From my sermon on 6/26/11 from Romans 6:12-23
The Gospel according to Mayberry…yes, there is a Sunday School curriculum based on the popular TV show where Andy Griffith is the sheriff of Mayberry. He is a single dad raising his son Opie with Aunt Bea’s help. In one episode, Opie falls asleep in church, or is not paying attention, so Andy is quizzing him after the service. “What was the sermon about?” “It was about sin.” “Well, what did the preacher say about it?” “He said that he was ‘against’ it.”
Whatever became of sin? Do we still talk about it? Still deal with it?
I once preached a series of 7 sermons on sin and salvation. Try saying that fast 3 times, “series of 7 sermons on sin and salvation.” People actually came and appreciated it. I didn’t just talk about sin as breaking a law, but more about breaking God’s heart. Sin felt like being far from home, being dirty, feeling defeated. I told the truth about who we are—sinners…who are forgiven, restored by God’s love.
We don’t want to deal with sin. Those in politics use the passive voice, “Mistakes were made.” We are not just people who make mistakes, fudge answers, tell little white lies. We are rebellious, selfish, vindictive, petty persons and communities—less than who God intends for us to be. We can dodge responsibility. When I was growing up, there was a comedian on TV named Flip Wilson. He played a church lady character who would sin from time to time. The excuse was always…”The Devil made me do it.” The story is as old as the garden of Eden where the man blames the woman for eating the forbidden fruit, and the woman blames the snake for its smooth talk. We are prone to point the finger at someone else, not realizing that 3 fingers are pointing back at us.
Paul doesn’t dodge sin. In this short passage the word is mentioned 10 times. Each time the word in Greek is hamartia. It literally means missing the mark, like an arrow that is off, nowhere near the bull’s eye on the target. I know a United Methodist pastor who was on the women’s Olympic archery team. She said this meaning really resonates with her. She said, “Think about it. If you are off just a little when the arrow leaves the bow, how much it will be off when it reaches the target!” Is that what you feel? That you are off just a little bit from what God intends.
Your name is King David, and it is springtime when armies go off to fight, but you are old, and so you stay home. Bored in the palace, you look across the way to the nearby roof top where a beautiful lady is taking a bath. Now you may be old, but you are not dead. You invite her over. How she can say no, you are the king after all. Soon, she is in your arms, and then pregnant. You have to deal with her husband, so you set him up in the front lines of battle where he gets killed. And you see how you can be just a little bit off at the start, and you can totally miss the target.
You see that you can make a lot of money by doing home loans. What if you bundle the loans together, and then come up with a new product, derivatives, and sell them. What if you then make riskier loans, because the more you get on the books, the more money you make. What if you hedge your bets and even take out insurance if they fail. And by the way, you are too big to fail. You will get bailed out. And you can see how you can be a little bit off at the start and you can totally miss the target.
You understand that sin is individual and corporate.
What does it hurt to take just one bite of the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden? You can miss the target, harmatia.
That leads us to another major metaphor for sin in this passage, that of being enslaved. Now that language might not fit our modern context so well. In Paul’s time, it has been estimated that up to 2/3 of the people in Rome would serve as slaves at some time in their lives. People became slaves after being captured in battle. Others would find themselves in debt or be born as a slave. Slaves were in all levels of society and professions, a servant class owing allegiance to their master/patron.
Maybe better language for us today would be feeling trapped or addicted. We get trapped in our overfunctioning, our speed, our pressure.
How dangerous it is to believe that one is free from all rules, all constraints. Paul says the only freedom we have is to choose to what do we want to be enslaved. By what God has done for us in Jesus Christ is it possible for us to be free.
Paul says it is the free gift of God. The word is charisma in Greek. Within charisma is the word for grace, charis. God’s fierce love for, unearned, freely given is the only way out of being trapped in sin.
Even after we are baptized and confirm our faith, we sin. Can I get an amen? An older pastor was telling some of us younger ones about his baptism story. He was 12 or 13 years old. His mom had gotten him a new suit. Many family members made a special effort to come to the worship service. The church family gathered round as he was baptized and professed his faith in Jesus Christ. There was a big dinner at his parents’ house after the worship service. He changed out of his new suit, went outside, and did something he had never done before. He kicked his dog. His friend, his companion, his pet, who had never done anything against him. He kicked his dog. Where did that come from? He thought to himself, “This following Christ thing is harder than it looks.”
It is a lifetime process. It’s like being in AA. When you walk in the door, everybody knows what you are. Hello, my name is Lynn, and I am an alcoholic. Here at church, it is the same way. Hello, my name is Lynn, and I am a sinner. We need to admit we are powerless over sin, and that only Jesus Chris can set us free.
I believe that the life we have in Christ is the only way to sanity. It is why we keep coming back here week after week, to work the steps to wholeness. It is why we read the Bible, pray, worship, find ourselves in accountability groups—to become the people God intends us to be. It is the only way to freedom, by being enslaved to Christ.
Maybe why we have such a problem talking about sin is that we have a problem really believing in the free gift of God’s love. We pastors are the worst. We say that we believe in God’s grace, but they we act like functioning atheists, by thinking if we only work harder or longer, then we can fix the situation. This is sin, thinking we don’t really need God.
The only way to freedom from sin is to be in bondage to Christ, to follow him. The question is: Can we accept this free gift?
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
leaning into vacation
6/23/11 This will be last or next to last blog for awhile. I will be leaving on vacation right after morning worship on Sunday. I have been telling people not to stand in my way after I say "amen" about 12:15 p.m. on June 26. Cathy and I will be heading to Angel Fire, New Mexico, where the elevation is about 8500 feet, and it is cool in the summer. We will see my mom who lives in Lubbock on the way coming and going.
So these last few days have been full of trying to think ahead--get the worship bulletin done for 4 weeks from now, get articles into the newsletter, make appointments for when I get back, finish up last details on various matters.
I am still here, but I am already anticipating hiking in the mountains, smelling the pine trees, and enjoying wearing a light jacket. I am leaning into vacation.
Love,
Lynn
So these last few days have been full of trying to think ahead--get the worship bulletin done for 4 weeks from now, get articles into the newsletter, make appointments for when I get back, finish up last details on various matters.
I am still here, but I am already anticipating hiking in the mountains, smelling the pine trees, and enjoying wearing a light jacket. I am leaning into vacation.
Love,
Lynn
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
how long
6/22/11 It rained last night...1 1/2 inches at our house. How long had we gone without rain? How long has the temperature been at 100 degrees and higher? How long will we stay in Afghanistan? The President is supposed to tell us tonight. How long will this economic downturn last? How long will the tension between Israel and Palestine go on? How long will cancer, addictions, depression, abuse, ect., continue to stalk us?
My breath prayer for the day is from Psalm 13:1, "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" We join our voices with all of those faithful ones down through the ages whose trust in God was so great that they would dare to confront the Almighty with the question, "How long?"
The wonderful thing is that the LORD God does not reject us or our question.
Love,
Lynn
My breath prayer for the day is from Psalm 13:1, "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" We join our voices with all of those faithful ones down through the ages whose trust in God was so great that they would dare to confront the Almighty with the question, "How long?"
The wonderful thing is that the LORD God does not reject us or our question.
Love,
Lynn
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
the LORD will provide
6/21/11, my breath prayer for yesterday came from Gen. 22:14, "So Abraham called that place 'The LORD will provide'; as it is said to this day, 'On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.'" The story is that of the near sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham. At the last possible moment before Isaac is to be offered up on the altar, a ram is produced, caught in a thicket.
Right now, I have an issue, really it is tiny one, but one where I am praying that the LORD will provide. I have pushed on it, waited on it, tried delegating it.....all to no resolution. Maybe that is the sacrifice, letting go of the control, and trusting God completely.
Love,
Lynn
Right now, I have an issue, really it is tiny one, but one where I am praying that the LORD will provide. I have pushed on it, waited on it, tried delegating it.....all to no resolution. Maybe that is the sacrifice, letting go of the control, and trusting God completely.
Love,
Lynn
Monday, June 20, 2011
go with the flow
from my sermon on 6/19/11 from Genesis 1-2:4a
Imagine that you are an exile in Babylon, more than 500 years before the birth of Christ. All that you counted on has been taken away from you: Jerusalem has been destroyed, the Temple razed, your home levelled. You have been marched 100's of miles away from your home by foreign armies. Once you were a shopkeeper, but here you are forced to be a farmer, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
It is Friday night, the start of the sabbath. You go to worship service next to the Chebar river. How can you worship? What can possibly capture how you are feeling. You sing... you sing Psalm 137:1
By the waters, the waters of Babylon,
We laid down and wept, and wept, for thee Zion,
We remember thee, remember thee, remember thee Zion.
You had your tears to the water of the river. What can the priests do, the rabbis say, the scholars write to minister to your situation. They take the old stories of the creation, and they re-work them, they re-edit them.
To a world that seeem to be without form and void, they say, "God created everything that is, the heavens and the earth." To the disorder you are experiencing they say, "There was evening and morning, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3,..." To the voices that call you slave, Jew, and all kind of names, they say, "God created you in God's own image, and God called you very good."
This is exactly the context in which this first creation story was written down in the form that we have it. The priests, the rabbis, and the scholars did not write a history, they offered hope. They did not offer science, but salvation. They did not present a paper, they offered pastoral care. They did not say how, but who. In the midst of the chaos, they said that God willfully, intentionally created the whole universe and is therefore much bigger than any government or current event.
Can you get into that flow today? That God has created and is still creating? That God is still speaking and creating new possibilities for us?
Today is Juneteenth, the day in 1865 when word finally reached Texas that the Civil War was over and that slavery had come to an end. How much sweat and tears had been produced! That is a part of God's flow toward salvation. It flowed through the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's, sometimes through blood. It continues today wherever people are fighting for their rights.
Today is Father's Day. I remember 27 years ago, Cathy and I were standing on a bridge in Lampasas, Texas, over the Lampasas River. Our older son Joel was 2 1/2 years old. We asked him what he wanted, because you see Cathy was great with child. Joel tossed his penny into the river and asked for a baby brother. Two weeks later on July 10, Matthew (gift of God is what his name means), came into this world. Tears of joy are part of this flow. I ask you dads out there to give thanks for your children. And for all of you to remember your fathers--both biological and theological.
Today, we celebrate Zvonko's 50th birthday. His son Igor dove into the swimming pool here in Austin just over a year ago and injured his spine. Although we wish this never happened, and God didn't intend for it to happen, I would not give up the relationships that have been formed over this past year as we have gone this journey together. I reflected on all this on Wednesday as I visited Igor in the hospital and watched the IV tube drip antibiotic into his vein. This is a part of the flow.
Our baptism is part of the flow. We are caught up in the water of creation, of God saving Noah and those on the ark, of the people crossing the Red Sea, of them entering the promised land through the Jordan, and of Jesus being baptized. All of those saving events are a part of going with the flow.
You will be happy to know that I have good results from my blood work and annual physical. I am in excellent shape. As a part of this review, I had my "wellness conversation," a session with a counselor. It is way to measure how crazy one must be to be a pastor. I have known Sara for years, and as I poured out my story, she said, "As an eldest son, you are super-responsible. You think you are supposed to take care of everything, to be able to fix anything. What you are dealing with as you age is the fact of your limits, that you will not be able to resolve all of the issues." It felt like the truth to me.
That's what I love about this banner that we dedicate today. It depicts the river of life. I am but one little piece of blue cloth from a tie I donated. I am caught up in a community of faith that has gone before me and will continue after me. I am not God. God has partnered with us. I am going with that flow.
I love it that the banner is for ordinary time. When is ordinary time in the church? It is after Pentecost and before Advent, in other words, most of the year. Thank God that God comes in ordinary time! Most of life is spent in ordinary time, getting by, coping, maintaining. We are caught up in this flow, in the river of life.
Therefore we can rest. We can let go. We can worship. This is the most important hour we spend each week, remembering that if God who created everything that is rested, then we can rest also. We go with the flow of God's rhythms of work and rest. We won't resolve everything. We let God be God.
I love how our Christian Bible ends. In the very last chapter of our Bible, Revelation 22:1, it says, "An angel showed me the river of life bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God." From the first words of the Bible to the last, there is a flow of God's creative presence.
The good news I have to share with you today is go with the flow.
Imagine that you are an exile in Babylon, more than 500 years before the birth of Christ. All that you counted on has been taken away from you: Jerusalem has been destroyed, the Temple razed, your home levelled. You have been marched 100's of miles away from your home by foreign armies. Once you were a shopkeeper, but here you are forced to be a farmer, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
It is Friday night, the start of the sabbath. You go to worship service next to the Chebar river. How can you worship? What can possibly capture how you are feeling. You sing... you sing Psalm 137:1
By the waters, the waters of Babylon,
We laid down and wept, and wept, for thee Zion,
We remember thee, remember thee, remember thee Zion.
You had your tears to the water of the river. What can the priests do, the rabbis say, the scholars write to minister to your situation. They take the old stories of the creation, and they re-work them, they re-edit them.
To a world that seeem to be without form and void, they say, "God created everything that is, the heavens and the earth." To the disorder you are experiencing they say, "There was evening and morning, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3,..." To the voices that call you slave, Jew, and all kind of names, they say, "God created you in God's own image, and God called you very good."
This is exactly the context in which this first creation story was written down in the form that we have it. The priests, the rabbis, and the scholars did not write a history, they offered hope. They did not offer science, but salvation. They did not present a paper, they offered pastoral care. They did not say how, but who. In the midst of the chaos, they said that God willfully, intentionally created the whole universe and is therefore much bigger than any government or current event.
Can you get into that flow today? That God has created and is still creating? That God is still speaking and creating new possibilities for us?
Today is Juneteenth, the day in 1865 when word finally reached Texas that the Civil War was over and that slavery had come to an end. How much sweat and tears had been produced! That is a part of God's flow toward salvation. It flowed through the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's, sometimes through blood. It continues today wherever people are fighting for their rights.
Today is Father's Day. I remember 27 years ago, Cathy and I were standing on a bridge in Lampasas, Texas, over the Lampasas River. Our older son Joel was 2 1/2 years old. We asked him what he wanted, because you see Cathy was great with child. Joel tossed his penny into the river and asked for a baby brother. Two weeks later on July 10, Matthew (gift of God is what his name means), came into this world. Tears of joy are part of this flow. I ask you dads out there to give thanks for your children. And for all of you to remember your fathers--both biological and theological.
Today, we celebrate Zvonko's 50th birthday. His son Igor dove into the swimming pool here in Austin just over a year ago and injured his spine. Although we wish this never happened, and God didn't intend for it to happen, I would not give up the relationships that have been formed over this past year as we have gone this journey together. I reflected on all this on Wednesday as I visited Igor in the hospital and watched the IV tube drip antibiotic into his vein. This is a part of the flow.
Our baptism is part of the flow. We are caught up in the water of creation, of God saving Noah and those on the ark, of the people crossing the Red Sea, of them entering the promised land through the Jordan, and of Jesus being baptized. All of those saving events are a part of going with the flow.
You will be happy to know that I have good results from my blood work and annual physical. I am in excellent shape. As a part of this review, I had my "wellness conversation," a session with a counselor. It is way to measure how crazy one must be to be a pastor. I have known Sara for years, and as I poured out my story, she said, "As an eldest son, you are super-responsible. You think you are supposed to take care of everything, to be able to fix anything. What you are dealing with as you age is the fact of your limits, that you will not be able to resolve all of the issues." It felt like the truth to me.
That's what I love about this banner that we dedicate today. It depicts the river of life. I am but one little piece of blue cloth from a tie I donated. I am caught up in a community of faith that has gone before me and will continue after me. I am not God. God has partnered with us. I am going with that flow.
I love it that the banner is for ordinary time. When is ordinary time in the church? It is after Pentecost and before Advent, in other words, most of the year. Thank God that God comes in ordinary time! Most of life is spent in ordinary time, getting by, coping, maintaining. We are caught up in this flow, in the river of life.
Therefore we can rest. We can let go. We can worship. This is the most important hour we spend each week, remembering that if God who created everything that is rested, then we can rest also. We go with the flow of God's rhythms of work and rest. We won't resolve everything. We let God be God.
I love how our Christian Bible ends. In the very last chapter of our Bible, Revelation 22:1, it says, "An angel showed me the river of life bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God." From the first words of the Bible to the last, there is a flow of God's creative presence.
The good news I have to share with you today is go with the flow.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
benediction
6/16/11 My breath prayer for the day is very familiar to some of us who attend worship services as it is often used as the last words in the service, the benediction, from II Corinthians 13:14, The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
Love,
Lynn
Love,
Lynn
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
sovereign Lord
6/15/11 My breath prayer for the day comes from Psalm 8:1, O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. I like to pretend that I am in control. I don't think I am unique in this feeling. We go through life, setting appointments, making plans, creating schedules, as if we were in the driver's seat. But we are not.
Cathy and I have a little condo in Corpus Christi that we have been remodeling. It has endured 6 years of renting by college students. As we began the remodeling project, we have been blessed to find workmen right next door that could do the flooring...and then the replacement of the bathroom vanities....and then the plumbing. Sometimes not being in control feels like God is watching out for you before you even know it. Not being in control also feels the opposite, like yesterday, when after a lot of hard work and we thought the unit was ready to go again, we got a call that we had a leak, and that our downstairs neighbors condo had water damage. OUch! Cathy made a quick trip to Corpus to take care of it.
Only God is Sovereign. The psalmist realizes this in the majesty of creation....that he has no control over. That's one of the reasons I walk in the early morning in the midst of trees, and creek, and a pair of foxes yesterday morning, and rising sun, and scurrying clouds...to remember that God is sovereign Lord.
Love,
Lynn
Cathy and I have a little condo in Corpus Christi that we have been remodeling. It has endured 6 years of renting by college students. As we began the remodeling project, we have been blessed to find workmen right next door that could do the flooring...and then the replacement of the bathroom vanities....and then the plumbing. Sometimes not being in control feels like God is watching out for you before you even know it. Not being in control also feels the opposite, like yesterday, when after a lot of hard work and we thought the unit was ready to go again, we got a call that we had a leak, and that our downstairs neighbors condo had water damage. OUch! Cathy made a quick trip to Corpus to take care of it.
Only God is Sovereign. The psalmist realizes this in the majesty of creation....that he has no control over. That's one of the reasons I walk in the early morning in the midst of trees, and creek, and a pair of foxes yesterday morning, and rising sun, and scurrying clouds...to remember that God is sovereign Lord.
Love,
Lynn
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
rested
6/14/11 My breath prayer for the day comes from Genesis 2:3, So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. I am not very good at resting. My earliest memories are of getting up early in the morning and running after my daddy trying to keep up with him as we worked on the farm. That imprinting has been reinforced by being the eldest son and feeling responsible. Further I grew up in the church hearing the stories of how we are to take care of the vulnerable ones around us. So, I became a help-aholic. To paraphrase Will Rogers, I never met a need I didn't like. And we live in a world of infinite need. I have gotten lots of affirmation for doing nice things for other people. But I also grew weary. When I hit age 50, and 25 years of ordained ministry, I took a sabbatical summer, 9 weeks off. I found that I could rest....and that the world kept spinning...other people could fill needs....I didn't have to work all of the time. Today, I can still lean to the over-functioning side of the equation, but I have learned also how to rest. If God can do it, surely I can too. May you also be rested.
Love,
Lynn
Love,
Lynn
Monday, June 13, 2011
that pesky God
That pesky God! This is my current metaphor for God. The word “pesky” was first used in the NE USA in 1775. My research shows that it is based on the word “pest” to which was added a “y”, and then the “t” became a “k”. Pesky means to irritating, bothersome, frustrating. This is my impression of God: always getting in my way, because God has a better way for me.
That pesky God showed up at Vacation Bible School. All week long the kids have been in the Bethlehem Marketplace celebrating the birth of Jesus, and today is Pentecost! How am I supposed to go from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, from the manger to the upper room , from Christmas to Pentecost, from the birth of Jesus to the birth of the Church in a few minutes. The only way is through that pesky God in the form of the Holy Spirit. I looked at the birth story of Jesus and his early ministry in Luke and found the Holy Spirit to be heavily involved. In Luke’s second volume on the life of the Church, called Acts, that same Holy Spirit is involved.
Hear the first scripture:
Luke Chapter 1:15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Zechariah was just going to work, pulling his shift at the Temple, when that pesky God, showed up, and told him that he would have a son who would be the forerunner to the Messiah. Imagine that! God showing up in worship! Sometimes we go to worship just to check off the box. This past week we had annual conference in Corpus Christi, where we 1300 delegates had many business sessions, but also lots of worship services. One of our delegates brought her teen age son, Jake, with her. One worship service lasted 2 hours! Jake asked if that could count for 2 worship services back home!
That pesky God sometimes shows up in worship….maybe even today…for you.
Luke 1:35The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.
That pesky God comes to a girl, an unmarried teenager, and says, “Tag, you’re it. You are going to give birth to the Messiah.” Wow, what a surprise! God works God’s salvation through a youth.
This past week Audrey led our singing. On Wednesday, she had her appendix out. As she was going into surgery, she asked, “Will I be able to go back to VBS and lead singing?” She was back on Friday! You have heard her today, and she has done great.
Luke 1:41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
Elizabeth was an old woman, past the child bearing years. I know many of you women of a certain age would just love for that pesky God to come to you and say, “You are going to have a child!” The point is that God uses people of all ages. You may retire from your career, but you never retire from your calling.
Luke 1:67Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
So Zechariah and Elizabeth have a son, John the Baptist. Zechariah is able to speak after being mute. He prophesies. Prophecy is not simply telling the future; it is telling the truth. I need to tell you the truth. This past week a young boy got his let stuck between 2 logs in the casita in the playground. Probably some of you parents will never let your child come to VBS ever again! What to do? The let is wedged in there tightly. One of the 7th grade girl helpers takes 2 sheets of card stock and slips them between the let and the logs. Out the leg comes easily. That pesky God showed up again.
chapter 2:25Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law,
Simeon had spent his whole life waiting on the coming of the Messiah. I know that we live in an age of instant messaging, streaming video, texting. We want it and we want it now! Sometimes that pesky God says, “Wait.” We operate on God’s timing, kairos time. That pesky God builds in a holy pause.
Chapter 3:16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John the Baptist baptizes with water. The Messiah will baptize with water and fire. We sometimes make baptism a sweet, sentimental act. But there’s fire with the pesky God who wants to burn away all that is not of God.
Luke 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Jesus is baptized, and the Holy Spirit comes upon him. He hears God say, You are my child, I love you, I am pleased. We can’t hear this too much. I can get to feeling old and cynical, but when I heard the children sing, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, I could hear God calling me to be His child again too. That pesky God wants us to claim our true identity as beloved children.
Chapter 4:1,Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,
Jesus at the start of his ministry is driven out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, where he will fast and be tempted. That pesky God takes us to places of ministry that are not always pleasant or easy. We are sending out 2 mission teams today: one to Uganda and one to North Carolina. You may encounter hardship, bugs in your bed, bugs in your water, as you go with this pesky God.
Luke 4:14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.
That pesky God has us do ministry where and how and when God chooses. Jay Dolfuss has had several business careers. He was in transition when he came to visit me in my office. He said, “I have had lots of experiences, and I still have energy. I want to make the rest of my life count.” We talked about getting involved with Mobile Loaves and Fishes. Jay came up with a list of businesses that would offer huge discounts on products and services that would be advertised on a website. If you take advantage of that business’s deal on that day, the business would donate a portion of their profit to Mobile Loaves and Fishes. You can get on their list too.
Acts 2When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
We have experienced tornadoes lately. We are afraid of the rush of violent winds. We know about wildfires, like the massive one in Arizona right now. We are scared of fire. This past week at Annual Conference, at the opening service, the candles were lighted on the table in front of the Bishop. The he said, “The fire marshal has said we must extinguish the candles.” Don’t you find that a bit odd? I was trying to redeem this image when that pesky God came to me and said, “You believers must carry the flame out into the world.”
May that pesky God enflame you.
That pesky God showed up at Vacation Bible School. All week long the kids have been in the Bethlehem Marketplace celebrating the birth of Jesus, and today is Pentecost! How am I supposed to go from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, from the manger to the upper room , from Christmas to Pentecost, from the birth of Jesus to the birth of the Church in a few minutes. The only way is through that pesky God in the form of the Holy Spirit. I looked at the birth story of Jesus and his early ministry in Luke and found the Holy Spirit to be heavily involved. In Luke’s second volume on the life of the Church, called Acts, that same Holy Spirit is involved.
Hear the first scripture:
Luke Chapter 1:15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Zechariah was just going to work, pulling his shift at the Temple, when that pesky God, showed up, and told him that he would have a son who would be the forerunner to the Messiah. Imagine that! God showing up in worship! Sometimes we go to worship just to check off the box. This past week we had annual conference in Corpus Christi, where we 1300 delegates had many business sessions, but also lots of worship services. One of our delegates brought her teen age son, Jake, with her. One worship service lasted 2 hours! Jake asked if that could count for 2 worship services back home!
That pesky God sometimes shows up in worship….maybe even today…for you.
Luke 1:35The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.
That pesky God comes to a girl, an unmarried teenager, and says, “Tag, you’re it. You are going to give birth to the Messiah.” Wow, what a surprise! God works God’s salvation through a youth.
This past week Audrey led our singing. On Wednesday, she had her appendix out. As she was going into surgery, she asked, “Will I be able to go back to VBS and lead singing?” She was back on Friday! You have heard her today, and she has done great.
Luke 1:41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
Elizabeth was an old woman, past the child bearing years. I know many of you women of a certain age would just love for that pesky God to come to you and say, “You are going to have a child!” The point is that God uses people of all ages. You may retire from your career, but you never retire from your calling.
Luke 1:67Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
So Zechariah and Elizabeth have a son, John the Baptist. Zechariah is able to speak after being mute. He prophesies. Prophecy is not simply telling the future; it is telling the truth. I need to tell you the truth. This past week a young boy got his let stuck between 2 logs in the casita in the playground. Probably some of you parents will never let your child come to VBS ever again! What to do? The let is wedged in there tightly. One of the 7th grade girl helpers takes 2 sheets of card stock and slips them between the let and the logs. Out the leg comes easily. That pesky God showed up again.
chapter 2:25Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law,
Simeon had spent his whole life waiting on the coming of the Messiah. I know that we live in an age of instant messaging, streaming video, texting. We want it and we want it now! Sometimes that pesky God says, “Wait.” We operate on God’s timing, kairos time. That pesky God builds in a holy pause.
Chapter 3:16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John the Baptist baptizes with water. The Messiah will baptize with water and fire. We sometimes make baptism a sweet, sentimental act. But there’s fire with the pesky God who wants to burn away all that is not of God.
Luke 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Jesus is baptized, and the Holy Spirit comes upon him. He hears God say, You are my child, I love you, I am pleased. We can’t hear this too much. I can get to feeling old and cynical, but when I heard the children sing, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, I could hear God calling me to be His child again too. That pesky God wants us to claim our true identity as beloved children.
Chapter 4:1,Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,
Jesus at the start of his ministry is driven out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, where he will fast and be tempted. That pesky God takes us to places of ministry that are not always pleasant or easy. We are sending out 2 mission teams today: one to Uganda and one to North Carolina. You may encounter hardship, bugs in your bed, bugs in your water, as you go with this pesky God.
Luke 4:14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.
That pesky God has us do ministry where and how and when God chooses. Jay Dolfuss has had several business careers. He was in transition when he came to visit me in my office. He said, “I have had lots of experiences, and I still have energy. I want to make the rest of my life count.” We talked about getting involved with Mobile Loaves and Fishes. Jay came up with a list of businesses that would offer huge discounts on products and services that would be advertised on a website. If you take advantage of that business’s deal on that day, the business would donate a portion of their profit to Mobile Loaves and Fishes. You can get on their list too.
Acts 2When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
We have experienced tornadoes lately. We are afraid of the rush of violent winds. We know about wildfires, like the massive one in Arizona right now. We are scared of fire. This past week at Annual Conference, at the opening service, the candles were lighted on the table in front of the Bishop. The he said, “The fire marshal has said we must extinguish the candles.” Don’t you find that a bit odd? I was trying to redeem this image when that pesky God came to me and said, “You believers must carry the flame out into the world.”
May that pesky God enflame you.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
rivers of living water
6/7//11 My breath prayer today comes from John 7:38, "Let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water." It is really dry around our part of Texas just now. We have already had 5 days where the temperature has hit 100 degrees. You can almost watch the grass turn brown in front of your eyes. Slaughter Creek that runs through the park behind our house is not running, or even trickling. It is painful to see.
I long...we all long for streams of living water. Creation cries out for showers of mercy.
Jesus says that those who believe in him shall have rivers of living water out of them, out of their hearts. As I was praying this passage, it came to me, that I would first need to get the water of life flowing into me, before it would start flowing out of me.
I am being refreshed by being part of Vacation Bible School this week. Just a few minutes ago, we sang with the children, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength." They were attentive, reverent, engaged. It touched my soul. It filled my soul. Rivers of living water began to flow into me. I pray that they may flow out of me into lives of others.
Love,
Lynn
I long...we all long for streams of living water. Creation cries out for showers of mercy.
Jesus says that those who believe in him shall have rivers of living water out of them, out of their hearts. As I was praying this passage, it came to me, that I would first need to get the water of life flowing into me, before it would start flowing out of me.
I am being refreshed by being part of Vacation Bible School this week. Just a few minutes ago, we sang with the children, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength." They were attentive, reverent, engaged. It touched my soul. It filled my soul. Rivers of living water began to flow into me. I pray that they may flow out of me into lives of others.
Love,
Lynn
Monday, June 6, 2011
renewed
6/6/11 My breath prayer today is from Psalm 104:30, When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.
There is a spiritual retreat, a short course in Christianity called the Walk to Emmaus. There is a prayer that is said before each of the 15 talks on the walk. One line from the prayer comes from Psalm 104:30 directly. We are renewed by the Spirit of God. All of creation is renewed by the Spirit of God. God's spirit/wind/breath was blowing over the chaotic waters in the first creation story of Genesis. In the second story, God's breath/wind/spirit fills the lump of clay, and it becomes a human being. God through the Spirit makes us renewed.
Love,
Lynn
There is a spiritual retreat, a short course in Christianity called the Walk to Emmaus. There is a prayer that is said before each of the 15 talks on the walk. One line from the prayer comes from Psalm 104:30 directly. We are renewed by the Spirit of God. All of creation is renewed by the Spirit of God. God's spirit/wind/breath was blowing over the chaotic waters in the first creation story of Genesis. In the second story, God's breath/wind/spirit fills the lump of clay, and it becomes a human being. God through the Spirit makes us renewed.
Love,
Lynn
Sunday, June 5, 2011
lift off
from my sermon of 6/5/11 from Luke 24:44-53
Ascension Sunday...this is another one of those church holidays that I have not paid attention to. How about you? How many of you were excited because today was Ascension Sunday? One of the reasons I have blown right by this day is that because as a Christian, I feel just a little embarrassed by it. I'll explain with a story. On my first trip to the Holy Land, we were on the Mount of Olives. So here's Jerusalem right here across the Kidron Valley. We are not too far away from the Garden of Gethsemane. The guide takes us to the "traditional" spot were Jesus is said to have ascended from. Here's the rock. I don't want him to say this next part. Can you see his footprints where he lifted off?
Now I am a math major. My minor was in physics. I know that we don't live in a 3 tiered universe with heaven above us and hell beneath us. In an infinite universe, which way is up? What does ascend mean?
So why is this important for Luke to record? In fact he ends his gospel with this event. And his second volume, Acts, begins with Jesus ascending. The Christian tradition has kept this piece of theology going for 2 millenia, why?
So I had to do some research. The Bible records stories of faithful people being taken directly up to heaven. The first is Enoch in Genesis 524. One of the most famous is Elijah in II Kings, where he is lifted up on a chariot, and Elisha gets to see him. Traditions says that Moses, Ezra, and Baruch may have directly ascended too. So Jesus as Messiah, stands in a long line of faith heroes who have ascended.
One of the key verses is Psalm 110:1, where it says that Messiah will sit at the right hand of God. This is the position of honor and intimacy. You may be ho hum about this, but this is very important. For Jesus to ascend and sit at God's right hand means that he is Lord over everything.
Let me make this concrete. Jesus is Lord over Vacation Bible School that is about to start. No matter how much effort or worry we put in, he will still be Lord of it. The new worship service we are trying to launch, he is Lord of that. Jesus is sovereign. Nothing and no one is above him. Not the drug cartels in Mexico. Not the Taliban or Alqueda. Not depression or addiction or even death. No nation or situation or person is about Jesus as Messiah.
So when Jesus ascends, the Disciples are not sad and grieving. They rejoice. They go to the temple to worship. They know that Jesus rules over everything.
And because Jesus has risen above every power and authority, we can too. He calls us to join him, to rise above our baser instincts, and to become the people he intends us to be. He wants to lift us up to be with him.
Sometimes we rise above our self-destruction and desire to destroy others. I lift weights on M-W-F up in my bedroom while listening to NPR on KUT 90.5 FM. This past Monday was Memorial day so they had lots of reports on war and loss. One interview was with Anna Badkhen. She has written a book called Peace Meals about war and feasting. She has been embedded with troops all over the world. She said she finds it amazing how at the end of the day, how grateful they are to share supper together. Quickly they will start talking about other meals. When I get home, I am going to IHOP for breakfast. When I get home, I am going to the corner pizza shop and get a pie.
The interviewer asked her what was the best meal she ever had. Now she has eaten in palaces and in 4 star restaurants. Without hesitating she said, That's easy for me to say. It was in 2001, in NE Afghanistan. I was coming into a small village that had been 4 years into a drought. Now we know in Texas a little about going without rain. There was a shop, more of a lean-to at the edge of the village where a man was selling matches, soap, and cooking oil. Winter was coming. No one had any food. He was closing up his shop because no one needed any of the things he had. When he saw me, he immediately identified me a stranger, and so therefore, he immediately assumed the role of the host. But I could see the look on his face...what did he have to share? He reached inside the folds of his robe and pulled out a handful of gnarled, green raisins, and handed them to me. I didn't know if he had more hidden inside, or if this was all he had. I didn't know if this would have been his supper. What little he had, he gave to me. That was the most lavish meal I have ever had.
Sometimes, we respond to God's grace, and we rise above our pettiness, and lack of forgiveness, and we become the people God intends us to be.
Today at this table, I don't have much to offer you. It is just a little piece of bread and some grape juice. I trust that it is enough. I pray it may be a lavish meal. I hope it lifts you up so that you my become the people God intends you to be.
Ascension Sunday...this is another one of those church holidays that I have not paid attention to. How about you? How many of you were excited because today was Ascension Sunday? One of the reasons I have blown right by this day is that because as a Christian, I feel just a little embarrassed by it. I'll explain with a story. On my first trip to the Holy Land, we were on the Mount of Olives. So here's Jerusalem right here across the Kidron Valley. We are not too far away from the Garden of Gethsemane. The guide takes us to the "traditional" spot were Jesus is said to have ascended from. Here's the rock. I don't want him to say this next part. Can you see his footprints where he lifted off?
Now I am a math major. My minor was in physics. I know that we don't live in a 3 tiered universe with heaven above us and hell beneath us. In an infinite universe, which way is up? What does ascend mean?
So why is this important for Luke to record? In fact he ends his gospel with this event. And his second volume, Acts, begins with Jesus ascending. The Christian tradition has kept this piece of theology going for 2 millenia, why?
So I had to do some research. The Bible records stories of faithful people being taken directly up to heaven. The first is Enoch in Genesis 524. One of the most famous is Elijah in II Kings, where he is lifted up on a chariot, and Elisha gets to see him. Traditions says that Moses, Ezra, and Baruch may have directly ascended too. So Jesus as Messiah, stands in a long line of faith heroes who have ascended.
One of the key verses is Psalm 110:1, where it says that Messiah will sit at the right hand of God. This is the position of honor and intimacy. You may be ho hum about this, but this is very important. For Jesus to ascend and sit at God's right hand means that he is Lord over everything.
Let me make this concrete. Jesus is Lord over Vacation Bible School that is about to start. No matter how much effort or worry we put in, he will still be Lord of it. The new worship service we are trying to launch, he is Lord of that. Jesus is sovereign. Nothing and no one is above him. Not the drug cartels in Mexico. Not the Taliban or Alqueda. Not depression or addiction or even death. No nation or situation or person is about Jesus as Messiah.
So when Jesus ascends, the Disciples are not sad and grieving. They rejoice. They go to the temple to worship. They know that Jesus rules over everything.
And because Jesus has risen above every power and authority, we can too. He calls us to join him, to rise above our baser instincts, and to become the people he intends us to be. He wants to lift us up to be with him.
Sometimes we rise above our self-destruction and desire to destroy others. I lift weights on M-W-F up in my bedroom while listening to NPR on KUT 90.5 FM. This past Monday was Memorial day so they had lots of reports on war and loss. One interview was with Anna Badkhen. She has written a book called Peace Meals about war and feasting. She has been embedded with troops all over the world. She said she finds it amazing how at the end of the day, how grateful they are to share supper together. Quickly they will start talking about other meals. When I get home, I am going to IHOP for breakfast. When I get home, I am going to the corner pizza shop and get a pie.
The interviewer asked her what was the best meal she ever had. Now she has eaten in palaces and in 4 star restaurants. Without hesitating she said, That's easy for me to say. It was in 2001, in NE Afghanistan. I was coming into a small village that had been 4 years into a drought. Now we know in Texas a little about going without rain. There was a shop, more of a lean-to at the edge of the village where a man was selling matches, soap, and cooking oil. Winter was coming. No one had any food. He was closing up his shop because no one needed any of the things he had. When he saw me, he immediately identified me a stranger, and so therefore, he immediately assumed the role of the host. But I could see the look on his face...what did he have to share? He reached inside the folds of his robe and pulled out a handful of gnarled, green raisins, and handed them to me. I didn't know if he had more hidden inside, or if this was all he had. I didn't know if this would have been his supper. What little he had, he gave to me. That was the most lavish meal I have ever had.
Sometimes, we respond to God's grace, and we rise above our pettiness, and lack of forgiveness, and we become the people God intends us to be.
Today at this table, I don't have much to offer you. It is just a little piece of bread and some grape juice. I trust that it is enough. I pray it may be a lavish meal. I hope it lifts you up so that you my become the people God intends you to be.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
an unusual wedding
6/2/11 Last week I traveled to College Station to perform the marriage of a young woman who was a little girl when I first met her. I was her pastor when she was in grade school through high school. She and her husband are Aggies, so it was fitting to go to the heart of Maroon and White, College Station.
The rehearsal went well. The temperature was only in the high 80's with low humidity, so it felt pretty good. The next day, the day of the wedding it was hot and humid and very windy. As I drove out to the picturesque wedding site, the thermometer in my car read 100 degrees. The groom's party still dressed in their tuxedos. I may be an Aggie, but I am not stupid. I dressed in a white guayabera short sleeve shirt. It was so windy that the flower petals that lined the walkway and bridge over which we walked all blew into the water we crossed. The best man, the groom's brother, drove a radio controlled car with the rings on it across the bridge. The maid of honor, the bride's sister, drove a radio controlled dump truck with flower petals in it across the bridge. Did I tell you that the groom was into computer science and robot design and the bride into aerospace engineering?
The bridesmaids entered on the Beach Boys's "Wouldn't It Be Nice." The processional song to which the bride entered was the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love".
With the wind blowing so hard, I had to use my preacher voice to be heard in the great outdoors. The parents of the bride gave her away. The parents of the groom gave him away. I like the equality of that.
After the declaration of marriage, the couple didn't have a unity candle. That was forethought since the wind would never have let any candle stay burning. The moms came forward with blue and green colored legos and handed them to their respective children. Then the bride and groom poured their legos into a glass cylinder, mixing them together.
The pictures didn't take long to take. The feast was at the same venue as the wedding. Wildlife behind fences was outside the picture windows. It was terrific. It was unique. It was an unusual wedding.
Love,
Lynn
The rehearsal went well. The temperature was only in the high 80's with low humidity, so it felt pretty good. The next day, the day of the wedding it was hot and humid and very windy. As I drove out to the picturesque wedding site, the thermometer in my car read 100 degrees. The groom's party still dressed in their tuxedos. I may be an Aggie, but I am not stupid. I dressed in a white guayabera short sleeve shirt. It was so windy that the flower petals that lined the walkway and bridge over which we walked all blew into the water we crossed. The best man, the groom's brother, drove a radio controlled car with the rings on it across the bridge. The maid of honor, the bride's sister, drove a radio controlled dump truck with flower petals in it across the bridge. Did I tell you that the groom was into computer science and robot design and the bride into aerospace engineering?
The bridesmaids entered on the Beach Boys's "Wouldn't It Be Nice." The processional song to which the bride entered was the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love".
With the wind blowing so hard, I had to use my preacher voice to be heard in the great outdoors. The parents of the bride gave her away. The parents of the groom gave him away. I like the equality of that.
After the declaration of marriage, the couple didn't have a unity candle. That was forethought since the wind would never have let any candle stay burning. The moms came forward with blue and green colored legos and handed them to their respective children. Then the bride and groom poured their legos into a glass cylinder, mixing them together.
The pictures didn't take long to take. The feast was at the same venue as the wedding. Wildlife behind fences was outside the picture windows. It was terrific. It was unique. It was an unusual wedding.
Love,
Lynn
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
cast your anxiety
6/1/11 My breath prayer for the day has long been one of my favorites that I have repeated many times over, from I Peter 5:7, "Cast all you anxiety upon him, for he cares about you."
In Greek, we learned the conjugation of verbs by memorizing paradigms, i.e., 1st person singular present tense ends in o, 1st person plural in omen, etc. One of the first verbs we learned was "ballo." It is the first word in this verse from I Peter 5:7. It means to throw. I could remember this verb from the "ball" in "ballo".
Sometimes, when I am upset, or I can't sleep, or I let things get to me, I pause and breath deeply, and pray this verse. Every time I say it, I imagine throwing whatever is causing me anxiety away from me, and into God's hands. Children--I throw them to God. Money--I throw it to God. Retirement--I throw it to God. Conflict--I throw it to God.
Usually, I can go to sleep when I cast all my anxiety upon him.
Love,
Lynn
In Greek, we learned the conjugation of verbs by memorizing paradigms, i.e., 1st person singular present tense ends in o, 1st person plural in omen, etc. One of the first verbs we learned was "ballo." It is the first word in this verse from I Peter 5:7. It means to throw. I could remember this verb from the "ball" in "ballo".
Sometimes, when I am upset, or I can't sleep, or I let things get to me, I pause and breath deeply, and pray this verse. Every time I say it, I imagine throwing whatever is causing me anxiety away from me, and into God's hands. Children--I throw them to God. Money--I throw it to God. Retirement--I throw it to God. Conflict--I throw it to God.
Usually, I can go to sleep when I cast all my anxiety upon him.
Love,
Lynn
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