Got Secrets?

Do you have secrets? Things of which you don't speak; you'd rather not have anyone talk about them? If you're a card-carrying human being, you probably do. They can be light-weight, silly things we hide, like being a rugby player who secretly likes opera. Or they can be serious matters, such as hiding an addiction or a crippling phobia. Sometimes we work hard to hide the things of which we don't speak, for fear of risking ridicule, a damaged reputation, compromised power and influence, the loss of relationships, or even risk to life and limb.

There's a story about a powerful woman who kept a powerful secret. Several centuries before the birth of Jesus, the ruler of the Persian empire (known as Xerxes or Ahasuerus, depending on your source) chose as his queen a beautiful woman names Hadassah or Esther. (Seems like everybody had two names in Persia then!) Esther was an orphan, basically raised by a kinsman named Mordecai. (Only name I know of for him.) At some point, Mordecai incurred the wrath of a high ranking official in Ahasuerus' court named Haman. (Okay, not everybody in the Persian empire went by two names!) Anyway, Haman engineered things so that the king decreed that all of Mordecai's people should be exterminated because of disrespect for the empire. Modecai was a Jew; there were many still left in Persia. Obviously Esther was also a Jew, but she had kept her ethnicity a secret. As queen, she might be able to approach her husband, the king, and seek for a reversal of the edict. That, however, would reveal her own secret, and how would he react to that?

Secrets. Tough to protect them. Some of us say that the one known as Jesus knows all about us and passionately seeks us anyway. If the Church is the Body of Christ, should that Body be a place where any secret may be revealed and the one doing the revealing would be not only safe, but embraced? Not many places like that in the world...I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

An Alternative Greatness

It doesn't get any plainer and more bizarre than this...

We live in a world that urges us to strive for greatness, and well we should. We know what greatness looks like in achievement, success, leadership, power and influence, appearance, etc. Nothing wrong with that, in and of itself. However, enter Jesus and we enter a completely new definition of greatness. Here it is...not my words, but the words of one infinitely greater in faith than me:

"Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead he lived a selfless, obedient life, and then died a selfless, obedient death - and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion." (Philippians 2:6-8, The MESSAGE; emphasis mine.)

Self-emptying as a path to greatness? And Jesus didn't do this for us just so we could be saved and also enjoy the blessings of success by the standards of this world. We are to be like him, and seek the same kind of alternative definition of greatness; a "first shall be last, last shall be first" greatness. What do you think about that? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Deputy Fife

This will date me, but some of us are old enough to remember Deputy Barney Fife from the old Andy Griffith show. Barney was a wiry and nervous little character played by the late Don Knotts. Deputy Fife was famous for unsolicited advice and expertise, ("Nip it! Nip it in the bud!"), and pretending to be greater than he really was. Barney always made a bigger deal out of himself and situations than either really were. Deputy Fife became a stereotype for over-inflated egos and sense of self.

Of course for Barney to be funny in pretending greatness, we who watched Andy Griffith had to have a clear sense of what greatness is. We knew and we know what it takes to be great, whether that greatness is expressed in success, popularity, leadership, appearances, or whatever. We're taught to strive for greatness and well we should. Some achieve greatness, some don't, and some live in pretentious illusions of greatness, like Barney Fife.

However, the more we allow the one called Jesus to inform our lives, the more our life definitions will be broadened, stretched, challenged, and sometimes changed. For a real shocker on Jesus' view of greatness, find a Bible in print or on-line, and locate the gospel of Mark, the 9th chapter of that book, verses 33 through 39.

More on this in the next post. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Not a Sitcom Ending

David, the son of Jesse, did not live a situation comedy life...a life in which problems come in a manageable sequence, are more amusing than serious, and are solved in some whimsical way before the credits roll. King Saul of Israel, who once thought the world of David, came to be jealous of David. Saul sunk into paranoia and forced David into a life as a rebel chieftain. During warfare between the armies of Israel and Philistine aggressors both Saul and Saul's son,
David's covenant blood-brother Jonathan died. David was plunged into unspeakable grief. Not a sitcom ending...

But David discovered something greater. As he expressed in Psalm 23, God is not found in maneuvering the circumstances of our lives in ways that we, in our limited thinking believe they should be. Singing of non-sitcom situations in existence, David expresses what God really offers in the middle of verse 4 of Psalm 23 - "...for you are with me. With us...God promises to be with us not just when life is like a sitcom, but even and especially when it is not.

God does not promise sitcom lives and sitcom solutions. God promises to be with us. That's what the Jesus person and the Jesus event are about. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Life Is Not a Sitcom

What situation comedy defines your era? I grew up on I Love Lucy, with Lucille Ball, Desi Arnez, William Frawley, and Vivian Vance. Which of the following were your favorites: Father Knows Best, The Andy Griffith Show, the Dick van Dyke Show, the Brady Bunch, the Mary Tyler Moore Show, All in the Family, Good Times, Happy Days, Cheers, Taxi, The Cosby Show, Friends, Frasier, Home Improvement, Roseanne, Married with Children, The Simpsons, Scrubs, the Office, South Park. And, of course, there are dozens of others.

Most situation comedies followed a basic formula. In a simple plot, a problem arises that is more amusing than serious, at least to the audience. Problems come one at a time in situation comedies, or to each character one at a time. Somehow the problem is solved in an amusing and/or surprising way. In the Cosby Show of the 1980's, for example, Cliff Huxtable's wit, wisdom, or whatever always saw whichever kid through whatever predicament. Even in the later, more edgy, rougher sitcoms, some sort of resolution or closure ends the episode. In South Park, for example, if Kenny gets killed in this episode, he'll be back in the next one.

Maybe we like sitcoms so much because we wish our lives were like that - lightweight problems more amusing than threatening, problems coming one at a time in an orderly fashion, and entertaining solutions before everybody has a good laugh and the credits roll. Some even think that if God really liked us he give us a life like that, or that those who have lives like that are the ones God likes the best? Do you know anyone who has a life like that? It's not me.

So do you think God promises us a sitcom life or owes us that? More on this in a post on Sunday. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Trusting God...Seriously?!?I'l

We who are Jesus-followers have our own jargon. Sometimes that's helpful. More often it becomes a communication barrier. One of the things you'll hear us say is, "Trust God." It's advice I've given myself, frequently. The problem is that my words don't always match my actions. I may say, "I trust God," but I really mean, "I trust God as long as he operates in ways that make sense to me, in ways that stay within my abilities and control, and in ways that don't make me uncomfortable." For heaven's sake, God, don't take me to the edge and beyond!

How many of us really trust God fully? How many of us would cling to God at an edge-of-the-Red-Sea-with-chariots-bearing-down-on-you moment? This weekend a friend and colleague shared with me this impacting thought from an unknown source: "We are never ask close to God as we are when we are at the edge of our abilities and trusting God to provide an enable us."

Trusting God. Great concept. A lot of us say it. How many of us do it?

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Serve

On Monday I posted some suggestions for today's 8th annual recognition of the events of September 11, 2001. I neglected one of the most appropriate ways to commemorate the day.

Serve.

Many people have recommended that we all find a way to do something that helps another human being. This is in the tradition of the thousands of law enforcement persons, fire prevention and public safety persons, military persons, and private citizens who answered the call to respond to the crisis of 9/11, many at the risk and even loss of their own lives. I think this is an invitation to turn this day of tragedy into a day that celebrates the coding buried deep within us that comes from the One whose very nature is an uncommonly sacrificial, grace-driven love. The image of God defines us, stained by our self-driven separation from God as it is. Grace-gifting another person is the God-image in us at work.

On the 26th of this month many Jesus-followers in our area will be involved in a "Mission Blitz," a creative grace-driven service idea pioneered by one of the dynamic churches in our region. Simply put, Jesus-followers will fan out into communities to do acts of grace, with no thought or reward, and no seeking of praise. No strings will be attached; that's what service and grace are all about. Some of the ideas are phenomenally creative....Carrying a roll of quarters to a Laundromat to pay for every one's washing and drying...going to gas stations to pump gas and wash windows, just like full service days...door-to-door collecting of canned food items for food pantries...surrounding schools and praying for students and teachers...cleaning high school stadiums after football games, so custodial personnel won't have to do so...you get the idea.

Serving; without thought of reward, honor, or praise...merely to offer a love so without conditions and measurement that it can only be the frontier of the unimaginable love which is God. That might just make some folks wonder about this Jesus thing. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

What's Your Vision?

What's your vision for the future? Winning the Lottery? Getting out of debt? Finding the "right" person? Getting your 15 minutes of fame?

Some people see a vision of aligning with a movement in which folks know Jesus not just as a word or a name, but as a living, come-alongside-us person. Some vision journeying through life with Jesus as a travelling partner. Some see and endless reservoir of power and impact in the book that gives testimony to Jesus - the Bible. Some envision Jesus followers gathering together frequently to share the road of discipleship, encouraging and aiding each other on the way; practicing the sacrificing love of Jesus. Some see a joyous wave of followers meeting all manner of humanity wherever they experience need, pain, or even just an aimless searching; and doing all this without judgement or superiority, but in pure humility. Some see a picture of worship that is not a duty or habit, but a privilege and an opportunity to celebrate who and what God is. Some envision tithing not as an obligation or badge of piety, but as a gift and a concrete way to say, "I love you," to the one who gave us life and who gave us Jesus. And some see no greater privilege than the opportunity to introduce other human beings to the One who created them, loves them, and has a plan for their lives.

What's you vision? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

9.11.01

It was a Tuesday morning. I was in the office of the church I was serving at that time. The chairwoman of our church's Board of Trustees called sometime around 8:30 a.m., CDT. She said she would not be able to be present for a scheduled meeting that night. She worked for a company under Federal contract, and the building had been locked down because some unidentified aircraft had hit one of the towers at the World Trade Center, and there was the possibility of a hostile attack on American soil. The next call I received came from our daughter, who was doing her student teaching at that time. She wanted to know how she should explain to little children what was happening in their world that day. It was September 11, 2001. We all remember where we were and what we were doing when the news hit.

Eight years later the impact of the event continues to unfold. Some say we are in a safer place, since no event of that magnitude has taken place since. Others say life is more precarious, as anti-terror warfare continues, with no end in sight, and 9/11 has redefined how we do travel, large crowd occupancy, and so many other things. Thousands of people still deal with the unbelievably shocking loss of loved ones that day. We saw the very best and the very worst of humanity's capabilities in a short few hours, and in the days to come. And we were reminded of the utter precariousness and fragility of this thing we call life.

It' s important to move on, but it's important to remember as well. Remember that there are people whose grief continues, while the world has rebuilt and gone on about its business. Lives continue to be lost as people are deployed throughout the world trying to protect peace and justice, and to prevent such things from happening again. They need our prayers and support as well. For those of us who are Jesus-followers, a central part of our calling is to pray for those categorized as enemies. They are worth the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as well.

Pause this Friday to reflect on the meaning of the day. Look to the only One whose presence makes sense of the most senseless directions humans take. If you have an American flag, maybe display it at half-staff. September 11, 2001 - a defining day in our lives. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

More Than Enough

Why did Jesus draw the attention of so many people deemed "not enough" by the powers and values that imbued the first century world? I suggest is was the draw of Jesus telling them, "You are enough." You are enough for God to love like a one and only child. You are enough to seek and long for, no matter how far you have drifted away. You are enough to die for. You are enough to rise and live for. You are enough through whom to do great and marvelous things, the likes of which you cannot imagine. Because Jesus was and is enough, you are enough for God. As recorded by John Mark in his gospel's fourth chapter, Jesus told a parable about this. In those days, poets and storytellers described great kingdoms and empires using the metaphor of great, strong trees. Even the glory that was once Jesus' native Israel, and that one day would hopefully be again, was described as a mighty cedar. By contrast, everything else was insignificant and not enough. However, Jesus pointed to one of the smallest things in horticulture of the day, the seed of a shrub known as a mustard plant. The seed was minute, Jesus noted; by all indication not enough for anything great. Yet the seed gave birth to a strong shrub of the region, growing to ten feet tall or better, even provided habitat for birds as actual trees did.

What gives Jesus the authority to state this - that insignificant, "not enough" people are more than enough in the hands of a grace-filled, transforming God? The ultimate "not enough" message for humans is death. "You are not enough to overcome your mortality!" Jesus is the only one to have succumbed to the "not enough" of death, then to break forth as more than enough through the resurrecting power of God.

Small, "not enough" things made "more than enough" in the hands of God...I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Not Enough

It would probably scare us to tabulate how many times in a week we hear the phrase "not enough." There's not enough money; there's not enough time; there's not enough information, whatever. Advertising depends on convincing you that you don't have enough. However many television options you have on your DirectTV, you need more. However many applications you have for your Blackberry, you don't have enough. And the worst of the "not enough" messages come when they're applied to people. You're not pretty enough, you're not smart enough, you're not good enough, you're not well enough informed, you're not interesting enough, you're not appealing enough, you're not old enough, or you're not young enough. There is no shortage of "you're not enough" messages.

Jesus wasn't enough, when you think about it. He was an unemployed carpenter from a backwoods, nowhere town, with no pedigree, no formal education, and no wealth. He wasn't enough of anything. So why did so many people defined by "not enough" respond so willingly to his simple invitation to "follow me."

Consider these questions:

What was the latest "not enough" message you heard or the latest "not enough" conversation you had?

When have you felt as though you were "not enough" in some way?

What "not enough" messages surrounded Jesus' contemporaries during his pre-crucifixion ministry?

Have churches sent "you're not enough" messages to people? If so, how?

What was Jesus' appeal to those who felt they were "not enough"?

More on "not enough" on Friday. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.