Dark Day For A Bright Future

The second most pivotal day in history, Good Friday. There is no small irony this Good Friday coincides with Earth Day. While many will be rightfully remembering the creation on this day, I wonder if they will remember the one who redeems all creation? When Jesus went to the cross on our behalf, it was not only humanity that was being brought back into relationship with God, all of creation was. The process God used to bring back the Eden-like relationship was one that was dark and painful. The journey from the table of the Last Supper to the reality of the cross was filled with betrayal, injustice, beating, mocking, and nailing.

History, not just Scriptural history, records the day when the sky turned dark in the middle of the day. When Jesus was doing battle with sin, all that would keep us from our created relationship with God, the whole earth was involved and the light turned dark. The theological world will talk about theories of atonement, and the various ideas of how Jesus death brings about our redemption. All those theories and discussion have their place, this is not it. What I have experienced is this, I was trapped in sin and death until I realized the grace offered to me through Christ. I do not need to explain all the pieces and parts to know the act of Jesus on the cross changed everything for me and for all of creation. This does not mean we are free from brokenness, or that all the world is perfect. What the work of Jesus means is that on the dark day all that would prevent the pursuit of the fullness was defeated. The victory was won when Christ felt forsaken. As Jesus breathed his last, the curtain was torn and all were invited into the Holy of Holies.

The cross is not the end of the story. In fact if it is the end of the story we are all still headed for a death separate from God. If the cross ends the story then Jesus was another moral teacher who had a very traumatic death but that was it. On the cross Jesus steps in and declares whatever is needed to repair the brokenness is being accomplished. Sin is canceled, injustice is addressed, and hope springs. Not until the tomb is found without Jesus do we know that new life is possible. Jesus told that he was only going to be in the tomb for three days, the proof was in the pudding, with no Jesus in the tomb the move from great moral teacher to Messiah was reinforced. The darkness of the cross is turned into a bright future for all who would follow after the One who made it possible.

The Day To Remember

Maundy Thursday. What the heck does that mean? It is the day Jesus commanded his followers to practice Holy Communion as an act of remembrance and connection with him. The primary setting of memory is the Upper Room and the Last Supper, however there is much more at the table than simply one night and one religious celebration.

The journey to Maundy Thursday began in the ancient times, a couple thousand years before Christ. The people of Israel were enslaved by the Egyptians for over 400 years. God had commanded Moses to lead the people to the promiseland. From captivity to freedom. The night before the journey is the Passover night, when God passed over the homes of the Israelites and struck the firstborn son of all the Egyptians. Once free from Egypt God commanded the people of Israel to have a Passover meal each year to remember the work of God in freeing them from slavery.

It was that very meal Jesus was sharing with the disciples in the Upper Room. The story would have been told of the journey from captivity. All the foods would have been shared along with the singing of all the songs. Yet Jesus, like with many things, put a twist to the long standing religious ritual. This was the night before he journeyed through death then back to life. Within Hours of this meal, Jesus would be going to the cross, so we could journey from captivity to freedom. The meal was a remembrance of years before, and a command for the years to come.

Today many people will let this day come and go with the thought that soon they will have a few days off from work, and we will dig into those little chocolate bunnies, or my favorite stale peeps. Even in the church we rush to the Cross of Good Friday, yet we do not spend time remembering. The ancient story and Jesus Story continue in us today. The gruesome reality of the cross is important only if we remember what the cross is about. We remember today the Body of Christ broken, and his blood shed so that we may move from captivity to sin and freedom in Christ.

Perhaps you will journey to a local church to remember with others at a service (Cortland UMC at 7pm), or maybe you will take time at the dinner table tonight with family. Possibly get together with a few others for dinner to remember and tell the stories of how God has moved you from captivity to freedom. Before we go to the cross we must remember the journey which has brought us to the cross.

The Tyranny of Someday

I am sure like me you have a list of somedays. You know the list I am talking about, those things that you will do someday. When all the factors come into place, and the time is right, then we will start the new venture, or make today that someday. The problem is that day never seems to come, there is always a reason that today cannot possibly be someday. Left to its own process, the someday hanging over our heads begins to invade every aspect of our lives. Before we know it we become trapped to someday thinking, and never move into a new reality.

Why do we do this? I am not sure why you do it, but I know my reason is security. I have a great place of ministry which provides enjoyment and financial security. The support of my family is a role which I take very serious and the somedays in my head would call into question my ability to provide that support. Now I know the religious answer is to simply trust God and step out. The validity of this response has not been able to overcome my fear. I, like you perhaps, have yielded to the tyranny of someday.

So what are we to do? Quite simply we must fight the fear and begin making today, someday. I cannot imagine the Peter and Andrew saying to Jesus, someday I will follow. Or Paul saying someday I will get these scales removed from my eyes. We do find people in the Gospels who give Jesus a someday answer when he calls. They have a valid list of things to do before they follow the call of Jesus, yet Jesus calls them to make today, someday. Starting today, those somedays will become todays. I believe there is something to which God is calling us, and we have been holding off. That is the key, we must be following God, not ourselves. The someday has to be rooted in the work of God in our lives, not our own hopes and dreams. The only true reason to hesitate is to make sure it is the call of God, not human will. Once we know what God wants or today to look like, we are to pursue it with reckless abandon.

I want to be clear, this is not safe. People will not understand. A change in lifestyle will be required. Personal luxury may have to be abandoned. Yet we will be the most free we have ever been. The tyranny of someday enslaves us more than we realize. In the process we become enslaved to the things which keep us from stepping into someday. Break the chains and step out. One of the many things causing the church in America to struggle is the drive to live safe and neat lives where everything works and everything is logical. The grace of God is not logical. The call of Christ is often not logical, when using the standards of the world. Still we are called to step out in illogical, and crazy ways. Let's make today, someday.

Beautiful Awakening

Last week I was talking with a used car salesman, not about cars rather about the state of this thing called the church in our world. Part of or conversation took us to talking about the passages in the Bible which all the people of God to wake up. Isaiah 50 to 52, Romans, Ephesians and Revelation 3. We then thought about the different ways of waking up. There is the harsh sound of the alarm clock. Not to be outdone by the wonderful screaming of a parent up the stairs or down the hall. Also included are the demanding tones of an angry parent waking their teen child. As the two of us thought about all the various ways we had been awakened none were as wonderfully remembered as the beautiful awakenings. The sweet voice calling to us, coupled with the gentle touch, or even a kiss. Being awakened in that fashion has greater appeal in my life.

Classically when I have read the Scriptures calling the people of God to wake up I have heard them as an angry demanding God. What if that is not at all the emotion of God? What if God is whispering in our ear with a sweet voice? What if God is taking our hand and gently enticing us to see what the morning is bringing? Make no mistake it is time for the church of God to wake up from its slumber and greet the day the Lord has given them. The questions remains if it will be a harsh and jarring awakening, or if it will be a beautiful awakening?

What would the beautiful awakening look like? Would it resemble the street corner preacher yelling at everyone to repent or go to hell, or would it be the work of the faithful as they provide food and clothing to those who are hungry and naked? Would it be the pastor showing the vengeful God, or offering the God of hope who longs to see us embrace all of creation? The beautiful awakening does not require a media campaign. No billboard space is needed. Leave the tracts in the box. There is not even a need for a building for the church. Simply put, the beautiful awakening is a group of anybodies who decide to follow God more than anything else.

When we know the day ahead holds promise and excitement, no alarm clock is needed. We simply rise and greet the day with great anticipation of what is coming. Often we live lives in a consistent defeat. The wages of the world weigh us down and we do not expect God to show up in the day ahead, only more of what we experienced the day before. Day after day we diminish our expectation of what God can do with us in that day. The beautiful awakening stirs our souls about the possibility of what God is going to do with that day. The beautiful awakening draws us from our slumber hearing the sweet voice of God telling us about all the amazing things the day will hold.

A beautiful awakening can quickly be sidetracked by focusing on the obstacles. Isaiah 51 reminds the people of God to focus not on the power of humanity, rather focus on the God who is about the possible. We must work to preserve our beautiful awakening or risk having the beauty and joy of this day taken from us.

The call of God to awaken could be a demand to get our butts out of bed and get about the work which is set aside for us. It could also be the sweet voice of God calling to us to arise and see the possibility of what God is going to do with the day. The time of slumber is over, the church must awaken, may it be a beautiful awakening.

Lowest Common Denominator

Nothing says fun like math. Think back for a moment to the fun world of fractions. I still try my best to avoid fractions to this day. But, when it comes to adding or subtracting fractions I remember that you had to first find the lowest common denominator before you could complete the process. This often meant reducing one or more numbers, so that everything could look the same, and be measured the same.

It seems this has become the practice in our world and not just with fractions. Everywhere I look I find standards are lowered so more people can clear the bar. In fact the standards are often lowered to the point that anyone can clear the bar. It appears as the education system is in this mode, along with sports. I have seen where they have stopped giving out trophies to the winning teams because they did not want the losing team to feel bad. While all of this is tragic, the real tragedy is when this happens in our relationship to God. It was not all that long ago listed among the essentials of the Church was the exclusivity of Christ. The essentials of the church are those things which are recognized no matter what theological cloth you happen to be cut from. The exclusivity of Christ is the understanding that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. It seems as the time has come when we no longer can have this in the area of consensus in the church. I realize this has always been in the air for some, however we have reached the point when we are engaged in the lowest common denominator practice with Jesus.

Let me be perfectly clear, this is not a mandate to disrespect other faith traditions, or the people who adhere to them. It is not a reason to go our and tell people they are destine for hell if they do not believe in Jesus. Further, I am not offering an excuse to act in hate and ignorance toward people who are different than ourselves. What I am saying is I have a deep concern that we have lowered the standard of Christ to the point where it seems anything goes as long as a person is spiritual. The greatest evidence of this, is the fact that the idea of all religions leading to the same God has found significant support in the church.

So you might ask, if a Hindu does not believe in Jesus, are they destine for hell? The simple answer, I have no idea. It is not my job to determine who gets in and who does not. I am not even sure that is the real question. What I am sure of is this. Whether, Hindu or Muslim, Buddhist or Shinto, Christian or Pagan, there will come a day when we will have to deal with Jesus. I think about Matthew 7 when Jesus talks about those coming to him claiming Lord, Lord, and Jesus says I never knew you. Religious people of all fabrics will come before God, and may recognize Jesus but having no relationship will find themselves missing the fullness of God. Outside of Jesus there is no salvation. Not simply a knowledge of who Jesus is, but a relationship with Jesus.

An important note. While there is no salvation outside of Jesus, we must remember the reach of Jesus to be beyond our comprehension and knowledge. That is to say, we are not in charge of anything in the kingdom, we are not in management. The role of a follower of Christ is obedience, faithfully following the lead of our Christ. Christ is the only way to God, yet we are not the only way to Christ, our understanding is not the only way to Christ.

We must stop lowering the bar. When we read the Gospels we find Jesus setting the standards pretty high. In fact so high I am unbelievably grateful for grace and mercy. When the rest of the religious world was lowering the standards, Jesus raised them. It seems once again we need to return to the high standard of Christ, not as a goal, rather as a way of living. It has become increasing politically incorrect to be exclusive with Jesus. Yet, Jesus has often been politically incorrect. There is much more room in the Kingdom of God than I often realize, and I am sure when the great reunion of Revelation 21 and 22 happens, I will be surprised to see some of the folks there, just as they will be surprised to see me. I do not make the determination of who reaches God, yet I know the one who does, he is the gate by which we enter, Jesus.

Valentines Love

We have come to that day when we talk about the one we love. Let's keep in mind this is an extremely painful day for some who have loved and lost, or who have not know love at all. This is the day when I take time to celebrate the love of my earthly life, Sarah who has put up with me for nearly 12 years of marriage. Without her the ministry God has given me would suffer, and without the support, I would have long given up. This is the day when we love the lovelies in our lives, break out the flowers, chocolates, and other tokens of affection.

I wonder today about how this Valentines love translates into our relationship with Christ? More specifically how we show love for those who God loves. On the list of greatest loves of my life, behind, God, Sarah and family is this thing called the church. For nearly 11 years I have had the opportunity to experience the love of church. There has been opportunity to laugh together, cry together, even have some debates and arguments along the way. Whether it has been in Farmington, NY, Wolcott, NY or in Cortland NY, I have loved being a leader in God's church. I wonder is those in the world around us get to experience that same love? Sure anyone can make the choice to join in the life of a church. Yet often when people think about the church, they do not think love. In fact increasingly when people think about love, the church is not even part of the thought process. Could it be that the church, the people, have lost their love for the people of God who are not yet a part of the church?

Sometimes they are called the unchurched. I have heard the term unconvinced. In some circles the words used are pagans, ungodly or lost. All poor ways to describe those who have not yet become part of the community of God known as the church. No matter how these individuals are described there is a simple truth related to them which the church must pay attention to; our passion for seeing new people engage the community of God is severely lacking. While there are some, not many people feel like they do not want any more people to attend their church. Even fewer people do not want to see more people come to have a deepening relationship with Jesus Christ. Yet in the group designed by God to accomplish this purpose we often have no passion, or willingness to live in such a way that we connect and invite others to experience the community of God.

I could list a whole bunch of excuses I and many others have used as to why this is the case. They are simply that excuses. What is comes down to is love. We love those who love us. More often we love those who do something for us. This is a common understanding, yet not a biblical one. With his lifestyle Jesus challenges us to love everyone. Those who love us, those who are not sure about us, those who we consider unlovely. On this Valentine's Day think about the people in your life, by acquaintance or notice that you deem unlovely. Show them love. This Valentine's I think it is time for a heart transplant for the church. We must get rid of our heart of exclusion, and replace it with a heart which shows love and beats for those who are not a part of the community of God. This is not about building the church, it is about helping others to experience Jesus Christ through the power of community which is centered on him. May we look back at this Valentine's Day as the day when it all changed. When hearts were turned to show the love of God to all those in the world. When the church of Jesus Christ became impassioned once again for those who are not yet a part of the community of God in its fullness.

Ctrl+Alt+Delete

We have all had that dreaded experience, much less if you are a Mac user. All the functions of our computers come to a grinding halt. Nothing is working and we are left to restart. Once we restart, things start working like they were intended. Not all of life is a computer, at least not yet, but it remains true there comes time when we need to restart so things start working in their intended way. The church of Jesus Christ is no different. Throughout the journey of the the people called Israel, the people of God, there have come times when pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete have been necessary. Destruction of towers, great floods, and exile were all part of the attempt to return the people of God to their created function. The earthly pilgrimage of Jesus was in a effect a restart of the relationship of God and the people of God. People such as Phylis Tickle suggest since Christ about every 500 years the church goes through a restart process. I am suggesting we are at that point now.

In many ways the church is no longer functioning like it has been created to. In fact looking at the world of the church reveals more proximity with the Pharisees and other religious leaders of the Jesus day, than with Jesus. By and large the culture has stopped turning to the church for direction and started turning to anywhere else. Why? When the church is turned to the return is a religious system which short circuits a missional, relational and incarnational interaction with the Creator. In his book So Beautiful, and others, Leonard Sweet talks about the MRI church, Missional, Relational and Incarnational. In order to become such a place the church will need to restart. This does not mean what has always been is bad and of no value. Restarting does not mean everything is going to be scraped for the latest and greatest. Restarting means a return to the designed intention.

Restarting the church would return the church to understanding the creation of the church was not for organization, it was for being the mission of God. Being the mission of God requires organization but the organization supports the mission of God, not the mission of God supporting the organization. Pressing the restart buttons would return the church to a mindset of relationship with God through Jesus, and relationship of a community. This means more than simply knowing who God is, it is entering into community with others as we seek after a God who is seeking us. Finally restarting would move Jesus off the pictures on the wall into our day-to-day lives. I find myself treating Jesus as a memorial figure. Someone who once lived, was great, changed the course of the world but is dead. Jesus is alive, resurrection, not only alive, Jesus is with us this very moment. An incarnational Jesus is one who is amongst the people, real and tangible with and through the community called the church.

Unlike restarting a computer restarting the church is a much more involved process. There is also more at stake in restarting the church than a computer. Let me be clear, if we do not act the work of God will not be derailed. Simply we will not experience life as we are created to experience it. Still there is great struggle ahead in restarting the church. There is not reason to think we will have it any easier than Jesus himself did in addressing an organization that has lost its essence of existence. Just like Jesus it starts small and builds momentum. It starts when individuals decide there is more to life than they are experiencing. It grows when those individuals form a community that is missional, relational and incarnational.

The restarting of the church is underway. There are people and communities who have decided to return to life as offered at creation. Likewise there are people and communities committed to keeping things as they have been for the past 5 centuries. For the rest of us, we must do some serious seeking to see where it is that God is at work.