Being a "Hose" for Jesus

James 3:13-17

(click link to read passage before reading reflection below)

Reflection:

Martin Luther didn't really like the book of James. He thought it didn't talk enough about the free grace of Christ, and instead put too much emphasis on good works.

However, there is a key piece of wisdom in the above passage. At first glance, the first verse may seem to support Luther's reason for disliking James. "Show by your good life that your works are done…" But look at the context. In essence, James is reminding us that any good works done for selfish ambition are actually unspiritual and devilish.

No, the "good works" of which James speaks spring forth from wisdom. Biblical wisdom is the human imitation of divine care for all. Just look at the adjectives James uses in that final verse: this wisdom is peaceful, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. Doesn't sound like any human wisdom I've ever encountered.

So, before we lose our Lutheran grounding in God's undeserved grace by focusing on how we can be such great people, let's remember that the above adjectives describe divine love, and our challenge is simply to pray every day, every hour, even every minute, that as much as possible, that divine love flows through us to others.

It's a bit like being called to be a hose. I know that sounds weird...stick with me.

Hoses don't do anything special. In fact, if they are not plugged into a source, they don't do anything at all. But when they are plugged into a source, they simply take the water they receive and deliver it somewhere else. The fact that it is able to carry out that task doesn't make it a really good hose, or worthy of any special praise (imagine patting it and saying "good hose!"). No, that's ridiculous - that's just what hoses DO - they take water from the source and deliver it where it is needed.

So it is with our good works. We take the wisdom, grace, humility, and love we receive from God, and simply offer those things to those we encounter. We don't need a big pat on the back, or for someone to make it all about us. It's just what Christians DO.

That's how a Lutheran reads the book of James (at least how this Lutheran does…)

Prayer: God of grace, make us a conduit for your love today, that others might come to know, not how great we are, but how great you are. Amen.

Does Everything Happen For a Reason?

"We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose..." (Romans 8:28)

"Everything happens for a reason..." (American "proverb" that many assume is based on Biblical principles)

Reflection:

My wife loves knitting. And she's good at it.

She keeps telling me "Russell Crowe knits" to remind me it's not just for women.

I say, "Good for Russell Crowe..."

I was watching her knit an especially challenging project one time - a project that included several balls of yarn. She'd pick up one color and bring it in, then the next, then the next.

The balls of yarn were all beautiful colors - except one. There was one ugly, bland brown ball of yarn.

But what amazed me was that, as the project developed, her masterful skills threaded that single strand of brown in and out of the other colors until the entire thing was stunning - truly a work of art. I guess that's what really talented knitters can do. Even that ugly brown ball of yarn became part of something beautiful.

In my life as a pastor, I hear people say "Everything happens for a reason" a lot. It is a source of comfort for many; the idea that when something bad happens, even though we might not understand the purpose, there must be one...

But what if there isn't?

What if, sometimes, bad things happen? Either because of our poor choices, or chance, or genetics, or the poor choices of others? What if, sometimes, things just happen even if we wish they wouldn't?

See, the reason I don't like that phrase is that it assumes God is a big puppet master. If someone is in a car accident, and there is a fatality, this phrase silently insinuates that God caused the death...

Why? To teach others a lesson? That's not the God I believe in, and it's not the God pictured in the Bible, if read as a whole.

Maybe, God is like a master knitter, taking the ugly, the bland, the painful, the impossible, and still weaving those threads into the whole fabric that is your life?

What if God is really that talented and good and kind and gracious?


What if, in the fabric of my personality, gifts, and flaws, God has allowed even the hardest experiences I've had to be part of the beautiful whole? 


What if all things really DO work together for good for those who love the Lord, because God's determined not to waste any of our experiences?


What if, by God's grace, the ugly experiences can in the end make us more gracious, forgiving, and open? 


Does this mean God caused our pain to make us that way, or does it mean God is busy knitting?


Today, my prayer is that whatever you are going through, you trust in the promise that whether you sense it or not, God is busy knitting in your life, too...

A Trust Fall

Psalm 146 (click link to read passage before reading Devotion below)

"The world's going to end - do you know where you're going?"
"Repent or burn!"
"Believe!"

These are all slogans of a brand of Christianity I struggle with.
The first two, you probably agree with. You probably struggle with that mindset as well.
The third one, though - why would a pastor say he doesn't like encouraging people to believe?

It is because the Biblical idea of "belief" has been hi-jacked by our cultural baggage.

The math teacher tells you to "believe" that 2+2=4.
The history teacher tells you to "believe" that the Holocaust did, in fact, happen.
The preacher tells you to "believe" in Jesus.

These three are not the same.
The first two have to do with my head...what I think. What I believe to be factually true.

When the word "believe" is used in the Bible, however, it is much deeper than that.
Believing in Jesus doesn't mean agreeing with the intellectual idea that he died and rose again.
Believing in Jesus is much more like the picture above.
Reach out to him.
Let yourself fall into his arms.
Trust him.

If you're like me, though - you don't force yourself to trust someone. It isn't an act of will.
It is a by-product of a relationship. You spend enough time with someone, you learn that they mean what they say, you begin to trust them.

Today is my last blog entry before the Apocalypse. According to Familyradio.com, the "rapture" will occur tomorrow evening, May 21st, at 6:00 PM. While I could write a whole blog entry about how this is the "wrong" way to read the Bible, and how I think it is precisely this brand of Christianity that most turns people off, I will simply say this:

I trust in God's unbounded love for all. Period.
I don't trust in humans' ability to figure out the "hidden math" in the Bible.
I don't trust in a fringe group's ability to frighten people into believing in a non-Biblical picture of Jesus.
I don't trust in my own abilities, because those are limited, too...
I trust in God's unbounded love for all. Period.

So, if tomorrow's the Apocalypse, bring it on.
If not, fine - Sunday's sermon is already written.
Either way, I believe I am falling into the arms of love...

Why Being A Christian Is Harder Than It Looks

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’

Romans 12:19

‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…’

Matthew 5:43-44

Reflection:

On Sunday night, Jess, the kids and I were still at my mother’s house in AZ, on vacation. We had just put the kids to bed, and we were looking forward to playing card games with my mom because it was our last night with her. Then, a text came over my mom’s phone. “Turn on the TV – big news!”

We then sat for the next hour watching the details as they came in. Photos of Osama bin Laden, archive footage of the towers falling on 9/11/01, and tons of talking heads telling us what they thought this meant. As our President spoke and confirmed the rumors, I felt a sense of national pride, a sense of relief, and a sense of disturbed sadness all at the same time.

The first two emotions were motivated by my patriotism, my sense of fairness, and my assumption that bad people deserve bad things. The third emotion, though – the disturbed sadness – I believe came from my life studying the Bible.

You see, we often want Christianity or Jesus to validate, confirm, or support the basic reactions and emotions we have as people. We want there to be some verse in the Bible that tells us it is OK for us to joyously celebrate this man’s demise. He was a mass-murderer for crying out loud! Isn’t it OK to be thrilled he’s dead, God?

Jesus had a lot of encounters with people who wanted him to validate their human emotions of vengeance, greed, or fairness. The disciples had an argument in front of him about which one of them was the greatest, but Jesus re-directed their conversation. A lawyer approached him, asking what he had to do to earn his way into heaven. Jesus re-directed the question. People lined the streets with palm branches in hand, expecting Jesus to offer military revenge to the occupying Roman army. Jesus re-directed their eyes to the cross.

Thus, my disturbed sadness…because from studying and reading the Bible, I know that the part of me that is a citizen of this country still has to come under the part of me that follows the God of all people. I know that we have to struggle with the things that Jesus said and did, because he does NOT simply justify or validate our human need for revenge or what we think is “fairness.” I know that asking God to be fair actually means I’m out of the promise, as well. I know that expecting God to judge like I would is a problem, because I judge imperfectly.

So, my emotions about the news stay mixed up and confused, and I’m OK with that. I am relieved that someone who caused such suffering is no longer able to do so. I am saddened that sometimes in this broken world, violence is a necessary evil (and I am able to recognize it still as an evil, no matter how good it feels). And I am attempting to trust in the two verses I placed above. As difficult as it might be, I can even pray for the soul of this murderer…because it is God who has the final say, not me.

Sometimes, being a Christian makes you do things you never thought you’d do.

Prayer: God of love, mercy, and grace, we pray for all those who suffered because of bin Laden. We pray for all those who bravely brought him to human justice. And we pray for ourselves, that we might find peace and humility in trusting that your justice will always have the final say. Amen.

To Be Schooled In the Ways of Love

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Christ the Power and Wisdom of God

(click link to read passage)

Reflection:

Dr. Mahmoudi was his name. He was my professor for Sociology 101 my very first semester in college. I still consider him to be one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. Sure, he had more degrees and more initials after his name than I could count…but that’s not what impressed me. It was his willingness to continue learning…it was his outlook on life; that every day teaches us something new. It was as though all of his education had given him a healthy humility about the limitations of human wisdom.

That was probably the most profound lesson he could have passed on to me. Sure, I had to finish both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree to become a pastor – but my foolishness is even more evident to me now than it was before I began.

Indeed, as Paul explains today, the profound wisdom of God looks like foolishness to us. A God sacrificing himself to save a stubborn and stiff-necked people? Preposterous. One death crushing the power of death forever? Nonsense. A servant-savior? Who ever heard of such a thing?

This Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we will be schooled in the ways of love. More profound than any theological discourse is the silence we encounter at the foot of the cross. And more powerful than all the world’s knowledge is the Easter Dawn.

Prayer: Foolish Father, teach us to be wise as you are wise that we might boast, not in our own accomplishments or wisdom, but in your love working through us. Amen.

Heaven In The Real World

Matthew 22:23-33 The Question about the Resurrection

(Click link to read passage)

Reflection:

It is possible to be so heavenly-minded that you are no earthly good.

In the passage linked above, Jesus has an interaction with some folks who fit this description. They propose a heavenly thought experiment – if someone is married multiple times in this life, who will they be married to in heaven?

Jesus rejects even the premise of their question, and then utters a sentence that, if we really listen, can radically alter the way we approach this thing we call Christianity:

“He is God, not of the dead, but of the living…”

Maybe, Christianity is about God’s presence in THIS life…& NOT just about how to get into heaven.

Maybe, the Church is a dynamic, lively community of everyday people seeking peace, deep joy, and guidance…& NOT just a salvation store.

Maybe, Baptism is an event that sets the tone for an entire life of counter-cultural love…& NOT just something you do to “hedge your bet” if this Jesus gig turns out to be real.

Maybe this living, breathing, everyday, real-world God calls us to engage the living, breathing, everyday, hurting world!

In the next week, we will be living out the story that bears the deepest witness to this God-of-the-Living. We will hear about Jesus’ passion, compassion, and mission. We will sing our praises once again – not to a dead hero, but to a living Lord!

Prayer: God of the living, so often we reduce your message to a way into heaven. Help us to see that you care about our future – but that you also care about our present. Show us the ways we can care about this world in a way that reflects your priorities. Amen.

Losing My Religion

Ephesians 2:1-10 (click link to read passage)

Reflection:

By definition, Christianity is not a “religion.”

From the dawn of humanity, “religions” have been systems of belief through which humans attempt to appease, please, or otherwise affect the “gods.” These systems of belief have a moral and ritual code of conduct. Blessings, or other favors, are procured from the gods through right behavior or ritual action. Essentially, religions are systems by which humans attempt to gain the favor of the gods by their correct behavior.

With this understanding, Christianity is the anti-religion.

Except that we have expended an awful lot of energy turning it back into a religion.

The human sense of fairness understands the world in a tit-for-tat, mechanistic way. If you do good things, good things happen to you; and vice-versa. So, the logic goes, if you follow the rules, you will earn God’s blessings; and if you don’t, you will earn God’s wrath.

With this very human understanding, we have turned Christianity back into a religion. A high percentage of Christians in this country think of it as a system of rules with blessings or curses attached. Many of its most zealous adherents have boiled it down to a moralistic and judgmental system of black-and-white thinking.

Against that backdrop, read verses 8 and 9 of the passage above one more time. Let it sink in. Let it destroy your concept of fairness. Let it erode your moralistic, you-get-what-you-deserve assumptions about God.

Grace is a gift; an action of God that we didn’t cause by being “right.”

Jesus is a gift; an action of God that we didn’t cause by being “right.”

Salvation is a gift; an action of God that none of us earns by being “right.”

If this basic…Biblical…anti-religious truth could sink in, I imagine our churches would be packed. Folks would finally realize that Christians aren’t here to judge others or proclaim themselves better; but merely to celebrate the gifts of God!

So, here’s to losing our religion! Maybe by doing so, we’ll gain a sense of God’s love!

Prayer: God of every time and place; our human understandings have so twisted the message of the cross. Give us the humility and joy that comes from recognizing your free gifts of grace and love. Amen.