What If - 2nd Sunday of Advent

9 December 2018 – 2^nd Sunday of Advent

Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 3:1-6

The idea of a “rapture” is fascinating to me even if I don’t completely agree with the 18^th-century concept.  Paul’s words to the Thessalonians seem to leave no ambiguity (“We who are alive … will be caught up in the clouds together [with the dead] to meet The Lord in the air”, 1 Thess 4:17), but Jesus’ words in Matthew’s Gospel seem to suggest something not quite consistent with “being spirited away” – as if taken by force (“The one on the housetop must not go down to take what is in the house; the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat”, 24:17, 18).  I’ve wondered if this idea is more like making our last choice – and that choice according to how we had previously ordered our lives.

Think about Lot’s wife who had been warned, along with her family, not to look back as they were fleeing.  And when Lot’s wife turned back as though she were longing for what she was leaving behind, she turned into a pillar of salt – virtually trapped in the past she had longed for; “left behind” by her own choice, her own desires.

The original “Left Behind” movie was equally fascinating in that so many just up and disappeared without a trace.  Those who had been left behind were caught completely by surprise.  They had not been given a choice; the choice had been made without them.  Or we may possibly say their choices prior to this moment had determined the outcome.

But what has long stood out for me was one character in particular, a pastor.  He had been “left behind”.  His wife and kids and congregation were gone, but he was still around.  Once he got next to the idea of what had happened, he was alone in the sanctuary, not quite praying but questioning The Lord, wondering why he was still there.

While he was trying to work it all out, maybe arguing with himself more than with The Lord, it occurred to him that even though he preached it and taught it and “they all bought it” (his words), he never really believed it himself. 

I wonder, though, if there was at least some hope within him as he preached it and taught it.  Given that his entire congregation was gone, I tend to think he had certainly preached it with profound hope!  St. Paul wrote to the Romans that “hope does not disappoint” (5:5), so can there be a difference between belief and hope?

I suppose it may all depend on what exactly we really hope for.  Do we, for instance, hope our will be done?  Or do we earnestly pray The Lord’s will be done?  We’ve sufficiently memorized The Lord’s Prayer to that end.  We say it, but do we mean it?

And when preachers (or prophets) show up and call upon us to repent, do we listen and respond with a measure of sincere hope?  Or do we write them off as though they are talking to “them” but not to “us”?  The Baptizer was telling his audiences The Lord was coming, so they needed to prepare themselves.  They needed to look ahead with hope, not look behind with longing.

These are hard questions we must answer for ourselves.  We say we hope in Christ, we sing as hoping in Christ … but is that really what we hope for?  Eventually, I’m sure, we get around to that idea, but what does tomorrow hold for us immediately?  A raise?  A promotion?  A new car? 

These are, for many, the things we genuinely hope for.  These are the things that preoccupy many of us, maybe most of us.  But as Advent teaches us to expect Christ to return, do we dare hope?  Or do we hope more for daily living to go our way?

The Baptizer had a message of hope, and people responded in droves.  Yet his message does not resonate well today even in the Church, and I’m not really sure why.  Could it be that a call to “repent” does not go over very well?  Do we not believe we need to “flee the wrath that is to come”?  That was the Baptizer’s message, and it was John Wesley’s fundamental requirement for all who wanted to be a part of his classes.  It is the basis upon which Methodism took root.

Here’s the thing about repentance, though, and I think it is the reason the word does not play well.  We know that to “repent” means we have to change the direction and the order of our lives.  To “repent” quite possibly will mean we give up portions of our lives that have us weighed down.  To “repent” may mean some persons in our lives will have to go. 

In other words, to “repent” may well mean our lives will no longer be our own.  Our will can no longer be ours to determine.  Our choices are not really ours to make – not if we earnestly hope for the return of Messiah.

The Baptizer’s being, his very life, was not nearly as important to him as The Lord’s purpose in his life.  What if you and I were more tuned into The Lord’s purposes than our own being?  What if we were more concerned with The Lord’s work than with our own life’s work?  What if we were more concerned with growing the Faith of the Church rather than the size of our paychecks?  Or even the size of our congregation? 

What if The Lord shows up tomorrow, and we are fully prepared and conditioned NOT to “go back” for things we’ve become far too attached to? 

As we continue through the journey that is Advent, let us further condition ourselves to “judge (and test) ourselves so we may not come under judgement” (1 Cor 11:31).  Let us learn to be a little harder and a little more honest with ourselves according to His Word and not according to our culture. 

Let us dare to hope for salvation that is to come much more likely to those who least expect it rather than to those who think they are entitled.  What if what St. Peter wrote is true: “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth” (1 Peter 1:17)?

What if He is even more merciful than we dared to hope?  I think He must be … if that is truly what we hope for above all else.  Amen.

Measure Once, Give Twice - 1st Sunday of Advent 2018

2 December 2018 – 1^st Sunday of Advent – 1^st day of Hanukkah

1 Chronicles 29:10-17; Luke 6:32-38

Although each Sunday of Advent has its own theme designations (hope, peace, love, and joy), it occurs to me the very best thing we can do to honor our God, breathe revitalized life into the Church, and give meaning and substance to hope, peace, love, and joy is to reflect on and learn to respond to The Lord’s radical generosity.

I share this thought with the deepest hope that the spirit of Advent – our eager anticipation of The Lord’s return and our sense of Emmanuel (God with us) - will not be lost to us the day after Christmas; that day when we breathe a collective sigh of relief and say, “Thank God it’s over!”

I assure you it is only the beginning!  Advent marks the beginning of the new Church year rather than the end of the calendar year.  Like our secular New Year’s practices, Advent is a time for reflection and resolve.  There is much more to Advent, however, as we also commit to prayer and fasting for renewal of heart, mind, body, soul, and strength.  We do these things not only preparing ourselves for the Return of our Lord but also for renewing our dedication and strengthening our faith in the reality of Emmanuel!

In all this, it is a celebration of radical generosity given from a Father’s Heart as a constant reminder of who we were created to be, who we can become once more: reflections of the radically generous and Holy Father.  The Lord has revealed Himself, has given Himself, and has taken upon Himself the very worst of us to prove the very best of Himself. 

From the Incarnation, then, when “The Word became flesh”, we are to press onward – for our Shepherd is not still lying in a manger.  He has moved from there, into our lives, and into Glory, and so must we.  There must be a remembrance of that glorious time when Emmanuel (God with us) became a reality, but that remembrance must be marked by a faithful – and faith-filled – response.  Christmas trees and “stockings hung by the chimney with care” are fun (for those who can afford it), but these have nothing at all to do with what The Lord teaches us.

Jesus’ discourse in Luke’s Gospel calls us beyond ourselves, beyond the impulses which come easily to us; giving fully for our children, our friends, those who love us.  Yet Jesus teaches, “Even sinners love those who love them” (6:32).  “Even sinners do good to those who do good to them” (6:33).  “Even sinners lend to sinners, [expecting] to receive as much again” (6:34).  In other words, our generosity to ourselves is nothing to celebrate.  For when we “do” while expecting a return, that is lust – not love.  We “give” only with the proviso, “What’s in it for me?”

Our Shepherd calls us beyond those restrictions so we can fully become once again who we are created to be – the Image of the holy, merciful, and radically generous God, our Creator and Father.  “Love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return” (6:35).  Like Christmas trees and stockings, there is no Divine purpose in serving only ourselves or only those who love us or only those who will be expected to return the favor.

When The Word became flesh, human culture became meaningless.  Human standards were no longer the standard.  Everything that was once deemed “normal” suddenly became insufficient.  Suddenly “love” had nothing to do with how we may be feeling at any given time but became a willingness to do for others (outside our families and circle of friends) whether they can or will ever do for us in return. 

And I have to be honest: this is my spiritual bug-a-boo.  Whenever I do for others, though I know in the back of my mind I should not expect anything, I do expect something.  I do expect, at the very least, an acknowledgment, even a thank-you.  It is very hard for me to stick out my neck and risk, well, anything if nothing is to come from it except criticism for not doing it “right” or not doing “enough”.

I can be very protective of the churches I serve in that I am not easily swayed to let the church be “used” for any purpose that does not fulfill the mission of the Church: making disciples.  That is, to let the church be used (and sometimes abused) for narrow purposes but then watching them walk away when the church has served their own purposes.

There is some value in being that protective, but there is also a fine line which must never be crossed.  That is, the Church should be as much a teaching instrument of the Gospel as she is a living example of everything Jesus teaches us.  At the risk of repeating myself, if we are unwilling to live and to love and to risk as Christ taught us by His own example, everything is theoretical.  Nothing has been – and cannot be - “proved”.  Including the Birth of Messiah.

In vs 46 of the same chapter, Jesus asks the mother of questions: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’, and do not do what I tell you?”  In our love and appreciation for catchy phrases, let’s paraphrase that: If I am the ‘reason for the season’, why do you not live as I taught you?  From there Jesus teaches about the house built upon a solid foundation when (not “if”) the inevitable storms of life come.  Jesus is not being rhetorical nor is He giving people an ultimatum.  There is much more to this discourse than a series of short sayings and quotable quotes. 

More than anything else, Jesus is teaching us how to be free!  Free from our social constraints.  Free from cultural expectations.  Free even from our own selves.  For in giving beyond ourselves, withholding nothing, and being unafraid to stick our necks out for the sake of the Gospel regardless of the outcome or the risk is the ultimate in freedom.  But when we withhold anything – our time, our talents, our treasures - we do so out of a sense of fear, a false sense of security, a false sense of thinking there may never be “enough”.

If we are going to celebrate the birth of Messiah, live in Emmanuel, and joyously anticipate His Return with the greatest of our hopes, then Love must be given generously, radically.  Only then, when we act outside ourselves, outside our fears, may Christ be our true Hope, our true Peace, our true Love, our true and everlasting Joy.  Amen and amen.

The End is the Beginning

18 November 2018

Daniel 12:1-13; Mark 13:1-8

As we approach the season of Advent, especially in light of the Letters to the Seven Churches, there are several things we must bear in mind – not least of which is that “Advent” means “coming”, so the principle of Advent is not strictly related to a countdown to Christmas since Christ has already been born.  It has more to do with the prophets and the content of the Letters.  And I think since we do more to emphasize the birth of Messiah rather than learn to await His return, it is much easier to let it go once Christmas has passed.

We will remember and celebrate the birth of Messiah as we become more mindful of our Father’s profoundly generous heart.  When Easter rolls back around, we will celebrate His Resurrection in remembering The Eternal Word cannot be destroyed, and those who live in and abide by The Word will be raised with Him.  So the Church must never forget the reality and the mystery of our faith: Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again”.  And He is “coming” not to “deal with sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly wait for Him” (Hebrews 9:28).

While this is wondrous news for those who are “found written in The Book” (Daniel 12:1), even these must be aware of the challenging days ahead; days we cannot begin to comprehend, yet days we must be prepared to withstand.  These are days in which we will be tested and tempted as Jesus Himself was tested and tempted in the wilderness, days we must endure as we “go on to perfection” (Hebrews 6:1). 

And we cannot be made ready to face these days – days which may already be upon us - if our theology is neglectful or all marshmallows, fuzzy puppies, pulpit clowns, and magic prayers.  Jesus did not spare His disciples these ominous warnings; so if our Lord determined they needed to hear it, He has determined we need to hear it.

I remember the old “Omen” movie in which the boy Damien was being taken to church by his parents, maybe to be baptized (I don’t remember exactly why they were going).  Damien was only a toddler and may not have been fully aware of who he was at such a young age (the antichrist); but the nearer they came to the church, the more distressed he became.  When they pulled up to the front of the church and tried to get out of the car, Damien reacted and resisted violently. 

I share that to share this: I perceive that the nearer the time for the Return of our Lord, the more violent the godless world will become.  I perceive that the closer evil is to facing The Judgment, the harder it will fight back and resist – because its end is near.  Yet as we “wait” for The Lord, we must be on our guard not to get caught up in the world’s conflicts lest we lose ourselves – and our souls – in the mix.

Many have apocalyptic visions of the coming days as a time to arm themselves, to store food, to hide in the wilderness or build underground bunkers and be prepared to protect and defend themselves.  These “doomsday practitioners” (perhaps also we) fail to realize that when evil is faced and dealt with on its own destructive terms, we become evil ourselves.  We fail to appreciate that when those days are upon us, our human efforts to stop them will be in vain and will count for nothing.  How we will choose to respond will be the mark and measure of our faith beyond merely believing a thing.

This is no time to panic or to be anxious, however.  Our Lord says as much Himself; “Do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come … this is but the beginning of the birth pangs” (Mark 13:7,8).

Do we really trust Him?

Note that our Shepherd did not say “death” pangs but “birth” pangs, the beginning of “promise”, the beginning of “potential”, the beginning … of LIFE!  Our apocalyptic visions of “doomsday” are inaccurate, perhaps even complete lies by the “father of lies” himself (John 8:44) intended to distract us from our Lord’s assurance that “these things must take place”.  The “father of lies” will try to convince us these things don’t have to take place … if we just go along.  Our Savior, our Shepherd says these things “must take place”.  And we must not get caught up in it.

These challenging days, however, are not the beginning of the end, but these days will certainly thin the herd and determine who has the faith to “eagerly wait for The Lord” in faithfulness rather than in theory.  It will almost certainly be the end of “emotional” Christianity by which I mean those who follow Christ only when things are going their own way, when life is good, when their personal desires are met, as long as there is plenty of money – as long as “my” will rather than “Thy” will be done.  When their emotions turn sour, however, when life gets in the way as it always does, suddenly The Lord either does not love … or does not exist.

So The Lord is deliberate and purposeful in speaking not only through Daniel and the other prophets but also through the Messiah Himself that “these things must take place” – not only because The Lord has decreed it for our testing but because evil will do what it takes to survive. 

We are also warned these threats may come from within; that “false messiahs and false prophets will appear and will produce signs and omens, to lead astray (if possible) the elect.  But be alert; I have already told you everything” (Mark 13:22-23).

No secrets.  No surprises.  It’s just The Lord’s Word and those who trust Him.  It is all important enough that The Lord has revealed these things from long ago so that when (not if) these things are upon us, we may be assured our God has not abandoned us nor has He been defeated!  Had we not been made aware of these things beforehand, we might be inclined to believe our Holy Father really does not care and would leave us to figure it all out for ourselves. 

Yet “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” so we would be able not only to comprehend the reality of what we must face – but so we may also comprehend the depth of our Father’s Love for His creation.  Sometimes The Truth seems dark and foreboding, but think about it like this: a first-grader cannot suddenly graduate from high school because the child is not prepared and has not been prepared.  Neither can we jump immediately from baptism to Heaven’s Gate without being prepared for life in the Kingdom.  And this requires “testing”.

As the “beginning of birth pangs” is upon us, we will witness Glory like we’ve never seen before.  We will see our God and Father in action!  We will witness for ourselves the Messiah descending to us as He ascended to The Father, “coming down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16)!

‘I want you with Me’, our Father will call; ‘it’s time to come Home’.  Amen.

The State of the Church: The Real Issue

11 November 2018

Isaiah 55:1-13; Revelation 3:14-22

I’ve shared before that the state of the modern-day Church is not really different from the state of the ancient Church.  The challenges we face today may have a different tag, but the essential human weaknesses are the same.  They hinge on faith and how faith is understood and lived into.  Apart from genuine faith, other church-y words like love and grace can have no meaning.

There are any number of analogies one can use to give meaning to the “lukewarm” admonition and what it means to be “hot” or “cold”, but the metaphor itself is likely linked to nearby sources of water in the region the people of Laodicea would have been familiar with. 

The “hot” springs of Hierapolis were believed to have medicinal value, and the “cold” springs of Colossae were known for purity.  The waters in Laodicea, however, were “neither hot nor cold”.  They were “tepid”, “lukewarm” and thus lacking healing or purifying properties.  This metaphor would have been understood by the people in Laodicea.

For us there must still be one focal point at which we can meet and agree – not on any single issue but on the broader invitation to live into a life defined and transformed by faith.  Beyond merely believing a thing, faith which transforms us does not change the world; it changes the way we view and interact with the world … and with The Lord and His Church, His people.

It occurs to me our understanding of faith is directly connected to a purposeful understanding of prayer.  When we pray, what are we trying to accomplish?  By prayer, do we hope for external changes?  By this I mean, do we pray others will change without our having to change?  Do we pray The Lord will solve homelessness or hunger or divisions within the Church or the nation without our having to be instruments of the change we seek?  Do we pray children in foster care will always have a home, though we are unwilling to open our own homes?

These are instances in which we must consider the “lukewarm” nature of our faith, the tepid waters of our hearts.  There is much we want and much we can see needs to be done; and while we may possess the essence of faith to know we must pray for these things, we may lack the depth of faith to stick our necks out and put ourselves at risk for these things.  We believe just enough to know we must pray for these things, but we lack the faith necessary to trust The Lord will provide for these things through us.  Maybe it can be said we have more faith in our “things” for our own purposes than in what The Lord can do if we surrender to Him these “things”.

Faith is a tricky business, if we’re gonna be real about it.  It is not enough to say, “You gotta have faith”, and it is misleading to suggest we can just “grab” or “claim” faith.  Faith is a Divine Gift from the heart of The Father.  Just as St. Paul wrote, “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’, without the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3), we cannot arbitrarily decide one day to believe in Jesus and claim salvation only because we are more afraid of hell than we are willing to live in and for Him.

The Lord spoke to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Exodus 33:19).  Though it may sound arbitrary, The Lord is conveying to Moses that His mercy and compassion will go out with great purpose – as when The Lord spoke to His people through His prophet Isaiah, “My Word will not return to Me until it has accomplished that which I purpose”. 

Because our Father’s mercy and compassion are not arbitrary, neither can our faith be because it is inconsistent with the nature of The Holy Father.  We cannot claim faith today for the sake of salvation, and then put it aside tomorrow for the sake of personal gain.  That kind of arbitrary faith will not serve us when we need it most because it was never ours to claim.  It is The Lord’s to give – and for His purposes. 

Yet we know we cannot function without faith.  We cannot worship nor tithe without faith.  We cannot pray without faith.  We certainly cannot serve a purpose to humanity without faith nor can we love fully and without reservation without faith.  In short, as it is written in The Letter to the Hebrews, “Without faith, it is impossible to please God” (11:6).

So what is that component of faith that does “please God”?  It is that thing we can actually do to show our Father it is faith we seek, and it is faith we can be trusted with to His Good Name.  In a word, it is “submission”.  It is “letting go”.  It is a willingness to be vulnerable.  In order to acquire faith, we must be willing to act in faith.  We must be willing to trust Him and not our stuff.

This was the challenge – and the curse – of the people of Laodicea.  They did not trust The Lord; they trusted their stuff.  They trusted their own wealth.  They believed they had all they would need, not knowing nor really appreciating that the stuff they trusted would fade, rust, rot, or be lost or stolen.  Though they had a knowledge of the “treasures they were to store in heaven” (Matthew 6:19-20), they trusted their own stores.  Underneath it all, they did not realize they were “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17) – because they were unwilling to Trust The Word of The Lord.

These letters to the Churches have been challenging for me on a personal level not only because I can easily see a component of each letter, each admonition, present and well – and often even defended – in the Church today … but I also see each of these things alive and well within myself. 

If we were to strip away every material component of our lives, if we were suddenly homeless, if we were suddenly broke, would we be rich?  Can we see the goodness and the mercy of The Lord apart from our “stuff”?  It is one thing to be thankful for our “stuff”; it is another thing altogether to become dependent on our “stuff” – to allow our “stuff” to define our understanding of love, of grace, of faith itself.  And this is where the Church in Laodicea – and perhaps the Church in America – has been judged to be.

Yet with all the other admonitions, all the other judgments against the other churches, there remains our Lord’s call to His people to “repent”, to turn away from those things and learn to use them as faithful stewards entrusted with much more.  The admonitions and the invitation into self-assessments can be hard when we are conditioned to those things, even to the point of hopelessness.

Yet it is our Lord, our Savior, our Shepherd who still “stands at the door and knocks”.  He still wants to come in.  He still wants us to have a place at the Table with Him in the Kingdom.  He still wants us to have peace.  He wants us to possess the faith sufficient to “conquer just as He conquered”.  Yet the conquest cannot be about only believing a thing; we must be willing to lose our “things”, even our very lives – “though we die, yet shall we live” (John 11:25).

This Invitation is still open … until He comes “like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2).  This is our warning that everything we only think we have is at risk.  And this is His Promise that everything we need is in His Heart and in His Hands.  To the glory and the purpose of The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

State of the Church: Down but not Out

4 November 2018

2 Corinthians 10:1-6; Revelation 1:1-3, 3:7-13

Yet another United Methodist congregation has petitioned its Annual Conference to separate and become independent.  Christ United Methodist Church in Myrtle Beach SC, one of the largest of the SC UM churches, reasoned that with all the give and take of this constant and nauseating battle which can never be won, they do not want to feel compelled to choose between being perceived as condemning persons or condoning behavior. 

Like several other UM congregations choosing this course of action – some successfully, some not so much – Christ UM expressed their desire to pursue what they believe they are charged to pursue; making disciples who are equipped to make disciples.  These congregations have been convinced that staying connected leaves them with no option but to choose “sides”.

Many Arkansas United Methodists also believe we are being forced into a false choice, being made to feel we must take sides before we can get down to doing the business of the Church; seeing faithfully to the Great Commission to “make disciples” as commanded by our Shepherd before His Ascension. 

This seemingly never-ending battle makes me think of Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address in which he described the state of a broken and hopelessly divided nation as “both [sides] reading the same Bible and both [sides] praying to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other … the prayers of both could not be answered.  That of neither has been answered fully.  The Almighty has His own purposes”.

Whatever we may think about this mass distraction that has already decimated other denominations – and countless souls! – and has put the integrity of the Church at risk, we do know the Almighty’s purpose in the existence of the Holy Church: to share the Gospel of The Lord and to make disciples, equipping those disciples to make disciples themselves, and looking after one another in mutual accountability.  Before we can seriously consider this Divine Purpose, however, we must know this: only a disciple can make disciples. 

Had there been any less to consider, Jesus would have certainly made this known.  Had our Lord’s commission been expressed as “get saved and go to church when you can”, we could say we have fulfilled our calling and would not have to face this constant scourge upon the Church; the whole Church, not only United Methodist.  And that’s what it is, just as President Lincoln stated about the nature of the Civil War: a scourge, the war itself as a means of punishment intended to adversely impact both “sides”. 

“A house divided against itself cannot stand”, our Lord has taught us.  By this we must surely know if we are being forced to choose “sides” among ourselves, it can surely be said this scourge is perhaps the greatest temptation and test – and judgment - we have faced.  How we deal with it will determine whether we can move beyond it and become once more what we have been called to be – or whether we will be bogged down in this world, fighting this world’s battles on this world’s terms, and choosing sides among the brethren.

It is reasonable to believe the Church in Philadelphia faced similar challenges and temptations, but it also seems apparent that whatever those challenges were, they found a way to overcome, rise above their own strength, and lean into The Lord and His Promise where the Real Strength is found.  “Because you have kept My word of patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” (Rev 3:10).

If we were to embrace The Lord’s assurance to them in our own time, perhaps we can see they resisted the idea of making what can only be described as a false choice but, instead, simply stood with The Lord in His Word and remained true to their calling as a Body.  And because they seem to have resisted the temptation to make worldly choices but stood with The Lord, they will not have to be tested again.  They had shown what they are made of.

They have been sealed in their faith not because they said a magic prayer or were simply baptized.  They were sealed in their faith because they knew, as Paul advised the Corinthians, that though “we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards; for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have Divine Power to destroy strongholds … destroying every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God” (2 Cor 10:3-5).

Their test was done.  They were deemed worthy.  Our test is not quite done, however.  Notice The Lord encourages them to “hold fast to what you have so no one may seize your crown” (vs 11).  This is every indication about how easily faith can be challenged and loyalties tested; for “the crown” is at stake … and is still at risk if we do not “hold fast” with what “little power” may remain. 

Yet The Lord has assured the loyal Church that even if we may believe we have “little power” and are at risk of being overrun, He is standing with The Faithful Church to the point that there will come a time when our “enemies” – in whatever form they may take – will one day come to know their failures.  They will come to know that just as they believed they were gaining strength and momentum for their “cause” – whatever “cause” that may be – they misjudged the extent of their strength.  They may have convinced themselves their cause was right, but they will one day know their cause was their own and not The Lord’s.

Teaching The Word and making disciples of Christ – these are the tasks of The Holy Church.  Anything less than this renders the Church little more than a community clubhouse to be used and abused – and then abandoned once it is used up.  When this is allowed to take place as we fall victim to this false narrative and become active participants, The Crown of Glory will fade.

The Faithful Church is never at risk when its sole focus and purpose is found in following our Lord in His Word.  And though we may seem to be losing ground when we refuse to “fight”, the Greater Truth is that Fight has become mighty in Christ – when we let Him take the lead.  The Faithful Church – by the world’s standards and measures – may only appear to be on the losing end of the battle and may even appear to be down for the count.  Yet the Crown remains because faith is the measure of strength found only in The Lord.

We must not fall for the lies.  We do not have to choose “sides”, but we must always stand with and follow Christ as The Eternal Word, the “same yesterday, today, and forever”.  Amen.

The State of the Church: Dead is not Alive

28 October 2018

Leviticus 20:22-26; Revelation 1:1-3, 3:1-6

One of the hardest lessons to teach our children is self-sufficiency.  To prepare them for life in a heartless world, we have to teach them there are no “gimme’s”, no freebies.  Wanting something is not a matter of expecting it to happen if we gripe and whine long enough, and there is none of that ‘name it and claim it’ nonsense.  They must be willing to do the work, be patient and disciplined and diligent, and be prepared and willing to sacrifice any given moment or personal desire for something much greater. 

It occurs to me, in the reading of the Letter to Sardis, that salvation is a lot like this.  It is a Gift from Above, to be sure, but to call it “free” is misleading at best.  At worst, to say we don’t “have to do anything” is an outright lie; a lie so dangerous, so sinister, so insidious at its core that many have come to believe that and have become disengaged completely from the disciple’s life, have disengaged from Bible study, and have disengaged from corporate worship and the life of the Church – having been convinced salvation is a one-and-done deal; an ‘event’, a dogmatic ‘thing’ that has passed.  The nature and the fullness of the Invitation has been lost.

The Wesleyan ideal of justifying grace does acknowledge there are no works we can perform to ‘earn’ this Mercy.  It is not for sale, having come from The Father’s Heart.  Yet there is a cost, a price to be paid: we must repent, turn away from and give up a life of self-indulgent hedonism, a life of being a “good person” on our own terms.  We must “die to self” before we can be raised up in Christ, casting aside anything – and anyone – that keeps us connected and tied to this world. 

We cannot simply “take” this Gift of Mercy and go our merry way, assuming all is well, having heard only what we wanted to hear.  The prophet Jeremiah spoke to The Lord’s people who had been led astray by misleading or outright false information, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you; they are deluding you.  They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of The Lord.  They keep saying to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to all who stubbornly follow their own stubborn hearts, they say, ‘No calamity shall come upon you’ (23:16-17).

The Lord also spoke through the prophet Ezekiel in saying, “[these false prophets] lead My people astray, saying, ‘Peace’, when there is no peace, and, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash” (13:10).  Like the tempter in the wilderness with Jesus, there was likely a fraction of The Word spoken but was ripped from its appropriate context and diluted by a popular context.

No, our Father spoke to His people long ago: “You shall be holy to me; for I The Lord am holy, and I have separated you from the other peoples to be Mine” (Leviticus 20:26).  Jesus affirmed this very thing when He taught, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

Same God, same commandment, same principle from the One who “does not change” (Malachi 3:6); from the One who is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8); from the One who is the “Alpha and the Omega, [the beginning and the end], the One who was, who is, and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).

So when we read from the Letter to Sardis that this Church’s “works” have not been found to be “perfect”, we must sit up straight and take notice.  We must not shake it off with “nobody’s perfect” nor can we dismiss it as “all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23); for in commanding “holiness” and “perfection”, our Holy Father would not command the impossible of us, and St. Paul never allowed his audiences to surrender to their human impulses and simply given up.  The Lord would not ask of us a thing which can never be attained, such as perfection.  Yet to suggest there is no “work” to be done in this regard denies the doctrinal and biblical reality.

“Going on to perfection”, as written in The Letter to the Hebrews, is the Methodist ideal and has been from its inception as a movement in the 18^th century.  Don’t misunderstand; Methodism does not now, nor did it ever, claim to be THE ideal.  Unlike many other denominations springing from the Reformation, Methodism never claimed doctrinal superiority.  From the start, John Wesley insisted salvation is something to be lived into, something to partake of, certainly something we can – and must – contribute to and participate in.  It is continually “working out our salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12) – knowing that Precious Gift is delicate, priceless … and too easily taken for granted.

One cannot claim to be “Methodist” if one rejects the “method” of discipleship, the totality of our necessary commitment to Christ Jesus.  There is no room for ‘complacency’ lest we come to assume a relationship with The Lord is only something we talk about from time to time but never “have to” actually engage in.

The means of grace (i.e., praying {both talking AND making time to listen}, fasting, worship, the Sacraments, study of the Scriptures, fellowship in and with the congregation) are the “methods” we are challenged and encouraged to adhere to, but we are never taught we must do these things only for the sake of the practices themselves, fulfilling some kind of legal responsibility. 

Rather, we are encouraged and built up in these practices because they are the only way we can possibly know who we’re dealing with in “testing the spirits” (1 John 4:1-6), where we’re going, and what will be asked of us along the Way.  “Methodism” in its purest and intended form takes nothing for granted.

In thinking about that which “remains and is on the point of death”, the Church is being reminded of what was once very real but has been taken for granted to the point of being relegated to secondary status.  Over time, the Church has become too engaged with the dominant culture to the point of losing our way and forgetting who we really are.  Making disciples became much less important than making friends, and our recreational activities have become much more important to us than the work of the Church or the means of grace. 

Yet in spite of the rather harsh indictment, there is still hope.  There is still the call to The Lord’s people that He has not yet given up on us, that He refuses to quit on us even as we have quit Him – having “a name of being alive (being Christian in name only) but are dead (living apart from The Word in reality)”.  His Eternal Love is why The Lord is still speaking to the Churches and will restore us to wholeness (when we once “saw and heard”), but repentance is necessary.  It is time to disengage from the world which has ensnared us, and reengage with Him and with one another – because “there are still some … who have not soiled their clothes”.  These few actively engaged disciples can still teach us the means of grace and the Way of Salvation.

As the prophet Isaiah called out to The Lord’s people, so shall I, “Seek The Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near” (55:6).  These letters indicate He is still near, still calling out to us, and still wants to be found.  Let us call upon Him together and have restored to us what we have carelessly tossed aside; for “blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written … for the time is near”.  Amen.

The State of the Church: pushing the limits of tolerance

21 October 2018

2 John 1:6-11; Revelation 2:18-29

“What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.”  Attributed to John Wesley (but doubtful he actually said it, according to some Wesley scholars).  Yet the phrase makes so much sense and has been sufficiently vetted by history that it deserves our attention – especially as we struggle to determine when and where to draw a line between what can be tolerated and what must be firmly rejected.  Let’s be clear, however, that we are talking about the boundaries of the Church; the institution and its congregations.

We have spoken briefly about “tolerance” and “diversity” as key words of the modern culture and embraced by the Church to one degree or another – some churches and denominations very tolerant or striving to be so, some not so much and not trying.  If we know the true meaning of these words, they pose no threat to the Church’s witness and can even broaden the Church’s reach.  Yet we must recognize and understand our limits.

If we allow and embrace the human culture’s understanding of these words, the ideals expressed become a significant threat not only to the Church but to those who need to hear The Truth – the Truth being that repentance – turning from sin - is a necessary component of salvation.  It is not a concept created by the Church as a means of controlling people; it is a necessary Truth spoken by The Truth Himself (Matthew 4:17).  That is, we can be saved from our sins, but we will never be saved in our sins.

Given that this Truth is being repeated to the Seven Churches – and to the Church universal as a whole – we must realize repentance is not – IS NOT – a “one-and-done” proposition.  It is the perpetual challenge of The Lord’s people throughout the ages – especially given that “what one generation tolerates, the next embraces”.  The Church must be always vigilant not because we must choose sides in the so-called “culture wars” and become stuck in this age, but because we are going somewhere and must always move forward beyond the culture’s conflicts.

When I think of “diversity”, I imagine a color-blind, money-blind, class-blind people.  This is the society envisioned by Martin Luther King who “dreamed” of a day when his own children would be judged “not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”.  A society informed by The Word, delivered by the faithful Church.

Even as we recognize the “diversity” of opinions when it comes to religion and politics – both striving for righteousness but with differing ideals - we are being no less faithful to The Word when we acknowledge that we do not think alike.  Yet as Wesley did actually say, “We can all love alike”.  And “love” means drawing a line in the sand.

When it comes to “tolerance”, what are the limits for the Church?  When we “tolerate” something, we acknowledge the reality of a thing.  “It is what it is”, we say.  We don’t reject or embrace; we only realize a vast gulf between the Church and human culture.  There are some things, some beliefs, some practices in the human culture we can do nothing about (“We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness of this world”, Ephesians 6:12). 

Meaning?  If we choose to battle against these things on our own according to our own ideals and beliefs, we will lose not only the battle but very likely our own souls.

It isn’t necessary to take a stand on every single thing – until that “thing” blurs a line, infiltrates and undermines the fundamental teachings of the Holy Church, and reduces sound doctrine to “whatever the majority wants”.  Our Holy Father does not submit, nor give in, to human desire.  And the boundaries of what is acceptable to the people of The Lord are not changed from First Testament to New.  “I am The Lord; I do not change” (Malachi 3:6).  Do you think perhaps this being among the last recorded words of the First Testament that the stage was being set?

For too many today, tolerance is the only real virtue and intolerance the only real vice.  The message to Thyatira goes against the grain of the modern culture by setting limits to tolerance in the Church – to the point of intolerance.  The main criticism of the Church of Thyatira is they have tolerated – allowed – something that should not be tolerated and must never be.  The “angel” (the “messenger” – human or celestial?) of the Church has failed to hold the people entrusted to his care accountable to the Eternal Word.  It is not unlike the failing of Aaron in the wilderness with the golden calf (Exodus 32:21-24).

This ideal St. John – and St. Paul (1 Corinthians 5:11) – wrote about in not only discouraging association, but actually prohibiting such associations as becoming partakers in the “wicked works”, in whatever form these associations and works may have taken.  To these apostles, there were necessary “lines in the sand” which must never be crossed.  To do so would not only subject one to temptations not easily resisted – especially when the majority seems to demand or accept it - but it would also compromise the moral authority and integrity of the Church as a whole – the “leaven which can leaven the whole loaf” (Galatians 5:9).

Like all the churches being addressed in The Revelation, Thyatira was a diverse region.  The Church was in a position to make a positive impact on the area but, as The Lord warned the Israelites before crossing the Jordan, there were temptations and “other gods” that might prove too compelling to resist.  In Thyatira, this seems to be the case.  Some had not only fallen away from The Truth; some went so far as to follow a lie and try to make it “truth”. 

One of the gravest temptations in reading The Revelation is to try to distinguish between “us” and “them”.  These letters are addressed to specific churches in a general region, a people whose time is long past.  Yet the parallels between “them” in the ancient Church and “us” in the modern Church are striking.  The issues they faced were the same issues the Israelites faced in their new land, and these are the same issues we face in our time and in our land.  As it is written in Ecclesiastes, “… there is nothing new under the sun” (1:9).

I wonder, though, if it is enough to seek out and identify demons before we’ve asked for Wisdom.  We hear plenty about what is wrong, and we even have the uncanny ability to decide who is to blame for all the “wrong” we face.  It’s those cursed liberals or conservatives – depending on which “side” of this ungodly, unjust culture war we’ve chosen to stand with.  And we have decided – for ourselves – that whatever it is we choose to believe and what practices we choose to follow must be right.  And curses are they who do not believe in and trust US!!

In the end, we must realize it is The Lord who has drawn a line in the sand.  What was required of His people in the wilderness and in the Promised Land is what is still required of His people in our own “exodus” as we find our way Home.  We have been freed from the chains and the shackles of our past and must never go back – for the Promise is still ahead of us.  And forward we must go … together.  Amen.