As Bono once said, 'love is blindness' or 'who turned out the lights?'

Every (week)day we spend a few minutes reflecting on the readings from the daily lectionary.  Those readings can be found a number of places, including here: http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2010/9/2/
So the theme for today, boys and girls, is blindness.  First, in the passage from Acts, several missionaries run into a magician or false prophet and temporarily blind him to prevent him from leading others astray - or as Paul says 'from making crooked the straight paths of God', great line.  Then in our gospel reading, from John 9, we read about Jesus healing a blind man by giving him sight for the first time in his life (the passage says the man had been blind from birth).
To get at the point for today, I think we have to start at the beginning of the passage from John.  Here as Jesus and his disciples seen the blind man, the disciples take the opportunity to ask a question, essentially who is to blame for the man's blindness?  The man or his parents?  
[A piece of context that you may have picked up on, but just in case: In Jesus time the common, overwhelming opinion of both the general public and religious leaders and scholars was that afflictions like blindness, or disease or other malformities were the direct result of sin in the individual or family life of those afflicted.  So, if this man had once had sight and then gone blind, in most people's minds it would have been a settled question - his blindness was a result of something, some sin he had committed.  But since he was blind from birth it was more of an open question: was it the result of some sin he was going to commit (kind of a karma pay it forward) or was his blindness the result of the sin of his parents?  People of Jesus day would have most likely had differing opinions about this, but almost without exception they would have assigned blame to either the man or his parents.]
It should be to no one's surprise, however, that Jesus dismisses both of those options and instead gives a completely different one: The man was born blind so that God's glory and works may be revealed in him.  
And this is the connection to the story in Acts.  Although the circumstances are very different - and in one case it is blindness being healed and in another it is someone becoming blind, in both circumstances the blindness is used by the Holy Spirit to point to the power of God and to draw them into a relationship with Jesus Christ.  
So there are two points I want to make here.  First, God can and does use everything, every circumstance, every failure, even every disease or disaster to reveal his power, grace, mercy and love.  The love of God, demonstrated in Jesus Christ knows no limit and is able to redeem everything in this world for God's good purpose: even failure, even sickness, even disaster.
Second, it is often not in our strengths but in our weaknesses that God reveals himself to us and to others through us.  When we are confident in our own abilities and 'gifts' it is all too easy to overlook God, but when we are made aware of our failings and shortcomings God often shines through in new, amazing and powerful ways. 
So, today as we look at our lives, our situations and our circumstances let us definitely rejoice in the good things God has given us, but let us also look at our afflictions, our failures and our difficulties to see how God is going to use them to show his power, grace and mercy and in so doing draw us and those around us into relationship with him.  
God bless.

Chip

Reaping what you so . . . eventually, kind of.

We are following the daily lectionary to 'blog through the Bible'.  To read todays passages, or to sign up to have them delivered to your email go here: http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2010/9/1/

So there certainly was a theme running through our passages this morning.  Not a happy one either.  I am not sure what label I would put on the theme, maybe judgment?  Regardless, in the OT passage Job is talking about the inconsequential nature of humans in comparison to God and how we are barely worthy of God's time or attention.  Happy stuff, right?

Then the Acts passage is the conclusion of the story of Peter's escape from Herod.  Not surprisingly, Herod is more than a little angry and takes out his anger on the poor prison guards, killing them.  Nice guy, Herod.  Then we have, what can only be called a strange little bit of story.  Herod also is angry with the region of Tyre and Sidon, they need the food supply that Herod controls and so he prepares to sit (in judgment?) of them and here them out.  After addressing the gathered public Herod is greeted by shouts from the crowd, saying these words, 'the voice of a god and not a mortal'.  And this is where it gets really strange, verse 23 says: 'And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.'

Okay,  that is . . . um . . . interesting?  We will get back to that in a second.

Then in the gospel passage we have Jesus talking about how he does not glorify himself, but God glorifies himself.  Jesus begins this passage by saying that the reason they are not hearing (read: believing) the Word of God is that they are not from God.  Which seems to say that it isn't their choice - but remember we are all 'from' God when we choose to accept his offer of adoption.  They are not 'from God' because they have rejected God and the Word of God, Jesus Christ.  

There is probably a lot more to talk about in this passage, especially where Jesus says that those that keep his word will never see death.  So does that mean that no one since Jesus has 'kept his word' or does it mean that Jesus was wrong? Briefly, (because I thought I was talking about something else), I think Jesus is talking about a real, true or permanent death.  Or to put it in terms of an equation, for Jesus death = absence from or separation from God.  And the physical death of our bodies here on earth does not fit that category, but rather is - to quote Dumbledore, 'the next great adventure' with God.  

Okay, back to the Acts passage and the happy, fun subject of judgment.  None of us like to talk about it but Jesus certainly does and so do the pastoral letters in the New Testament.  Its there, so we probably should at least begin to wrestle with it.  In light of that I think we can look at the Acts passage and the story of Herod as a story of warning for us.  Herod is an example of a success story (until his untimely death) by his culture's - and our culture's - standards.  Herod had power, fame, wealth and influence.  In short the world was at his fingers.  But Herod let those things become his God - maybe they always were - and because of that all that he had was gone from him the moment he went to the worms.  All that he sought after and valued he lost.  

So often in our world we see people 'make it' through the wrong means or with the wrong motives (we can talk about our tendency to be judgmental later) and wonder how and why God 'lets this happen'.  But the warning from the story and life of Herod is that at some point, for each of us there is a reckoning.  And at that time of judgement how we have lived - or rather who we have lived for will matter.  And at that point, being 'from God' or not - having chosen to accept God's invitation to become part of His family - will be the difference between an eternity spent with the worms or an eternity in celebration as part of the the family of God.  
I know this is already long, but I can't not say this.  The judgment Jesus speaks of is not about a listing of our good deeds and measuring them against our 'bad' ones.  it is a simple one question hearing: did you accept Jesus Christ's sacrificial covering over the entirety of your life?  Our judgment isn't about us, it is about Jesus Christ and God's love for us shown in and through Christ's sacrifice.  

Judge for yourself, whether it is better to stand with Christ or to stand alone.

Chip

Now, let's see you get out of this one . . .

As we continue our trek through the Bible, as always, the daily lectionary passage can be found here: http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2010/8/31/
A lot of interesting stuff in today's readings.  I don't know if you caught it but in the Psalms there were a lot of references to pits and to lions, essentially to being trapped in pretty tough or precarious positions.  
All of which, I think, nicely leads us to the passage from Acts 12.  
As we pick up the story King Herod - who clearly just isn't a good guy - has already killed James, the brother of John, just for being a Christian.  And once he realizes that  the blood on his hands ingratiates the Jewish leaders towards him (they didn't not like him generally, and tended to cause trouble for him because he didn't observe Jewish religious custom or law . . . among other things killing his brother so he could marry his wife . . . remember??)  Anyway, he decides to arrest Peter next.  
Peter is, apparently, a pretty big security threat as he is locked away in a cell with guards on either side of him, guards outside the cell and guards stationed outside the prison as well.  So, Peter and the other Christians do what they have been told to do, the respond how they have been taught to respond.  They pray.  
And, if you have read the whole passage you know that their prayers are heard and answered.  An angel of God comes to Peter and in a way that can only be described as supernatural, guides him to freedom.  Wow.  Pretty neat trick, God.  
So, this story could be and is a great example of 'the power of prayer' and proof that 'prayer works'.  Definitely true, but that is not the focus I want us to have for this passage today.  
What I want us to remember is the other things that this story 'proves'.  
First, it proves - or at the very least illustrates - that there is nowhere we can go, no situation that we find ourselves in (whether there because of our own actions or because of things outside of our control) that God can not reach us.  There is no pit too deep for God to reach into.  There is no situation - even if it involves hungry lions (hey, remember Daniel?) that God can not come into the middle of.  God and God's love, grace, providence and protection can reach us anywhere we are, even in the most desperate times and situations.  Its a fact.  Mark it down and count on it.
And that leads me to my second point.   I once heard it said (I think by Mark Batterson - who interestingly enough wrote a book called 'In a pit with a lion on a snowy day') that worry is disobedience to God and a lack of faith and trust.  And I think he couldn't be more right.  I also think this is one of the most fundamental forms of disobedience we fall into.  When we worry - about anything - we are essentially saying to God that we don't trust him.  
This doesn't mean that we are supposed to go through life without thinking or planning and without being prudent - Peter didn't stick around to find out what Herod and the Jewish leaders were going to do when they found out he had escaped.  
But it does mean that, in light of the fact that God can reach us in any and all situations, circumstances and times that we should be working to respond to God by trusting and relying on him.  
Peter, in the midst of his desperate situation did not waste one minute worrying about what was going to happen, but instead demonstrated his trust in God by praying and then going to sleep (which I think is the surest sign that he truly wasn't worried, I mean seriously could you have slept in that situation?  with a soldier on either side?  knowing what was to come the next morning?)  
When we worry we take things out of God's hands and try to make do with our own.  What a critical mistake that is.  Sometimes it takes a situation truly and clearly beyond our control to make us realize that we can't handle things on our own and that God really can.  Many of us have had those experiences.  
I believe it is critical for us to begin living all of our lives - not just the big moments when we 'have' to depend on God - in a way that demonstrates our belief that God can reach us in any situation and our faith and trust that in all places and times God is with us.  
What would the church of Jesus Christ be able to accomplish in His name if we didn't spend a minute worrying?  
Why don't we find out?

Truth, Freedom and other birthrights . . .

For some reason, I am not feeling like I have a lot to say today.  But I do want to talk a little bit about the gospel passage from John 8, or at least the last two verses of it:
³¹Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
The ending of the chapter, in verse 32, is pretty well known.  It is usually said a little differently, something to the effect of, 'you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.'  Semantic differences, and not a big deal.  
What is a big deal, I think, is that we usually take that verse (32) all by itself, without the context of the rest of the chapter, the passage or even just the verse before it.  I think when we do that (and I think we end up doing this type of thing a lot, but that is maybe for another day) it can lead to a limited or even worse completely misinformed understanding of what is really being said.  
In this case I think it looks something like this: we hear that we 'will know the truth . . . and be set free'.  And we begin to think that this is a foregone conclusion, a certainty or some sort of right.  We think that simply by saying that we 'believe in God' or by darkening the door of the church on a Sunday morning that we are entitled to and will, without a doubt, receive both 'freedom and truth'  
But, ironically enough, the 'truth' is not that simple.  And this is where the context becomes so important.  Even if all we do is read the verse immediately prior we can see that there is more to it than simply getting what we 'deserve' or are entitled to.  
For in verse 31 it reads, 'if you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples'  and it is to his 'true' disciples that Jesus is promising truth and freedom.  So for us to receive the freedom and truth that we are so interested in we must continue in the Word of Jesus Christ.  
The word continue is interesting because it runs counter to so much of what we look for or expect.  This isn't about a one-time thing that we will then reap the benefits of.  
To receive freedom and truth we must be in relationship with Jesus Christ.  To receive freedom and truth we must be actively engaged in the Word of God written (the Holy Scriptures).  To receive freedom and truth we must be seeking to continue in and abide by the Word of God, which is Jesus Christ.  
This isn't about a one-time transaction, but instead the receiving of freedom and truth is about what happens when we are actively engaged with and involved in a real relationship with the person of Jesus Christ.  

Assigned seating and other bad ideas . . .

So today I preached on the lectionary passage from Luke 14 & the one from Hebrews 13.  I used and really like The Message version which you can find here: http://bit.ly/9lFCGa & here: http://bit.ly/ajD7vV
I never like the written version of my messages as much as the spoken one, usually because I end up adding little pieces (words and wording) here and there.  Oh well.
Here is is:

Most of us have been to weddings and wedding receptions.  One of the most interesting aspects of the wedding reception is always the seating arrangement.  I am not sure if this is the case for you or not, but . . . . As I walk into a wedding reception that has assigned seating, there is this little twinge of anticipation and anxiousness about where I am going to be seated. 

I pick up my name card and hope I’m not off in the corner or at the far end of the room – away from the head table.  The head table, of course is the table where all the most important people (usually the bride & groom & the wedding party) are seated – and the tables immediately next to the head table are usually filled with the other ‘important’ guests.

This image – of the wedding reception with assigned seating – maybe the closest we can come to picturing or understanding how dinners, banquets and parties functioned in Jesus’ society.  So as you listen to Jesus words of advice from the Luke passage this morning picture a wedding reception or some other function with assigned seating.

The first part of Jesus advice in Luke challenges the accepted and practiced social order (choosing the lowly seat at a banquet ran counter to what was done – a large part of what was happening at a meal like that was a reaffirmation of the social order and everyone’s participation and acceptance of that) 

You see, assigned seating at events like this in Jesus’ day were not like a wedding reception – the seats didn’t show who is most important to the bride or who the groom’s favorite relatives are, but rather the seating was about actual perceived importance and worth from a societal perspective. 

Your seat at a dinner like the one from our reading indicated just how much or how little you mattered.  You seat demonstrated your importance or lack thereof. 

The Second part of Jesus advice – the part about who to invite when you are hosting the banquet – takes it several steps further.  Here Jesus is overturning the social order and sitting it on its head.  He is saying to us, it is not enough to not be self-involved and to not be prideful ourselves, to no seek after affirmation and ‘honor’, but we also have the responsibility to actively work to lift others up – especially those that are not in a position to do anything for us. 

I once heard it said – in the context of Jesus’ concern for the hungry & our duty to share with others that: "Bread was important; in fact, where some eat and some do not eat, the kingdom is not present

Jesus has ushered in a new kingdom – a heavenly kingdom with a different set of norms, practices and values.  As children of God that kingdom is part of our inheritance.  Increasing that kingdom – sharing it with others and spreading it wherever we are and wherever we can, is our responsibility as the family of God. 

In sharing the two pieces of ‘etiquette’ advice one right after the other.  Jesus is telling us that we do indeed need to change our thinking – but changing our thinking isn’t enough. 

Jesus calls us to allow our transformed minds to transform our actions and our lives.  And in so doing transform the lives and the world around us.

As we all know, all of this talk of change and the upheaval of the social order does not sit well with everyone.  In fact, it is the insistence on this kind of change that eventually leads to his death.

What Jesus does in calling for this change in thinking and in behavior is incredibly profound: He dares not only to stand outside the social order of his day; he dares not only to call that social order – and all social orders – into question; but he also says these things are not of God.

Jesus proclaims here and throughout the gospel that in the kingdom of God there are no pecking orders. None.  He simply extends the kingdom to us and we either accept the offer to come into the royal family of God or not.

And while that sounds at first blush like it ought to be good news, it throws us into radical dependence on God's grace and God's grace alone. We can't stand, that is, on our accomplishments, or our wealth, or positive attributes, or good looks, or strengths, or IQ, or our movement up or down the reigning social (pecking) order.

There is, suddenly, nothing we can do to establish ourselves before God and the world except rely upon God's desire to be in relationship with us and with all people.

Which means that we have no claim on God; rather, we have been claimed by God and invited to love others as we've been loved.

Just last week I had an interesting experience as I travelled back from my continuing education retreat in Colorado.        I was sitting alone in the van, waiting for the shuttle to begin its journey to the Denver airport so I could head back home.  As we were getting ready to leave a man in his late 50’s or early 60’s hopped into the seat in front of me and quickly and pleasantly introduced himself.  It wasn’t more than a minute later that he started up a conversation with me.

I quickly found that his family was half-jewish, half-catholic; that he had three grown children (2 boys and girl) and that he was a venture capitalist who was doing quite well for himself.  What followed, for the entirety of the shuttle ride (an hour and ½) was a in-depth and interesting conversation about faith, doubt, organized religion and the state of the world in general.

One of the most interesting aspects of our conversation was just how much he bristled (more than that really) every time I mentioned Jesus and implied that we (or more specifically he) might in any way NEED Jesus or anyone or anything else. 

But how at the same time He kept asserting the need for religion for its social value.  Especially for ‘those people’ that need it to get by or that ‘need it’ to be taught the proper way to act & live.

You see, He was quite happy where he was in his life and quite confident that he got there on his own – and didn’t want to entertain any other thoughts – but he also thought that seemingly everyone else around him needed some religion to ‘keep them in line’

Now, it was initially very easy for me to criticize this man and see his shortsightedness and even to view him as a hypocrite.

But then I thought, ‘how different am I?’  ‘How different are we?’

We know about God and assent to a certain amount of his power or authority, but we still want our relationship with God on our own terms and we still want to judge ourselves (and others) by what we have done.

Especially if we are sitting here – in a church on a Sunday morning – we like the idea of some sort of social order, some reward or recognition for what we are doing with our time and our lives!  It is, after all, only fair.  Right?

But In his ‘etiquette lesson’ in Luke (reinforced by the writer of Hebrews) he is throwing all of that out the window.  Telling us that in the kingdom of God there is no social hierarchy – an ranking order of importance that we much be slotted into and abide by - and that it isn’t about where you sit but who you serve and in whose name you serve!  

Amen!

Just a quick thought . . .

As we continue to 'walk through the Bible', a quick reminder that you can find today's daily lectionary passages here:http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2010/8/26/
So, I wasn't planning on posting anything today - as my plan and commitment is to posting each weekday, but as I was reading the lectionary passages for today something stuck in my brain.  It has now been there all day.  I'm still up, so I thought I would share it with you.
Surprise, Surprise, it comes from the Psalms.
So, in verses 5 & 6 of Psalm 63 it says this:  
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
        and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
  when I think of you on my bed,
        and meditate on you in the watches of the night

I think one of the things that many of us struggle with - and one of the reasons that disciplines like prayer and daily devotions are so difficult is because we often feel this distance from God, even in the midst of prayer or devotions.  So we end up walking through our days, not spending any (or very little) time in conversation with God or thinking about God or God's word, and then we wonder why God seems distant and we wonder why we aren't moved by God.  

The psalmist writes 'my soul is satisfied . . . as with a rich feast . . . my mouth praises you with joyful lips . . . blah, blah, blah.  It is this kind of stuff that turns me off from the psalms, because I can't relate to it.  My soul doesn't often feel satisfied.  My lips aren't always filled with joy when I am saying praise to God.  

But I think I am missing the point.  The psalmist continues that those things (the satisfaction of the soul & the joy) WHEN 'I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night'.

Connection to God, joy and satisfaction that are found in God are not random haphazard occurrences, but rather the direct result of time spent in relationship with God:  thinking about God and God's word, in conversation with God through prayer and dwelling on the word of God and the Spirit of God present and active in your life. 

These are the ways that we let God into our lives . . .Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit of God are quite literally standing at the door of our lives . . . are we going to let them in.  

chip

The space between believing and doing

As we continue to 'walk through the Bible', a quick reminder that you can find today's daily lectionary passages here: http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2010/8/26/
There were several things that struck me about the passages for today, I will try to briefly highlight them in some sort of coherent fashion.
First, to be honest, I usually struggle through the Psalms.  I mean I get that they are beautiful poetry, written to and about God, but I just don't usually get anything out of them.  In fact, I often find myself unintentionally skipping through them or skimming them so that I can get to the 'real' meat of the day's passages.  
For some reason, though, the past couple days I have been struck by the Psalms.  I haven't been moved by the language or caught by a phrase, but just by the simple fact that they exist and how, in a very real way they are evidence of a kind of relationship and intimacy with God that I can only imagine.  
I mean, seriously, have you ever written a poem to someone or about someone?  I think I may have tried a few times in the foolishness of my youth (okay, I know I did, but I don't want to talk about it!) That kind of expression only comes from a depth of feeling and an intimacy that is incredibly rare, not just in relation to God, but in any relationship.  I truly think my attempts as a youth were so awful and inconsequential because they didn't come from depth of feeling and intimacy, but from a desire to have those things.  
And as I have read the Psalms the past few days, it has become so apparent to me the relationship that these verses imply.  The psalmist, speaks frankly and directly to and about God.  Sometimes praising in beautiful intimate language, which is engaging - but even more gripping is when the psalmist complains or confronts God, often directly asking for God's specific intervention in one element of the writer's life or another.  
Do you talk to God like that?  I don't, and it is hard for me to even imagine anyone talking to God like that.  But isn't that what happens when we are in a close relationship with someone?  The barriers and guards that we put up are slowly stripped away and we begin to truly be ourselves around that person.  We show who we really are and we share how we really feel: even when that makes us vulnerable - by sharing deep love, care and affection or when we are concerned or upset or mad.  That honesty is one of the truest signs of a deep, personal, intimate relationship with God.  And I think that is, for me at least, the real value of the Psalms.  They can serve for us as a witness and a reminder of the type of relationship and conversation that is available to us with God.  They are a goal to be aiming for.
Wow. That was a lot more than I meant to say, but I think it is important stuff. But anyway, a few more quick thoughts.
What struck me in the Acts 10 passage is that, here you have Peter, beginning his address to those gathered (mostly gentile friends of Cornelius) with the words, 'I truly understand that God shows no partiality'  and then a few verses later we read that all of those with Peter (mostly jewish converts to Christianity) were amazed when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the gentiles (who were not circumcised).  
The seemingly obvious contrast made me think about how often we stop at simply 'knowing' or 'believing' something.  Obviously, that is where things have to start, we have to believe in Jesus Christ and know him before we begin to live according to the plan and call of God on our lives, and so on.  But, for me at least, I think when the Holy Spirit gives me a new insight or I hear someone explain a part of scripture in a new way or whatever, I am all too often content to just know it or believe it.
But I think that isn't enough.  Once we know and believe in Jesus Christ we have to live like we know and believe in Jesus Christ.  As we know and learn more about God's call on our lives and grow in our faith and belief, we must continually be incorporating these new understandings into our daily lives and into the way we act and interact with others.  Otherwise, do we really know or believe them?  
Finally, a quick word about the Gospel passage from John 7.  In this passage today, for at least the 3rd time in the last week of readings we read something to the effect of, 'and they wanted to hurt/arrest/stone/kill Jesus, but nobody laid a hand on him'.  This is a much (much) longer discussion, but the only reason given for this seeming inability to touch or harm Jesus is that 'his time had not yet come'.  Again, a much larger and longer discussion, but what occurred to me is that if there was a certain time for Jesus' suffering - suffering that was his ultimate goal and purpose on earth.  Then maybe, just maybe when we go through difficult times or trials and tribulations, they are happening just at the time they were supposed to happen.  
And that in all of this there must be some reason.  So, easier said than done of course, but maybe the next time we are enduring a difficult time or season in our lives we might begin with the question, why is now the time for me to be in the midst of this?  How, now, in this circumstance am I to be glorifying God?  What from this particular time and place can I share with others to point them to Jesus Christ?  
Thats all for now.  
I may post tomorrow or Sunday, but I will definitely be back on Monday.  
See you then.
Chip