Isaiah 58:1-12
Here we are at Lent again. And this year I have to say that while I knew I needed it, I wasn't in a hurry to get started on the Fast. I even admitted to a congregation where I was preaching that I was eating everything that wasn't nailed down in advance of the Lenten fast. Somehow, I think that probably was not the best physical or spiritual decision. But my own lack of moderation does bring me to this Lenten season with the useful reminder that I need to fast to get me off of the treadmill of self-destructiveness.
The truth is that I had been eating everything that wasn't nailed down for months. The approach of Ash Wednesday didn't really change my eating habits; it simply made me aware of them. Even before the beginning of my Lenten fast, the self-evaluation that Lent brings was already at work to help me see how out of control I was. Thank God!
What I am praying for, then, in this season is that the analysis will go deeper than the issue of what I eat or don't eat. I am praying that just as the Lenten fast has already broken the chains of overeating, especially desserts, that it will also reveal and break other habits and attitudes that keep me from the best that God has for my life and for my relationships in community.
This is the point of the text from Isaiah in which God makes clear to self-indulgent people that abstinence from certain foods and other comforts is not a real fast, or at least not the fast that pleases God. The real fast happens when our awareness goes deeper and our behavior changes. If we fast but do not see, then what kind of fast are we really on? If we fast while we quarrel, then who does the fast really bless? Our choice to go without is not important if it is not accompanied by a will to make sure that everyone has what she/he needs. Our willingness to starve ourselves for a day or even forty means little when we are inattentive to the people who are starved daily because greed and injustice.
I am praying that this Lenten fast develops into a real fast that heeds the call to get right with God, our neighbors, and ourselves. Thank God!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sunday, December 7, 2008
What Kind of People?
Isaiah 40:1-11
Mark 1:1-8
2 Peter 3
Advent 2
Bad news about our economy abounds these days. Once-in-a-generation unemployment rates, one-half million jobs lost in November alone, the big three US automakers in the death throes, record-high mortgage foreclosures, consumer confidence in the dumps, along with myriad other statistics and projections leave us wondering how bad it's going to be and how long we and it can last. At the heart of the volatility in the markets is a crisis in confidence, an awareness of our fundamental uncertainty as to where and when this downturn will end. Looking into such a scary future, we might even wonder whether it will end.
The three lectionary texts for the second Sunday in Advent have in common their assurance that everything eventually comes to an end. Isaiah emphasizes the promise of God that trouble doesn't last always. No matter how intense the trauma or hopeless the prospects, God's infinite lovingkindness insures that those who wait on the Lord have a good ending. Mark's gospel presents the preamble to the whole Gospel's message in that John the Baptizer's presence in the wilderness represented the end of a very long wait for God's people.
But it is the message of 2nd Peter that gets to the heart of the issue for us. After reminding the impatient and fainting believers that God will make good on the divine promise, the author then turns the spotlight on the community of faith: Since we know all of this, what kind of people ought we to be? In other words, since everything, including the world, will end, what do we want to be doing when the end comes?
Beloved, the church has something to offer that our culture at this moment sorely tneeds: a holy perspective. Even when we would want to forget, the message returns to us and like the prophet cries, "All flesh is grass." But the fact that everything on earth is in transition from its seed to flower then back to dust doesn't leave us hopeless; it points us to a more stable foundation. Our own frailty reminds us to seek a God who is neither frail nor fallible and whose word will stand. Grass withers, flowers fall, markets crash, people die, but the Word of our God stands forever. That's good news that we should share.
Sing, "Hold to God's Unchanging Hand"
Mark 1:1-8
2 Peter 3
Advent 2
Bad news about our economy abounds these days. Once-in-a-generation unemployment rates, one-half million jobs lost in November alone, the big three US automakers in the death throes, record-high mortgage foreclosures, consumer confidence in the dumps, along with myriad other statistics and projections leave us wondering how bad it's going to be and how long we and it can last. At the heart of the volatility in the markets is a crisis in confidence, an awareness of our fundamental uncertainty as to where and when this downturn will end. Looking into such a scary future, we might even wonder whether it will end.
The three lectionary texts for the second Sunday in Advent have in common their assurance that everything eventually comes to an end. Isaiah emphasizes the promise of God that trouble doesn't last always. No matter how intense the trauma or hopeless the prospects, God's infinite lovingkindness insures that those who wait on the Lord have a good ending. Mark's gospel presents the preamble to the whole Gospel's message in that John the Baptizer's presence in the wilderness represented the end of a very long wait for God's people.
But it is the message of 2nd Peter that gets to the heart of the issue for us. After reminding the impatient and fainting believers that God will make good on the divine promise, the author then turns the spotlight on the community of faith: Since we know all of this, what kind of people ought we to be? In other words, since everything, including the world, will end, what do we want to be doing when the end comes?
Beloved, the church has something to offer that our culture at this moment sorely tneeds: a holy perspective. Even when we would want to forget, the message returns to us and like the prophet cries, "All flesh is grass." But the fact that everything on earth is in transition from its seed to flower then back to dust doesn't leave us hopeless; it points us to a more stable foundation. Our own frailty reminds us to seek a God who is neither frail nor fallible and whose word will stand. Grass withers, flowers fall, markets crash, people die, but the Word of our God stands forever. That's good news that we should share.
Sing, "Hold to God's Unchanging Hand"
Thursday, December 4, 2008
I Sing this Song for You
Psalm 18
One of my favorite films is "Family Man," in which Nicholas Cage plays a high powered Wall Street executive who awakes on Christmas morning to find himself in an alternative life, experiencing what would have happened if he had married his college sweetheart. The rest of the movie is about how Cage comes to value what money cannot buy. One of the turning points comes when he watches a video of himself singing the Delfonics' "La La Means I Love You" to his wife on her birthday. Although his voice would win no vocal awards, the poignancy of the moment derives from his soulful expression of love through the medium of song. There are few things more precious than having a loved one sing to another.
The Psalms, as you are well aware, represent the songbook of the Bible. And although we often think of the Psalms merely as a compilation of praise songs, most of them are more of a mixture of praise, reflection, and lament. Psalm 18 is different though. Titled as a song of David after his deliverance from Saul, this Psalm is a lovesong from a grateful believer to a gracious God. It is more than thank you note for all that God has done. It expresses the relationship between a righteous person and a covenant-keeping God. From the cords of death and the mighty waters to a redeemed life in a broad place, the Psalmist records the reversal of his fortunes that occurred because a loving God "bowed the heavens and came down" (v. 9).
In this season of Advent, we too have reason to sing a song of redemption because our Savior bowed the heavens and came down. We have a reason to pause, even in the midst of the ongoing crises of our lives, and sing a love song to the lover of our souls. Like Nicholas Cage's Jack, maybe observing ourselves singing the song will help us to see what really matters.
Sing, "My Jesus I Love Thee"
One of my favorite films is "Family Man," in which Nicholas Cage plays a high powered Wall Street executive who awakes on Christmas morning to find himself in an alternative life, experiencing what would have happened if he had married his college sweetheart. The rest of the movie is about how Cage comes to value what money cannot buy. One of the turning points comes when he watches a video of himself singing the Delfonics' "La La Means I Love You" to his wife on her birthday. Although his voice would win no vocal awards, the poignancy of the moment derives from his soulful expression of love through the medium of song. There are few things more precious than having a loved one sing to another.
The Psalms, as you are well aware, represent the songbook of the Bible. And although we often think of the Psalms merely as a compilation of praise songs, most of them are more of a mixture of praise, reflection, and lament. Psalm 18 is different though. Titled as a song of David after his deliverance from Saul, this Psalm is a lovesong from a grateful believer to a gracious God. It is more than thank you note for all that God has done. It expresses the relationship between a righteous person and a covenant-keeping God. From the cords of death and the mighty waters to a redeemed life in a broad place, the Psalmist records the reversal of his fortunes that occurred because a loving God "bowed the heavens and came down" (v. 9).
In this season of Advent, we too have reason to sing a song of redemption because our Savior bowed the heavens and came down. We have a reason to pause, even in the midst of the ongoing crises of our lives, and sing a love song to the lover of our souls. Like Nicholas Cage's Jack, maybe observing ourselves singing the song will help us to see what really matters.
Sing, "My Jesus I Love Thee"
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Shock and Awe
Isaiah 1:18
Sometimes we just need a jolt of awareness to bring us back to our senses. Okay, perhaps I shouldn't speak for other people. Sometimes I just need a jolt to wake me up. The occasion for my renewed awareness this time was the funeral service for Rev. Dr. Ella Pearson Mitchell, a pioneer woman in ministry. Dr. Mitchell lived for 91 years, 64 of them married to her partner in life and ministry Rev. Dr. Henry Mitchell. What pleasantly startled me was the testimony of all who knew the Mitchells that she lived, they lived their whole lives - publicly and privately - with the love and goodness of God (to quote her daughter who gave the eulogy) as the foundation. I came away from the service awakened and inspired again to live faithfully.
In Isaiah chapter 1, there is much to shock and shake the people of God. Faithfulness and righteousness are no longer known among them. God is disappointed and angry. Yet within the pronouncement of judgment remains the promise of better things to come, a declaration of God's fundamentally good intention toward the people of God. There is hope; at the end of the purging, right relations and covenant will prevail and righteous acts will be restored.
Where, you ask, is the awe? It is the radiating glow of gratitude and thankfulness in God's people for the mercy that God continuously extends. At the point when God has extended the divine hand and drawn you near again with the steadfast love that drew you to begin with, who could help but stand in awe. I will be forever grateful for another chance, a deeper walk, a new opportunity.
Sing, "Just a Closer Walk with Thee"
Sometimes we just need a jolt of awareness to bring us back to our senses. Okay, perhaps I shouldn't speak for other people. Sometimes I just need a jolt to wake me up. The occasion for my renewed awareness this time was the funeral service for Rev. Dr. Ella Pearson Mitchell, a pioneer woman in ministry. Dr. Mitchell lived for 91 years, 64 of them married to her partner in life and ministry Rev. Dr. Henry Mitchell. What pleasantly startled me was the testimony of all who knew the Mitchells that she lived, they lived their whole lives - publicly and privately - with the love and goodness of God (to quote her daughter who gave the eulogy) as the foundation. I came away from the service awakened and inspired again to live faithfully.
In Isaiah chapter 1, there is much to shock and shake the people of God. Faithfulness and righteousness are no longer known among them. God is disappointed and angry. Yet within the pronouncement of judgment remains the promise of better things to come, a declaration of God's fundamentally good intention toward the people of God. There is hope; at the end of the purging, right relations and covenant will prevail and righteous acts will be restored.
Where, you ask, is the awe? It is the radiating glow of gratitude and thankfulness in God's people for the mercy that God continuously extends. At the point when God has extended the divine hand and drawn you near again with the steadfast love that drew you to begin with, who could help but stand in awe. I will be forever grateful for another chance, a deeper walk, a new opportunity.
Sing, "Just a Closer Walk with Thee"
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Do Something
Isaiah 64:1-9
Advent 1
Have you ever just wanted God to do something? I know that our theological and spiritual upbringing cautioned us against making demands of God, so much so that we may never have said it out loud. But haven't you ever just wanted to yell, in the midst of a tragedy in life or a travesty of justice, "God, why don't/didn't you DO SOMETHING?"
It was that way for the prophet Isaiah. There was so much destruction, so much pain for his people that his heart cried out for some action from God, the kind of decisive action that God had taken in the paste. The prophet remembers when God's presence had shaken everything, causing both God's people and their enemies to tremble at the reality of Israel's God - the only God who answered prayers. But the nation's dissipation and destruction were now complete. They had transgressed and had fallen to such a low condition that even their righteous deeds were tainted, like filthy rags. Nevertheless, the site of their hope had not changed: "Yet, O Lord, You are our Father." Isaiah seems to remind himself of the covenant relationship that is between them and closes this passage by praying that God will not forget the Israel's is God's people.
In Advent, which begins today, we too anticipate the great shakeup that will come when the Lord returns. But the message the speaks to us from the prophet is that more than just anticipating what God will do, we need to remember the relationship with God. It is not what God does, but who God is in relationship to us that makes the difference. God is our God and we are God's people. While we are waiting, that will have to be enough.
Sing, "Have Thine Own Way"
Advent 1
Have you ever just wanted God to do something? I know that our theological and spiritual upbringing cautioned us against making demands of God, so much so that we may never have said it out loud. But haven't you ever just wanted to yell, in the midst of a tragedy in life or a travesty of justice, "God, why don't/didn't you DO SOMETHING?"
It was that way for the prophet Isaiah. There was so much destruction, so much pain for his people that his heart cried out for some action from God, the kind of decisive action that God had taken in the paste. The prophet remembers when God's presence had shaken everything, causing both God's people and their enemies to tremble at the reality of Israel's God - the only God who answered prayers. But the nation's dissipation and destruction were now complete. They had transgressed and had fallen to such a low condition that even their righteous deeds were tainted, like filthy rags. Nevertheless, the site of their hope had not changed: "Yet, O Lord, You are our Father." Isaiah seems to remind himself of the covenant relationship that is between them and closes this passage by praying that God will not forget the Israel's is God's people.
In Advent, which begins today, we too anticipate the great shakeup that will come when the Lord returns. But the message the speaks to us from the prophet is that more than just anticipating what God will do, we need to remember the relationship with God. It is not what God does, but who God is in relationship to us that makes the difference. God is our God and we are God's people. While we are waiting, that will have to be enough.
Sing, "Have Thine Own Way"
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Not Even Death
Romans 8:31-39
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
There is a poignant and pivotal scene in the movie The Color Purple, when Celie and her sister Nettie are being forcibly separated because of the evil heart of Celie's husband Mister. As Nettie is dragged away, Celie yells, "Write." Nettie stands up straight and looks past Mister into her sister's eyes, "Nothing but death will keep me from it."
I think of this scene because the issue of disconnection is also at the heart of today's lesson, one of the most famous passages in all of Scripture. The passage is a declaration of love and victory. It reminds us as believers that God has cast the decisive vote in our favor, and because God is for us no one and nothing can succeed against us. Then Paul encourages us to imagine a list of everything that might arise to challenge the God who is on our side. Hardship and distress rear their heads, but fall quickly in a battle against God. Those foes are followed by every other category of challenge that might arise to defeat us by separating us from the love of Christ. The conclusion: Nothing in creation can separate us from Christ's love.
The sisterly love that Celie and Nettie share in Alice Walker's novel transverses a lifetime without contact, the machinations of Mister who withholds Nettie's letters, and even the Atlantic Ocean, joining their hearts even while their bodies are separated. It is a great love, but God's love is greater. And as believers we give thanks for the love of Jesus that has defeated death - a love so strong that not even death can keep us from it.
Sing, "Jesus Loves Me"
Let us pray:
Almighty God, in whom we live and love, we are awestruck by the depth and consistency of your love for us in Christ Jesus. Yet despite our inability to understand it, we rejoice in its certainty. We thank you for the way that living in your love intensifies our ability to love. But most of all, we thank you for your victory over our greatest enemy death and for the eternal love we share because of you. Amen
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
There is a poignant and pivotal scene in the movie The Color Purple, when Celie and her sister Nettie are being forcibly separated because of the evil heart of Celie's husband Mister. As Nettie is dragged away, Celie yells, "Write." Nettie stands up straight and looks past Mister into her sister's eyes, "Nothing but death will keep me from it."
I think of this scene because the issue of disconnection is also at the heart of today's lesson, one of the most famous passages in all of Scripture. The passage is a declaration of love and victory. It reminds us as believers that God has cast the decisive vote in our favor, and because God is for us no one and nothing can succeed against us. Then Paul encourages us to imagine a list of everything that might arise to challenge the God who is on our side. Hardship and distress rear their heads, but fall quickly in a battle against God. Those foes are followed by every other category of challenge that might arise to defeat us by separating us from the love of Christ. The conclusion: Nothing in creation can separate us from Christ's love.
The sisterly love that Celie and Nettie share in Alice Walker's novel transverses a lifetime without contact, the machinations of Mister who withholds Nettie's letters, and even the Atlantic Ocean, joining their hearts even while their bodies are separated. It is a great love, but God's love is greater. And as believers we give thanks for the love of Jesus that has defeated death - a love so strong that not even death can keep us from it.
Sing, "Jesus Loves Me"
Let us pray:
Almighty God, in whom we live and love, we are awestruck by the depth and consistency of your love for us in Christ Jesus. Yet despite our inability to understand it, we rejoice in its certainty. We thank you for the way that living in your love intensifies our ability to love. But most of all, we thank you for your victory over our greatest enemy death and for the eternal love we share because of you. Amen
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Free Indeed
Matthew 11:16-30
Sunday, 6 July 2008
Over the last several days the word freedom has been on our minds. It happens every year on July 4th when this nation celebrates its independence. We are reminded of our unalienable rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" here in the "land of the free and the home of the brave," a place of "liberty and justice for all." Yet for all the importance that the words liberty and freedom conjure, there are also misguided notions of what those words mean, exemplified in the sarcastic words of an errant child justifying her/his disobedience and recklessness with the words "It's a free country."
Just as children often misunderstand the meaning of freedom, especially in their teen years, defining it as the ability or right to do whatever they want, especially the wrong thing, we Christians too sometimes see ourselves as most free when we are least within the will of God. Yet Jesus' words seek to right our wrong understanding of what it means to be free and at rest. The beginning of our liberty is not found in the Declaration of Independence but rather in the recognition of our utter dependence on Christ lovingly to direct us into right paths. Our first step toward true freedom responds to the most blessed invitation ever offered. Jesus beckons, "Come to me." We exchange the yoke of sin which is too burdensome to bear, for the yoke of discipleship which is easy and light.
So much of what it means to mature is to recognize the difference between what seems good and what actually is good. This is true also of spiritual maturity. Lawlessness and faithlessness attract us with their empty promises of true fulfillment and joy, but they leave us ultimately empty and burdened. Embracing the way of Christ, and more importantly, having Christ embrace us leads to true joy and fulfillment. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.
Sing, "Come Unto Me"
Let us pray:
Loving Savior, it is sometimes hard for us to admit how tired we actually are of living our own way. We have been oppressed so long that we struggle to imagine that real freedom and rest are even possible. Grant us in this moment simply to take your word for it. Draw us near to you so that we may be freed by taking on your yoke, by living life your way. Amen
Sunday, 6 July 2008
Over the last several days the word freedom has been on our minds. It happens every year on July 4th when this nation celebrates its independence. We are reminded of our unalienable rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" here in the "land of the free and the home of the brave," a place of "liberty and justice for all." Yet for all the importance that the words liberty and freedom conjure, there are also misguided notions of what those words mean, exemplified in the sarcastic words of an errant child justifying her/his disobedience and recklessness with the words "It's a free country."
Just as children often misunderstand the meaning of freedom, especially in their teen years, defining it as the ability or right to do whatever they want, especially the wrong thing, we Christians too sometimes see ourselves as most free when we are least within the will of God. Yet Jesus' words seek to right our wrong understanding of what it means to be free and at rest. The beginning of our liberty is not found in the Declaration of Independence but rather in the recognition of our utter dependence on Christ lovingly to direct us into right paths. Our first step toward true freedom responds to the most blessed invitation ever offered. Jesus beckons, "Come to me." We exchange the yoke of sin which is too burdensome to bear, for the yoke of discipleship which is easy and light.
So much of what it means to mature is to recognize the difference between what seems good and what actually is good. This is true also of spiritual maturity. Lawlessness and faithlessness attract us with their empty promises of true fulfillment and joy, but they leave us ultimately empty and burdened. Embracing the way of Christ, and more importantly, having Christ embrace us leads to true joy and fulfillment. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.
Sing, "Come Unto Me"
Let us pray:
Loving Savior, it is sometimes hard for us to admit how tired we actually are of living our own way. We have been oppressed so long that we struggle to imagine that real freedom and rest are even possible. Grant us in this moment simply to take your word for it. Draw us near to you so that we may be freed by taking on your yoke, by living life your way. Amen
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