Lectionary, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Apostle Paul gave good advice to the Christians in Corinth. Knowing our bent toward the need to worship something, to talk up (or down,) something, or someone, he told them how to use their energy in a way that would count. ‘If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God!’ Within us all is the need to know and worship the power higher than ourselves. It shows up in our appetite for hero stories, superhero movies, and American Idols. It shows up in archeology- idols have been discovered from every age and nation.
But Paul reminds us that it is in the lifting up of Christ, who was exalted by being lifted up on the cross, that the energy ‘spent’ on lifting him up is not energy lost, but energy invested in an eternal kingdom.
In the preceding verses, Paul recognizes the futility of diluting our energy for God by spending it on talking up or down our religious subgroups. Paul redirects their energy to the only one who died for them - Christ.
Our human efforts will one day be over. Effort we invested in many things will stop when our breathing does likewise. But our energies invested in lifting up Christ will bring about a harvest- a harvest that will go on forever. All our life energy, including the way we use our speech as a tool, is meant to be directed upward to Christ, and this will draw us together, and others to the Savior. Cheer the Hero! His name is Jesus!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, September 17, 2010
Opening My Mind To Learn
Luke 16:1-13 Lectionary Passage for Sunday, September 19, 2010
Of all the lessons I’ve gleaned from in the stories of Jesus, before this week I can’t remember much that I learned from reviewing this story of the manager who was a crook. A creative crook, but a crook none the less! As I took pause and gave the story a chance to question me, I realized that I had not learned much from this story because I had not opened my mind to believe that a crook had much to teach me. Or even a story about a crook. Seeing my closed-mindedness, I decided that I could not afford to close my mind’s door anymore to any lessons to be learned from this story.
The crook got caught and had little time to act before he was on the streets. He was in the moment of crisis willing to be honest about his lack of ability to make an honest living. He did not begrudge it, he just took the talent and ability he had, used it to develop his social support network, and therefore secure a future for himself, while in the process gaining some immediate cash flow for his boss and some immediate savings for his customers. He turned a crisis into a win-win of sorts, though through crooked means. Jesus must have shocked his listeners as much as he surprised me this week. I have lessons to learn from people and situations. I can, like the crook, use the tools of creativity and resourcefulness as means to a better end. I want to stop my judgment and dismissal of others. I want to be unafraid of learning life lessons from people which are different from me, or, maybe even more importantly, see that there are people which I have seen as far different than me, that are closer than I thought. I haven’t scheduled a prison ministry for the edification of the unincarcerated yet, but who knows?
Of all the lessons I’ve gleaned from in the stories of Jesus, before this week I can’t remember much that I learned from reviewing this story of the manager who was a crook. A creative crook, but a crook none the less! As I took pause and gave the story a chance to question me, I realized that I had not learned much from this story because I had not opened my mind to believe that a crook had much to teach me. Or even a story about a crook. Seeing my closed-mindedness, I decided that I could not afford to close my mind’s door anymore to any lessons to be learned from this story.
The crook got caught and had little time to act before he was on the streets. He was in the moment of crisis willing to be honest about his lack of ability to make an honest living. He did not begrudge it, he just took the talent and ability he had, used it to develop his social support network, and therefore secure a future for himself, while in the process gaining some immediate cash flow for his boss and some immediate savings for his customers. He turned a crisis into a win-win of sorts, though through crooked means. Jesus must have shocked his listeners as much as he surprised me this week. I have lessons to learn from people and situations. I can, like the crook, use the tools of creativity and resourcefulness as means to a better end. I want to stop my judgment and dismissal of others. I want to be unafraid of learning life lessons from people which are different from me, or, maybe even more importantly, see that there are people which I have seen as far different than me, that are closer than I thought. I haven’t scheduled a prison ministry for the edification of the unincarcerated yet, but who knows?
Monday, September 13, 2010
Invitation To Joy
John 8:1-11
I have no historical proof, but suspect that the atmosphere created by Religious elite like those in this story did not prove to cultivate an atmosphere conducive to growth in their faith community. Perhaps they needed a religious author to give them some instruction in a new book: ‘Methods of Church Growth- after stoning doesn’t work.’ Vicious reminders of one’s guilt don’t instill in many the need to pursue a life path like that of the author of the accusations being hurled at them. Imagine that. The contrast in this story between the religious elite’s accusations and condemnation and Jesus’ offer of dignity and invitation to joy is profound. Jesus is not about to play along with their game of uneven ‘justice.’ How unjust is it to bring this woman naked before the crowd, accuse her of being caught in the act of adultery, oblivious to the fact that this infraction of the law requires two persons. Jesus, the only innocent one in the bunch, is the only one to not shame this woman by looking at her in her public humiliation. He will not let anyone here think of themselves as less of a sinner, and they have to drop their stones and walk away. She does not, and we do not, need to be accused or have stones thrown at us. Condemnation is not in short supply. But dignity is. Jesus offered her a shred of dignity in which to clothe herself, and something more. He offered her an invitation to a new life. A life where relationships are secure, where joy can be found in commitment. He did point to the boundaries when he said go and sin no more. But it was not a condemnation, it was an offer to live in the boundaries of the road that leads to a committed relationship and the joy that is found in enjoying life together in covenant love- a long journey with a life-long friend. One who will never leave you or forsake you. Jesus still offers we, who have been found in the pain and brokenness of a world filled with little lasting commitment and with selfish ‘love,’ to begin again. This is part of the process of taking steps in our life recovery program. Here is where we don’t offer stones to kill, we offer stepping stones to life. The boundaries were etched by the finger of God on Mt. Sinai, but our sins were like the words that Christ wrote on the dirt- easily washed away, blown away. Christian community is like a twelve step program- the place of joy involves making decisions, taking responsibility for our lives by making steps toward our wholeness and joy. God can empower us, but has given us the ability to choose our own path. Consider scriptural moral boundaries as the roadmap to the reality of joy. We can choose our script, our map wisely, with a reality in mind. Reality TV- bad script, bad news. Reality in God’s roadmap to Joy- good script, good news.
I have no historical proof, but suspect that the atmosphere created by Religious elite like those in this story did not prove to cultivate an atmosphere conducive to growth in their faith community. Perhaps they needed a religious author to give them some instruction in a new book: ‘Methods of Church Growth- after stoning doesn’t work.’ Vicious reminders of one’s guilt don’t instill in many the need to pursue a life path like that of the author of the accusations being hurled at them. Imagine that. The contrast in this story between the religious elite’s accusations and condemnation and Jesus’ offer of dignity and invitation to joy is profound. Jesus is not about to play along with their game of uneven ‘justice.’ How unjust is it to bring this woman naked before the crowd, accuse her of being caught in the act of adultery, oblivious to the fact that this infraction of the law requires two persons. Jesus, the only innocent one in the bunch, is the only one to not shame this woman by looking at her in her public humiliation. He will not let anyone here think of themselves as less of a sinner, and they have to drop their stones and walk away. She does not, and we do not, need to be accused or have stones thrown at us. Condemnation is not in short supply. But dignity is. Jesus offered her a shred of dignity in which to clothe herself, and something more. He offered her an invitation to a new life. A life where relationships are secure, where joy can be found in commitment. He did point to the boundaries when he said go and sin no more. But it was not a condemnation, it was an offer to live in the boundaries of the road that leads to a committed relationship and the joy that is found in enjoying life together in covenant love- a long journey with a life-long friend. One who will never leave you or forsake you. Jesus still offers we, who have been found in the pain and brokenness of a world filled with little lasting commitment and with selfish ‘love,’ to begin again. This is part of the process of taking steps in our life recovery program. Here is where we don’t offer stones to kill, we offer stepping stones to life. The boundaries were etched by the finger of God on Mt. Sinai, but our sins were like the words that Christ wrote on the dirt- easily washed away, blown away. Christian community is like a twelve step program- the place of joy involves making decisions, taking responsibility for our lives by making steps toward our wholeness and joy. God can empower us, but has given us the ability to choose our own path. Consider scriptural moral boundaries as the roadmap to the reality of joy. We can choose our script, our map wisely, with a reality in mind. Reality TV- bad script, bad news. Reality in God’s roadmap to Joy- good script, good news.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Connected
Disconnect and your laptop may have 2 hours, 4 hours, 6 hours of battery life left before the screen goes blank, and, unless your document is saved, it gets dumped. Other electronics and appliances may have a shorter ‘unplugged’ life. Maybe none. Maybe they are just immediately dead when unplugged.
Jesus and the disciples address a disconnected people. Somewhere between belief and behavior, knowledge and life, life got disconnected. We see it when Jesus heals a man, and the community that says it believes in healing gets disturbed. We see it when Peter and John offer the healing power of God and a man gets healed at the gate called beautiful. And the reaction from the religious community was anything but beautiful.
So where do things get disconnected? We could look at this question all day, and only get a detailed history of how organizations die, how they lose life-giving power and become life-draining and powerless. But a better, more productive question is: how do we come to life?
Jesus blows away the ‘comfort zone’ of the disconnected life. He comes and demonstrates the power-filled life. He lives connected to his Father: prays unceasingly, acts to address brokenness. He lives a connected life. It upsets the status-quo everywhere he goes. It makes people examine the hidden walls, disconnecting misconceptions about how life is to be lived.
If our name is associated with His, how much are we like Christ? Does the disconnected life get addressed and upset? Do people get connected with the giver of abundant life? The road to the connected life is a wild ride. Hang on and go for it! It is worth it!
Who wants to live asleep when you can be awake? Why sit on the sidelines when you can be fully engaged? Why stay lethargic when you can have the energy of the life giver? Why expect someone else to be responsible for your spiritual walk when you can face the Lord and say, “Here I am, send me!?” Live the wild life fully connected, fully alive!
Jesus and the disciples address a disconnected people. Somewhere between belief and behavior, knowledge and life, life got disconnected. We see it when Jesus heals a man, and the community that says it believes in healing gets disturbed. We see it when Peter and John offer the healing power of God and a man gets healed at the gate called beautiful. And the reaction from the religious community was anything but beautiful.
So where do things get disconnected? We could look at this question all day, and only get a detailed history of how organizations die, how they lose life-giving power and become life-draining and powerless. But a better, more productive question is: how do we come to life?
Jesus blows away the ‘comfort zone’ of the disconnected life. He comes and demonstrates the power-filled life. He lives connected to his Father: prays unceasingly, acts to address brokenness. He lives a connected life. It upsets the status-quo everywhere he goes. It makes people examine the hidden walls, disconnecting misconceptions about how life is to be lived.
If our name is associated with His, how much are we like Christ? Does the disconnected life get addressed and upset? Do people get connected with the giver of abundant life? The road to the connected life is a wild ride. Hang on and go for it! It is worth it!
Who wants to live asleep when you can be awake? Why sit on the sidelines when you can be fully engaged? Why stay lethargic when you can have the energy of the life giver? Why expect someone else to be responsible for your spiritual walk when you can face the Lord and say, “Here I am, send me!?” Live the wild life fully connected, fully alive!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The Perfect Job
We might work because we have bills to pay, a debt to owe. It’s a heavy burden to know that you have to work just to get out from under a huge debt. We might work because we aspire to earn a reward. But what if we had an occupation that we could do, not because we had bills to pay, or because we felt the need to get something more, but just because we loved it, lived and breathed to be able to do the ‘job’?
The story Jesus told in Matthew 18:21-35 describes the first situation. A man owed a huge debt, and begged the master for the mercy to not punish him, but just let him work to pay off the huge debt, which was so huge, a life time of work would not have paid it. In the story Jesus told in Matthew 20:1-16 we see people who work for the reward they can earn, and bicker over how the master divvies up the purse. Neither picture is a happy life!
But contrasted to these two dismal pictures are two delightful ones. The man forgiven is expected to live remembering the mercy shown him, being mercy-minded to others, whose trespasses (debts) against him must be miniscule in comparison to his own eternal debts forgiven. And the people working for the master are expected to work because of their love for the master, not looking to compare their reward to others.
Working for the sheer love of life together with Christ and our sisters and brothers, unconcerned about debts (which are all paid, anyway,) or rewards (living in love has its own reward!) this sounds like life on earth as it is in heaven. It’s the perfect job.
The story Jesus told in Matthew 18:21-35 describes the first situation. A man owed a huge debt, and begged the master for the mercy to not punish him, but just let him work to pay off the huge debt, which was so huge, a life time of work would not have paid it. In the story Jesus told in Matthew 20:1-16 we see people who work for the reward they can earn, and bicker over how the master divvies up the purse. Neither picture is a happy life!
But contrasted to these two dismal pictures are two delightful ones. The man forgiven is expected to live remembering the mercy shown him, being mercy-minded to others, whose trespasses (debts) against him must be miniscule in comparison to his own eternal debts forgiven. And the people working for the master are expected to work because of their love for the master, not looking to compare their reward to others.
Working for the sheer love of life together with Christ and our sisters and brothers, unconcerned about debts (which are all paid, anyway,) or rewards (living in love has its own reward!) this sounds like life on earth as it is in heaven. It’s the perfect job.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Sheep Smell
Luke 15:1-7
Jesus took the familiar images, of shepherd and sheep, to refresh the memory of the people. King David was once the unlikely choice to be king. The shepherd in the 23rd Psalm is a noble character. But the image of shepherd had become tarnished. Anyone who could afford to hire a shepherd (if they owned a dozen sheep or so) would have done so, or least relegated the job to a lesser family member . So when Jesus says, ‘which one of you owning 100 sheep, would not go after the one lost sheep’ there was sure to be an element of surprise or shock. For a people who cherish the fact that the great one has chosen and saved them, where is the same desire to go and bring even just one who is lost? Which one of our church budgets reflects more spent on evangelism than on nurture? Which of our service records show more emphasis on others than us? Does my checkbook show more entries for others than myself?
This radical love and mercy aggravated the entire religious establishment. After all, these revolutionary pictures of the kingdom of God, are images that, if taken to their obvious conlusion, will ‘mess up’ our entire lives. Jesus, mess us up so good that we’ll always smell like sheep carriers.
Jesus took the familiar images, of shepherd and sheep, to refresh the memory of the people. King David was once the unlikely choice to be king. The shepherd in the 23rd Psalm is a noble character. But the image of shepherd had become tarnished. Anyone who could afford to hire a shepherd (if they owned a dozen sheep or so) would have done so, or least relegated the job to a lesser family member . So when Jesus says, ‘which one of you owning 100 sheep, would not go after the one lost sheep’ there was sure to be an element of surprise or shock. For a people who cherish the fact that the great one has chosen and saved them, where is the same desire to go and bring even just one who is lost? Which one of our church budgets reflects more spent on evangelism than on nurture? Which of our service records show more emphasis on others than us? Does my checkbook show more entries for others than myself?
This radical love and mercy aggravated the entire religious establishment. After all, these revolutionary pictures of the kingdom of God, are images that, if taken to their obvious conlusion, will ‘mess up’ our entire lives. Jesus, mess us up so good that we’ll always smell like sheep carriers.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Kingdom Secrets Broadcast
Matthew 13:31-35
Jesus uses familiar images to help introduce something unfamiliar or off the radar of current consciousness. His audience would have been familiar with the image of a tree being a sign of a Kingdom- described in Genesis. And when Jesus said that the Kingdom was like a mustard seed that grew to be the largest of trees, they must have wondered, or even laughed, because they knew that a mustard plant only grew to be about 2-6 feet tall. Surely this tree/kingdom was not as big as Jesus was thinking! They knew how big these things get, and it had never been that big a thing.
People knew that yeast, leavening, made things rise, grow beyond its size. Yeast was used elsewhere in scripture to represent evil, but using it here to symbolize the good Kingdom is a reversal of thought. The King James Version more correctly translates that a woman tries to hide (not ‘mixed with’ as in other translations) a small amount of yeast in 3 measures of flour – that’s around a hundred pounds! Enough bread was produced from this to feed a multitude! The Kingdom of God is not hidden for long!
And then Jesus intentionally makes further light of the irony of Psalm 78. He speaks of the ‘hidden things of God,’ the acts of God in this Psalm are: the mass exodus of God’s people from Egypt, the mass feeding of His people with bread raining down from heaven daily, the tons of birds landing in their camp for meat to eat. What is hidden about these great truths of God’s deliverance? All creation shouts with the awesome sufficiency of God. All throughout history, God has acted on our behalf, broadcasting these kingdom secrets, even when we live as if we don’t get that channel.
Jesus uses familiar images to help introduce something unfamiliar or off the radar of current consciousness. His audience would have been familiar with the image of a tree being a sign of a Kingdom- described in Genesis. And when Jesus said that the Kingdom was like a mustard seed that grew to be the largest of trees, they must have wondered, or even laughed, because they knew that a mustard plant only grew to be about 2-6 feet tall. Surely this tree/kingdom was not as big as Jesus was thinking! They knew how big these things get, and it had never been that big a thing.
People knew that yeast, leavening, made things rise, grow beyond its size. Yeast was used elsewhere in scripture to represent evil, but using it here to symbolize the good Kingdom is a reversal of thought. The King James Version more correctly translates that a woman tries to hide (not ‘mixed with’ as in other translations) a small amount of yeast in 3 measures of flour – that’s around a hundred pounds! Enough bread was produced from this to feed a multitude! The Kingdom of God is not hidden for long!
And then Jesus intentionally makes further light of the irony of Psalm 78. He speaks of the ‘hidden things of God,’ the acts of God in this Psalm are: the mass exodus of God’s people from Egypt, the mass feeding of His people with bread raining down from heaven daily, the tons of birds landing in their camp for meat to eat. What is hidden about these great truths of God’s deliverance? All creation shouts with the awesome sufficiency of God. All throughout history, God has acted on our behalf, broadcasting these kingdom secrets, even when we live as if we don’t get that channel.
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