Thy will be done

Jesus saved his harshest words not for Israel’s oppressive Roman overlords, nor for insurrectionists like Barrabas (who advocated violent civil unrest), not even for the religious elite he accused of being white washed tombs. No, Jesus reserved his harshest criticism for his disciples. When Jesus speaks in terms of God’s will (his pending death and resurrection), one disciple, Peter responds, “Oh no Lord, God forbid this to ever happen to you.” What could be more well meaning then that? Yet Jesus gives Peter the severest of condemnations when he addresses Peter as the embodiment of evil. “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Matthew 16:23) Nowhere else in the Gospels does Jesus speak of anyone in this harsh of language. Is it possible that our concerns might be a problem for God; that they might stand in the way of God’s purpose? Jesus seemed to think so. In other words, God’s will is not a given. It doesn’t reveal itself by osmosis. It takes prayerful reflection and holy conversation. It’s a discernment process with an eye on scripture and a heart open to God’s Holy Spirit. But isn’t it enough just to be well intentioned? Hmmm…. 

Finding Grace

A mega church in Winston-Salem recently sent letters to families who attend worship but never volunteer, tithe or participate in small groups. They were “politely” asked to either take their participation to a higher level or simply stop attending. Their executive pastor was quoted to say, “No more Mr. Nice Church. Bigger is not always better. Providing free services indefinitely to complacent Christians is not our mission.” Another church staff member adds, “Before now, we made people feel comfortable and welcome, and tried to coax them to give a little something in return. That’s changed. We’re done being the community nanny.”

I wonder what Jesus would think of this approach. Yes, church membership is a big deal and people should take it seriously. We say as much whenever someone joins First UMC Lewisville. But isn’t there something contradictory about treating church members as dead-weight who don’t measure up to our standard of what a Christian or church member should be? That God has standards for our lives is clear but grace is the ultimate standard God uses to measure us by.  Grace is God treating us better then we deserve. I can’t imagine belonging to a church that is unwilling to give grace when it’s very existence is owed to it.

Don

The Sky Is Falling!

   January 15... that’s when a failed 14.5 ton, 165 million dollar Russian Mars probe is expected to come crashing back to earth. The good news is, most of the probe is expected to burn up in the atmosphere. Russians scientists predict that just 20 to 30 pieces, weighing a maximum of 440 pounds will actually hit the ground (or water). The bad news is Russian scientists say it's impossible to know when and where the probe will hit. Should we worry? According to the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies, the odds of getting hit by space debris are at the most 10,000 to one. In fact there’s only one known case of that happening, in Tulsa and she survived. Still, the thought that large pieces of a space probe will be falling from the skies is somewhat disconcerting. 

   I wonder if God is intrigued and even amused by our longing to explore the mystery of the universe when perhaps the greatest unexplored frontier is the human soul. For it is here within the deepest part of our being that God waits to meet us. It is here we'll discover that extraterrestrial life that has already come crashing down into our reality not as some errant piece of space debris, but as the embodiment of love. In my book that's something worth getting clobbered by!

Broken pots

Over the summer my sister gifted me with a coffee cup. The cup design is called "Somayaki" and is a type of traditional Japanese pottery. Somayaki is prized for it's high end tea cups and teapots. I know this from experience because I grew up with this pottery. While a new Somayaki coffee cup will set you back $50.00, my sister picked this one up in a flea market for $5. Well, today I accidentally dropped my cup in the sink while washing it and the handle broken into several pieces. Sad, I know. While I could glue the handle back together it will never be something useable, only decorative. It got me thinking about the things in our lives that have since run their course and no longer serve their original purpose. Sometimes we keep them for sentimental or ornamental reasons. Sometimes we simply keep them because we've long since grown accustomed to them. I don't know about you but these days I find myself thinking "less is more." Maybe its the economy or even maturity, but I've been divesting myself of a lot of the things I've accumulated over the years. Some I've sold, others I've simply given away. I think this divesting is healthy and its helping me keep my focus on what's most important. I think at some level this is true for the church and maybe even for the doing of theology (how we think and talk about God). When things run their course its a healthy thing to allow them to fall by the wayside and instead focus on what's most important. Some of the things I was taught early on in my faith journey simply don't hold water anymore and I've learned to let them go. Others have had to evolve, as I processed them through my life experience. I hope that as I continue to mature in my faith, I will be able to focus on what's most important and have the grace to let go of what isn't. I suspect this is Jesus' hope for his church as well.