When truth is not truth

We live in a time when government leaders tell us not to believe what we read and hear.  We live in a time when 'alternate facts' is somehow a 'thing,' and 'truth is not truth'.  (a quote from attorney Rudy Guliani on national TV).

So we won't find it hard to stand with the crowd around Jesus who is claiming that to eat his flesh and drink his blood will grant them eternal life.  We've heard some outrageous claims in recent history; this is a 1st century whopper.  Yet, Jesus is dead serious as we wind our way through the 6th chapter of John.  "the one who eats this bread will live forever" and "the bread that I give to the world to eat is my flesh".

I don't want to water down this promise of  'eternal life' with some fanciful picture of people with wings living in the clouds.  Our picture of 'heaven' makes for good comics but very poor theology.  I don't want to water this down to 'grandpa is looking down on us' wishful thinking which eases our grief but doesn't provide any vision for living today.

I want us to believe that because Jesus lives, we live too.

.....that, our life, when hidden in the life of Jesus, is likewise hidden in the Divine Creator for all time.

.....that eternal life is not an endless stretching out of days and months and years; it is not a endless succession of seasons but rather it is all time and no time, it is before time and after time, it is eternally now, beginning today.

.....that to abide in Jesus is to enter into the deep mystery of God where our earthly powers of reason and understanding are not useful.

There is nothing out there in the world which will explain this to you.  In fact, I think it is the stuff that is out there in the world that drives us to seek God, to listen for an answer beyond the talking heads and loud politicians.  Hope that is linked to the economy or our personal work ethic or politicians or doctors or even (in this age of rampant sexual abuse) in clergy is hope which will disappoint and betray.  Only hope in a living Lord Jesus will prove faithful beyond this temporary world.

Come to the table to eat and drink.  Come to meet the living Lord.

This bread and wine can be a source of strength and hope or it can be a stumbling block because in this meal we come face to face with Jesus..........

the Jesus who is either strength and hope ..........or a snake oil salesman.

the Jesus who is either full life, all life, with no qualifiers......or he is nothing.

Here there is no compromise.  There is only covenant; relationship; intimacy and trust.

Eat and drink trusting that the living Lord will now become the center of your being, the north star of your life, the one who will hold you and never let go.

Standing at the intersection

Most days we stand at the intersection of "I don't think so" and "We can only hope."  Whether it is a car salesman's claim that this new car gets 50 mpg, or a child's claim that she is perfectly innocent or a spouse's assertion that it was a late meeting with the boss, most days we stand between incredulous skepticism and the chance possibility of our dreams coming.true.  This is especially true when it comes to faith.

So when Jesus says "I am the bread of life" "the living bread" and "whoever eats of me has eternal life," there we are right at the intersection of "I don't think so" and "We can only hope".

You can hear it in the confused crowd who is trying to make sense out of Jesus' words. They are caught between looking like a bunch of fools for believing this guy, and at the same time, not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to be fed forever. It is hard because Jesus is making some outrageous claims.

Some of the folks know Jesus from the neighborhood; he lived right down the street.  They want to deflate Jesus' elevated opinion of himself.  Some of the folk must have thought Jesus was talking jibberish:  I am the bread come down from heaven, and the bread that I give to the world is my flesh.

We are caught at this intersection because we want to believe that Jesus is living bread, that we can taste and experience life eternal, but life has taken us to some deep, dark places were trusting in God is almost more than we can bear.  Did you read about that 5 year old boy whose family was caught in one of the wild fires?  He calls out from the house, about to be engulfed by flames, "Grandpa, come and get me!" as Grandpa stood helpless - in safety but unable to re-enter the already burning home.  This is deep darkness; we must take this reality seriously when we consider Jesus' words.


But what if Jesus is simply speaking the truth?  "I am" he says.  Not 'I will be' or 'I once was' but "I am".  "Whoever eats of me has eternal life"  Has.  Not 'will have' or 'could have' but "has" - the eternal present. The gift of Jesus is not for some distant time but begins the moment you turn towards him. Commit to this Jesus and begin tasting eternal life today.  Who couldn't use a little taste of the eternal on any given day of the week?

So, today, let's begin with now.  Let's believe that today I will taste the eternal; I will see God.  I will experience or witness mercy or forgiveness or grace or love.  I will be given the strength to be mercy or forgiveness or generosity or grace or love to another.  Today.

Today we begin to taste the powerful presence of the eternal in the ordinary.

God is Doing a New Thing: a report from the ELCA

I just received a report from the ELCA mothership of all the congregations which withdrew, consolidated or disbanded from September, 2016 to December, 2017.  67 congregations:  23 consolidated, 17 withdrew or were removed (I have no idea what that means) and 27 disbanded.  Disbanded means the congregation has ceased to exist.  The church has closed.

I don't know what the numbers are telling us.  I do know that the future belongs to God.

We all know that the culture/society has shifted significantly.  As we tell our congregations, the church is lagging behind in finding forms that are effective in the current culture.  I am increasingly convinced that we are expending enormous energy to sustain an unsustainable model (one church-one pastor, everyone gets together at the same time in the same place, or even "I like these people and I don't want to get to know anyone new").

What we see is people moving forward, even if that means disbanding.  Of course, many members won't bother to be engaged with a faith community once their familiar/comfortable place no longer functions as it once did.  But then, many who can't imagine doing church a new way aren't actively committed to maintaining the congregation or deepening their faith life in the present culture either.

This is the church moving forward into an unknown future.  Many of us have experienced the struggle of making something new out of an old and entrenched structure.  We might need to let loose a whole army of bi-vocational church planters - those pastors (mostly younger because they are less tied to the old way) to simply begin again with a new model.  A  thousand apostle Pauls doing a new thing in the world. Those with a passion for the gospel along with the skills to support themselves in another field.

As for us full-time, fully compensated, health care benefits and all pastors, I think we will be a shrinking herd at least for a season. Perhaps our season has passed and God is doing a new thing among us.

I have always been taken by the Elijah story, after his showdown with the priests of Baal.  He's on that mountain and God is made known in the 'still small voice' or the 'sound of silence' and instead of comforting or empathizing (good pastoral technique) God asks, "What are you doing here?"

Perhaps this report is God's still small voice asking us the same questions and calling us to get back to doing the work of God, powered by the Spirit, but in new territory and along new roads.  Those roads might take us to a local restaurant for once weekly dinner church; or to a pub where beer helps people wrestle with difficult questions and scripture's teaching.  I vote for a coffee and conversation group for the deep confrontation with God's word and shared prayer.  Then let's light up one of our shared buildings, hire a magnificent organist and talented musicians and sing our hearts out in a large communion of believers.

I really don't know.  Every day I know less and less.....which means I am called to trust more and more.  These 67 congregations are God's people, and God is at work in their small towns and inner cities bringing new life.  What we see is the ground laid bare for a new planting.

Lord, bless us and keep us.  Increase our trust and strengthen our resolve.  Let us see your hand at work and to serve you by serving the people you love. You have scattered the seed of peace, forgiveness, reconciliation and generosity throughout the land in your people; now help us sprout and blossom where we are planted.  

I choose to call this report "God is Doing a New Thing" and I will not be afraid.

All that bread

Perhaps the confusion comes when we think that the miraculous feeding of 5000 is just about the bread - literally.  5 loaves and 2 fish become enough to feed 5000 until everyone is full - satiated - and there are 12 baskets leftover.  Got to admit, that's a lot of bread.

But since we are reading about this miracle in the gospel of John, the 12 baskets are far from the end of this story.  As one commentator put it, Jesus fed 5000 and then spent 4 weeks explaining what he just did.  That alone tells you that for the writer of John, bread is more than bread.

But we've all known that, right?  Although it might be miraculous for 5 loaves and 2 fish to effectively feed 5000; and if, in fact, it was a feeding for those peoplen with no implications for now, then it is similar to the George Washington cherry tree incident.  Clever, but not really meaningful.  I am no scholar of John, but you can trust me that everything in John is meaningful, and it is all meant to point us to who Jesus is, not just today, but for all eternity.

It starts in the very beginning.....as the gospel begins with "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God."  No simple annunciation or birth story for this writer.  The writer takes us back to the very beginning, echoing the opening words of the book of Genesis when the Divine Creator begins to move over the chaos.    Somehow this story of Jesus is another beginning, but in perfect harmony with the first beginning.  Somehow this Jesus is more than a prophet, here today and gone tomorrow.... 

 ....and, somehow, bread is more than bread.  In fact, the bread is Jesus' body:  broken and given to all who gather to nourish them into a new kind of life.  Although, this is not a metaphor, Jesus' really does offer his own body for the sake of the world.  Metaphor.  Not a metaphor.  That's John.

Notice - this is not just life like what we currently know but without the stuff we don't like.  It is a new kind of life - a life that is so full it is eternal (in contrast to some of our lives that are so full of struggle and pain that they only seem eternal). 

But this is just week one.  This week we are reminded that people are hungry in every sense of this word, and the work of Jesus and Jesus' followers is to feed them.  Literally.  That is the first step to our call as servants.

But wait, there is more to come.