Enough is Enough

Yesterday as a part of my sermon I used Matthew 22:1-14. This is the parable of a king who puts on a wedding banquet. All the things are in place for the banquet, there is only one problem, those who were invited we not there. The people who the king specifically invited did not show, so the king sends out messengers to the invitees to reinforce the invitation. The results, the people still do not come. In fact they kill some of the messengers. In the end the king invites who ever will come to share in the celebration. In a curious end of the story the king identifies one person at the party who was not prepared for a feast as such. So the king casts this individual to the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

There have been many people who have written about this parable, most of them way smarter than I am. The general feel of the parable interpretation is that those who didn't come are the religious people, those who come to the party are the everyday people looking to follow God, not a religion. The person who was thrown out in the twist ending is a religious person who tried to sneak into the banquet, but was not truly prepared for the feast of the King.

The amazing part is the religious people who were suppose to know better, didn't. The people who supposedly had their act together missed the boat. Rather than cancel the party, the king goes out and gets new people to share in the party. That would never happen now... would it?

The most dangerous thing in the church in America today is not Satan, though formidable, it is not an increasingly secular society. No the greatest challenge is from the people who are church people and nothing more. People who have been in the church, can tell you about it, can articulate the tenets of faith but are not interested in coming to the party. For almost half a century, using that term makes it seem longer, the church in American has been trying to reach those already "connected" to the church. Many a messenger has been killed and mistreated along the way. I say it is time to invite new people to the banquet. The mainline/oldline church in America is not simply broken it is on death's door. Unfortunately it is not dead, if death were to happen resurrection could occur. Resurrection cannot be experienced if there is not death.

Could it be that it is time to let the religious people go their way, and go to the streets to invite those who are looking for a party to go to?

Captive or Free

In chapter 51 or Isaiah the prophet delivers the word of God regarding the people of Israel exiled in Babylon. The word is put behind you Babylon and all that it means and holds. Now I am pretty sure people will not all of a sudden forget their time in captivity. I am sure people will not simply wipe clean that portion of their mind. So what is the Lord teaching them and us?

Babylon was a place of captivity. When we live captive to someone or something it has a lasting effect on us. Our captivity changes the way we live life, even after we experience freedom. There is a tendency to live as a captive long after the day of freedom has been declared. God is telling Israel and us that we need to put that stuff away. We have been set free by the Redeemer of all the universe. Why then do we continue to live as captives in a free land?

One possibility of captivity is that we begin to believe the only life we can live is that of a prisoner. Another possibility is we are not sure we can function as a free person. The last possibility I will mention is the idea that we come to find comfort in our captivity. We might know we are free. We might know the gates have been opened and new life is available to us, but we know captivity and we know what to expect so we stay there.

God tells us leave that behind. Christ did not come to earth, show us how to live, die on the cross and raise from the grave so we can live as captives. We have been given free, yet we must choose to live free.

The Life of a Shepherd

As the letter of 1 Peter draws to a close, the writer, most likely Peter, encourages those who are elders in the church. I could do a whole entry on the term elder, but not my focus here. The encouragement offered is to be a good shepherd of the flock God has appointed you to. This idea of the good shepherd in the world of the church has become a very powerful and responsibility laden term. Form my experience when people refer to a pastor as a shepherd, they mean someone who will take care of the flock.

Now there is a component to the life of a shepherd that involves care, but the most significant role of the shepherd, research is so much fun, is one who motivates and supervises the movement of the sheep from place to place. The movement is not just for the sake of movement, but it is to get the sheep in the idea place for their growth and effectiveness. This is so much more than providing care, it means having a vision and understanding what lies ahead.

This is not how we have come to understand a shepherd and thus the job is made even more difficult. There are times when the shepherd has to be confrontational, there are times when the shepherd must take the sheep to places they do not want to go, there are times when the shepherd must use their crook to move the sheep. Not exactly the images of a shepherd we are use to.

In closing, that wonderful image of Jesus with the lamb around his shoulders has become the epitome of the shepherd, but it is not the actual image. The owner or master is the one who would carry a lamb as such, not the shepherd. the shepherd would have the responsibility of keeping the sheep from getting into such situations by leading them to other places.

Deepest Pain

Reading through the early 40's in Isaiah I am stuck by the words God has for the chosen people Israel. These are the people God has called for a special purpose. These are the people God has called apart to bless in order to be a blessing. These are the people who are the object of God's affection. Yet they repeatedly turn to idols and false gods. That which God called apart for greatness, causes the deepest pain to the heart of God.

Fast forward to the church today. The Body of Christ, called out by God to be the tool to spread the Good News of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The church is not a human creation, it is an impartation from God. I have spent the better part of the last 15 years trying to determine what this thing called the church is all about. I may never come to an answer that is Truth. What I have found is the responsibility of the church is to be the people of God, not for ourselves but to be a blessing to the rest of the world. In other words, the church does not exist for itself. The church exists to give itself away. The primary reason the church exists is to be God's ambassadors to the a world that longs for a relationship with someone, something greater than themselves.

When we in the church function in a way less than that, we are in the same boat as the people of Israel who Isaiah was prophesying to. When we function in the church just for ourselves we grieve the heart of God, we hurt God deeply.

Success

I continue to wrestle with this idea of success. More directly what is it to be a successful Christ-Follower? Due to the fact God meets each one of us right where we are at, coupled with the fact we are a unique creation, I fear there is no such thing as a picture perfect Christ-Follower. There is no possibility of being able to post pictures of what it looks like to be a successful Christ-Follower. Yet, it is important to have a standard by which we can measure.

There are a few classic errors that are made in the pursuit however. First is the works error. Our success as Christ-Followers is not about accomplishing some 'to do' list of spiritual disciplines. It is not about being able to present a resume of Christ accomplishments. The second common error is to think all we have to do is believe in God. This is to claim a belief system, but never have actions or disciplines in our lives which support the claim of belief. The third common error might be the hardest to recognize, I will call it the just like me error. It is common for each of us to develop certain aspects of the faith journey which are pivotal for our development. This is not bad. The challenge enters when we think that is the solution for everyone else. Often this shows up in statements like, "If people would only do _____________ more, then they would know God." This might be a very true statement, but we have to remember God has created each of us unique. While Jesus Christ is the only way to God, we do not have access to Jesus Christ all figured out.

So what do we do? We stop worrying about the details and begin to live our lives as an act of drawing closer to God. Drawing close to God happens in many forms and patterns. But the truest make of success that I can find is a life which continually draws closer to the heart of God, and begins to reflect the heart of God in our day to day living.

Come, Let's Go!

I have just finished a re-read of Erwin McManus' book Seizing Your Divine Moment. Every time I read this book I am reminded of how much I need to hear the words presented. This time through, I was repeatedly confronted by the struggle of identifying a moment. Then it it hit me, sorry I am slow, it is not about definition, rather it is about action. Not a single action, but a series of actions we call life.

It would be easy to become paralyzed trying to determine the measure of each moment that come to me. Which moment is my moment? Which moment is the moment God is giving me right now? Those are all distraction questions. They are possibly the design of me, or of Satan. As long as I am asking those questions and not living actions, I am doing very little for the Kingdom of God. There is a time and a place for reflection, and discernment, yet they are only of value if there are connected to action.

So what is the moment God is putting before me? I don't know exactly. What I do know is there is a moment before me ready, longing to be seized. The only way I am going to seize it is by taking action. Even if I take the wrong action, I will be closer to seizing the moment than if I stayed in my chair wondering.

Are you seizing or sitting?

Back in The Saddle

After a week of rest, relaxation and reflection I am back. In the mode of confession, I did not read a single one of the books on my reading list. I only read one magazine article, and my scriptures. Other than that, I put it down. I did however do a lot of reflecting about life and ministry. The key question for my time of reflection is and was, "Am I where God wants me to be?"

As you can guess this is a multi-level question and quest. One the highest level, I will only be where God wants me to be once I am in the Kingdom realized. There is always more room for my journey with God through Christ to be a deeper and more intentional walk. On a more temporal level, am I in ministry in places and ways God desires for me? This is not a light or easy question. Not a question which is simply answered in a week or even a month of reflection. The beginning of this question lays in the asking is Cortland UMC the place God wants me to be pastoring? AS best AI can discern, the answer is yes. That is not to say everything is going the way I feel it should, or even that I completely like the place we are at as a ministry. Yet, it is to say, I do not feel my heart tugged anywhere else at this time.

The second wrestling is found in a bigger question. I am still called to be a pastor of the local church? I could fill the pages with the wrestlings here, and maybe I have, but the best I can tell for now is, yes. Is it what I will do for the next 40 years of my life? I don't know and I do not have to have the answer. I am responsible for this moment which God is presenting to me.

It is good to be back, and the mind is firing again. I need to take vacation more often.