Means of Grace VI: Forgiveness

24 February 2019

Luke 6:27-38

What does it mean to really forgive?  It is usually understood that to forgive means we overlook a transgression done to us.  We don’t hold a grudge.  We let it go.  We forgive and forget.  To be able – even willing – to do this, the transgressor should apologize and make an effort to atone for the harm done.  The problem is we don’t forget so easily.  If we cannot or will not forget, then it must be said we have not really forgiven.  We haven’t really let it go.

To forgive AND forget is probably the hardest thing we can ever do.  Even if we don’t seek vengeance directly, to let go of the hurt and get to a place at which we can really forgive means we have to swallow our pride and allow ourselves to become completely vulnerable.  This means if we do not take action to make sure that hurt does not happen again, we have to allow – and learn to live with – the possibility it may happen again.

As a means of grace, that Divine love and mercy we desire for ourselves, forgiveness must be more seriously considered given that our Lord clearly states, “Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37).  Matthew’s Gospel puts it more bluntly: “If you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive you” (6:15). 

Forgiving someone is hard.  We should not believe it to be otherwise.  Like discipleship itself which requires much more than a spoken profession of faith, it is not enough to merely apologize with words.  If we have really hurt someone – by their standards rather than our own – then we have to make it right.  Our Lord compels us to.  If someone hurts us, however, do we require they make it right?  Do we assume we are somehow entitled an apology before we are compelled to forgive?

That’s the trick for us.  If someone apologizes, we can usually tell whether they really are sorry for what they’ve said or done; but as a means of grace, is forgiveness contingent?  Is it necessary that they apologize to us when it is we who seek unconditional grace and yet dispense grace conditionally?  We would like the transgressor to acknowledge they’ve crossed a line, but is their apology really necessary?  The short answer is “no” because we’re not talking about “them” … nor is Jesus.

Note Jesus’ discourse begins with “I say to those who listen …”  This may well mean Jesus is unwilling to waste His breath on any who will not “listen”, who will not take to heart what He is about to teach.  And given the importance of what He is about to offer, it is necessary that we do more than hear the words.  We must be willing to be corrected.  We must be willing to swallow our pride.  We must be willing to go to a place of vulnerability, a place of risk-taking that surrenders not to the will of a godless culture – but to the will of the Anointed One of God who teaches us not just about forgiveness but what it means to really live free.

We all know something big is happening in St. Louis.  The 2019 Special Called Session of General Conference is now in full swing with pretty high stakes.  Depending on the outcome, the trajectory of the United Methodist Church could be drastically altered.  Yet even prior to this called session, there have been comments not only in the Arkansas Conference but from other Conferences around the US – from both sides – that if we don’t get what we want, we will never forgive those who destroyed/altered/weakened the UMC.

“Never forgive”.  Those words should never pass the lips of a disciple, a genuine and earnest student of Jesus.  Even as we have declared those whom we will never forgive to be our enemies, Jesus nevertheless requires – REQUIRES – those who live by the Word and expect to be justified by The Word to forgive even those who have (at least in our own eyes) done irreparable harm to something we love so deeply.

“Love your enemies.  Do good [to your enemies], and lend [to your enemies], expecting nothing in return … be [as] merciful as [you expect or hope] your Father is merciful”. 

Now why does all this matter?  Do we somehow think those who willfully hurt us will somehow be magically transformed by our mercy?  Won’t those who act with such evil intentions only take advantage of us as we continually put ourselves out there in such a vulnerable and weakened state?  If we give to an enemy, won’t that enemy only expect more?

“From anyone who takes your coat, do not withhold even your shirt”.  “Turn the other cheek”.  “If anyone takes your goods, do not ask for them again.”

Ridiculous.  Unthinkable.  I would rather just “get saved”, call Jesus my “personal Lord and Savior”, keep my stuff, choose my company, and go on about my business.  I must admit to you that by these standards, I have no business calling myself a Christian, let alone a disciple of Christ (yes, there is a profound difference between the two).

Here is where it begins to matter.  First of all, being a genuine disciple goes far beyond a profession of faith or memorizing the Apostles’ Creed or even being a member – active or not – of the Church.  We can easily profess what we claim to believe, but we can never be more than we are willing to do.  As Jesus so clearly states, we cannot be forgiven if we are unwilling to forgive.  And we can never fully experience grace (Divine love and mercy) if we are unwilling to offer that same grace.  If we offer grace conditionally – say, an apology is not enough for us – then we must reasonably expect those same conditions to be imposed upon us.

I must also make another confession.  My thoughts about this particular subject have been all over the place.  This is perhaps one of the most challenging, most difficult sermons I’ve ever had to write, let alone deliver. 

I wondered how this could be, given that forgiveness is the cornerstone of our faith.  It should be simple.  Well, it is – theoretically.  In reality, however, we cannot talk easily about something that is not a part of us, something we are unwilling to do ourselves.  We cannot rise above our self-imposed obstacles, and we can go no further than the chains we freely wear allow us.

Forgiveness is hard.  This is why it took a tortuous death to set us free.  This is why our Holy Father could not simply wave His Mighty Hand and forgive us.  For us to be able to give so fully of ourselves, He had to give so fully of Himself. 

We must step away from the chains that bind us.  We must move away from the shackles that prevent us from being and doing all we have been justified to be and to do.  For it is as our Lord has assured us; “Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back”.

No limits.  Full mercy.  Amazing Grace!  This is our God, our Shepherd, our very life!  Amen.

Means of Grace V: The Pure Church

17 February 2019

Jeremiah 17:5-10; Luke 6:17-26

"We have become so doctrinally indifferent that ... pastoral care is reduced to therapy, mission to sociopolitical action, evangelism to church growth, academic theology to amateur philosophy, administration to quality control."  William Abraham

Each of these illuminate the difference between holiness and humanism.

As we continue our series on the means of grace, it occurs to me that the genuine means of grace (prayer, fasting, worship, tithing, the Sacraments, Scripture study, fellowship) are of limited scope outside and independent of the context of the Church – the Church as the congregation, not the institution.

Yet even within a church that is not interested in growing in discipleship, the means of grace can be robbed of their genuine power to transform our lives.  For instance, praying with an agenda rather than praying as Jesus taught us to pray.  And if our own lives are not transformed, we have no chance of, and no hope for, the “transformation of the world”.

This is not to say prayer and devotionals, fasting, or study of the Scriptures cannot be done alone (they must be our regular, daily practices); it is rather to say the Body of Christ – which should define the Church – is weakened when we decide to go it alone.  Consequently if the Body itself is weakened, the individual parts are weakened further. 

The spiritual well-being of the Church is perhaps most important of all during this anxious time for the United Methodist Church.  We are in a good position to split and further weaken our witness and credibility, or we can purposefully choose to grow stronger through adversity to be the Body and the Presence we are called to be. 

We must resist the false choice to be a “liberal” church or a “conservative” church since we were not created as liberal or conservative.  These are cultural, man-made labels created to divide us.  Rather, we must choose simply to be The Church – not as a political or even social organization - but as The Presence of Christ.  Choosing anything less, especially according to the social issue du jour, puts us in danger of degenerating into a mere social movement and, worse, a political institution.  Our children need and deserve better.

Many have become convinced this battle within the United Methodist Church is confined to a single issue.  It is, but I have said before, “that issue” is only a symptom of a greater and more lethal spiritual illness.  I submit to you that THE issue at stake goes even deeper than this.  I have come to believe we must choose between holiness and humanism.

To be “holy” is to be sanctified; dedicated and consecrated to The Lord for His purpose rather than our own.  We serve The Lord through the Word which is intentionally “set apart” from the world; it is this very Word which distinguishes The Lord’s people from the rest of the world.  It is the “holiness code” written in Leviticus (17-26) and affirmed by Jesus.  The Lord commanded His people they must never assimilate, and Jesus teaches us how to resist it.

Over the years the Church has perhaps overplayed its hand with an “overemphasis on justification to the exclusion of the sanctifying work of the Spirit” (First Things, “Evangelical Apocalypse”, Dale M. Coulter, 14 Feb 2019).  As a result, we have allowed the humanist culture to determine the gravity of sin or whether a particular action or state of being can be classified as sin at all – especially if the broader culture has accepted it.  To this end, the Church has long fallen victim to the notion that the gravity of sin is directly proportionate to its destructive force.  That is, if no one is being hurt, how bad can it really be?

As opposed to holiness which is dedicated to the service of The Lord and His Word, humanism is much more insidious in its dedication to the service of self.  Regardless of whether we call ourselves Christian, if “me” comes first, we are humanist.  Humanism rejects the Objective Truth of the Eternal Word (calling it “legalism” when it interferes with our choices) and reduces sin to subjective cultural relativity – which only confuses our children AND us - and renders the means of grace as optional.  That is, the humanist culture decides what is right and what is wrong. 

Because the moral authority of the Church has been compromised over the years precisely because of its political engagement and involvement, we have decided that what is popular is much more important than what is truly righteous.  As Dietrich Bonhoeffer maintained in the mid-20^th century during the reign of the Third Reich, cheap grace has displaced discipleship.  However, the Holocaust itself did not cause this displacement.  Rather, the Holocaust was the result when the Church – the whole congregation – went along, even if blindly and fearfully.

Jesus’ discourse in the Sermon on the Mount is entirely about righteousness, not popularity.  It is the expression of the Pure Church, the Holy Church when those who mourn are comforted, when those who hunger are filled, when those who are lost are found.  But it is also the mark of the Pure Church when we are hated and reviled and persecuted not simply for being generic Christians but because of our faithfulness to the Word in our devotion to holiness.  It is a hard life we have largely rejected in our “overemphasis on justification to the exclusion of the sanctifying work of the Spirit”.

We must not allow whatever will happen in the coming weeks to determine what we will choose to be or which direction we must go.  Like it or not, true holiness is not determined by majority vote.  It is the Word of The Lord for the People of The Lord embraced and lived where the Pure Church is found.  Let that be our choice for now and for all time.  Amen.

Means of Grace IV: Salvation

10 February 2019

Isaiah 6:1-8; Luke 5:1-11

It may seem strange to some that I would name “salvation” as a means of grace when we generally understand grace itself as the means to salvation.  When I first wrote that statement and let it roll around in my head for a moment, it sounded even stranger.  I have a concept in mind, but getting there will take some doing.  It also means it can no longer be “business as usual” in the life of The Church.

It is my sincere hope we will all have a better understanding of what salvation really means rather than what we think it means – not because we may have been wrong all this time but because what may be wrong can be made so right!  Much like the word ‘grace’, salvation can be so casually tossed about that we don’t really appreciate its depth.  In many cases, salvation has become an ‘event’ rather than a sustained life of spiritual growth and maturity; “grace upon grace”, as it were.

In the Wesleyan tradition of understanding grace, there are three stages in our spiritual development, each requiring The Lord’s mighty hand but each leading us to a greater sense of awareness.  Progression in this journey will come to require more of us, but each stage prepares us for what may come. 

Beginning with prevenient grace, we grow and are invited into justifying grace, and then sanctifying grace.  On the surface it may seem as though Methodists try to make “getting saved” harder than it has to be, much more complicated than the Bible seems to make it.  Yet each level speaks volumes about The Lord’s mercy and our active participation as genuine disciples. 

In prevenient (or preventing) grace, it is the Divine Mercy of The Father to “prevent” the total destruction of the Divine Image in which we are all created.  It is The Father’s Presence and Activity in our lives before we are even aware, and still we know something is stirring, something is awakening within us.  As John Wesley once wrote, “Prevenient grace includes all that is [brought about] in the soul by what is frequently termed ‘natural conscience’ … that light by which the Son of God enlightens everyone who comes into the world”.

Prevenient grace prepares us for justifying grace (what we commonly refer to as ‘getting saved’).  “Justification”, Wesley wrote, “is another word for pardon”.  In prevenient grace, we become aware of our sins, our failings.  In justifying grace, we become aware of His mercy.  We become aware that, by His mercy alone, we have been “justified” to stand before Him.  We have been freed from the shackles of our past, and we have been restored to a right relationship with Him.  Our journey, however, must not end there.  It is far from over!

This justification leads us into sanctifying grace, what Wesley believed the author of Hebrews meant in our need to ‘go on to perfection” (6:1).  It is this particular point of a deepening relationship with our Holy Father that becomes in itself a genuine means of grace, a level of mercy fulfilled not only by His Heart but also by our willing acceptance. 

Yet the “acceptance” is not one of simply saying, “Ok, I’m saved.  I’ve accepted Jesus into my heart”.  No, our Wesleyan tradition and the discipline of a Church charged with “making disciples equipped to make disciples for the transformation of community and world” challenges us to look harder and go farther and deeper to give real meaning to the idea of Jesus abiding within us.  To be sanctified, to be “perfected” in grace is to let Jesus be much more than a dashboard icon.  It is this point at which He becomes our True Shepherd as we also learn to shepherd others.

This entire process is one of “becoming”, but it is still not entirely of our own doing.  Rather, we are being led because we are willing to be led, allowing ourselves to trust The Word more than our own instincts.  Think of it in terms of our reading from Isaiah.  As the prophet gazed upon that heavenly vision, he became painfully aware of his sinful state; “Woe is me!  I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5) - the reality of prevenient grace; The Lord stirring in our “natural conscience”.   

Next we see the angel (seraph) coming to the prophet, “holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.  The seraph touched my mouth with it and said, ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out” (vs 6-7).  Isaiah, by his confession and the mercy of The Lord, has been justified strictly by the Hand of God to stand before Him; yet there is even more beyond this moment of justification.

In this moment of “becoming”, in this moment of spiritual clarity, the prophet is experiencing much more than merely “being saved”; he is being called.  In his willingness to answer The Lord’s plea, he is “becoming” all he was created to be.  Living into his salvation in responding as he did, Isaiah will find the grace necessary to begin his ministry in earnest and without fear.  The prophet still has his own mind, but he has surrendered his will.

In a manner of speaking, then, I submit to you there is not an ounce of difference between “being saved” and “being called”.  While we may typically think of “the call” as that of being called into pastoral ministry, what may be closer to the Truth is we are all “called” to some ministry according to our gifts.  We cannot all be prophets or apostles or preachers or teachers, but this does not diminish the sacred value of our own unique spiritual gifts.  It is a shame, when we stop to think about it, that we have come to believe pastors, preachers, and priests somehow have a higher calling than anyone else.  

We are all “called” when we are awakened to the reality of The Lord.  Though I may sound like a broken record, I think it cannot be stressed enough that not every decision we make is a matter of “heaven or hell”.  In the present reality, it is more like the difference between being asleep and awake. 

As we grow in faith and in love, then, grace becomes all the more necessary.  And as we grow into what we are created to be from the beginning, as we purposefully live into our salvation in what we are called to do and to be, grace is given all the more.

Like grace itself, salvation is the means to a Much Greater End.  It is the Light come into a dark world.  It is the clear Voice of the Shepherd calling us through the haze of cultural confusion.  It is discipleship, and it is Life itself.  Amen.

Means of Grace III: Fellowship

3 February 2019

1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 6:32-38

As we continue our series on the means of grace, it is important at this point to stop for a moment and understand what grace is really about.  It’s a churchy word not well understood outside the Church – not because church folk cannot define it but because we often have trouble conveying it in a way by which those outside our churchy circle can comprehend it. 

Our textbook definition of grace = unmerited favor; unmerited because we cannot earn it, and favor because of the nature of our Heavenly Father.  Call it the capacity for “mercy”.

We can pray, we can fast, we can worship, we can tithe, we can receive the Sacraments, and we can do all sorts of religious acts that will sustain us as individuals; but until we understand grace always involves others, our personal religion will always fall short.

Being religious and having a strong sense of religion are important.  However, it can also be a two-edged sword.  Religion can feed us and strengthen us in our faith, but it can also destroy us – and others! - if we become too “holier than thou” in self-righteousness; believing ourselves to be so “saved” that we can do no wrong.  Being solely focused on “me and Jesus” while neglecting the well-being of our neighbor – or believing the well-being of a stranger to be unimportant to our need to “go on to perfection” (Hebrews 6:1) - misses altogether the essential component of our religion in all Jesus has taught us. 

Just as St. John wrote, we cannot claim to love The Lord while hating someone else (1 John 4:20).  John’s context of “hate” does not necessarily mean only that fiery passion we sometimes feel against someone who has wronged us.  It can also include those we deliberately neglect; those we have deemed innocuous, unimportant to us.  In sharp contrast, the depth of Divine love, as Jesus teaches, goes beyond loving only those who will surely love us back and includes those we would step over.

Thus understanding the nature and the depth of mercy is necessary before we can effectively use any means of grace for ourselves.  This is what Jesus is talking about; “Love only those who love you”?  Meh.  “Lend only to those who will pay you back?”  Meh.  “Do a favor only for those who will return the favor?”  Meh.  Those are the easy things that require no real effort because they are primarily self-serving.

Like love itself, mercy is hard for us.  Like love itself, mercy is not dependent on how we may be feeling at any given time.  The reason grace is so difficult for us to extend and offer is because we have not yet learned how to receive it.  For if we think we have received it only for our own soul’s sake, we have received it wrongly – assuming we have received it at all.

So there is a reason fellowship – interacting with others – is considered a means of grace as important as worship and prayer, fasting and Scripture study.  Whether we’re gathering on Sunday evening with food and Bible study, or Sunday morning in small group Bible study, or helping out in the Mission House, interacting with others is as much a way to receive AND convey grace as is Sunday worship or private Bible study.  It is never either/or when it comes to the several means of grace; it is always “and”.

For instance, if we are diligent in our personal devotions and Bible study but will not participate in small group study with others, we get little because we give even less.  This is the principle behind St. Paul’s so-called “love chapter” in 1 Corinthians 13.  It matters not how awesome we may believe ourselves to be in our personal piety; if we lack love, we lack everything else which is given meaning through love.

Couple Paul’s words with our Shepherd’s words, and then we can see what “love” really means.  Because “love” itself is the very source of grace, then, we should be able to see that, while giving of ourselves to those who love us is still important (as it is so easy to do with our own children), giving of ourselves to those who infuriate us, to those who offend us, to those who oppose us, is all the more important – because it is where grace is needed most.

When grace itself is so poorly understood, we become defined by these many so-called “hot-button” social issues that are so easy to get caught up in.  Beyond “hot-button” this week, however, abortion has become a social lightning rod.  Outside the political rhetoric which narrowly defines us as pro-life or pro-choice, there are much deeper issues at stake.  We lose sight of these issues because we choose sides, we demonize those who do not agree with us, and we forget what we’re supposed to be about; what we are “saved” for and called to do.

What we are willing to give to others outside our family and social circles is the truest measure of what we have received from Above because we cannot give what we do not have.  As our Lord has taught us, those who offer mercy will themselves be offered mercy (Matthew 5:7), and those who forgive will themselves be forgiven (Matthew 6:14-15).  By this we can easily see grace always – ALWAYS – involves others.

There can be no small moments in grace; for when we offer mercy, we open the very Gates of Heaven; so that which we had formerly declared impossible will suddenly become possible: reconciliation and, ultimately, peace.  This is our religion, for this is our Savior; this is our Father’s Heart.  Amen.

Means of Grace II: living into our gifts

20 January 2019 – Human Relations Day

1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Matthew 22:34-40

There are many popular and biblical references to the idea that our relationship with The Lord through Christ is the single, most important relationship we can have.  It is primary; it must come first but also cannot be “last” if it is to inform other relationships.  In that broad context, then, this primary relationship cannot be exclusive. 

Just as St. John expressed in his epistle, “If you say you love God but hate your brother, you are a liar” (1 John 4:20), we understand the way by which we may fully express our love for The Lord is found in how we relate to and treat others, “loving our neighbors as ourselves” as our Lord commands – even (maybe especially) those we don’t really like.

I will grant there are those whose mere presence in our lives can be downright toxic, pure poison.  These are the ones who can tax our patience and test our religion.  These can be detrimental to our spiritual, emotional, and even mental well-being.  Yet even these relationships, challenging though they may be, can be redeemed and restored – even strengthened – when we understand and embrace our Spiritual Gifts; these talents and strengths given by The Lord “as He chooses” (1 Cor 12:11) – and for His purposes.

When we last gathered, we talked about the Sacrament of baptism as a means of grace; a profoundly sacred moment when Heaven directly interacts with humanity.  Baptism, as a means of grace, is the way in which we can experience our Lord’s mercy – as we are welcomed into the Holy Covenant, confirmed in our faith, or serve as witnesses to this Sacred Moment.

Today we will share another means of grace in another Sacrament – Holy Communion – by which we experience yet again His mercy in His means to feed us and strengthen us in our Journey of Faith, affirm our faith, and connect us to one another and to Christians around the world to the One Body which is Christ. 

For both Communion and baptism, there is also the requisite “sending forth” with a strong sense of conviction and sacred purpose.  One does not merely leave worship!  We are given much more than we often realize so we have much to give; to go into the world to love and to serve The Lord – by loving and serving one another … even those who will not love nor serve us in return.

The late Christian author and redeemed atheist, C.S. Lewis, once wrote, “Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.”  Remembering Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan as answering the question, ‘Who is our neighbor?’, then, we hear in Mr. Lewis’ observation that what we see and serve as holy and sacred is the one who is in distress – that equally sacred moment when we most resemble Christ Himself by giving fully of ourselves for the sake of another.  It doesn’t matter if we know them or even like them.  What matters is whether we are willing to love them as The Lord loves them – and us.

The Spiritual Gifts we are endowed with are given for this very reason.  We are not gifted from Above so we can make a living; we are gifted by His Spirit so others may find a life worth living – and living well!  It is, as St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, that we are so endowed by these gifts “as the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor 12:7).  That is, we find yet another means of grace in a profoundly sacred moment when we come to know our gifts, embrace our gifts, and put our gifts to good use in the lives of others in the Name of The Lord and His Church.

I’ve shared before that the Roman Catholic Sacrament of “holy orders” had been taught in my childhood catechism classes as that Sacrament of giving oneself fully to Christ and His Church through the priesthood or becoming a nun or a monk. 

Yet over time I have come to believe there are many sacramental, very sacred moments in our lives which must also be given a) to remind us He is always with us, and b) to discern those moments for where they will lead us next.  In that period of discernment, then, we become more acutely aware not only of His Presence but of His Gifts – AND – His call; not necessarily to pastoral ministry but certainly to ministry nonetheless.  It is as so often expressed: the pastor is the pastor, but the congregation becomes ministers in and through baptism and the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

But where to go from baptism or confirmation or even Holy Communion can be anyone’s guess – and even personal desire (or lack thereof) – if we fail to discern our particular Gifts which will go a long way toward directing us; for having the Gift, whatever it may be, is not about the Gift itself.  It is entirely about where the Gift will take us.  Spiritual Gifts are means to a greater end, like baptism and Communion, prayer and fasting – so why should these not also be considered means of grace?

Identifying our Gifts, however, is no easy task.  Nothing worthwhile ever is.  Our Spiritual Gifts are not – ARE NOT – our impulses!  I don’t think they come to us easily or naturally; and if what we think are our Gifts serve as means only to our own ends, we are either not using these Gifts properly or we have completely misread what The Spirit is calling us to.

When Jesus turned water into wine, as St. John wrote, and “revealed His glory” (John 2:11), it was no impulsive, magic-trick-moment only for the sake of the moment.  The ministry of our Shepherd and Teacher would move from that moment and into the lives of The Lord’s people – further revealing the Holy Father whose desire was – and still is - to reveal Himself in our lives. 

The Spiritual Gifts with which we are each endowed are intended for no less.  So failing or refusing to discern and acknowledge these Gifts cheats not only ourselves but those whom our Father means to touch.  We cannot “love The Lord our God” or “our neighbor as ourselves” with anything less than what He has entrusted us with – “as He chooses”. 

I dare say, dear friends, He has chosen you – and He has chosen everyone we will come into contact with beyond this moment.  And He has done so to the glory of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

Means of Grace, Part I: Baptism

13 January 2019 – Baptism of The Lord

Isaiah 43:1-7; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Aside from that disheartening, perplexing, infuriating, confusing issue that threatens the unity of the United Methodist Church (yes, that issue) is another issue which has divided Catholics from Protestants and even some Protestants from other Protestants.  This issue is a Sacrament of the Church – but it is also a means of grace; a way of experiencing The Lord and His mercy. 

Baptism.  As a Sacrament, we define it as evidence of The Lord’s self-giving; a sacred moment. Thus it is not something we do; it is something offered and freely given to which we respond.  Yet as fundamental as baptism is to the Christian life and the beginning of discipleship, we split even further when we dispute the means of delivery (i.e., sprinkling, pouring, or immersion) even though the Bible offers no prescription.  Then there is the issue of appropriate age, whether a few words must be spoken by the candidate before getting wet (like a profession of faith or the ‘sinner’s prayer’), ‘getting saved’, etc.  There are even disputes about whether one needs to be baptized at all. 

In short, we place a lot of man-made conditions and preconditions upon the Sacrament in spite of centuries of consistently taught doctrine, and we work most diligently to make the ritual as aesthetically pleasing for ourselves as we possibly can without realizing we are virtually tying The Lord’s Hands behind His back!  What is worse is we make the Sacrament more about “me” than about The Lord.

If there is a “bottom line” to baptism in the United Methodist Church, it is this: one cannot become a member of the United Methodist Church without having been baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  This is the biblical prescription from the mouth of our Lord.  This, of course, means adults coming from another denomination who have been so baptized – regardless of the means of delivery - are not required to be baptized again.  In fact, rebaptism in the UMC is prohibited.  For the tradition of baptizing infants, that infant becomes a preparatory member and then becomes a full member after instruction leading to Confirmation – when the child can profess and reasonably articulate his or her own faith.

Even in that light, however, there must be one thing we have to agree on for the sake of sound biblical doctrine: baptism ends nothing.  We have not “arrived” at glory merely by baptism.  Baptism is the beginning, a means to a much Greater End.  For the sake of numbers, it can make a pastor look very effective if he or she reports a great number of professions of faith; but if, after baptism, the person disengages from the life of the Church, refusing Scripture study and/or worship, something has gone wrong.  This is the reasoning behind our Lord’s “Great Commission” to the Holy Church to baptize AND make disciples.  It is not an either/or proposition.  If we baptize but do not make disciples, we’ve accomplished very little.  In a manner of speaking, we have disputed our Lord’s Word and His Commission to the Church.

Baptism is foundational for the whole of the Church universal, yet we stand divided even within our Wesleyan Methodist tradition.  The contemporary church has been a little too accommodating to individual tastes and preferences to responsibly teach what baptism really means and why it is important. 

It is our long-held belief, predating the Methodist Episcopal Church in America, and predating John Wesley, that baptism is initiation into the Church and into the Holy Covenant.  It is also the long-held belief that something much more profound than getting wet happens in this sacramental moment regardless of one’s age – and that, based in no small measure on what is written in the Scriptures.

Our sins, our past, our inclinations are symbolically washed away, but there is much more than mere symbolism.  Symbolism appeases us.  Symbolism is what we do for ourselves.  Yet in understanding the sacramental nature of baptism, something is done for us.  In the symbolic washing away of our sins, original or otherwise, we are substantially freed from the things of this world that have – and certainly will – interfere with our relationship with our truest self.

That True Self is the Divine Image in which we are created.  Thus it must be understood and believed that baptism – as a Sacrament, a means of grace – is ultimately an act of The Father.  When we present ourselves and our children to Him through His Holy Covenant in faith, He responds faithfully. 

However, it must also be understood that as we are adopted into the Holy Family as heirs to the Eternal Kingdom, it is no magic trick.  This is to say our Father does not take away our capacity to think and act independently.  From that moment, for young and old alike, instruction in the Word and the doctrines of the Church – Christian Education – is essential.  The relationship which begins in that moment must be developed and lived into, for it is that relationship which will enter into Eternity – not our relationship to US History or Algebra.

Getting baptized as a mere ritual, doing it because it was expected, and then walking away as though nothing happened almost literally means “nothing happened”.  Something was offered, but that Something was left hanging and unclaimed.  That Something is the Holy Spirit of the Living God.  That Something is the True Image in which we are created – and to which we must be restored.

This is the Gift which must be not only acknowledged and received but also fully embraced.  That Gift does not follow us around to be handy and available should we think we need it – sort of like a lucky rabbit’s foot.  Rather, that Gift is what we must become so that Gift may be conveyed to others in an unmistakable way.  And that can happen only if it becomes not just a part of us but the Whole Self; heart, mind, soul, and strength.

If baptism, then, is to serve the Church as a genuine and heaven-sent means of grace, it must be received as grace, as Divine Mercy, as a new beginning of a life we will never regret.  For it is the heart of our Holy Father we receive, and His Gift of Life.  Amen.

A Thought

"If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold His own Son, but gave Him up for all of us, will He not with Him also give us everything else?" Romans 8:31b-32

There is a pretext to this passage we either ignore or take for granted: "We know all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose ..." (Romans 8:28).

The reason this is important is that, while we must certainly praise Him when things are wonderful, we must also find it within ourselves to praise Him even though things are not so wonderful.

Our God is not a favor-doer. He is impartial and no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), yet He loves ones as surely as He loves all regardless of the state of one's soul. Still the question for us remains: do we, will we, love Him back regardless?

The Gift of Christ - His Life, His Death, His Resurrection - stands for all time and is the clearest evidence that The Lord is for us, giving us the means of redemption and hope. He is faithful!

Regardless of where life may find us, regardless of our circumstances, He is for us "according to His purpose". Are we good with that if His purpose does not align with our desires?

We usually know what we want, but we rarely know what we really need. Sometimes when things don't work out in our favor according to our desires, maybe what is being offered is what we really need.

This is what it means to have faith; that we trust The Lord to see us through our brightest moments AND our darkest hours; for the Word of The Lord is consistent and clear - He is for us. Now and always.

Blessings,
Michael

A Thought

"The tyrant dies, and his rule is over; the martyr dies, and his rule begins." Soren Kierkegaard

Looking to Jesus' teaching about storing treasure in heaven rather than seeking treasure on earth, what Kierkegaard is expressing is the reality of the temporal world we live in vs. Divine and Eternal Kingdom which awaits us.

But notice the difference. What we try to take from this life never really becomes ours, and we certainly cannot take it with us when our time is past. Yet when we give completely of ourselves in this life, when we put self aside for the well-being of others first, we likely gain nothing here but store up treasure in heaven, as our Lord has taught us.

What may trip us up, however, is the idea of a martyr's death. We've come to associate "martyr" with literally dying for the sake and the cause of Christ. Yet the world "martyr" itself simply means "witness" (from the Greek "martur"). If we think of giving so completely of ourselves, then, we figuratively "die to self" in order to live for another.

So it goes that as we give up more and more of ourselves for what we claim to believe, our lives become more about our beliefs, our faith, that it does about ourselves. And when this happens, Christ increases!

The very best we can give to our spouses, our children, and our church is our "martyrdom". We do not have to physically cease existing; we simply have to allow The Lord His rightful, prominent place. Only then will others believe our witness. Only then does He truly reign. Only then is He glorified above all else.

The Lord bless you this very day,
Michael

Believing is Seeing - Epiphany of The Lord 2019

Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:1-12

Often when someone says they’ve had an epiphany, they mean they’ve had a new thought or an idea that had never occurred to them before.  Yet when we think of epiphany in the Church’s liturgical year, we express the reality of Christ made manifest in the flesh.  For the Church, especially in light of the visit of the wise men, the reality is not only for The Lord’s Chosen; He is made manifest to the Gentiles as well.

There is so much packed into this Visit that it’s hard to know where to begin.  Yet we should begin by asking ourselves this question: would we have traveled so far based on a prophecy we did not quite believe?  Would we travel so far on a mere hope?  Especially if we are perfectly content with our lives as they are?

There are extrabiblical sources that specifically name three men who came to visit, but the Bible doesn’t tell us how many there were.  We are only told of three specific gifts.  We sing the popular hymn of three kings, but the Bible does not mention kings; only wise men who could have been priests, scribes, or astrologers.  Astrologers seem likely since the Star was what was being followed.

“Kings” seem most unlikely, however, because legitimate kings would have been more likely to send emissaries to find out more.  And if these “kings” had political or military alliances with Herod, they would likely be prodding the idea of a new born “king” and how this might affect their alliances. 

They came from “the east”, but we have no idea exactly how far east.  They could have been from as near as Jordan as easily as they could have come from Arabia or Persia.  This travel time line is significant only in that the narrative tells us Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger, a feed trough, because there was “no room at the inn” (Luke 2:7).  Yet when the wise men showed up, they went to a “house” and found the Child and Mary.  Where was Joseph? 

This leads into another part of the narrative to help explain why Herod panicked and ordered the slaughter of all male children “two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men” (vs 16); this because the wise men had set out “at the star’s rising” (vs 2).  The Holy Child could have been as old as two years.

The point is not to discredit the story, however.  The point is to set out in search of something as profound as what the wise men had hoped for – the Truth.  The only “fact” we have is that Jesus was born, but is this enough?

I began to wonder if “believing” is enough if we stopped “searching” a long time ago.  That is, if we think we are already in the know about anything at all, do we bother to look further or go deeper?  Can we be “believers” if, by a sense of complacency, we stopped “seeking”, “asking”, or “knocking”?  And if we are no longer on a quest, no longer interested in learning, no longer interested in discovering, no longer open to a new perspective from our Shepherd and Teacher, can we call ourselves disciples?

If we are unwilling to live for The Lord now, what makes us think we will be willing to live for The Lord later?

All this was swirling through my mind yesterday as I was driving home not only because I was trying to finish my sermon in my head but also because of a thought about the upcoming General Conference.  It occurred to me that “this side” and “that” will show up at the Conference with their own agendas, their own ideas, their own “bullet points”, and with their own expectations about how it all needs to play out.

This is in striking contrast to the report of the first Conference of the Wesleyan Covenant Association a year or so ago when it was reported that they all gathered seeking one thing: the Will of The Father in the Presence of the Holy Spirit. 

They gathered to worship, to pray, to learn, to “seek”, to “ask”, to “knock”.  The delegates of the General Conference are not likely open to anything but, instead, will be entirely focused on their own agendas, their own will – gathering for battle rather than for worship.

It is no less than what we do – or don’t do – when we gather for worship.  If we come through those doors with no sense of anticipation, no questions, no open hearts, this gathering will have been reduced to little more than a collection of tithes and offerings so we can pay the utilities and the apportionments. 

The wise men had set out on a quest.  They knew enough of the prophecies to know a Messiah was expected.  They expressed their intent to “pay Him homage” upon their arrival in Jerusalem; and when sent to Bethlehem, they were “overwhelmed with joy” when they arrived at where the Star had led them (vs 10). 

When was the last time we were “overwhelmed” at worship?  At Communion?  At the singing of hymns?  At the reading of The Word?  When was the last time we walked through those doors in search of anything Divine? 

It is no less than the vitality, the sacred measure of our worth as the Body of Christ which is at stake, but it has little to do with the upcoming General Conference.  The outcome of the General Conference, not only for 2019 but for 2020 as well as Conferences past is determined by each of us as we come through these doors. 

The vitality of the Church is measured not only by worship attendance but by Bible study and prayer service participation; determined by whether we are seekers at all.  The measure of our belief is relative, especially when we “believe” gathering for worship is unnecessary, gathering for Bible study is unnecessary, Christian education for our children is unimportant, and gathering for prayers to seek the will of Our Father is futile.

The wise men set out with great expectations and high hopes; and as the narrative indicates, they were not disappointed, having been “overwhelmed with joy” even before they entered into the house to see their joy complete. 

It would be interesting to know what became of these wise men after their search for The Truth had been fulfilled.  They believed they would see, and they did.  They brought gifts to offer, and they did offer them.  Then they went home, never to be heard from again. 

Has merely believing become enough for us?  I dare say there is much more we are overlooking as we seem to be completely underwhelmed by The Truth.  In the next few weeks, we will examine each of the means of grace, those practices offered to us by our Lord in which we will resolve to “ask”, to “seek”, to “knock”.  And we will (hopefully) discover the value of learning more than a mere fact.  We will indeed find Life.  And that in Christ our Lord.  Amen.

What If - 2nd Sunday of Advent

9 December 2018 – 2^nd Sunday of Advent

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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