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Archive for the ‘Time Up to Pentecost’ Category

Hope Needs Courage

Posted in Eastertide, Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 9, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Painting by N.S.G.

It takes a lot of courage, actually, to continue to hope in something or someone, both unseen and yet promised for a time in a future we cannot know. There must be persistence too, but often, it takes plain courage and a type of audacity to believe despite it all.

Hebrews 3:6
But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. [NIV 1984]

For some people, this tenacity has to have something more substantial to sustain it and so they latch on to a concrete idea still in the future to uphold their courage. Like a date. Apparently, there is a groundswell of believers who are putting their hope and their courage into May 21, 2011 as “judgment day” and the end of the world. These folks are the antithesis of Rob Bell’s stance in Love Wins. Where Bell’s hell is already manifesting here on earth and our battle is in the now for the power of the Kingdom to take hold; these folks are predicting the great rapture for the enlightened and a fiery hell for everyone else; the only winners in their minds are “people like them.”

Of course, this isn’t just in the Christian world; there’s still 2012 to face as well. With the “end” of the Mayan calendar, some people believe and predict, the end of the world as we know it is next year.

To what or in what do these eschatological folks hope? Mostly, it’s “hope nothin’ bad happens to me” and “just in case,” let’s look into some “fire” insurance . . . or assurance, and join this or that bandwagon.

Here’s the rub: hope implies a good end. And it takes courage to hold onto this kind of hope because our world is full of dark things, dark people, dark rulers and “principalities.” [For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12]

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. . . . ” Matthew 10:28a

Courage cannot be built on a 3D world; there are no guarantees here. Courage and hope can only be built on our faith in the truth of a Christ whose Holy Spirit defies logic and protects the Human Spirit from eternal death and separation from the Creator. Nothing more.

To become a believer in the Christ is a statement of hope. For the words of Christ promise that all will turn out for the best. Courage is the ability to face a different world that mocks hope, questions the supernatural, and defies paradox with proofs and logic. To stand. That’s the key. Whether it’s May 21st or 2012, whether it’s sickness or sorrow or disappointment that have been meted out in large doses, we are called to stand on the solid rock of faith.

And if I fall off that rock because my faith was too small or my fears too great? There is still grace.

“But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.” [Acts 27:22]

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God the Builder

Posted in Eastertide, Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 8, 2011| 1 Comment »

Do we still honor the builder? I think not. I am as guilty as anyone else. Sometimes, I can’t remember the author of a book, much less an architect. I was terrible at “music memory” in grammar school and worse at signers of the declaration of independence.

Hebrews 3:2b-4
. . . just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

Instead, I get absorbed by the end result, the “house,” the object.

This morning, a friend and I spent a couple of hours at Panera Church over latte and coffee discussing how differently she looks at humanity than she did five years ago. For so long, she said, it was still about “us and them”–the believers and the non-believers. “Thems” were a shadow of humanity: they were out and we were in. They were a house without rooms. They were a shell. But now, she finds herself within the teeming masses of people, all built by the hand of God, all sacred in a way that only God can create. She sees the builder behind the human.

There are people who are still building and using their creativity. There are inventors struggling to find a place for their inventions (they even have their own reality show now); creative artists abound, longing for ways to get their work out to the general public, to share their creations. For these people, they are giving out a part of themselves. Painters, writers, composers, craftsmen, architects, and many more creators, are trying to tell us: this is how I see the world, come with me.

God is a creator too. The earth is one aspect of God’s message to humanity. And more, living things are another, animals, fish, and people included.

Today is Mother’s Day in the U.S. and we celebrate the women who carried us within their bodies and nurtured us as best they were able. Together, a female and male parent came together to create another human, endowed with a personal spirit, unique to the world in which we live.

Let us give thanks to the Builder today, the Creator, the Mother/Father of us all. Let us look at everything and everyone and remember the source of that idea, that word, that color, that shape, that sound. Amen.

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Behaviors Can Separate

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , on September 26, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Paul is really pulling my chain in the entire 5th chapter of I Corinthians. I can’t say I’m going to disassociate with folks who are believers and yet behave badly. I’m too close to behaving badly myself. So what can I glean?

I Corinthians 5:11
But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler.

Basically, whether we are believers or not believers, our behaviors will act like the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter novels. Unconsciously, we tend to either congregate with those who behave similarly or avoid those who don’t. Some behaviors I can simply tolerate. Others I cannot.

I struggle enough with “judging” others without escalating that condition. And yet, if I am personally hurt by someone through one of these negative acts, I don’t think I’d go out of my way to have tea with them either. But I cannot rail against them, for ultimately, I would merely be one of the angry crowd who chased after the woman who was caught in adultery. She had truly done that thing, but Christ offered mercy. Can I do any less?

(This post was started on May 2nd, but not completed until September. Oh well.)

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For Those Who Serve

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

There is a bottom line truth here: if a person sacrifices his/her time, dedication, and/or expertise for the sake of others, he/she deserves to be compensated or, at the very least, receive some benefit for that service. They shouldn’t have to ask.

I Corinthians 9:10b
. . . the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher ought to thresh in expectation of partaking of the harvest. [Amplified]

In the 9th chapter of Corinthians, Paul is really letting them have it for not supporting materially, the very people who brought light into their dark place. I’m not even sure he’s talking just about himself, although he does sound pretty feisty in these passages. I think he’s addressing a situation that, quite honestly, hasn’t changed much over the centuries. He’s writing about all of those who are sacrificing for the sake of others.

The modern trap is to assume every compensation is financial. I’m not saying that isn’t important. Obviously, in our society, money is essential to accomplishing almost anything. Money pays the bills. Money opens doors. But there are other compensations that have to do with sharing the harvest, the fruit of the venture. Poor people and third world cultures seem to get this while westerners are blinded.

Whatever the task at hand, those who serve and participate in the process should receive a portion of the fruit. It helps connect people, to create unity, and buy-in.

As Jesus and his disciples walked their world, healing and teaching, people opened their homes and shared what they had. It was enough.

If someone works at your restaurant, let them eat. If someone works at your bookstore, let them read or get books cheap. If someone works in your office, let them make copies. If someone takes care of your yard, let them have flowers, seed, or seedlings. If someone cares for your children, let them participate in celebrations. As soon as we work in community, we become part of that community. Each person deserves full respect for the part he/she plays or contributes to the greater effort.

Freely give it so it’s not taken on the sly.

Usually, most people use these passages to rally the believers into sending more and more funds to support missionaries. And I understand that is important. But I tell you, I believe the full participation in that ministry is even more important. The fruit of participation is greater with the gift of time and energy, prayer and communication, advocacy and visits.

It’s a different kind of bartering that we need to re-energize.

God is giving to me all the time. And what do I have that God might want in return? Access to my heart. Participation in my life.

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Seal of Apostleship

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , on May 19, 2010| Leave a Comment »

If you’re wondering, there are lots and lots of blog posts about the “seal of apostleship.” Go figure. What’s the appeal of the seal? Authority and proof.

I Corinthians 9:2
Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

Ever since we were little kids and got sticky stars pasted onto our attendance sheets or report cards, we have understood the power of the “seal.” This was the symbol of a job well done, of success, of completion. It didn’t stop with childhood, we are still getting seals. Look at any diploma or plaque. Don’t they carry the same power and authority? I always check the doctor’s office walls for his/her credentials. (Of course, I’m not sure what I would do if I couldn’t find the requisite diploma or it was from the Internet School of Medicine.)

When my husband and I were in the adoption process, we had to jump through a zillion hoops to get the right seals on the right pieces of paper for our home study: a seal from the county to verify that our notary was legitimate and then another seal from the state to verify that the county verified the notary (and so on) . . . for every piece of paper (at a cost of $5 per page – those gold sticky stars must get more expensive as they get bigger).

Paul’s seal is not a star or a “good job” sticker. Paul’s seal is the people whose lives were touched in a meaningful way. Paul worked among the people in Corinth, told his story, shared his faith, and people’s lives were changed. His seal was the fruit of his labor. That’s all. So simple.

Can I be content with that seal as well?

Several years ago, out of the blue, I got an email from a young woman who had been one of my students in a series of acting classes I taught in Indianapolis back in the 80’s (age hint). She was contacting me to let me know that she had become a theater professor and that it was my influence, my time with her, my teaching, that made her decide on this profession. She wanted to thank me. That was lovely. That was a seal.

When we truly touch a life and that touch makes a difference, what else is really needed?

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I love: I abstain

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I’m not doing too well with this idea of abstaining from something . . . anything . . . just because it’s a problem for someone else. And yet, if I hold true to the concept of the “sacred other,” can I choose to do anything else?

I Corinthians 8:13
Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.

Sometimes, these choices are a cakewalk. Obviously, if I have friends who struggle with alcoholism, I would not guzzle around them. That’s insensitive. But then, the cost to me for not drinking in their presence is minimal. But what about other things? What about movies or books that cause my conservative friends to stumble? What about eating meat around my vegetarian/vegan friends? What about wearing dresses instead of pants around traditional Mennonites or Amish?

There are such fine lines between being true to oneself, being a chameleon for the sake of fitting in, and choosing to abstain out of concern for the other.

I believe my previous “unconsciousness” in these choices were the ultimate problem. I might abstain but I did not do it out of love, but with resentment and even negative judgments.

It’s a type of reluctant obedience that is no better than just going ahead and doing it.

And yet, Jesus stretched a lot of observers to places they did not want to go. He ate without ritual washing, he allowed sinners to touch him, he healed and touched contagious disease. He broke Jewish laws with knowledge but also with kindness.

It all comes back to love and motive. Abstaining for the sake of another should be conscious and intentional. And probably, that act should be accompanied by conversation.

Keep me mindful today Lord.

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From God, Through Christ

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 17, 2010| 2 Comments »

Prepositions are funny things. They are so small and yet so full of meaning. They establish relationship between two things or people. Here is a verse that establishes God as the source (of all light) and the Christ as the prism through which that light shines.

I Corinthians 8:6
. . . yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Mike and I had a throwback experience yesterday and showed the old movie, Pollyanna with Hayley Mills, to our daughter. I’d forgotten about the lovely scenes with the prisms and how that simple act gave hope to a couple of grumpies.

But the symbol is perfect. We cannot actually see light. We see a reflection or, in the case of a prism, a refraction and a spectrum of color.

Jesus is our prism and through him, we see God.

Consider the phrase, “to live is Christ” [Philippians 1:21] and what that might mean in conjunction with the prism image. If we are in Christ and Christ is in us, then we, too, become a prism. The more transparent and translucent we can become, the more likely the Light can be seen in us, the spectrum of God’s love.

Over the years, I have wanted to manifest the gifts of the Holy Spirit [I Cor 12:8-13], but today, I understand this essential manifestation must come first. Those other gifts are by-products of the Light, they are merely one color in the spectrum.

Oh God, may the spectrum of your Light shine through Christ and may I be a vessel clear enough, transparent enough, that others would be able to see You. Forgive me for covering myself with bushels [Matthew 5:14-15] and closed doors and closets.

You are my truth.

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