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Posts Tagged ‘faith’

Momentum of Faith

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

Acts 5:14-16
Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number… Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.

This kind of momentum is like a snowball. Once it gets going, there is no stopping it until it reaches the bottom of the hill. And even then, it keeps going as long as their is energy behind it.

This type of momentum is not peculiar to the time of the apostles. There have been equally amazing periods in our own recent history: The revivals sparked by Jonathan Edwards and John Wesley (1700’s), Charles Finney in 1821, Azuza Street (California) in 1906, Asbury College, Kentucky in 1970, the Toronto Blessing of 1994, and the Pensacola Outpouring also known as Brownsville in the late 1990’s, just to name a few.

People flock to these places from all over the world and all over the country, looking for signs and wonders, looking for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and most often looking to be healed (physically & emotionally).

We experience this phenomenon in smaller doses every day: if we’re “on a roll,” we want to keep going.

But how does momentum of this kind start? The apostles only did what they knew to do, what they felt called to do. They were not trying to create a maelstrom. They just wanted everyone to know what had happened… and that Jesus was coming back. They had a natural urgency in their message.

Marketing people try to create urgency in whatever it is they sell: “gotta have it… gotta have it now.”

I think it begins with commitment, passion, and singularity of purpose. And of course, the anointing of God’s Holy Spirit, which cannot be bought, sold, or replicated.

In our times, we call this “viral” marketing. Some people try to create viral strategies through guilt, sending “touching” messages via email and challenging the receiver to “pass it on.” But that’s not how it works. When an authentic message reaches my heart, I don’t need someone to tell me to “pass it on.” I can’t wait!

Christ’s message has been around for 2000 years… the only thing that gives it momentum is the story in which it lives and thrives: my story… your story.

The momentum can start today…

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One in Heart and Mind

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 5, 2009| 1 Comment »

Act 4:32
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.

This line makes a lot of people uncomfortable. They go to a lot of trouble to explain it away (that was then, this is now). Others go off and start communes and do their best to live in community. In some cases, these communities are successful, but most are not. There has been a resurgence of interest in communal living through the growth of the emergent movement and the next generation of believers.

In any event, it is clear that in New Testament time, that time after Jesus’ resurrection, living and sharing and being of one heart and mind was the norm. This is what people wanted to do. I don’t believe it was mandated, it just happened. It evolved from that moment in their lives. The message of the time was simple: Jesus Christ, the son of God, died on the cross and was raised up. They expected him to return soon as well.

But, in the same way that Jesus was not the Messiah everyone expected, he didn’t return within anyone’s timeline either. At this point in the story, there were upwards to 5,000 believers. What did that look like? How did they really operate in one heart and mind? How did they really live “in community?”

Being in one heart and mind is not easy. There must be trust, sacrifice, compromise, flexibility, cooperation, and love. There must be a rallying point… something everyone can agree upon.

I think it’s our first priority in any relationship: find the parallel. Look for the sphere of agreement, the commonality before addressing any of the differences. With every relationship, there will always be at least one congruence. Let’s start there.

Shakespeare’s Shylock said it most ably:

I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die?

Perhaps the person is saying: I am a Muslim. I am an African. I am poor. I am gay. I am physically challenged. I am old. I am alone.

Today, I seek oneness in heart and mind.

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Faith in the Name

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 3:16a
“…And His name, through and by faith in His name, has made this man, whom you see and recognize, well and strong.” [Peter to the crowd] {Amplified}

This is quite specific: faith in the name of Jesus. One must believe in this name and that the name itself carries authority.

Authority is achieved in many ways. It can be inherited, it can be given by another in higher authority, or it can be earned. Jesus met all three of these requirements. First, as the only Son of God, he inherited the right to act on behalf of God. Secondly, his Father pronounced Jesus’ sonship when John baptized Him and then again, on the mount of transfiguration. And finally, Jesus’ ministry of healing and helping, followed by his sacrifice on the cross, earned him the right to wield authority.

But authority is downright unpopular in the 21st century. We hear more about “teamwork,” “equality,” and the benefits of a “flat” vs. hierarchical organization. People prefer the idea of authority being shared. Absolute authority is to be questioned. In our era, we assume that most authority will be abused. Generally, the more authority a person has, the more corruption is possible (or expected). Rebellion to authority is encouraged or at the very least, anticipated. There is no such thing as a “benevolent dictator.”

The paradox is that Jesus, a true “servant leader,” also has total authority. By saying we have “faith in the name of Jesus,” we are confessing that we have faith in his authority… we are voluntarily submitting ourselves to the Name. It’s a trust issue. Something that does not come easily to many people.

How can we successfully pray for others if we don’t trust Jesus to care for us? Without authority, the name of Jesus has less power in our lives. Accepting the way of Jesus is accepting His authority over the path itself. Selah.

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Really Looking

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 29, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 3:3-4
When he [the crippled beggar] saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!”

Eye contact. It’s a lost art. But really, it’s one of the most important connections.

When I was in acting school and took stage combat, it was the first thing we learned. One cannot engage in combat without looking, really looking, in the eyes of the opponent. In stage combat, it’s a team effort. The one striking and the one being struck must see each other and agree on the moment.

Last night, at a rehearsal, my stage partner was supposed to give me a kiss. He missed my lips and it landed on my chin… basically because I didn’t look at him, nor he at me. We were not in sync.

I think the great healing that Peter did at the Gate Beautiful outside the temple courts was similar. The cripple was in a begging habit, calling out, asking for help, but without looking at the actual people going in or coming out. He was throwing out his need like buckshot and hoping his plea would somehow land on the heart of someone.

But healings are specific. Peter demanded the man really look at him. I believe the healing happened in that moment. The “get up and walk part” was after the fact. When they really looked at each other, the crippled man’s authentic need was passed to Peter and in exchange, Peter released the power of the Holy Spirit.

Healing love, concern, hope, trust, assurance, and confidence are among the many things that are passed through the eyes. Not that there isn’t power in other connections (like touch), but the eyes are a unique window to the soul.

Today, open my eyes to see Jesus. Today, open my eyes to see need. Today, open my eyes to give of the Spirit.

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Pick Your Last Days

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 2:14, 16b-17
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say…. this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel [2:28-29]: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams….”

When, exactly, are the Last Days? Good luck with that. Theologians and other Christian writers have written volumes about this phenomenon while the Pentecostals and Charismatics have been waving the Last Days banner since the turn of the 19th century. People have been talking about the Last Days for a long time. Is it possible that we’re still in the Last Days? Have the last 2000 years been the Last Days?

In his post-Holy Spirit filling in Acts 2, Peter certainly implied that the Last Days were beginning that day. He saw the outpouring of power and the speaking in tongues (other languages) that day as a sure sign of Joel’s prophecy being fulfilled.

Here are the choices I see: either we are still in the Last Days… or the Last Days haven’t really started yet… or we’re on the other side of the Last Days. Pick your camp!

I think the disciples and newly committed Christ followers in Peter’s time, believed the Last Days were right then and that it was indeed … a matter of days or weeks, at best, before Christ would return and the world would end as they knew it. They lived and died as martyrs because of their commitment to this idea. They lived fully and without compromise.

But, in the same way that Nineveh was spared when Jonah finally did what he was supposed to do, e.g. warn Nineveh’s residents of coming destruction if they didn’t change… so has the world has been spared… for now. We are still here.

But are we paying attention to the Joels and Jonahs of our own age? Are we reading the signs of warning? Are we taking seriously that we may be on borrowed time?

There are still men and women today prophesying… seeing visions… and dreaming dreams. Their words speak of spiritual deserts, economic chaos, environmental collapse, human suffering at the hands of evil, starvation and traumatic illness.

Not everyone can be a prophet or a watchman on the wall, but we can be listeners. We can change our own small world. We can love our neighbor and love our environment. We can pray for change. We can pray for healing.

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He’s Really Coming Back?

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on September 22, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 1:11
Men of Galilee,” they [men in white] said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

When I was in high school I had to take a city bus to school, which was about 2.5 miles from my home. Each morning I would walk about 5 blocks to the bus stop and wait for a bus. I remember a mission church there at the corner that had a marquis (which in mind was the weirdest thing ever) and on it, in bold letters, was written: “Jesus is Coming Soon!”

I wasn’t much of a Christian back then. I attended a Latvian church with my family, but it was all ritual and hypocrites as far as I was concerned. But one thing I was pretty sure of, Jesus had already come and these folks were sorely deluded.

I never got this “coming back” message. There just wasn’t that much emphasis on the idea and certainly, people weren’t living their lives as though they really believed Jesus would return. Of course, it didn’t help that my mother was getting caught up in all kinds weirdness back then and started reading all the Erich Von Daniken books (she was pretty sure Jesus was an alien and would come back in a starship).

It’s been over 2,000 years… is he really coming back? But that is the promise. According to scripture, his coming back is at the end of this age. Well meaning people have been predicting his return ever since he left. In modern times, it was during the second World War (Hitler being the anti-Christ), then later, the turn of the century (Y2K), or now things are really heating up with the 2012 phenomenon. Is one date any more reliable than another?

But the actual coming, no matter how dramatic or not, is a little late in the process. Once he does return, whether today, tomorrow or in the next turn of the century, the real issue will be what we have done with the time. [Matthew 25]

People don’t really feel an urgency of life until they (or their loved ones) are truly facing illness and death. Then, it’s clear: time is precious, life is to be lived, and people are to be loved fully.

We adults accuse teenagers of having their heads in the sand about the future, but are we much better? We don’t really believe it will happen to us. We don’t really believe that turning point could happen today.

What would I do differently today if I believed it was my last day? Carpe Diem.

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Power in the Waiting

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 21, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 1:4-5
On one occasion, while he [Jesus] was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Waiting is not the easiest thing to do. In fact, I think it’s one of the hardest. In this case, I doubt the disciples had any clue what it would mean to be “baptized with the Holy Spirit.” But they understood waiting and they understood this command to wait would test their trust and their faith. I always wonder if they all waited or did some fall away?

People usually use a period of waiting to fantasize about the end results (and generally, the result they themselves want). They begin imagining what the end of waiting will be like without living fully within the waiting period itself. I have come to believe that waiting is an active time. Waiting is a time of introspection and evaluation. Waiting itself is productive within.

Looking back over my life, I can see how many mistakes could have been avoided just by exercising a little waiting. But I have always been in a such a hurry for the next experience. As I grow older, I have been getting a little better at waiting, just because I have been forced to practice. And slowly, I see its merits and enter this time more willingly.

There is a popular phrase used by many Christians: “I am waiting on God…” Sometimes, it feels like they are in an outer office waiting for an appointment with a busy God who’ll fit them in when possible. They are passing the time, reading magazines, watching TV, or listening to their ipods. There is no relationship with the One on the other side of the door. While others simply use the phrase as a way to avoid making any decision at all. If one waits long enough, a decision is usually made for you. This method is rather passive aggressive in my book.

Waiting on God has no value in my mind unless it comes with contemplative study, prayer and worship.

This is true for the individual as well as a group. But I have very little experience with group waiting. I’m still working on the first hurdle. But that’s coming. Group waiting is even more difficult because the everyone needs to let go of their personal agendas and allow the best result for the group as a whole emerge: more patience, love, sacrifice, and trust.

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