Internet ordination

"You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, 

in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."  1 Peter2.9

My oldest daughter is an educator.  She is very good at what she does.  She also has 100+ people who, at any time, are certain they know how to do her job better than she does, or as they say in education circles, everyone who has ever been a student believes they know how to be a teacher.

I'm sure this dynamic is present in lots of professions....amateur car mechanics, internet medical experts, especially parenting!  The Church has this as well and it is grounded in biblical passages like 1 Peter 2.9 where we are called 'a royal priesthood.'

For many, this means that anyone who can #1 read the Bible, #2 has ever been in a worship service or #3 has listened to talk radio hosted by 'religious' hosts can be an expert of one on any given topic.  There is no expectation of depth of learning or logical reasoning.  There is no expectation of serious thought.  Every one can be a priesthood of one and expound on what God is saying.

[I pause just to point out that it amazes me how quickly folk figure out what God is saying or what God wants.  The Church has been discussing this for 2000+ years and still the discussion continues.  I much prefer to say, 'this is what I read and what I think it is saying.'  What God wants is ultimately mystery.]

So for those who think that being called to the priesthood means pontificating I want to point out the second half of Peter's statement......'in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."  That is God's purpose in calling us....so we might proclaim.  Our proclamation is not to be our evaluation of right and wrong but rather to tell others about the mighty acts of the one who calls us, the same one who rescued us from darkness and brought us to light.

This is everyone's calling - to bring light into the darkness by bringing Jesus and his love with us.  We are not called to be the moral police or adjudicators of religious aesthetic.  Tell others about where you were when Jesus found you.  Tell others how grateful you are for Jesus' love.  Tell others how much Jesus wants them to come to the table.

That should keep you busy enough, right?

Entitled or treasured?

"You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people,

 in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts 

of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."  1 Peter2.9

It is easy to take this announcement and make it into a badge of honor.  It is easy to take the badge of honor and make it into a sign of worthiness.  It is easy to take the sign of worthiness and make it into a platform for pronouncements.  It is easy to use a platform to proclaim personal preferences.  It is easy to take personal preferences and make them criteria for inclusion/exclusion.

Thus God's chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation has slipped right down into the rabbit's hole of making humankind in its own image, it's own nation, it's own description of right and wrong.  All because God loved them and claimed them in the beginning.  Now God's own people are redefined into categories that are approved by the ones who call themselves chosen.

It takes about a 10 seconds for this process to be completed.  We find it so difficult to live into God's abundant love and grace, allowing it to transform us.  We find it almost impossible to actually live a life of love and grace when we work with others.

It shows up in all kinds of places.  There are unwritten rules about how folks should dress when they come to worship God.  There are unwritten rules about how loud to sing or whether to raise our hands when we pray.  There are social norms about the kind of sinfulness that is acceptable in our fellowship.  There are hidden barriers built around our fellowship to be sure to exclude 'the others.'

Then, of course, we also have the very public ways of excluding the current unacceptable ones.  In the 1980's it was those with HIV.  In the 1920's women were excluded from leadership.  In the 1950's race divided Sunday morning worship hours more effectively than Jim Crow.  In the 2000's, who are we excluding?  Who are we 'uncomfortable' with or, to be more direct, who do we think are not worthy to be in the presence of God while we are there? Because, in the end, that is what we are saying.  We know more than God about who to love in this world.

From God's great storehouse of love and grace God reaches out to us and calls us into a relationship of love and grace.  In the warmth of God's relationship we can blossom and be strengthened for a life of love and grace towards others.

It takes us about 10 seconds to confuse this with being in charge.

Who are the chosen?

"You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."  1 Peter 2.9

On a truly "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day"* this proclamation from Peter's first letter is reassuring.  You are chosen; you are God's; you have a purpose in this world.  When you have lost your mooring or the GPS is down, when the instruction book for life has been lost, this passage gives identity and direction.

For some folks, it also grants them a status they have never claimed.  They are chosen.  If you were the person who was ALWAYS chosen last for any team; if you were the middle schooler who never had a group call out to you at lunch so you would sit with them; if you were the person who was never included in the group invitation, being chosen is a wondrous word of grace.  Belonging, being loved, being known.

If your history includes standing on the sidelines, anonymous and feeling lost, then the grace of this proclamation is so precious it takes the breath away.....if you could only believe it faithfully.  If you could only hold these words in your ear, in your heart, in your day then the joy of the moment might grow into the joy of living.

But it's a tough job because the world has 4000+ opportunities a day to tell you how you fall short. You are too short, too poor, the wrong race, too fat, too thin, too smart, too dumb, too uneducated, unstylish, the wrong political color, the wrong religious color.....go on and on.  The world has 4000+ ways to convince you that this make-up or this car or this investment or this book or this boat or these clothes will transform you into the beautiful, acceptable one.

We all know it is a lie because you no sooner fix one part of yourself then you notice another that needs fixing.  You will never be able to run fast enough to make yourself into the perfect, acceptable, stylish, 'in' person that appears to be promised.  Every single one of us is playing catch up in the game of perfection.

Unless, of course, we believe Jesus when he says, "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people...."  Or you could believe that you are treasured by the Creator of the Universe; you could believe that God knows you and has a place and a mission for you; you could trust God more than all the voices of this world. You could believe that God knows you and has chosen YOU.

Perhaps today, for a couple of hours, you can trust this, "You are God's beloved child"  Tattoo that on your arm, your leg, your back, your heart....so you won't forget when that 'terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day' strikes again.

* Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, written by Judith Viorst is the name of one of my children's favorite books.  It's a title that speaks to us all.

threatening resurrection

I've been watching the Rockford Files on Netflix.  It's a TV series from the 70's starring James Garner (on whom I had a reasonably ridiculous teenage crush).  Rockford is a private detective who fast talks himself out of most situations and resorts to a gun only under real duress.  I get a kick out of the shows.  My daughter thinks they're lame.  (But then, she was never in love with James Garner!)


I've noticed a couple of things from watching this 30 year old show.  They really liked car chases.  Every episode has at least 2 - with squealing tires and fancy driving.  There is rarely any violence beyond a well placed punch or two.  There is very little shooting; very little bleeding.

I think the lack of violence makes the show all the more appealing to me.  I am worn out by the 'realistic' TV we now get to watch: shows with sexual predators and serial killers.  We have shows with multiple dead and bleeding victims before the first commercial break.  We have the criminally insane and terrorists plotting our demise as a nation.  All that violence just wears me out, makes me fearful, and I think that, in the long run, I doubt that it is particularly good for the psyche or the soul.

Everywhere we turn someone is threatening something:  bodily harm, a legal battle, a take down on 'reality' TV, even a smearing on social media.  We attack, attack, attack.

Jesus, on the other hand, is out there threatening resurrection.

Pulls the rug right out from under the power brokers and dealers in death.
Do your worst, Jesus says.  I've got resurrection in my arsenal.

Now what do you say about that?

taking a gamble on resurrection...........

From a recent post on Facebook:  Re-reading Stephen Bouman's The Mission Table for this week's conference, I am humbled and inspired by this paragraph:

"What would [taking a gamble on resurrection] look like today, in the face of the decline of mainline churches?  For bishop, pastors, and rostered lay leaders, what would it mean to risk our position, and our wallets and take a gamble on resurrection?  Can congregations and their leaders do the same?  tomorrow and the day after, will you...continue to gamble everything on Jesus and resurrection?"

I'm not a gambler.  I walk into the ocean slowly and get accustomed to the water temperature.  I seem to have an inner control that doesn't allow me to spend too much money at one time.  I like moderate risk investments.  I rarely gamble on horse races.

Yet, more and more I am coming to believe that I am called to risk much more than the usual in the proclamation of Jesus' love.  I am coming to believe that I am called to use my retirement years (when I finally get around to having any) to radically serve my neighbor (v. administering a program that serves others).  I am coming to believe that my joy lies in an open generosity which challenges me.

When I read the quote above from Stephen Bouman, I got to thinking that the reason we don't gamble on resurrection is that we are frightened.  We are frightened that our congregations will no longer sustain themselves and the place and people with whom we've become comfortable will no longer be at 435 Main Street and we will have lost something.  We are frightened that a decision to take Jesus' words seriously might lead us to lobby for better food stamp benefits or to set aside $20 month for food pantry support, or to send a check to an organization which is doing spectacularly successful work in another city.

We are frightened that we can't be the person we think God is calling us to be.
We are frightened that we will fail God.
We are frightened that we will fail.

Boy do I understand all that.  I also understand that when God and I are talking, when I do my best to be honest about my own truths - both good and bad - that I need to be honest about this fear I have.  God won't be surprised.  Someone just posted in Facebook that the words "Do not fear" appear 365 times in the Bible.  I'm not going to count to check it out.  Rather, I will take comfort in knowing that from Abraham to Moses to David to the prophets to May, the mother of God, the message was the same, "Do not fear."  Even to the women at the tomb.  Especially to the women at the tomb.  In the face of the resurrection, 'do not fear.'

Do not fear.  I need that message 365 times a year.  Once a day.  Perhaps, with God's encouragement ringing in my ears today will be the day that I will risk giving a little more, risk speaking to a stranger about my faith, risk volunteering for a project among the least of my neighbors.  Perhaps today I can gamble a little bit more on Jesus and resurrection.

How about you?