SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY

Category: General

  • The Unexpected…Palm Sunday

    I woke my wife and kids early.  I had heard about this exciting day and did not want to miss it.  There was a sense of apprehension in the air.  So many people were in the city, gathering for the festival.   It was elbow to elbow at the market, trying to find the produce of the day.  This time is even more challenging because everyone is trying to prepare the same basic meals – it is the time of celebration of Passover.  Passover has always helped us to remember what God had done and a powerful reminder of what he could still do.  If only…if only this was not just an ordinary Passover.  If only things were different.  We are tired of bondage.  We are tired of the lack of freedom.  We are tired.  Just to hear from God one more time would be an answered prayer.  To hear something other than what we have been doing wrong would be a welcome message.

    Today, though, seems to have its own intrigue.  My neighbors tell me there is a prophet coming through town and many are gathering to welcome him.  Some rumor this may be the long awaited Messiah.  If it is, in fact, the Messiah, then he has a lot of work to do.  So much is wrong in our land.  Political powers will be difficult to tumble.  I don’t envy this position.  But I do find a little glimmer of hope…the butterflies gathering in the pit of my stomach as I consider the possibilities.  What if God really has sent the Messiah he promised?  What if this man really does have the answers?   What if this is really the day we meet the Anointed One?  What if…could it be…is there any way?  With all these questions, I decide that me and my family will gather and see for ourselves.

    So we dress and head out earlier than usual.  We want to get a good view – I hear the crowds will be thick today – like a parade in the center of town.  With some many in the city, that is definitely a possibility.  We find our way to the right spot.  My kids can see and experience.  We all want to catch a glimpse.  As I look around, I notice that people have brought cloths and palm leaves to lay down on the road.  Now I know something is going to happen today.  This is reserved for the best of the best.  In the excitement, I ask my wife and kids to stay where they are and hold my spot.  I run out to find palm leaves for us.  I don’t have to go far, the trees line the way.  So I grab one for each of us and bring them back.  The kids immediately start to try them out – they wave so beautifully in the air.  I have to remind them not to hit anyone with them.  They find they can divide the ends and watch all of it waive like fingers in the air.  They think it is funny to look like they are waiving their own hands with the palms.

    It wasn’t long until we hear the shouts.  He must be coming.  The excitement is electric.  We can hardly wait.  I am a little blown away as he comes into view.  It is a man on a donkey.  My first thought is that this doesn’t look so regal or powerful.  It all looks so…plain and ordinary.  He isn’t dressed in warrior’s clothes or even the clothes of a king.  He looks like me, like we could be family.  He doesn’t seem to be welcoming all of the praises but instead, he looks concerned.  The look on his face makes him appear as though he is a million miles away.  He isn’t at all what I pictured would be coming through.  He has a peaceful sense about him.  But we shout with the rest and waive our palm leaves.  I can’t keep my eyes off of him.  There is something about him…something so very different.  If he is the Messiah, he’s not like any I have read about or imagined.  This could be even more interesting than I originally thought.  I’m not sure this guy wants to conquer kingdoms.  He doesn’t even look like he’s ready for any battle at all.  Maybe we got it wrong…

    *Today is Palm Sunday.  It is a day that marks the beginning of Holy Week.  For this beginning, I wanted to take you there for just a moment.  What must it have been like on that first celebration?  It may not have been as clear as we want to make it.  It may not have been the celebration we think it would be.  Most had no clue what Jesus was about to do and why.  It was based really on a hope and a curiosity.  They needed something to believe in, that this life they were living would not always be like it was.  They wanted to a Savior, but weren’t sure what that even meant.  Sometimes, neither do we.

    I find myself in the crowd hoping for one thing but finding out that I don’t have it all figured out.  I don’t know everything about this man on a donkey.  I don’t fully understand what he was about to do.  They wanted a political redeemer.  We often want Jesus to be who we want him to be…to answer our prayers the way we want…to give us the things we think we need…to be there at our beckoned call for our every whim.  But what if Jesus is so much more?  What if we miss who he is because we haven’t decided who we want him to be?  What does it mean for Jesus to be the Christ…the Messiah…the long awaited one?  I think it means surrender.  I think it means giving ourselves to the ONE…completely.  Jesus is much more than they imagined on that first day…and he is so much more than we can imagine today.  On this Palm Sunday, I am reminded to simply surrender…my intentions, my notions, my ideas of who he is…surrender my life to Jesus.

    Happy Palm Sunday!

    The message today is based on Matthew 21:1-11

    21 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.[a]” 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

    5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
    Look, your king is coming to you,
    humble, and mounted on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

    6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd[b] spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

    “Hosanna to the Son of David!
    Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
    Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

    10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

     

    Note:  It is my intention to take this “family” I began writing about from the beginning through the week long journey of Holy Week.  Check out the writings for this week to follow the journey.

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  • The Value of Difficult Scriptures

    There are often scriptures that make us uncomfortable – those that make us wonder what this is trying to tell us and if it means anything for us today.

    Lamentations is one of those books…most of us would prefer to skip it over.  Who wants to hear about a person in difficulty, going through really tough time, struggling to make it?  We have enough problems of our own and we don’t want to hear about someone else’s… But there is value in hearing about the struggles of those in the scripture.  There is something about learning of the struggles and how they overcame…or didn’t.  It can remind us that we are not alone in whatever we go through.  It can let us know that our current situation is only but for a moment – even if those moments seem to last forever.  And we can be reminded that God does not leave those that suffer – he does not leave them in their distress or in their celebrations.  God is with us, no matter our situations.

    In this book, the author is struggling with the destruction of Jerusalem.  Their place of worship, their identity, their home has been destroyed.  Who they are has been trampled upon.  They look around and see nothing familiar because it is all war torn…destruction envelopes their very being.  There are children starving, people dying, and no place to turn.  The situation for so many seems hopeless.  In Lamentations, there is a cry out to God…a tension of whether God cares…a wondering if God will ever help them again…a really feeling of abandonment.  It is a place where the people are not sure where God is or if they are even his people…whatever that means.  They are searching for identity.  They are searching for rescue.  They are searching for answers.  And they are not finding any.  It is a long, difficult road – and while they know they have broken promises…is God even in the middle of this anymore?  Does God even care?  Has God simply forsaken them and left them to die?

    For the first two chapters and the beginning of the third, this is the essence, the searching, and the longing.  It is difficult to read, yet we might just find a home in the middle of the mess.  We might recognize what is going on.  We might find we identify, at least in some part, with the struggles of those that lament.  In chapter 3, the author is struggling with those that mock him for calling on God…those that have overtaken and destroyed the land…seeking to deflate the people…those that once had a strong name and served a powerful God…they are disgraced in the face of their enemies.  What do they do now?  What do we do when all we see are ruins where once there was beauty?  What do we do with our lives when things not only didn’t turn out right…but turned out real wrong?  Where do we go when our world continually gets hit…time after time after time…bad news, horrifying situations, indescribable pain?  What do we do in the middle of it all?

    And that is where today’s scripture comes in.  That is where a little glimmer shows up…a little bitty light in the midst of a dark storm that has wiped our entire lives out…a welcome light in the middle of a night that has lasted way too long.  Lamentations 3:19-26.

    Now as we hear these words, I want to remind you that this is in the middle of the struggle…there has not been any changes to the situation…there have not been rescues or redemption or some awe inspiring revelations.  The author has struggled and then…all of a sudden…at just the right time…he calls something to mind.  Something deep in him reminds him of something he had forgotten.  Deep down in the memory, there is something that appears and brings that glimmer.  He writes…I call to mind…in other words, I remember.  And in remembering, something changes.  There is hope that was not there that appears…shows up…begins to change him…not the situation.  A hope that is so small, yet so powerful.  What does he call to mind?  What is it that he remembers?

    He writes…the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases…his mercies never come to an end…they are new every morning…great is your faithfulness…the Lord is my portion (that’s what his soul tells him)…therefore he hopes in God.  Wow!  What a remarkable glimmer of hope in an otherwise difficult, horrible situation!  Just a little hope can turn things around when that hope is in God.  And by turn things around, I don’t mean what is going on around him, the situation…I mean what is going on inside.  This is a hope that abides even when all circumstances seem out of control and in destruction.  This hope comes because of the steadfast love, the mercy of God.  God is faithful.  Even when we do not experience him…even when we do not understand…even when we look around and wonder where he is in all of this…even when we feel like we are abandoned…God’s steadfast love does not end…his mercy is new every morning…great is his faithfulness!

    That is an amazing hope that does not answer any of our questions or alleviate the suffering…but at least begins to help us to move forward…to seek what God is up to…to trust that he is still with us.  When we can be reminded…either by our memory…or by others that love us and are with us…we can find hope…God does not leave us.

    And that is still not all…The Lord is good.  But this goodness comes in both waiting and seeking.  The author finds God’s goodness in waiting and seeking.  If we are continually held down in our distress, we may miss what is right before us.  We may not seek if we are so captured by our struggles.  To simply stop…wait…and seek.  God is here.  God is present.  God has not left us.  God is still good.

    None of these are easy answers and I’m glad.  Easy answers and cliché sayings offer little or no comfort when we are in the type of distress that the author has been describing.  Long term, these do not offer true hope or help or answers.  They are good things to help us through a small, quick struggle.  But when we get caught up in the mire…the mud…the overwhelming despair, we need real answers.  And this is where the hard work pays off…we begin to remember that we will not understand it all.  We remember that God calls us to wait…to seek…to simply be.  His mercies are new every morning…even though the night seems to have lasted for weeks on end.  His steadfast love is greater than any of our distress…even when we are not sure of it looking around.  God is faithful.

    Where is your hope?  Maybe today is the day to begin to dig down deep…to remember…to wait…to seek.  God just might be offering us a glimmer of hope that we did not even know existed.

  • Don’t MISS the party because of the guests!

    Who invited them?  Have you ever walked into a birthday party or social event, looked around the room, and found unexpected people there?  Most of us would wonder…who invited that person?  Why is he here?  Who told her about it?  We can be caught off guard when the event we thought was happening ends up with different people than we had envisioned.  Now, I know not all of you are introverts…but for those that are…what do you begin to do? My guess is that you start checking out where the table is, who you could sit with and who you are most likely to carry on some sort of a conversation with…how you can avoid sitting in the middle of everything and go fairly unnoticed.  It is likely you already had that planned before you arrived and with unexpected people, you have to re-adjust…and you don’t like re-adjusting.  To throw another surprise into the room, the person you thought was the honoree actually isn’t…the party isn’t for who you thought…you can likely feel your eyes roll in the back of your head.  If you have already been seen and there is no easy escape route, you look for the seat closest to the door with the least noticeable people so that a trip to the restroom can turn into getting lost and accidentally getting in your car and heading home.

    For others of you…you might find a way to have a good time anyway when you see unexpected people.  I mean, you can socialize with anyone so this won’t stop you.  You will find the fun group to sit with, enjoy the company…you bring the party with you anyway.  All is good until you find that the person being recognized is not what you thought and this event isn’t at all what it was supposed to be.  You are likely frustrated and you make sure you talk loud enough about it so that those within ear shot know how ridiculous you think all this is.  You will have a harder time leaving unnoticed because, well, you are noticed.  But you can make a statement if you do have to leave. Things aren’t always as they seem…sometimes life happens, events change, and our world has to be…re-adjusted.

    Eric found himself in a similar situation.  He hears about this amazing event, THE event of the year.  He has a place of honored guest.  There is the best of the best there.  The best food, the best music, the best people…this is THE place to be.  This event was put together as a celebration, a festival…something wonderful has happened and the whole community needs to hear.  There is a special guest and an award.  This will be awesome.  Eric’s invitation shows that he gets to sit at the head table with the special guest.  Eric IS somebody at this event and that intrigues him.  He can’t turn down the invitation – this is just too good to pass up.  His desk is overloaded with work and he has other things to do…but this, this he makes time for.  He jumps in his SUV, heads over to the place and finds a parking spot just for him.  It IS awesome!  He gets out and he sees one of his friends, they decide to walk in together.  Neither of them has heard who the honored guest is…but as soon as Eric walks in, he sees him – all the way from across the room.  It is him and he can’t believe it.  Eric thinks the best thing for him to do is to turn around and leave NOW.  This will not end well.  The host of the party…the one that sent the invitation…the person that wanted Eric there runs after him…Eric continues to leave…he can’t believe this party is for this guy…and it is not happening today, not with Eric there.  This guy doesn’t deserve a party or an invitation or even to be in town…this guy is a loser, a nobody, a complete and utter mess up. What Eric missed in the whole thing was…this party wasn’t even about that guy…this party was about the host…but Eric doesn’t understand that as he speeds away in his SUV.  Eric missed the party because he didn’t understand the invitation.

    This story of Eric, I adapted from the scripture I would like for you to read, maybe in a new and different way… Luke 15:1-2, 11-32.

    Notice that Jesus is telling a story in response to something that has happened.  This is the 3rdstory in the series, and likely the most well-known.  In the audience were:  tax collectors, sinners, Pharisees and scribes…and likely the disciples which may have fit in one of the first 2 categories.  The religious leaders were frustrated and upset that Jesus is welcoming sinners and eating with them.  How dare he!  Remember that table fellowship is sacred and you wouldn’t want to be unclean by eating with the wrong people.  So in order to answer that, Jesus tells the stories.  This 3rdstory is what we call the parable of the prodigal son.

    In most cases, we tell and hear the story from the prodigal son’s perspective.  And he is one of the main characters in the story.  The prodigal son insults his family, disgraces the family name, disrespects the land that is considered given by God, and spends his time doing things which are…well, less than acceptable.  He likely makes friends but only keeps them when he has money.  When the money runs out…and it always does if you spend it without care…he takes a job that is…disgusting.  It is disgusting not because of the work, but because of his faith and heritage.  He continues to disrespect and forget all that he is…he loses himself in it all, not just the money.  He returns home and Dad does more than he should…he disgraces himself to run to his son to embrace him.  Note that Zaccheus was the last person we looked at that was willing to disgrace himself by running in order to see Jesus…The son simply wants to be a slave, a servant, to have decent food and a place to lay his head.  The father gives him more than he deserved, more than he could ever earn, more than anyone should be given by worldly standards…he gets his sonship. He gets to be a son…something he had thrown away, squandered, trampled, and set on fire…enjoying the flames at a campfire.

    The second person in the story is, of course, the father.  He is willing to let the son go off and do what he will.  He doesn’t know that this son will ever return.  But every day, he goes out and looks down the road for the son to return…though he continues to be disappointed day by day.  Then…one day…it happens.  His son returns and he takes off running down the road to give him the biggest bear hug ever.  His son is back and it is a joyful day to celebrate!  His son will not be a slave or servant…he is a son and a son he shall be.  The father gives reckless grace in the face of a disaster…his son.

    The third person…the older son.  We don’t often like to talk about him.  We love the idea that the prodigal son is loved so much and given a place back in the family.  We hear and feel that warmth, that embrace, that welcome despite the mess that we are.  We rejoice over the amazing grace of the father that overwhelms not only the son, but us, as the reader.  We hear that the father has extravagant love for a sinner such as I.  We want the story to just end with the feast.  That would make it easier.  But that isn’t where Jesus ended the story.  Remember, Jesus is answering the issue of him welcoming and eating with sinners.

    It is the older son that makes us uncomfortable, most likely.  This son is…well…seemingly justified and we don’t know what to do with that.  This son, the older, arrives to the feast…the party…the event that is THE festival.  It is a party unlike any other.  The problem is that this son isn’t the honored guest.  This son…the good one…the one that never left his father…the one that didn’t stomp on his heritage…the one that was faithful even when it was hard…the one that put in the long hours and cared for his family…the one that was the responsible one…this is the one that doesn’t get a party…not even so much as a little birthday cake.  The delinquent, wayward, irresponsible younger son is the one that gets the big event…the good son gets – NOTHING?  He is furious.  And we are uncomfortable with this story because we would be too.  He did everything right, how dare the father do something for the son that disrespected him.  Did the father not understand?  Was the father playing favorites?  What do we do with this?  We want to drive away in our SUV and tell them to have a great time without us!

    The problem, though, is that the son that stayed…the one that never left his father’s side…the one that was faithful through it all…he missed it.  What he saw was a party for his brother that didn’t deserve anything except a swift kick in the rear.  What he saw was a big celebration like no other for the son that had basically spit on the entire family in an attempt to get his way.  What he missed was HIS place at the party.  What he missed was the FATHER.  He could have missed the love because his envy, his jealousy, his anger consumed him in an effort to prove he was the better child and deservedthe best.

    What he missed was that he didn’t earn his place at the party any more than the younger son.  What he missed was that while he was born a son he was not perfect.  What he missed was that despite all that he had done right, that didn’t mean he got the best place at the head table as an honored guest.  He got all that he had BECAUSE OF THE FATHER.  He wanted to compare his place with others at the table without recognizing that he had a valued place at the table given to him by the one that loved him more than he could imagine.  He wanted to prove his worth as better,  when actually his worth was given to him by grace not by works.  He got a place at the most extravagant table because he was loved…just like his brother.

    And why not welcome everyone to the table?  Why not have a seat for his brother?  Who was he to judge who could sit at the table…it wasn’t his table, it wasn’t his feast?  It was the father’s to give and he was given a place because all that the father had, he was willing to give.  He was chosen and loved and welcomed.  But he was willing to walk away from the table because he didn’t like who was on the guest list.

    Are you grateful to be at the table?  Have you decided who will be there…who is on the invited list…who will be gathered around…who is in and who is out…who is better, who is worthy, who is the deserving? If you think you know who is invited, you might be shocked.  But instead of looking around the room, maybe you pull up a seat, take your place, and thank the Lord that he gave you a place…not because you earned or deserved it…but because you were loved more than you could ever imagine.  Maybe you start telling people about the table rather than judging who is worthy.  Welcome to the party…Jesus is throwing the most extravagant bash you could ever imagine…and I can’t wait to see who is there!

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  • Has it really been that long?

    The waters of baptism washed over me as I stood before the congregation I would serve, with my friend at my side and my father at the pulpit.  It is a day I will never forget.  The flood of memories overwhelm me like the feeling of the warm water.  I remember the gift of a study Bible, the people that laid hands on me to pray over me as I began this journey, the feeling of being loved.  On March 9, 2004, I was baptized by my friend Lynn Taylor and Ordained as a Baptist Minister, a service led by my father, Jerry Mitchell.

    There have been many days that I have questioned the calling, wondering if I heard incorrectly.  I have tried to do other things in the ministry.  I have felt like Job as I have walked away from the pulpit and thought that this was not for me.  But there have been many more days that I have been overwhelmed by God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness.  He has allowed me to walk with people in their journeys of celebration and grief.  I have sat at the table with people I now consider family.

    LaGrange First Missionary has always and will always hold a very special place in my heart and in the heart of my wife and children.  They took a chance on me when they could have chosen otherwise.  They loved me and accepted me and welcomed me into their lives.  They gave me grace when I messed up and walked with me through my own struggles.  I am forever grateful to God for giving me the privilege of serving this congregation…for I saw God in more ways that I can count as a result.

    I am grateful that God continued to be patient with me as I took a sabbatical.  I needed the time to breathe but that was difficult for my family.  I needed to be ministered to, but it is difficult to let go.  God worked through all of that in amazing ways.  He gave me the opportunity to complete a Master of Divinity degree at a school that taught me to think critically and love fiercely.  Campbell Divinity School was the right choice for me and I knew it from the first day I stepped on campus.  It was a place of learning and healing.

    I am grateful for Northeast FWB for allowing me to serve as an Interim.  It was a beautiful experience that gave me the chance to celebrate Advent and Christmas with a congregation that was welcoming and kind to this traveler.

    Today, I serve at Trinity Missionary Baptist.  Beginning as Interim, my intention was to remain interim.  God had other plans.  Four years ago, I accepted the interim position.  In July, I will have been the Pastor at Trinity for four years.  God directed and I did my best to be obedient.  I was hesitant, not because of Trinity but because of Brad.  I love with my everything but that doesn’t always reflect in the ways I serve.  I wasn’t sure I had enough to give Trinity.  I can say that Trinity has also been kind and gracious to me.  They have given me the opportunity to pursue my Doctor of Ministry degree.  They have supported the ways that I have felt God leading.  They have loved me despite me.  Together, we have become better.  I pray God continues to work in it all.

    As I write this, I am overwhelmed by the opportunity to serve God as a minister.  I cannot believe he chose to use me, but I am grateful he did.  I pray that I can continue to serve as he would have me to serve.  I pray that I will love as he teaches me to love.  I pray I can show others what it means to follow, no matter the cost.  I pray I can be his hands and feet.  15 years later, I say…”Lead on, God…Lead on.”

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  • Sidelined…

    Sometimes we just get sidelined.  Despite our best efforts…even in the case of the best planning…no matter how much we prepare…there are times when things don’t go as planned.  That’s probably a kind, gentle way of putting it.  It feels more like someone took our plans, shredded them, and stuffed a piñata with them.  Now, we just want to take the stick and beat that piñata for all we are worth.  But those are just my thoughts about it.

    Sidelines occur without expectation and can throw us off balance.  Examples…The car “check engine” light decides to not only shine…but decides to wink continuously…an alert to let you know that its life is on the edge of the abyss.  An assignment you had forgotten about is now due…and you have to rework your entire day to make sure it gets done.  A family member needs to go to the doctor and you are the only one that can take him…so you change your plans.  A relationship that was going fine is now not going so fine…and the tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife.  There are more days in the month than money in your bank account.  You get the point…there are many different types of sidelines…they happen and they can whip us.

    For me, the season of Lent reminds me of one great big sideline.  Jesus is teaching and healing and guiding.  He is showing people what it means to love.  He is seeing people that have never been truly seen before.  He is offering life…an abundant life that doesn’t equate to things but to valuables such as peace, joy, and hope.  He is making a difference.  But a series of events leads him down a different path.  He begins a journey that will lead him to the cross.  The 40 day trek I take at Lent reminds me that his journey was filled with heartache and disappointment, betrayal and torture.  Yet, Jesus teaches me a lesson about being sidelined.

    When his life pointed toward the cross…when his daily life and teachings were turned upside down…how did Jesus handle it?  He kept his eyes focused on his calling and kept doing what he was sent to do.  He did not allow those sidelines to distract him from his mission, from his purpose, from his love.  Even when he knew that death was imminent, he stayed the course.

    That teaches me that when life sidelines me…when things are thrown at me…when it seems that the problems of this life are the weight of a heavy wet blanket…smothering me and holding me down…I must stay the course, focus on the purpose, follow God, and never give up.  Sidelines are not the finish line…they cannot change who I am or what I am called to do.  They may hurt, they may cripple, they may frustrate…but they will not stop the path for which I have been called to travel.

    So when you are sidelined…keep moving forward… The One that was sidelined for his love is the same One that will love us when we get sidelined.

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  • The *POP*

    I either say way too much…or I don’t say nearly enough.  There is no happy medium with me.  I’m not sure why.  You would think that I would learn lessons or at least get some idea when it is going off the rails.  But I seem oblivious to the fact that what is coming out of my mouth should be stopped, halted, abbreviated, or unspoken. 

    This morning, I was cooking breakfast, and something popped in the pan.  I jumped back immediately. It certainly put me on alert.  My first thought was…WOW – I could use that pop when I’m about to say something I shouldn’t or when I fail to say something I should.  You know, that jolt that shocks you enough you jump back.  That pop my mom probably wanted to give me across the mouth when I said something that I should not have (there were plenty of moments for that growing up). 

    Now, don’t think that I am sitting around analyzing my conversations…I have way too much to do for that…and that would just stress me out even more.  I am more describing that feeling right after a conversation.  And I don’t mean the conversations I have when I am focused, and the discussions are meaningful.  I am talking about the sitting around just chit-chatting type of talk…the discussions where I am not really thinking and just talking.  I end up thinking of all the unnecessary things I have said…the “filler” type of talk – the air that would be better used to blow up a balloon.  I think of the important things I should have said but didn’t because so much time was spent on useless discussion. 

    I bring this up it reminds me to be a little more intentional.  I am reminded that my days and my relationships are precious.  It helps me to think about how I have the gift of spending time with others and I shouldn’t waste it.  There should be plenty of laughing and encouraging…there should be joy and celebration.  There should be a time for grieving together and a time for just sitting and saying nothing.  There should be time for enjoying the presence of others without having to fill it with hot air better left unsaid. 

    Maybe…just maybe…if I am intentional…I will find that *pop* at just the right time and remember that this day, this opportunity, this friendship is a gift and I will treat it as such.  And maybe I will treasure the moments.  And maybe I will blow up a balloon with the rest of the hot air.

     

    five assorted balloons
    Photo by Padli Pradana on Pexels.com

  • Divisive?

    Divisive…that’s the word that came to my mind as I was running this morning.  It all too often describes our world.  It is true that I prefer love and encouragement and peace.  I completely understand the need to take a stand or knee for what you believe.  I am extremely grateful for the contributions of Martin Luther King Jr. and his unwillingness to accept that things had to be the way they were.  But I don’t see Martin Luther King Jr as divisive.  I don’t see Harriet Tubman as divisive.  I don’t see Rosa Parks as divisive.  I don’t see Jesus as divisive.  I see a drive to bring people together and a refusal to accept the divide.  The willingness to risk their lives to bring people together in love is beyond comprehension (and many more like them). 

    So what do I mean by divisive?  I mean those that purposely put their agendas ahead of people.  I mean those that aren’t willing to hear anyone else…it’s my way or the highway.  I mean those that post hateful comments to “prove their point” or to inflate their ego.  I mean those that could find common ground with others, but instead choose to find fighting ground.  I find this mostly on social media.  There are short, quick snapshots (memes, gifs, etc.) that are meant to be jabs at other that have a different opinion.  I suppose they are “meme warriors” because that is what you see constantly.  Those do not help start a conversation but are great at starting an argument.  They also are wonderful at finding out who thinks your opinion is just the best (insert eye roll here).  In school, these may have been bullies…or at least it feels like bullying… 

    So, what is the opposite of divisive? 

    Listening (really listening to those that differ in opinions, lifestyles, politics, beliefs, or anything)…

    Loving (even loving those that we see as unlovable…you know…loving like Jesus)…

    Respecting (offering respect to others because…I don’t know…they are people)…

    These are places that I choose to start.  I am grateful for the opportunity to voice opinions…I just think there is a better way…and I don’t think that divisive is the way to do it.  Just my thoughts on this day when we remember the contribution of a Baptist Preacher that refused to accept the divide.

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  • Advent 2: Peace

    Peace…it is a word we talk about a lot but don’t really see much in our world.  It is a concept that seems out of reach all too often.  We live in a world that we cannot even disagree on a subject and get along…and since we are not all the same and don’t all think or believe the same…it seems that peace is out of reach.  To even consider what peace might look like and what we might do for peace…that brings anxiety…there is so much division and hatred in our wold…politically, religiously, and any other way you might think.  And we might think peace would come if we could just be still and have a moment of quiet.  When my children were really young, I craved quiet and silence because it never happened.  There was always something to do and places to be…I thought that just a moment of quiet would be peaceful.  The problem is that this type of peace is temporary.  And if you have spent a significant amount of time alone, you likely know that even being in quiet and stillness does not mean that you will experience peace.  We can experience turmoil all by ourselves…in the quiet…of our own home.  So what is the deal with peace and how do we look expectantly to something that seems so far out of reach?

    I think one key begins with a hymn which you may or may not know or have sung.  There have been some absolutely beautiful arrangements of this particular song…one of my personal favorites is by Casting Crowns…and the hymn is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” – hear the words of the song:

    I heard the bells on Christmas day
    Their old familiar carols play
    And mild and sweet their songs repeat
    Of peace on earth good will to men
    And the bells are ringing (peace on earth)
    Like a choir they’re singing (peace on earth)
    In my heart I hear them (peace on earth)
    Peace on earth, good will to men
    And in despair I bowed my head
    There is no peace on earth I said
    For hate is strong and mocks the song
    Of peace on earth, good will to men
    But the bells are ringing (peace on earth)
    Like a choir singing (peace on earth)
    Does anybody hear them? (peace on earth)
    Peace on earth, good will to men
    Then rang the bells more loud and deep
    God is not dead, nor does he sleep (peace on earth, peace on earth)
    The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
    With peace on earth, good will to men
    Then ringing singing on its way
    The world revolved from night to day
    A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
    Of peace on earth, good will to men
    And the bells they’re ringing (peace on earth)
    Like a choir they’re singing (peace on earth)
    And with our hearts we’ll hear them (peace on earth)
    Peace on earth, good will to men
    Do you hear the bells they’re ringing? (peace on earth)
    The life the angels singing (peace on earth)
    Open up your heart and hear them (peace on earth)
    Peace on earth, good will to men
    Peace on earth, peace on earth
    Peace on earth, Good will to men

    A beautiful song with a powerful message…Given that, let’s look at the scripture for today:  Luke 2:8-20

    As we began to see last week in regard to hope…God has chosen the most unlikely people in the most unlikely situation to experience the greatest gift since creation…Jesus.  Mary was chosen as the recipient of hope that was coming to the world.  Now, we see shepherds doing what shepherds do…watching their flock at night.  They are minding their own business, doing the shepherding thing…and an angel shows up.  When angels show up, there seems to be something going on.  Mary was given a message…now the shepherds receive a message.  Different people from different situations in life…brought together by common messengers…with an amazing message from God.  They are receiving GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY!  But the news…the news is that the Messiah has come…is here…has arrived…and with that news…a heavenly chorus sings…Glory to God in the highest…and on earth, peace…

    NOT the peace of a conquering king…not the peace of a ruling emperor…not the peace of lands coming together…not even the peace that the religious people thought they wanted and deserved…but peace from God.  Peace on earth was brought through Jesus…and was a light in a dark world.  Jesus was peace…and yet, not at all like they wanted, expected, or were looking.  So many missed the peace that had come because they were looking for it in all the wrong places.  Will we miss it too?

    Jesus, in what we call the Sermon on the Mount, and in the part known as the Beatitudes, said… “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.  Do you think there is a correlation between the angels announcing peace on earth at the pronouncement of the birth of Christ…and Jesus calling those who are peacemakers, children of God?  I think so…Jesus makes the difference!

    If Jesus is the peace on earth…that means HE is the peace in us.  If peace was brought to this world at the birth of Jesus, peace continues as long as his light shines on this earth…and that happens through believers…those that call upon the name of the Lord and follow him with their lives.  Peace on earth is not found in political leaders making the right decisions or laws in place to bring peace…if that was so, peace would not have had to be announced by angels when Jesus came.  Peace is here and is yet to come.  Peace is within us and yet we often act like the LEAST peaceful people ever.  We act like we are missing something…and I think sometimes we are…and what we are missing is Jesus and his message…we are missing PEACE.

    We have to stop waiting for others to create peace for us…we have to stop looking forward to a day when our lives might be more peaceful or when our world may have peace…we cannot sit around hoping that someone else will be the peaceful one…all the while claiming that we love and follow Jesus…speaking his name but not following his way.  Peace began with Jesus and continues in US…or at least SHOULD continue in us.  In order to dig just a little deeper…how was Jesus peace?

    He wasn’t peace by allowing things to happen as they always had…he made quite a statement…he confounded the religious, he questioned the rules, he spoke against hatred, he taught what it meant to love, he interrupted the daily lives of people that thought everything was all okay, he poked and prodded the comforts of those that SAID they loved God to SHOW they loved God…he didn’t sit idly by and watch others… Instead, he changed lives…he healed, he ate, he loved, he offered his life, he WAS peace in a world that lacked any sense of it.

    For me, that means we can live in a world of turmoil and have the peace of Christ.  We can function in a world that is divisive with a peace that confounds and confuses others…we can live in a world filled with hate and share peace because we have no reason to hate and no right to hate and no room to hate… We don’t need the world to change us, we need to be the change in the world!  We don’t need to wait until this world becomes more peaceful…we need to bring the peace into this world that is so broken and battered.  We do this by living like Christ…by doing what he has called us to do…by walking in his footsteps…by loving, feeding, clothing, visiting the least of these…by being different.  We do not get there by being another person that hates or feuds or fuels a fire…but by being the light of Christ in a darkness that can be conquered…

    Peace on earth…I hear it, I feel it, it lives in us.  How will you bring peace to someone today?  Remember, blessed are the peacemakers…for they are children of God.  Let us go in peace.

  • Rise Up…In LOVE

    I would like to begin by saying that my heart goes out to our Jewish brothers and sisters that have been involved in the shooting this weekend.  The families that have been affected, the lives of the congregation, the community that has been changed…we pray for them.  I pray for the congregations gathered around the world that feel fear as a result of this horrific act.  This comes to me as a powerful reminder that hate is never okay.  In a time when our country is hurting over so much division leading to rhetoric and actions filled with hatred, we cannot stand idly by and watch evil happen.  As Christians, we have a responsibility to stand with our brothers and sisters…reminding others that hate is never okay, in no way, shape or form.  Hate for others because of their faith, their skin color, their background, or their country of origin is never okay.  At no point did Jesus condone hate…not even to those that wanted to take his life.  At no point can we, as Christians, condone hate either.  But we have to do more than not condone hate…we have to stand against it by standing in love.  We have to rise up with love…we have to be the ones that come together and find ways to love more, love better, and love actively.  We have to let our Jewish brothers and sisters know that we know that this is not okay and we stand with them in love…in the battle against hatred…in solidarity that hatred and hate filled acts will not be tolerated…ever.  We must show love like never before…standing tall in LOVE.  Our world and our country needs to hear our voices…of love.  And while that sounds great, what does it really look like?  What does it mean to stand in love?  What does it mean to not tolerate hate?

    As I prayed and searched for the right words to say…the right actions to take…I am drawn to Jesus’ words recorded in John 15.  This scripture reminds me that if I am abiding in Jesus, I am abiding in love. If I am truly following Jesus, I am loving one another.  I cannot abide in Christ and not love, there is no room for that.  Jesus clearly speaks to that.  And to abide, to be with Christ, to walk with him, to fulfill his commandments, to be his disciple, means that I love others.  There is no place for hate.  If, as his disciple, I am to be known by my love, then that means how I love shows…it stands out…it unites rather than divides.  We are given a clear command…an appointment…a directive to go and to bear fruit…fruit that lasts.  We are to love one another.  Yet, how often do we see love?  How often do we live as those that love?

    I find that we are in a time of such clear divide.  I hear such words as…”If you don’t believe like me, then we can’t be friends.  If you are not on my side politically, then you are wrong and I am right and we cannot discuss this.  If you believe that, you must be an idiot or stupid or completely crazy.” It seems that we don’t believe that people can have differing opinions and we still love them.  It appears that we only spend time with those we agree with and if you don’t agree, you become my opponent rather than my friend.

    As I consider this, I know that both sides of most any political debate are represented in the church…and I am so thankful for that.  I know that there are differing parties and differing opinions represented…and I am grateful.  While worship is a time to put our entire focus on God, we have been united in our worship and not divided by our opinions – when we leave worship, that unification should not stop.  Regardless of what our views are, we have to come together as God’s people to love…and to love loudly.  When we spew words of hate or opinions that are filled with prejudice, we have missed it. When we begin to clamor to defend what we think is ours rather than finding ways to love, we are the ones that are losing.

    What leads us away from loving one another?  I think it begins very slowly.  We do not necessarily seek to not follow and not to love.  I think it is a gradual progression that we are often unaware is happening.  It begins by spending less time seeking God, following his will, doing his work.  It begins with a small divide, a small crack. We slowly begin to detach ourselves from the One that created us and we begin to do what we think is right.  We become possessive and a little more selfish each day…because we aren’t seeking God and his will.  We begin to go our own path and to follow people rather than Christ. And it happens all so subtly.

    It can happen as easy as forming a divide.  If we begin to divide ourselves and begin the “us” versus “them” mentality, we get off track.  We begin the thinking of – “At least we are not like that.  That group of people should do this.” – When we form the divide, we find it really difficult to love.  It does make it easier to not help…it does enable us to justify our lack of reaching out…it does help us to feel better about our lack of love if we divide ourselves… If we can separate ourselves from another group, then we can feel better when we dislike them… and we can feel better when fear or terror comes in and we, maybe, even find myself disliking them to hating them? It is such a slippery slope.  And it happens so quickly.  We begin to divide rather than reach out…to help…to share…to care for one another.  It is easier not to feed and clothe and support if we can develop an us versus them thought pattern.  And there goes our love.

    No matter what you believe politically or socially, we have to begin by seeing people as people…as God’s creation…as one of us…in this together.  This act of terrorism was by a man that watched Jewish people doing what they believed God had called them to do…a response they were doing because of an initiative they believed in…to feed and clothe and shelter.  It is likely that he is mentally not stable, but regardless, the act is fueled by hatred.  Regardless of your opinions about the caravan of migrants, please remember that they are people…there are dads and moms and children…there are people that breathe and walk and struggle and cry and hunger…just like you and me.  There are people that God created just like you and me. And no matter what you may think should happen or what you believe the solution may be, we can never forget that each person is a real person, with a real story, and a real fear, and a real life…seeking and searching and trying to find what is next.  And whatever our response, it should come from a place of love.

    When we cut off love for others, no matter who they are, it reflects in our speech, in our words, in our actions.  We may not even detect it.  We may even realize it.  Words mean something.  What we say does have an effect.  What we speak matters.  Our words can lift up or tear down…our words can condemn or condone…our words can support or destroy…Words mean something.  We must be careful about the language we use…for what comes out of our mouth originated in our hearts.  We often speak that which we believe…and if it is not love, we need to re-evaluate the source.  In whom are we abiding?

    Note that in none of this am I saying that we compromise what we believe or who we are.  I am saying that becauseof what we believe…because of the One that we follow…because of the commands of Jesus…because of his example,we love.  I am saying that we reach out, rise up, and stand with those that are scared and lonely and living in fear and show love.  I am saying that there is plenty of hate in our world. There is plenty of bullying. There is plenty of backbiting and hatefulness being spread.  We can be the difference by our love.  We dig deeper into what it means to love God and to love others and hear God speak.

    Christians, we have a responsibility to rise up and love. We have an opportunity to show love to our neighbor.  We show love by abiding in Christ… We cannot share that which we do not have.  If we do not have the love of Christ in us, we cannot share the love of Christ.  If we do not know what it means to be loved by him, we cannot love others.

    We have to take the difficult road to love…it is much easier to divide and hate… We have to take this road by uniting ourselves against hatred, against fear.  We cannot tolerate hate filled speech or hate filled actions.  This is a country where people should not be afraid to go into their places of worship…no matter their faith!  People should know that places of worship are where they can find love and kindness and goodness.  This is a home, a shelter, a refuge for those that are beaten and battered and lost…and that includes you and me.

    We can change the tide of hate by speaking out against it.  This is not the time to be silent.  We are appointed to go and bear fruit…to love one another…to love God with our everything and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  If we don’t do that, then who does?  If we don’t set the bar for how to love, then how does our world know love? If we spew hate, then what makes us any different from anyone else?  We are the CHURCH…we are the BODY OF CHRIST…we are called and commanded to love… What does that look like for you?  I find myself holding to this quote from Eugene Peterson… “And yet I decide, every day, to set aside what I can do best and attempt what I do very clumsily – open myself to the frustrations and failures of loving, daring to believe that failing in love is better than succeeding in pride.”  God, may love begin with me.

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  • Give us this day…

     

    Some days bring difficulty…words fail…answers are not available…and the quiet seems to be the only peace.  I find that these last few days are (indescribable)… As the storm approached, I have heard and read prayers for the storm to turn…though as we pray, we may not have considered what turning may look like or whom that may affect.  I have heard cries of thanksgiving for minimum damage while neighbors have open roofs and no place to call home.  I have experienced relief that the storm has passed…all the while,  the river waters rise and friends struggle to bring a few belongings to a new location…their home and dream is, once again, washed away.

    Please don’t misunderstand. I believe we should not welcome tragedy or minimize gratefulness.  I, too, am thankful to be safe and out of danger.  I am grateful for no damage in the face of a powerful storm.  I just wonder if our prayers and gratefulness come from a place where we seek to take care of self…while our neighbors rush to find rescue.

    This is not the first time I have felt this way.  Actually, I feel this way when I thank God for my daily “bread” and then eat more than my share of the world’s produce.  I wonder about my place to thank God for what he has given when there are brothers and sisters around the world that thank God for much less…possibly their one meal for the day or many days.  I wonder if I’m missing something about what God is trying to teach me when I thank him for my daily bread but when I may not be the best steward of it. This is not one of those thoughts of…”make sure you clean your plate because there are starving children in Africa” speeches.  That, in my opinion, teaches us to pile our plates high and eat it all…even in the face of gluttony.  It does not teach us to become better stewards of the gifts we have been given or to actually share a meal with anyone else.  It is more of a thought about what God has given us and how he loves the whole, entire world…not just me.  Why am I given so much while others have so very little?  My faith is not bigger nor do I deserve more.  My faith is probably weaker and struggle could teach me something.

    It just becomes more real as I know my neighbors that have worked so very hard to re-start their lives only watch it washed away – again.  In my heart, I know that the value of life is far greater than any possession we can accumulate.  But I find that less than comforting for those that have only a few moments to pick up their whole life of belongings and to say goodbye to a significant part of their lives.  It is easier to sit in an air conditioned home with food to eat,  proclaiming homes and cars and possessions really don’t mean anything, than it is to leave those things behind to be destroyed.  I actually find that many of the things we say to each other as believers really has no real sustenance when we sit in a first world country consuming more than our share and complaining about things which really just don’t matter.  It is hard to identify with those that truly struggle when our greatest challenges include the messed up order in our local drive thru or how our nail color doesn’t exactly match our outfit.  I’m not trying to trivialize some of the things we are challenged with…but let’s be realistic…most of the time our challenges aren’t really challenges at all…but mere missteps in a lifelong journey…minor stumbles in a lifetime of good things. Destruction certainly sheds a new light on the things which we once felt were “unbearable” – those things that now seem so insignificant in the clarity of the rain.

    I believe that God’s Word (not ours) speaks loudly in our celebrations…but provides great comfort when there are no words to be said.  In the quiet of the house with no electricity…in the deep grief of the loss of a lifetime of memories…in the roar of a hungry child’s stomach…GOD IS STILL PRESENT.  And I don’t think his words are of condemnation or judgment or correction. Maybe his words don’t seem like words at all, but more like silent moments of God just providing his Almighty Presence, the Presence that feels a whole lot like love.

    As the rains continue to fall and as the rivers continue to rise, my prayer is that the Presence of the Almighty is felt…sometimes in words of a Psalmist or writer gifted by God…and sometimes in the Silence of the Almighty.  In our gratefulness, I pray that with our overwhelming place of giftedness, we find a way to give and serve like never before.  May this truly be a time to show love to our neighbor and become the hands and feet of Christ.  May this be our starting point rather than a short term event which launches forward Christ’s love to a world that feels so unlovable.

    Psalm 73:26, “My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

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