Below, From Above

 

Below, From Above

 

James 1:17-27

1:17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

1:18 In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave birth to us by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

1:19 You must understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger,

1:20 for human anger does not produce God's righteousness.

1:21 Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.

1:22 But be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.

1:23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror;

1:24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.

1:25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act--they will be blessed in their doing.

1:26 If any think they are religious and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.

1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

 

Some of you are old enough to remember television ads for “Memorex,” a company that manufactured recording tape, including reel to reel and cassettes. (Some of you aren’t old enough to remember TAPE, are you?) In the TV ad, legendary African American singer, Ella Fitzgerald, is singing a jazz “scat” of notes, and the viewer is challenged to judge whether the sound is “real” (Ella’s voice on the ad) or “Memorex,” meaning it is coming from an audio tape replay of her voice. Of course, the answer is that it is a replay from a Memorex tape. For a long time, this question/phrase came into the popular lexicon—“Is it REAL or is it Memorex?” I still use it, from time to time, but not too many now know what it means. Oh, the trials of WAY out aging the popular culture!

 

What made me think of this story is the “perfect gift” that verse one of today’s narrative mentions. On one hand, the “perfect gift” is God’s gift of life to the world and to us; on the other, it could be seen as God’s only perfect Son, sent into the world to live, heal, nurture, preach, die, and then live again, among God’s human creation. We are products of the creative mind of God, and Jesus IS God, not just a copy—certainly REAL, not Memorex!

 

When I think of the word “shadow” used here in verse one, I think of my philosophy class in college. I believe it was Plato who suggested that there are these perfect “ideas” in the mind of the divine, and yet what becomes the actual “things” representing them on earth are less than perfect copies. Platonism was known in the days of the author of James, and very possibly, he is directly rejecting it, in this passage. He appears to be saying that what God created on earth WAS perfect, and not “Memorex” replays of ideas in the divine mind. Likewise, the Platonists in James’ day might have described Jesus as in “imperfect,” earthly “copy” of the idea of a “son of god” in the divine mind. Again, James makes it clear that the “Father of lights” brought forth the creation NOT as a ”shadow” version of a heavenly idea, but directly created “below” from “above,” and with “no variation” from what God intended. In fact, humanity was created SO perfectly that God could not “filter out” the divine attribute of “freedom,” “free will,” or choice without distorting the majesty of God’s creation. Interesting, that something that signals our “perfection” as a product of divine creation was the very thing that got us into trouble with the divine!

 

Jesus Christ was again not a “copy” or a representation (shadow?) of what the divine would look like on earth. We believe Jesus Christ WAS the divine, present, “tenting among” humanity. That Jesus would call himself the “light of the world” makes perfect sense in the idiom of James, who calls God the “Father of lights,” who, in Jesus Christ, came BELOW, from ABOVE—a real “field trip,” not just a latent image of God. 

 

Why does James so strongly object to the Platonic concept of “ideas” and “things”? After all, adopting this view might provide a convenient excuse for why humanity screwed up and cut ourselves off from God by making very bad choices. If we were just a poor copy, we would not be expected to choose so wisely, would we? The problem with “recordings” of real voices or sounds is that, in order to fit them onto a small piece of magnetized recording tape—or into a reasonable amount of digital memory—the sounds must be “sampled,” and some parts of it attenuated or even cut out. Even the best digital recordings are “missing” nuances and pieces of the original performance, and believe me, in the days of audio tape, LOTS of dynamics were just not able to be recorded. In spiritual terms, this would mean that, had God used “copies” of some greater divine “idea” of humanity, we could never aspire to be the kind of “children” God envisioned, and had God sent some symbolic representation of God’s Son to us, neither could we have witnessed and experienced the fullness of God. James would have none of this, instead relating the “orthodox” view that we are direct creations of the divine, and that Jesus WAS the divine, who came among us to teach, heal, and save us. Tolerate no substitutes, James would say.

 

While I usually defend the Apostle Paul from his various accusers, this is one place where I do fault him for buying into the popular Platonism of his day. Remember his illusion in I Corinthians 13, where he says we “see through a glass darkly,” or as a more contemporary translation says, “only through a poor mirror”? He goes on to say that when “that which is perfect comes,” we will see “face to face.” He got that part right, but we do NOT see now through a poor mirror. God saw to that by coming in the Perfect One, Jesus the Christ! Mirrors may be OK to comb your hair, but they distort reality, making us see everything reversed. Again, James would have none of it!

 

James then makes the case for us earthly Christ followers therefore being able to “behave” like the “perfect” creatures God made us out to be. We are now empowered to put our error and sin behind us, thanks to the Perfect One who came below from above, wiped away our sin, and filled us with the Perfect Holy Spirit. The old “tapes” have been erased, and we are back to the live performance!

 

In a related passage, James will tell us, “Faith without works is dead.” What he is saying is that as God is perfect, created us originally to be perfect, redeemed and reconciled us through the Perfect One, Jesus Christ, and has now given us the perfect Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and empower us, WE are capable of living a “perfect” witness to the world by our actions, “unstained by the world.” James’ idea here has been the “face” that launched a thousand warring theological ships, down through the centuries. Let me explain.

 

The reformed tradition, beginning with Martin Luther and his “salvation by faith alone” treatise, railed against James “faith without works is dead” postulation. Later reformers jumped on this same nixing bandwagon, suggesting that if Christians were allowed to accept James’ idea, then they might come to believe in what they called “works righteousness,” or making ourselves “good enough” to outweigh the sins we commit. Believe me, they really went nuts over this. Luther called the Book of James an “epistle of straw” over it, and advocated removing it from the canon of scripture. But this is not at all what James had in mind, as I have already suggested. James just felt that, as long as we believe that the “perfection” of the divine mind was at work in our midst, so we could act like it, as believers, and as redeemed ones. He had a comrade in arms in John Wesley, the founder of Methodism.

 

John Wesley believed as did James, that our “good works” (Wesley called them acts of mercy) were a RESPONSE to God, born out of our gratitude for God’s perfection in creating us, in sending Jesus among us, and in restoring us to God’s intended stature among the totality of creation. “FROM faith TO works” was Wesley’s formula. Our “acts of righteousness” were nothing but the actions of a Godly, redeemed people. Wesley’s idea of “holiness” can be seen as just a return to the AUTHENTICITY of being the created children of God, and acting like it. The whole “flow” of what makes it possible came BELOW, but from ABOVE, originating with God, Godself. Jesus WAS the “Word made flesh,” and now we are able to LIVE the Word of God, because of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Let’s keep our eye on the ball, here, and remember that the goal of “holy living” is to live into the lives God wanted us to enjoy in the first place, and to be living witnesses to those who have not yet experienced this grace. It has nothing to do with “placating” God by obeying God’s rules, just because God “said so.” This is what we often hear from the evangelicals—just obey, or be judged. How is that in keeping with what God is doing through Jesus Christ, and how is that glorifying God? Faith is a joyous thing, or at least it is meant to be.

 

This weekend is a Holy Communion Sunday in many of our churches. We United Methodists join many other Protestant denominations in believing that Christ is “present” in the elements of Communion in what we call the “real presence.” Without getting into a theological debate over how this differs from the symbolic presence of the “ordinance” folk and the “transubstantiated” presence of our Roman Catholic siblings, “real presence” signifies that we believe Christ IS embodied by the elements, but the elements don’t actually “change.” They don’t have to, to embody Jesus Christ for us. Why? Because as we receive the elements, we receive Christ afresh and anew, as Mr. Wesley preached. And then WE embody Christ for the world, through our living witness and our acts of mercy on behalf of others. 

 

The flow is toward us “below,” but it comes from “above,” this author’s positional images that make clear the source of the transforming grace AND the “target audience.” Go now, Dear Ones, and in the name of Jesus, BE REAL! Act like you are “born from above”! Amen.

 

Far Be It...

Far Be It…

 

Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18

Serve the Lord

24:1 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.

24:2a And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors--Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor--lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods.

24:14 "Now, therefore, revere the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt and serve the LORD.

24:15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living, but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

24:16 Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods,

24:17 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went and among all the peoples through whom we passed,

24:18 and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."

 

What’s basically happening here—and NUMEROUS TIMES in the Hebrew Bible—is that Israel had too much idle time, so they made idols! It got them in trouble with Yahweh, who told them to not construct “graven images,” nor to “have other gods before me.” We’ve all read the part about God being a “jealous” God, so I guess the question we must ask ourselves as “enlightened,” 21^st century thinkers is: Do WE believe in a “jealous” deity who gets upset when she/he gets upstaged? The ancient prophets sure did. 

 

Personally, I have come to believe, based on my years of Bible study, theology, faith history, and cogitation (Scripture, Tradition, Experience, and Reason, we good Wesleyans might say?) that in the divine mind, what constitutes the “essentials” are love of God and love of neighbor, and building and sustaining a beloved community. God “hates” things that render these “essentials” either impossible or disingenuous. 

 

Sin, for example, is fingered and labeled as something that comes between people and God and/or people and people. Sin is poison to both the individual and the community at large. Therefore, God “hates” it and wants it conquered. And it’s not actually the “idea” of sin that is bad, but the actual committing of it, which is where the damage is done. Using this definition, a number of things that were “sin” to ancient Israel—or even the more recent New Testament era church—are not “sin” to us today. People and the collective community in our time are no longer “threatened” by the idea of same sex relationships, as we have a different understanding of human sexuality. (At least most of us do, including the worlds of science, psychology, and medicine.) I challenge the reader to examine what is labeled as “sin” in the Bible, including the historical context wherein it was identified, and separate this from its danger to either the individual or the community. 

 

In fact, if you take a serious look at the decalogue—the Ten Commandments for you non-seminary folk—each of them relates to a prohibition based on either its harm to the person, the family, or the community, hence God “hates” it. It’s not that God is somehow “angered” or “harmed” by it, as much as God “says,” DON’T DO IT, as a forceful, “threatening” way to stop people from doing things that keep God’s goal of redeemed, loving people, and the birth and nurturing of a beloved, harmonious community on earth from becoming a reality. Ancient peoples NEEDED to believe that these things were ruled out because GOD SAID SO, in the same manner that younger children need to be told “no” to harmful things with “because I’m the parent,” being the only justification. But humanity grew up, and a quantum leap happened when Jesus Christ “tented among us” and brought the “kingdom” of God onto the earth. Now, our personal redemption is there for the free taking, like ripe fruit at arm’s length on a small tree, and most everyone with more than three synapses firing sees the need to build a beloved community where all persons are treated with love, forgiveness, respect, and a sustainable life. So, rather than argue and split churches over some throwback understanding of what “sin” is, we now have the redeeming power of Jesus Christ working to reconcile the whole world to God, AND the teachings and admonitions of Jesus to fix our broken relationships and build that Beloved Community! Might THIS idea capture the idea behind Joshua’s “as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord”? Is not God “served” when we pursue God’s “essentials,” seeking to make them a reality in our time and our world? As the text says, FAR BE IT from us that we should forsake the Lord! Far be it, indeed!

 

There’s another “far be it” going on in this text, though, and it has to do with Israel and their penchant for making and bowing to idols. Joshua, as well as other prophets, not only burned with the anger of God over this WAY too frequent practice, but in Joshua’s case, he seems incredulous that they could do this, given God’s righteous actions and protection on Israel’s behalf. For Joshua, idol worship was “biting the hand that feeds you.” Why would Israel do it? For that matter, why do WE do it? Now, I know, you probably don’t have a golden calf, or a nicely crafted Marduk on your mantle, but is there one in your garage? Do you own stocks or a 401K that you spend hours each week monitoring, using up time that could be devoted to spouse, family, or community of faith? Or how about a career that takes precedent over all else in your life? Obviously, you see where I’m going. Having one’s priorities “out of whack” may indeed lead to a type of “idol worship,” can’t it? I guess we should ask ourselves Joshua’s question: Why do we so easily devote significant parts of our life to some form of “idol worship”?

 

The good thing about idols is that they are our own custom-designed gods. One of the timeless critiques of the Christian faith was leveled at it by a German philosopher, Ludwig Feuerbach, who said that what he so often saw in the “god” worshiped by many Christians was basically themselves, “writ large.” Idols make no such claim to even masked projection. The “idols” of our lives are things we spend time worshiping over which we have full control. Israel made gods out of their precious metals and baubles, and decorated their abodes with them, and had beautiful, valuable deities they could fully manipulate. Having these “gods” could assuage one’s guilt, provide the illusion of protection for the home, and entertain guests. Our own objects—be they physical or metaphysical—do exactly the same thing, and, like the false gods of Israel, they don’t ask anything of us, especially things that might involve generosity or sacrifice on our part. 

 

Unfortunately, it is even possible to make an idol out of Yahweh. We do that by believing we can have Yahweh do our bidding, and we can mete out our “worship” as we see fit, and when we see fit. The convenience and “empowerment” of home-brewed gods is hard to resist, as Israel found out. And even the modern Christian church has sometimes resorted to making and serving other gods: doctrines and rules that “protect” our way of thinking, even though they negate the central teachings of Jesus; buildings that receive more devotion and resources from us because of our “locational” memories attached to them; pastors who develop their own “cult” following, and who resort to preaching “comfortable” messages instead of challenging our people to love and justice; political “bedfellows” supported and advocated for based on our personalized interpretations of scripture; and skimping on our financial support of our congregation’s ministry because of something we don’t “like” about an action or position by our denomination. There are others, I’m sure, but these are bad enough.

 

Joshua DOES challenge both the ancient and modern hearer to be “Far Be It” people—ones who will flee such “idol” temptations and seek to live fully into the love and justice callings of God, the prophets, and especially Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! “Far Be It” people may stumble over our own prejudices, desires, and “comfort zones,” but we keep heading God’s way on our journey, and eventually wind up FAR from those idols that seduce us. Unfortunately, we tend to be week, and those darned idols are HIGHLY seductive! Joshua doesn’t quit there, though, he gives his OWN course as an encouragement:

 

Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living, but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.

 

Will we choose to be “Far Be It” people? There is another, wonderful “luring” force at work, trying to lead us God’s way: The Holy Spirit. We are not alone in our work to be formed as God-choosing, “Far Be It” people! AND, as Joshua says, we have our “household” encouraging us and walking the journey with us. For Joshua, this may have been his immediate family, OUR his “family” of faith, at the time. For us, both may be involved, as well, but for sure, I would hope that our community of faith would be on the parallel journey with us, encouraging each other, mutually, and heading toward the same goal—being God’s called, set-apart, “Far BE it,” people witnessing to God’s incredible redeeming, reconciling actions in Jesus Christ! Amen!

 

 

 

Trouble with Drinkin' Thinkin'

Trouble with Drinkin’ Thinkin’

 

Ephesians 5:15-20

Filled with the Spirit

5:15 Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise,

5:16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil.

5:17 So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

5:18 Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

5:19 as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to one another, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts.

5:20 giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Paul, in Romans 7:15-19:

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me. For I know that the good does not dwell within me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do the good lies close at hand, but not the ability. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 

 

Do you ever feel this way? The Apostle seems to be blaming it all on sin, and I’m sure it has a big part in us having trouble NOT doing the “wrong thing,” and too easily doing it, as well as us struggling to do the “RIGHT thing,” when we want to do it! There are popular preachers out there who call this “STINKIN’ THINKIN’. Today, I might label it, “DRINKIN’ Thinkin’, as there are forces at work that may be leading us astray, and these are some of the things Paul is addressing in this passage from Ephesians.

 

Drinkin’ thinkin’ can be anything that may cause us to respond to people, places, things, or ideas in a manner that is not fully “with it,” kind of like if we have drunk too much wine. Of course, drinking too much wine will do that, as Paul states in the Ephesians passage. He labels that “debauchery,” which is a translation of the Greek word, asotia, which may also be rendered as “dissipation.” I like dissipation better, as often folk who may just have a few too many at a gathering or a party are probably not guilty of anything as horrible sounding as “debauchery.” Please don’t think I’m going light on them, as this is still not a very God-glorifying behavior, and if they choose to get behind the wheel of a car afterwards, it is more than criminal. If drinking to excess is habitual, that person may have a disease that requires treatment, which we call alcoholism. If even the occasional over-imbibing gives rise to lascivious behavior, sexual harassment, or potentially deadly actions such as driving while intoxicated, THIS could make the case for “debauchery” being in play. However, if we move away from these more dangerous or disrespectful behaviors, we could make a case for “dissipation.” To “dissipate” oneself means to “use up” or “lessen,” which is where I want to go as we examine this Ephesians text. What ARE the things that keep us from living as “wise” people who stay in love with God and resist straying into doing the very things we know we should NOT do? And what prevents us from doing that which we know we SHOULD be doing with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness? Dissipation is one of these things. Drinking too much “wine” dulls our senses and our ability to respond appropriately to others around us, for example—it “lessens” us. Whether it rises to the level of an addiction or not, abuse of alcohol dissipates. So does any use of illicit drugs, or “recreational” use of prescription medications. I’ll show my colors here, but I am also of the opinion that “recreational” use of cannabis does the same thing. And medical science is beginning to sound some alarms about the long-term effects of its use, as well. Friends, think of some of the “slang” terms we apply for smoking “dope.” Even these should send a less than subtle signal that asotia may be taking place. In summary, let’s just agree that, while any of these activities may be “fun” and even “stress reducing,” in limited amounts, and in limited frequency, the fact is, they may also “lessen” our ability to connect with the divine, and disconnect us from God when we most need the divine presence. This is precisely why Paul writes, “Do not be drunk with wine…but be filled with the Spirit.” 

 

Distraction is also something that can cut us off from good stuff, including our faithful discipleship. As kids, we all knew that gazing out the window and fantasizing about what we would do when we got home from school could cause us to miss an essential lesson the teacher was giving about fractions! Then, that night, when we were doing our homework, we found ourselves clueless, and had to call upon our parents, who CERTAINLY didn’t remember the fractions lesson, either. As adults, life is full of enticing distractions! As a retiree, I made myself a written, weekly “curriculum” to keep me from just filling my days with meaningless distractions. My “bucket list,” or “things I want to learn when I retire” lists were well populated. This curriculum has helped, but I’m here to tell you, the distractions come in DROVES, and it is “work” staying with the program. I have started doing some painting, am doing more writing, have enjoyed a fairly recent foray into astronomy, have kept up my reading, and we have been diligent to maintain our physical health. We have traveled more often to see our grandchildren, and spent three weeks with our son in Alaska. However, I have not engaged my photography as much as I had hoped, I have rarely played my guitar, and have scarcely touched my coronet, and I had hoped to increase my proficiency on both. About the only thing I can say that I have kept those “sinful” distractions from impacting is my sermon writing. I have YET to miss a week of writing a sermon based on a lectionary passage of my choice, and now that I am serving a church part-time in retirement, some form of these messages is getting to an audience beyond my P.R.O.D blog. (P.R.O.D. stands for “Post-Retirement Observations and Delusions,” and may be found at www.sterlings.org) Again, all I’m saying here is that you don’t need chemicals to become sidetracked from the best that God has in store for you! Even simple distractions, when given life by our volition, can do the job just fine!

 

So what else does the Apostle warn us might separate us from God and our best judgment? Here’s a new word for you—“Duncing.” The word “dunce” was at one time used to describe someone who wasn’t at the head of the class. Cartoons were drawn of the class “dunce” sitting on a stool in a corner wearing a conical had with the word, “DUNCE,” emblazoned on it. Thankfully, labeling someone a “dunce” is an insult that is passing from the lexicon, but my “new” verb—“duncing”—I think does a nice job of combining two things Paul flags: being “unwise” and “foolish.” “Duncing” may define either foolish or unwise activity, either of which, or both, can put us at odds with God AND our own desired or favored outcome in any situation. Duncing is most certainly akin to “drinkin’ thinkin,’ only without the artificially induced stupor. As a pastor, I have been dumbfounded on occasion when a counselee or church-related confidant told me of something they said or did, or about an inappropriate relationship they had unwisely entered into. My first reaction, at least in my own mind, was, “WHAT were you thinking?” While any of us can make mistakes, and even lower our guard and do something stupid, some people seem to have an unusual talent for “duncing.” So often, such unwise or foolish behavior serves to cut them off from friends, family, the church, or even God. In some cases it is shame that performs the surgery, while in others, the “duncing” involves burning bridges with others. Once burned, these bridges—let’s just say TRUST—is very, very hard to rebuild. 

 

Like Paul says in the Romans 7 passage, none of us is immune from doing or saying stuff that is less than wise—possibly even foolish—that derails us from doing the “right” or prudent thing. While some seem to be “Olympic” caliber “duncers,” duncing certainly can be an equal opportunity endeavor. Science has uncovered an interesting phenomenon called the “Dunning-Kruger Effect,” which is defined as: “a cognitive bias whereby people with limited knowledge or competence in a given intellectual or social domain greatly overestimate their own knowledge or competence in that domain relative to objective criteria or to the performance of their peers or of people in general.” In short, some folk delve so far into incompetence, they are not able to recognize that they are really not GOOD at what they do, and may even become deluded to believe THEY are the only ones doing it right! Talk about drinkin’ thinkin’! 

 

Our society doesn’t help with this stuff, in many cases. First of all, we push personal freedoms and rights to such a degree that some folk lose sight of a world populated by more than themselves, their desires, and their ambitions. This kind of self-centered behavior is often rewarded, rather than flagged as detrimental to a caring society. School officials can attest to the fact that the behavior of some parents, who defend the actions of their children even when provably askance from the rules or even human decency, only escalates future negative behavior. Even in the church, boorish behavior in board meetings on the part of those wanting their own way can do far more damage to the faith community than just the off-putting spectacle it initially institutes. It’s one thing when our “drinkin’ thinkin’” gets US into hot water or puts us into a difficult predicament, but quite another when it creates a problem for others. 

 

Paul loved the church in Ephesus, and had a hand in both its founding and its leadership. He didn’t want to see anything bad happen to its people, or for that faith community to come crashing down because of negative, faith-severing activity. His “don’t be drunk with wine” warning is about far more than just a self-induced hangover, as we’ve seen. His encouragement to be “filled with the Spirit” as an alternative applies just as much to us Christ-followers today as it did then. So, how do we GET “filled with the Spirit”? First of all, we must yield to God’s counsel and the Spirit’s lead, as found in the pages of scripture, and in the “better angels” of the church. Paul next suggests that the fellowship and praise found in corporate worship gatherings is another sure way to be “in touch” with God’s Holy Spirit. Living in gratitude is another attitude Paul suggests here, but you will see it peppered throughout his broad scriptural writings. Being thankful for everything is a sure guard against focusing on what you DON’T have, which far too often turns to envy, ingratitude, and a bad dose of drinkin’ thinkin’. 

 

Living apart from Christian community, in Paul’s mind, may lead to a distorted view of reality, including distorted, even inappropriate views of what God “owes” us in life. This then institutes a vicious cycle of being angry with God for these “slights,” and then withdrawing from the community gathered in God’s name. When Paul suggests “giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything,” he is trying to plant the seeds of a very different kind of response, even to the disappointments or disasters we may face in life. IF we culture being filled with the Spirit by cultivating a gracious spirit even when things go off the rails, this leads to a yielding to God and God’s Spirit, trusting them to join us in our moment of need. The writer of the beloved Christian hymn, It Is Well with My Soul, Horatio Spafford, lived this principle to the Nth degree. He had had several severe financial downturns in his real estate business, and decided to take his family to Europe for a vacation from the stress. At the last minute, he had to stay in New York, but he sent his wife, Anna, and his four daughters on ahead on a steamship, planning to join them later. On the way over, the ship was struck and sank. Anna survived by clinging to a floating plank, but their four daughters died in the accident, including an infant that was pulled from Anna’s arms by a wave. Hearing of the tragedy, Spafford set sail for Europe to join his wife, who was recuperating in a hospital. On the way over, the captain of Spafford’s ship pointed out the very spot where his daughters were lost at sea. Spafford went back to his cabin and wrote:

 

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

 

None of us is Horatio Spafford, nor are we the Apostle Paul! However, we can learn from their words and their example, which might just help us avoid the distortion, deferring, and even destruction that come from “drinkin’ thinkin’.” Remember the words of Paul from Philippians 4:8: 

 

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things.

 

Amen.

 

Au Bon Pain

Au Bon Pain

 

John 6:35, 41-51

Christ, the bread of life

6:35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

6:41 Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."

6:42 They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"

6:43 Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves.

6:44 No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise that person up on the last day.

6:45 It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.

6:46 Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father.

6:47 Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.

6:48 I am the bread of life.

6:49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.

6:50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.

6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

I really like bread. There is nothing like a piece of freshly-baked bread, lathered up with a thin coat of butter, to get your tastebuds doing a little dance! It really doesn’t matter what kind of bread it is, either, although I am most partial to “savory” breads vs. things like banana bread or zucchini bread. I also tend to like the multi-grain breads and “sourdough” breads best, too. How about you? What kind of breads do you like? Where do you get them? Do you make any yourself? What is your favorite bakery? Many Pittsburghers would most likely flag “Mancini’s” in McKees Rocks as their favorite overall bread, as their Italian loaf is almost universally toasted and served in great “breakfast” restaurants all over the region. Having lived in neighboring Coraopolis for six years, I can tell you that there is NOTHING like picking up a loaf of Mancini’s Italian Bread at their McKees Rocks bakery JUST taken out of the oven (about 5:00AM?) and taking it home to have warm with real butter! My salivary glands are going NUTS just thinking about it!

My grandmother made good bread. She didn’t deviate from her time-honored recipe for chewy, yeasty white bread, raised and baked in one of those “loaf” pans. Once cooled and cut, it resembled white bread from a commercial bakery, although it had a higher “muffin top.” Even as a very young child, I liked my grandmother Sterling’s bread WARM, with loads of butter. And in the mornings, she would toast it, butter it, and allow me to “dunk” it in a cup of strong coffee with milk in it. Then, later, she would wonder why I was ripping around like a crazed chimpanzee. Go figure…

My wife, Dara, grew up just up the street from one of the Oil City area’s commercial bread baking companies, “Hays.” Their “Soft-Twist” bread was quite famous, regionally.” It was a basic white bread. “Radical” bread-lovers in that day in a small town only had “whole wheat” bread as their alternative. I remember how rare it was to find “cracked-wheat” bread in a supermarket, which was my Dad’s favorite. Me? At this point, I was just into the toasted white bread dunked in coffee, unless we were talking about my Gram’s homemade stuff.

As many of you know, I’ve taking to doing a lot of cooking, as part of my “bucket list” activities, while retired. Bread has become a specialty. Dara never liked to bake bread, but is now quite happy that I’m learning the “art,” including those really crusty, chewy round loaves. Just recently, I got enthused watching an Olympic Games inspired documentary on the making of French baguettes, and baked my first three of these long, slender, VERY crusty breads. They were such a hit that I’ve now ordered a special “baguette” baking pan to keep them from flattening out too much as they bake. Baguettes cook at a very high temperature, and require a pan of boiling water to be placed under them for the first 10 minutes of the baking process. This is what gives them a deep brown, firm, and very chewy crust. 

I am personally convinced that bread is an almost perfect food. Baguettes, for example, are quite simple: flour, yeast, salt, and water. But they are so tasty and fairly low in calories, even if coated with a reasonable (one-half-tablespoon) amount of natural butter. I know that modern, nutritional science tells us we need a much greater variety of foods to be “healthy,” including proteins, but if I had to live on any one thing for a long period of time, give me bread! It’s no wonder that EVERY culture has their “versions” of bread. I’ve made it my mission to try to sample every culture’s bread, just because I LOVE bread! (I’m sure I will never come close to accomplishing this goal, but as they say, “If you don’t play, you can’t win!”) There may be a reason Jesus proclaimed himself the “Bread of Life.”

When the Pittsburgh International Airport first opened, it had a noshing place called “Au Bon Pain” just inside the landside terminal. I LOVED their breads and rolls! Since the 2024 Olympics were still WAY off in the historical distance, I knew absolutely NO French back then, so I had to ask three of the Au Bon Pain employees what the store’s name meant (at least I recognized that it was French—give me SOME credit!). I had to ask three, because the first two had no idea. The third girl said it meant “a good bread.” There is nothing like a good bread! Which brings us to this weekend’s scripture passage from the Gospel of John.

Jesus pronounces himself “the Bread of Life.” It’s brilliant. To those of us privileged middle class Americans (and classes above it, too), bread is a kind of gourmet food. I’ve already detailed how I “enjoy” fresh bread with good, natural butter, if not a fine jam, of some sort. “Au Bon Pain” was not a cheap place to be “treated” by “a good bread.” Gourmet bakers do amazing things with “good breads.” When I envision Jesus as the “Bread of Life,” this is where I go—Jesus is the very, very best God could have sent. Jesus is a “treat.” Jesus is a “warm,” savory “comfort food” for the hungry soul. What Jesus modeled for us and taught us through his sermons, stories, parables, and miracles, is worth pondering and “tasting slowly,” like a very good bread. Likewise, for people way beyond my paygrade, savoring the Savior is a gourmet meal. Early in my ministry, on World Communion Sunday, I made it my practice to have a broad sampling of “international” loaves of bread adorning the altar—a couple different types and colors of rye, a boule of some variety, usually a French baguette, and some culture’s pan-fried flatbread like Naan or a tortilla. Again, “I am the Bread of Life” was preached as a statement of Jesus’ international “appeal.” But all of this, while stimulating and edifying for us “bread lovers,” we are missing something extremely important.

The crowd Jesus was originally speaking to LIVED by “bread alone,” in many cases. Jesus used the “Man does not live by bread alone” line on the devil during their wilderness “debate,” but he well knew that most of the poor people who flocked out to hear him DID live by bread alone. By equating himself with bread, Jesus was telling the gathered that he had come for them. He was here to feed their famished spirits and offer a full belly for their souls. This “bread” was not a savory snack, it was the essential survival food in the Kingdom of God! Brilliant, indeed.

It is still true today that a great majority of the world survives on some sort of bread. Those of us who only eat bread as an accompaniment to a “meat and potatoes” (in in some households, with truffles and Foie gras), often take Jesus as a dinner roll or a “good bread” from a fancy bakery. However, Jesus is just as essential to our spirit and soul as he is for the poor. If we follow the rest of the narrative, this becomes quite clear. Eternal life is the ultimate “survival” made possible by the “bread of life.” 

One interesting little “twist” Jesus puts on the metaphor is the contrast with the Manna Israel ate in the wilderness. His largely Jewish audience knew this tradition, and the “griping” that resulted when they tired of it as a means of sustenance. Is Jesus cautioning them against comparing HIM to the Manna? He reminds them that Israel ate the Manna and yet died. He is the “good bread” that offers eternal life! Both breads “came down from heaven,” but only one would feed the world—the whole world—exactly what it needs.

On Saturday, I joined several dedicated volunteers from Faith Community United Methodist Church as they opened their doors as a monthly “clothes closet” called “NU2U” for people in need. Over 75 persons came to pick up good, donated clothing to help them live their lives with dignity. One man picked up three sport coats that fit him perfectly (and he was tall and slender), jackets he was excited to find, because he would wear them to church. He shared his story with us, and it was quite a privilege to be “let in” on what God was doing in his life. This ministry, and the volunteers who are doing it in the name of Jesus, is indeed “a good bread.”

After his “I am the Bread of Life” statement, Jesus will later break bread as a symbol of his pending sacrifice on the cross. He wants us to not just remember him when WE break bread together, but to eat heartily as a reminder that he is, today, tomorrow, and forever, the “good bread” for our souls! And he sends us out to be “bread for the world” in his name. Amen.

 

Wilted or Worthy?

 

Wilted or Worthy?

 

Ephesians 4:1-16

Maintain the unity of the faith

 

4:1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 

 

4:2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

 

4:3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace:

 

4:4 there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,

 

4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

 

4:6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

 

4:7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift.

 

4:8 Therefore it is said, "When he ascended on high, he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people."

 

4:9 (When it says, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

 

4:10 He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.)

 

4:11 He himself granted that some are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers

 

4:12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

 

4:13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

 

4:14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming;

 

4:15 but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

 

4:16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.

 

Paul loved the church at Ephesus. He SO wanted them to be the “prototype” of what a Christian faith community could look like. If you don’t believe that, just look at the “gushing” language of this week’s lectionary passage from Ephesians 4. We have to remind ourselves that what would become the Christian church was just getting off the ground, and the early going was pretty rugged. The early Christ-followers were being persecuted by religious leaders on one side of them, and feared and repressed by the leaders of the Roman Empire on the other. In the middle, they were already starting to squabble among themselves over what were “right beliefs” and discerning what were “real sins” to be weeded out, versus gripes and complaints that were more over personal preference and “customs.” When the United States was forming, and a constitution was being crafted, remember how the Founders struggled over putting “form” to their new nation while protecting individual liberties, and guarding against authoritarian leadership? So it was with the early church, as prior religious traditions had become oppressive, in the minds of the early Christians. And yet, some “form” was needed, or the budding organization would fall apart under its own brand of anarchy. 

 

As one who just started a new “job” in retirement of pastoring a local church, I can attest to the fact that “job one” is building both trust and relationships with “the folk,” as Bishop Nichols used to call them. If “the folk” don’t trust you, they not only won’t follow you, but they might not even cotton to your suggestions! And if you don’t cultivate relationships with them, and respect them, how can you expect them to trust you? I’m an energetic, passionate person, and I have found that these “people person” characteristics have generally been a “positive” in the relationship and trust building departments, at least early on. However, once that “honeymoon” is over, you had better show some substance, or the shine will wear off very soon. Paul had all of these issues to deal with and more. After all, his first-wave pub was that he held Stephen’s cloak as he was being stoned to death. You don’t think those early Christians didn’t know that? At least the folk who now have to face ME as their pastor know that in 36 years of ministry, I didn’t ruin any churches! (My goal was to always leave them better off than I found them, and I think we were able to do that, most of the time?)

 

The language of Ephesians sure seems to say that Paul was both energetic and passionate. Like the American Founders, Paul also had a brilliant idea about what the emerging organization should look like, and it was truly “counter cultural” for most of what passes as the “human condition.” Is it not true that we TEND toward selfish pursuits and “guarding” our individual rights and liberties? Is it not also true that we are often threatened by “losing” ourselves to the collective “spirit” of any organization? These are some of the reasons our politics can become so polarized: “liberal” voices lean toward “building community” and subjugating individual “rights” for the good of the collective, while “conservative” ones, while certainly NOT opposed to the idea of “community building,” eschew doing so by “giving up” or even attenuating at all our individual rights. Similar concerns have woven their way into the faith community, as well. What is “salvation” for one group may be considered “heresy” by another. What is “good stewardship” in one view is labeled “controlling” by another, often expressed in statements like: “All they want is my money!” Believe me, these aren’t “new” emotions nor novel philosophical/theological views! Why? Because we are all human. The question for Paul—and for us in the church today—is: Are we “wilted” or worthy?

 

Why do things wilt, anyway? Here are a few reasons I came up with:

 

·      Things wilt because they have been kept around for too long

 

·      Things wilt because they are being neglected

 

·      Things wilt because they are kept at the wrong temperature

 

·      Things wilt because they are beginning to rot

 

I’m sure you can read these and apply your own “spiritual truths” to them, whether thinking about your own spiritual journey or that of the church. As a pastor, I have seen both people and churches “wilt” because they have been neglected. I have also seen both entities wilt because they have kept “things” (doctrines, sacred “stuff,” or archaic biblical views) around too long, and reality has moved on. Think about it, if we believe we, as Christian people or collectively as “the church,” should be growing, does this not mean we will change? And if we grow and change, what is to be one with the “stuff” we collect along the way that is no longer applicable or necessary to our journey? That stuff “wilts,” or should be allowed to “die on the vine,” in order for us to move forward. But if we baptize it as “sacred,” it may weigh us down.

 

The Christian church today often behaves like it is wilted. We argue over tired doctrines, fight over archaic issues that have either been “settled” by society or cast aside by it. We think the “secret” of recovering power and relevance in the church is something like “biblical authority” or cornering what “personal piety” should look like. The larger world, which we were commanded by Jesus to go into and “make disciples” has no interest in these things. They are looking for a love that won’t let them down, and a power that might bring peace, prosperity, and safety to everyone. Hmmm. Sure sounds like what Jesus preached about, to me! Why, then, are we “wilting” over religious artifacts and becoming hung up over the meaningless “anchors” we keep throwing over the side of the boat? Because we can, I guess, and because doing the “righteous” thing means sacrifice and “giving up” stuff we choose to guard and protect.

 

Years ago, my pastor/brother and I went to a preaching seminar in Nashville, put on by our United Methodist Board of Discipleship. The keynote speaker was author and homiletics professor, Tom Troeger. Troeger told of a church that was in crisis over a “red, horse-hair sofa” that had become a precious relic in a small church. It had been a gift from some “saint” of the church’s past, and now symbolized his idolized heritage. Given that it was ratty and disintegrating, any normal “home” would have long since tossed it, but because of what it stood for, it had become a legendary “landmark” for some in that congregation. The “sofa people” chose to park the eyesore in the chancel and make it the “seat of honor” for the pastor on Sunday mornings, while newer, younger members sought to honor it by placing it in the dumpster. The “extremes” were overruled by the middle-ground folk who were split over WHERE to put the sofa in the chancel, not whether it should be there at all. Frankly, I don’t even remember how the story ended, for its lesson was more about what is “wilted” or “worthy” in our own faith, AND in our faith community. (The label “wilted” is mine, not Troeger’s, and “worthy” comes from Paul in verse one of today’s lectionary passage.)  Now, try to imagine a new, young group of “seekers” coming into one of our churches and asking an important question of us: “What are the key issues for you all in this church?” It’s a serious question, and all visitors ask it, if not outwardly, in what they are thinking about us! Now imagine if our answer is honest: “We’re fighting over that old, red, horse-hair sofa up there.” Yeah, THEY’LL stick around…is it any wonder why most churches today have trouble landing new folk? And especially having little success with younger people who have never been a part of our “Hatfield vs. McCoy” feuds? IF we get them into faith communities, they will come with serious questions about life, the universe, and everything, and they will not want to hear about our decorations, or even our doctrines. ALL studies, though, show they ARE interested in what Jesus taught us, and how that impacts their lives. The “wilted” church is a dying church; the worthy church is one where the gifts of the Spirit are working, current, and forward-looking.

 

For me, personally, right now, my “red, horse-hair sofa” is my unresolved anger over the disputes that resulted in the disaffiliation of thousands of church, key leaders, and pastoral colleagues away from the United Methodist Church. I’m having a real problem letting it go, and I know I have to, or I will be “wilting on the vine,” so to speak. It’s not a question of “forgiveness,” but one of the incredible disruption to the witness of both “sides,” I keep telling myself. Why couldn’t we just agree to disagree on some of the “nonessentials,” as Mr. Wesley would have called them, and focus on the “essentials” on which we DID agree? I know that this oversimplification of the complexity of the issues is partly to blame for my errant anger, but I guess I just have to process through it. It doesn’t help when, occasionally, a former colleague publicly “gloats” over how “righteous” they were to disaffiliate from our denomination, as I don’t believe it was. Again, this raises my ire and in my humanness, warts and all, I want to “retaliate,” either with a post to Facebook or in a “return” email. I am reminded of an episode of one of my favorite shows, “The West Wing,” the White House political director—Josh Lyman—gets angry at someone for something they did that threatens to create much negative “press” for his party, and he wants to “zing” the individual by way of a public humiliation, of which he is capable of unleashing. The White House chief of staff—Leo—calls Josh on the carpet, telling him, “NO, NO, NO,” to which Josh questions, “Why NOT, Leo?” Leo’s answer: “Because it’s NOT WHAT WE DO, Josh!” Josh continues to protest, rationalizing his proposed retaliation, but Leo again repeats, even more emphatically, “It’s NOT WHAT WE DO, Josh!” I need to be reminded of this, and so does any “wilting” church! Getting angry, fighting over the “sofa,” attacking the pastor because she or he doesn’t agree with us, or even withholding our GIVING because of something we don’t like—“That’s NOT what WE DO” in the Church of Jesus Christ. THAT’S. NOT. WHAT. WE. DO.

 

Learning how NOT to be a “wilting” church is not easy, but neither is it what will make us a WORTHY church, at least according to Paul, in Ephesians. First of all, there is the whole Pauline message of “salvation by faith,” reminding us that we are redeemed (and BEING redeemed) by the grace of God, NOT by our behavior. However, once we get over that important speed bump, we are reminded that our BEHAVIOR has to do with our priorities, whether we are utilizing our gifts for ministry, the effectiveness of our personal and corporate witness, and ultimately, whether “community” will ever be possible in the church. Obviously, a lot is hanging on how we act, just not necessarily our redemption, in God’s eyes. So, how DO we act in a “manner worthy of our calling,” to borrow Paul’s phrase? Here are the things he “fire-hoses” at us in this compact passage:

 

·      Conducting ourselves with “humility, gentleness, and patience”—THIS is “what we do!”

 

·      We “bear WITH one another in love”—If you want a definition of “working” love, here it is: “bearing WITH one another,” which is hard to do, but edifying, energizing, redemptive, and inspiring. 

 

·      Striving for UNITY in the BOND of peace—if only left as a platitude, this phrase is powerless, but if converted into a process—“peacemaking,” as the verbal form says—we can become a “bonded” community, at peace with one another, even though we may not all agree what to do with the sofa.

 

·      Knowing that GOD’S aim is for “one body” and “one Spirit,” “one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” and that anything less we might “build” will not realize God’s aim, not matter how “good” we think it might be. Again, Mr. Wesley would include these “ones” as “essentials of the faith.” If we build our church around “the essentials,” and “think and let think” (another Wesley phrase) about the “non-essentials,” we CAN find both peace AND unity!

 

·      God has gone so far as to “equip” us with spiritual gifts for service. If used according to the instructions, they will build up and edify the Body of Christ, and help it be a powerful witness to the uninitiated “world” for Jesus Christ. 

 

I’ve always wondered why the name of Jesus Christ used in vain is a “favorite” form of worldly profanity. Outside of the linguists who tell us that our profane words are those with hard “k” or “t” sounds, after reading Paul’s missive in Ephesians, I am made to wonder if it has more to do with how FRUSTRATED people are with what the CHURCH, in its “wilted” form, has done with the power, love, and witness of Jesus Christ? Might people use the name of Jesus as a SWEAR word because we have done such an injustice to the message of Jesus with our bickering, our infighting, and our hurtful accusations against other “believers” within our own organization? Is our world crying out for a “worthy” church, filled with people whose behaviors and systemic UNITY might show them a better way? Maybe we ALL should start swearing, if we can’t get our act together! 

 

Paul finishes up telling the fledgling church to “stop acting like children,” being tossed “to and fro” by theological trinkets. What, then, does “maturity” look like? We find it in the TRUTH and LOVE in Jesus Christ. Essentials again, wouldn’t you say? As an almost seventy-year-old, I can say this: it’s a terrible thing when your body starts “warring” within itself and fighting you. It’s the wrong kind of maturity. As we age, we have to become much more diligent about what we eat, how we exercise, and what we attempt to do, with what we have. Otherwise, our body will rebel, and we will lose that competition. A “wilted” body rapidly degrades, along with its ability to accomplish anything. A cared-for, well-nurtured, and “honest” body will maintain functionality and integrity, and it “won’t write checks it can’t cash,” as they say. This is good counsel for the Body of Christ, too. 

 

Walking in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called—THAT’S what we do! And this is what makes us a “worthy” church! Amen.