January 28, 2009
I Peter 5: 8-11 (The Message)
“Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.”
This past Sunday our church approved a million dollar budget. Sounds great doesn’t it? Until you consider that the million dollar budget is a cut from our recent years of a 1.1+million dollar budget. What that means is that our programs will be cut by 10%, our mission efforts will be cut in half and our staff salaries will be cut by 10 %. After worship, our now former personnel committee chairman came up to me and apologized, “I’m sorry this has to happen,” he said. To which I responded, “It is what it is.” He then replied, “It is what it is but miracles happen all of the time.” I looked at him and said, “Yep! We say that we are people of faith . . . now is the time to prove it.”
These are not easy days for any of us. While we on staff may be pinching pennies, many of you have lost your jobs and are witnessing all manner of bleakness in your lives. You struggle in ways that you try to prevent us from struggling. (We are grateful for those efforts by the way.) Nonetheless, suffering is fast becoming a familiar companion to many of us.
Peter’s community was dealing with a different kind of suffering—not monetary—more relational and oppressive. But the advice that he offers them remains the same for us. Stay cool! Be disciplined and alert. Those of us who grew up in more conservative Christian environments used the sort of language that Peter uses here. “The Devil is trying to get you!” “Satan is after you!” It sounds very dramatic and the phrases have always freaked me out until I came to understand the Hebrew. The word for ‘devil’ in Hebrew is “hasatan (pronounced HAH-SAH-TA-HN).” It means “The Satan” or more accurately “the adversary.” The adversary is poised to pounce. An adversary can take any form but ultimately it is something that challenges you. It would be easy to go with the flow of an adversary if you didn’t have your guard up. Peter’s point is that they people must know what they believe. They must live their faith. Their charge is to stay on guard to witness the adversary challenging them, to know that they must depend on God, and then to make a choice to choose God’s way as they discern it. God will be their strength in this time if they make the choice to allow it. God will give them the strength to weather the period. And eventually, in time, the people will witness how God has brought goodness.
In these trying times, the adversary (whatever form yours may take) is poised to pounce. Take our staff situation. We, as the staff, can choose a woe is me—my salary is being cut—demeanor. Or we can choose to be grateful that we still have jobs. We can choose to know that God will provide for us. We can choose to understand that whatever befalls us, like a parent, God is there to catch us when we fall and fail. The message is true for each and every one of us. We have to choose to trust in God’s unfailing strength and then watch as God’s goodness opens in ways we cannot yet imagine. May we, this week and always, be willing to trust God fully—knowing that ultimately we will land on our feet! Amen.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Humility as a key for living
January 21, 2009
I Peter 5:1-7
“I have a special concern for you church leaders. I know what it’s like to be a leader, in on Christ’s sufferings as well as the coming glory. Here’s my concern: that you care for God’s flock with all of the diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously. Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way. When God, who is the best shepherd of all, comes out in the open with his rule, he’ll see that you’ve done it right and commend you lavishly. And you who are younger must follow your leaders. But all of you, leaders and followers alike, are to be down to earth with each other, for—‘God has had it with the proud, but takes delight in just plain people.’ So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you.”
I sat in a deacon’s meeting this past week and listened as the head of our Finance Committee enumerated the factors that constitute a strong church. First, he said, “You must love each other.” Second, “You must minister to the least of these.” Third (my paraphrase), you must share the name of Jesus and the reason he makes a difference in your life. He looked the leaders of our church in the eyes and gave them a grade. On number one—excellent! You love each other! On number two—moderate to above average. You make a good effort at making a difference in others lives. On number three—poor. Rarely, if at all do you share your stories of Jesus Christ outside of the walls of this church. If you want this church to survive, you have to live all three excellently.
It was like listening to the presbyter of the Roman church who supposedly used Peter’s name to pen this passage of scripture. If you are going to be a leader in the church, then you live a different kind of life. Your priority is to act like a shepherd. A shepherd is a nurturer. A shepherd’s first concern is not to be known in all of the land as the best shepherd. A shepherd’s first concern is not how they look to other people or how they compare. A shepherd’s first concern is to humble himself to care first for the sheep. That humility comes because the shepherd is not about showing off how close he/she may be to God . Instead, he/she has given every moment of their living to God. And because the shepherd lives within the will of God, life can be carefree because the shepherd knows that God is handling everything.
I despise deacon’s meetings—always have—always will. The reason? From my vantage point, it is the place where I cannot see the Spirit at work. What I see are well meaning people who stand with their own opinions and in some cases agendas to purport what is right and the body together argues, compromises, etc. But the Spirit of God is not about compromising. The Spirit of God is about humility. I’ve often wondered why I’ve never witnessed an issue come up at a deacon’s meeting to be followed by a call to prayer over it. Why is it that no one ever stops to be quiet and listen to what God might say to them? Why is it that no one asks, “Is this answer honest, pure, loving and unselfish?” Those are the clear ways to discern if God is speaking. Why is it that we are so certain we are right and so embarrassed to step out publicly and corporately humble ourselves before God. If we would just take the risk, the blessings would abound. I look at those meetings and see how profoundly I have failed to teach my church from my role as minister. I look at those meetings and see how profoundly I have failed my God.
Would that the strong hand of God were upon us! But the only way I see for that to happen is for us all to humble ourselves before God. I am willing. Are you? Amen.
I Peter 5:1-7
“I have a special concern for you church leaders. I know what it’s like to be a leader, in on Christ’s sufferings as well as the coming glory. Here’s my concern: that you care for God’s flock with all of the diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously. Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way. When God, who is the best shepherd of all, comes out in the open with his rule, he’ll see that you’ve done it right and commend you lavishly. And you who are younger must follow your leaders. But all of you, leaders and followers alike, are to be down to earth with each other, for—‘God has had it with the proud, but takes delight in just plain people.’ So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you.”
I sat in a deacon’s meeting this past week and listened as the head of our Finance Committee enumerated the factors that constitute a strong church. First, he said, “You must love each other.” Second, “You must minister to the least of these.” Third (my paraphrase), you must share the name of Jesus and the reason he makes a difference in your life. He looked the leaders of our church in the eyes and gave them a grade. On number one—excellent! You love each other! On number two—moderate to above average. You make a good effort at making a difference in others lives. On number three—poor. Rarely, if at all do you share your stories of Jesus Christ outside of the walls of this church. If you want this church to survive, you have to live all three excellently.
It was like listening to the presbyter of the Roman church who supposedly used Peter’s name to pen this passage of scripture. If you are going to be a leader in the church, then you live a different kind of life. Your priority is to act like a shepherd. A shepherd is a nurturer. A shepherd’s first concern is not to be known in all of the land as the best shepherd. A shepherd’s first concern is not how they look to other people or how they compare. A shepherd’s first concern is to humble himself to care first for the sheep. That humility comes because the shepherd is not about showing off how close he/she may be to God . Instead, he/she has given every moment of their living to God. And because the shepherd lives within the will of God, life can be carefree because the shepherd knows that God is handling everything.
I despise deacon’s meetings—always have—always will. The reason? From my vantage point, it is the place where I cannot see the Spirit at work. What I see are well meaning people who stand with their own opinions and in some cases agendas to purport what is right and the body together argues, compromises, etc. But the Spirit of God is not about compromising. The Spirit of God is about humility. I’ve often wondered why I’ve never witnessed an issue come up at a deacon’s meeting to be followed by a call to prayer over it. Why is it that no one ever stops to be quiet and listen to what God might say to them? Why is it that no one asks, “Is this answer honest, pure, loving and unselfish?” Those are the clear ways to discern if God is speaking. Why is it that we are so certain we are right and so embarrassed to step out publicly and corporately humble ourselves before God. If we would just take the risk, the blessings would abound. I look at those meetings and see how profoundly I have failed to teach my church from my role as minister. I look at those meetings and see how profoundly I have failed my God.
Would that the strong hand of God were upon us! But the only way I see for that to happen is for us all to humble ourselves before God. I am willing. Are you? Amen.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Life is tough
January 14, 2009
I Peter 4:12-19 (The Message)
“Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner. If you’re abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate. It’s the Spirit of God and his glory in you that brought you to the notice of others. If they’re on you because you broke the law or disturbed the peace, that’s a different matter. But if it’s because you’re a Christian, don’t give it a second thought. Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name! It’s judgment time for Christians. We’re first in line. If it starts with us, think what it’s going to be like for those who refuse God’s Message! ‘If good people barely make it, What’s in store for the bad?’ So if you find life difficult because you’re doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he’s doing, and he’ll keep on doing it.”
Dr. M. Scott Peck wrote a book entitled, The Road Less Traveled, and he began the book with one very simple but profound sentence. “Life is difficult.” Our times are such that we have only to agree with that statement. With layoffs in the strangest of places occurring, the landscape of our lives hardly seems easy.
For the folks of Peter’s day who were suffering persecution, Peter brings a word of perspective. Essentially his word is that they change the thoughts that they think. When they witness and experience the suffering they must remember that they are getting only a taste of what Christ experienced. The outcome for them will be a spiritual awareness unlike they have known before. This is for them a “spiritual refining process” where that which is impure in them is being made pure. While it may hurt, be painful and create a great deal of struggle, the fact of the matter is that the other side of the struggle will offer them a better view of life—a peace and a joy that they have not known heretofore. Their mission is to do what God has called them to do, trust God fully. God wouldn’t intentionally cause their pain, but God is faithful to bring good from the experience.
Peter might as well have been speaking directly to us. Our nation is suffering thanks to the greed of people. Those not greedy are losing money, losing jobs, losing hope in many ways. But the message to Peter’s day stands for us. God is not causing this, but God will bring something good from it. Surely that remains to be seen for all of us. Still if we can see these difficult times in our lives as times of spiritual refining, we might just look back one day and realize gratitude for this time.
So, that raises a number of questions: Can the practice of gratitude get us through each day? How can our lives be a testament to what it is to live as a Christian in our culture? Do we consider ourselves as a true Christian Community? If so, what are the ways that we can support each other through our spiritual refinement?
Times, indeed, are tough. But, God is here. It is simply up to us to embrace our God. May we find peace and joy in our relationships with God this week! Amen.
I Peter 4:12-19 (The Message)
“Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner. If you’re abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate. It’s the Spirit of God and his glory in you that brought you to the notice of others. If they’re on you because you broke the law or disturbed the peace, that’s a different matter. But if it’s because you’re a Christian, don’t give it a second thought. Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name! It’s judgment time for Christians. We’re first in line. If it starts with us, think what it’s going to be like for those who refuse God’s Message! ‘If good people barely make it, What’s in store for the bad?’ So if you find life difficult because you’re doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he’s doing, and he’ll keep on doing it.”
Dr. M. Scott Peck wrote a book entitled, The Road Less Traveled, and he began the book with one very simple but profound sentence. “Life is difficult.” Our times are such that we have only to agree with that statement. With layoffs in the strangest of places occurring, the landscape of our lives hardly seems easy.
For the folks of Peter’s day who were suffering persecution, Peter brings a word of perspective. Essentially his word is that they change the thoughts that they think. When they witness and experience the suffering they must remember that they are getting only a taste of what Christ experienced. The outcome for them will be a spiritual awareness unlike they have known before. This is for them a “spiritual refining process” where that which is impure in them is being made pure. While it may hurt, be painful and create a great deal of struggle, the fact of the matter is that the other side of the struggle will offer them a better view of life—a peace and a joy that they have not known heretofore. Their mission is to do what God has called them to do, trust God fully. God wouldn’t intentionally cause their pain, but God is faithful to bring good from the experience.
Peter might as well have been speaking directly to us. Our nation is suffering thanks to the greed of people. Those not greedy are losing money, losing jobs, losing hope in many ways. But the message to Peter’s day stands for us. God is not causing this, but God will bring something good from it. Surely that remains to be seen for all of us. Still if we can see these difficult times in our lives as times of spiritual refining, we might just look back one day and realize gratitude for this time.
So, that raises a number of questions: Can the practice of gratitude get us through each day? How can our lives be a testament to what it is to live as a Christian in our culture? Do we consider ourselves as a true Christian Community? If so, what are the ways that we can support each other through our spiritual refinement?
Times, indeed, are tough. But, God is here. It is simply up to us to embrace our God. May we find peace and joy in our relationships with God this week! Amen.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Love's Grand Plan
January 7, 2009
I Peter 4:7-11
“Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh yes!”
She had orchestrated a grand plan. Her post-woman was pregnant and had no one to give her a baby shower, no family to help her along the way, but everyday she did her job with such faithfulness and compassion toward each person she met. This particular mail customer (the one who orchestrated the grand plan) decided that she had it within her sphere of influence to make a difference in this woman’s life. She would throw her a mailbox baby shower. She cleared it with the post office, wrote to all of the neighbors and asked everyone to put a gift for the post-woman in their mailboxes on a given day and the woman would have been showered with baby presents.
Just the other day someone said to me, “You know there are three things that make a Christian—a person who nurtures relationships with others, a person who nurtures their relationship with God and a person who offers themselves in service.” I was struck by those words knowing them to be true and knowing that most of us don’t live up to all three. There are many of us that do the servant part well but somehow leave the God stuff out of the picture. Others of us would cocoon with God and be perfectly content to never associate with others. Still others of us just love being with our friends but don’t put our time into God or into considering the difference we could make in the lives of others. This passage calls us to understand that real faith happens in the context of community. That is the place where lives are changed.
The woman with her grand plan is a woman who is constantly pouring herself into her relationship with God, constantly listening for God’s direction. As a result through her prayers she is made open to see the needs of others and she pours herself out for them. The results are relationships of all sorts that blossom for her often in the most unlikely places.
This is Peter’s definition of the true church—a group of gathered believers committed to really loving each other, to really loving and seeking God, to really loving everyone (even those who look different, act different, live different.) Peter knew then and exhorts us now that time is running short for us to live this kind of love and to be this kind of church. We seem to keep missing the mark, but today is a new opportunity to change our tunes, to change our ways of being. As we begin this year that seems to be our question: what will we do and how will we be so as to be the true church? May the answer offer us direction for our living and may we find Love's grand plan as a result! Amen.
I Peter 4:7-11
“Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh yes!”
She had orchestrated a grand plan. Her post-woman was pregnant and had no one to give her a baby shower, no family to help her along the way, but everyday she did her job with such faithfulness and compassion toward each person she met. This particular mail customer (the one who orchestrated the grand plan) decided that she had it within her sphere of influence to make a difference in this woman’s life. She would throw her a mailbox baby shower. She cleared it with the post office, wrote to all of the neighbors and asked everyone to put a gift for the post-woman in their mailboxes on a given day and the woman would have been showered with baby presents.
Just the other day someone said to me, “You know there are three things that make a Christian—a person who nurtures relationships with others, a person who nurtures their relationship with God and a person who offers themselves in service.” I was struck by those words knowing them to be true and knowing that most of us don’t live up to all three. There are many of us that do the servant part well but somehow leave the God stuff out of the picture. Others of us would cocoon with God and be perfectly content to never associate with others. Still others of us just love being with our friends but don’t put our time into God or into considering the difference we could make in the lives of others. This passage calls us to understand that real faith happens in the context of community. That is the place where lives are changed.
The woman with her grand plan is a woman who is constantly pouring herself into her relationship with God, constantly listening for God’s direction. As a result through her prayers she is made open to see the needs of others and she pours herself out for them. The results are relationships of all sorts that blossom for her often in the most unlikely places.
This is Peter’s definition of the true church—a group of gathered believers committed to really loving each other, to really loving and seeking God, to really loving everyone (even those who look different, act different, live different.) Peter knew then and exhorts us now that time is running short for us to live this kind of love and to be this kind of church. We seem to keep missing the mark, but today is a new opportunity to change our tunes, to change our ways of being. As we begin this year that seems to be our question: what will we do and how will we be so as to be the true church? May the answer offer us direction for our living and may we find Love's grand plan as a result! Amen.
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