Roadside assistance

You've seen it a thousand times on the telly:  some celebrity (whether long standing or instant) is walking along with her posse (large or small) and a gaggle of media types with microphones, cameras and questions. How do you feel?  What do you have to say?

So watching Jesus walking along a road with his posse of disciples and a gaggle of hangers on, questions being parried about with at least a few intended to catch Jesus in some kind of embarrassing slip.......isn't so hard to picture.

This time it is a man born blind.  He is the one who was just minding his own business when suddenly he becomes a media darling and the flash point for everyone's 'uninvited' opinion.  Here's the question of the day  "Whose fault is it that this man was born blind?"  Never does it say that Jesus rolled his eyes, but that kind of response wouldn't surprise me.

Instead, Jesus heals him - an occasion for rejoicing if ever there is one since (as the writer of John points out repeatedly in this episode from John 9) 'never in the history of the whole world has anyone healed someone who was born blind'.  Instead it becomes an occasion for casting blame, arguing theology, rejecting the power of the healing in the first place and ends up throwing this newly healed man out of the synagogue!

....which leads us to the Good Shepherd.  All of this is the prequel to that wonderful passage known as the Good Shepherd discourse......that place where Jesus paints for us a picture of his job, his role, his love, his care, his commitment.........even his sacrifice......for the sake of the sheep.  I am the good shepherd, Jesus says, and he goes on to explain that he is not there to judge the sheep or lock the gate to the sheep fold.  His calling is to seek those sheep who are lost on the side of the road and to guide them to the safety of the flock.  He teaches them the sound of his voice so they know who to follow, who will provide and protect them.  He works so that all can become one flock under one Lord.

He also gives us a template for our calling as followers of Jesus.  We too are to walk in the places of shadow and loss and speak with the voice of Jesus.  We are to bring light into the shadows, to guide those who are outcast to the safety of the flock.  It is about love and care and commitment and even, as needed, laying down one's life......so those who are lost in the shadows may now find life in the light.  We who follow the Good Shepherd are to mimic the Good Shepherd. There is work for us out there - and it won't always be easy.

We are the Divine Roadside Assistance crew, the 911 of the outcast set.  Let others sit at Starbucks and drink their latte - we are called to be the ones who mirror the glory of God for the sake of all those sheep who don't yet know the Shepherd.  It is hard, dusty work....

...which is why, occasionally, we need to rest in the green pastures and drink of the still waters.  Our souls will need to be restored.  We will need rest for the journey, nourishment for the work.  We need a rest stop so that when the time comes for us to 'walk through the valley of the shadows' we are strong, and the voice of the Good Shepherd is ringing in our ears.

One day, God's Positioning System (GPS) will tell us we 'have reached our final destination' but for now, take a little drink, have something to eat, and rest.  There are folks waiting by the side of road waiting for you to come and offer them healing.

In Christ's name.
Now and forever.
Amen

The Lord is my shepherd.......

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Green pastures.  Still waters.  Rest and respite.  Protection by the Good Shepherd.  These are wonderfully powerful images.  We can picture the Good Shepherd cradling the little lamb (while surrounded by perfectly clean sheep!) in his arms - cradling us in his strong arms, in comfortable safety.


When Jesus says, "I know my own and my own know me: we are flooded with the relief of no longer being alone, out there in the world making our own way, fighting off the wolves for ourselves.  Now we belong to a flock, and not just any flock but the flock that is watched over by the Good Shepherd.  Someone else stands guard; someone else is tasked with being vigilant.  We can, finally, rest.........and have our souls restored.  Both the young and the dying find deep comfort in the promises embedded in this image.....

....although those 'in between', that is, in between the innocence of youth and the final call of death are challenged by the simplicity of it all.  We know that life is a lot more complicated than this.  There are wolves attacking the flock; there are huge patches of dead grass; the waters are polluted and frankly, the shepherd is so busy playing Angry Birds that she has no idea what's going on.  Jesus calls this inattentive, cowardly shepherd a 'hired hand.'  We call her the Congress or our boss or our neighbor or sometimes even a family member.  Disease and disaster, hunger and sorrow are not erased; the green pastures are not paradise.

Today, as we begin the work week, as we take up again the burden of responsibility, as we put one foot in front of the other, let us hold fast to this image of the Good Shepherd cradling us in his arms, protecting us from all harm and danger.  Tomorrow we will do the hard work of considering whether these green pastures are our destination or simply a rest stop along the way.

Today, eat a little green grass, drink from the cool refreshing water, bask in the sunshine, knowing you are his.

All that fire

"Were not our hearts burning within us?"


It's one of my favorite quotes from the Bible and it comes from Luke's story of two people walking the road to Emmaus.  A  stranger joins them on this journey and pretty soon the stranger is talking scripture (the Hebrew scriptures or what we Christians would call the Old Testament since that was all that there was).  It turns out that this stranger is the risen Jesus and he is connecting the dots in the scriptures .....which, I would guess firmly point to him as God's Messiah.  When the two companions finally figure it all out, one says, "Were not our hearts burning within us when he opened to us the scriptures?" Apparently, God's Word and fire are not uncommon. Luke 24.32

In the book of Exodus, Moses encounters a bush that is burning but not consumed....the famous 'burning bush' story.  As Moses comes closer to inspect this phenomena, a voice says,  'take off your sandals.  You are standing on holy ground'.  Yep, that was God, calling Moses to be God's servant and the liberator of the Hebrew people.  Exodus 3.1ff

The prophet Jeremiah is another example.  In the 20th chapter, after having endured consistent and nasty responses to his faithful preaching, Jeremiah has had all he can take.  "You have enticed me, and I was enticed" Jeremiah cries.  [There are some very interesting variations on the translation of that word 'enticed']

If you have read all the previous 19 chapters you would probably agree with the crowd; Jeremiah, who is known as the weeping prophet, is a buzz killer.  As a result, he was called names, called out, ostracized and pushed around, and just because he is doing what God called him to do (see chapter 1), that is, to speak the words that God put in his mouth.  No one likes the message, so they want to get rid of the messenger.

Jeremiah wants to get rid of the Word of God that is constantly coming to him; he wants to retire from his job as prophet.  So he says,  "If I say, 'I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,' then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot."  God's Word was a fire in his bones.  Wow.  Jeremiah 20.9

When the disciples gathered after Easter for the feast of Pentecost, the Spirit of God came among them like tongues of fire with a tongue of fire resting on each one present.  Soon everyone was speaking and hearing languages they didn't otherwise know.  Hmmm  Acts 2.3

When was the last time God's Word lit a fire in your belly?  When did it compel you to speak?  When did God call you to be a servant and liberator of others?

I would guess there are times when a gentle nudge is no longer enough to get God's people moving.  Sometimes it takes a little heat, applied wherever God believes it will do the most good.

Have you felt the heat lately?

Opened the scriptures

Seems I have been trying to get folks to open the scriptures my whole life.  When I was young, I wanted the adults to open the scriptures by reading the story deeply and asking it the thousands of questions that come to mind.  What do angels look like?  Can you hear their voice or do the words just sort of appear in your mind?  Did God ask someone to be the mother of Jesus before asking Mary?  How do we explain Jesus healing people from miles away? and so forth, and so forth.  You can imagine rightly that I drove both my confirmation pastor and countless hapless adults who were trying to teach crazy. They confused my curiosity with impertinence.

Road to Emmaus by artist  He Qi

There was little improvement when I began studying with other adults.  Seems most of the adults simply wanted to be told what it meant.  Interpret it for me; just lay out the lesson for me.  My questions just seemed to confuse the issue.  (How could they confuse the issue when we sure what the issue was?).  I was not really welcome at a lot of places.

Then I went to 'deacon school' where I met a New Testament scholar by the name of the Rev. Dr. Richard Carlson, and boy could he teach the scriptures.  There wasn't a question too outrageous for him.  Speculation was one of his tools for engaging the stories of the Bible.  What if?  What could this mean?  What do we know about doctors or women or merchants or Roman soldiers from that time?  What does this tell us?  I fell in love.....not with him, but with the scriptures.

I always knew there was something more.  I always knew that these stories were complex and most of the time I was just skimming the surface.  God talks to us through these stories and it takes very close listening to discover God's revelations.  A story as dense and complex as the story of God working in and through humankind and all of creation requires wrestling, not skimming.  There are many voices and lessons to be heard.

In the gospel of Luke we are given two post-resurrection stories of Jesus appearing to disciples and in both it says that 'Jesus opened the scriptures' for them.  "Were not our hearts burning within us when he opened the scriptures to us?" they ask.  This leads me to wonder....

,,,,,God's Word and fire are often associated in the Bible. Think about Moses and the burning bush, Jeremiah and the fire in his belly, and now these disciples.   I wonder why fire?

....Jesus 'opened' the scriptures for them.  Was this just a deeper explanation.......or was it the revelation of Jesus as the interpretive (hermeneutical) key to the whole God story? What were they learning about God that was new or surprising?

....That burning sensation....Was it heartburn (like I often get when I need to really concentrate on some complex problem of logic) or was it that 'burn' that comes when, although you are working hard, you know you are accomplishing much?

....What would it take to 'open the scriptures' for us today?  What am I missing?  What treasure lies just below the surface, ready for the ones who are willing to dig a little?

Very little gives me more pleasure than doing this work with fellow explorers, to read and question and speculate and listen to God speaking through others as they wrestle with God's word.  As we huddle over a story and listen to one another, we hear God speaking through multiple filters.  In the end, I have often heard God speak in new and exciting ways.  The scriptures are opened once again.

You can do this.  Find yourself some companions for this adventure.  Stick with it.  Be prepared to encounter God in new ways.

But please, open the scriptures and take the time to read and listen.  God has so much to say.

Locked doors work both ways

The Gospel of John, 20th chapter tells us that on the evening of Easter Sunday, the disciples locked themselves in an upper room because they feared for their life.  Now the writer says that the disciples were afraid that the authorities would find them.  You have to think they were a little worried that a risen Jesus would find them too.  A 'he who we thought was dead' Jesus on the loose in the world might have been too frightening to consider.


Whatever they were thinking inside that room, they certainly needed time to process (great 21st century term).  Perhaps the more level headed amongst them were still trying to make sense out of the women's tales about a missing, risen, alive Jesus.  You and I both know that we have no category in our thinking for such a phenomena; they were wrestling with something that up to that very day was impossible.  Ridiculous.  Out of this world.

A dozen or so people crammed into an airless room, suspicious of each other, and afraid of everyone else.........it wasn't a good atmosphere for rational thinking.  But of this I am certain, no matter what they were thinking or believing, they weren't about to take it to the streets and blab it all over the place.  That kind of thing was dangerous! They locked the door.  To keep the authorities out.  To keep strangers out.  To keep themselves inside.

Bet you recognize that attitude, that reluctance to take the news about Jesus to the streets.  You know, I believe in God deeply but I don't talk about it with other people.  I don't want to offend.  I don't want to look like a fanatic.  I don't want to lose friends, business, or dinner invitations.  I keep my faith to myself.

We have all kinds of locked doors to protect ourselves. We lock out those of questionable background.  We lock out those who talk about God differently from us.  We lock out those who don't know our special way of doing things.  We lock out those whose children are unruly.  We lock out those who can no longer make the stairs or hear the preacher or drive their cars.  We lock out those who speak a different language.

We lock out anyone who qualifies as 'other.' which of course is the most ironic, if not sad.  In the name of Jesus, we lock out the very people Jesus went out of his way to invite in.  Jesus who spent his entire ministry changing the locks, throwing open the doors, welcoming everyone and anyone, is now the reason we keep to ourselves.  Jesus found a way to speak with every stripe of human being; we huddle behind all kinds of barriers and avoid speaking to the stranger.

But when we lock others out, we also lock ourselves in.  We huddle in our worship spaces, repeating the prayers of the centuries, singing the most familiar music, as our numbers slowly diminish.  We lock the future out - and the fear inside only escalates. The very peace which we know in Jesus suffocates in our locked spaces, our locked minds and hearts.

....and we lose Jesus and the peace that he brings to us, the peace that he is to us, and the power of life that comes with that peace.

Yet, hear the good news.  No lock is going to keep Jesus from coming to you.  This crucified and risen Jesus will not be stopped by a cross, a tomb, a locked door...or a barricaded heart.  In him is peace, and that peace is a whole new life.  There is no end or limit to it.

Jesus appears to the grieving and frightened disciples not to scold or to judge, but to bring them peace.  That is the gift he continues to offer to every single person, a gift so powerful that once it is yours, you cannot lock it in either.

Doors.  Locks. Fear.
Jesus. Peace. Life.

Behind locked doors

For those of us allowed the privilege of proclaiming the gracious love of God in Jesus on a weekly basis, the story of "Doubting Thomas" is familiar.  It is always the lesson assigned to the first Sunday after Easter.  If you been preaching for 20 years, you have wrestled with a message about Thomas 20 times.

Many times the message is about faith v. doubt.  Since I believe most folks have moments - months - years of doubt, I think this kind of reflection can be helpful.  I'm pretty sure I've preached a couple of these myself.

But this year, I want to talk about doors.  The story tells us that the disciples had locked themselves in an upper room because they were afraid.  Now the writer of the gospel of John says they were afraid of the Jews, but if you know a little bit about the community for which John wrote, you begin to realize that 'the Jews' was shorthand for anyone who strongly opposed this new way of believing.  So we might substitute 'the Jewish leadership' for John's constant harping on 'the Jews'.  I expect the disciples were afraid of the Romans who had the authority to arrest and execute whomever they wished,   But to compromise, let's use the phrase 'the authorities.'

The disciples were afraid of the authorities; they didn't want anyone to know where they were - huddled together, with the rank fragrance of sweat pooling in the small, airless room.  Ten men plus some women crammed in this room, scared to death - not just of the authorities, but of one another!  Who knew if there was yet another Judas in their midst?  I expect they kept a close eye on one another.....

....which brings me to doors. They locked themselves in.  They closed themselves off from the rest of the world.  They were suspicious of strangers and not really sure of one another I would guess.

None of which stopped the risen Jesus.  Not the door.  Not their fear.  Not their total failure to stand by him in his most agonizing hour.  Jesus simply appeared.

If a cross, a stone and a tomb can't lock you in, do you really think a locked door is going to keep you out?  Jesus simply appears - to bring a word of peace, which is a word of forgiveness and love.  "Do not be afraid"  he says.  A tall order on any day of the week.

Jesus steps into the center of their grief and paralyzing fear, not to scold or judge, but to bring peace.

.....which is what Jesus is doing today as well....stepping into all those locked places of our lives, places which hold grief, anger, wounds, fear, doubt, hunger....and offers us peace.  Not judgement.  Not guilt.  Peace.

Walk any street and consider what truths are hiding behind all those locked doors. Consider all the hurting people hiding themselves away.  Know that this Jesus won't let a locked door stop him from bringing a word of peace.  You can count on it.  You can count on him.  He's right there waiting to be peace in your life.

Do not be afraid of this one from God.  He comes in peace.

How long O Lord?

As we acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's death, and watch as thousands gather in our nation's capital to re-commit themselves (and possibly to inspire others) to work towards a culture that values people rather than color, I have been thinking about the long road traveled by African Americans, few of whom ended up on these shores voluntarily.

I just finished reading Ron Chernow's biography of Ulysses S Grant, and I learned some important stuff about that period of history known as Reconstruction.  Somehow I had missed the stories about thousands of white folk who traveled into the post-war south and set up schools to teach newly freed slaves how to read; many were motivated by faith convictions.  Somehow I missed the number of former slaves who not only voted, but who were elected to state legislatures and both the House of Representatives and the Senate.  Somehow I missed that schools were integrated in some areas. 


And....somehow I missed the level of violence perpetrated on these new citizens by the defeated states of the Confederacy.  Not isolated violence but wholesale, indiscriminate violence - slaughter - and it was either ignored or sanctioned by the formerly powerful white ruling class.  Over the course of his 8 years in office, Grant repeatedly had to reinforce Army troops in areas of the South to both protect the recently recognized citizens and prevent anarchy.  The modern version of the KKK had nothing on the Reconstruction era version where violence was neither hidden nor condemned and lawless groups of men would ride through town before an election and burn out the former slaves, pulling the men into the streets to execute them.  It took my breath away.  General Lee may have surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House, but the Confederacy was determined to re-establish the white ruling class and win by the back door. 

There came a time when the North got tired of defending their black neighbors; Northerners wanted to move on and concentrate on business and commerce.  Then the North turned a blind eye and deaf ear to the cries of the oppressed citizens of our southern states and left them to their own devices.  The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was not the first time our nation addressed the inequity based on race. Enacted on March 1, 1875, the first Civil Rights Act affirmed the "equality of all men before the law" and prohibited racial discrimination in public places a facilities such as restaurants and public transportation.  The Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional citing a private citizen's right to discriminate against whomever s/he wanted. Thus set the stage for the next 90 years of Jim Crow, poll taxes, segregated schools and a well entrenched second class citizenship for fellow citizens.

All of this is to say, folks we have been at this for a long time.  First we fought the Civil War, then the Reconstruction war, then the Jim Crow war......and now, isn't it time to allow our African American neighbors to simply be our neighbors?  Our fellow citizens?  White America has benefitted from this system long enough.  Isn't it time to do the hard work required of us?  To confront the attitudes and misconceptions that we unconsciously carry in our hearts? 

Isn't it time to follow Jesus?  To heal the Syro-Phoenecian woman's daughter?  To call the Samaritan a hero?  To eat with the outcast?  To heal the Roman officer's slave? 

To look into the eyes of the other and see God?

Is it over? Did I miss it?

The last egg hunt has ended.  The baskets and candy are half price, and the lovers of Peeps are stashing a bunch before the supply is gone. You are now entering the season of 50 New and Exciting Ways to Eat Hardboiled Eggs! Easter is done.  At least it is at WalMart where all things Easter are in the Very Deep Discount aisle.

Is this really true?  One and done?  Did I miss it? All this fuss is about bunnies and chocolate eggs?

Not really. According to the story, when the women found the tomb empty, no one believed them.  Some of the men then went to see and behold! The tomb was empty!  There are stories of appearances and angels and even an earthquake.

Tell that story today and they still won't believe you.  It is an outrageous story.  The dead one was now alive.  He walked out of his own funeral.  He is living a new kind of life.  Outrageous.

So folks tells stories about crocuses and butterflies and renewal of the spirit; they are substituted for this crazy story about a dead man walking.  We understand green sprouts pushing through the thawing ground of our winter earth.  We are lifted by the return of life to our winter world of the north.  Daffodils and tulips and lilies and Alleluia.

Except that is not Easter nor is it resurrection.  That is not the world being turned upside down and inside out.  That is not the power of the Divine beyond the visible of this world.  That is a fraud.

Easter is not like anything else.  Easter is not a metaphor nor is it a Feel Good story about overcoming the odds.  Easter is as unique as the word unique can engender.  Easter is LIFE even when we cannot understand it, or most especially when we cannot understand it.

It is almost impossible to believe, but on those days, or in those moments when you do really truly believe.......it will turn your world around.