Don't Go Belly Up!

Don’t Go Belly Up!

 

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Our citizenship is in heaven 

 

3:17 Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.

 

3:18 For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears.

 

3:19 Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.

 

3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

3:21 He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.

 

4:1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

 

I have long been a fan of Elon Musk because of his brilliance in literally “creating” the electric car world, advancing the cause of solar power, and most especially, launching SpaceX as an independent and highly successful space transport system. His Falcon 9 boosters launch almost every other day with payloads for various governments and corporations, and as you have most likely seen, SpaceX keeps the costs low by returning those same boosters safely to earth, to be reused numerous times. (I follow launches through an app on my smart phone called “Next Space Flight,” which alerts me every time a launch is pending, anywhere in the world.)

 

In today’s text, Paul warns the Philippian Christians about allowing their “belly” (wealth, lust, literal hunger) to become their “god,” or the main, guiding force in their lives. This is exactly what appears to be happening with Elon Musk, my former “hero.” With his billions going to his head, along with the power they have bought him—right into the Oval Office, in fact—he has succumbed to this “belly god” thing, hasn’t he? A man who impressed me with both his brilliance AND his humility a few years ago has been transformed into an egotistical, race-bating, lying and slanderous man who has been put in charge of a willy-nilly slashing of the federal budget and work force, ranging from the social safety-net programs to the support of our military veterans. And to what end? More for his hungry “belly.” A billionaire and the world’s richest man, he is in charge of cutting government spending with the goal of freeing up funds for planned big tax cut. And if things stand true to past forms, this tax cut will benefit the wealthiest Americans most of all, even IF it provides some relief for those of us in the “great unwashed” ranks of society. (The belly-god people hold on to power by throwing the poor “dogs” a bone, from time to time.)

 

But there are consequences to selling out to one’s “belly hunger.” Musk’s Tesla is falling on hard times, with its vehicle sales and stock prices cratering. And speaking of falling, his SpaceX “Starship” venture has been exploding and raining flaming debris on a large section of the Caribbean! When is the last time you heard anything about his innovative solar roof tiles, his impressive battery technology to store solar power, or his truly fascinating “Neurolink”? Even for a genius, giving in to your “belly lust” for power, and coming to believe you are the ONLY ONE who can “fix” anything, extricates you from your own signature achievements, which may then fall into disrepair. 

 

We have certainly seen many of our favorite celebrities done in by this belly-lust, haven’t we? The rare Tom Hanks types, who have managed to keep both relationships and career stable and to some degree humble, become notable by their seeming ability to eschew the belly-lust for power. Neither do they seem to be swallowed up by the considerable wealth their success has brought them. Some famous figures like Warren Buffett have made commitments to donate sizeable portions of their largess to charity or noble causes like climate change or poverty. In their rare case, that their own bellies are “full enough” has enabled them to look beyond their own needs to see that they have been “empowered” to help the world in other ways. In the movie “Contact,” a wealthy multi-billionaire industrialist named S.R. Hadden bankrolls scientific ventures aimed at unlocking secrets of the universe. He confesses, though, that as his life is being eroded away by cancer, he has “taken much” from the world, and now wants to “give back” before his days are done. The fictional S.R. Hadden historically mirrors American industrialists—what have been dubbed “robber barons”—like Andrew Carnegie, who “gave away” much of their wealth before they died. In Carnegie’s case, much of it went to establish community libraries, while interestingly, some was used to install “state-of-the-art” pipe organs in churches throughout the Pittsburgh/Allegheny County area. This “guilt washing” is a very different type of philanthropy; in the scriptural metaphor, it is almost a kind of regurgitation of their ”belly-lust,” for it was their hunger for wealth and power that led them to “fill their bellies” in the first place, and their latter-day guilt over how they accomplished that that led to the “vomiting up” of some of their larder. 

 

Spiritual “giants” aren’t immune to this belly-lust, either. The Christian realm is overflowing with examples of evangelical “luminaries” who got greedy or power-hungry and destroyed their ministries. Billy Sunday, about whom some say was the model of Sinclair Lewis’s novel “Elmer Gantry,” comes to mind, as does Jim Bakker, the founder of the television ministry, “The PTL Club.” He and his weird wife, Tammy Faye Bakker, built an evangelical empire in Charlotte, North Carolina, only to lose it all to multiple bouts of belly-lust. As a pastor in my first church, I found that more than one of my parishioners had succumbed to the temptation to become a “life member” of Jim and Tammy Bakker’s giant Christian “Disneyland” in Charlotte, sending hundreds and hundreds of dollars their way, only to lose their ”membership privileges” when the Bakkers were prosecuted and their “Heritage USA” complex was sold to a Jewish businessman. Even beyond the initial scandal, the indigestion from belly-lust didn’t rest, as while Jim was in jail, Tammy Faye divorced him and ran off with the general contractor of “Heritage USA.” 

 

[I might add a personal side note here. In my prior career, working as the director of small, non-profit cable TV enterprise that produced local TV shows and aired them on local cable TV stations in Venango County, we aired Bakker’s “The PTL CLUB” program, which was sponsored by a local church. In the late 1970s, we received this show from PTL Ministries on expensive video tapes each week. After airing the Monday-Friday nightly program, we would package the tapes and send them along on the “bicycle,” meaning on to the next cable station that would air them. As Bakker’s PTL Ministries company continued to grow, at one point, we were not being told where to ship the tapes to next, and they began to pile up in our storage room. I called PTL and spoke with a supervisor named Jim Hightower, who asked me if we could erase and reuse these tapes in our TV production work. I told him we certainly could, as these were expensive items, and the tapes from PTL were “top of the line.” “Fine,” Hightower said, “we’re just rollin’ in it down here (meaning money!) and if you can use ‘em, KEEP em’!” It was then that I could see that PTL Ministries was heading for a bellyache of IMMENSE proportions!]

 

I get a weekly email from an organization called MinistryWatch that reports on various financial impropriety and scandal in Christian ministries. It is so sad to read their account of WAY too much belly-lust going on in “the church.” Embezzlement, marital infidelity, sexual misconduct with children and youth, are just a few of the things happening because people may so easily allow their “belly” to become their god. In 1887, British Lord Acton wrote to Bishop Creighton of the Anglican Church, warning him that both public and religious leaders should be held accountable because “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely!” He was perfectly describing the “discomfort” of belly-lust.

 

We may be living in a world today where belly-lust and the “Belly God” reign supreme. Not only do we indulge UNBELIEVABLE grabs of power and wealth by politicians and billionaire industrialists, shopping magnates, and “content creators,” but we “commoners” shell out HUNDREDS (even thousands?) of dollars for tickets to sporting events and concerts because the “entertainers” involved rake in piles of money for their often sub-standard output. Are we not “feeding” their belly-lust by doing so? I just got a notice from my cable TV company after the first of the year that my “annual” rate increase would again be almost 10%, meaning that I am currently paying more for my TV service than I paid for a car payment during the first 20 years of my marriage! I may be the next one to “cut the cable.” These prices are going UP because every single programmer needs to feed their growling belly, er bank account.

 

Paul is writing this stuff to his friends in the church at Philippi for good reason: the early church was not only not IMMUNE to this “god of the belly” phenomenon, but it was ripe for it. The budding Christian church, unlike the rather structured synagogues and temple of Judaism of the day, had little “official” structure and almost no accountability. It relied on the higher “ethics and morals” of the teachings of Jesus, but as they say, “When the cat’s away, the mice will play,” and until the early church built in some structure and accountability, belly-lust was awfully strong, and the newest converts were often weak against its hunger pangs. And, of course, the fledgling church was also ripe for those who wanted to prey upon it, and that is at least partly what Paul is speaking to in this passage. I know, as Christians with a conscience, we all may say, “How could they do that?” Well, look around. Have you heard of SCAMS over the phone, the Internet, or via texts going on today? And who are the victims? Often the most vulnerable among us, especially senior citizens and the less educated. It happens in the church, too, as many of these con artists KNOW that religious people are often too easy in doling out trust and too guilty if successfully scammed to report it to the authorities. This is a fertile field for scammers! In his day, Paul loved the folk at Philippi and didn’t want them to be either victimized or controlled by people with terminal belly-lust. We feel the same way today about our loved ones, but the only way to remain diligent is to be AWARE of its power and “reach,” and be willing to share information designed to protect each other and the church against such exploitation. This is why groups like Ministry Watch exist, as well as financial giving watchdogs like “Charity Navigator,” which is a great online tool to “check out” any organization you may wish to support. 

 

Friends, none of us is immune to making our own desires or personal lusts into a god at whose “feet” we worship. I’m amazed at how even a moderate amount of sudden financial gain or acquisition of power can change a person. Years ago, we had a member of our home church who was stricken with a disability due to an errant medication. She became paraplegic, and received a multi-million dollar settlement from the drug company. As our church was involved in a building campaign, the woman offered a generous gift to assure that all aspects of the new building would not only meet the current ADA guidelines, but would have various helpful “conveniences” included. However, once her settlement was “in the bank,” an attorney advising the woman STRONGLY urged her to renege on the gift, governed by his own “fear” of her running out of money. It was his belly-lust that quenched the Spirit, in this case. Likewise, one of my saddest stories from 36-plus years in ministry tells the tale of WAY too many families that were negatively affected by an inheritance, even very moderate ones. The belly-lust generated by a few tens of thousands of dollars, even, put brothers and sisters, or children and parents at loggerheads with each other, and/or seemed to turn generous, caring individuals into fearful, overly paranoid ones, or even into spendthrifts, buying things they had “lusted” after for years, or using their “found wealth” to move into larger quarters, none of which they could support when the inheritance ran out.

 

So, beyond the caution Paul gives us of the lure of belly-lust, what are we to learn from this passage of scripture? Paul suggests we develop a “hunger” for the Kingdom of God, of which he reminds us we are citizens. If we hunger after the teachings of Jesus, and after the contented, Christian life, our psychological “tummies” will be satiated with grace rather than “grease.” As many of you know, I went on a personal “crusade” to lose 50 pounds and make myself healthier. With counsel from my dietitian/wife, I used an app to keep close track of what I ate and to properly portion my intake to lose a pound a week. Now that I am at the weight I set as my goal, I have remained diligent, and STILL use the app daily to record what I’m eating, and have set it to “maintain.” This is a decent metaphor for how to keep our spiritual “tummies” happy—monitor what you are doing to “feed” them, worship with other believers and interact with them, as they are a much healthier “environment” for you! You won’t be tempted to give in to the belly-lust yearning so easily! In my healthier eating goals, it meant staying out of McDonalds, Taco Bell, or a the bakery section of our market, and learning to eat smaller portions. You can figure out your own spiritual parallels to these “eating” behaviors—I trust you. I had a dietitian to help me along the way in my weight management quest. WE have the living Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and a “cloud of witnesses” (our fellow Christian friends) to keep us on “our program.” Just remember: when your tummy “growls,” you can either fill it with good, nutritious “foods” and a reasonable amount of them at that, or give in to the belly-lust and order up a couple of Big Macs, fries, and a Coke. Spiritual interpretation? Stay away from Joel Osteen and start your morning with one of the Apostle Paul’s epistles with a side of Richard Rohr! Bon Appetit!

 

The Eagle Has Landed

The Eagle Has Landed

 

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Saved from Egypt 

 

26:1 "When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess and you possess it and settle in it,

 

26:2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.

 

26:3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, 'Today I declare to the LORD your God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us.'

 

26:4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the LORD your God,

 

26:5 you shall make this response before the LORD your God: 'A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous.

 

26:6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us,

 

26:7 we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.

 

26:8 The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders;

 

26:9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

 

26:10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me.' You shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down before the LORD your God.

 

26:11 Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house.

 

A land flowing with milk and honey. Sure sounds inviting, doesn’t it? Many years ago, a friend and I went to Phoenix, Arizona, rented an apartment, got jobs, and “explored the country,” as they say. I had never been to Arizona, and with its daily sunshine (it rained ONCE during the months we lived there), almost non-existent humidity, and beautiful, desert landscapes, it first appeared as a paradise to this Western Pennsylvania “oil boy.” And don’t get me wrong, I truly enjoyed my time in Arizona, especially some of the female company I found there, but after the initial “luster” wore off, there were a few realities with which to deal. First of all, my early morning trek to my job on Indian School Road from our place in Scottsdale was a chilly one. It would often be in the high 40s at 6:30AM (I had to be at work by 7:00AM), so I would wear my leather-sleeved varsity coat, and with almost zero humidity, it felt FREEZING in the shadows. By the time I came home in the afternoon, it might be 105 degrees, so I would carry my varsity coat on a stick in front of me, so no part of it would touch my body. I went golfing one weekend with a friend, and on one hole, my ball sliced over a fence into the desert at the highly-irrigated course’s fringe. From the green fairway I could see my ball on the other side of the fence, but right next to it was a medium-sized Diamondback Rattle Snake. Needless to say, I took a Mulligan. One day, I noticed the exterminator spraying around the eaves of our one-story apartment building, and I asked him what he was spraying for. He said, “Here, come with me.” He took me to the still under construction apartment down the alley behind our place, and pointed up under the eaves there. “We haven’t started treating this place yet, since they are still building it, but do you see those guys?” “Those guys” were a bunch of Black Widow spiders! This land of “Milk and Honey” had some surprises. Another thing…we had arrived in Scottsdale during the Summer, and found great quarters in a fairly new apartment complex that had been built for the “snowbirds,” the folk who moved into the Arizona climate from the North, during the Winter months. Landlords were happy to rent these places to any decent human during the Summer and Fall months, but come the first of December, our rent would have gone up TEN fold! It didn’t matter, though, as all of the “snowbird” apartments were already spoken for. SO, our “milk and honey” land would force us home to Western PA, just after Thanksgiving. 

 

Israel and their promised land had similar “hidden” issues, though more of theirs were about the responsibilities that come from occupying a new land. While it might have been “flowing with milk and honey,” it would also mean a lot of work to keep it protected, productive, and to develop a lifestyle and ethic that would be honoring to the “landlord”—God. Furthermore, the Hebrew code of hospitality would require the residents of Israel to welcome “strangers and sojourners” (immigrants and drifters) into their land, care for them, and even treat them with all of the rights of citizenship. (Knowing what modern Israel has been doing with Palestinians and other residents of the West Bank, one must wonder what in the world happened to this code? I realize that this latest war was triggered by an attack from Hamas, but honestly, one must wonder if the REAL cause of the hostility was the marginalizing, and “land-grabbing” Israel has been foisting upon the West Bank residents. Having visited with some of these people while on an educational trip to the Holyland a few years back, I can certainly see why they do not feel “welcomed” by the state of Israel.) 

 

This week’s news included a story about an unmanned, robotic spacecraft that managed to soft-land on the Moon, after which it sent back some impressive photographs of its surroundings. The Moon is littered with similar spacecraft that did not finding landing such a soft proposition, so this “Blue Ghost,” as it’s called, made news. The story reminded me, an incurable “space geek,” of humanity’s first successful manned lunar landing by Apollo 11 in the Summer of 1969. Neil Armstrong’s historic report that “the Eagle has landed” kind of became a catch phrase for almost any successful arrival for travelers the world over. I’m sure Israel had some version of this pronouncement when they finally set foot in the promised land. While their world might have been flowing with milk and honey, these things were not on tap! It would take a lot of husbandry and work to tame even this world, AND, as I mentioned earlier, a strong allegiance with their heavenly landlord. When they skipped or scrimped on either of these responsibilities, things didn’t go well for them. 

 

So it was the with beautiful, yet hostile land Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin found at the Sea of Tranquility. Aldrin dubbed it “magnificent desolation,” so it was. These first lunar astronauts—and the 10 who would follow them on subsequent missions—had to bring along their own “friendly” environment and amazingly technical space suits in which to explore the unfriendly terrain. They “invented” a unique way of “bunny-hopping” as the best way to navigate in bulky space suits in the one-sixth gravity of the Moon, and while there was some levity around the many times those 12 men lost their balance and fell onto the lunar surface, any of those spills could have been tragic, had they cut open their suits on a sharp rock, of which there were many. There were a few other surprises that even “Houston” didn’t know about, too. First of all, the fact that there is no air, water, or wind on the Moon meant that the soil and the rocks suffered from no “smoothing” by erosion. The lunar “dust” was made up of tiny, very sharp particles that made it stick together almost like it WAS laden with honey, AND it stuck to everything it touched, such as the fabric of the space suits. This fact is why the suits got so very DIRTY, and stayed that way, and why so much of it got into the two spacecraft. It’s also why the whacky “deniers” questioned the veracity of the moon landing, as they argued that the “real” Moon had no water, and they believed the presence of moisture to be the only explanation for the “tackiness” of the lunar soil. Also, the astronauts were surprised and a bit “concerned” that, when they finished their Moon walk, repressurized the Lunar Module, and took off their space suits, they found the plentiful lunar soil had a quite pungent odor similar to gunpowder. (No one had ever smelled the Moon before.) This stuff fascinates me! The Eagle’s landing on what was certainly the “promised land” for NASA and President Kennedy’s goal turned out to be a place of “magnificent desolation,” indeed, much like what Israel found when THEY landed in their promised land.

 

So, where are we going with this sermon? Well, LENT is a time to resurvey the “promised land” and to square up with the landlord! We all want the experience the “milk and honey” aspect of such a place, but are we willing to take on the responsibilities of land stewardship, hospitality to the “sojourners” we may encounter, and are we prepared for the occasional “beastly” challenge that may come along even in a blessed land? Preparation is a key word for the Lenten season. Our United Methodist liturgy uses the phrase, “Invitation to the Lenten Discipline,” and this invitation uses words such as “devotion,” “spiritual preparation,” “reconciled by penitence and forgiveness,” “restored,” “renew our faith,” “examination,” and even “self-denial” in its challenge to us as to how we “prepare.” It is SO important to understand—even as this particular liturgy does—that “self-denial” is not about giving up something stupid like PIZZA for Lent, but is instead challenging us to put our own needs and concerns on the “back burner” while becoming more attentive to the needs of others around us, and most especially the wider needs of the faith community. Some fast during Lent, which is a serious spiritual discipline, but the role of fasting has more to do with this self-denial aspect than it does with “bribing God to act,” as some try to use fasting to do. Yes, Mahatma Ghandi went on a hunger strike to get his people to not use violence against the British authorities, but Lenten fasting is NOT the same thing as a politically motivated hunger strike. Again, Lent is again a time to take stock, reassess the current reality of our spiritual life, and recommit ourselves to serving God and others. Confession and repentance is certainly part of that, but they are just the “opener,” not the end result of our Lenten disciplines. 

 

Had the Eagle just landed on the Moon, and never got off of it, we would not be celebrating the historic accomplishments of Apollo 11 and her crew. I sometimes think this is what the church does—either celebrates too early or starts the hand-wringing over its difficulties LONG before the mission is over. Like Apollo 11’s Lunar Module, the church needs to GET UP and relaunch itself for its mission to go forward, let alone ever be completed. Had the Eagle only landed and never blasted back off the Moon, we would be holding an annual memorial service, remembering the lives of the two expired astronauts. Frankly, we have WAY too many churches that are just holding memorial services for their dying church, rather than looking for innovative ways to “relaunch” it into the mission. Lent IS a time for such relaunching, AND it is a time to innovate. If there ever was a time when the Christian church needed critical, creative thinkers, that time is now. And while Lent is also a time we can petition the “Landlord” for more improvements to our situation, we should take a fresh look at the “lease” (God’s Word) to see what is expected of us!

 

Friends, as this text says, we ALL want to “celebrate the bounty” of the promised land, and we should, but such “bounties” only come about because we plant and tend to the crop before the harvest can come. May we all find a renewed energy and interest in BECOMING the Beloved Community that beckons the sojourners and strangers to come! Amen!

  

The Lighthouse

 

The Lighthouse

 

Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a)

Jesus is transfigured on the mountain 

9:28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.

9:29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.

9:30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him.

9:31 They appeared in glory and were speaking about his exodus, which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem.

9:32 Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but as they awoke they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.

9:33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us set up three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah," not realizing what he was saying.

9:34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were terrified as they entered the cloud.

9:35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"

9:36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

9:37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him.

9:38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child.

9:39 Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him.

9:40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not."

9:41 Jesus answered, "You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here."

9:42 While he was being brought forward, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

9:43a And all were astounded at the greatness of God.

Every time I read any of the scriptures about Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, I think of this gospel song that I first heard sung by the gospel quartet, The Couriers, who used to make guest appearances at our church:

The Lighthouse (by Ronnie Hinson)

 

There's a lighthouse on the hillside
That overlooks life's sea
When I'm tossed, it sends out a light
That I might see
And the light that shines in darkness now
Will safely lead us o'er
If it wasn't for the lighthouse
My ship would be no more

 

It seems that every one about us says,
Tear that old lighthouse down
The big ships just don't pass this way anymore
So there's no use in standin' round.
Then my mind goes back to that one dark, stormy night
When just in time I saw the light
Yes, it was the light from that old lighthouse
That stands up there on the hill

 

And I thank God for the lighthouse
I owe my life to Him
Jesus is the lighthouse
And from the rocks of sin
He has shown a light around me
That I might clearly see
If it wasn't for the lighthouse
Tell me where would this ship be

 

Dara has always enjoyed lighthouses. In our parsonage in Coraopolis, which was basically a mansion on “mansion row” on State Avenue, there was a room on the first floor that was decorated in a “ship” motif, and we decided to keep that décor and used it to display our growing lighthouse collection. Most of the little lighthouse statues we had were of ones we had actually visited in our travels. In October of 2020, during COVID, when travel was rather limited, I arranged for us to spend a week in the lighthouse keeper’s house at the Cove Point Lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay. Cove Point is still a working lighthouse, but is now automated, so the local historical society has renovated the keeper’s house and rents it out. It’s on a private, gated jetty on the bay, so it was a perfect, secluded place to spend a COVID vacation! Lighthouses have long been a symbol of the guiding light of the Son of God, as Hinson’s gospel song attests. There is something romantic and even spiritual about the lighthouse, sending out its beams of light to guide ships, give them their bearings, and keep them from running aground, isn’t there? On our first cruise out of the Port of Baltimore a couple of years after our Cove Point stay, we were able to locate that lighthouse from the deck of the ship as we sailed the Chesapeake toward the Atlantic Ocean. It was cool to see the beam from “our lighthouse” pulsing from the shore of that jetty!

 

We all know that Jesus proclaimed himself the light of the world, and then later “transferred” that light to us, suggesting that WE are the light of the world, as his witnesses. Truth is, we—at best—REFLECT the light of Christ to the world, but nonetheless, we have an opportunity to cast illumination on a world always teetering on darkness and ruin. In the story of the transfiguration, Jesus ACTUALLY GLOWS with the presence of the Living God, a light so bright, so powerful that it attracts not moths, but Moses and Elijah! It’s no wonder that Peter wants to turn the experience into a permanent shrine and just “stay” there. It’s where we get the term, “mountaintop experience,” isn’t it? But of course, the disciples and Jesus DID have to descend from the Mount of Transfiguration, and when they did, the spiritual darkness plaguing the world below hit them in the face, as they encountered the boy with a demon. 

 

None of us likes to come face to face with these kinds of harsh realities. Honestly, it would be nice if our most serious troubles could be neatly wrapped up in some evil spirit that could be “cast out,” affecting a complete healing or cleansing. However, real life is messier than that. Rarely are any of our troubles in manageable, neat packages, and more rarely still are they so easily “cast out.” As a pastor, I have been saddened by how many times a church member or a family has had to deal with layered challenges and complicated, interwoven troubles, be they physical, spiritual, or psychological. WAY too often in our contemporary society we see persons facing serious illness, coupled with inadequate health insurance or a dearth of available medical treatment anywhere near them. And on top of that, there are forces in our government that want to further reduce the healthcare people DO have, thinking it will “save money.” Not only has history shown that nothing could be farther from the truth, but this idea totally lacks compassion for our fellow members of the human community who find themselves in need. Maybe it’s time we think about building fewer bombers or cruise missiles, if we want to save tax dollars, rather than cut off peoples’ Medicare or Medicaid? Talk about a need for transfiguration!

 

There is something peaceful about a lighthouse, and the soft, yet essential light it casts out into the night. Lighthouses are quiet—they don’t make a sound, as they go about their business. And yet, their influence is quite profound, especially if you are a ship floundering on a stormy night near a shoal or a shore you know may be your undoing. Modern lighthouses have LED illumination or even electronic strobe lighting, but I have always enjoyed the rich history of the earlier lighting employed in these life-saving structures. Some lighthouses still use something called a Fresnel lens, which is a layered glass “globe” that results in both amplifying the brightness and narrowly focusing the light created by a bulb at its center. I think the Fresnel lens is a good symbol for the church of Jesus Christ! Are we not called to amplify and focus the life-giving light of Christ to the world, and to shine it in all directions into the darkness of the world? In the history of lighthouses, people were always improving these Fresnel lenses so they would do an even better job of “transmitting” the light of the lighthouse. We are in an era of the church when we, too, have a calling to IMPROVE the way we reflect God’s light, and yet instead, we are engaging in doctrinal “wars,” splits, and disaffiliations. Rather than build a better lens, we are breaking up the beam and scattering the light. God will judge us for this, I fear. 

 

As we ponder the miracle of the Transfiguration of Jesus, may be believe anew in the miracle of the Body of Christ. May we choose to “improve our serve” by building a better lens instead of hoarding our light under a bushel. Unlike modern lighthouses that no longer need keepers to tend them, OUR lighthouse—the church—needs us all, as well as our gathered spiritual gifts. Oh, and lighthouses do not restrict where their light shines, do they? ANY SHIP within eyeshot can see the light and be guided safely to harbor by it. ANY ship. Imagine how pointless it would be to have a lighthouse that could only be seen by certain ships. I just don’t know what some Christians are thinking, in this regard. The light is meant to guide and direct EVERY ship, and the light is not something to “possess” or “guard” like some theological doctrine. The light IS a guard, saving “ships” from crashing into the rocky shores of life. 

 

Years ago I heard an apocryphal story about a radio conversation from an American ship to Canadian authorities. It went like this:

 

Americans: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision.

 

Canadians: Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

 

Americans: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.

Canadians: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.

 

Americans: This is the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln, the second largest ship in the United States' Atlantic fleet. We are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers and numerous support vessels. I demand that YOU change your course 15 degrees north, that's one five degrees north, or countermeasures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.

 

Canadians: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

 

There’s a message in this parabolic story for the church. If all we’re doing is throwing our “weight”—our “biblical authority” around—we’re not at all doing the work of shining the light of Christ, abiding by its guidance, and reflecting it to other “ships” that are floundering. WAY too often, in midst of the pointless theological battles and debates swirling around the church, I can hear the steady voice of God from GOD’S anchored-on-the-rock lighthouse returning the message, “Your call.” Amen.

 

Reunion

 

Reunion

 

Genesis 45:3-11, 15

Joseph forgives his brothers 

 

45:3 Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.

 

45:4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer. He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.

 

45:5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.

 

45:6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.

 

45:7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors.

 

45:8 So it was not you who sent me here but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

 

45:9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me; do not delay.

 

45:10 You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.

 

45:11 I will provide for you there, since there are five more years of famine to come, so that you and your household and all that you have will not come to poverty.'

 

45:15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them, and after that his brothers talked with him.

 

This is NOT a reunion Joseph’s brothers were either expecting nor desiring. As we know from the story, their jealousy of Joseph and his special treatment by their father led to their selling him into slavery in Egypt, and faking his death to lie to their father, Jacob. Now, here they were, hoping to garner some food from the stores of Egypt because of famine in their land, and who do they meet, but their old “bro.” I’m guessing that once they recognized who this was, they were ready for the stockades themselves. In the vernacular, “We’re screwed!”

 

That Jacob, the father, had played favorites never helped the situation, back in the day. Jacob—one not known as having much discretion—had pulled the wool over so many peoples’ eyes in his life that it took an actual “wrestling match” with God to get serious. Unfortunately, when it came to child-rearing, he hadn’t learned much. Joseph was a gifted lad, indeed, but to shower him with gifts and praise in front of his siblings certainly helped percolate the eventual bad deed, on their part. The “coat of many colors” of the story’s fame, is more symbolic, than anything else. It’s a convenient story element or “shortcut” communicating dad’s favoritism, AND standing for how public Jacob was with it. Every loving parent has played the “favorite” card as a technique in parenting as a means of encouraging a child, but never overtly, and certainly never in front of any siblings, as this would be both stupid and cruel. Telling a child privately that there is something about them that you particularly are proud of can be quite uplifting, especially to a child who may be waning in self-confidence. Using the old “Why can’t you be more like your brother (or sister)?” is moving in the wrong direction, though. Jacob goes way beyond that. Sure, as a “man of God,” Jacob may have detected that Joseph had the “Prophet’s gift” on him, especially in the way he could interpret dreams and such, but rubbing Joseph’s brothers’ noses in it set the stage for Joseph’s exile to Egypt. Jacob, by the way, was one of those “Godly scoundrels” in the Bible, like David. While I like that God demonstrates time and time again that God can use anybody to advance the cause of the Divine Commonwealth, I do sort of question why so many of the “heroes” of the Bible have such a checkered past. We should remember that this history was largely written by men, and for whatever reason, many members of my gender LIKE the “scoundrels” and get excited when they “do good.” Note that even the Bible history is soft on the repercussions of their sin, to some degree. David sends Uriah the Hittite to his death on the battlefield so he can claim Bathsheba, and we don’t really hear much about how much pain that must have caused Uriah’s family, or even how it affected Bathsheba, because the story is all about David. 

 

Joseph was no paragon of humility, either. He parades his “coat of many colors” around his brothers, which includes bragging about the self-aggrandizing dreams he is having. In this, Joseph sounds much like the proverbial “chip off the old block,” as humility was never one of Jacob’s traits, either. (After all, he WRESTLES WITH GOD and complains that God CHEATED!) 

 

All good biblical stories are about redemption, aren’t they? I’m not one that gets excited about stories centering on judgment or retribution, as these don’t build community, though certain acts of law and enforcement may be necessary to maintain it. Some people like the apocalyptic stories we find smattered throughout the scriptures, but usually for the wrong reasons. Their original intent was to offer a persecuted, down-trodden peoples hope that God IS in charge, ultimately. Modern “fans” of it, though, often find fascination in the “fulfilment of prophecy” or see “justice” in the Second Coming, believing that Jesus will return to judge and “get even” with bad actors. I am not convinced that this is at all what is going to happen, as we believe in a forgiving, redeeming God, not one that “exists” to slam those whose path has taken them away from the divine will. Thankfully, the Joseph story in this text is truly one of forgiveness and redemption!

 

The brothers experience these values when they find themselves before the brother they sold into slavery over their jealousy. Joseph offers them redemption as a kind of “Christ” figure, acting out what Jesus would someday exclaim from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Joseph’s version was, “What you meant for evil, God meant for good,” meaning that Joseph’s ultimate “salvation” of Egypt, using his prophetic gift during the time of drought, also led to his reunion with his brothers, where he saved them and his father, too. 

 

I referred to Joseph as a “Christ figure,” meaning that he is the key redemptive element in this story. However, Joseph finds his own redemption here, too. Think of it—he could have decided to lock up his brothers and punish them for what they did to him, when they presented themselves unexpectedly before him in Egypt. The same people who get off on the “Second Coming” stuff might have liked it, had Joseph used his power and position to get even. But Joseph takes the high ground, forgiving his brothers, rejoicing in his reunion with them, offering the “What you meant for evil…” theological lesson, and literally saving them from starvation. Joseph chooses the better way. And while he does take a bit of a brief ego trip—referring to himself as the “Lord of Egypt”—he survives as a humble servant of the Most High God, and a loving sibling to his brothers.

 

The story may also serve as our own “reunion” with the values Jesus taught us, namely the aforementioned forgiveness and redemption. We are called to the “ministry of reconciliation,” in the words of the Apostle Paul, not as “enforcers” of God’s anger over the stumbling of our neighbors. Remember the parable Jesus told about the guy who owes his master a huge sum of money? During a jubilee year, the master forgives the man the great debt. However, rather than paying it forward, the forgiven man goes out and finds a poor schlepp who owes him a few dollars and DEMANDS that he repay it immediately, under the threat of being thrown into debtor’s prison. When the master hears of this, he has the man brought before him again, and he revokes his own pardon of him, telling his servants to “throw him into the outer darkness.” We have been warned about carrying grudges and relishing in retribution. 

 

We are also reminded yet again that God forgives and redeems us in Jesus Christ, and we must now choose how to pay it forward in our own lives. The story of Joseph and his brothers is yet another reminder of just who God is, and how the genuine people of God are to respond to our own redemption. Our final “reunion” is with our own conscience. May we, like Joseph, choose the better way to behave! Amen.

The God Bless Its

The God Bless-Its

 

Luke 6:17-26

Blessings on the poor, woes on the rich 

6:17 He came down with them and stood on a level place with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon.

6:18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.

6:19 And everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

6:20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

6:21 "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

6:22 "Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.

6:23 Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven, for that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

6:24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

6:25 "Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. "Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.

6:26 "Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets."

Today’s text is the Lukan version of what are classically called the “Beatitudes” teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Note that the crowd came for healings and supernatural deliverance from demons, seeking “the power that came out from him.” They got some of that, for sure, but they also got an earful. Jesus mixed morals with pleasure, something that has never been popular with “the crowd.” We like our pleasure sans morality, generally, as somewhere along the way, we’ve adopted the idea that pleasure must be edgy, lustful, even “evil,” if it is to be any fun. I suppose this is really nothing new, as otherwise, Jesus wouldn’t have felt the need to offer his corrective words over two thousand years ago. His assessment of what was good and right runs smack into the face of temporal, carnal, self-indulgent pleasure.

I had a guy in my first church, many years ago, who used to challenge me on something. He was a really good guy whom I quite liked, but he had a hangup over “deathbed” or “jail cell” conversions. He would say, “You mean to tell me that these people can enjoy carousing around, drinking to excess, chasing women (remember, this was a guy born in the 30s and it was 1985), and mocking God, then make a commitment to Christ at the last minute and go to heaven? That doesn’t sound RIGHT to me.” I would answer back, “Listen to yourself! You make it sound like those things are the only ‘fun’ things in life, and that somehow you don’t enjoy life because you don’t DO those things! You are a good, God-fearing man who loves his wife and family, had a great career, loves hitting the links, and are a dynamite Sunday School teacher.” I reminded him of the parable of the Prodigal Son, and how the elder son was angry with “the father” because he forgave the carousing, wasteful, younger son. He pretty much repented right in front of me. However, his “sin” here is more the norm than it is the exception. Don’t many of us think life might be more exciting if we could get away with a few things? I guess it’s just the “human nature” in us, or what theologians have classically called the “original sin” in us? Rather than beat us up with it, Jesus just tried to reframe our understanding of our setting in life, and how we honor God and others by behaving admirably in it.

I like to call these first statements the “God-Bless Its.” Maybe it goes back to my childhood, nightly prayer time, when I’d say the “Now I lay me down to sleep…” part and then finish with a bunch of “God bless” so-and-so, and just add names to the list. Late TV preacher Robert Schuller, of “Crystal Cathedral” fame, wrote a book about the Beatitudes in which he dubbed them the “Be-Attitudes.” He was panned for it by “serious” theologians and critics, but honestly, I kind of liked his idea. Its central theme was that these were not just “rules” for living, but a way of “being.” Paul Tillich wasn’t around by then, but I’ll bet he might have liked Schuller’s idea. And I like the way Jesus stated them: “Blessed are…”. It’s almost like, “You can do what you want, but if you do THIS, you will be blessed by God.” It doesn’t condemn, just offers a kind of loving “reward” for doing the right thing. Another story from many years ago…I had a friend who had a bit of a lead foot while driving, and yet he was a very committed Christian man. One day, as he was really romping on it because he was late for something, he told the story of how he said a little prayer for “protection” as he was speeding. He said that he heard a little voice in his head that told him, “Hey, I have sent a guardian angel to watch over you and protect you…but he’s back there doing the speed limit, so…” My friend said the experience slowed him down, permanently. I think about his story when I’m punching the MINI Cooper a little hard, but I confess it doesn’t always get me to let up, as it should!

So, back to what Jesus says in these “God Bless Its.” Let’s look at them:

"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Is Jesus trying to make poverty a virtue? Or is he just saying that there are poor people in the world, and that God’s blessing and “welcome” into the Beloved Community is always extended to them? I think the latter. And maybe even stronger, Jesus may have signaled that if God has a bias for any group, it is probably the poor and the oppressed, for their lot in life may not totally be a moral choice—or any choice, for that matter—of their own. 

"Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.” This is both a promise from God AND a moral statement about patience. The listener might be tempted to steal food, or engage in some kind of contraband to fill one’s stomach, but patience and the willingness to suffer for a season may be a pathway to God’s provision.

"Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” It would be many centuries before psychologists like Elizabeth Kubler-Ross would teach us about the healthy stages of grief. Jesus knew then that working through our pain would lead to healing in the soul, and even possibly being able to laugh about times past that brought us so much anxiety.

"Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven, for that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.” Jesus well understood this truth, as he was experiencing this brand of revulsion and exclusion from the religious leaders of his day, eventually leading to his fatal victimization on the cross. As he shared knowledge of what was to be with God, he knew his disciples would also be persecuted unto death, as would countless saints down through the ages, for so had they persecuted the other prophets God sent to warn and guide God’s people. For them, Heaven would be a place absent these life-stealing treatments, and a place of honor for their discipleship and dedication in this life. “Rewards in heaven” were typical carrots on a stick in Mid-Eastern philosophy and theology. If we were to bring this into our modern age, we might say that our “reward” was eventually seeing the truth win out over serial lies, false promises, and manipulating rhetoric. We can certainly use a dose of this now, can’t we?

Luke’s version of the “God-Bless-Its” includes a list of countering, intriguing “woes”: 

"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.”  Jesus would say something similar about those who bragged in public about their good works, saying they “have their reward,” as opposed to those who carried out their benevolence toward others in secret, who would receive their reward directly from God. In this case, as a counterpoint to the “God-Bless-It” addressing the poor, the rich have “negotiated” their own reward, begging the question if by being rich and hoarding their wealth, they have cut themselves off from God’s greater blessings that far exceed a big bank account or a large investment portfolio. 

Jesus has other “woes” addressing those who are full or those who laugh, especially in the presence of many of their sisters and brothers who are suffering, and his allusion is that they may be hoarding these “resources,” also. The final “woe” in this passage is the one that should add caution to any of us who profess to speak for God:

"Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets." The danger of the preacher or teacher is that we may fall prey to the temptation to speak in such a way that our audience’s ears are “tickled” by what we say, rather than encouraged, challenged, or moved by it to continue the transformation the Spirit of God wants us to experience by our faith in Christ. If we just say what people “enjoy” or are entertained by, we risk entering the domain of the “false prophets” who preceded Jesus. Personally, I love to preach and teach, as these have been two of my best gifts in ministry. I can honestly say I have worked hard to NEVER be guilty of “false propheting,” studying long hours in my two seminary degrees to facilitate well-resourced biblical interpretation as the “raw material” for sermons and Bible studies, praying unceasingly for guidance in being able to accurately and aggressively communicate God’s truth to the people I have served, and asking God for the courage to speak the “hard word” to folk when led by the Holy Spirit—or mandated by the scriptures—to do so. On the other hand, I’ve never forgotten what the president of our seminary, Dr. Carnegie Samuel Calian, told us in our Intro. to Ministry class: “There’s a fine line between being prophetic and being a jerk.” I know I’ve crossed that line more than a few times, but in purposing NOT to, I quickly retreated, in most cases, and this often required an apology to the one, or to the many. “Speaking for God” from the pulpit or the classroom lectern has been a stressful enterprise for me. In 36 years of ministry, I couldn’t even eat breakfast on Sunday mornings, as my stomach churned constantly until the preaching was completed for the day. I GET what Jesus meant by this “woe,” as, for a “natural” communicator/public speaker like me, it would have been so easy to perfect a delivery and message that would have cultivated popular appeal and garnered accolades from the “audience.” Responsible preaching is never “fun,” even when it contains “easier” or welcome content. A solid message about love and grace may bless the soul, but it also challenges its listeners to be accountable to the source of these virtues and to apply them equally to all of God’s children and not just to the ones who are “easy to love.” The same wonderful Christian man I mentioned earlier who struggled with the efficacy of “deathbed” conversions used to say to people who showed appreciation for his kindnesses, “It’s easy to be nice to nice people.” While he always meant it as an affirming compliment, it could also serve as a reminder that being nice to NOT so nice people was also a Christian virtue, and once that wasn’t so easy.

One final word on this passage of scripture beyond the “God-Bless-its”: It may be a good thing to regularly ask yourself why you are coming to Jesus. The crowd came wanting to benefit from the “power that came from out of him,” while Jesus had a different agenda in mind when they gathered. So it may be with us and with the church, if we are not careful. And in our service, it may prompt us to offer a WORD of witness and grace, even when folk come for our benevolence outreach. The message of God’s “Bless-Its” is ever important. Amen. 

We're Just Leaving

We’re Just Leaving

 

Luke 5:1-11

Jesus calls the disciples to fish for people 

5:1 Once while Jesus was standing beside the Lake of Gennesaret and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God,

5:2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.

5:3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

5:4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."

5:5 Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets."

5:6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to burst.

5:7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.

5:8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus's knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!"

5:9 For he and all who were with him were astounded at the catch of fish that they had taken,

5:10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who are partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people."

5:11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

 

This is a wonderful Bible story, and one that has a humorous reprise. In this telling, Peter, James and John are the fishermen Jesus calls to be his disciples. At first, they are plying their trade, and aren’t catching anything. Jesus gets himself invited into Peter’s boat, and has him row it near enough the shore that the gathering crowd could hear his teaching. When he finishes the lesson, he tells Peter to row out to the deeper water and let down his nets. Peter is skeptical, in that he and his buds have been fishing all night, fruitlessly. But he does what Jesus says, gets such a haul of fish he is concerned the nets will burst. They get so many fish into the boats that they begin to swamp. The “miracle of fish” causes Peter to bare his soul before Jesus, but Jesus doesn’t condemn him, instead issuing him a calling to join him in “catching people.” Later, after the chaos surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, the fishermen disciples decide to go back to what they knew best, so they put out in their boats, once again. Of course, they caught nothing, until “some guy” on the beach starts yelling at them to “throw your nets on the other side of the boat,” which surely sounded like some dumb “bass master” who had no idea. Still, having experienced one miracle of the sea, they did what the stranger suggested. Again, the nets were blooming with fish. John—“the disciple whom Jesus loved”—brilliantly observed, “It is the Lord.” This “call story” of the fishermen/disciples ends with the phrase, “…they left everything and followed [Jesus],” which may be a fairytale ending like, “And they all lived happily ever after.” Have YOU ever tried leaving “everything” to do anything?

 

Years ago, I knew two young pastors who were serving an unusual new church called Hot Metal Bridge in Pittsburgh. Their sermons were dramas based on scripture which they wrote and acted out. Quite clever, actually, and extremely well done, given that they both were drama majors in college. One of my favorites they “acted out” at one of our Annual Conference sessions in Grove City, and it was based on this “fishers of men” call story. In their skit, they play fishermen—the brothers Peter and Andrew, as I recall—and their struggle with “leaving everything” to follow Jesus. While they were moved by Jesus, his words, and his “fishing miracles,” but in the skit, they debated what it would mean to “leave everything,” and both of them held tightly on to a fishing net, as they weighed with words how hard it would be to leave their tried and true profession to join an unusual “spirit man” who promised they would be “catching people,” whatever that meant. In the pastors’ skit, after a long dialogue about this challenging dilemma, they finally drop the net onto the floor and leave the stage in silence. What an impressive image. Made me think about the “nets” I dropped to head off to seminary. In my own telling, I report that my wife and I—two small-town people who loved the small town—left our cozy little home in Rock Grove for a third-floor apartment in East Liberty, with our two small children, ages 2 and four-weeks, to learn how to “fish for people.” Not only was it not easy to do, but I confess to thinking, from time to time, about that little wood house in a town where you never even had to lock your doors, and wonder what life would have been like there. Maybe this is why I chuckle at the fishermen/disciples who, in the confusing aftermath of Jesus’ death and resurrection, go fishing again. The temptation is always there, I guess.

 

What about you? Do you have a “call story” wherein you were beckoned by God, career, or a need within your family to leave a secure, beloved place in life to pursue a new dream? Your story may be something huge from your past when you “took leave” to chart a new course in your life, or it may be from yesterday, when some nudge took you to a new place to do something novel. I happen to believe that these “nudges” or prompts to leave something behind and move in a new direction or to THINK in a different way about something, are among the most meaningful things God does in our lives. As one who tends to espouse “Process Theology,” I believe God is always trying to lure us toward new experiences/ministries/horizons (pick your favorite word here), and it is in this “call forward” we see the most meaningful “call language” being employed. Gone are the days when to be “called” of God meant that you were off to seminary to train to be a pulpit pastor, or sent to a faraway land as a missionary. God’s call has never been limited to these traditional fields of ministerial endeavor, but WE have tended to discount the myriad other “calls,” or unfortunately, to ignore them. One of the things I’ve tried to emphasize in my many years as a pastor—especially among the youth I was privileged to work with—was that God calls EVERYONE to a “calling” in life, be that as a teacher, a doctor, an accountant, a librarian, or as a “homemaker.” Ministry, while an important pursuit in the religious career life, is but one of the alternatives. People of faith should never put themselves or their life’s calling down, if they believe they are doing what God called them to do, regardless. On the other hand, neither should any of us stop listening for a fresh or a refreshed call to enhance what we do, or do something else God may call us to do. If we believe in the Holy Spirit of God as working in our lives and in the world today, then we dishonor God if we: discount our activities or career when we believe we are using our best gifts with them; shut our ears and hearts to new opportunities God may be nudging us toward; or believe that what we are currently about is ALL that we ever need be about. If we believe God is a co-creating God of compassion, progress, and novelty, then God may never be finished with us. As a retired pastor now back serving a church, and as one who never closes my ears to the next “nudge,” I can attest to the power of the call! And I’m seventy years of age! I DO believe my best, even my most creative years may be yet to come! How about you?

 

And today’s scripture again begs the question, what must you leave behind to pursue the divine nudge? As an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, which operates an itinerant ministry (meaning they move us pastors around from church to church, as some bishop sees fit), I can say that God’s next call literally meant leaving! We left new friends with whom we had become quite comfortable. Our kids left friends and schools behind. Sometimes we left a spacious parsonage for a “crackerbox,” or a locale rife with shopping plazas and restaurants for a more remote venue that required a car to go for a good coffee or a roll. But new opportunities always beckoned. We left with warm, rich memories of where we had been, and ready—sometimes reluctantly—to make new ones with a whole new group of folk. Some “leaving” involves sacrifice, doesn’t it? I will never forget the response my two children had to leaving a large, North Hills school district (Shaler) to move into the third smallest district in the State of PA (Cornell, in Coraopolis). They could have panicked, but instead they thrived, making the choice to make the most of a new situation. I am convinced that it was in this willful, yet reluctant transition, they learned the most valuable lesson of their education. The later adjustment to university—often a crisis time for many—was easy-peasy for Shelah and Evan. 

 

Peter, Andrew, James and John left a very successful fishing business to become “fishers of people,” in the words of Jesus. They must have thought that quite crazy, “fishers of people.” Using a net to fish made sense; using words and deeds to lure people to ascribe to a faith? Yeah, crazy. Fish you ate; people required much more attention to their needs, a vital religious community in which to commiserate, fellowship, and worship, and new ways to discover and use their spiritual gifts. It was a tall order for an organization that did not yet exist. Today, with a cultural shift happening around “going to church,” when less and less folk are being reared with a weekly trip to worship as a standard practice, and where Sunday School is often relegated to a single class filled with people over 70, carving out a place in the church for people to serve has been made harder. Maybe this is why the Holy Spirit is working to place the Christian witness in our everyday affairs and in innovative new “mission fields” like Volunteers in Mission teams or Summer youth work camps? Still, to engage in these, one must leave something behind to free up the time. 

 

Often, what we must “leave” is an outdated attitude or an archaic view of reality, in order to pursue God’s creative novelty. I’m sure we’ve all heard it said that the final epitaph on the tombstone of the church will be: “We’ve never done it that way before!” And we’ve probably also heard that uttered in a church board meeting, too. We all have “comfort levels” or “happy places” we like to hold on to like gold bullion, but my experience is that God rarely considers our comfort levels when nudging us to newness. God’s not a bully, though, and we almost always have the option of saying “no,” or at least, “not yet” to something. And a willingness to leave behind our complacency might even prompt us to proactively volunteer for stuff! I was always grateful for persons who said “yes” to a call from myself or a member of our lay leadership committee asking them to serve. It was thrilling to have a person come to ME, saying, “Pastor, I’d like to do thus-and so…” I found it much harder to deal with those who volunteered for little, always said “no” to the nudge from nominations, or just criticized those who were the helpers and the doers. They were much harder to love. 

 

It's always hard to leave things and people we love, or surroundings in which we are comfortable. But rarely do great stories come from the “Norman Rockwell” paintings such as these. No, testimonies and transformational narratives emanate from the uncomfortable new things we take on when nudged to do so, or from the sudden change of venue God or life or both may cause for us. Can you find it in your heart to embrace such novelty? And what are you willing to leave to do so? Jesus talked about “putting our hand to the plow and not looking back” as a metaphor for this kind of thing. I’ve never actually used a plow, but I’m guessing that if you keep looking back to see where you’ve been, your rows get crooked. Many of our churches are hurting and dying because of crooked rows, I’m thinking. When our children were little, rather than criticize them for “not doing something right,” or saying, “Here, let me show you how to do that,” we learned to encourage them by simply saying, “Try another way,” when they were struggling with an effort. It’s time for us to say to the church, “Try another way,” without judgment on the “old ways” or condemning them for their comfortable “stuckness,” I suppose. 

 

“Stuckness,” by the way, is the “sin” of the Process Theology model I follow. Stuckness is putting down an anchor where God sees a rest period on the journey. The opposite of the sin of stuckness in the Process model? Yep—“novelty,” and the “call forward.” Or as I like to say, “the nudge.” 

 

This story invites us to examine two important questions about our faith and our calling(s) in life: what are we LEAVING, and what are we CATCHING. What we’re catching may be a sermon for another day. Thinking about what we’re leaving may be a very important question for you today, though. Are you open to God’s novelty, which may mean leaving something “beloved” behind? Or are you succumbing to stuckness, holding on white-knuckled to a talisman that has become an anchor to a fading past?

 

“Leaving everything to follow Jesus” surely means different things to different people. For some of us, it meant a whole change of careers. For others, it means allying with a whole new group of people. For ALL of us, following Jesus means actually opening our hearts, minds, and journeys to follow JESUS, and not just baptizing our comfort or complacency. Rarely does God call us to do things that are WAY out of our comfort zones or that aren’t matched up with our best gifts, but almost always, God’s “nudge” means leaving something behind so we have hands free to pick up something else. Peter, Andrew, James and John knew this full well when they finally dropped those nets. Watch for the “nudge,” Beloved. Amen.