I Believe in Jesus Christ...but I'm Not Loving "Them" (Reflections on October 28 message)

Listening to Kevin's sermon, I was struck with the great longing for peace.  How I wish we could all get along!  Two close friends of mine sit down together.  Both are wonderful people.  Both probably have similar deep longings for a peaceful world.  But they vary dramatically on the sort of policies they would support.  In the course of their discussion, they are pushed farther apart.  We experience the same thing as a national community.  We yearn for the same peace, but in the process we push "them" - the ones we disagree with - farther away.     

What is God's perspective?  Well, Jesus' command to love our enemies was, is, and always will be shocking.  Jesus even prayed for those who were crucifying him on the cross!  Even then, Jesus sees the heart.  And the heart yearns for good, even when it finds only evil ways to accomplish it.  He sees this in us and he is willing to forgive us our heart-blindness.

We might wonder how to love our enemies and still take our disagreements seriously.  God loves people more than discussions.  God might favor your cause, but he is absolutely smitten with the person with whom you disagree.

And even if we think we vote the way God would, that doesn't mean we haven't been God's enemy.  Without Christ, every human person would be an enemy of God.  We can't vote this problem away because it is a problem of the human heart.  Jesus tells us to love our enemies because this is what God does all the time: he loves enemies.

Where is a Christian's confidence?  It is not in the government or a particular leader.  It is not even in the candidate we think has enough backbone to make a difference in Washington!  How about ourselves?  After all, we are a government by the people and for the people - surely we must have confidence in ourselves to be worthy of such an honor.  No!  We don't!  I praise God that we can vote sinful systems out of existence.  But we can't vote sin out of the human heart.  I wish we could!  Alas, we cannot.  Thinking we can majority-vote human sin out of office by trying hard enough or hiding our faults from one another only leads to spiritual and emotional exhaustion.  And being Christian does not keep us from being crabby and unpleasant when we are tired.

But Christ is our refreshment.  An ancient Christian said, "To the one who hungers, grace is food."  Together, we are a new creation in Christ.  The old life has gone and the new has come.  Everyday, we have a storehouse of words from the Holy Spirit.  We also have a storehouse of words from enmity and bitterness.  Which will give us purpose and identity today? 

If you are in Christ, I thank God that you are voting!  Because whatever political party you line up with, the kingdom of God is coming in you.  You don't vote so that someone else can be salt and light when they get to political office.  You get to do it through your words, actions, and prayers everyday!  If you are in Christ, you are truly changed.

We all long for peace.  But do we long with hope?  Do we long with joy?  Through his death and resurrection, Christ has brought peace to our hearts and to the world - new life from the dead.  We already have the peace that counts - God's peace, not ours.  And it will be fully sealed when Christ returns.  But until then, we pray, "God, let your kingdom come in me".  We ask that the world would see the truth by faith until he comes and every eye can see him. 

Waiting is hard.  We pray for patience in the same way we pray for peace.  But God's will can't be impeded by any earthly power.  The people of Israel were liberated from mighty Egypt.  Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose at the apex of the Roman Empire's power.  This week, we elect a new president of the United States.  Whether we elect Obama or Romney, we pray that God will be honored with the president's tenure.  But we have our King - and it is in him and the world he loves that we delight.

Reflection Questions:
1) Kevin mentioned the Alfred Smith event in NYC during his sermon.  Has there been a moment in the 2012 presidential campaign that seemed particularly redemptive to you?
2)  What do we pray for those who have a hard time during campaigns like these, like the candidates' families?
3)  If you were running for president, how would you reach "across the aisle" and invite those who disagree with you to a common purpose?     

 

      




    
1 - we want to get along but we can't
2 - what is God's perspective...love one another
3 - doesn't God care about the issues?  Yes
4 - voting doesn't solve our biggest problem - the heart.  Jesus does.
5 - a Christian does not have confidence in the flesh.  Sin is not a problem that can be voted away.  This leads to spiritual and emotional exhaustion.  And none of us are pleasant when we are tired.
6 - put on the new self. 

I Believe in Jesus...but I'm in Charge of my Sex Life (reflections on 10/21 message)

I have re-written this post several times now.  I wish sex were easier to talk about!  The first post moved toward the topic from a round-about way…no good.  The second one went straight for it, aiming to debunk a lot of the myths about sex and the Christian faith out there.  A little too challenging.  I felt led to hold onto that for some other time.  This is attempt number three.

I prayed about how we might, as a community, reflect further on this topic for our lives.  It has been a conviction of mine that some of the unpleasantness of discussing the gospel implications for our sexuality would go away if we were more comfortable sharing our own experiences of striving toward faithfulness.  So I’ll try to lead the way with that.

For me, sexual faithfulness was a difficult struggle.  And who am I kidding – it still is and probably always will be!  From high school through my young adult life, times of loneliness or depression caused me to yearn for some kind of outlet.  Like many Christians, I knew that God’s standards were good.  The problem was when I failed to meet them.  I would grow discouraged about myself.  I would also be tempted to think God wasn’t doing his part.  Why wasn’t he “delivering me from evil”, as the Lord’s Prayer puts it? 

One way to make this process easier is to pretend the Bible doesn't say what we think it says.  This is the easiest and, in my opinion, the most typical solution to not wanting to do what a text says - we persuade ourselves it doesn't really say it.  On the other hand, if we acknowledge God’s standards, but find ourselves failing to meet them, we can find ourselves living a half-hearted Christian life with no sense of victory over temptation.  This is just plain frustrating.  Neither of these is what God has in mind.  Kevin’s message gave us an inspiring alternative: a challenge for us to help each other live into the sexual faithfulness God has planned for us.   So where do we find the grace to pick one another up again if we fall?  How do we encourage one another to set both feet firmly upon God's path of sexual faithfulness?

I think the answer has to do with knowing how we needed help, who God sent to help us, and being able to explain the sense of positive change.  God has sent people to me when I needed them.  One became a friend during a time when I worked in a Christian bookstore.  He was about my parents’ age.  He was honest, had a great sense of humor, and I could tell he took God very seriously.  We became friends.  We were meeting at Starbucks one time and he asked how he could pray for me.  I might have thought of an easier request, but I said to myself, “OK, here goes…”.  I asked him to pray for my struggle with sexual sin.  And we had a great conversation.  We talked about how common this struggle was, but how few can admit it.  He almost seemed relieved that I could admit it!

He loaned me a Roman Catholic resource on Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body that I could drive around and listen to.  It presented a vision of sexual flourishing and faithfulness that went way beyond questions of what to say “no” to.  I was fascinated.  I read St. Augustine’s Confessions.  It was a very tough read – very philosophical.  But a beautiful idea flowed through it – our desires, misguided though they can be, are good.  God gave them to us, and he longs to direct them to the purpose for which he created them.  This is our joy.  This is the best life for us!  I also read C.S. Lewis’ books such as The Great Divorce, the Four Loves, Weight of Glory, and the Screwtape Letters which helped me to see that as wonderful as creation is, nothing on earth can satisfy the true desire of our hearts except for God.  We have a God-shaped hole inside of us.  He is the one we are restless to know.

Pretty heady stuff!  But the grace of Christ kept me grounded.  When I would fail, I had to trust that Christ would make me whole again.  Christ’s death for me was intended to give me a sure hope for fulfillment in this life and beyond it.

There was a time when I thought that this struggle was God’s way of preparing me for a life of singleness.  Well, as you may know, God had surprises down the road and I fell in love with Jessica.  But whether I had been single or married, these lessons helped me to realize something important about myself.  When I was single and not having sex, it did not mean I lacked maturity.  It did not mean I was closed off to people or repressed in any way.  I was surely lonely sometimes, but it didn’t make me half a person or inadequate in any way.  I had good friendships, a strong sense of purpose, and a faith that was growing stronger through learning to struggle well.  I was learning the meaning of true maturity that is expressed in James 1:2-4: “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Now of course, I’m not fully mature and I still struggle.  But I am encouraged to see that I have opportunities everyday to say “thank you” for each blessing.  When we live by gratitude, we are less tempted to grasp more for ourselves than God would want us to have.

Reflection Questions:

1) What struggles in your life do you find embarrassing and difficult to share with others?  Has someone surprised you with his or her gentleness and faithfulness?

2) Some people - ok, most people - struggle with sexual weakness.  (Augustine once prayed to God, "give me chastity...but not yet.")  Others have been hurt by someone else's sexual weakness.  Which best fits you?  Neither?  Both?

3) Look at the James passage above.  Put into your own words what you think it means to be "mature and complete, lacking in nothing."

Prayer: Lord, give us grace to cherish the gift of our bodies and desires while also having a God-fearing respect for the way you have designed us and for the boundaries you give us for sexual wholeness.  Prune away anything sinful or false in us so that we may abide perfectly in the vine, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

I Believe in Jesus...but I Don't Trust Him! (reflection on 10/14 message)

Last Sunday, Kevin talked about the difficulties of trusting God.  He used the text of Psalm 121.  I thought of this text again today when I read an update on an old friend.  He is a musician named Jon Abel.  Like many of us, he had to endure a time when it was difficult to trust God.  I first met him when he became college minister at my home church.  I felt a kinship with him because he liked songwriting and so did I.  He made a CD and it was part of a gift basket that was sent to me while I was a young Christian, studying at college far away.  That gift meant a lot to me, and I was especially excited that the new ministry coordinator and I might have similar music tastes.

I remember meeting with him once.  He bought me lunch and bought me a copy of a great book about staying Christian in college called Blue Like Jazz.  He was a great listener and I remember he cared a lot about nurturing my growth in Christ.  When I became a worship leader for a local ministry, he taught me some songs on the guitar.  He would sing and play often.  And he was quite talented.  At one point, he heard God's call to go into full-time music ministry so he left the college ministry position, but he stayed at the church.  As he released two albums, he found success as the primary writer of the worship song, "Awesome is the Lord Most High" which can be found on one of Chris Tomlin's albums.  I was thrilled for the way God was confirming his call on my former college minister.

We think we can write the story from there.  God's call is confirmed with more and more success in Jon's life.  But, it didn't happen that way at first.  My dad called one day and told me to pray for him.  He had been mowing the lawn and had lost part of his left hand ring finger - a very important finger for guitar playing.  The direction of his new call by God looked very much in doubt.  He had a wife, several children, and he was a guitarist/singer who couldn't play guitar.  (You can meet him through this video. http://hppc.org/mediaarchive#!/swx/pp/media_archives/144529/episode/30684)

That was several years ago.  I read just today that my friend won a music award for co-writing a song that has been receiving a lot of airplay on Christian radio - "My Help Comes from the Lord" by the Museum. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MecgrJvbk24  He has learned how to play the guitar again and he is back to touring, writing, and recording.

If you listen to the words of the song, you will notice that it draws inspiration from our scripture text this last week.  "I lift my eyes to the hills.  Where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord."

I remember being afraid for my friend and his family when this happened.  But now he has helped to write this powerful song about trusting the Lord when that is a hard thing to do.  Jon already inspired me before the accident.  But I can't deny that he inspires me even more now. 

As Kevin said on Sunday, God will make everything ok...but that does not mean everything is always ok!  Things happen all the time that seem to make absolutely no sense and we ask, "Why, God?"  I think of my friend Jon Abel and am encouraged that God has indeed provided for him and his family.  He has delivered them through a big trial.  And whatever we are going through, the story isn't over yet!  God is busy bringing us to maturity as new creations in Jesus Christ - and Christ went to the cross out of love for us.  He is with us right in the middle of everything and he knows our sorrows better than we do.  He has great plans.  He has watched over my friend, Jon.  Surely this great God watches over you and I as well. 

Reflection Questions:
1) Is there someone you know whose story of trusting God inspires you?
2) How has God proved trustworthy and dependable in your life?
3) Who might benefit from hearing about this good news?
   

I Believe in Jesus...but You Aren't the Boss of Me! (Reflection on 10/7 message)

Isn't it important to think your boss is intelligent and competent?  If you thought your boss was completely wrong about the articulated goals of the organization, how likely would it be for you two to have a trustworthy relationship?

Turn in your Scripture to Sunday's passage, Matthew 16:15-26.  Peter confesses Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  I'm not going to go into this, but it is a big deal.  Peter just recognized God in disguise.  But then Jesus warns his disciples in verse 21 about his suffering, death, and resurrection.  This is what is coming.

Kevin asked us to consider on Sunday what Peter was thinking in verse 22.  "Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.  "Never, Lord!"  he said.  This shall never happen to you!"  Kevin told us about Peter's misguided expectations.  Like everyone else during his time, he expected the Christ to be a ruler, to be the boss, not someone who suffers and dies!  But how could Jesus be "Lord" and be mistaken on this point of his ministry?  How could Jesus be "Lord" and be this confused about his destiny?

We may think of Jesus as being holy, the Son of God even. (And this is true!)  But the question we must ask with Peter is: do we think Jesus is smart?  For instance, do we think he could do our job better than we can?

Think about this as you read this great passage from Dallas Willard (By all means read the whole thing, or at the very least skip to the last paragraph):

"At the literally mundane level, Jesus knew how to transform the molecular structure of water to make it wine.  That knowledge also allowed him to take a few pieces of bread and some little fish and feed thousands of people.  He could create matter from the energy he knew how to access from "the heavens," right where he was.

"It cannot be surprising that the feeding of the thousands led the crowds to try to force him to be their king.  Surely one who could play on the energy/matter equation like that could do anything.  Turn gravel into gold and pay off the national debt!  Do you think he could get elected president or prime minister today?

"He knew how to transform the tissues of the human body from sickness to health and from death to life.  He knew how to suspend gravity, interrupt weather patterns, and eliminate unfruitful trees without saw or ax.  He only needed a word.  Surely he must be amused at what Nobel prizes are awarded for today.

"In the ethical domain he brought an understanding of life that has influenced world thought more than any other.  We shall see what this means in chapters to follow.  And one of the greatest testimonies to his intelligence is surely that he knew how to enter physical death, actually to die, and then live on beyond death.  He seized death by the throat and defeated it.  Forget cryonics!

"Death was not something others imposed on him.  He explained to his followers in the moment of crisis that he could at any time call for 72,000 angels to do whatever he wanted.  A mid-sized angel or two would surely have been enough to take care of those who thought they were capturing and killing him.  He plainly said, "Nobody takes my life!  I give it up by choice.  I am in position to lay it down, and I am in position to resume it.  My father and I have worked all this out" (John 10:18).

"All these things show Jesus' cognitive and practical mastery of every phase of reality: physical, moral, and spiritual.  He is Master only because he is Maestro.  "Jesus is Lord" can mean little in practice for anyone who has to hestitate before saying, "Jesus is smart." (Divine Conspiracy, 94-95).

Wow.  Read that last line again and think of Peter.  He confesses that Jesus is Lord, but thinks Jesus doesn't understand his own ministry.  If we are going to trust our boss, we have to think our boss is competent.  If we are going to let Jesus use our lives for his glory, we have to believe that he is not an amateur or a novice.  Jesus is not just nice.  He is brilliant.

Reflection Questions:
1) Who are the smartest people you've ever met?  Do you think of Jesus this way?
2) Do you trust Jesus with the tasks that are most important to you?  Do you think Jesus could perform these as well as you can?
3) How do you think Jesus may be leading you to face the challenges of the week?

The Bible and Women - Reflection on the 9/30 message

Many reflections came to mind from Sunday's sermon - including gratitude for the great women pastors who have shaped me.  But what impacted me most were the stories of women who heard the call to ordained ministry as God's call to further growth into the image of Jesus Christ.  It wasn't that ordained ministry was super great - it was just the specific call from God for these women.  And they had to persevere through a glass ceiling where "biblical" ministers were male, not female.  And perhaps even more painfully, they had to face situations where male ministers were simply "preferred".  Ouch. 

The message addressed the question of whether the Bible on the whole prefers men to women.  The short version of the response is that, though in Christ all is restored, sin led to the dominance of one gender over another.  The reign of sin in the world saw to it that instead of completing the image of God in one another, men and women have competed.  And when we compete, we ask "who has it better?"  

This question has been fodder for humor over the centuries and I'll indulge it briefly.  It is what one character in one Garrison Keillor's fables wonders.  Though he isn't speaking of the spiritual life, all the same, he wonders whether men or women have it better on the road to maturity.  And if you are wondering the character's gender, your first instinct is probably the soundest:

“Girls had it better from the beginning, don’t kid yourself.  They were allowed to play in the house, where the books were and the adults, and boys were sent outdoors like livestock.  Boys were noisy and rough, and girls were nice, so they got to stay and we had to go.  Boys ran around in the yard with toy guns going kksshh-kksshh, fighting wars for made-up reasons and arguing about who was dead, while girls stayed inside and played with dolls, creating complex family groups and learning to solve problems through negotiation and role-playing.  Which gender is better equipped, on the whole, to live an adult life, would you guess?” (from The Book of Guys by Garrison Keillor, p. 12)

Humorous generalizations aside, neither men nor women “have it better” when it comes to God. 

Apart from God’s grace, none of us are equipped for drawing near to God at all.  Christ completes us now.  We all need Christ to gather us into his new life through giving us the gift of faith.  Men and women both need this.

For every Christian, man or woman, Jesus has come to us in our life situations.  Women and men alike have called him friend, savior, shepherd, Lord, and many more.  They know him.  Yes, Jesus was a man.  But Jesus gives his new life to women.  And men can become like his mother Mary – inviting the Spirit to bring forth the life of Jesus within us.  As men and women, we are all redeemed sinners who, God willing, will be presented as fully mature when this life ends.
 

As women grow in Christ and feel the Spirit may be calling them to leadership in ministry, we want to remember that God is busy forming them.  We want to encourage Christ’s life in them to grow more and more, whether ordained ministry is its destination or not.  What matters is the growth in Christ in character and morals, into increasing joy and devotion to the author of life who gave his life.  The job, ministry, city, or even country where this life gets played out is up to the God working in us.

There was a quote from the great novelist and theologian Dorothy Sayers in the bulletin last week that bears repeating.

“Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross.  They had never known a man like this Man – there never has been such another.  A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered or coaxed or patronized; who never made arch jokes about them; who never treated them either as ‘The women, God help us!’ or ‘The Ladies, God bless them!’; who rebuked without (demeaning) and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no axe to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend.” 

So who has it better?  We both have it best.  Though men and women bicker in this life, though we know isolation from God and one another, Jesus completes us.  He restores to every one us - men and women - whatever dignity the world has neglected to give us.

Reflection Questions

1) Has anyone ever limited you in ways you could grow as a Christian?  Have you limited yourself?

2) Who first showed you what it could mean to be a Christian?  What attracted you about Christ that you wanted to follow him?
3) Do you experience the church to be a place where both men and women can grow into the fullness of Christ's call?  Why or why not?