2nd Sunday of Lent: Asking the right questions

John 3:1-17

“Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother.”  Khalil Gibran

It occurs to me, without overstating what should be obvious, the world might be a better place if we would put more energy and effort into asking questions than in making proclamations, if we would work harder to understand our neighbors rather than demand they accept us and what we believe first.  There is nothing wrong with expressing confidence in what we believe (but not to the point of arrogance) but if we care to learn more about a subject or - more importantly - a person, questions AND a willingness to receive answers we may not agree with become necessary.  It is first about getting to know them.

In the pilot episode of a new TV series, "Resurrection", a young American boy suddenly woke up in the middle of field in China with no explanation as to how he got there.  Once he was finally returned to his home in Missouri, we learned the boy had been dead 32 years from drowning in a river behind his house in Missouri! 

Through the twists and turns of the yet-undetermined plot, the boy ran into a local pastor who remembered this boy to have been his childhood friend.  The preacher expressed his utter dismay and confusion to a friend when he said, "I'm seeing something I cannot believe, and I cannot explain it.  I'm supposed to have the answers!"  His friend replied, "Should you not rather help your congregation to ask the right questions than to think you can have all the answers?"

Check mate!  The preacher found peace in the reality that when we enter into the realm of mystery - especially the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven and of life and death - we are always in a much better position to ask questions than we are to have ready answers; asking is far better than making something up that sounds good to us!  This is especially important when we enter into the "mission field" to seek out the lost and the marginalized and the alienated as Jesus commands and expects of us, His Body the Church.  But in order to gain the trust and confidence of our neighbors who are too often strangers to us, should we not first set out to establish a relationship?  And is the first step in any relationship not geared toward learning more about the other person by freely entering into his or her world before we impose ourselves and our world upon them - especially if they have come to feel alienated from our world?  

Nicodemus approached Jesus very carefully "by night", as the Scripture says, but also by words.  He seemed to be feeling Jesus out not by challenging Him but by trying to determine exactly where Jesus was coming from.  The inquiry seems to be more about the nature of Jesus Himself rather than about the nature of His "signs".  Is this just another prophet, self-appointed rather than anointed, or is there more to Him than meets the eye?  We stopped asking questions like this a long time ago.

The Church has been so caught up in the tension between faith and works-righteousness as to what we "have to" do for so long that we seem more concerned about what it takes to be "saved" than we are concerned about being "sanctified" which will necessarily involve others.  Even in our efforts to reach out, we have become a little too obsessed with new "programs" that might attract new members - yet not nearly concerned with new ministries that seek to serve others rather than to serve ourselves.

"No one can SEE the Kingdom of God ..."  So when others in the New Testament preach and proclaim that the Kingdom of God has "come near", perhaps they are getting closer to what becomes necessary for us to be enabled to "see" this Kingdom which has "come near"; that there is something we must seek after so we can "see" this Kingdom which is upon us - without being so distracted by worldly things ... or our own concerns.

We must also remember that very little works in isolation to itself.  Just as fasting is meaningless without prayer, baptism by water can have no lasting effect if the Holy Spirit is not present.  So baptism (Exodus 30:18 and Matthew 3:6) and the reality of the Holy Spirit - which is the essence of the Living God (Micah 3:8) - were (are) not foreign concepts to Judaism, yet Nicodemus did not fully understand what Jesus was saying. 

As a "teacher of Israel", Nicodemus was well aware of the Presence of God in the Spirit and the use of water as a means of cleansing (some passages use "sanctifying" as ritually purifying oneself with water) as a matter of Law perhaps, but he was missing the crucial element: that what Jesus was proposing was something Nicodemus and the Sanhedrin (Jewish council) should have already been doing and preaching just as Jesus teaches "when you fast" rather than "if".  Nicodemus asks, "How can this be?"  Jesus seems to reply, "How can this NOT be?"

It must be understood from this passage, I think, that Nicodemus would have discovered nothing had he not approached Jesus the way he had.  The religious leaders of Jesus' day were never shy about "challenging" Jesus even as they asked what may be better described as "sarcastic" questions with ulterior motives, but few approached Jesus as Nicodemus did; i.e., "we know you are a teacher from God"; that is, acknowledging Jesus in a positive and inquisitive way rather than in a negative and challenging one.  Trying to learn something rather than trying to impose or defend something.

Recall that Jesus quotes the Scriptures when challenged by the tempter in the wilderness, "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test" (Deuteronomy 6:16, Matthew 4:7).  Quoting from Deuteronomy, Jesus was mindful of Moses' instruction to the people not to test the limits of the Holy Father's patience and mercy, for it follows that Moses states: "You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God".

I recall an online conversation I had some time back with a messianic rabbi about kosher law (messianic being Jews who embrace Messiah Jesus).  The rabbi pointed out that such laws are not strictly about diet and what one can or cannot eat; rather it is about a God who cares deeply about His people and that this thought alone should be enough for us who claim to "trust" the Lord.  He also reminded me that the prohibitions against certain meats should not provoke a "why not" from us but more along the lines of "what will I learn from this?"  Not in search for excuses but honest, genuine answers.  From the very beginning, even the Law calls the Lord's people to a life filled with the struggle of "right questions" that serve to prepare us for life's next moments.

Think about it in this way.  We parents know - or should reasonably know - that telling our children to "do" or "don't do" - BECAUSE I SAID SO - is asking for rebellion sooner or later!  They might be obedient for the moment, but they will have learned nothing.  Demanding blind obedience even when we answer "because I care" fails to teach our children the value of any particular lesson and does not help them to think through things for themselves.  The lesson is lost on them because we often feel our authority is being challenged or threatened because our children don't accept our inadequate answers that often do not speak to the topic at hand but rather to our parental authority.

"Going on to perfection" (what we Methodists understand as sanctifying grace) requires a certain resolve from each of us to always strive to do our very best in the Lord's name, but discipleship also requires that we "ask the right questions" - not to try and affirm what we think we already know but to grow spiritually in faith and in love of God and neighbor.

Lent is the time to ask questions - and lots of them.  Lent challenges us in prayer, in fasting, in Scripture study - alone and in fellowship with other disciples - in submission to the Spirit to always reach higher and go deeper. 

Our Lord Jesus assures us that when we seek, we will find ... not necessarily what we may be looking for only for ourselves, and certainly no excuses - but surely we will find what our Lord has in store for us.  IF we trust Him enough to ask.

In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

1st Sunday of Lent 2014: "Starting here, starting now"

Matthew 4:1-11

I think maybe to begin what I hope to share, I must first back-pedal on a statement I made recently.  I had suggested that when we are faced with our "moment in eternity", that glorious moment when the Lord reaches out to us in an unmistakable and intensely personal way, our response in that moment must never be "maybe" or "I'll get back to you"; that "not now" can be construed as "not ever".

Clearly this is an unfair statement for a couple of reasons, not least of which is our Lord cannot "misunderstand" us as we often misunderstand one another.  The Lord knows what He is asking of us - discipleship is no cake walk - and He surely knows above all else we humans fear the "unknown" more than we fear almost anything else. 

Jesus clearly states commitment to discipleship, to following Him, requires much more than blind faith - especially if we, as many do, have trust issues.  Jesus calls us to "count the cost" before we jump into something lest we come off looking foolish when we decide it's more than we bargained for (Luke 14:25-33).  In other words, there must be a period of thought, prayer, testing and preparation - because we are never called only to be justified (saved); we are beckoned into sanctification (the journey of continued spiritual growth AND service to one another - two sides of the same coin).

Some traditions believe the Lord's call is compelling beyond our capacity to resist or to doubt, that we are so moved by the Holy Spirit in such a way that we literally cannot resist or be forced to act against our own will.  Our Arminian-Wesleyan tradition does not see it quite that way.  The calling is compelling, to be sure, and unmistakable; but our tradition and heritage teach us our ability to reason and to think things through is truly among our Creator's great gifts and thus cannot be denied.  Working within that free will, however, still requires that we seriously consider an appropriate response to what is being asked of us while we explore discipleship honestly and openly within the many means of grace; prayer, fasting, Scripture study, and worship to name only a few.    

Lent is always a good place for seekers to start asking the hard questions because it is during this time when many begin to look at Jesus' life and ministry in a more challenging way; and the reason many look more critically is we know this journey will come to a head on what has become known as "Good Friday", that most cursed and blessed of days when even Jesus Himself cried out to the Holy Father, "Why have You forsaken Me?"

Surely we have all had those moments at some point; those moments when we questioned this God who promised, "I will never forsake you", especially when bad things happen to us.  And we try to embrace that certain promise in the midst of chaos and despair when we feel completely and utterly forsaken.  And I promise you this: if we stand firm in Christ, in what is written in the Scriptures as Jesus did in the wilderness, we can be sure even some "Christians" will turn on us when we seek to do what is right in the eyes of our Holy Father rather than worry about what our "friends" or our culture may think of us. 

These attempts at destruction happen all the time in cliquish social circles, private gossip circles, on social media, and even in "conversation forums" such as one I am currently engaged in at the local university.  People do not want to hear anything other than what they already think they know (I doubt any of us can be excepted from this!); and anyone who speaks outside that particular frame of reference is at least a potential "enemy" - but certainly a threat.

Sometimes the attempts to undermine our faith are more subtle, such as when the "tempter" takes Holy Scripture out of its appropriate context in an effort to make a self-serving point.  He does so when we are at our weakest and most vulnerable as Jesus surely was, or at least as vulnerable as the "tempter" hoped He would be.  Lest we forget, however, it is probably even easier to be tempted when we think we are at our strongest - you know, when we are pretty full of ourselves and have lost all sense of humility and spiritual need. 

Fasting alone does not bring us temptation even though we should understand taking on such a spiritual practice can be quite a test of spiritual endurance.  Yet fasting alone does not serve a spiritual purpose if our only measure of success is whether we were able to "go the distance" and do without something for a specified period of time without cheating.  It must never be fasting alone or strictly "giving up something for Lent"; it must be fasting AND prayer AND Scripture study AND self-sacrifice AND the other means of grace by which we connect or reconnect with our Lord in a meaningful way.

This is why a statement of suggesting "now or never" is unfair and borderline manipulative; it leaves no room for the Holy Spirit to work.  It puts people on OUR time table.  We observe Lent every year, and for good reason.  In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus refers to fasting as a presumed and necessary spiritual practice already in place as He says, "When you fast ..." - not "if".  Like repentance, fasting is not a "one-and-done" proposition.

Lent is a reminder for us that discipleship is not a static "thing" that just sits there after we have been baptized; that false notion of believing we are "saved" only for our own sakes and not for the sake of the Lord's Kingdom AND His people who have yet to make a commitment, those who find it difficult to let go, those who are lost, those who feel "forsaken", angry, and bitter because of what they have suffered and cannot find their way back. 

Jesus clearly teaches that the "end" of spiritual life in Him is not at baptism; rather that baptism is a means to an end, a way to something greater and clearly beyond oneself as being "led ... into the wilderness" as Jesus was.  I suppose it can be said that after baptism is when the real work begins, when perhaps we become a greater threat to the "father of lies", when we have been marked with the sign of faith and means of grace by which our Lord claims us and we declare our allegiance to the Kingdom of Heaven and to the Lord's people on earth - His Body the Church - as well as to those who continue to struggle or are struggling perhaps for the first time.

But we also must never overlook or soft sell Jesus' use of the Holy Scriptures to endure and overcome this "testing", this "temptation" - NOT clever bumper sticker slogans we make up for ourselves that are, more often than not, not quite biblical.  Standing firm in the Word, returning to that Word after we have drifted away, or entering into that Word as a new beginning, is a daily challenge for us all.  This is the justification and necessity of the fellowship of the Church, the congregation of disciples who continue to struggle themselves and are glad for the company of others who so struggle.  This is discipleship; to struggle rather than to settle.

So if we really care about the state of this nation, if we are truly concerned about the state of the Church, it is time to more seriously and prayerfully consider what our Lord asks of us and WHEN He asks it of us.  We must resolve to "start here, and start now" each day to affirm for the first time - or reaffirm once again our commitment to our Lord.  Let the sacraments of the Church be to us our Lord's call to Reconciliation - to Him AND to one another. 

All glory and honor to the most High God, and peace to His people on earth.  Amen.  

A Lenten Thought

“Turn Yourself to me and have mercy on me, for I am desolate and afflicted.  The troubles of my heart have enlarged; bring me out of my distresses!  Look on my affliction and my pain, and forgive my sins” (Psalm 25:16-18).

Imagine a world in which we worry more about evaluating our own sins (and notice how we are inclined to ask for mercy!), and stop worrying so much about the sins of others (whom we eagerly condemn!); a world in which life bears down on us and we seek mercy rather than someone to blame.

Such introspection seems overbearing and sometimes needless – after all, why worry when we are already redeemed/saved/justified (pick your word)?  Yet even as we seek sanctification (spiritual perfection in which we become more Christ-like with each passing day), we must always be on guard against our human impulses; those impulses that allow us to ignore the needs of others in favor of our own desires and demands, those times when it is much easier to withhold our tithes and other offerings than to allow ourselves to be vulnerable even a little, those times when we are just too distracted or too tired to spend some alone time in prayer with the One who seeks us out and beckons us into a life only He can envision and give!

Prayers of confession acknowledge all these things, but prayers of confession always approach the Throne of Grace with confidence in the Eternal Covenant the Lord Himself has offered to His people!  Only when we face our humanness with honesty can we expect our spiritual selves to be fed … and to the full!

Let us continue this journey of Lent with high expectations for what the Lord will reveal to those who earnestly seek His face!

Blessings,

Michael

Continuing the journey of Lent

“If you call on the Father who, without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”  1 Peter 1:17-19

At last evening’s Ash Wednesday service, I challenged those present to consider primarily the much more difficult task of what it takes to be a true disciple, a follower, of Christ rather than a generic “Christian” whose claim to allegiance is little more than church membership.  Although we still must consider how we have offended our Lord and repent of those short-comings, it will be a much greater challenge to define – and then be able to articulate – our faith and what draws us to the Lord.  If we cannot do this for ourselves, we cannot do this for our children and grandchildren.  And if we cannot do this at home, we certainly cannot do this in public!  And this, of course, is the calling of the Church for it is the very nature of the Holy God revealed in Christ! 

I also wonder how our journey through these forty days of Lent might be received if we purposefully count each day of this journey as a gift even as we fast and devote quality time to prayer when we would rather eat or doing something else.  Of course we can quote and sing the psalm, “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (118:24), but do we consider each day as a genuine gift?  Especially if we are facing a particular day we would rather not?  That this might be the day when our worst fears are confirmed by medical tests?  That this might be the day when our jobs are being eliminated?  Or that our working hours (and pay) might be cut? 

These things would certainly send us to our knees in prayer, but how often do we go to the Lord in prayer because we see each day (good or potentially bad) as a true gift?  The psalmist was surely speaking within this context and declaring the determination of a people redeemed with plenty to be thankful for even if the events of a day reveal nothing but bad news.

This must be the determined mission of the Church in remembering our redemption did not come by “perishable” things but by the blood of Him who is Himself imperishable.  So may we be as purposefully focused not on our sins or our failures or our fears – but rather on the Lord’s mercy and His assurance that our weaknesses are truly His strengths! 

It is His gift to us, His assurance that as long as we do not give up on Him, He will never give up on us - not because of what we may or may not do but because of who the Lord is.  What a truly marvelous gift indeed!

Blessings,

Michael      

Ash Wednesday 2014

Traditionally the season of Lent is encouraged as a time of prayer, fasting, spiritual reflection, and penitence - making our wrongs right as in "bearing fruit worthy of repentance" - all done in preparation for The Resurrection.  Like the seven days leading up to Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) in the Jewish tradition, it is a time not to be taken lightly by the faithful as if it has no significance or that simply going through the motions will satisfy some obscure "legal" requirement - like the "hypocrites" who are called out by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.

Though we may never attain a level of spiritual perfection in this mortal life, this does not mean we are not expected to reach higher as we strive to "go on to perfection" rather than settle for spiritual mediocrity.  It means we are given some latitude as we inevitably stumble and fall but refuse to stay down and resolve to do better with our Lord's help.  This is "sanctifying grace", intentional discipleship, as we become stronger day after day.  It is as necessary for the soul as exercise and food are for the body.

It occurred to me this past week, however, that maybe our focus should not be exclusively on our moral failings, our penitence, and how we can do better - although this is still necessary for honest inward reflection and self-evaluation.  But maybe it is time to shift our primary focus in such a way - a much more difficult way, I think - that we put some real time and thought and effort into what it means - what it really means - to be a Christian, a genuine disciple of Christ, beyond being simply a member of a church.  Frankly if we cannot do this for ourselves, we will find it impossible to articulate genuine, life-sustaining and life-altering faith to others, including our own children and grandchildren.  Let's face it; if we are not "ambassadors for Christ", we are only the "dust from which we came and to which we will return".

Is our faith defined by a particular code of ethics?  Certainly, but there is more.  Is our faith defined by that one clarifying moment of justification when we became aware that we have been forgiven of our past sins when we asked?  Not necessarily, because that "justifying grace" is our Holy Father's act of mercy.  Are we automatically Christians when we are baptized?  Well, frankly, no; because baptism is, as shown in John the Baptizer's life, a Jewish practice as well.

We can easily see the Lord has set forth certain things for us to know in the moral law which teaches us how to treat one another, how to "love our neighbor as ourselves" which clearly goes beyond a warm-and-fuzzy emotion we mistake for "love".  We should also understand "justifying grace" as the Lord's act of mercy.  This moment is clarified further, however, in how or whether we respond in a transformative and life-altering way.  And the difference between a brand-name "Christian" and a purposeful and intentional "follower of Christ" marked by a life of constant transformation and spiritual growth is defined and refined by the length and the depth and the breadth of our response to that mercy which is our calling. 

One of the greatest misunderstandings about Christianity is that we are defined strictly by a professed allegiance to Christ Jesus, our knowledge of a certain "creed".  There is that, of course, but there is so much more - much more.  There is discovery.  This is the exciting and sometimes downright scary part about "following" Jesus; I mean really going after the Holy Father through Christ in worship, in prayer, in fasting, in Scripture study, even in fellowship with one another - it is the discoveries we make along the way about ourselves, our neighbors, our God revealed in Christ, and our faith.

These "discoveries" involve constant life-changing decisions through which we struggle with our own intense personal desires against what we truly need to grow in faith and in love.  For instance, we often confuse material wealth with personal blessing so much so that we keep our wealth (and thus our blessings) to ourselves.  Or we do "this" when the Lord is clearly calling us to do "that". 

Like the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-22, we often think simply obeying a list of "rules" or merely refraining from evil acts is enough; but even then we often excuse ourselves from "legalism" when we willfully disregard these "rules" - such as when we freely engage in the most common and damaging of offenses: neglect of our neighbors' needs, especially those we don't like or who are not like us.

It is easy to stumble, too easy, in fact.  This is one of the harshest lessons of life.  I submit to you, however, it is much more difficult to define and articulate our faith - and even more difficult to truly "follow" Jesus.  We are often more inclined to expect Jesus to follow us as we "reap and sow" to our flesh rather than to the spirit.  And this, dear friends, is the emphasis of Ash Wednesday which beckons us into the challenging and spiritually necessary journey that is Lent.

It is a clarifying moment when we are reminded in a tangible way of our true origin in the "dust of the earth"; when we are reminded there will come a day when our mortal bodies will give out - some sooner, some later.  This sounds a little gloomy and depressing, but we must not deny that death does not discriminate between young and old, rich and poor, black and white, insured and uninsured, faithful and not-so-faithful. 

So we are called and challenged to put away the things of the flesh, the things that may satisfy the body but do nothing for the soul - the soul, that Divine "breath of life" which calls us beyond our flesh and into communion with our Creator.  It is the annual "dose of humility" we need - to be reminded that apart from our Lord who spoke us into being and then breathed into us the breath of life, we are only slightly more evolved than apes - and when our mortal bodies die, so also do we - apart from the Lord our God who is revealed to us in Christ.

Let us remember that our genuine and holy purpose for being is always ahead of us, never behind us, as we are renewed by the mercy and spirit of the Lord our God. 

Amen. 

Ash Wednesday 2014

“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may - by your good works which they observe - glorify God in the day of visitation.”  1 Peter 1:11-12

Today is Ash Wednesday which leads us into the season of Lent.  Many devout Christians question the necessity of Lent and its penitential practices of fasting and repentance because we are, after all, Easter people; that there is no need to overwhelm ourselves with “works” that are not necessary.  I get that, and I freely admit there are times when I question such practices myself.  If this is where we truly are, then we are compelled to question why we would celebrate Christmas since that time has also passed.  Why do we celebrate the Resurrection of Messiah since this time, too, has passed?

I would suggest that if we question the many means of grace and mercy, such as prayer and fasting, that call us to evaluate our lives as “sojourners and pilgrims”, then it is likely we fall outside the definition of “sojourners and pilgrims” and need these practices in our lives all the more.  This, dear friends, is precisely why Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and seeks to call us away from matters of the flesh and reconnect to our Lord in a meaningful way; for a benign, inactive “relationship” is no relationship at all.  Think of it this way: what good is a prayer life if our prayers reveal something we have no intentions of responding to?  That our prayers are only our wish lists we expect the Lord to hear even though we offer no time to hear Him?

I encourage all to find the necessity of visiting this season with an open heart and honest mind; for if such practices are seen as “burdens” unnecessary for “saved” Christians, there may indeed already be something seriously amiss in our spiritual lives.  Lent is a gift, perhaps the greatest of gifts, because it calls us to gather once again as “sojourners and pilgrims” by showing us exactly where we are headed – to the Resurrection and beyond! 

Blessings,

Michael

Into and through Lent 2014

“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does He tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.”  1 Peter 1:13-15

As we approach the season of Lent, we should be mindful of certain realities; not least of which are those temptations we face daily.  Too often we fall into a trap by which we reason that when something happens – anything – it would not have happened unless the Lord willed it to happen.  This is not to say our Lord does not work in and around our lives daily, but sin presents itself at least as often and must never be confused with what is good and right and uplifting and is not always self-serving.

St. Peter is clear; our Lord is not tempted by evil nor does He tempt us with evil.  We can often be tested, and I will grant there is a fine line, but temptation seeks to interrupt our communion with the Lord; testing prepares us for the next Godly moments for the challenges we will surely face will be great.  Like school work, tests prepare us for the next level.

So it is with the season of Lent.  It is an invitation to enter into a 40-day test like Jesus’ time in the wilderness before He embarked on His ministry.  It is necessary that we shake off the old and begin anew each day.  Let us not take this time lightly, and let us not brush it aside as unnecessary or as a “Catholic thing”.  Lent is very much a Christ thing which our Lord Himself endured.  And in this experience as we seek to draw closer to our Lord, let us also discover even more about ourselves; our weaknesses as well as our strengths – and in this, learn more about what the Lord would ask of us.

Blessings,

Michael

To drink or not to drink: is this really THE question?

There is a movement afoot in Columbia County AR called "Vote for Growth in Columbia County" whose purpose is to make alcohol sales in Columbia County legal once again (the county was voted dry in 1942 and chose to stay dry in 1974).  To be fair, the group's expressed goal is revealed in the group's name; "Growth in Columbia County".

Is this issue, however, strictly about tax revenue being lost to neighboring counties?  What would we do with the additional revenue?  There is no doubt Columbia County residents who imbibe are driving to the county line to buy home stock but as revenue goes, how can one lose what one never had?  That revenue has been off the table since 1942; there are very few, if any, in county government today who can possibly remember when that tax revenue was available to be spent.  Apparently that revenue was not such a big deal in 1942 or in 1974.  Why now?

The state lottery was hyped as a means for enhancing the educational quality of life in Arkansas, but the only measure I have seen clearly showed a substantial increase in remediation rates in colleges and universities for students who were not prepared for college life, but I have yet to see that debt-free graduation rates have increased.  The level of awards has also been cut because the anticipated revenue did not keep up with demand.  I think that hype has been shown to be exactly what it was: snake oil.

In Nevada every vice known to humanity is available and legal, yet that state's unemployment rate is well above the national average.  No state enjoyed any real or tangible benefit from creating a lottery or legalized gambling, yet Arkansas believed it could somehow do better.  It hasn't.  It is just the same tired story in another setting.  Now Columbia County believes liquor sales will somehow create new opportunities and benefits.  This remains to be seen, but it is very hard to believe industry will suddenly break down this county's doors because of legal liquor sales.

I question the "quality of life" issue that may or may not be enhanced with the sale of alcohol.  Have those companies which have recently left Columbia County or downsized in the past five years done so because there are no liquor stores, or did they move because there are no major river, railroad, or interstate arteries?  Did these companies aggressively recruit the university for quality employees, or did they succumb to a dwindling labor pool and a supply/demand economy?  Have restaurant chains refused to move into Columbia County strictly because of the wet/dry issue?  To my knowledge there was one such public restaurant in Magnolia that gained permission to sell alcohol by the drink; it is now closed.  Alcohol sales apparently did nothing for that business.

We must also not overlook the fact that gasoline in Columbia County is often as much as $.05 - $.15 higher per gallon than in neighboring counties.  Could this not also be considered a "quality of life" issue?  There are many more voters who drive than who drink.  What has the city of Magnolia or Columbia County done to recoup this lost revenue?  Many commuters and weekend shoppers never purchase a single gallon of fuel in Columbia County because it is much less expensive in neighboring counties.  Surely this is an economic issue that continually affects the quality of life in Columbia County and adversely affects the county's coffers.

We can have a civil discussion about alcohol sales in Columbia County without questioning one's state or narrowness of mind, but let us have an honest discussion.  There are wet counties in Arkansas that are far worse off economically than Columbia County, at least two of which sit on a major highway, a railway, and/or a river (Jackson and Desha).  There are dry counties doing quite well without alcohol sales that also sit on major railroad, interstate, and river arteries although admittedly several restaurants are permitted to sell by the glass (Faulkner).  While no one would want to stand in the way of up to fifteen new jobs in Columbia County, I hardly think these potential opportunities will compel high school or university graduates to stay.  Nor do I believe liquor stores will be a gateway to bigger and better things to come.

Quality of life is a big issue for companies seeking to relocate, expand, or upstart; but education opportunities and affordable housing are usually at or near the top of the list of desirable places to locate and live in, in addition to a sufficiently educated labor pool.  Will liquor stores and convenience store beer encourage this potential labor pool to stay in the hopes that some new company will relocate to Columbia County because we have beer for sale?

Yes, city and county coffers will have some additional revenue; and I think most will readily agree that law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and rescue workers (to name only a few) should be paid more for the jobs they do so well.  I believe, however, city and county leaders need to think a little bigger than alcohol sales in terms of economic growth. 

Call it what it is: a drive to make alcohol sales legal in Columbia County, and let the voters choose based on real information - because these voters are not as gullible as some seem to hope.  

The First Step

Isaiah 42:1-9
Acts 10:34-43
Matthew 3:13-17

Last week I shared that it is time for the Church to "come out of the closet".  We must reinvigorate ourselves in the Holy Spirit because we cannot do this alone, renew or begin anew our commitment to discipleship because it is our God-given, Christ-commanded mission from which no one has been exempted, and reinvest ourselves in mission as the Body of Christ because we need one another.  I proposed to you no one is going to follow a God whose own followers are more devoted to their own interests and in following some pop-culture icon; and that when we withhold any portion of ourselves, our witness and our testimony and perhaps even our salvation all become lies.

It is true that the salvation of all is the goal and mission of the Church as the will of our Holy Father, but we too often stop short of helping others (and ourselves) to understand WHY we are justified before the Lord and why sanctification (becoming more and more Christ-like) is so important and must never be taken for granted as a "given" just because we think we are "good people".  These are not multiple choice issues; they are two sides of the same coin in the fullness of life.

By the same token we emphasize the necessity of baptism as initiation into the Covenant and the Church, but we lose our way when we get hung up on the "how" in exactly what must be done or in defending our own superstitions.  Thus we miss altogether the "why" of what baptism is about.  So rather than devote ourselves to exploring the fullest meaning of baptism, we get stuck in needless disputes about the method of baptism.  This helps no one.

The method is probably the biggest hang-up for many, beginning at the River's bank.  Is it possible the Baptizer was fully immersing those who came to him?  Of course it is.  Is it also possible John was scooping water with his hands and pouring it over their heads?  Of course it is.  We cannot know which way it was being done because it is not written for us to know; we can only speculate.  So I would suggest that because there is no precise written prescription we must follow, we should pay more attention to what is written for us to know.

The word "baptism" in the Greek can mean to "immerse" or "to dip", but it can also mean simply "to wash".  In the Gospel accounts we are reading a "record" of what happened at the River and clearly not a "prescription" as to how baptism must be done simply because it is not told or even inferred. 

So when we read about John's baptism of repentance, we must remember John did not fall from Elizabeth's womb onto the river's bank.  Like the rest of us, John had a background that informed this practice he was offering; and what we are reading in Matthew's gospel has a much broader context than these few words written on a page.

It is believed, for instance, that John came from the Qumran community where an ascetic Jewish sect called "Essenes" lived (like our idea of the Amish); a people who chose to remove themselves from what had been deemed a "godless" urban culture under pagan (the Romans) rule.  Qumran is near caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 (perhaps buried there for safe-keeping in AD68 when Roman invasion was imminent?). 

Within these scrolls was found a Manual of Discipline, or the "community rule".  Like our own United Methodist Book of Discipline, it may not have been considered scriptural since as Jews, they had the Tanakh (First Testament) as their scriptures.  Rather, this Manual, like our own Discipline, served as their community covenant in how they would live and work and worship together as a community of faith.  Religion was not incidental to their being and their living.

This manual, then, stated that a person could not become clean if one failed to obey the Lord's commandments.  The manual states, "It is through the spirit of God's true counsel concerning the ways of man that all his sins be expiated (atoned for); and when his flesh is sprinkled (emphasis mine) with purifying water, it shall be made clean by the humble submission of his soul to all the precepts of God."

Baptism by "purifying water" was the point of interest rather than the method itself.  Even as the Manual John may have been familiar with seems to stipulate "sprinkling", we would still miss the entire point of baptism if we allow ourselves to get hung up on a single word rather than appreciate the much broader context.   The method of delivery of that water does not seem to be emphasized as much as the water itself - AND THEN - what must necessarily follow.  It clearly does not end at baptism; for baptism is only the beginning of a whole new life.

This is the context of John's baptism of repentance.  His discourse beginning in verse 7 (Mt 3) in calling people to "bear fruit worthy of repentance" seems to come from the community whose standards he embraced for himself; that baptism can cleanse us from past sins, but it cannot save us from ourselves if we have no intent to commit.  "Bearing fruit worthy of repentance" to prove our commitment is very much a part of a much broader and more all-encompassing context. 

The Essenes also shared an apocalyptic vision of the future which looked to the coming of Messiah as the Manual also requires: "[those wishing to enter the Qumran community] shall go into the wilderness to prepare the way of Him, as it is written, 'Prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a path for our God'." 

This seems to be what John was doing; not establishing a new "Christian practice" with no instructions but rather practicing what had long been established.  And since Jesus Himself refers to John as the "greatest", we have to more seriously consider what John was saying and not getting hung up on what we can only guess he may have been doing.  Perhaps more importantly, we should more seriously consider why Jesus found it necessary to go to John.

Commitment is key, I think, to a fuller understanding of baptism as the beginning rather than as a singular event; whether we are talking about the commitment of the Church, the parents, and the godparents at the baptism of an infant in preparing that child for life and service in the Church; or the commitment of a new believer, sponsors, and the Church in preparing that person for life in the Church, the issue is the same because if there is no commitment, no discipline, no accountability, no instruction, no follow through, and no intent to follow through, people just get wet.  And when vows are spoken and then disregarded, there is blasphemy.

Although there is no definitive interdenominational consensus, the one dominant opinion for Jesus' baptism that is consistent with His life, His ministry, His love for all of humanity, and that "fulfills all righteousness" is His willingness to identify with sinful humanity and take upon Himself the sins of the world - as St. Paul describes it to the Corinthians (2 Cor 5:21): "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 

To "fulfill all righteousness".  That is Messiah's commitment to the Holy Father AND to us.  Shall our commitment be any less to Him who "became sin for us"?

So our "first step" out of the closet this New Year as disciples of Christ is to reconnect and recommit ourselves to our Lord.  Put aside the superstitions and remember the only thing required is commitment to a life beyond oneself and toward the fullness of life in Christ Jesus.

Let the Holy Name be glorified in your life, in my life, and in the life of the United Methodist Church!  In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  

One never knows, do one?

How does a Christian "try" atheism?  Seventh Day Adventist pastor and teacher Ryan Bell had decided to "give atheism a try" as an "intellectual experiment" after he had been asked to resign as pastor of the church he was serving.  According to CNN Belief Blog co-editor Daniel Burke, Bell had advocated for church leadership roles for gays, actively campaigned against California's Proposition 8 (same-gender marriage ban), and questioned (apparently vocally) church doctrine about the End Times.  Once his pastorate had ended, Bell had stated: "I could finally pursue those questions that had been bouncing around in my head."

Where to begin?  Any pastor or priest, preacher or deacon would be less than honest if never admitting to any sort of doubt.  Discipleship is not supposed to be easy, and Jesus never promised life on this earth as a bed of roses.  In fact Jesus virtually guaranteed following Him would cause more problems in this life than would be solved, including perhaps death.  Discipleship, however, is entirely about discovery and almost always involves "those questions".

I have long held that our Lord is a "Big Boy" and is not threatened by our questions or any doubts we may have.  The test we endure (not unlike the 40-day test Jesus endured in the wilderness) revolves around discovery of The Truth.  We Christians, however, have come to confuse Truth with fact; and by doing so have probably created more confusion for those among us who are spiritually weak and struggle in the faith.  When these weak ones cannot settle on or accept our proposed "facts", they begin to question their own faith by asking perhaps the wrong questions or getting insufficient answers from those who claim to have the "facts", and eventually walk away altogether.  This, as my most humble opinion, is the legitimate beef of the so-called "Nones" (18-29 year-olds who have walked away from the Church in substantial numbers).

Maybe Bell's "experiment" hits a little too close to home for me (and probably others) because I have constant questions and very few answers, just as every little thing I do learn only raises more questions.  I freely admit that sometimes my sermons are so off-the-wall because of these very questions.  By these off-the-wall observations, however, I often assume that because I have such questions surely others do as well.  I cannot say for sure, of course, but there is one conclusion I have drawn: people typically want whatever beliefs they have affirmed, not challenged.  They like the safety and the certainty of their own set of core beliefs even if those beliefs may be biblically and doctrinally questionable.  They embraced whatever sounded good at a particular time in their own lives, and they've held on ever since - probably with doubts but refusing to question.

I get that.  I get that because some classes I have had to endure toward my own religious education and the books I've had to read have shaken my own faith many, many times.  Discipleship is always going to come with a certain risk level, and discovery can often be downright dangerous.  One class I recall in particular and its assigned books very nearly caused me to withdraw altogether because everything I had come to believe came into question - and by quite biblically sound logic, I might add.  I had to learn to read the Bible much more critically and in a whole new light, a light sometimes a little too bright for my own comfort.

It came to be, however, that this "light" I once thought so disturbing and so blinding was actually "The Light" which came into the world, the very Light which "the darkness did not comprehend" (John 1:5).  And though I cannot say I settled for any new beliefs, I did find an assurance by "The Light" (which is Messiah Jesus, in case you were wondering) that it is ok that I do not have all the answers and that it is ok to continue asking - as long as I am willing to ask Him ... and trust Him even when the answers I seek are not forthcoming according to my own demands.

Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."  I have no doubt and no quarrels with this statement.  I simply doubt those who claim to have found that "truth" and expect me to come along with them and embrace their concept of "truth".  This is when it gets dangerous because this is often that moment when we discover those who think they have complete command of spiritual "facts" and have completely resolved all "mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven". 

But to "try" atheism?  No thanks.  One irrefutable conclusion I have drawn is simply this: I will probably doubt at least on some fundamental level until I die, but I must never try (even as an "experiment") to face these doubts without "The Light".  

Coming out of the closet in the Year of our Lord 2014

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13
Ephesians 1:3-14
John 1:1-18

A question was recently posed: "How do we finally draw the line?"  Though the question was spoken by one person, it is a common frustration shared by many in the faith who feel pushed, put upon, marginalized, and even threatened for a conservative understanding of the Scriptures and the proper role of the Church in a modern society that demands the Church "keep up with the times".

We are told that love is "tolerant", but how tolerant is too tolerant to the point at which we feel we are expected to condone sin disguised as "social justice"?  How open-minded must we be before our minds, the minds of our children and grandchildren, and the minds of those who try to sway us become filled with Ezekiel's "dead bones"?  How far can we bend before we finally break? 

Most importantly, how do we responsibly and faithfully convey to the world that neglect of the soul is the easy path, the "wide and broad gate that leads to destruction" as our Lord Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount, while genuine and compassionate love of our neighbor's soul is the "narrow and [much more] difficult way which leads to life" (Matthew 6:13-14)?

We share, I think, a generalized understanding that the Church must never be reduced to little more than a "social club" of like-minded people who happen to "like" each other; that the Church as the Body of Christ in the world today has a God-given mission - one which must not be neglected - as the ultimate hospital for broken souls in need of some intensive care and rehabilitative therapy.  The potential of such therapy is that although the regimen may be long and arduous, the end will justify the very uncomfortable - and sometimes downright painful - means as we work to help others to spiritually recover from their broken lives.

Yet the position the Church has found herself in is one of extreme disadvantage, that of perpetual defensiveness; that is, we feel constantly compelled to RE-act to everything we deem offensive and have no energy left to attend to our PRO-active, Spirit-driven calling. 

We RE-act to any number of social media "stink bombs", but our protests are not taken seriously because no one hears from us until we get our "duck feathers" ruffled (yes, pun is intended).  No one knows of discipleship or the mission of the Church because our discipleship in mission is virtually non-existent.  Sadder still, few seem to care - but they seem to know whom to blame when things go wrong.

As it is written in Ecclesiastes, life itself is a series of seasons in which there is a "time for everything under the sun".  In the life of the faithful, it is always "time" to do something positive and constructive in and for the Body of Christ.  Though it may seem as though destruction has its own season such as a time to "break down", we must remember it is sometimes necessary to put away the "old" to make room for "new", to prune dead branches so new life may spring forth. 

So for the American Church it is the "season" of renewal and reinvigoration.  The forces of darkness and destruction have had their "15 minutes", and so it is time for the Church to COME OUT OF THE CLOSET and unapologetically make known who we are and Whose we are - but not by militancy or angry words or spiteful slogans that seek to demean those with whom we disagree!   

By these actions (which seem to have become our forte of RE-action), and by our neglect, by our complacency, by our spite, by our petty jealousies, by our selfishness, by our vindictive gossip and slander we have denied the reality of our Savior in denying our own salvation and why we have been redeemed in the first place!  We then wonder why people do not take us seriously or believe our witness - our witness has become a lie. 

None of us can escape this stinging indictment, and yet as the Church we must all face this indictment together - as Israel had to face its own indictment - with a sincere desire and an earnest resolve to live into the "redemption from all iniquity", as it is written; the "redemption" that belongs to the Church called forth in faith and in love, "destined [as we are] for adoption as children of the Living God through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His Will" (Ephesians 1:5)!

We must never deny our God-given destiny by a willingness to settle for less than what we have been created, redeemed, and called forth to be AND to do.  Far be it!  For the Lord promises His faithful (that is, those who follow Him and not themselves or some pop-culture icon): "I will gather [My people] ... and with consolation I will lead them back" (Jeremiah 31:8, 9); back to blessedness in the safety and the promise of the Eternal Covenant.

So there is much more we are faced with than merely "how" to draw the line.  There is also a "when" and a "where".  And the "when" is now.  The "where" is right here, and the "how" is first by our own complete repentance and total surrender to the "Word which became flesh and dwelt among us" rather than trying to make that Word subjective to us and our own purposes! 

Even though it may seem to be "people" who are a threat to us and to the Church, we must remember as St. Paul reminds the Ephesians: "We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities and rulers of the darkness of this age" (Ephesians 6:12); so "though we walk in the flesh, we [must] not war according to the flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but are mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)!

None of this will happen, however, until WE (that is, the Church) are completely captive to the "obedience of Christ".

It is time to stand up and be counted - but to be counted in the righteousness of Christ our Lord in the "whole armor of God" - not just the tiny pieces we select for ourselves - the WHOLE armor; most especially as He is revealed in the Written Word of the Holy Scriptures in the First Testament AND the New.  If we will take the time to be still, to stop and remember what we have been redeemed for and called to, life as we have come to know it will cease to exist - as the dawn of the Promise of the fullness of life is upon us by His Mercy and by His decree; but not until we give Him our "whole" life - personal AND corporate: "You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13)! 

Sometimes these are harsh words, I know, but they are always Words of Promise and Assurance - for nothing less than our immortal souls are at stake!  The territorial nature of the Church has become so acute that its being as "The Body of Christ" has been so completely surrendered that earnest seekers will never wander in without a direct invitation from a member of that church whom they know and trust.  A seeker will never seek a God whose followers do not earnestly seek Him.  A seeker will never offer himself or herself to a God whose own followers hold back a substantial portion of their own "hearts, souls, minds, and strengths" and gifts.  And this most certainly and perhaps especially includes our children and our grandchildren - for they learn from us FIRST. 

If we truly want this country to turn around, the Church must take the lead PRO-actively as if it truly is the "Year of our Lord" (AD).  Just as Jesus came to show us the Way to the Father, the Holy Spirit has empowered the Church from the beginning to show others the way to Jesus!  It is a duty and a privilege we dare not take lightly!  And no one - NO ONE - is too old or too busy or too ill-equipped or too infirm or too "saved" to offer their very best to the Lord our God through His Holy Church which is the Body of His Only Begotten Son.

It is His very best we have been given, and it is no less than the Very Best called forth from us.  Let us as the Body of Christ resolve not to waste energy in pointing out fault in others but together search for solutions within ourselves; for the promise of our Lord is sure and certain: "The Holy Spirit will teach you" (Luke 12:12). 

We, however, must be willing to be taught.  Or else 2014 will look exactly like 2013 - or perhaps worse as we continue to assimilate and degrade ourselves in this modern culture and drift further and further away from our Holy Father.  We must proclaim much more than the NAME of the Lord; we must embrace the entire LIFE of Messiah! 

For it is Messiah who beckons us and assures us; REPENT; for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! 

In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Out with the old ...

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul … Unless one made New Year resolutions, one would make no resolutions. Unless one starts afresh about things, one will certainly do nothing effective.”  GK Chesterton

And the old 18^th-century preacher, Jonathan Edwards, said this: “My resolution is that I will live for God.  And when no one else will, I will still live for God.”

Unless we turn our backs on the hatefulness of the past, the past will continue to haunt us.  The spite and the rhetoric have grown so vile in the past year that it seems we can – or will – do nothing for God because we are too busy trying to defend ourselves and what we believe is most important to us.  We can do better, and indeed we must.  Our children are depending on us.

It is not about being politically correct because I doubt any of us can avoid saying or doing anything that will not offend someone in some way (some people are not content unless they feel victimized).  It is not about trying to be popular or well-liked because someone will always take issue with us especially if we strive to be true first to our Holy Father.  And it is not about being so tolerant that we would condone behavior, especially by our silence  – any behavior - which has been proved time and again to be destructive to the body, the mind, the soul, the family, and the Church.

The only thing that will separate 2013 from 2014 will be the darkness of night.  How we greet the dawn when we awake tomorrow and every day from that moment will determine whether we will remain stuck in the past or resolved to live for God and let the secular chips fall where they may.  As St. Paul states in his Epistle to the Romans: “Not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified” (2:13).

Resolve to live first for God.  Put away the selfish habits and practices of the past.  Rebuild the crumbling Church, and thus refresh your souls and the souls of your neighbors; for the Lord’s promises for those who turn to Him are sure and certain, and the fullness of life will be yours.

Happy New Year!

Blessings,

Michael

A Renewed Awakening - 1st Sunday of Advent 2013

Isaiah 2:1-5

Romans 13:11-14

Matthew 24:36-44

"That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

The wisdom of Ecclesiastes is expressed in our experiences as well as in the adage, 'If you don't know history, don't worry; it'll come back around.'  Then we add our own folk wisdom, "And it will bite you on your back porch!"

The life cycle of the Church is no different, for Church history is human history.  As we continue to analyze the decline since the 60's and 70's and try to come up with new "programs" or a misguided "marketing strategy", we overlook a crucial period in history in trying to understand why so many are walking away and why many more have fallen into a complacency about discipleship and faith.  That period is known as The Enlightenment, the so-called "age of reason" which ran from about the middle of the 17th century to about the middle of the 18th century.

This period with its subsequent worship attendance decline was surely at least as bothersome to the Church then as it is now.  This was the time when science was making itself known in explaining the natural world (often challenging biblical "miracles").  Philosophy also became its own force independent from religion with its own rules to break down the "old" structures and barriers and, ironically, create "new" structures and barriers (emphasis mine) (plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment).

Knowing what we do about the often heavy-handedness of the Church preceding this period in human history, there can be little doubt that the Church perceived an existential threat to its own well-being as well as to the spiritual well-being of untold numbers of souls when human reason began to trump religious faith; and any authority, particularly that of the Church, was called into question.  

Following this period of spiritual rebellion was what came to be known as the First Great Awakening which was, for lack of a better term, a century-long revival within the Church intended to awaken the faithful from spiritual complacency.  John Wesley's contribution to understanding and expressing faith and life in the Church cannot go without at least honorable mention as he sought to awaken the Church of England rather than try to start a whole new church. 

In a nutshell, Wesley saw no conflict between our capacity to think for ourselves and the faith necessary to "see" the Lord at work in our lives and in our hearts.  The doctrine of Free Will in our tradition demands that we use our own noodles, and Jesus Himself is very clear that one must first "count the cost" of discipleship lest we come off looking foolish later on when we discover we are unwilling or unable to bear the cost.  In order to accept or reject, however, or make any decision of any kind, one must first have knowledge.  As is so often stated but just as frequently rejected - no one "just knows" anything.  Knowledge does not come from a vacuum.

Although St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans was written well before the 17th-century Awakening, he was calling for an "awakening" in his own time.  "It is now the moment for you to wake from sleep; for salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers" (13:11).  We must understand, however, that St. Paul was not referring to that moment of justification when we become individually aware of our sins and our need for a Savior; that moment "when we became believers".  Paul was not referring to a "come to Jesus" moment.  Rather St. Paul was clearly talking about the "Jesus will come to us" moment when our Lord returns to "judge the living and the dead", to separate the "sheep from the goats"!

Isaiah and Matthew are also referring to a time which goes far beyond the birth of Messiah.  It is often that the prophecies are used to point to that wondrous Day of the Nativity which the Church must continue to commemorate, but Isaiah's prophecy and the mission of the Church which Jesus clearly addresses obviously go far beyond Christmas Day as Jesus Himself affirms that The Day of the Lord is yet to be - that Day even the Son of God is not privy to.  

So it could be suggested that this Day of the Lord is not on our spiritual radar screens, perhaps especially during this time of year, because we are so focused on the past that we refuse to look to the future; the concept of which is expressed by our Lord through the prophet Amos: "I hate, I despise your religious festivals ... I will not accept [your offerings] ... and I will not hear [your music]; but let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream" (5:21-24). 

All is well with us if we have a "good" Christmas ("good" being relative to our own standards), but we rarely match our human ideal of "good" with the best of what our Lord calls from us before His return.  Our Lord was admonishing His people for getting too wrapped up in their own celebrations to the exclusion of those who were on the fringes of society.  Amos was all about justice.

Do we ignore the cry of the needy by suggesting they made their own beds to lie in?  Do we turn our backs on the lonely and curse those families who ignore their own?  Do we further marginalize those who already live on the fringes of society by insisting the government minister to them instead of us?  Do we do all these things and much more because these might interfere with our "good" Christmas?  Then I assure you, dear friends, we are not ready for our Lord to return!  This was at the heart of the First Great Awakening. 

Does this mean we have yet to sufficiently "earn" our place in the Kingdom?  Of course not.  It does mean, as our Lord Jesus has plainly said, "Not everyone who calls Me 'Lord' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven ... depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matthew 7:21-23); for "inasmuch as you did not [feed those who were hungry or clothe those who were naked or minister to those who were sick or visit those who were in prison], you did none of these things for Me - depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41-46).

In our own period of contemporary enlightenment when "universalism" (all will be saved) has made significant gains among the faithful, the concept of such a harsh judgment coming from such a loving God is very hard, if not impossible, to reconcile.  After all, we did not cause someone to be hungry, did we?  We did not cause someone to be without the basic necessities, we did not cause someone to be lonely, and we certainly did not cause someone to break the law and wind up in prison.  Did we??  

We cannot account for the conduct of others nor will we be held accountable for the sins of others.  Being accountable for our own actions and our own neglect of those things over which we do have some measure of control, however, is at the heart of "watching" for the return of our Lord just as one would "watch" his house if he knew exactly when the thief would show up.  In "watching", however, we would not merely sit idle; we would work to make necessary preparations.

How do we "watch"?  What is expected of us?  It's not as if we can manipulate the time of our Lord's return so that He will come only when "we" are ready, but there is something which must be taken into consideration.  It is not strictly that "reveling and drunkenness", "debauchery and licentiousness", "quarreling and jealousy" are offensive to our Lord; they are, of course.  It is rather that these things, these behaviors stunt spiritual growth.  It is that while we are engaged in these and so many other actions, we cannot live up to our full spiritual or even human potential. 

We cannot reflect the very Image in which we are all created, having become so spiritually disabled.  Thus we cannot "watch" because we are spiritually blinded.  We cannot "see" because the shade of spiritual darkness has overwhelmed us, and we will not "see" or "hear" until the door of the ark is sealed against us and the waves of sin and degradation wash over us and sweep us away.

The success of The Enlightenment was in giving humans "permission", so to speak, to think for themselves, including the people of the Holy Church.  The fallacy of The Enlightenment was - and still is - the insistence that faith and the human capacity for reason are inherently at odds with one another.  We can acknowledge the usefulness and necessity of human reason, but we must also be willing to acknowledge the limitations of human reason and the arbitrariness of human standards of "good".

The Glory of the Lord our God, however, came shining through in the First Great Awakening when the Church was reminded of her need for Her Lord and Savior in Her willing submission.  The fallacy of The Enlightenment was revealed in our human weakness borne of our innate limitations!

So we as the Church are again standing at a crossroads.  What we face is "nothing new under the sun", for we have been here before.  If it seems good to our Lord that the Holy Spirit should awaken us once again, we must then be willing to cast aside those things that weigh us down, those things that bind us, those things that degrade and exploit us.  Let us once again "put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no [more] provisions for the flesh" - for we all have now more than we will ever need.

The Lord speaks through His prophet Jeremiah, "Return, My backsliding [children] ... for I am merciful; I will not remain angry forever.  Only acknowledge your iniquity ... [admit] that you have not obeyed My Voice" (3:12,13).

Let this first Sunday of Advent be a day of New Beginnings without a definitive ending on a calendar.  Let us welcome and embrace a Renewed Awakening so that we may once again find His Way beyond our own; the way to Glory, the way of the Lord's Messiah; the Way of Life, the way Home.  Amen.