Rarely does anyone claim the title 'saint' and no amount of theological teaching will change that. It has something to do with bragging.
Yet when the waters of baptism poured over our heads, we entered an amazing relationship with God, creator, redeemer and sanctifier. We became saints: those set apart for the service of God and God's work.
Most of us fit into other categories, some benign some uncomfortable. We are teachers, mechanics, managers, students... and sisters, friends, fathers, aunts...and bullies, whiners, gossips, emotionally detached....and divorced, single, living with someone, sleeping with everyone, widowed....and generous, open minded, peace loving, faithful....and cheap, prejudiced, belligerent, and lost.
Yet we are all saints. Set apart by virtue of our baptism to the work of this God for the sake of those whom God loves.
This Sunday the saints will gather to remember some of our brothers and sisters who left us and are now coming to know what it means to be counted among the saints by our God. Let us comfort those who sorrow and rejoice with those who have finally figured it all out. It is God's love that makes us saints, not we ourselves.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Lord have mercy.....
It is an ancient cry of the Church
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy
When I look at the video of the devastation of the East Coast
When I consider that some folks will never make it home, and some will never recover what was lost
When I remember the poor, the frail, and the just plain onery
I cannot help but pray this ancient prayer
and give thanks that so many were spared so much. AMEN
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy
When I look at the video of the devastation of the East Coast
When I consider that some folks will never make it home, and some will never recover what was lost
When I remember the poor, the frail, and the just plain onery
I cannot help but pray this ancient prayer
and give thanks that so many were spared so much. AMEN
Thursday, October 25, 2012
What do you want me to do for you?
Jesus asks that question of the blind man called Bartimaeus in this week's gospel.
It is the same question he asked of James and John before they disasterously voiced their desire to have the two most important places in the room when Jesus became King in his kingdom.
Blind Bartimaeus was crystal clear. Give me back my sight. Jesus did, and Bartimaeus became the newest disciple.
What do you want me to do for you?
I think that until we can answer that question, our relationship with God and the God's great gift of love and life is cursory. It is like watered down milk. Often we simply walk away from this thing called 'faith' because it truly has no meaning for us.
Once we answer that question honestly, our relationship with God shifts. Either we get what we want or not. Faith is challenged; we grow or we do not.
Once we answer that question with "Give me true life", our relationship with God enters a new stratosphere and God's grace is the most valuable gem in our treasury.
What is it you want God to do for you?
It is the same question he asked of James and John before they disasterously voiced their desire to have the two most important places in the room when Jesus became King in his kingdom.
Blind Bartimaeus was crystal clear. Give me back my sight. Jesus did, and Bartimaeus became the newest disciple.
What do you want me to do for you?
I think that until we can answer that question, our relationship with God and the God's great gift of love and life is cursory. It is like watered down milk. Often we simply walk away from this thing called 'faith' because it truly has no meaning for us.
Once we answer that question honestly, our relationship with God shifts. Either we get what we want or not. Faith is challenged; we grow or we do not.
Once we answer that question with "Give me true life", our relationship with God enters a new stratosphere and God's grace is the most valuable gem in our treasury.
What is it you want God to do for you?
Monday, October 15, 2012
Let's talk about God....
The true God, the God who creates and gives life. The God who loves first, unconditionally, always. The God who is active in this world, today.
Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem. In his crucifixion he will be revealing a dimension of God's interaction with this world that is mind boggling even today. At the cross, we will encounter God. Not an academic God. Not a God who is far off. But God who is one with the suffering of human life, in God's own body......and for the sake of the world.
The time is running out. The cross is ahead and Jesus knows this.
So it is crucial to Jesus that our conversation shift from what we are doing, what we need to do, what we want to obtain......to what God is doing for us, how God is at work in this world, and the grand invitation God extends through Jesus for us to be a part of this adventure.
This is the focus of the text on divorce (Mark 10.1-15) and the story of the rich man (Mark 10.17-31) and now this request of James and John to sit on the right and left hand of Jesus in his glory (Mark 10.35-45). Jesus pushes us to engage in a new conversation, a new possibility of who God is and how God is at work in the world.
It's all about God; once you grasp this you are set free to live generously, graciously, with forgiveness, and joy. This is the challenge we face these next several weeks: to make it about God and not us. We are along for the ride and thank God that God has invited us in Jesus.
Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem. In his crucifixion he will be revealing a dimension of God's interaction with this world that is mind boggling even today. At the cross, we will encounter God. Not an academic God. Not a God who is far off. But God who is one with the suffering of human life, in God's own body......and for the sake of the world.
The time is running out. The cross is ahead and Jesus knows this.
So it is crucial to Jesus that our conversation shift from what we are doing, what we need to do, what we want to obtain......to what God is doing for us, how God is at work in this world, and the grand invitation God extends through Jesus for us to be a part of this adventure.
This is the focus of the text on divorce (Mark 10.1-15) and the story of the rich man (Mark 10.17-31) and now this request of James and John to sit on the right and left hand of Jesus in his glory (Mark 10.35-45). Jesus pushes us to engage in a new conversation, a new possibility of who God is and how God is at work in the world.
It's all about God; once you grasp this you are set free to live generously, graciously, with forgiveness, and joy. This is the challenge we face these next several weeks: to make it about God and not us. We are along for the ride and thank God that God has invited us in Jesus.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
"Seek good and not evil, that you may live"
This is Amos' advice to the people of the Northern Kingdom (sometimes referred to in the prophets as the house of Joseph, sometimes referred to as Israel).
This is what it has come down to: seek good and not evil, so you may live. Because there will be nothing else left after God's judgment prevails. Amos 5.6-7, 10-15
Amos is one of only two prophets whose primary focus is economic justice. He speaks of the economic oppression of the poor by their own people. He speaks of the lack of justice at the city gate, both for those with disputes but also for the needy who sought help. (Note: a judge or wise elder would sit at the city gate and any party who had a dispute would take their case to the judge and he would make a ruling. Amos claims the judges were bribed to rule in favor of the wealthy.)
In other words, the system was rigged. That is what 'justice' is about in the Bible; establishing an even playing field for all where political or economic power is a tool to be used for the betterment of those in need and to advance the common good. Not every one ends up 'rich' in a just system; but everyone has equal access and is the concern of every other citizen.
You may have noticed that we are in the heat of the political system. We have heard claims, counter claims, truths, half truths and outright lies. The thoughtful among us know that no matter what the candidate says, s/he must contend with the system once in office, and the unforeseen events that shift our choices.
And yet we must decide. We need to listen closely. Who will benefit from the position this politician is taking? Who will lose out? Am I concerned only with what will happen to me or have I considered the common good? Are they telling some version of the truth about what is possible to achieve?
This applies to both domestic and foreign policy. Most of this is way beyond my pay grade; I don't really understand the intricacies of economic policy nor the complex situations that exist in Libya or the Middle East. I work to think through, to listen closely to whether what is proposed will, in any way, increase the common good. Is it just? To all?
This text from Amos comes at a good time for us. To quote Jesus, "Let those who have ears, listen."
This is what it has come down to: seek good and not evil, so you may live. Because there will be nothing else left after God's judgment prevails. Amos 5.6-7, 10-15
Amos is one of only two prophets whose primary focus is economic justice. He speaks of the economic oppression of the poor by their own people. He speaks of the lack of justice at the city gate, both for those with disputes but also for the needy who sought help. (Note: a judge or wise elder would sit at the city gate and any party who had a dispute would take their case to the judge and he would make a ruling. Amos claims the judges were bribed to rule in favor of the wealthy.)
In other words, the system was rigged. That is what 'justice' is about in the Bible; establishing an even playing field for all where political or economic power is a tool to be used for the betterment of those in need and to advance the common good. Not every one ends up 'rich' in a just system; but everyone has equal access and is the concern of every other citizen.
You may have noticed that we are in the heat of the political system. We have heard claims, counter claims, truths, half truths and outright lies. The thoughtful among us know that no matter what the candidate says, s/he must contend with the system once in office, and the unforeseen events that shift our choices.
And yet we must decide. We need to listen closely. Who will benefit from the position this politician is taking? Who will lose out? Am I concerned only with what will happen to me or have I considered the common good? Are they telling some version of the truth about what is possible to achieve?
This applies to both domestic and foreign policy. Most of this is way beyond my pay grade; I don't really understand the intricacies of economic policy nor the complex situations that exist in Libya or the Middle East. I work to think through, to listen closely to whether what is proposed will, in any way, increase the common good. Is it just? To all?
This text from Amos comes at a good time for us. To quote Jesus, "Let those who have ears, listen."
"Therefore, because you trample on the poor...."
Should you be listening to a prophet, beware of the word "therefore." It always announces judgment - God's judgment, a judgment that will cut away all that keeps us from following God and living in God's light. A judgment that is experienced in pain and/or sorrow.
Amos has been sent by God to the power center of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and he has nothing to say that anyone wants to hear.
A little history here: the Northern Kingdom functioned separately from the Southern Kingdom and had grown very prosperous in the last decade. The leadership of the Northern Kingdom, King Jeroboam, was convinced that the peace in the land and the prosperity of the people (some of the people) indicated God's blessing. They were secure in their position as God's anointed ones.
Amos is there to burst their bubble. Their prosperity was built on the backs of their own people and the aliens and strangers in their midst. He points out that the people cannot wait for the Sabbath to be over so they can cheat their neighbors in the marketplace. He calls the "Housewives of Bashon" cows. He rejects their sacrifices and rituals because they are nothing but lip service while the wealthy continue to levy taxes upon the poor who cannot pay.
This is what leads to Amos saying, "therefore, because you trample on the poor..." and the judgment is this: you have built fine, fancy houses but you will not live in them. You have secured land and planted vineyards, but you will never taste their wine. In other words, this all will be taken away from you.
And so it was. The Assyrians, who had been busy with other wars, marched through the Northern Kingdom, took possession of the land, and forced EVERYBODY into exile (722-723 BC) After this invasion, the Northern Kingdom was wiped from the face of the earth.
Amos never said I told you so. But he could have.
Look for part II on this text. Amos5.6-7,10-15
Amos has been sent by God to the power center of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and he has nothing to say that anyone wants to hear.
A little history here: the Northern Kingdom functioned separately from the Southern Kingdom and had grown very prosperous in the last decade. The leadership of the Northern Kingdom, King Jeroboam, was convinced that the peace in the land and the prosperity of the people (some of the people) indicated God's blessing. They were secure in their position as God's anointed ones.
Amos is there to burst their bubble. Their prosperity was built on the backs of their own people and the aliens and strangers in their midst. He points out that the people cannot wait for the Sabbath to be over so they can cheat their neighbors in the marketplace. He calls the "Housewives of Bashon" cows. He rejects their sacrifices and rituals because they are nothing but lip service while the wealthy continue to levy taxes upon the poor who cannot pay.
This is what leads to Amos saying, "therefore, because you trample on the poor..." and the judgment is this: you have built fine, fancy houses but you will not live in them. You have secured land and planted vineyards, but you will never taste their wine. In other words, this all will be taken away from you.
And so it was. The Assyrians, who had been busy with other wars, marched through the Northern Kingdom, took possession of the land, and forced EVERYBODY into exile (722-723 BC) After this invasion, the Northern Kingdom was wiped from the face of the earth.
Amos never said I told you so. But he could have.
Look for part II on this text. Amos5.6-7,10-15
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Where love and hurt abounds
It is time for us to [attempt] to listen with open hearts to 'the divorce text.' We are treading on dangerous ground, a veritable mine field of emotions, for marriage and divorce are places where both love and hurt abound.
Genesis sets the tone for us this week. We look at the Genesis 2 rendering of the creation of man and woman: co-partners in God's work. Man is ish and Woman is ishshah (in the Hebrew) and the words alone tell us something of the relationship between these two.
At the first glimpse of Woman, Man cries out, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!" There is rejoicing. There is fellowship. There is a partnership forged to care for one another and all of God's creation.
By the time we get to the gospel of Mark, the bloom is off the rose and the Pharisees are trying to back Jesus into a corner. Focused on a legal system that had developed through the centuries, the Pharisees want Jesus to confirm or deny a man's superior rights and minimal obligations when the wedding of two turns into two households, two individuals.
Jesus is unwilling to play that game. He goes all the way back to Genesis and points out what God's intent was for creation - no one is to be left powerless, vulnerable. Every person bears consequences for his/her own actions, and God's kingdom of God has a special line for the nameless ones at the bottom of the heap.
It will be hard for folks to hear the nuances of these lessons because, as we all know, marriage and its unwelcome relative: divorce, are places where both great love and great hurt abound. Pray for those who are hurt when they hear this lesson; pray they will hear Jesus' call of love to them.
Genesis sets the tone for us this week. We look at the Genesis 2 rendering of the creation of man and woman: co-partners in God's work. Man is ish and Woman is ishshah (in the Hebrew) and the words alone tell us something of the relationship between these two.
At the first glimpse of Woman, Man cries out, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!" There is rejoicing. There is fellowship. There is a partnership forged to care for one another and all of God's creation.
By the time we get to the gospel of Mark, the bloom is off the rose and the Pharisees are trying to back Jesus into a corner. Focused on a legal system that had developed through the centuries, the Pharisees want Jesus to confirm or deny a man's superior rights and minimal obligations when the wedding of two turns into two households, two individuals.
Jesus is unwilling to play that game. He goes all the way back to Genesis and points out what God's intent was for creation - no one is to be left powerless, vulnerable. Every person bears consequences for his/her own actions, and God's kingdom of God has a special line for the nameless ones at the bottom of the heap.
It will be hard for folks to hear the nuances of these lessons because, as we all know, marriage and its unwelcome relative: divorce, are places where both great love and great hurt abound. Pray for those who are hurt when they hear this lesson; pray they will hear Jesus' call of love to them.
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