"Happy are those servants whom the master finds waiting up when he arrives. I assure you that, when he arrives, he will dress himself to serve, seat them at the table as honored guests, and wait on them. Happy are those whom he finds alert, even if he comes at midnight or just before dawn." Luke 12:37-38 (CEB)
I confess ... I have seen an episode or two of Duck Dynasty and I get Phil Robertson's expression of contentment and gratitude: happy, happy, happy. Usually, he utters those words around a lovely experience of family, of teaching/learning a life lesson that's steeped in God's grace, or of a great bowl of Mrs. Kay's gumbo. Truth be told, when we - no, I'll own it - when I consider myself "happy, happy, happy" it's generally because my needs have been met, my preferences have been recognized, or those 'things' that bring me joy and contentment have come to me.
That's the reason Jesus' words here really grab my attention. If things really are according to my own experience(s), shouldn't he have said something to the effect of ... 'happy is the master who finds his servants behaving well when he arrives"? Happiness here is not about getting what you want or expect or what you think IS the right thing; happiness here is about discovering a new depth of relationship with one's master.
So, I'm led to recognize that MY happiness is not just about ME. If I dare consider myself a servant of Christ, Master Jesus is telling me that there is a happiness I can't even imagine. A happiness that I will experience when I see and know my Master in a new, intimate way. The Master isn't into passing out pats on the back, or bonus checks, or new titles just because we've been vigilant in our work and kept at it no matter how long it takes for him to show up. The Master, instead, gives us himself in a new way. Face-to-face, intentional places of honor ... he serves those who have shown their love for and commitment to him by serving him.
Lord Jesus, forgive me for seeking, wanting, embracing happiness that's basically about my own appetites being satiated and about me finding comfort. Forgive me for that because it's a settling for things, though wonderful, that are not deep-well happiness that comes in my relationship with you. You want me to know a deep happiness that comes in feasting and fellowship with you in ways that come only when you set the table. So, Lord, give me courage and energy to serve however I'm asked or needed, knowing that there is a fellowship coming with you that is sweeter, deeper than I can even imagine or ask. And, help me remember that the deep sweetness of that fellowship comes in waiting on you, waiting for you .. sure of your unpredictable coming, surer still of your love for me. Let it be so.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Mismatched Me
"Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees - I mean, the mismatch between their hearts and lives ... whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and whatever you have whispered in the rooms deep inside the house will be announced from the rooftops." Luke 12:1b, 3 (CEB)
Oops. Jesus just called us out on our own arrogance ... thinking that I can think one thing and actually be another. It just doesn't work that way.
Bishop Bill McAlilly recently said in a sermon that it's just not possible to "think your way into a new way of walking. We must walk our way into a new way of thinking." The transformation of our minds, of our thought life is an issue Paul deals with, too: Don't conform to the world's way of doing things (read: being comfortable with mismatched hearts and lives), but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2) And, Jesus, challenged those who would/could hear him to love God with all our mind (Matthew 22), not just our heart, soul, and strength as the Shema bids us in Deuteronomy 6. Attitude makes all the difference in the world. And, what is attitude but my thoughts and beliefs about myself, about you, about life, about the world, about God ... ?
The mismatch that Jesus called out was the belief that it's okay to harbor those whispered dark thoughts whether they ever cross our lips or simply jump around the synapses of our brains. He even said, you read it, that those things we whisper to ourselves or to others in the quiet, dark places of our living will be as if they're shouted from the rooftops.
Uh-oh. Most of my thoughts? That's not gonna be a problem. They won't be very interesting; as a matter of fact, the simplicity of them might be frustrating for you, embarrassing for me. But, there are a few. In moments of anger and disappointment, when I don't gee-haw with someone and when I've been hurt, in those moments, my thoughts and sometimes my words ... Well, let's just say I wouldn't want those shouted from the rooftops. My guess is ('cause I've read the book of James), you've got the same problem.
Lord Jesus, it's true that we are what we eat; truer still that we are what we think. But, we fool ourselves into believing that since nobody "heard" that, they'll never know. But, the thought/beliefs/words that roll around in our minds determine our attitude and sometimes those words spill out of our mouths doing even more damage. What's worse, I know that those thoughts and beliefs take root in our hearts. Uproot anything that doesn't match you, Jesus. I don't want to be mismatched in heart and life; I want you to be the center and reflection of all that I think, say, and do! Transform my mind, teach me how to love you with my mind to that end ... that all of who I am matches for the world to see that I belong to you! Let it be so.
Oops. Jesus just called us out on our own arrogance ... thinking that I can think one thing and actually be another. It just doesn't work that way.
Bishop Bill McAlilly recently said in a sermon that it's just not possible to "think your way into a new way of walking. We must walk our way into a new way of thinking." The transformation of our minds, of our thought life is an issue Paul deals with, too: Don't conform to the world's way of doing things (read: being comfortable with mismatched hearts and lives), but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2) And, Jesus, challenged those who would/could hear him to love God with all our mind (Matthew 22), not just our heart, soul, and strength as the Shema bids us in Deuteronomy 6. Attitude makes all the difference in the world. And, what is attitude but my thoughts and beliefs about myself, about you, about life, about the world, about God ... ?
The mismatch that Jesus called out was the belief that it's okay to harbor those whispered dark thoughts whether they ever cross our lips or simply jump around the synapses of our brains. He even said, you read it, that those things we whisper to ourselves or to others in the quiet, dark places of our living will be as if they're shouted from the rooftops.
Uh-oh. Most of my thoughts? That's not gonna be a problem. They won't be very interesting; as a matter of fact, the simplicity of them might be frustrating for you, embarrassing for me. But, there are a few. In moments of anger and disappointment, when I don't gee-haw with someone and when I've been hurt, in those moments, my thoughts and sometimes my words ... Well, let's just say I wouldn't want those shouted from the rooftops. My guess is ('cause I've read the book of James), you've got the same problem.
Lord Jesus, it's true that we are what we eat; truer still that we are what we think. But, we fool ourselves into believing that since nobody "heard" that, they'll never know. But, the thought/beliefs/words that roll around in our minds determine our attitude and sometimes those words spill out of our mouths doing even more damage. What's worse, I know that those thoughts and beliefs take root in our hearts. Uproot anything that doesn't match you, Jesus. I don't want to be mismatched in heart and life; I want you to be the center and reflection of all that I think, say, and do! Transform my mind, teach me how to love you with my mind to that end ... that all of who I am matches for the world to see that I belong to you! Let it be so.
Cleaned Up and Decorated
"When an unclean spirit leaves a person, it wanders through dry places looking for a place to rest. But it doesn't find any. Then it says, 'I'll go back to the house I left.' When it arrives it finds the house cleaned up and decorated. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself. They go in and make their home there ..." Luke 11:24-26a (CEB)
Jesus has been talking about spiritual awareness and preparation when this passage shows up in Luke's gospel. The frankness of Jesus' warning is disturbing at the least. Two challenges I hear in his brief exchange around unclean spirits in the average Joe and Jane ...
One, WHEN an unclean spirit leaves makes it sound like the coming and going of such is no surprise, at least to Jesus. His words are a reminder to me that Pierre Tielhard de Chardin's words are true: "we are not human beings have a spiritual experience; we have spiritual beings having a human experience." There is constantly spirit-ual work going on around us and within us, but often I'm just glad to get through the day fairly unscathed and give no thought to what or Who drives, leads, guides, teaches, pushes, influences and companions me.
Second, when 'someone' is finally rid of that unclean spirit ... you/I have to do more than tidy up in order to gain ground. I love the CEB translation as it describes the house as "cleaned up and decorated." It's almost as if Jesus is hinting at the kind of fasting that folks like me often participate in. I uncomfortably deprive myself of something that is of little consequence to me (chip and dip, etc.) but replace it with nothing that's specifically and especially of God (more time in the Word, or praying, or serving the poor, etc.). Almost like I'm holding my breath until I can get through the season. I clean myself up, decorate the place, but it's still as empty as can be. Jesus talks about insides and outsides with the Pharisees, challenging them to remember that just because the inside is hidden doesn't mean that it won't be known for what it is. That spirit that's still looking for a place to reside will appreciate the new decor, the spring-cleaning that makes it more comfortable to take up residence in the space that hasn't changed emotionally, mentally, or spiritually.
Jesus' words are a great reminder for me that if there's not more of Jesus in me as I grow in Him, the changes are little more than sprucing up and redecorating. I want Jesus to live in every corner of who I am ... but, that's gonna mean I've got to let him see the cobwebs and junk drawers that, until now, I would have sworn didn't exist.
Lord Jesus, come into every corner of my life. Convert every corner and every closet and drawer of my life into your residence. May the world look at me and know that I belong to you because of my words, my attitudes, my actions, my countenance. Boy, do you have your work cut out for you - cleaning all the junk out. I'm glad to help, but you'll have to push me because I'm embarrassed and afraid of what I see in me. But, I don't the void to be left. No kidding, fill me with the Spirit so that there is only room for your peace, your grace, your love ... for you. Let it be so.
Jesus has been talking about spiritual awareness and preparation when this passage shows up in Luke's gospel. The frankness of Jesus' warning is disturbing at the least. Two challenges I hear in his brief exchange around unclean spirits in the average Joe and Jane ...
One, WHEN an unclean spirit leaves makes it sound like the coming and going of such is no surprise, at least to Jesus. His words are a reminder to me that Pierre Tielhard de Chardin's words are true: "we are not human beings have a spiritual experience; we have spiritual beings having a human experience." There is constantly spirit-ual work going on around us and within us, but often I'm just glad to get through the day fairly unscathed and give no thought to what or Who drives, leads, guides, teaches, pushes, influences and companions me.
Second, when 'someone' is finally rid of that unclean spirit ... you/I have to do more than tidy up in order to gain ground. I love the CEB translation as it describes the house as "cleaned up and decorated." It's almost as if Jesus is hinting at the kind of fasting that folks like me often participate in. I uncomfortably deprive myself of something that is of little consequence to me (chip and dip, etc.) but replace it with nothing that's specifically and especially of God (more time in the Word, or praying, or serving the poor, etc.). Almost like I'm holding my breath until I can get through the season. I clean myself up, decorate the place, but it's still as empty as can be. Jesus talks about insides and outsides with the Pharisees, challenging them to remember that just because the inside is hidden doesn't mean that it won't be known for what it is. That spirit that's still looking for a place to reside will appreciate the new decor, the spring-cleaning that makes it more comfortable to take up residence in the space that hasn't changed emotionally, mentally, or spiritually.
Jesus' words are a great reminder for me that if there's not more of Jesus in me as I grow in Him, the changes are little more than sprucing up and redecorating. I want Jesus to live in every corner of who I am ... but, that's gonna mean I've got to let him see the cobwebs and junk drawers that, until now, I would have sworn didn't exist.
Lord Jesus, come into every corner of my life. Convert every corner and every closet and drawer of my life into your residence. May the world look at me and know that I belong to you because of my words, my attitudes, my actions, my countenance. Boy, do you have your work cut out for you - cleaning all the junk out. I'm glad to help, but you'll have to push me because I'm embarrassed and afraid of what I see in me. But, I don't the void to be left. No kidding, fill me with the Spirit so that there is only room for your peace, your grace, your love ... for you. Let it be so.
Monday, March 17, 2014
But ... Moved with Compassion
"A Samaritan, who was on a journey, came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion." Luke 10:33 (CEB)
You know the story, is my guess, just by the mention of his ethnic background. The good Samaritan's story teaches us from our earliest days about doing good for others. The measure with which this man in Jesus' story does good is astounding! He deals with his "enemy" with kindness and generosity seemingly without a second thought or a cringe (even when he saw the final bill!). I think the treasured lesson for maturing Jesus-followers is deeper still.
It's hard to move past the fact that there are two others, both of whom one would think know better this business of kindness and generosity like God doles out. The priest and the Levite are both Jews answering a call by God on their lives and they are on the same road as their 'brother' who's been beaten to a pulp and left for dead. Maybe it's a fair assumption that the priest was about priestly business and the Levite on his way to do what Levites do. They both crossed over to the other side, presumably to keep from being made unclean, or contaminated, by the misfortune and brokenness of this man. Whether it's fair or not to assume so of these two, it is indesputable that Jesus paints an entirely different picture of the Samaritan about his own business.
The CEB translation says he was on a journey. He had some intention toward which he was travelling - a place, a task, a hope; whatever it was, he was on his way. He came to the same place - a realization, a horror, a dilemma - just as the others before him did. But. BUT. BUT, the Samaritan was moved with compassion. He must act. He can't leave this fella here alone, unattended, at death's door. He set aside everything in and for that moment. His journey, his business, his possible prejudice about his 'enemy,' maybe more. He set it aside because of compassion.
Sympathetic concern for another's sufferings and misfortunes. That's what pushed this Samaritan to act with such kindness and generosity. Compassion made him set everything aside to pay attention to this beaten, broken, dying man. I struggle to make eye contact with the man who stands with the cardboard sign at Highland and Sam Cooper as I drive by most mornings. I may not be travelling by on the other side, but I keep my window rolled up and avert my eyes so as not to be distracted from my business or moved by my brother's misfortune. And, there are a jillion other examples I could give of how folks like you and me work hard to keep from being moved by compassion.
My guess is that we're afraid of the cost of being moved by compassion. Thank God, compassion was more important than convenience or comfort as Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem and began that last journey toward the cross.
Lord Jesus, 'thank you!' sounds so empty in the face of the kindness and generosity that cost you everything ... on my behalf. For your compassion I will be forever grateful; teach me to show that gratitude in the way I am moved by compassion for my brothers and sisters. Teach me to be like the Samaritan who knew what was truly important and not count the cost of loving my neighbor. I guess what I'm asking is that you would change my mind and my heart that I would love like you love me. Let it be so ...
You know the story, is my guess, just by the mention of his ethnic background. The good Samaritan's story teaches us from our earliest days about doing good for others. The measure with which this man in Jesus' story does good is astounding! He deals with his "enemy" with kindness and generosity seemingly without a second thought or a cringe (even when he saw the final bill!). I think the treasured lesson for maturing Jesus-followers is deeper still.
It's hard to move past the fact that there are two others, both of whom one would think know better this business of kindness and generosity like God doles out. The priest and the Levite are both Jews answering a call by God on their lives and they are on the same road as their 'brother' who's been beaten to a pulp and left for dead. Maybe it's a fair assumption that the priest was about priestly business and the Levite on his way to do what Levites do. They both crossed over to the other side, presumably to keep from being made unclean, or contaminated, by the misfortune and brokenness of this man. Whether it's fair or not to assume so of these two, it is indesputable that Jesus paints an entirely different picture of the Samaritan about his own business.
The CEB translation says he was on a journey. He had some intention toward which he was travelling - a place, a task, a hope; whatever it was, he was on his way. He came to the same place - a realization, a horror, a dilemma - just as the others before him did. But. BUT. BUT, the Samaritan was moved with compassion. He must act. He can't leave this fella here alone, unattended, at death's door. He set aside everything in and for that moment. His journey, his business, his possible prejudice about his 'enemy,' maybe more. He set it aside because of compassion.
Sympathetic concern for another's sufferings and misfortunes. That's what pushed this Samaritan to act with such kindness and generosity. Compassion made him set everything aside to pay attention to this beaten, broken, dying man. I struggle to make eye contact with the man who stands with the cardboard sign at Highland and Sam Cooper as I drive by most mornings. I may not be travelling by on the other side, but I keep my window rolled up and avert my eyes so as not to be distracted from my business or moved by my brother's misfortune. And, there are a jillion other examples I could give of how folks like you and me work hard to keep from being moved by compassion.
My guess is that we're afraid of the cost of being moved by compassion. Thank God, compassion was more important than convenience or comfort as Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem and began that last journey toward the cross.
Lord Jesus, 'thank you!' sounds so empty in the face of the kindness and generosity that cost you everything ... on my behalf. For your compassion I will be forever grateful; teach me to show that gratitude in the way I am moved by compassion for my brothers and sisters. Teach me to be like the Samaritan who knew what was truly important and not count the cost of loving my neighbor. I guess what I'm asking is that you would change my mind and my heart that I would love like you love me. Let it be so ...
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Power and Authority
"Jesus called the Twelve together and he gave them power and authority over all demons and to heal sicknesses. He sent them out to proclaim God's kingdom and to heal the sick..." Luke 9:1-2 (CEB)
"He replied, 'You give them something to eat.' But they said, 'We have no more than ...' " Luke 9:13 (CEB)
" 'I begged your disciples to throw [the spirit] out, but they couldn't.' " Luke 9:40 (CEB)
[Words appearing in italics and emboldened appear so by my own choice.]
As defined by Webster, power is "the ability to do or act; vigor; force; strength." And authority? Permission, invitation, or the right to act. Jesus gave his disciples both. Through Christ, they had the ability and the invitation to act on his behalf, to do things that only Christ could do. I would argue that all Jesus' disciples have been given those two 'things." Ability and permission, invitation.
Funny how the picture of the Twelve reflects the very struggle that you and I live in as modern-day disciples. Having been blessed, empowered, and dispatched, they lived for a short season in that power and authority and, then, forgot who and whose they were. The disciples recognized the people's physical hunger as surely as they witnessed the spiritual hunger being fed in Jesus' presence that day. Jesus says, in essence, YOU do it, YOU feed them ... and all they could see was their lack. "We have no more than ..." Truth is they had much more than fish and bread, but forgot what they'd been given.
Need another example? While Peter, James, and John are with Jesus as he's transfigured before their eyes, the other disciples are with others, maybe even alone at the foot of that mountain. And, one of those others is a man whose son has been tormented maybe his whole life. He begs the disciples to deliver his son from this disease/demon and it just doesn't happen. Truth is they had been given the power and authority (the ability and the permission, even invitation) to heal ... and they just couldn't do it.
Maybe the deeper understanding of the gap we experience in the disciples' faith journeys is found in our own encounters with the world as Jesus-followers. Power is most often defined or lived out in the world as power OVER something or someone. Authority, in cultural perspective, is about being the expert voice ... with little regard, if any, for the invitation or permission to speak into a situation or to a person as if we had authority. We want to exert control, to manage the people and the circumstances of our lives; we want to be powerful, but it is my conviction that we don't see our power as a gift from God for the greater good, for ushering in the kingdom. We want to be strong enough to persevere, yes. But, that's about ourselves, and rarely about anyone else, much less the full kingdom of God.
And, authority. We're experts on everything ... on the self-inflicted plight of Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus; on keeping up with the Kardashians and every other celebrity personality; on political squabbles within and beyond our own country; and, certainly on what's wrong with the Church today. We're mouthy but we do not live with authority. As you may have read in my Luke 7 post, I believe our biggest challenge is that we do not live a life of faith in an authoritative way because we have little idea at all what it means to be under authority. We're our own bosses. It's not their own authority that Jesus intended that the disciples live by ... he gave them his. That's the only way healing and wholeness are found, that the Truth is spoken, that those bound and captivated by other than God are set free. Not by our strength, but by God's through us.
Bottom line - you cannot give away what you do not have. The disciples couldn't feed those hungry people because they couldn't see that they had at their disposal (not for their own good, but for the good of the world) the Bread of Life. They couldn't deliver that boy from his demons because they had to be delivered from their own first, that of fear. We think of young David as audacious in his faith as he found his way in front of Goliath, but really he was living into the power and authority given to God's people by their Creator. The promise had already been made, all the Israelite army had to do was step into the promise and pick up their armor. Nobody remembered the promise but David; he was only there to deliver groceries, but seems he was the only agent of God who could pronounce deliverance by defeating Goliath. It was his stone alright, but thrown in God's power and authority that brought Goliath down.
Lord Jesus, I want to live an authoritative, powerful life. Not as if I'm some superhero with my cape flapping in the breeze ready to tackle anything and anyone in life. No, but as a child of yours, standing firm in your tender grace because that's enough. Give me power, not for myself or for my life circumstance, but power for your kingdom, your world because mine is not enough. Not enough to stand against evil, to speak your Truth over the voices of compromise, to remember and claim victory in the uphill battle that is life on this side of glory. But, YOU are enough. And, you are audacious enough to share your power and authority with folks like little ol' me. Help me live a life worthy of your love and mercy, sweet Jesus. Let it be so.
"He replied, 'You give them something to eat.' But they said, 'We have no more than ...' " Luke 9:13 (CEB)
" 'I begged your disciples to throw [the spirit] out, but they couldn't.' " Luke 9:40 (CEB)
[Words appearing in italics and emboldened appear so by my own choice.]
As defined by Webster, power is "the ability to do or act; vigor; force; strength." And authority? Permission, invitation, or the right to act. Jesus gave his disciples both. Through Christ, they had the ability and the invitation to act on his behalf, to do things that only Christ could do. I would argue that all Jesus' disciples have been given those two 'things." Ability and permission, invitation.
Funny how the picture of the Twelve reflects the very struggle that you and I live in as modern-day disciples. Having been blessed, empowered, and dispatched, they lived for a short season in that power and authority and, then, forgot who and whose they were. The disciples recognized the people's physical hunger as surely as they witnessed the spiritual hunger being fed in Jesus' presence that day. Jesus says, in essence, YOU do it, YOU feed them ... and all they could see was their lack. "We have no more than ..." Truth is they had much more than fish and bread, but forgot what they'd been given.
Need another example? While Peter, James, and John are with Jesus as he's transfigured before their eyes, the other disciples are with others, maybe even alone at the foot of that mountain. And, one of those others is a man whose son has been tormented maybe his whole life. He begs the disciples to deliver his son from this disease/demon and it just doesn't happen. Truth is they had been given the power and authority (the ability and the permission, even invitation) to heal ... and they just couldn't do it.
Maybe the deeper understanding of the gap we experience in the disciples' faith journeys is found in our own encounters with the world as Jesus-followers. Power is most often defined or lived out in the world as power OVER something or someone. Authority, in cultural perspective, is about being the expert voice ... with little regard, if any, for the invitation or permission to speak into a situation or to a person as if we had authority. We want to exert control, to manage the people and the circumstances of our lives; we want to be powerful, but it is my conviction that we don't see our power as a gift from God for the greater good, for ushering in the kingdom. We want to be strong enough to persevere, yes. But, that's about ourselves, and rarely about anyone else, much less the full kingdom of God.
And, authority. We're experts on everything ... on the self-inflicted plight of Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus; on keeping up with the Kardashians and every other celebrity personality; on political squabbles within and beyond our own country; and, certainly on what's wrong with the Church today. We're mouthy but we do not live with authority. As you may have read in my Luke 7 post, I believe our biggest challenge is that we do not live a life of faith in an authoritative way because we have little idea at all what it means to be under authority. We're our own bosses. It's not their own authority that Jesus intended that the disciples live by ... he gave them his. That's the only way healing and wholeness are found, that the Truth is spoken, that those bound and captivated by other than God are set free. Not by our strength, but by God's through us.
Bottom line - you cannot give away what you do not have. The disciples couldn't feed those hungry people because they couldn't see that they had at their disposal (not for their own good, but for the good of the world) the Bread of Life. They couldn't deliver that boy from his demons because they had to be delivered from their own first, that of fear. We think of young David as audacious in his faith as he found his way in front of Goliath, but really he was living into the power and authority given to God's people by their Creator. The promise had already been made, all the Israelite army had to do was step into the promise and pick up their armor. Nobody remembered the promise but David; he was only there to deliver groceries, but seems he was the only agent of God who could pronounce deliverance by defeating Goliath. It was his stone alright, but thrown in God's power and authority that brought Goliath down.
Lord Jesus, I want to live an authoritative, powerful life. Not as if I'm some superhero with my cape flapping in the breeze ready to tackle anything and anyone in life. No, but as a child of yours, standing firm in your tender grace because that's enough. Give me power, not for myself or for my life circumstance, but power for your kingdom, your world because mine is not enough. Not enough to stand against evil, to speak your Truth over the voices of compromise, to remember and claim victory in the uphill battle that is life on this side of glory. But, YOU are enough. And, you are audacious enough to share your power and authority with folks like little ol' me. Help me live a life worthy of your love and mercy, sweet Jesus. Let it be so.
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