1/12/11 My breath prayer for the day is from John 1:34, "And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God." Last night we had our first meeting with the new church council. I have a strong bias against making church meetings look like business agenda items. I build in songs, the passing of the peace, scripture, and prayer. I also like to have a time when folks can share a God sighting, a closeest moment to Christ, or a word of encouragement. At the meeting last night, one shared about the woman who asks for help at the corner of I-35 and 51st street. She has only one leg. Her sign reads, "I am down to my last leg." Another person shared about the somewhat mentally challenged person who not only takes tickets at the theater but also hands out hugs. I can get through a lot of business agenda when I hear people testify.
Love,
Lynn
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
world weary
1/11/10 The news of these days has worn me out. A lone gunman has attempted to assassinate a congresswoman in Arizona, killing 6 others in the process including a federal judge and a 9 year old child, and wounding 12 others. Brisbane, Australia, where we visited our friends this summer is being flooded. Sudan is voting to split into 2 countries. The elected president of Ivory Coast can't take office. Haiti is one year out from its earthquake and still caught in a quagmire of government ineptitude and cholera fever. A man in our church with ALS has now been diagnosed with cancer. On it goes.
The Old Testament lesson for this week is from Isaiah 49. He says in a world weary way, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity." And then in the next verses, he reverses his tone, "I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and my God has become my strength."
That's why I pray. That's why I practice this Christian walk. God transforms my weariness into his strength.
Love,
Lynn
The Old Testament lesson for this week is from Isaiah 49. He says in a world weary way, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity." And then in the next verses, he reverses his tone, "I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and my God has become my strength."
That's why I pray. That's why I practice this Christian walk. God transforms my weariness into his strength.
Love,
Lynn
Monday, January 10, 2011
faith in the midst of financial crisis
from my sermon on 1/9/11, from Matthew 3:13-17
Who are you? What are you worth? Today we begin a 6 week series on Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. Today we also celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, a day when we remember that Jesus was baptized. I believe the sacrament of baptism has answers to the questions who are you and what are you worth.
Who are you? I have been reading Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller. It is the story of his coming to faith. In his chapter on money, he had a line that really got me: We are our possessions, you know.
So who are you? Are you your house? I remember when Cathy and I were able to purchase a house in San Antonio. Members of the church would ask us where it was. We would say 134 Hiler. What zip code is that? We would say 78209. They would say, "Oh, you are oh niners!" Does our zip code determine who we are?
I want you to do a memory exercise. Get a picture of the house you grew up in. We had mom and dad and four kids in a 3 bedroom, 1 and 1/2 bath house. Today Cathy and I live all by ourselves in a 5 bedroom, 2 and 1/2 bath house. What happened? I googled this info this morning: since the 1950's, the average U. S. house has doubled in size. Today the average house is 2400 sq. ft. Are we the size of our house?
Who are you? Are you the designer labels on your clothes, your shoes, your handbag, your fragrance? In the early service, Jay, who is quite rotund, called out that his clothes designer was Omar the Tentmaker!
Who are you? Are you your car? Are you know by its size, its safety rating, its price?
Who are you? Are you your stock portfolio? In late 2007, the stock market started falling. How far did it fall? 54%....you say. I wonder, did that make you 54% less than you were? Can you be 54% less a person?
Who are you? We have a great fear of identity theft. This is no laughing matter. A young man in our former church named James went into the Army, went to Iraq as a chaplain's assistant, came back, and someone got his bank acct. number, and cleaned him out. It has been a real mess trying to recover from that.
We are known by all kinds of numbers. You have your social security number, 9 digits. You are cautioned not to give it out. You have a bank acct. number, 10 digits. Then you have PIN to access that acct. Then you have a credit card number, 16 digits. Whenever you give it, you are asked for the expiration date, then on the back that security code.
We have passwords to protect our identity. And if you forget the password, you have a security question. What is your mother's maiden name? What is the name of your family pet?
Who are you? Are these numbers who we are? Can one really steal our identity by gaining access to these numbers? Is this who we are?
Who are you? Today, we say, you are baptized! We are not baptized in the name of Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, and AIG. We are baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are not baptized in the name of Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. We are baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
In this baptism scene in Matthew, we have the Son coming to John in the wilderness to be baptized by him. The Holy Spirit comes down in the form of a dove. The Father speaks, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Only Matthew tells the story this way. It is not the Father speaking to the Son, You are my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, but the Father speaking to the crowd, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. It is not Jesus who needs to hear these words, but us. We find out who we are by knowing who Jesus is.
Jesus joins us in baptism. Therefore, he joins us in our fear so we may know his freedom. He joins us in our brokenness so we may know his healing. He joins us in our sin so we may know his salvation. That's why Jesus is baptized.
Who are you? In debt...you are baptized. Well off...you are baptized. Stressed...you are baptized. Confident...you are baptized. Out of work...you are baptized. Gainfully employed...you are baptized. Market up....you are baptized. Market down....you are baptized.
God tells us who we are in our baptism. This identity is indelible. It doesn't wash off. Our identity is sure. That's why we are baptized once for life. Today we will be given the opportunity to remember our baptism...to remember who we are...as we come and touch the water.
What are you worth? We have several financial planners in this church. They may take you through an exercise where you list all of your assets: stocks, bonds, savings acct., checking acct., real estate, insurance policy cash values, etc. Then you would list all of your liabilities: mortgages, loans, debts, etc. The difference between the 2 is your "Net worth." But is that what you are worth?
Jesus is baptized to show us what we are worth. Only Matthew has this dialogue. John says, I need to be baptized by you. Jesus responds, Let it be in order to fulfill all righteousness. Righteousness doesn't mean rules and regulations; it means right relationships. Jesus is baptized to stay in right relationship with the Father. He is baptized to stay in right relationship with us. He does not follow the conventional wisdom, nor what the religous authorities want, nor what the politicians dictate. He follows righteousness. By being baptized, He sets in motions a series of events that lead him to a hill outside of Jerusalem. Jesus says in the gospels, "I have a baptism to be baptized with." He was talking of his death on a cross. What are you worth? You are of infinite worth. As it says in the credit card commercial, "Priceless."
How much is enough? Today we believe that a little bit of water in baptism is enough to tell us who we are and what we are worth.
Who are you? What are you worth? Today we begin a 6 week series on Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. Today we also celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, a day when we remember that Jesus was baptized. I believe the sacrament of baptism has answers to the questions who are you and what are you worth.
Who are you? I have been reading Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller. It is the story of his coming to faith. In his chapter on money, he had a line that really got me: We are our possessions, you know.
So who are you? Are you your house? I remember when Cathy and I were able to purchase a house in San Antonio. Members of the church would ask us where it was. We would say 134 Hiler. What zip code is that? We would say 78209. They would say, "Oh, you are oh niners!" Does our zip code determine who we are?
I want you to do a memory exercise. Get a picture of the house you grew up in. We had mom and dad and four kids in a 3 bedroom, 1 and 1/2 bath house. Today Cathy and I live all by ourselves in a 5 bedroom, 2 and 1/2 bath house. What happened? I googled this info this morning: since the 1950's, the average U. S. house has doubled in size. Today the average house is 2400 sq. ft. Are we the size of our house?
Who are you? Are you the designer labels on your clothes, your shoes, your handbag, your fragrance? In the early service, Jay, who is quite rotund, called out that his clothes designer was Omar the Tentmaker!
Who are you? Are you your car? Are you know by its size, its safety rating, its price?
Who are you? Are you your stock portfolio? In late 2007, the stock market started falling. How far did it fall? 54%....you say. I wonder, did that make you 54% less than you were? Can you be 54% less a person?
Who are you? We have a great fear of identity theft. This is no laughing matter. A young man in our former church named James went into the Army, went to Iraq as a chaplain's assistant, came back, and someone got his bank acct. number, and cleaned him out. It has been a real mess trying to recover from that.
We are known by all kinds of numbers. You have your social security number, 9 digits. You are cautioned not to give it out. You have a bank acct. number, 10 digits. Then you have PIN to access that acct. Then you have a credit card number, 16 digits. Whenever you give it, you are asked for the expiration date, then on the back that security code.
We have passwords to protect our identity. And if you forget the password, you have a security question. What is your mother's maiden name? What is the name of your family pet?
Who are you? Are these numbers who we are? Can one really steal our identity by gaining access to these numbers? Is this who we are?
Who are you? Today, we say, you are baptized! We are not baptized in the name of Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, and AIG. We are baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are not baptized in the name of Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. We are baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
In this baptism scene in Matthew, we have the Son coming to John in the wilderness to be baptized by him. The Holy Spirit comes down in the form of a dove. The Father speaks, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Only Matthew tells the story this way. It is not the Father speaking to the Son, You are my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, but the Father speaking to the crowd, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. It is not Jesus who needs to hear these words, but us. We find out who we are by knowing who Jesus is.
Jesus joins us in baptism. Therefore, he joins us in our fear so we may know his freedom. He joins us in our brokenness so we may know his healing. He joins us in our sin so we may know his salvation. That's why Jesus is baptized.
Who are you? In debt...you are baptized. Well off...you are baptized. Stressed...you are baptized. Confident...you are baptized. Out of work...you are baptized. Gainfully employed...you are baptized. Market up....you are baptized. Market down....you are baptized.
God tells us who we are in our baptism. This identity is indelible. It doesn't wash off. Our identity is sure. That's why we are baptized once for life. Today we will be given the opportunity to remember our baptism...to remember who we are...as we come and touch the water.
What are you worth? We have several financial planners in this church. They may take you through an exercise where you list all of your assets: stocks, bonds, savings acct., checking acct., real estate, insurance policy cash values, etc. Then you would list all of your liabilities: mortgages, loans, debts, etc. The difference between the 2 is your "Net worth." But is that what you are worth?
Jesus is baptized to show us what we are worth. Only Matthew has this dialogue. John says, I need to be baptized by you. Jesus responds, Let it be in order to fulfill all righteousness. Righteousness doesn't mean rules and regulations; it means right relationships. Jesus is baptized to stay in right relationship with the Father. He is baptized to stay in right relationship with us. He does not follow the conventional wisdom, nor what the religous authorities want, nor what the politicians dictate. He follows righteousness. By being baptized, He sets in motions a series of events that lead him to a hill outside of Jerusalem. Jesus says in the gospels, "I have a baptism to be baptized with." He was talking of his death on a cross. What are you worth? You are of infinite worth. As it says in the credit card commercial, "Priceless."
How much is enough? Today we believe that a little bit of water in baptism is enough to tell us who we are and what we are worth.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
traffic
1/6/11 The last 2 days I have taken MoPac into work. This highway is also called Loop 1. The last 2 days it could have been called a slow moving parking lot. I am so glad that I have acquaintance with the life of prayer. Yes, I get frustrated, but I have tried to view the traffic as a call to pray. I have tried to view the traffic as God's way of slowing me down. So for the last 2 days, I have used that traffic as an opportunity to breathe and to pray. The traffic did not so much get in my way as provide my a way to pray.
Love,
Lynn
Love,
Lynn
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
swearing in
1/5/11 I have just come back from the swearing in ceremony of our State Comptroller of Public Accounts, Susan Combs, who is a member of our church. It was held in the Texas Senate chambers. I led the pledge of allegiance to the U.S. flag and to the Texas flag. I then offered the following prayer:
Gracious God, we trust, we honor you. You alone are Lord. We ask you to bless your child Susan, who seeks to serve you and the great State of Texas as our comptroller of Public Accountants. Help her to stand tall as a witness to you. Give her wisdom, integrity, and a cool head in the midst of hot debate. Bless her and Joe in their marriage, work, and play. Dear God, save us from a lack of civility; rescue us from the tyranny of the tiny. And dear God, as much as long to know what the budget numbers are for this next biennium, we long to know you more. You are ever faithful, so we make this prayer in confidence. Amen.
One of our church members, Margaret, was there. I first met Susan at Margaret's house at a Christmas party 3 years ago. One of the youth from the time I was associate pastor at St. John's here in Austin, now a man named Robert, works in Susan's office. He is all grown up, married, has kids, and has a new church home. It was great to visit with him. As I was walking to my car, I saw Carolyn, a visitor to our church, who works in Susan's office too. I also met another church member, Will, when I first arrived. I was happy to be part of the swearing in.
Love,
Lynn
Gracious God, we trust, we honor you. You alone are Lord. We ask you to bless your child Susan, who seeks to serve you and the great State of Texas as our comptroller of Public Accountants. Help her to stand tall as a witness to you. Give her wisdom, integrity, and a cool head in the midst of hot debate. Bless her and Joe in their marriage, work, and play. Dear God, save us from a lack of civility; rescue us from the tyranny of the tiny. And dear God, as much as long to know what the budget numbers are for this next biennium, we long to know you more. You are ever faithful, so we make this prayer in confidence. Amen.
One of our church members, Margaret, was there. I first met Susan at Margaret's house at a Christmas party 3 years ago. One of the youth from the time I was associate pastor at St. John's here in Austin, now a man named Robert, works in Susan's office. He is all grown up, married, has kids, and has a new church home. It was great to visit with him. As I was walking to my car, I saw Carolyn, a visitor to our church, who works in Susan's office too. I also met another church member, Will, when I first arrived. I was happy to be part of the swearing in.
Love,
Lynn
Monday, January 3, 2011
a new year blessing
1/3/11 My breath prayer for the day comes from Psalm 29:11, "May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!" I can't think of any better way to begin this new year and new decade than with this verse. It is my prayer for you and all of God's creation.
Love,
Lynn
Love,
Lynn
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Aha! Herod!
from my sermon on 1/2/11 from Matthew 2:1-12
At a former church I had a member who had been on regional staff in the United Methodist Church. I asked her to come in as a consultant with our local church staff, as another pair of eyes to see how we could function better. After visitng us, she said, "One thing you could do as a staff is to share 'God sightings,' places where you experience the presence of Christ." I said that 'God sightings' sounded a lot like epiphany, where Christ is revealed, unveiled. One of my staff members said that epiphany was too big a word. As an Aggie, I said that epiphanies were 'aha' moments, places where we knew it was Christ in our midst.
I had an 'aha' moment this past week. We had a reunion of some of us Aggies who met at the Wesley Foundation, the Methodist campus ministry, some 35 years ago. We gathered in Mason, where one couple has a B & B right on the square. We reminisced. At the very first work project we did, Bob had gone to the bathroom right as we were leaving and got locked inside the building! He had to phome to get himself out of the double-keyed dead bolt locked doors. We had meals together.
I led a worship service in the chapel of the Fist UMC of Mason, a room that used to be my office when I did my internship there in 1978, I asked the 14 of us to witnness to the presence of Christ in our lives today. Bob and Lisa have a 29 yr old daughter with autism. they have tried group homes that didn't work out. They have taken their daughter back into their home, found her a job, and started a Sunday School class at their church for persons like her. Brent and Monica have a son who was in a head on collision with a drunk driver. Their son has survived thanks to good medical care, many prayers and support from their church and community. Russell has never been married. He quit his job to care for his father in his dying. For 3 years he was his father's nurse. Today, he volunteers at the UMC across the street from his house, including folding the worship bulletins on Thursday afternoons just like we do here. It was holy time. For an hour and 15 minutes I knew Christ was in the room. Aha! I wanted to place the experience in a bottle, put a label on the front, and say, "When you need the nearness of Christ, here it is!"
Of course we can't do this. We can't manufacture 'aha' moments. We cannot manipulate God into coming on our terms. It is always a gift, at God's initiative. But if I read this passage correctly, the 'aha' moments can come to absolutely anyone. They are not necessarily wise men in the story. They are certainly not kings. They are magi, from which we get magic. They are sorcerers, astrologers. Our Old Testament doesn't have a good word to say about such folks. They are gentiles. They are foreigners. They would have been voted least likely to see an epiphany.
If I read the story correctly, the world is filled with 'aha' moments. They can come in a star , a dream, a little boy in a house in Bethlehem. They can come even today.
You open the email. It has a link included in it. You receive 10 of these a day. Most of the time you delete them. This time, you go to the link. It is of a food court in a mall in Minneapolis. People are chowing down on their KFC and Chinese noodles and burgers and fries. There is Muzak playing. But it stops. An organ starts to play familiar chords. A beautiful soprano stands up and sings, "Hallelujah!" Then a tenor, and bass, and an alto. Soon a whole choir is singing. It is Handel's Messiah, the Hallelujah Chorus. People stop eating and talking. They stand and start singing too. Aha! In a food court in a mall in Minneapolis Christ comes!
You go to a Habitat for Humanity house blessing. You have driven nails, dug fence posts, hung drywall, painted, and now the house is done. On this day, you stand on the driveway, and the family is there. Someone comes and hands them the keys to their new house. It is the first house they have ever owned. Their smiles are so big. Aha! Christ is revealed!
Even in morning worship, sometimes we have 'aha' moments. It happened on Christmas Eve, at the 4 p.m. pageant service. We had sung a carol. The Christmas story was read. A little person just couldn't hold it in. They clapped and shouted "YEAH!' Aha! Christ comes even in worship.
I know you have made New Year's resolutions, and that is fine and dandy. You are going to lose weight. You are going to diet and exercise. Great! But hear this, beyond your resolutions, God has resolved to try to reach everyone, and has soaked the universe in 'aha' moments.
When you have an 'aha' moment with Christ, it won't be long until you have an 'aha' moment with Herod. He is lurking in this story. How many times is he mentioned in the passage? He says he wants to worship the new king, but he doesn't really. He is threatened. He is plotting. He is evil. This Herod is not the same king as the one at Jesus' death. But this Herod is an unsavory character. I did a little research. He murders a wife. He murders some sons. He kills a brother-in-law, among other bad deeds.
I hate to tell you this, but there is evil in the world. And not just out there in institutions. There is evil right at the door of your heart.
I have reading Blue Like Jazz, a story of Donald Miller's coming to faith in Jesus Christ. Don is going to classes at Reed College, a "party school" in Portland, Oregon. I know none of you have gone to a party school. At Reed, they actually set aside a weekend for sex and drugs and rock and roll. Don and his Christian friends were trying to come up with a response to this rave. Don suggest in jest that they set up a confessional booth on campus. One of his friends thought that was perfect. No, Don said, I was only kidding. No, the friend said, we will build and confess to others.
So as they were building the confessional booth, they attracted some attention. "What's that?" "A confessional." "Really?" "Yeah, come by later." Don drew the first shift. He hoped nobody would come, but someone did. "What is this?" "It's a confessional." "Oh, so I am supposed to tell you all the wicked things I have done?" "No, I want to confess to you how sorry I am that we Christians have messed up so badly. I am sorry for the Crusades, and everything." "I don't think you are responsible for the Crusades." "I know, but I don't represent Christ very well. He said to feed the hungry, and I don't much of that. He said to clothe the naked, and I am not good at that. He said to heal the hurt, and I don't. He said to bless those who persecute you, but mostly I lash out and try to get revenge. I am sorry." The dude responded with tears in his eyes, "I forgive you." Aha!
The dude asked about the cross. Don responded, "It means that we are broken, messed up, sinners. We can't fix ourselves, so God has come in Jesus to take our sin away, to heal us, to restore us, to rescue us from ourselves."
Aha! That how Christ comes, even when we confess. So the act of confession in the worship service is not a hollow one. It is where we see Christ at His best.
The good news is that Christ wants to be revealed to absolutely everyone and has bathed the universe in 'aha' moments.
At a former church I had a member who had been on regional staff in the United Methodist Church. I asked her to come in as a consultant with our local church staff, as another pair of eyes to see how we could function better. After visitng us, she said, "One thing you could do as a staff is to share 'God sightings,' places where you experience the presence of Christ." I said that 'God sightings' sounded a lot like epiphany, where Christ is revealed, unveiled. One of my staff members said that epiphany was too big a word. As an Aggie, I said that epiphanies were 'aha' moments, places where we knew it was Christ in our midst.
I had an 'aha' moment this past week. We had a reunion of some of us Aggies who met at the Wesley Foundation, the Methodist campus ministry, some 35 years ago. We gathered in Mason, where one couple has a B & B right on the square. We reminisced. At the very first work project we did, Bob had gone to the bathroom right as we were leaving and got locked inside the building! He had to phome to get himself out of the double-keyed dead bolt locked doors. We had meals together.
I led a worship service in the chapel of the Fist UMC of Mason, a room that used to be my office when I did my internship there in 1978, I asked the 14 of us to witnness to the presence of Christ in our lives today. Bob and Lisa have a 29 yr old daughter with autism. they have tried group homes that didn't work out. They have taken their daughter back into their home, found her a job, and started a Sunday School class at their church for persons like her. Brent and Monica have a son who was in a head on collision with a drunk driver. Their son has survived thanks to good medical care, many prayers and support from their church and community. Russell has never been married. He quit his job to care for his father in his dying. For 3 years he was his father's nurse. Today, he volunteers at the UMC across the street from his house, including folding the worship bulletins on Thursday afternoons just like we do here. It was holy time. For an hour and 15 minutes I knew Christ was in the room. Aha! I wanted to place the experience in a bottle, put a label on the front, and say, "When you need the nearness of Christ, here it is!"
Of course we can't do this. We can't manufacture 'aha' moments. We cannot manipulate God into coming on our terms. It is always a gift, at God's initiative. But if I read this passage correctly, the 'aha' moments can come to absolutely anyone. They are not necessarily wise men in the story. They are certainly not kings. They are magi, from which we get magic. They are sorcerers, astrologers. Our Old Testament doesn't have a good word to say about such folks. They are gentiles. They are foreigners. They would have been voted least likely to see an epiphany.
If I read the story correctly, the world is filled with 'aha' moments. They can come in a star , a dream, a little boy in a house in Bethlehem. They can come even today.
You open the email. It has a link included in it. You receive 10 of these a day. Most of the time you delete them. This time, you go to the link. It is of a food court in a mall in Minneapolis. People are chowing down on their KFC and Chinese noodles and burgers and fries. There is Muzak playing. But it stops. An organ starts to play familiar chords. A beautiful soprano stands up and sings, "Hallelujah!" Then a tenor, and bass, and an alto. Soon a whole choir is singing. It is Handel's Messiah, the Hallelujah Chorus. People stop eating and talking. They stand and start singing too. Aha! In a food court in a mall in Minneapolis Christ comes!
You go to a Habitat for Humanity house blessing. You have driven nails, dug fence posts, hung drywall, painted, and now the house is done. On this day, you stand on the driveway, and the family is there. Someone comes and hands them the keys to their new house. It is the first house they have ever owned. Their smiles are so big. Aha! Christ is revealed!
Even in morning worship, sometimes we have 'aha' moments. It happened on Christmas Eve, at the 4 p.m. pageant service. We had sung a carol. The Christmas story was read. A little person just couldn't hold it in. They clapped and shouted "YEAH!' Aha! Christ comes even in worship.
I know you have made New Year's resolutions, and that is fine and dandy. You are going to lose weight. You are going to diet and exercise. Great! But hear this, beyond your resolutions, God has resolved to try to reach everyone, and has soaked the universe in 'aha' moments.
When you have an 'aha' moment with Christ, it won't be long until you have an 'aha' moment with Herod. He is lurking in this story. How many times is he mentioned in the passage? He says he wants to worship the new king, but he doesn't really. He is threatened. He is plotting. He is evil. This Herod is not the same king as the one at Jesus' death. But this Herod is an unsavory character. I did a little research. He murders a wife. He murders some sons. He kills a brother-in-law, among other bad deeds.
I hate to tell you this, but there is evil in the world. And not just out there in institutions. There is evil right at the door of your heart.
I have reading Blue Like Jazz, a story of Donald Miller's coming to faith in Jesus Christ. Don is going to classes at Reed College, a "party school" in Portland, Oregon. I know none of you have gone to a party school. At Reed, they actually set aside a weekend for sex and drugs and rock and roll. Don and his Christian friends were trying to come up with a response to this rave. Don suggest in jest that they set up a confessional booth on campus. One of his friends thought that was perfect. No, Don said, I was only kidding. No, the friend said, we will build and confess to others.
So as they were building the confessional booth, they attracted some attention. "What's that?" "A confessional." "Really?" "Yeah, come by later." Don drew the first shift. He hoped nobody would come, but someone did. "What is this?" "It's a confessional." "Oh, so I am supposed to tell you all the wicked things I have done?" "No, I want to confess to you how sorry I am that we Christians have messed up so badly. I am sorry for the Crusades, and everything." "I don't think you are responsible for the Crusades." "I know, but I don't represent Christ very well. He said to feed the hungry, and I don't much of that. He said to clothe the naked, and I am not good at that. He said to heal the hurt, and I don't. He said to bless those who persecute you, but mostly I lash out and try to get revenge. I am sorry." The dude responded with tears in his eyes, "I forgive you." Aha!
The dude asked about the cross. Don responded, "It means that we are broken, messed up, sinners. We can't fix ourselves, so God has come in Jesus to take our sin away, to heal us, to restore us, to rescue us from ourselves."
Aha! That how Christ comes, even when we confess. So the act of confession in the worship service is not a hollow one. It is where we see Christ at His best.
The good news is that Christ wants to be revealed to absolutely everyone and has bathed the universe in 'aha' moments.
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