wisdom – Salvaged Faith

Daily Bread

Posted on October 4, 2015Leave a comment

My friends and family play this game called “Would You Rather…” It sets up silly and sometimes serious scenarios and you have to decide which of the two you would rather do. It’s good for parties… it’s good for car rides…

And it’s good for getting to really know someone.

Would you rather live in a place that was always very hot or a place that was always very cold?

Would you rather swim in a pool of marshmellows or a pool of M&Ms?

Would you rather go without the internet or a car for a month?

Would you rather be poor and work at a job you love or be rich and work at a job you hate?

With our children in just a minute, we’ll talk about how King Solomon is faced with a “would you rather” question of his own.

God comes to Solomon in a dream and basically asks what is the one thing that he wants to receive… what is the one blessing that he wants to sustain him for the rest of his life.

Would you rather have wealth or power or love…?

Or would you rather have something else?

Solomon quickly answers with the one thing he both wants and needs… “Give me your wisdom so that I can help your people.”

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If you are anything like me, when faced with a kind of “would you rather” question about the one thing I want or need, my thoughts first went to the things that I need in my life for daily sustenance.

And because we live in a world that is run by money… maybe that is what I would ask for.

But how much? How much money is enough?

Enough to provide daily bread for my family?

Enough for a rainy day?

(For our time of confession this morning), I want to invite you to turn to a neighbor and answer this question:

How much do you need to provide daily bread for your family? Or to put it another way, what does it cost to put food on the table for one week in your home?

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The Batsuuri family in their single-room home—a sublet in a bigger apartment—in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, with a week’s worth of food. Standing behind Regzen Batsuuri, 44 (left), and Oyuntsetseg (Oyuna) Lhakamsuren, 38, are their children, Khorloo, 17, and Batbileg, 13. Cooking methods: electric stove, coal stove. Food preservation: refrigerator-freezer (shared, like the stoves, with two other families). /// The Batsuuri family is one of the thirty families featured in the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (p. 226). Food expenditure for one week: $40.02 USD. (Please refer to Hungry Planet book p. 227 for the family’s detailed food list.)

How much do you need to provide daily bread for your family?

It is a question we all wrestle with…

The Glad-Ostensen family in Gjerdrum, Norway. Anne Glad Fredricksen, 45, her husband Anders Ostensen, 48, and their three children, Magnus, 15, Mille 12, and Amund, 8 with their typical week's worth of food in June. Food expenditure for one week: 4265.89 Norwegian Kroner; $731.71 USD. Model-Released. — The Glad-Ostensen family in Gjerdrum, Norway. Anne Glad Fredricksen, 45, her husband Anders Ostensen, 48, and their three children, Magnus, 15, Mille 12, and Amund, 8 with their typical week’s worth of food in June. Food expenditure for one week: 4265.89 Norwegian Kroner; $731.71 USD. Model-Released.

whether in Norway

The Aboubakar family of Darfur province, Sudan, in front of their tent in the Breidjing Refugee Camp, in eastern Chad, with a week’s worth of food. D’jimia Ishakh Souleymane, 40, holds her daughter Hawa, 2; the other children are (left to right) Acha, 12, Mariam, 5, Youssouf, 8, and Abdel Kerim, 16. Cooking method: wood fire. Food preservation: natural drying. Favorite food—D’jimia: soup with fresh sheep meat. /// The Aboubakar family is one of the thirty families featured in the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (p. 56). Food expenditure for one week: $1.23 USD. (Please refer to Hungry Planet book p. 57 for the family’s detailed food list.)

or Chad

The Caven family in the kitchen of their home in American Canyon, California, with a week’s worth of food. Craig Caven, 38, and Regan Ronayne, 42 (holding Ryan, 3), stand behind the kitchen island; in the foreground is Andrea, 5. Cooking methods: electric stove, microwave, outdoor BBQ. Food preservation: refrigerator-freezer, freezer. Favorite foods—Craig: beef stew. Regan: berry yogurt sundae (from Costco). Andrea: clam chowder. Ryan: ice cream. /// The Caven family is one of the thirty families featured in the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (p. 260). Food expenditure for one week: $159.18 USD. (Please refer to Hungry Planet book p. 261 for the family’s detailed food list.)

or Des Moines.

Today, as we think about our daily bread… as we think about breaking bread with people all across the world today, on World Communion Sunday, the stark differences between what is available and what is needed in these various places across our world is astounding.

The Ahmeds’ extended family in the Cairo apartment of Mamdouh Ahmed, 35 (glasses), and Nadia Mohamed Ahmed, 36 (brown headscarf), with a week’s worth of food. With them are their children, Donya, 14 (far left, holding baby Nancy, 8 months), and Karim, 9 (behind bananas), Nadia’s father (turban), Nadia’s nephew Islaam, 8 (football shirt), Nadia’s brother Rabie, 34 (gray-blue shirt), his wife, Abadeer, 25, and their children, Hussein, 4, and Israa, 18 months (held by family friend). /// The Ahmed family is one of the thirty families featured in the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (p. 118). Food expenditure for one week: $68.53 USD. (Please refer to Hungry Planet book p. 119 for the family’s detailed food list.)

The needs and concerns that any given family have are so varied.

The Bainton family in the dining area of their living room in Collingbourne Ducis, Wiltshire, with a week’s worth of food. Left to right: Mark Bainton, 44, Deb Bainton, 45 (petting Polo the dog), and sons Josh, 14, and Tadd, 12. Cooking methods: electric stove, microwave oven. Food preservation: refrigerator-freezer, a second small freezer. Favorite foods—Mark: avocado. Deb: prawn-mayonnaise sandwich. Josh: prawn cocktail. Tadd: chocolate fudge cake with cream. /// The Bainton family is one of the thirty families featured in the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (p. 140). Food expenditure for one week: $253.15 USD. (Please refer to Hungry Planet book p. 141 for the family’s detailed food list.)

I recently joined the Board of Directors with DMARC, the Des Moines Area Religious Council. Today, one of their major focuses is on food distribution in Central Iowa.

And what I have learned is that the need that surrounds us, right here in Polk County is great. Many families… many working families… don’t have enough to put daily food on their tables.

Solomon was King David’s son and when his father died, he became the ruler of the land. He wasn’t a perfect person and he often was focused on things other than God.

But God came to Solomon in a dream one night with a simple offer: “Ask whatever you wish, and I’ll give it to you.”

Whatever you wish.

He could have asked for palaces of gold, or a thousand wives, or to rule the world…

But he found himself in this new position of power and responsibility and he had one request:

“Give me, your servant, a discerning mind so that I can govern your people, so I can tell good from evil, and so I can take care of your people.”

What amazes me is that Solomon didn’t see this one wish, this blessing from God, as a “I” request… what do I want or need.

He saw it as an “US” request… what do we, God’s people, need.

He asked for wisdom.

He asked to be fed, not with the daily bread of grains and wheat, but with the daily bread of the Word of God.

He asked for something that would bless all the people.

Today, we are kicking off our month long series focusing on John Wesley’s simple advice for our finances… that we should earn all we can, save all we can, and give all we can.

And I think that as we start to explore Wesley’s advice, he starts in the same place as Solomon.

Over the next few weeks we will discover that he encourages us to find joy in the money we make, but to do so in ways that benefit the well being of others and ourselves.

He will encourage us to be frugal, to not be extravagant or wasteful and to save as much as possible.

But the goal of both of these is always in service of the third…. To give all we can.

To make a difference in the lives of other people.

To serve God by feeding the people, visiting them in prison, taking care of the sick, giving clothes to the naked.

Wesley encourages us to do just what Solomon did…. to shift our focus away from what me and my family needs and to think bigger…

What do God’s people need?

What kind of wisdom and discernment and truth is required in order to take care of one another?

What is needed, here in Polk County, in order to survive?

Above is a basic budget that details the cost of living in this county in Iowa… a comparison of the basic expenses that a family needs in order to provide a simple home and daily bread for their family. (from www.iowapolicyproject.com)

As the demand for food pantries and assistance in our community has skyrocketed in the last few months, I was wondering why until I saw this chart.

If you look at the final column, you will see that a family of two working parents with only one child needs to make at least $44,639 a year in order to meet these basic expenses.

That means that together, with both working, they each need to make at least $10.50 an hour.

At least.

The minimum wage here is $7.25.

If you work full time on these wages, you simply cannot make ends me. It is impossible.

So I wonder what it means to ask for daily bread and daily wisdom in Polk County, Iowa today.

I wonder what it means to ask for daily bread in Mongolia and Ecuador.

And I pray that God would give us the wisdom to ensure that every family has enough, as we gather around the table this morning to break bread.

Amen.

J&MES: Blessing & Cursing

Posted on September 27, 2015Leave a comment

Our tongues are muscles – and the strongest muscle in our body at that. In fact – a man once lifted a 24 lb. 3oz weight using ONLY his tongue. But for being such a strong muscle, it is also extremely flexible.

And, the tongues is the only muscle in our entire human body that is not connected on both sides. Think about it… our biceps connect at the shoulder and elbow, our calves do work through tendons connected to the bones in our legs. In fact, the work of a muscle is to contract or release and thereby move our bodies.

But the tongue is only connected at one end. With the other, it is free to roam. Free to do great good or fantastic harm. Capable of blessing and capable of cursing.

Our tongue is the only muscle that can get into trouble all by itself. Like a flame of fire it is wild and unpredictable and can easily get out of control.

As The Message translates James: you can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue.

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As James writes in his letter to the people of God: A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything – or destroy it! Our words matter because they reveal who we are.

All of the carelessness of our speech, James embodies in our tongues. He compares it to the rudder on a ship or the bit in a horses mouth. Our tongues guide our futures, direct our paths, and lead us… whether we want them to or not!

If you don’t believe our tongues are important – talk to a politician. They know, perhaps better than anyone, how every single word you utter can be taken out of context… or how the off-hand remarks you make can come back to haunt you.

But really, when you think about it… just like the rudder of the ship is controlled by the captain and the bit in a horses’s mouth is directed by the hands of the rider, our tongues are not autonomous creatures… they are a part of us. They are directed by us. And because of this, whenever the tongue moves, it is merely revealing the state of our hearts and minds.

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It is precisely the condition of our hearts and minds that gets Lady Wisdom so upset in the first chapter of Proverbs. She is the Spirit of God personified and stands in the streets calling out to the people.

No one is listening to the voice of God. The people are full of mocking and curses, on one another and on the wisdom of the Lord.

Does that at all resemble our modern culture? Does it resemble how we treat one another? I can’t turn on the television or scroll through my facebook feed without seeing an attack ad, mocking, and political vitriol.

Lady Wisdom sees it too, and simply being nice hasn’t helped…

“So she changes tactics, from calling people to wisdom and the fear of the Lord to making sure everyone knows the ruin they are heading for if they do not start paying attention.” (GBOD Preaching Helps)

“You ignored all of my advice, and you didn’t want me to correct you, so I’ll laugh at your disaster; I’ll make fun of you when dread comes over you, when terror hits you like a hurricane…” (1:25-27)

As parents or aunts or big brothers – certainly you have tried that tactic yourself. When the children don’t answer when they are nicely asked, you pull out the big guns: You had better do it right now OR ELSE!

We like to be people of encouragement and blessing and support, but there are times in our lives when we need to call out the warnings and troubles that wait if we remain on the paths we tread.

As Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us:

There’s a season for everything and a time for every matter under the heavens…

a time for tearing down and a time for building up.

A time for crying and a time for laughing…

a time for keeping silent and a time for speaking,

a time for loving and a time for hating…

Sometimes, we need to speak the truth and call to task those who oppressive.

The question that faces us is how do we know when to bless and when to curse?

How do we get our hearts and minds in the right place so that our tongues can do God’s will?

Proverbs 1: 32 and 33 tell us:

Waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them.

Our Lord doesn’t want us to be wayward and complacent, going this way and that, controlled by nothing but the whims of the world and our hearts desires.

God wants to guide our thoughts and actions.

Like the rudder of the ship needs a strong captain, like the bit of a horse needs a discerning jockey, so our tongue… and the brain connect to it… needs some wise direction.

The problem is, that tongue isn’t going to tame itself.

As we think about what it means to be people of blessing or people of cursing, there are three traps we can avoid as we put God in control of our tongue.

First, the trap of ignorance.

Too many of us are wandering about aimlessly flapping our tongues because we never stopped to pay attention and see if God was guiding us or not.

We never stopped to look at a roadmap of faith. We haven’t opened our bibles and spent time with God’s word. And because we don’t know the Word… we can’t do anything with it.

This is one of the most biblically illiterate times in the history of the United States. In many cases, we can’t fault people for not doing God’s will – or for not knowing how to listen to God – because they have never been taught.

To use another sort of metaphor of the tongue – they are like children who are starving. They do not have good food set in front of them, if any food at all.

The best remedy for the trap of ignorance is to seek out God’s word and to share it.

Once we realize how hungry we are… how much we have been missing… then we realize just how much abundance of knowledge and wisdom is at our fingertips… and we find the source that can truly direct our tongues and our lives.

The second trap we fall into is cynicism.

Some of us curse for cursings sake. We complain about everything. When our cynical sides come out, we doubt that God’s word will have any impact on our lives. Sometimes, we even begin to be skeptical about God.

If the ignorant were starving children, then the cynic is a picky eater. They move around the items on their plate, but only eat a small amount. They complain about what they get and want something else.

And so our faith is cold and stale, picked apart and unbalanced. We do not delight in the law of the Lord, but look upon it as a burden that is getting us nowhere. We let the pain of the past dictate our future.

Katherine Kehler wrote: the only cure for cynicism is to cultivate a habit of thankfulness.

In an article about Thoreau, Wen Stephenson says that the remedy for cynicism is action, engagement, awareness of this moment that is around us.

In many ways – thankfulness and engagement are two sides of the same coin. We need to open our eyes and see the gift we have been given. We need to live into this moment and cherish it with our whole lives. And when we do so, our innate cursing turns to blessing.

The final trap we fall into is pride and the refusal to learn.

Our pride tells us that we can do it on our own. Our pride makes us believe that we don’t need anyone to guide us. We turn away from advice, scoff at help, and stubbornly stand still. We bless ourselves and curse the world around us.

In fact, this is one of the primary things James writes about. We cannot see our own faults because we are so focused on who we think we are. We let the desires of our own heart rule the day and shut the door on anything that is contrary to those desires.

We may not be starving children or picky eaters, the prideful are the ones who have a plate of good and delicious food set before them and stubbornly refuse to eat. They don’t need it. They aren’t hungry. They are just fine on their own.

But without the word of God to nourish us and give us strength, our own devices quickly fail. We stumble and fall.

Humility is the only thing that will tame a prideful tongue. Our boasting brings us low when reality sets in. We get to decide whether that humility is on our own terms or if we are destroyed by our own smugness.

Humility means that we ask for help. Humility means we admit that we need to grow. Humility means recognizing that we were not meant to go it alone and finding a group to study with, friends to lean on, and a God to depend upon.

James tells us that the wisdom from above is pure. It is gentle and reasonable. God overflows with mercy and blessings. And in a community that is healthy and robust and depends upon God for direction, your tongue will be anchored in the life-giving Word.

The good news is that Lady Wisdom is ready to pour out her spirit upon us. If we let go of our ignorance… if we shed our cynicism… if we abandon our pride… we will find direction in God….

Ships, Horses and Tongues

Posted on September 16, 2012Leave a comment

Jesus and the disciples were traveling along the road when he asked them a question: Who do you say that I am?

We heard how Peter spoke out, “You are the Christ!” … but we also heard how merely moments later, Peter began to speak again. He was wavering in his faith, resisting the reality that was setting in, unwilling to believe what Jesus was saying about the work of the son of Man. With the slip of his tongue in protest, Peter went from being the man with the answers to being stumbling block sent straight from the devil.

Our words matter. They reveal who we are. They can be used for healing or chaos. As James writes in his letter to the people of God: A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything – or destroy it!

If you don’t belie

ve our tongues are important – ask Ben Bernanke. In coded terms and subtle turns of phrase, the entire global market reacts to the words that roll off of his tongue.

But one interesting fact I learned about tongues is that out of all the muscles in our human body – the tongue is the only muscle not connected on both sides. Think about it… our biceps connect at the shoulder and elbow, our calves do work through tendons connected to the bones in our legs. In fact, the work of a muscle is to contract or release and thereby move our bodies.

But the tongue is only connected at one end. With the other, it is free to roam. Free to do great good or fantastic harm. In fact, our tongue is the only muscle that can get into trouble all by itself. Like a flame of fire it is wild and unpredictable and can easily get out of control.

: photo by S. Braswell

As The Message translates the passage: you can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue.

But really, when you think about it… just like the rudder of the ship is controlled by the captain and the bit in a horses’s mouth is directed by the hands of the rider, our tongues are not autonomous creatures… they are a part of us. They are directed by us. And it is our minds and our hearts that the words of our tongues reveal.

We heard this morning a rather challenging passage of scripture from the book of Proverbs. Lady Wisdom, the Spirit of God personified, is standing in the middle of the street calling out to the people. Unlike last week’s verses from Proverbs – which are the familiar short and pity sayings, today we hear a rather dramatic warning to those who will not listen.

Lady Wisdom seems to be distressed. No one is listening to the voice of God and she is just about ready to give up all together. In our General Board of Discipleship helps for this week, they write: “So she changes tactics, from calling people to wisdom and the fear of the Lord to making sure everyone knows the ruin they are heading for if they do not start paying attention.”

We could read this whole passage from Proverbs 1 as a great big “OR ELSE” from God…

But what are we being warned about? What have we done so wrong?

As the last two verses tell us:

Waywardness kills the simple,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;
But those who listen to me will be secure
and will live at ease, without dread of disaster. (NRSV)

Our Lord doesn’t want us to be wayward and complacent, going this way and that, controlled by nothing but the whims of the world and our hearts desires.

God wants us to listen to the Word, listen to the Spirit that speaks in our hearts. God wants to guide our thoughts and actions. Our meandering and wandering to and fro is dangerous to our souls.

Like the rudder of the ship needs a strong captain, like the bit of a horse needs a discerning jockey, so our tongue… and the brain connect to it… needs some wise direction.

The problem is, on our own we are wayward and complacent and that tongue isn’t going to tame itself.

As Lady Wisdom stands in the intersection, crying out, there are three particular groups she calls upon to respond and repent and receive the wisdom and the grace of God. I think that these are three traps that we all have fallen into from time to time… but if we see them and understand them, perhaps we can also avoid them and turn back to our Lord and Savior.

The first of these traps is ignorance and naïveté.

Too many of us are wandering about aimlessly because we have never stopped to look at the map. We haven’t opened our bibles. We don’t spend time every day in the word of God. And because we don’t know the Word… we haven’t passed on that saving Word to our friends and family and neighbors and children.

To use another sort of metaphor of the tongue – they are like children who are starving. They do not have good food set in front of them, if any food at all.

What goes into our bodies past our tongues is not healthy and so why are we surprised when it does not lead us in good directions?

The best remedy for the trap of ignorance is to seek out knowledge and to share it. Once we realize how hungry we are… how much we have been missing… and how much abundance of knowledge and wisdom is at our fingertips… we will realize that we never need to starve our souls again.

Sometimes, it is difficult to find a place to start when you didn’t realize how much you didn’t know. This year, on Wednesday nights, there is a bible study that is doing an overview of the entire bible. Each week they will cover the story of one book of the bible. This is an excellent place to start for those of you who are looking for your first taste of bible study!

The second trap we fall into is cynicism.

When our cynical sides come out, we doubt that God’s word will have any impact on our lives. We look out on all the problems of the human race and we have little hope that things will change. Sometimes, we even begin to be skeptical about God.

We read the scriptures that are before us and laugh – yeah, right, like anyone is actually going to live that out… like someone could actually choose to abide by the rules and regulations and lifestyle the bible proscribes. It’s just good poetry, words to make us feel better, nothing more.

And so our faith is cold and stale, picked apart and unbalanced. We do not delight in the law of the Lord, but look upon it as a burden that is getting us no where. We let the pain of the past dictate our future.

Katherine Kehler wrote: the only cure for cynicism is to cultivate a habit of thankfulness. Thoreau wrote about reviving his senses by walking. In fact, as Wen Stephenson writes about Thoreau in his article “A Walk and a Talk” he says that the remedy for cynicism is action, engagement, awareness of this moment that is around us.

Whether you walk through nature, or feast with friends around a table, or spend time in God’s word – look upon each moment as a chance to encounter our Lord and Savior and give thanks for what you find there.

The final trap we fall into is pride and the refusal to learn.

Our pride tells us that we can do it on our own. Our pride makes us believe that we don’t need anyone or anything and we are fine just the way we are. We turn away from advice, scoff at help, and stubbornly stand still.

In fact, this is one of the primary things James writes about. We cannot see our own faults because we are so focused on who we think we are and where we want to be. We let the desires of our own heart rule the day and shut the door on anything that is contrary to those desires.

But without the word of God to nourish us and give us strength, our own devices quickly fail. We stumble and fall.

Pay attention to me FIRST, Lady Wisdom calls from the streets…. Then relax – you are in good hands.

Good hands indeed. James tells us that the wisdom from above is pure. It is gentle and reasonable. God overflows with mercy and blessings. And in a community that is healthy and robust and depends upon God for direction, your tongue will be anchored in the life-giving Word.

After all, our friend Peter found. As much as he stumbled and faltered with his words… as much as he let his own pride and doubts get in the way of God’s work… he was not abandoned by God. And when the Holy Spirit poured into his life, the Apostle Peter found the right words to say every time.

The good news is that Lady Wisdom is ready to pour out her spirit upon us. If we let go of our ignorance… if we shed our cynicism… if we abandon our pride… we will find direction in God.

Amen and Amen.

What does “The Book” say?

Posted on January 24, 2010Leave a comment

This week, my husband and I borrowed a steam cleaner from his dad and we spent the past few days cleaning our carpets. They get a regular vacuuming, but never a deep cleaning like the one they just received.

I got to thinking during that last hymn – take time to be holy – that if I just changed a word it could have been our theme song this week – take time to be clean.

This morning, I woke up and because just yesterday we did all of the upstairs carpets in the main living areas, it was very strange to walk out and see nothing there. Our dining room table was in the middle of the kitchen along with some chairs. Everything else had been stuffed into our spare bedroom – end tables, chairs, bookshelves, you name it.

If the carpet is dry – tonight but probably tomorrow, we will begin the work of putting everything back into place.

In a much bigger way, that is what is happening in our reading from Nehemiah this morning.
Ezra and Nehemiah came before the people to say that it was time to put their lives back together.

For the past generations, everything had been in disarray – like our couch standing on its side by the front door – because the people had been living in exile in Babylon. They were away from their homes and the countryside that they loved and everything familiar.

But when Cyrus of the Persians conquered Babylon – he allowed all of the Jews to return home. And so Ezra the priest, and Nehemiah who became governor led the way.

They knew that rebuilding and putting every piece of their lives back together was the first priority. As Rev. Timothy Schehr describes it,
Nehemiah’s plan was to reconstruct the walls of the city of Jerusalem. That would give them a sense of security. Ezra’s plan was to rebuild the faith of the people. He understood that a right relationship with God was the only true source for security. / Ezra also understood that God’s law was the foundation for any spiritual rebuilding.
So they start this whole project by getting all the people together and reading the scriptures. From early in the morning until noon, God’s law was read aloud to the people. And as they took the time to listen to God’s promises and God’s desires for their lives together – the people began to weep as they realized how unfaithful they had been.

But instead of lamenting along with the people – Ezra and Nehemiah instead urge the people to celebrate. Because this is a day of new beginnings – this is their chance to let go of the past and to actually put into practice the word of God that they have heard.

From time to time in our lives – we need a fresh start and a new beginning. I know that while I wasn’t looking forward to doing the cleaning we did this weekend, it sure feels good to have it done now.

And our spiritual lives need a bit of scrubbing and spit and polish at times too. A chance to step back and really hear God’s word for our lives with new ears and a fresh new commitment to live it out.

When we hear the scriptures, we are reminded of who we are supposed to be. In the gospel of Luke this morning – Jesus enters the synagogue and he too – reads scripture. As he reads from Isaiah, we find out a little more about who Jesus is and what his church (all of us) will be and do.

“He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

We are called to do all of these things – because we were meant to be a blessing. We are called to be the hands and feet of Christ in this world bringing hope to the poor and setting the oppressed free and healing those who are sick.

This morning in Sunday School – we talked about being blessed to be a blessing. And we talked about the fact that a big part of that blessing has to do with money.

First of all – many of us are called to be a blessing to our families. We have people who depend on us and we need to provide for them and bless their lives. This might be our immediate family or our more extended family – but our family nonetheless. And to do so, takes money. Money for utilities, money for food, money for clothing.

But once we have provided for our families and our own needs – everything else that we have is the Lord’s! Everything else is the opportunity to bless someone.

I have never had a great relationship with money. As a young woman I had far too easy access to credit and at that time not a care in the world. Today, I still carry with me some of the debt that came along with plane tickets to visit family and friends and eating out and shopping.

But I don’t think I ever really thought about money as a spiritual issue until I really spent some time in the scriptures.

I found out that there are over 800 verses in scripture that talk about money. Over 800!!! Why does God care so much about our money and what we do with it? Because we are blessed to be a blessing.

I have here with me some of those many passages about money and finances. Here in my hands are just a tenth of all of the scriptures about money in our Bible. And I think, like the people of Israel – we too might weep with shame and regret if we spent time reading them all out loud to one another.

But like that community that was gathered, I want us to look at some of these scriptures and to really think about how they are each opportunities for us to put our lives back together – how they represent a fresh way of looking at our money that will help us to do God’s will.

As we pass these out, spend some time with the people around you reading the passages that you have. And then out of all of the ones you received, come up with just one thing that we should celebrate – one way that we can be a blessing to others if we put the wisdom of the scriptures into practice.

….do it!…. (We spent about 7 minutes reading our scriptures to one another in small groups and lifting up a piece of wisdom to share with the whole community)

The word of God, for the people of God… thanks be to God.

Photo by David Siqueira

Wisdom of the Cross

Posted on September 13, 2009Leave a comment

Why do you follow Jesus? And how far are you willing to go?

This past week, I got to spend some time with one of the greatest theologians of the 20th century – Jurgen Moltmann. At the age of 84, he traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to come and have a conversation with the 100 or so of us gathered in Chicago.

I had known parts of his story before and I had read at least one of his books. I knew that he was the mentor, a father-figure really, to one of my most important professors in seminary. But to sit before him and hear his story in his own words was absolutely stunning.

The center of Moltmann’s theology is the hope of the cross and the resurrection. Everything else in the world is futile if we don’t see hope there. And our journey of faith must travel through the cross to the love that awaits us on the other side.

The cross is a very difficult thing, however. It has become much easier in our lives to minimize it’s importance, to minimize its call, to polish it up and paint it beautiful colors and let it become merely the symbol of our faith.

But time and time again, this statement of Jesus’ comes up in the gospels:

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34, NRSV)

Why do we people follow Jesus? Are we willing to go to the cross?

Peter certainly thought he wanted to follow Jesus. As one of the disciples, sure he didn’t always get things right – but he tried. And when Jesus and his band stopped just outside of Caesaria Phillipi to refocus their mission, Peter was ready.

Jesus asked, “who do you say that I am?” And Peter got the answer right – “You are the Messiah!”

But he didn’t understand the depths of the word that he was uttering. He heard a word that was full of power and justice and victory – when Christ has a much different sort of path in mind.

And I think that is true for many of us as well. We too balk at the idea that of a suffering Christ. We like to quickly pass over the parts about his death and get to the resurrection. We, like Peter, are eagerly waiting for the victory of Jesus to be shown in the world!

And when we are focused on victory and power and success, then we get sidetracked by other things.

The cross that we are called to take up becomes a status symbol. We wear beautiful crosses around our necks… but aren’t willing to give all we have to the poor.

The cross becomes an excuse to flaunt our difference before others. We wear the cross all over our clothes on pins and hats and backpacks… but we aren’t willing to go the extra mile for someone in need.

The cross becomes excitement and entertainment as we flock to the biggest churches with the most charismatic preachers… but we aren’t willing to see the least of these on the street corner.

The cross makes us feel good and we show up for church once a month to get our fix… but then we turn back out into the world and leave our faith in the pews.

Wisdom cries out in the streets; in the squares she raises her voice. At the busiest corner she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? Give heed to my reproof; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you.

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34, NRSV)

Peter needs to be shown another way. He needs to have his simple story of success and victory with little or no cost altered. He needs to hear the truth. We need to hear the truth.

This week, I believe I heard the truth.

Jurgen Moltmann decided to follow Jesus as a Prisoner of War during WWII. As a young man, he had sort of found himself joining the Hitler Youth movement – not really for any good reason, and then he was drafted into the German Army. During his time of service, he witnessed the Allied bombing of his hometown of Hamburg – where over 40,000 civilians were killed – mostly women and children. He saw his best friend torn to pieces by a bomb right next to him. The two questions that lingered in his mind for years were, “Where is God?” and “Why am I not dead like all the others?” He was later captured by British soldiers and sent to a POW camp in Scotland.

It was only there that Moltmann began to hear about what had happened in the concentration camps. It was there that he began to be wracked with shame and grief and agony. And he had absolutely nothing from his experience that could get him through his pain and suffering. He had grown up in a secular home, and humanist philosophy had no words to describe his loss and guilt and grief.

But in Scotland – as a prisoner of war – as a German soldier and as a man who carried upon his shoulders the guilt of a nation – he found grace. The guards in Scotland looked at them as human beings, not demons or enemies. One of the chaplains handed Moltmann a bible – and with nothing else to do, he began to read.

Moltmann talks about how his life was completely desperate and desolate – that all the prisoners in the camp were trying to conceal their wounded souls with this armor of untouchability. But as he read through that bible from cover to cover, he was deeply moved by two things in particular: The psalms of lament and the death cry of Jesus – “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” He found in these words a fellow sufferer who understood what true sorrow was like.

Moltmann dove into the study of scripture and theology because God was the only thing that could save him from his despair. And out of his experiences and out of the scriptures, he shares with the world a new understanding of the cross.

While we tend to emphasize the cross as this cure for our sins – this simple and singular act that washes us clean, Moltmann began to see it as a complex and messy and passionate and painful understanding of the cross.

At the intersection of the cross all sorts of separate things fight for one another: live vs. death, hope vs. despair, the godforsaken and the godless collide.

And Christ bears these tensions – all of them, and takes all of these struggling forces to the cross and comes out on the other side with only victory: there is only life, there is only hope, there is only God.

But first, God suffers with us.

We look at the sin in our own lives, and yes – that needs to be dealt with – it needs to be redeemed by God. That happens on the cross, as Christ takes our place on the cross, and in doing so, brings us through to the resurrection.

But Moltmann also talks about Christ suffering with us. Because while there needs to be forgiveness for the sinner, there also needs to be justice for the victim. The victim needs to find peace also.

In his experience, this happened as the stories of the victim were presented to those of the perpetrators.

After the war, Moltmann said, we listened to the stories of survivors of concentration camps- because we didn’t know what happened in the death camps. We listened to their stories and looked into the eyes of the survivors and became aware of who we the Germans really were. Same took place in the truth commissions in Africa – the victims must tell the stories, perpetrators must listen to the stories, or they can’t become aware of their guilt. Sacrament of repentance! Confess the truth, change your mind, make good where you have done evil as you can”

What does it mean to take up this cross of Jesus? To really take it up, to really follow in his footsteps.

Moltmann says that we must not become apathetic. He said that we shy away from love because we believe it will only bring us pain. “If you love no one, you will feel no suffering – if you don’t love yourself you will not feel your own death b/c you don’t care. I saw soldiers who became so apathetic that they don’t care about death b/c they were completely resigned and no longer in service of life, but in service of death.

If you love life again, you risk disappointment, you must be ready to suffer on behalf of your compassion for another person and you must be ready to feel their dying.”

When Christ asks us to take up his cross, he asks us to go to those places where life and death meet. He asks us to go to those places where the victim and the perpetrator meet. He asks us to go to those places where the rich and the poor meet. And we are to listen to their stories. We are to heal their wounds. We are to love them. And by loving them, we open ourselves up to feel their pain. We open ourselves up to be hurt. But we also open ourselves up to God.