Prince of Peace

It is still the Christmas season and contrary to current culture the season begins on Christmas Day and goes on for twelve days. Thus, the twelve days of Christmas take us through Epiphany, which is January 6^th, not the pre-Christmas sale season. Since we are still in the season it is okay to talk about the meaning of “the season.” There has been much talk lately, due the secularization of this holiday, to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. This causes much consternation with the secularists because anything to do with Jesus is verboten. But, having come from a denomination that claimed to be Christian yet held Jesus Christ to be optional, one has to ask: “Which Jesus?” There are many neutered versions of Jesus that have nothing to do with the Son of God whose birth we celebrate on December 25^th. This is especially true when he is labeled the “Prince of Peace.”

 

 

Having heard it read at Christmas each year, many of us can recite Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming of the Christ-child. Isaiah 9:6 says: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Now, he is called more than Prince of Peace but that is the title that has come under much distortion. The notion of “peace” has been so skewed that we cannot envision what it truly means. Since we live in a fallen and tainted world we have never experienced true peace. There are many definitions of peace that we may have experienced personally. Some from Merriam-Webster are: a state of tranquility or quiet; harmony in personal relations; a state or period of mutual concord between governments; a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity. But none of these go far enough to describe the peace that Jesus brings. The Prince of Peace brings a peace that “transcends all understanding.”(Philippians 4:7) It goes beyond our wildest imagination.

 

 

I cannot count the number of “peace treaties” that have been entered into by warring factions during my lifetime, and I'm not really that old (contrary to what my kids think!). Sometimes those treaties last a long time and sometimes the ink doesn’t even dry before they start attacking each other again. Either way, a cessation of hostilities, while one definition of peace is not the peace we will experience when Jesus comes and ushers in his kingdom. For many of us we just remember the Arab-Israeli conflicts and their attempts at “peace.” Their hatred for each other – or at least the Arabs innate hatred of Israel – makes true peace impossible. The animosity continues even when the bombs and bullets aren’t flying. While they are not physically attacking each other, the hatred remains. While there may be mutual concord they are devising new ways to get retribution. The conflict is not occurring externally but inwardly the battle rages on. What really happens is that people try to pretend that everything is copasetic - the Rodney King gospel of “why can’t we all just get along?” – but they are just waiting, hoping for an opportunity to try to overwhelm and overpower the enemy. The opposition remains because deep down they continue to be enemies. When one reads Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) we find the rules for kingdom living, living in peace with one another. It can be summed up as turning enemies into friends. That is when true peace is possible.

 

 

The prophet Isaiah gave us a vision of how this peace that Jesus brings will finally be lived out on earth. In two different chapters he gives us this picture of peace. Isaiah 11:6-7 tells us: “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” And later in chapter 65, he says: “The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.” (v. 25) Think back on any National Geographic special about Africa or the wilds anywhere for that matter. How many times have you had tears in your eyes because a young animal has become food for another animal that is too ugly to appreciate? The picture Isaiah draws for us is something that is humanly impossible. No human endeavor at peace could ever achieve this kind of harmony in nature or civilization. But the animal kingdom will one day live at peace and harmony together. I maintain that part of the fall was having carnivores. And Isaiah 65 seems to add evidence to this conclusion. It is hard to conceive of Isaiah’s perfect world when we look at the world around us. A friend in seminary told us his dad, an overly educated man, finally agreed that he saw no hope of man ever perfecting himself. It took the collapse of the World Trade Center to bring him to that pronouncement.

 

 

Like much in this life, people are looking for peace in all the wrong places. They want to have “the peace that passes understanding,” without having the one person who is capable of giving it, Jesus Christ. This is impossible and we have a whole decade to prove it. The 1960’s were called the decade of peace. Many people adhered to the mantra of making peace not war. (Some advanced the notion of making love not war because that was easier to do than to make peace.) They took John Lennon’s song “Imagine” as a sort of proto-Isaiah portrait of the peace they so desired and wanted to work towards. “Imagine” is a sentimental version of peace. The song itself is certainly a godless version of peace and fairly impractical. It is a partial truth because it does not take into consideration the underlying cause of the problems of the world: fallen humanity. It is a partial truth because it does not consider the ultimate solution: Jesus Christ. He is the peace that Isaiah foretold would come. While the song contains some laudable objectives, many of which will one day happen, they cannot be come into being apart from the person and work of Jesus Christ. He will be the one who will bring about those achievements. St. Paul summed it up perfectly. In his letter to the church at Ephesus he wrote, “For he (Jesus) is our peace.” (2:14) He does not impart peace, teach peace or inspire peace. He doesn’t preach about it, write about it or pontificate upon it. He is it. He IS peace, he IS the Prince of Peace. It not just part of his character, it is who he is. Looking for peace anywhere else or in anyone else is futile. You can imagine all you want but it ain’t going to happen. The peace we seek, we desire, is available in one and only one place, one person, Jesus Christ. All other forms of peace are counterfeit and will not satisfy our desire for peace. This Christmas you can find the “peace that passes understanding.” But you can only find it in the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. This year, don’t imagine it, experience it!

Coal Again!

In the Christmas season we find a more than usual amount of accountability about what we have done during the year. I cannot tell you how many parents I have heard coaxing their kids by saying that if they aren’t good Santa will not bring them anything on Christmas. This Christmas coercion usually begins about the Black Friday. The other night I was kidding a young man about a video game he was playing. The idea of the game was for Santa’s reindeer to kick him in the bottom and knock him down the chimney. I jokingly said to the kid that if he knocked Santa too much he would get coal in his stocking. I guess it was the vacant stare I received that made me realize he had no idea what I was talking about. Being raised on “A Charlie Brown Christmas” I knew too well the supposed disappointment at having a stocking full of coal. The idea of coal in the stocking was to signify that the person who received the coal was not good during the year. However, it seems rather cruel to give someone coal so it is not done much, if at all.

The impetus behind coal is the recognition that our behavior has consequences. It seems we only worry about this just before the Christmas season. It is only then that we worry about our conduct and what it may mean to our stocking contents on Christmas morning. It reminds me of a story about the Visigoths. When they became Christians they would have four priests – two on each side of a river – and the Visigoths would walk through the river holding their swords above the water line. They would be baptized up to their swords which allowed their swords to continue to conquer and pillage without eternal consequences or reprisals. They devised a loophole to continue their way of life and still be “Christians.” We contort things to avoid an avalanche of coal on Christmas.

 

Our accountability ends up being a year-end review. We see this examination as a chance to rationalize our actions throughout the year and try to justify them. It is amazing how short our memories are when we are involved in this type of situation. It is also amazing at how lucidly we can create rationalizations for each and every misstep. Personally, I can barely remember last week, much less last month or last January. While I am sure this saves me from suffering from too much guilt I am sure it does not saves me from the need for confession and repentance. This is why it is good to keep short accounts with God. I may not remember what I have done but God surely does. If the contents of my stocking are based solely on my year-long behaviors, without Jesus Christ in my life I would get coal, coal, coal! In fact, there is not enough coal in all of West Virginia to fill my stocking to the level of my misdeeds. Even if the coal deposited in the stocking was just symbolic, the stocking would still need to be full. Coal is actually a sign of our need for a Savior, even one born in a manger. There is a song by the Newsboys that says: “When we get what we don’t deserve, it’s a real good thing. When we don’t get what we deserve, it’s a real good thing.” This is especially true on Christmas. Just think of the run on coal if all of loved ones had to be honest and give as our deeds deserve. Thank God he does not act like that. 

When we repent and confess, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins. (1 John 1:9) The Bible has three promises about our sins that offer us a sense of relief. It says that God puts them as far away as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12); he puts them behind his back (Isaiah 38:17); and he remembers them no more (Jeremiah 31:34). If you look at the earth, going from north to south you eventually hit the opposite direction. This does not occur however when you are going from east to west. You can keep going east as far as you would like and you will never reach west. When God puts our sins behind his back it means they are no longer in his sight. Now, my mother always said that she had eyes in the back of her head. This doesn’t mean God is incapable of seeing behind him but that once he places them behind his back they are no longer in his line of sight. Finally, the Bible says that God remembers our sins no more. This does not mean he is a giant senile grandfather in a rocking chair and he can’t remember things he should. This is a choice on God’s part that once confessed he will erase the board clean and not recall them ever again. This is eternal coal abatement for those of us that deserve coal in our stocking. So, as we approach Christmas and hang our stocking by the chimney with care, or wherever you hang them if you don’t have a chimney, remember this: God will not give you coal this Christmas. He will give you a Savior!

It’s Just Not Fair

As I drive my son to taekwondo there is a stretch of road that is under construction. One evening while going home, I was fooling with the GPS in the car and not paying the proper amount of attention to the road or that traffic signs. We were taking this route for the first time so I wasn’t familiar with the thoroughfare anyway. Seeing four lanes I just gunned the engine and went. I was traveling at 42 MPH, so I have been told. Until of course, the nice police officer decided to flash his colorful lights in my rearview mirror. He was nice and understood my dilemma about driving my wife’s car, the new road and speed limit and thus he only gave me a warning. I was very thankful because being in a “work zone” the speeding fines are double. In Oklahoma, the law calls for double fines in any speed zone regardless of whether there are workers present or not. That’s just not fair! It’s not like that in other states. Regardless, I got a warning and not a fine. Now, I know there are people who will say, “That’s just not fair!” You may be right. But nonetheless I was upset and I obsess about the speed limit through that section of road every time I drive it. I get upset when I get passed on that section of road by vehicles ignoring the big sign that advises of a speed limit of 25 miles per hour. I cry to the Lord for justice and fairness that they would get stopped like I did. I appeal to his sense of fairness and good that there would be a police officer anxious to apprehend speeders just over the next hill. That indeed would be true justice. That indeed would be fair! It rarely happens (okay never!).

I have been intrigued by the notion of fairness lately as it is an overused and misunderstood word. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines fair as: “marked by impartiality and honesty: free from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism or conforming with the established rules: allowed.” Fairness to me means that it is not arbitrary or showing favoritism to one party over another. Fairness should be equal to all without regard to any other factors or influences. It should affect all parties to the same degree and proportion. Keep this in mind when reading the following. Ask yourself, is it fair?

 

There is a lot of talk politically about the “rich” paying their fair share. While in the US, over 80% of all taxes are paid by just 10% of the population, the battle cry now is for the rich to just pay their fair share. In this parlance, fair means more because that would just be fair. After all, they can afford it. Yet, their tax rate is currently higher based solely on the fact that they make more money. If fair means equal in proportion and degree, then the tax rates would be the same for everyone regardless of how much they make. If fairness means not arbitrary then the rich are already paying more than their fair share. When we look at the Bible, we don’t see God expecting some people to give more just because they have been blessed to make more. The tithe is proportional at the same level for everyone regardless of how much they make. God didn’t give everyone the same amount of talent, but he does expect each person to maximize their potential based on the talents he has given them. God expects each person to return to him the same percentage of what he has allowed them to make as everyone else. The tithe is God's standard and he applies it equally to all based on that standard and not on where or how they obtained it. I must confess that I have been part of congregations that thought that the richer members should carry more of the churches financial burden thus relieving the other members of having to tithe and contribute their fair share just because they can. This is man’s idea not God’s.

 

I also hear frequently that same sex marriage would be fair. It would offer the same privileges and advantages to same sex couples as their married heterosexual counterparts. The rationale behind this is that love has no barriers so the church and the government should not erect barriers either. How can it be fair to love someone and not receive the benefits and societal protections that other heterosexual couples enjoy? Here fairness has more weight and thus the argument gets cloudy. However, in the quest for fairness the culture is scuttling several thousands of years of tradition. While it may seem fair from one point of view, is it really fair to devalue and tamper with all that history. Can something be fair for one party and not the other? Whose values are to determine which is correct and valid? In the United States, until this recent election, every state that had a marriage amendment on the ballot passed them by overwhelming margins. Is it fair for courts to overturn the will of the people in the name of fairness? Now the Supreme Court will be settling the issue. You know after their decision, someone will cry, "It's just not fair!"

Another cry is that it's just not fair that everyone will not enter heaven as if entrance should be based on some arbitrary, human notion of fairness. God would never be that exclusive, restrictive and judgmental. After all, God is a loving and just God and he should want everyone to “get in (which he does by the way). While this sounds good, it goes against the very nature and character of God. God has set the bar high because he is holy and righteous. He cannot even stand to be in the presence of sin, whether it is a small tiny spot or a large cankerous blotch. Neither can sin ever be in the same space God inhabits. Since heaven is God’s dwelling place, since he is the one who created it and resides in it, he sets the requirements for admission. While many people want to impose on God their view of fairness it does not mean God will accept it. Fairness seems to be a moving target based on what we want. If we do not get what we want, it's just not fair. If it is beyond our ability to reach it, it’s just not fair. If someone who has more talent and ability has “stuff” we want it’s just not fair. Something must be done to level the playing field in the name of and for the sake of fairness. If we don’t like God’s standards because he sets the bar so high, we just need to lower the bar instead of raising our expectations and endeavors. We confuse fairness and love with caving in and being underachievers. Like much of what has been discussed here, it is not God’s plan. It is not God’s intent to lower his requirements to make us happy or give us a sense of fairness. We want the creator and sustainer of the universe to bow to our wishes instead of the other way around. Now, that’s just not fair! And I am sure God has a few things to say about that. The next time you want to complain about fairness, try looking at things from God’s perspective. He sacrificed his Son for us and yet we ignore him, deny him or just plain don't give him a second thought. If anyone has a RIGHT to cry, “it's just not fair!” it is God!

Oh No, It’s “Oh Ho the Mistletoe”

Last Sunday, on our way to church, one of the local Christian radio stations was playing the Burl Ives song, “Holly Jolly Christmas.” I must confess that hearing that song only three days after Thanksgiving Day was a little disconcerting. Hearing it on the way to church put me in a rather foul mood entering worship. Hearing it on the Christian radio station, well . . . enough said. Then, when we entered worship the first song the praise team played was “O come all ye faithful.” I must admit that my Anglican sensibilities were offended.  What ever happened to Advent, the time of preparation for the coming of the Messiah?

The past two years we have endured so much political commentary and musing that by the time the election came around, we were just worn out and disinterested in the whole affair. We grew tired of all of the posturing and name calling and opinions of people who really had no idea what was going on. We had election fatigue.

In today’s consumer society, we tend to get seasonal fatigue because the Christmas season begins after Halloween or sooner and not Thanksgiving as it used to be not too long ago. By playing Christmas music, viewing Christmas ads, and seeing Christmas displays everywhere we turn, we seem to get sick and tired of the whole season long before Christmas day comes. We are robbed of our Christmas joy by retailers who want to rob us of our hard earned dollars by having Black Friday deals continue for three weeks. The new Christmas theme is "more is better." Instead of not participating, we endure it all for the sake of the kids and try to pretend it does not affect us. Well, ask yourself, how is this long Christmas season working out for you? If we are all honest, we would admit that while we don’t like to admit it, it has caused us some consternation and aggravation.

As an Anglican, I enjoy the season of Advent as a time of preparation for Christmas. I need time to get into the mood and leave the rest of the world behind and get ready to welcome the Christ child. I also need the time to remind me that, as I look back to the manger and Christ’s birth, I must look forward to his coming again. I must not only look forward to it with joy, I must assess my life to find out if I am ready when he finally does come. This is an important time and it brings the future into the present as a reality that will one day soon be upon us. As a period of reflection and correction, this is time well-spent.

Seasons are an ever-present reality in life. We may not notice the change in seasons until it is too late, but they do actually occur on a schedule. No one season is extended, delayed or otherwise changed on the whims of our pocketbooks or thermometers. Each one happens like clockwork at its prescribed time. Never early, never late, but they happen right on schedule. We can change the method of observing time – like daylight savings time - but that does not stop time from rolling on. The seasons exist for a reason regardless of how we think or feel. Often it is better to participate in the season than to ignore it. Advent requires the same response from us. We don’t jump ahead to Christmas too soon and get worn out about it by the time it comes. We get to prepare and absorb the enormity of what we are going to celebrate.

The problem with Christmas, especially when it is all about what happens before, is that we quickly forget the reason for the season the day after Christmas is over. We do not celebrate the joy and appreciate the meaning long enough for it to have a profound impact on our life. The Christmas season actually begins on Christmas Day and ends 12 days later at Epiphany. Those are the true 12 days of Christmas. That is the season to celebrate the birth of the Christ child. But during this time period we focus only on the consumer driven excitement of the cashing in gift cards and the exchange of unwanted or foolish gifts. The celebration ends and we get back to normal as quickly as possible. In my house, my wife has to have the Christmas tree up right after Thanksgiving and down right after New Year’s Day. She gets mad – actually tired of the Christmas mess – when we keep the signs of the season up until Epiphany. She becomes fatigued with it and I really do too. To date, I haven’t been able to get her not to decorate for Christmas any later than the middle of December. A nice compromise but even with this the fatigue still sets in.

Now, please do not call me a Grinch. I really love Christmas. I love all of the Christmas hymns and music. But Christmas is more than just about the music, the presents and the decorations. Our secular world would like us to believe otherwise. To diminish the “reason for the season” is to remove from Christmas its identity and meaning. To take it lightly means we see only a babe in a manger and not the Son of God. I was once told by a wise bishop about the purpose of pre-marriage counseling. He said we should be more concerned about the marriage than the wedding. The same principle should be applied to Christmas. We must be more concerned about who the Christ child is rather than when or how he came into the world, if we even recognize those parts of Christmas at all. I am not advocating the mass distribution and dissemination of Advent music, but the proper use of an Advent wreath can add meaning to the Christmas preparation. Most of those hymns are unsingable and sound more like funeral dirges. The contemporary Christian music scene would never gravitate to this suggestion. Instead of using Christmas music, maybe we should just forego it until we get closer the day and continue it through the true Christmas season. 

It is tough not to cave into the secular environment which we inhabit. But that is the call of being a follower of Jesus. Let us prepare wisely for the season of which we are looking forward to. Sunday December 2^nd is the first Sunday of Advent. Participate in the preparation. Enjoy the experience so that when Christmas comes, you can not only appreciate what God has done and will do, but you will be ready for it like Jesus calls us to. I am holding tight to a new motto this time of year, “Experience Christmas again for the first time!” Make this the best Christmas of your life by preparing for it properly and intentionally. Focus and enjoy because Jesus is the Lord of Life.

The War on Poverty

The “War on Poverty” which has been fought here in the United States since the 1960’s is far from over. After trillions of dollars spent to wage this war, we are no closer to having poverty defeated than we are to watching pigs fly. I think the Chicago Cubs have more of a chance of winning the World Series that the US has of ever defeating this societal nemesis. Merriam Webster online dictionary gives one definition of “POVERTY” as “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.” Just debating that will send us down a rabbit hole I have no intention of entering. But the synonyms for “poverty” are listed as “scarcity” and “dearth.” For something to be “scarce” is to have “want of provisions for the support of life.” To be “dearth” is to lack supply. In any case, poverty does not just apply to economic means. When Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you,” (Matthew 26:11; Mark 14:7; John 12:8) I think he was not only speaking of the poor financially. While they are included in this, I really feel Jesus was making a broad statement including poor in health, emotional well-being and spiritual well-being among others. Being poor includes anything that causes dearth (a lack) that holds people back from living the abundant life that Jesus came to give them. (John 10:10) Jesus came to alleviate “dearth” and bring abundance.

I am sure when Jesus pronounced that there would always be the poor among us, many of his hearers focused only on the economic aspects of what he was saying. For a long time, I did too. In Jesus’ day, his hearers would assume that being poor meant the person lacked the blessing of God for some sin or sins which they had committed. Being rich was a demonstration of God’s blessing upon them and an attestation of their righteousness. Well, we can just look around today and see how false that view is. Very few of the rich in our times even try to pretend they are righteous much less give credit for their material well-being to God.

A problem arises from the standpoint of the Church. The Church has acquiesced to the misguided notion that a government hand-out is actually charity. With that mind-set, the Church (big “C”) had abdicated its responsibility in helping the poor. When I say poor here I mean all of poverties aspects: financial, spiritual, physical and emotional and all the others too numerous to name. Knowing that we will always have people - the poor - to minister to because Jesus said so, we (the Church) need to engage – or re-engage – in our calling. Our mission, our calling, our ministry, should be the same as that of Jesus. Jesus announced his mission, his vision and his purpose – all statements or slogans “good” churches have and need – by reciting the words of Isaiah the prophet. Quoting from chapter 61, verses one through three, Jesus said: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19) In essence, part of Jesus’ ministry was to help overcome financial, physical, emotional and spiritual poverty in those he ministered to. 

It is a small point that is often overlooked and seems almost contradictory. But notice that he does not claim that he will end poverty altogether. Jesus knows there are some who will never accept his message and his prescription for their own healing. Preaching the good news to the poor doesn’t alleviate it, just as government largesse doesn’t alleviate it. In this area, I agree with Ezra Taft Benson who wrote: “The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.” Jesus isn’t worried about our “socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions” - one definition of poverty - that we have or do not have because those will not last. Our abundant life is not found in the phrase, “the one with most toys wins!” 

The obvious question becomes, if we will always have the poor with us, why should we try to help change their circumstances. Always is a long time to fight such a consistent malady. Why waste our time if we are never going to win? The simple answer is that Jesus told us to. The New Testament gives examples of the early church doing it. God reminded Israel over and over again not to neglect the poor and needy. When we help out, pitch in, offer assistance, we are engaging in the ministry of Jesus. We get a chance to minister like Jesus did to people like those to whom Jesus ministered. In this way we get to live out his calling which is our calling. We will not win the war on poverty, but God willing, we can bring people to the place where they can be transformed in a way like Ezra Taft Benson wrote about. The government is not the entity that can bring about this type of transformation. Only Jesus Christ working through the power of the Holy Spirit in his church can.

Jesus said we would always have the poor with us. They even inhabit the Church. There are many within the Church who are impoverished in some form or fashion. Too many within the Church suffer some dearth and are not willing to allow Jesus to help alleviate it from their lives, not willing to enter into that abundant life he came to give. There is a myth about St. Paul that he once healed a blind beggar. The man stands up, looks around and promptly rips out his eyeballs. The man knew how to be a blind beggar. He didn’t know how to be a sighted person. He reverted to the known because this new unknown reality was way too scary for him. He was comfortable being dependent upon the kindness of others. It had worked sufficiently until this point. Now, his need for being dependent was gone. His opportunities for “making it” were completely different. The prospect of having to rely on his own resources scared him back into a dependent mode. This poor fellow chose dependence instead of abundance, a life of relying on charity rather than a life filled to overflowing with the fullness that only Jesus Christ brings. 

The enormity of the problem, the impossibility of the task, does not diminish or negate our call to do what we can and pitch in. Not every congregation has the wherewithal to be directly involved. But again, the call is still present. It reminds me of a story about thousands of starfish stranded on a beach. A little boy was walking down the beach throwing beached starfish back into the water. Someone commented to him that it was such a big task he could not expect to make a difference. The boy picked up another starfish, threw it back in the water and said, “I made a difference for that one.” Then he moved on to the next. If Jesus call was to deal with the poor, and he passed that call onto us, then we must do it. We need to meet the various poverties head on with all of the power and authority Jesus gave us. We may not defeat poverty but we can make a difference, one starfish (or person) at a time. It is impossible to win a war without engaging in a battle. So Church, let’s get busy. It is what Jesus wants us to do.

Look For The Cross

Each week I drive the highways around Oklahoma City generally taking my son the over thirty miles each way to taekwondo class. In town we have a hospital named St. Anthony’s. They have several billboards around town advertising their services. But one caught my attention. It says, “Look for the cross.” The main St. A’s hospital building has a big blue cross on the side of it.  While the blue cross is trying to draw people to their facilities, their advertising slogan is more important than they imagined. It has implications for every believer in Jesus Christ.                 

The whole New Testament is full of references to the “cross.” With that much ink, the cross must be important. But not just any cross. It is only the Cross of Christ that we should look for. I am always amazed at how the cross has turned from an excruciatingly painful execution method and God's chosen method of redeeming our sins into elaborate pieces of jewelry. We have glorified the cross in a way that would be foreign to Jesus’ way of thinking. How many people do you know who would wear a guillotine or electric chair around their neck? While I would love to see Madonna (not the one who was Jesus’ mother) wear a guillotine but I am not sure it would make the fashion statement she is looking for. 

While crosses as jewelry have received much attention (just look at any jewelry section of any department or specialty store), so have people who make a sign of the cross on their body. I am not talking about body art or tattoos but a series of four motions. This has drawn a lot of ridicule from some branches of Christianity as a ritual that borders on the superstitious. While in some circles that may be true I am afraid that ignorance of the meaning behind this motion looms large. When I discuss this with people I am always reminded of the movie (I know, here we go again with the movie references) “Keeping the Faith” with Ben Stiller and Edward Norton. Stiller plays Rabbi Jake Schram and Norton plays his best friend Father Brian Finn. The story is about their friendship and how they are both attracted to the same girl, played by Jenna Elfman. In one part of the story, when the two guys are younger, they check each other’s way of worship. Schram asks Finn about making the sign of the cross on your body. Finn replies with a simple method of remembering. The method tells the order of touching your body to make the sign of the cross: “spectacles, *~&+^ (a man’s private parts that rhymes with spectacles) wallet, watch.” While the wallet watch steps may be either left or right depending on which side you keep them, the head and lower torso must be done in that order.

Many people practice this order religiously without ever knowing why they do it or what it means. If everyone else is doing it I probably should too. Some people do it at the drop of a hat and at every mention of a certain word or phrase. In essence, many people drain the motion of its meaning. As one who does not do anything like that without understanding its wider implications, it took me a while after becoming a Christian before joining in this practice. No one could explain the practice satisfactorily to me. When I lived in Florida, I was on our Vestry (church board) and we had bought a new building. Someone wanted to paint the front doors red. I asked why? I got two not so good answers. The first was that every church “up north” had red doors. In Florida that is a common excuse for doing many things. The other explanation was that if the church had a mortgage then the doors were painted red. Needless to say, I was the only “nay” vote on the proposal. It is not that I am opposed to red doors per-se but we must know why we do what we do. God in his infinite wisdom redeemed this situation. The following Sunday was Palm Sunday and we always reenacted the Triumphal Entry from the back of the building outside and in through the front doors. A dear retired priest who saw every moment as a teaching opportunity explained how and where the procession would go. He reminded everyone that we would go around the building and enter through the newly painted red doors. He went on to explain that in walking through the red doors, we were walking through the shed blood of Christ. Now that made sense! At the next Vestry meeting I changed my vote.

So, what significance does making the sign of the cross on our bodies have? I realized this significance of this while in seminary. The church we attended had a cross hanging over the altar at a slight tilt. The cross was constructed out of wood molding. The design was an outline and the interior void was in the shape of a cross. Every time I received Communion, I felt God was looking through the cross at me while I was receiving the Body of Christ. Wow, what a powerful reminder of the cross. This is also a powerful reminder of why we make the sign of the cross on our bodies. The cross is not just a piece of jewelry. The cross is the only thing that can make me acceptable in God’s sight. When I make the sign of the cross on my body that is how I want God to view me, through the cross of Christ. That motion means something: something powerful, something meaningful, something eternal. In an Anglican service of worship, there are appropriate times when this is done. The reason to do it is to bring home the importance, the significance of what Jesus has accomplished for us. There is a big difference between ritual and reminder. If what we do does not bring us to the cross, the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, then we probably should not do it. We miss the depth of meaning when doing things by rote.

I am not trying to shame people into doing something they do not feel comfortable with. I am explaining the reason why certain things are done. I do not want people to jettison meaningful portions of their religious practice but to understand the deeper meaning contained in them. And I don’t want people to take on things that are not meaningful to them either. I know when I make the sign of the cross it helps me understand the price Jesus paid for me. It also calls me to something that is beyond my total comprehension. Think about this. Evaluate all of the religious stuff (baggage) you are carrying to see if there is something you need to participate in to add significance to your relationship with Jesus Christ. Also evaluate to see if you really need to stop doing something because you have no idea why you do it. Just remember, making the sign of the cross points to the foundation of our faith. It points to Jesus, our redeemer and the Lord of Life.

In closing, this subject reminds me of the words of Jeremy Riddle’s song “Sweetly Broken.” I hope you will remember why the cross is important. Go ahead and make the sign over your body. Go ahead and wear one as a piece of jewelry. Just never forget what it points to. The first verse of the song say it best: “To the cross I look. To the cross I cling. Of its suffering I do drink. Of its work I do sing. On it my Savior, both bruised and crushed, showed that God is love, and God is just.” Because every cross should remind us of Jesus Christ, the Lord of Life.

“'Cause They Don’t Know the Difference”

In the movie “The American President,” (1995) a scene takes place in the Oval Office involving President Shepherd, played by Michael Douglas, and his aide Lewis Rothschild, played by Michael J. Fox. They are in a heated discussion about the president’s poll numbers and what is happening on the political landscape. As you read this you must remember that there is music appropriate for the intensity of the situation.

 

Lewis: "People want leadership. And in the absence of genuine leadership, they will listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership, Mr. President. They're so thirsty for it, they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand."

Shepard: "Lewis, we've had Presidents who were beloved, who couldn't find a coherent sentence with two hands and a flashlight. People don't drink the sand, 'cause they're thirsty, Lewis. They drink it 'cause they don't know the difference."

 

I have always loved this exchange and even used it in a sermon. I think it relates to the state of the church currently and the seemingly steep decline the church has suffered in recent years. It does help to explain certain aspects of this most recent election and the condition of the church here in America.

 

We all know people who are living the Waylon Jennings song:

  

I was looking for love in all the wrong places

Looking for love in too many faces

Searching your eyes, looking for traces

Of what.. I'm dreaming of...

 

These people are seeking to find something fulfilling in life but don’t seem to know where to look. Too many are trying to find it in the bottom of an alcohol or pill bottle or some other recreational drug. And when that doesn’t work, they numb themselves in other drugs and alcohol. The recent trend of people seeking institutional rehabilitation for drug abuse is due to prescription drugs. Now that Colorado has legalized (decriminalized not legalized my son tells me) marijuana, you have to wonder how many people will be taking their vacations there to really check out after they check in. This new law could help the restaurant business and may offer munchies hour that would really be happy! In today’s culture, this is the sand that people are drinking because they don’t know the difference. The church has been complicit in this downward spiral. In fact, the church has been dining on sand too. We – by this am I making a huge generalization about the church and not referring to any specific congregation or denomination – have not presented the gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that answers the problems in people’s lives. Trying to pinpoint the cause of this would take too long to write here. But the main culprit is a lack of biblical knowledge, insight and application.

 

The Bible speaks throughout of the human condition and the simple solution to that condition. Nowadays, too many people view sin – missing the mark; not living up to the standards that God has set – as passé, out-of-date, irrelevant. Most people feel they should get a slap on the wrist and have most of their sins decriminalized. They have not broken the big “10” so anything else is just a misdemeanor. They fail to see how their actions or inactions violate any precept of God. They are unaware that Jesus reduced the Ten Commandments down to two and that, in doing so, expanded their application more broadly. I always chuckle at the joke about the elderly women who approached her priest and said: “I may be a lot of things but I am NOT a manifold sinner.” “Manifold sinner” is a term used in one of the confession prayers in one of the many previous Books of Common Prayer. The priest replied, “Let’s go talk to your husband!” There are two things certain for all human beings: sin and death.

 

If people knew how to use the Bible I am sure that our culture would not be in such decline. The psalms particularly speak to the problem of eating sand. Psalm 63 states: “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Any person who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior knows that Jesus is the answer to this problem. He said in John 4:13: “but whoever drinks the water I give him will never be thirsty again. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” This is just one example of the Bible pointing to Jesus as the answer to life’s most important questions.

 

I know people who will question my trust in a book that was written so long ago. And no matter how hard J.K. Rowling tried through her “Harry Potter” series, or any other book or series for that matter, they still cannot outsell the Bible. So, why is the Bible so important?

 

As an Anglican I believe what the traditions of our denomination have said about the Bible. In the “Articles of Religion”, otherwise known as the “39 Articles,” it is stated that “Holy Scripture contains all things necessary to salvation.” There are no other volumes or tomes needed. The Book of Mormon, the Qur’an, Think and Grow Rich, the Kama Sutra, The Little Red Book from Chairman Mao, or any other work is useless in comparison to the Holy Bible. There is no need for Dianetics or Psycho-Cybernetics, just Jesus and the Bible. Another reason for seeking answers in the Bible is listed in “An Outline of the Faith commonly called the Catechism.” This is a question and answer document about many foundational principles of the faith. On the topic of the Holy Scriptures one of the questions is: “Why do we call the Holy Scriptures the Word of God?” It is answered as follows: “We call them the Word of God because God inspired their human authors and because God still speaks to us through the Bible.” There is the answer. If God, the creator of the universe from the smallest particle to largest galaxy, and us too, speaks through the Bible, why would we look elsewhere for answers? Like Mao or Napoleon Hill knows more about life and living than the Lord God Almighty! In the Bible we encounter the answers to every pressing issue we may encounter on our journey here on earth. We don’t have to drink sand and think it is water. We can go to the source of living water and drink and be satisfied. I am still at a loss to think that people would actually think sand could be tasty and beneficial. I have eaten my share of sand at the beach – swimming in the usually mild Gulf of Mexico after a hurricane makes sand eating a more likely prospect – and it doesn’t taste good. It only makes you thirstier. We, the church, have something better than sand. We have something that could never be mistaken for sand except if we ourselves accept it as a viable alternative. We need to let people see the difference, know the difference. That difference is Jesus! Then, and only then, will they be able to seek after the true living water and not settle for a mirage of water known as sand. Go ahead and read the Bible again for the first time. Try it, you’ll like it. Jesus will quench your thirst because he is the Lord of Life.

“There Is Nothing Inside Worth Dying For”

On one of my recent jaunts through our new neighborhood I approached a house with a sign that stated: “There Is Nothing Inside Worth Dying For.” The sign was a warning to any intruder to consider before actually invading this dwelling. I found this sign interesting yet not surprising. There were several signals up to this point in the yard and driveway that the resident(s) had some form of military experience. I do not want denigrate any particular branch of the military but I am sure I noticed some Marine paraphernalia in the yard. Not a real surprise. Hurrah!

Being a preacher, I ruminated on that sign for a good while. Also, having a fertile mind – that being one that is well fertilized and we know what fertilizer mostly consists of – I pondered that sign with great intensity. It really had spiritual implications while giving insight into the resident of that house. There was something in that sign that could be preached on. But, of course, all preachers think that about almost anything. I will never forget Henny Youngman (I know many of you have no idea who he was because you are way too young) who was known as the “King of the one liners.” I remember seeing him on Johnny Carson one night (you may be too young to know Johnny Carson too!). Youngman told Carson to say a word and he had a joke about it. Carson picked “penguin” and lo and behold Youngman had a joke. I told my son the other night to pick a word and I could make a sermon about it. I did okay with pineapple but got kind of lost on walrus! So, as I walked along ruminating about that sign I did realize a couple of things that may preach.

While I am sure the sign’s warning was supposed to be a partially humorous attempt to dissuade anyone from breaking into the house, I believe it revealed something about the resident. Did he think his stuff was of little worth compared to any intruder’s life?  In one respect the answer would be yes. That is of course until you don’t heed the warning and attempt to break in and he is willing to protect his stuff at the cost of your life. This sign clearly displays his values.

At my own house I always thought that if somebody wanted my stuff they could have it. Obviously they needed it more than I did. Besides, my stuff was old and I had insurance to replace it. I know the replacement stuff would be better than what was stolen!

Later on during the week, I saw the same sign again at another house. As I began to ruminate on it again, my first vivid thought was how glad I am that Jesus doesn’t feel that way! Applying Jesus’ perspective to the sign made me see things in a different light. Too many people today have the same sign posted on the door of their heart and life. It is almost as if Jesus comes to knock on their heart and there is another big and clear sign on display “No Soliciting!” They want to chase Jesus away and anyone else who wants to have an effect on their hearts for that matter.. They agree with the premise of the sign that “there is nothing inside worth dying for.” They feel they have nothing in their life worth having anyone dying for, even the Son of God. They are not trying to be heretical but they see no need for what Jesus Christ did and think he was basically a fool and so are all of those who believe in him. Their arrogance will be their undoing. Let’s hope they come to their senses before it is too late. Eternity is real and apart from having Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, eternity will be HOT!

In reality, Jesus DID die for what is inside of them and us. And, in his estimation it was worth dying for. Jesus Christ wants to redeem the image of God that is resident in all of us, all human beings. It was given to us at creation and it is what sets us apart from all of the other animals, regardless of whatever nonsense PETA bloviates. There is a reason why, in the first Genesis account of creation, God calls everything “good” until he creates mankind. Only after man comes on the scene does God call his work “very good.” We are the crowning jewel of God’s magnificent work in creation. You have to wonder sometimes if God spoke too soon. But Jesus died for that portion of each and every life that lives in opposition to God.

 There are always going to be a group of people that do not feel worthy of the sacrifice Jesus made for them. And, they are not alone in their unworthiness but they don’t know it. They just feel that there really isn’t anything worth dying for in their lives. There isn’t one thing that is redeemable, that is worth saving. In our disposable culture, they feel they are not worth anything more than ending up on the trash heap of life. Their self-esteem is so low, their psyche so disoriented and abused, their pain so deep and thorough, they cannot image one scenario that would lead Jesus Christ to want to save them. I have actually heard people say that if God knew how bad they had been, he would not give them the time of day. I love that one because they imagine that their life of sin and its severity will come as a surprise to God! That is arrogance of another form. In essence they deny God his almighty power believing they are the only one he cannot or will not save. Everything is possible with God except for them. The other end of the spectrum is the worthless wasted life that has no meaning, purpose or quality and thus would not be of interest as something God would waste his time over. How sad, truly sad, that people actually believe this. The good news – the gospel – is that Jesus ignores the sign that says “There Is Nothing Inside Worth Dying For.” In God’s economy, every life has value and Jesus came to die for each and every one of those. When Jesus restores a life through the work of salvation he wrought on the cross, he reinstates the worth back into that life by his precious shed blood. Regardless of what you have done, what you continue to do, or what you will someday do (again and again and again as our former taekwondo instructor used to say) Jesus still feels that you are worth dying for. He is not going to wait for you to come to your senses, to wake up and smell the coffee. He has already done everything necessary for you to receive what he has to offer. The rest is up to you because there is something inside worth dying for and Jesus is the Lord of Life.

Only 20%? WHERE IS THE CHURCH?

Only 20%? WHERE IS THE CHURCH?

My family and I recently moved to a new city. In an effort to find out more about our new area I searched for demographic information on-line. One web site contained a lot of information including religious affiliation. I realize that Oklahoma is the outer ring, the sort of fly-over waste land of the western portion of the Bible belt. In fact, when we first moved to Oklahoma City, we were jokingly told (at least I think it was a joke) that there was a law that there had to be at least one Baptist church on every corner. It is good to remember that most jokes have some element of truth in them. Even though we only moved less than 10 miles away, we have entered another universe. I was surprised – okay literally appalled – that in my new zip code of at least 16,000 households, only about 20% of the people claimed any religious affiliation. Many people may not answer surveys but I don’t think that is the reason this number is so low. While this statistic is a disturbing, it also offers some hope.

First, let’s discuss the appalling thing. WHERE IS THE CHURCH? Where are all of the disciples that Jesus gave the great Commission to? I just read a Barna Group survey revealing that between 1991 and 2004 the number of unchurched people in North America almost doubled. The number increased from 39 million to 75 million people. I think there was a very wise man who once said the fields were white with the harvest. It is very obvious that North America is the one of the world’s largest mission fields. It is evident that the Church (big “C”) is not fulfilling her calling given to her by Jesus Christ.

A recent excursion through my new neighborhood gives a little insight into this phenomenon. As of this week, we are about two weeks shy of Halloween. From the looks of things in this area, it must be the most celebrated “holiday” in America. I am not sure everyone celebrates the true "meaning" of Halloween but the decorated houses tell a different story. I will have to wait for a couple of months to see if they put as much effort into decorating for Christmas.

I remember at seminary one of the biggest debates was about recognizing Halloween and letting our kids participate in trick-or-treat. At that time my kids did not know much about the day except that you went to as many houses as possible to get as much candy as possible. In my house, we have a rule that all Reese’s Cup go to dad.  So, not wanting to deny my kids their candy or mine, we let them go. They were never to dress in “scary” costumes and they had to say “thank you” at every house. As they got older, I would tell my son to find out which houses gave away Reese’s Cup and come home and change so he could back for more. Alas, he is too big now to pull this off with any sincerity, much to my dismay and Reese's cravings! I’ll just have to hope his being new to the neighborhood will not be a detriment to my sugar fix. As with my kids, I assume many people have no idea what the real meaning of the day is. That may make it worse. I am reminded of Paul’s admonition to the Philippians: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” I suspect that some of these decorated houses are even inhabited by “professing” Christians. I don’t want to condemn them but it does make one think. Does this send the right message?

As I walked along, I kept wondering why people would put so much effort into this type of decorating. Some were very elaborate and took a lot of time and trouble to construct. As the seasons change, the weather gets colder, the sunlight shrinks, it just seems people need something to get excited about. Again, WHERE IS THE CHURCH? If people only have a release of celebration in Halloween decorations, then the Church has fallen woefully short in being able to reach people with the excitement in the love, grace and  forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

There is good news in this statistic though. If Christians want to truly be Christians and obey Jesus’ commands (which I think is part of being a Christian), they will not have to travel far to find someone in need of what Jesus has to offer. The mission field is right in your own backyard (Jerusalem), in your own subdivision (Judea), in your own zip code (Samaria). You don’t even have to go to the ends of the earth! Your neighbor may be the next person you introduce to Jesus. When Jesus says that he stands at the door and knocks, it is probably at the house right across the street. In fact, he may be knocking at several doors on your block alone. Just think of how many he may be knocking at in your subdivision or in your zip code? The opportunity for the Church is enormous. Yet, we miss these opportunities for a variety of reasons.

The really good news for me as an ordained person is that with numbers like that I have job security. In my own zip code accepting these numbers means there are almost 13,000 households who do not have a religious affiliation much less a relationship with Jesus Christ. My congregation does not need transfer growth – swapping or stealing sheep – when we can go through our own neighborhoods and find many “lost” people, which up to 80 percent of them seem to be. And, we are even willing to share our catch with other congregations who want to reach the unchurched. Our nets won’t break but our facilities might. While it is a headache I would love to have, how would you deal with an influx of huge numbers of people? Any church would have to ramp up everything they do in order to meet the needs of those coming in. I would love to be in that situation and find a way to deal with it. With those kinds of numbers, it should be really easy to fill ministry positions, not to mention the congregation’s softball lineup.

I could go on and on about this topic. But you will have to excuse me. I have to go through my neighborhood and tell some more people about Jesus being the Lord of Life! Want to join me?

Generic or Specific?

Generic or Specific?

 Isn’t it wonderful that, even after three years of seminary and many years in the pastorate, God can show you new things? I must admit that it is humbling and overwhelming at the same time. But it happened today and I am thankful. It occurred during my daily devotional time when I sit in my “prayer chair” and study God’s Word and commune with him in and through prayer. Except for the dogs having to have their affection time, I try to reserve this time for God and me. Most days I am able to accomplish this. I don’t say this to pat myself on the back for my piety but to mention that this has become a “habit” for me, and the dogs! What I found out today radically shook my world and my equilibrium.

As an Anglican I gain perspective by saying the Collect for Purity. I start with this.

            Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known,

            and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of my heart
            by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that I may perfectly love you,
            and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ my Lord.  Amen.

It centers my thoughts and actions for what I am about to do. It gives me the proper perception about who God is and what I want him to do for and in me. For you purists, I have changed the wording from the corporate emphasis to the individual emphasis that pertains to me in this situation. My hope and prayer is that at the end of my time with God, I have a cleansed heart, inspired by the Holy Spirit allowing me to perfectly love him. Not a bad day if you can accomplish that!

After that I say the Confession. Again I use a personal version instead of the corporate version. I know that I am a sinner and that confessing daily still isn’t enough to keep short accounts with God. When I got to the part where it says, “I have left undone those things which I ought to have done, and I have done those things which I ought not to have done,” this is where the seismic rumble began. There are times when I feel as if God is speaking to me. I don’t hear audible sounds but, as someone once said, “knowing’s” in my heart that God is communicating with me. I sensed he was asking me, “What do you mean?” I responded, “Do you want me to get specific, Lord? Boy, you are asking a lot here.” I realized at this point that I was good at the generic confession. I think we all are. We are able to generalize sin and can admit, with no sense of guilt or shame, that we are all sinners. We can admit without confessing. We can agree but we don’t normally name our sins. The generic is always less convicting, less guilt inducing, less shameful than naming each individual transgression. So, I felt compelled to take pen and paper and write down where I missed the mark (one definition of sin). I started with the “things done.” This was easy because I could agree with God on some of them. I suffer from fear, anxiety and worry. But, don’t we all. Yes, they are sins but they are typical of most human beings. But since I committed these offenses I need to confess them. Just when you think you are doing fine God has to interrupt. “Dig deeper,” he said. “Okay.” I also have envy, greed, denial, and pride. “Yes and,” God continued. “Oh, how deep do you want me to go?” Well, true confession means not leaving any stone unturned. As I went deeper, I found more that left me separated from the holy, righteous God of the universe. I will not regale you with the rest of this (it’s not as salacious as much as it is disappointing) but I found I’m not as righteous and pious as I thought. But it didn’t end there.

Don’t you hate it when God won’t let go? At times like these, he reminds me of our little Chihuahua Teenie. She is pesky and will bark and nip at strangers who enter our house. She will not settle down until she is satisfied that all is well and safe. God reminded me that I had not addressed the other portion of the confession. I was leaving out, “I have left undone those things which I ought to have done.” I guess I was settling for “good enough” instead of “best.” God wants the best for us and from us. It is amazing how fast my pen went as I rummaged through my life the past week or so. The first thing I had not done was live with the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians tells us: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22) That is a rather extensive list to neglect in any life that claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, this was just the beginning. I wish it wasn’t but alas I am not as perfect as I thought (hoped) I was. It becomes more apparent with each passing moment of this exercise, that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. The “left undone” list continues but you get the picture. Later, reading the word of God reinforced this notion powerfully. Micah 6:8 states: “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” God sets the bar high and he does not lower it because we cannot attain his standards.

I must admit that after this careful examination, I realized my need, my failures and my lack of anything remotely resembling holiness. I had a glimpse of me from God’s perspective apart from the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The only word that can best describe this is hopelessness. Wow! What a revelation. But I also had a sense of thankfulness. Without the person and work of Jesus Christ, I will end up being a sinner in the hands of an angry God. He did everything he could do through Jesus Christ and I am glad I have accepted it. I have faith that all of the promises of Jesus are “yes.” That is the only thing that overcomes this hopelessness. Praise God!

Many Christians know, accept and believe the above. And, they think that is enough. But I am here to tell you more is needed. Not in terms of salvation but in terms of a growing, thriving relationship with Jesus Christ that bears fruit and light and life. Too many people though are stuck in the generic. They realize they are sick but have no intention or inclination to get to the specific. I recently went to my family physician. He accessed my ailment and prescribed a treatment. He did not tell me to take two aspirins and call him in the morning. I am so glad he got specific. The generic answer probably would not have solved my problem and left me in the pain and agony in which I was suffering. God, the great healer, the great physician, works with us in the same fashion. Take a pen and paper and record all the things and areas where you have failed to confess your specifics, things done and things left undone. And allow God to deal with you in his mercy and grace for each thing listed. See what a difference this exercise will make in your life. We have a specific God not a generic god and he is the Lord of Life!

M*A*S*H as Church?

Monday September 17^th was the 40^th anniversary of the premier of the television series M*A*S*H. I must admit that over the years I have probably seen every episode at least twice. Next to “Gone with the Wind,” “Caddyshack,” “Animal House,” and “Braveheart,” I am sure I know the most lines from this franchise. Yet, they are still good and worth watching every once in a while. I gleaned three things from years of M*A*S*H viewing which have shaped my vision of mission and ministry.

The first is in this name. “M” stands for mobile. The Church (capital “C”) needs to be on the go. We serve a God who is constantly moving. We need to be like John Wesley who said “the world is my parish.” And Wesley was an Anglican despite claims from the Methodists. He rode over 250,000 miles on horseback to carry the gospel message. I think Col. Sherman T. Potter would have loved Wesley. Remember, the main imperative in the Great Commission is “GO!” The Church on the go needs to take the gospel message to a dark and hurting world. The hurting, in whatever form, fashion or manner, are the ones we need to seek out as we go.

This leads to the second point. The Church should be a M*A*S*H unit. We may need to change the acronym a little. Instead of a “Mobile Army Surgical Hospital” we would be the “Messiah’s Army Spiritual Hospital.” The main objective of the mobile surgical units was to patch up those severely wounded so they could make it to a bigger and better hospital where they would receive the treatment they needed. Those with less severe wounds were patched up and sent back to the front lines. Even self-inflicted wounds are treated with compassion and care. The call the Church possesses should have the same objectives. When people come face-to-face with Jesus Christ – as they should each and every Sunday or other day of the week during a worship service – they will realize the extent of their alienation from him. Much of this alienation, otherwise called sin, is due to our pursuit of our own agenda (self-inflicted wounds) which keep us apart from God. These are the “simple” cases of restoration and renewal. The Church patches them up and send them back to the front lines of life. It is not that the Church puts a Band-Aid on their booboos and sends them back. It is not an “I’m okay, you’re okay” approach. These ailments require heartfelt confession and contrition and true repentance. The Church helps cure the problem, returns people to spiritual health and then returns them back to their unit in the Messiah’s army. Too many churches handle self-inflicted and other wounds much like the incident that got Gen. Patton in hot water. He is reputed as saying that cowards who hurt themselves to get out of the battle should be shot. We, the Church, are not real good at admitting our shortcomings in this area. We tend to shoot our wounded instead of offering healing. Our treatment of these issues needs some recalibration. But that’s not the topic at hand.

The more severe cases take time and effort. There are many maladies that require deep spiritual healing. The efforts of the patient and the healing team to obtain the maximum benefits of therapy are not achieved in a single prayer session or one-time laying on of hands. There is counseling and prayer and deep inner healing required. A whole life of affliction and baggage needs to be dealt with. This requires specialists in that area of healing. These patients need more than the local congregation can usually provide. We need to send them on. More and more people are becoming aware of these spiritual realities and are taking the time and effort to be released from their pain and bondage. Specialists are also training to extend the care needed to release these patients from their afflictions.

The biggest thing I learned from M*A*S*H was from the character Fr. Francis Mulcahy played by William Christopher. He was a quiet Roman Catholic chaplain. But underneath the calm and composed exterior was a strong warrior. While he was a make believe character in a sitcom, his actions and demeanor gave me insight into the role of a priest. Fr. Mulcahy showed that no job was beneath him as he changed bedpans with a song and a smile in one episode. In another, he undertook a dangerous mission to get needed drugs from black market bandits. The mild-mannered priest allowed one soldier to take sanctuary in the mess hall, which was used as the chapel, when the situation arose. He then stood toe to toe with the soldier when he wielded his gun to prevent his being taken back to his unit. The episode that had the most impact on my life and ministry was when Fr. Mulcahy had a discussion with Dr. Hawkeye Pierce. Pierce complained about losing a patient and how much more tragic that was for him than for anything that Fr. Mulcahy was involved in. The dear father responded, “When you lose a patient, they lose their life. When I lose a patient, they lose their immortal soul!” WOW! How is that for a description of ministry? Anyone involved in the ministry who does not have that perspective is missing the point.

I have learned that M*A*S*H is a good model for church. A mobile spiritual hospital is what I think Jesus had in mind. He called us to be mobile, to be on the go to the ends of the earth. Jesus claimed his mission was not to the healthy but to the sick. We follow in his footsteps. Many spiritual afflictions can lead to physical infirmities. Thus we diagnose and respond with the level of care required. And, we do it all with the mindset and attitude of Fr. Mulcahy who knew that souls were on the line with each and every patient. For Fr. Mulcahy knew that losing a patient had eternal consequences. While the television show is still in reruns, I would love to see the Church experiencing these reruns too. Week after week the church reproduces the results that are exemplified in being a M*A*S*H unit, a Messiah’s (mobile) Army Spiritual Hospital: mobilization of the army, healing of soldiers and civilians, and service with a smile andan encouraging word. With a church like this, the Kingdom of God would advance at a great rate and with much success. Praise God!

You Have Permission to Praise!

A funny thing happened at church last Sunday. I usually go to two different churches each week. At the second church they had a new praise and worship leader. He was pretty good but during his leading he said something interesting. He invited everyone to feel free to worship in a manner that made us feel comfortable. If you wanted to raise your hands that was fine, he said. If you wanted to kneel silently that would be okay too. Kneeling is quite difficult in their setting as they are in a theatre building. But it was nice to hear it was okay. As strange as it was to hear it seemed even stranger to be given permission. It made me wonder – hum! – what has the Church (big “C”) done to people – to worshipers – to make it necessary to tell them they have permission to exhibit freedom of expression in worship. I must confess that as Anglicans who are overly @#*%@ (fill in whatever colorful anatomical term that I am loathe to write here) when it comes to doing things “in a fitting and orderly way.” (1 Corinthians 14:40) The King James Version states: “Let all things be done decently and in order.” Either way, Paul must have been an Anglican! I imagine there are many other faith traditions that have placed limits on being expressive during worship. Worshiping “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24) is interpreted to mean: in a manner acceptable and approved by us.

I suspect that “decently and in order” becomes more valuable and less negotiable the older we get. I am reminded of a scene from the movie “Courageous” when father Adam Mitchell (played by Alex Kendrick) is asked by his daughter Emily (Lauren Etchells) to dance in the bank parking lot. Dad refuses because of the exposure his dancing may generate in such a public setting. He says he was dancing with her in his heart. Later, after Emily is killed in a car accident, Adam is in tears and asks, “Why didn’t I dance with her?” I wonder if our failure to dance with God during church brings tears to his eyes?

When Jesus asked us to have the little children come to him it was because they were uninhibited. They have no adult neurosis, complex or baggage that keeps us adults from freely worshiping Jesus. Read Matthew’s gospel – also Mark and John – and you will read about extravagant worship. (Matthew 26:6-13) It was not only extravagant but it was also costly. Read the story of David dancing before the Ark of the Lord as it was being brought to Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 6:13) When confronted by his wife Michal about his “distinguished” behavior, David replied: “I will become even more undignified than this.” (2 Samuel 6:22) David was not worried about what people thought of his display as long as his heart and body were actively engaged in praising God. Most football games at any level get more exuberant praise for a touchdown than God gets on Sunday mornings!

My first exposure to liturgical dance was at my first Easter service at my the new church I started attending when I moved to Florida. It was a small mission church located in a strip mall. The pews were unmatched and not consistent in length. I had only been attending for a couple of weeks. The bishop was present for this Easter celebration. The bishop was a former Baptist and a former Marine. Liturgical dance was a little out of his comfort zone to say the least! I still remember the mortified look on his face when the ladies performed. I do not remember a thing about their contribution so I cannot comment on it. But I do remember the bishop’s face. I am not sure he considered that “decently and in order.” While he watched, I am not sure he was impressed or moved. And I do not want to blame that on either the Baptist’s or the Marines.

There are many different ways to worship. Different things affect people in different ways. There are some who commune with God in quiet solitude. Others see his face as they are drawn higher through praise music. For some a good pipe organ is all they need. None is necessarily better, nor is any wrong. Many styles can be incorporated into the same worship service. I say this because I am “Unapologetically Anglican” and know that most Anglican worship services offer a variety of settings to foster engagement by the congregation. Join a typical Anglican service and see what I mean. You will encounter an assortment of experiences during any one service. Experience seems to be gaining popularity as many churches now use this term instead of worship or service. The questions is: What are we supposed to experience? Too many people miss the point of worship in the first place. Worship experiences should really be worship encounters. Can you really worship if God is not present? Is there such a thing as faux worship? Can you truly experience “worship” in a godless environment? The answer is emphatically NO! No matter what style floats your boat if you have not come into the presence of the risen Savior you have not worshiped. You may call it whatever you like – experience, worship, or service – but without coming face-to-face with Jesus it is just a waste of time. You could call it a lollapalooza if you want but please do not call it worship. Without God, the service would be like the earth before God spoke life into it. It is 

formless and empty. (Genesis 1:2)

You cannot fake real true worship. You cannot leave church unchanged after worshiping in spirit and in truth, if you have participated wholeheartedly. Loving the Lord with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark12:30) cannot be a passive activity. It centers on God – who he is and what he has done – and it requires us to move. We move literally and figuratively into God’s presence. If God seems far off, guess who has moved? We need to move back, to engage, to seek his face. I once observed a man with hands held high checking the time on his watch. I had to wonder if he was fully involved in worshiping God. His hands were up but his mind was elsewhere. And, before you chastise and attack me for knowing he was looking at his watch, I admit I probably was not as engaged as I should have been either.

Worship is our personal expression of our love and devotion to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. It is done in a public setting that should allow for free flowing moments of intimacy with Jesus. Inhibited worship is not what God requires or approves. Our freedom in Christ allows us to become more undignified in a childlike manner. Being in a congregation that stifles your expression of worship, of your being yourself in front of God, is not doing you any favors. I will offer one caveat here that there is a proper time and place for certain expressions. Liturgical dance would not always work during prayers and singing praises may be considered rude during the sermon. But please find a congregation that allows you the time and space to encounter, to experience, Jesus at some point during the worship service. Whatever fashion or style is valuable to you I give you my permission to demonstrate it. I know of at least two churches where this is possible and acceptable. As the old commercial said: “Try it, you’ll like it!” And God will too!

 

Is Prayer Redundant?

I used to dread praying. I know that sounds ridiculous for a priest – an ordained person in the Church of God - or for anyone calling Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior. I thought prayer was rather redundant. If God knows our needs before we ask (Matthew 6:8), then why bother the Master any longer?  I mean, if He is omnipotent (from Merriam Webster: having unlimited authority or influence), omniscient (possessed of universal or complete knowledge) and omnipresent (present in all places at all times), all at the same time, it would be obvious that our prayers, our requests, intercessions and supplications, would not come to Him as any surprise. I must admit that I had a hard time to see the benefits of prayer until I actively participated in it. It is amazing what results can do to inspire you further.

 My first insight into prayer came when I realized that prayer was a vital part of Jesus’ life. If it was good for Him, and He is the Son of God, how much more could I profit from trying it? Jesus prayed in the morning (Mark 1:35), He prayer during the day (Matthew 14:23) and He prayed all night (Luke 6:12). He would often spend time in prayer after a long day of ministry (Matthew 14:23) and He prayed for strength before He entered into His passion. (Luke 22:44) Because Jesus modeled a life of prayer, His disciples thought it was important to learn how to pray. (Luke 11:2)

What is more, our prayers can help to others. (2 Corinthians 1:11) Paul continually asked for the prayers of the saints for his ministry. (Romans 15:30) Why would he ask if he thought prayer was useless? Scripture also teaches that not praying for someone else is a sin. (1 Samuel 12:23) It would seem that prayer is an integral component to a solid Christian life. That seems obvious but there are still very few Christians for who prayer is not more than a short grace at the evening meal (never in public but only in the privacy of your own home!).

I had to learn about prayer and engage in it to appreciate it. It is true that the more you pray, the more you get from it. I got to the point of asking God every morning to blow my mind that day. He was answering prayer and things were happening. I became like a child being thrown up in the air by an adult. I must brag here because I have done this with many kids. Being of above average height – read not being vertically challenged and never having been lost in a crowd, although I do run into cobwebs nobody else hits – I am able to get kids closer to the ceiling and the ceiling fan far better than most adults. Because of my majestic height, my grandmother and mother until their deaths, and now my wife keep me around to reach the top shelf without a stool or tiptoes. When I hoist kids in the air the first thing I check for is nose bleeds as those kids have never been to those heights before! They get an excited look on their face as they are able to look down on things. They gain a different perspective, a higher perspective. And when you fling them – okay well just lift high and drop – they get very excited about the exhilarating feeling of being free, of almost flying. They also learn to trust as you catch them right before they crash onto the floor. Wee, let’s do it again! One drawback to aging is not being able to do this as often and with as large a child as I once was. But, I digress.  When prayer becomes enjoyable, when God shows up, you will want to say, “Wee, let’s do it again!”

When you catch a child and build that trust, they start trusting you for more. They depend on you. When Paul admonished the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 5:17) to “pray continually” (NIV) or “pray without ceasing” (KJV), he was asking something that many people think is an extreme burden. With everything we have to do each day, with all of my duties and responsibilities, all my cares and anxieties, how can we spend that much time in prayer? As a pastor, I have heard all the excuses. The sum of these conclusions is that anything more than one hour on Sunday morning is a demand no one can satisfy. Besides, weren’t prayers offered in church last week? That should be good enough. Living a life of dependence and thanksgiving on God asks the opposite question: “How can I not pray continually to God for all He does and all he provides?”

I remember when I was dating my wife. We would spend hours together talking and getting to know each other. It didn’t hurt that we met at church. We avoided some of the relationship building hassles because we knew what was most important in each of our lives. The more time we spent together, the more time we wanted to spend together. Now, we are spending the rest of our lives together. Our relationship had to build though. We had to work on it and we continue to do so. Any relationship needs to be worked on, worked at to grow. Anything that is not growing is only doing one thing: dying! There is no other option. Spending time in prayer brings us closer to Jesus Christ. It helps give our relationship with Him the solid foundation that will make it thrive. Being a novice in prayer makes one a novice Christian. If you do not work on your relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer, then your relationship is dying and Jesus will not recognize you. We know the results when that happens (Matthew 25:12).

 But more than that, we have the blessed assurance that because of whom Jesus is and what He did, we are praying directly to Him. We do not need to go through any intermediaries or even His mother. We can approach the throne of grace directly. (Hebrews 4:16) There is a confidence in prayers like that.

I have come to appreciate time spent in prayer, time spent in communication with my Lord and Savior. I now know that prayer is not to inform God. It is strengthen and encourage me. I need to pray. I need to spend time with God. I need to thank Him for all He has done in my life and in the lives of those around me. Based on His actions in the past, I can confidently ask for His intervention in the my life and those around me. Now, I look forward to prayer. I know God is listening. I know He wants to spend time with me and me with Him. Lord, blow my mind again. Ask Him! It’s not redundant. Try it; you’ll like it and so will God!

The Cheerful Receiver

One of my favorite John Wayne movies is “McClintock” (1963). It’s not quite the shoot ‘em up flick that the Duke is known for but it has a lot of classic lines. Of course it is set in the old west and there are Indians. Sorry, I’m not trying to be politically incorrect but that is what they were called back then. At one point in the movie, McClintock is asked to speak (translate) for the Comanche chiefs in front of an Indian Commission trying to decide whether to move the whole tribe to Ft. Sill or not. It sets out what I would imagine is a principle of leaders of tribes at that time. I think it also described what “used” to be a philosophy of people in the era just prior to mine. I tried to transcribe while watching the video on YouTube so I hope there are not too many errors. But you can watch the whole movie on YouTube as it is part of the public domain. So, here it is, pilgrim:

            “This that the white man calls charity is a fine thing for widows and orphans but no

            warrior can accept it for if he does, he is no longer a man. He is nothing and better 
            off dead. You say to the Comanche you are widows and orphans, you are not men.
            And, we the Comanche say we would rather be dead. It will not be a remembered
            fight when you kill us because we are few now and have few weapons. But we will
            fight and we will die Comanche.”

Those that we call the “greatest” generation, those who endured and won World War II, used to understand this principle. Many would rather have swept streets, as many did during the Great Depression, than receive charity. Our forefathers and the Comanche lived by Paul’s words from 2 Thessalonians 3:10: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” The responsibility for provision for the family was up to the man. Widows and orphans do not have anyone to take care of them and thus can and should accept charity when offered and needed. I am not trying to pick on slackers or those who receive charity. Although I will point out that the government subsidies cannot be considered charity!

One of the profound insights I have gained from being in the ministry runs counter to the aforementioned principle. I am not remarking on the dependency class but on those who occasionally get in a tight spot and need help or are just blessed by others generosity. I think God loves a cheerful receiver too! Here is why. It is hard, when you need or receive charity of any type or form, to accept that which your own efforts and energy have not produced. We hate to admit we needed help. The recent comment by President Obama that “you didn’t build that” irks self-made, self-sufficient people. In giving we tend to take for granted the blessings God has given us. Our superiority in being able to give makes us more content, more able to share. To receive from others tends to make us feel inferior. Yet, in receiving, we should become more aware of the mercies of God, of how he provides and takes care of all our necessities.

Being a cheerful receiver almost feels like we are taking advantage of those who seek to bless us. I used to feel that way. While I am not a Comanche I am a man. The responsibility to take care of my family is my responsibility. I know it’s a guy thing. Men are from Mars and this is a Martian principle. Our pride is hurt when we are not able to do that. It is humbling and drives us to our knees. Yup, there you have it. Being humble is difficult for many people, especially men. There is nothing new in that statement. But Jesus does not call us to be proud. There are times in life when we need to be grateful. Again this is a God thing. We may not like where the charity comes from (someone else), or feel guilty about accepting it (pride), but we are provided for. There are times when we simply need to admit we require help. In many situations, this may lead to soften even the hardest heart. When we receive it gratefully, we model the behavior of Jesus. He allowed a woman of questionable reputation to anoint his feet with oil and wipe them clean with her tears. It was an extravagant gesture and Jesus accepted her gift with gratitude and thankfulness. Others were not as cheerful at her act and they were duly rebuked. (Mark 14:1-9)

When I was in youth ministry a thousand years ago I was given a Christmas gift of cash – please don’t tell the IRS – from a parishioner at the church. She was a grandmother and none of her family attended our church or was part of the ministry. I was a little overwhelmed by the size and generosity of the gift. I complained to the rector that that money could be used for better, more kingdom oriented purposes than giving it to the youth minister. A noble and pious statement if ever there were one! I must admit that I do not remember much of what that man ever said to me and what I do remember never seemed to be encouraging. It suffices to say that he and I very rarely saw eye to eye. But he told me that if I refused this gift I would be denying her the blessing of giving it. She was following Paul’s advice to be a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7) It was tremendous blessing to her to be able to do this. She had been blessed and wanted to pass that blessing along to others. I was cut to the quick. Who was I to deny her such a blessing? I learned a valuable lesson that day that I have tried to practice ever since.

I know God has richly blessed me and I want to pass that blessing on. But I also want to be able to bless others when they cheerfully want to give to me. In the end, it is not about me but about what God has enabled them to do. Through it, we all give glory to God for his being ready, willing and able to provide for all our needs because he is a God who will meet all our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19) As the Comanche say, “charity is a fine thing for widows and orphans but no warrior can accept it for if he does, he is no longer a man.” I still tend to believe that. Yet, I have been convinced that, at times, being a man means accepting the fact that you need help and in receiving you are allowing others to be blessed by blessing you. While I don’t want to be dependent on the government or other people, I want to thank God for those people who have blessed me in their giving. You were cheerful in giving and I am cheerful in receiving. I thank God for you because of your generous actions I have become more aware of God mercies. It’s a hard lesson but without it how can we ever be cheerful for what Jesus has given us?