Devotions

This past weekend (September 29 – October 2, 2011), I attended a retreat at Laity Lodge near Kerrville, Texas (address is Leakey, Texas).  “Laity Lodge is dedicated to enabling Christians to know Jesus deeply and to serve him in the everyday places of their lives . . . while reveling in a small bit of heaven on the Frio River.”  This is a part of a larger ministry (Foundations for Laity Renewal) to help, especially, the laity, “To serve God by creating opportunities for people to encounter God for the transformation of daily life, work, and our world.”

At the retreat, my wife and I were visiting with David Rupert (a contributing editor for The High Calling – another ministry of the Foundations for Laity Renewal) who produces the weekly newsletter for The High Calling.  He noted that one of the difficulties he faces is getting articles that help people focus on how to live out their faith in relation to their “secular” job(s).  That got me thinking about something that many a lay person in the church has brought up from time to time in studies.

Quite often emotions rise when people consider the “rich young ruler” (Mark 10:17-31; Matthew 19:16-30; Luke 18:18-30) who comes to Jesus wanting to know how to “inherit eternal life.”  This is the one who goes away sad when Jesus tells him to sell all he has, give the proceeds to the poor, and follow Jesus.  Through the years, I’ve heard many responses to this story:

• Questioning:  “Does Jesus want me to do that?”
• Fear:  “I haven’t done that.  Is God upset with me?”
• Side-stepping:  “Jesus is just testing him; Jesus doesn’t really want him to do that.”
• Clarification:  “I feel like I’m following Jesus, but I didn’t sell everything.  Is that okay?”
• Obstinance:  “Jesus is crazy if he thinks I’m gonna sell everything and give it to the poor!”

I’m sure there have been others, but these are the ones that stand out to me.

Here’s my take:  I think Jesus did want that one person to do just that.  I think Jesus has called others to do the same or similar actions, but not all.  The water is obviously muddied, though, when we see Peter say after the man has gone away sad, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”  Jesus responds by affirming Peter and the other disciples who have done this: “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.”

Since Jesus has responded in this way, doesn’t that say that Jesus expects all to do the same?  Am I wrong in thinking that Jesus calls only some to this extreme level of dedication?

Luke’s take, though, gives us an important insight.  In just thirteen verses after the interchanges between Jesus, the rich young ruler, Peter, and the disciples, Jesus tells the disciples what to expect when they get to Jerusalem (which they don’t understand), and Jesus heals a blind man outside of Jericho.

Then, chapter 19  of Luke opens with the story of a tax collector named Zacchaeus.  Jesus sees this one of short stature in a tree and says, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.”  Many grumble that Jesus would associate and go to the home of one who was so despised by many in that 1st century culture.  Yet, Jesus’ willingness to share with him brings about a vast change of heart in Zacchaeus who says, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”

Jesus’ response is NOT, “Sorry Zacchaeus.  You have to give all your possessions, not just half.”  Neither, does he respond, “Zacchaeus, I need you to quit your job as a tax collector.”  Jesus doesn’t even say that he needs to follow him on the way to Jerusalem.  He simply (yet profoundly) exclaims, “Today salvation has come to this house!”

Not everyone is called to give up everything and follow Jesus.  Some are called to give what they are able to supply the needs of those in need and to work in their “secular” with integrity, being sure to not defraud.  In doing so, I believe a divine element is brought forth and expressed in the “secular” world allowing others an opportunity to see God in their midst.

The point is, if I now endorse what I previously rejected, then I am demonstrating that I have no integrity. In fact, my old identity, defined by religious customs, passed away, so that a new God-given identity could come to life. I was crucified with the Anointed. The person I used to be no longer lives. God’s Anointed lives in me; and the bodily life I now live, I live by the same confident trust in God that the “son of God” had. He loved me and gave up his life for my benefit.

Galatians 2:18-20 (Scholars Version)

Just so, my friends, you symbolically died to the jurisdiction of the law when you identified yourselves with the crucified body of the Anointed, so that you could be free to commit yourselves to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, in order that we may be productive in the service of God.

Romans 7:4 (Scholars Version)

All too often, I believe that we think too narrowly about theological topics. One of those is “resurrection.” We assume:

• There is only one conception of resurrection in the Bible (actually there are multiple!). For more information on that read Bernard Brandon Scott’s book, The Trouble with Resurrection: From Paul to the Fourth Gospel.
• Resurrection has to do with only a physical, bodily resurrection. Actually, the apostle, Paul, says it is spiritual (for more read 1 Corinthians 15:35-44).
• Resurrection is something that happens only when we die.

In contrast, consider the passages above where Paul is essentially saying, I have died to an old way of life so I can live anew – NOW – being productive for God!  Plus, we can also probably all think of times in which we have been spiritually or emotionally “dead” and experienced new life by the empowering grace of God, which allowed us to live for God.  These images, too, seem to be resurrection.

Another image of resurrection that happens now while we live on this earth came to mind yesterday as I was contemplating the Children’s Sermon and Rev. Paul Goodrich’s sermon based on the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). God resurrects those talents that we have buried deep within ourselves – those talents that we might not want others to know we have, or talents we have never nurtured at all.

This past Saturday, I met a man who recollected to me how, as a child, he loved listening to the sound of the pedal-steel guitar coming across the airwaves on WSM (aka the Grand Old Opry). He said that he had always wanted to learn to play the instrument. In 1978, after moving to this area (Wichita Falls, Texas), he tried to find someone to teach him locally, but he could find no one.

In his words, “Life happened,” and he became distracted until 1992. He came across the name of a steel guitarist for a band based out of the Dallas / Ft. Worth area. He contacted him and convinced him to give lessons. So, every week for two years, he drove to DFW every Saturday morning for a lesson.

Today, he is productive in the service of the Lord by playing benefit and community concerts. Likewise, he teaches others to play the pedal-steel guitar to help them “resurrect” buried God-given talents for music.

Questions to Ponder:

• What talents lie buried within you?
• Are you purposely hiding that talent or is it a talent yet to be nurtured?
• What is keeping you from letting that talent grow and bloom for the betterment of others and yourself? Remember we are to love our neighbors as OURSELVES!
• How is God already at work in you, trying to make that talent come forth?

(This post was originally posted at http://fumcwf.org/archives/4877 under the title of
“Thoughts for Lent: Buried Talents in Need of Resurrection” on March 28, 2011.)

“That’s what I’m telling you, don’t fret about your life – what your going to eat and drink, or about your body – what you’re going to wear.  There’s more to living than food and clothing, isn’t there?

“So don’t fret.  Don’t say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’  These are all things pagans seek.  After all, your heavenly Father is aware that you need them all.  Seek God’s empire and his justice first, and all these things will come to you as a bonus.”

Matthew 6:25, 31-33 (Scholars Version)

Unemployment is high.  Our 401k plans are up and down.  The political future of our nation is in question on many, many levels, and Jesus says, “Don’t fret.“  Putting it another way, some people will tell those with the situations that cause fretting, “Give it up to God.”  If only it were that easy.

This was a topic of discussion at the Men’s Breakfast Group on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 as we discussed Dr. Alyce McKenzie’s first Perkins Lecture, “The Fear of Everything but God: Cultivating the ‘Fear of the Lord’.  As one member noted (and I agreed), “Giving it up to God,” is a trite phrase often thrown around.  When folks like myself continue to struggle with issues we face, many would tell us, “You don’t have enough faith or you wouldn’t still be concerned.  You obviously have not given it up to God.”  That line of thinking annoys me (as well as the other member) for a number of reasons:

• It assumes that God is going to fix everything without my participation.  I can’t believe that.  I love the line (paraphrased) from St. Augustine and used by John Wesley, “God, who made us without ourselves, will not save us without ourselves.”  The life of faith – our relationship with God – is a two-way street.  As in any relationship, we have to work together.  God isn’t going to force God’s grace on us.  We have to accept it, and more often than not, I believe God’s grace isn’t just a change of status but an empowering force of God working with and through us to bring about change in our lives and in the lives of others.  Sometimes God’s grace empowers us to accept a solution that is different than what we might have wanted.

• We’d have to be heartless people to not have concerns about people, things, and events that tug at our hearts.

• All too often as hinted at above, people “beat up” other people of the faith, criticizing them for their lack of faith.  This often puts the people who are already fretting into more of a state of worry.  That is not helpful at all.

In response, though, the great theologian (and retired politician) David Farabee made a great point.  He said, properly understood, “Giving it up to God,” is a coping mechanism.  It doesn’t mean the concern won’t come back to “haunt” us at some point.  Properly understood, the words of a prayer might be something like this:

“God, I’m too focused on these concerns right now.  I’m almost paralyzed with fret and worry.  Help me at this moment to redirect my thoughts to something more productive.  Then, let’s get back together later and see if we have come up with a solution for these concerns.”

I think that is part of what Jesus is getting at when he says, “Seek God’s empire and his justice first, and all these things will come to you as a bonus.“  When we are able to set aside our concerns to be able to further God’s empire, God’s kingdom, it takes our mind off of paralyzing frets and worries.  In the process, we might meet people who can help us with our own problems as we help them with theirs.

Questions to ponder:

• What frets and worries are almost paralyzing me right now?
• What need in God’s kingdom / empire might I focus on in order to help me to give up my worries – if even for only relatively short amount of time?
• Who do you know that is paralyzed with frets and worries that you can reach out to in order to help them participate in God’s kingdom / empire?

(Originally posted at http://fumcwf.org/archives/4781 under the title, “Thoughts for Lent: Give It Up to God,” on March 17, 2011)

“Let me tell you, if you don’t turn yourself around and become like children, you’ll never enter the empire of Heaven.  Therefore, those who lower themselves to [a] child’s level are greatest in the empire of Heaven.”

Matthew 18:3-4 (Scholars Version)

Currently, one of Micah’s (my 15-month old son) favorite things and phrases is “kitty cat.”  He always wants to go look for “kitty cat,” and yesterday he wanted to go outside to look for “kitty cat” (presumably our cat Rascal who has been away from home for a few days).  Well, I thought to myself that going outside to look for “kitty cat” would also be a good time to get the mail, so I picked Micah up and headed outside.  Micah immediately wanted down to walk by himself!

He pointed a few places saying, “Kitty-cat,” and then got distracted.  So, I asked him if he wanted to go with me to get the mail.  He immediately started walking toward the mailbox.

I helped him step off the curb, and we began to walk toward the mail box on the other side of our cul-de-sac.  As we neared the mailbox, Micah got distracted again by something over by the road, so we veered off into another direction.

When he got to the edge of the road, he started walking along the road toward our alley.  At the alley, he wanted to continue along the road, but I finally diverted his attention so we could walk back toward the house.  After about 10 feet it was obvious his little legs were tired as he kept losing his balance and falling.  After about 10 more feet of this up-and-down scenario, he apparently decided to just take a rest on the curb where he sat down.

There by the curb was a smashed bottle cap, trash in my eyes but apparently treasure in his.  He picked that cap up and turned it every which-a-way examining it from every angle.  Then he began to drop it on the side walk, pick it up, and drop it again – over and over!  After a while, he began to look it over yet again.  Then he started scraping it on the concrete back and forth: “scrape, scrape; scrape, scrape.”  Then he’d look it over again.  Several combinations of the above went on for at least 7 minutes before I got bored and picked Micah up to take him back home with that bottle cap clutched firmly in his hand.

Often we are chastised to be careful not to get distracted in our faith.  “Stay focused,” we are told, “and don’t let anything keep us from our goal.”  There is some value to this, but I also question this concept as it assumes that there is only one aspect to our life of faith.  If we serve an infinite God, can our journey of faith be reduced in such a manner?  Likewise, what if an aspect of our faith is not being very fruitful (like looking for “kitty cat” who is beyond our current reach); doesn’t it make sense to focus on an area that is fruitful, like seeking and finding treasure (like a smashed bottle cap)?  We can come back to that other aspect of faith later in our journey of faith (just as Micah wanted to look for “kitty cat” later in the day), but in the meantime, we can be fruitful in other ways.

Sometimes, we are also told what is treasure and what is not, and we are not given an opportunity to decide for ourselves.  I could have taken that bottle cap away from Micah, since in my definition it was worthless trash.  Micah had another definition, though, that increased my appreciation for the simpleness of that treasure.  His inquisitiveness reminded me that there is probably treasure in many things in my life of faith that I have been told or have labeled myself as trash.  We need to approach the world and our journeys of faith with a willingness to look for treasure in what appears to be trash – and trash in what appears to be treasure.

Questions to ponder:

• How can our lives of faith be more multifaceted, mirroring the multifaceted nature of God?
• What in our journeys of faith needs to be re-evaluated to determine if they are really trash or treasure?
• How can we regain the inquisitive nature of a child in our lives of faith?

(Originally posted at http://fumcwf.org/archives/4680 under the title, “Thoughts for Lent: Faith of a Child,” on March 9, 2011)