The Symbols of Christmas - 4th Sunday of Advent 2019

22 December 2019 – 4^th Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 7:10-16; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25

When I began my pastoral ministry, a parishioner asked me what “Chrismons” are.  At the time I had no idea and little concern about it.  Years later I learned the word “Chrismons” is trademarked by Ascension Lutheran Church of Danville VA, that trademark having been entrusted to them by Mrs. Frances Kipp Spencer.  It was she who originated the concept of Chrismons in 1957. 

The Chrismons were Mrs. Spencer’s effort and determination to “Christianize” trees in the worship setting.  She believed the traditional ornaments were too secular to have a place in the church’s sanctuary.  The word itself combines Christ (or Christmas) and monogram – Chrismons.  These are symbols that tell the story of The Lord as revealed in Christ.  Many of the symbols are from the early days of the Church as well as from the Crusades of the Middle Ages, and some use the Greek alphabet as well.

I learned something from that period of willful ignorance in not knowing – or caring - what Chrismons are or the meaning they hold.  That lesson is this: though we may have little concern for such things that seem harmless, Christians can’t “not know” of such things while also embracing them just because they look good, give us the warm-and-fuzzies, or because “everyone’s doing it”. 

It is not at all about “overthinking” anything.  It is, rather, being careful not to embrace something without first vetting it, coming to understand it, and then deciding whether we agree with it.  As Christians, as witnesses to the Truth, everything we do, everything we display, and everything we say is a testament to what we believe to be True.

Symbols can be powerful reminders of what this Holy Season means … but only if the believing Church teaches and uses them faithfully.  These symbols, while well-intentioned, can also be a detriment to the Christian witness.  The fish, for instance, is a common ornament many stick on the backs of their vehicles.  Yet when the driver of that vehicle is driving and acting very un-Christ-like, the symbolism of the fish is lost and non-believers laugh and mock.

Another example would be the upside-down cross which has become a symbol commonly associated with Satanism.  Yet in the early Church it meant something entirely different.  Legend has it that when St. Peter was to be crucified, as Jesus was, he asked his executioners to turn the cross – and him – upside-down, as he was unworthy to die in the same manner as the Messiah (This is actually written in the apocryphal Acts of Peter).

The challenge we face is whether the many symbols we use and display have anything at all to do with Jesus or His birth.  I do not mean to demonize what have become common practices and symbols of the season, but we must always ask ourselves whether the symbols and practices and public displays articulate and convey the honest traditions of our faith without a lot of linguistic gymnastics – or if they are only cultural symbols of a more secularized Christianity.

There are many Christian groups – and, of course, non-Christian religions - that do not recognize December 25 as anything other than a date on the calendar.  Some of these Christian groups use Jeremiah 10:1-5 to dispute the use of a tree for any sort of association with The Lord and will not have one in their homes or their churches.  At the very least, they do not recognize December 25 as the birth of Jesus simply because it is not explicitly stated in the Scriptures.  What is worse is we call these guys “strange” … and that is only if we’re being kind.

So what is an appropriate symbol of Christmas – the Mass of The Christ?  What can we look to and hold to such esteem that the Greatest Gift Of All is not dismissed or disregarded or mocked?  How can we show Christmas to be The Lord’s greatest Gift to all of humanity?

How about Joseph, the “son of David”, as the angel called him?  St. Joseph is the most understated hero throughout the Scriptures.  There is not a spoken word attributed to him in any of the Birth narratives.  We encounter a simple man who had first believed himself to have been wronged by his beloved Mary.  Yet because of his integrity and profound sense of righteousness, he refused to publicly expose her because it would have meant not only “public disgrace” for Mary but, quite possibly, her life as well. 

What we find in Joseph is everything we are called to be and to do.  Joseph had every right to be angry and to respond not only in haste but in what for most would have been vindictive, irrational emotion.  He may have felt all those things, but he didn’t act on them.  Instead, he thought of a way to end it without further harm.

Yet when he was made aware of the significance of Mary’s pregnancy, he did not hesitate to respond in faith and obedience to the Word of The Lord.  No words from Joseph were necessary to tell us what we need to know.  There was only the heart of a man who was entrusted with the care of our Mother; the Holy Church which birthed then – and must still birth now – the Living Word of the Living God.

The symbol of the true meaning of Christmas is found within each of us and can only be displayed by our faithful responses to “the Word which became flesh and dwelt among us”.  It has nothing to do with physical symbols.  It is who we are, who we are called to be, who we had perhaps always hoped to be.

Let our lives be the enduring Symbol of Christmas, lives filled with gratitude and hope; and let Christ Jesus shine forth from all we do, all we are, and all we share.  Then people will understand Christmas.  Then they will understand The Father.  And then will they finally have something to rejoice and hope in.  Amen.

The Ransom is Paid - 3rd Sunday of Advent 2019

15 December 2019 – 3^rd Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 35:1-10; Luke 1:47-55; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11

“The ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”  Isaiah 35:10

Meaning: The Lord had already paid a price for the release of His beloved from their exile so they may return to Zion – the ideal established by The Lord for His people.  The Promise.

While it may seem Isaiah’s meaning has more to do with the Exile and Judah’s return to Jerusalem, we Christians may think in terms of what is still yet to be – even after the Incarnation, the birth of Messiah.

Coupled with the reading from the prophet, this passage in Matthew makes John’s question to Jesus perplexing.  Evidently having come to know more of Jesus and His public ministry, John had sent word to determine whether Jesus really is the One to come or if they should keep waiting.  What makes it perplexing is the Baptizer’s previous declaration in John’s Gospel: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29).  We also remember the Baptizer’s words when Jesus presented Himself for baptism: “I need to be baptized by You, and You come to me?” (Matthew 3:14).

By these statements it seems clear John already knew who Jesus was and what His presence meant, yet he sent one of his disciples to ask Jesus: “Are You the One?” 

Some have suggested because John was imprisoned, he may have lost some measure of his faith or, at least, his focus.  If we were to evangelize so faithfully and then be imprisoned because someone took offense, would we not wonder whether we got it wrong or used the wrong approach?  Would we not – and do we not - need some sort of affirmation in our darkest moments?  Even as we go our merry way, do we not all from time to time need to be reminded of His Presence in our lives?  Of course!  It is not a matter of losing faith more than it may be a matter of losing our way.  And we’re pretty good at that – especially when we are too self-absorbed.

There have been other suggestions that John probably knew he would not get out of that prison alive; so rather than allow his disciples to linger about with him when he was clearly going nowhere, and perhaps given that he was aware that “Jesus must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30), it was maybe time to cut the cord and send his disciples to the One they had been waiting for all along, the One John told them was coming. 

Now that Jesus was among them, they no longer needed a messenger – they needed the Message.

What is more perplexing still – especially for us - is the virtual utopia Jesus presented to John’s disciple who had come to ask, “Is it You?”  Jesus presents the evidence; “The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them” (Matthew 11:5).  A virtual paradise we only read about.

By what we can see, there are schools for the deaf and the blind to teach them how to function without sound or sight.  There are all sorts of handicapped persons who may never walk again.  Leprosy and other debilitating diseases are still very much a part of our world.  We have not seen a resurrection, and there is still poverty. 

From what we can see with our eyes, the birth of Messiah changed nothing.  And yet perhaps everything has changed, and we’re missing it by being so focused on our own problems, our own lives, our own joys, our own sorrows. 

We read the stories of miracles performed by our Lord while He walked the earth and we read the stories of miracles performed by His apostles after Pentecost, but those miracles in our time are far and few between.  Surely, then, there is something else we need to be more aware of, something more we need to anticipate, something much greater we must have the faith to see. 

The third Sunday of Advent is also known as Gaudete Sunday, Gaudete meaning to “rejoice”.  In real life and real living and real disappointment and real heartbreak, especially during this time of year when depression really sets in for some, how do we capture – or recapture – the Joy that is proclaimed?  How do we regain the “first love we have abandoned” (Revelation 2:4)?

Please forgive me for saying it again; rejoicing in something which has already happened and will not happen again is short-lived and short-sighted.  It is a Day marked on a calendar.  There is great anticipation – and rightly so! – but it will come to an end, and we will stop waiting, we will stop anticipating.  After the last present is opened (and broken or torn or dirtied) and the tree is back in the box or thrown to the curb, what joy is left?  Do we really have to wait until next December to “bring back that lovin’ feelin’”?

The joy of Advent is in the Promise yet to be; and while it is very easy to lose sight of what is to come, we must learn to focus on what we’re waiting for, where we’re going, and how we will get there.  This is why the discipline of Advent is so important to us in developing new habits of holiness; being reminded to use the means of grace – e.g., praying, fasting, studying the Scripture, and worshiping with fellow disciples who are on the same journey.  We are reminded, as we must often be, that the greatest thing we can know is that the Best is Yet to Come.

The ransom has been paid.  What is left while we’re stuck here in this world in which blindness and deafness and disease and poverty are still the reality of a broken world?  We have each other to remind us our Ride Home will surely come.  It will come, but we must learn to wait patiently and faithfully because it will come in His Time, not ours; as Peter proclaimed, “Like a thief in the night”.   And it cannot be overstated; this is not a THREAT – it is His Promise.  And we who wait patiently and faithfully will rejoice … because “sorrow and sighing will flee away” – as surely will our blindness. 

That is the Promise and the fruit of our faith.  To the Glory of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit – in Life Everlasting.  Amen

Hope Springs Eternal - 2nd Sunday of Advent 2019

8 December 2019 – 2^nd Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12

“Lead us not into temptation”.  This phrase from The Lord’s Prayer is one that has caused confusion for some, so much so that Pope Francis proposed a change.  Rather than “Lead us not into temptation”, it may be read, “Do not let us fall into temptation”.  It is also written in The Didache (late 1^st, early 2^nd century document meaning “Teachings of the Apostles”); “Lead us not into trial” (VIII.2).

What is the difference?  The pope suggests the traditional text can lead one to believe The Lord deliberately leads us into “temptation” rather than giving us the tools and the means of grace to avoid falling into temptation.  We might be splitting hairs, but I think maybe we can see how easily interchangeable the words “temptation” and “trial” may be in the greater, biblical context. 

A “temptation”, in our common language, is generally thought of as a thing which has the potential to draw us away from a sound, moral life.  A “temptation” has a certain common appeal.  A temptation may appear harmless, but in the light of the Word of The Lord, the nature of that temptation may be revealed as more diabolical – especially if it distracts us from what The Lord wants from us; if it pulls us from our Journey and “tempts” us to make up our own way.

A “trial” is not something we would even be tempted with because we may or may not be exonerated.  From a “trial”, as we understand it, comes a judgment.  In a “trial”, we are being examined according to a specific accusation.  We may be afraid of a “trial” because we know our own nature, we know our own weaknesses, and we know our own truth which may not be compatible with the biblical narrative - so we hope we will not be so exposed and publicly declared guilty.  Asking The Lord to spare us a “trial” is a hope that our façade of righteousness, our exterior self, will not be compromised. 

Yet in the biblical context, “temptation” and “trial” can be likened to “test” as The Lord had tested Israel in the wilderness.  He didn’t lead them to temptation, but He didn’t shield their eyes from the world around them.  I often think of biblical “test” in the same way as tests we take in school.  The test is the means by which it is determined whether we are prepared and ready to move to the next level.  In the context of Divine Love and our Father’s desire that “all be saved”, we cannot deny that the “tests” and “temptations” and “trials” of our lives may trip us up, but they do not have to be our defining moments.

Either way, the “baptism of … fire” with which Jesus will baptize us (Matthew 3:11), as the Baptizer himself points out, is a means of purification, the “refiner’s fire” of Malachi 3:3 in which that which is worthless will be burned away so our sacrifices, the products of our faith and our lives, may be acceptable to our Father.  It sounds unpleasant, even painful as it surely must be, but the nature of this “fire” is one of Grace, of purification rather than of final judgment.

Clearly, the Baptizer is not referring to a literal fire nor is he implying a Divine Threat of hell fire.  In the prophet Malachi’s context, it is the fire which burns away what is useless so gold and silver may be exposed and rendered pure of contamination.  This is to say, what has been sullied by the world – even after baptism by water - must be purified rather than condemned.  The sins of Judah (in Malachi’s context) – even after the covenantal circumcision - rendered the sacrifices they offered in the Temple impure and unacceptable (chapter 2).  Yet by The Lord’s good mercy, Judah – and we – must be purified.

This is our HOPE.  It means The Lord refuses to give up on His creation, we who have been created in His Image, we who are called to greater things than what the world may try to offer.  Even we who have sullied ourselves may dare to HOPE – IF we are willing to endure a baptism of fire.

Let’s face it.  When we were children, we did not thank our parents when they punished us – regardless of the form of punishment!  We never said, “Gee, mom/dad, thank you for your wisdom and love and care by spanking or grounding”.  If anything, we did everything we could to avoid such “purification” – even lying if we thought it might save us!  Some adults still do!  It was only when we became parents ourselves that we began to appreciate the usefulness of discipline in teaching our children right from wrong and, when necessary, punishment in putting our children back on the right path. 

So it is with the coming of Messiah – not at Christmas when we can feel good about ourselves but at the end of time as we know it so we may have confidence in Him!  As foreboding as it may sound, Judgment Day and all, it can still be a time of great expectation, of joyous anticipation.  It will be that time when those who have subjected us to unnecessary temptations and trials will have their own reckoning to face.  Yet it is not their destruction we hope for; rather, it is our own purification, that by His mercy and whatever trials we must face, we will be declared whole.

There is no reason to “hope” Christmas will come because a calendar indicates it certainly will.  So the Promise must be of something greater, something that will draw us from our past and into the future our Holy Father continues to offer even to those of us who will go to great lengths to avoid the discomfort, the pain, maybe even of the humiliation of purification.

We all have bad days, days that can overwhelm our senses and make us feel less than worthy of love.  These are the kinds of days in which all hope seems lost.  This is not restricted only to those who suffer from mental health challenges such as depression.  We all have those moments of despair, and it doesn’t take much to trigger such feelings.

But this is exactly what is wrong with losing ourselves in our emotions.  Regardless of the nature of the emotion, we can be misled into false assumptions.  We need facts.  More than this, we need Truth.  And in Truth, which is the Messiah Himself, there is Hope.  In His Eternal Mercy, there is always Hope.

This is the essence of Advent.  Yes, we are called to pray, to fast, to worship, to study the Scriptures and draw near to our God.  But these are the means of grace offered to us so even in our darkest days, there will always shine that Eternal Ray of Hope.  It is the Messiah of the Living God sent to remind us to get over ourselves and follow Him – so “we may abound in Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” and the Eternal Love of our Father who is in heaven – where we may, by His mercy, dare Hope to be.  Amen and amen.

The Season Upon Us: the days of Noah - 1st Sunday of Advent 2019

1 December 2019 – 1^st Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:8-14; Matthew 24:32-44

What can be said about the season of Advent that has not already been said?  Some believe Advent is little more than a count-down to Christmas.  There is nothing wrong with properly commemorating the Incarnation, the birth of the Messiah, with worship and enjoying the season.  What is wrong is the focus.  We say ‘Jesus is the reason for the season’, but do we live and worship and work and give of ourselves - as He did - as though this were true?  

We have our fun with Christmas – as long as we understand it is far from over after the last present has been unwrapped and the decorations are put away.  The Lord is still coming back and the Church is still called and encouraged to “wait patiently” … but not silently – and certainly not anonymously.  The reality of His Return must be announced throughout the year – not as a threat but as His Promise - because this Advent box of goodies must not be packed away and forgotten until next December.
 

Originally, there was little connection between Advent and Christmas.  The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming”.  Scholars believe during the 4th and 5th centuries in parts of Europe, Advent was a season of preparation - not for Christmas but for catechumens who would be baptized on the feast of the Epiphany.  During this season, those preparing for baptism would be expected to spend 40 days in penance, prayer, fasting, and learning about life in the Church, life in Christ, life as a disciple.
 

By the 6th century, Roman Christians had tied Advent to the coming of Christ, but the “coming” they had in mind was not reaching into the past for something which had already taken place – His birth; it was His second coming as the Judge of the world.  It was not until the Middle Ages that the Advent season was explicitly linked to the Incarnation.

Like Lent, Advent is intended and ordered to be a disciplined season of preparation, a season of reflection, a season of repentance, a season of renewal lest we continue to take our roles as disciples of Christ and life in the Church for granted.  If we think we have nothing from which to repent, we must heed St. Paul’s warning to the Romans: “… it is now the moment for [us] to wake from sleep, for salvation is nearer than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the Day is near” (13:11).  

So even as we look back to remember with gratitude the birth of Messiah and that extraordinary moment in Eternity, we prepare for, and anticipate, the coming of Messiah.  We remember our own longing for, and need of, forgiveness and a new beginning … because I doubt there are many among us who would not like to get over our past and start anew.  The world won’t let us forget our past, but our God and Father does not hold grudges against those who truly repent.  As I shared last week, it is too easy to fall into the trap of being defined by any single moment – good or bad though those moments may have been.  Let us instead focus on where to go from those moments!  Let us learn to focus on what is ahead of us – not behind us.

Since we will certainly celebrate the birth of Messiah – by spending money we don’t have for stuff we don’t need, by making vows we have not kept, by determining we will do better by the Church and by one another until we are distracted by the latest new fad – we must ask ourselves exactly how we can honor His birth and His life while preparing for His Return.  Practices that have their origins in paganism are not getting it done.  If anything, these are pushing us further away; the Messiah of The Lord must never – EVER – become an afterthought.

When Jesus refers to the “days of Noah”, He is using those days as an example, an analogy of the contemporary days, days not unlike our own.  It is a mistake for us to presume to think we would have had the presence of mind or the state of heart to go aboard the Ark before the Great Flood.  In fact, the Judgment had already been made long before the waters began to rise.  

It is easy to imagine the grief Noah may have endured by those who watched him building this Ark and laughing at him for wasting his time with such a project when there was so much of life to enjoy, places to go, things to do, people to see.  In spite of how it has been portrayed in some movies, there is no biblical indication Noah warned anyone nor was he commanded to warn anyone.  He was only told to build the Ark, and he was told whom and what would be on board.

Yet “all flesh … were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” as though that was the life to which they had been called.   In itself, there is nothing wrong with these things – EXCEPT there was no mind toward the well-being of one another, no sense of community; there was only the indulgence of self, as it is written; “God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth” (Genesis 6:12).

Even before the time of Jesus, the faithful could see this “corruption” as they prayed for The Lord to come.  They knew something had to happen.  And it did.  A Light shone in the darkness.  The world caught its breath when the Savior was born.  There was a sliver of hope, a moment of peace.  Yet almost as quickly as it had begun, it came to a violent end.  On the surface, nothing seemed to have changed.  The world was still corrupt, they were still “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage”.  On the surface.

Beneath the surface and in the depth of Eternity, something had changed.  It is not that we had been given a new season to celebrate, a season that centuries later would lend credibility to our indulgences.  From the time of our Lord’s Ascension began a season of preparation, a season of reflection, a season of repentance, a season of renewal, a season of perpetual waiting with hope.  It is this time in which we are called away from the corruption that has engulfed our world and our lives – and in great measure, the Church.  But by Grace and the Father’s heart, it still is not too late.

Like the early Church, let us resolve to put this time to good use.  Let those who are yet unbaptized – young and old – be prepared for life in Christ and the Church.  Let those yet unconfirmed be prepared to take their own places in the Eternal Covenant and the Body of Christ.  Let us all reflect on the past year and determine to make 2020 truly AD, “anno domini” – ‘the year of The Lord’.  And come January 5 and the Feast of the Epiphany, let us revel in our renewal!

The season upon us is one of preparation.  As the Baptizer called upon the people of Israel to “prepare the Way of The Lord”, so must the Church continue to prepare the Way.  But not before we prepare ourselves.  To the Glory of the Most High God and to peace to His people on earth until He comes again.  Amen.

Transformed Life: the one which never thirsts

24 November 2019

2 Samuel 12:1-15; Hebrews 5:12-6:3; John 4:7-15

The mission of every Arkansas United Methodist Church is to “create vital congregations that make disciples of Jesus Christ, who make disciples equipped and sent to transform lives, communities, and the world”. 

I would add that before this mission can be fulfilled, the Church may be in need of transformation; to go from being social or civic clubs for like-minded people to becoming the True and Everlasting Body of Christ.  For this to be, the Church must be filled with “vitality” and zeal for not only making disciples but for becoming disciples ourselves, equipped and sent forth to the Church’s sole mission.

Over the years, however, the depth of what it means to be transformed has become muddled, even to the point of being confused with conversion or salvation.  Rarely is it understood as a process of “going on to perfection”; disavowing old practices and developing and supporting new and more holy habits through the spiritual discipline of the means of grace – including accountability. 

Transformation has either been forgotten altogether or has been reduced, at least in the individual mind, to a single event rather than being understood as a constant evolution, a metamorphosis of mind, heart, and soul; metamorphosis to be understood as a “change of the form or nature of a person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means” (dictionary.com) – but NOT by magic.

This is to say, our concept of “getting saved” as the end and the point of evangelism is only the means to a greater end, the beginning of a greater Journey.  Sanctification is a key characteristic of Wesleyan Methodism; that we are “going on to perfection” with accountability, with the help and support of fellow disciples.  If we are not “growing on the vine” (John 15:5), we are dying – and taking everyone we love with us.

I began thinking about King David, his tryst with Bathsheba, and the fallout that impacted all Israel.  The Scriptures refer to David as “a man after The Lord’s heart”, but what we probably notice more often in David’s life – apart from his standing against Goliath - are his scandals.  We rarely notice these are the things we struggle with ourselves – especially when we get a little too full of ourselves. 

We want to be intimately connected to The Lord, but there are too many compelling distractions and concepts of “cheap grace” that pull us away.  Yet what we do not often see in David’s life is the depth of sin and its social implications when we do pull away and lose our sense of self in The Lord. 

After Bathsheba, and David ordering her husband’s death to hide the scandal of her pregnancy, we find what some see as a very cruel God who took the life of an innocent child as David’s punishment.  Though David’s sin was “put away” after his confession, we still see David’s entire life condemned to that of war and “trouble against [him] from within [his] own house” (2 Sam 12:10, 11).  Not because of a vindictive God but because of his sin which put destruction into motion.

What we do not seem to notice or concern ourselves with – especially in our own sins – is that, by the very destructive nature of sin, someone else will always suffer with us, if not because of us.  Just as there can be no such thing as “private faith” in “going on to perfection”, there can be no such thing as “private sin” – just as The Lord spoke to David: “You did it in secret, but I will do this thing before all Israel …”

           

The point of King David’s story may not be exclusively about Divine Wrath more than it is about what happens to us and those around us when we pull away from our very Source of Life, forget who we really are, who we were created and called to be, and go our own way.  In many ways, I do try to go it alone just as I see many of you stuck in that same lifeless rut.  When I do allow myself to fall into that rut, I can feel the emptiness and hear the silence that comes from within that void.  You would think I would have learned by now, but that’s not always how it works for those of a more stubborn nature. 

It is written in the Letter to the Colossians, “the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong has been done, without partiality”, {that is, whether we call ourselves “saved” or not} 3:25).  So even though there is a price to be paid for my failures, there is still hope; there is still redemption.  The Lord cannot defy His own merciful nature by punishing us strictly for being human, frail as we often are. 

But that’s the kicker, isn’t it?  The transformed life is about being aware of our base human nature, learning from our failures and our sins, and rising above it all rather than settling in it, surrendering to it, and expecting Jesus to come along for the ride.  That is when He ceases to be our Shepherd and Teacher and becomes a lifeless dashboard icon or a good-luck charm. 

Even though we do fail, the whole concept of Grace is to remind us that as long as we strive for “perfection” (Hebrews 6:1), there is always temptation, but there is always Mercy, there is always redemption found in our confession in acknowledging our sins.  It does not mean our sins are overlooked or covered in perpetuity by Jesus’ death because there will be fallout.  It means we are loved enough that we must learn our lessons, sometimes the hard way – and often, more than once.

Our lives are not – and must never be – defined by any single moment.  Whether it is a moment of failure or a moment of spiritual clarity, “going on to perfection” pulls us forward from those moments.  Sometimes it can even be – and maybe should always be - that our moments of failure become moments of spiritual clarity – like for King David or the woman at the well – but only if there are those who care enough about us to call us on our failures.  These moments of failure to clarity cannot happen without accountability from within The Word and our fellow disciples.

We don’t often or easily see our failures unless we are called on them.  We don’t have to be beat over the head with our sins, but we do need to be called on those sins and know by the Word that, while we will be accountable, there is still mercy and redemption after confession.  We need not be defined by our failures; we need to know which way to go from those failures.

David’s life is an interesting one.  When he stood against Goliath, we heard his indignation for the man who would dare curse his God.  He always meant well, and what was within his heart was pleasing enough for the God of Israel to have him anointed king.  What is most interesting, however, is not strictly the tension between David’s righteousness and his humanness. 

It is that when the prophet Nathan called him on his sin through a parable, David was outraged over the circumstances of the parable – as he was with Goliath, and as we often are when we see the sins of others - but David did not see himself and his actions in the parable.  Nor can we see our own failures when we are alone – or – when we concern ourselves with the sins of others rather than concern ourselves with the Eternal Word.

The transformed life is a challenging one.  Though David was anointed as king, he still had to reach for it to fulfill the life he was called and anointed into.  It is no less so for us; for though we may not be kings or queens, we are of no lesser value in the truly transformed community or in the eyes of the merciful God who redeemed us and called us to become the Body of Christ in the world today.  The Church has been entrusted with the Living Water.  We must not waste a single drop.  Amen.

Ain't Dead Yet

10 November 2019

Haggai 1:15b-2:9; Psalm 145; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17; Luke 20:27-38

It has been said that only through death can one really begin to live.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book “The Cost of Discipleship”, wrote, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die”.  Yet what Bonhoeffer is expressing has nothing to do with a physical death.  It is, rather, as attributed to St. John the Baptizer, “[The Messiah] must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

“But I must decrease” … seems to suggest that in order for Messiah to have His proper place, John had to stand down. “He must increase, but [in order for Him to increase] I must decrease”.  There is no competition, no race to see who baptizes more, who can draw the larger crowd – a debilitating race the modern Church has lost itself in.  Once Messiah was on the scene, it was time for the Baptizer to fade, to “decrease” … while still very much alive.  What’s more, John was ok with this.

It would be presumptuous to think St. John was referring to his own execution as the means of “decrease” since he had yet to even be arrested.  So, the context is one in which some of John’s disciples had come to him disturbed because all were going to Jesus to be baptized rather than coming to the Baptizer himself; “The One … to whom you testified, here He is baptizing, and all are going to Him” (John 3:26).  John acknowledged it all as what must come to pass; and he ended his discourse with, “He must increase, but I must decrease”. 

The Baptizer had his place, a very important and necessary place - just as you and I do – but unlike many of us, John knew the limit of his place and his time.  He was the one appointed to prepare the way for The Lord, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29).  Over and over, John had been clear to all who would listen that he was not “the One”.

In a manner of speaking, even throughout his ministry, the Baptizer had been sufficiently “decreased”.  He was not looking for his own “best life” because he always understood his life was intimately connected to the Very Source of Life.  Apart from The Lord, John had no life.

Sometimes it seems as though we become so fixated on the Resurrection and what happens to us, we lose sight of the Life we are invited into in the here-and-now.  When we think about the Resurrection, we think only in terms of what happens after the physical death of the body – yet we still try to dictate our own terms.  “What happens next?”, the Sadducees and we want to know.  So in the kingdom of heaven, as Jesus teaches, “those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage” (Luke 20:35).  In other words, life as we now know it will come to an end – but Life itself goes on in a whole other way, a way we can hardly conceive of except in our own terms.    

The Sadducees believed the five books of Moses were the only authoritative books of Scripture.  Because the Torah lacks a defined doctrine of resurrection, it would be that in these books, those who died were … well, dead.  Even though The Lord refers to Himself as “the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob” to Moses (Exodus 3:6), it was maybe considered just a point of reference.  So because these key biblical figures no longer existed in their world, there was no longer a story to tell except in terms of the Covenant.

Yet Jesus used that very reference as proof of “the fact that the dead are raised” (Luke 20:37).  Then in the Transfiguration, we find Moses and Elijah very much alive (Luke 9:30).  So it must follow that The Holy Father would not define Himself in relationship with persons who no longer exist.  Or with death, for that matter; “for He is God not of the dead but of the living, for to Him all of them are alive” (Luke 20:38).

While this exchange should be a source of great comfort in assuring us of Life in the age to come, it has been proved for some to be a source of great conflict.  A lady came to me years ago after a service in which this passage from Luke’s Gospel had been used.  She had been widowed for over ten years, and she still missed her husband.  She had told me before that every waking day for her was a new experience in grief.

So she asked me if this meant she would not be reunited with her beloved husband in heaven since “since they neither marry nor are given in marriage”.  If you can believe it, I was rendered speechless because this question was pretty new to me and caught me completely off guard!  She had been banking on her misery over the past decade to finally be put to rest when she would be reunited with her husband.  To her, and perhaps to many, that is the very essence of heaven.

Admittedly, it is difficult for me to speak to that kind of grief, not having experienced it myself.  Yet it did grieve me to know this Christian lady who had long ago professed faith in Christ was not looking forward to meeting Christ; she only wanted her husband.  She wanted the only life which gave her own life meaning.  I was not - and am still not - going to suggest for one moment this woman’s thoughts are misguided, but I also do think she was asking the wrong question. 

Whatever we may choose to believe about the Resurrection and life in the age to come, we must not be so narrowly focused on our own terms of life that we miss what our Shepherd is trying to teach and lead us to.  He was not trying to one-up the Sadducees.  They asked a legitimate question according to their understanding of Scripture.  Maybe they were trying to set a trap for Jesus, but who among us has not wondered from time to time what the “age to come” will look like? 

But the point Jesus was making was not whether we are still married or will be.  In fact, marriage in the age to come is not even on the table.  He made a clear distinction between this age and the age to come; “those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage”. 

What can this possibly mean to us?  In some ways, our conflict may be with the terms.  Because we are so wrapped up in this life, a life we can modify however we wish, a life the terms of which we can dictate, Christ cannot have His rightful place because we refuse to “decrease”.  We “ain’t dead yet”, so we want to live … but only on our own terms.  Even when we claim to have received Christ as Lord and Savior, we still have our own terms in the backs of our minds. 

What we must strive for is the “decrease” of self as we “go on to perfection”, as we are sanctified in The Lord.  It occurs to me that the Resurrected Life is the one we can have now.  Life in the “age to come” should not come as a shock to us – it should be a continuation of the Life we have already chosen; the Life in which Christ Jesus really is The Lord, the Boss, the Shepherd.  Only when we “decrease” can He increase.  And when He increases, whether in this life or the Life to come, only then can we really start living as we should – as He intended from the beginning.  Amen

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A Reputation Ruined, a Blessing Bestowed

3 November 2019

Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31

What makes a bad reputation a good thing?  It depends on whom we are trying to impress.  "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets” (Luke 6:22-23).

Approval-seeking behavior – behavior which more likely betrays our truest self - is intended to gain approval from others, but what happens most often is that we risk compromising our integrity, the core of who we are and what we believe.  Some may approve; but if our efforts betray what they thought they knew about us, they will not respect us.  What people generally respect is integrity.  They make not like the person or the beliefs, but they will respect them.  

When people know we are Christians and active members of the Church – regardless of denomination – they have certain expectations based on what they know of us outwardly.  When we fail to live up to those expectations, what they generally believe about Christians, they may like us and may even approve; but when we betray our core beliefs and sacrifice our own integrity for the sake of people-pleasing, of seeking popularity, of fitting in, they lose all respect for us and our beliefs.  Why should they respect our beliefs when we don’t?

Even though St. James warns us against getting too chummy with ‘the world’ (James 4:4), it is not always easy to discern between being responsible citizens and neighbors - and being disloyal disciples betraying our Shepherd; because our behavior is never about our Father’s love for us.  Rather, our behavior is a reflection of our love for our Father.  It’s always easy to say The Lord love us, and it is easier still to say we love The Lord.  Those are only words, however, and people do not always believe what they hear – but they will always believe what they see.

Maybe one of the most difficult challenges for disciples is trying to discern “the world” from which we are to keep a safe distance.  Paul and Peter both encourage us to be good, respectful citizens; and the fundamental Commandment to “love our neighbor as ourselves” can never be brushed aside.

It occurs to me, though, that even though Jesus frames that Commandment as applying to any who are in distress, the distress may not always be a physical one – as in being beaten and left on the side of the road (Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-37).    

For those who clamber for positive attention from, well, anyone for any reason, there is a profound spiritual distress which cannot be ignored.  Those who try to play on both sides of the fence to hedge their social bets don’t know who they really are.  And they don’t know who they are because they, as creatures themselves, have disconnected themselves from their Creator.  It isn’t only a matter of knowing whether they are condemned or saved; it is entirely about living the life they are ordained to live, being whom they were created to be.

In the Beatitudes, it must first be understood Jesus is speaking primarily to Jews.  It may be safe to say there were certainly some Gentiles in the crowd, but they would not be able to really connect with or relate to the idea of their “ancestors” who glorified “false prophets” (Luke 6:26).  In an appropriate context, this would have been self-proclaimed prophets who told the people what they wanted to hear rather than what they needed to hear.

It must also be noted Jesus is speaking to an exclusive crowd; that is, “I say to you who listen …” (vs 27).  While the primary audience remains unchanged, this is where we Gentiles need to really step up and take to heart what The Good Shepherd is conveying – because we live in a world in which any who disagree – whether politically or socially – with “us” is demonized.  By definition, then, they become “enemies” because they won’t go along. 

That is the reality of the world we have helped to create either by not taking a stand or standing in the wrong place.  Yet our Shepherd turns our own self-created narrative on its head: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (vss 27-28). 

Then He goes on to tell us we must take their abuse!  This is where He loses many of us.  While we may not literally walk away from Him at this point, we do still disengage in favor of “self defense”.  And that “do unto others” bit?  Our version is “before they do unto you”. 

That is what our world expects from us.  That is what our culture requires of us.  And this is where it gets really hard for parents – teaching our children to “turn the other cheek”.  What do we teach our children?  Quite the opposite.  Yet it is written in the so-called “Satanic Bible” that if someone strikes you on the cheek, crush his cheek. 

Yet there is a story about President Lincoln who had referred to the people of the South as fellow human beings who are in error.  A lady chastised him for suggesting such a thing, preferring to refer to Southerners as enemies to be destroyed.  The president responded, “Madam, do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”

Being and doing all Jesus teaches us to do is very hard, sometimes seemingly impossible under certain circumstances.  What is harder still is being labeled a coward by our culture, according to our culture’s standards, by refusing to stand up for and defend ourselves.  But what is most ironic is that we encourage our children to take their school lessons to heart for the sake of becoming successful, we teach them quite the opposite when it comes to religion and faithfulness. 

In spite of it all, however, our Lord teaches this above all else: when we strive for faithfulness, we will see reward.  Poor in spirit, hungry for righteousness, weeping for loneliness when the culture we are most comfortable with turns its back on us because we no longer fit the narrative and are no longer useful to those who use us only for their own gain.

Our Shepherd knows better than anyone what that feels like, so He is not speaking from a void.  He, better than anyone, is painfully aware of human nature; but He also continues to challenge and to strengthen us to rise above it all … “for surely your reward is great in heaven”.  We can reach “higher” – or we can settle for the here-and-now.  That is our choice.

Our reputations may be ruined in the eyes of man, but the Blessing of Heaven is ours.  Now … and forever.  Amen.

Sola Fide

27 October 2019

Leviticus 18:1-5; Psalm 65; Romans 10:1-13; Luke 18:9-14

Paul Tillich, an early 20^th-century Lutheran theologian, as he had commented on the Apostle Paul's assertion that the gospel is a stumbling block (1 Corinthians 1:23), once said the real danger may be in stumbling over the wrong thing.  For me, the “wrong thing” to stumble over may be like getting caught up in the false dichotomy between the Reformation’s “sola fide” (by faith alone) and the apostle James’ clear statement, “not by faith alone” (2:24).

I thought about that as I was reading today’s portion of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.  He wrote, in part, “Gentiles, who did not strive for righteousness, have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but Israel, who did strive for the righteousness that is based on the law, did not succeed in fulfilling that law.  Why not?  Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith, but as if it were based on works” (Romans 9:30-32).

He continues in chapter 10, “Being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness.  For Christ is the end of the law so there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (vss 3-4).

St. Peter also wrote, “Some parts of [Paul’s] letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16).  That is, these “ignorant and unstable people” make it mean what they want it to mean rather than to pray for wisdom and learn what it actually means.

Romans can be hard to understand because Paul is addressing two different groups – Gentile converts and Jewish converts - but he also jumps from faith to law and back again. 

There is one statement from Romans, however, that demands attention as we navigate our Gospel reading from Luke about the “self-righteous” Pharisee: “Christ is the end of the law …”  For our purposes, and as I suspect Paul was trying to convey given the overall context of Romans, when he wrote “Christ is the end of the law”, what may be closer to accurate is, “Christ is the goal of the law” – the Law as a “means to an end”.  At no time, however, does Paul dismiss the Law of Moses as unimportant.

Just as Jesus proclaimed He did not “come to do away with the law but to fulfill it”, we must learn to read, to pray, to live, and to finally understand how the Law is perfected in faith to our goal of sanctification, spiritual perfection.  As The Lord spoke to Israel and Jesus affirmed in the Sermon on the Mount, “Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect”.

We should also bear in mind Jesus’ moment with the rich man in Matthew 19.  The man asked how to gain eternal life.  Jesus mentioned the Law of Moses to which the man responded he had done all those things his entire life.  Then Jesus upped the ante by adding faith: “If you want to be perfect, sell all your possessions and give your money to the poor.  Then you will have treasure in heaven” (Matthew 19:21).

According to the Law, the Pharisee in Luke’s Gospel was right on the money.  He was not a thief, a man without principles, or an adulterer.  He fasted and tithed regularly.  Strictly by the Law of Moses, he was, like the rich man, a righteous man.  And although in his prayer he gives a nod of acknowledgment to The Lord, it cannot truly be said he was a man of faith.  If he believed in anything, it may have been in his own awesomeness.

The tax collector, on the other hand, did not seem to have much to be thankful for but much more to be sorry for.  Seeming to understand the depth of his sinful state, he could not even bring himself to look up to heaven but could only “beat his breast and say, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner’.”

So through the Word by which we will be judged (John 12:48), the tax collector “went down to his home justified rather than the [Pharisee]”.

How can that be?  It is a good thing to be upfront and honest with The Lord – and with ourselves - in our prayers, especially in our prayers of confession, and it is a good thing always not to be thieves, rogues, or adulterers.  So how is it the Pharisee gained nothing by his prayer, according to Jesus, but the tax collector gained his very life?  It is because the Pharisee “loved human glory more than the glory which comes from God” (John 12:43).

We may not think of ourselves as “thieves, rogues, or adulterers”, but as a childhood priest once told us, “there is always something to confess – if we are willing to be honest and if we recognize our constant need to grow in faith and in love – and if we realize that won’t happen without The Lord”.

Yet if we become so overly confident to the point that we no longer feel a need to confess anything but do actually see ourselves as better than, well, anyone, we have crossed a very dangerous line.  Self-righteousness enables us – in fact, encourages us – to judge others; i.e., the poor are victims of their own carelessness; illegal immigrants are just law-breakers; prison inmates got what they deserved.  And the list goes on.

Self-righteousness – whether by our own awesome deeds or the self-proclaimed salvation we refuse to live into – draws us into a false sense of spiritual security.  Self-righteousness allows us to look down on others.  As bad as that alone may seem, there is an even worse element: the utter loss of humility, and the false sense that we are somehow on equal footing with The Father.

As vital as faith is to the life of the soul AND the life of the Church, faith is only as good as its object.  This is the danger of misunderstanding what “by faith alone” means: that we would focus on faith in and of itself and lose sight of the Object of our faith. 

The question is not whether we have faith; the question is whether we believe in the right thing.  We can have all the sincerely held beliefs we want, but are they true?  Are our beliefs true only because we need them to be true?  If the thing we believe in centers on what we choose to believe, then our faith is worthless.  It is not faith alone that saves, but trusting fully in Christ Jesus enough to follow Him, obey Him, and long for more.

The Lord spoke through the prophet Zechariah, “Return to Me, and I will return to you” (1:3).  And when humanity did not return to Him, He chose to come to us – to take us by the hand and lead us Home.  Do we have faith enough to take Him by the hand and allow ourselves to be led?  That, dear friends, is the faith which saves – because it is He who saves.  Amen.

From Whence The Truth Comes

20 October 2019

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-18

One of the most fascinating novels I’ve read is James Michener’s “The Source”.  It is set around an archaeological dig in Israel; and while the story is largely fiction, the author uses real archaeological and historical data to create the many stories that unfold with each new discovery.  That is, the deeper they dig, the further back in history they go.  What is revealed, in part, is the evolution of religion from paganism to Judaism and Christianity. 

I thought about that book as I have been experiencing my own crisis of faith in questioning the evolution of Christianity.  I’ve begun reaching back to the early Church Fathers to gain some perspective on the development of Christian doctrine and practices because, frankly, I think modern Christianity has run so far off the rails in a vain effort to appease the modern culture that I wonder whether the Fathers – or the apostles - would recognize the Church today.  It seems that the more relevant the Church tries to be to the modern culture, the more irrelevant it becomes for believers … and The Truth.

It's not always a bad thing to think of ways to reach new generations, but what are we reaching them with?  Political activism?  The integrity and the transformational power of the Gospel is at stake.  Some compromises can be reached in the means of communication but never in the core of what we are called to communicate.  Sometimes – like love – the Truth hurts.

It is not that the Truth is intended to be hurtful, but genuine transformation in growing pains often is when the Gospel calls us away from a former life and our former selves and into the Fullness of Life in Christ.  That Gospel, the fullness of which does not at all mesh with the modern pop culture, is a whole new life.  Yet, even in its newness, that New Life requires that we always – ALWAYS – first consider the Source “from whence The Truth comes”.

Consider Paul’s encouragement to Timothy (2 Timothy 3:14-4:5).  He wrote, “Continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings”. 

Although Paul seems to put himself up as the source from whom “you have learned and firmly believed”, he nevertheless points to the ultimate source of “sound doctrine”, the likes of which will be rejected by a fickle church more amused by novelty than willing to be fed by sound doctrine.  Although Timothy and subsequent generations will face cultures moving further and further away from The Truth as it is revealed in the Scriptures, Paul is encouraging Timothy to be always mindful of his “knowledge of sacred writings” (the Scriptures; in this case, what is commonly referred to as “Old Testament”). 

The “time when people will not put up with sound doctrine” was already upon the early Church – if not only a generation or two away.  It is not only our own contemporary culture which has tried to subjectify some core components of Christian doctrine and make it a matter of personal opinion; it has been happening for centuries.  I wonder, though, if it happens not because of some intentional rebellion against The Lord more than it is just human nature to become infatuated with anything that is “new and improved”.

I often think of where we once lived, a town in which there were three well- and long-established United Methodist Churches.  Once a fourth one was built, there was a significant falling away from some of the other long-established churches in a rush to be a part of something “new”.  It wasn’t good or bad; it just was.

Some (mostly Catholic theologians) have argued Paul may have foreseen something like the 16^th-century Reformation, but that observation may be a bit shallow.  Not perhaps entirely untrue, but also not completely honest.  Because of the corruption of the Roman Church and the popes who were controlled, bought, and paid for by rival kings, anything approved by these popes – including doctrine - had to have been considered corrupted.  That is to say, one who is corrupted can only convey corruption.

However, it must be remembered one could not go to a corner bookstore and buy a Bible or download an app.  Many, especially the significantly illiterate class, depended on the Church to teach and to convey “The Truth”.  For most, the source of “sound doctrine” was the Church, the bishop, and the local priest.  Yet if a bishop or a priest were corrupted and publicly revealed, the doctrine was no longer sound; and the source “from whence The Truth comes” was undermined.

To be sure, the Church is designated as the guardian of the Gospel and the teacher of sound doctrine – as long as we are not removed from The Source “From Whence The Truth Comes”.  Yet if there was any good thing which came from the Reformation, it was the broadened idea that the “priesthood of believers” (1 Peter 2:5-9) was not restricted to Judaism or to clergy.  It was the idea that we who are baptized are endowed by the Spirit of the Living God to live into that priesthood, that we, too, may, “proclaim the praises of Him who called [us] out of darkness [and] into His marvelous light”.

None of this, however, can ever be a mere matter of personal opinion.  The reason is simple: an opinion – particularly a biblically uninformed opinion – falsely, even defiantly, elevates the opinion-holder as The Ultimate Source “from whence The Truth comes”.  The Truth becomes subjective, and we are justified not by Christ Jesus but by our own pride, our own inflated sense of worth.

One example would be the Protestant notion of the prohibition of baptizing infants.  There is no such biblical reference that expressly prohibits infant baptism.  In fact, there is no specific baptismal prescription for exactly when or how baptism must be done.  We are only taught – “From Whence The Truth Comes” – that we are to be baptized. 

This is not to say one is right and the other is wrong.  It is only to say that long-standing traditions must be measured by the full weight and context of what is written; infant or believer’s baptism, sprinkling, pouring, or full immersion cannot be defined or argued for or against with any single verse.  That Jesus was baptized in a river may imply one thing or one way; that the Philippian jailer of Acts 16 who had his entire household baptized based only on his own conversion – no river is in that narrative - would imply another.

There are many long-held traditions that make perfect sense only because we’ve been doing them for generations, but it is long past time to reconnect to The Source “From Whence The Truth Comes”.  Because in the end, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”  Or will He find only misguided, ill-informed, but well-intended traditions, opinions, and half-truths that are more the source of our comfort and faith than The Truth Himself? 

The world has lost its mind, but what is most troublesome is that the Church has lost a strong, confident sense of self.  When we are more concerned with being right than with being righteous, we reveal we have no idea Who the Head of the Church really is.  And we are too far removed from “the sacred writings” From Whence The Truth Comes”.  And our children and our grandchildren will pay the price.

Remember Who reached out to us when we were at our lowest and most vulnerable?  Remember Who has been there from the beginning?  Remember Who will be there when time as we know it will stand still?  He is Christ Jesus, the Eternal “Word which became flesh”.  It is He “From Whence The Truth Comes” – for He Himself is the Truth.  Amen.