Concerning Food...

 Concerning Food…

 

1 Corinthians 8:1-13
8:1 Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

8:2 Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge;

8:3 but anyone who loves God is known by him.

8:4 Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "no idol in the world really exists," and that "there is no God but one."

8:5 Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth--as in fact there are many gods and many lords--

8:6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

8:7 It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.

8:8 "Food will not bring us close to God." We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.

8:9 But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

8:10 For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols?

8:11 So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed.

8:12 But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.

8:13 Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

 

 

Food has become a sort of preoccupation with me since last Easter. You see, I like to eat (don’t we all?), and since COVID invaded, I have been learning how to cook—something I had initially planned to do as a retirement activity. I never thought I was  “big” eater, as some might say, given I’m married to a dietitian, who has tried to give me good “food” vibes over our 46-plus years together. But as a pastor, with a more sedentary lifestyle that comes with this calling, I had slowly added material to my body that gravity seem to really appreciate. Over the past few years, at each of my annual physicals, my Doc would say something like, “You could stand to lose a few pounds,” to which I would smile and respond, “No, I CAN’T stand it!” I went several years resisting his suggestion, buoyed by the evidence that I had not gained weight between those office visits. Then came 2023: I was up four pounds. I had been noticing that my ties seemed to be getting sorter, and my suit jackets were “shrinking,” and those four pounds set off an alarm. I started “being more careful” with what I was eating in the days following, and then we were off to Louisville to spend Easter with our daughter and her family.

 

At our first meal together, I made a comment about how I was “trying to cut down.” This prompted a response from my daughter, who reported that she had lost almost 25 pounds of “baby fat” she had been carrying around after having her children. She DID look good, so I asked if she had a secret—of COURSE she did. She told me about a free app she used to keep track of her daily calorie intake, demonstrating how it had a convenient database of most foods (making this easy), and settings that one could dial up a goal of like losing a pound a week. Dara always said that weight loss was best done gradually like this, and that any resulting loss would be more sustainable, if this was the method used. I downloaded the app, and began my anti-blimping journey,

 

The rest is history, as they say. I was able to stay with the app, was painfully honest with each food item entry over the following months, and by Thanksgiving, had reached my target weight, which was over 40 pounds less than what I had weighed at my Doc’s office in February. My target weight was decided by consulting the BMI/health charts readily available on the Internet. A “healthy” male my age, height, and weight should weigh between 155 and 165 pounds, with a BMI of 25 or less. I settled on the upper number (165), given that I do a bit of weight and resistance training, with the help of our “Silver Sneakers” gym membership and a Bowflex unit here in my study. After reaching this target weight, I set the app to “maintain,” but only have added in half the calories it suggested, as I know myself, and how my body handles food. So far, so good! I’ve been several weeks now, right at 165. By the way, the app I used is called, “MyNetDiary.com” It is free, although they do offer a “premium” edition that performs all kinds of “food contents” analyses, such as levels of carbohydrates, fats, sugars, etc. I was personally never interested in these things, as I just wanted to track basic calorie consumption in the food I was consuming. My favorite dietitian always preached moderation—eat whatever you want, just don’t eat as MUCH of it, and stay away from routinely eating “seconds” (or thirds…). 

 

How do I feel? Great. I DID have to buy several new pairs of pants, new blue jeans, and a few new shirts. My ties are suddenly longer, and my polo shirts are no longer making me feel like a breakfast sausage. At retirement, I donated several of my best suits to Goodwill, only keeping two that were too tight, with the hope they would encourage me to engage a weight-loss program. Now, at the successful conclusion of one, I pulled out the “tightest” of those two suits to wear to a funeral service this week. Believe it or not, it was WAY too large on me, not even wearable, honestly! I guess my recent “battle of the bulge” is what triggered my interest in this I Corinthians 8 text from the lectionary.

 

Weight loss was not what was troubling the folk the apostle is addressing in this scripture. In question was meat that was from animals sacrificed to idols by one of the pagan groups that were common in the Greco-Roman culture. Since Peter and Paul had both “heard” from the Lord through the “kill and eat” vision and the big sheet coming down from heaven, the “doctrine” of the faith was that there was no longer anything that was restricted, in terms of cuisine. Paul would argue, however, that if eating meat that had been sacrificed to pagan idols would cause some to “stumble” or otherwise be disillusioned in their faith, one should refrain from doing so in their presence. Note that Paul doesn’t have a problem with eating this meat, per se, but only when it may produce a negative witness to those for whom it would be anathema. 

 

In our day, this might be like refraining from drinking alcoholic beverages in the presence of those who could be negatively affected by its consumption, or by the temptation it may offer. A majority of committed Christians have come to believe that persons who are attracted to those within their same gender is a perfectly normal manifestation on the spectrum of human sexuality. However, there are those for whom this “sin” is counter to their understanding of scripture. Might this be the same kind of thing? Some think so. The problem with this comparison, however, is that what is “caught in the middle” are human beings and their lives, not alcohol or meat. Is it appropriate to ask persons in the LGBTQ community to disregard what is normal or natural for them—for the rest of their lives—just to placate other believers, or to affirm their interpretation of scripture and moral “law,” especially when how to interpret scripture is a much debated and varied science? Might it be prudent for LGBTQ individuals and their allies to be more sensitive to the faith and related “beliefs” of those who struggle with their “acceptance?” Probably. As is often the case in human affairs, one of the great “equalizers” is a close affiliation with a person who has publicly stated their LGBTQ status. It may be a close friend, family member, or even a sibling, child, or grandchild. This may be a good example of what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “life together,” where such a close relationship breaks down our prejudices and necessarily causes us to rethink what we at one time believed to be immutable principles. 

 

Throughout the history of religion, new vistas discovered by human knowledge required such a rethinking of doctrinal positions. Galileo was excommunicated by the church because he dared hypothesize that the Earth revolved around the Sun, and not vice versa. It wasn’t until 1992 that Pope John Paul II stated that Galileo “may have been unjustly treated” by the church. Medical and psychological science have affirmed that human sexuality is on a continuum, not merely and “either/or,” as some believe. They have taught us that whether a person manifests a heterosexual attraction or a homosexual one—or anything in between—is normal, and should be accepted as a very personal and life-long orientation. Laws, too, should fairly allow for normalization of personal human sexual orientation as an individual right, protected BY the law. Fifty years from now (hopefully MUCH less!), this will be the case, as science and medicine continues to learn and society evolves, but for now, members of the LGBTQ community suffer harassment and alienation, at the least, and legal persecution or even a death sentence (in some countries), at most. About this gap in knowledge—or at least the acceptance of it, Paul would say, “It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge…” Like Galileo’s heliocentrism, it may take a while for the church to come around.

 

In our politically polarized and charged time, those with a greater degree of emotional intelligence are appealing to us all to be in dialogue about our differences and stop the name-calling and labeling the “other side” as just plain wrong, or proclaiming them “ignorant.” As one of my reading group partners said the other day, the dialogue will only be fruitful if our goal is not persuasion, but relationship fostering and nurturing. Like it or not, we ARE in this together. If we just keep choosing sides, nothing good will come of it. History will record that “final solutions” such as the mass-disaffiliation movement that has crippled the United Methodist Church will not ultimately serve the Body of Christ. Deciding to end dialogue and “taking their ball and bat and going home” will cost money, sever precious relationships, hurt our Christian witness, but will eventually cause us to eventually wind up right where we are now. Some wise souls have already predicted this, and have tried to build into the “permissions” that made disaffiliation possible, the seeds of reconciliation. Only time will tell if these will bear fruit.

 

The issue of meat sacrificed to idols didn’t plague the church for very long, as we don’t hear much about it beyond this text in Corinthians. The church seems adept, however, at finding other issues over which to fight, split, and reconcile, although there have clearly been fracturing issues that still haven’t “matured” to the reconciliation stage! (Witness the continued existence of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches.)

 

One wonders what Jesus Christ must feel about these squabbles and divisions? Is it not true that he CAME to absolve us of the sins that fracture us, and to heal and restore the love (agape) originally gifted to humanity by our Creator? Of course, it were these very issues that took him to the cross at the hands of persons who feared his efforts to exorcise our hatred and lust for personal power, wasn’t it? I’m guessing Jesus understands the cross was just a launchpad, not a final winner’s platform, and that his efforts to reconcile humanity to God and to each other are still ongoing and current. We can pray so. We can hope so. And we can work like we believe it to be the will of God, that this reconciliation is the end game.

 

May we be guided by what Paul tells us in verse one of today’s passage: “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” Amen!

The God With a Malleable Mind

 

The God With a Malleable Mind

 

Jonah 3:1-5, 10
3:1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying,

3:2 "Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you."

3:3 So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days' walk across.

3:4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. And he cried out, "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"

3:5 And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

3:10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed God’s mind about the calamity that God had said would be brought upon them; and God did not do it.

 

 

The story of Jonah and his “battle” with God over the people of Nineveh is one of the richest—and one of my most favorite ones—in the whole Bible. Jonah didn’t LIKE the people of Nineveh, and the LAST thing he wanted to do was to give them God’s word of grace that if they were to just repent of their sin, God would forgive them. Jonah was in the “fry ‘em, Lord” school, and grace was not part of that equation. We all know the “juicy” part of the Jonah story that involves a “big fish,” or WHALE in good storytelling vernacular, and that a brief “submarine ride” changed Jonah’s travel plans, but NOT his hatred for the people of Nineveh. We also know that when he gave a half-hearted “message” of repentance to the Ninevites that they passionately DID repent and embrace the divine grace being afforded to them, much to Jonah’s chagrin. But there are other interesting things to consider from today’s lectionary text out of this fanciful book. Let’s examine a few of them.

 

First of all, God must have liked Nineveh, calling it a “great city,” in his call to Jonah to go there and deliver a message. Did God just mean it was a “large city,” as is related in the next verse? Or did God see the POTENTIAL for what Nineveh could be, coupled with getting their moral acts together and accepting God’s offer of forgiveness? I’m guessing the latter. God has a way of seeing the potential in God’s people, if given half a chance, and God seems willing to give CHANCE after CHANCE! In sending God’s Son into the world, even with the threat of retribution against him and his message, even knowing the devil would have easy access to him, even knowing that there was a cross on a hill called Golgotha for him, God was giving God’s people, created in God’s own image, a fresh chance to experience reconciliation. We often think of Christ’s “sacrifice” on the cross as a big deal—and it is—but the ultimate sacrifice was God “baring” Godself to all of humanity and the dark forces of the universe, just so “save” us. You see, God saw something “great” in us, just like Nineveh. And God knew that to get the message across, a death and resurrection would be necessary to drive the point home. Is this not what happens in the story of Jonah? No one could survive in the gullet of a sea-going mammal for three days. Jonah died in that beast, and God didn’t just have the animal spew him out onto the beach like a reluctant passenger. Jonah was spit out like a piece of dead bait, and God must have raised him up from the dead to bear the message to that “great city.” One look at Jonah, and those people KNEW what God had just done, in order to offer redemption to them. And as reluctant as Jonah was to give the “word of the Lord,” Jonah knew, too.

 

However, the other thing I want to focus on in this message is this idea that God CHANGED GOD’S MIND about the “calamity” that God was going to inflict upon these people for their behavior, and spared them. Verse 10 introduces two unique ideas here for us to ponder:

 

*God HAS a “mind”

 

*God—a divine being—CHANGES God’s mind

 

On point number one, isn’t it a bit strange to think about God having a “mind”? What does that mean? Our minds help us understand our “place” in the universe, to form thoughts and words to both understand AND to communicate with the world around us, and to linearly and logically order our lives. Our minds are like a personal computer that interfaces with our “real world” bodies, and “interconnects” us with others in whatever forms of “community” we may find ourselves. Regarding the first two descriptions of what our mind does for us, if we apply these to the divine, we might come to the conclusion that God IS a mind, pure and simple. In terms of the “computer” descriptor, including the “interfacing” and “interconnecting” parts, we can see how Jesus Christ performed these functions as his part of the Godhead, via the incarnation. Still, it’s rather stifling to comprehend the idea of God having a “mind” like we do—a center of consciousness and a place where our inner dialogue takes place. Is this what’s happening in the scriptures when we read—such as in the creation story in Genesis—“let US make…”? (Most theologians do NOT believe this language is a reference to the Trinity, by the way.) 

 

Paul talks about us being able to tap “the mind of Christ” as part of our Christian discipleship. Is the “mind” of Christ kind of a virtual “placenta” between the divine “mind” and our more finite minds? Like the writers of scripture, we are reduced to anthropomorphizing our understanding of God and how God “thinks” and acts in God’s dealings with the creation. The danger is that in doing so, we “limit” God to the linear, time-locked abilities and functions of the human mind. If we believe in the existence of some all-encompassing, all embracing, limitlessly creative divine “being,” we must realize that such an entity would NOT be thus limited to “thinking” like we do. Trito-Isaiah gets it right here:

 

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. (Isaiah 55:8)

 

But it’s not just the “bigness” or scope of the divine that makes this hard for us to fathom, but the timelessness of God. God is necessarily a being outside of time. God has the “ability” to see ALL time, simultaneously, OR to enter a moment in time to relate to US. This is precisely what Jesus Christ represents—God entering into a moment in time. Galatians 4:4 says that Christ stepped into our world “in the fulness of time.”

 

How God’s “mind” works is a difficult thing to ponder, but it IS an interesting endeavor. We are nudged into it by interesting passages of scripture such as this one from Jonah. Storytellers and screen writers have had a field day with how God “thinks,” and how God has connected with humans, as witnessed by such films as “Oh, God” and “Bruce Almighty,” both comedies, because this may be the only “safe” way to approach an unanswerable question! Fundamentalist/Evangelical friends might suggest that all we can EVER know of the mind of God is what is in the scriptures, and what has been revealed in Jesus Christ. I can buy the second idea, for the church has largely affirmed the concept that God’s “fulness” is demonstrated in the person, witness, and ministry of Jesus. However, even here is a mystery, for how we interpret the teachings of Jesus, and the historical and theological ramifications of the totality of the Christ Event from Bethlehem to Calvary, to resurrection and ascension, and even through the apocalypse, have always been open to debate. A timeless God stepping into history with eternal consequences—wrap your mind around that!

 

It gets worse. Look at the second asterisked point—here in Jonah (and numerous other places in scripture, such as God’s dealing with Moses and the people of primitive Israel), God is said to CHANGE God’s mind! Flippantly, we could say that God can do whatever God WANTS to do, including change the divine mind, but if we embrace the intricacies of the possibilities we have already raised, HOW and WHY would God ever NEED to “change” God’s mind? This, again, may just be a case of over-anthropomorphizing what is really happening, on the part of the author here. (I know this is hard, if not impossible, for those of you who take a much higher “inspired” or “revealed” view of scripture to accept this possibility.) Here's one way to think about it: if WE are created in the “image” of God, maybe our ability to weigh what is before us, study the facts of a situation, apply the great gift of reason to it, and change OUR minds about something, based on our analysis, observation, and where necessary, a loosening of our “immutable” views or beliefs, why can’t God? Maybe the variable at work here is not just TIME, but FREE WILL? 

 

When you give someone freedom to choose—whatever this encompasses—you also give up control of the choice they will make. Unless you are some sort of a Svengali, your only recourse to “affect” their choice in a direction that you would like to see them go is discourse—making an appeal. Some might say “persuasion,” but this can—and often is—manipulative, even controlling. If we love and respect the one we have given the choice to, we will let this love guide and govern the way we make this appeal, with its motive being the GOOD of the person in question, not that of our own. Oh, we may be appealing for a given choice that we believe would benefit the wider community, as well, but we must first come to terms with our own motive, and how strongly we feel about it. Rules and mores are adopted to provide boundaries. In the best of worlds, they nurture and empower persons and communities to live their best lives in peace and harmony. In the less-than-best scenarios, they provide protection, offering practical resistance between those who might use their choices to exploit for their own benefit, and those who may be the targets of this exploitation. Now, let’s go back to that “mind of God” business…

 

The writer of this text wants us to believe that the “evil” done by the people of Nineveh had God so upset that God was going to bring calamity upon them. (We don’t have the details of this “calamity” here like we do in the Exodus narratives, where God tells Moses that God is so TICKED at the people, God is considering wiping them out, keeping Moses, and just starting over!) But the text tells us that when God “saw” how the people repented and changed their ways, God changes the divine mind to offer pardon and acceptance. (Again, in Exodus the language is stronger, where it says that “God REPENTED of the evil God was going to do against Israel”—now THERE’S one to look at sometime—God REPENTING!). 

 

The Good News is that God, however God does it, sorts this all out and reconciles with the human creation. It’s a good thing, for this is what we believe God is all about, at least in the community of faith!

 

Maybe all of this “God bringing calamity” and “God changing God’s mind” about the “evil” God is thinking of doing to people who have committed evil themselves ARE just creations of the HUMAN mind, trying to make sense out of cosmic and eternal issues. How DO we understand our relationship to the divine AND the “Mind of God”? It IS a fundamental belief of the world’s major religions—certainly at least for the three “biblical” ones—that God IS a loving, creating, and forgiving God, and that the one thing that God wants of us—especially in light of God having given us the gift of FREE WILL—is to live together in harmony with each other, and at peace with God. Parsing through the sometimes crude language of scripture, this is what we “see” as the end-product of the divine/human relationship. And this is CERTAINLY easier to see in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus made it very clear why he came, and what the “mission” of God would be through the totality of the Christ Event, and in the work of the Holy Spirit of God. One wonders what the Christian church might look like if we took John 3:16 HALF as literally as we have other passages of scripture we take to mean God has set US up as judges on the earth. And Christ’s proposition to “Love thy neighbor” doesn’t come with qualifiers, does it?

 

Still, there is something quite comforting about believing in a God whose mind is capable of change, and of pondering how even GOD has to rely on “an appeal” to us to make wise choices, instead of threats or “calamities.” Process Theology is a model of “God-thinking” that imagines God “out ahead of us,” both illuminating our pathways, and “luring” us toward better choices and harmonious relationships with each other and Godself. In this model, our missteps are not “punished,” but just little alarms that bring the benevolent, prehensive God to us to help pick up the pieces and get us back on the journey and headed in a less chaotic direction. 

 

I’ll say “Amen” to that! Keep the faith, Dear Ones! Shalom!

Search Me?

 Search Me?

 

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
139:1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me.

139:2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.

139:3 You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.

139:4 Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely.

139:5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.

139:13 For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

139:14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.

139:15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

139:16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.

139:17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

139:18 I try to count them -- they are more than the sand; I come to the end -- I am still with you.

 

When we were kids, and were being quizzed about something that had “transpired,” (usually something bad, or at least mischievous), and asked if we had anything to do with it, our answer was often, “Search me?” It was a very non-committal way of being defiant, and not “ratting” on a friend, or admitting guilt, personally. In today’s text—one of the Bible’s Psalms—it begins with the psalmist saying, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me.” It’s hard to hide any of ourselves from God, especially since God has a built-in “body camera” within each of us—the human heart and conscience.

 

The Psalmist here was either very paranoid, or just quite aware of both the scope of God’s ability to keep tabs on each of us—at a very intimate level—and God’s interest, in doing so. The “fingerprint” individuality of God’s human creature is something to behold. Even Jesus told us “every hair on your head is numbered” by God (I used to tell my bald parishioners that this meant the hair follicles, for them). 

 

I don’t often pick a Psalm to write a sermon about, probably because I have typically seen the Psalms as very personal “meditation” texts. When I have something to cry out about—in anger, joy, or just frustration—there is a Psalm that cries with me. When I am inspired to marvel at some aspect of God’s creation, there is a Psalm that marvels alongside me, and even offers language that may not arrive at my tongue. Or when I just need to know “You are HERE,” like those directory signs in the shopping malls tell you, but about my life, not my physical location, there is a Psalm that shows me my “current reality,” thusly. This Psalm is one of these “You are HERE” Psalms.

 

I hope it is a comfort for you to know that God knows all of this stuff about you and keeps track of you, day by day. It should be, even when you or I engage in thoughts, activities, or temptations that aren’t on the “approved” list, as these are the times when we most need God’s presence, watchful eye, and Holy Spirit who nudges our conscience to wake up and do something about it. By watching us and convicting us of these moments, God is also automatically pardoning us, which is exactly what Jesus said God would do. Even when we are in that childish “Search me” denial mode—and even when it is with full awareness and an attempt to deceive that we are—God’s grace prevails. The only danger to us comes when we persist in rejecting the promptings of God’s Spirit to straighten up our act, and we follow through on some action that causes harm (physical or emotional) to ourselves or another. Then we REALLY need to believe God is still watching and “searching” us! For without God in these more extreme, “sinful” moments, we might very well perish.

 

There are two things that some have taken away from this Psalm that I truly believe are in error. The first is that Psalm 139’s “you knit me together in my mother’s womb” assertion is a prohibition against abortion, as most anti-abortion activitsts do. I do not believe this Psalm is saying that God is “predetermining” our destiny from the moment of conception, nor that God is already planning our lives at this stage. Like the Reform Jews, I believe that these activities only begin when we arrive on this side of the womb and begin interacting with those nurturing us, and building relationships with them, and God. As a United Methodist, I ascribe to our denomination’s view that abortion is something to be avoided, if at all possible. Science and medicine has given us numerous ways for women and men to avoid pregnancy, if this is not in their plans at the time, and even our own moral choices may help us be more careful with our sexual urges and activities to this end, if we are not yet in a covenant relationship. (Don’t take that I’m advocating for “abstention” as a substitute for the other medical or physical means of birth control—I’m not—but our moral choices MAY help us not behave like our backyard bunny rabbits all of the time!) However, there certainly ARE times when a pregnancy results that is NOT prudent, and the circumstances of it—either medical, financial, or emotional—lead to a termination of it as the best choice. We United Methodists believe this choice is best left to those involved, and not the government, and that it is between them and God. We do not condemn persons for making these very hard choices, and I am in agreement with this. There are those in the anti-abortion movement who propose carrying a child to term and putting it up for adoption is an “easy” way to end the medical practice of abortion, but they have little knowledge of the financial and emotional pitfalls on both ends of this “solution.” Carrying a child to term so often leads to a “bonding” process that is very hard for an emotionally compromised woman to ignore, which is essential to do, if she is to give up the newborn for adoption, AND, our legal and social structure does NOT make adoption an easy thing for any couples wishing to adopt. It is a beautiful thing when it happens and meets the needs and realities of both parties, but it is nothing that should ever be forced, or EN-forced by laws and courts. Again, Psalm 139 is not fodder for outlawing abortion. It is merely a statement that part of what “brought us into the world” was this miraculous process of procreation, for which the Psalmist is engaging in wonderment. It is NOT an assertion that God is pre-ordaining the life of a ovum, zygote, or fetus. The Psalmist is just grooving on the fact that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” as an act of gratitude and praise.

 

The second thing Psalm 139 is NOT is a statement of predestination, in my Wesleyan, “free will” mind. In words of verse 16, and in the totality of the context of the other verses, it is easy to see how one could get this idea. However, we must remember that the Psalmist is “reviewing” her/his life, and taking stock of the myriad ways God has been “searching” it. It stands to reason that, as a living, breathing person with years of experiences and history behind it, one would “look back” and postulate that God was in it, all along. This is the real “bugaboo” about the ”free will vs. predestination” argument—it depends on one’s perspective. We Wesleyan Christians believe God has given humanity free will to make our own choices, and God’s wisdom and grace to guide us. However, when any of us looks back on our life as does this writer, it is easy to “see” how God HAS been leading, guiding, and even (we may believe) intervening along the way. The real theological questions are: has God been “pushing us” along a predetermined pathway? Or has God been “luring” us and lighting options along our pathways to keep us from stumbling in the darkness? I think of how I raised my own children. I never attempted to “predetermine” or “predestine” what direction their lives would take. I loved them too much to do what would have been an almost exclusively self-serving thing like that! Instead, I did my best to protect them from harm, provide for their basic physical and emotional needs, offer them as many options as our circumstances and checkbook could afford, and guide and encourage them to make the wisest choices they could, along life’s way. When they stumbled, I was there to help them back up, comfort them in their pain, and help them move on to “what’s next.” And I also did my best to offer them my faith, not just as I believed it, personally, but as I best understood it, and as I attempted to live it in an exemplary fashion. I also never shied away from admitting my WAY too often unknowing and error-filled ways of fatherhood. I was fond of saying, “I really don’t know what I’m doing, because I’ve never done this before, but I DO have to do this ‘Dad’ thing…” They would chuckle at this, it would break the ice, and we could have an honest conversation over whatever the issue was. Might our God—the God of Psalm 139—be just this way, too? Only in God’s case, it would probably not be that GOD was “unknowing” or “inexperienced,” but that God would not condemn US for the fact that WE were! THIS is what I see the Psalmist rejoicing over in Psalm 139.

 

This year I will turn 70 years of age—the Bible’s “three score and ten,” which are my “numbered” days. In short, I’ll graduate to what the vernacular often calls “borrowed time.” This Psalm is shouting out to me that: 1. God’s interest in continuing to “search” my life and persist in offering guidance to it is as abundant as the grains of sand in the sea; and 2. Even to the very end of my life, we will walk this journey together. How wonderful and rich is that? Talk about a promise that will not “allow” me to fear either life OR death! Psalm 139 is such a promise, Dear Ones!

 

I end this week’s sermon with a “modern” hymn that for me completely summarizes what the Psalmist is trying to tell us. This hymn showed up when our United Methodist hymnal supplement called “The Faith We Sing” came on the scene, and I STILL can’t get through singing it without breaking down into tears of joy, for the promise it offers, akin to this Psalm. It was written by John Ylvisaker:

 

I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry

 

I was there to hear your borning cry, I’ll be there when you are old.

I rejoiced the day you were baptized, to see your life unfold.

 

I was there when you were but a child, with a faith to suit you well; 

In a blaze of light you wandered off to find where demons dwell.

 

When you heard the wonder of the Word I was there to cheer you on;

You were raised to praise the living Lord, to whom you now belong.

 

If you find someone to share your time and you join your hearts as one,

I’ll be there to make your verses rhyme from dusk till rising sun.

 

In the middle ages of your life, not too old, no longer young,

I’ll be there to guide you through the night, complete what I’ve begun.

 

When the evening gently closes in and you shut your weary eyes,

I’ll be there as I have always been with just one more surprise.

 

I was there to hear your borning cry, I’ll be there when you are old, 

I rejoiced the day you were baptized, to see your life unfold.

 

And now, through tears yet again, I say, “Shalom, Dear Ones,” and Amen!

 

Well, Is it RE-Creation, or Recreation?

 

Well, Is it RE-Creation, or Recreation?

 

Genesis 1:1-5
1:1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,

1:2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

1:3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.

1:4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

1:5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

 

In the hymn, “Morning Has Broken,” we sing this line:

 

“Praise with elation, praise every morning, God's recreation of the new day…”

 

Cat Stevens sang his version as “God’s recreation,” while most congregations seem to sing “God’s RE-CREATION, of the new day,” like God is doing something NEW with something very, very old. What do you think?

 

Today’s narrative from the lectionary is the opening lines of the great “myth symphony” in Genesis of the creation of the universe. Anyone who mistakes it for a factual, journalistic account of how things came to be must think the Mona Lisa is a photograph of a peasant woman, taken for her passport. We revisit it at the beginning of the New Year because it is something beautiful that reminds us that the stirrings of new life began with the very beginning of all things, and that our faith asserts it was not a great cosmic accident, but the stroke of the celestial artist. We could argue that all that we know, see, and experience in this magnificent universe (or “multiverse?”) was and IS, God’s RECREATION. God creates and sustains the creation like I might play tennis, wield my camera, bang on a computer keyboard, or drive my convertible. I like this concept, as it is a marvelous statement of God as not just love, but also JOY. Believe me, as one who is now retired from the responsibilities of EARNING a living, I am now ENJOYING just living. “…praise every morning, MY recreation, of the new day!” I like getting up to see what opportunities the day will produce, for newness, “re-creation,” and joy! If this is what God is up to in the daily care of the universe, I get it.

 

The hymn is melodic and inspirational. “Praise with elation” is an amazing phrase. Oh, that all could experience praise with elation! It sounds so spontaneous and invigorating, and life-giving! But just look at the simple words from Genesis—even less of them than in the hymn, and they paint the picture of the origin of light, day, and night. From “formless voids” and forbidding darkness came FIRST the light, and then the heavenly bodies that now make it and reflect. Interesting. God must have had a blast doing that! The compact narrative makes the point that the “chicken came before the egg.” Light before what we now understand as its sources in the cosmos. Part of God’s “recreating” during the creation is casting FIRST the vision—in this case, light—and only later, that which will sustain it. The church could learn a lesson from this, couldn’t we? Our processes of goal-setting, funding, and managing our missions and ministry seems a bit more drab than “Let there be light.” Think of it this way: when God says it, becomes a reality-producing logos, or WORD. When we say it, we make it a prayer, but is it not calling forth something we want to have happen? Ministries and mission that grow out of the fervent prayers of the people of God have a much longer shelf-life, and like the Genesis story, could very well lead to “praise with elation,” both from the congregation engaging in ministry and the benefactors. Wouldn’t THAT be exciting?

 

Friends, the New Year IS upon us, and being reminded by the Genesis myth that we believe in a Creator God who lovingly and “playfully” created all that we know as existence, including our fragile selves. It began with a recognition of darkness and the need for light, both things that still stump our greatest scientists and theorists! “Dark Matter,” what it IS and ISN’T, WHERE it is (or isn’t?), and what power it has over the universe is one of the hottest (or coldest?) topics in cosmology. And light? We’ve NEVER figured THAT out! Is it a particle? Is it a wave? OH, it’s BOTH…maybe. It’s fast (186,272 miles per second, give or take), and according to Dr. Einstein’s best work, nothing can travel faster than it, as it is a kind of universal constant known as “C.” So, the Genesis narrative tells us that God started with two mysterious factors, called forth light to push away the darkness (or at least send it into hiding), and creation began. And this was a wonderful form of RECREATION—like a kind of divine Pickleball match—for God and the two other whatevers of the Trinity. God grooved on creating all we see, and US, who can see, although we are often flummoxed by the darkness. In the New Year, we have the privilege of praying for God to RE-create—to make “all things new” once again. 

 

That “dark matter” seems to have settled like a pall on the earth. The light is having trouble getting through the mass shootings, partisan hating, wars and rumors of wars, and the various “isms,” along with the human bankruptcy and poverty they create. We NEED new! We pray for God to get out her Pickleball racquet once again and hit the courts. We’ll serve. 

 

Am I having some entertaining word games with our misery? Maybe. But the meaning I’m trying to paint with my rhetoric is that only the one who CREATED us has the power to RE-create us, and this loving, grace-giving, and visionary God has passed that power on to Jesus Christ the Son, and to the Mother Holy Spirit to both stir us to action and to become the novel canvasses for what they may paint for 2024. 

 

We must always remember that the light was GOOD, and it separated us from the darkness. Darkness--as Barbara Brown Taylor suggests in her book, “Learning to Walk in the Dark”—is not necessarily BAD. It’s just very hard to navigate. In a time when the world, the church—and particularly the United Methodist Church—needs God’s “recreating” Spirit to RE-CREATE us all, we would be wise to embrace the darkness, as it points us toward the light. And it will be the light that finds us and redeems us. Remember that Jesus first declared HIMSELF the “Light of the world,” and then pronounced US the light of the world. Light is apparently transferrable! 

 

So, Beloved, let us follow the divine example to take time to RECREATE in this New Year; have some fun; find healing, where needed; create something. And may our prayers be heard that God in Christ and through the Holy Spirit will invest anew in US, RE-creating a “right spirit” in us that may provoke us to change and to MAKE change in the world around us. May THIS be the year of God’s favor! Praise with ELATION! Amen, and Amen!

What We Have Seen...

 

What We Have Seen…

 

Luke 2:22-40
2:22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

2:23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord"),

2:24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.

2:26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah.

2:27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law,

2:28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

2:29 "Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word;

2:30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,

2:31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

2:32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."

2:33 And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him.

2:34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed

2:35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed--and a sword will pierce your own soul too."

2:36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,

2:37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day.

2:38 At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

2:39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.

2:40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

 

 

Simeon and Anna were prophets. We are witnesses. Collectively, our eyes have seen salvation. If you want to begin the new year with both a challenge and a good word, here it is. We have seen salvation.

 

The two prophets reported on in Luke’s narrative are bringing their exciting (and yet, daunting) word to the parents and the child, as he is brought to the temple for circumcision. It is an affirmation to his “father and mother” that their child really IS something special. Obviously, we know that Jesus was more than just “special,” but these kinds of prophetic affirmations are precisely what we offer at the baptism of each child presented before the church, and God. Again, we are ALL witnesses. 

 

At baptism, the parents are challenged to live out their Christian discipleship in such a way that the child they present will be “saturated” with good examples. Likewise, the congregation vows to do the same, to the end that we will help this child make her or his own profession of faith, and discover and live out their purpose in life.  In this Luke 2 passage, the parents are also being charged with raising their son in such a way that his life will glorify God, and fulfill his purpose on earth. It just so happens that Jesus has quite an agenda ahead of him, which the two prophets readily point out. While Joseph disappears from the biblical narrative sometime after the “left behind” incident in Jerusalem when Jesus was about twelve, Mary is around for the whole miracle—and ordeal. I wonder if one of the reasons we have the story of the “water into wine” miracle at the wedding at Cana of Galilee is to show that Mary is fulfilling her parenting vow? After all, she is the one who gets Jesus to intervene when the wine runs out, and it may be a sign that she continues to fully believe that her son is exactly who the angel, Simeon, and Anna said he was. She went from witness to activist in this story, raising a bit of ire on Jesus’ part. Even the Son of God is a bit miffed when “nudged” to do what I’m sure he knew was the right thing to do. We pastors understand this.

 

Think of all the things we have seen, friends. As 2023 ends, take time to recall the stories of what God has done in your life, or in the affairs of the world. Absolutely, there are still horrible pockets of grief that seem godless, such as the bloodbaths in Ukraine, Gaza, and in genocidal, “tribal” wars in various nations throughout Africa. We should continue to pray not just for peace in these inhuman activities, but for wisdom for people who comprise the forces driving them. Even as “the child” in today’s narrative “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom,” may these modern leaders also be aware that they should be seeking “the favor of God.” In the politically, racially, and religiously motivated violence they perpetrate, they are not; in fact, I’m sure it’s safe to say they are stoking God’s eventual judgment. 

 

However, we see signs of progress in other areas. Ever since the pandemic, the economy has been on a respirator, but over the past couple of years, with some wise leadership on the part of the White House and the Fed, we have seen a rising market, lower unemployment, and now, interest-rate stability. A recession—long forecast as inevitable by some—has apparently been avoided. Even the price of gasoline has been dropping. While some folk in the middle class continue to proclaim themselves as victims, the facts do not support their doomsaying. Food prices are one area that remain a challenge, but there is evidence that food suppliers may have used the scarcity of the pandemic to bolster what had been failing margins on these prices, anyway. From farmers to supermarkets, food prices may have been brought so low by both competition AND lower demand (many of us were making public restaurants our personal “kitchens” before COVID) that they were on the brink of failing. Many did. If higher prices could bring stability to these vital supply services, so be it. We Christians should cheer and promote this kind of fairness, rather than decry our own “pain” over the price of Pop Tarts and Corn Flakes.

 

I just read a rather lengthy report in Thursday’s press that violent crime and homicide is DOWN in most major cities in the U.S. in 2023, in some cases, quite markedly. This is despite what you may hear from some politicians who stand to capitalize on public fear. The only “exceptions” to these positive trends were Houston, Texas and Washington, D.C., as I recall, and both of these cities have seen significant increases in population over a short period of time, which often adds to crime, at least initially. Still, the news is largely “better” on this important front. If we are wise, we will be “witnesses,” possibly even “activists” of these facts, rather than continue to believe—as does over 70 percent of the American public, according to recent polls—that “violent crime” is a growing epidemic. Fear is a funny thing: it is a useful “tool” in ginning up the ire and irritation of voters; and it is very hard to dispel, even with hard facts, once it gets momentum. 

 

What I love about Simeon is that he believes the prophecy he has received from the Lord, he follows the Holy Spirit, who leads him to the child, Jesus, and he tells of what he has seen. He may be the original “Christian” witness to the grace and goodness of God, as manifest through Jesus Christ! Now, here we are, generations and generations later, and ready to witness a new year. What will WE tell the world what we have “seen and heard” like the shepherds? What will we witness to, like Simeon, that will have us telling of God’s salvation and God’s glory? Or we just allow the negative events that will also surely come with the new year just pummel us and victimize us, only then crying out to God for help and healing? Not that that’s a bad thing, but both Simeon and Anna may be telling us it’s time to be proactive with our positive witness. It may be the very thing that can ward off the victimization, fear, and un-truth-telling that has led us to such division and strife.

 

Jesus said it would be the TRUTH that would set us free. May we, in the new year, become “prophets” and witnesses to the truth, and may we witness God’s salvation, which is NOT just a “personal relationship with Jesus,” but a life-altering, world-rescuing, justice-bringing EVENT that is still unfolding in our midst! Like Simeon, may we yield to the Holy Spirit, show up where Jesus IS, and proclaim the greatness and grace of our Lord! And may we then add the activism to our proclamation and seek to bring about the peace, justice, and goodwill toward all humans prophesied and promised by the Heavenly Host! 

 

My prayer for you, and for all of us in the new year, is that God WILL break in through us and through the church to announce to the world a “year of God’s favor,” not because we have caused it, but because GOD has not given up on God’s people. May we finish 2024 on a much higher plain because we have seen with our own eyes just what God can do. To quote Stuart Hamblen:

 

It is no secret, what God can do;

What he’s done for others, he’ll do for you.

With his arms wide open, he’ll pardon you.

It is no secret, what God can do.

 

Let’s not keep it a secret in 2024! Happy New Year, Beloved! Shalom!

 

 

 

 

Advent Four: The Newborn King

 

Advent Four: The Newborn King

 

Romans 16:25-27 
16:25 Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages

16:26 but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith --

16:27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen. 

 

Luke 2:(1-7), 8-20
2:1 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.

2:2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

2:3 All went to their own towns to be registered.

2:4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.

2:5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.

2:6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.

2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

2:8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

2:9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

2:10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:

2:11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

2:12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."

2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

2:14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

2:15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us."

2:16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.

2:17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child;

2:18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.

2:19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.

2:20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

                                                                                               

 

Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King,

Born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring.

By thy own eternal spirit, rule in all our hearts alone;

By thine all sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne.

 

                                                                                   -Charles Wesley

 

Why is it that it seems some people are wanting the Jesus who is supposedly “coming back” than the one we have with us right now? Advent is the season in the church year when we ruminate on the “return” of Jesus, a subject that plays equally well on SyFy, Discovery, and even the Comedy Channel. The “mystique” of Jesus returning far overshadows the “current reality” of God with us—Emmanuel. Talk of “the rapture,” Armageddon, the “tribulation period,” and the magic “Millennium” pegs the “interest” needle for many followers of Jesus way beyond a sermon on the Jesus we have with us. Believe me, I know, having preached 36 years of sermons that focused almost exclusively on the latter. 

 

I didn’t preach much about the “return of Jesus,” mostly because we know so little about it. Oh sure, several authors have made a fortune speculating on the details and timelines of the samples of apocalyptic literature we find in the Bible, but the fact is, these interpretations are not taken seriously by a wide variety of serious Bible scholars. Some don’t believe in a “literal” second coming, believing instead that the Holy Spirit’s arrival at Pentecost that gave birth to the church and became the “presence of Jesus” with all believers, WAS the second coming Jesus, himself, predicted. Then there are those who point to his “no one knows the day nor the hour” word as “proof” that he IS actually coming back. Of course, if this is true, most of the speculation on WHEN is chaff. 

 

“Strong” belief in the second coming of Christ may be a parallel to what is happening in our current political situation—the “next” president, congressman, senator, or Supreme Court justice must SURELY be better than the ones we have? Jesus with us now is nice, but we want the NEXT Jesus, because he will be “no more Mr. Nice Guy!” Isn’t there something titillating about a “tough guy” savior who will harshly “judge” the people we don’t like? Of course, WE are OK—it’s those others who will get the whippin’ they deserve! Problem is, our lists of the “judge-ees” don’t jib, do they? It’s this “we’re in the right” polarization that makes the “rapture” so popular. Serious students of the Bible can point out that the scripture used to “prove” that it will occur couldn’t fill a Buckyball, but I doubt you can find an “evangelical” who DOESN’T believe in it. We want the “King Jesus” who will be OUR kind of “king,” who will rule with a righteous “iron fist.”

 

Seriously, why is it so popular to believe that the Jesus who loved children, hung out with the poor and destitute, fellowshipped with and healed lepers, chose his disciples from the “riff-raff” of society, and eventually succumbed on a cross, would return as a nasty, vindictive “Super Savior” who would make a fine addition to Marvel’s stable of superheroes? It just doesn’t add up. And what of the idea that a deity who gave people “the law” to encourage them to “get along” with each other, and to live in harmony, would then “snatch up” one segment of society before judging all the rest? Where is the accountability in that? (“Orthodox” Christians have bashed the Jehovah’s Witnesses for decades over their belief that they are “the 144,000” chosen ones mentioned in apocalyptic literature, but isn’t the evangelical idea of the “rapture” pretty much the same thing?) If any of this is true, we’ll have to rewrite the parable of the lost sheep—Jesus sets aside the 99 “good” sheep, while finding and beating the hades out of the one that was lost. 

 

So where am I going with this on the final week of Advent 2023? Here’s the thesis: Jesus was born a king, lived as a king, was crucified as a king, was resurrected as a king, and will forever reign as the King of Kings. He’s just not the kind of king many are hoping for—one who “chooses sides” and returns to separate the “sheep from the goats,” with US getting to make the call as to who makes the cut. 

 

Look at the two lectionary texts cited above. In Romans, Paul is rejoicing that the “mystery of the ages” has been revealed, and that Jesus already on the throne as king (glorified forever). And this benevolent king will eternally “reward” faithful obedience. But obedience to what? How about the law he gave us: love of God, as manifested through love of neighbor. This is a king that IS and WILL preside over a “Peaceable Kingdom” demonstrated by his example in the incarnation, and made possible by the totality of the Christ Event, from wondrous birth through glorious resurrection. That God is WITH US (Emmanuel) is the “mystery of the ages” Paul was writing about in Romans. This truth doesn’t need a “rapture” or a second coming to validate its current and future reality. Jesus Christ IS the “once and future king,” and is, as the Bible tells us, “is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). 

 

The second text is, of course, the famous “birth narrative” from Luke 2. It has always been my favorite to read and “preach around” on Christmas Eve. We can argue ad infinitum over when Jesus Christ was born, what the actual circumstances of his birth were, whether he was actually “born of a virgin” or just a “young maiden,” and even WHERE this birth took place, but let none of it take away of the meaning of his birth. Jesus was born into the human community as God’s affirmation OF that community, and to “save his people from their sins.” Even as John Wesley, Methodism’s founder, believed that “salvation” DIDN’T just mean being absolved of wrongdoings, but included feeding the poor, caring for the incarcerated, and bringing equity to society, so Jesus came to show us what HIS “kingdom” would look like. That “his kingdom is not of this earth” had nothing to do with heaven, but was a promise that God wanted the world to look very different from what WE have made of it. God’s kingdom is one that looks much more like that for which Mr. Wesley was working. As Paul reminds us in Romans, the “prophetic writings” had it right—Micah, for instance, who told us eons ago that what God “requires” of us is “to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8). The kingdom over which Jesus presides will be THIS, coming fully into reality. Friends, this is not a dream, but a promise, and one on which Jesus Christ will not give up until it is “fulfilled.”

 

So, if you buy this line of biblical reasoning, Jesus IS King and WILL BE King, forever. We have our “marching orders” to follow Micah’s formula for personal discipleship, as well as to “partner” with Jesus to make this world loving, peaceable Kingdom over which Jesus would be proud to reign. So endeth my Advent Four message…but it’s ALSO Christmas Eve on Sunday!

 

No one but Charles Wesley could say it like this, Dear Ones:

 

Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the new-born king
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With angelic host proclaim
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the new-born king"
"Glory to the new-born king"

 

With this unusual reality, let me wish for you and yours to have the merriest of Christmases! And let us, once more, revel in that wonderful Lukan birth narrative, which is a remarkable example of biblical myth. Remember that in biblical studies, “myth” does not mean an “untruth” or a fiction, but an ULTIMATE truth—something that is “eternally true,” and that does not rely on it being either factual or historical, to BE true. “Jesus is born” is the truth we celebrate at Christmas time. Luke’s story is a myth. Matthew’s story is a myth. That neither Mark nor John give us their version of Jesus’ birth, nor does the Apostle Paul mention it, should not discourage us from celebrating the colorful stories we get from two of the synoptics. Both narratives tell us that “Jesus is born.” For that matter, Paul’s life was amazingly altered by the fact that “Jesus is born.” So was mine, and I pray, yours! May our world continue to be “saved” by this, as well, one person at a time, if necessary. 

 

Hallelujah, friends! Jesus is born! Amen.

Advent Three: Paul's List

 

Advent Three: Paul’s List

 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 
5:16 Rejoice always,

5:17 pray without ceasing,

5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

5:19 Do not quench the Spirit.

5:20 Do not despise the words of prophets,

5:21 but test everything; hold fast to what is good;

5:22 abstain from every form of evil.

5:23 May the God of peace sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

5:24 The one who calls you is faithful, and will do this. 

 

 

I live with an almost compulsive list-maker. She’s a “One” in the world of enneagram science; an “ISTJ” for you Myers-Briggs people. And I am not. I have tried to make lists of important things I should be getting done, and then promptly lose them, probably because I turn them over to write down other important things, like what sounds good for lunch, or a phone number some robot is repeating in my ear while on hold. Lists make me crazy.

 

I am thankful for my wife’s lists, though, as they usually are quite inclusive of things BOTH of us need to pay heed to, especially when getting ready to travel. I’d be a wealthy man if I had a nickel for every time we were getting unpacked in a hotel room, and I—lamenting something I was sure I left behind because I don’t “do” lists—was suddenly relieved as she produced whatever it was from HER bag, because she DOES “do” lists. If she were honest in naming her lists, they might be called, “Hey idiot, here it is” lists. Honestly, I have learned myriad “organizational” skills from 46-plus years with this incredible woman, much of which has “stuck,” but the list-making thing just won’t take root, and I am the lesser for it.

 

History is full of important lists: Schindler’s List (which saved hundreds of Jews); the Ten Commandments; the Beatitudes; the Bill of Rights; Santa’s list; the Apollo Program mission lists; the Hollywood Blacklist; and of late, the infamous “bucket list” we all claim to make of things we want to do before we “kick the bucket.” Paul was clearly a notorious list-maker, as were his various amanuenses. The Letter to the Romans is kind of a collection of lists, including the “Marks of a Christian” in Romans 12:

 

·      Let love be genuine

·      Hate what is evil

·      Hold fast to what is good

·      Love one another

·      Outdo one another in showing honor

·      Do not lag in zeal

·      Be ardent in spirit

·      Serve the Lord

·      Rejoice in hope

·      Be patient in affliction

·      Persevere in prayer

·      Contribute to the needs of the saints

·      Pursue hospitality to strangers

·      Bless those who persecute you

·      Rejoice with those who rejoice

·      Weep with those who weep

·      Live in harmony

·      Do not be arrogant

·      Associate with the lowly

·      Do not claim to be wiser than you are

·      Do not repay evil for evil

·      Live peaceably with all

·      Never avenge yourselves

·      If your enemies are hungry, feed them

·      Do not be overcome by evil

·      Overcome evil with good

 

Some list, huh? I’ll bet Paul went through a lot of ink. Those of us who struggle with the whole “list-making” thing find lists like this one in Romans 12 quite daunting. There’s a tendency to see it as a wall over which we will never successfully climb, and then throw in the towel. Of course, thankfully, we don’t, but how we DO respond to such prodigious lists is a varied as are our personalities and subsequent “coping skills.” Ben Franklin simply picked ONE of these virtues and worked on it for a time, then moved on. (Some said that when he was working on that one, he felt “free” to eschew the others.) People like me “regroup” the longer list, edit out the items we KNOW we aren’t ready to tackle, and deal with the redacted result. I also did my best to “honest” as a preacher with a text like Romans 12, freely sharing my edited version of Paul’s “marks” with my congregation. I would encourage them to get the central gist of Paul’s words (live in harmony; love on another; overcome evil with good; serve the Lord), and then “personalize” the other items as a kind of “list of goals” for the current phase of their faith journey. My hope was that they wouldn’t be bowled over by the author’s “list overkill,” but could extract enough practical theology from it to move safely into the next week without feeling they were a spiritual garden slug.

 

I know my approach would not have sat well with the few serious “listers” in the congregation, like my lovely spouse. They do NOT respond well when others mess with their organizing!

 

[A story…back when I was a “probationer,” (the term we used to use for “beginning” pastors; we now call them “provisionals,” a little less demeaning), we were on a required retreat focused on “organization, planning, and time-management.” The lead facilitator for the retreat was a very successful pastor of a large church who was known for his skills in the organizational genre. After a full day of sessions wherein this master shared his considerable cache of skills, techniques, and systems he had evolved to manage his considerable ministry, we adjourned for a discussion-rich dinner. My fellow probationers were, shall we say, rendered a bit anxious by the day’s presentation. Dinner questions could be balanced on the fulcrum of a single inquiry: “Is he saying ‘Here is a smorgasbord of ideas, and you can pick and choose what might work for you,’ or is he suggesting that to be successful in ministry, we should do ALL of the things he has shared with us?” Since I had a little more of a personal history with the presenter, I suggested that the former was more likely the case. Of course, when we reconvened for a final, evening session after dinner, one of the most anxiety-ridden of the group had to ask the fulcrum question. Rev. Organization pondered the paradoxical question of “suggestions” vs. “requirements,” and after an even more anxiety-provoking pause, answered, “I guess I’m saying you should do ALL of them.” Again, knowing the presenter more than most of my colleagues, I deduced that he just didn’t want to let up on the pressure to incorporate myriad organizational and time management skills into our ministry, as reflected in his “exclusive” answer. Of course, most of my peers didn’t hear it that way, and rather swooned into one, giant, group eyeroll.]

 

Let’s get back to Dr. List Maker, the Apostle Paul. Thankfully, his list in today’s lectionary reading from I Thessalonians is a bit shorter than that of Romans 12, possibly because many scholars believe it to be his earliest letter, and he wasn’t yet fully up to speed. I’ve always been swayed by this list, seeing it as a brief primer on what it means to live the Christian life, even in the midst of unexpected and sudden challenges that may come our way. 

 

“Rejoice always” echoes what we read in Philippians 4. Rejoicing is both a state of mind and an activity. When I’m “rejoicing,” I have made a conscious choice to find the blessings in the blustering storm, and to start with a smile, followed by a “Praise the Lord, anyway.” This latter expression emanates from my earliest foray into the “Charismatic revival” going on in my teenage “Jesus People” days. A small book by the title, “Praise the Lord, Anyway” was circulating around the Christian community in my hometown, and its Charismatic author, Frances Hunter, told her story of praising God in the midst of mostly small, emotional downturns. Her thesis was that this simple act “lifted one up” to a place of at least temporary joy, if not a longer lasting state of contentment. One can see the psychology behind this philosophy, and it certainly can have a soothing effect. I’m sure Paul’s “Rejoice always” went much deeper than Frances Hunter’s “Irma Bombeck” version, as Paul’s was born out of imprisonments and stonings, not just that your bread dough went flat, but the principle is still the same. Both authors’ ideas have their roots in the same ground, though—FAITH that God will meet us wherever we are and begin to restore us, when we move more quickly from “Woe is me” to “God is WITH me.”

 

“Pray without ceasing” seems as incomprehensible as Rev. Organization’s “I guess I believe you should do ALL of it.” Who can literally pray without ceasing? Unless, of course, one alters one’s belief of what constitutes prayer. Between Paul’s singing in prison cells, praying in “tongues,” as he said he did regularly, and what his writings might summarize as a “state of mind” of being in the presence of God at all times, we begin to see he has a quite comprehensive view of prayer. To limit prayer to some finite “model” or a mindful narrative that includes certain mandatory parts (such as always ending with an “amen,” or even an “in the name of Jesus”). In seminary circles, we might label such “forms” of prayer as liturgical. If one accepts that prayer CAN be just a phrase, such as what the early mystics called a “breath prayer,” a single thought in God’s direction, or even a cry for help in the midst of crisis, the idea of “praying without ceasing” moves onto the table of possibility. I remember hearing the Christian testimony of a woman who said that, as a young girl, she was pulling a bucket of water up from the well on the family farm when the pulley let loose and the rope yanked her down into the well, as it fell. In a split second, as she was falling down the well, she shouted, “God SAVE me!” Cushioned by the water at the bottom of the well and kept afloat by air trapped in her fluffy dress, she was soon rescued by her father, with only a few scrapes and bruises to show for her ordeal. However, her testimony was that God DID “save” her in that moment, and not just from physical harm. Her faith walk with Jesus Christ “began” in that very moment, and her life took a godward course. Might “prayer” be about anything we believe it to be, as long as it is “aimed” in God’s direction? And, if so, might we ALL be quite capable of following Paul’s admonition to “pray without ceasing”?

 

“Give thanks in all circumstances” straddles the first two items on Paul’s list, doesn’t it? And it sounds a lot like Frances Hunter’s “Praise the Lord, Anyway.” Paul models this for us many times, including the time he and Silas were shackled in a Philippian jail, and they responded by singing hymns of praise to God. Most of us know this story ends by an earthquake that crumbles the walls of the jail, and the salvation of the Philippian jailer. Was this the result of Paul and Silas’s impromptu hymn sing? I once heard a preacher who suggested that God was so “blessed” by their song that God “sent a little rhythm” (the earthquake) to accompany it! Again, the idea of turning one’s thoughts “up” in “down” circumstances is often good psychology. Obviously, depending on what one is dealing with—grief, for example, after the death of a loved one—the “recovery” time may be prolonged, necessarily so, for the “turn” to happen and the fullness of the healing to take root. For most of us, though, the “all” in “all circumstances” is typically less traumatic, and the sooner we invoke our gratitude—especially toward God—the faster we will rebound. Paul describes this act as being “God’s will in Christ Jesus” for us. Why? Possibly because in “all circumstances,” Jesus, himself, forgave, thanked God, offered grace in the face of criticism and condemnation, and profoundly, resurrection in the face of death. Jesus embodied “giving thanks in all circumstances.” As one who has tried to make this element of Paul’s list here in Thessalonians part of my personal spiritual disciplines, I can say it IS transformational. As the old TV ad said, “TRY it, you’ll LIKE it!”

 

“Do not quench the Spirit” is Paul’s way of saying, “Don’t throw water on a perfectly good fire.” In Paul’s day the Holy Spirit was truly “ablaze” as she stoked the “fires” of growth in the early church and empowered its prophets, preachers, and leaders to focus and direct its affairs. What has become “organizational” skills in our day was a much more spontaneous outpouring of “promptings” and “sparks” by the work of the Holy Spirit, in Paul’s. Even then, however, there were those who were seeking to “control” or maybe even manipulate what was going on in the Body of Christ, things that may have fallen under Paul’s “quenching the Spirit” warnings. I certainly believe God’s Spirit is still “doing her thing” in our time and in our midst, often working quite comfortably within the structures, committees, and educational expertise we have raised up to foster consistency, efficiency, and fairness in the faith community, as well as to help us be good stewards of God’s provision and gifts. But is the Spirit always confined to our systems? Of course not, and when the Spirit is doing a NEW thing in our midst, we would do well to hear Paul’s warning and heed it. Now, the reality is that “conservatives” conserve, and “progressives” progress—we get that. But ultimately, we must come to accept that the Holy Spirit will be the one sometimes putting on the brakes, and at others, hitting the accelerator to move us into new realities, because there is NO PLACE where God will NOT be, or will NOT break in—this is both the promise and example of Jesus Christ, himself. Neither “faction” has exclusive claim on the “truth,” as the Holy Spirit sees it. NOT “quenching the Spirit” is a hard thing to accomplish, and requires both the “giving thanks in all circumstances” and “praying without ceasing” to carry out! We’ve all heard—and affirmed—that the most effective form of ministry is “noticing where God is working and then joining God there,” but this is NOT an easy thing to deduce. A primary role of the Holy Spirit is to be our “GPS” to help us find our way!

 

“Do not despise the words of the prophets” is a wordy way to say, pay heed to the scriptures. In our day, of course, this may include the New Testament. In Paul’s day, the warnings of the prophets were important to the Jewish experience, especially when they were wise to “learn from history.” Throughout the history of Israel, the prophets were sent by God to warn the people of what was to transpire as a result of their self-centeredness or their general disobedience to the law it so often led to. Once what they “sowed” started to be “reaped,” as the prophets said it would, they turned again in God’s direction (repented). Again, the prophets foretold the prosperity that may result from their rejuvenated faith, but with the caveat that they should offer their gratitude to God and stay faithful to God as part of their thanksgiving. These are the kind of things Paul was thinking of when he told the early church to “not despise” the words of the prophets, as these warnings and this guidance would likewise apply to them, as “grafted in” members of the house of Israel. As Christians in the Wesleyan tradition, we know that scripture was primary for Mr. Wesley, as it should be for us. “No despising” the prophetic words of the Word of God means taking the scriptures “too seriously” to take them literally, using our best scholarship and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to rightly interpret them for our age. The truth we find there will “set us free,” as Jesus told us. If our interpretation binds and imprisons us—or others—we may be guilty of “despising” it, rather than heeding it. All Christians should respect that God’s Word is a LIVING Word, not just words on a page of ancient writ. Paul follows up this text with his recommendation to “test everything…holding fast to what is good.” Again, taking the prophetic word of God’s Word seriously means examining it carefully, even as we “test” our means of interpreting and understanding it. If we follow the tradition of the Rabbis of old, we will thoroughly digest the scriptures, use our best learned gifts, discuss them fervently in the community of faith, and to quote one of our bishops, “…take them out to see what they will do.”

 

The last thing on Paul’s “do” or “don’t” list is “abstain from all forms of evil.” You how, when you are making an agenda (or a list?), you finish up with a kind of “any other business” catch-all at the end? “Abstain from all forms of evil” is the religious form of this. Paul has already given us a fairly tall order of things to incorporate in living the Christian life, but just in case, “abstain from all forms of evil.” Doesn’t sound like religious rocket science, does it? Engaging in ANY form of evil is generally not a healthy thing for people who are wanting to glorify God and walk the walk of a disciple, or Christ follower. I suppose we could ruminate a bit on the “all forms” part of this injunction, as there may be some debate about what kinds of things should make the “evil” list, and what may not. Obviously, all kinds of juicy theological debates can be (and are) had about the “sin” list, which is just a hop and a skip from the “forms of evil” list. Elements from the sins and evil forms lists may both fall under the “convictions” aegis. There are things that the Holy Spirit may “convict” you as being wrong for YOU, but that may be OK for me, such as the conflict over “eating meat sacrificed to idols” in the early church. It was actually Paul himself who qualifies this as neither a “sin” nor an “evil form,” but a matter of personal conviction, unless of course it could cause someone to stumble. 

 

So, there you have it—Paul’s list. As one of the lection passages on this third week of Advent—when we are lighting the Candle of Joy—we might ask ourselves how this somewhat pharisaical discussion of a list of “dos” and “don’ts” could amount to something JOYFUL? Fact is, list-makers like the Apostle Paul truly believed that a definitive list of how to “behave” as a follower of Jesus Christ SHOULD lead to more joy. I get that. We SHOULD find joy in “knowing” we are blessing God and others with the way we are living our life in Christ. Follow the list, live in a state of Joy. Only if it were that easy. Lots of things may be factors governing how “joyfully” we are experiencing life. Still, Paul is trying to do his part to keep us on track, at least as far as our “faithing” is concerned. May your walk with Jesus bring great JOY to you this Advent season! Amen.