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Posts Tagged ‘way of Jesus’

Who Sent Me?

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

John 7:16
Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me…”

I’m not exactly sure why this phrase stuck in my mind. Well, that’s not the complete truth either.

Bottom line? I have been convicted somewhat that my writing is still motivated by that part of self that wants to be seen and heard…. to be appreciated, to be complimented, to be known.

The other part of self wants the words to be from “the one who sent me.”

Twins. They look alike but they have different goals and their fruit, the results, are dissimilar as well.

I believe each life has purpose: whether it is to touch a person who has lost feeling, to speak a truth to someone who was lost, to help someone rise again who has fallen, to love the loveless, to hold on to those who have let go, to nurture the weak, to enlighten those in a dark place, to right the wrongs, to hope for the hopeless, to stand when others have collapsed, to be open where others are closed, to honor the Truth.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said, “Go and tell this people…” [Isaiah 6:8-9a]

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Reputation is Mercurial

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , on June 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 7:12
Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.”

I used to think that it was critical to maintain a good reputation. But the more I think about it, the more I realize it is impossible to do. How my actions or words are interpreted and cannot be controlled? From one person’s perspective, my behavior may seem erratic, loud, insensitive. From another person’s perspective, I am charming, spontaneous, and entertaining.

I can only be true to myself and subordinated to a God who will guide me from within … if I listen and comply. But my compliance and faithfulness will not control reputation. There is comfort in doing what I believe is right, but I can’t expect my actions or words to be universally accepted or understood.

For many years, I have been tossed about by the wind of reputation. I have worried too much about the opinion of others. I have been a chameleon, hoping to adapt to every situation and person. I feared the talk behind my back, the looks, the sudden quiet when I walk into a room.

But I see now, it is time to stand. “My shield is God Most High…” [Psalm 7:10a] and that must be enough. And as I stand, I will look for the path, the way, that is laid out before me, and I will make every effort to only take a single stepping stone at a time. Each step will have its challenges… the adversarial winds, the tempting sirens, the sluggish heat. Other steps will bring joy, comfort, and confirmation that I am on the right path.

My reputation is in God’s hands. So be it.

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What is Sin?

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 19, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 5:14
Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

So, here was this man who had a fantastic miracle happen! After years and year on a mat, waiting for the waters to stir at the Pool of Bethsaida, Jesus came and healed him. Later, the man sees Jesus again. Was he astonished that Jesus admonished him? And what was his sin? We are not told what it was in this story.

But this story made me think about sin. Do we assume that because he was an invalid that he no longer sinned? Or was there a greater sin earlier in his life before he became bed-ridden? The implication here is that sin brings disasters into our lives.

For me, sin is a conscious act that I know is wrong or hurtful or law-breaking (either legal or divine). Sin begins in the mind and then is acted upon. There must be a decision or choice to sin. The problem comes when we know longer realize the acts are sinful. If we keep on sinning in a particular way, it becomes the norm. But there was a moment, a day, a time when the choice was new. It is important to find that kernel in our past.

There are always consequences to our thoughts and actions, whether good or bad. The consequences may not be immediate, but we are kidding ourselves if we don’t think they will happen. It’s the law of sowing and reaping. There is only one way to break this law and that is by grace that comes through the cross of Christ.

But before I can call on the work of Christ to block the reaping of my sins, I must face the reality of my sins. I must identify the sin. I must call it for what it is. And then I can I ask for the power of the cross to stand between me and those consequences.

Make me conscious today, O Lord my God, that I might lay the truth at your feet.

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Fish Not Figs

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , on June 15, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 6:8-9
Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

What would have happened if the boy would have had figs instead of fish? I think they would have feasted on lots of figs. God uses what we have and works the miracle with us. We are part of the miracle.

In Rob Bell’s Jesus Wants to Save Christians (p.32), he pulls this same idea from the 2nd of the ten commandments. The second commandment prohibits the creation of an image in the form of anything to represent God. This was primarily in contrast with the norm of that day of having “idols” that would help the people understand “what their god was and what their god was like.” But our God is seen through the people, his followers, the believers, his priests.

In I Peter 2:5, it says, “you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” And in I Corinthians 12:12, it is written, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.” We are Christ on earth now.

We are the ones who collect the fish, the bread, even the figs, and multiply them. We distribute them to those who don’t have what we have. We touch and our touch is healing. By telling our story, we are telling His story, because we are His.

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Way of a Sinner

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , on June 12, 2009| 2 Comments »

Psalm 1:1
Blessed is the man [or woman]
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.

Lately, it has become popular to use the phrase, “way of Jesus,” but here is the “other” way… the way of a sinner. Contemporary Christians don’t like using this term much. It somehow feels too old-fashioned. After all, what is a sinner anyway?

Most people envision a criminal who has broken the law, someone worthy of punishment like jail or public humiliation. A sinner is that other guy or gal who is an evildoer, a villain, a reprobate. In fact, if you look up sinner in a thesaurus, most of the synonyms are similar in nature… baddest of the bad, worst of the worse and so on. And so our natural tendency is to say to ourselves, “I’m not THAT bad.”

But on the way to becoming the baddest of the bad are the little things we overlook.

This morning I have been quite convicted. Here’s a list of my sins between 6 and 9 am: anger, impatience, pride, indulgence, lying, exaggeration, cataloging of my children’s wrongs, disillusionment, unkindness, and procrastination [see I Corinthians 13]. Pretty amazing for only 3 hours into a day.

The point is that all of us have a tendency to take the way of a sinner. It’s the wide road, not the narrow road [see Matthew 7:13-14]. It’s the path of least resistance. To go the way of Jesus is to step out of that other way. (If we don’t literally step out, we’ll be pulled along by all the others… you see, it’s crowded on the wider path.)

I believe if I can just take one or two steps off this wider way… even if I can’t find the narrow path at first, the Lord will help me. If I can just stop and wait before I speak… for it’s my mouth that gets me in trouble first [Proverbs 11:12]. If I can just trust God enough and tolerate the “unknown zone,” a way will be illumined.

OK, here goes. I’m stepping out. Who wants to come with me? [Matthew 18:20]

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Accepting Story

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , on June 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 3:33
The man [or woman] who has accepted it [his testimony] has certified that God is truthful.

Everyone has a story but until it is heard or accepted, it has no power. This is true for anything we hear, including gossip, television news, blog postings, sermons, chit-chat, memories, songs, entertainment, explanations and so on. It is really just a story until we integrate it into ourselves. There is a point of choice with everything we hear. We can accept the story and thereby validate it within or we can reject it. Once it is is integrated, it becomes our truth.

Unfortunately, we also fall prey to habit. We often accept a story as true without giving it much thought. Or, sometimes, we accept what we hear as true simply because of the source. The source may not always be authoritative, but we don’t like to question or investigate its authority. That takes effort and may shake up our norms.

One of the best tools I received from acting school was to ask questions of a story: both in speech and text. What does this mean? What are all the possibilities? How do I interpret these words? Why does this story touch me so deeply? What do I fear? Why do I care? Does this story resonant with me? Why? Who is telling this story? What is the point of this story?

Jesus told many stories. He told stories to teach concepts and he told stories to prepare fallow ground for truth. He told stories to break down barriers and he told stories to reveal himself to others. He told stories to explore the meanings of words like “kingdom of God” and “eternal life” and “forgiveness.” He told stories to explain his purpose on earth. He told stories to explain his identity.

It is possible to go through life and never accept or integrate Jesus story into our lives. But that did not happen to me. I decided 30 years ago to accept the stories that are recorded about Jesus and his message. I believe Jesus is who he says he is. I believe Jesus spoke true….both then and now.

As a result, my story is an expression of his story within me…. just as his story is an expression of God within him. This does not mean that I have stopped asking questions. In fact, if anything, I am asking more than ever. And His story prevails.

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For This One Act

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , on May 30, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 23:50-51
Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, … and he was waiting for the kingdom of God.

There is another story besides the one about Joseph of Arimathea that comes to mind, and that from Esther, when Mordecai says to her, “….and who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” [Esther 4:14] Both stories carry the same message for me: there may be only one moment that is our unique moment. There may be only one person who we must touch. The key is to be ready.

When I accepted Christ back in 1979, there was a young man who went to acting school with me. It turned out that he was a “closet Christian” (because he didn’t want anyone to know). In the end, everyone knew and particularly because of the conversations that he endured with me, my mocking of his faith and challenging his truths. And yet, it was this same young man who suggested I read the New Testament like a play script and put the words, “if this were true…” at the beginning of the text and take everything at face value until the end… only then, making decisions about what was true or not.

And I did just that. And I did read. And I did choose to follow the way of Jesus as a result. Whether there were or will be other moments of power for this man, I will never know. He left acting school at the end of that school year and went on with his life. But for that moment, he did what was needed…. what he was, perhaps, called to do: to tell his story to a callous, self-important, prideful young woman. And his story and his patience and his prayers, changed my life.

Joseph of Arimathea was there to provide a tomb. Esther was there to turn the heart of a king. And what about me? Or you? Has that defining moment come? Is there another? Am I ready?

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