Deepening Your Spiritual Life VI

II Samuel 21:15-23:7

We now arrive at the closing months of David’s life. How a person finishes the race of life often says a lot about who he or she is and has been. II Samuel 21:15-21 tells that David is no longer able to be in battle. How about that Philistine with 24 digits (12 fingers and 12 toes)? It reminds me of some of the characters in the superhero cartoons or the Mortal Kombat series. Since the latter days of Moses till the end of the life of David, the Israelites are contending with “the giants in the land.”

Chapter 22 is a jubilant Psalm of Thanksgiving as David consider the how God had delivered him and sustained him through the challenges of his life. You might want to join him and survey your own life for how God has delivered and sustained you. I invite you to write out your personal psalm of thanksgiving. It will be a blessing, and if you tuck it in the pages of your Bible, you might find it again someday and it will remind you of just how blessed you are. Curtis Borland just sent me an e-video presentation that said on one slide, “You are too blessed to be stressed.” One of the old hymns I learned as a kid sings similarly,

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
*Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
*And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Randall Thompson has written a stirring version of II Samuel 23:3-4, entitled “The Last Words of David”. “One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God, is like the light of morning, like sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.” The song is often sung at inaugurations and coronations of world leaders and you can locate it on You Tube for free. I like the Westminster Choir version, but there is also one from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. For me, this is a reminder to pray for our world leaders and also to examine my own places of leadership, not that I rule but servant lead in the fear of God. For we really are responsible to God for how we lead and there is accountability for our words, actions, and attitudes.

Psalm 103

More on our prayer theme of thanksgiving is stirred by this great Psalm of David. I’m thinking of several different songs that lift this up from Rachmaninoff (Classical) to Andrae Crouch (Black Gospel) to Stephen Schwartz in Godspell (Rock Opera). Do take time to read this Psalm aloud. We will also share it in our class this evening. Notice the great themes for thanksgiving: forgiveness, healing, redemption, steadfast love, satisfaction with good things, vindication and justice, mercy and grace, and for his just rule over life and the world. How might these themes apply to your life and what prayers of thanksgiving might you give to the LORD? I really like verses 11 and 12, “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.” Forgiveness really is complete in the LORD.

Psalm 108

You have already seen this one in Psalm 57, so we do have a repeat in the Psalms. Verses 7-13 will make more sense if you pull out a map, or better yet a biblical atlas. This Psalm of God’s victory for his people is jubilant and even has a little bit of swagger to it.

So how is your day of thanksgiving going? See you this evening.

"Deepening Your Spritual Life" V

II Samuel 13:1-19:8

I must apologize for an extremely busy day and am only logging in this blog very late tonight. I have added to the assigned reading so that you will have a fuller picture of the tragic relationship between David and Absalom. Trying to keep David's family straight is a challenge. Chapter 13 tells the horrifying story of the rape of David's daughter Tamar by Amnon, David's first-born. Phyllis Trible, famous Old Testament Scholar out of Union Theological Seminary, includes this in her book Texts of Terror. Jonadab, Amnon's brother is also involved hatching the plan for the rape. Following the rape, Amnon throws her out into the streets and she moves in with her full brother, Absalom. Interestingly, David takes no action against his son for his criminal actions. Chapter 13:21-29 tells the story of Absalom's revenge against his step-brother. Following the murder of Amnon, Absalom flees and stays away three years.

Chapter 14 tells how Joab tries to bring the father and son back together. It seems that David really wants to reconcile with Absalom, but at the same time, pride will not let him. Once Absalom is brought back to Jerusalem, he still is not permitted to see his father's face. Notice the description of Absalom's looks in 14:25-26. The story is heightened by the description of his gifts and potential. Eventually, Absalom's deep seated anger becomes a plot to overthrow David as king. The story of David's flight and the eventual demise of Absalom in chapters 15-18 is rivetingly tragic. The grief of David over the loss of his son strikes at the heart of every parent, "O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you -- O Absalom , my son, my son!"

Psalm 3

The heading attributes this Psalm to David while he was in flight from the armies of Absalom. Absalom had cornered the leadership in Jerusalem and David was in real danger of being killed. Yet verses 5-6 share that David still takes confidence in the LORD and he is able to sleep at night. Read together, this Psalm and the II Samuel passage gives us a picture of the conflicted feelings of David. He is a king who must defend himself, his kingdom and its citizens, but he is also a dad. He grieves that their relationship has been sour for a long time and they never have been able to put things back together. All David can do is hang on to the grace and mercy of God. Sometimes in our broken relationships, that may be all we can do, as well. That's not the answer David wanted nor is it the one we want. But the good news even when loved ones choose a path of sin or even betrayal, God doesn't abandon us and is able to get us through.

"Deepening Your Spiritual Life" IV

II Samuel 11-12

After a successful military career and rise to power as King of Israel,including the elimination of rivals, David experiences the greatest risk of leaders - abuse of power (often as sexual indiscretion). It is easy for us to stand at a distance and pronounce words of shame on David as well as for leaders of our own time who have done the same - as if somehow we are beyond such behavior. It is worth noting that this tragedy happened at a time of great success for David; a warning that our greatest vulnerability can happen when things are going well. Because of the subject matter, you may want to switch from adoration to confession and return to adoration tomorrow. It's up to you.

The narrator is a great story teller beginning with the words, "In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle.." David, as king, must stay away from the front lines, but I wonder if he didn't miss being there with the soldiers - the drama, the energy and the risk. The army is out putting their lives on the line, but David stays home and falls to his own desires. The story tells itself. David moves from being an adulterer, to a crass manipulator (calling Uriah from battle so he can sleep with his wife and cover up David's sin, even getting him drunk to try to help him be more cooperative), to a contract murderer (setting up Uriah for instant death on the front lines of battle). David believes he has covered his tracks perfectly, except before one: "But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord."

The LORD sends the prophet Nathan who tells a story that baits the self-deceived king perfectly. David pronounces the man in Nathan's story guilty and calls for his death. Nathan then says, "You are the man." The baby dies shortly after childbirth as punishment for David's multiple sins. Have you noticed that in the Bible nobody gets away with anything? Numbers 32:23 seems to give a biblical principle in this regard,

"And be sure your sin will find you out."

And what of the credibility of the king from this point forward? His commander, Joab was obliged to carry out this horrible plan, as were the other men who backed off so the murder could happen. Will Bathsheba be able to trust that he won't do the same thing with someone else? Are we to assume that none of those people will talk about something so heinous? One of the books pastors in the Northwest Texas Conference have been required to read is entitled, Leadership and Self-Deception. Don has led some classes with it in the Master's Program. Face to face with his guilt, he writes Psalm 51.

Psalm 51

With nowhere to hide, David is forced to come clean before God. By now there is no hint of self-justification or blaming others in his words. His sin is not just against Uriah and Bathsheba, it is against God. Verses 3-4 stand out from his earlier self-deceiving actions.

"For I now my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment."

When we finally see our motivations and the evil in our actions and words, we realize we violate the relationship we have with God. At that spot, all we can do is plead for mercy, which David does.

He also prays for restoration. His relationship with God had been deteriorating before he ever committed adultery. He was full of his own success and busy holding the kingdom together. One of the real risks for us even in doing a lot of good things is that we can start to "over-function." At first, it feels good, like we're "in the zone," where everything is really working. But after awhile, our attempts at being too much to too many for too long ends up leaving us empty and exhausted. It is that point where we are tempted to fill our lives with something else besides what is godly and right. The relationship with God is suffering and we are not even aware of it. Eventually, that relationship will have to be restored.

Psalm 51 finishes with adoration and thanksgiving for God's forgiveness, pardon, and yes, restoration. From where I sit, what David did is unforgivable, but from where God is, he is forgivable, and so are you as am I. As for me, my prayer will be Psalm 51:10,

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me."

The good news is that God is even more anxious to forgive and restore than we are to be forgiven and restored. That means we can sing with David in verse 14, "And my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance." Thanks be to God.

"Deepening Your Spiritual Life" III

Your nearing the midpoint of your week of readings from I Samuel and the Psalms, as well as praying by the ACTS method, one dimension each day. Have you taken some quiet time that is not rushed or squeezed in among lots of other things? Our discussion of meditation on Wednesday encouraged each of us to create personal time and space just to be quietly in the presence of God to listen. How has that gone for you?

I Samuel 21:1-22:23; Psalm 56-57

Note that I have expanded the reading in I Samuel to include the entirety of I Samuel 22. The deterioration and desperation of Saul continues. The slaughter of Ahimelech and the priests of Nob in chapter 22 represents the height of Saul's paranoia and the lowness of his behavior. Two interesting things are found in this story right at the beginning in chapter 21. First, David lies about why he is coming to see Ahimelech, saying that he is on a mission rather than admitting that he is running for his life from King Saul. Second, he asks the priest for bread for him and his men and the only bread available is the liturgical bread for worship, called "the bread of the Presence" (See Leviticus 24:5-9 for how it was made), which could only be eaten by the priests. The comment about David and his men not having been with women was a statement that they were ceremonially clean. The priest gives it to David. In Matthew 12:1-8, Jesus is criticized for picking grain on the Sabbath (a violation of Pharasaic law), and he cites David's eating of the liturgical bread as evidence that sometimes the need outweighs the letter of the law.

Like the soap opera scene where a wicked word is always overheard and the wicked act is always seen from around the corner, verse 7 of chapter 21 lets us know that Saul has a mole in the scene, who will later turn David and the priests of Nob in. In verse 9, David talks Ahimelech out of the sword of Goliath so that he will be able to defend himself. Why is Ahimelech so accommodating? Remember that David is known among the people as a man of great power and, at least on the surface, is a confidant of King Saul.

The deceptions continue as David feigns insanity so that the king of Gath will not kill him (a reminder of the deception by Abraham where he saves his hide by claiming Sarah was his sister). Achish the king falls for the deception. David continues on the run and hides in a cave, where Psalm 56 is written. While understandable, we see here, once again, the prominence of deception among the Old Testament biblical characters. At the same time, in the following chapters, David remains fiercely loyal to the king, saving the king's life on two occasions.

Psalms 56 & 57

The pattern here is common for David - a plea for help in desparate times in which grave concern and distress will alternate with statements of faith (also seen in Psalm 42 and 43). Notice how verse 4 and verses 10 and 11 are a repeat of each other, just like the chorus of a hymn (which it is). David is obviously scared to death, yet calling on faith with all that he has. What a wonderful pattern for us for desperate times. Psalm 57 continues the theme in the previous chapter, but finishes with an exultant hymn of praise (which I put to music for the choir and orchestra for the Grand Opening of the southwest campus).

I wanted to finish today's blog by mentioning our theme of thanksgiving. One of the great gifts we can give each other is to encourage "the attitude of gratitude." Our natural selfishness tends to emphasize what we do not yet have and where things haven't worked out yet. We become stressed and disappointed (leading to brooding - what I call "negative meditation"). That may also explain why we tend to spend most of our prayer time in supplication (praying for our needs). Paul writes in I Thessalonians 5:16-18,

"Rejoice evermore; pray without ceasing; and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus."

Feeding the attitude of gratitude provides a positive energy that changes the whole flow of your day, allows you to see resources you wouldn't see otherwise, and opens you up to the presence of God. So what are you thankful for today? You may want to send a comment in answer to that question. See you tomorrow.

"Deepening Your Spiritual Life" II

I Samuel 18-20

Today is your day to emphasize "confession" in your prayer life. Roman Catholic brothers and sisters find it important to "go to confession" where they confess their sins to a priest and hear words of forgiveness and pardon. While Protestants say they don't need a priest to do that with, I sometimes wonder if we don't conveniently avoid confession altogether. Besides there have been many times when having someone to confess my sinfulness to has been a powerful source of both healing and avoidance of doing or saying foolish things. Confession with another Christian or just between you and God requires a most important discipline, self-examination. Where are the places in your life where your Christian faith and your words, actions and attitudes don't line up? If you say, "There are no places," then I invite you to examine yourself more closely.

Today's Bible Study mainly involves three people - David, King Saul, and his son, Jonathan. In yesterday's reading, we saw that Saul had become very fond of David. We know from today's passage that Saul's son, Jonathan and David had become best of friends. Again, this looks like a setup for a smooth change of power, except for one major flaw in the character of Saul. That character flaw destroys Saul as a leader and threatens both his relationship with David and his own son, Jonathan - the green monster of jealousy. This flaw seems to be a natural hazard for anyone who has a place of leadership, so as we investigate Saul, we will need to examine ourselves.

Our reading for today follows the famous story of David and Goliath and tells of the great popularity of David. Mighty mouse had indeed come to save the day! All seems well in the opening verses of chapter 18 until the ladies come out into the streets to meeting their returning warriors singing, "Saul has killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands." Notice the celebrity cult that had been there for Saul but suddenly left him for a new celebrity. We will read later in the beginning of next week how this very same situation happened between David and his own son, Absalom. People love a hero...until they find a new one.

We also have here a competitiveness that develops between generations. Demographers have divided society according to generations (conveniently set up in 18 year intervals according to birth): builders (1910-1927), silents (1928-1945), baby boomers (1946-1963), Generation X (1964-1982), Generation Y or Millenials (1982-2000). Each generation has been marketed to in ways that have pitted them against each other. While there has always been a "generation gap" (a term coined in the 60s), the Judeo-Christian faith has seen the generations as gifts to each other and passing power from one generation to another as being natural and something to be done with great care. But the Bible is also honest to say that sin and competitiveness between the generations has always been present.

Saul views the one that he so dearly loved and had made as one of the family as a threat from the day of the victory parade over the Philistines forward. Verse 10 shows how this jealousy took a spiritual power all its own (an evil spirit that came forcefully on Saul) and verse 14 even says that Saul feared David. In the generations of St. Luke's, will we see each other as gift or threat? Will those who are in power zealously hold on to it? Will those who are coming of age agressively grasp for it? Or will power and leadership be shared and mentored into an even greater day for the service of Christ? This challenge faces every mainline church of our day. It will take the grace of God and the leadership of the Holy Spirit to help us in this time of transition. It will also take the examination of hearts and confession of our own fears and unwillingness to share power - what is only natural and human.

In jealousy and fear, Saul then resorts to manipulative leadership. He offers his own daughters to David as wives, not because he thinks David would be a good husband to them, but because David would be distracted and easier prey in battle (a strategy employed by David on someone else later). Saul promises his daughter Michal to him if he kills 100 Philistines (in graphic terms), expecting that David would be killed in the process. But David accomplishes the task and he ends up giving his daughter to David in marriage. The marriage is a difficult one. The tendency toward manipulation is real in every small child and it only matures into adulthood. We manipulate information by gossip and laying, manipulate feelings by self-pity and shame, and manipulate power by control or setting people up for the fall in many ways. In what ways do you find yourself manipulative? As Christians, we are not immune and must die to manipulation's natural tendencies daily.

The brokeness of Saul's relationships only deepens as even his own son and daughter take David's side to protect him against Saul's enraged attacks in chapter 19. A tragic moment happens in chapter 20:30 when Saul publicly cusses out Jonathan, reminding Jonathan that he was the rightful heir to his throne, not David. Jonathan defends David and Saul hurls a spear at his own flesh and blood. Often broken relationships are the fruit of our jealous, fearful, competitive and manipulative ways. Self-examination invites us to search what broken relationships we experience and seek God's forgiveness, pardon and a way toward healing.

Psalm 18:1-30

This Psalm was written while David was eluding the attacks of Saul. Notice the epic language of David as he describes God's faithfulness and deliverance of him in times of struggle. When we're in distress it does feel like the whole earth is shaking around us. But David has a relationship with God that provides him supernatural strength for his epic struggles. David's response here is Spirit-filled rather than reactive. In his better days, David is like this, but not always, as we shall see.

"Deepening Your Christian Life" I

Today, St. Luke's and many throughout the Northwest Texas and New Mexico Conferences lost a good friend in Dr. Richard Bales. I ask for your prayers for his wife, Norene and for the entire family.

The blog entries for this week come from the life of David and Psalms that scholars believe were written in connection with them. Our inner life is not separated from the external events that happen around us and to us. David is a good one for us to study as we consider God's call on our lives for ministry. He has an unusually strong faith in God and a passion to know Him. He also is prone to behavior that is far beneath a chosen servant of God. Furthermore, he is devastated at times by the things that happen that are beyond his control: threats from enemies, betrayal by family and friends, and even personal emotional struggles. My guess is that during this week we will look in the mirror and see a little of David.

I Samuel 16:1-23

The story of the anointing of David as the second King of Israel is powerful. We have already studied the call of Samuel at the beginning of this book. But the move to having a king was something Samuel opposed. Samuel was the leader as a prophet/judge of the people (in a theocracy) and he took the people's request for a king personally. God assured Samuel that it was not Samuel who was being rejected, but rather the call for a monarch was a rejection of God as their king. The first king was Saul, who was the prototype of a king:

There was not a man among the people of Israel more hansome htan he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else. I Samuel 9:2

Yet, Saul, though chosen by God and having all the necessary gifts was disobedient and became ill with his desire for absolute power. We see the same thing all the time with public leaders. In the choice of one of the sons of Jesse in I Samuel 16, Eliab is the obvious choice. But notice God's response to Samuel's suggestion:

"Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."

In the choice of leadership, do we choose the one that is the best looking, the most charismatic in personality, the best connected or do we choose based on character and competency? If only it were that simple! In the TV-Digital age how do you know which is which?

Samuel keeps going down the line as the choices get younger and younger. It seems that God has rejected them all, so Samuel asks, "Is there anybody else (after all God had sent him there)?" So they bring in the shepherd boy, David. He is described as "ruddy." We would translate "rosy-cheeked", handsome with beautiful eyes, but more of a mama's boy look. Of course, this look would play later in the story as David always did well among the women. Solomon must have carried the same genes! God chooses the non-rugged, non-warrior like David. The rightness of God's choice would show up in the next chapter of I Samuel.

David in the coming months develops into a young warrior and most of all "the LORD is with him." Saul develops a mental illness and interestingly enough, David (his anointed successor) becomes the harpist who is employed to calm the king's anxiety and rage. David eventually becomes the king's armor bearer and beloved confidant. All is well...not quite.

Psalm 138-139

The Psalms shared here are intimate and beautiful. David is unique in the Old Testament in his ability to sense the emotional closeness of God. In this day when adoration is the theme of your prayer journal, note the adoration in this passage. Notice the attributes of God that are lifted up: steadfast love (138:2), the answerer of prayer and the strengthener of the soul (138:3), the greatness of God's glory (138:5), the protector and perserver (138:7) and the keeper of promises (138:8), the high knowledge of the LORD (139:1-4), the constancy of the LORD's presence (139:7-12), the creator from conception to now (139:13-16).

In other Psalms, David says "Let us magnify the LORD together." In these Psalms he lifts up who the LORD is and it strengthens him for the challenges of the day. He knows that he is not alone. This alone is reason for our prayers of adoration. It is a way in which God and us "link up" for what each day and even each moment holds.

Make sure as you read these Psalms that you treat them as hymns. Read them aloud like you would poetry or song lyrics, for that is what they are. Have a great day in our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Sharing Your Story - BC/AD" VI

Acts 9:1-31

By now, you might have noticed a pattern in the encounters with Christ for the week. In every case but one, the result was a new name: Abram and Sarai become Abraham and Sarah, Jacob becomes Israel, the nation of Israel has a new name," married" and "blessed" instead of "desolate", Simon becomes Peter, and now Saul becomes Paul. Paul writes in II Corinthians 5:17, "If anyone is in Christ he/she is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold the new is come." The new names these biblical folk received was a way of communicating their new relationship with God and their new reality in life. In the case of Paul, he was always known as Saul among the Jews, but Paul was a Greco-Roman name. His name change was a symbol of his ministry and a whole new direction of the Christian movement - to the Gentiles.

One of the things we do in baptism is declare the name of the child before the congregation. Why do we do that? The name is the same as the one on his/her birth certificate and everyone already knows the child's name. In some cultures, the baptized are actually given a new and different name. But in our culture we name them before the congregation as a statement of their identity not just as a child of her/his parents, but as a child of God.

Saul,in the book of Acts, is known as a young and radical Pharisee. He is brilliant (having been trained by Gamaliel - one of the leading Jewish scholars of the day) and bold, a major persecutor of those who followed "the Way," what was seen by the Pharisees as a Jewish cult. When Stephen is martyred in Acts 7, those who stoned him laid their coats at the feet of Saul. On the way to Damascus to persecute others of "the way", the Savior of "the way" met him.

Sometimes I am jealous of Saul and the drama of his conversion - a blinding light, Jesus audibly speaking to him. It is one of the great stories of how a person met Jesus, but it should not be used as a paradigm for how people meet him, for the ways people meet Jesus are as varied as the people who experience Him.

Sunday's sermon will take on the experience of Ananias in this passage. What a risk he took and what a benefit for the gospel.

Of course, not everybody was excited by Saul's conversion. The Jews wanted to kill him and set out to do so and the Christians in Jerusalem did not trust that his conversion was genuine. So he ends up going back to his home town of Tarsus and waits for seven years.

Consider a moment the dimensions of Saul's conversion: from head knowledge of God to heart knowledge, from legalistic religion to dynamic Christ-centered faith, from radical allegiance to a tradition to a living experience of Christ. His primarily goal in life changed from being the most feared Pharisee in Palestine to being the bondslave of the Christ he persecuted. Where might your story have common ground with Saul who became Paul?

"Sharing Your Story - BC/AD" V

Matthew 16:13-28

The theme of the lessons this week examines the difference faith in Christ has made in our lives. Today, we look at Peter's story. We considered him last week, but now we have Matthew's more expanded version of Peter's encounter with Christ. In my Board of Ordained Ministry meeting they said the most important job of leadership is asking the right questions. The idea that the best leaders are those who have an agenda or vision and convince people to follow it is not the best because it does not bring out the best ideas and creativity of those who are involved. Jesus was the master questioner. He would ask a man in need of healing, "Do you want to get well?" He would ask others, "Do you believe?" He asks the disciples here, "Who do people say that I am?" They begin to tell him what people are saying - that Jesus to some is a prophet like Elijah or to others another eccentric teacher like John the Baptist. There have always been a variety of opinions about who Jesus was or is. Then Jesus asks another question, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter responds, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Christ was not Jesus' last name, it was a statement that he was "the Messiah", "the anointed one." We don't know how long the disciples had been following Jesus by this time. Was Peter speaking out of the inspiration of the Spirit not really knowing what he was saying or is this what he had deduced after following Jesus many months. Clearly, for Jesus, this was a watershed moment.

Jesus blesses him and says that "upon this rock, I will build my church." It's a play on words as his name Peter means "rock," and his confession of faith would be the rock on which the Christian movement would be built. The Christian faith is unapologetically Christ-centered. When someone asks, "What is God like?" our response is to say, "Look at Jesus." Even in the catacombs, you find drawings and writings from the early church that say simply, "Jesus is Lord." In Acts 4:12, we see even more just how Christ-centered Peter's faith was as he says, "there is no other name under heaven by which a person can be saved." We immediately are drawn into a debate about whether Jesus is the only way compared to other religions. For me, there is a two-part response to that issue. First, people who had followed in another religious tradition saw something so decisive in Jesus that they chose to follow him and call him Lord. I am one who believes there is much to be gained by learning what people of other religions believe. But Christians do believe that God did act uniquely and decisively in Jesus. It is important that we share that truth wherever we go. We can do that without pronouncing judgement on those who believe otherwise. I can boldly proclaim Jesus as Savior and Lord and still be in positive and creative dialogue with people from other religions.

The surprise in this encounter is the immediate discussion of Jesus' sacrificial death. The Messiahship of Jesus would be a confrontation to both the religious and secular worlds. The claim of Jesus as Messiah would fly in the face of the religious leadership. The claim of him as "son of the living God" was already taken by Caesar. So Jesus must have heard Peter's words with both joy and trepidation. This would be the beginning of the end.

Peter is deeply offended that Jesus talked about a sacrificial death and argues with him. And the one who was "the rock of the Church" is now called "Satan." I can't help but see this in the light of Matthew 4 when Jesus was tempted by Satan and said, "Get out of here." Peter wants Jesus to take the revolutionary, public approach of rule by force and popularity. Jesus had already struggled through that and knew that the cross was God's way for him. Yet, I understand Peter and likely you do, too. Jesus makes no sense. But there is something else I see here. Peter was indeed the great man of faith on whom the early Church was founded. But he also was flaky as could be - the one who walked on water and the one who denied Jesus. One moment we are close to God and bold to share with anybody. The next moment we're full of ourselves and afraid to say a word. Yet, Jesus continued to put his message and the welfare of the disciples in Peter's inadequate and sometimes volatile hands. He does the same with us. Full of faith and unbelievably flaky - That's who we are. It makes you thankful for grace doesn't it? It is a grace that I am utterly dependnent on. See you tomorrow night.

"Sharing Your Story - BC/AD" IV

Isaiah 62

I am writing this blog entry from Phoenix after a long day of meetings with 50 other Board of Ordained Ministry Chairpersons from across the country. I was enjoying that many of the chairs that what I shared with you in our open gathering, that this is the generation in which the spread of the gospel will no longer be church-centered but rather centered outside the church walls in our businesses, classrooms, neighborhoods and even our recreational activities. It is the generation in which your response to the call to ministry is every bit as important as mine. If we take that move of God seriously, then we will see God do things greater than we have dared to dream. So I encourage you to continue to listen for the call of God on your life.

The important thing for me in Isaiah 62 is that conversion stories are not just about individuals. Churches, communities, and even nations can have conversion stories. This chapter is one describing Israel on its return to the homeland after exile under the Babylonians and the Medes and Persians. During exile, they felt abandoned and punished by God. A companion reading would be Psalm 137, describing the horrible pain they experienced in exile. Isaiah 62 is a joyous prophecy of restoration.

American Christianity tends to be highly individualistic (about me and my relationship with Jesus), but the Bible in both testaments is not so. God's guidance was for the whole church or the whole nation. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit falls on the people as they worshipped together. In American history, there have been two "Great Awakenings" that have shaped the kind of nation and religious people we are. Some are saying we are in a third one, but it is really too early to tell.

In Isaiah 62:2-4, the prophet declares that they will be given a new name. They no longer will be called forsaken or desolate. Instead they will be called beloved and married. The people of God who have been separated from God are now being reconciled and reunited. We are pretty good at seeing when individuals backslide and separate themselves from God, but I wonder if we are so apt to see when that happens as families, as churches and as communities. I invite you to join me in praying for your families, for St. Luke's United Methodist Church on her two campuses, for the United Methodist Church in the United States and around the world, and for the USAmerican Church, that we might see where we may have become distracted, sinful, and separated from God and his purposes for us. Then pray that we will be reconciled and reunited with the LORD so we can truly be his people.

We are watching a major religious shift happening all around us. Some have named the mainline churches, including United Methodists, as "dead," "irrelevant", "out of touch," "sinful," "hypocritical" and a host of names. In the Bible, a new name always meant a new reality. I dream of day when God calls us "newly alive," "a powerful force for changing lives and changing the world," "a holy and compassionate people," "a people who make his love real wherever they go." What new name would you like to see God call the church and what new reality would it describe? In the end, it has to be a work of God. That's true for us both as individuals and as groups.

"Sharing Your Story BC/AD" III

Joshua 5:13-7:26

The famed African-American spiritual "Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho" has made this story familiar to many people. But as we read the story as it is in scripture there is much more to it than we might have seen before.

BACKGROUND

Joshua, the son of Nun, is the God-selected successor to Moses. Moses, because he did not speak to the rock in Numbers 20 (but rather struck it because that is what had worked earlier. You do remember the seven last words of the Church, don't you - "We've never done it that way before!"), was denied entrance to the promised land. Joshua, who had shown himself faithful in scouting out the land of Canaan has now led them across the Jordan River (it parted in Joshua 3 just like the Red Sea parted for Moses in Exodus). The area is full of small city-states with malitias and walls around them. Going into the promised land meant going in where people saw the land as belonging to them, so it would have to be conquered. Sideline lesson here is that there is often lag time and hard work between what God promises and the fulfillment of it. To follow God's call usually means doing that work in between, a mixture of waiting and seeing God at work, a mixture of victories and defeats. This is where God develops and grows us for his purposes. Astronomers tell us that in the universe there is more energy in the black holes than there are in the stars. Don't underrate those "in-between" times.

5:13-15 A Visit with the Commander

The commander of the army of the LORD is impressive. He has been sent by God and he does not take sides (contrary to the football prayers we sometimes here before the games!), but rather carries out what God says. The picture here of the army of the LORD is important. The victory will be done in partnership with God, the human army representing a greater one. In II Kings 6:8ff, Elisha is part of the same experience as the army of the LORD is described as "chariots of fire." Joshua then has another experience that Moses did, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." In your story, where are the places where God has brought you through when you could never have made it on your own?

6:1-27 Marching Around the City

Jericho has bunkered in because the Israelites were coming. It must have seemed to them like a threatening and chaotic mob. Notice the number seven in this account, seven days, seven priests with seven trumpets and seven times around on the seventh day - God's number of completion used throughout the Bible. This would mean a lot to a people organized around the Sabbath. For this is a story not just about a battle strategy but an identity story as the people of God.

On the seventh day they make a great shout and go into the city and burn it to the ground just as they were instructed to do. The geological site of Jericho has several layers separated by ash. Evidently it was burned to the ground several times in its early history. As I noted in an earlier blog, this was a common battle strategy in those city states during those centuries.

Joshua 7:1-26 A Failure to Follow Directions

The children of Israel were chosen by God to be his holy people. We think of holy as a moral term, but it's true definition is "separate, different from the rest." The reason God did not want them taking the goods from Jericho is that they were goods that had connections to the worship of idols and other gods. This is also the basis of the food laws. The Hebrew food laws were healthier, but the main thing was their eating habits were to reflect that they were different from those around them. The severe punishment of Achan's family is a statement to all that there would be no compromise with their lifestyles and worship.

That leads us to an important question as we seek to follow God's call. What differentiates you from the people around you in the neighborhood, at work, in your family? Does your faith in Christ make a material, real difference or is it private or hidden? The danger for the children of Israel is that they would fall into syncretism (developing a religion that was a combination of this and that) rather than true faith in the LORD. How might that be true today and have we done far worse things than Achan?
See you tomorrow in holy worship to the LORD.

"Sharing Your Story - BC/AD" II

Genesis 32-33

BACKGROUND

Esau and Jacob were twins. Esau (whose name may mean "rehead")was the first born and Jacob (meaning "grabber" or "trickster")was grabbing on to Esau's foot. Esau was a virile man's man while Jacob was a mama's boy. At first Esau looked like he would take after dear old dad, Isaac, who was not the brightest of the litter. I can picture him growing up with his name meaning laughter and how many times people might have laughed at him rather than with him. Rebekah on the other hand was a manipulator on behalf of Jacob and Jacob grew up to be "the great manipulator." Jacob cheated his brother out of his birthright twice and was given the rights of the firstborn even though he was second (a little bit of "the last shall be first and the first shall be last"). Jacob then runs for fear of his life. Esau said to him, "They don't call you Jacob (grabber, trickster) for nothing." But eventually Esau becomes very successful in his own right, in fact, more successful than swindler Jacob. Esau even has his own small malitia that he travels with. When Jacob hears that Esau is on his way to see him he fears the worst. In that fear and panic, our scripture lesson takes place. This is my favorite Old Testament story.

Jacob has it all planned, the speech, the placating of Esau by letting all the women and children pass by him first, but Esau has moved on from his hatred. Jacob doesn't know that. Looking at the possibility of his own mortality, he was a wrestling match with a man all through the night. But the match is really a wrestling match with God, really a wrestling match with himself. He has been a liar and a swindler all his life and his life is crashing around him. Finally, the wrestling match ends with the man putting Jacob's hip out of joint. Jacob "the grabber" refuses to let go until the man blesses him. The man accomodates by giving him a new name, Israel (meaning "he who struggles with God")and tells him he has wrestled with God and won (interestingly by losing). That is one of the stories of Will Cotton's life. He wrestles with God and wins by losing (every time!) My guess is that it is part of your story as well. We win when we finally "surrender all", when we "let go and let God." In the words of Jesus we lose in order to find and die in order to live - paradoxical but absolutely true.

Jacob's new name is important, because it becomes also the name of a great nation who throughout its history has been a struggle with God. When calls the Church "the new Israel", I think about what that means. As we approach ministry in this 21st century, we seem to be once again like Jacob at the Jabbok River. Who have we been as individual Christians and together as the Church? And who will we be from now on?

The most important scene in this story is often ignored. When Jacob finally meets Esau, Esau asks, "Why the big parade ahead of you? You had nothing to fear. Look how I have been blessed." Esau the offended embraces the offender and abuser and Jacob looks at his twin brother and says, "I see in you Peniel (meaning 'the face of God')." Jacob builds an altar there and calls it Peniel. Jacob sees the face of God in the brother he has wronged. Now that's powerful. Do you know what it's like to be forgiven by someone? Have you given that gift to someone else? Jesus taught us, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." When we do that for each other, we really show each other Peniel, "the face of God." Give that gift to someone you love or don't love this week. See you tomorrow.

"Sharing Your Story - BC/AD" I

The readings for this week are the faith stories of a variety of people from both testaments. We will explore them much in the way that we did the "woman at the well" story in John 4 during class. While the stories are interesting in themselves, they can be powerful as we bring those stories into conversation with our own.

Genesis 18:1-15 - "A Laughing Matter"

The experience of Abraham and Sarah is interesting in part because it is so human. In Genesis 17, it is Abraham who laughs at the prospect of having a child in old age and in Genesis 18 Sarah joins in. She then lies to God and denies that she laughed. We understand why she laughted and would have done the same thing. We also know that following the call of God means venturing to the edge of absurdity and also believing after we have been hurt. Eventually, the child will be called "Isaac" which means "he laughs." Abraham and Sarah find themself face to face with doubt. Any commonality with your story or mine?

Genesis 20:1-17 - "She's my sister"

One of the things you find in the book of Genesis is that trickery and deceit abounds (Abraham with Sarah, Rebekah with Isaac, Jacob with Esau, Jacob's sons with Jacob, Joseph with Jacob's sons, etc). Here to protect himself and his wife he tells a half-truth, for she is his half-sister.
I had a moral theology professor who said that at the heart of sin is self-deception. We deceive others but in the end we also deceive ourselves, building our lives on half-truths. Partly, we do that because we are afraid, in the words of the great theologian Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men, the people around us "can't handle the truth." Jesus, in John 3:19-21, talks about how when we choose to walk in the light, then our deeds become obvious and they show the work of God. But most people choose to stay in the darkness of deceit. Ever lived a lie? To one degree or another, most of us have. Our story is not that far from Abraham and Sarah.

Genesis 21

This chapter begins in jubilation and ends in tragedy that reigns to this day in the Middle East. Sarah invites everyone to come laugh with her for indeed the Lord has turned her "mourning into dancing." We see God move and we are amazed. God has this way of confounding us (leaving us confused and exasperated in our waiting on him) and then astounding us (doing more than we could ask or think).

But soon the teenage Ishmael starts picking with the toddler Isaac and Sarah, repeating history, sends Hagar away with her son, never to return.
Again, the scriptures here remind us that rivalry and competitiveness (as natural as it is) must be put in its proper place. As Christians we don't coompete with each other except to hone our skills so that we can enter the real competition against evil, hate, faithlessness and selfishness. The devil's best work is to get you and me (and church denominations and local churches) in to rivalry with each other, so we will be distracted from fully participating in the game that really matters.

How does the story of Abraham and Sarah resonate with your story? Their "clay feet" did not disqualify them from being called of God and used by Him. You'll see more of this "clay" throughout the week. Maybe it will help you and me to come to terms with our own clay feet and lay fresh claim to the grace of God. Have a great evening and sorry about the lateness of this post.

"Watching and Listening for God's Call" VI

Matthew 28:16-20

We finish the call stories with the famous "great commission" of Jesus, often called "the great omission" of the Church. The point of including this passage is that God doesn't just call us as individuals. He calls as groups: classes, local churches, denominations and the body of Christ as a whole.

The scene takes place on a mountain (which one we are not told)in Galilee (where they were told to go twice in chapter 28, verses 7 and 10). Some see the location as the mountain where Jesus gave his sermon (Mt. 5-7), while others see it as the "Mount of Olives" with Jesus ascending from there with the promise of returning there in his second coming. There are two responses to Jesus' appearance there: worship and doubt. Give Matthew an "A" in honesty. We know Thomas doubted, but this account indicates that there might well have been others. The resurrection still brings both reactions from people.

Jesus is now ready to pass on his ministry to the "eleven" (one short of perfect and one short of the divine, inadequate but usable, as we always will be by the grace of God). We go with his "authority", not our own and we go in his name, not our own. What right do you have to share your faith and follow God's call? The authority and grace of God in Jesus Christ gives you that right.

The call of ministry is to "make disciples of all nations." What were they called in verse 16? Disciples. They are now to multiply themselves. What is a disciple? A disciple is someone who is introduced to Jesus - his person, his teachings, and his presence for daily life. A disciple chooses to follow Jesus as the first priority of her or his life. A disciple grows in the faith and matures in his or her relationship with God through prayer, study, fellowship and service. A disciple introduces other people to Jesus, and the discipleship cycle begins again. I often receive chain e-mails that encourage me to forward them to everyone I know, some even threatening great tragedy if I don't do so. But the discipleship cycle is one that has come to us through someone else and it is crucially important that the cycle not finish with us.

We have the baptismal formula of the early church in 28:19b. Some churches have substituted "Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer", so as to be more gender inclusive. From our discussion last week, you know why that is a problem for me. The contemporary terms are more functional (one who creates, redeems and sustains), when the Trinitarian formula itself is relational.

Jesus finishes with a promise - that he would be with us always. Frederick Dale Bruner sums up the great commission this way:

Mission Commander (I, Jesus, am in charge around here)
Mission Commands (So you move out, obeying me)
Mission Commander (I, Jesus, will suppport you all the way - relax and enjoy!)

Maybe that's why I always feel closer to God when I'm sharing my faith with someone who doesn't now the Lord. That word always is big. Do you think he meant it? See you this evening.

"Watching and Listening for God's Call" V

Luke 9:46-62

Jesus never soft-pedalled what it would cost people to follow him. In fact, when I hear the way churches appeal to people today to follow Christ, I wonder if they are talking about the same Jesus. In this call story, we see three costs in following Jesus that few talk about. The first is the call to set aside your own ego and competitive spirit. The disciples are arguing over who is the greatest. Will it be those who were first to follow Jesus (seniority)? If so, that would be Peter, Andrew, James and John. The gospels differ about who was first among those four. Will it be those who are the designated leaders (Peter, Judas), and we know what happened to them (personality and strength)? Will it be the smartest or the one that gathered the most followers Phillip or Andrew)? Will we ever get over ourselves and our desire to compare and compete with each other for status? The gospels even put James and John's mother in the conversation! Jesus settles the issue by placing a vulnerable and lowly child - the least in the society of that day - and says that the greatest of them must be willing to be the least. Jesus would make the point even more vividly in John 13 with the washing of the disciples' feet. We all yearn for greatness and signficance. We want to be like Michael Jordan and be able to say "I am the greatest at what I do, no thanks to all those who didn't see it." Jesus says that the way to satisfy that yearning is to become the least. Is he right or is it just an empty ideal? Your honest answer to that question will make a difference in whether you see or hear God's call...or not.

The second kind of competition is one we know all to well in American Christianity. How do we handle it when others do what we do and get credit for it? Is the success of others a witness against us? John wants to stop them, because they are not the right ones to do it. In our day, we would fight about who is doing it right. Either way, we need to hear Jesus' words: "...for whoever is not against you is for you." In the words of a friend of mine, it's time to quit competing and start completing. Not everyone will respond to the ways of the people of St. Luke's Lubbock, but some will never respond to the gospel at all, unless we do share it the way we do. The disciples had to learn that the gospel of Jesus Christ was bigger than they were; 21st century USAmerican disciplies all the more so.

The second cost in following Jesus was being controversial. The ministry of Jesus was not near as tame and sweet as the church has made it over the years. The Jesus we present to the world most of the time would never have been crucified. The Jesus of the gospels challenged the religious and political world around him and created a movement to perpetuate it. He also crossed economic, class and racial barriers. The opposition in this passage is from the Samaritans who see he is headed to Jerusalem. In the very next chapter, Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaraitan to people who didn't believe there was such a thing as a "good" Samaritan. The equal opportunity offender is at it again. Jesus does not call us to be merely nice and kind people. We are called to be loving and bold revolutionaries who speak and live a confrontation with the way the world is. If we really do that, we will experience rejection, misunderstanding and personal pain. Which Jesus will you follow, the revolutionary or the Jesus who holds lambs a lot?

The third cost is the sacrifice of our own personal agendas and plans. The man says, "Jesus, I will follow you anywhere, but first...." On the face of it, the man's request seems more than reasonable. But the biblical language hear betrays that this man is the oldest son in his family and has responsibility for his father and his estate. The father is not likely to be dead yet and may not be even near to that. The man has but Jesus on hold and Jesus will have none of it. We say, "I will do more for Christ when I get more time...when work eases up...when I retire." I have observed that most of the time, those who say that never come through. To see and hear God's call and follow Christ is to make Christ and his mission the first priority.

The image of plowing here is one we understand in West Texas. Looking back means crooked lines and sloppy production. So how does your spiritual/moral/action ministry field look? What are the fruits of your planting and labor? Perhaps all of us need to examine our focus and see if the gospel of Christ and demonstrating and promoting God's kingdom is the first priority of our lives. The promise of Christ is that if we make that priority number one then everything else falls into place in some rather amazing ways. Do we dare trust that? Will you and I pay the price Christ asks in following His call? Have a great day in God's field.

"Watching and Listening for God's Call" IV

John 1:35-51

For the next three days, we shift to New Testament gospel call stories. I try to picture where Jesus might go and what approach Jesus would use if he were gathering disciples today. Would he go to a college campus at the student union? Would he join a local "Facebook" group on the internet? Would he rent a billboard on the freeway? One thing is clear, Jesus "networked" his disciples. Most of them were friends and relatives with one another.

John, the gospel writer's approach to the call of Jesus emphasizes a previous relationship many of the disciples had with another Jewish revolutionary and cousin of Jesus, John the Baptist. I invite you to read the entire first chapter of John and see just how pronounced this is. The verses previous to today's passage draw a picture of a handoff in a ministry relay, signaled at Jesus' baptism, between the forerunner and the Messiah. As we look at verse 35, who might the two disciples of John the Baptist who become followers be? While no one can say for sure, John, the writer tends to talk about himself in his gospel without using his name (the disciple whom Jesus loved, the other disciple). My guess is that these two disciples are none other than the "Sons of Thunder," James and John. Andrew was also a follower of the Baptist, and he leads Peter to become a follower of Jesus. We know all four of these were in the fishing business together. Phillip and Nathanael are friends, two of the more skeptically oriented disciples, and Phillip is from the same home town as Peter and Andrew. So half of the disciples come from a very small circle of folks.

Two of the disciples are given special mention in this passage. Simon is given the name "Cephas" or "Peter" which means 'rock.' I guess we could call him "Rocky." I guess that would make his New Testament letters, Rocky I and Rocky II? lol. The "rock" nickname seems to have two different meanings in Christian tradition. One emphasizes his strength and greatness, a potential Jesus sees in him. The other emphasizes that a lithos was usually the word for a larger stone, while a "petros" referred to a smaller one. Later in I Peter, he would describe the church as a house of living stones built on one another.

The extended discussion of Nathanael is interesting. He is not mentioned again in the New Testament until John 21, where he is listed as being from Cana (the place of Jesus' miracle in John 2). Nathanael's choice to follow Jesus is what precedes that miracle. In the other gospels, he is refered to as Bartholomew. In John 21, his name is listed next to Thomas, another skeptic. So we have two circles that emerge - the fishermen and the skeptics. Another circle could be the political revoluntionaries -Simeon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot among others. Back to Nathanael. Jesus seems to enjoy countering the questioning and bluntly honest style of Nathanael. "Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile." The reference to the angels ascending and descending on Jesus recalls the image of Jacob's ladder in Genesis. But Jacob was one in whom there was much duplicity, trickery and guile. It makes me wonder what prompted this angle from Jesus. This is one of the places where I see the role of positive doubt in the growth of our faith. Our questioning does not disqualify us from following Jesus. But even despite his skepticism, his experience of Christ frees him to follow Jesus. We still follow Jesus step by step, even amidst our questions. Have a blessed day.

"Watching and Listening for God's Call" III

Today we look at what are two of my favorite call stories, the ones to Isaiah and Jeremiah. Jeremiah fits into the already familiar role of the reluctant prophet and he will be that way throughout his life. Isaiah, while overwhelmed at times, seems to enjoy his role more and the book of Isaiah (which covers nearly 200 years) has evidence that he passed his prophetic role along. Isaiah is a prophet to both the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel, while Jeremiah is only a prophet to the south.

Isaiah 6:1-9

The context of Isaiah's call is important in that it sets the date and circumstances of his prophetic ministry. Verse 1 of chapter 6 reads, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord..." King Uzziah, a prominent southern king,took over over in 792 BCE at the age of 16 and ruled for 52 years. He was a godly king who did great things for Israel. II Chronicles 26:16ff tells the occasion of his death beginning as follows: "But after Uzziah beame powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and enterd the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. Isaiah lived until at least 680 BCE, so we can assume that at the time of this vision he was a very young man, possibly in his late teens or early 20s. Uzziah is the only king he or his parents have known and the times were perilous. The Assyrian army (with its legendary chariots and iron weapons)was bearing down on the northern kingdom and making threats on the south. In his 18th year of ministry the Assyrians would sack Samaria in the north and take her brightest and best off to Nineveh (remind you of another prophet and a certain large fish?). It was in a time of great political and military stress and possibly great admiration on the part of Isaiah for the king that Isaiah had his vision.

Last week, Matt Wolfington and I were talking about this vision in Isaiah. He said, "I wonder if this event was something that everybody else in the temple experienced that day or if it was just something that happened in the heart and mind of Isaiah?" Are our visions or even our experiences of God's call actual events visible to everyone else or are they times of heightened awareness in which God helps us see what others cannot? Of course, that brings up the question of whether Isaiah's experience or even Ezekiel's more outlandish visions of wheels within wheels and eating sweet scrolls that turn bitter are creations of an overactive imagination. The answer to that question has to be in the fruits of a person's life following such a vision. I have known some people to have visions and then nothing happens after that. I mistrust those kind. In the case of the biblical prophets, their lives continued in conversation with God and their lives had a huge impact for good around them.

Isaiah's vision and call is a wonderful description of authentic worship. While our experiences may not be as dramatic, the general benefits can be the same. Isaiah went to the temple regularly. In his grief, he did not expect God to do anything. But God did meet him in his grief and his fears for his country. His vision of the LORD is "high and lifted up, with the train of his robe filling the temple." Quite often in scripture people have visions of the greatness that show him above the fray and greater than the surrounding challenges. But then the animated picture begins with six winged seraphs singing the song Isaiah had sung in worship before. It's a song we sing, too, whether its the tradition hymnal "Holy, Holy, Holy" (which combines this passage and the Revelation of John) or the contemporary chorus, "Holy Is the LORD" (a direct quote of this). The incense, always a part of the worship of God's people now takes over the room and the place is shaken. Isaiah is having a powerful experience of the presence of God in a regular worship service. Do I believe that could happen to any of us? You bet.

Overwhelmed by the heaviness and brilliance of God's glory, he feels inadequate in the moment. He sees his own sinfulness and failures and confesses his sin and the sin of the people. One of the six-winged seraps then touches his "unclean lips" and gives him the gift of forgiveness. We so easily pray our prayers of confession at communion, but do we really do business with God about our actions, words and attitudes? The sacrifice is not just for the sins of Israel in general or for other people, it is for him.

So Isaiah, who came to worship in grief and concern, experiences the powerful presence of God and receives forgiveness, and now hears a question from God, "Whom shall I send?" Later Jesus makes a similar call upon his disciples after his resurrection, "As the father has sent me, so send I you...Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." Both Isaiah and the disciples are to pass on what they have experienced (powerful presence and forgiveness) to the world around them.

Take a moment now to consider who God has touched your life. It's your ongoing story, some of which has yet to be written. How might God be calling you to share that story with a hurting and broken world?

Jeremiah 1:4-19

It was Paul who wrote to his young protege "Let no one despise your youth." We see the same theme in the call of Jeremiah, known as "the weeping prophet" for all his melancholy "downer" prophecies. Like the call of Samuel the call comes upon him at a very young age. Jeremiah's reluctance to follow his call because of his young age is quickly rebuffed by the LORD - Do not say 'I am JUST a child!' I have heard a similar thing from people in the church - "I am not a preacher. I am JUST a lay person." I remember Bishop Norris chastizing a layman for saying such a thing and I was glad.

Verse 5 speaks to Jeremiah's chosenness, with a theme remarkably similar to that of David in Psalm 139:13-16.

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

While few if any of us are called to be "a prophet to the nations," we do have a purpose for our lives. For me, it has been a lifelong journey to discover that purpose. Throughout my life, while the call to ministry has been the same, the way it has been carried out has shifted in both method (preaching instead of singing, pastoring instead of directing choirs)and emphasis (performer of ministry to equipping teacher and local pastor to a mentor pastor of other pastors). No doubt, my calling will shift again. But through it all, there is a sense that I am carrying out the purpose for which I was created. Why not take a moment to ask God about yourself, "Why am I on planet earth? What message do you want be to both speak and demonstrate by your power?" One source for the answer to those questions is to look back at the past years of your Christian life and see where God has already been using you. Your experiences, your talents and your walk with God come together to shape how you carry out God's call. What often happens through busyness and distraction is that we get "off track" from our purpose and end up doing and saying things that either don't matter or are even destructive.

The role of prophet is a very difficult one. When someone comes to me and says God calls them to be a prophet (one who speaks for God and confronts people about the lives they lead), I warn them how the people of the Bible (and contemporary society) treat prophets (reject and ridicule them, set them up for the fall, stone them, kill them, etc). Prophets stand for substantive change and even a baby doesn't like to be changed until its absolutely necessary! His will be a life of controversy, but someone must tell people the truth they don't want to hear.

The closing scene of chapter 1 is comical to me. I picture a scrawny melancholy late teen or young adult standing before God (picture yourself at that age) and receiving these words, "Prepare yourself. Stand up to whoever I tell you and speak whatever I tell you. Don't fear those who will hate you. Be more afraid of me. Stand tall, Jerry. You are a fortified city (chest out!), a pillar of iron (stomach in!), a wall of bronze (square those shoulders!). They are going to insult you and fight you, but you will win for only one reason, 'I am with you and I will be your rescue.'" Anybody watching would say, "He'll never make it. That's no prophet." But that's the way all of us start out as we hear God's call. As a preacher friend of mine says, "God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called." Jeremiah is a prophet in the making and so he was throughout his entire life. As we respond to God's call, we, too, are whatever we are "in the making." As Paul writes in Philippians 1:6, "He who began a good work in you will continue it until completion in the day of Christ Jesus." So ministers-in-the-making, let the work of God begin in you as well as through you. Enjoy your Sabbath tomorrow.

"Watching and Listening for God's Call" II

I Samuel 1-3

The book of Samuel starts off where the book of Judges (the most violent of all the Old Testament books) left, with a nation that is separated from God. In the words of I Samuel 3:1b,

“In those days, the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.”

I Samuel begins with the loving relationship between Elkanah and Hannah. Elkanah had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. They become rivals because Peninnah can have children but Hannah cannot (echoes of Sara and Hagar). Peninnah makes fun of Hannah because “the LORD had closed her womb.” I must admit my discomfort with the biblical language here. Is God getting credit for things that are not his doing? I have similar questions when the Old Testament credits God for war tactics (burning cities to the ground, killing every person and animal, etc) that were simply the common tactics of the day and time. Does God decide who will be fertile or not or is this a situation that happens in nature that is part of the chance elements of nature? After all, the act of conception itself is a chance process in which millions of sperm attempt to attach to an egg. As one book reads, "you're one in a million." Do we see God as the source or the manipulator of the events of our lives or do we see God as present in the midst of it all? When we pray to God for help and we see him as the one who caused the painful situation in the first place are we really going to be open to the help He has to offer? As a pastor, I am with people who are dealing with situations like this: the diagnosis of a terminal or disabling disease for a parent or friend, or worst of all, a child; the collapse of a relationship about which one of them had been praying to God fervently for reconciliation; etc. If we see God as the one who causes the situation, what kind of friend and comfort will God be allowed to be? Elkanah, her husband, loves Hannah deeply and tries to help her cope, but to no avail.
Finally, her prayers are answered, just as Eli the priest had said would happen in chapter 1, verse 17. Hannah gives birth to a son, who name has a double meaning, either “asked of God” or “God has heard.” Both fit the story of Samuel.

Hannah dedicates Samuel to the LORD’s service, allowing him to live with Eli and serve in the temple. Chapter 2 includes Hannah’s exultant Psalm of praise and thanksgiving. Notice the common themes with Mary’s “Magnificat” in Luke 1:46-55. Chapter 2, verse 11, casually mentions that the child’s father goes back to Ramah (mentioned in Matthew’s version of the Christmas story in Herod’s slaughter of the children) while the boy stays with Eli.

Hophni and Phineas, the two sons of Eli, are horribly corrupt: greedy, sexually promiscuous, and oppressive of the people. I remember an African-American woman preaching during a Lenten Series in Odessa, Texas who said bluntly, “You know, sometimes the devil can crawl right up in this pulpit and speak.” Every self-aware person who follows the call of God knows the very real risk and even likelihood of having corruption enter our ministry (whether we are clergy or laity). For that reason, we must diligently test our motivations and behaviors. The contrast between the corruption of Eli’s sons and the innocent Samuel in chapter 2 verses 18-21 is vivid (the linen ephod, the new robe made each year for him by his mother (who ends up giving birth to five more children!).

Samuel will be a transitional figure between the judges and the monarchy, an early form of a prophet. Samuel’s call comes not at the age of 80 (like Moses) but as a young child. Samuel hears an audible voice calling his name. Throughout scripture, God knows peoples’ names. Jesus says in John 10 that he is the “good shepherd” who calls his own sheep by name. How different this is from the common understanding of people that God is distant and inaccessible.

While people hear the voice of God audibly in scripture, most of us do not share that experience. The voice of God for us tends to be in thoughts, urges, words from friends or family, and circumstances that seems to communicate to us in a special way. How do you respond when someone says, “God spoke to me?” Do you question whether it happened? Do you wonder why God “spoke” to them but not to you? I think we are called to “test the spirits” to see whether what is spoken actually comes from God. I appreciate the honesty of this passage in that it admits that God’s voice can be confused with human voices (including our own). The Bible is clear, however, from the opening verses of Genesis to the closing verses of Revelation, that God does speak. The problem in our own day is that we are so addicted to what we can control that we are not open for God to speak. In addition, we have filled our lives with such noise and activity that we are unable to be quiet enough to listen.

Samuel ends up needing Eli’s help to understand that God is speaking. Hearing God speak is rarely a solitary activity. We learn from those who have heard God before and we seek confirmation that what we have heard is true. As an ordained United Methodist minister, my calling comes from God and is confirmed by the Church. As I servant lead in God’s Church, I continually seek the council of other pastors and laity to be as sure as possible that I am hearing God rightly. So part of listening for God’s call for ourselves also involves helping others hear God’s call.

The challenge for Eli is that the call of Samuel is done in judgment of his own family’s failure to follow God’s call. Are we open for God to call people who will challenge and correct us? It seems that Eli regrettably resigns himself that what Samuel’s call communicated was true. Hopefully, we will be more teachable before we get to that point. Have a great day as you listen further for the call of God on your life.

"Watching and Listening for God's Call" I

Exodus 3:1-4:17

From cover to cover, the Bible describes God as one who sees, hears and responds to the pain and need of people and then calls on both individuals and groups to meet that need in His name and by the power of His Spirit. I am making the assumption that God did not quit doing that with the closing of the canon of the Old and New Testaments, that God still does the same today in people like you and me. The call stories we study this week are not just good parts of biblical history, they are sources to help us discern God's call and how it may be operating in our lives.

Moses' call has been so dramatized in the movies that we can easily distance ourselves from it. By the time we meet him in Exodus 3, Moses is a nobody, a common shepherd with both a great and questionable past. The more you get to know people, the more you discover that they have both aspects to their lives: great possibilities and burdens from their past that few know. Most of us relate to Moses as the man who spent time wondering "what if" or "if only" about his life. He considers the land, the situation and himself as "God-forsaken", even naming a child after his disappointing situation. It is also what the children of Israel felt about themselves as they suffered under the bondage of the Egyptian Pharaoh and his taskmasters.

But Moses is wrong. He is not God-forsaken, but rather God-chosen. God gives him a symbol of who he is to become: a burning bush that was not consumed. The land which is considered barren and forsaken becomes "holy ground." When he asks the name of the god he is speaking to, is he asking whether this is one of many gods, like the many in Egyptian religion? But this is "I am who I am" or "I will be whatever I choose to be", a deity that cannot be contained in an idol and in true Hebrew is actually quite impronounable. This is a God who cannot be contained or even described. For the rest of his life, he will be putting himself in the hands of an upredictable God in both power and timing. He will find God amazing and exasperating, jealous and gracious, holy and intimate. Again, we relate to Moses.

Moses, like each of those who receive God's call (with the notable exceptions of some of the disciples of Jesus), is reluctant, partly because of inadequacy, partly because of likely rejection and misunderstanding, and partly because of a lack of faith. That's certainly a part of who I am as I try to discern God's call. To be called of God is to embrace challenges that can be very small and larger than we could ever accomplish.

The excuses of Moses are understandable. Why should he be the one chosen for such a big job? Because he sees himself through the eyes of his past failures and present inadequacies, he is the least likely choice. But God sees him as uniquely positioned for the liberation of the children of Israel. Quite often in scripture, we would debate whether God makes good choices, only to see that in the end, they were perfect (Abraham, Moses, David, Esther, Mary, Peter, Paul). Part of that is due to the work of Christ after we become followers. But I also believe that God sees in us things we have not seen in ourselves and awakens things in us that lay dormant until Christ comes into our hearts. But also, why should they believe him? He's damaged goods. It seems that the power of God does best with "damaged goods," at least from a scriptural perspective. The excuse of his "slow speech" feels all too convenient. Did his fears and wish not to be used that way making him develop a sudden stuttering problem? I wonder. Eventually, the truth comes out. He wants God to send someone else. And who could blame him? God gives him Aaron, but Aaron is not a stellar assistant and Moses ends up having to do most of the talking.

So, in the end, the issue was not Moses' ability, but his availability. I find that to often be the case with myself and others who experience God's call. Sometimes we just would rather he would call someone else. The problem is that our hearts will never find fulfillment until we are living out of the center of God's purpose. It will not be a comfortable journey for Moses, but it will be one terrific ride. The invitation is the same for you and me.