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Posts Tagged ‘Jesus’

The Way

Posted in Advent, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 4, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 19:9a
But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way…

“The Way” is an old term that appears several times in the New Testament referring to following Jesus (way of Truth, way of righteousness, etc.). It’s a simple phrase that speaks powerfully of direction. If someone says to me, “here’s the way,” I understand it’s a type of revelation or discovery of the path that will lead me to the right end point. Either this “way” has to be clearly marked (like a trail in the woods) or a leader needs to show the way. And if I come to a fork in the road, I must determine or decide, “which way” is best or shorter or more scenic or safer.

Some of the post-moderns and emergents have adopted this term, describing their faith as “the way of Jesus.” This, they use, as an alternative to “Christian,” which now seems to carry a lot of extra baggage that is not necessarily related to following Jesus alone, e.g. political, economic, and social assumptions.

I also like the phrase because it reminds me that I am on a journey. Following the Christ is a process, a way of living, a string of encounters and learning. I think some Christians do a disservice to new believers by putting so much emphasis on the destination (heaven) and not enough emphasis on the path itself.

Being on the Way with Jesus is an adventure. I have never appreciated that truth as much as I have in the last few years. It makes so much more sense to invite people to join me on this exploration, to walk with me and run with me and discover with me what it means and what it takes to stay on the path together. And if there are “lions and tigers and bears” along the way, we can do battle side by side. And if one grows weary and falls, the other can lift her up. And if one becomes ill, the other can stay alongside until help comes. And if one is blind, the other can see. And if one becomes discouraged and tries to turn back or take another path, the other can say, “Come, this Way.”

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Is It Safe?

Posted in Advent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on December 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Really, aren’t there a lot of things that any one of us would do if we knew we would be safe?

Acts 18:9a
And one night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Have no fear… ”

Paul stayed in Corinth over a year and a half because of his vision. He held onto the promise of safety and moved forward with it. He had total confidence in God and in the words he heard spoken in the night.

I base so many of my choices on the fear/safety ratio, and not just physical harm but emotional harm as well. Will I be embarrassed? Will I fail? Will there be someone here who is smarter, stronger, quicker than me? Will I be exposed? Are there people here who look like they might hurt me? Is this place too dark… too loud… too chaotic? Is this situation similar to another situation where I was hurt before? Is there too much change? Is this happening differently than I expected? What if … what if… what if…?

Of course, there are times that everyone should be vigilant. I am not suggesting that we should walk blindly into truly dangerous circumstances or situations without wisdom and common sense. And yet, is it possible that we judge the level of danger too quickly? Is it possible we allow fear to drive us away from someone or something important?

Hundreds of times, scripture tells us not to be afraid, that God is with us. Isn’t this where confidence starts?

What is stronger…. my fear or my trust in God’s safety promise?

Lots of questions today. The key to all of the answers is our confidence in God… “If God is for us, who can be against us?” [Romans 8:31] That means all of my circumstances are in God’s hands… the ones that feel or seem dangerous as well as those that are completely benign.

It is my interpretation of people, places and things that gives them power to make me feel unsafe. If I put all things through the filter of the Holy Spirit, the picture changes. I can actually choose to feel safe.

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This Time, This Place

Posted in Advent, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 30, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 17:26b
…and he [God] determined the times set for them [people of the Earth] and the exact places where they should live.

If I could get it deeply rooted in my heart and mind that this is my time and this is my place then I believe I would flourish. My petty complaints and resistance are my stumbling blocks. It’s not that complicated.

I am a woman. I am living in America, born in the latter part of the 20th century to immigrant parents. My mother lost four other children; I survived. I am healthy and whole. I am strong. I am intelligent. I have many gifts and talents.

I met Jesus, the Christ of my soul, in a real and powerful way in my late twenties.

I am ordained to live in this time and place. I am ordained to walk this life now, whether with ease or troubles. This is my time. This is my place. I have a purpose here.

When Paul was stunned by God on the road to Damascus, he heard a voice say, “…It is dangerous and turns out badly for you to keep kicking against the goads [to keep offering vain and perilous resistance].” [Acts 26:24, Amplified] God wants to work with us but it is we ourselves who resist.

I choose to accept the now. As Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord…” [Luke 1:38a]

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Saved from What?

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on November 23, 2009| 2 Comments »

Acts 16:30
He [the jailer] then brought them [Paul & Silas] out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Paul, Silas, and the other prisoners could have escaped when the “earthquake” came, their prison doors opened, and their chains came loose. The jailer was about to commit suicide when Paul called out to stop him. Why was the jailer about to fall on his sword? He knew, like the guards who were killed when Peter miraculously escaped, that he would be flogged and probably killed. He feared for his own life.

I believe the jailer was asking about being saved from his fate at the hands of the magistrates. He did not expect the answer to be “faith in Christ Jesus.”

I used to dislike this question, “Are you saved?” I’d heard too many people answer, “saved from what?” And then the typical “Christian” response was “saved from eternal damnation… hell, fire & brimstone.” But really, if a person doesn’t believe or know about the Christ, is he or she going to be concerned about hell?

No, I believe a person who is truly ready to be “saved” will know what that word means in his/her own life. There will be no need for explanation. In fact, like the jailer, the person may be looking for a solution. It could be a need for salvation from physical illness or anticipated physical harm, or a crushing emotional situation, or a dire mistake that might place the person in jail, or a relationship that has gone bad, or futility or despair or fear… any of these will bring a person to the brink of struggle and need.

There is no point throwing a life preserver to someone who’s not in the water. Sometimes a person needs to be drowning before he/she will ask for help. Sometimes a person knows he/she can’t swim and asks for help right away. Another person, who knows how to swim, will try to swim to shore first, but then grow very tired and weak before asking for help. Does it matter when the moment comes?

I imagine that Jesus knew and recognized those “saving” moments in the people he touched. As followers of Christ, we must learn to recognize and respond to the signals. It is part of the helping profession to offer assistance but no one usually accepts help until he/she is ready.

In the meantime, what is my role? Walk and love authentically among the people. Be available and ready to help. Tell my story. Be in the moment. Go to the drowning places. There’s no point walking around with a life preserver if we never go near the water.

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Resurrection Starting Point

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 10, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 13:30
But God raised him from the dead…

God raising Jesus from the dead is pretty much the starting point.

This miracle part of the Jesus story is essential to the faith. None of it quite works if this part didn’t happen. Otherwise, it’s all smoke and mirrors.

I mean, if he didn’t die at all and just pretended to be raised from the dead, that would pretty much go against everything else Jesus had ever taught or said. He would be a charlatan and we would all be fools.

If Jesus died and that was the end of the story, then that’s exactly what would have happened: the end of the story. The story lives because Messiah Jesus lives. And what about all those witnesses? They all lied? That doesn’t exactly go with the teaching either. What would be the point of promoting a lie so that you could teach people to love each other, share with one another and ultimately, not lie?

Nope, I’ve never had trouble with any of the miracles. Once I accepted the idea of God in Christ, then I figured anything could happen. If people can be raised from the dead, then people can be healed. If people can be raised from the dead, then a virgin can have a baby. If people can be raised from the dead, then blind people can see, deaf people can hear, and crippled people can walk. If people can be raised from the dead, then criminals can be forgiven and turn their lives around. If people can be raised from the dead, I can be whole.

If we start with the miracles, then our lives become a miracle as well.

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Really Full or Ready to Empty?

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

Acts 13:9-10a
Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil…”

This incident happened on the initial leg of Paul’s first missionary journey in Cyprus. Apparently, it is on this journey that Saul changes his name to Paul, which historians surmise he did to be more accessible to the Greeks. And it is here that he and Barnabas encounter a sorcerer named Elymas who opposed them when they sought to speak to the proconsul that Elymas had been serving up until then.

But what is of greater interest to me is this phrase about Paul being “filled with the Holy Spirit.” As far as I can tell, this particular phrase, or ones similar to it, are only mentioned a dozen times in the New Testament. And yet, this is a phrase that many contemporary Christians (particularly Charismatics and Pentecostals) bandy about as a frequent experience marked with outward expressions like tongues, laughing, shaking, and the like. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying these expressions of the Spirit are not authentic, I’m just not sure they represent being “filled” as in filled to overflowing.

I think that true fullness would, by its very nature, pour out on others. Most of the “filled” examples in scripture are followed with a time of emptying by speaking and prophesying, literally speaking for God. Anything else is probably less than full. I just think we have diminished the impact of what it means to experience the Holy Spirit in this way.

I have used the phrase myself. But now, I think I have been merely touched by Holy Spirit. Whatever experience I had was just a breath of the Spirit compared to being filled. There is so much more. If a person is actually filled to overflowing, something happens… something changes. Power is exercised and by its very nature, it is according to the direction of God for the sake of another. Someone else is changed, not so much the person who is filled.

I am ashamed to say but I believe I have sought these “infillings” for myself and not for others at all. Oh, it sounds so pious, to seek the Holy Spirit and to go deeper into the things of God. But really, isn’t the whole point of my faith supposed to be to touch others?

So many traditional church folks are afraid of the “postmodern” movement because it is so inclusive and yet, there is one thing the emergents and postmoderns have over a lot of the other Christians… they “get” the “relationship” message. They are loving and serving others as a natural outpouring of their faith and their walk “in the way of Jesus.” They are living with and serving the poor and the unlovely. They are not trying to get more filled… they are trying to empty. They are pouring themselves out for others.

Clearly, I am still holding on too tightly to what I have. I am afraid to empty myself because I don’t really trust God to keep me filled. Forgive me.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

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Running from God

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

Acts 12:23
Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

I think God was trying to reach Herod. First, God put it upon John the Baptist to declare against Herod and ultimately, to put himself in danger by discrediting Herod. John was put in Herod’s prison for some time and yet, the implication is that Herod spent time listening to John [Mark 6:20]. Something was stirring but Herod could not grab on to it.

Herod preferred making decisions and pontificating in a group. He enjoyed the adulation but I think he was a a type of chameleon who observed the people and adjusted himself accordingly. I think he was a fearful man who did not like being alone. He was wooed by the words and opinions of others. It was his fear of the people that ultimately led to the beheading of John.

Herod even met Jesus face to face… but again, in a group setting. I think Herod was afraid of Jesus but found strength in the mockeries of others. He had an opportunity to encounter the Christ … but he chose unwisely. He sent Jesus away.

I’m sure Herod knew that the miracle of Peter’s escape from the jail, was just that, a miracle. And so he ran from Judea and went to Caesarea, his father’s creation, a city to commemorate Caesar, a pagan city with “a deep sea harbor and built storerooms, markets, wide roads, baths, temples to Rome and Augustus, and imposing public buildings. Every five years the city hosted major sports competitions, gladiator games, and theatrical productions.” [wikipedia]

Herod was more comfortable here. There were few, if any, reminders of his heritage or the constant knocking of God upon his heart.

In the end, Herod could not run anymore. Under the adoration of the people there and their proclamations that he spoke like a god and not like a man, this is what Herod really wanted: to be a god. And so the one true God finally took direct action against Herod and afflicted him with some kind of parasite and Herod died, probably in agony. He ran and ran until he could not run anymore.

I wonder what would have happened if anywhere along the way, Herod had stopped running and took hold of the altar horns, metaphorically speaking, and asked for God’s mercy. What then? But like Pharaoh of old in the time of Moses, his heart was hardened.

What is God speaking into my heart today? Have I closed off his voice? No more running Lord. Speak, your servant is listening.

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