SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY

Blog

  • Holiday Anxiety

    I always find it interesting how the holidays – the times that are meant to bring joy and excitement – often bring the most anxiety.  Do we have the right gift?  Have we remembered everyone?  When will we put up the decorations?  How many Christmas parties do I have this week?  How much more do I have to cook?  How much can I eat and still fit into my clothes?

    All of these questions and more bring us to a place of anxiety and prevent us from really enjoying this time.  Christmas should be a time of joy.  It should be a time of celebration and a time with the family.  It should even be a time of giving.  But we seem to be missing something in it all.  How did it become so stressful?  When did we get so caught up in all of the commercialism that we forget how to really even enjoy Christmas?

    Maybe it begins with a shift.  Maybe we begin to shift how WE celebrate Christmas.  Maybe we don’t wait for someone else to change, but we begin to change.  How about this Christmas, instead of buying for those who already have, and cooking for those who are full…we instead give to those who do not have and cook for those who are hungry?  Maybe the key is that we stop trying to make those who have plenty happy and start trying to help those who do not have at all.  It could be that our giving is misplaced and we should consider how to give differently.

    Now I understand this isn’t a new thought or concept.  Yet, I don’t really see anything change.  When I study the life of Jesus, he reached out to those who were the outcasts of society.  He loved those who were considered unlovable.  He touched those who were forgotten.  He fed those who were hungry.  He didn’t give to those who already had.  And yet when we celebrate his birthday, we give to those who already have?  Something seems out of sorts.  And that may be why holidays bring so much anxiety.

    This Christmas, may we begin to live as Christ – celebrate his birth doing what he did…Loving, feeding, giving…all to those who had none.

  • Cloudy Mirrors

    Mirrors can be powerful instruments.  They can help us to see ourselves as we get ready to meet the world.  They can help us to identify our “trouble areas” and see where we might need to work on things.  There is a problem though.  It would seem that too many of us have cloudy mirrors.  We do not actually see our real reflection.  We instead see what we want to see staring back in the mirror.

    How can that be?  We seem to have no trouble seeing others.  We seem to have no problem making judgments about other people…the way they dress, the way they did their hair, the way they carry themselves.  We have no trouble identifying others imperfections.  And often, we wonder if they looked in the mirror before they walked out of the house.  We wonder if there mirror was more than cloudy.  After all…we would never leave the house looking like THAT.

    But maybe it’s not our mirror at all that is the problem.  I don’t think it is our eyesight.  That can be a problem as we age, but I’m thankful for glasses to help us along.  I don’t think it is the size of our mirror or where it is in our house.  The problem is with us.

    There is a Bible verse that has always been difficult for me.  It is in the book of James, chapter 1.  James is writing how believers should be people of action, be a part of the game…not just sitting on the sidelines waiting for others to do the work.  That’s a difficult enough statement.  But, he continues to say that those who sit on the sidelines are like those who see themselves in a mirror.  When they walk away, they immediately forget what they look like.  As I have read this scripture, I always thought…how does someone forget what they look like.  Sometimes we might want to forget what we look like…we all have those “rough” days.  But, how do we forget?

    And it dawned on me…That’s the answer…that’s how our view in the mirror becomes so skewed.  We can be so focused on what other people are doing (or not doing)…we can be constantly criticize or judge…we can point out the faults of everyone else… That we forget who we are…or we create this image of how good or bad we are that isn’t even real.  We forget that we are to be people who are of action.  We forget to take a good long look at ourselves and what we are doing.  If we, as Christians, spent as much time working for God…focusing on what he wants us to do…rather than being critical of everyone around us…we might actually see change happen.

    That image in the mirror might actually become clearer.  We might see the beautiful creation made and fashioned by God staring at us in the mirror.  And that beautiful creation is not only fashioned by God, but created for a purpose.  Our purpose is not to judge everyone else…but rather to do as we are called and created.

    It is true that we can only change ourselves…and to change the world, it begins with me.  Maybe today, I wipe that mirror clean and begin to take a long, hard look at me.  How has God created and fashioned me to do his work?  What am I doing for him?  How am I living?  What message am I sending?  How am I loving my neighbor?  How am I living out what Jesus taught?

    May we stop at the mirror today, truly see ourselves as beautiful and created by God, and walk away serving others… Loving God and loving our neighbor…regardless of what they look like.

  • Put down your stone…a call to Christians

    It is the day after the Presidential Election.  We are a nation divided.  The narrow victory certainly tells many stories about how our country feels.  There has been so much divisiveness and dissension.  It has been a time of turmoil as we have watched candidates debate, argue, and even fist fight.  With such a narrow victory, the next president certainly has his work cut out for him to unite this country.  That is all stating the obvious.

    What is also obvious is the underlying current of hate and anger that has been simmering and occasionally spewing to the top.  There has been name calling and people made to feel belittled for supporting one candidate or the other.  There have been phrases like…if you vote for ____, then you are just stupid (or an idiot or whatever other negative connotation you can come up with).  Phrases like…you can’t possibly be a Christian and vote for _____.  Or, who in their right mind would vote for _____.  Honestly, it has felt more like being on the playground in middle school than being adults “debating” the issues for the future of our country.  It definitely is a sign that many Americans lack the basic skill of effective communication and instead, lean towards bullying and fear mongering.

    The most disheartening of it all for me is that much of this hate, anger, belittling, and casting of fear has come from my Christian brothers and sisters.  On social media, on the TV, in ads, and in person, one cannot tell if a person is a Christian or not by actions or by their love.  I have heard just as many negative comments and hateful spewing from Christians as from anyone else.  And since Jesus wasn’t running (or anyone who even resembles his actions or values), there should not have been a “Christian vote.”  Since the vote was nearly 50/50, that would suggest that there are Christians who love the Lord with all their heart on BOTH sides.  What a concept.  It has been difficult to see the love of Christ show up in anything that has been done over the last few months.  Apparently when the heat is turned up, Christians don’t seem to react any different than anyone else…and that is painful and sad.

    So, the election is over (and we all say a collective THANK GOD).  But damage has been done.  Christians, it is time for us to drop the stones that we have been casting and find unity.  We must find a way to come together as God’s people to do God’s work REGARDLESS of who is president or whether or not we voted for him.  For me, it starts with humility, looking to Christ as my guide.  We must seek forgiveness, both from God for the way we have acted, and from our neighbors for the stones that have been cast.  We must turn our hearts and minds to Christ and to LOVING OTHERS.   We cannot join hands in this world while holding stones.  We cannot offer a helping hand or help a brother or sister up while carrying the stones.  We cannot be the hands and feet of Christ while burdened down with our anger and fear and hatred.  We have to drop it all in surrender to the ONE that can bring us together.  Regardless of whether or not this country unites, Christians are called to be different, to act different, and to love different.

    Brothers and Sisters, may we drop our stones today seeking forgiveness, joining hands with our neighbors in love and unity, and moving forward doing the work of Christ.  If you are looking for a change in this country…this is where it really begins…

    And may it begin with me.

     

  • Even in the storm…

    As I sit here by the light of my oil lantern, I am reminded of my childhood.  When the lights would go out, my mom would light the lantern and that light would fill the whole room.  As a kid, it was kind of exciting to have a house without electricity…at least for a little while.  It was like an adventure – something completely new…sleeping bags and all.  As an adult, it’s not as fun as I remember it.  Today, I sit here without electricity by that same oil lantern – flickering and filling the room with valuable light.  But, today I think about the storm that is raging outside.  I think of the groceries in my refrigerator and freezer that will go bad in a few hours if the electricity doesn’t come back on.  I think of the damage that is happening as the hurricane sweeps over our land.  I see the spot on my ceiling indicating that I have a leak in my roof.  I am reminded of many of my church members that are alone, in the dark, without family.  I am reminded of those who are experiencing flooding in their homes and all of their belongings being destroyed.  And I sit here helpless.  I can’t do anything about any of it.  The excitement of an adventure of my childhood has become a nightmare of my adulthood.

    As I sit here by the flicker of the light, I am reminded that God is still in control.  In my fears, in my worries, in my disappointments…God is still God.  As I sit here, I realize that the things of this world are always fleeting…they are always wasting away.  Nothing is forever that is material.  My home, my belongings, my yard, my cars…all wasting away.  The storm doesn’t change that.  The storm does remind me that the one thing that doesn’t change is God’s love for me.  He is still watching over me.  He is still providing for those scared church members.  He is with those who are working in these dangerous conditions.  Where I am at a loss, God is not.  There are no surprises to HIM.  So, tonight, as I put out the light that I have remembered since childhood, I do so to rest knowing that God’s got this.  I may not understand it.  I may not be able to fix it.  I may be without the material things that I have come to find comfort in.  But, in all of that, God has not left me.  He does understand it.  He is able to fix it.  And, he reminds me that just like he provides for the sparrows, he provides for me.  Tonight, I lay my head down peacefully – even in the midst of the storm – hearing HIM say, “My Peace I give to you…not as the world gives…do not let your hearts be troubled…do not let them be afraid. (John 14)”

  • Not a “know it all”

    Some things are just hard to explain.  They go beyond words.  I can tell my children I love them, but in reality, how much I love them goes beyond explanation.  People ask me all the time why I enjoy running so much – that it seems like torture.  I can’t really explain it except to have you actually start running.  I have found that there are experiences in my life that I have had that go beyond explanation.  Something as simple as watching a sunrise to eating a fresh tomato grown in a garden to listening to birds sing in a world of chaos.  There are so many experiences that we can’t really explain…but when we have them, we just want to show somebody and have them experience it too.  Sometimes we may try to capture those moments in pictures – but a sunrise never looks the same through a lens like it does through the experience.

    In our lives of faith, we have feelings like that…I feel like God is really working on me or I feel like I am not doing what God has called me to do…or I know God is with me and I can feel his presence.  All of these are really indescribable experiences – we just know them and we don’t know why.  We want to hold on to them…we may write about them, we may take pictures, we may tell someone – but nothing really captures the essence of what is going on.

    Jesus seems to be telling the Jews that had gathered with him that day something along those lines.  They want it plain and simple.  They want it the way that is easiest for them.  Jesus has something to say about that.

    John 10:22-30

    They want to know if Jesus is the Messiah – plain and simple.  Give it to us, Jesus.  They could have been curious or could have been looking for something to accuse him.  That would have been considered blasphemy – and remember that is brought back up at his trial.  Jesus doesn’t give them a simple yes or no answer though.  Why?  Because something this big – something this powerful goes beyond explanation – it isn’t as simple as they want – and even if he gave it to them, they wouldn’t get it.  Jesus doesn’t answer many questions directly, though.  His call and what he is all about is so much bigger than words.  He points them to his actions.  He does what he does because that is what the Father has called him and sent him to do.

    This should have been enough for them – but wasn’t.  Jesus tells them that it is because they are NOT his sheep.  His sheep know his voice and follow him.  He has already said that he is the good shepherd.  His sheep follow him.

    That could seem like a harsh statement – except keep in mind that there were many during Jesus’ time that didn’t want to be part of his sheep and didn’t care what kind of shepherd he was.  They didn’t want to know him or follow him.  He is revolutionary.  He isn’t comfortable.  He isn’t what they have been doing when it comes to religion.  He breaks the rules – he makes people squirm – he completely changes everything they have ever known.  He has statements that include loving God and loving others – these are statement that they knew really well and thought they knew how to follow.  But, Jesus is showing them that they don’t.  Jesus shows them that loving others includes feeding and clothing and caring for and visiting.  He shows them that loving others is not about condemnation but about outreaching arms.  He makes them uncomfortable.  They probably could care less that he says they aren’t his sheep.  They think they are good just the way they are.

    But, for those who are his sheep…he has something for them.  This loving and caring business…this getting uncomfortable and going against the established religion…this doing something completely different…all leads to something extraordinary.

    Jesus says that his sheep…they hear him, they know him, and they follow him.  None of these things are simple to grasp.  None of these things are plain or easy.  All of these are indescribable.  If I ask you if you have ever heard Jesus, I will likely get a variety of answers.  Some of you will say…well not audibly – but yes.  Some will say, of course I have.  Some might say they don’t know what in the world I am talking about.  If I ask someone outside of the faith, outside the church, they may think I have lost my mind…do I mean Jesus, a person they go to school with?  If I tell you I have heard Jesus calling – I can’t describe that.  I just know it.  I can’t explain it – can’t tell you what his voice sounds like – can’t tell you why – all I can tell you is that I have.

    We have the opportunity to know about him because we have the scriptures.  The Bible is a window into who he is.  This doesn’t describe God fully.  It doesn’t give us complete explanations of anything.  I can tell you to read and you can read all about him.  But that doesn’t mean you know him any more than when you started.  That takes faith.  It takes a faith that God inspired this Word and that it is for our instruction and direction.  It is alive in that it is still applicable today.  But, it doesn’t answer all of our questions.  Some things are left to faith and knowing the Shepherd.  The more I hear him, the more I know him.  How is that possible?  Well, that’s not easy to explain.

    It also says that his sheep follow him.  Following Christ often means making some really difficult choices.  It often means leaving behind the comforts of this world to really love.  It often means leaving behind familiarities to follow.  Being a follower of Christ may mean pushing you to your very limits…and then beyond into the realm of where God works.  I can’t tell you what your calling is.  I can possibly tell you what gifts you exhibit if I spend time with you.  But, I can’t tell you how God wants to use those gifts.  I can’t tell you how that will look in the future.  I can’t tell you anything except what it means for me to follow.  I know what that looks like for me. I can’t explain what following is except to say that I follow because I heard him call.

    Now for the good news…For those who are called by him…for those who hear his voice, and know him, and follow him…there is great joy.  He promises eternal life – never perishing.  He promises that he has a grasp on us that is an eternal grasp.  No one will be able to snatch us out of his grasp.  We may not grasp him, but he sure has a grasp on us!  As if that is not enough, to be grasped by Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is to be grasped by God the Father.  Jesus and the Father are unified…in words and deeds.  And God has a hold on us with a mighty grip that will carry us through the most difficult storms and lift us up in the most terrifying times.  His grip isn’t there because of who we are but because of who he is.  Praise him that his grip is forever.

    How do I know?  Jesus says it.  You may say that this is not enough explanation.  I will remind you that we are but humans…we are loved, we are held…but we don’t have to get it.  We just have to live it.  May we live it together.

  • Have you heard? Did you know? And other phrases to avoid…

    Why is it that people are often more attracted to gossip than to encouragement?  Why is it that someone gossiping seems to bring a whole group together?  It makes people want to know more…it makes them curious about exactly what’s been going on…it makes their imagination go wild with possibilities of what the situation really could have been like.  If someone doesn’t have much going on, they are considered boring…but take someone who is struggling or there is trouble and people swarm like bees.  It seems to be almost addictive.  Have you heard?  Did you know?  Someone told me something the other day…I’m not sure if it is true or not, but… And we are off to the races trying to figure out what might be going on…or at least what the latest is.

    When will we learn that gossip hurts?  When will we figure out that it divides?  When will we discover that what we say…even if it is true has the power to build up or to tear down?  And when will it become evident that we spend way too much time tearing down?! All the way back in the time the Book of James was written, this was addressed.  In the Book of James, Chapter 3, it reads:

    “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” (NIV Version)

    So James says the tongue cannot be tamed and is full of deadly poison.  Does that mean that we just give up and keep on gossiping?  Does it mean we wallow in the poison and spread it on?  Does it mean we take great pride in spreading the most poison?

    As Christians, it seems to me that we are called to live differently.  And that doesn’t mean to gossip more than anyone else.  It seems to me that our differences should be based on living by the Holy Spirit.  Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday.  It is the time that the church celebrates and remembers the coming of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit lives in believers, leading and guiding them in obedience to follow Christ.  The Holy Spirit provides comfort and conviction.  And, the Holy Spirit can help us to keep our mouth shut when that is the best thing to do. The problem is that we listen to what is going on around us rather than listening to the leading of the Lord that is within us.

    If we, as Christians, are going to really make a difference…if we are going to show real love…if we are going to come together as the Children of God…we must learn to watch our words.  We have to find out that real love means that we don’t participate in gossip.  We must learn that there is not a place for judgment among believers (that’s God’s place) but a whole lot of room for love.  Love and gossip cannot exist together.  Following Christ means we hop off the gossip train and join those who stand firm in service.  We can never be united when we spend our time talking about our brothers and sisters.  May we learn to keep our mouths shut, our ears open to the leading of the Lord, our hearts full of his love, and our hands open to serve.

    Imagine what might happen if we started praising instead of criticizing.  What might happen if we started encouraging rather than hurting?  What might it be like if our words were filled with love for God and love for one another?  It just might change the world.  May it begin with me.

  • What’s my church?

    Riding with my oldest daughter to school means that I have the opportunity to hear country music.  I can’t say that I am a big fan, but it is okay for the drive.  She really enjoys hearing her favorites so I tolerate it.  Today, though, a song that bothered me came on.  She knew every word to it – but as I listened – I had a hard time wrapping my arms around what the artist was singing.  I expressed my concern – I can only imagine that she was thinking…why can’t I have a normal Dad that just sings along rather than analyzing every song that comes on?  This song has really made me think…

    So the song is by Maren Morris, My Church.  I even watched the YouTube video to get the whole “experience” of the song.  The chorus goes like this:

    “Can I get a hallelujah

    Can I get an amen

    Feels like the Holy Ghost running through ya

    When I play the highway FM

    I find my soul revival

    Singing every single verse

    Yeah I guess that’s my church”

     

    And one of the verses:

    “When Hank brings the sermon

    And Cash leads the choir

    It gets my cold coal heart burning

    Hotter than a ring of fire

    When this wonderful world gets heavy

    And I need to find my escape

    I just keep the wheels rolling, radio scrolling

    Until my sins wash away”

    The video has a choir singing as she drives away from the church, after smoking on the front steps – not actually being in the church.  A choir, a hallelujah, a reference to church and the Holy Ghost…what could be wrong?

    It certainly brings up the idea of the purpose of church.  What is church?  Does listening to the radio playing old country songs constitute church?  The writer of the song certainly uses all the references to a traditional church.  She mentions revival, singing, the sermon, a burning heart, a ring of fire, and sins being washed away…not to mention praises of hallelujah and amen.  It reminds me of when people say they can have “church” while fishing…or doing any other activity that makes them happy.  She brings nostalgic familiar words to something not often associated with the church.

    If church is about us – about the people – about those who are there to feel better and find an escape from the world – then maybe Morris is on to something.  If church is really about us and getting a good feeling and just helping people out along the way…then maybe that is church.

    But, what if church isn’t about us at all?  What if church isn’t about you and me finding a place that makes us happy?  What if church isn’t about what we get out of it?  What if church is about a community of believers coming together to worship a Holy God?  What if the purpose of church is to worship…together…the only ONE who deserves worship?

    I’m not saying riding in a car, singing along to your favorite music, letting the worries of the day go by is a bad thing.  I am saying that this isn’t church.  Church is so much more than you and me…Church is about worship – a group of broken people coming before a Holy God…redeemed, set free, and sent out to be more like HIM.

  • Who’s the best?

    Who’s the best?  That’s a thought that often runs through the minds of so many in our competitive society.  Our culture seems to be one of comparison – who has the best, who does this the best, that person did that better than you.  In some situations, competition is great and necessary.  You want the best players on a basketball team.  You want the best athletes in the Olympics.  You want the best taking care of you medically.  But, sometimes this gets out of control.

    If our world is about competition, then we are constantly in a comparison game.  Why don’t I run better than he does?  Why doesn’t my hair look like hers?  Why is their house bigger than mine?  Why does he play the piano so much better than I do?  This is a no win game.  We will always have someone to compare ourselves to.  Even if we are the best at one thing, there are a ton of other things in our lives that someone else is better at.

    This even spills over into our lives as Christians.  She reads the Bible better than I do.  He sings better than I do.  That church has a better youth program.  There are more people attending that church than mine.  There are more younger people there.  There are less activities here.  And we find ourselves in another no win game of who is best.

    Comparing ourselves to others can lead to envy, to a financial disaster, to anxiety and stress, to difficulties in relationships, and even to a church trying to be something other than what God intended.

    How do we avoid this when it is so engrained in our culture?  I think that we by taking a long difficult look at why we do what we do.  What really is your motives?  What really is driving you?  What or who are you comparing yourself to?  Who are you trying to emulate?

    As a Christian, my focus has to be on following Christ.  If I do that, then my comparison is…am I doing what I have been called to do.  That doesn’t mean that I do it better than someone else.  That means that I look at what God’s calling on my life is, and do that to the best of my ability.  The same goes for the church.  As the church, are we doing what God has called us…our fellowship…to do?  While all churches are called to follow Christ as a community of believers, that looks different in every church.  Worship and activities that are done may be different.  One church may be called particularly to reach out in prison ministry while another may be called to carry out a feeding program.  The point is that if every Christian is doing what he or she is called to do and every church is living out the calling God has for it – then working together – what a beautiful picture of Christ that becomes.

    That leaves out the idea that I am doing something better than you.  I am just doing what God has called me to do to the best of my abilities.  That leaves out the idea that my church is better than yours.  My church and your church are doing what God calls and we are working together towards a common goal.  We serve and follow the same Lord.  We should be working together.  That means we can celebrate the successes of others.  We can truly be excited for a church that is doing what God has called.  We can celebrate with the pianist that has faithful given her life to that calling.  It’s not a competition, it is an opportunity to work together to show the love of Christ to a world starving for it.  That’s when the Body of Christ really makes a difference.

    To conclude, I have one last thought:

    we are all crazy cartoon

    Blessings as you seek to follow Christ in what he has called YOU to do.

  • Be careful what you post

    I often get surprised when I read Facebook.  It is an open forum where people can post anything – regardless of whether they should have said it or not.  I often wonder if people actually read their words before they post them.  What bothers me is that I think people really do read what they post and still do it.  There seems to be so much hate expressed lately.  One post in particular really got to me recently.  It was from a person that I know seeks to follow Christ.  The post, though, was filled with hate for something that they didn’t agree with.  The image was disturbing.  I am not saying that as Christians, we should not post how we feel.  I am not saying we are not entitled to our opinions.  I am saying that we should filter what we post through the lens of Christ.  I try to follow the same advice when I speak.  I struggle keeping my mouth closed quite a bit.  But, I really find no excuse not to filter what I post since I can read and consider it before I actually press the post button.

    To be honest, that isn’t even what disturbs me the most.  What really gets to me is that Christians actually feel and believe the things that we post.  The whole idea of loving God and loving neighbor seems to really be an issue.  It is so easy to say but when there is hate in our heart, it doesn’t leave room for love.  Jesus tells us to love our neighbor – and doesn’t say that we get to pick the neighbor we love.  He doesn’t say we have to agree with our neighbor.  He doesn’t say that we have to be like our neighbor.  But, he does say that we are to love our neighbor.  And, putting things on Facebook that display hate is just not okay – EVER.  It isn’t loving our neighbor.  Even if it is a joke and it is “funny” it is NEVER okay.  Hate eats away at us.  Hate fills the places that are reserved for God.  Hate leads us to take actions that are not at all where Christ would lead.

    Maybe we should spend a few extra moments – pray before we post – and let God lead.  I don’t know…seems to be what we should do with our whole lives.  I don’t think our Facebook account is exempt.  And, may it begin with me.

  • An invitation to the party

    Who knew it?  Jesus threw parties.  There were big parties.  And, the parties haven’t stopped.  They continue but too many of us Christians have stopped going.  There may be a variety of reasons why.  It could be that its been so long since the party was for us that we lost the passion.  It could be that we have lost our joy.  It could be that we don’t think that Jesus should throw a party for some of the people.  It might just be that we don’t even like some of the people who are invited to the party…and we might not even like who Jesus threw the party for!  So, we will stay home.  Yet, we receive an invitation.  We are invited and given a place of honor.  The party may not be for us this time, but we are privileged to come and fellowship and have cake…with Jesus.  It seems to me that Jesus told this parable for people who had lost the passion to party.

    Luke 15:1-3; 11-32

    It’s the parable of the prodigal son.  It is a beautiful story of grace and redemption, joy and celebration.  But, that isn’t all the story is about.  Notice that this is a story…it is a parable.  That means that it is a lesson.  Jesus is teaching a lesson to those who are listening.  Are you listening to the lesson?

    This is the 3rd parable in the series.  It is in answer to the Pharisees and the scribes (and probably others that felt religiously privileged).  They are wondering what in the world this man who is suppose to be a religious leader is doing talking to sinners and tax collectors…and even further, eating with them.  They are unclean, unworthy, unkept, and unwelcome as far as they are concerned.  And, yet, Jesus is welcoming them, eating with them, loving them.  So these parables answer that.

    The story is about a father and his two sons.  One son goes off on his own, disowns his family by taking his inheritance and leaving.  The other son stays by his father’s side and works with him, always faithful.  Through a series of events, he has found himself feeding pigs and starving.  Pigs were unclean animals and he is working for Gentiles (non-Jews).  He realizes he has messed up and decides to return to his home as a servant…not as a son.  He knows he doesn’t deserve the position of son any longer.  He just wants to be a servant for his father.  And he plans what he will say to beg his way into just being a servant.  His father, though, sees him and is overjoyed.  He barely gives him time to begin the spill he had planned the whole walk home – dad has given him the place of son and thrown a big party – invited the neighbors and anyone who will come.  It is a time of celebration.

    The older brother is less than impressed.  He has been there…faithful…not insulting the family name…not doing any of the things that his younger brother has done.  He sees the big feast and is mad about it…he is not going to the party and wonders what in the world is going on – he hasn’t ever gotten a party like this.  Notice the father…again in the unexpected.  He comes out to where the older son is…and he pleads with him to join the party.  He allows his son to vent and then explains why he has thrown the celebration.  Very uncharacteristic of the patriarchal system during this time.

    Notice just a few things about this parable.  First, the focus of the story is not on the sons – either of them.  The focus of the story is on the father.  He is loving and welcoming and forgiving beyond measure.  What does the father do?  He welcomes the son home with open arms and throws him a party.  It isn’t about what the children have done – they don’t deserve anything – either of them.  They are both sinners.  One has made a blatant mistake against his father – but that doesn’t mean the other is perfect.  The father has grace for them both.  The father and his love and grace are the focus of the story.

    Second, neither of the sons deserved the party.  They were privileged to even be able to sit at the table.  Through the younger son’s adventures, he learns what a privilege it is to be in the father’s house and just wants to be a servant, not even sit at the table.  Yet, the father doesn’t just invite him to the table, but gives him a place of his son.  Does that mean the older son loses his place?  It doesn’t.  The older son still has a place with the father at the table…a place of position.  A child of the father still sits there.

    Third, the older son – he wants to decide why a party should be thrown and for whom…and some sinner such as his brother is no good reason to throw a party.  He didn’t want to sit at the table with him or celebrate his return.  He had forgotten that he didn’t deserve to be there either.  He had sat at that table so long that he forgot that he was privileged to be called son.

    What about you and me?  Have we sat at the table so long that we have forgotten what a privilege it is?  Are we new to the table, new on the invitation list for the party?  Are we excited when there is a party for someone new and that person comes to sit at the table or have we decided who is worthy?  If God throws a party for someone who we don’t think is worth it…do we pout and not participate?

    May we never forget the grace that has been given to us and how much we don’t deserve to be in the house at all.  And, may we find the joy in the invitation and come to the party.  There is too much to celebrate to sit and home and sulk.