GET IN THE GAME

Get in the Game

“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:1-2)

Check out this recent story, out of Cleveland, Ohio, about a man who played the role of Good Samaritan to the same people eight years apart:

Christopher Manacci was driving in Auburn Township, Ohio, when he saw a van pulling a fishing boat that had a flat tire. Manacci told reporters, "I dropped my wife off and decided that I'd bring him a can of Fix-a-Flat for his tire so he could make it to a gas station."

Manacci then drove up to the immobilized van and parked on the grass with his hazard lights on. As he was approaching the two passengers—a man and his 15-year-old son—his good deed suddenly turned dangerous. A pick-up truck driven by a drunk driver smashed into the side of Manacci's car. The truck went airborne and landed just three feet from where Manacci was standing. Miraculously, no one was hurt.

After the situation calmed down, Manacci mentioned to the van driver and his son that he worked as a nurse practitioner. The van driver told Manacci that eight years earlier he had been helped by another man with the same job. The van driver said, "[While I was fishing] I had a very bad injury to my hand from a large fish hook, and this nurse practitioner kayaked up and removed the hook and helped me go on with my day."

Manacci replied, "Yes, I know that story well."

"You do?" the stranger said.

Mancinni said, "Yes, that was me."

After helping the same stranger on two different occasions, Mancinni offered this advice: "You just never know what the day brings you and you never know, you never know, what small thing you will do that will result in a miracle."

The reason Mancinni got to experience this was because he was looking.  He was on alert for the chance to do something. AND he was taking advantage of opportunities.  Something tells me these weren’t the only good deeds he performed in an eight year span.

This Sunday I’m going to be pointing out something that should be obvious from our theme passage but is, in fact, all too easily passed over.  The key to being the light of the world and the salt of the earth is doing what Jesus calls “good deeds.”  That requires us to be looking for opportunities and taking them when they come.

Robert Lee

THE HEAVYWEIGHT

The Heavyweight

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 6:16)

Preacher Lee Eclov shares this funny story from an article for The Wall Street Journal.  Writer Leonard Mlodinow relates this from the life of baseball great Joe DiMaggio:

It was the summer of 1945, and World War II had ended. Former soldiers, including famous baseball stars, streamed back into America and American life. Yankee slugger Joe DiMaggio was trying to be "Yankee fan Joe DiMaggio," sneaking into a mezzanine seat with his four-year-old son, Joe, Jr., before rejoining his team. A fan noticed him, then another. Soon throughout the stadium people were chanting, "Joe, Joe, Joe DiMaggio!" DiMaggio, moved, gazed down to see if his son had noticed the tribute. He had. "See, Daddy," said the little DiMaggio, "everybody knows me!"

Eclov goes on to reflect:

The junior Joe DiMaggio made the innocent child's mistake of assuming all the glory at the Yankee Stadium that summer afternoon in 1945 belonged to him and not to his father.

Jesus wants us to make the same distinction with God as our father.  That’s why he says what he says above.  People will see our good deeds and glorify, not us, but God.

It reminds me of whenever small children want to “help” you carry something.  It’s clear to you that they’re not making the load any lighter.  Your muscles are the ones doing all the work.  But of course that never occurs to them.

Scripture is clear about this.  God is the one doing all of the heavy lifting.  Anything we do to help him will hopefully result in more glory for him as well.  This Sunday, we’re going to be talking about glorifying God.

WHO DOES THAT?!

Who Does That?!

I really like this story as told online by Michael Quillen of Crossville, Tennessee:

I met my wife, Julia, at a Bible study where 30 to 40 people gathered every Friday night to sing, break into small groups, and then come together for fellowship afterwards.

I became one of the regular musicians in the group. I played an old guitar and was beginning to think about a new one. A friend of mine in the Bible study had two nice guitars, and he lent me one. It was the nicest guitar I had ever played; I cherished it as if it were a newborn child…I was careful not to bang it into things. I gently wiped down the strings and body after playing. I tenderly placed the guitar in its velvet-lined case. I worried about things such as the humidity of the room where the guitar was kept.

I borrowed this guitar for months and was thinking of buying it. Meanwhile, Julia and I became engaged. One day, as our wedding approached, Julia said, "The guitar is yours. I bought it for you weeks ago as an early wedding present."

My first reaction was ecstasy. The most beautiful guitar I had ever played was mine. My second reaction was relief. Since the guitar was mine, I could stop babying the thing. I didn't have to treat it so gently or clean it so carefully.

Then she got me. "Isn't it really God's?" she asked. "Shouldn't you take good care of it like you did when it was yours, but you didn't think it was?" What I had been doing without knowing it was stewardship. Stewardship is taking care of what we have as if it is on loan from someone else, because everything is on loan to us—from God.

Jesus makes a similar statement in his Sermon on the Mount after he reminds us that we are “the light of the world.” Mr. Quillen says, “No one takes a good friend’s guitar and then treats it with disdain.  Who would do that?”  Jesus says, “No one would take a light and hide it under a basket.  Who would do that?”

The answer is worthy of our attention, so I’ll talk about it this Sunday.

A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)

HIS KIND WASN'T WELCOME HERE

His Kind Wasn’t Welcome Here

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. (John 1:9-11)

Whenever I read John chapter one, I can’t help but think of an old song by the Indigo Girls called “Prince of Darkness.”  This, of course makes me feel old.  It’s probably too old for me to play it for you this Sunday, so I’ll at least share the lyrics with you:

“I don't know when I noticed life was life at my expense

The words of my heart lined up like prisoners on a fence

The dreams came in like needy children tugging at my sleeve

I said I have no way of feeding you, so leave.

But there was a time I asked my father for a dollar

And he gave it a ten dollar raise

When I needed my mother and I called her

She stayed with me for days…

And now someone's on the telephone, desperate in his pain

Someone's on the bathroom floor doing her cocaine

Someone's got his finger on the button in some room

No one can convince me we aren't gluttons for our doom

But I tried to make this place my place

I asked for Providence to smile upon me with his sweet face

But I'll tell you

My place is of the sun and this place is of the dark

I do not feel the romance I do not catch the spark

My place is of the sun and this place is of the dark

And I will not be a pawn

For the Prince of Darkness any longer…”

I think John would approve of this song.  It is, after all what he’s saying when he says that Jesus, the light of the world, came to his own and that we, in our darkness, couldn’t welcome him.  Before we could be the Light of the World ourselves, something had to be done, and that is the story of the Gospel.  As the Easter season begins, this Sunday is a very fitting time to talk about it.

V

HOW TO BE SALT AND LIGHT

How to be Salt and Light

How about a little controversy this Sunday morning?  I think it’s a great idea since I won’t be around.  Rachel and I are out of town and Chris is preaching.  This article may or may not have anything to do with his lesson.  It’s just something I wanted to share from my favorite blog, Experimental Theology by ACU professor, Richard Beck:

“A few years ago a female student wanted to visit with me about some difficulties she was having, mainly with her family life. As is my practice, we walked around campus as we talked.

After talking for some time about her family situation we turned to other areas of her life. When she reached spiritual matters we had the following exchange:

"I need to spend more time working on my relationship with God."

I responded, "Why would you want to do that?"

Startled she says, "What do you mean?"

"Well, why would you want to spend any time at all on working on your relationship with God?"

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?"

"Let me answer by asking you a question. Can you think of anyone, right now, to whom you need to apologize? Anyone you've wronged?"

She thinks and answers, "Yes."

"Well, why don't you give them a call today and ask for their forgiveness. That might be a better use of your time than working on your relationship with God…"

…My point in all this is that contemporary Christianity has lost its way. Christians don't wake up every morning thinking about how to become a more decent human being. Instead, they wake up trying to "work on their relationship with God" which very often has nothing to do with treating people better. How could such a confusion have occurred? How did we end up going so wrong? I'm sure there are lots of answers, but at the end of the day we need to face up to our collective failure. I'm not saying we need to do anything dramatic. A baby step would do to start. Waking up trying to be a little more kind, more generous, more interruptible, more forgiving, more humble, more civil, more tolerant. Do these things and prayer and worship will come alongside to support us.

I truly want people to spend time working on their relationship with God. I just want them to do it by taking the time to care about the person standing right in front of them.”

NO SUCH THING

I’ll admit it, I love absurd humor.  The kind that makes your brain relax and stop taking the world so literally.  The kind where you could never have known where the punch line was coming from, because it’s not that kind of joke.  A lot of comics have done it well through the years, but one of my favorites was a comedian named Mitch Hedberg, a hilarious guy who died way too young.  Here are a few of his jokes.  Some of you will love them, some of you will hate them.  I definitely fall into the “love ’em” camp…

“I had a stick of CareFree gum, but it didn't work. I felt pretty good while I was blowing that bubble, but as soon as the gum lost its flavor, I was back to pondering my mortality.”

“I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later.”

“I hate turkeys. If you stand in the meat section at the grocery store long enough, you start to get mad at turkeys. There's turkey ham, turkey bologna, turkey pastrami…Someone needs to tell the turkey, ‘Man, just be yourself.’”

“At my hotel room, my friend came over and asked to use the phone. I said, ‘Certainly.’ He said, ‘Do I need to dial 9?’ I say, ‘Yeah. Especially if it's in the number. You can try four and five back to back real quick.’”

“I once saw a forklift lift a crate of forks. And it was way too literal for me.”

“My belt holds my pants up, but the belt loops hold my belt up. So which ones the real hero?”

“I was at this casino minding my own business, and this guy came up to me and said, ‘You're gonna have to move; you're blocking a fire exit.’ As though if there was a fire, I wasn't gonna run. If you're flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit.”

“An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. You would never see an Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order sign.  It would say Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience.”

That last one is particularly appropriate for our passage this Sunday.  That’s where Jesus points out something that would be just as absurd as an escalator that quits being an escalator.  He talks about salt that quits being salt.

The good news is there’s something to be done about it.

You are the Salt of the Earth

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” (Matthew 5:13)

Following is an excerpt from Mark Kurlansky’s fascinating book Salt: A World History. You history buffs would enjoy it.  The rest of you will be subjected to a great deal of it in the coming year.  It really sheds light (another topic for the year) on why Jesus makes the above statement about his followers:

Far more than 101 uses for salt are well known.  The figure often cited by the modern salt industry is 14,000, including the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, the melting of ice from winter roads, fertilizing agricultural fields, making soap, softening water, and dying textiles.

Salt is a chemical term for a substance produced by the reaction of an acid with a base.  When sodium, an unstable metal that can suddenly burst into flame, reacts with a deadly poisonous gas known as chlorine, it becomes the staple food sodium chloride…

Chloride is essential for digestion and in respiration.  Without sodium, which the body cannot manufacture, the body would be unable to transport nutrients or oxygen, transmit nerve impulses, or move muscles, including the heart…

A French folktale relates the story of a princess who declares to her father, “I love you like salt,” and he, angered by the slight, banishes her from the kingdom.  Only later when he is denied salt does he realize its value and therefore the depth of his daughter’s love.  Salt is so common, so easy to obtain, and so inexpensive that we have forgotten that from the beginning of civilization until about 100 years ago, salt was one of the most sought-after commodities in human history.

When Jesus called his followers the salt of the earth he was talking about something more precious than we, with our modern minds, understand.  The real challenge is are we proving him right?

CHALLENGE SUNDAY

Welcome to Challenge Sunday—the day where we look back at the events of our previous year, and look forward to the coming year.  2013 marks my tenth year of ministry at Norfolk Church of Christ.  I started doing part-time ministry working with the military in 2003 and then transitioned to preaching in 2004.  At first glance, I can’t believe it’s been ten years.

But then I start thinking about it.  I remember all the people God has brought to and from our church.  I drive around Hampton Roads and recall the different people who have lived here or there and all the move-ins and pack-outs.  I remember all the different LIFE groups we’ve been a part of all over the area.  3 hurricanes have come through.  Two children have been added to our family. I’ve lost track of exactly how many weddings and funerals I’ve officiated.  (I do know the ratio is more than two to one in favor of weddings—one of the benefits of preaching for such a young congregation.) Our congregation has done 5 years of elementary week at camp, 2 years of teen week, and one year of mission week. I can’t even begin to think of all the kids who were born to members of this church.  I often think how great it would have been to get pictures of all the children who have played at the church water fountain through the years.  When we moved here, Rachel and I qualified as a young couple. Now, not so much.  When I look at it this way, it feels like a decade.

I love challenge Sunday, because it’s such a wonderful reminder of how much happens at our little church.  We are blessed with people who want to minister, and we are blessed with opportunities to do ministry.  And that remains more or less the same through the years.  2012 was no different; I expect the same for 2013.

And yet I also feel like God wants something new for us in 2013.  New kinds of ministry.  New ways of serving Him in this corner of the world.  And more importantly, I think he wants us to have a new sense of what it means to be people on a mission for Him.  That’s why, as happy as I am to look back at 2012, I’m even more excited to look forward to the ways we can be salt and light to those around us.

                                             Robert

LIGHTEN UP

Lighten Up

The following story comes from a man named Donald Castle, an Episcopal Priest:

In June I was waiting in a clinic for my doctor's appointment when an older couple arrived. "Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!" the older gentleman greeted the room of people. His enthusiasm was infectious.

Most of the patients ignored the outburst; I decided to return the greeting, "Merry Christmas to you, too!"

Sensing a sympathetic ear, the wife of the well-wisher explained quietly: "It started this past year. For no reason, my husband would begin to get into the Christmas spirit. At first we dismissed it, but then we realized how much joy it brought him. So we started decorating the house, singing carols, having a spur-of-the-moment celebration. You know, after doing this a number of times, we look forward to it. Christmas can come any time, any place. It's always a pleasant surprise."

I’ve heard numerous stories like this from people who have had a loved one suffering from dementia.  Everyone agrees how incredibly painful it is watching someone they’ve known all these years disappear bit by bit, like stepping behind a curtain.  But many have also said that it has come with a peculiar and unexpected set of blessings.

One such blessing is the exuberant, childlike joy that people sometimes develop.  It’s like one of the first things they forget is that they’re supposed to play it cool.  That’s how you end up with a man who is shamelessly celebrating Christmas in June.

This Sunday we’re going to be talking about the spiritual discipline of Celebration.  It is a discipline that, when practiced regularly, has multiple benefits.  First, if we celebrate regularly, we start noticing more reasons to celebrate—kind of a snowball effect. Second, people are drawn to this God we celebrate. People actually want to know more about following Christ if it actually leads to a more joyful life.

standing watch

Standing Watch

I’ll admit to liking Facebook, but I’m not entirely unaware of the numerous problems it presents.  I know it is a mixed bag at best.  But Brian Lowery, the managing editor of Christianity Today, recently shared a story that demonstrates some of the benefits of Facebook’s far reach:

When Avril Grube's marriage came to an end in 1982, she decided to remain in her hometown of Poole, Dorset (U.K.), while her husband returned to his native country of Hungary. The couple had one son, Gavin, of whom Avril was awarded sole custody. Avril's husband was only given visitation rights.

One day, while in town to visit his son, Avril's ex-husband asked to take Gavin to the local zoo. Avril agreed, and off the two went for a day of fun. As day turned into night, however, Avril became worried. She waited and waited for them to return, but they never did. She would soon learn that Gavin's father had taken the boy back to Hungary.

For years Avril and her sister searched for Gavin, going so far as to take up their case with former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the authorities at the Hungarian Embassy. But their efforts were fruitless. Over time, Avril slowly lost hope of ever seeing her son again. But 27 years later—27 years—she found him.

In March of 2009, Avril's sister typed Gavin's name into an internet search engine and found his Facebook profile. Avril and her sister immediately started sending him messages. When Gavin didn't respond—they later learned he doesn't use the account with any real consistency—they started messaging his children, who also had Facebook accounts. Eventually, the two finally reconnected after so many years apart.

"She is absolutely on cloud nine," Avril's sister told a reporter for BBC. "They have been hugging—really, really happy."

Can you imagine what it must have taken to keep hope for all of those years? Anna and Simeon can.  They searched for the deliverance of Israel and for the Messiah well into old age.  They kept hope alive for decades.  This Sunday we’re going to hear more about them.

HAIL, MARY

In a devotional for Christian Standard Magazine, Paul Williams writes about the time he was on a particularly turbulent flight.  It was so turbulent a number of passengers began to seize their armrests or the seats in front of them, just so they could feel a modicum of stability.  Then Williams noticed a mother on the plane who, when it got bumpy, sought to comfort her infant child. She hugged the baby closed to her, and dropped her chin on to the baby’s head and began to sing, “Hush, Little Baby.”  Not surprisingly, Williams’s thoughts turned to Mary and the Christmas story.  It’s a beautiful reflection:

Helpless fragility is the lot of the infant. Those early days leave a lasting impression on the human psyche we never really resolve. That vulnerability stays with us all of our days, reminding us of the seemingly capricious nature of things—a bitter world that does not care if we exist.

But then God came—as an infant, unable to reach out and steady himself on the seat back in front of him, fully trusting a human, fallible mother to pull him close to her breast through the pitching, shaking nature of things.

What an extraordinary risk, to trust the infant of God to a frightened young girl.

But then again—watching that new mother sing to her child all the way through the turbulent skies to the welcoming runway—I realized God knew good and well what he was doing. The power of love trumps fear, rewards risk, and brings meaning and life to an otherwise frightening world. Over and over again.

For a God who would become powerless for love, and to a mother who sings softly in her infant's ear, I give my heart for Christmas, wholly amazed at the wonder of it all.

For this final Sunday before Christmas of 2012, we’re turning our attention to one of the greatest surprises of the entire Christmas narrative—Mary.  At first glance this peasant girl seems an odd choice to be the mother of the newborn king.  But Luke, one of the gospel writers, points to Mary not as an oddity, but as an example for us.  I’ll be showing you why.

                                           Merry Christmas!

                                     Robert

MOVIN' ON DOWN

Movin’ On Down

Steve Carter grew up wondering where he came from.  The adopted son of an Army couple had always found it strange that his birth certificate had not even been created until he was a year old.  His adoptive parents couldn’t answer any of his questions.  They had adopted him from foster care when he was four.

So one day Carter decided to start looking on his own.  He started with missing children reports that matched his age and the location he had been lost.  That’s when he saw a composite image that had been created to approximate what he would look like as an adult.  When he saw it Carter says, “I got chills.”

A few months later, a DNA test confirmed his identity.  His birth name was Marx Panama.  His mother, who suffered from a psychiatric illness, left home with him one day and never returned.  Carter found out that when she was taken into custody by police, she had given a false name for the baby.  So when Carter’s father filed a missing person report, he was never found.

Had it not been for a half-sister who grew up wondering what had become of him, Carter’s identity would never have been discovered.  She continued to press the police department in Hau’ula, Hawaii, to keep the case open.  She was the one who had requested a picture be drawn estimating what her brother might look like.

Since his discovery, Carter and his sister, Jennifer Monnheimer, have spent hours on the phone with one another, discovering that they have a number of things in common.  Now he is taking his time and meeting other members of the family one by one.  He says a reunion is in the works.

Can you imagine finding out that you were a missing child and you had never known it?  And then discovering all that people had done to find you?

In one sense, the Christmas story is the story of a whole bunch of missing children and the God who will go to great lengths to find them again—even if they don’t know they’re lost.  This Sunday we can celebrate and Christmas, the story of a search for missing children that, strangely enough, begins with a baby.

WELCOMING COMMITTEE

Welcoming Committee

This is from Mark Buchanan’s book, Things Unseen:

From 1985 to 1987, Rick Hanson, a paraplegic athlete, circled the globe on his wheelchair to raise awareness of and money for spinal cord research.

It was a grueling trip. There are photos of him in all kinds of weather: burning heat, slashing rain, swirling blizzard, howling wind; and in all terrain: desert wastelands, dense forests, patchwork farmlands, craggy mountains…

Mile upon mile upon tiresome mile. Hands thick with calluses. Thighs bruised, back blistered. Weariness in him like a rumor of death.

But on May 23, 1987, Rick Hanson came home.

When he was still far away, many miles from Vancouver, people gathered to welcome him. As he got nearer, the crowd thickened along both sides of the highway: hundreds of people, then thousands, then thousands on thousands. They roared, clapped, cheered, and wept. They threw flowers. Rick moved with power and grace, effortless…

As Rick got nearer the stadium, the streets grew impossibly dense with people. Helicopters hovered overhead. Police in cars and on motorcycles flanked his sides. Other wheelchair athletes joined him…

Rick Hanson entered B.C Place. He swooped through the wide lower gates and glided out onto the stadium floor—and sixty thousand people went berserk. Leaping, dancing, blowing horns, whirling clackers, the air shrill with wolf whistles, exploding with applause, swelling with throaty shouts of welcome and triumph.

Can you imagine what that must have been like—after such a long, grueling journey to receive such a rousing welcome from so many people you didn’t even know?  I would imagine the fatigue was much less powerful and whatever aches and pains he had suddenly loosened their grip on him.  I imagine it would be indescribable to have so many be so happy to see you.

Today we’re going to meet some of the people who were waiting on Jesus when he arrived.  Jesus’ welcome party was not so large or boisterous. For someone who is the Messiah, the hope of nations, his birth went largely unnoticed.

But his arrival did not go entirely unnoticed.  And that’s worth celebrating.

SURPRISE! - PARDON THE INTERRUPTION

I ran across this story the other day, and, according to Snopes, it’s true, with some embellishment.  I’ll explain after the story:

An old couple come into a hotel at 11:00 on a rainy night and asked for a room. If you were that night clerk, you could say, "It's raining outside, 11:00 at night; you have no reservation. I can't help you. We're filled up."

Instead, the night clerk said, "We don't have any good rooms; they're all gone. But I'll tell you what: I have a room here. It's not much, but I'll have Mary, the night housekeeper, clean it up and put some flowers in there. Wait here a few moments. I'm sure you'll be comfortable for the night. I hate to send you out in this rainy night."

Mary came back and said, "The room is clean."

Then the clerk said, "Now you two can go upstairs, and I'll have some hot tea sent up for you." That's one way to handle your enemy if they make unreasonable interruptions.

The strange thing is that a year and a half later, when the great Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York was built and finished, John Jacob Astor, who was the man who with his wife came to the hotel that night, said, "I want that night clerk to manage my hotel."

Like I said, this story is basically true. Except it wasn’t John Jacob Astor.  It was his cousin, William Waldorf Astor.  And the hotel they stayed in was actually one of the finest hotels in Philadelphia.  And it wasn’t the night clerk. It was the manager of the hotel who had a suite that he could give to the couple.

George C. Boldt, had immigrated to America and worked his way up through the ranks of hotel management starting as a dishwasher.  He would go on to be very wealthy himself—no doubt, because he was able to deal graciously with interruptions.

This Sunday we’re beginning our Christmas series for 2012.  I’m calling it “Surprise!”  It will be about some of the ways that Jesus’ birth is a surprise to those who witness it, starting with Joseph and Mary.  Both of them have their lives interrupted by Jesus’ arrival. And the world is a different place because of it.

                                                                                                                 Robert

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit.

(1 Thessalonians 5)

PLAYING CARDS WITH GOD

This Sunday, as we get ready to talk about the story of Joseph, I want to share this excerpt from Matt Woodley’s book, The Folly of Prayer...

Shortly after I moved from Minnesota to Long Island, I met David, a Jewish follower of Jesus who constantly challenged me to view the Bible through Jewish eyes…For the first two years of my ministry on Long Island, David would often approach me after a worship service and begin with something like, "Hey, nice sermon…but I think you also missed something crucial in that passage…then he'd launch into his weekly five-minute rebuttal-argument…I thought he was trying to pick a fight with me, but I politely listened and thanked him for his "insights." But after listening to his rebuttals…I finally blurted out, "David, what is the deal? Don't you get anything out of my sermons? Doesn't God tell you something? Why must you always nitpick about some minor point of theology?" My face flushed with anger and David stood there frozen in shock.

Finally, David broke the icy silence. First, he laughed. Then he said, "Maybe I should explain my cultural background, which is probably different than your ethnic background. When New York Jews like me argue about Scripture, we're asking for a dialogue. When I tell you that I disagree with something you've said, I'm expecting you to fire back and say, 'O, yeah, well I think that you're wrong too and let me tell you why.'  You see, Jewish people sometimes get close by working through unpleasant feelings, even by arguing if necessary. Confronting each other is a sign of intimacy in the relationship. So when I dish it out, I want you to dish it right back. That's how trust and intimacy grows in the relationship."

This concept of achieving trust and intimacy with God through intense dialogue, and even a rousing argument, was certainly new to me. But through my friendship with David, God has started to teach me an important lesson about prayer: sometimes prayer involves being completely honest with God. Sometimes we grow closer to God by bringing God all of the "unpleasant" things about our relationship: our sadness, disappointments, laments, complaints, and even our anger. Based on the numerous God-given prayers of complaint and lamentation, it's obvious that God can handle our honesty.

This week we’ll read about a man who must have had a lot of questions for God.  There must have been times when he wondered what on earth God was up to. His life was not an easy one.  And when things get hard, it’s easy to rush to judgment about what God is doing. I think the Joseph story helps us see another way.

LOOSENING YOUR GRIP

Loosening Your Grip

I hesitate to even say what I’m talking about this Sunday.  It’s a word with so much baggage. Instead I think I’ll give you a glimpse of what it looks like.  Take some time to read this beautiful passage from Henri Nouwen…

“The resistance to praying is like the resistance of tightly clenched fists. This image shows the tension, the desire to cling tightly to yourself, a greediness which betrays fear. The story about an old woman brought to a psychiatric center exemplifies this attitude. She was wild, swinging at everything in sight, and scaring everything away from her. But there was one small coin which she gripped in her fist and would not give up. In fact, it took two men to pry open that squeezed hand. It was as though she would lose her very self along with the coin. That was her fear.

The man invited to pray is asked to open his tightly clenched fists and to give up his last coin. But who wants to do that? A first prayer, therefore, is often a painful prayer, because you discover you don't want to let go. You hold fast to what is familiar, even if you aren't proud of it. You find yourself saying, "That's just how it is with me. I would like it to be different, but it can't be now." Once you talk like that, you've already given up the belief that your life might be otherwise; you've already let the hope for a new life float by. Since you wouldn't dare to put a question mark behind a bit of your own experience with all its attachments, you have wrapped yourself up in the destiny of facts. You feel it is safer to cling to a sorry past than to trust in a new future. So you fill your hands with small clammy coins which you don't want to surrender.

You still feel jealous of the fellow who is better paid than you are, you still want revenge on someone who doesn't respect you, you are still disappointed that you've received no letter, still angry because she didn't smile when you walked by. You live through it, you live along with it as though it didn't really bother you ... until the moment that you want to pray. Then everything returns: the bitterness, the hate, the jealousy, the disappointment and the desire for revenge. But these feelings are not just there; you clutch them in your hands as if they were treasures you didn't want to part with. You sit rummaging in all that old sourness as if you couldn't do without it, as if in giving it up, you would lose your very self.”

The word I will be using to describe our topic today is liable to send people running.  But it’s not so scary when you think about it along these lines.  It’s not something that will be forced on you.  It’s an invitation to let go and trust in God.

A BRAWL OF BIBLICAL PROPORTION

A Brawl of Biblical Proportion

Lord, do not forsake me;

do not be far from me, my God.

Come quickly to help me,

my Lord and my Savior. (Psalm 38:21-22)

Parents put a lot of time into deciding what to name their children.  They always have.  But it appears some don’t think about it enough.  In recent years there have been quite a number of stories about people saddling their offspring with weird names.

Nicolas Cage named his son Kal-El, Superman’s birth name.  Jason Lee of Alvin and the Chipmunks fame named his son Pilot Inspektor. Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin named their daughter Apple. And who can forget Michael Jackson’s child, Blanket?  Then there are some lesser known odd names.  Entertainer Penn Jillette and his wife named their child Moxie Crimefighter. But my favorite has to be actor Rob Morrow’s child Tu.  Get it? Tu Morrow? (I bet the kid just loathes the musical Annie.)

And it’s not just parents doing it.  Sometimes adults who should know better bring it on themselves.  For instance, according to a story in The Atlantic…

… 44-year-old Mr. Gary Matthews petitioned the court to have his name legally changed to "Boomer the Dog." In his petition, Mr. Matthews stated, "I've been known as Boomer the Dog by friends in the community for more than 20 years. I want to bring my legal name in line with that."

Judge Ronald Folilno denied Mr. Matthew's name-change request, arguing that it would cause too much confusion.

This Sunday we’re going to see a story in Genesis about a name change.  This time it’s not instigated by the person’s parents, or even by himself.  God is the one who offers up this nickname.  And it’s pretty important, because it provides a description, not just of the man, but also of God’s people.  It comes at the end of an all-night wrestling match.

But most importantly, I think it can tell us something about relating to God.

IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY

It Runs in the Family

“A certain ruler asked him, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’  ‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus answered. ‘No one is good—except God alone.’”

(Luke 18:18-19)

Minister John Beukema shares this recent story about how looks can be deceiving:

When is red snapper not red snapper? When a DNA test declares it otherwise.

Species of fish like sheepshead, porgies, and grunts are similar to red snapper but less desirable, and therefore less expensive. Students at the University of North Carolina accidentally discovered these second-class fish while doing DNA analysis on what the package said was red snapper. In addition to their course on recognizing the DNA patterns of certain types of fish, the students received a bonus lesson on mislabeling fish for profit. The local fishmonger had dressed up a grunt to look like snapper, slapped a label on it, and raised the price.

These tricks aren't new. During the years I lived in an ocean-side community, I learned some of the code words for seafood variants. The skate is a bottom feeding fish with human shaped lips, and it looks like a stingray. They are about the size and shape of a garbage can lid. When I hauled in my first one, it was very disquieting until I was able to identify it. Later, I discovered that the meat from the skate's stingray-like "wings" is often sold as scallops, or clamstrips. It tastes fine, but it's not what the customer believes he or she is paying for.

Consumer advocate Tim Duffy described finding some Atlantic cod labeled as a product of China. "I wasn't great in geography," he says, "but I don't think the Atlantic Ocean goes to China." While some misidentifications could be honest mistakes, there is great financial incentive to make the switch. Duffy says, "The profits in mislabeling fish can equal or exceed [those of] drug dealing."

So many incentives to hide reality.  It’s the same with us.  Human nature says we will go to great lengths to hide our flaws.  Especially when it comes to how we present ourselves in a church setting.

This Sunday we’re going to start reading the story of Jacob and his family.  When we’re done you might feel a little better about your own family.  But that isn’t the point.  The point is that God can use anyone.

THE DISCIPLINE OF STUDY

If you’re reading this on Sunday, good morning!  I’m out of town and Chris Langley will be preaching.  Most of you will remember that, following Winterfest, our teens decided to spend each month focusing on a different spiritual discipline.  I’ve been preaching a lesson to correspond with each one.  This time, Chris will be doing it in my place.  He’ll be talking to you about the discipline of study.

In light of that, I thought I’d share this story about Bible Study:

In her book Amazing Grace, the writer and poet Kathleen Norris shares what she calls "the scariest story" she's ever heard about the Bible. Norris and her husband were visiting a man named Arlo, a rugged, self-made man who was facing terminal cancer. During their visit, Arlo started talking about his grandfather, a sincere Christian. The grandfather gave Arlo and his bride a wedding present: an expensive leather Bible with their names printed in gold lettering. Arlo left it in the box and never opened it. But for months afterwards his grandfather kept asking if he liked the Bible. Arlo told Norris, "The wife had written a nice thank-you note, and we'd thanked him in person, but somehow he couldn't let it lie, he always had to ask about it."

Finally, Arlo grew curious enough to open the Bible. "The joke was on me," Arlo said. "I finally took that Bible out of the closet and I found that granddad had placed a twenty-dollar bill at the beginning of the Book of Genesis, and at the beginning of every book … over thirteen hundred dollars in all. And he knew I'd never find it."

I’ve spent many years studying the Bible.  It is nothing short of miraculous that it continues, after all this time, to be a treasure trove.  No matter what is happening in my life.  No matter how my circumstances or beliefs change.  The Bible continues to shape me and challenge me and comfort me.

I hope today you’ll leave with a renewed desire to study.  Not so you can know everything, but so you can know Jesus.

                                                                                               Robert

HAGGLING WITH GOD

On June 22, 2007, a hit-and-run incident left Daniel McConchie paralyzed from the waist down. Daniel says that since that traumatic day, "God has not healed my affliction, but he has taught me the power of lamenting to him about it." He adds:

To our detriment, one of the most overlooked portions of Scripture in modern-day America are the psalms of lament. However, David repeatedly demonstrated that laments make obvious our intense faith in God, that he can and will intervene in our time of need. They demonstrate just how deep our relationship with the Father really is. After all, we don't communicate our grief and mourning to strangers. We save that for those we truly know and love.

Oh Lord, my God! Why do you wait to show up?

I cried out to you when trouble struck.

I asked for your restoration.

I know that you heard me. I know that you answered.

Yet nothing--nothing of meaning happens again today.

Infinitesimal changes dog my days.

I am hounded by the prayers of the fickle

Looking to me to prove their faith…

What a two-edged sword your voice is!
You speak. And then wait?
You give hope. And then vanish into the mist?
Have you forgotten me? Have more important things arrested your attention?

Please slay me! Blot my name from the ranks of the living!
For in the grave can I finally rest.
My wife can have her dreams again;
My children a father who can provide as I should.

If it makes it you feel better, he has a final statement of faith and hope at the end of all this brutal honesty with God.  But say what you want to about him, he isn’t flinching.  It may not be easy to read, but the man is moving closer to God not farther away.

The point is that faith can flourish even in the midst of doubt.  This Sunday we’re going to see that Abraham is allowed to express his doubts with God.  The patriarch who is known for his faith is still allowed to challenge God. Because honest anger is usually better than apathetic distance.

                                                                                               Robert

SCRIPTURE:

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

         “God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.     (1 Peter 5)