. He came fast and he came hard. At the last instant, when the point of his bayonet was not a foot from Morgan, he dodged. The soldier missed, and the force of his charge carried him up to Morgan. Morgan reached around him and with his right hand grabbed the butt of his rifle. With his left hand he grasped him around the shoulders and pulled him tight up against him. Morgan was taller than the soldier and he had to look up to Morgan. When their eyes met, his face was contorted fury.

Their glances locked and held for seconds that seemed ages long. Then Morgan smiled at the soldier, and it was like a spring thaw melting the ice on a frozen river. The hatred vanished and,, after a sheepish moment, the soldier smiled back! That was the end. A few minutes later the soldiers, like a group of bewildered children, were trailing the missionary into his living quarters—to have tea before their tiring journey back to the village (Anonymous Missionary, “It Was Like a Spring Thaw”. John Howard Yoder, What Would You Do? pg. 91-94).

Are we far from the kingdom of God?

One clarifying answer to that will come November 7. The day after our election we will be faced with the ultimate truth: life continues. We can either mope if “our” guy loses or celebrate if “our” guy wins but life is going to continue. We will go about our daily lives and the world will continue to turn. Our answer will be seen in how we respond. Will we respond to others in love or will we turn over buses and burn buildings? Will we respond to our neighbors with love or will we see them as the enemy? We live in an “us vs them” world but we do not have to be a part of it. We can choose to honor and follow the great commandments if we wanted to, if we choose to.

After the incident with the soldiers, Morgan said, “I felt no fear. I was perfectly calm. My only prayer was for enough love to disarm my attackers. I tried to show them—the men as well as the officers—that I had in fact the friendliest feelings for them, that I recognized them as brothers and would refuse to cooperate with them only when they wished me to do something wrong. I tried to put that into my eyes as well as into my words.” (Yoder pg 93).

Let us make the choice to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and soul. And to love our neighbor as ourselves. All we have to do is try and I think then we won't be far from the kingdom of God.