When You Fast…
In a recent article for Leadership Journal, John Ortberg relays the story of the “Three Christs of Ypsilanti” from the book by Psychiatrist Milton Rokeach. Each man was suffering from delusions of grandeur. Each one believed himself to be the Messiah, the savior of mankind. Given how deeply these delusions were entrenched, Rokeach had very little success in breaking through them.
But his efforts didn’t go completely unrewarded. Rokeach realized minimal progress when he got the three men together. His hope was that each one, when confronted with the reality of a competing messiah, would be forced to reexamine his own identity.
This led to some interesting conversations. One would claim, "I'm the messiah, the Son of God. I was sent here to save the earth."
"How do you know?" Rokeach would ask in response.
“God told me.”
But then one of the other patients would counter, "I never told you any such thing."
Even this particular strategy met with very limited success. But it did help. A competing claim to the identity of Christ at least game each man reason to pause and rethink things.
It could be said that you and I suffer from the same affliction as the three Christs of Ypsilanti. It’s just a matter of degree. We are also capable of deluding ourselves into thinking that we should be in charge, that our wants and desires reign supreme, that we are the authors of this story. We all make some veiled claim of messiahship.
And like the three men in the study, we are freed from any such false claim when confronted by the real thing. We can’t come into contact with God and continue to think that we ourselves are the ones in charge. God (mostly gently, sometimes not) relieves us of our blindness. And this is a good thing. It’s good to see things in a more accurate lightly. It’s good to let go of our own illusions of control. Then we are free to lean on the Everlasting Arms.
I say all of that to say this: The passage that we’re going to look at on Sunday talks about fasting and the purpose of fasting. And that purpose is to bring us into contact with the Living God, so he can heal our blindness. I hope you’ll feel led to do some fasting of your own. Not so that you can be seen and appreciated by the rest of us, but in order to be seen and to see God.
Robert Lee
WHEN YOU PRAY...
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)
Perhaps you were never familiar with Emma Daniel Gray, but I know God is. (Okay—I know God is familiar with everyone, but work with me.) Judging by a recent Washington Post profile of her following her death last year at the age of 95, she and God spoke quite often.
Raised in South Carolina by her grandfather, a former slave, Gray and her husband moved to D.C. in the 40’s seeking employment. She found a job cleaning various government buildings. Her work ethic eventually led her to the White House in 1955. She worked there until her retirement in 1979.
Every night Mrs. Gray cleaned the oval office, and according to the Post, “(w)hen she came to the president's chair, she would pause, cleaning materials in hand, and say a quick prayer.” I love that image. Every night she prayed for one of the world’s most powerful people.
Now, given the six presidents that she prayed for, there is no possible way that she liked the politics of every single one of them. We’re told that she personally liked Presidents Carter and Kennedy. Does that mean she didn’t like Nixon? The article doesn’t say. What we do know is that she prayed for all six of the Presidents who were in office during her tenure, regardless of their policies or party affiliation.
There’s a lesson to be learned here. Scripture is clear in its desire that we pray for our leaders no matter who they are. It doesn’t mean we have to approve of their policies. We are not asked to betray our faith. We are simply told by the Bible to pray for all of those in authority. Given the bitterness that I see on the current political scene, I wonder how many Christians have been able to follow Mrs. Gray’s example consistently over the last decade.
There’s another way we can follow her lead. This Sunday we’re going to be looking at Jesus’ take on prayer from the Sermon on the Mount. Not to ruin the surprise, but he basically says, “Keep it simple.” There’s no need for flashiness. There’s no need for a lot of words. And it’s just between you and God, so don’t make a big deal out of it. I’m inspired by the image of this woman, unknown by so many, who offered a simple prayer every night for the President. You know, whatever power was present in that office during the day can’t even come close to the power that was at work in the night.
Robert Lee
He's a Christian? I didn't know that.
I'm a subscriber to Relevant Magazine, even though you can read a lot of their stuff online. Sometimes I feel a little too old for it. The same way I feel when I go to a rock show at the Norva. I realize I've become that old guy who stands in the back and just kind of nods his head to the music.
Anyway. Thought you might be interested in this article about Zac Levi, star of the the NBC comedy Chuck. Click here to read it. I don't watch this show regularly but I'm told by a lot friends that I should. Check out this description of Levi's house:
“Zac’s home is like a fraternity house,” explains Jeremy Boreing, Levi’s business partner, “home church” pastor and close friend. “You can’t walk in without meeting someone you don’t know. Two of the bedrooms are always used by someone who needs a place to stay while they’re struggling financially. Saturdays are open for barbecues and Sundays are for home church.”Sounds like someone is living out their faith. The article goes on to describe the church that gathers in Levi's house and how it provides a helpful anchor as he seeks to live as a Christian in Hollywood. I hope you're taking the Good News about Jesus wherever you're going today.
New Sunday School Class
Just wanted to give a slightly overdue plug for Keith Cuthrell's Sunday School class, currently running in the auditorium at 9:30 am. If you're the kind who likes to be passive, this class isn't for you. Every week, Keith has challenged us to reflect on some aspect of our life in Christ. What I mean by that is he has given us a thought-provoking question and asked us to write the answer as it applies to our lives.
Don't fear. Whatever you write, you don't have to share with anyone else. It's strictly a chance for you to do more than just sit and listen to someone else. I'm getting a lot of positive feed back about it.
If you're not coming to our Sunday morning classes, it's worth the effort required to make it there by 9:30 on Sunday morning. Between Len Driskell's great class on Leviticus during the first quarter of 2010, Keith's class now and the other classes we have planned for the year, there are great opportunities to learn about God and ourselves.
See you Sunday.
IMAGE IS EVERYTHING
In their book Being the Body Chuck Colson and Ellen Vaughn recount a startling confession made by Max Cadenhead to his church, The First Baptist Church of Naples, Florida:
My message today is on the parable of the Good Samaritan," Max announced. "Let me start with an illustration.
"Remember last year when the Browns came forward to join the church?" he asked. Everyone nodded; the Browns were a very influential family. "Well, the same day a young man came forward and gave his life to Christ. I could tell he needed help—and we counseled him." No one nodded; no one remembered.
"We worked with the Browns, got them onto committees. They've been wonderful folks," Cadenhead said to muffled amens. "The young man…well, we lost track.
"Until yesterday, that is, as I was preparing today's message on the Good Samaritan. I picked up the paper, and there was that young man's picture. He had shot and killed an elderly woman."
Chins dropped throughout the congregation, mine included, as the pastor continued. "I never followed up on that young man, so I'm the priest who saw the man in trouble and crossed to the other side of the road. I am a hypocrite."
I’m not sharing this with you in order to point a finger at anyone but myself. How often have I had to choose, as a preacher, which people were “worthy” of my attention? And how often have I made that choice based on a simple cost-benefit analysis: Who is more influential? In the end, which of these people will require more work on my part? Who is it easier to talk to? Which person will boost my ego?
Perhaps you have noticed the glaring omission in my decision process. The question I too frequently fail to ask is, “What does God want me to do here?” In our Bible passage this morning we’re going to be reminded that this is the first question Jesus wants us to consider.
Our “acts of righteousness” must begin with an awareness that God alone will determine their value. That’s easier said than done. I have failed at this more frequently than I care to admit. If I’ve done this to you, I’m sorry.
I pray this morning that I can become more concerned with God’s view of me and less concerned with others’ view of me.
Robert Lee
Pray for You
Last Sunday I preached on Jesus' command that his followers love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. I talked about how difficult and "unnatural" an act it is to love our enemies rather than seek revenge. Immediately following worship Andrea Bolton told me about this video. Since then, Sharon Tomey mentioned it as well. You would have seen it on Sunday if I'd known about it beforehand.
I'll just let you watch the video and meditate on it. It really makes my point quite nicely.
Great, now when someone tells me they're praying for me I'm just going to be paranoid.
People Get Ready
12From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing…(Matthew 11)
Sometimes American pop culture is able to transcend itself. Last night’s episode of American Idol is an excellent example. The evening’s theme was “Inspirational Songs.” Crystal Bowersox, held by most to be the frontrunner for season 9, put down her guitar and served up this cover of “People Get Ready.” More after the jump:
I never stopped to listen to this song or consider how it will preach. Had Jesus preached in a modern setting, it wouldn’t have been surprising to hear him use this train metaphor for the Kingdom of God. Check out some of the lyrics:
People get ready, there's a train a comin' You don't need no baggage, you just get on board All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin' Don't need no ticket, you just thank the LordHow many of us are still struggling to understand that last sentence? Still trying to buy a ticket, and all we have to do is jump on with a thankful heart. But be warned. This message does have a bit of a sharp edge:
There ain't no room for the hopeless sinner Who would hurt all mankind just to save his own Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner For there's no hiding place against the Kingdom's throneI think the key word here is hopeless. Hopeless, not because God refuses to help, but hopeless because we refuse to be comforted. That’s what’s behind Jesus’ invitation: “Repent for the Kingdom of God is near.” It’s also behind his exasperation: “37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing (Matthew 23).” Today, let’s be willing. Let’s stop searching our pockets for a ticket we can’t buy anyway and just jump on… I would be remiss if I didn’t throw in a link to Curtis Mayfield singing this one, too. After all, it was his song first. A more qualified historian could speak to this song’s importance to the Civil Rights Movement. Since Mayfield, dozens of artists have done their own versions. (I’ll spare you the Bob Dylan cover. You’re welcome.)
VENGEANCE IS NOT MINE
“You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” –Jesus, Matthew 5:43-45
Say you’ve got a little time to kill and you want to create your own little civilization and then rule over its inhabitants as their deity. Well it just so happens that there’s an app for that. One of the most popular applications for the iPhone is a game called “Pocket God.” Here’s a description of the game as given by the app store: “What kind of god would you be? Benevolent or vengeful? Play Pocket God and discover the answer within yourself. On a remote island, you are the all-powerful god that rules over the primitive islanders. You can bring new life, and then take it away just as quickly.”
In my neverending pursuit of journalistic integrity I decided to purchase this app for myself…errr, I mean for you. You know…just so I can tell you what it’s like.
After playing it for ten minutes, I have figured out how to strike the islanders with lightning, set them on fire, flick them into the sea, dangle them over a shark until it eats them, and deprive them of bathroom privileges until they pop. (To the game-makers’ credit, this is all portrayed in a very “Tom & Jerry like” manner.) I also discovered how to give them fire, help them catch a fish, and roast a seagull for them. But I must point out that there are many more opportunities to wreak havoc than to create prosperity.
I guess we understand why. It’s more fun, isn’t it? I think most people, if given absolute power over an imaginary group will prefer to have a little bit of not so harmless fun with them. From a human point of view, wrath is easier to imagine (and enjoy) than mercy.
That’s just one of the reasons that Jesus’ statement above is so revolutionary. People who follow Jesus’ command on this are turning things upside down. They’re really upsetting the apple cart. What we expect is revenge. What Jesus gives is forgiveness and love and prayers for our enemies.
It also tells us something about our understanding of God as opposed to who God really is. Most people think of a wrathful, capricious god, ready to unleash a lightning bolt on some poor unsuspecting creature. What we see in Jesus is a God who forgives all—even those who subject him to the cruelest of tortures. How Blessed are we that are God is “slow to anger and abounding in love!” When our God picks us up, it is not to toss us into a volcano. It is in order to embrace us.
Robert Lee
LIVING WATER
Good morning, Church! I had to get that in, since the family and I are on vacation and Mike Dossett has kindly offered to preach in my place. I look forward to logging on and listening to his sermon on the website. He’s going to be talking about Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well and the importance of “living water.”
One of the best books that I’ve read recently is Thomas Merton’s autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain. Merton recounts a childhood spent traveling about Europe in the early 20th century and his American education at prestigious Columbia University. But it is mostly a story about his journey to faith. In 1941, on the cusp of an exceptional literary career, Merton entered a Trappist Monastery in Kentucky and embarked on a life of meditation and writing. He became one of the most renowned Christian writers of his era.
I just wanted you to have some context before I shared one of his prayers with you. This is from his book, Thoughts in Solitude:
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Let me tell you what I absolutely love about this prayer: its unflinching honesty. This prayer hasn’t the slightest bit of pretense. Merton has no need to act like he has all the answers or that he’s Super Christian. This is the modern day equivalent of the tax collector’s prayer in Luke 18: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
One of the things that I can’t help but notice about Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well is how reluctant she is to be honest with everything that’s going on with her. Jesus on the other hand cuts straight to the truth. He’s not doing it to be cruel. He’s doing it so that he can cut through all of the deception and make a difference in this woman’s life. God can’t work with people who are unable to be honest.
I still have a hard time being this honest with God. When I can be this transparent, devotion to God isn’t a difficulty, it’s a privilege. I hope you can find the courage to be honest with God this morning. The Living Water Jesus offers is found by those who realize and acknowledge just how thirsty they are.
Robert Lee
DIVINE PERSPECTIVE
In his book, The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis takes an imaginary tour of Heaven. Lewis forgoes the standard imagery—clouds, pearly gates, streets of gold, etc. As Lewis envisions it, Heaven is much like our own earth only more so. It is our world as it was always intended to be. There is still grass, flowers, water (and waterfalls), rocks, and animals—all the things that populate our world.
The difference between our world and the heavenly realm is that everything is more real. It has more substance. The narrator tries to pick up a daisy and finds that it can’t be plucked. He describes it as “hard…like a diamond.” The water in heaven is so substantial that a normal human can walk on it without breaking through the surface.
In fact everything is so real and so vibrant the narrator notices that he and his normal human companions appear to be almost transparent by comparison. They become ghost-like in appearance. But then he realizes that perhaps they had always been like that. Perhaps they had only appeared real all along and that heaven is the reality.
He thinks the same thing when he sees Heaven’s inhabitants—people who have already entered into eternal life. Just like their surroundings these people are more real. The narrator refers to them as the “solid people.” The earth shakes beneath their feet. They have a glow about them that makes regular folks even more transparent.
I like Lewis’ description of Heaven. It’s just the opposite of the way it is usually imagined. Think about the way you see Heaven portrayed on TV and in other art forms. Isn’t everything kind of smoky and ethereal? Like it wouldn’t hold up under our weight?
Lewis’ depiction is much more Biblical. The Biblical picture says that our world is the one that is “passing away” or “perishing,” and that the Kingdom of Heaven is the one that is incorruptible and eternal. I wonder what it says about us that we so easily get that mixed up.
This morning (Easter Sunday!) we’re going to be reading this amazing story about a couple of men who are very mixed up about what has really happened. They look at our world and see gloom and despair—a place abandoned by God. Jesus comes along with another point of view. Because of what has happened, Jesus knows that the “real” world is just getting started, and it’s one where God reigns victorious.
My hope today is that you will be reminded of what is “real.” I hope you’ll see things as they truly are. Because it’s a wonderful thing to see. The life we are living now is merely a shadow of the things that are to come. God is in the process of bringing true life to his children. That’s what Easter means. I hope you’ll get a glimpse of the true life to which He’s calling us.
Robert Lee
Vengeance is not Mine
A recent issue of Leadership magazine features a cartoon in which the pastor of a church is standing at the back shaking hands with people following services. The man who is currently shaking hands with him is saying, "Powerful sermons, Pastor. Thoughtful, well researched. I can always see myself in them and I want you to knock it off."
I can’t help but wonder if a number of you have felt that way about my recent lessons. I do know that some of you have felt challenged by them. But instead of telling me to “knock it off,” you have told me that you appreciate the challenge.
Personally, I go back and forth. Some days I love preaching through the Sermon on the Mount. It is the heart of Jesus’ teaching. It is exciting and uncompromising. Jesus is unrelenting in his call to us to live like citizens of God’s Kingdom. But sometimes I feel like every sermon is another exercise in exploratory surgery—revealing but painful.
Today’s is no exception. Once again Jesus calls on his followers to run counter to human nature. He asks us to act counter to that basic human desire—the desire for revenge against our enemies.
Our desire for revenge goes all the way to our core. It is a deeply imbedded aspect of the human psyche. Just think about how many movies there are with revenge as the theme. Just think about how angry people get if a movie ends without the bad guy getting his or her comeuppance. Let’s face it. It’s simply unnatural to do what Jesus is asking us to do this morning. It is not natural to turn the other cheek or to pray for your enemies.
And yet that is what Jesus tells us to do. Not only that, though. It’s also what he did. This morning, we’ll see once again that, while he was calling us to a way of life, he himself was already living it. Any success we have in loving our enemies will merely be a reflection of the Savior who loved his enemies enough to pray for them, even while they executed him.
Exploratory surgery is not just painful. It also brings about healing. Maybe this morning you’ve been carrying something around. Maybe you’re still nursing a wound (a very real, legitimate wound) that someone has inflicted on you. Maybe this morning will be the day that you can begin turning it over to God. Because a life that is “Built on the Rock” is no longer controlled by the things that people do to us. It is a life that is free to move on in God’s grace. In the words of Jesus, may we learn to forgive as we are forgiven.
Robert Lee
SWEARING TO GOD
This morning I thought I’d share this wonderful piece by Christian recording artist Carolyn Arends from the website kyria.com. It’s doubly fitting, because it reminds us that Easter is just around the corner and it reminds us of the power of God’s promises:
A couple years ago, during a jubilant Easter service, our pastor said something that stopped me in my mental tracks: "The world offers promises full of emptiness. But Easter offers emptiness full of promise."
Empty cross, empty tomb, empty grave-clothes … all full of promise. If I were writing the Easter story, I don't think I'd choose emptiness as my symbolic gesture. But then, I also wouldn't be talking about strength being made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), foolish things confounding the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27), the meek inheriting the earth (Matthew 5:5), or the poor in spirit getting (in every sense of the word "get") the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3). And I certainly wouldn't be talking about dying in order to live.
What is it about God that makes him so favor this kind of paradox? I guess this is what we should expect from the Servant King—the God who decided that the best way to save the world was to let it kill him. I don't understand the way God thinks. But on those days when I feel hollowed out and broken—half-dead, even—it makes me glad to remember that for Easter people, even death is full of promise.
The world makes a lot of promises. Smoke and mirrors, mostly. Frantic, cartoonish attempts to distract us from the gaping holes in the middle of our souls (or to sell us the latest product in order to fill them). There's no life in those promises.
So I'm hoping that … I'll be a little more willing to die to that stuff. I'm praying I'll become more aware of the empty space within, and that I'll resist the urge to fill it with any old thing I can find. I'm going to wait, carved out, vulnerable, a cracked and crumbling jar of clay, on a life God's offered to deposit anywhere there's room. I'm going to believe that if I'll just leave my empty spaces empty, he'll fill them. That, I'm convinced, is a reasonable expectation.
In our text for this morning Jesus throws down this gantlet: “Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'” (Matthew 5:37). In other words, there’s no need for elaborate oaths, just fidelity to our commitments. But before he calls us to this, God shows us what it looks like. We must keep our promises, because God always kept his promises to us. That’s the Good News behind the command.
Robert Lee
AT MY GATE SUNDAY
In his book Seismic Shifts: The Little Changes That Make a Big Difference in Your Life Kevin Harney tells the following story:
A little boy sat on the floor of the church nursery with a red rubber ball in each arm and three Nerf balls clenched on the floor between his pudgy little knees. He was trying to protect all five from the other children in the nursery. The problem was, he could not hold all five at once, and the ball nearest to his feet was particularly vulnerable to being stolen. So, whenever another child showed an interest in playing with one of the balls, he snarled to make it clear these toys were not for sharing.
I suppose I should have stepped in and made the little guy give up one or two of the balls, but I was too wrapped up in the drama of it all. For about five minutes, this little guy growled, postured, and kept the other children away from the balls. Like a hyena hunched over the last scraps of a carcass, this snarling little canine was not in the mood for sharing. The other kids circled like vultures around the kill, looking for a way to jump in and snatch a ball without being attacked and bitten. I honestly did not know whether to laugh or cry as I watched.
Then it struck me: This little boy was not having any fun at all. There was no cheer within ten yards of this kid. Not only was he unhappy, but all the other kids seemed sad as well. His selfishness created a black hole that sucked all of the joy out of that nursery…. When church was over and his parents came to pick him up, he left the balls behind. I guess the old saying is true, you can't take it with you.
Blessed are those who outgrow their possessiveness, for they are able to relax. This morning is At My Gate Sunday—a day where we highlight the work that’s being done by our partners at the Use Offot Church of Christ in Nigeria. The funds we share with them have the opposite effect of the actions of the boy in the story. Because you are willing to sacrifice a little bit, a great deal of good work is being done. People are getting medical help, children are getting an education and young people are learning a trade.
And the good news for you and me is, not only are we doing good, we’re finding another way to fulfill are mission this year. As we’ll see today, to share is to build your life on the rock. I hope you’ll share today.
Robert Lee
NUTS AND BOLTS
“31"It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' 32But I tell you…” (Matthew 5)
According to Douglas LaBier, a Psychotherapist with over 35 years experience, many people are suffering from an unknown and undiagnosed deficiency that is injuring their relationships and poisoning our world’s attempts to find peace. He calls the condition EDD. He goes on to say…
“People who suffer from EDD are unable to step outside themselves and tune in to what other people experience. That makes it a source of personal conflicts, of communication failure in intimate relationships, and of the adversarial attitudes -- even hatred -- among groups of people who differ in their beliefs, traditions or ways of life.”
What does EDD stand for? It’s short for “Empathy Deficit Disorder.” LaBier defines empathy as “what you feel when you enter the internal world of another person. Without abandoning your own perspective, you experience the other's emotions, conflicts or aspirations.” The key to empathy is a willingness to try seeing and feeling things from another person’s point of view. To, as the old saying goes, walk a mile in their shoes. It requires that we attempt to see more than our own perspective.
LaBier regularly sees clients who are unable to do this. As an example he points to the man who is unable to appreciate his wife’s need for him to spend time with his children because he “need(s) time for (his) sports activities on the weekends.”
Or the woman who says of American Muslims: “I think they're all terrorists, and would like to kill us all, anyway.” In each of these cases, a person is unwilling to step away from his or her point of view and imagine what life must be like for someone else. LaBier acknowledges that this is not a diagnosable illness. But he does want to draw our attention to what he sees as a common occurrence.
Today we’re going to be talking about a subject that is not suitable for anyone who might be suffering from EDD. It’s tempting to talk about things in the abstract and the theoretical, forgetting to ask ourselves, “How does this affect the lives of real people?” I want us to avoid that temptation today. I want us to be honest but not uncaring, truthful but not ruthless. Jesus demonstrated this ability with the people he encountered. He never seemed to forget that he was dealing with a real person and not just a set of ideas to be agreed with or argued against. Paul challenges us to “speak the truth” but he also reminds us to do so “in love.” That’s not always an easy tension to maintain. I hope we can do that this morning.
— Robert Lee
WHAT'S GOING ON IN THERE?
Rob Bell begins his book Sex God by talking about the story of Jacob and Esau. Jacob, the younger and cleverer twin, cheats his hirsute and impulsive older brother out of a birthright and their father’s blessing. It’s too long a story to tell here, but it’s a great one if you haven’t read it (Genesis 25-27). Then when Esau realizes he’s been duped, he vows to use his considerable brawn to end the life of his conniving brother. So Jacob has to run away from home.
At one point on his journey, Jacob stops for the night, and he has a dream in which there is a staircase that reaches up to the heavens. He sees that angels—messengers of God—are ascending and descending it. The idea of the dream is that God’s world and our world are connected—that God is at work in spite of Jacob’s less than exemplary behavior.
When Jacob wakes up, he says to himself, “Surely the LORD is in this place and I didn’t know it.” So he calls the place “Beth El” (house of God) and builds an altar out of rocks as a monument to God’s appearance. The idea is that the pile of rocks is not just a pile of rocks. It’s a sign, a symbol—something that points away from itself to something greater.
Bell goes on to say that a lot of things in our lives are about more than just the thing that they appear to be on the surface and that it’s definitely true of our sexuality. He says:
“You can’t talk about sexuality without talking about how we were made. And that will inevitably lead you to who made us. At some point you have to talk about God…Sex. God. They’re connected. And they can’t be separated.”
In our passage for today, Jesus says the same thing. Adultery is about more than just adultery. Just like murder is about more than murder and making oaths is about more than making oaths. Jesus is interested in more than just the surface issue. He always wants to get to the heart of the matter. He always wants us to ask ourselves: “What’s going on in there?
Robert Lee
DON'T COME TO CHURCH
23 "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to that person; then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5)
What do you do if you’re a Chinese business man who hasn’t spoken to his father and former business partner for several years following a disagreement several years ago? And what do you do after a recent attempt at reconciliation that involved the bearing of gifts ended with you getting the door slammed in your face? It’s probably a good idea to call The Tianjin Apology and Gift Center. After all, their slogan is “We say sorry for you.” According to a recent NY Times article, that’s exactly what one Mr. Song did.
By the admission of all the Chinese people interviewed for the article, apologies don’t come easily for their culture. As one Chinese sociologist said, “It's much easier for a Westerner to say “sorry” than compared with a Chinese -- I mean they're always saying ‘excuse me’ and ‘sorry.’” But for the Chinese it is a thing rarely offered and just as rarely accepted.
That’s why, for a fee of $2.50 per apology, you can have a professional do it for you. The founder of the company is a former lawyer whose interest in psychology led to his latest inspiration. The Apology and Gift center hires only well-educated men and women with “excellent verbal ability” to offer apologies on behalf of its clients. In addition, the apologizers are given training in counseling.
It took “five difficult visits,” but Mr. Song was finally reconciled to his father. He was just one of nearly one hundred people who sought the services of the company in its first few months. Still, most acknowledge that, whenever possible, a personal apology is best.
I think Jesus would agree that a personal apology is best. But I also think he would appreciate the lengths that people are willing to go in order to achieve reconciliation. One thing is clear from our text this morning. Jesus feels that a fractured relationship calls for urgent and immediate action.
Let this be my first challenge to you. If you have a problem with a brother or sister, today is the day to make things right. I hope you’ll prayerfully think about what you can do this morning. We who are reconciled to God through Christ owe it to ourselves and to others to exercise the same mercy that we have been shown.
Robert Lee
Julia Child and Celebration of Discipline
A couple of weeks ago, when Rachel and I were hunkered down in a foot of snow in Charlottesville, reveling in our weekend of solitude, one of the movies we watched was Julie and Julia. It’s adapted from two books--Julia Child’s autobiographical My Life in France and Julie Powell’s memoir of her daily attempt to cook a different recipe from Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
Child is played by Meryl Streep. It’s probably cliché to love Meryl Streep, but I do anyway. She’s just as amazing in this as she is in everything else. I love what AO Scott says about her in his review of the film: "By now this actress has exhausted every superlative that exists and to suggest that she has outdone herself is only to say that she’s done it again.”
Streep captures Child’s lust for life so well. In one scene, she springs out of bed early in the morning [I can’t recall, but I don’t think an alarm even goes off] so she can set about doing what she loves—cooking great food.
I have since wondered, “When is the last time I sprang out of bed in the morning?” And why don’t I? In the interest of keeping it short, I’ve decided that it has a lot to do with how I feel about what I have to do. Did you get that? What I have to do. When Julia Child jumps out of bed, it’s because she’s found something that she gets to do. Isn’t it easier to get more excited about a privilege than an obligation? And so I’ve noticed lately that it helps to remember what a privilege it is to care for my kids and get them to school and come to work at our church. I’m still not popping out of bed, but my attitude is a little better.
I think the same thing happens with meditation. That’s the spiritual discipline we’ll be talking about on Wednesday night as we begin talking about Foster’s Celebration of Discipline. The most common reaction I get from people who try meditating on scripture or on their relationship with God is, “This is hard work.” Yup. It’s not easy for a lot of reasons. We’re going to talk about that on Wednesday night. But one reason is because it’s often more of an obligation than a privilege. It’s hard to meditate on God’s presence when it’s something I do out of obligation and there’s something else I would like to be doing. Or, more importantly, there’s something else I feel like I should be doing.
It’s the difference between presenting a report to God and resting in the presence of God. It’s the difference between making myself get out of bed in the morning and falling into bed at the end of the day. Which sounds more appealing to you?
Anyway. There’s a lot more to be said about meditation, and we’ll be talking about it tomorrow night. But more than just talking about it, I’ll be encouraging you to practice it--maybe not during class, but sometime during the week. If you come to class and listen to me talk about the spiritual disciplines, you’ll get something out of it. But not nearly as much as if you actually practice them yourself. And I know I’ll learn a lot more than I would just hearing the sound of my own voice.
In the meantime, I hope you’ll stop running around and take a moment to practice being in the presence of God.
“The Light of God surrounds me. The Love of God enfolds me. The Power of God protects me. The Wisdom of God guides and directs me. Wherever I go, God is.”
1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
--Psalm 139Talk Is Cheap
It is said that, after the Civil War had ended, someone asked Ulysses S. Grant to offer an evaluation of his fellow general, George B. McClellan. Grant replied, “McClellan is to me one of the mysteries of the war.”
Most historians are baffled by McClellan. The grandson of a Revolutionary War general, and second in his class at West Point, he had the makings of a great leader. In the early years of his career, he demonstrated considerable organizational skills. He was selected to serve as an observer of the European armies in the Crimean War. He had extensive knowledge of troop organization, and was successful in civilian work for two different railroads. When the Civil War broke out, McClellan was highly sought after. He was eventually selected by President Lincoln to form the Army of the Potomac and to serve as its general-in-chief.
But despite his skill in forming an army, McClellan was unable to achieve victory. On many infamous occasions, he failed to use the North’s considerable numeric advantage to bring a quick end to the South’s rebellion. He consistently overestimated the strength of his opponents, and thus was hesitant rather than decisive. It is widely held that McClellan’s failure to act resulted in a much longer conflict and considerably more deaths for both sides.
Lincoln eventually removed McClellan of his command, but not before he famously exclaimed, “If General McClellan does not want to use the army, I would like to borrow it for a time.”
As we continue to dwell on our theme for this year, we’ll find that the same thing is expected of us. We are called to take action. “Building on the Rock” is what happens when we hear the words of and put them in to practice.
McClellan had the pedigree, the skill and the intelligence to be a great leader. But none of it was helpful, because he failed to put it all to use. We may have all the spiritual gifts in the world. They will not help us if we fail to act. This morning, I hope we can all take seriously God’s call to express our faith through action.
Robert Lee
A STORM IS COMING
Author and Singer/Songwriter Jennifer Rothschild recently shared her story in an issue of Decision Magazine.
When Rothschild was 12, her eyesight began to fail. Throughout Junior High School, her situation worsened. She was soon having difficulty performing standard tasks like opening her locker, catching a ball, or reading the chalkboard at school.
The last straw came when she and her mother went to visit a friend who lived in an upstairs apartment. Jennifer was stumbling up the stairs, while her mother didn’t have any trouble seeing them. After a trip to a hospital that specialized in treating illnesses of the eye, Jennifer was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive deterioration of the retina that would eventually result in total blindness.
On the ride home, she dwelt on all that she was losing: “I'm not going to be able to drive a car. I'm not going to be able to be an artist…Are boys going to want to date me? How am I going to finish high school? Will I be able to go off to college?”
When she arrived home, Jennifer went and sat at her old piano, hoping to preoccupy herself by plunking out a tune or two. She was surprised to find that she could play one song by ear: “It is Well With My Soul.” Rothschild goes on, “It was a miracle that on that very dark day, God gave me hope and light through the gift of playing by ear. But the greatest miracle wasn't that I played ‘It Is Well with My Soul;’ the greatest miracle was that, because I was a Christian, it really was well with my soul.”
My sense is, if you were to ask Jennifer if she deserved to go blind, she would say no. And she would be right. She didn’t do anything to bring this on herself. And yet she did lose her eyesight. In spite of whatever innocence she had, she still suffered a debilitating illness. What sets her apart is her ability to let God work through the tragedy.
The first step in building on the Rock this year is recognizing why we are doing it. We are trying to build on the Rock, because we want to survive when the storms come. And Jesus is sure to tell his followers that the storms will come. No matter who we are, we will have to ride out some storms in our life. That’s a given. What is unknown is what the condition of our faith will be when the storm makes landfall. I hope this morning you will start preparing for the storms you will face.
Robert Lee
CHALLENGE SUNDAY
God can't clean the house of you when you're still in it.
--Anne Lamott
The evidence for Jesus' resurrection is so strong that nobody would question it except for two things: First, it is a very unusual event. And second, if you believe it happened, you have to change the way you live.
--Wolfhart Pannenberg
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
--Jesus
Jesus doesn’t do moderation very well. The religious leaders of his day accused him of being a drunkard. That’s because he practiced such radical forgiveness, that he was willing to eat with the dregs of society. He didn’t just forgive the morally decent, he forgave the least (worst) of these.
This Wednesday we talked about the bold prayer we get to make as a part of the Lord’s prayer: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive those who have sinned against us.” That’s a radical statement to make to Creator of the universe. We come to God and we simply ask him to forgive us. We boldly ask him to forgive us. And he does! Without condition, God forgives us. It is complete, eternal, deep-down forgiveness. Not because we have earned it, but because that is how Jesus works.
Jesus also isn’t moderate in his expectations of us. He tells us stories about “counting the cost” before signing up to follow him. In exchange for his forgiveness, he simply wants everything that we have. He warns us that no one can serve two masters, and anyone who starts plowing a field and looks back might as well not begin in the first place. Here’s what C.S. Lewis says about it in Mere Christianity:
Christ says, "Give me all. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want you. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don't want to cut off a branch here and a branch there. I want to have the whole tree down. I don't want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think are innocent as well as the ones you think are wicked—the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you myself: my own will shall become yours."
Today, on Challenge Sunday, we’re going to ask you to do the same. We’re going to challenge you to give more of yourself this year than ever before. And we’ll do so unapologetically. We’re going to challenge you to get back to basics. To build your house on a foundation that will withstand rough times. God goes all out in forgiving us. He asks us to do the same in serving Him.
Robert Lee