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Posts Tagged ‘Jesus’

Servant of God; Apostle of Christ

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Another translation has “bond-servant of God,” or one who is bound to service without a promise of recompense or compensation. Too often, people serve their gods with an expectation of a result, an ROI (return on investment). Doesn’t work that way.

Titus 1:1
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness—

There are promises from God for the elect (those who follow and serve), but those promises are on God’s terms, not ours. All things come through grace, therefore, whatever is given is a gift and not deserved in some way, no matter how “good” we are, how righteously we behave, how pious.

In Paul’s case, he defines himself as one of these bond-servants but also as an apostle, a messenger, expected to share the knowledge of the Christ imparted to him or her. Not everyone is an apostle. And yet, if we believe, as I do, that Christ is the long-awaited Messiah, then I am to tell my story (to testify). This is not about insisting that my story is better than your story. I tell because my life changed and the course I was on in my late twenties developed an unexpected fork in the road and I was able to choose a different way.

Some people, particularly Christians, forget that they have dual responsibilities. They might jump in with both feet into the messenger business, in the name of Christ, but often they forget their agreement to bonded service to God. There are some who serve God but have not recognized the Messiah part of their journey.

We have both identities and both roles, like in a family, I am a mother and a wife; in my job, I am both a librarian and a manager; in the Church, I am both a penitent and a teacher. Each role is served by the other, each task made richer by the other.

Let me be mindful of all of my dual roles today and in particular, by service to God and my message on behalf of the Christ.

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Patience and the Word

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Mortimer's First Garden

While some folks may focus in on the correct/rebuke others portion of this verse, I’m much more drawn to the idea of talking, sharing with people with “great patience.” With patience as the umbrella, even a correction would be done with utmost concern and gentleness. That makes sense.

II Timothy 4:2
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

I hate “sparring” about verses in the Bible. Face it, there are tons of people who know the scriptures a lot better than I do and they have committed themselves to memorizing hunks of useful phrases, ready to debunk (correct/rebuke) and possibly even “expose” me and my understanding or interpretation of the words. I don’t go there anymore.

But I’m thinking today that “preach the Word” may actually mean “preach Jesus” moreso than expound on scriptures. For me, that means to speak about Jesus and his life, to explain the concept of a Christ in this world, to share the impact of Jesus and His Holy Spirit within me, to give the gift of what I personally know. When I add the words from scripture to my personal story, when I share how those words helped me understand the truth of the Christ in my life, then it’s a package of love. I am not a leader/teacher/preacher. I am no Timothy. I am just a follower of that Way.

But, what is preaching? Is it part of my role at all? Is it just proclaiming, teaching, exhorting, advocating, and admonishing or can it be all of these things? When I purposefully add “patience” to any of these definitions, the tenor of the words is much softened. It’s more like explaining or story-telling to a child, spoken with patience and even love. It’s not self-edifying, it’s not deprecating or sanctimonious. It’s not screaming or challenging. It’s not clever. That other kind of preaching/teaching is incompatible with patience, or at least, in my mind, they are not easily partnered together.

Jesus is patient; has been and will be throughout time. God is patient. Love is patient.

The other day, I read a cute story to some kids at the library in which Mortimer the mouse planted a seed and was quite disgruntled the next day when there was nothing to show for it. We all know that seeds take time to sprout. Why aren’t we as loving and patient with the Word?

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Living the Life

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 10, 2011| 2 Comments »

Art by Ed Unitsky

What does the Godly life look like? And why would it be, that a person who is following in the way of Jesus, living out righteous, faith, love and peace, why would that cause persecution? It’s another type of contradiction.

II Timothy 3:12
In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, . . .

I have seen people hold this scripture up as a banner when their particular political cause or moral stand is shot down or watered down or disregarded in some way. Some people have a litmus test like abortion or birth control or the death penalty or gay rights, and anything outside of their view is perceived as persecution: “right” being attacked by some liberal/left point of view.

There is one sect of believers who are known for door-to-door evangelism to the extreme and if people are rude to them or shut a door in their faces, they report that “persecution” to the team-faithful. It’s to be expected they say; they are living the life.

But where do we see anything like this in the life of Jesus? Our Man/God was so comfortable in his skin that He could be anywhere and talk with anyone without harsh judgments. The truth was in Him, the Spirit close by and available, the ability to love and connect with everyone was apparent. His persecution came later.

His persecution did not really begin until he revealed his identity, an identity that challenged the traditions of authority.

The poor did not persecute Jesus nor did self-professed sinners. The hungry and the needy did not persecute Jesus. Only those who had an agenda that was jeopardized by the long-awaited appearance of a Messiah who would turn their world upside down. Actually, even the Romans did not persecute Jesus until He was dumped into their legal system.

Living the life is more like the first thirty years of Jesus’s life — the silent years. Did Jesus love less in those years than he did in his public ministry? Did he care less, speak less, understand less? Or did he wake each day with the Shema Yisrael and with mindfulness toward the presence of God, and thereby simply live and serve his immediate world.

So, is there persecution in my life? And if there isn’t any, does that mean I am not living a Godly life? Am I too homogenized into the cares of this world? Am I holding on too tightly to my comforts?

Oh, I suppose I could take a political stand about this or that; I could march in the streets for one cause or another, but in the end, I would still come home to my middle class life, my credit cards, and my steak on the grill.

The chorus of the song below was framed and given to me many years ago and, in its simplicity, this is the only way I can see how to “live the life” right now, today.

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Can’t Disown Himself

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 1, 2011| 1 Comment »

Shared with Irenic Thoughts Blog

If this “in Christ” and “in me” business is not a mystery, then I don’t know what is. To accept the truth of a Messiah is not a casual decision nor is it just “fire insurance.” It’s a relationship that opens a supernatural door to a unique and forever-lasting access to God.

II Timothy 2:11b-13
If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

This scripture statement is filled with “if’s” because I have to participate in the alliance. Only if I tear up the internal contract completely and “disown” my agreement will I jeopardize the arrangement. Otherwise, no matter what mistakes I make, what foolishness I exhibit, what disappointments and doubt, my God, through the Holy Spirit remains . . . both “in” me and faithful.

Like my own children, who make terrible choices sometimes and even do the opposite of what I ask or recommend, they are mine and always will be. They are part of me and I am part of them.

This is the human version of the God contract. And that one is much more robust. Thanks be to God.

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Ashamed of the Chains

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 29, 2011| 5 Comments »

How many of us are ashamed of the chains of another person? Sometimes it’s a looking away or denial of the mistake someone has made and “paying for it” through imprisonment. But there are other chains, like mental illness, grief, illness, divorce, unemployment, and poverty.

II Timothy 1:16
May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.

I was ashamed of myself today as I realized I had lost touch with a woman who lost her husband last year. When he died suddenly, I had every intention of reaching out, of staying in touch, of being present to my friend as she went through the grieving process. But I didn’t. And now it has been a year. What caused this lack of attention? I wasn’t ashamed of her pain, per se, but I was uncomfortable. Grief is palpable.

And then I thought of other women I have left to bear the chains of their sorrow, my dearest friend whose brother died suddenly in a car accident. I didn’t know what to say or do and so I did next to nothing. Another friend lost her husband to lung cancer and it was months before I even sat at table with her. She was bitter at the desertions, not unlike Paul who names Phygelus and Hermogenes [vs 15].

I have colleagues whose teen and twenty-something children have gotten caught up in dangerous and illegal circumstances that have put them in prisons and detention centers. I know these mothers sorrow and I know it is hard for them to talk about it. What am I doing to ease their pain?

Another blogger wrote of the isolation that comes from mental illness and how people fear it, not unlike an infectious disease. The very thing that is needed is an unfailing and understanding presence.

I know, I shy away from so many things I do not understand but I am caught short today by my frozen inaction. Even though I am not gifted in removing the chains of others, I can still give a cup of water and hold a hand. A pastor friend of mine once said that people in grief generally need little but someone sitting beside them. Talk is often unnecessary. But I am all about the talk and the words. Silence in a group is outside my comfort zone.

It’s back to phrases like “life is in the being not in the doing” or, we are human “beings” not human “doings.” Corny but all true. But all that “being” needs to be in a place, needs to be with others who are struggling with their current state of “being” and could use a little support, like Aaron and Hur holding up the arms of Moses [Exodus 8:12].

For all of those whose chains I ignored, I ask you to forgive me. May this day be a reminder and a call to be present in the lives of those around me, chains and all.

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Guardian of my Heart

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 28, 2011| 2 Comments »

Artwork by Jo Smith

My mother used to tell me that my name, Irmgarde, meant “guardian of the hearth,” which didn’t do much for me as I didn’t imagine myself a homemaker. In later years, I discovered, my name actually means “guardian of a small enclosure.” This is what God does for my heart too.

II Timothy 1:12b
. . . because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

Truthfully, I always think of that small enclosure around my set of close friends and family. I imagine a corral and I am standing at the gate, protecting them from harm, from predators. I am grateful that the Holy Spirit is standing just so at the entrance to my deepest places. This is my warrior King.

It’s part of our agreement. As I turn over my stuff and give God access to my closed places within, I am promised Presence.

We have a triune God (at minimum) to help us get a handle on the work that each entity might play: God, omnipotent and sovereign, manages the big picture (the life maps) while Jesus, the Redeemer, became human to empathize and experience life within the context of time and space and to create a Way to unite us with God by endowing us with the Holy Spirit who indwells any who will accept this arrangement, this gift, this promise, this mystery.

We are understood in all those arenas. . . . and probably more.

God embraces the surrendered soul. Jesus modeled surrender.

My challenge? To accept the paradox that surrender is security; surrender is strength; surrender is safety.

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Called to a Holy Life

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 27, 2011| 2 Comments »

Us. Not just Paul and not just Timothy, us. And just like those two followers of old, we can’t earn a place in the “holy club” either. If God has a purpose and a willingness, then there is also enough grace, because of the work of the Christ, we’re in. And all of this happens “outside of time.”


II Timothy 1:9
He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, . . .

I know this verse doesn’t really say “outside” of time, but Paul does write “before the beginning of time,” and I ask, what’s the difference? Because if something is before time, then it’s beyond the control and increments of time. It could be happening “now.” Call is not part of time. That’s amazing!

And if call is not part of time, then service to the Christ is also unhampered by the march of the years of my life. I can be used by God when I am 15 or 90. I can manifest the holy life for a minute, a day, or a lifetime. Those moments are not about me and more than likely, no one will necessarily point at my life’s work or example and say, “oh look, a holy life.” My holy life is in the hands of God’s purpose and grace.

I have skipped the previous verse that articulates the importance of suffering as a portion of the call. This aspect is always a challenge to me. Is suffering a testimony to holiness? I know there are some I can attest it’s true, friends who have walked the suffering pain of cancer and many to their death. Their courage and their abiding love for God during their illnesses humble me still today.

Is that time still to come? I don’t know. Will I choose with courage? If I can just hold on to one truth: suffering in time is finite while the holy life is eternal.

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