All I could think about were the mixed reviews of the course. Some praised it for being brilliant and inspiring, while others said the philosophy was difficult to grasp and the professor. Well, he was even harder to understand. Suddenly, in strolls a man about 5’ 9”, wearing khaki pants, a shirt made from traditional African cloth, and dawning a big smile. It could only be Professor Nlandu.
If I remember correctly, he is from Nigeria. As he starts to speak, you can hear his thick accent, “Are we here to study African Philosophy or Philosophy of Africa? Is there a difference?” He looks at all of us, and I stare blankly back at him. He continues “Are we getting dis?” My mind screamed “NO! I hadn't even thought of that question". He scanned over the class and began his lecture describing the difference between the philosophies.
Throughout the lecture, he would interrupt himself and ask, "Are we getting dis?" He asked this question so often, it was almost like a tick. But in reality this question actually served two purposes; The first, it provided the opportunity for student’s to ask questions for clarification on a topic. The second, it revealed his compassion for his students. As a professor he wanted us to truly learn and understand the materials he teaching. Because if we didn't, we could fail. And there isn't a teacher out there, who wants their students to fail. He honestly cared for us, and wanted to make sure we were “getting dis”.
That question must be a reflection upon a really good teacher because we hear Jesus utter similar words in the gospel reading. After telling five different parables, Jesus asks the crowd in front of him, “Have you understood all this?” The crowd responds with a resounding, “YES”. But my question for us today is, is that our answer?
"Are we getting dis?"
Each parable is about a seemingly ordinary object. Each so normal that one could ask, “How do these stories possibly reflect the kingdom of God?” Well let’s put these parables into context beginning with the mustard seed. The mustard seed was used as a common comparison in Jewish culture. They frequently saw a that tiny seed grow into a large tree that would encompass an entire garden. So Jesus used the common mustard seed in his parable to convey the truth of the extraordinary growth of the Kingdom of God. It takes merely a mustard seed of faith to start the spread of the Kingdom of Heaven.
"Are we getting dis?"
Now the yeast, it was typical in Jewish culture for women to use yeast everyday to make bread for their households. But surprisingly, yeast actually has a negative, even evil, connotation in Jewish culture. This is why they don't use it during Passover, and eat Matze, a bread made without yeast, instead. In the parable Jesus chose yeast to convey a different, more shocking truth. We may witness evil in the world, and awful things will happen, but the Kingdom of God will still prevail.
"Are we getting dis?"
Following the yeast, we hear about a man finding treasure in a field. A little strange, but in those times in Jewish culture people would bury their money in order to keep it safe rather than in a bank. Jesus reveals that the Kingdom of God may not be so easy to find. When we think we see it on the surface, but aren't finding anything, we will have to dig deeper. Because the Kingdom of God can be uncovered in the most hidden of places.
“Are we getting dis?”
Then we hear about a man selling everything to purchase a pearl. Pearls were not only loved for their monetary value, but also for their rare beauty. So if an individual came across a pearl it was worth selling everything to own it in order to possess it forever. What does Jesus want to convey here? The Kingdom of Heaven is so lovely and fine as pearl that it is worth doing all we can to possess the Kingdom of God here on earth.
“Are we getting dis?”
And finally the fishermen and their nets. Jesus knows there are fishermen among the crowd. So he knows they understand that every time the cast out their net, they want to capture as many fish as possible. In doing this they cannot discriminate about what they are catching because they just want to catch as many fish as possible. So what does mean for us? Jesus calls us to throw out our nets to catch as many people as we can to share with the love of God.
“Are we getting this?”
These are still very ordinary everyday examples. And that’s the point, Jesus, like any loving teacher, uses these examples so we can understand his parables. What we witness within our everyday lives is not actually so ordinary. They are actually extraordinary pieces of the kingdom of God.
It may be as small as mustard seed, and found in very unusual places, or even evil places. And it won’t always be on the surface level, but it is worth investing our entire lives to find it and make it our reality. We are called to be fishers of all people to bring them to this table, and show all people God's love.
“Are we getting dis?”
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Monday, July 7, 2014
America . . . the land of the RED TAPE!!!
America, the home of the free, the brave, and all the red tape! You know the infamous red tape that restricts us from doing exactly what we want, when we want to. And the worst part about it is, red tape is everywhere. No matter what you want to do, there will be some form of red tape to stop you, but perhaps you think you can maneuver around it, not so fast! As soon as you’ve cut a few pieces, another wall of red tape stands directly behind those.
All this red tape may feel like a new world problem, unfortunately it’s not. And actually compared to the red tape in the past, I feel pretty lucky for the red tape we experience today. During Jesus’ time, the red tape for Jewish individuals was particularly dense.
It is referred to in the Gospel passage when we hear the line, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,” These heavy burdens not only refer to problems we deal with in everyday life, but also the Jewish law which was an awful burden of red tape.
While researching, I came across an example of this really dense red tape situation. It talked about a Jewish woman who was widowed and had inherited land, which she decided to use as a farm. She began to plow the land, BOOM the red tape. She had to stop plowing because Jewish law did not permit the use an ox and a donkey together to pull a plow. Alright then she began to seed the land, BOOM more red tape. She wasn't allowed to seed her land with mixed seed. She had enough, so she sold the land. With that money, she purchased some sheep in order to sell their fleece, and their young. When it came time to shear the sheep, more red tape. The first lamb was born, more red tape. The woman decided to give up, and slaughtered the sheep for herself to eat not to sell, and even then more red tape. The Jewish law took everything, so she was left with nothing.
So what was the point of all those Jewish rules and regulations? Like our red tape today, it was to ensure that people didn't stray too far from righteous the path. And in Jewish culture, these laws were intended to make all individuals stay devoted to God. It was believed if they were following all the right rules, all the time, they couldn’t make God angry. Essentially the thought was if we don’t make God angry, then we will stay in good favor with God, and we will live a good and prosperous life.
But the red tape that was supposed to keep Jewish individuals devoted to God, began to become the focus of their lives rather than God.
Ultimately, I can relate to this red tape situation, not only running into it all the time, but having my focus become the red tape. I think we have all been in a place where we try following all the right rules, we expect good results, and yet still not succeeding. Which eventually leads us to just having to shut down. Especially if we try to go about this world on our own. No wonder the woman just gave up. She must have felt overwhelmed trying to handle all the red tape by herself.
But what other choice did she have, I mean she was only a widow. What was she supposed to do against all the red tape of the law? Perhaps, just take a pair of scissors, and cut through it all. Okay she can’t just use any pair of scissors, she needed to use a pair of Jesus scissors. But where to find them?
Well let's look at that line of scripture again, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, I will give you rest.” The line “I will give you rest.” This is where I interpret essentially Jesus taking a pair of scissors and cut through all that red tape. Basically stating to the Jewish individuals, by starting to follow Christ, you can stop focusing on all the rules, and begin to focus on God.
Jesus was saying because we have a gracious God, and we don't have to worry about getting all the rules right because if we did, our focus would no longer be on God. And when we begin to focus our lives around what God is calling us to do, our burdens begin to lighten. When he says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me . . . for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” He is referring to when two oxen are yoked, or tied together in order to pull a cart. It is easier for two rather than one. They don’t only become lighter because Jesus cut away the red tape rules, but because Christ shares in our burdens.
When we act tied to Christ's teachings, our focus is not on following all the rules, but simply to follow Christ's teachings to direct us down the right path. I must admit though, there are a few pieces of red tape Jesus did not cut. But unlike the red tape that we deal with on a regular basis, this red tape really focuses our attention on where and who we should be serving.
One piece is to love God and the second piece is to love our neighbors as ourselves, and unlike the other red tape, these pieces should never be cut.
All this red tape may feel like a new world problem, unfortunately it’s not. And actually compared to the red tape in the past, I feel pretty lucky for the red tape we experience today. During Jesus’ time, the red tape for Jewish individuals was particularly dense.
It is referred to in the Gospel passage when we hear the line, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,” These heavy burdens not only refer to problems we deal with in everyday life, but also the Jewish law which was an awful burden of red tape.
While researching, I came across an example of this really dense red tape situation. It talked about a Jewish woman who was widowed and had inherited land, which she decided to use as a farm. She began to plow the land, BOOM the red tape. She had to stop plowing because Jewish law did not permit the use an ox and a donkey together to pull a plow. Alright then she began to seed the land, BOOM more red tape. She wasn't allowed to seed her land with mixed seed. She had enough, so she sold the land. With that money, she purchased some sheep in order to sell their fleece, and their young. When it came time to shear the sheep, more red tape. The first lamb was born, more red tape. The woman decided to give up, and slaughtered the sheep for herself to eat not to sell, and even then more red tape. The Jewish law took everything, so she was left with nothing.
So what was the point of all those Jewish rules and regulations? Like our red tape today, it was to ensure that people didn't stray too far from righteous the path. And in Jewish culture, these laws were intended to make all individuals stay devoted to God. It was believed if they were following all the right rules, all the time, they couldn’t make God angry. Essentially the thought was if we don’t make God angry, then we will stay in good favor with God, and we will live a good and prosperous life.
But the red tape that was supposed to keep Jewish individuals devoted to God, began to become the focus of their lives rather than God.
Ultimately, I can relate to this red tape situation, not only running into it all the time, but having my focus become the red tape. I think we have all been in a place where we try following all the right rules, we expect good results, and yet still not succeeding. Which eventually leads us to just having to shut down. Especially if we try to go about this world on our own. No wonder the woman just gave up. She must have felt overwhelmed trying to handle all the red tape by herself.
But what other choice did she have, I mean she was only a widow. What was she supposed to do against all the red tape of the law? Perhaps, just take a pair of scissors, and cut through it all. Okay she can’t just use any pair of scissors, she needed to use a pair of Jesus scissors. But where to find them?
Well let's look at that line of scripture again, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, I will give you rest.” The line “I will give you rest.” This is where I interpret essentially Jesus taking a pair of scissors and cut through all that red tape. Basically stating to the Jewish individuals, by starting to follow Christ, you can stop focusing on all the rules, and begin to focus on God.
Jesus was saying because we have a gracious God, and we don't have to worry about getting all the rules right because if we did, our focus would no longer be on God. And when we begin to focus our lives around what God is calling us to do, our burdens begin to lighten. When he says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me . . . for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” He is referring to when two oxen are yoked, or tied together in order to pull a cart. It is easier for two rather than one. They don’t only become lighter because Jesus cut away the red tape rules, but because Christ shares in our burdens.
When we act tied to Christ's teachings, our focus is not on following all the rules, but simply to follow Christ's teachings to direct us down the right path. I must admit though, there are a few pieces of red tape Jesus did not cut. But unlike the red tape that we deal with on a regular basis, this red tape really focuses our attention on where and who we should be serving.
One piece is to love God and the second piece is to love our neighbors as ourselves, and unlike the other red tape, these pieces should never be cut.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
How Loyal Are You to Your Toothpaste?
It’s overwhelming, trying to pick the right toothpaste. I stand in the dental hygiene aisle, and in front of me is a wall of 100 different toothpastes. But which one do I want, Colgate, Aquafresh, Crest, and then there's always generic? As I stand there trying to decide, someone will normally stroll by and grab their box of toothpaste off the shelf and continue on their way, as if it wasn’t a hard decision.
Perhaps it wasn’t such a hard decision because it is the same toothpaste they have been buying for years. In my marketing classes, the people that buy the same product regardless of sales and such, are what marketers call brand loyalists. And these are exactly the people you want to be buying your product.
Brand loyalists aren’t going to be swayed by new promotions from other brands because they are dedicated to their brand of toothpaste. It is a part of who they are, they identify with it. Ask them, “Would you ever buy anything else?” And I bet they would respond, “By no means!”
Wait a minute, isn’t that the phrase we heard earlier in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Before I try to connect these phrases together, I want you to understand how I understand Paul's letters.
Most times, I find these letters are always trying to clarify and redirect new Christians and experienced Christians on how we should be acting and serving others as followers of Christ.
Paul is sort of like a brand manager for the Christian faith.
So imagine this letter from Paul to the Romans this morning as response to his brand. In his letter, Paul is responding to a somewhat smartalic question about the Christian faith, “Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound?” It looks as if the Roman individual who posed this question in the first place has found a little loophole in the system. Their thought is why not increase our sinning nature, so that more of God’s grace will abound.
They understand that God’s grace will always prevail over sin, so why stop sinning. The reality is we are human, we make mistakes, we will unfortunately hurt each other because we aren’t perfect.
Plus, this sounds a little sneaky right?
So how does Paul the brand manager respond to this question of sin, baptism. In Greek the word baptism means to go under or to put. Knowing this Paul purposely uses baptism to convey two purposes. The first purpose is to invoke a reminder of the physical act of baptism, which at the time was a full body submersion under water, which all Christians even today can relate to.
The second purpose is to highlight our faith in Christ. Through our faith alone, we share a unity with Christ to carry on his teachings and serve as Christ would. Through our commitment to faith in Christ we are to act as the body of Christ in this world. And baptism is to remind us and unite us to this dedication to love God and to serve others.
As Christians this is essentially our brand identity. Which explains Paul’s exclamation of “by no means!” should we increase our sin so God’s grace may abound. This would ruin our brand identity, and what we should actually striving for is to love more and serve more. With a good brand identity, always comes a strong brand loyalty. For me, there are two aspects to this particular brand loyalty. The first aspect is the loyalty we share to our brand. This is the same sort of loyalty concept like buying same toothpaste for years.
If we individually aren’t trying to stay loyal and attempting to act like Christ figures in this world, then we aren’t keeping up our own brand identity, which means we won’t have any brand loyalty. The second aspect to this loyalty is not only are we dedicated to keeping our brand identity, but we are also dedicated to keep loyalty to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.
We all serve God in so many different ways. Which makes each of us a different part of the body of Christ. In different groups this differentiation can lead to separation and lack of unity. But as Christians we work hard against that problem because that’s not what we are called to do. We are called to work with each other, for each, in order to best serve others. Even though we are many parts, we continually strive to serve as one body of Christ.
Although we may not always succeed in loving or serving others, in our hearts we are assured that God’s grace is with us. And following Paul the brand manager’s advice, by no means should we ever increase our sinning because we would lose our brand identity.
Unlike toothpaste brand loyalty, our loyalty to Christ and each other, allows us to truly act as the one body of Christ creating an everlasting loyalty to ourselves and others.
Perhaps it wasn’t such a hard decision because it is the same toothpaste they have been buying for years. In my marketing classes, the people that buy the same product regardless of sales and such, are what marketers call brand loyalists. And these are exactly the people you want to be buying your product.
Brand loyalists aren’t going to be swayed by new promotions from other brands because they are dedicated to their brand of toothpaste. It is a part of who they are, they identify with it. Ask them, “Would you ever buy anything else?” And I bet they would respond, “By no means!”
Wait a minute, isn’t that the phrase we heard earlier in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Before I try to connect these phrases together, I want you to understand how I understand Paul's letters.
Most times, I find these letters are always trying to clarify and redirect new Christians and experienced Christians on how we should be acting and serving others as followers of Christ.
Paul is sort of like a brand manager for the Christian faith.
So imagine this letter from Paul to the Romans this morning as response to his brand. In his letter, Paul is responding to a somewhat smartalic question about the Christian faith, “Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound?” It looks as if the Roman individual who posed this question in the first place has found a little loophole in the system. Their thought is why not increase our sinning nature, so that more of God’s grace will abound.
They understand that God’s grace will always prevail over sin, so why stop sinning. The reality is we are human, we make mistakes, we will unfortunately hurt each other because we aren’t perfect.
Plus, this sounds a little sneaky right?
So how does Paul the brand manager respond to this question of sin, baptism. In Greek the word baptism means to go under or to put. Knowing this Paul purposely uses baptism to convey two purposes. The first purpose is to invoke a reminder of the physical act of baptism, which at the time was a full body submersion under water, which all Christians even today can relate to.
The second purpose is to highlight our faith in Christ. Through our faith alone, we share a unity with Christ to carry on his teachings and serve as Christ would. Through our commitment to faith in Christ we are to act as the body of Christ in this world. And baptism is to remind us and unite us to this dedication to love God and to serve others.
As Christians this is essentially our brand identity. Which explains Paul’s exclamation of “by no means!” should we increase our sin so God’s grace may abound. This would ruin our brand identity, and what we should actually striving for is to love more and serve more. With a good brand identity, always comes a strong brand loyalty. For me, there are two aspects to this particular brand loyalty. The first aspect is the loyalty we share to our brand. This is the same sort of loyalty concept like buying same toothpaste for years.
If we individually aren’t trying to stay loyal and attempting to act like Christ figures in this world, then we aren’t keeping up our own brand identity, which means we won’t have any brand loyalty. The second aspect to this loyalty is not only are we dedicated to keeping our brand identity, but we are also dedicated to keep loyalty to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.
We all serve God in so many different ways. Which makes each of us a different part of the body of Christ. In different groups this differentiation can lead to separation and lack of unity. But as Christians we work hard against that problem because that’s not what we are called to do. We are called to work with each other, for each, in order to best serve others. Even though we are many parts, we continually strive to serve as one body of Christ.
Although we may not always succeed in loving or serving others, in our hearts we are assured that God’s grace is with us. And following Paul the brand manager’s advice, by no means should we ever increase our sinning because we would lose our brand identity.
Unlike toothpaste brand loyalty, our loyalty to Christ and each other, allows us to truly act as the one body of Christ creating an everlasting loyalty to ourselves and others.
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Film Scores and Flashbacks
Listen to this first . . .
Sometimes I like to imagine what it would be like to have a film score playing in the background of my major life events. If this sounds a little crazy, think about it, we pretty much already do.
It’s the nursery rhyme your Mum sang to you before bed, your graduating class song, and the song playing during your father/daughter dance at your wedding. Each song is like a mini film score adding more emotion and meaning in the moments of our lives. So when we hear these songs again, in a different time in our lives, we can be thrown back into that particular moment, flooded with those same emotions and feelings, sort of like a flashback.
After reading the Gospel, I had one of these film score, flashback moments. The song Feel Again by OneRepublic popped right into my mind. It’s uncanny how the lyrics of the song fit perfectly as a film score for this encounter with the resurrected Jesus.
To understand why this song fits with the story, let’s start at the beginning of the journey where two disciples of Jesus are on their way to the village Emmaus. They appear to be downtrodden over which we learn is the crucifixion of Jesus. These disciples were most likely Jewish, which means their hope of Jesus being the messiah fell apart, when he died on the cross. So as they’re walking, suddenly a man, who they don’t recognize, joins them on their journey.
Recreate the scene in your head. Imagine how the disciples are feeling. Jesus, their friend, just died. Whom they think they won’t ever see again. Their hope for him being the messiah was nixed, so now what are they supposed to do. And now in the background imagine the song Feel Again play as the film score in the moment, and these are the lyrics,
“It's been a long time coming since I've seen your face
I've been everywhere and back trying to replace
Everything that I had 'til my feet went numb
Praying like a fool that's been on the run”
And the scene continues, the travelers talk with the “stranger” about the miracles Jesus performed. They talk about their hope that he was the messiah, and yet they seem reluctant about the idea. Then the “stranger” begins to sort of chastise them for not listening and not believing in the words of the prophets who came before Jesus. And the film score continues,
“Heart's still beating but it's not working
It's like a million dollar phone that you just can't ring
I reached out trying to love but I feel nothing, my heart is numb”
We are in a new scene, the travelers have made it to the village. They invite the stranger to stay and eat with them. And as they sit there, the “stranger” takes the bread, blesses it, and breaks it. Here is the moment the travelers realize, who they had been walking with this entire time, “Their eyes were open, and they recognized him”. It’s like one of those flashback moments I talked about earlier, and now the film score breaks into the songs’ chorus,
“But with you, I feel again, I was a lonely soul, but that’s the old me”.
The travelers feel again. Through their witnessing of Jesus breaking the bread, they remember the teachings of Jesus, and they are changed. The changed from skeptical travelers into energetic disciples, they are ecstatic to spread the word of the resurrection of Jesus. So of course, they immediately run off to tell the other disciples of the good news.
Unlike those travelers, this is where I come up short. Our eyes are opened, we know the teaching of Jesus, but I don’t always take action. When life gets busy, complicated, and I feel like I am at the end of my rope, it’s more and more difficult to practice what Jesus preached.
Is there a moment, like the travelers had, which reminds me to keep serving and keep loving others even when I am at my lowest? It’s the same moment when the travelers’ eyes were opened, in the breaking of the bread. When we come to together for worship, we represent that very moment, during the Eucharist, at the altar, in the Breaking of the Bread.
Even if it is just for a moment, we are connected back to those early Christians. Just like them, our eyes are opened and we can be rejuvenated with the thought of Jesus and his teachings. Like the travelers, we are changed, and we are reminded to go out and follow Jesus’ commandments to love and serve others. And it does not matter how we feel called to serve, as long as we do it. Because we know about the resurrection, we are called to serve and love others, so we can reflect the love of God.
It’s the end of the gospel reading as well as the end of the film score. I imagine the disciples full of excitement, running to tell the other disciples the good news, and in the background the end of the song plays. But before I say the last line, this film score not only pertains to those travelers, but in our own lives. Perhaps it can throw us back, remind us that we are not who we once were, and that we feel again.
So as the credits begin to scroll the end of the song goes,
“I'm feeling better ever since you’ve known me, A little wiser now from what you've shown me, I feel again, I was a lonely soul but that’s the old me”
Sometimes I like to imagine what it would be like to have a film score playing in the background of my major life events. If this sounds a little crazy, think about it, we pretty much already do.
It’s the nursery rhyme your Mum sang to you before bed, your graduating class song, and the song playing during your father/daughter dance at your wedding. Each song is like a mini film score adding more emotion and meaning in the moments of our lives. So when we hear these songs again, in a different time in our lives, we can be thrown back into that particular moment, flooded with those same emotions and feelings, sort of like a flashback.
After reading the Gospel, I had one of these film score, flashback moments. The song Feel Again by OneRepublic popped right into my mind. It’s uncanny how the lyrics of the song fit perfectly as a film score for this encounter with the resurrected Jesus.
To understand why this song fits with the story, let’s start at the beginning of the journey where two disciples of Jesus are on their way to the village Emmaus. They appear to be downtrodden over which we learn is the crucifixion of Jesus. These disciples were most likely Jewish, which means their hope of Jesus being the messiah fell apart, when he died on the cross. So as they’re walking, suddenly a man, who they don’t recognize, joins them on their journey.
Recreate the scene in your head. Imagine how the disciples are feeling. Jesus, their friend, just died. Whom they think they won’t ever see again. Their hope for him being the messiah was nixed, so now what are they supposed to do. And now in the background imagine the song Feel Again play as the film score in the moment, and these are the lyrics,
“It's been a long time coming since I've seen your face
I've been everywhere and back trying to replace
Everything that I had 'til my feet went numb
Praying like a fool that's been on the run”
And the scene continues, the travelers talk with the “stranger” about the miracles Jesus performed. They talk about their hope that he was the messiah, and yet they seem reluctant about the idea. Then the “stranger” begins to sort of chastise them for not listening and not believing in the words of the prophets who came before Jesus. And the film score continues,
“Heart's still beating but it's not working
It's like a million dollar phone that you just can't ring
I reached out trying to love but I feel nothing, my heart is numb”
We are in a new scene, the travelers have made it to the village. They invite the stranger to stay and eat with them. And as they sit there, the “stranger” takes the bread, blesses it, and breaks it. Here is the moment the travelers realize, who they had been walking with this entire time, “Their eyes were open, and they recognized him”. It’s like one of those flashback moments I talked about earlier, and now the film score breaks into the songs’ chorus,
“But with you, I feel again, I was a lonely soul, but that’s the old me”.
The travelers feel again. Through their witnessing of Jesus breaking the bread, they remember the teachings of Jesus, and they are changed. The changed from skeptical travelers into energetic disciples, they are ecstatic to spread the word of the resurrection of Jesus. So of course, they immediately run off to tell the other disciples of the good news.
Unlike those travelers, this is where I come up short. Our eyes are opened, we know the teaching of Jesus, but I don’t always take action. When life gets busy, complicated, and I feel like I am at the end of my rope, it’s more and more difficult to practice what Jesus preached.
Is there a moment, like the travelers had, which reminds me to keep serving and keep loving others even when I am at my lowest? It’s the same moment when the travelers’ eyes were opened, in the breaking of the bread. When we come to together for worship, we represent that very moment, during the Eucharist, at the altar, in the Breaking of the Bread.
Even if it is just for a moment, we are connected back to those early Christians. Just like them, our eyes are opened and we can be rejuvenated with the thought of Jesus and his teachings. Like the travelers, we are changed, and we are reminded to go out and follow Jesus’ commandments to love and serve others. And it does not matter how we feel called to serve, as long as we do it. Because we know about the resurrection, we are called to serve and love others, so we can reflect the love of God.
It’s the end of the gospel reading as well as the end of the film score. I imagine the disciples full of excitement, running to tell the other disciples the good news, and in the background the end of the song plays. But before I say the last line, this film score not only pertains to those travelers, but in our own lives. Perhaps it can throw us back, remind us that we are not who we once were, and that we feel again.
So as the credits begin to scroll the end of the song goes,
“I'm feeling better ever since you’ve known me, A little wiser now from what you've shown me, I feel again, I was a lonely soul but that’s the old me”
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Soul Food and Food for Our Soul
Soul food, what is it that draws people to it? It’s nothing more than food right? Alright, I can understand it’s different because it’s not the sort of food we eat every day. For some it’s those iconic dishes like collard greens or fried chicken, others its grandma’s stuffed cabbage or perhaps dad’s special chocolate chip cookies. And we can argue it’s a particular seasoning or stuffing only your mom uses to make that dish so great.
But I see something deeper than merely the ingredients that make soul food so distinctive.
What sets soul food above regular old food, is its ability to bring people together. It’s a guarantee if someone makes a soul food, family, friends, community members will gather together to share a meal. And by coming together, not only do we share food, we also share our ideas, thoughts, actions, and beliefs. Through these meals we reinforce a bond we all share with each other.
This evening in the reading from Corinthians we hear about a soul food meal of sorts, the Lord’s Supper. Which is supposed to symbolize the Last Supper Jesus shared with his disciples. In those days, this supper was not a liturgical service, but was actually a full communal meal with only a part of the meal being devoted to sharing in Christ’s body and blood. And they were most likely held in the homes of wealthier Christians only because they could afford to host such a large communal meal.
So when I initially read Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, it sounded as if he was simply instructing them on the proper procedures of how to host a proper Lord’s Supper. Which is true, but not the entire truth. Paul is actually writing out of frustration. He had received news that at these communal meals there were divisions amongst the attendees. Divisions most likely reflecting the cultural norms of the time. People separated into their social standings and classes. Plus, to make matters worse, those wealthier people were receiving better food and those who were poor weren’t receiving anything at all.
Paul was writing to clarify what the intention is behind the Lord’s Supper, which was to bring the Christian community together. Whether man or woman, slave or free, rich or poor these meals were to celebrate that Christ died for all people not just those who could afford a meal. I can imagine the frustration Paul felt in that loss of focus. He understood that being Christian meant to live above those social norms, and yet here were the Corinthians perpetuating them.
But that’s not the only part Paul was frustrated with, there is something deeper. Yes, the Lord’s Supper is supposed to break through social norms, and bring people together. Where Paul is really concerned is with another part of what places soul food above other foods. Okay, so it does pertain to an ingredient found in all the soul food, love.
The care and love put into those dishes is what makes them so special. Soul food is made for others, to share with others. And by taking the time to cook a soul food dish it’s like making small sacrifice for others, but a sacrifice made out of love.
That’s the point Paul is concentrated on. The Corinthians were so focused on their own needs, they couldn’t possibly focus on serving the needs of others. That’s the real purpose of the Lord ’s Supper to remind us of the sacrifice Christ made for us out of love. We are to serve others as he served us. Jesus loved us so much, he was crucified on a cross, so we could live with hope.
And for us to know that hope, we are given the commandment from Jesus to “love one another. Just as I have loved you”.
Knowing that we are human, and that we won’t always succeed in sacrificing ourselves for others, we come together at this altar to remember that love. Here we are fed with spiritual food, soul food, to remind us that we are called to be like Christ. By loving and serving others we now act as the body of Christ in this world.
And by doing just those two things, serving and loving others, people will know we have been fed with soul food.
But I see something deeper than merely the ingredients that make soul food so distinctive.
What sets soul food above regular old food, is its ability to bring people together. It’s a guarantee if someone makes a soul food, family, friends, community members will gather together to share a meal. And by coming together, not only do we share food, we also share our ideas, thoughts, actions, and beliefs. Through these meals we reinforce a bond we all share with each other.
This evening in the reading from Corinthians we hear about a soul food meal of sorts, the Lord’s Supper. Which is supposed to symbolize the Last Supper Jesus shared with his disciples. In those days, this supper was not a liturgical service, but was actually a full communal meal with only a part of the meal being devoted to sharing in Christ’s body and blood. And they were most likely held in the homes of wealthier Christians only because they could afford to host such a large communal meal.
So when I initially read Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, it sounded as if he was simply instructing them on the proper procedures of how to host a proper Lord’s Supper. Which is true, but not the entire truth. Paul is actually writing out of frustration. He had received news that at these communal meals there were divisions amongst the attendees. Divisions most likely reflecting the cultural norms of the time. People separated into their social standings and classes. Plus, to make matters worse, those wealthier people were receiving better food and those who were poor weren’t receiving anything at all.
Paul was writing to clarify what the intention is behind the Lord’s Supper, which was to bring the Christian community together. Whether man or woman, slave or free, rich or poor these meals were to celebrate that Christ died for all people not just those who could afford a meal. I can imagine the frustration Paul felt in that loss of focus. He understood that being Christian meant to live above those social norms, and yet here were the Corinthians perpetuating them.
But that’s not the only part Paul was frustrated with, there is something deeper. Yes, the Lord’s Supper is supposed to break through social norms, and bring people together. Where Paul is really concerned is with another part of what places soul food above other foods. Okay, so it does pertain to an ingredient found in all the soul food, love.
The care and love put into those dishes is what makes them so special. Soul food is made for others, to share with others. And by taking the time to cook a soul food dish it’s like making small sacrifice for others, but a sacrifice made out of love.
That’s the point Paul is concentrated on. The Corinthians were so focused on their own needs, they couldn’t possibly focus on serving the needs of others. That’s the real purpose of the Lord ’s Supper to remind us of the sacrifice Christ made for us out of love. We are to serve others as he served us. Jesus loved us so much, he was crucified on a cross, so we could live with hope.
And for us to know that hope, we are given the commandment from Jesus to “love one another. Just as I have loved you”.
Knowing that we are human, and that we won’t always succeed in sacrificing ourselves for others, we come together at this altar to remember that love. Here we are fed with spiritual food, soul food, to remind us that we are called to be like Christ. By loving and serving others we now act as the body of Christ in this world.
And by doing just those two things, serving and loving others, people will know we have been fed with soul food.
Monday, April 7, 2014
The Soccer Group
Whether we won or lost, we still had a soccer party.
When my siblings and I were about three years old, my parents first signed us up for a youth soccer league. This resulted in every Friday night a group of six to seven families would come together, watch their children play soccer, and afterwards we would have a soccer party.
Over the years, these kids I played soccer with became my closest friends through elementary school and a few still to this day. As the children of the soccer group became close, so did our parents. A particular family we are friends with today is the Stacks. The Stack family dynamic is best described through their involvement and hilarious talent in theater, which is best explained in Emily Stack’s first goal in soccer. Now, remember we were about 6 or 7 when this happened.
The game was tied, and we needed to score to win. It seemed like there was only 2 minutes left in the final quarter, and Emily was put on offense. Emily didn’t normally play offense. And I think it’s safe to say that Emily really enjoyed the soccer parties rather than the soccer playing. Regardless, Emily was put on offense. She was passed the ball. She kicked it passed the goalie, right into the back of the net scoring the winning goal.
And immediately her hands shot into the air clenched with power, and she threw her head back in celebration. I ran over to congratulate her, and realized she was crying, which I thought was unusual. So I asked her why, and she dramatically replied with tears streaming down her face, she was just so happy.
The entire Stack family was involved in theater. Mr. Stack was particularly hilarious, with a personality to fill the room and beyond. He was always making us laugh by speaking in character voices or making funny faces. Unfortunately, when I was almost 12, soccer ended a while back, Mr. Stack was on a business trip, and died suddenly from a major heart attack.
I don’t remember a lot of details, but I remember the entire soccer group, kids and parents, spent a lot of time together over the course of that week. It seemed as if we were always at either the Stack’s house or the funeral home, and then the funeral service. During the service, the soccer families were sitting close together. I was in a pew with my siblings and parents. Near the end of the service, I looked over at my Mum, and realized she was trembling.
She was crying. I was in disbelief.
All week I had seen her as a pillar of strength trying to help Mrs. Stack and her kids anyway she could, as well as taking care of her own children. At that age, it didn’t even occur to me that my Mum, beneath her strong will of compassion to support others she was experiencing sadness. She too was mourning the loss of her friend.
In joy and in sadness, both coming from completely different experiences, we are known to cry. Crying reveals our inner selves, and is a very human physical response to how and what we feel in our everyday lives.
In the gospel we meet a family who were particularly close to Jesus, and they are mourning. We are introduced to two sisters, Martha and Mary, crying over the loss of their brother Lazarus. Since this family was close to Jesus, they sent him a formal report prior to Lazarus’s death stating, “Lord, he the one you love is ill”. The “one you love” referring to their brother Lazarus. By using this phrase it signifies the deep friendship Jesus and Lazarus had. Because Jesus was a healer, it was inferred that by sending him that message he would come right away to heal their brother.
But Jesus waits two days before traveling there, and by the time Jesus arrives Lazarus has been dead for a total of four days. This is critical to piece to the story. In that time, the Jewish belief was for three days the soul of the departed would hang around the body hoping to reenter it. Which means when Jesus arrives in Bethany, Lazarus is considered really dead, and there would be no way to revive him.
Now both Martha and Mary both greet Jesus using the same words, but both in different fashions. They both say, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” They do not say this out of anger, but in an understanding way. They don’t blame Jesus for Lazarus’ death because he wasn’t in Bethany prior to Lazarus’s death. Therefore they felt like there wasn’t an opportunity for Lazarus to be healed by Jesus. Even though Jesus didn’t make it “in time”, Martha assures Jesus she hasn’t lost faith in God or him by saying, “But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him” She said these words to affirm her belief that Jesus did all that he could and still has confidence in him.
Where Martha seemed composed in mourning, based on scripture Mary her sister, was not composed at all. Mary ran to Jesus wailing and crying with more mourners wailing and crying with grief following her. Seeing such sorrow and pain on their faces, Jesus does the unexpected. In the scripture it states, “he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved . . . and Jesus began to weep.”
Jesus began to weep.
Like me seeing my mother cry, the disciples were witnessing their own pillar of strength, their teacher, their guide crying over the loss of his friend.
Jesus even knows that he is about to perform a miracle. He is going to resurrect Lazarus, but he cries anyway.
How can this be, our God incarnate crying?
Jesus was crying because he felt the loss of a loved one, a friend of his. He wasn’t crying WITH Martha and Mary, not FOR them. Jesus felt and understood the death of his friend Lazarus just like they did. Christ could have been passive, instead he was able and willing to express the same emotions we feel.
Although completely divine, Jesus shows us the humanity of God through his tears. Through this act, we witness God’s compassion, understanding, and feeling of the devastation of death as we feel it.
We are on the last stretch of our journey from the mountain top to the cross. And week after week we’ve met an individual that revealed to us a part of Christ’s teachings. In which our relationship with God became clearer and grew stronger with every person we met.
And this opportunity doesn’t end with these readings or in Lent, but actually happens every day, if we take the time to look and listen for it. On our own journeys, through the relationships we have with our friends, family, whoever we encounter daily we have the opportunity to strengthen our relationship with God by reflecting the compassion and love of God to others.
God feels how we feel. God is with us when we are crying in celebration of a goal we make in soccer. And God is there when we are suffering the death of a loved one. God is always with us and feels what we feel.
Finishing our Lenten journey may we pray a phrase given to me by my past youth director, “May you see the face of Christ in everyone you meet, and may everyone you meet may see the face of Christ in you.”
When my siblings and I were about three years old, my parents first signed us up for a youth soccer league. This resulted in every Friday night a group of six to seven families would come together, watch their children play soccer, and afterwards we would have a soccer party.
Over the years, these kids I played soccer with became my closest friends through elementary school and a few still to this day. As the children of the soccer group became close, so did our parents. A particular family we are friends with today is the Stacks. The Stack family dynamic is best described through their involvement and hilarious talent in theater, which is best explained in Emily Stack’s first goal in soccer. Now, remember we were about 6 or 7 when this happened.
The game was tied, and we needed to score to win. It seemed like there was only 2 minutes left in the final quarter, and Emily was put on offense. Emily didn’t normally play offense. And I think it’s safe to say that Emily really enjoyed the soccer parties rather than the soccer playing. Regardless, Emily was put on offense. She was passed the ball. She kicked it passed the goalie, right into the back of the net scoring the winning goal.
And immediately her hands shot into the air clenched with power, and she threw her head back in celebration. I ran over to congratulate her, and realized she was crying, which I thought was unusual. So I asked her why, and she dramatically replied with tears streaming down her face, she was just so happy.
The entire Stack family was involved in theater. Mr. Stack was particularly hilarious, with a personality to fill the room and beyond. He was always making us laugh by speaking in character voices or making funny faces. Unfortunately, when I was almost 12, soccer ended a while back, Mr. Stack was on a business trip, and died suddenly from a major heart attack.
I don’t remember a lot of details, but I remember the entire soccer group, kids and parents, spent a lot of time together over the course of that week. It seemed as if we were always at either the Stack’s house or the funeral home, and then the funeral service. During the service, the soccer families were sitting close together. I was in a pew with my siblings and parents. Near the end of the service, I looked over at my Mum, and realized she was trembling.
She was crying. I was in disbelief.
All week I had seen her as a pillar of strength trying to help Mrs. Stack and her kids anyway she could, as well as taking care of her own children. At that age, it didn’t even occur to me that my Mum, beneath her strong will of compassion to support others she was experiencing sadness. She too was mourning the loss of her friend.
In joy and in sadness, both coming from completely different experiences, we are known to cry. Crying reveals our inner selves, and is a very human physical response to how and what we feel in our everyday lives.
In the gospel we meet a family who were particularly close to Jesus, and they are mourning. We are introduced to two sisters, Martha and Mary, crying over the loss of their brother Lazarus. Since this family was close to Jesus, they sent him a formal report prior to Lazarus’s death stating, “Lord, he the one you love is ill”. The “one you love” referring to their brother Lazarus. By using this phrase it signifies the deep friendship Jesus and Lazarus had. Because Jesus was a healer, it was inferred that by sending him that message he would come right away to heal their brother.
But Jesus waits two days before traveling there, and by the time Jesus arrives Lazarus has been dead for a total of four days. This is critical to piece to the story. In that time, the Jewish belief was for three days the soul of the departed would hang around the body hoping to reenter it. Which means when Jesus arrives in Bethany, Lazarus is considered really dead, and there would be no way to revive him.
Now both Martha and Mary both greet Jesus using the same words, but both in different fashions. They both say, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” They do not say this out of anger, but in an understanding way. They don’t blame Jesus for Lazarus’ death because he wasn’t in Bethany prior to Lazarus’s death. Therefore they felt like there wasn’t an opportunity for Lazarus to be healed by Jesus. Even though Jesus didn’t make it “in time”, Martha assures Jesus she hasn’t lost faith in God or him by saying, “But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him” She said these words to affirm her belief that Jesus did all that he could and still has confidence in him.
Where Martha seemed composed in mourning, based on scripture Mary her sister, was not composed at all. Mary ran to Jesus wailing and crying with more mourners wailing and crying with grief following her. Seeing such sorrow and pain on their faces, Jesus does the unexpected. In the scripture it states, “he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved . . . and Jesus began to weep.”
Jesus began to weep.
Like me seeing my mother cry, the disciples were witnessing their own pillar of strength, their teacher, their guide crying over the loss of his friend.
Jesus even knows that he is about to perform a miracle. He is going to resurrect Lazarus, but he cries anyway.
How can this be, our God incarnate crying?
Jesus was crying because he felt the loss of a loved one, a friend of his. He wasn’t crying WITH Martha and Mary, not FOR them. Jesus felt and understood the death of his friend Lazarus just like they did. Christ could have been passive, instead he was able and willing to express the same emotions we feel.
Although completely divine, Jesus shows us the humanity of God through his tears. Through this act, we witness God’s compassion, understanding, and feeling of the devastation of death as we feel it.
We are on the last stretch of our journey from the mountain top to the cross. And week after week we’ve met an individual that revealed to us a part of Christ’s teachings. In which our relationship with God became clearer and grew stronger with every person we met.
And this opportunity doesn’t end with these readings or in Lent, but actually happens every day, if we take the time to look and listen for it. On our own journeys, through the relationships we have with our friends, family, whoever we encounter daily we have the opportunity to strengthen our relationship with God by reflecting the compassion and love of God to others.
God feels how we feel. God is with us when we are crying in celebration of a goal we make in soccer. And God is there when we are suffering the death of a loved one. God is always with us and feels what we feel.
Finishing our Lenten journey may we pray a phrase given to me by my past youth director, “May you see the face of Christ in everyone you meet, and may everyone you meet may see the face of Christ in you.”
Monday, March 17, 2014
Free Cup of Coffee?!
“It’s on us, have a nice day.” Based on the startled look upon her face, it was clear she didn’t expect that response. While working as a barista, I regularly interacted with lots of kind, interesting people, but every once and a while, someone would get under your skin. Early one morning, we received a large shipment of coffee beans and I in the midst of organizing it. Being behind the boxes, I didn’t see a woman standing at the counter. To gain my attention she yelled, “excuse me, shouldn’t you be waiting on me, I am the customer?!” I was startled, but immediately took her order. In the middle of pouring her coffee, she changed her order, “No, actually, I want a half-calf coffee topped with water, and leave room for cream. Stop, there is too much regular coffee in that cup, pour it out, start over.” I felt she was purposely making it difficult for me to make her drink, but I did what she said; I had to it was my job to serve her. And as brought her final coffee to the counter, she asked how much it was going to cost. I simply, sincerely replied (although I admit I was holding back anger, with all my might), “It’s on us, have a nice day.” She was stunned, she tried again to pay for it, but I insisted, and so she walked away with a free cup of coffee. I was trying to show come compassion, and I hope that cup of coffee brightened her day or at least was one less thing for her to worry about. In Luke 6: 29 – 33, Jesus calls for us to love our enemies and to turn the other cheek, but it’s more than that. Jesus calls us to show and share God’s LOVE to our neighbors, not just put up with them. As Christians we know and feel the love of God, so why not share it with others that don’t know it yet, perhaps through sharing a cup of coffee?
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
What's That On Your Forehead?
There I sat jealous of the other kids, it seemed like all of them had it, but me. No matter where I looked, I could find a forehead with that big black mark. Growing up, this happened every Ash Wednesday, and I wanted to get ashes just like all the other kids. In elementary school those ashes meant that those kids got to leave school during the day (which I never got to do), they got to go to church and get ashes on their foreheads, come back to school and walk around with what I considered a badge of honor.
Don’t worry though, I still got ashes on Ash Wednesday. But since both of my parents were teachers, we always went to the service at night, which meant I never got to show off my big black cross. At the time, not only were those ashes super cool, but they are an outward sign that I was a Christian, and that was the really important part, right? Jesus wants us to spread his words and teachings, and what better way to do that than on Ash Wednesday, when everyone can see me sporting a big black cross on my forehead. I can’t be more obvious than that.
Wait a minute I am seeing a contradiction here. In the gospel reading that is exactly what Jesus warns us not to do. He says it blatantly, “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” Alright, but does that really refer to what I wanted in elementary school. Let’s look at the piece of scripture in the context of the time. This piece of scripture is a part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. He is speaking to a group of primarily Jewish people about their own individual piety, or how they should each practice their devoutness to God.
Don’t worry though, I still got ashes on Ash Wednesday. But since both of my parents were teachers, we always went to the service at night, which meant I never got to show off my big black cross. At the time, not only were those ashes super cool, but they are an outward sign that I was a Christian, and that was the really important part, right? Jesus wants us to spread his words and teachings, and what better way to do that than on Ash Wednesday, when everyone can see me sporting a big black cross on my forehead. I can’t be more obvious than that.
Wait a minute I am seeing a contradiction here. In the gospel reading that is exactly what Jesus warns us not to do. He says it blatantly, “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” Alright, but does that really refer to what I wanted in elementary school. Let’s look at the piece of scripture in the context of the time. This piece of scripture is a part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. He is speaking to a group of primarily Jewish people about their own individual piety, or how they should each practice their devoutness to God.
The commentaries I read on this passage were quick to point out that Jesus was not being critical of the Jewish ideas of piety. What he was emphasizing was the intention behind performing those acts of piety. When Jesus states, “So when you give alms, do not sound the trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others.” Jesus wants his followers to understand what their intention should be in performing those acts of piety. If someone gives alms for the sake of being praised, that’s not the reason for practicing that piece of piety. Giving alms is supposed to be a way of becoming closer to God, not for being praised and rewarded by our peers.
Why did I want to get those ashes again? What was I centering my idea of getting ashes around?
During the book study on The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis, Lewis portrays this same idea in a young painter. While in Heaven, the painter is having a conversation with a Spirit about his pieces of art. The Spirit tries to help the painter remember the reason he started painting. Initially it was to share the pieces of heaven he witnessed around him. And the painter was successful artist because his paintings enabled others to see those glimpses of heaven. But now in Heaven, the painter doesn’t understand that idea. He believes that it was the painting was what people were impressed with and appreciated. Frustrated, the Spirit tries to make the painter understand what his paintings really meant to people, and says, “Light itself was your first love; you loved paint only as a means of telling about light.”
You loved paint only as a means of telling about light.
Lewis perfectly illustrates how and what we should be centering our lives on, the light. Which I took to mean the light of Christ. And this is exactly where I fall or get lost sometimes. The point of getting ashes on my forehead was not for me to boast about the classroom and to show off how pious I was or wasn’t. The point of practicing piety is to grow closer to God, to feel the love God has for us, which enables us to share that love with others.
Lent is not simply a time for giving up candy or Facebook for the sake of practicing obedience. It is an opportunity to strip away those distractions and practice forms of piety that bring us into a closer relationship with God. It is a time for us to reflect on how we share how much God loves us. And this is overwhelming sometimes, at least for me to truly comprehend. God loves us so much that he gave us his only son. Jesus was on Earth to show us how to share God’s love with others. And because of him, we can share that love through whatever means we feel conveys the light and the love God, just like the painter. Perhaps in elementary school, my intention for wearing a black cross on my forehead wasn’t the best way for me to share God’s love with others. Although the silver lining to that story is that God doesn’t condemn me for wanting to do that.
There is a particular line during the service today that reveals this good news, it says, “He pardons and absolves all those who truly repent, and with sincere hearts believe his holy Gospel”. Even though I got wrapped up in sporting a black cross on my forehead, God knows where our hearts are and if we get lost, will guide them back into the light.
Why did I want to get those ashes again? What was I centering my idea of getting ashes around?
During the book study on The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis, Lewis portrays this same idea in a young painter. While in Heaven, the painter is having a conversation with a Spirit about his pieces of art. The Spirit tries to help the painter remember the reason he started painting. Initially it was to share the pieces of heaven he witnessed around him. And the painter was successful artist because his paintings enabled others to see those glimpses of heaven. But now in Heaven, the painter doesn’t understand that idea. He believes that it was the painting was what people were impressed with and appreciated. Frustrated, the Spirit tries to make the painter understand what his paintings really meant to people, and says, “Light itself was your first love; you loved paint only as a means of telling about light.”
You loved paint only as a means of telling about light.
Lewis perfectly illustrates how and what we should be centering our lives on, the light. Which I took to mean the light of Christ. And this is exactly where I fall or get lost sometimes. The point of getting ashes on my forehead was not for me to boast about the classroom and to show off how pious I was or wasn’t. The point of practicing piety is to grow closer to God, to feel the love God has for us, which enables us to share that love with others.
Lent is not simply a time for giving up candy or Facebook for the sake of practicing obedience. It is an opportunity to strip away those distractions and practice forms of piety that bring us into a closer relationship with God. It is a time for us to reflect on how we share how much God loves us. And this is overwhelming sometimes, at least for me to truly comprehend. God loves us so much that he gave us his only son. Jesus was on Earth to show us how to share God’s love with others. And because of him, we can share that love through whatever means we feel conveys the light and the love God, just like the painter. Perhaps in elementary school, my intention for wearing a black cross on my forehead wasn’t the best way for me to share God’s love with others. Although the silver lining to that story is that God doesn’t condemn me for wanting to do that.
There is a particular line during the service today that reveals this good news, it says, “He pardons and absolves all those who truly repent, and with sincere hearts believe his holy Gospel”. Even though I got wrapped up in sporting a black cross on my forehead, God knows where our hearts are and if we get lost, will guide them back into the light.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
That Kodak Moment
For every major life event, rest assured my parents were there with a camera, ready to take a picture. Although because of technology today, taking a picture and sharing it instantly; it isn’t a big of deal. But when I was four or five it felt like taking a picture was truly a big deal. My parents were capturing every special moment, a memory we could keep forever. My family used a film canister camera, which meant we had to wait for the pictures to be developed. And when we finally received those new pictures, it was so exciting to go through them, and we did so ritualistically. We had to hold each picture only at the corners, ensuring not to smudge it. And we had to keep the pictures in the exact order we took them or else! My parents emphasized caring for the pictures because they knew that one day, I would want to show someone those pictures. So we took great care in handling them.
Today’s gospel reading is full of those precious picture taking moments for Jesus and his parents; it was Jesus’s presentation, which was a big deal in Jewish tradition. During our preaching group this past Monday, Father Tom explained that the presentation of Jesus actually consisted of three separate ceremonies, not just the one presentation ceremony, which is what I initially thought. In those times it was Jewish tradition that the mother wait 40 days after the birth of her child to be ritually cleansed. So the first ceremony was the ritual purification of Mary. The second ceremony, was the presentation the first born child to God. And finally third ceremony, was to dedicate the firstborn child into the Lord’s service; three ceremonies one day.
When Mary and Joseph arrived at the temple for Jesus’s presentation ceremonies they met an older man named Simeon, who was to perform the ceremonies. He was described as “righteous and devout” individual, but there was something else unique about Simeon. Through the Holy Spirit, God made a promise with Simeon that he would see the Messiah before his death. So when Simeon held Jesus, he knew that God’s promise was fulfilled, and he could die in peace, we understand this when Simeon says, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation” To me this is an impressive display of pure faith. He was an older man, who could have just given up, become cynical, and dwell on the idea that God wouldn’t provide. Instead he simply had faith. He had faith that the Lord would provide. After Simeon’s revelation, he describes Jesus as, “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel” emphasizing to Mary and Joseph the miracle Jesus will be in the lives of others. At this point, if Mary and Joseph were carrying a camera, this would be a picture perfect moment.
After the ceremonies were performed in the temple, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus walk out of the temple and pass Anna a prophet. From the reading, don’t know much, be we can understand that she was definitely an older woman. In one of the commentaries, it said she could have been around 100 years old. Even in her old age, Anna was dedicated to worship, and had a strong faith in God. So when she came across Jesus and his parents, she understood how significant Jesus was. There in front of her was the Messiah. Perhaps because of her age, she couldn’t walk around to spread the word, but she didn’t let that stop her. She simply spread the word just by talking to others about Jesus. If there was a picture taken at this moment, I imagine it would be Anna taking a picture of Jesus, so she could share it with everyone.
Today, there are lots of people that encompass both a pure devotion to faith like Simeon and a willingness to spread the word of God like Anna, but a particular person that pops into my mind this week is Shirley Cummings. When I first met Shirley, she told me about her faith journey and how she first began to attend services at Church of the Holy Spirit. Then she immediately switched to telling me about all of her children and grandchildren. Each of them having a special place in her heart. I could feel how devoted she was to her faith and family simply listening to her. Although Shirley has passed on, her devotion to God and love of others hasn’t stopped. It has been passed onward to her children and grandchildren. And I find this incredible, no matter how old or young, the love of God can be passed on.
God’s grace may always be within us, but we can learn to develop a deeper understanding of faith by listening to those who are wiser and have more experience with faith. Simeon, Anna, and Shirley were all prime examples of strong faith, and through their willingness to share their faith, they help develop everyone else’s.
Another great part about pictures is their ability to help reminisce about memories. By turning the pictures into a scrap book, putting them in a photo album, and even framing them and hanging them up. By sharing our memories with others, we learn more about who we are and others; ensuring that those precious memories stay close to our hearts.
Today’s gospel reading is full of those precious picture taking moments for Jesus and his parents; it was Jesus’s presentation, which was a big deal in Jewish tradition. During our preaching group this past Monday, Father Tom explained that the presentation of Jesus actually consisted of three separate ceremonies, not just the one presentation ceremony, which is what I initially thought. In those times it was Jewish tradition that the mother wait 40 days after the birth of her child to be ritually cleansed. So the first ceremony was the ritual purification of Mary. The second ceremony, was the presentation the first born child to God. And finally third ceremony, was to dedicate the firstborn child into the Lord’s service; three ceremonies one day.
When Mary and Joseph arrived at the temple for Jesus’s presentation ceremonies they met an older man named Simeon, who was to perform the ceremonies. He was described as “righteous and devout” individual, but there was something else unique about Simeon. Through the Holy Spirit, God made a promise with Simeon that he would see the Messiah before his death. So when Simeon held Jesus, he knew that God’s promise was fulfilled, and he could die in peace, we understand this when Simeon says, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation” To me this is an impressive display of pure faith. He was an older man, who could have just given up, become cynical, and dwell on the idea that God wouldn’t provide. Instead he simply had faith. He had faith that the Lord would provide. After Simeon’s revelation, he describes Jesus as, “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel” emphasizing to Mary and Joseph the miracle Jesus will be in the lives of others. At this point, if Mary and Joseph were carrying a camera, this would be a picture perfect moment.
After the ceremonies were performed in the temple, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus walk out of the temple and pass Anna a prophet. From the reading, don’t know much, be we can understand that she was definitely an older woman. In one of the commentaries, it said she could have been around 100 years old. Even in her old age, Anna was dedicated to worship, and had a strong faith in God. So when she came across Jesus and his parents, she understood how significant Jesus was. There in front of her was the Messiah. Perhaps because of her age, she couldn’t walk around to spread the word, but she didn’t let that stop her. She simply spread the word just by talking to others about Jesus. If there was a picture taken at this moment, I imagine it would be Anna taking a picture of Jesus, so she could share it with everyone.
Today, there are lots of people that encompass both a pure devotion to faith like Simeon and a willingness to spread the word of God like Anna, but a particular person that pops into my mind this week is Shirley Cummings. When I first met Shirley, she told me about her faith journey and how she first began to attend services at Church of the Holy Spirit. Then she immediately switched to telling me about all of her children and grandchildren. Each of them having a special place in her heart. I could feel how devoted she was to her faith and family simply listening to her. Although Shirley has passed on, her devotion to God and love of others hasn’t stopped. It has been passed onward to her children and grandchildren. And I find this incredible, no matter how old or young, the love of God can be passed on.
God’s grace may always be within us, but we can learn to develop a deeper understanding of faith by listening to those who are wiser and have more experience with faith. Simeon, Anna, and Shirley were all prime examples of strong faith, and through their willingness to share their faith, they help develop everyone else’s.
Another great part about pictures is their ability to help reminisce about memories. By turning the pictures into a scrap book, putting them in a photo album, and even framing them and hanging them up. By sharing our memories with others, we learn more about who we are and others; ensuring that those precious memories stay close to our hearts.
Monday, January 6, 2014
What is Priceless?
Camels: $500. Gold: $150. Frankincense: $100. Myrrh $200. Finding the Son of God, priceless. There are some things money can’t buy, but for everything else, well you know the rest of the commercial. For the wise men in the Gospel, I don’t know what their true expenses were, but they knew there were going to be expenses during their journey. A journey where they would follow a star to find the Son of God. It sounds a little bizarre, follow a star and find the son of God. What made God choose wise men to follow a star to find Jesus? Would God instruct anybody to follow a star to find Jesus? Was it all a coincidence?
So what made the wise men so special? When reading a commentary about this particular passage, I learned that wise men, were also referred to as Magi. The word Magi stood for several things during that time. It was a Persian priestly caste, it was short for the word magicians, and finally Magi also referred to individuals who were astrologers. And as astrologers they had the gift to read the stars. This was what made them wise. Since they understood the science of the stars, they had the skills to map out a journey simply using the night sky, they could follow a star to find the new born king. This was their God given gift
Prepared to begin their journey, they were first summoned by King Herod. And they were summon by the King because he was frightened. His understanding was apparently, “a child has been born king of the Jews”, a king to rule over all kings, which meant he wasn’t going to be King much longer. To prevent this new King from taking his throne, he called together all the scribes and all chief priests to understand exactly what he was up against. And from the gospel reading it says they explained what the prophet had written, “‘[from Bethlehem] shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” This meant King Herod needed to find that child and do all in his power to prevent him from being King. And since these wise men from the East were on a journey to find this new born king, he would use them to find the child and stop him from becoming King.
He ordered the wise men, to send back the location of the child, and then Herod himself could stop the child from becoming King. Brilliant plan, but what King Herod didn’t know was that the wise men weren’t going to follow his orders, they were warned in a dream not to.
So to answer the initial question, was it simply a coincidence? I don’t think so. The ability to understand the stars was a God given gift. God reached out to the wise men, to use skills that were particular to them, and they were able to find the son of God. Yes, it was a challenge to use the stars as a map, but God gave the wise men those skills. Most importantly, the wise men weren’t following the word of King Herod, they were following God’s instructions.
What does this look like for us today? How do we better listen to God to learn what are gifts are? And most importantly, who are we following? We, like the wise men, are on a journey. A journey to serve God by loving each other and to use the gifts God gave us to serve others. To understand what are gifts are, I think we must understand how we best serve others. For the wise men it was being able to read the stars, for those that are teachers it’s teaching, for those that are consolers it’s consoling, and for those that are doctors it’s treating illnesses. Ultimately, this shows us that God meets us where we are. God meets us where we are. God gives each of us gifts to serve others, but when we listen and follow God’s instructions we can perform wondrous ministries.
It is the beginning of a new year, which means for us it is the beginning of another journey to live out God’s mission for us. If we listen and serve God through our individual gifts we can begin to serve others better and love more. It’s won’t always easy, and there will be expenses along the way, but how bad can they really be? Reading the bible: $0, praying: $0, listening and loving others: $0. Serving God through our gifts: priceless.
So what made the wise men so special? When reading a commentary about this particular passage, I learned that wise men, were also referred to as Magi. The word Magi stood for several things during that time. It was a Persian priestly caste, it was short for the word magicians, and finally Magi also referred to individuals who were astrologers. And as astrologers they had the gift to read the stars. This was what made them wise. Since they understood the science of the stars, they had the skills to map out a journey simply using the night sky, they could follow a star to find the new born king. This was their God given gift
Prepared to begin their journey, they were first summoned by King Herod. And they were summon by the King because he was frightened. His understanding was apparently, “a child has been born king of the Jews”, a king to rule over all kings, which meant he wasn’t going to be King much longer. To prevent this new King from taking his throne, he called together all the scribes and all chief priests to understand exactly what he was up against. And from the gospel reading it says they explained what the prophet had written, “‘[from Bethlehem] shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” This meant King Herod needed to find that child and do all in his power to prevent him from being King. And since these wise men from the East were on a journey to find this new born king, he would use them to find the child and stop him from becoming King.
He ordered the wise men, to send back the location of the child, and then Herod himself could stop the child from becoming King. Brilliant plan, but what King Herod didn’t know was that the wise men weren’t going to follow his orders, they were warned in a dream not to.
So to answer the initial question, was it simply a coincidence? I don’t think so. The ability to understand the stars was a God given gift. God reached out to the wise men, to use skills that were particular to them, and they were able to find the son of God. Yes, it was a challenge to use the stars as a map, but God gave the wise men those skills. Most importantly, the wise men weren’t following the word of King Herod, they were following God’s instructions.
What does this look like for us today? How do we better listen to God to learn what are gifts are? And most importantly, who are we following? We, like the wise men, are on a journey. A journey to serve God by loving each other and to use the gifts God gave us to serve others. To understand what are gifts are, I think we must understand how we best serve others. For the wise men it was being able to read the stars, for those that are teachers it’s teaching, for those that are consolers it’s consoling, and for those that are doctors it’s treating illnesses. Ultimately, this shows us that God meets us where we are. God meets us where we are. God gives each of us gifts to serve others, but when we listen and follow God’s instructions we can perform wondrous ministries.
It is the beginning of a new year, which means for us it is the beginning of another journey to live out God’s mission for us. If we listen and serve God through our individual gifts we can begin to serve others better and love more. It’s won’t always easy, and there will be expenses along the way, but how bad can they really be? Reading the bible: $0, praying: $0, listening and loving others: $0. Serving God through our gifts: priceless.
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