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Archive for the ‘Ordinary Time’ Category

I Am Showing You

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , on August 8, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 14:8
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Poor Philip, he still doesn’t get it. Poor us… we don’t get it either.

I can just imagine the look on Jesus’s face when Philip made this statement. It would be like one of my kids saying, “show me a mother, and then I’ll understand what a mother is.” How can I show something I am. Each and every day, I am. Every action, every word, everything good, bad, wrong or right, is part of showing a mother.

The same is for love. How often do young lovers say, “show me you love me.” But this too is impossible. Either one loves or does not. What those young lovers are asking for is proof on their own terms. It’s a type of manipulation.

Philip could not, at that point, believe that “Father God” could be embodied in this man, Jesus. Philip had a different mental model of the Father. He assumed there was more to it. God couldn’t be a poor guy who walked around the countryside hanging out with anyone who was willing to listen and learn. Where was the blazing light that led the Israelites out of Eqypt? Where was the consuming fire? Where was the King?

If we claim to be in the way of Jesus, then, in all of our own frailties, we are actually ‘showing” Jesus to others. We don’t arrive at some perfect destination and then become presentable. We are in the way of Jesus now.

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You Know the Way

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , on August 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 14:6, 8a
“…You know the way to the place where I am going…. I am the way and the truth and the life…”

For many years, whenever I thought of Jesus as the way, I always assumed it meant “accepting Jesus as Lord of my life.” I thought of Jesus leading the way, beckoning me to follow Him along a very narrow path. He was, then, more of a guide, than anything else. He was the leader.

And I think He is all of these things. But I think there is more. The way of Jesus is a process. We are not just to follow Jesus but to be like Jesus. We are to interact with the world the way he interacted. We are to see, feel, and touch others, the way He did. It’s the same kind of understanding that Paul had as he wrote in Philippians 1:21, “…to live is Christ…” The way of Jesus is a lifestyle.

But the challenge today is that so many people, particularly Christians, have already determined what the “Jesus lifestyle” is, often due to many long held traditions as well interpretations of the scriptures themselves. Every denomination is a description of the way of Jesus. Every Christian book is a description of the way of Jesus.

Woe to the young believer who is trying to find his/her way.

And yet, Jesus told the disciples that they knew the way. They did not and would not necessarily know the destination. They had to trust that Jesus would have that part covered. They just had to operate in the way. This is a paradox for western culture. We are told over and over and over again that we must have a goal, a vision, a result. How else will we know we have achieved or arrived?

But apparently, this is not the way of Jesus. Every day, every moment that we are in the way of Jesus, we have arrived at our destination. It’s now. We can choose today to act, to react, to speak, to touch, to love, to accept, to bless… and we are in the way of Jesus. The way is moment by moment, hour by hour, and day by day. Today, we can know the way and live it.

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How Many Rooster Crows?

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on August 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 13:38b
“…I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!”

Living in the city, I don’t really hear roosters crowing. And yet, I do resonant with the idea that each morning, roosters herald the dawn and a new day. But how many mornings have I betrayed the very God I love through inattention and disregard? How often have I “disowned” Him from fear?

There is a powerful skit I used to perform for small groups where Jesus would surprise me one morning when I was getting ready to go to work, but running late. I reasoned with Him, since we didn’t have time to sit down together, He could stick around, have a cup of coffee, and we would connect later that day. Instead, He offered to go with me to work. I thought that was inappropriate. I suggested He visit my next door neighbor now and then we could visit later. And so on the skit would go until I ended up getting really angry and “nailing” him to the wall so he would stop pestering me since I was so busy.

Or, perhaps the rooster crowed and caught me on a day after I disowned the Lord like Peter because I was afraid. The fears that cause my betrayals are not the same ones that Peter had. My life has never been threatened because of my faith. I am usually afraid of others and their opinion of me. Too often, I have chosen silence when it would be better to speak. I have looked the other way in the face of sin or need. I have indulged myself and my children and we have dipped our feet into the world while others suffer.

Slowly, I am changing. I am getting better about hearing the rooster crow as a call to prayer. I am seeing Jesus in the people I meet. I am waking up.

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Betrayal for Everyone

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on August 5, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 13:21
After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.”

And Judas didn’t bat an eye. He saw the whole thing differently than everyone else. In his mind, it wasn’t betrayal. He was helping move things along. He thought he had the “big picture.” He thought the stars were aligned and Jesus needed to step up his game.

Can you imagine, with this mindset, what he must have thought when Jesus turned to him at table and said, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” [vs 27b] He probably viewed that as the “go-ahead.” Jesus was going to take the challenge and show everyone. He would reveal himself. He would become their king. He would overthrow the Romans. On and on his mind would have clamored.

Haven’t we all, at some point or another, justified our own actions in the same way? We convince ourselves that our choices are the right choices for the moment. From adultery to lying to theft and more, our reasoning allows it. In reality every sin is a type of betrayal against the other. If we commit adultery, we betray a spouse; if we lie, we betray the trust of the person receiving that lie; if we steal, we betray the owner… and so on.

Confronting the truth of betrayal means confronting ourselves and our motives. Betrayal is all about “me.” Judas ran from his betrayal and killed himself. This may have been his greatest sin of all. A betrayer can be redeemed but only with confession.

I have betrayed and it grieves my spirit today. I call on the love and grace of Christ Jesus to wash me in forgiveness. My only hope.

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Woe to the Rich — That’s Us

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 4, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 6:24
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort…”

I am so uncomfortable with this teaching of Jesus. Face it: I am rich and this is not good news.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I am really just like everyone else I know on the most part–middle class. But in comparison with the rest of the world, we’re rolling in dough. When I take the time to really absorb the truth of this phrase, I am ashamed and a tad worried.

When the economy “tanked,” my husband and I have been confronted with the outrageous cost of our lifestyle. We are, in U.S. terms, broke. We owe more on credit cards than we should. We spend more than we make. We indulge our wants and assume our needs will be met. We take a lot for granted.

We have passed along this “comfort” lifestyle to our children who continue to have expectations of what is normal: a packed refrigerator, vacations, name-brand clothes, and plenty of heat when it’s cold and air conditioning when it’s hot. They assume the “economy” problems are for all those other people.

Basically, we’ve been skipping over this scripture for years and that may prove to be a mistake sooner than later.

In the same way that the environment cannot be turned around on a dime, our own lifestyle will not change overnight either. We must make a conscious decision to change. We must do so in agreement. And if we don’t do this willingly and soon, we may have to do so in crisis.

Forgive us. Re-align our priorities before they are re-aligned for us. Give us courage to change the way we live. Let us not be like the “rich young ruler.” [Matthew 19:16-26]

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Doing the Work

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , on August 3, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 5:17
Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”

When I was in acting school, we called acting as “doing the work.” It meant confronting the words (script) with intelligence and authenticity. It meant searching the heart and mind for truth. It meant “digging deeper.” It meant connecting with the words and others. It meant a serious application of oneself to the task at hand. It meant staying in the moment.

I find it interesting that this description is easily applied to walking in the way of Jesus each and every day. After all, what is God’s work? And if Christ Jesus is doing God’s work, what are we doing? Anything outside of Christ’s work is a hobby.

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Only the Feet

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , on August 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 13:10a
Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean….”

So what could this mean? It’s fairly well accepted that foot washing is a sign of serving others: the willingness to do the most menial of tasks for another person. Prior to beginning the washing of feet, John reports that Jesus’s intentions were to show the “full extent of his love” for the disciples [John 13:1] But why does he also say that only the feet need to be washed?

Feet are funny things. They carry so much throughout our lives. They are our stability and a part of our balancing acts. They are the primary way we move from one place to another. They are a foundation. We usually forget about our feet unless they hurt. Plus, anyone can attest to the fact that there’s nothing worse than stinky feet! 🙂

But what other meanings can be gleaned from Jesus’s act of washing only the feet? I think the symbolism is in tandem with the the other pronouncement about feet in Mark 6:11: “And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.” By washing their feet, the disciples were starting fresh and new. Whatever happened before, while they walked with Jesus or went out in His name in ministry, whatever shaking they did or dust they collected, would be washed away. From that day of foot washing, everything would be different. It was a turning point in their lives.

Sometimes it’s important to create a physical representation of renewal. If you want to mark a day, then wash your feet, prayerfully. If you are ministering to someone who needs to mark that day, wash his/her feet. This is the small revelation I had today. This is my next step… with clean feet.

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