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Posts Tagged ‘way of Jesus’

Always Looking for More

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

Luke 17:5-6
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you….”

We live in a “give me more” culture. We don’t seem happy with meeting our needs, but want more. So, now it’s normal for most houses to have at least 1 1/2 baths… if not two or even three. Most of us in the U.S. have more than one car in the family, and even three isn’t considered over the top. Each child must have his/her own car, ipod, cell phone, etc. Most homes have more than one television. Women have more than 50 pairs of shoes and sometimes, handbags. Often, there are two wage earners, and still it is not enough. We live just outside our income so that debt becomes the norm. When will it be enough?

In my work, we are always looking for more customers, more programs, more books. In my church, we are looking for more people to sit in the sanctuary, more ministries, more space, and more activities.

The disciples also asked for more. They asked for more faith. But Jesus chides them, saying if the faith they already had was just as a big as a mustard seed, it would be enough. It would move mountains. This is no different from the rest of our lives. If we cherished and nurtured the little things we had, we would discover how bountiful our lives really are … or could be.

Help me see and appreciate the mustard seeds in my life.

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Becoming Convinced

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , on June 30, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 8:25
“Who are you?” they asked. “Just what I have been claiming all along,” Jesus replied.

Just what does it take to be convinced of something? I mean, at what point, do we have that “aha” moment?

Many people of Jesus’s time never did “get it.” Why? He told them over and over who He was. He performed miracles. He spoke with authority. He was knowledgeable. He was kind. He was inclusive. He was loving. What was the stumbling block?

And today, if Jesus were to appear in our modern age, what would it take for people to believe? If he did miracles, everyone would focus on debunking them. If he spoke with authority, he would be questioned about his curriculum vitae. If he said he was God, he would be analyzed by a psychiatrist. If he had a television show, he would be critiqued. And, God forbid, what if wasn’t good-looking as politicians and entertainers have learned. Would he need a jingle or a mission statement? Would he need an agent? And what race would be acceptable to the world? Perhaps He would blog first and build a virtual following before He revealed himself?

Belief is a funny thing. It’s not always based on proof. In fact, the primary dimension of belief has nothing at all to do with what is logic or reasonable. Belief happens within. And if a person is cut off from his or her interior self, belief is not possible.

So far, the book of John is all about becoming convinced. “Is he really who he said he was.”

When I became convinced, it was 1979, and although I had lived a very “worldly” life that included lots of drugs, alcohol, sex, and self-absorption, his words reached through the fog and inside I knew. I just knew there was truth and I wanted it.

“… he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.” [John 8:23-24]

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Living Among the Dead

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , on June 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 24:5b
“…the men said to them [women at the tomb], “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

Albert Einstein has been attributed with saying that the definition of insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Perhaps today is good day for me to review what I am doing out of habit and yet, still expecting different results. Why do I have such trouble sustaining relationships? Why do I repeat myself over and over again to my children? Why am I heavier than I’d like to be? Why are we in so much debt? Why do I put too much on my “plate?”

I have been looking for living answers among the dead ones.

When Jesus disappeared from the tomb, everything changed. None of the old rules or the old ways would apply. He had told his disciples and followers that the day was coming. He had tried to prepare them, but they still weren’t ready. They couldn’t wrap their minds around the new way.

It’s time to change things up. It’s time to leave the tomb.

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What Just Happened

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , on June 26, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 7:45
Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

These were professional soldiers; they were sent to the outer courts of the temple to arrest Jesus. But apparently, something happened when they got there.

There is so much left out of the scriptures. We’ll never know what teaching of Jesus thwarted their plans. We’ll never know how many guards were sent. We’ll never know if their hearts were permanently changed. But we do know they started with one mandate and once they encountered Jesus, their orders were tossed aside. When they returned to the priests, they couldn’t even articulate what he had said, just that they had never heard anyone speak like that.

I believe God is speaking like this every day, but we fail to take in His words or His message. Perhaps we do listen while we are present with Him, but then, we go about our day as though nothing special happened. There is even a scripture that captures that phenomenon: “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” [James 1:23-24]

Keep me mindful today. Keep me sensitized to the voice of Jesus within.

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Letter of the Law

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

John 8:4-5
“…and [they] said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”

This is a very familiar passage from scripture where Jesus thwarts the efforts of the teachers of the law and the Pharisees who want to trap him into speaking against and/or breaking the law. If they could catch him publicly, they could justify arresting him, etc.

They probably didn’t know that Jesus had already said and taught: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” [Matthew 5:17] But he was a teacher, a rabbi, who was teaching a “new way.”

Jesus never denied that the woman caught in adultery should be stoned. It was, indeed, the law. He was known for his words of mercy, grace and forgiveness and they expected him to “forgive her.” Instead, this became an excellent example of how the law can look through the lens of mercy. Jesus tells the crowd that the punishment can begin, but should begin with that person who is without sin, that person who has not broken any of the laws. There were none. The crowd dispersed and the letter of the law was not exacted. The woman was given a chance to change… Jesus did not release her without first telling her to “leave your life of sin.”

For me, one implication here is that her sin would eventually kill her if she persisted… the law would be fulfilled.

But the greater message is that many of us are still in a crowd looking, with righteous indignation, for sinners to get their just reward. We must be more careful; the fulfillment of the law may look different than we expect.

Jesus put sins and lawbreaking into one great big pile. One sin was no worse than another. Breaking a “little law” was no different than breaking a “big law.”

Today, help me see others with the eyes of Jesus. Help me think first before I act. Help me to consider more carefully the behavior of others and ask myself, “how would I hope to be treated” if I was doing the same thing? Help me temper my tendency to judge others with the mercy of Christ.

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Eye of the Needle

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on June 24, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Matthew 19:24
“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

That’s us, the rich man. I don’t think we want to hear that, but it’s true. I’m reading Rob Bell’s “Jesus Wants to Save Christians,” and found a list of disturbing facts. Here are just a few:

  • The U.S. consumes 20 million barrels of oil a day. (Next in line is China, 5.6 million barrels a day.)
  • America controls 20% of the world’s wealth with only about 5% of the world’s population.
  • Every 7 seconds, somewhere in the world a child under age 5 dies of hunger while Americans throw away 14% of the food we purchase.
  • Nearly 1 billion people in the world live on less than one American dollar a day.
  • More than half of the world lives on less than $2 a day, while the average American teenager spends nearly $150 a week.
  • 40% of people in the world lack basic sanitation while 49 million diapers are used and thrown away in America every day.
  • 1.6 billion people in the world have no electricity.
  • Most people in the world do not own a car; one-third of American families own 3 cars.
  • One in seven children worldwide has to go to work every day just to survive.
  • Americans spend more annually on trash bags than nearly half of the world does on all goods

I’m only saying: we’re the rich man. All of us. So, how will you get through the eye of the needle to enter the Kingdom of God?

I am counting on the mercy and grace of Christ. That’s it. There is no other way.

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Fear of False Teaching

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

John 7:28
Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him,…”

In the past I have worried a great deal about false teaching. I knew there was a lot of it and I was afraid I would get sucked into the wrong way if the teacher appeared to be really smart and spoke with sincerity, authority, and used the Bible to substantiate the teaching. Jesus said, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” [Matthew 7:15] I was afraid I would be fooled by the sheep’s clothing.

Today, I had a simple epiphany: false teaching can be recognized if one knows the Source.

If I know what God has taught me, if I understand what I have read, if I spend time in prayer and meditation, if I remember how God has touched my life in the past, then I will recognize God’s hand upon a teacher.

It’s similar to knowing a friend or family member. If someone would tell a bad story about a friend, but I know that friend well, I can determine whether it’s true or false. If I know that person’s character, I know that some things are simply outside the realm of possibility. Oh sure, people can act differently than their normal character, but those actions would have to be provoked by a profound change or external pressures.

The really sad part is that we don’t always know people very well. Sometimes it’s because people are not transparent; they don’t want to be known. And so, by all appearances, their behavior is unpredictable; their character is unformed in the eyes of the world. But sometimes, it’s our fault: we don’t take the time to know the very people we care about in our lives. We don’t listen. We don’t look. We make assumptions. If we treat God the same way as we treat our acquaintances, we will make false assumptions about God as well.

God’s character does not change. We are encouraged to know Him. He shows Himself every day. He shows Himself in scripture. He shows himself in nature. He shows himself in the light. He shows himself in love.

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” [Matthew 11:29-30]

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