body of Christ – Page 4 – Salvaged Faith

the limitations of congregations

Posted on September 26, 20092 Comments

The following is something that Taylor Burton-Edwards presented at our School For Ministry here in Iowa this spring, and I was reminded of it again through a series of posts about how we nurture disciples and can we do it in the church.

What really strikes me is that we use the same words to describe a variety of different entities, so let me first of all define some things:

the church: for me this has never been a building. it is the Body of Christ – the hands and feet of Christ – made up of you and me and all other followers of Jesus. This is not limited to a denomination, or even a congregation.

the congregation: a local institution and community of believers.

With that subtle distinction to guide us, here is what TBE says about congregations:

Basically, the congregation as we have known it all these years (over 1400 of them!) was and is designed to be a PUBLIC form of Christian community that does the following, and really not much else:

The public worship of God

Teaching the basic doctrine of the faith

Providing some means for caring for each other (pastoral care, fellowship groups, and the like)

Being a good “institutional player” for the good of the larger community

Those are the things, and really the ONLY things, the congregation AS congregation, is designed to do.

Making disciples– committed followers of Jesus who are growing in grace and holiness– is not on that list…

For many centuries in many places, monasteries and extra-ecclesial “societies” took on that role.

In England in the 18th century, Methodism did that.

In both, it was understood that BOTH some kind of congregational life AND some kind of accountable small group life were essential for people to grow in holiness and discipleship to and mission with Jesus. So those early Methodists weren’t trying to rethink church without congregations and the signficant facilities they had to do what they did– public worship, teaching, care, and being institutional players. Rather, they were trying to rethink church by ADDING structures that ALSO helped everyone in those additional structures ALSO grow in holiness of heart and life.

As I work on my sermon right now, I’m wrestling with the question – How can you be a Christian outside of the church… but this discussion reminded me that the question really is “How can you be a Christian outside of the congregation?”

I’m not sure that as followers of Christ we ever exist outside of the church – but so often in our language we speak as though the church is something you must join and something you must go to. Really, we are thinking about the congregation.

I see immense value in the congregation and the tasks that it brings to the world. But we have a whole big chunk of our lives that exist outside of the congregational life. When we limit our faith to the congregation, we limit our faith to Sunday mornings… or Tuesday night bible study… or Thursday youth group.

What I am more interested in is what the church is doing outside of the congregation. Where are we demonstrating our faith in the other institutional homes of our lives? in our family? in our work? in our schools? Where can we look for guidance in these other areas of our lives?

The lectionary readings for this week give us examples of faith in action without the “congregation” – without the institution or “in-group.” Esther has actually put aside her religious practices in becoming the queen, and yet we describe her as faithful. The disciples are complaining about people acting in Christ’s name outside of their little band of followers and he chastises them (again) and urges them not to put a stumbling block before anyone who wants to act in his name.

The way I take those texts: There are lots of faithful people out there who aren’t a part of our congregations – who aren’t a part of institutional Christianity.

Our job in response is twofold: First, to encourage them in the good that they do like Mordichai encouraged his neice, and in the process we might invite them into our congregational life. Second, we should be challenged to learn from them new ways to be faithful Christians outside of the congregation.

Reading the Church into the individual

Posted on September 17, 2009Leave a comment

Lately I have begun approaching scripture with a whole new set of eyes. As I think about what it means to be the pastor of a congregation… even more than that, what it means to speak the Word to the congregation… I’ve started thinking about “we” instead of “me.”

In my preaching, I have felt less called to preach to our individual responsibilities, but our communal ones. I have felt called to talk about our unity in the body of Christ and our task to work together for God’s kingdom. If I truly believe in a perichoretic God, then it only makes sense!

For that reason, I look at scriptures like the one from this week about the first being last and servant of all and I wonder what that would look like if as the CHURCH we put ourselves last. What would it look like if we who are in the church put the needs of others first? What would happen if our desires took a back seat to God’s.

Does anyone else read the scriptures in this way?

Moltmann Conversation – Last Session Ecclesiology

Posted on September 11, 20091 Comment

• You gave me language to describe myself in Crucified God, as a person born with disability – how to people who have gifts and burdens have access to the full expression of the church In the power of the holy spirit: a disability concerned me my life long, because my older brother was a severly disabled person and he died when euthanasia began in germany. I think the church must be consist of disabled and not disabled persons – a congregation without disabled persons accepted is a disabled church. Let our families bring them into the congregation and as a part of the community – because they all are images of Jesus Christ.

• When we talk about the imago dei, we talk about our ability to reason – yet there are human beings who have not this same ability to reason from abnormality or accident, but you wouldn’t dare say that person wasn’t created in image of God – how does persons with mental disabilities affect our doctrine of imago dei: I think that imago dei concept speaks of a relationship not of a qualification of a human being – but a relationship of God to the human being by which the human being is an image, a resonance of God.l This is the first relationship – the relationship of God to every human being and this cannot be destroyed, not by disability or sin. The other is the relationship of the human to God and this is the similarity – our response to God. This is a life of faith and responsibility and a conformity of our life to the will of God. The first relationship of God to humans is in every human being, be it a Xian or Muslim or atheist – in every person or disabled person or child or older person, this relationship of God is in everyone. So we must respect God in every person we meet. The second is the similitude of our relationship to God – God created all men equal, free & equal, so we must respect the image of God in every person, even in a murderous person or a terrorist! It is difficult, I know, but it’s not a question of our judgment, it’s a question of respecting God’s presence.

• Inalienable human rights… Macintyre = these are unicorns, we made them up, the Aristotelian language determines them and as Xians we use the bible to live by them – theologically, what do you think of this concept on which America was founded? I praise your document of independence for saying this. In 1978 I wrote in a document God’s rights and Human Rights, adopted by World Alliance of Reformed Churches. The only question was then, afterwards in 1990, in Seoul, how to relate these on human rights to the world of nature. Unfortunately dictatorial governments deny their citizens the human rights with the arguments of the persons you just quoted. But every Chinese person, every African person has inalienable human rights and those who commit crimes against humanity will be brought to court in Denmark – we have this in the UN already. War crimes in Balkans, etc… unfortunately the US did not sign the establishment of international courts to persecute crimes against humanity and human rights. You have a court from the crimes in Rwanda and Brundi and Tanzania and other places and this is really good development, because the growing world community will be based on human rights or there will be no world community at all…. come to the insight that it would be better to join this cause in the world. Every government will respect the human rights of their citizen, b/c human rights are deeper and more serious than citizen rights in a given society. Every person in China or Africa says, “Am I not a human being?”

• Rowan Williams proposed that because of the growing propotion of Muslims in Great Britian, that british law should make room for Shariah law – and there was a lot of discrepancy about that: Yes, especially from women, who say are we not human beings too? This is the cry from Muslim women in Germnay. I do not understand Williams at this point, perhaps I don’t understand the british legal system. You can’t let everyone have their own rights, than no one can be brought to court. This is an impossible idea.

• You refer to God as a he and HS as a she in this conversation – it’s coming up with pronouns that are appropriately intimate and personal for God and yet don’t anthropomorphize God with a gender is difficult: yes of course, God is neither he/she/it – God is God. And we should not use God’s divinity to justify the domination of men, of women, and therefore, the image one can be described of the trinity is neither the F/S/HS, but they have unity – this can be reflected in a human community – the church is by the unity of the Trinity the united community. If you look carefully in the gospel of John you can find clearly – let them all be one, like you father in me and I in you… no human being is the image of the father, and no human being is the image of the son – they are in community the image of the communal identity of love.

• The filioque clause which was part of the great schism – you have written it has led to a monarchial monotheism, or hierarchical trinity, you align yourself with Eastern Christians on that cause and there is an Australian theologian who wrote that this has written to the subjugation of women… What led to your rejection of that and what is the politics around that among Western theologians (esp Catholics?): Well, let me begin wit hthe practical side. In 1984-5 we had a big congress in Rome on the HS. And then the good John Pope II when he came to the Nicene creed, he read it in Greek and in Greek it has no filioque. In the book of Concord – the Lutheran tradition, you have it in Latin with it, in Greek without it side by side. There are traditions which do not follow the schism.

• So we should probably describe what that is – that the HS goes forth from the father and the son, or the HS goes out from the father alone. If the HS goes out from the father alone, the HS goes out from the father of the son, JC is already present in the going out, therefore the filioque is not necessary to be added. If we start with not a filioque, we can say the F/S/HS – this is important to understand the relationship of the Trinity in the life of Jesus, in the synoptic gospels: baptism, in the desert, working through Jesus healing and accepting, in the life of Jesus, the real subject of action and passion is the HS, so we have the order F-HS-S, b/c the HS came upon the Son… only after the resurrection this is turned around. HS comes from F on behalf of S – Jesus asks God to send the paraclete… you have a much richer understanding of the tradition in the scriptures…. In filioque, HS is always 3 – but you can’t number them anymore in perichoresis, they are all equal. The congregation has the spirit not only from the pastoral and the word of God, but also directly from God. This is certainly a reason for Pentecostalism. On the other hand, trad. Protestant churches, the HS only comes through the pastor, he is a spiritual man and through the Word. There was a time in Sweden, in the Lutheran world, where pastors were not allowed to pray freely – they must read the prayer. One must say to Pentecostals “lets all be in the community with Jesus from which the Spirit is a part” you can feel the baptism of the HS in the community with Jesus, but not so to speak directly from heaven (like shamanistic tradition) the filioque might be good for Pentecostals, but not trad. Churches.

• This has a huge impact on our action world! Filioque has a bearing on our structues of power. Maybe this is held onto so tightly because it supports their own version of human community and sovereignty/authority – a lot of us in the us emergent community says that the authority lies with the church – the body – and the pastors role is an organizing role. If the spirit comes from the Son, then the pastor as the bearer of the word…: this was my criticism over Barth in his volumes on creation. In the trinity there is a commanding father and an obedient son, therefore in creation, heaven is above and earth is below. Soul is above, body is below, man above, women below – this was against everything he knew about the relationship btwn soul and body from psychology and other things and also from the relationship of man and woman – which he had a lively exchange of letters from a woman who said she does not like the idea of a beheaded woman and a bodyless man.

• Paul seemed to think a lot about sex, Augustine certainly, in the American church – sexuality is a schismatic topic currently and the reason why others of us have withdrawn from those denominational fights: let me first say, this is no problem in Germany. We never have a struggle about this in the churches and in between the churches, because the church is about the gospel and not about sex. ….. Homosexual or heterosexual who believes by faith alone is saved! And is certainly able to be ordained in a Christian community. I would not say that a lesbian or homosexual partnership is equal to a marriage, because a marriage is intended to father children, I’m not intentionally objected to adoptive children, but I’m in no terms objected to blessing such a partnership. It is neither a sin, nor a crime – I don’t see the schism or the heat of the debate on it. But I know how much this is destroying children in this countries. Why is this more important than questions of war and peace.”

• Death in a person’s life – am I not right in trusting in a future of togetherness in which we might all together live/learn/love/grow: I’m not one to get into a dispute with Jesus. But I trust that those who died are not dead, they are with us, they are watching over us and we live in their presence. They also, according to the understanding of … are growing until they reach the destiny for which they were created. So if a life was cut short, God will bring what he had begun for the human being to its intended end and death cannot hinder God to do this, because God is God, and cannot be overcome by death. Love is an expression for an intimate relationship… Barth was asked, do you think we shall see our beloved ones again? Yes, but the others too.

• You said the church is the agent of God’s mission in the world… in that you talked about what is the church, how do you do church in America – so what is the church? there are many perspectives on it. For a long time: Body of Christ, body of risen Christ, after Vatican II, even Catholics talk about the people of God. If we say this, we must also say that God has two parts of the people – Israel and the Church. And the mission is not only through the church of the peoples, but also through Israel and we must take care of both sides, not only looking to the people of the world/poor but also to the Jews who also are the elected people of God. New church order saying that the church is in dialogue w/ Israel b/c we have a book in common and a hope in common. The church has a task of Christianizing society in which the church is – but restricted. Now we have dialogue everywhere, but this is not good, because a dialogue as such has no goal if the dialogue is the goal we want to convert the other partner, the dialogue will end. The way is the goal to dialogue. It is good to know the other religious communities, but a dialogue needs a common ground and this is with Israel the OT and this is the special relationship of the church.

• You say it’s not so much what is the church, but where is the church. Can you expand upon where the church is now that we have not seen in the orthodoxy of the church in the past: on the one hand we have the mission of the risen Christ,whoever visits you is me… on the other hand we have the inviting Christ – whoever visits you visits me (Mt 25) we must not only hear the commandment of Christ, but listen to the invitation of Christ coming from the outside.

• With changing forms of “inside” and “outside” and with new communications/communities/forms of communities that are no longer geographically but relationally based – where parish has changed. What is the future of the congregation? I believe strongly in face-to-face community. Cyber-space may be nice to communicate with everyone in the world, but a cyber space without be without the human. In the new media, you can see and listen, but you cannot feel, taste, smell. So only two of our senses are engaged and the other senses diminish and are no longer developed. You can make the test in school where the children already have their iphones – let them close their eyes and feel – they can no longer differentiate between wood and plastic, because there is no education of their feelings. Taste – doing work on the computers they eat pizza and junk food – this tastese like nothing, not to speak of smelling or anything. The near senses which babies develop first by putting everything into the mouth are underveloped while our far reaching senses are over developed (seeing and hearing). This has effects on our communities and therefore I still believe strongly in local face-to-face communites where we can talk, see, eat and drink together and be a community of full senses.

• You mention the eucharist – it seems that we can’t agree on what to call it b/c of different theological perspectives. Radical orthodoxy suggests Eucharistic rationality – with table as center of identity. Zwinglian experience = communion which is more agape meal, less sacramental, gathering and foretaste of great banquet. What is the role of communion/eucharist in the church? this is the most difficult point of the ecumenical gathering of denominations. I believe strongly that we do not celebrate on the Lord’s table our theories about his presence but his presence! We may have different thoeories about how and the way he is present, but lets celebrate his presence first! And then after the eating and drinking around the table, lets sit together and talk about our different theories. If we start with the different theories, we will never come to the table! After eating and drinking, every dialogue is better than dry throats and an empty stomach. I go to every invitation if I hear the inviting words of Christ. I don’t care. And so far no priest has said you are not invited, only those who belong. Jesus invited all those who are weary and burdened to come to him. He is not inviting Catholics only or Methodists only … this would be not the Jesus I know.

• I often think if we are going to spend eternity together, its good practice to get to know one another now! My catholic friends and I get to a place where we are both happy: transubstantian is a ____ theory. We have a union between Lutheran and Reformed churches and we believe in full presence of Christ in bread and wine – whether this is transformed this is nonsense, but what is important is that we believe in the presence of Christ in both forms and we rject RC of wine for preist and bread for community. In Vatican II they came close to this form for both for all, now with brother Benedict we have some reactionary forms of eucharist in the tradition, which is unfortunate since he was my brother at Tubingen.

• The cyber reality is one form of community/communication, but more and more as we are missional and our focus is in the community – church attendance is less and less because their lives are so busy and the stress of time is almost a commodity so spending time with neighbor is taking neighbor in some of the expressions of church rather than gathering for worship. Some worship is also in connection/serving people who are in their communities around them: this may be true for those who have a job, but not for unemployed people. For those who have a job it is a question of priority – whether they must go to the cabin/seaside or whether they be in the congregation. Its not that they have no time, it’s a question of priorities you set in your life.

• Is it the church when it gatheres? Or when it scatters too? Both kinds – we gather people together and we send them into the world, like inhaling and exhaling. – weekly breathing? The summers rest is more heresy than the OT/NT tradition of work days and rest day.

• Writing an ethics! Love of life and political side of new concept of justice/righeousness according to biblical traditions.

• Who should we be reading? What are you reading? All of course, the bible. It depends on your eyes. If you have curiosity to find new things in this old book, you will find it! If you have a traditional understanding it will be boring to read the whole text, but it is a revolutionary text and sometimes full of dangerous memories. Read: Miroslav Volf, Philip Clayton, Tony Jones, John Cobb, Nancy Bedford, many young people are coming up with new theological ideas. There are many good people coming up so we can step down and have rest.

Becoming Disciples through: Gifts

Posted on May 17, 2009Leave a comment

Over the past two weeks we have explored how we support the ministries of Christ’s church through our prayers and our presence.

We live as children of God and sheep of Christ’s flock, by staying connected to our loving parent God and filling ourselves with the Spirit through prayer. Remember that deep breathing – deep praying we need to do?

And we remain connected to the vine and we are nourished for this task through our presence in this community. When we start to get disconnected from one another, the leaves wither and the fruit fades. And it’s hard to get good ministry for Christ’s church out of dead branches.

Today, we remember that we are not only given power and energy through God, like empty vessels for the Spirit to flow through, but we have also been blessed with gifts to share. We have been given temporary ownership over resources and skills and abilities – not so that we can further our own aims, but so that we can further God’s.

In fact, that is why in Malachi there is such a strong condemnation! “You are robbing me!” God says… “in your tithes and offerings! Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house… see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.”

A portion of what we already have belongs to God, it is meant for God’s ministry. We have been blessed so that we can be a blessing.

We may forget this occasionally – but in many ways the purpose of the tithe and the offering were not so much about having to sacrifice something to God, but about obedience to God’s commands. God’s command to love our neighbors are born out in the giving back of our gifts – because the temple and later the churches used that money and grain and meat to feed and clothe the priests and to give to the poor. Yes, a portion is used as a part of the ritual, a portion is burned in the case of the temple sacrifices, but the remainder is meant for the community – it is meant for the ministry of God in the world.

Today when we talk about gifts in the church, we aren’t talking about cereal and flesh offerings: bread and meat… but we are talking about spiritual gifts and that dreaded word: money.

And the purpose of these gifts is the same as those given in the temple. We are given much in order that we might be a part of furthering God’s kingdom.

But I firmly believe that in both cases – both in the things that we can do and the monetary blessings we have received – we underestimate and we under appreciate our gifts.

Those two themes – underestimation and under appreciation really struck me when I came across a video on YouTube a little over a month ago. Now, some of you may have seen or heard the story of Susan Boyle before, but I believe it is such a powerful moment, that it’s worth viewing over and over again.

(introduce and watch video of Susan Boyle)

Under-estimation and under appreciation.

When Susan walked out on that stage – everyone underestimated what she could do, what her gifts were. And I would also venture to guess that she probably underestimated herself. The immense joy that came across her face when the judges all three said “yes” she would be going on was AMAZING!

Stored up inside of her, for all of those years were these powerful notes and emotive lyrics, and no one took them seriously. Yeah, you want to be a singer… okay. Whatever.

It wasn’t until she was given the chance to share her gifts that anyone – including herself – realized what a blessing she had received or what it could do to change the world.

In the aftermath of that performance, she has caused millions of people around the world to take a second look at their preconceptions and to give someone a chance – that is the gift that God has given us through Susan Boyle.

In our own lives, we too underestimate the power of our gifts and what we actually have to give.

Reading Malachi this week and hearing the call to bring the full tithe into the storehouse… it was powerful and convicting in my life and helped me to remember Wesley’s old adage: Earn all you can, Save all you can, give all you can.

You see, Wesley was in ministry among the poor at the beginning of the Methodist Movement. He was preaching out in the fields and in graveyards to miners and anyone else who would come near. And there was practically no money to support their ministry.

But as Wesley began preaching about money – about how we need to have a strong work ethic and earn all that we possibly can – but that we also need to be frugal with our money and save all that we can – people began to listen.

The most surprising thing happened when the miners and field workers stopped buying the things they didn’t need like hard alcohol and fancy clothes and jewelry – all of those things that made them try to appear wealthy… When they started to cut back on luxuries and to live a simpler life… the Methodists went from a movement of the poor, to a movement of the middle class. They gave and gave generously to the work of the Spirit in the movement – to their class meetings and to the society – but they found that they also had a bit left over for themselves…

“see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. I will rebuke the locust for you, so that it will not destroy the produce of your soil; and your vine in the field shall not be barren, says the Lord of hosts.”

We hear the encouragement to be generous too in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. He tells us about the churches of Macedonia. In a time of severe affliction, he writes, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part… they voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond their means, BEGGING us for the privledge of sharing in this ministry to the saints.

Now there is a church that didn’t underestimate the power of their gifts. They knew that they could make a difference, they knew that they were called to make a difference, and they wanted to be a part of it.

I want to invite you to experience what the joy of the Macedonians is like. I am going to need a few volunteers to come forward… as many as we have, but not more than 5.

(give them the charge with the $20)

I firmly believe that love can conquer all. I firmly believe that God’s grace conquers all. And in 1 John, we are reminded that our faith and trust in what God will do with our gifts will conquer the world. John writes that “the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world.”

These $20 bills can conquer a portion of the world. They are a gift from God – and I can’t wait to see what fruit is born for mission. I pray that you will not find this a burden – but like the Macedonians that your abundant joy and this meager sum might overflow into a wealth of generosity.

That second theme in relationship to our gifts is underappreciation. In the case of Susan Boyle – many people had heard her sing in the past. In fact, you can now find some of her old performances that are posted on YouTube. And she was just as amazing then as she is now!

But no one stopped to appreciate and to celebrate what she had done, to share in the joy of the blessing she could be to the world.

I think that is why our passage from 2 Corinthians is so important. Because Paul took the time to thank and appreciate the Macedonians for what they had given. We have no idea of how much they gave, or what they gave – simply that they gave. And simply for giving, we need to appreciate one another.

I think this is why the commandment to love is without burden. Because when we love others, it is because we were first loved. And in return for the love we give, we are filled up with love in return. It is a circle that keeps growing and expanding because it continues to be replenished and returned.

But sometimes when we offer our gifts in the world, those gifts are not appreciated and our giving becomes burdensome.

In Ephesians, we find a list of gifts that God has given us through the Spirit in order to build up the body of Christ:

Some are called to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers… in other places we find other gifts mentioned: leadership, speaking in tongues, those who can give money, care givers.

We each have a gift that we have been blessed with and when all of our gifts work together according to God’s good will – then the saints are equipped for the work of ministry, the body of Christ is built up and all of us become unified in our faith.

When they all work together.

But you know what – it’s hard to be the hands of Christ giving out soup cans at the food bank if no one ever says thank you. It’s hard to be the mouth of Christ teaching and demonstrating God’s love when no one is paying attention. It’s hard to be the feet of Christ standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes if no one values what you do.

Because when we give our gifts and no one cares, we start to doubt if we are making a difference. We get burned out because we are continually giving and we are not being replenished.

As a church, as the Body of Christ working together, we need to thank one another when we give of ourselves… we need to encourage one another to keep with it, and affirm that there are gifts present that are shining forth. But what we also need to do is to let others affirm the gifts that are within ourselves.

Maybe there is something that you have not given back to the ministry of Christ for years because you got burned out long ago. Maybe there is something that you are afraid to share with the church because you don’t want to be taken advantage of, or don’t think you have the time or energy.

Know – that I am stating today and I hope that you are all with me on this – that we will take the time to celebrate the gifts that you share with us. We will take the time to affirm what you have given to us. Because it is good. Because it is important. And because through Christ, our gifts will transform the world. Amen.

knock-knock

Posted on April 23, 2009Leave a comment

I have posted on here many times that home visitation is not my strength. And if I’m to be honest with myself, even though it is the number one priority of my PPR, it’s not as high as it should be when I sit down and schedule myself for the week.

And reason #1 – I’m a huge introvert. We’ve been there and talked about this before.

These past two weeks, two very active people in the congregation fell (at different times) and have required surgery. And one of these people in particular is the woman who does SO much behind the scenes that no one even thinks about, until she wasn’t there. My own grandma (Babi) was also having her knee replaced.

My own ability to visit them was compromised by the fact that I was at School for Ministry and then came home with the crud… but I discovered/remembered some amazing things about my congregation and my ministry in the meantime.

1) Yes, the PPR puts visitation as my number one priority, but they also have it as the main priority of the congregation.

2) The people in my church know how to look after one another. They have made countless visits and delivered countless meals without being asked and simply because that’s what they do.

3) At SFM, some colleagues helped me remember that my calling/vocation gives me permission that no one else has to “intrude” on people’s lives – that if the congregation has made that a priority, they are in many ways inviting me to know things others don’t know and to see them in vulnerable situations.

4) sitting for 2 hours in a waiting room with someone – even if you have nothing to say – is rewarding ministry.

5) I have never lived in a community or family where people stopped by to visit if you were sick. Living in the country, we weren’t that neighborly – at least as kids. There were regularly scheduled Sunday evening visits to my great grandparent’s house, and we always came and went from Babi’s, but I never learned the art of “dropping in”

6) I was blessed to sit with my Babi for well over four hours in the hospital. I didn’t want to leave in part because it was good to catch up and spend that time with her, but also because I didn’t want to leave her there alone.

7) I really don’t want to leave my church family “alone” either. It is part of my calling to drop in and help them to know that they aren’t alone – that we are thinking about them and that God loves them.

8) everytime… and i have to keep reminding myself of this… everytime I “drop in” I am blessed.

Weekly Lectionary Reflection

Posted on September 4, 2008Leave a comment

** I’m giving up on my other blog where I only post lectionary reflections… my life, the life of the church, and the texts are not seperate – they all intertwine, so they might as well on my blog too! **

I’m quite far behind this week, as far as sermon preparation goes. I’m increasingly thankful for my local pastor’s lectionary study, as we always look at the texts a full week and a half in advance.

This week, I’m thinking a lot about the confrontation that is proposed in this week’s reading from Matthew, but also how that is only possible when you are bound together in Christ. So, in continuation with my “ABC’s of Being the Church” theme, this week is B for Bound Together.

I visited with a woman recently about these kinds of confrontations when your neighbor wrongs you, and we agreed that it is a horribly difficult thing to do. BUT – in our families, we have no problems telling someone if they have hurt us, or other people. Especially she said as a parent and a grandparent, or as a sibling, there is a lot of intervening going on (some of it not so healthy). But we treat those people who are in the church with us as strangers, as people whose lives are private and none of our business.

Our text this week reminds us that we are bound together. And the Romans passage makes that even clearer as we hearken back to the 10 commandments. While the first commandments are all about honoring and loving God, the rest are about how we are supposed to live in community – take care of one another – don’t do anything that would harm the fragile balance of our togetherness – because we all need one another to survive. In the United States, we are so individualized into our family units that we can’t see the way that our actions affect other people. Or we ignore the effects. This week, as we talk about being bound together, we have to face the responsibility and accountability that goes along with that.

Hammers and Nails

Posted on August 24, 2008Leave a comment

This morning, I want to tell you a story about a carpenter who worked for his father’s construction company. One day his dad called Junior into the office and said, “Junior, I’m putting you in charge – total and complete charge – of the next house that we build. I want you to over see the whole job from ground up and order all the materials – nails, 2.4’x… everything.”

Well, Junior quickly got to work on building the house that his father had designed. For months before the groundbreaking he studied the blueprints and checked every specification. Then he pulled together a team of dedicated and hard-working people. While he knew that this was something that he could easily do on his own – that wasn’t the way that Jesus worked. And so he brought each individual to this team because of something special that they offered – because of some gift or talent that they had. Joe was the type of guy that made sure everyone else knew what they were supposed to be doing, so Jesus made him team leader. Julius had a special talent for putting up drywall. Sue knew how to pour a fantastically level foundation. Fred was married to the local lumberyard owner and so they would have access to the best materials.

Junior brought his team together and told them – I have given you everything that you need to build this house. You have been blessed with the skills you need to make it work – but you have to work together. I have specifically brought each of you here because together you can do more than any of you could do alone. You need one another to make this happen. So as I start to build this house – each of you have an integral role to play…”

The team eagerly got to work on this great project. They were so willing to follow the guidance of their leader Junior. But after a few weeks of great work, there began to be problems among the team. Steve, who was on the crew that brought food for everyone each day stopped showing up. Megan was a part of the team because of her precision hammer work, but she spent all of her time laying tile. The guy who was supposed to order all of the cabinetry tried to cut some corners and ordered much cheaper material and only half as much as was needed. Pretty soon, others on the team got busy with their families and the rest of their lives and started showing up only every other day. Some stopped showing up at all.

Junior looked around at the jobsite – half finished, and in desperate need of help – and thought… we can still do this.

The truth of the matter is this story about Junior and his construction project isn’t a story about a house at all. While Junior may have been brought up to be a carpenter, he has a much bigger calling that has taken over his life. You see, Junior has another name and another purpose for this thing that he is building… His other name is Jesus and his plan is to build a church.

This church that Jesus has in mind, this church that Jesus is building in reality has nothing to do with 2×4’s and levels and hammers and everything to do with the people that he has called together to build it. Not some hypothetical Steve and Megan – but you and me.

If we go back to our scriptures and look at the word which is used for the church in our bibles – the word is ecclesia – which literally means the “called out ones.” Each and every single one of us has been called out, called here to this place in order to BE the church that Christ is building. In essence, we are the 2×4’s, we are the nails, we are the foundation, the supporting structure, the insulation, the windows, the doors – we are the church.

In our gospel reading this morning there is a lot going on, and we will talk about Peter’s whole declaration that Jesus is the Messiah next week… but as a result of that, as a result of someone finally “getting it” – Jesus, in essence, begins his task of building the church – laying the foundation for the Kingdom of God that he has come to proclaim. He looks at Simon, whose nickname of Peter, or petra in Greek literally means rock and he says, “On this rock, I will build my church!”

It’s almost as if he is telling his friend, You are going to be part of the foundation of my church and nothing is going to stand against it.

Here is this guy Simon Peter, who countless times in the gospels makes mistakes and lets Jesus down and seems to fail in every way possible. And Jesus decides to make Peter the foundation of the church? Sounds a little like our carpenter was using shoddy materials, doesn’t it?

No, because Jesus is the one building this church and Jesus has the ability to take all of our mistakes and all of our weaknesses and all of our failings and when he puts us together with one another, when he strengthens us with the Holy Spirit, when his flesh and blood is poured into this project – nothing, not even death will overcome this church.

In the book of Isaiah we hear a glimmer of that promise. Isaiah speaks to us God’s word when he says, “look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham and to Sarah… for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many.” (Isaiah 51:1-2)

Who were Abraham and Sarah out of the multitude of people in the world? Nobody really. Nothing entirely special. They had their own faults and weaknesses. But they are the stuff from which our heritage has come and God took their lives and blessed them and made something great out of them. All of it is God’s work, not our own. This church that we sit in today is God’s church, not our own. All of us here may think we are a part of the First United Methodist Church – a church that some of your parents and grandparents and great-grandparents helped to build – but no, you are a part of God’s church, a church that Christ has built through all of them and now is continuing to build through all of you.

The difficult part is letting go enough for Christ to do his thing! And by letting go, I don’t mean sitting back and watching it all happen. I mean letting go of our ideas of what this church should look like, who it should include, and where it is headed. Letting go of all of the “good old days” talk and all of the “we shoulds” and “we shouldn’ts.”

Paul wrote to the church at Rome and sent them a beautiful systematic and theological account of what Christ has done. And he talked about God’s grace and God’s mercy and how we have an opportunity to respond to the grace that has been given to us and he writes in the passage we heard this morning (this from the Message translation): So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. (The Message, Romans 12:1-3)

More common translations of the bible ask us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God – or taking our whole lives, everything about them, our jobs, our families, our passions and hopes – all of it – and placing it before God so that God can bless our lives and transform them and use them to build his kingdom.

The amazing thing here is that God is not asking us to lie down and give up everything… This is not a sacrificial end, but a sacred beginning… Jesus tells the disciples “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. (Mt 16:24-25) A pastor friend of mine was also working on her sermon and wrote words so beautiful I just had to borrow some of them – because you see, we are supposed to be living sacrifices! Which means like Isaac and his father Abraham, we crawl off the altar, and start living, letting God’s hands shape our lives, pound us into shape, pour us out, fill us up. “You can live your life so that God can do something with you.” (http://faithinflipflops.blogspot.com/)

And the thing is, just like the workers who were called together by Junior – each of us has some part of our lives that God wants to use. Each and every single one of us has been graced with gifts and talents and personalities and passions that no body else has. And because together – all of us running around as living sacrifices- make up this living, breathing, moving Church – we need everyone to play their part.

Peter Gomes is a professor at Harvard Divinity School and he once said that “the church will never be any better than we are.”

I believe that is completely true. Because we are the 2×4’s and the nails and the drywall and the windows and doors and insulation – we are the church. And if we let ourselves wear out, if we put aside our best materials and only bring to the church second-rate lumber, if we cut corners and take the easy way out, then we are a weak house built on a poor foundation.

We are called to Be the church! And it takes all of us, living in partnership with one another to make this happen.

You see, the thing about the church is that it isn’t some country club that you belong to – a membership in an organization where you can pay your dues and show up for meetings once and a while. The church is a community of people who follow Christ with their whole lives! And that is a tough and challenging and beautiful and joyful and rewarding thing!

Because if you look around this morning- you will find all sorts of other people who are on this journey with you. Think of them as the other 2×4’s that support the church with you – think of them as the nails that hold us together – think of them as the windows that will fit perfectly into the holes cut for them that help us to see the world outside of us. We all have a place; we all have a purpose here.

Hear again these words from Paul in the book of Romans: So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t. If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face. (The Message, Romans 12: 5-8)

It takes all of us to be the church. And as living sacrifices, the church needs all of our prayers, presence, gifts and service. Yours and mine.

Sometimes it’s hard to remember what it means to be the body of Christ, to be the church in the world today. In many ways, the church, both ours and the church universal, have allowed themselves to be more conformed to the culture around us – the attitudes, the expectations, the focus on growth at all costs and on financial success – rather than to be transformed by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

The best way that I know how to start to strip away all of those things that get in the way, those things that look more like the world than like Christ, is to start back at the beginning – to go back to the basics and look at what it really means to be the church.

So in the next weeks and months, we are going to wipe our slates clean and start fresh. Now, this doesn’t mean that what we have accomplished in the past is worthless… think of it this way. I have a friend who used to run at least 3 miles every single morning. It took her a long time to build up to that, but she did it. At some point though, all of the other things in life began to take priority in her schedule, got in the way, and her running days ended. She still thought of herself as a runner, but she had stopped practicing the art. Like her, we need to shake off the dust, limber up our joints, and start practicing again. Unfortunately, if she went out there and tried to run 3 miles cold, she would have some problems – she wouldn’t make it and she just might give up. Just like she needs to start from scratch, with shorter jogs, building up her endurance, so we need to gradually open up our lives and let Christ in – let Christ transform us from the inside out.

As we do so, each week we will look at one way that Christ calls us to “be the church.” One simple way that we can start being the church again. One step at a time. Little by little, Christ will work on us, Christ will form us and shape us, little by little, Christ will build this church. Amen and Amen.

Lectionary Leanings

Posted on August 23, 2008Leave a comment

1. Christ wants us to BUILD HIS CHURCH
2. The Church as a Living Body
a. WE don’t create it… Christ does.
i. Isaiah 51:1-2 “look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham and to Sarah – for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many.”
b. Letting Go of our own ideas – both the “good old days” and the “we shoulds”
i. Romans 12:1-2 “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God… do not be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of your minds.”
c. BUT we have to use the tools that we have been given!
i. Romans 12:6ff “We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us..”
ii. “The church will never be any better than we are.” – Peter Gomes
3. It takes all of us to be the church, not just some. This isn’t some country club that you have joined, this is a community of followers of Christ and starting this fall, we are really going to focus on what that means.
a. Each week until Advent, one way that we are called to “be the church” and “embody God’s Kingdom”
b. Then after we have explored each of those ways, I am going to challenge you to take a step of faith and to make a new kind of commitment to this church (will be covenant discipleship groups starting after the new year – and dividing the congregation up into classes w/ leaders). But first, we need to get back to the basics and remember what we are called to do.