from my message on June 29, 2014, from Romans 7:15-25a
Are you good enough? I am here to tell you that by the grace of Jesus Christ, you are good enough. You could leave right now and have gotten the whole message.
This is a message for perfectionists and those people who deal with perfectionists, so I guess that's everybody here. I don't always preach this way, so be prepared for some antics.
First, we start with a You Might be a Perfectionist quiz, modeled after Jeff Foxworth's You Might Be a Redneck. Jeff said, If you ever mowed the lawn and found a car there, you might be a redneck.
If all of you're emails, tweets, and Facebook posts are free of spelling errors....then you might be a perfectionist
If you noticed the typo in the previous item.....
If you ignore the 12 great reviews to fret about the 1 lousy one.....
If you have the urge to be everything to everybody.......
If you have ever felt that you were unworthy of love or belonging.....
If you didn't try something new because you might fail......
If you were eager to point out others' faults to minimize yours.......
If you were afraid to share your vulnerability......
If you ever felt you weren't skinny enough, rich enough, smart enough, nice enough, strong enough, popular enough, creative enough.....Then you might be a perfectionist
Do we have any perfectionists here? Can you identify with Paul in this passage from Romans? I don't understand my own actions. What I want to do, I don't do. The thing I don't want to do, I do. Wretched man that I am!
I am a perfectionist. I think if I could just control my actions, get everything just right, be good enough, then i would be acceptable to God and others. I work really hard to keep up the facade that I am perfect.
It's not what God intends for us, this living in secret shame. We learn these roles early on. I am the eldest son. I have always been super-responsible. Here's the story that characterizes my perfectionism. It is December of my junior year in high school. I am showing my dad my first semester report card. I say, "Look, Dad, I made a 98 in chemistry." To which my dad replied, "Don't they give 100's anymore?" I was crushed. "But it was the highest grade in the class. It is an A+."
It didn't matter. No matter what I do, how hard I work, it never feels good enough.
Our director of music and worship, Diana, loaned me a book on this subject. It is by Brune' Brown, and it is called the Gifts of Imperfection. She named 3 gifts: Courage, Compassion, and Connection. Courage comes from the Latin cour for heart. One is to speak from one's heart. Compassion means to set appropriate boundaries, to know what is your stuff and what is others' stuff. You can take care of your stuff so that you can be available to stand alongside others with their stuff. Connection means you can't do it alone. This work is best done in community.
While I am talking about this, you may be filling out that scratch piece of paper with something you want to let go of. You may have something you have been holding onto so tightly in your so-called perfectionism that you can't open your hand to the love Christ holds for you.
So, this past week I decided to open myself, to practice the gifts of imperfection. I was in a meeting. The talk turned to focus on me. The people were not intending to strike at me, yet their comments were wounding me. I said, "Hold on a sec. Let me tell you how what you are saying feels to me. My heart is racing. My breath is shallow. My mind is whirring. I feel like a little boy, ashamed of what I have done."
The dynamic of the conversation changed instantly. I had shown courage, compassion, and connection. It was liberating. Brune' Brown says, "Shame loves perfectionists, because it is so easy to keep us quiet."
In her book, she shares other ways to move beyond perfectionism. Play, music, and dance are some of those ways. They open the imagination. We are going to practice that now.
Learn this song with me:
That's the way it is by golly, that's the way it is by golly, that's the way it is by golly, that's the way it is.
So when you make a 98, and your dad says, "Don't they give 100's anymore," you sing, That's the way it is by golly.....
Write down on that scratch piece of paper what you want to let go of, what you have been holding onto so tightly that you can't be open to the love that Christ holds for you. Write down where you don't feel good enough, while we sing, That's the way it is by golly....
Now I have some kazoos for some of you. Add your sounds to the song while we write down where we don't feel good enough....That's the way it is by golly,....
Now I will have the ushers to come forward with the trash cans, notice that they are recycle bins, so you can throw those places where you don't feel good enough away while we sing...That's the way it is by golly...
I like how Paul ends this passage. He says, But thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. I looked up this passage in the Greek. I was expecting the word for thanks to be eucharist, but it wasn't. The word was charis, the word for grace. Grace is God's unmerited love for us, a free gift, nothing we can do to earn it. That's the way it is by golly. By grace, you are good enough.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Monday, June 9, 2014
Spirits vs. Holy Spirit
from my message on June 8, 2014, Pentecost, from Acts 2:1-15
Are you thirsty? For what or for whom do you thirst?
When I first started in ministry, I didn't know very much. I was thirsty for knowledge. I would find myself talking with a family in the church, and things were fitting together right. I was confused. One person would be overfunctioning, rescuing everything and everybody. One would be quiet. One would be acting out. All would defer to one person as if they were afraid of him or her.
It wasn't until my third year out of seminary, when I was taking a course on chemical addictions and family systems, that things started to make sense. I took this course at Austin Community College with a bunch of recovering alcoholics. We read books together. We attended lectures together. I found out that alcoholism is a family disease. No one becomes an alcoholic by himself or herself. There are "enablers" around the alcoholic who all play their roles to help the alcoholic continue in their relationship with the chemical. I found out that denial and blame are two key signs of addiction. "I don't have a problem.....he is the problem, she is the problem...work is the problem.." I found out the drug always works...I don't mean to pick on just alcohol, it could be food, or sex, or gambling or work. The drug works on the reptilian part of our brains. It produces a feeling, a high, but we always come down lower from the high. Then we need more of the drug to achieve the high. We sink lower. There is a downward spiral. This is where shame comes in. We feel so out of control.
I was frustrated in class. All of my other classmates were in recovery programs. I wasn't. One night I said, "Listen, I don't get how I can ever help any body on drugs. I don't have a problem with alcohol. I don't even drink." One of the old alkies asked, "Have you ever been sick?" "Well, yes, of course!" "Well, we have a disease called alcoholism. We didn't ask to get it. It is progressive. But there is a treatment for it."
I found out that I could work with people who were addicted. When I was in one of those confusing family situations, I learned to start asking the question, "What role does alcohol or other drugs play in your family?"
Almost every time, people would reflect and say, "Oh, yeah, we do have a problem." I found out that the drug addiction was only 10% of the problem, but it was the first 10%. We couldn't get to the other 90% until we got rid of the fog, the miscommunication, the dysfunction of the drug.
Are you thirsty today? For what or for whom do you thirst?
We Methodists began as abstainers from alcohol. The Methodists were a reform movement within the Anglican Church in the 1700's. At that time the common working person's drug of choice was gin. It was cheap and plentiful. There was a saying at that time, "you can get drunk for a 1/2 penny, dead drunk for a penny." So the Methodists saw a problem with alcoholism. They were against hard liquor.
Where did grape juice come from, like we use at communion? There was a communion steward, one who prepares the communion elements, named Thomas Welch. He was a dentist. One time when he prepared the bread and wine for communion, a friend of his got started on a bender by drinking the wine at communion. Dr. Welch was determined to find an alternative. He took some crushed grapes and pasteurized them to keep them from fermenting. He made non-fermented grape sweet juice. I bet you have had Welch's grape juice. It rapidly caught on in the late 1800's and began to be used by Methodists and other denominations.
I saw an article in the Austin American-Statesman about a new church in Ft. Worth that billed itself as a Pub Church, complete with craft beer. This was not a Methodist Church. It was Lutheran. We continue to this day using grape juice, not wine.
Wine is found all through the Bible. Water purity was unreliable. Water was often mixed with wine. There are positive verses that talk about wine gladdening the heart. There are verses that caution about overindulging and having wine make a mockery of us. Jesus came eating and drinking the Gospel stories say. Wine was a part of the Last Supper.
On the day of Pentecost, the on-lookers couldn't understand what was going on. They thought that those who had been filled by the Holy Spirit had been filled with distilled spirits. "They're drunk," they accused. Peter and the others said, "No, they are filled with something better, the Spirit of God."
Are you thirsty? For what or for whom do you thirst?
M. Scott Peck calls alcoholism the sacred disease. We try to fill up on spirit when only Holy Spirit will satisfy. He calls all of our substitutes "Cheap grace." All the treatment programs of which I am aware are spiritually based. They have admit that we are powerless over the drug and that we need a higher power to save us.
The Holy Spirit can fill us and save us. It looks like Kevin's story ( go to our website YouTube channel to hear his testimony). Kevin just celebrated his first birthday of sobriety. It is like going from death to life.
Why am I talking about this today? I once had a member of my church in San Saba who said, "I found Jesus and salvation in AA (alcoholics anonymous). The church was afraid to address my disease." I am not afraid to talk about it, as it is one of the most pervasive issues around.
Let me do a little math with you. We have just over 800 members here. Some 62% of Methodists drink. That means 500 of us drink in this congregation. Ten percent of those who drink have a problem with alcohol. That means 50 of us have a problem.
Some of you have had the courage to talk with me about your disease. I try to work with the motivated people in families to get help. Thankfully, there are all kinds of resources nearby. We have an Al-Anon group that meets here on Fridays at noon for family members or friends of those who have problems with alcohol. There are 12 step groups that meet at all hours of the day and night all around town. There are wonderful treatment facilities at hand.
When you get really thirsty, come talk to me. Only the Holy Spirit can ever satisfy. That's the good news I have to share today.
Are you thirsty? For what or for whom do you thirst?
When I first started in ministry, I didn't know very much. I was thirsty for knowledge. I would find myself talking with a family in the church, and things were fitting together right. I was confused. One person would be overfunctioning, rescuing everything and everybody. One would be quiet. One would be acting out. All would defer to one person as if they were afraid of him or her.
It wasn't until my third year out of seminary, when I was taking a course on chemical addictions and family systems, that things started to make sense. I took this course at Austin Community College with a bunch of recovering alcoholics. We read books together. We attended lectures together. I found out that alcoholism is a family disease. No one becomes an alcoholic by himself or herself. There are "enablers" around the alcoholic who all play their roles to help the alcoholic continue in their relationship with the chemical. I found out that denial and blame are two key signs of addiction. "I don't have a problem.....he is the problem, she is the problem...work is the problem.." I found out the drug always works...I don't mean to pick on just alcohol, it could be food, or sex, or gambling or work. The drug works on the reptilian part of our brains. It produces a feeling, a high, but we always come down lower from the high. Then we need more of the drug to achieve the high. We sink lower. There is a downward spiral. This is where shame comes in. We feel so out of control.
I was frustrated in class. All of my other classmates were in recovery programs. I wasn't. One night I said, "Listen, I don't get how I can ever help any body on drugs. I don't have a problem with alcohol. I don't even drink." One of the old alkies asked, "Have you ever been sick?" "Well, yes, of course!" "Well, we have a disease called alcoholism. We didn't ask to get it. It is progressive. But there is a treatment for it."
I found out that I could work with people who were addicted. When I was in one of those confusing family situations, I learned to start asking the question, "What role does alcohol or other drugs play in your family?"
Almost every time, people would reflect and say, "Oh, yeah, we do have a problem." I found out that the drug addiction was only 10% of the problem, but it was the first 10%. We couldn't get to the other 90% until we got rid of the fog, the miscommunication, the dysfunction of the drug.
Are you thirsty today? For what or for whom do you thirst?
We Methodists began as abstainers from alcohol. The Methodists were a reform movement within the Anglican Church in the 1700's. At that time the common working person's drug of choice was gin. It was cheap and plentiful. There was a saying at that time, "you can get drunk for a 1/2 penny, dead drunk for a penny." So the Methodists saw a problem with alcoholism. They were against hard liquor.
Where did grape juice come from, like we use at communion? There was a communion steward, one who prepares the communion elements, named Thomas Welch. He was a dentist. One time when he prepared the bread and wine for communion, a friend of his got started on a bender by drinking the wine at communion. Dr. Welch was determined to find an alternative. He took some crushed grapes and pasteurized them to keep them from fermenting. He made non-fermented grape sweet juice. I bet you have had Welch's grape juice. It rapidly caught on in the late 1800's and began to be used by Methodists and other denominations.
I saw an article in the Austin American-Statesman about a new church in Ft. Worth that billed itself as a Pub Church, complete with craft beer. This was not a Methodist Church. It was Lutheran. We continue to this day using grape juice, not wine.
Wine is found all through the Bible. Water purity was unreliable. Water was often mixed with wine. There are positive verses that talk about wine gladdening the heart. There are verses that caution about overindulging and having wine make a mockery of us. Jesus came eating and drinking the Gospel stories say. Wine was a part of the Last Supper.
On the day of Pentecost, the on-lookers couldn't understand what was going on. They thought that those who had been filled by the Holy Spirit had been filled with distilled spirits. "They're drunk," they accused. Peter and the others said, "No, they are filled with something better, the Spirit of God."
Are you thirsty? For what or for whom do you thirst?
M. Scott Peck calls alcoholism the sacred disease. We try to fill up on spirit when only Holy Spirit will satisfy. He calls all of our substitutes "Cheap grace." All the treatment programs of which I am aware are spiritually based. They have admit that we are powerless over the drug and that we need a higher power to save us.
The Holy Spirit can fill us and save us. It looks like Kevin's story ( go to our website YouTube channel to hear his testimony). Kevin just celebrated his first birthday of sobriety. It is like going from death to life.
Why am I talking about this today? I once had a member of my church in San Saba who said, "I found Jesus and salvation in AA (alcoholics anonymous). The church was afraid to address my disease." I am not afraid to talk about it, as it is one of the most pervasive issues around.
Let me do a little math with you. We have just over 800 members here. Some 62% of Methodists drink. That means 500 of us drink in this congregation. Ten percent of those who drink have a problem with alcohol. That means 50 of us have a problem.
Some of you have had the courage to talk with me about your disease. I try to work with the motivated people in families to get help. Thankfully, there are all kinds of resources nearby. We have an Al-Anon group that meets here on Fridays at noon for family members or friends of those who have problems with alcohol. There are 12 step groups that meet at all hours of the day and night all around town. There are wonderful treatment facilities at hand.
When you get really thirsty, come talk to me. Only the Holy Spirit can ever satisfy. That's the good news I have to share today.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Casting Cares
from my message on June 1, 2014, from I Peter 5:6-11
Breathe in. Breathe out. As you breathe in, "Cast all your anxiety upon him." As you breathe out, "For he cares for you." Please keep breathing!
This is my gift to you today...a breath prayer. I can't tell you how many times I have used this scripture as a breath prayer. Especially at night. I know that I am the only one who wakes up in the middle of the night...my mind racing, my breath racing, my heart racing....tossing in bed...turning over thoughts in my head....where I failed...how much I have to do...worries...concerns...cares. Anybody else ever do this?
What I sometimes remember to do is to pray. I start slowing my breath down. I start to say this verse from I Peter, Cast all your anxiety on him, for he cares for you. My heart rate goes down. My blood pressure goes down. When the particular anxiety comes to me, I throw it to God. I visualize the anxiety and toss it to God who cares for me.
Try it. This is my gift to you. And that would make a good message, just that alone, a breath prayer, casting our cares to God who loves us. That would be a witness to our faith also, that we would spend as much time and energy in praying to God as we do focusing on our anxiety. That was all I was going to say, a simple message of tossing our cares to God.
But I went deeper. I got to reading the commentaries. They gave me the context for this letter. In the year 64 A.D., there was a big fire in Rome. Nero, the emperor, blamed the fire on the Christians. Until this time, Christians were considered to be sort of a branch of the Jewish faith, and therefore protected under the government. By being made scapegoats for the fire, the Christians came to be persecuted. Some were harassed. Some were killed. Peter is writing to them to maintain hope during a time of trial. He says, Cast all your cares upon him, for he cares for you.
This may be our context today. You may get bullied at school for your beliefs. People at work may treat you unkindly for your faith stance. You may still need to claim this breath prayer as you deal with persecution for your faith today.
However, there are some places where it is difficult to be a Christian today, where persecution is very real. Can you imagine trying to live as a Christian in North Korea, or Iraq, or Egypt? Maybe our breath prayer today is to remember them when we say, Cast all your anxiety upon him, for he cares for you.
That would be a good message also. I could have quit there, but I went deeper. I got to reflecting on who I am today. I am a rich, white, male, leader of church. I get to stand here and lead worship. I have a lot of power. I wondered if I had ever hurt others by my stance.
I am not mean or vicious. I don't go out of my way to make life hard on others. But I was at a meeting on Thursday. Fourteen of us United Methodist pastors had gathered for lunch. We are all in various stages of becoming affiliated with the Reconciling Ministries Network. This is a group, a movement within the United Methodist Church to be totally accepting of all persons, especially those of the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community. We had to confess. I had to confess. I had often been silent when I should have spoken up. I stood by silently while others were hurt for their stance. I realized as a leader in the church I had gotten on the other side of the power differential where I was persecuting people by my passive position.
Here I had to take a really deep breath. Cast all your anxiety upon him, for he cares for you. I have been pushed recently to take a leadership role in the Reconciling Ministries Network. I am now the coordinator/convener of the Austin area pastors.
I realize my need for forgiveness. The passage from I Peter says to humble ourselves, to turn to the God of all grace, who restores, strengthens, and establishes us.
I realize that this breath prayer is not just for me. The pronouns are all plural. It is "you all." That is what we are praying for "All of you cast your anxiety upon him, for he cares for you all."
That's the good news I have to share today.
Breathe in. Breathe out. As you breathe in, "Cast all your anxiety upon him." As you breathe out, "For he cares for you." Please keep breathing!
This is my gift to you today...a breath prayer. I can't tell you how many times I have used this scripture as a breath prayer. Especially at night. I know that I am the only one who wakes up in the middle of the night...my mind racing, my breath racing, my heart racing....tossing in bed...turning over thoughts in my head....where I failed...how much I have to do...worries...concerns...cares. Anybody else ever do this?
What I sometimes remember to do is to pray. I start slowing my breath down. I start to say this verse from I Peter, Cast all your anxiety on him, for he cares for you. My heart rate goes down. My blood pressure goes down. When the particular anxiety comes to me, I throw it to God. I visualize the anxiety and toss it to God who cares for me.
Try it. This is my gift to you. And that would make a good message, just that alone, a breath prayer, casting our cares to God who loves us. That would be a witness to our faith also, that we would spend as much time and energy in praying to God as we do focusing on our anxiety. That was all I was going to say, a simple message of tossing our cares to God.
But I went deeper. I got to reading the commentaries. They gave me the context for this letter. In the year 64 A.D., there was a big fire in Rome. Nero, the emperor, blamed the fire on the Christians. Until this time, Christians were considered to be sort of a branch of the Jewish faith, and therefore protected under the government. By being made scapegoats for the fire, the Christians came to be persecuted. Some were harassed. Some were killed. Peter is writing to them to maintain hope during a time of trial. He says, Cast all your cares upon him, for he cares for you.
This may be our context today. You may get bullied at school for your beliefs. People at work may treat you unkindly for your faith stance. You may still need to claim this breath prayer as you deal with persecution for your faith today.
However, there are some places where it is difficult to be a Christian today, where persecution is very real. Can you imagine trying to live as a Christian in North Korea, or Iraq, or Egypt? Maybe our breath prayer today is to remember them when we say, Cast all your anxiety upon him, for he cares for you.
That would be a good message also. I could have quit there, but I went deeper. I got to reflecting on who I am today. I am a rich, white, male, leader of church. I get to stand here and lead worship. I have a lot of power. I wondered if I had ever hurt others by my stance.
I am not mean or vicious. I don't go out of my way to make life hard on others. But I was at a meeting on Thursday. Fourteen of us United Methodist pastors had gathered for lunch. We are all in various stages of becoming affiliated with the Reconciling Ministries Network. This is a group, a movement within the United Methodist Church to be totally accepting of all persons, especially those of the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community. We had to confess. I had to confess. I had often been silent when I should have spoken up. I stood by silently while others were hurt for their stance. I realized as a leader in the church I had gotten on the other side of the power differential where I was persecuting people by my passive position.
Here I had to take a really deep breath. Cast all your anxiety upon him, for he cares for you. I have been pushed recently to take a leadership role in the Reconciling Ministries Network. I am now the coordinator/convener of the Austin area pastors.
I realize my need for forgiveness. The passage from I Peter says to humble ourselves, to turn to the God of all grace, who restores, strengthens, and establishes us.
I realize that this breath prayer is not just for me. The pronouns are all plural. It is "you all." That is what we are praying for "All of you cast your anxiety upon him, for he cares for you all."
That's the good news I have to share today.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Wherever you may go
from my message on graduation Sunday, May 25, 2014, from John 14:1-7
Advice. The great temptation at times like this is to give advice. "Eat your vegetables...they're good for you." "These are the best years of your life, make the most of them." "Live, laugh, love." And that classic, "Wherever you go...there you are."
The problem is that our desire to give advice is inversely proportional to the desire to receive it. In other words, the more we--preachers, parents, teachers, counselors, etc.--want to tell you something, the less you are willing to hear it.
Our desire to give advice comes from a good place. We only want the best for you. We want to protect you. We want you to thrive. It is like this Suburu car commercial. (33 sec clip of Father leaning in car window, telling the little girl behind the wheel to buckle up, check her mirrors, drive carefully, no going on the freeway, no talking on the cell phone....she replies, ok, Daddy, and the camera turns back to her she is a young woman behind the wheel)
That's how it feels to us parents, teachers, preachers, etc. You grow up so fast. We only want the best for you. For you graduates, you may feel like the young woman behind the wheel of the car, "Enough already....I can handle it...I am ready to go....let me go...I'm old enough..."
I have no advice for you today. I simply want to tell you what God is like, the God revealed in Jesus Christ. I want to share what the life in Christ is like.
It's like a journey. This is the metaphor that you graduates used with me when we talked. You gave thanks for how far you have come. You looked forward at what was to come.
This journey metaphor is biblical. Abram and Sarai are approached by God in the book of our beginnings and are told to leave their home, their family, and their country to "go to a land that I will show you." And although they are old...they Go! It seems that God is always going before us, asking us to leave home and security, to go to some other place. In fact to go not to a place, but to a promise.
Moses and the Hebrew children are led out of bondage in Egypt toward a promised land. It takes them 40 years of wandering in the wilderness to get there. That has been my experience of following this God. The journey is not always a straight line, a linear progression.
Then there's Jesus. In the passage today, he says that he goes to prepare a place for us. Jesus seems to be always going ahead, holding out something new, different, better for us.
Our question is like the one Thomas asks, "How can we know the way?" Jesus answers, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Many have interpreted this phrase quite narrowly, but I don't. The Jesus way for me is broad and inclusive. In John's gospel, Jesus comes to his mom at wedding feast and she doesn't understand him. He comes to Nicodemus at night, this learned leader of the Jews, doesn't understand him. He comes to a Samaritan woman at a well, and she doesn't understand him. He comes to the sick and the hungry, and they also misunderstand. The thing is he keeps coming, he keeps inviting. His way is one of wooing us, until we get it. He is about going to prepare a place for us, as many of us as possible.
So today, I say wherever you may go, Jesus is already there, inviting you to his way. I believe that you have free will, free choice. I don't believe your life is pre-ordained, all determined for you. I think God delights in discovering what we choose to do. I think God keeps inviting us to his way. So today, a graduate told me he had the choice of going to pursue pre-med at one school and engineering at another school. Which one is the right way? The answer is yes!! Christ can work through any way.
My own degree is in mathematics from Texas A & M, not a great school for theology. My parents had plans for me, to take over the farm or get a good job. God had other plans for me. I wonder how many of you here actually work in another field from the one in which you got your degree. Wherever you go, Christ is already there, wooing us to his way.
I did some post-doctoral work in spiritual direction at Boston College, a powerhouse of Jesuit teaching (Roman Catholic). This is what I found out about the Jesuits: they found God absolutely everywhere. They were known for their studies in mathematics, astronomy, geography, earthquakes, magnetism, electricity. They had a curiosity about other religions and philosophy. They were not afraid of other cultures. Wherever they went, Christ was already there.
How can we know the way? We can find Christ's way by some of the basic things we do around here. Worship, prayer, Bible study, small group accountability, service, generosity--these disciplines lead us into Christ's way. I found that on my journey as I went to the Wesley Foundation at Texas A & M. It was life changing for me to study the Bible ( I had never really read it for myself before), to do work projects ( to make a difference in the world), to worship ( my choice, not my parents), to pray, to give. One of the primary reasons I am a pastor today is because of the Jesus I met at Wesley Foundation.
I have no advice for you. I do have a song. I think it captures what I have been trying to say about Jesus going ahead to prepare a place for us. I usually sing the song as if I am the one who is looking out for others. But I want us to sing it as if Jesus is the one who is saying these things to us.
I was there to hear your borning cry, I'll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized, to see your life unfold.
I was there when you were but a child, with a faith to suit you well;
In a blaze of light you wandered off to find where demons dwell.
When you heard the wonder of the Word I was there to cheer you on;
you were raised to praise the living Lord, to whom you now belong.
If you find someone to share your time and you join your hearts as one;
I'll be there to make your verses rhyme from dusk to rising sun.
In the middle ages of your life, not too old, no longer young,
I'll be there to guide you through the night, complete what I've begun.
When the evening gently closes in and you shut your weary eyes,
I'll be there as I have always been with just one more surprise.
I was there to hear your borning cry, I'll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized to see your life unfold.
Wherever you go, Christ is already there. That's the good news I have to share today.
Advice. The great temptation at times like this is to give advice. "Eat your vegetables...they're good for you." "These are the best years of your life, make the most of them." "Live, laugh, love." And that classic, "Wherever you go...there you are."
The problem is that our desire to give advice is inversely proportional to the desire to receive it. In other words, the more we--preachers, parents, teachers, counselors, etc.--want to tell you something, the less you are willing to hear it.
Our desire to give advice comes from a good place. We only want the best for you. We want to protect you. We want you to thrive. It is like this Suburu car commercial. (33 sec clip of Father leaning in car window, telling the little girl behind the wheel to buckle up, check her mirrors, drive carefully, no going on the freeway, no talking on the cell phone....she replies, ok, Daddy, and the camera turns back to her she is a young woman behind the wheel)
That's how it feels to us parents, teachers, preachers, etc. You grow up so fast. We only want the best for you. For you graduates, you may feel like the young woman behind the wheel of the car, "Enough already....I can handle it...I am ready to go....let me go...I'm old enough..."
I have no advice for you today. I simply want to tell you what God is like, the God revealed in Jesus Christ. I want to share what the life in Christ is like.
It's like a journey. This is the metaphor that you graduates used with me when we talked. You gave thanks for how far you have come. You looked forward at what was to come.
This journey metaphor is biblical. Abram and Sarai are approached by God in the book of our beginnings and are told to leave their home, their family, and their country to "go to a land that I will show you." And although they are old...they Go! It seems that God is always going before us, asking us to leave home and security, to go to some other place. In fact to go not to a place, but to a promise.
Moses and the Hebrew children are led out of bondage in Egypt toward a promised land. It takes them 40 years of wandering in the wilderness to get there. That has been my experience of following this God. The journey is not always a straight line, a linear progression.
Then there's Jesus. In the passage today, he says that he goes to prepare a place for us. Jesus seems to be always going ahead, holding out something new, different, better for us.
Our question is like the one Thomas asks, "How can we know the way?" Jesus answers, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Many have interpreted this phrase quite narrowly, but I don't. The Jesus way for me is broad and inclusive. In John's gospel, Jesus comes to his mom at wedding feast and she doesn't understand him. He comes to Nicodemus at night, this learned leader of the Jews, doesn't understand him. He comes to a Samaritan woman at a well, and she doesn't understand him. He comes to the sick and the hungry, and they also misunderstand. The thing is he keeps coming, he keeps inviting. His way is one of wooing us, until we get it. He is about going to prepare a place for us, as many of us as possible.
So today, I say wherever you may go, Jesus is already there, inviting you to his way. I believe that you have free will, free choice. I don't believe your life is pre-ordained, all determined for you. I think God delights in discovering what we choose to do. I think God keeps inviting us to his way. So today, a graduate told me he had the choice of going to pursue pre-med at one school and engineering at another school. Which one is the right way? The answer is yes!! Christ can work through any way.
My own degree is in mathematics from Texas A & M, not a great school for theology. My parents had plans for me, to take over the farm or get a good job. God had other plans for me. I wonder how many of you here actually work in another field from the one in which you got your degree. Wherever you go, Christ is already there, wooing us to his way.
I did some post-doctoral work in spiritual direction at Boston College, a powerhouse of Jesuit teaching (Roman Catholic). This is what I found out about the Jesuits: they found God absolutely everywhere. They were known for their studies in mathematics, astronomy, geography, earthquakes, magnetism, electricity. They had a curiosity about other religions and philosophy. They were not afraid of other cultures. Wherever they went, Christ was already there.
How can we know the way? We can find Christ's way by some of the basic things we do around here. Worship, prayer, Bible study, small group accountability, service, generosity--these disciplines lead us into Christ's way. I found that on my journey as I went to the Wesley Foundation at Texas A & M. It was life changing for me to study the Bible ( I had never really read it for myself before), to do work projects ( to make a difference in the world), to worship ( my choice, not my parents), to pray, to give. One of the primary reasons I am a pastor today is because of the Jesus I met at Wesley Foundation.
I have no advice for you. I do have a song. I think it captures what I have been trying to say about Jesus going ahead to prepare a place for us. I usually sing the song as if I am the one who is looking out for others. But I want us to sing it as if Jesus is the one who is saying these things to us.
I was there to hear your borning cry, I'll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized, to see your life unfold.
I was there when you were but a child, with a faith to suit you well;
In a blaze of light you wandered off to find where demons dwell.
When you heard the wonder of the Word I was there to cheer you on;
you were raised to praise the living Lord, to whom you now belong.
If you find someone to share your time and you join your hearts as one;
I'll be there to make your verses rhyme from dusk to rising sun.
In the middle ages of your life, not too old, no longer young,
I'll be there to guide you through the night, complete what I've begun.
When the evening gently closes in and you shut your weary eyes,
I'll be there as I have always been with just one more surprise.
I was there to hear your borning cry, I'll be there when you are old.
I rejoiced the day you were baptized to see your life unfold.
Wherever you go, Christ is already there. That's the good news I have to share today.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Tintinabulation
from my message on 5/18/14 from Exodus 28:31-25, honoring our Handbell director, Susan Finnigan
Belle was her name. I know that Belle means "beautiful," and she was in every way. She was beautiful physically, emotionally, spiritually. She was my first cousin. Uncle Tom K. and Aunt Ruth adopted Belle as a baby. She was of Navajo descent. Grew up claiming her biological and cultural heritage by becoming a master Navajo weaver. She was the one who taught my wife Cathy to weave. She was so highly regarded that she acted as a consultant for museums and art galleries, often doing repairs to ancient rugs.
Belle married Greg. They had 2 children, a boy and a girl. They were coming back from visiting my Uncle and Aunt in Colorado Springs, headed for their home in Timnath, Colo. It was at the end of the Thanksgiving holiday. They were only a few miles from their home when a drunk driver hit their car. Greg sustained massive injuries which took months of rehab. The children in the back seat were largely unhurt. Belle died in the accident.
It was tragic. She was too young. There was a memorial service for Belle at the chapel at Colorado College where my Uncle and Aunt taught and where Belle had gotten her undergraduate degree. Everyone who attended the service was invited to bring a bell with them. If they didn't have a bell, one was given them as they entered the service. At a particular point in the service, everyone was asked to do this (ring a handbell).
This is one of the oldest uses of bells: to mark grief, a loss, a death. It is called tolling. You know the book by Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls. We still do this today, even in this church. On All Saints' Sunday, we don't just read the names of those who have died, or light a candle, we also toll a bell for them.
My hunch is that you may still be grieving someone today like I miss Belle. In just a moment I am going to toll this bell. May you remember that person (ring a handbell).
There are others we could ring a bell for today. Some of the deaths make the headlines, like 301 miners killed in Turkey, so preventable. We could ring a bell for all of those refugees who have been killed by the civil war in Syria. How many years has this war drug on?
There are others that don't make the headlines. Who will ring a bell for them? I started looking up statistics for those whose lives were cut short because they were born into poverty or without access to clean water or adequate food or medical care. Who will ring a bell for them?
You may be called to ring a bell, to call attention to some of these tragic situations. I know the United Methodists started ringing a bell about malaria. Most of the cases were among children in sub-Saharan Africa. We can't address all of the world's issues, but we said, "Imagine No Malaria." We have raised millions of dollars to purchase mosquito nets and and other aids. The mortality rate has been cut significantly. More needs to be done. Who will ring a bell for them?
The ringing of bells calls us to awareness. The ringing speaks to us on a visceral level, beyond words. Ringing resonates with our souls.
Think of all the bells. There are school bells, dinner bells, door bells, cow bells. Clocks like Big Ben tell us what time it is by the chiming of bells....Ding dong ding dong....Dong Ding Dong Ding...Bells can announce happy times like when a couple gets married, we have wedding bells. The war comes to an end and all of the bells ring out peace. We have the Liberty Bell. Lords and ladies on PBS on Sunday night ring a little bell to call the servants in. University of Texas has the Bell Tower. Little towns used to ring bells to call people to the meeting place.
Bells have been found in China dating back to 500 B. C. So on every continent and in every age, we have had bells. Bells started showing up in the Christian Church around 400 A.D. Bells became a part of cathedrals, reaching the height of popularity in England in the 1500's. These were large bells that were rung by pulling a rope. Groups would practice ringing a pattern, over and over again.
You may smile at this, but the nearest neighbors didn't always appreciate these loud practice times. Also these bells couldn't be transported. So handbells were developed, and practices could take place indoors, quietly, at any time. Then music, melodies were developed for handbells, more than simple patterns rung over and over again.
Different techniques were developed to produce different sounds. There is the tower swing. One can dampen a sound by bringing the ringing bell up to the chest or down on the cushioned table. Bells can be plucked or struck with a mallet. Aren't you glad you came to learn all of this about bells?
The Bible doesn't have too much to say about bells. There are only a handful of passages that mention bells. Our today is part of a long detailed description of everything that goes with worship at the tabernacle, that moveable tent which went with the Hebrew children in their 40 sojourn in the wilderness. Almost 1/3 of the book of Exodus is spent in excrutiating detail about tabernacle worship. Today's passage talks about the proper dress for the High Priest. The hem of his robe was to have bells hanging down. That sound would let others know, "The High Priest is coming." More importantly, the bells would be ringing letting the LORD God know that the High Priest was entering the Holy of Holies, the place where God was thought to dwell. Do you see what the scripture said, upon entering or leaving "so that he will not die." This being a priest is a high risk occupation!
How many times have we been ushered into the presence of God with the ringing of bells here? It is awesome! If you have been part of Susan's handbell choirs over these last 19 years, would you please stand? Susan, you have had a big impact on us and our faith. You have helped us enter into the presence of God. You have added to our worship.
Here's the thing about playing handbells. You can only play a note or two by yourself (yes, there is even a technique of playing 4 at once). Handbells are best played in groups, with each person playing his or her own part. It is a good image for the body of Christ. We can't solve all of the world's problems, but we are called to play our part. For whom will you ring today?
And that word tintinabulation? When I was pastor at St. John's here in Austin, they had bought their first set of handbells. They had a contest to name the celebration of receiving these bells. A high school youth found this term, tintinabulation. It means the ringing of bells.
The good news is that you were made for tintinabulation. What part do you play? For whom will you ring a bell today? Amen.
Belle was her name. I know that Belle means "beautiful," and she was in every way. She was beautiful physically, emotionally, spiritually. She was my first cousin. Uncle Tom K. and Aunt Ruth adopted Belle as a baby. She was of Navajo descent. Grew up claiming her biological and cultural heritage by becoming a master Navajo weaver. She was the one who taught my wife Cathy to weave. She was so highly regarded that she acted as a consultant for museums and art galleries, often doing repairs to ancient rugs.
Belle married Greg. They had 2 children, a boy and a girl. They were coming back from visiting my Uncle and Aunt in Colorado Springs, headed for their home in Timnath, Colo. It was at the end of the Thanksgiving holiday. They were only a few miles from their home when a drunk driver hit their car. Greg sustained massive injuries which took months of rehab. The children in the back seat were largely unhurt. Belle died in the accident.
It was tragic. She was too young. There was a memorial service for Belle at the chapel at Colorado College where my Uncle and Aunt taught and where Belle had gotten her undergraduate degree. Everyone who attended the service was invited to bring a bell with them. If they didn't have a bell, one was given them as they entered the service. At a particular point in the service, everyone was asked to do this (ring a handbell).
This is one of the oldest uses of bells: to mark grief, a loss, a death. It is called tolling. You know the book by Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls. We still do this today, even in this church. On All Saints' Sunday, we don't just read the names of those who have died, or light a candle, we also toll a bell for them.
My hunch is that you may still be grieving someone today like I miss Belle. In just a moment I am going to toll this bell. May you remember that person (ring a handbell).
There are others we could ring a bell for today. Some of the deaths make the headlines, like 301 miners killed in Turkey, so preventable. We could ring a bell for all of those refugees who have been killed by the civil war in Syria. How many years has this war drug on?
There are others that don't make the headlines. Who will ring a bell for them? I started looking up statistics for those whose lives were cut short because they were born into poverty or without access to clean water or adequate food or medical care. Who will ring a bell for them?
You may be called to ring a bell, to call attention to some of these tragic situations. I know the United Methodists started ringing a bell about malaria. Most of the cases were among children in sub-Saharan Africa. We can't address all of the world's issues, but we said, "Imagine No Malaria." We have raised millions of dollars to purchase mosquito nets and and other aids. The mortality rate has been cut significantly. More needs to be done. Who will ring a bell for them?
The ringing of bells calls us to awareness. The ringing speaks to us on a visceral level, beyond words. Ringing resonates with our souls.
Think of all the bells. There are school bells, dinner bells, door bells, cow bells. Clocks like Big Ben tell us what time it is by the chiming of bells....Ding dong ding dong....Dong Ding Dong Ding...Bells can announce happy times like when a couple gets married, we have wedding bells. The war comes to an end and all of the bells ring out peace. We have the Liberty Bell. Lords and ladies on PBS on Sunday night ring a little bell to call the servants in. University of Texas has the Bell Tower. Little towns used to ring bells to call people to the meeting place.
Bells have been found in China dating back to 500 B. C. So on every continent and in every age, we have had bells. Bells started showing up in the Christian Church around 400 A.D. Bells became a part of cathedrals, reaching the height of popularity in England in the 1500's. These were large bells that were rung by pulling a rope. Groups would practice ringing a pattern, over and over again.
You may smile at this, but the nearest neighbors didn't always appreciate these loud practice times. Also these bells couldn't be transported. So handbells were developed, and practices could take place indoors, quietly, at any time. Then music, melodies were developed for handbells, more than simple patterns rung over and over again.
Different techniques were developed to produce different sounds. There is the tower swing. One can dampen a sound by bringing the ringing bell up to the chest or down on the cushioned table. Bells can be plucked or struck with a mallet. Aren't you glad you came to learn all of this about bells?
The Bible doesn't have too much to say about bells. There are only a handful of passages that mention bells. Our today is part of a long detailed description of everything that goes with worship at the tabernacle, that moveable tent which went with the Hebrew children in their 40 sojourn in the wilderness. Almost 1/3 of the book of Exodus is spent in excrutiating detail about tabernacle worship. Today's passage talks about the proper dress for the High Priest. The hem of his robe was to have bells hanging down. That sound would let others know, "The High Priest is coming." More importantly, the bells would be ringing letting the LORD God know that the High Priest was entering the Holy of Holies, the place where God was thought to dwell. Do you see what the scripture said, upon entering or leaving "so that he will not die." This being a priest is a high risk occupation!
How many times have we been ushered into the presence of God with the ringing of bells here? It is awesome! If you have been part of Susan's handbell choirs over these last 19 years, would you please stand? Susan, you have had a big impact on us and our faith. You have helped us enter into the presence of God. You have added to our worship.
Here's the thing about playing handbells. You can only play a note or two by yourself (yes, there is even a technique of playing 4 at once). Handbells are best played in groups, with each person playing his or her own part. It is a good image for the body of Christ. We can't solve all of the world's problems, but we are called to play our part. For whom will you ring today?
And that word tintinabulation? When I was pastor at St. John's here in Austin, they had bought their first set of handbells. They had a contest to name the celebration of receiving these bells. A high school youth found this term, tintinabulation. It means the ringing of bells.
The good news is that you were made for tintinabulation. What part do you play? For whom will you ring a bell today? Amen.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Measure for Measure
from my message on Mother's Day, May 11, 2014, from Luke 6:37-38
(putting on an apron while standing behind the communion table) I will not be doing a cooking show today. But I want to tell you about my Grandmother Johnson and her cooking. My grandmother loved me. I know she loved me because when I would come to visit her in Marble Falls and later in Burnet, she would make me my favorite dessert--her lemon pie. It wasn't a lemon meringue pie, more of a lemon chess pie.
Now Cathy was my fiancee'. She loved me. She wanted to show her love for me. So when we were visiting grandmother in Burnet once, she asked grandmother if she could get the recipe for her lemon pie. Grandmother said, "Yes, just as soon as you marry my grandson!"
After we were married, Cathy spent some time with Grandmother Johnson in her kitchen to learn how to make the lemon pie. The recipe wasn't "take 3 cups of flour;" it was "take 3 handfuls of flour." Every time it was the same. Not 4 tablespoons of butter, but 4 pats of butter. Not 3 tablespoons of salt, but 3 pinches of salt.
(stepping away from the communion table) Grandmother Johnson wasn't exact, wasn't going for precision. She was generous...overflowing...not just with her measurements, but also with her love.
How do you want to be judged? How will you judge others? What will be the standard for measurement when it comes to forgiveness?
There was a famous play....you may have heard of it....Measure for Measure. Who was the author? Yes, William Shakespeare. Cathy and I got to see it in this past year at St. Edward's University. I will give you the Spark Notes version of the play. It is set in Venice. The Duke hands over authority to Angelo. Then the Duke goes into hiding, posing as a friar. He is like the all-seeing god. Angelo is very strict, moralistic. He cracks down on all crime in the city, especially that of a sexual nature. A man named Claudio is arrested because he has gotten his fiancee' pregnant before marriage. Claudio is scheduled to die for his crime. Claudio's sister Isabella is pure and chaste. In fact, she is slated to enter a nunnery. She goes before Lord Angelo to plead for her brother's life. Is there anything she can do to save him. Lord Angelo says he might think of a way...wink, wink. What would you do to save someone you love? How do you measure sin in someone else but not yourself. At this point, the Duke, still posing as a friar intervenes. He gets Marianna, a former lover of Angelo, to go in Isabella's place. Angelo is supposed to forgive Claudio and to marry Marianna...but oops...it doesn't happen that way. Angelo doesn't forgive Claudio. I can't tell you the ending, but it is a happy one.
There is a famous couplet from the play, "Haste still pays haste, and leisure answers leisure. Like doth quit like, and measure for measure."
How do you want to be treated? How will you treat others? What measure will you use for yourself? For others?
Before the Jewish faith came along, there was an ancient practice of reprisal. If someone knocked out your eye or your tooth, you might kill the perpetrator. If someone killed a family member of yours, you might respond by killing all of their family. So when the Old Testament and the Jewish faith propose "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," it was putting a limit on reprisal. It was actually showing mercy. Then Jesus comes along and pushes the boundary even further as we have in our passage today as he talks about giving and forgiving.
What is the measure? Mercy without justice may simply be permissiveness, anything goes. Justice without mercy may simply be cruelty.
I think Jesus may be talking about a quality called restorative justice. I read a paper by one of our church members going for her master's degree. Restorative justice is a set of principles that looks beyond meting out punishment to that of restoring relationships. It understands that it is more than a law that gets broken, it is a community that gets torn. It understands that we can't simply warehouse criminals and pretend that the problem has been dealt with. Restorative justice gives voice to all the parties involved. In fact, the verb tenses in our passage illustrate this; they are all plural. Y'all don't judge, you all don't condemn. You all give, y'all forgive.
I will give you an example from 2 villages in Africa. A mother had her son murdered by a young man from another village. The village elders came together with the family members. It was decided that the murderer would be adopted by the mother of the man who was murdered. This new son would take care of his new mother and live in her house and provide for her.
I have another example from my former church. There a mom had her son murdered while he was working as a convenience store clerk. It was all caught on closed circuit security camera. It was played all over the news at stations in Corpus Christi. The perpetrator, another young man, was easily caught. He was tried, sentenced to death row in prison. My church member established a relationship with her son's murderer. She began writing to him. Then calling him. She finally got on his visitor list and went to see him many times. She forgave him. She pleaded that he be spared, but the State of Texas executed him. She felt like she had lost 2 sons.
I have no easy answers for you. Restorative justice is messy, difficult. In some cases of abuse, the parties may need to be remain separated. What can we as a church do? Some women from this church are involved in the Women's Storybook Project. They go once a month to the prison in Gatesville. They help the moms incarcerated there to read a book on tape to give to their children at home, so the children can go to sleep hearing their mom read to them. Some people from this church are involved in Kairos minnistry, which means they from relationships with persons in prison, so that when the persons has served their time, he or she will have a network of support. They help the former prisoners to find work and to find a community of faith.
What is your measure of forgiveness for yourself? For others? In our Bible passage, it talks about a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, overflowing. You see my apron. Imagine it is a robe. You go to the market and ask for a measure of flour. The vendor fills up the cloth pocket made by lifting up your robe in front of your belly. You want a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, overflowing the edges. No air pockets. No shorting the amount. Generous.
In the kitchen at Laurel Heights UMC where I served in San Antonio, these verses were placed upon the wall. We had a community meal there every Wednesday night. I hope that all the food there, in fact all the ministry there was done with these verses in mind.
Isn't this why we come to worship? Why we come to Bible Study and practice prayer? We need to fill up on the full measure of God's love for us, so that we can give that same measure to others. What measure do you want for yourself? I want a measure that looks like Christ, living, dying, and rising from the dead. I want a measure that has a God who loves us in spite of ourselves, in spite of our undeserving, in spite of our ungratefulness.
The measure by which God forgives us is the measure that I want to give others. Measure for measure. Amen.
(putting on an apron while standing behind the communion table) I will not be doing a cooking show today. But I want to tell you about my Grandmother Johnson and her cooking. My grandmother loved me. I know she loved me because when I would come to visit her in Marble Falls and later in Burnet, she would make me my favorite dessert--her lemon pie. It wasn't a lemon meringue pie, more of a lemon chess pie.
Now Cathy was my fiancee'. She loved me. She wanted to show her love for me. So when we were visiting grandmother in Burnet once, she asked grandmother if she could get the recipe for her lemon pie. Grandmother said, "Yes, just as soon as you marry my grandson!"
After we were married, Cathy spent some time with Grandmother Johnson in her kitchen to learn how to make the lemon pie. The recipe wasn't "take 3 cups of flour;" it was "take 3 handfuls of flour." Every time it was the same. Not 4 tablespoons of butter, but 4 pats of butter. Not 3 tablespoons of salt, but 3 pinches of salt.
(stepping away from the communion table) Grandmother Johnson wasn't exact, wasn't going for precision. She was generous...overflowing...not just with her measurements, but also with her love.
How do you want to be judged? How will you judge others? What will be the standard for measurement when it comes to forgiveness?
There was a famous play....you may have heard of it....Measure for Measure. Who was the author? Yes, William Shakespeare. Cathy and I got to see it in this past year at St. Edward's University. I will give you the Spark Notes version of the play. It is set in Venice. The Duke hands over authority to Angelo. Then the Duke goes into hiding, posing as a friar. He is like the all-seeing god. Angelo is very strict, moralistic. He cracks down on all crime in the city, especially that of a sexual nature. A man named Claudio is arrested because he has gotten his fiancee' pregnant before marriage. Claudio is scheduled to die for his crime. Claudio's sister Isabella is pure and chaste. In fact, she is slated to enter a nunnery. She goes before Lord Angelo to plead for her brother's life. Is there anything she can do to save him. Lord Angelo says he might think of a way...wink, wink. What would you do to save someone you love? How do you measure sin in someone else but not yourself. At this point, the Duke, still posing as a friar intervenes. He gets Marianna, a former lover of Angelo, to go in Isabella's place. Angelo is supposed to forgive Claudio and to marry Marianna...but oops...it doesn't happen that way. Angelo doesn't forgive Claudio. I can't tell you the ending, but it is a happy one.
There is a famous couplet from the play, "Haste still pays haste, and leisure answers leisure. Like doth quit like, and measure for measure."
How do you want to be treated? How will you treat others? What measure will you use for yourself? For others?
Before the Jewish faith came along, there was an ancient practice of reprisal. If someone knocked out your eye or your tooth, you might kill the perpetrator. If someone killed a family member of yours, you might respond by killing all of their family. So when the Old Testament and the Jewish faith propose "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," it was putting a limit on reprisal. It was actually showing mercy. Then Jesus comes along and pushes the boundary even further as we have in our passage today as he talks about giving and forgiving.
What is the measure? Mercy without justice may simply be permissiveness, anything goes. Justice without mercy may simply be cruelty.
I think Jesus may be talking about a quality called restorative justice. I read a paper by one of our church members going for her master's degree. Restorative justice is a set of principles that looks beyond meting out punishment to that of restoring relationships. It understands that it is more than a law that gets broken, it is a community that gets torn. It understands that we can't simply warehouse criminals and pretend that the problem has been dealt with. Restorative justice gives voice to all the parties involved. In fact, the verb tenses in our passage illustrate this; they are all plural. Y'all don't judge, you all don't condemn. You all give, y'all forgive.
I will give you an example from 2 villages in Africa. A mother had her son murdered by a young man from another village. The village elders came together with the family members. It was decided that the murderer would be adopted by the mother of the man who was murdered. This new son would take care of his new mother and live in her house and provide for her.
I have another example from my former church. There a mom had her son murdered while he was working as a convenience store clerk. It was all caught on closed circuit security camera. It was played all over the news at stations in Corpus Christi. The perpetrator, another young man, was easily caught. He was tried, sentenced to death row in prison. My church member established a relationship with her son's murderer. She began writing to him. Then calling him. She finally got on his visitor list and went to see him many times. She forgave him. She pleaded that he be spared, but the State of Texas executed him. She felt like she had lost 2 sons.
I have no easy answers for you. Restorative justice is messy, difficult. In some cases of abuse, the parties may need to be remain separated. What can we as a church do? Some women from this church are involved in the Women's Storybook Project. They go once a month to the prison in Gatesville. They help the moms incarcerated there to read a book on tape to give to their children at home, so the children can go to sleep hearing their mom read to them. Some people from this church are involved in Kairos minnistry, which means they from relationships with persons in prison, so that when the persons has served their time, he or she will have a network of support. They help the former prisoners to find work and to find a community of faith.
What is your measure of forgiveness for yourself? For others? In our Bible passage, it talks about a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, overflowing. You see my apron. Imagine it is a robe. You go to the market and ask for a measure of flour. The vendor fills up the cloth pocket made by lifting up your robe in front of your belly. You want a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, overflowing the edges. No air pockets. No shorting the amount. Generous.
In the kitchen at Laurel Heights UMC where I served in San Antonio, these verses were placed upon the wall. We had a community meal there every Wednesday night. I hope that all the food there, in fact all the ministry there was done with these verses in mind.
Isn't this why we come to worship? Why we come to Bible Study and practice prayer? We need to fill up on the full measure of God's love for us, so that we can give that same measure to others. What measure do you want for yourself? I want a measure that looks like Christ, living, dying, and rising from the dead. I want a measure that has a God who loves us in spite of ourselves, in spite of our undeserving, in spite of our ungratefulness.
The measure by which God forgives us is the measure that I want to give others. Measure for measure. Amen.
Monday, May 5, 2014
Giving Bread, Not Stones
from my message from Matthew 7:7-10
(preaching from behind the communion table) It is really very simple. If your child asks for bread (hold up the communion bread), would you give him or her a stone (hole up stone) instead? No, you try to give your children the best.
I got this message from Ray Kiser, the pastor at Lake Travis UMC. We are in a prayer/accountability group together. Every other Monday morning, a group of us pastors meet at La Madeliene for breakfast. We ask that classic Methodist question, "How is it with your soul?" We pray for one another. Ray said that he approaches every conversation, every encounter with this intent, "I want to give bread here, not a stone."
We can't meet every demand, all the world's needs, but we can give bread, not a stone. This past week I got a phone call from a woman needing rent help. I am busy. It is an interruption to my day. I don't have a pot of money to save all of the housing issues. But I want to give bread, not a stone. So I take the time to listen carefully to her situation. I help her generate alternatives.
Today, we are commissioning 3 new Stephen Ministers, to add to the 10 we already have. I remind you Stephen Minsters that you can't solve all your care receiver's issues, can't make all illnesses go away, can't heal every hurt. But you can give bread, not a stone. You can listen, you can love, you can pray, you can encourage.
We want to give bread, not a stone. The truth is that we have not always been given bread by our parents. I remember a time from my childhood, when my dad came home one evening. He said, "Lynn, I have a present for you out in the station wagon." Wow, this was exciting. This hardly ever happened. "Daddy, thank you. Whatever it is, I am so grateful." I ran out to the carport to the Ford Galaxy station wagon. Opened the front door. There on the floor ...was ...a hoe...to chop weeds in the garden. I was not an abused child. We had a home, food, clothes. I learned the value of work growing up on the farm. I fed chickens, gathered eggs, washed eggs, delivered eggs, learned to drive a tractor, learned to drive a truck and trailer. We went to worship and Sunday School. I learned to treat my neighbor right. I got bread, not just stones.
The point in the scripture is that even parents know how to give good gifts, then how much more will our heavenly Father do for us. The passage we have today comes from a part of Matthew's gospel we know as the Sermon on the Mount. It contains Jesus' teaching in a summary form. The teaching is very challenging. Things like not just loving those who love you, but loving your enemy. We can't possibly do this without practicing the opening words of our passage today. We need to pray: to seek, ask, knock. We need to spend much time in prayer to be shaped by God's grace, so that we may act gracefully towards others.
We feast on our Bible story, how God has given us bread, not a stone all through our history. There's the bread of Passover. Remember the bread that Elijah ate, and he went 40 days on that one meal. We have the ministry of Jesus where he fed the multitudes with a few loaves and fishes. He ate with tax collectors and sinners. He had a last supper with his closest friends. But he also revealed himself in a resurrected form by sharing other meals with his disciples. We met him here today at this table, where we are given bread, not a stone.
How will you practice this concept? I invite you to think of a situation now, with a family member, or co-worker, or a neighbor, maybe even a conflicted situation, where you need to give bread, not a stone. You could start praying now, seeking, asking, knocking, so that you might be able to give bread, not a stone. It will be challenging. In fact, as I reflected on this message, it came to me that this is one of the great measure of spiritual maturity: how often we can give bread instead of stones, especially in difficult situations.
As we keep coming to this table here, and are fed bread, the bread of life, the broken body of Jesus, I believe that we can give bread, not stones to others. That's the good news I have to share today.
(preaching from behind the communion table) It is really very simple. If your child asks for bread (hold up the communion bread), would you give him or her a stone (hole up stone) instead? No, you try to give your children the best.
I got this message from Ray Kiser, the pastor at Lake Travis UMC. We are in a prayer/accountability group together. Every other Monday morning, a group of us pastors meet at La Madeliene for breakfast. We ask that classic Methodist question, "How is it with your soul?" We pray for one another. Ray said that he approaches every conversation, every encounter with this intent, "I want to give bread here, not a stone."
We can't meet every demand, all the world's needs, but we can give bread, not a stone. This past week I got a phone call from a woman needing rent help. I am busy. It is an interruption to my day. I don't have a pot of money to save all of the housing issues. But I want to give bread, not a stone. So I take the time to listen carefully to her situation. I help her generate alternatives.
Today, we are commissioning 3 new Stephen Ministers, to add to the 10 we already have. I remind you Stephen Minsters that you can't solve all your care receiver's issues, can't make all illnesses go away, can't heal every hurt. But you can give bread, not a stone. You can listen, you can love, you can pray, you can encourage.
We want to give bread, not a stone. The truth is that we have not always been given bread by our parents. I remember a time from my childhood, when my dad came home one evening. He said, "Lynn, I have a present for you out in the station wagon." Wow, this was exciting. This hardly ever happened. "Daddy, thank you. Whatever it is, I am so grateful." I ran out to the carport to the Ford Galaxy station wagon. Opened the front door. There on the floor ...was ...a hoe...to chop weeds in the garden. I was not an abused child. We had a home, food, clothes. I learned the value of work growing up on the farm. I fed chickens, gathered eggs, washed eggs, delivered eggs, learned to drive a tractor, learned to drive a truck and trailer. We went to worship and Sunday School. I learned to treat my neighbor right. I got bread, not just stones.
The point in the scripture is that even parents know how to give good gifts, then how much more will our heavenly Father do for us. The passage we have today comes from a part of Matthew's gospel we know as the Sermon on the Mount. It contains Jesus' teaching in a summary form. The teaching is very challenging. Things like not just loving those who love you, but loving your enemy. We can't possibly do this without practicing the opening words of our passage today. We need to pray: to seek, ask, knock. We need to spend much time in prayer to be shaped by God's grace, so that we may act gracefully towards others.
We feast on our Bible story, how God has given us bread, not a stone all through our history. There's the bread of Passover. Remember the bread that Elijah ate, and he went 40 days on that one meal. We have the ministry of Jesus where he fed the multitudes with a few loaves and fishes. He ate with tax collectors and sinners. He had a last supper with his closest friends. But he also revealed himself in a resurrected form by sharing other meals with his disciples. We met him here today at this table, where we are given bread, not a stone.
How will you practice this concept? I invite you to think of a situation now, with a family member, or co-worker, or a neighbor, maybe even a conflicted situation, where you need to give bread, not a stone. You could start praying now, seeking, asking, knocking, so that you might be able to give bread, not a stone. It will be challenging. In fact, as I reflected on this message, it came to me that this is one of the great measure of spiritual maturity: how often we can give bread instead of stones, especially in difficult situations.
As we keep coming to this table here, and are fed bread, the bread of life, the broken body of Jesus, I believe that we can give bread, not stones to others. That's the good news I have to share today.
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