Something Like Scales

The World Beyond the Veil

2011-10-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

I recently had anexperience of God’s presence with me. Iwas getting ready to go for a run, lying down outside doing somestretching. Looking up at the stars, Ihad a feeling of peace and love come upon me. The world looked different, somehow, more beautiful, and yet it hadn’tchanged.

This experience wasshort-lived, like other similar experiences I’ve had, and it is a moment whichI treasure. It brought assurance thatGod really is here with us in and through this world. In spite of how difficult things may get,there really is nothing to fear. It wasa glimpse of the world beyond the veil, God’s presence, made knowable for amoment.

“O God of peace, youhave taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness andconfidence shall be our strength. Liftus, we pray, by the might of your spirit to your presence, that we may be stilland know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Talk about faith: Truly knowing who we are

2011-09-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

Talking about religion had always been rather difficult for me. I could talk about my faith with other Christians, so long as we had fairly similar views. If we didn't, then I often (though not always) felt like we were stepping on each other's toes. At times, I've had other Christians try to convert me to their particular type of Christianity. That was never a welcome experience for me.

Talking about religion with non-Christians was, even more difficult, though there were exceptions. A couple of times when I was growing up, I had some great conversations about religion with non-Christians. The beauty of those talks was that we were each learning from and about each other, not trying to convince each other of anything. I loved those conversations and felt a connection to those people, even though they were brief acquaintances.

For the most part, however, religious conversation has been difficult, largely because a stated goal of Christianity is evangelism. That word actually just means "sharing the good news". I'll get back to that.

Much of the "evangelism" I have experienced or been taught has been had a hidden spelling "c-o-n-v-e-r-s-i-o-n". There has always been an ulterior motive in sharing the faith. "Sealing the deal" as some would call it. To be fair, there are many who don't believe this, but those that do caught my attention, and I kept thinking that I too had to convert others. So, I had a difficult time talking about religion because I always felt duplicitous.

Over the last several years, however, I have given up any need I felt to convert others.* As a result, I have been able to have many wonderful talks with people of many different faiths about religion. I again found these conversations beautiful. In them, I (and I think we) learned about the other's faith, and I also learned about the other person.

I also realized that during these conversations, in which I had no intention of converting the other person to Christianity, I was doing evangelism. I was "sharing the good news", the Gospel, by telling people about my faith. I wasn't sharing some absolute truth that they needed to know for salvation, I was simply sharing my faith and thereby sharing one of the deepest parts of who I am.

People's faith, whatever their faith may be, is an integral part of who they are. In sharing faith stories with people of others faiths than my own (including many Christians), I've found how similar we all are. I've found beauty in the world and in others which I hadn't previously known, simply by having conversations with people about faith. I've also found my own faith to be changed and enriched by these conversations. My prayers have changed. My views and understandings of God have expanded and become more beautiful. My faith brings me more peace and allows me to see more love and beauty in the world than it ever has before.

I've also found deeper friendships with people once we could discuss our faiths together without any barriers. My closest friends are (alphabetically) Christian, Heathen, Jewish, and Pagan. Knowing and sharing our different faiths have brought us closer together, not divided us.

* See my previous post "Unbound" for more of my faith journey.

Which Gods do We Follow?

2011-05-25T06:26:00.000-07:00

As a Christian and a priest, it may seem rather strange to ask the question, “which gods do we follow?’. Don’t we Christians pretty much follow Jesus?

Yes, of course we do, and we likely at times follow other gods too. In his fictional narrative, American Gods, Neil Gaiman tells a story in which all of the gods in whom Americans have believed over the centuries are here, in America, walking among us, and they aren’t all old. Some are very, very new.

In the book, Media is a god. Cyberspace is a god. Television is a god, the altar before which many of us worship for hours every day.

The author paints a compelling picture. Anything to which we devote ourselves can become a god. We may worship without even realizing it. Even those who say they believe in no god at all may worship a god of some kind. As a non-Christian friend of mine wrote:

What I find even more dangerous, is a failure to recognize our various religions as religions. A person who comforts himself saying that because he has no “invisible people in the sky” he therefore has no knee-jerk reactions of faith (because he’s too rational for that) is deluding himself. Know which gods you follow. Money? Power? Relationships? Food? Mine may be invisible sky people (who are real, thank you very much), but they encourage me to be loyal, honest, generous, and strong. A lot of the gods we choose to follow aren’t so noble. - Jax Garren, http://www.paganprincesses.com/on-the-danger-and-necessity-of-religion/

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” As such, Jesus leads us to love God and to love each other. We can test, therefore, if in our efforts to follow Jesus, we truly are doing so.

Taking a hard look at our lives, do we love God and love other people? If so, then we are indeed following Jesus. If we find, however, that in our lives we are not loving God and loving other people, then we are likely not actually following Jesus, even though we are trying to. We are likely following other less noble gods.

If that be the case, there is hope! There is resurrection. That’s a huge part of the Gospel. God is always calling us back. God is always offering us course corrections along our journey through life. Perhaps we’ve veered off the way in our quest to follow Jesus. We can always veer back, with God’s help.

The Lord bless you and keep you,

Brad

Unbound

2011-03-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

Folks have been all in an uproar over Rob Bell's book, Love Wins, in which he suggests that salvation may be possible for non-Christians. I have begun, but not finished the book. What I have read so far, I have found refreshing, thought-provoking, and resonating deeply with questions I have had for years.

Are we Christians allowed to question and wonder? Are we as Christians allowed to consider the possibility of salvation for God-seekers who do not seek God through Jesus? Are we left seeking God through Jesus out of fear of hell?

This is a primary concern for me. Why am I a Christian or why would I offer Christianity to anyone else? Do I love God, find connection to God through Jesus and therefore follow him? If so, then that is a beautiful faith that brings life, peace, and love. Am I, on the other hand, afraid of this place called hell, convinced of my destiny to that place after I die, and therefore following Jesus as a way of avoiding a terrible place? Such a faith is one based on fear and self-loathing. Even if such a faith leads to love of God and neighbor, the foundations of the faith are terrible things.

Further, such a faith necessarily leads to exclusive claims of salvation, leading to further negative effects. Believing first that I (and all humans) are going to hell unless we believe in Jesus, I must then believe that all non-Christians are necessarily going to hell (deathbed conversions not withstanding). Hooray for me and all Christians, and too bad for everyone else.

Now, if I cared about people in this heaven/hell system, then I would want to get them to believe as I do in order to avoid this place called hell. That seems like a fairly kind thing to do. We might call it opening people's eyes to the reality of their rather unfortunate situation. If true, such eye opening certainly is the kindest thing to do, but doing so is also extremely belittling, is it not? To get someone to follow Jesus in the heaven / hell system, I need to get that person to believe that he or she is a terrible sinner, a terrible person, and destined for eternal torment. As unsolicited advice goes (something rarely accepted), such aspersions on one's character are not likely to go over especially well.

Look at such a system on an individual level. A person is born through no fault of his or her own. Two people (completely unknown to the soon to be born) decide to have sex (having asked no consent from the soon to be born), and then, 9ish months later, this brand new person is thrust, unasked, into the world and immediately destined for hell. Then, this person is told that he or she can avoid this place called hell by following Jesus, the son of the very God who has sentenced this person to hell.

How could anyone not want to follow God?

If we must believe the exclusive claims of salvation for Christians only, then we have a faith with the foundations of fear and self-loathing. We are therefore adding fear and self-loathing to the world. We have the further problems that such exclusive claims in the heaven / hell system lead to division. In this life, if the Christiansonlygotoheavenallothersgotohell system is how I operate, then I would want to stay away from non-Christians and keep those I love away from non-Christians, lest we be infected by their non-belief and risk going to hell. The one exception would be that I would want to be around non-Christians in order to Christianize them, but that would lead to belittling others or to friendship with ulterior motives, rather than simply loving people.

At it's worst, the division and attempts to Christianize others would lead to anger and violence (as it often has in the past). So now we have fear, self-loathing, division, belittling, ulterior motives, anger, and violence as the effects of the Christiansonlygotoheavenallothersgotohell system. I realize we have all of these problems even without such a system, but I can't think of any good effects in this life for such an exclusive system, and I can think of all of the above-mentioned negative effects. Judging truth by effects, I wonder if such an exclusive system might not be particularly true. Jesus said in John 14:11, "Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves." His works were works of healing and love.

Perhaps we Christians can let go of the exclusive claims of salvation. We Christians have found / been given a way to God through Jesus (whom we believe to be God). We Christians have found / been given a beautiful way of life in which we love God, love others, seek justice and mercy, live in hope and faith, pray and work for the restoration of the world. Must we claim more than that? Can we not be grateful for what we have found / been given without insisting that others believe as we do? Can we not be joyful for salvation found / given to us without denying the possiblity of salvation for others? We are saved through Jesus. Must the flip side of that coin be true?

I don't know the answers, and I won't know the answers in this life. Further, I don't have to know the answers for salvation belongs to God, not to any of God's followers. Paul tells members of the Church in Rome not to ask who will ascend into heaven or who will descend into the abyss. (Romans 10:6-7) While part of a longer discourse, we would do well to heed such advice. We have found / been given salvation through Jesus. We needn't hold the flip side of that coin to be true.

I at least no longer do. I have been unbound by the fear that I held for so long. It is still there in small amounts, but I refuse to operate out of it. I still believe in Jesus because of the works he did, because of his teachings, and because I love the idea that God became human and lived as one of us so that we might know God, trust God, and be with God. That, to me, is salvation: to know, trust, love and be with God, and to live the life of love that flows naturally from dwelling with God in trust and love.

The Lord bless you and keep you,

Brad

Becoming Who We Are

2011-01-17T08:16:00.001-08:00

Ancient Israel was a mighty nation, a kingdom dedicated to worshipping God, serving him, and being a light to other nations. They were more successful at some times than others at being who they were, but that was their identity: a chosen people, dedicated to serving God. Before they were a nation dedicated to God, however, they were a collection of tribes with common ancestry living in Egypt.

They were still God’s chosen people, but they had not yet become who they were called and formed to be. They were not yet a nation, and they had not yet been given the law of God by which they would live and relate to God. With God’s help, they escaped from Egypt, crossed through the red sea, and then spent 40 years in the wilderness, becoming a nation dedicated to God. They had to become who they were.

On Sunday two weeks ago, we remembered Jesus’ baptism. Having escaped to Egypt as an infant and then returned from Egypt as a boy, Jesus went through the waters of baptism as a man and then went into the wilderness for 40 days. He followed the path of Israel in order to become who he was. Jesus was always God. He was also a human who needed to grow and be formed into the fullness of himself. Jesus was God, and he was formed into his identity through his faithfulness to God, the decisions he made, and the love he had.

We too, then, are constantly becoming who we are. Our faithfulness to God, the decisions we make, and the love and honor we show to others are constantly forming us. At our core, we are all children of God, made to love him and to love each other, to live in deep relationship.

We may not be able to change who are are at our core, but at times, like the nation of Israel, we do a better or worse job of being who we are. We often talk of ourselves as sinful, as incapable of being perfect, and that certainly seems to be the case. The purpose of following Jesus, however, is not to be perfect nor is it to remind ourselves that we fall short. Of course we fall short, and God is obviously ok with that fact, otherwise he wouldn't have forgiven us.

We follow Jesus to be like him in that we seek to be in closer and closer relationship with God, living out God's life in our own lives. The purpose of following Jesus is not to become who he was, but to become who we are. We are God's children, loved and blessed by him. By following Jesus' faithfulness to God, his teachings, and his way of life, we find ourselves becoming who we already are, God's holy and blessed children.

Go and do likewise

2010-08-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus a lesson to a man about God’s desire for us to help one another in time of need, and a lesson about who is truly “our neighbor”. He ended the lesson by asking, “Who was a neighbor to him?” The man responded, “The one who showed mercy.” “Go and do likewise,” Jesus said.

This is one of many instances in which Jesus tells people to go and do. People are told to follow Jesus, to live lives worthy of God’s kingdom. We are told to seek God’s kingdom. We must be righteous to enter God’s kingdom. Further, we are told that God’s kingdom is right here, among us. Go now, and begin living life in the Kingdom of God, Jesus says. Don’t wait.

There are several times when Jesus tells us not only to follow him, but to do so immediately. I usually read these with fear. If I don’t follow Jesus right away, I might be in trouble and be punished by God for not being good enough. I might end up “going to hell” after I die. Selfish fear got me wanting to be good enough for God’s kingdom after I die, but did little to affect my life here on earth.

Realizing God’s kingdom is here and now, I see Jesus’ commands to seek God’s kingdom and to enter it through righteousness differently than I once did. Following Jesus’ teachings and a life of love, mercy, faith, justice, etc. is not done in order to secure a place in heaven later on. Following Jesus’ teachings is done in order to live in God’s kingdom now, in this life.

That is a big reason for the urgency of Jesus’ commands to follow him immediately, not simply because I might die at any moment and want to avoid hell, but because this life is important. This life is full of people who are beloved of God, and the more people live lives of love, mercry, faith, justice, etc., the more joy there will be in the world.

Looking back at my life, there were often times when I wanted to follow Jesus in my daily actions, just not yet. I figured I still had time before I died, and following Jesus seemed too hard. I see now that the problem with my waiting to follow Jesus was not that I might have been punished, but that others were sometimes hurt by my actions, actions I might not have taken if I had been intentionally following Jesus, living in his kingdom.

Jesus told people (us) to follow him because of his love for us, and for the sake of others. ”Listen to my teachings,” Jesus says. “Follow me. Live life in the Kingdom of God. For your own sake and for the sake of others, go and do likewise."

Torah: a Gift from God to His Children

2010-04-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

“[Torah] is valued beyond all else because in all its forms torah is the medium f the LORD. In [Psalm 119’s] understanding of God’s way, torah is the means by which the LORD deals with human beings and they with the LORD.”
- From Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching -- Psalms; James L. Mays p. 383

With Torah as God’s instruction to us, it becomes our way of life, a way of life not fully understood by us, but given to us by God as the best way for us to live. Like parents who are shaping their children’s lives by giving them rules (bedtime, meals, baths, etc.), God gives us rules and limits.

We truly are children of God. God really is our loving mother and father, shown to us by his giving of Torah.

With Torah comes limits. We are meant to be limited. We are better off when we live within the limits given by God. We can exceed these limits, but only with cost to ourselves and others. Psalmists often write of rejoicing in God's law, the Torah given to us. I feel joy as well in seeking to follow the ways of life given to us by God. Doing so allows me to give up some control and in so doing, to be cared for by God. Trusting in God's way of life takes some pressure off me, having to figure out all by myself how best to live.

The limits placed on us by Torah (let's say even the 10 Commandments), are limits which prevent us from many ambitions and pleasure, but which also protect us from many harms caused by those ambitions and pleasures.

Our lives even have limits. We don’t live forever, and that is a gift from God. Life is a gift meant to be enjoyed to the fullest by following the Torah of God and eventually to be ended, trusting fully in the love of God.

Good news, really?

2010-01-27T09:37:00.000-08:00

In the first chapter of Acts, we see Jesus, resurrected and with his disciples. He then ascends to heaven, the disciples spend time in prayer, and they gather together (about 120 of them) to chose a suitable replacement for Judas as one of the 12 apostles/overseers. Needing to be one who was with Jesus from the time of his baptism, they pick two folks, cast lots, and Matthias is chosen to take Judas' place as one of the twelve.

Notice who the twelve apostles/overseers were. Eleven of them abandoned Jesus, and one denied him. Jesus still loved and chose them to lead his church and spread the good news of God's kingdom.

We don't have to be perfect. We're never going to be. All too often, I hear people say "I'm not perfect, and I never will be," almost as though they're trying to excuse themselves, saying to God, don't judge me for not being perfect...only you are perfect." There seems fear in what is said, as if we're hoping to avoid hell. We know that because we're not perfect, we're destined for hell, but because we believe in Jesus, we get to escape the fires of hell despite our imperfection.

What a bunch of hooey.

God loves us. Jesus loves us. I don't know that we're loved despite our imperfections so much as we are loved with our imperfections. We're loved. Of course we're imperfect, but who cares? God loves us.

That simple fact, to me, is good news. We noticed how quickly the gospel spread in the early days. People heard good news. I doubt the message they heard was, "you are all wicked sinners, damned to eternal torment, but if you believe in Jesus then you can avoid the eternal torment and go to heaven."

That's not good news. For that to be good news, we first have to be convinced of our wretchedness. Who wants to be wretched? God doesn't think we're wretched. God loves us. The good news is that God, our creator, the one who is good and loving, the source of all that is, loves us.

Further, God desires for us to love him, to love each other, and to be with him. The good news is we do get to be with God. We get to be with God here and now in this life, and we get to be with God after our mortal lives are over. We needn't fear death because God is there with us.

The good news is also that God did not simply give us a bunch of rules and facts by which to live while sitting himself upon an ivory tower. God lived as a human being. He knows us. We can trust him because he is one of us. As such, he gave us ways of living that help us live healthier, happier, more fulfilling lives here on earth than we might choose for ourselves.

Love God. Love your neighbor.
Be generous. Help those in need.
Don't worry. Care for one another.

God has given us a great way to live not so that by doing so we might narrowly escape this horrible place called hell. God gave us a great way to live so that living might be great. In case we keep feeling (as we often do) that our shortcomings make us unworthy of God's love or unable to be with God, he even died and was resurrected in order to pay whatever penalty was needed so that we needn't feel or be separated from God by our shortcomings.
God loves us, and we are free to love God in return.

That is the Gospel. That is the good news. That is news we can share with others.

Tiger Woods: Caring for him as a person, not as a brand...

2009-12-14T07:33:00.000-08:00

Read the article about Tiger Woods written by Gaye Jones on her blog. What an eye opener, reminding us of how we are called to repond as Christians, rather than as media hungry consumers.

Bible Study: Micah 6:1-8 - 11-18-2009

2009-11-18T07:18:00.000-08:00

Do justice. Love kindness. Walk humbly with God. These are the three things which God requires of his people according to Micah 6:8. The previous seven verses lead up to verse 8 with questions, memories, and dialogue.

Opening the section, God is declaring his controversy with Israel due to her unfaithfulness to him. He reminds the people of the might he showed in caring for them when they escaped from Egypt, entered Canaan, and when their enemies tried to destroy them (6:4-5). For a fuller explanation of the stories referenced, see:
- Exodus 13:17-15:21
- Numbers 22-24
- Joshua 3

Then, in verses 6-7, there is a dialogue between one asking what must one bring before the Lord, and one answering the question. The question involves traditional offerings of sacrifice according to the religious practices of Israel (e.g. Leviticus 5 - 6), although there is escalation of the examples of offerings to the point of hyperbole and even the abhorrent sacrifice of children. The latter serves as an indictment against the people for the practices of some (2 Kings 21:6), the answer being of course humans shouldn't be sacrificed!

What then does God require, if not sacrifice on an altar? God requires for us to love him and to love each other, i.e. "to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with [God.]" Sacrifice was a part of the religion of ancient Israel, and yet it is claimed here to be unnecessary and even disliked by God. How then was is written as part of the law?

Looking at Deuteronomy 4:13-14 might give us some clues.

"[God] declared to you [the people of Israel] his covenant, which he charged you to observe, that is, the ten commandments; and he wrote them on two stone tablets. And the Lord charged me [Moses] at that time to teach you statures and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy."

The Ten Commandments were the core of the law, the core of the covenant between Israel and God, that they would be his people and he would be their God. Those commandments were non-negotiable and unchanging. They were also summed up by the commands to "do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God."

Perhaps, then, the "statutes and ordinances" comprised the religious practices and societal laws of Israel, which were more transitory. Perhaps the statutes and ordinances were given for the people as a way of governing themselves and practicing their religion at the time when then entered Canaan. They were given to help the people of Israel keep the core way of life, the Ten Commandments. Perhaps those particular practices could have been and even should have been changed when they prove no longer to be effective in helping the people of Israel to keep the Ten Commandments, the core way of life.

If so, then animal sacrifice could have been used or allowed by God as a way of remembering God and keeping connection to him, humbling oneself before him, but doing so, over time, proved to be an end in and of itself, not producing the fruits of love, justice, and humility. In short, the religious practices had outlived their usefulness and had become ends in and of themselves, rather than useful tools to help people re-connect with God.

For us then, might we have similar problems today? Might our religious practices become more important than they should so that the practices themselves eclipse God rather than help us reconnect to God. One person noted this morning that for a time, he had left the church partly because he found the church continually to be flawed. "The Church" was supposed to be perfect in his mind. Realizing later that the church was made up of people trying to reconnect to God and each other, he realized that the Church is, of course, flawed, and it always will be. Continuing to gather with the church was still helpful to him, he found, and he found fulfillment in gathering with others in faith. Requiring "the church" to be perfect turns the church into an idol.

This is perhaps a common experience of many who still worship with the Church and of many who no longer do so. The importance we place on the institution can sometimes get in the way of what we truly are, an assembly of people reconnecting to God through Jesus Christ. We gather "at Church" for our own sakes and for the sakes of those with whom we gather.

Those who no longer gather are not separated from Jesus. God does not need our structures or religion in order to reconnect with people. Those who no longer gather together for prayer and worship are, however, missing the support that comes from doing so. Further, those who continue to gather for prayer and worship are missing the support of those who no longer gather.

"Going to church" is not a duty, nor is it "essential for our salvation." It is helpful to us, however, in our mutual support for each other. As the author of Hebrews writes:

"Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another..." (Hebrews 10:23-25a)

Not neglecting to meet together, encouraging one another, is done to provoke one another to love and good deeds. Continuing to worship and pray together is not done so that we might fulfill our duty. Continuing to worship and pray together is done so that we might do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

Bible Study - Micah 5:1-6 - 11-4-2009

2009-11-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful discussion this morning of Micah 5:1-6. This is a passage cited in Matthew 2:6, naming Jesus as the one who fulfilled the prophecy. Note, however, that Jesus did not fulfill the prophecy in the manner expected by the whole passage. Micah writes of one who will be a mighty king over Israel who will be a shepherd for Israel and conquer those who would destroy Israel, specifically the Assyrians. He, with other rulers of Israel will rule the Assyrians with the sword (Micah 5:5b-6).

Verse four and the first half of verse 5, however, states that this great king shall be "the one of peace":

(4)And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth;
(5)and he shall be the one of peace.

Obviously, Jesus did not fulfill the part of the prophecy stating that he would rule the Assyrians with the sword, and many feel he didn't fulfill the part of the prophecy written above. As Christians, we believe what the earliest followers of Jesus believed, that he is the one spoken of in the prophecy and that he has and will be the one of peace. The final consummation of that peace has not yet occurred, but his reign has begun.

Jesus preached and lived peace. He was not a military ruler who conquered other nations. Rather, he gave up his life, offering us grace and forgiveness. By his life, teaching, death, and resurrection, Jesus was and is "the one of peace", teaching his disciples to bless those who curse them and not return evil for evil, offering grace and forgiveness.

As we discussed Micah, we turned to the cycle of violence throughout the Bible and throughout human history. A nation or people (individuals, groups, etc.) is oppressed or conquered by others. A remnant remains. That remnant seeks justice or vengeance upon their former oppressors.

How can we end the cycle of violence? Grace and Forgiveness.

We must break the chains that connect us to the cycles of violence and revenge. We disown our ties to whatever "families" bind us to hatred, violence, and revenge, and we join the family of Jesus Christ. Our true family is the family of Jesus Christ, the family that forgives and blesses when wronged. Our other "families" (national identity, race, culture, social groups, blood families, etc.) may hold on to past hurts or wrongdoings, and when they do, we need to dissolve those ties.

We needn't completely disown these other "families", but we can unbind ourselves from the chains of past hurt or wrongdoing that cling to these families. Perhaps this is part of what Jesus meant when he said:
"one’s foes will be members of one’s own household" (Matthew 10:36). We can renounce the bad parts of our past and our families without renouncing them entirely.

Peace, grace, justice, forgiveness: these are the marks of Jesus' kingship and the way he fulfilled Micah's prophecy as "the one of peace." As a religion, we have strayed far from our king throughout our history, seeking vengeance and killing in his name. We must renounce those parts of our history as well. Jesus told us to forgive, not to kill, and that is a large part of why we follow him as our Lord.

Offer your anger to God and live in peace...

2009-11-04T07:27:00.000-08:00

At clergy conference, on Tuesday, October 27th, we were given a lecture about the Old Testament by one of my seminary professors, Dr. Judy Fentress-Williams. The presentation was given to help us use the Old Testament more in our preaching, and one passage she used in the presentation was Psalm 137.
The Psalm was not used in our Sunday worship until we changed to the RCL, and we can guess it was largely because of the last verse:

"Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!"

The verse is disturbing, to say the least, but read as a part of the Psalm, we see the verse was the end of a lament Psalm in which the people of Israel are lamenting their captivity in Babylon. As they long for deliverance from their captors (and tormentors), the Psalm is a prayer to God for deliverance, and a cry to him of their frustration and anger.

While we don't advocate actually taking such action, dashing babies heads against stones, the idea that we can lift up our anger in prayer is one that we should hold and use. We all get angry when we are wronged, and many of us have thoughts of vengeance. We should not act on those vengeful thoughts or emotions, so what are we to do? Give them to God in prayer. God already knows we're angry, and he already knows our thoughts of vengeance. We will be greatly helped if we offer those thoughts to God, pray them to him, not expecting that he will actually bring about that vengeance, but that God will do what is right with our anger. God can handle it. We cannot.

Add to the above, Peter's remarks in his first letter to "the exiles of the Dispersion". He is writing to a people who are "exiled" from Jerusalem, like the people of Israel centuries earlier, exiled in Babylon. They too were being mistreated, and yet what does Peter tell them to do?

"Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but on the contrary, repay with a blessing." (1 Peter 3:9)

If we put Psalm 137:9 together with 1 Peter 3:9, we find how to live with our anger and frustration over those who wrong us.
Offer our anger to God in prayer, and let him deal with it. Lament, and speak our rage and vengeance with our voices, giving them up as sacrifices to God. By giving up our anger, we are released from it, and God can handle it so our anger does not do harm to the world.

Having been cleansed of our anger, we can then live peaceably with one another, forgiving one another. We can bless those who curse us because we have given our hate to God that he might turn our hearts to love. If we deny our anger, then it will fester in us. If we offer it to God, he will cleanse us of it.

Bible Study - Micah 4:1-5 - 10-14-2009

2009-10-14T07:06:00.000-07:00

There is a sudden shift from Micah 3:12, the destruction of Jerusalem, to Micah 4:1-5, the promise of peace with all nations streaming to Jerusalem so that God "may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." Micah 4:1-3 is paralleled almost exactly in Isaiah 2:2-4, suggesting that it may have been inserted into Micah's prophecy. Whether original or not, however, the passage fits with the idea of restoration in the following section (4:6-13) and paints a beautiful image of what the world will be when all nations and peoples do decide to follow God and to walk in his ways. There will be peace; swords will be turned into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks.

Notice that while there is still war, this prophecy is partially fulfilled. Through Jesus' life, teaching, death, and resurrection, many people's and nations have sought after God in order to walk in his ways. In verse 5 we do still see a separation between God's people and the rest of the people, but that does not negate the peace that is promised. Rather because of the peace that is promised, God's people pledge that they will continue to follow him, even though other nations do not.

Looking again (and finally) at verse 2, we read of the many peoples and nations deciding to go to "the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." The idea of following in God's ways and paths points to "obeying God's law". While obeying God's law may sound somewhat oppressive (especially to modern and post-modern Christians), we find a different understanding of obeying God's law in scripture.

Read Psalm 19. Especially looking at verses 7-10, the psalmist says God's law revives the soul, rejoices the heart, and is more to be desired than gold. That does not sound oppressive. According to the psalmist, obeying God's law sounds rather wonderful. What then about God's law does revive the soul, rejoice the heart, etc.?

Think of the 10 Commandments. Are they oppressive? Love God. Rest and do no work on Saturday. Don't murder one another. Don't committ adultery. Don't steal...  Consider the commands of God to take care of the poor among us. Love God and love your neighbor, Jesus said. If only everyone lived by those commandments, we'd have a pretty darn good world in which to live. Our challenge is that God's laws seem oppressive when they get in the way of things we want. Our personal desires get in the way and so we follow our own desires rather than obeying God's commandments (i.e. following God's way).

We truly are like little children, with God as our loving parent. I think of Noah, my 19 month old son not wanting to go to bed at night. He'd stay up as late as he possibly could because he wants to be with Kristin and me and he wants to play. He doesn't know that doing so would make him tired and miserable. We keep his bedtime even though he doesn't like it because we know he will be (and is) happier and healthier for it. If he followed his own way, he'd be miserable and tired. Following the "law" of his parents, is a better path for him to follow.

In much the same way, obeying the laws of God leads us down a better path than if we all followed our own ways. Notice again the language of Micah 4:2, "that [God] may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." While obeying God's laws is what is meant, the image of following God is rather beautiful. God gives us a safe path to follow. When we don't follow God's path, we end up stuck in a forest. God's laws, his "way" is given for our benefit, an easier, richer, fuller life than we'd have by not following God's way.

Following God's ways and walking in his paths are acts of faith. We must have faith that God's ways are better than our ways, faith that God really will uphold us, faith that God is good and just and has our best interests in mind when teaching us his ways. Following God's ways does not mean there will never be problems in our lives. Children who get lots of sleep still have tantrums, but they are happier over all than those who don't get enough sleep. Our lives may not be free from all problems if we have faith in God and follow in his ways, but they will be better over all if we do.

The law of the Lord is perfect,
   reviving the soul;
the decrees of the Lord are sure,
   making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
   rejoicing the heart;
the commandments of the Lord are clear,
   enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is pure,
   enduring forever;
the ordinances of the Lord are true
   and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
   even much fine fold;
sweeter also than honey,
   and drippings of the honeycomb.
                                          - Psalm 19:7-10

Bible Study - Micah 3:5-12 - 10-7-2009

2009-10-07T09:25:00.000-07:00

In Micah 3:5-12, the prophet continues his indictment against the leaders of Israel, specifically against the corrupt prophets of Israel who gave prophecies of blessing to those who paid well and prophecies of doom to those who could not pay. Additionally, the leaders gave judgment for a bribe and the priests taught only for money. Again, we find Micah preaching against injustice, corruption, wicked rulers oppressing the poor, etc.

In our discussion this morning, we turned first to the news media and press, noting that with President Obama's trip to Copenhagen to support Chicago's bid for the Olympics, we heard a lot of talk about whether or not this was a good political strategy for him, but we didn't hear much talk about whether or not it was a good thing to do. The reporting seemed to be about political posturing and folks angling situations for their own good. We felt this reporting was lacking and that it somehow echoed the problems Micah was addressing.

Corruption of leaders has been with us for a long time: in Micah's time, in Jesus' time, right now, and every time in between. Looking with some charity, we noted that many corrupt leaders might at least be starting from a place of good. By wanting to serve, by wanting to make positive changes in the world, leaders may end up doing bad things in order to try to bring about positive change.

In the media, reporters are faced with the reality of needing to keep ratings high in order to keep their newspapers / shows in business. In trying to do a good thing, continue to report the news, they feel they must make it entertaining to compete with other media. In the effort to continue to be able to report the news, some sacrifices may be made to quality, balance, fairness, etc. In short, bad things are done in order to bring about a good result.

This happens in politics, media, religion, and really in leadership of any kind. Think of politicians being influenced by special interest groups and lobbyists. Most are likely trying to do the right thing, but efforts to do so are often corrupted by money and by the feeling of self-importance. A politician may feel he needs to stay in office lest someone else lead in the wrong way. We see this in party politics, where keeping the opposing party out of office (out of a genuine feeling that the opposing party is wrong), leads to corruption. The feeling of self-importance, out of desire to do good, can lead to all of what Micah condemned.

Perhaps some of the leaders of Israel fell into similar traps. As the saying goes, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

In addressing the unjust leaders of our times, we would do well to pray for them as Jesus taught, praying for our enemies, blessing those who curse us. We would do well to pray that our leaders will resist the temptation to do the wrong thing for the right reasons. We would do well to pray that our leaders might risk failure rather than give into temptation.

Remember what is revealed about God through Micah's prophecies. God is just. God is merciful. God will punish injustice and cruelty. God wants us to treat each other well and to "rule" one another with kindness, with justice, with fairness, and with mercy.

Can we change the ways of corruption? Can we prevent people from making bad decisions out of desires to do good? On a large scale, we very likely cannot. In individual's lives, we likely can.

To this last end, I was reminded of one of our parishioners who has spoken many times with me about his problems with college football. I love college football, so his criticisms were hard for me to hear, but he had many good points regarding how much money goes to football, the lower academic standards to which football players are often held, and what those things says about the skewed values of many colleges. This parishioner encouraged me, if I ever gave money to my alma matter, to include a letter addressing my problems with such practices, and to insist that the money only go to academics.

I raise this story as an example of how one man is trying to work against corruption. In my estimation, he is fighting a losing battle, if not a lost battle. The point is not, however, whether or not he will succeed in his efforts to bring about change. He is continuing to fight the battle, and he is doing so in very positive way. Rather than shouting his complaints from the proverbial hilltops, he is trying to influence individuals. He has seen a problem in the world, and he is seeking to correct it. He is being true to himself. He is being true to his beliefs. He is seeking to influence others, one person at a time. He is doing what he can and leaving the rest up to God.

We will not be able to change the whole world. Indeed, the whole world is not any of ours to change. It is God's world to change. While we are called to right wrongs where we see them, we must recognize our limitations in bringing about change and let go of any anxiety or despair that we cannot do more.

Ultimately, God will redeem the world. He has already begun to do so in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When Christ comes back, all will be made right. Our hope in changing the world rests in that conviction, not in the power of our own hands. We are called to do the right thing, even if it means risking failure, rather than go down the path toward corruption. The rest, we leave to God.

Bible Study (9-30-2009) - Micah 3:1-4

2009-09-30T07:45:00.000-07:00

These four verses are part of Micah's rebuke of Judah's leaders, their injustice, cruelty, and monstrous behavior. Verses 2-3 could be largely metaphor (tearing flesh off bones), and these verses could also be pointing to some of the cult practices* under King Ahaz of Judah (2 Kings 16:1-4). In any case, Micah promises that God's judgment will come upon those wicked rulers; "they will cry to the Lord, [and] he will not answer them."

* As an interesting side note, some of the cult practices of Ahaz may have been sacrificing humans to the god Molech (2 Kings 23:10). This was done in the valley of Hennom, just outside Jerusalem In Hebrew the valley of Hennom, "Ge-Hennom" is the name from which "Gehanna" comes, translated as "hell" in the NRSV (Mark 9:42-28).

Our discussion began with wondering how people could do such horrible things to each other as described in Micah 3:3. We remembered then, how often such atrocities still occur (the Holocaust, the Spanish Inquisition, genocides in the Sudan, Cambodia, etc.). We further thought about practices by some in authority which may metaphorically strip the flesh off people's bones (unjust laws, oppressive governments, even individuals who will lie, cheat, and steal to get their way).

What are we to do in the face of such atrocities?

Here are some of the thoughts we had:

Atrocities have gone on a long time; it is helpful to remember that we are not alone. The Lord is with us.
Perhaps we, like the prophets, should stand up and speak to leaders/people to do the right thing.
We shouldn't do evil to prevent evil.
How can we declare others as sinful until we have first become perfect?
God will take care of things - leave the justice and punishment to God.

There is never satisfaction from doing evil or from taking advantage of others. Doing so only results in more hunger. People who do evil and injustice are starving to death, continually seeking more of that which cannot satisfy. They need Jesus, the living bread (John 6:48-51).

Regarding the ideas that we cannot judge until we become perfect ourselves (Matthew 7:1-5) and that God will judge and punish the wicked and evil-doer, we wondered if we still have a part to play in speaking out against evil and injustice. We do. Our challenge in not judging others is not that we should not speak out against evil and injustice, but that we should not (mistakenly) make ourselves righteous in doing so.

2 Timothy 2:22-25 tells us how we are to give correction and speak against things such as evil and injustice. Rather than speak with vehemence and venom (even if we are correct), we are to correct one another with gentleness and patience. By doing so, we might be able to see the other person more clearly and allow God's grace to work in the other and in us. By attacking with the vim and vigor of our passions, on the other hand, we will likely only cause a fire to spread (James 3:1-10).

Micah gave scathing rebuke to the leaders of Judah, and God gave him those words of judgment to speak. Speaking out like Micah may feel good to us, but it may not be helpful. We should speak out against evil and injustice, but we must take care when we do lest our words cause more harm than good. We must also remember to lay aside some of our passion when we speak, thereby removing the log from our eyes so that we can see clearly. Even the most terrible sinners are themselves hurt and broken children of God, in need of Jesus, the living bread, rather than their wicked deeds which only leave them with greater hunger. We must do what we can to stop evil and injustice without doing evil ourselves. The rest, we must leave to God. He will bring about justice and righteous judgment to all.

Bible Study - Micah 2:8-13 - 9-23-2009

2009-09-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

In today's study of Micah 2:8-13, we found Micah continuing his indictment of the people of Israel. In the previous section, Micah had denounced the social evils and injustices done, and this leads Micah to discuss some of the effects of those injustices.
The women were driven out of the homes, and God's glory was taken away from the young children. (2:9)
The people still don't want to hear his message, and he tells them the kind of preaching to which they would listen - "I will preach to you of wine and strong drink" (2:11)
Chapter 2 ends with a promise of God's restoration of the people, that God will lead them like a shepherd (2:12-13)

Our discussion began with a question: "What are some of the false prophets of today?" Some answers given were: Television stations and programming, beer commercials, music, movies. People often hear the messages given by these avenues, and they take the messages or stories as good ways to live.
Younger impressionable people, especially, may see the stories and images of TV, movies, commercials, etc., and take those messages as good ways to live or believe those presentations are the way the world is.

We began to lament such messages and call them out as unacceptable. Looking back at Micah, however, we found a different message. While some of the messages in this media may be saying, "I will preach to you of wine and strong drink," Micah was not preaching against those messages, but against the people for accepting and living by such messages. Micah found such messages to be "empty falsehoods", but his real problem was with the people for accepting such empty falsehoods as truth.

Then, Micah reminds the people that God will return to them and restore them. Micah reminds the people of God's goodness, that God will be their shepherd. Micah's indictments were made not merely to chastise, but to call people back to the goodness of God. The empty falsehoods which the people have accepted as truth will not satisfy the people. God is what they truly want and need.

We looked back at Deuteronomy to take a look at who God is. In Deuteronomy 24:6-22 we hear primarily about God's care for justice and mercy. Much of the law which had been given to the people of Israel was concerned with the proper practice of their religion, keeping ceremonially clean, etc. In Deut. 24, however,
God commands the people to be fair, just, and merciful to the poor, the traveler, the widow, and the orphan.
We then saw in Deuteronomy 28:15-68, a list of curses to the people if they did not obey God and his commandments - this is what the people were living out when Micah preached. Further, we saw in Deuteronomy 30:1-10 God's promise to restore his blessing to the people of Israel after their punishment - this is what we saw promised again in Micah 2:12-13.

From this, we gain a picture of what God is like. He has great concern with how we treat one another. He wants us to treat each other well, not to take advantage, but to care for the poor and the downtrodden. God loves us and wants us to love each other, to look out for each other.

This is largely summed up in Deuteronomy 10:12-22 which basically says love God, love each other. In Deut.10:13, God tells the Israelites that he has given them the law and commandments "for [their] own well-being." Like a parent caring for a child, God gave laws and rules so that his people would have a better way of life than they would find on their own.

God knows that the deepest desire of our hearts is to love and be loved by him. God knows that our lives will be better if we treat each other well than if we don't. So, God gave rules and commandments which constantly oriented the people towards remembering and loving God and treating each other well.

Looking back then at Micah's message and our lives, we turn again to some of the false prophets we mentioned: TV, commercials, etc. Perhaps we need not vilify them for uttering empty falsehoods, but hold ourselves accountable for accepting those messages as truth, and forgetting that there is something more, something better for which we are longing, God and his love.

If we try to turn people against the media, we will likely receive resistance. If we fight someone that person will fight back. If we show someone a light, on the other hand, that person will likely walk toward the light. Rather than rail against the media and tell people the messages they hear are evil, we would follow Micah's example, pointing people toward the goodness of God.

There is, after all, much in the media's messages that is good. Even in beer commercials, we see people enjoying their time with one another. That is a good thing. Getting drunk in order to enjoy time together is simply not the best way to go about enjoying time together. It is a quick and easy way to tear down our barriers, but it comes with some negative consequences as well. Taking the time to break down our social barriers and enjoy each others' company without getting drunk can be more difficult, but it brings greater rewards...deeper connection, more mindful interaction, fewer negative consequences.

Rather than denounce the world as evil, we are called to point people to the goodness of God. Rather than condemn and fight against many of the messages we receive from "secular society," we are called to acknowledge the good in the world, to see the good those messages, and then point people to something even better, God and his love for us.

Turning finally to 1 Peter 1:22 - 2:3, we are reminded to love each other deeply. We are told to put away anger, jealousy, and slander, and "long for the pure spiritual milk...[if we] have tasted that the Lord is good." Again, our focus need not be anger over the messages we hear in the world. We need not be jealous that many listen to those messages, and we don't need to slander those messages. Rather, we are to long for God, the pure spiritual milk that truly feeds our souls. We are to love each other deeply, and we are to offer this pure spiritual milk to others as the something better for which they are truly longing.

There is good even in the false messages we hear in the media. There is something better in God and his love for us.

Is Disrespect Now Praised in Our Society?

2009-09-14T10:38:00.001-07:00

What follows is a letter I wrote to National Public Radio regarding a story they aired on on September 11, 2009. The story was called "The Economics of Misbehaving in School." You can hear the story at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112739889&ft=1&f=94427042

Dear NPR & the Planet Money Team.

I was both shocked and in no way surprised when, during the Plant Money story, “The Economics of Misbehaving in School”, I heard a student being praised as “efficient” for being disrespectful to his school principal. He interrupted her presentation, asking when it would be over, and we, the listening audience, were told that from an economist’s point of view, his behavior was golden. He “efficiently” told the other students that he was “brave” and a “risk taker”.

I wonder why Senator Wilson was not given such praise for his “You lie!” comment to president Obama. Rather than being disrespectful, was he not merely telling folks efficiently where he stood on the issue of health care and his trust of the president? Planet Money should applaud him for his brave, risk-taking efficiency. Perhaps he should be given an apology by NPR for any negative comments made about his outburst. After all, he was practicing golden economics, or at least he would have been if people cared as little about his disrespect as you did about the young high school student’s.

How in the world can we demand respect from adults when disrespect is praised in our youth? If we praise a youth for successfully applying a wholly selfish cost/benefit analysis to his actions, how can we expect CEOs of major financial institutions to care about the millions of people adversely affected by their “brave risk taking”: cost to the CEOs, possible loss of job and infamy…benefit, millions of dollars. The cost to everyone else doesn’t even come up in your analysis. By Planet Money’s standards, they were practicing “golden economics” by running the financial system into the ground.

Your story was disturbing because it praised selfishness and disrespect, and recast those traits as admirable economic practice. Good luck living in a society in which selfishness and total disregard for others is praised rather than vilified. When the next financial crisis or senatorial outburst strikes, I hope you will have the integrity to praise those responsible as you praised this young man, or maybe you will rethink what you value and the lessons you chose to teach by the stories you run.

Sincerely,

Brad Sullivan

Letting go of anger...

2009-03-18T07:33:00.000-07:00

As I listen to the news during the day, I find my anger at various companies, institutions, and people continually coming to the surface. There is, after all, a lot about which to be angry. The trouble is, such anger has never proved helpful for me.
Even when such anger is justified, being angry or seeking retribution will not reverse history, nor will it help bring about a change to the problem which caused my anger. Problems in our world will continue. People (including me) will continue to make decisions with which we disagree. People will continue being hurtful (intentionally or unintentionally). None of us know what will be the outcome of this life, nor of those who cause people harm (including ourselves).
Growing angry over harm in this world and then acting or speaking out of that anger will only add more hurt to the world. The only helpful course is to look with charity upon those who have caused hurt, those who have to make difficult decisions, and upon those who are most immediately affected by those harmful acts or difficult decisions, to let go of our anger and fear, and to seek peace within ourselves before we seek to understand those around us. Only when we are at peace and looking on others with charity are we able to provide constructive responses to our world.

Faith Without Works?

2009-03-04T08:05:00.000-08:00

I’ve been reading James lately for a couple of Bible studies I’m leading, and I’ve been thinking a lot about what he says in his letter, “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:17) Non-Christians realize this truth when they see some Christians saying one thing and doing another. Christians are often thought of as hypocrites for this very reason. Perhaps more sinister, however, is the problem we run into when we have faith, pray on Sunday or at certain times of the day, but then spend most of our days unconscious of our faith. We have faith, but we may lack an ever-present awareness of our faith so that our faith does not influence our daily actions. I think James’ words again hold true, that faith which doesn’t influence our daily actions and decisions is also a dead faith. Consider the life of your faith. Is your faith alive and well, or is it possibly on life support? Does your faith influence your life at school, at home, with your friends? If not, then be bold with your faith. Get it off life support and allow it to breathe life into you. Live your faith in action, hour by hour, minute by minute. Seek guidance from Jesus, and let his love show through you.

Situational Atheism

2008-05-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

If the dead are not raised,‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’ Do not be deceived:‘Bad company ruins good morals.’ Come to a sober and right mind, and sin no more; for some people have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

1 Corinthians 15:33-34

For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was passed on to them.

2 Peter 2:20-21

The deepest longing of our souls is communion with God, and what a joy we have in being able to draw so near to God through Jesus Christ! We get to be at one with our creator, with love and life itself. As if this weren't enough, God has even given us rules by which to live so that we can be at peace and harmony with ourselves and with one another.

How sad, then when we (including me) turn against the way of life he has given us. When we turn against God's commands and way of life, we turn our backs to God, acting as though or pretending as though God doesn't exist. By purposefully forgetting the way of life God has given us, we deny the existence of God, and we deny ourselves of the deepest longing of our souls.

Sometimes we don't know without hindsight that our actions went against God's will, and sometimes we are unsure what God's will truly is. In these cases we pray to God and do our best, but in times when we know God's will and actively turn against it, we become situationally atheistic.

God has a better way of life than we can often imagine on our own, and denying that way is to deny God, the source of all life and love, the deepest longing of our souls. Pray that we (and I) will seek and follow God's will for our lives so that we may truly love and draw near to God.

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

John 14:15

Healing the Conflict Within

2008-04-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

Be still, and know that I am God!

Psalm 46:10

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

John 14:27

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.

John 15:9

Last Sunday morning, we held an adult class on Relationships, and one topic that was mentioned was the need to be at peace with yourself in order to have healthy relationships. We need to love and value ourselves, otherwise we will end up depending on others in order to be loved and valued. This puts undue and often unknown expectations on others, and we end up being angry with them for not making us feel loved enough. When we are at peace with ourselves, then we can find peace in our relationships with others. We can know and enjoy others for who they are, rather than for the affirmation they give us. In continuing this idea, I turn to Thich Nhat Hanh, author of Living Buddha, Living Christ, in which he writes:

Mindfulness and the Holy Spirit
The Seed of the Holy Spirit
…In Buddhism, our effort is to practice mindfulness in each moment – to know what is going on within and all around us. When the Buddha was asked, “Sir, what do you and your monks practice?” he replied, “We sit, we walk, and we eat.” The questioner continued, “But sir, everyone sits, walks, and eats,” and the Buddha told him, “When we sit, we know we are sitting. When we walk, we know we are walking. When we eat, we know we are eating.” Most of the time, we are lost in the past or carried away by future projects and concerns. When we are mindful, touching deeply the present moment, we can see and listen deeply, and the fruits are always understand, acceptance, love, and the desire to relieve suffering and bring joy…

Making Peace
…There are many conflicting feelings and ideas within us, and it is important for us to look deeply and know what is going on. When there are wars within us, it will not be long before we are at war with others, even those we love…If we go back to ourselves and touch our feelings, we will see the ways that we furnish fuel for the wars going on inside…With the energy of mindfulness, we can calm things down, understand them, and bring harmony back to the conflicting elements inside us…

Thich Nhat Hanh

Living Buddha, Living Christ - p. 14-15, 19

Share the light: What is the hope that is within you?

2008-04-29T15:10:00.001-07:00

Brad Sullivan
Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year A
Sunday, 27th, 2008
Emmanuel, Houston
Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 66:7-18
1 Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21

“To an unknown god,” was the inscription on an altar which Paul found in Athens, and that inscription goes a long way to describing the human condition. As human beings, we seem to have a need to connect with God. Whether God is believed to be known or unknown, near or far, loving or angry, people seem to have an innate need to search for and connect to God. Religion, having some kind of religion is shared in almost every culture and society, worldwide. There are atheists out there, folks who don’t believe in a god for one reason or another, but by and large, humanity seems hardwired to quest after knowledge of God. Paul even said as much in his address to the Athenians:
From one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him – though indeed he is not far from each one of us.
Paul understood that God gave us all a desire for him. Paul understood that God gave us all a purpose, that we would search for him and perhaps grope for him and find him. Paul further understood something of who God is. Paul understood that God, whom the Athenians worshipped as unknown, is not an unknown, faraway deity, but God is near to each of us. We are in fact God’s offspring. We are known and loved by God who desires for us to know and love him.
This is one of the great joys of Christianity. God is not unknown. We do not follow blindly an unknown god, but we follow the light of Christ to God who has made himself known to us through Christ. What many proclaim as unknown, we can proclaim as known.
Peter invites us to proclaim God as known in his letter when he writes, “always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15) We have been charged with proclaiming as known the God and Father of Jesus Christ who knows and loves each of us.

I would add a word of caution, however, as to the manner in which we make such proclamations. By proclaiming knowledge of God, we can rather easily sound presumptuous or even become presumptuous. “I have knowledge of God which I am now going to impart to you, little one.” I’ve experienced this kind of well-intentioned yet off-putting sharing of the light several times.
Once in college, several guys from one of the campus ministries at U.T. saw me walking to my dorm and asked if they could talk to me about the Bible sometime. I said, “sure,” figuring we’d have some Bible study, and I looked forward to talking with some other Christians about our faith. When they arrived at my dorm a few days later, however, we spoke together only briefly before they began telling me that they would teach me the truth about the faith. My 18 years as a Christian meant nothing. We had nothing to share. They were going to teach me the knowledge of God that I had been somehow missing. I didn’t continue meeting with them.
My senior year in college I went on a mission trip to help build a school and a home for the teacher of the school. Midway through the trip was our day for evangelism. I was nervous, but kind of excited as well, until we began. We went door to door in a small impoverished neighborhood to talk to people about Jesus, but we weren’t actually evangelizing. We weren’t sharing any good news.
I became fed up at one house when we met a woman was searching for God in many ways including voodoo. She had heard of Jesus and figured if he could help her out, then great, but she didn’t believe in him or in the Gospel (don’t know if she’d ever heard it). So, one of our group asked her, if she were to die today, would she have any reason for God to let her into his heaven. She didn’t know, we prayed for her to accept Jesus and we left.
At no point in that visit, did we actually share the Gospel with this woman. At no point did help make known to her the unknown god for whom she was groping. Threats of hell and telling people they are wrong for their beliefs and we Christians are right don’t generally share the light of the knowledge of God through Jesus Christ. I remember talking to a Hindu classmate of mine in high school about religion and basically telling her she was wrong for worshipping multiple gods and that there was only one true God. Boy did I mess up. I think she wanted to have an actual conversation about our two faiths, and all I probably did was let her know, Brad is a jerk and so might other Christians be.
Peter tells us, on the other hand, to share the light, to make an accounting for the hope that is in us, but to do so “with gentleness and reverence.” An example of sharing the light with gentleness and reverence comes from Vincent Donovan, a Roman Catholic priest who, back in the 60s and 70s, was a missionary to the Masai tribes in East Africa. The Masai believed in tribal gods, and Fr. Donovan was telling them about the the God of the Gospel, the “High God,” who loves all the tribes. At one point he was asked, “Has your tribe found the High God? Have you known him?”
He “was about to give a glib answer” when he thought of all the fighting among Christians, the wars we fought and still fight in God’s name. He said,
No, we have not found the High God. My tribe has not known him. For us too, he is the unknown God. But we are searching for him. I have come a long, long distance to invite you to search for him with us. Let us search for him together. Maybe, together, we will find him. (Christianity Rediscovered, p. 46)
The tribe was converted to Christianity.
Fr. Donovan’s answer may seem problematic because he said God is unknown. Paul said God is known. Well, Fr. Donovan was not saying we have no knowledge of God. Rather, he was admitting to what Paul himself says about our knowledge of God. “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12) Fr. Donovan was not claiming absolute knowledge of God which he would impart to the poor little Masai. Rather, he was journeying with them in their search for God as he told them about the Gospel. He shared the light with them rather than forcing open their eyes and blinding them with the light. He shared with them the good news of God who has made himself known to us through Jesus Christ so that in groping for God, we may find him. He shared with them the good news of God who loves all people and who is not far from each one of us. He shared the light.
Sharing the light is what we’ve been asked to do as well. We’ve been asked individually to share the light. Pastor Janie has also been using that term, “share the light” in reference to getting the word out about Emmanuel to people in the area around us. We’ve been hoping to get a “Share the Light” team together to work on publications which can be given to people, to homes, and to the many apartments around us. For lack of a better term, we’ve been trying to get some marketing done for Emmanuel, but so far, we don’t have people with marketing expertise to help in this area, or I should say, no one has stepped forward who has such expertise. So, if any of you have this ability and are willing to devote some of your talent to Emmanuel, please let us know. Talk to Pastor Janie, a vestry member, or me so we can begin letting the people around us know who we are, so we can share the light.
The other way we’ve been asked to share the light, again, is by being able “to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15) So, to this end, please take out the blue insert in your bulletins. What I’d like each of you to do this week, or even today, is to take this with you and write down what is the hope that is in you.
Maybe the answer seems obvious, maybe it doesn’t, but take some time to think about what your hope truly is. Why do you come to church? Why do you have faith? You might say church just feels right, or it just feels good. I’m sorry to say, so does a cup of coffee in the morning. While church may just feel right or just feel good for a lot of us, but we need to be able to articulate what our hope is a little bit better than that. So sit with the question for a while. What is the hope that is in you? Wrestle with the question, pray about it, and write down and be able to articulate what your hope truly is. How is the Gospel good news in your life?
Then when someone asks, or it comes up in conversation, you’ll be able to tell people why you believe and what you believe with gentleness and reverence, and maybe even joy. If you are able to articulate what is the hope that is in you, then you will be able to share the light with others. Further, once you truly find out what is the hope that is in you, you might find a desire to share it with others. So, take the time to examine your faith and your hope, because folks all around us are groping for God. Many of them are groping for an unknown God, and although we can now only see in a mirror, dimly, we can still share the light of the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. Amen.

Self-amputation from the Body of Christ

2007-11-19T10:21:00.000-08:00

1-19-2007

Last week, I officiated at a funeral for a man who was married here at Emmanuel 8 years ago, but who had not been attending Emmanuel for at least 5 years. He and his wife had (and have) a deep faith which was very important to them, and yet they were not a part of a Christian community. When I spoke with the man’s widow about her husband’s funeral, she sounded like she was in an emotional free fall, having little family support of her faith (even outright ridicule), and not knowing what to do to have a funeral for her husband.
The realization occurred to me that this couple had separated themselves from the Body of Christ and had suffered greatly because of it. She did not have support from a love community of Christians who shared her faith and supported her in it. For years, she had not had the benefits of being a part of a community of believers like her. I felt very sad for her and have begun and will continue to follow up with her. She is moving soon, but I pray and will encourage her to become an active part of a Christian community wherever she ends up going.
Remaining a part of a Christian community (a healthy one, at that) is vital to our lives. When we remove ourselves from a Christian community, from the Body of Christ, part of us dies, just as surely as a finger will die if it is removed from a person’s body. Sometimes it seems we do not die when we remove ourselves from the Body of Christ, but at the least, we remain frozen, waiting to be re-attached. We need one another. Our spirits, our souls, our lives need to be a part of a community of faith, an active part of the Body of Christ to share with others who believe as we do the joys and the pains of life, and to be sent in mission to the world, to share with others the joys and pains of the Gospel and to share our ultimate joy, unity with God through Jesus Christ.

A long period of doubt, supported by others' faith

2007-10-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

I have recently come out of a long period of deep doubt. Over the summer months and through September, I had been doubting everything about my faith, even the existence or goodness of God. There was nothing catastrophic that caused this season of doubt, I simply began questioning. Accepting the Christian faith seemed foolish, and no matter how close I was able to come to faith via reason, the leap of faith, the decision to believe, seemed far too wide. I was simply unable to make the leap of faith in believing in God or Jesus Christ.
I struggled with this, still praying to God and reading the Bible, all the while wondering if God even existed when I suddenly had a desire to watch the DVDs of one of my favorite TV shows, Firefly. During one of the episodes, one of the characters says, “You don’t fix faith. It fixes you.” This was a starting point in helping me feel comfortable with faith again, and I began the journey back to having faith.
Through this journey, I found my faith had changed in a wonderful way. As I was leading worship one Sunday morning several weeks ago, I began leading the congregation in the Nicene Creed (the Church’s basic statement of our faith) and thinking to myself, “I’m not sure I believe all of this.”
Then I realized I didn’t have to believe every word of the Creed, because the rest of the church was there to believe it for me. The Church’s faith in Jesus is the faith of the whole Church, not just of any one individual. Individuals within the Church will always have doubts, always wonder if they believe everything in the Christian faith, but the Church still has faith and supports those who doubt by keeping that faith.
So, if you have doubts, if you question or wonder about the faith, you’re in good company. As Christians, we needn’t each believe every aspect of the Christian faith at all times in order to remain as Christians. We have each other to believe for us when we are unable to believe. We can depend on each other to continue to have faith when any one of us is in doubt. Others will believe when you or I can’t, as will we at some point believe when others have doubt.