It is good...

Folks,

i missed last week, intentionally, because i wanted to see if anyone would notice. And one did. I often lament over all the work that goes into this blog, wondering if anyone really takes it seriously, and God answered my question. That being said, i will continue to post and pray that the rest of our congregation begins to ad some input and ideas to our message.

Let's dive into Sunday, shall we? Over the next year and on, i am approaching Sunday's message differently. I have often used the lectionary as a guide to seeking a Scripture for Sunday, and it has worked, well. But the reality is, without the lectionary or this blog, most people will have no idea what coming Scripture focuses will be, until now. I am going to do something new and challenging, but i sense it will push all of us deeper into the Bible, or at least that is my hope.

Starting Sunday, with Genesis chapter one, i will go through an entire book, one chapter at a time, before i move onto a different book. This Sunday is chapter one. Next Sunday we will study chapter two. And so on and so on. I will use the entire chapter, per Sunday, so that each and everyone of us can read the Scripture ahead of time and be ready with our own thoughts about the text. I feel this will do, at least, two different things. It will, i hope, push all of us into Scripture, studying it and letting the truth of God's word to guide us and mold us. But, i pray, it will also lead us to ad our own thoughts and ideas to the message, thus creating one communal message that represents who we are as a body. And oh yeah, when we have our small groups, which is in the process of being formed, the Scripture focus can and will be one of the lessons the small groups discuss. I see only good things emerging from this, and i cant wait to experience what God can do through us.

And now, to our message for Sunday. It is the Creation Narrative from Genesis chapter one. We all know it. We all have heard it. And, i am sure, most of us could, within reason, paraphrase the entire chapter. It is that familiar to us, which is a good thing. There is so much a community could do with this text. We could talk about God created all things, and we could dive into the creation/evolution debate. But i dont know if that serves any great purpose. We could talk about how God spent time creating humanity, which is key, but that could also be a topic for another discussion. Or we could talk about how God created humans to rule over the creation, but i dont know if that benefits anyone at this point.

However, if after you read the text, you find yourself moved to focus on those points, please add your comments to the of this blog. We will only grow and mature when all people add their voice to the story of our church family. Which leads me to my understanding and motivation for this text. After reading the Creation Narrative, i get a real sense that God intended His Created and all that comes with it, to be viewed as good. In other words, if God took the time to create, as i believe He did, anything and everything, than all that God created is good. The sun good. The earth good. The seas good. The rivers good. Birds, fish, cows, sheep, Adam, and Eve, all are good, because all were made by an artist with masterful hands.

So if God sees and believes it all to be good, what does that mean for us? How do we treat a masterpiece of art? Do we abuse it? Destroy it? Make sure future generations have to witness and enjoy the art from a cage or a zoo? Or do we take the masterpiece, lock it up, and make sure it can only be observed from a museum for things that existed long ago? What does it mean, brothers and sisters, to honor something that is good?

Have you ever created something, a meal, a painting, a garden, or even a child, and stood back and taken a deep breath and realized, "It is good?" If you have, than you have a glimpse into the mindset and love God has for His created. But, family, how did you respond to that work of art? Did you protect it? Hide it? Destroy it? Or did you use it all up, so that none can enjoy it? Did you put it away in a museum so it is safe but never experienced? When we have created something good, how do we treat said piece of art?

When i think about things i have created in the past, whether a garden, a batch of cookies, a house, or a son, i find that it is only beautiful, truly good, when i enjoy every moment i have with that masterpiece. I have to care for the garden or it will go to waste and no fruit will be had. I have to make sure there is balance and proper ingredients in the cookies or they will taste bad, not rise correctly, but then after they are finished i must cherish each bite. But i can't eat them all at once, it is too much good, too much beauty. I must take my time with the cookies. As far as the house, i have to keep it clean, protect it from things unsightly that look to devour it, but truly a house is only a house if it is lived in and enjoyed. And as for my son, whom God allowed me to have a hand in creating, with Him, i have enjoyed every second i have, even the trying ones. But i must protect him. Care for him. Help him become a responsible adult and a child of God. However, protecting him and caring for him, doesn't mean sheltering and storing him under the staircase. I have to let him go out and experience life and make mistakes and get hurt, because then and only then will he know that life is beautiful and painful.

And i think God approaches it the same way with us. God views us as good, but God also stands back and lets us feel pain, make mistakes, and find those valleys that are oppressive, knowing, as only God can, that there are mountaintops waiting to be climbed and enjoyed. That's, i sense, how God views us. But we, brothers and sisters, must also care for that which is good. We must care for our bodies. We must keep the animals in a balance. We must treat God's creation, our earth, with care and responsibility. We complain about leaving a huge debt for our children and our grandchildren, financial debt that is, but what happens when we leave them an earth that is beyond repair? Doesn't that make any financial burdens pale in comparison? We must ensure, i feel, that God's creation be available and enjoyed by many generations yet to come, because God created the earth to be good, and i believe it still is.

Any artist finds themselves taking a step back and staring, in wonder, at what they have created. Then they must entrust that creation into the hands of others, hoping that those persons will care, treat, and appreciate the masterpiece as much as the master themselves. Are we doing that with God's created? The good news is, if we aren't, is that we can begin today. We can stand, with God and each other, and stare at the canvas of God's Creation and say, in unison, it is good. But then we must live it as well.

What are your thoughts? Amen.

Maundy Thursday and abundant living

Family,

Today is one of those special days for us. It is Maundy Thursday, the day we celebrate the Love Feast, honoring the final Passover celebration Jesus shared with his disciples. It is a day i look forward to all year. It is a day, i hope, that each of you will begin to mark on your calendars as a can't miss opportunity. Today is a special day for us.

I have often wondered why our Maundy Thursday worship means so much to me. Is it because of my history degree and passion for our beginnings? Could be. Is it because Jesus did it? Might be. All of these are legitimate answers to why Maundy Thursday is so meaningful to me, but i think it goes much deeper. Sisters and brothers, this worship means so much to me, because it embodies all that worship should be.

We get a deep sense of community through our fellowship around the table. We learn about the power of serving and being served through washing each other's feet. We take of the bread and cup and renew our promise to follow Jesus as best we can, and in so doing, we also refresh our memories on the power of Jesus' sacrfice. We sing songs, raising our voices in praise. We read Scripture, allowing God's word to illumine our hearts, minds, and souls. And we pray, we pray as though God were in that sacred space, ready to heal our woundedness. Maundy Thursday is what worship could be, if we all came with the same expectations: to meet God.

But all too often, during our Sunday worship gatherings, we have too many things on our minds and we don't come to worship. Or. More disturbing. We refuse to worship, remaining silent during songs we don't know, doing our shopping lists during sermons, or getting up and doing whatever, simply because we would rather be some other place. If that is the case, if we come without the expectation and discipline to worship our Creator, why do we expect to meet Him on Sundays? If we come on Sundays, and we give only a half-hearted worship, because we are so self-absorbed, and we leave, complaining that we didn't feel God here, i wonder if that is God's fault? Or is it ours?

Who is to blame for worship that feels mundane and lifeless and spirit dry? God? Or us? Is it the fault of the worship team because the music isn't contemporary? Is the worship team at fault if the music isn't from standard "Brethren" list of songs? Is it the pastor's fault because he/she wants to have a message that is participatory? If we do not experience God, as believers, when we gather on a Sunday morning, who is to blame?

That's why Maundy Thursday is so special, because God is there and people feel God's presence. Why? Because they come to worship. Does everyone? No. But most people come to worship God and to participate in the worship of God. On Sunday, however, so many people just show up, without preparing for worship, and then worship has no influence or impact on their lives. And in some cases, we show up and protest all together. And somehow God is supposed to feel close to us?

And folks here is the truth of worship. If we come, willing to give ourselves, participate, and worship God: honestly and spiritually, it won't matter what music we have or if we have music. We WILL experience God's presence. More than that, just as our focus for this week deals with Jesus promising abundant living for those that call on His Name, when we come to worship, honestly and zealously, we will find life, real life, abundant life. It begins by moving from selfish consumers to spiritual worshippers of God. That's where abundant life begins.

We have to change the focus from self to the Creator. We have to spend all week preparing for worship, excited and ready to meet the Divine. And we have to quit coming to be entertained on Sunday and come ready to worship our God and Father. True life only begins when we leave selfish desires at the door and come ready to offer ourselves to the Creator of life.

Here is another secret. When we do. When we quit worrying about music and sermons and prayers, and we simply come and offer ourselves, Jesus moves in and surrounds us and heals us and directs us. We will finally be free to live as Jesus intended us to live. But it will never happen if we continue to want to be served on Sunday instead of coming to serve.

Maundy Thursday means a lot, because in all the years i have been a part of this powerful worship, people come to offer themselves and not complain about this, that, or the other. That same experience can happen every Sunday, if we only came with the same expectation, and when we do, we will finally find that life which is truly life. Amen.

Sunday's Message

Dear Family,

The message, for Sunday, is titled, "The Paradox of Orthodoxy." According to the online dictionary, Orthodoxy is defined as, "the quality or state of being orthodox," which led me to look up orthodox, so that we might have a clearer understanding of what orthodoxy is. Orthodox is defined as, "conforming to established doctrine, especially in religion." In other words, Orthodoxy are those foundational principles that each religion/faith attach themselves to. For the Church of the Brethren, some of those might be the peace stance, the simple living understanding, and our dependence on Spiritual revelation through the Word and community. Orthodoxy: that which marks us unique.

So if that is what orthodox means, what does paradox mean. Again i turn to my trusty online dictionary for a literal translation: a statement that is seemingly contradictory or against common sense. Now when we look at the message title, "The Paradox of Orthodoxy," it might appear that i have a deep disdain for orthodoxy, but perhaps there is another way to look at it. Perhaps it truly doesn't make sense to look at orthodoxy through the lens of common sense and tradition, because what if common sense and tradition are false? What if the lens we have been looking through, all along, really are scales that hide us from what is true?

Or yet another question might be? What truly is orthodoxy? What are actual tenets of the Christian faith that we cannot live without? What has been added by church tradition, possibly discoloring what was truly meant to be the Christian faith? How do we know what is true versus what is false? So many questions lead me to raise the point that orthodoxy, like so much of our lives, is based on human tradition and experience, which makes orthodoxy truly a paradox.

The text for this Sunday is Matthew 6: 5-15, i invite you to read this section from Jesus' sermon on the Mount. This is the famous section where Jesus begins to deconstruct the orthodox religion of first century Palestine. In that time, Jewish men and women memorized what was called "The Eighteen Benedictions," and they would recite these prayers three times a day: in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening. Now. They would stop and recite these prayers wherever they were, some times loudly, drawing attention to themselves.

This was the standard practice, or orthodoxy, of their time. The religious leaders probably taught it. The worshippers followed, to every minute detail, what their trusted religious leaders told them to do. And yet, Jesus says this form of orthodoxy really doesn't make sense. This praxis honors the one offering the prayer instead of the One receiving the prayer. When we, no matter if it is tradition or not, attract attention to ourselves, over the One we worship, we have made a mockery of what is true. Many times throughout church history, we have witnessed the absurdity of orthodox religion. Whether it was the obscene practice of indulgences, which promised, "With each new coin in the coffer clings a new soul into heaven brings." It was church doctrine that one would pay a tax in order to rescue a loved one from purgatory. The church leaders taught it as foundational and Christian, making it orthodoxy. The church leaders wanted to honor themselves and their churches, without honoring God. They made something doctrinal which never was meant to be.

Like the public prayers that draw attention to ourselves. But Jesus doesn't stop there. He not only calls out the Jewish leaders, but He calls out the Gentile ones as well. It was again a standard practice within the Pagan religion for Gentile worshippers to stand around and utter a bunch of words that didn't make any sense or have any relevance. Why? To make themselves feel superior. They took honor away from the One, so that others would look to them for leadership.

Here is where i took one to the chin, because i often offer many names to God while entering prayer. But according to Matthew, Jesus makes it clear that is not necessary. I have been taught, through church practice, that we should offer multitude of Names and adjectives to describe God, because God is so much bigger, but in essence, i have diverted attention from God, while attracting attention to my own language. I have become one of the religious leaders that loves to hear my own voice, without recognizing the Author of my voice.

The beauty of Jesus is that He doesn't leave us without guidelines. He takes orthodoxy and turns it on its head, so that it no longer holds water. But then Jesus gives us a foundational prayer that we are to use, which makes this prayer a tenet, a practice, and dare i say orthopraxy. Meaning doctrinal practice that is used in religous ceremonies. In essence, i get the sense that Jesus doesn't want us to throw out that which is foundational to our beliefs and identity, but that Jesus wants us to honor the Creator of those beliefs: God the Father. Jesus illustrates this with the LORD's Prayer. It is short. It is sweet. It names our dependence on God. It addresses God in His most intimate name: Father. It reminds us that God is in control. His will matters, not ours. Jesus redirects our attention from ourselves to God, which really makes the most sense anyway.

But Jesus doesn't end there. He adds a little lesson on the end to illustrate the power of our faith. Brothers and sisters, a prayer without meat is like the empty words the Gentiles offered to the air, so Jesus makes it clear that we are not to simply pray these words, we are to grab a hold of them and own them. What are these words? "For if you forgive others when they sin against you, your heavnely Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

At the heart of the Christian faith, at the heart of all Christian orthodoxy, is the power of forgiveness. Beginning with God forgiving us for all that we have done against Him, but then also we forgivining each other, no matter what has happened. This is the key. This is what should be thought of when people think of the Christian faith: they are a bunch of people who love and forgive, no matter what. But can that really be said of us? If not, then we again have witnessed and experienced the paradox of orthodoxy. Forgiveness doesn't make sense. Love without boundaries doesn't make sense.

And yet, if we refuse to do these, God will withhold His forgiveness from us. I have done plenty in my life to deserve punishment; i think its time i lean on the foundational practices of my faith:
love and forgiveness. I dont want to face God without knowing God's love and forgiveness await me. Amen...