We had an ice storm where I live this Thursday night. So did a lot of other people this week, and last. Such things FORCE us to slow down, literally. Perhaps they also serve to remind us that we are not as in control of things as we think we are, or like to be. They humble us. And perhaps even, they force us to pay attention a bit more, to stay "awake", and keep our lamps lit, and try to discern that murky path in the desert, and to watch...
Lord of Advent, of Time, of Space, of Life, Death, and our own lives, we commit ourselves in this final week of Advent to let You work on us, to work in us, to "build Your house" through us, and with us. Make us into those "living stones" that we might stand against everything in creation that seeks to ruin and defame Your Realm. We commit to wonder, awe, joy, love, peace, and hope, as we prepare yet again to kneel at the manger, to behold Power and Might, Love and Peace, made alive, made new, made real for us, and made unassailable by darkness. Amen.
"Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's..." If you're like me, you've long been fascinated by this text (Matthew 22.15-22). It's fascinating to me for several reasons. The first of these, and the most impressive, is the way Jesus defeats yet again a verbal trap laid by those who seek, at the very least, to discredit him...to dig up some dirt to use against him. In this current frenzied election season, we're all too familiar with that! Jesus sees their intent, and plainly tells them so, and His reply to their patronizing trickery leaves them baffled and speechless. Jesus is so cool! And so much craftier than they, in a Divine and not worldly/political way, of course.
Another reason this text fascinates me is the way it is often so quickly used to justify one's political views, and perspectives on faith's place in politics. It seems that regardless of one's worldview, this text has been used to justify it. If you are part of the "Religious Right," you see Jesus paving the way for whatever tactics advance a Kingdom (of God) agenda...and since that Kingdom is not of this world, and this world is hopelesly fallen, it is imperative to replace ungodly leaders with Godly ones, who will more faithfully seek to whip the world (and its laws) into Kingdom shape.
And if you are on the "Religious Left", you see Jesus distinctly separating religious faith from politics...and never the twain should meet. Unless you are an advocate for righting some social injustice, and then it is imperative to lobby and pursue activism in the name of larger social good.
Of course, these are gross generalizations :-)
Does it fascinate you, that when you get down to brass tacks, both "ends of the spectrum" find it OK to be involved in shaping society, via faith-influenced political means, and even mandate it, while claiming that the "other side" is wrong for doing so...or at least, wrong in their intent and their tactics? Hmm....
What if Jesus was not talking about civil politics or worldly power at all, as He addressed those religious leaders of His day who were trying to trap him? What if the issues involved were much LARGER...?
Matthew Henry makes some keen observations about this text, which I find, like the text itself, fascinating. Basically, he notes that amongst this group who go to question Jesus in order to discredit him (or worse) are both Pharisees and Herodians--two groups from the same culture and country, but with almost-diametrically opposed worldviews and tactics on dealing with unwanted Roman authority. Sort of like the religious right and left of their time...sort of. Though to get the full flavor of the political climate, you'd need to toss in some Sadducees and Essenes, and a few Zealots as well. At any rate, what is most intersting is that BOTH SIDES are baffled, frustrated, and left speechless by Jesus. Hmm....
Then, Henry goes on to say: "Christ did not interpose as a judge in matters of this nature, for his kingdom is not of this world, but he enjoins peaceable subjection to the powers that be. His adversaries were reproved, and his disciples were taught that the Christian religion is no enemy to civil government. Christ is, and will be, the wonder, not only of his friends, but of his enemies. They admire his wisdom, but will not be guided by it; his power, but will not submit to it."
I wonder what our political process--indeed, our society at large--would really look like, if more of us (including political candidates and leaders of all stripes) were true disciples of Jesus, and not just "friends" of His. Not just admiring, but faithfully following; not just quoting, but....submitting.
Hmm...
But then, that means making a choice, to put GOD first, above all else, including one's own ambition; and at the very least, always seeking to submit that ambition to Christ and His power, rather than...oh, say worldly powers...like lobbyists...parties...big campaign donors...old friends...corporations...political hacks...public opinion polls....focus groups...what have you.
I wonder...for we human beings...is that even possible? Ever? Really?
I think Jesus was articulating a truth about human nature in this text, which if we accept at face value, will humble all of us. And that truth is this: we can render all we want to "Caesar", but it will never be enough for Caesar, because Caesar's power is ultimately incomplete...corruptible...bankrupt...soul-less, if you will (no matter who, or what party, is in charge); and is therefore never enough to change the world into God's vision of what it should be.
So...as we go to the polls in a few weeks or otherwise cast our ballots, I think we do well to remember that whomever we vote for, and whomever wins...well....don't expect more than what Caesar usually offers. For change we can really believe in...well, that is NOT of this world; and hope that truly makes a transformational difference (in personal lives and entire empires)...that is only found in the One who baffles and silences all opposition, and points to the true Great Society.
Hmm....can I write JESUS OF NAZARETH in on my ballot?? LOL
A Prayer for Worship(based on Psalm 99, and Gene Peterson's "The Message")
God rules. On your toes, everybody! He towers in splendor over all the big names.
Great and terrible Your beauty, O Lord: let everyone praise You!
YOU are Holy. Yes, holy. And perfect, like no one, and nothing else.
Strong King, lover of justice, You laid things out fair and square;
Foundation stones of just and right ways. Holy. Yes, holy.
King of the Universe, only Your wisdom lasts, only Your love saves.
Only YOU are Holy. Yes, holy. And perfect, like no one, and nothing else.
Let Your Spirit of Truth embrace us today, and in the days to come, O Lord,
And me we never be afraid or cease to learn from You.
May Your Holiness touch our lives and burn away our falsehoods and biases, O Lord,
And may we never substitute our version of “good” for Yours.
Come to us, O Lord, in our worship, and in our Lives, in the living presence of Jesus;
Enliven us with true hope; teach us with real authority, equip us with holy power; and never, Lord, never leave us or our leaders only to ourselves!
OK, I'm confused. He was thrown in jail...frequently run out of town with a mob chasing him, tar and feathers in hand...he was publicly stripped, humiliated and beaten, numerous times...shipwrecked... mocked...cursed at...arrested and put in jail again...and then again...and again...until ultimately he was executed (tradition has it he was beheaded near Rome)--all for his faith. It seems that almost everywhere the apostle Paul went, he was given a rough time, and made to suffer for his faith and his proclamation about Jesus--which never wavered in the midst of it all, by the way. Indeed, that proclamation seemed somehow to be intimately connected to the source of Paul's unwavering joy.
Still it all makes me wonder, what on EARTH did Paul have to be joyful about??
JOY is a theme that frequently appears in Paul's writing, and nowhere more so than in his letter to the Philippians...some fifteen or sixteen times. He mentions in one place about being joyful in every circumstance, no matter what.
No matter what? Even when my annuity fund is down by...geesh, I don't even want to look! Even when I get bad news from the doctor? Even when a loved one is giving me--consistently and irrationally--a hard time, and tons of grief? Even when my job looks shaky? Even when I cave in--yet again--to temptations I want to be rid of? Even when my team is 0-5? Even when all of that happens in the same week?
Even when my world seems to be falling apart???
Yep...even then. Perhaps, oddly enough, especially then. But it's one of those things that, if it is not experienced, cannot be remotely understood. And if not sought, will never be found.
If I look to Paul as a model, I learn something about the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is temporary, and fleeting. It is also conditional, based more on emotion and circumstance than anything else. At the end of a fairy tale, when it says "they lived happily ever after"...well, that's why we call them fairy tales! We know it just ain't so in "real life."
But joy...true joy, lasting joy...it is not to be found in earth. Or should I say, from earth, from any worldly or material or emotional source. All those will fail us, sooner or later, all of 'em (and probably sooner). I asked above what on earth did Paul have to be joyful about; and the answer is...nothing. Nothing on earth, from the world. He says it quite clearly in Philippians, where he counts everything that the world has to offer, ultimately (including all the education, successes, and kudos from his own past), as nothing but garbage. Mere rubbish. Instead, he looks to Christ as the only source of JOY, of ultimate validation, and eternal meaning.
I think, in our search for happiness in life, we ought to be looking instead for joy. Not that a little happiness now and then wouldn't hurt, mind you! But so often the things we seek after to be happy...well, they just don't last. And too often they are just downright deceptive, unhealthy, or even destructive. And they certainly don't give us the DEEP JOY that can help us--move us, motivate us--to rejoice and praise God, even when the stuff has hit the fan, or the market had dropped another 600 points. That deep joy to me is like that "peace that passes all understanding." And why shouldn't? It comes from God, who is far beyond our combined comprehension and ability to understand. So, instead of trying to understand why I am unhappy, and confused about why happiness does not last, I will instead try to draw closer to the source of incomprehensible (even nonsensical, by worldly measures) Love. Draw close to unmerited Grace. Pray for and wish for and seek after the One who never stops seeking me, and who died, rose, and lives still, to LOVE ME. To help me have true, lasting JOY.
Call to Worship
Lord of all Creation, Source of Eternal Peace, Provider of Lasting Joy, Hear our prayers today, as You always do, And help us learn to trust more in You. From the first breath of a new day, to the closing of our eyes at night in sleep, You stand ready to bless us with Your joy and Your peace, Stand willing to embrace us with arms of Holy Love. May Your Spirit indwell our worship, our praise, our singing; And may He indwell our very lives, so that me rejoice again, and again. And again; and again; and again! Accept the praise we bring, O Lord, and bless us with joy and peace! We lift our hearts to You with gladness, our eyes with hope, Our arms in gratitude, and our praises with JOY!
I amaze myself sometimes, and am amazed at others, too. What amazes me is that I--we--want a "spiritual life", to be close to God, to know how to live in ways that are holistically healthy, productive, and good...and yet we don't do it. At least, I don't do it, not often enough!
What's truly amazing is that we KNOW what it takes. It's not that hard, is pretty simple in fact. If we want a solid, ongoing, consistent spiritual life, then we have to, um, act spiritually!--in an ongoing and consistent way. We need to do spiritual things...the most basic of which are prayer and scripture study. We have to read the Word, reflect on it, pray about it some, and LISTEN to God. If you are like me, you KNOW that this works, that the Holy Spirit will teach you, guide you, edify you, comfort you, and give you "peace that passes understanding," whenever you are willing to give God the time of day...or at least, a little of your time every day. It works. Duh. And we do not need to be Biblical scholars, lettered theologians, or certified prayer warriors; we just need to spend time with God, on God's terms. But we don't, even though we know it works. Are we just plain stubborn?
Part of the lesson from Exodus 17 would seem to be that we ARE just plain stubborn, if we accept that the text speaks about human nature in general (and I think it does, like most scripture), as well as a specific historic circumstance. Those desert wanderers had experienced God's DIRECT intervention and salvation, in the most earthly and immediate ways, but they...forgot. And they kept forgetting. And whining, and complaining. It seemed God could never do enough.
In Philippians 2.3-4, Paul lays out pretty clearly the core of solid, ongoing spiritual life...or at least, describes what it looks like: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." The people of the Exodus weren't doing that; but lest we judge them too harshly, neither do we, not very often...and we aren't faced with the harsh realities and momentous upheavals in our lives which they were living through.
In the Matthew text for this week, we find that even religious "experts" have a hard time living out that core of spiritual life, even when the living incarnation of that life is standing before them and teaching them. They question Jesus' authority, and in what is really an ironically funny confrontation, Jesus tosses the ball back into their court, and they cannot respond, caught up as they are in their own brand of stubbornness and forgetfulness.
An old-fashioned word applies: REPENT. To escape my own stubbornness and forgetfulness, the only thing that will work is repentance. I have to "turn away" from my own pride, my own will, my own problems...and give God some time. And control. And I have to KEEP doing this...while a one-time repentance from sin may be absolutely necessary for Christian conversion and salvation, I find that I have to keep on repenting of my essentially selfish tendencies (and all that flows from them which mess up my life and others' lives too). I may be a "new creation" in Christ, but that new creature is stuck in this same old busted, selfish world, and is prone to relentless attacks from the Adversary, who would rather you and I not have a consistent, ongoing spiritual relationship with our Creator.
So...we gotta pray, and read the Word, and do spiritual things, if we are ever going to consistently "consider others better than ourselves," and "look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." To find that complete joy Paul speaks of, we need to get out of selfishness, and into selfless-ness. In that liberation we find not just joy, but God's blessing on our lives as well. But then, maybe those are one and the same.
Speaking for myself, I cannot do this on my own; God has to help me. He's just waiting to do that, too...if only I will ask!
Invocation for Proper 21A/Ordinary 26A
Lord God, send Your Spirit upon us today with specific intent to teach us, and may we learn most of all to seek Your guidance above all other sources. You're smarter than the smartest of us, purer than the holiest of us, more faithful than the most ardent of us, and better at loving than most compassionate of us. Send the Spirit to teach us to LEARN from You, first, to seek You, first, and to gently guide us into everyday spiritual growth. Help us understand that it matters not how long we have strayed, or wandered, or just plain ignored You. You stand ready to redeem, make new, and grant us the fullness of joy. Only you can help us get past ourselves, so come, Holy Lord, and help us get started...again. Amen.
A Prayer of Confessionfor Proper 21A/Ordinary 26A Forgive our groaning and complaining, O God, most of it caused by our selfishness and lack of compassion. Forgive our forgetfulness, O God, most of it caused by our stubborn insistence upon getting our own way, and imposing our own will on the world around us. Forgive our faith put in all the wrong sources and in all the wrong places. Forgive our blind following of so many gurus and teachers and "wise" people, when the most true and ultimate source of wisdom is You...and only You. Heal us of the pain caused by our pride and stubbornness, and redeem the mess we often make of things because we thought our way was better than Yours. Reach into our deepest places, and there pour out Your balm of healing love, so that we cannot help but respond with renewed love of our own, wherever we see others in sin or in pain. Help us accept Your authority...and believe it, and live by it, and graciously use it, in Jesus' name. Amen.
As mentioned in yesterday's post, I've been preaching a series of late about hospitality, in all its nuances. The very first scripture that always comes to mind, whenever I hear that word hospitality, is Romans 12, especially verse 13.
It seems to me that in order for us to come even close to living a Christian lifestyle like that which St. Paul so clearly spells out in these verses, then we must be transformed (see vv. 1-2). I.e., utterly changed...become something entirely different than what we are now. This is something which, in my experience, we cannot accomplish on our own, no matter how much we like to think we can, or how many personal empowerment seminars we attend, or how many New Age gurus we listen to telling we are essentially gods ourselves and have all the power to change the world. A couple of synonyms for transformation illustrate the point: conversion, transmutation, transfiguration.
To practice radical Biblical hospitality is no small thing!
Here's a prayer for transformation, based (very) loosely and adapted (significantly) from a prayer I found on some website in Australia...it was a strange, New-Agey type church, seeming to focus on the Self as some type of deity. Which really is the problem, no? :-)
Prayer for Transformation
God of my heart, help me to enter into the presence of my own self, into the deep places within me, where You are waiting, dwelling, where Your Spirit lives and breathes life into me.
Help me not to look to the right or to the left, above or below, but to have a perception of reality, of all life, that is shaped by You. Help me see he world as You see the world. And help me see myself as You see me. Show me the things You want to change in me, and help me submit.
Take away from me all the shields I have built over the years. Tear away from me that which is false, that which is error, that which is not truth. Give me an inkling of the greatness You will call forth from me, and help me to bow down before You, in all things; especially Lord, help me submit to Your love for others, and use me.
Use me, Lord, as a living sacrifice; help be conformed to Your will, Transformed by Your love and power. Help me love sincerely, cling to the good, welcome the stranger, and freely, generously, offer all I can to everyone I can.
This I pray in the name Jesus, who saves me, loves me, calls me, teaches me.
Well, it has been over a month (almost two, actually) since a post. NOT GOOD for someone aspiring to throw WEEKLY liturgy stuff out there! Oh well...it's SUMMER. Is it just me, or is there not as much "slowing down" in the summer anymore? I find it to be one of the busiest times of the year, actually, especially July and August, as the church prepares for new ministries and initiatives in the fall.
I have not been preaching from the lectionary of late...I don't feel that tied to it anyway. It is difficult to be contextual, especially in seeking to revitalize/grow a church, and be tied to the lectionary. I have been engaged in a series about HOSPITALITY in recent weeks, trying to urge the usual crowd into more of it...and a MUCH deeper appreciation of "philonexia" -- love of the stranger. This week is Romans 12 (for my money the best concise manifesto on Christian living in the New Testament). I'm trying to lift up hospitality as more than just an "add on," or even something vitally important for evangelism...which of course, it is. But, it is more...it is CENTRAL to the whole Gospel message, to the core of who and what Jesus was all about. His whole ministry was "practicing hospitality"....the love of the "stranger". I'll post some of the liturgy I've been using (and borrowing) when I get around to it. Stay cool. And TAKE SOME TIME OFF. A colleague of mine and mentor of sorts, Jeff Patton (http://www.jhpconsulting.com/) recommends that those in full time ministry take at least THREE weeks off in a row....I'm working on that, Jeff, lol. For now, a few days at a time!
Ever notice how Jesus was always in trouble with the law?
Usually it was because he was upholding a different standard--a higher standard--than the religious lawgivers and officials in 1st century Judea; it's just that they couldn't see it. They were trying essentially to "be good enough" to earn God's favor, to earn their way into heaven, and looked down on anyone who was a moral failure. Jesus understood that we are all moral failures, when you get right down to it, and all stand in need of God's grace and mercy...so he set about always and everywhere practicing that mercy and forgiveness, and reconciling people with God.
Therefore, he was often found hanging out with "bad" people, unacceptable people, dirty people, socially-suspect people, powerless people, sick people, wounded people, hopeless people. Jesus hung out with people who KNEW they were broken, and FELT their need, and often came to him seeking grace and acceptance when they couldn't find it anywhere else.
And the earn-your-way-to-heaven crowd didn't like that one bit.
Where are we in this picture? What do we believe about ourselves, our innate goodness, or badness, our need? Who do we look down upon , and judge? Who do we show mercy to? Do we accept our own undeniable need for grace? Do we resent it when others receive grace....cuz they "don't deserve it"? If you are like me, these are tough questions to answer...because the truth hurts, when we really examine our prejudices!
Prayer of Confession for Pentecost 4
Father in Heaven, like Matthew, we have sought security through money, and have at time been selfish and greedy. Forgive our lack of trust in Your power. Like the Pharisees, we have acted “holier-than thou” sometimes, seeing the speck in other's eyes and not the log in our own. Forgive our self-righteousness and help us depend upon Your mercy. Like the sick woman and Jairus, we have found ourselves in need of healing, but been short of faith in Your power. Forgive our faithless ways, and stir our souls with greater and more fervent trust. Forgive our unbelief, and help us follow You like Abraham all our days.Amen.
Ever have a time in your life when you just need some perspective? I surely do. One way I find it is by stargazing, or taking a walk in the woods. When you get out of yourself for a little while, sometimes those problems and issues which seem so large and so daunting will shrink back into their proper perspective. And if you are truly dealing with something huge, that perspective may provide you with a new way of seeing and tackling the problem. And, if nothing else, you'll get a little rest :-)
Here's a video called "Powers of Ten" will give you some perspective. There are several versions of it floating around, and this vid is not new, can't even remember when or where I first saw it. There's also a newer version of it narrated by Morgan Freeman that is cool, too. Whichever one you look at, it might give you a bit (or a lot) of perspective, and help you locate yourself in the grand scheme of things...
It's Memorial Day weekend. It's come to be a time of celebrating the start of summer, picnics and family cookouts, parades, golf outings, reunions, fishing tournaments, ballgames, the end of school for the summer.
This year, as in the past several years, and as we prepare to celebrate, we are a nation at war. Which should give us pause, entering a holiday conceived to memorialize the human cost of war. And since we are at war, on this Memorial Day, many families--some whom we know and live with--are remembering loved ones recently killed and wounded. It's not like in the past, when we rightly paused to remember those who fought and died a generation or two ago. It is the current generation of young men and women who are fighting and dying. So it makes me reflective, and I think about the bumper sticker on the car of a wonderful friend, which says "Wage Peace." I understand that hope and imperative. Another good friend wrote a long letter this week, itself a response to a letter from her friend who had been looking at pictures--not pretty--from the current war. Here is an excerpt from what she wrote, followed by my response...and then a prayer for Memorial Day.
"We desire to extend to each individual the kind of gracious and radical hospitality that Jesus practiced. But to do so is also to acknowledge that we are broken and deeply flawed human beings whom God is gradually knitting back together. We cannot and will not reflect a perfect hospitality, a deep and abiding generosity of spirit without the presence of God in our own lives. Equally, we have to name and reflect on the places where we are guilty both of individual and of corporate sin."
Amen. And here's the part I struggle with...
Why are we broken? Original sin. We're born busted. Or, born "tabula rasa" in a busted world that breaks us and molds us, inevitably, into less than God's intention for us. Call it whatever you will, this brokenness means there will always be, until Jesus comes back, those in this world who will use evil--in all its guises, cruelties, and manifestations--to impose their selfish will on others. Do we not see this every day?
How to respond? Especially to those so totally amoral and broken that hacking off arms of innocent children, or burning people alive (to name just a few horrors of war--ever read "The Rape of Nanking"; THAT one will keep you wake nights!)? I used to think Gandhi's form of nonviolence could and would always out. In some circumstances, perhaps it can. I also know that, in this busted world, the poor we will always have with us, as well as war, and selfishness, and cruelty. Jesus warned us about that. No amount of wishing it weren't so can change that. That said, of course, I believe in working for peace, and trying to end war. It just is never going to happen until the redemption of creation is complete. And only God knows when that is going to happen.
So I will honor those who fight, and celebrate that we have a military, unlike that in other places, where there ARE rules, and where we continue to try and reduce the costs of war--understanding of course that you cannot make something inherently bad into something good. Be that as it may, most soldiers I know--even generals, especially the generals--NEVER want to go to war. They've seen it. They understand the costs. They know it's really bad.
I'm not smart enough to figure it all out! I believe in Waging Peace...and think we should have a cumpulsory draft, like in Israel. I believe in Just War theory and diplomacy...and in sending in the Navy Seals, or a Marine Expeditionary Unit when the occasion demands. I believe in walking softly, treading lightly...and having a big stick, just in case. We SHOULD be careful, and count our own personal and corporate sin; that is at heart the focus of the debate about the current war, when you get right down to it...and we all want it to be over, and soon.
Until then, let us not forget those who have given part of themselves, literally, or given their very lives, for us. Whether or not you agree that the current war is "just," our brothers and sisters fighting it are doing it for us, and because they are willing to risk everything for us.
A Memorial Day Prayer
God in Heaven, how you must grieve our warring ways. Eden is your goal for Earth, but Hell is what we so often make of it. However we are responsible for turning Heaven into Hell, forgive us, and through your ever-gracious and loving Spirit, convict of us our sin and short-sightedness, our greed and ambition, our pride and lusts for power, and every other cause that turns us against one another. Your Son would have us seek you first, before everything else. So simple...and yet we are so unwilling. God, hurriedly, quickly, change our willful ways and be merciful to us.
And Lord, grant peace beyond whatever we can give to those who have given their lives to defend and protect us. Be with their families in a supernatural way, that they might know peace, even as they suffer the terrible cost of war. Strengthen and miraculously comfort those with ruined bodies; unfailingly help those who help them to offer great compassion, and unending patience. Stir the hearts of all those who have the means to help the wounded and the dying, especially our leaders who hold the purse strings, so that nothing is held back. Help us all to count the costs, and understand; to tread lightly when we can, and exercise restraint when we must, and serve courageously when needed. And finally, God of Creation, help us pursue, with your unstoppable divine power, every option for justice and peace, before we turn against others and unleash our earthly power. Give us your wisdom, and help us depend less on our own. Amen.
Below is another prayer for Trinity Sunday. I guess it could apply any time though, really. Each week I usually try to include a "prayer of commitment" (or some other response for the gathered community) after the Word is proclaimed in worship. It is not enough for us to just "fill the pews" at our regular worship times. Proclaiming God's Word always demands a response. Hearing God's truth is always an invitation to us, demanding more of us than just showing up to "fill our tanks for the week." Indeed, when folks are asked "Why do you go to church?", one of the most common responses is that we go to be spiritually fed and powered-up for the week ahead. We go to worship to top off our spiritual tanks.
I contend that rightly understood, being fed and powered-up is really a BY-PRODUCT of true worship--a gift from God to be sure, but not THE reason for worship. We worship because we are CREATED to worship. We worship God mainly because God DESERVES our praises and thanksgivings. Adoration is the prime reason and motivation for worship. We are not the "audience" and God is not the Primal Actor. We are the Created whose primary responsibility is acknowledging and worshiping our Creator. As I've heard it said by some great teachers of worship, true worship should always cost us something. Check out Romans 12.1-2.
A Prayer of Commitment Lord of Creation, we cannot look at any part of this world, even with its storms, fires, and earthquakes, and not be amazed by your power and your providence. Yet so often we live as if you don't exist! Accept our promise today to live not only to live in the knowledge of your Reality, but our promise to participate with you in renewing and redeeming the world, starting when and where we can, in our own lives, loves, and relationships. So helps us, Lord; you have made us in your image. Let us reflect that image always! Amen.
The great theologians all say that the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity is ultimately a mystery. DUH. No kidding. 3 = 1? 1 = 3? It's totally illogical. Impossible. Dumb, even. Or so it seems.
A good friend of mine and I once had the chance to play with a helium-neon laser in an advanced high school physics project. We locked ourselves away, day after day, in a little side lab room in the physics class; and I remember we actually did more "playing" with the thing than actual research--like bouncing the little beam out the window with a mirror and freaking people out in the school parking lot...or shooting it through a small hole in the door and shining it on the back of the physics teacher's head while he wrote on the blackboard. :-) But, we did do some honest research. Through a vastly elaborate proof, using the laser, a water tank, mirrors, and who knows what else, my friend (a mathematical whiz) actually proved 4 = 0. Sort of. Though we could find no fault with our proof...well, let's just say it didn't pass muster.
That 3 = 1 doesn't pass muster with a lot of people either. One of the main criticisms of Christianity, a monotheistic religion (ONE God) is that the Trinity seemingly contradicts monotheism. And, another complaint is that the Trinity, per se, never appears anywhere in the Bible. Which it doesn't; it is implied in many places, but is never mentioned specifically. So Christians often resort to physical analogies to try and explain or comprehend the Trinity. For example, think of an egg. It has three parts (the "white", the yolk, and the shell), but it is ONE thing, and would not "be" an egg if it were missing one of the parts.
Or consider water. It can exist in three distinct physical states--as a gas or vapor (steam), as a solid (ice), or as a liquid. Yet, in all its forms, it is the same thing: H2O. Theoretically, any of the chemical elements can exist in these three states, if the physical conditions are right. Still, these kinds of analogies are far from perfect. The truly skeptical and rationally-minded among us just cannot buy into 3 = 1. It just is not RATIONAL, or POSSIBLE.
I have to chuckle at this. Entire technologies and industries (even economies) are built upon the "irrational" and the "impossible." We have never really seen an atom, let alone the infinitesimally small subatomic particles that make up atoms, like quarks and gluons and leptons, and all the crazy zoo of particle physics (and to "see" these we have to "smash" atoms and watch what flies out of the wreckage). A lot of it is conjecture, theoretical, which seems to fit the math, and sort of explain basic physical laws . Quantum science just doesn't make a lot of sense sometimes; even the great granddaddy of quantum physics, Albert Einstein, once said "The more success the quantum theory has, the sillier it looks." I personally am still trying to wrap my head around the whole particle-wave dichotomy, which says an elemental particle, like a photon or an electron, is sometimes a wave, and at other times is not a wave, but an individual particle. There's a degree of uncertainty about when and how this is that. Thanks, Dr. Heisenberg!
So when it comes to the Trinity, or just about any of the great theological "mysteries" of the Christianity, I accept it/them on faith, on the witness of Scripture, and centuries of wisdom from people who are a lot smarter than I am. I also accept it/them through subjective experience. Again, the ultra-rationalist will say "See, you can't really PROVE it though!" True enough. But then, neither can I prove the existence of an electron...yet I still flip on the light switch every morning so I don't trip on my way to the bathroom. Neither can I prove the quantum weak force...but you better believe I'll get a chest X-ray when my doctor tells me too!
A Prayer for Trinity Sunday
Father God, Creator, you call the worlds into being, scattering stars and galaxies like dandelion seeds...and it works, and it is good, and it is way beyond our comprehension. Still, accept our praise and thanksgiving for the mystery and glory of creation, and for our very own existence.
Lord Jesus, Anointed One, who makes the Creator comprehensible to our feeble and limited minds, you put a human face on Eternity. You enflesh Vastness and Timelessness. You make real what seems impossible. You make personal that which is totally Other. You reconcile us with Unattainable Perfection. Without you, we are lost, and ignorant, and sold to the slavery of mere knowledge.
Holy Spirit, you are the unseen yet real Power of life itself. You hold us together. You teach us what cannot be known. You save what cannot be saved. You humble our unspeakable pride, convict our selfish hearts, heal our broken lives, and tame our savage lusts. And you do it only when we let you.
So, most loving Triune God, help us let you. Nudge us closer. Speak to us from beyond time and enter each of our moments; love us into loving others. Do the impossible amongst us, and in us, that we will never cease to wonder at your mystery, and give you glory for the majesty of all that is, and all you make it possible for us to be. Amen.
Thanksgiving comes in the fall of the year. It is a holiday on which we give thanks to God for his providence...for creating, sustaining, and in general providing all we need for life. Exactly how God does this we are still learning (that's the arena of the natural sciences), and we may never understand it all. Divine Creation and Providence are at heart, mysteries, and probably always will be.
This Sunday is the Day of Pentecost, also a holiday (holy-day), that has deep roots in thanksgiving for God's providence. In ancient Israel, every year there were three major holidays (religious festivals, really). The Feast of Passover (Pesach) came in the early spring. Then 7 weeks later came the Feast of Weeks (Shavu'ot). This festival was also known as the Festival of Harvest, or First Fruits, because its main focus was similar to our modern U.S. Thanksgiving: to praise and thank God for the food we eat, for the sustaining work of God in nature. The very first sheaf of grain that was cut for the wheat harvest was offered to God, the "first fruits"; indeed, no harvesting was allowed and no flour was to be ground until this offering was made. The Greek name for the harvest festival was Pentecost. For Christians, it commemorates the day when the earliest followers of Jesus received a special "anointing" of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2), and some 3,000 new believers were added to the early church. Indeed, the day of the first Christian Pentecost is sometimes called the birthday of the Church. Let it be for us a true day of thanksgiving--it is, after all, a day when the "first fruits" of the Church were harvested!
Here is a Prayer of Invocation for Pentecost. It reflects something I have always thought a bit strange about invocations. An invocation is a prayer invoking God's presence...hence the name! We use them in many places (meetings, meals, graduations--where prayer is still allowed--etc.), and not just during regular worship services. Yet, I believe and most of us often say that God is always with us. So...why do we need to "invoke" God's presence? The truth is, we don't. Usually, it is WE who need to become more present to and aware of God, and pay attention to his indwelling Spirit, who never leaves us!
An "Invocation" for Pentecost:
Lord God, each week as we come together to worship you, we invoke the Spirit upon our gathering. In reality, the Holy Spirit is always with us, for the Spirit dwells within us, from the moment of our baptism and rebirth, given as priceless, timeless gifts of your grace. Your are always with us. You never leave us. You are as close to us as our own breathing. Your breath is our breath, our very life. Come afresh like a rushing wind, a refreshing breeze, and inhabit our praises. Pour out an overflowing portion of your Spirit on our worship, that we might worthily and passionately give glory to your name. Move us to pay attention, and listen, and live in your presence, not just in this hour, but always! Amen.
For the uninitiated, Ascension Day falls on the Christian liturgical calendar one week before Pentecost Sunday, which itself falls 50 days after Easter. I'm late with this. Oh well...save it for next year!
A Prayer for Ascension Day
Risen Lord, now you arise for good, ascending to the Father in heaven, Ascending to whence you came, Not to leave us behind, but to send your Spirit, To prepare a place for us as you promised, And that you might be with us in every circumstance, every place, every time; In every one of our failures, In all our celebrations and victories; In every one of our doubting moments and seasons of confusion, In every hurting place, in every moment of woundedness and sorrow, In every stressful occasion, in every dark night, And in the brightest day, and every hopeful embrace. You ascend in order to expand your presence, Which we so take so often for granted, or forget, or ignore, Or frankly disbelieve.
And when you left, your angels asked why we stand there, Looking up, grieving again, lost in selfish thoughts, Or wondering what it all means. Ascended and Present One, Help us not so much to stand around, looking up, wondering where to find you; Help us step out of ourselves, knowing you are always with us, always there, Always willing, always waiting, always loving. Help us bear your love as we look around and step out in faith, Empowered by your presence, comforted by your peace, Emboldened by your courage, convicted by your truth, Redeemed by your suffering, Anointed by your Spirit, And sent by your command.
No longer do we look up in wonder, But we reach out in love and faith; No longer do we grieve and hide, But we press the truth and confront all evil; No longer timid, we are blessed; no longer lost, we are found. No longer afraid, Lord, we will seek who you seek, walk where you walked, Love whom you loved, challenge those you challenged, And always, everywhere, every time, giving you all praise and honor!
This is how we want to live, Risen Lord, Ascended Son. So help us, so help us, and let us not cease to see, and understand!
Everyone is blogging these days. And, from what I see, it's a really mixed bag out there in the blogosphere. Part of me says "so what makes you think that with all these billions of ideas floating around, that someone would want to see YOURS?" I think that a lot, actually. There's already a bunch of "spiritual life" and prayer-based sites. Who needs another.
But, as a pastor and a Christian, with a passion for writing liturgy and not satisfied (at least not always) with traditional prayer forms, it's time to take a crack at this. I hope to post prayers (personal and liturgical), Biblical reflections, and occasional theological musings which maybe someone, maybe sometimes, will find helpful. Worth their time. Or perhaps, amusing. Whatever.
I see this rather like spelunking, or cave exploring...somewhat fun, sort of demanding, not knowing what to expect around the next bend, occasionally having to duck down pretty low, and often a bit scary (yep, that's me, squeezing through a tight spot in Kentucky last January, while caving with my son's Scout Troop). In reality, taking a Christ-centered, Spirit-led walk through this earthly life is always that way. At least it is for me.
So...why not give it a whirl? I may bump my head a few times, but it won't be the first time! Nor the last. I've been a pastor for over 20 years; worked on a regional church staff; and consulted with various churches about (ugh!) church growth, renewal, and revitalization. I've bumped my head, banged my shins, inserted my foot (deeply) in my own mouth, and generally wandered in the dark many a time.
I've learned to always keep extra batteries handy, watch my step, keep my helmet on, not go off too far on my own, and always listen to the suggestions of the guide.
That's what you'll find here, mostly, as we wander along together: suggestions from (and about) the Guide.
So, welcome. Let's take a hike and explore some new places together, even if they have been visited before by others. I've noticed while scraping around underground that some places seen many times already, already explored and noted, look vastly different when the light shifts, or the water level changes, and depending upon who you are with. And, who knows? Maybe we'll discover some new passages too.
Sometimes I'm a liar, sometimes I'm a fake Sometimes I'm a hypocrite that everybody hates Sometimes I'm a poet, sometimes I'm a preacher Sometimes I watch life go by sitting on the bleacher But I've never been left alone in any problem that I've known Even though I'm to blame There were times when things were dark And I've been known to miss the mark But someone fixed my aim
Sometimes I'm a man of God Sometimes I'm alright Sometimes I lay down and close my eyes And pray to God
Sometimes I dont feel good It's hard to start the day It's hard to climb the obstacles that sometimes come my way If I make it, am I a good man? Am I a bad man if I fail? I know I'm never good enough So I let grace prevail But I've never been left alone In any problem that I've known Even though I'm to blame There were times when things were dark And I've been known to miss the mark But someone fixed my aim
Sometimes I'm a man of God Sometimes I'm alright Sometimes I lay down and close my eyes And pray to God I'm ready for the night
quantum theory has, the sillier it looks." I personally am still trying to wrap my head around the whole particle-wave dichotomy, which says an elemental particle, like a photon or an electron, is sometimes a wave, and at other times is not a wave, but an individual particle. There's a degree of 
