Pastoral Prayer–Sunday, August 15, 2010

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Gracious God, you love justice and hate oppression, you give peace to those who seek it, and you condemn the rage of violence.  When the flood waters covered the face of the earth, the rain ceased so that you might give humanity a second chance.  When you heard your people’s cry in Egypt, you sent Moses to bring a spirit of freedom.  When your children were asked to sing their song in a foreign land, you sent them home to prepare the way of the Messiah.  Gracious God, give us the courage to stand against evil, oppression, and abuse, so that your story of salvation may ring with truth in the ears of a hurting world.

Holy Father, Father of Christ, the pioneer and perfector of our faith, who came to bring the fire of the Spirit upon the earth, that it might be kindled for the perfection of our faith, we pray for those who are in need of the gift of faith, a vision of hope, and an experience of love.  Pour out your Spirit upon us so that we, the church, might go out into the world, faithful stewards of hope and love.  We especially pray this morning for those in the midst of divorce, those experiencing the division of a broken family, those rebuilding a betrayal of trust

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, as we continue to pray saying:

 Our Father, who art in heaven

Hallowed be thy name

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

And forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those who trespass against us

Lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil

For thine is the kingdom

And the power

And the glory, forever

Amen!

Where the Streets Have No Name: Colossians 3:1-11

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To say that my sense of direction is bad is an understatement.  Whether it’s something in the blood or awareness in the brain, or the simple ability to pay attention to where you are going, I don’t have it.  My wife, Christie, has it.  It’s a gift.  She only has to go somewhere once to know how to get back there.  Not long ago I had to be at Amy and David Simon’s house without my GPS, so I called Christie to help navigate me.  The conversation went something like this:

 “Honey, can you help me get to Amy and David Simon’s house?”

“Dear, we’ve been there a dozen times.”

“I’m not interested in the score, I’m interested in directions.”

I’m not interested in the score, I’m interested in directions.  Too often we think about the road to heaven as a score card—If you do this you’re in.  If you do that, you’re out.  Colossians gives us an intriguing picture of heaven: “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.”  One thing of which we can be certain is that Christ is seated at the right hand of God, meaning that Christ is in communion with God in heaven.  Colossians is saying that our lives are wrapped up in Christ and when Christ is revealed we too are revealed.  In other words, Christ is what it means to be alive, and that life is revealed by those who believe.

Our role as Christians is not to live according to a checklist.  Lists can be helpful.  We have one today.  “Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry . . . get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth.”  The problem with checklists, or as Paul would say, the Law, is that it begins to become the manifestation of our faith—our faith is no longer in Christ, it is in the checklist itself.  It’s as if to say, “As long as I don’t slander, I am living the life of Christ; as long as I don’t do x, y, or z, I am living the life.”  This is a terribly frustrating way to live.  It’s like trying to get to Amy and David’s house with my GPS and the GPS tells me at each intersection, “Don’t take a right here.  Don’t merge at the next intersection.  In three point two miles, don’t turn.”  Friends, hear me, we do put to death these things: lying, gossip, greed; but the goal of Christianity is not to not gossip, or to never tell a lie.  The goal of Christianity is to reveal Christ.  Christ is what it means to be alive, and this life will be revealed by those who believe!

“Where the Streets Have No Name” gives us a compelling image of what heaven is.  I would image that if at some point during this worship service, all of the street signs disappear, you would still be able to get home.  I might not, but thankfully Christie is here.  How is it that without any sign posts you would still be able to navigate the streets?  Well, you’ve done it before.  You’ve done it often.  It’s familiar.  The more familiar something is the less sign posts you need.  This is why the habits of the church are so important.  The habits of fasting, prayer, mission, stewardship, worship, communion . . .

Once there was a rich man.  He met and fell in love with a young maiden.  She was lovely in form, and lovelier still in character.  He rejoiced when he saw her.  Yet he grieved also.  For he knew that he was not like her.  His face was hideous and his heart was cruel.  He considered how he could win her hand. 

Eventually he hit upon a plan.  He went to see a mask maker.  He said, “Make me a mask that I shall become handsome.  Then, perhaps, I may win the love of this noble young woman.”  The mask maker did as he was bid.  The man was transformed into a handsome figure.  He tried hard to summon a character to match.  It was sufficient to win the heart and hand of the fair maiden, and they were married.  Then years of increasing happiness followed.  But the man knew he was carrying a secret.  He sensed that true love could not be founded on deceit.  He had to know if his wife really loved him, if she loved the man behind the mask.  So one day, with a heavy heart and trembling hand, he knocked a second time on the mask maker’s door.  “It is time to remove the mask,” he said.  He walked slowly and anxiously back to his home.  He greeted his wife.

To his astonishment, she made no comment, nor showed him any untoward reaction.  There was no scream, no horror, no revulsion.  He searched for a mirror.  He looked—and saw no ungliness but a face as handsome as the mask, a face so different from his original face.  He was amazed and overjoyed—but bewildered and confused.  He ran back to the mask maker to find some kind of explanation.  The mask maker said, “You have changed.  You loved a beautiful person.  You have become beautiful too.  You have become beautiful through loving her.  You become like the face of the one whom you love.”[1]

These Christian habits: prayer, study, communion, worship, begin to reveal the Christ within us to the point where we no longer have to think to serve the poor and release the captive and liberate the oppressed.  We no longer have to think about abstaining from slander and greed.  We no longer need street signs to show us the way home.  The Christ within us becomes our life, and it is our duty to reveal this Christ to the world.  Christ is what it means to be alive, and this life is revealed by those who believe.  These habits begin to form our character so that pathways of love are no longer foreign or difficult to find.  Heaven is a place where the streets have no name because we don’t need them.  We know how to get there.  “When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.  Praise be to God.  Amen!

[1] Sam Wells, Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics, (Grand Rapides: Brazos Press, 2004), 85.

One (We Get To Carry Each Other): Galatians 3:27-29

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A Rabbi sat down with his disciples and asked them, “How can you tell when night has ended and the day has begun?”  One student offered, “It is when, at a distance, you can tell a sheep from a goat.”  “No,” the Rabbi replied.  Another student answered, “It is when, at a distance, you can tell a date tree from a palm tree.”  Again the Rabbi replied, “No.”  Another student asked the Rabbi, “How can you tell when night has ended and the day has begun?”  The Rabbi answered, “It is when, at a distance, you can look into the face of another and see a brother or sister.  Until then, it is night.”

These short verses from Galatians reveal to us what Christianity looks like by the light of day.  “There is no Jew or Greek, no slave or free, no male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”  It is the cornerstone of Paul’s understanding of the Gospel.  While Paul was writing, the Church was in the midst of a crisis.  Should you or should you not be circumcised in order to become a Christian.  It would be scandalous, or at least a bit silly, when someone comes forward to be baptized for me to ask if he had been circumcised.  What a peculiar ritual our baptismal liturgy would be if we performed circumcision in the sanctuary between the children’s moment and the scripture reading.  I imagine it would hinder church growth.  Of course, we know the answer to this question in today’s church, in the contemporary context, but I’m not sure if we’ve fully realized what Paul was teaching. 

 It’s like our United Methodist slogan, for lack of a better term, “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors, the People of The United Methodist Church.”  Of course our hearts and minds and doors are open, but that doesn’t mean that we as a United Methodist body of Christ are where we need to be in terms of hospitality and reconciliation.  “Open Heart, Open Minds, Open Doors,” isn’t necessarily a statement about the way things are; rather it is a statement about the way we hope to be.  It isn’t yet who we are, but we are working toward this sacred goal.  We might chuckle at the circumcision debate, but as the body of Christ, we are still working on all being one.

This does not mean that we are called to be the same.  As Irene Zimmerman writes: “In Bethlehem a baby’s cry shatters barriers.  Women, men of every creed, culture, race, gaze across the rubbled walls in wonder, finding every face luminous with godliness!”  We are to look across the rubbled walls which we had erected to find each face reflecting the image of God.  Paul is writing to a community which built a wall between Jew and Greek.  You were either Jew or “other.”  Once Paul began sharing the Gospel in the Gentile community, new, “other” people were claiming to be heirs of Abraham’s promise.  Several Jewish Christians were claiming that in order to be Christian, you must first be Jewish, and this was something Paul vigorously fought.  These Jewish Christians had it backwards.  Paul says, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.”  Paul acknowledges differences. 

He doesn’t say, “There are no Jews.  There are no Greeks.”  He says, “There is no longer Jew or Greek,” meaning that you are Jewish, and you are a Greek, but there is no longer a divide between you.  In other words, the goal of Christianity is not to color the world gray; rather we are called to see the beauty of red and blue and heliotrope.  It’s not that red is better than blue, or blue is more deserving than red, or that salvation means that red must become blue or both need to be purple.  God created red and God created blue.  There is no longer red or blue, but through baptism all colors are heir to the promise.

In the year 2000, J. Louis Martyn presented his Anchor Bible Commentary on Galatians at the Society of Biblical Literature.  One of the scholars at the meeting said that she understood how the Jew/Greek divide pertained to the context of the letter to the Galatians, but she found it difficult to understand how the rest of Galatians 3:28 (slave or free, male and female) fit into Paul’s context.  She asked what Paul meant by adding slave or free, male and female to this baptismal formula.  Martyn replied, “I don’t know.”  So, for matters which confuse even the commentary writers, with your blessing, I’m going to table talking about the “slave or free, male and female,” aspects of this verse for another sermon on another day.  There’s enough in this verse for a sermon series in and of itself.

“One life, one blood, one life you’ve got to do what you should.  One life with each other, sister, brother.  One life, but we’re not the same, we get to carry each other.  One.”  Bono sings about this “oneness” in Christ as a mutual burden we are to share.  Even more provocative is that he sings of it as a privilege.  “We get to carry each other,” he sings.  And what a privilege it is!  How thankful I am that life in Christ is not about survival of the fittest.  How thankful I am that baptism isn’t reserved for only the wealthy or self sufficient or sane.  How thankful I am that we are called to carry each other because I know there have been times in my life when I’ve needed to be carried. 

Jean Vanier, founder of the L’Arche community writes:

“God seems pleased to call together in Christian communities people who, humanly speaking, are very different . . . The most beautiful communities are created from just this diversity of people and temperaments.  This means that each person must love the others with all their differences, and work with them for the community.  These people would never have chosen to live with each other.  Humanly speaking, it seems an impossible challenge.  But it is precisely because it is impossible that they believe that God has chosen them to live in this community.  So then the impossible becomes possible.  They no longer rely on their own human abilities, but on their Father who has called them to live together.  He will give them a new heart and spirit which will enable them all to become witnesses to love.  In fact, the more impossible it is . . . the more of a sign it is that their love comes from God and that Jesus is living.  By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

 How can you tell when night has ended and the day has begun?  When you can look at another and see the face of a brother or sister.  Until then, it is night.  This table around which we gather is where day begins.  We gather around the one table as the one body of Christ.  We are not the same.  We are blue and red, rich and poor, married and single . . . the list goes on, but this table is the only place in the entire world where your past, your failures, your successes, your victories or defeats, don’t matter.  You are a child of God and this is the supper which your Heavenly Father has prepared.  One bread.  One body.  One people.  Different, but beautiful.  Come and experience the light of day.  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For: Colossians 2:6-19

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Brian McLaren, in his book, A Generous Orthodoxy, writes about the seven Jesus’ he has found throughout his Christian Journey.  He first met the “Conservative Protestant Jesus,” who was born to die for his sin, but there was something missing because it seemed to individualistic and legalistic.  So, he kept searching.  He then found the “Pentecostal/Charismatic Jesus,” who was present and personal, full of life and energy, yet this Jesus didn’t seem to have much concern for the world or the church’s history.  So, he kept searching.  He then found the “Roman Catholic Jesus,” who was steeped in tradition and full of compassion, but this Jesus seemed too exclusive.  So, he kept searching.  This led him to find the “Eastern Orthodox Jesus,” who was full of mystery and the Trinity,” which led him to the “Liberal Protestant Jesus,” who focused on social justice, which led him to the “Anabaptist Jesus,” who was a pacifist and full of peace, which led to the “Liberation Theology Jesus,” who fought against global injustice for the poor and oppressed.  Sometimes this Christian Journey is really confusing.  Which Jesus is the right Jesus?

Bono is apparently on this same search party in “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”  He writes, “I have climbed highest mountains, I have run through the fields, only to be with you.  I have run, I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls, only to be with you, but I still haven’t found what I’m looking for . . . I have burned with desire, I have held the hand of the devil . . .”  This is a man on a mission.  He even goes so far to say offer a sinner’s prayer saying, “You broke the bonds, and you loosed the chains, carried the cross of my shame, you know I believe it, but I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”  Many of us have stories like this—searching for the right Jesus, at least, it seems that so many have such a strong opinion about the one they’ve found.

Maybe you’re not searching for Jesus so much as a renewed passion for faith in Christ.  You have experienced the honeymoon of conversion, where your cup runneth over, and you feel that God is with you, but now it’s hard to remember how God called you here in the first place.  CS Lewis writes about this experience in The Screwtape Letters, which is a collection of letters written from an elder demon, Screwtape, to a demon-in-training, Wormwood.  In order for Wormwood to climb hellish corporate ladder, he must convince his patient to turn his back on God.  About half way through the book, Wormwood is doing a fine job:

 My dear Wormwood, obviously you are making excellent progress . . . I am almost glad to hear that [your patient] is still a churchgoer and a communicant.  I know there are dangers in this; but anything is better than that he should realize the break he has made with the first month of his Christian life.  As long as he retains externally the habits of a Christian, he can still be made to think of himself as one who has adopted a few new friends and amusements, but whose spiritual state is much the same as it was six weeks ago . . . a few weeks ago you had to tempt him with inattention in his prayers: but now, you will find him opening his arms to you and almost begging you to distract his purpose and benumb his heart . . . You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness, but do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy, God . . . Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick.

 Later Wormwood begins to slip up.  Screwtape writes, “My dear Wormwood, the most alarming thing in your last account of the patient is that he is making none of those confident resolutions which marked his original conversion.  No more lavish promises of perpetual virtue, I gather; not even the expectation of an endowment of ‘grace’ for life, but only a hope for the daily and hourly pittance to meet the daily and hourly temptation!  This is very bad.”

The great prophet Elijah came to a point in his ministry when he felt alone and abandoned by God.  He was fasting for 40 days and 40 night, sleeping in a cave.  God came to him and asked him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  Elijah answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword.  I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”  Times are rough for Elijah.  I find hope that this great prophet, too, went through struggles.  God said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about the pass by.”  Then there was a great wind which split rocks, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire there was the sound of silence, or a still, small voice.

This was the problem with the Colossian church.  They were being led away from faith by philosophies and the elements of the world.  They were searching for Christ in creation, whether it be rock and trees or philosophical thought.  You see, the Colossians had it backwards.  They were finding philosophies which worked for them, and then mapping faith onto it.  It’s like saying, “I agree with the Republicans, therefore Jesus must be a Republican,” or “I love worship when I leave with a warm, fuzzy feeling, therefore Jesus came that we might have warm, fuzzy feelings.”  What Brian McLauren discovered is that all of these different Jesuses that he was discovering wasn’t really Jesus at all.  He was simply looking at the bottom of a well.  He was really looking into a mirror.  He was conforming Jesus into his own image instead of being conformed to Christ.  Christianity is not about finding the right Jesus, it is about realizing that you have already been found by Christ.  If you continue to search for a Jesus who suits you, you will never find him because faith lifts our eyes to God and our arms to each other.  It’s not about me. Paul writes,

“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every rule and authority . . . when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.  And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands.  He set this aside, nailing it to the cross.  He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.”

 It is not about finding the right Jesus, it is realizing that you have been found by Jesus, the one who forgives and redeems and gives life.  If we believe in this forgiveness and this life, and provide to others forgiveness and life, then how could you have found the wrong Jesus?  If you still haven’t found what you’re looking for, I have a suggestion.  After God reveals himself to Elijah, God asks, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”  Elijah responds with the same grievance as before.  So God says, “Go down the mountain and serve.”  So . . . go down the mountain and serve.  Go and forgive someone.  Go and do something life-giving for someone in need . . . let me know how it goes.  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For: Colossians 2:6-19

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Brian McLaren, in his book, A Generous Orthodoxy, writes about the seven Jesus’ he has found throughout his Christian Journey.  He first met the “Conservative Protestant Jesus,” who was born to die for his sin, but there was something missing because it seemed to individualistic and legalistic.  So, he kept searching.  He then found the “Pentecostal/Charismatic Jesus,” who was present and personal, full of life and energy, yet this Jesus didn’t seem to have much concern for the world or the church’s history.  So, he kept searching.  He then found the “Roman Catholic Jesus,” who was steeped in tradition and full of compassion, but this Jesus seemed too exclusive.  So, he kept searching.  This led him to find the “Eastern Orthodox Jesus,” who was full of mystery and the Trinity,” which led him to the “Liberal Protestant Jesus,” who focused on social justice, which led him to the “Anabaptist Jesus,” who was a pacifist and full of peace, which led to the “Liberation Theology Jesus,” who fought against global injustice for the poor and oppressed.  Sometimes this Christian Journey is really confusing.  Which Jesus is the right Jesus?

Bono is apparently on this same search party in “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”  He writes, “I have climbed highest mountains, I have run through the fields, only to be with you.  I have run, I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls, only to be with you, but I still haven’t found what I’m looking for . . . I have burned with desire, I have held the hand of the devil . . .”  This is a man on a mission.  He even goes so far to say offer a sinner’s prayer saying, “You broke the bonds, and you loosed the chains, carried the cross of my shame, you know I believe it, but I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”  Many of us have stories like this—searching for the right Jesus, at least, it seems that so many have such a strong opinion about the one they’ve found.

Maybe you’re not searching for Jesus so much as a renewed passion for faith in Christ.  You have experienced the honeymoon of conversion, where your cup runneth over, and you feel that God is with you, but now it’s hard to remember how God called you here in the first place.  CS Lewis writes about this experience in The Screwtape Letters, which is a collection of letters written from an elder demon, Screwtape, to a demon-in-training, Wormwood.  In order for Wormwood to climb hellish corporate ladder, he must convince his patient to turn his back on God.  About half way through the book, Wormwood is doing a fine job:

 My dear Wormwood, obviously you are making excellent progress . . . I am almost glad to hear that [your patient] is still a churchgoer and a communicant.  I know there are dangers in this; but anything is better than that he should realize the break he has made with the first month of his Christian life.  As long as he retains externally the habits of a Christian, he can still be made to think of himself as one who has adopted a few new friends and amusements, but whose spiritual state is much the same as it was six weeks ago . . . a few weeks ago you had to tempt him with inattention in his prayers: but now, you will find him opening his arms to you and almost begging you to distract his purpose and benumb his heart . . . You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness, but do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy, God . . . Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick.

 Later Wormwood begins to slip up.  Screwtape writes, “My dear Wormwood, the most alarming thing in your last account of the patient is that he is making none of those confident resolutions which marked his original conversion.  No more lavish promises of perpetual virtue, I gather; not even the expectation of an endowment of ‘grace’ for life, but only a hope for the daily and hourly pittance to meet the daily and hourly temptation!  This is very bad.”

The great prophet Elijah came to a point in his ministry when he felt alone and abandoned by God.  He was fasting for 40 days and 40 night, sleeping in a cave.  God came to him and asked him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  Elijah answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword.  I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”  Times are rough for Elijah.  I find hope that this great prophet, too, went through struggles.  God said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about the pass by.”  Then there was a great wind which split rocks, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire there was the sound of silence, or a still, small voice.

This was the problem with the Colossian church.  They were being led away from faith by philosophies and the elements of the world.  They were searching for Christ in creation, whether it be rock and trees or philosophical thought.  You see, the Colossians had it backwards.  They were finding philosophies which worked for them, and then mapping faith onto it.  It’s like saying, “I agree with the Republicans, therefore Jesus must be a Republican,” or “I love worship when I leave with a warm, fuzzy feeling, therefore Jesus came that we might have warm, fuzzy feelings.”  What Brian McLauren discovered is that all of these different Jesuses that he was discovering wasn’t really Jesus at all.  He was simply looking at the bottom of a well.  He was really looking into a mirror.  He was conforming Jesus into his own image instead of being conformed to Christ.  Christianity is not about finding the right Jesus, it is about realizing that you have already been found by Christ.  If you continue to search for a Jesus who suits you, you will never find him because faith lifts our eyes to God and our arms to each other.  It’s not about me. Paul writes,

“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every rule and authority . . . when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.  And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands.  He set this aside, nailing it to the cross.  He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.”

 It is not about finding the right Jesus, it is realizing that you have been found by Jesus, the one who forgives and redeems and gives life.  If we believe in this forgiveness and this life, and provide to others forgiveness and life, then how could you have found the wrong Jesus?  If you still haven’t found what you’re looking for, I have a suggestion.  After God reveals himself to Elijah, God asks, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”  Elijah responds with the same grievance as before.  So God says, “Go down the mountain and serve.”  So . . . go down the mountain and serve.  Go and forgive someone.  Go and do something life-giving for someone in need . . . let me know how it goes.  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Guns in Church

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Recently Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal signed House Bill no. 1272 into law, which allows concealed firearms in places of worship.  I can’t say it any better, so I’m going to offer the words of Bishop William Hutchinson:

“Besides the atmosphere of a citadel for worship, the other objections I have are purely theological.  Haven’t we been taught to believe that ‘perfect love casts out fear?’  Hasn’t the one who told Peter in the garden to put up his sword because those who live by the sword will also die by the sword saved us . . . And don’t we believe that abundance of life in Christ is not dependent on our security from those who threaten to kill us?  Isn’t that the message Jesus gave when he willingly gave himself to crucifixion rather than call down the legions of angels to protect and secure his life . . . If I’m gunned down in church, then maybe that’s the most blessed place I could be when I go to meet my maker . . . I’m not going to go to worship with all my false protection out of fear of some imagined enemy that never shows up!”

Scott Bader-Saye in Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear writes,

“On Tuesday, August 16, 2005, Brother Roger, the founder and prior of a religious community in Taize, France, was stabbed to death during a prayer service.  As the worshipers sang and the brothers kneeled, a mentally unstable Romanian woman, Luminita Solcan, emerged from the congregation and murdered the ninety-year-old Brother Roger in his wheelchair . . . Would the community’s spirit be broken?  And practically, would Taize restrict access to the Brother?  ‘Nothing at Taize has changed.  There is no security,’ said Brother Jean-Marie. . . NO SECURITY?  The founder of the community has just been stabbed to death during worship by a woman who carried in a knife for this very purpose.  Surely some metal detectors would be in order?  But parables do not exist to reinforce our assumptions about caution and common sense.  They put us face to face with God’s profound grace and urge us to take the profound risk of loving the other as God does.

Like any good parable, the life of the brothers stretches our imaginations, and by simply returning to their open, hospitable life of trust, they make possible a response to evil that many of us would have thought impossible . . . The Taize community . . . exists not for self-preservation, but to give the world a taste of God’s kingdom.”

I’ve heard some interesting rationals for why guns in church is a good idea, ranging from “Don’t you wear your seatbelt?” to “Jesus is a warrior, and He calls us to defend his children.”  My prayer is that we crucify the temptation to conform to a world where fear teaches us that self-perservation and security is ultimite concern because this ethic lives counter to the resurrection.  As Christians, it has been revealed to us that death is not the end of the story; therefore what is there to fear?  Sacrificing trust for sake of security is not a price I’m willing to pay.  Allowing guns in church means that we have taken our faith from the hands of God and placed them in the hands of marksmen . . . or anyone with a permit and eight hours of training.

In the Name of Love–Colossians 1:15-20

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Over the next six weeks we will experience the Christian journey through the words of scripture and the music of U2.  Colossians 1:15-20 is an appropriate place to start because it’s a song, at least, most scholars think this is an early hymn about Christ.  This song orients a cosmic context for the work of Christ, bringing us back to the beginning of creation itself.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation . . .”        

Christ is not made in the image of God.  Christ is the image of God.  As Genesis 1 says, “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void, and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept across the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light!”  The vehicle through which God created was the Word.  God did not snap his fingers or clap his hands; rather God spoke light into being.  We talk about Christ being the Word made flesh.  This word of life, of possibility, this word that permits things to be is what took on flesh and walked among us, showing us who God is. 

And this makes perfect sense to the theoretical physicist.  Did you know there is a theory called Superstring Theory which basically states that all matter is the result of the vibration of tiny strings?  The difference between a tree and a car and a baby and a mountain is vibration.  So God speaking creation into existence makes perfect sense to those studying the edges of science.  Isn’t that incredible?  It’s as if when God looks at the world, God is looking at a symphony, a symphony which began with the word, a symphony which grew in strength and beauty to the point that death was defeated in the Resurrection, a symphony still being played today in which we are called to make beautiful music.

Music is such a powerful tool in the church.  Fill in the blank.  “Amazing Grace how . . .”  “Hark the Herald Angels sing, glory to . . .” Music helps us communicate theology, memorize scripture, gather a community, heal wounds . . .  It helps us communicate theology.  “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” is one of most theologically rich songs sung across denominational lines, and I am proud to say that it is a Charles Wesley hymn.  The second verse sings, “Christ, by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord; late in time behold him come, offspring of a virgin’s womb.  Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail the incarnate Deity, pleased with us in flesh to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel.  Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king.”  Music helps us memorize scripture.  Can you recite Psalm 91?  Maybe not.  Can you sing “On Eagle’s Wings?” Music brings us together.  It heals our wounds. . . . but this is music at its best.  The symphony of God has not always been a joyful tune.

Let there be light, and there was light, and it was good.  When creation comes to a relative close, God proclaims the understatement of the millennium, “It was very good.”  Soon thereafter humanity turns its back on God and prefers the self over what God provides.  We eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because we decide that trusting ourselves is preferable to trusting God.  The beautiful song God composed is now a lament as God fashions clothing for these new garden exiles.  This lament is the same tune God sings when his people are in captivity in Egypt, in exile in Babylon, and while Christ hangs on the cross.  Of course, it’s not all sorrowful.  God sings a joyful song when he gives Moses the stone tablets, this law that reveals how God desires us to live as a community.  God sings praise in the holies of holies of the newly constructed Temple.  Gods shouts to the heavens when his people return from exile to once again worship him in Jerusalem.  God cries a song of hope when Jesus is born, and creation begins to tremble, because for thousands of years, the cosmos has been groaning, waiting, for God’s definitive mark on all that is.

Colossians 1:16 says, “For in him all things in heaven and earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rules or powers—all things have been created through him and for him.”  Creation was in Christ, through Christ, and for Christ—all creation, the visible and invisible and thrones, dominions, rulers, and powers.  Creation is in Christ and through Christ.  Proverbs 8 (beginning with verse 22) tells this story beautifully:

The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,

The first of his acts of long ago

Ages ago I was set up,

At the first, before the beginning of the earth.

When there were no depths I was brought forth

When there were no springs abounding with water.

Before the mountains had been shaped,

Before the hills, I was brought forth

When he had not yet made earth and fields

Or the world’s first bits of soil

When he established the heavens, I was there

When he drew a circle on the face of the deep

When he made firm the skies above

When he established the foundations of the deep

When he assigned to the sea its limit

So that the waters might not transgress his command

When he marked out the foundations of the earth

Then I was beside him, like a master worker

And I was daily his delight

Rejoicing before him always

Rejoicing in his inhabited world

And delighting in the human race.

And now, my children, listen to me:

Happy are those who keep my ways

Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it.

Happy is the one who listens to me,

Watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors

For whoever finds me finds life

And obtains favor from the Lord

But those who miss me injure themselves;

All who hate me love death

“Pride—In the Name of Love” is a simple song, much like “In Christ, through Christ, for Christ,” is a simple saying, yet both are heavy and full of meaning.  There’s one line in particular that intrigues me.  “One man betrayed with a kiss.”  Does this mean that one man was betrayed with a kiss in the name of love?  Does it mean that one man did betray with a kiss in the name of love?  It’s a simple line, but it sends the mind spinning.  The moment Christ was betrayed, God’s creation song finds a minor key and it sounds like the song is going to end in sorrow.  But just when we think the baton is going to drop, the stone is rolled away and Christ is resurrected and the song becomes joyful, playing a melody as beautiful and when God first spoke life into existence.

Here is the mystery.  Creation is in Christ, through Christ, and for Christ.  This hymn from Colossians suggests that creation didn’t end on the sixth day or the seventh day; rather resurrection was the exclamation point on God’s masterpiece.  Now, for a moment, I’m going to ask you to use your holy imagination.  Imagine observing creation.  Each day you see something new, something that has never been: light, the waters above and below, the earth, the sun and moon and stars, creatures of the sea and land and then humanity.  On this sixth day: “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.”  Now before the sun sets on the sixth day, imagine the whole of Israel’s story taking place: The covenant with Abraham, Egyptian captivity, the Law with Moses, Joshua and the Promised Land, David and Solomon and the Temple, the Babylonian captivity, the restoration of the Temple, Roman occupation, the birth and life of Jesus, the word made flesh.  Now imagine “one man betrayed with a kiss,” and Jesus is hung on the cross, saying, “It is finished!”  His friends take his body, and place it in a garden tomb . . . there was an evening and there was a morning, the sixth day.  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude.  And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done and he rested [in the tomb].  On the first day of the week, before the sun had risen, the stone was rolled away, and Christ was alive!

This creation story, God’s love story with humanity, spans thousands of years.  It is a story which began in Christ.  It was revealed to us through Christ.  It was all done for Christ, so that we, with Christ, might know the love that God has for us.  It was all done in the name of love, through love, and for love so that we might live as resurrection people, embodying God’s ultimate purpose of creation.  Praise Be To God.  Amen.

Hate as Currency

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“Hate has become a national currency in America. It is our first and favorite reaction to politics and business. And it will continue to be our favorite emotion so long as the likes of Limbaugh and Olbermann are the heroes we choose”– so says Noah Blumenthal in his article, “We’re Becoming a Nation of Haters,” today on AOL News.

I have found in the day to day, hate is becoming the “currency of America,” or at the very least, there is an unsatiable craving for opinion–passionate opinion. For any given news headline we, as Americans, must have a strong opinion; the more hateful the better.

That’s the thing with hate. Some believe expressing great hate is the same as showing love for that which you don’t hate. If I express passionate hate toward the left, I’m really communicating an intense love of conservatism. In order to show my allegience to the Church, I must really hate Muslims. I must hate LeBron James if I am to be considered a true Clevland fan.

Not so. Hate is kind of like credit cards. Credit cards parade as real money. You can use credit cards as you would cash, but the more you use them, the more debt you accrue. Hate might parade as love or passion or devotion, but it’s simply debt for your soul.

Hate creates enemies, not disciples.  “Love your enemies,” Jesus commands.  Great.  Now what?

To read Noah’s article, click here: http://www.aolnews.com/opinion/article/opinion-were-becoming-a-nation-of-haters/19547053

Sermon podcast now available

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Hello Friends,
The sermon podcast from Sunday is now available. Give a friend 10 minutes: http://www.broadmoorumc.org/Podcast/Podcast.html

Freedom, For Christ's Sake–Galatians 5

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On Monday I typically post my sermon manuscript, hoping to perpetuate the illusion that first thing Monday morning I am able to quickly produce what for me is a week’s worth of thought and prayer.  In order to keep this up, I need to type a sermon manuscript each and every week.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have a manuscript for Sunday, and so goes the grand illusion.

. . . But for fun . . .

There’s nothing more American than . . . apple pie? baseball? freedom?  I would say that there’s nothing more American than Weight Watchers.  Think about it.  It incorporates so much of what makes this nation great: Free Enterprise, Freedom, Community, and Apple Pie (albeit made with Splenda and fat free ice cream).  The thing I love about weight watchers is that in lieu of providing a list of do’s and don’ts, they teach value.  A list of what not to eat would not work for me; however providing me with food’s value gives me freedom to eat they way my body needs me to eat.

That’s the thing.  Value offers freedom, or at least as Paul suggests in Galatians 5, Christian freedom reveals value, our value as a child of God.  When we live in love, patience, kindness, generosity, there is no need for a Law.  Law is great at giving boundaries, but the Law can’t figure out how to teach value.  As Paul says, “There is no Law against such things.”  This is one of the most profound sayings from Paul’s pen.

Sometimes we have a strange notion of freedom in my country ’tis of thee.  I’ve heard it said that freedom is about doing what I want, where I want, when I want, with the stuff I want.  As Paul says, “Don’t let your freedom be an opportunity for self indulgence.”  To quote my friend, Dr. James Howell, “If freedom is simply a means of self indulgence, then our service men and women giving their lives for this country are paying much too high a price.”

Christ came so that we might be free, free from the self, free from solitary confinement.  Christ frees us from the self, but for each other.  We are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to each other to live in love.  May you be free in the name of Christ.

I hope to see you Sunday, if not before.