Lectionary Reading: John 20:19-31
One of the things I’ve liked most in ministry is it allows you to encounter people in the full cycle of life. Each person is at a different place in the circle but its amazing to see the cylinders of life go round and round
You are there to bless, praise and celebrate on their very best days:
The day they born
The day they a baptized
The day they graduate from high school, college, grad school…
The day they marry
The day they tell you they are having a baby
The day they retire and tell you their grandchildren are born
The day you hold their hand as they pass from this life into God’s heaven
You are there to hold, pray and comfort on their very worst days:
The day a miscarriage occurs
The day a disappointment happens
The day a crash occurs or an Emergency Room visit is needed
The day a job is lost or a dream goes up in flames
The day a divorce splits a couple in two
The day a family becomes estranged
The day a loved one makes that journey into God’s heaven
The thing I like about counseling is that it puts me in the lives of people in all the other days:
Days after a great event is forgotten and hope needs to come back
Days after a sorrow has occurred
The long never-ending days of bickering that threaten a relationship
Sheets of dark, depressing days of grief
The years of days after a trauma – where resolutions and solutions are finally found
Days of light and inspiration where guidance is a pathway
Days of laughter breaking through rain
Days of being whole again
Pretty much between ministry and counseling – you’re busy every day! What’s even more amazing than that? The presence and power of God. God is present every second of every day of every life span – including the seconds before and the eternity after. There is not a second God is not a part of. There is no way to shield yourself from that presence. As Carl Jung said so well “Bidden or not bidden, God is present”. In other words – there is simply no way to lock God out. Jesus is the same way.
Locking Jesus Out in Fear
Our scripture takes place after the resurrection when Mary of Magdala and the others return to tell the disciples Jesus is alive. News and whispers are everywhere. Of course – no one quite has a handle on that truth yet. Some say his body was simply stolen. Others think the women are mad with grief. Romans don’t like all this disorder in their neatly ordered world. Pharisees don’t like the scrutiny this affair has shined onto their laws and behavior – including some backdoor deal that ended in the arrest of a rabbi and the suicide of his disciple. In all the rumor and ideas floating around – the group closest to Jesus knew one thing: as disciples of the Christ - it is not safe for them to be anywhere.
So they do what any sane person would do when they are being pursued by forces known and unknown, they hide away behind a locked door. For whatever reason, Thomas is not with them. Perhaps they sent him out to learn what’s going on or maybe he was just doing a run for some daily bread. Either way, they send him on a dangerous mission carefully locking the door behind them. When suddenly, they will see not just the news – but the truth standing before them. Jesus is there.
You know as they looked to their messiah it was like walking into bright afternoon sun after being in a small dark room. They squinted and blinked, their eyes now unaccustomed to the sight of him – but there he stood. What’s the next thing they do? Look over at the door. It was LOCKED. But here stands Jesus. And they learn the most wonderful way – no matter how afraid you are, you can’t lock Jesus out.
We build walls in our fears too. We keep people at arm’s length or simply don’t tell them how we feel. We decide not to reach out for a dream because we are afraid of failure. We don’t seek out folks who could help us because we are afraid to appear vulnerable. We pray about what we want, not who we are – because deep down we aren’t so sure we want to be that honest with God. Yet through all the walls from our all fears, Jesus walks right into the room of our lives. Never let yourself be fooled. You can keep people at bay for a while, but Jesus Christ who saves you and loves you is going to walk right in. Count on it.
Locking Jesus Out in Anger
So Thomas comes back with the latest edict or a couple of loaves of bread and finds everyone stirring with light and joy. You know he is going through an energy rush of his own. He just risked everything to run this errand and now he’s back but instead of being thankful or listening to him – they are all blathering about seeing Jesus who came through a locked door. Thomas figures 1 of three things has happened:
1. They have gone as mad with grief as the women and the people on the street saying Jesus is alive. He is now the only sane one left.
2. They are playing some kind of mean joke on him. They have all made up this wild story to make him look like a sucker.
3. Jesus really is alive and did see them. Everyone got to be with their beloved Lord but Thomas. Even his twin brother got to see Jesus. Imagine how that could come between two so close in everything else. Thomas feels left out in the cold.
If its door number one: He’s all alone
If its door number two: He’s a laughing stock
If its door number three: He has been purposefully left out. He is “less than”
No matter which it is, he feels angry – and lets face it, we would too. No one wants to be left outside the circle, or laughed out, or alone. So in anger Thomas does what we do – he closes all the doors. Not just to the room – but the door to his heart, the door to his mind and the door to his faith also. “I don’t care what you say – unless I see his hands and I see touch his side with my own two little hands – I will not believe this.” In other words – Thomas is CLOSED.
A week later, Jesus appears again. This time Thomas is there. Jesus repeats the words Thomas uses and allows him to see his hands and touch his side. Most people think Jesus did that to chide Thomas for his hasty words, but I don’t. I think Jesus did it for one reason alone. To show Thomas that even though he couldn’t see Jesus in the room when he spoke his angry monologue, Jesus was there and heard every word. Jesus words and actions were saying:
“I’m not just around when you see my wounds or speak to me. I’m around even when you can't see me at all. I’m always here. Blessed are you when you realize you don’t have to see me, but you know I’m there anyway.”
In our anger, hurt and distress we sometimes lock Jesus out too. We get caught up in a situation, sorrow or feeling of helplessness that we decide that we just can’t see God in this. We react instead of act. We strike out instead of let in. We suffer alone at night because we won’t risk reaching to anyone anymore. We might even say we know Jesus is with us – but the truth is – we aren’t always so sure what good that does.
Yet Jesus is not kept out by our locked minds, strong wills or stone hearts. Jesus is in, and Jesus will keep speaking, appearing, helping (and sending helpers), until you touch his hands and touch his side and KNOW that the fact he is alive makes all the difference in your world.
This Eastertide, make a commitment to unlock the doors of your heart (since you aren’t keeping Jesus out anyway) and be open to seeing Christ in working, walking, healing ways all around you. Hear for yourself the words Jesus says when he comes through every locked door - Peace be with you.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Three phrases I hate in the Christian Community
I got a question today that I answered with too many words to fit in the side-bar. (Me give a wordy answer to a short question? Impossible! :-) So I thought I'd put in here. For the Easter sermon go down to next post. Your Shepnerd.
Question: I've always heard the old saying "God does not give usmore than we can handle" and sometimes I want to think its true, but it got me to thinking. If He doesn't give us more than we can handle how are things like terminal illnesses and violent crimes that result in murder figured into this? Seems like if God didn't give us more than wecould handle then these things wouldn't happen.
Long Answer: I have three pet peeves that people say in Christian Communities all the time.
1. "The church is God's House" - No. God doesn't need a house. God doesn't need shelter. God IS shelter.
2. "God helps those who help themselves" - No. Ben Franklin said this (not the bible), and if God just wanted us to help ourselves then we wouldn't need God, Prayer or Jesus. Throw this phrase out with last year's almanac.
3. "God doesn't give us more than we can handle." No. That's not in the bible; its a greeting card phrase people say to each other when we don't know what to say to help them in their grief and want to brush off the issue. It's not helpful, and damaging to people who encounter life issues they are having trouble with. Suddenly, not only do you feel victimized, you feel like you lack faith too.
First, God doesn't GIVE us these things. Imagine you have been sent to teach someone about God. You say, "Knowing the God who made you and loves you will change your life. The relationship can provide you with insight, support, salvation, balance and joy. God will also give you cancer, make you the victim of a crime, cause a hurricane to wipe out your house, take away your job, give your son a drug habit, put your daughter in an abusive marriage, and just when you are ready for your golden years take away your spouse's mind so they no longer remember who you are. Now, don't you want to know God better?" Ludicrous! Yes, and so is the phrase that supports it.
Cancer happens because God designed us to be in a sustained natural world. Some genes, some bodies reacting that create great things like musical talent and pretty blue eyes. Some genes, some bodies react in ways that create cancer, or contract or spread viruses. God doesn't give us illness, illness happens to natural bodies in a natural world.
Hurricanes happen because the water in the ocean gets too hot and the natural balance of the system is to correct it through having the heat rise, which works with the natural turning of the earth to become circular energy (short and easy explanation for a complex phenominon). Crime happens because empty and hurt people tend to hurt other people. Drugs happen because there is pain. War happens because there is evil.
It's always been funny to me that we can accept Jesus teaching "If you ask for bread will God give you a stone? No, God will give good gifts..." but then turn around and suggest God gives you abusive lovers, arthritis and Alzheimer's disease.
Second, not all things can be "handled". Some things must be accepted. Some things must be endured. Some things should be challenged. Some events can be healed by a scalpel. Some events can require a healing process several years long. Some houses are lost. Some lives need rebuilt. "Handling" implies we have some kind of control. Usually, in the situation where people say this terrible phrase - we don't.
God is not powerless but all powerful. And when God designed this natural system of life, death, rebirth - for the earth and for us -God promised to go through these things with us. God carries us. God cries with us. God heals us.
A better alternative to this phrase is Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love God and who have been called according to God's purpose." That doesn't mean that all things that happen are good. God doesn't want drunk drivers to kill children, God doesn't want divorce, drugs or homelessness. God doesn't think those things are good. What it does mean is that out of the situations we encounter - those we make, and those made for us by the other people on the planet and the planet itself -- God can work with us to bring good things into our life and our world.
People with diseases raise awareness, research money and hope. Susan G Komen died of cancer (not good), her family created her foundation that has saved the lives of millions of women through mammograms, drugs, and research (a great good). Women who have been victimized become survivors and learn how to stand up with and heal other women. Tornados that wreck someone's life create a whole community of effort to repair and rebuild. Does God need a tornado to create community? No. But since one is going to happen - God wants to be there too and use it for what good can come.
So my best thought is ditch the easy phrases and hold on to God's truth.
Question: I've always heard the old saying "God does not give usmore than we can handle" and sometimes I want to think its true, but it got me to thinking. If He doesn't give us more than we can handle how are things like terminal illnesses and violent crimes that result in murder figured into this? Seems like if God didn't give us more than wecould handle then these things wouldn't happen.
Long Answer: I have three pet peeves that people say in Christian Communities all the time.
1. "The church is God's House" - No. God doesn't need a house. God doesn't need shelter. God IS shelter.
2. "God helps those who help themselves" - No. Ben Franklin said this (not the bible), and if God just wanted us to help ourselves then we wouldn't need God, Prayer or Jesus. Throw this phrase out with last year's almanac.
3. "God doesn't give us more than we can handle." No. That's not in the bible; its a greeting card phrase people say to each other when we don't know what to say to help them in their grief and want to brush off the issue. It's not helpful, and damaging to people who encounter life issues they are having trouble with. Suddenly, not only do you feel victimized, you feel like you lack faith too.
First, God doesn't GIVE us these things. Imagine you have been sent to teach someone about God. You say, "Knowing the God who made you and loves you will change your life. The relationship can provide you with insight, support, salvation, balance and joy. God will also give you cancer, make you the victim of a crime, cause a hurricane to wipe out your house, take away your job, give your son a drug habit, put your daughter in an abusive marriage, and just when you are ready for your golden years take away your spouse's mind so they no longer remember who you are. Now, don't you want to know God better?" Ludicrous! Yes, and so is the phrase that supports it.
Cancer happens because God designed us to be in a sustained natural world. Some genes, some bodies reacting that create great things like musical talent and pretty blue eyes. Some genes, some bodies react in ways that create cancer, or contract or spread viruses. God doesn't give us illness, illness happens to natural bodies in a natural world.
Hurricanes happen because the water in the ocean gets too hot and the natural balance of the system is to correct it through having the heat rise, which works with the natural turning of the earth to become circular energy (short and easy explanation for a complex phenominon). Crime happens because empty and hurt people tend to hurt other people. Drugs happen because there is pain. War happens because there is evil.
It's always been funny to me that we can accept Jesus teaching "If you ask for bread will God give you a stone? No, God will give good gifts..." but then turn around and suggest God gives you abusive lovers, arthritis and Alzheimer's disease.
Second, not all things can be "handled". Some things must be accepted. Some things must be endured. Some things should be challenged. Some events can be healed by a scalpel. Some events can require a healing process several years long. Some houses are lost. Some lives need rebuilt. "Handling" implies we have some kind of control. Usually, in the situation where people say this terrible phrase - we don't.
God is not powerless but all powerful. And when God designed this natural system of life, death, rebirth - for the earth and for us -God promised to go through these things with us. God carries us. God cries with us. God heals us.
A better alternative to this phrase is Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love God and who have been called according to God's purpose." That doesn't mean that all things that happen are good. God doesn't want drunk drivers to kill children, God doesn't want divorce, drugs or homelessness. God doesn't think those things are good. What it does mean is that out of the situations we encounter - those we make, and those made for us by the other people on the planet and the planet itself -- God can work with us to bring good things into our life and our world.
People with diseases raise awareness, research money and hope. Susan G Komen died of cancer (not good), her family created her foundation that has saved the lives of millions of women through mammograms, drugs, and research (a great good). Women who have been victimized become survivors and learn how to stand up with and heal other women. Tornados that wreck someone's life create a whole community of effort to repair and rebuild. Does God need a tornado to create community? No. But since one is going to happen - God wants to be there too and use it for what good can come.
So my best thought is ditch the easy phrases and hold on to God's truth.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Easter: Defying the Cult of Order
Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-14
The Cult of Order
In the year 203 CE, a 22 year old Roman woman named Vivia Perpetua and her slave known as Felicitas were arrested along with 3 other people for the crime of practicing Christianity. Roman Emperor Severus was desperately trying to align all the many religions of Rome into one ordered system. In his mind a Roman could worship any god he or she wanted, as long as they were willing to show honor to other gods as well. Two religions opposed this practice: Judaism and Christianity. Jews were not new to Roman experience and seemed to be an unconquerable people when it came to changing their faith. Christianity was still a new faith, quiet and law abiding, and it wasn’t really a religion a lot of people understood. It grew during the persecution of Christians under Nero in the year 68 CE, but had settled into the host of other religious entities until Severus started persecuting the sect and outlawed the converting of people to Christianity.
Vivia Perpetua and Felicitas were given the same choice all arrested Christians were: You could curse the name of Jesus and be set free, or you would be executed in the Coliseum with the rest of the criminals at noon. Even though they seemed to have everything to live for – Vivia Perpetua was a new mother and Felicitas gave birth while in prison - both women refused to turn their back on Christ or curse him. They were both taken into the Coliseum to be killed.
Perpetua was a Roman Citizen, which meant she couldn’t be crucified or ill-treated by guards. She was chained to a post to be killed by the wild beasts of the day. Although she was mauled, her wounds were not fatal. A guard was sent to kill her in front of the gathered crowd (executions were at noon, gladiators were before sunset – so the lunch time crowd was the rough and angry mob of the streets there to watch the bloodletting). He stabbed her, but his sword did not do enough damage and the wound was not fatal either. Claiming the power of Christ over the powers of death in this world, she grabbed the soldier’s sword and slit her own throat – defying Roman justice by taking her own life. The crowd was stunned in horrified, confused silence. They could not understand why a young mother would stick to her religion with such surety when the rest of them felt such doubt about it all.
Felicitas was a slave and condemned to be crucified. She suffered mightily at the hands of the guards prior to her crucifixion and was tortured both prior to and after being nailed to the cross. Her singing and prayer during her suffering began to dampen the spirit of the crowd. They could not understand the strength a mere slave girl had to withstand such torture. The Roman Historian Eutropilius reported the crowd left the arena as she suffered – their desire to watch a ugly death stunted, the games were cancelled for the evening. She was found alive in the morning and killed by the arena master.
(Note: There are many different stories of Perpetua and Felicity, including Roman Catholic Dogma that names them as Saints and adds miracles to their tales, however this account is from Roman records and verified from scholars at Oxford as the most accurate account we have).
The Age of Doubt
Perpetua and Felicitas are credited with bringing Rome into the age of doubt. They defied the cult of order Romans lived by. In the Roman world, everything was neat, even, orderly and went entirely to plan. If things didn’t go as planned, the Emperor simply changed that plan so it did. Nothing was left to change. Nothing unexpected should happen. Romans - the folks who gave us the calendar, the aqueduct system, and paved roads – knew everything would be okay as long as it was orderly.
Then these Christian women died in front of them claiming death was not final, life was eternal and the son of God had rose from the grave to live again. That was certainly not an orderly thought. Christianity was downright disorderly! And powerful. They began to look around. Would they die for their gods? Certainly not! There were hundreds of gods that governed daily life – how would you even know which one to die for? Did they even believe in the gods anymore, or was it just the orderly thing to do? Why was Severus determined to fit all the religions into one system and why was the Christian God too big, too powerful, and too amazing to fall into line with the others? Suddenly common Romans, Centurions, plebeians and politicians all begin to wonder if there wasn’t something more. There was something those women had gotten from their faith in a resurrected Jewish Rabbi who preached love and life.
Doubt is not always a bad thing. It led Rome to question its orderly system of gods and policies and accept a change. In 313 the Emperor Constantine declared tolerance for Christianity, and later sought the make the Roman Empire a Christian nation. The Roman’s ability to accept and embrace Christianity is often credited to the age of doubt they went through as a result of the witness of the martyrs.
The Life of Christ
Easter Sunday is a day we celebrate Christ’s resurrection. It’s the day we as God’s sons and daughters defy the cult of order around us. Believing someone rose from the dead is not orderly, reasonable, or scientifically verifiable. It doesn’t fit into a “system” of thought at all (which is why I find “systemic theology” to be such a funny term). In a world where people are still governed by many gods – media, status, money, greed, work, achievement, vanity, etc – Easter Sunday stands proudly as a day to say “none of those things will add one day to your life but Jesus Christ is eternal and his love makes you eternal too”. Instead of scholars at the Jesus Seminar doubting whether or not the resurrection really happened, it is the people of the world who look to us with the eyes of doubt. They doubt their petty gods of rationalization and emotions are real or lasting at all. That doubt can open the door to their freedom from the tyranny of order into the flowing, pulsing, healing, eternal life in Christ.
Easter sermons are oh-so-easy to write. You can talk about life out of death, the women who found him and thought he was a gardener, Peter who ran to the tomb and was forgiven for his cowardice, the walk to Emmaus, the empty tomb, the rolled away stone, the angel…but this Easter I want to do something different. I was us to remember that the resurrection is a fact – an order defying, logic upturning, fact. And because it is a fact – the world will change. Carry Easter in your heart this year not as an empty tomb, a lily and some chocolate eggs. Carry it as a light shining out of a terrible darkness that Jesus is alive and because of that truth the world and its petty little gods will never be the same.
This Easter remember: We may not be called to die for Christ like Vivia Perpetua or suffer the pains of Felicitas. But we are called to live for Jesus and spread the light of peace, hope, and strength to overcome the pains of this world in all that we do and all that we are.
Christ is risen from the dead! Go and be among the living. Go and live among the dying. Go.
The Cult of Order
In the year 203 CE, a 22 year old Roman woman named Vivia Perpetua and her slave known as Felicitas were arrested along with 3 other people for the crime of practicing Christianity. Roman Emperor Severus was desperately trying to align all the many religions of Rome into one ordered system. In his mind a Roman could worship any god he or she wanted, as long as they were willing to show honor to other gods as well. Two religions opposed this practice: Judaism and Christianity. Jews were not new to Roman experience and seemed to be an unconquerable people when it came to changing their faith. Christianity was still a new faith, quiet and law abiding, and it wasn’t really a religion a lot of people understood. It grew during the persecution of Christians under Nero in the year 68 CE, but had settled into the host of other religious entities until Severus started persecuting the sect and outlawed the converting of people to Christianity.
Vivia Perpetua and Felicitas were given the same choice all arrested Christians were: You could curse the name of Jesus and be set free, or you would be executed in the Coliseum with the rest of the criminals at noon. Even though they seemed to have everything to live for – Vivia Perpetua was a new mother and Felicitas gave birth while in prison - both women refused to turn their back on Christ or curse him. They were both taken into the Coliseum to be killed.
Perpetua was a Roman Citizen, which meant she couldn’t be crucified or ill-treated by guards. She was chained to a post to be killed by the wild beasts of the day. Although she was mauled, her wounds were not fatal. A guard was sent to kill her in front of the gathered crowd (executions were at noon, gladiators were before sunset – so the lunch time crowd was the rough and angry mob of the streets there to watch the bloodletting). He stabbed her, but his sword did not do enough damage and the wound was not fatal either. Claiming the power of Christ over the powers of death in this world, she grabbed the soldier’s sword and slit her own throat – defying Roman justice by taking her own life. The crowd was stunned in horrified, confused silence. They could not understand why a young mother would stick to her religion with such surety when the rest of them felt such doubt about it all.
Felicitas was a slave and condemned to be crucified. She suffered mightily at the hands of the guards prior to her crucifixion and was tortured both prior to and after being nailed to the cross. Her singing and prayer during her suffering began to dampen the spirit of the crowd. They could not understand the strength a mere slave girl had to withstand such torture. The Roman Historian Eutropilius reported the crowd left the arena as she suffered – their desire to watch a ugly death stunted, the games were cancelled for the evening. She was found alive in the morning and killed by the arena master.
(Note: There are many different stories of Perpetua and Felicity, including Roman Catholic Dogma that names them as Saints and adds miracles to their tales, however this account is from Roman records and verified from scholars at Oxford as the most accurate account we have).
The Age of Doubt
Perpetua and Felicitas are credited with bringing Rome into the age of doubt. They defied the cult of order Romans lived by. In the Roman world, everything was neat, even, orderly and went entirely to plan. If things didn’t go as planned, the Emperor simply changed that plan so it did. Nothing was left to change. Nothing unexpected should happen. Romans - the folks who gave us the calendar, the aqueduct system, and paved roads – knew everything would be okay as long as it was orderly.
Then these Christian women died in front of them claiming death was not final, life was eternal and the son of God had rose from the grave to live again. That was certainly not an orderly thought. Christianity was downright disorderly! And powerful. They began to look around. Would they die for their gods? Certainly not! There were hundreds of gods that governed daily life – how would you even know which one to die for? Did they even believe in the gods anymore, or was it just the orderly thing to do? Why was Severus determined to fit all the religions into one system and why was the Christian God too big, too powerful, and too amazing to fall into line with the others? Suddenly common Romans, Centurions, plebeians and politicians all begin to wonder if there wasn’t something more. There was something those women had gotten from their faith in a resurrected Jewish Rabbi who preached love and life.
Doubt is not always a bad thing. It led Rome to question its orderly system of gods and policies and accept a change. In 313 the Emperor Constantine declared tolerance for Christianity, and later sought the make the Roman Empire a Christian nation. The Roman’s ability to accept and embrace Christianity is often credited to the age of doubt they went through as a result of the witness of the martyrs.
The Life of Christ
Easter Sunday is a day we celebrate Christ’s resurrection. It’s the day we as God’s sons and daughters defy the cult of order around us. Believing someone rose from the dead is not orderly, reasonable, or scientifically verifiable. It doesn’t fit into a “system” of thought at all (which is why I find “systemic theology” to be such a funny term). In a world where people are still governed by many gods – media, status, money, greed, work, achievement, vanity, etc – Easter Sunday stands proudly as a day to say “none of those things will add one day to your life but Jesus Christ is eternal and his love makes you eternal too”. Instead of scholars at the Jesus Seminar doubting whether or not the resurrection really happened, it is the people of the world who look to us with the eyes of doubt. They doubt their petty gods of rationalization and emotions are real or lasting at all. That doubt can open the door to their freedom from the tyranny of order into the flowing, pulsing, healing, eternal life in Christ.
Easter sermons are oh-so-easy to write. You can talk about life out of death, the women who found him and thought he was a gardener, Peter who ran to the tomb and was forgiven for his cowardice, the walk to Emmaus, the empty tomb, the rolled away stone, the angel…but this Easter I want to do something different. I was us to remember that the resurrection is a fact – an order defying, logic upturning, fact. And because it is a fact – the world will change. Carry Easter in your heart this year not as an empty tomb, a lily and some chocolate eggs. Carry it as a light shining out of a terrible darkness that Jesus is alive and because of that truth the world and its petty little gods will never be the same.
This Easter remember: We may not be called to die for Christ like Vivia Perpetua or suffer the pains of Felicitas. But we are called to live for Jesus and spread the light of peace, hope, and strength to overcome the pains of this world in all that we do and all that we are.
Christ is risen from the dead! Go and be among the living. Go and live among the dying. Go.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Pieces of Palm Sunday
Pieces of Palm Sunday
Lectionary Reading: John 12:12-16 (also in Matt, and Mark)
Its Palm Sunday again – time for kids to march down church aisles waving freshly cut palm branches and managing to whack a senior citizen or two in the head during the processional. Time for songs about Hosanna! And tales of donkeys and crowds. We know the story by heart – but what we rarely do is look at it as a narrative – as a collection of major symbols and images. When we do, we see more about who Christ really is – to them and to us.
The Palms
The first thing we think about Palm Sunday is the Palms – the branches and leaves waved by the crowd as Jesus entered Jerusalem for the Passover. Preachers have a tendency to over-simplify this act and say – “they did this kind of thing to welcome a king” or “they were so excited they just grabbed whatever was available”. But both of those are not very accurate ideas. Kings were given various greetings, but rarely with this much fanfare (they hadn’t had a king that wasn’t an occupier or oppressor in generations), and desert dwellers realize all plant life is precious. They don’t just rip palm branches off trees for the first rabbi on a donkey who comes along! So, what’s the deal with the Palms?
In 167 BCE, a Hebrew Priest refused to make an offering to a Greek idol, and killed another Jewish priest who compromised and gave in. This killing and the war that followed it freed Israel from the oppression of the Hellenistic Seleucid dynasty. The Macabees, who led the revolt, created a “mini-army” that also let Israel have their own nation for almost a hundred years (from 164 BCE to 63 BCE). The small Macabbean army didn’t have a flag for the nation of Israel and no time to bring together a council to make one – so they used the palm branches of the Middle-eastern desert to be their flag. They would be waved in battle as a sign of the “nation” of the Jews who were going to war against religious and political oppression. Using palm branches as a flag was a banner of hope brought by the power of might.
So, when the crowds are waving Palms at Jesus’ entry and putting them on the ground for his donkey to walk upon (the idea being he was “uplifted” by the nation over the dirt of commonness) – they are remembering the Macabees and showing their faith that Jesus will deliver the people from Rome, just as the Macabees had delivered them from Greece. They wanted Jesus to bring about their hope to be a free nation yet again.
But Jesus isn’t about politics or nations. Its something we forget in American culture. God is not American. And to be American is not to naturally be godly. The palms they waved as a flag of nationalism at the beginning of the week, would be dead and trodden under the feet of the angry mob by Friday. Jesus is not subject to our nationalistic ideas or needs, and we should remember that when we turn him into a political tool or argument, we are subverting the true justice; meaning and power of the gospel which was give for all people, of all nations for all time.
Hosanna
The other thing the church has done wrong historically is the use of the word “Hosanna”. We tend to see it as a word of “praise” and is ‘Loud Hosanna’s Ring” or “Hosanna in the Highest”. But the more we decorate bulletins and liturgy with this pretty Hebrew word, the less we really get its meaning. Hosanna is not the same as “hallelujah” and is not a specifically a praise of joy. “Hosanna” is a cry for help. In Hebrew the word literally means “Save Me”.
So we have crowd of people waving a political flag shouting and crying out to Jesus “Save us” – “Save us first” (in the highest is a translator’s way of making sense of the praise “first priority”.). They are calling out to Jesus as oppressed people wanting justice. Roman occupation had led to the oppression of religious thought, the theft of their homes, livestock or farm products, the abuse of their women, and the humiliation of their men by Roman citizens and soldiers alike. As Jesus enters the city they cry out to him, "SAVE US. SAVE US FIRST. Hosanna to the Son of David! (The Son of David can Save!). "
Palm Sunday isn’t a time for our victorious entry parade with trumpets and clarion calls. Palm Sunday is a time of humility. It’s a time to cry out to Jesus in our need – Save Me. Save me from injustice. Save me from oppression. Save me from my sins. Save me from the sins of others. Save me first. You can save me! So the next time you hear that word in a worship setting – lift up your heart as it truly is, and call out to be saved – first and foremost.
The Donkey
Jesus comes through the open gate to Jerusalem like a king entering the city, that’s true. His people are ready for his to raise an army. “When he fights,” they say with confidence, “I’ll fight with him.” But almost as soon as he shows up they begin to notice something different, and the palms get tossed to the floor pretty early in the week. Jesus is isn’t entering the gate riding a horse (a symbol of victory in battle), he is riding a donkey (a symbol of a time of peace). Donkeys are slower, sturdier and more sure-footed than a high spirited horse on the trails and hills around Jerusalem. A kin or commander riding a donkey is sending the message that things are so peaceful and secure there is no need for war or rampage.
Remember, Jesus didn’t get a donkey by accident. Its not like the Rental Transportation Dealer was out of stallions so they gave him the only donkey on the lot. Jesus set this up before hand and sent his disciples to fetch the donkey from the man who was to give it to him. Jesus rides into a crowd of people waving the palm flags of Jewish war – on top of a symbol of peace.
It tells a few things to remember:
1. Peace must be planned for. It doesn’t just happen.
2. Peace is slower, but less likely to falter off the rocky cliffs of humanity. It’s the better way.
3. The Jesus movement was first and foremost a peace movement. He is not interested or willing to plunge the country in war. His goal, even surrounded by flag waving potential soldiers, is the goal of peace.
4. The best way to create peace is to come through the door with it already in your heart.
So there we have a few new windows on the old story of Palms and crowds, dirty coats and cheering crowds.
This Easter I pray you will begin to see Jesus as the maker of peace in your heart, and in your world. Let go of your agenda, and cry to him to save you from whatever keeps you down. Then expect him to enter or re-enter your life riding the donkey of peace.
Lectionary Reading: John 12:12-16 (also in Matt, and Mark)
Its Palm Sunday again – time for kids to march down church aisles waving freshly cut palm branches and managing to whack a senior citizen or two in the head during the processional. Time for songs about Hosanna! And tales of donkeys and crowds. We know the story by heart – but what we rarely do is look at it as a narrative – as a collection of major symbols and images. When we do, we see more about who Christ really is – to them and to us.
The Palms
The first thing we think about Palm Sunday is the Palms – the branches and leaves waved by the crowd as Jesus entered Jerusalem for the Passover. Preachers have a tendency to over-simplify this act and say – “they did this kind of thing to welcome a king” or “they were so excited they just grabbed whatever was available”. But both of those are not very accurate ideas. Kings were given various greetings, but rarely with this much fanfare (they hadn’t had a king that wasn’t an occupier or oppressor in generations), and desert dwellers realize all plant life is precious. They don’t just rip palm branches off trees for the first rabbi on a donkey who comes along! So, what’s the deal with the Palms?
In 167 BCE, a Hebrew Priest refused to make an offering to a Greek idol, and killed another Jewish priest who compromised and gave in. This killing and the war that followed it freed Israel from the oppression of the Hellenistic Seleucid dynasty. The Macabees, who led the revolt, created a “mini-army” that also let Israel have their own nation for almost a hundred years (from 164 BCE to 63 BCE). The small Macabbean army didn’t have a flag for the nation of Israel and no time to bring together a council to make one – so they used the palm branches of the Middle-eastern desert to be their flag. They would be waved in battle as a sign of the “nation” of the Jews who were going to war against religious and political oppression. Using palm branches as a flag was a banner of hope brought by the power of might.
So, when the crowds are waving Palms at Jesus’ entry and putting them on the ground for his donkey to walk upon (the idea being he was “uplifted” by the nation over the dirt of commonness) – they are remembering the Macabees and showing their faith that Jesus will deliver the people from Rome, just as the Macabees had delivered them from Greece. They wanted Jesus to bring about their hope to be a free nation yet again.
But Jesus isn’t about politics or nations. Its something we forget in American culture. God is not American. And to be American is not to naturally be godly. The palms they waved as a flag of nationalism at the beginning of the week, would be dead and trodden under the feet of the angry mob by Friday. Jesus is not subject to our nationalistic ideas or needs, and we should remember that when we turn him into a political tool or argument, we are subverting the true justice; meaning and power of the gospel which was give for all people, of all nations for all time.
Hosanna
The other thing the church has done wrong historically is the use of the word “Hosanna”. We tend to see it as a word of “praise” and is ‘Loud Hosanna’s Ring” or “Hosanna in the Highest”. But the more we decorate bulletins and liturgy with this pretty Hebrew word, the less we really get its meaning. Hosanna is not the same as “hallelujah” and is not a specifically a praise of joy. “Hosanna” is a cry for help. In Hebrew the word literally means “Save Me”.
So we have crowd of people waving a political flag shouting and crying out to Jesus “Save us” – “Save us first” (in the highest is a translator’s way of making sense of the praise “first priority”.). They are calling out to Jesus as oppressed people wanting justice. Roman occupation had led to the oppression of religious thought, the theft of their homes, livestock or farm products, the abuse of their women, and the humiliation of their men by Roman citizens and soldiers alike. As Jesus enters the city they cry out to him, "SAVE US. SAVE US FIRST. Hosanna to the Son of David! (The Son of David can Save!). "
Palm Sunday isn’t a time for our victorious entry parade with trumpets and clarion calls. Palm Sunday is a time of humility. It’s a time to cry out to Jesus in our need – Save Me. Save me from injustice. Save me from oppression. Save me from my sins. Save me from the sins of others. Save me first. You can save me! So the next time you hear that word in a worship setting – lift up your heart as it truly is, and call out to be saved – first and foremost.
The Donkey
Jesus comes through the open gate to Jerusalem like a king entering the city, that’s true. His people are ready for his to raise an army. “When he fights,” they say with confidence, “I’ll fight with him.” But almost as soon as he shows up they begin to notice something different, and the palms get tossed to the floor pretty early in the week. Jesus is isn’t entering the gate riding a horse (a symbol of victory in battle), he is riding a donkey (a symbol of a time of peace). Donkeys are slower, sturdier and more sure-footed than a high spirited horse on the trails and hills around Jerusalem. A kin or commander riding a donkey is sending the message that things are so peaceful and secure there is no need for war or rampage.
Remember, Jesus didn’t get a donkey by accident. Its not like the Rental Transportation Dealer was out of stallions so they gave him the only donkey on the lot. Jesus set this up before hand and sent his disciples to fetch the donkey from the man who was to give it to him. Jesus rides into a crowd of people waving the palm flags of Jewish war – on top of a symbol of peace.
It tells a few things to remember:
1. Peace must be planned for. It doesn’t just happen.
2. Peace is slower, but less likely to falter off the rocky cliffs of humanity. It’s the better way.
3. The Jesus movement was first and foremost a peace movement. He is not interested or willing to plunge the country in war. His goal, even surrounded by flag waving potential soldiers, is the goal of peace.
4. The best way to create peace is to come through the door with it already in your heart.
So there we have a few new windows on the old story of Palms and crowds, dirty coats and cheering crowds.
This Easter I pray you will begin to see Jesus as the maker of peace in your heart, and in your world. Let go of your agenda, and cry to him to save you from whatever keeps you down. Then expect him to enter or re-enter your life riding the donkey of peace.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Out of the Depths: Dealing with Guilt
Lectionary Reading: Psalm 130
For centuries in the season of Lent, early Christians recited the “7 Penitential Psalms” – each Psalm picked by ancient monks because of the display of guilt, the call for hope, and the expectation of rescue from sins, enemies, and situations. The 7 Penitential Psalms are:
Psalm 6 – A prayer in times of sorrow
Psalm 32 – A prayer to celebrate forgiveness
Psalm 38 – A prayer to recognize God’s anger
Psalm 51 – A prayer of confession
Psalm 102 – A prayer in the presence of enemies
Psalm 130 – A prayer in time of trouble
Psalm 143 – A prayer for rescue
Of these seven, the one that the lectionary picks for this Sunday in Lent is Psalm 130 – This psalm not only resonates with the Psalmist’s deep faith in God, but shows a map to deal with that hobgoblin of spirit and truth – Guilt
What HIV is to the blood, guilt is to the Spirit of God within us. Guilt eats away at us, sometimes invisible on the surface, and other times creating reactions that show through all of our attempts to conceal them, creating havoc and destruction in its wake. It comes into our life through various ways – the well meaning, accidental lessons of parents to children they want to behave, the lines drawn across our life paths from teachers, preachers, mentors and friends, and the internalized “shoulds” we get from myths, media and messages around us.
It’s not very hard to know how we get it. The question is, how do we get rid of it? Lent isn’t just about recognizing and repenting – it’s also about recovering and relationship.
Rabbi Naomi Levy (one of the first female Conservative Rabbi’s in the US) wrote a book of prayers to help people deal with the real life recovery and relational situations titled “Talking to God”. There are prayers for young parents worried about the future, young women looking for love, and blessings for weddings, funerals and coming of age. There are also prayers you won’t find anywhere else – a prayer for a woman who has had an abortion, a prayer for a man going through divorce, a prayer for parents of children with special needs, a prayer for a survivor of personal trauma, and a prayer for a spouse who has had an affair, a prayer for someone dealing with vanity. I have used these prayers and many more countless times in ministry and care and witnessed their power.
Her prayer about guilt resonates with everything that is wrong about guilt. Guilt usually isn’t based on what we have done or what we are responsible for doing. More often than not guilt eats away at us for things we imagine we should have done differently, better, or impossibly. Guilt isn’t based on our sinful realities (that’s consequence). Guilt is based on our imagined deficiencies. Yet even as we read her prayer, we know it’s a cry from deep within our souls.
A Prayer to Subdue Guilt
Much in the same way as the liberating prayer helps us identify and reckon with the guilt in our life – Psalm 130 shows the three tools we can use to get through it and heal from it.
Call Out
“Out of the depths, I cry to you O Lord” – The psalmist calls out to God from that place where guilt has taken him. The bible is full of people who call out to God from the depths: Jeremiah from the depths of a dungeon, Daniel from the depths of a lion’s den, Paul from the depths of prison, and Christ from the depths of agony on the cross. It is the first step to release and repentance. Calling out to God about the things we hold deep within us.
We all carry the secret self in our hearts. Counselors typically call it the “If persona” as in: “Oh sure, they like me – but IF they only knew what I was really like – they’d turn away” or “My boss keeps promoting me, but IF he only knew how little I know, he’d fire me” or “People say I’m strong, but IF they only knew what I did (or didn’t do) they would see how weak I really am.”
The way to begin to work with God to heal is to admit to God (and sometimes to others – after all, a psalm isn’t a diary – people heard these songs out loud!) that “If person” is in us, and needs to be set free. Call out from your depths, and examine the ideas churning guilt like an underground spring in your soul.
Perspective
“If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand?” – The psalmist begins to recognize the problem isn’t that God doesn’t forgive him. God keeps no records of our atoned wrongs. Like a loving parent who remembers our childhood from a collection of refrigerator pictures and mother’s day gifts, instead of every misspoken word or disobedient rally we had as teens, God remembers us not by the list of sins we’ve committed but the love and reconciliation we have made together.
This perspective helps us let go of useless guilt – the “I should have known”, “I could have done things differently”, “I would have given…” phrases that keep us up at night. When we surrender to God’s forgiveness, we can be free to forgive ourselves too. Because, if God forgives us – who are we to hold on?
Expectation
“My soul waits for the Lord and in his word I put my hope” – the psalmist recognizes healing and deliverance take time. He doesn’t just cry out, feel forgiven and go on with his day blessed and happy. Although our guilt has been relieved immediately by God’s love repairing the damage already done will take more than a minute. Yet, even as he waits not just “feel better” but to “be better” the psalmist knows it is going to happen. Want to know the best tool in your box for releasing needless guilt? Hope.
When we cry out and understand that our God is the God of hope not the impossible “should haves”, we may have to review and release a few times before our minds, bodies, souls and circumstances are actually willing to let go. Yet even then – when regrets threaten to mount – we have the hope that knows God’s love, God’s future, God’s power will get us through this and we will be free.
Never give up calling out. Never give up tools, and perspectives. Never, never, never give up on God.
A Prayer When We Are Too Hard On Ourselves
Amen, and Amen.
For centuries in the season of Lent, early Christians recited the “7 Penitential Psalms” – each Psalm picked by ancient monks because of the display of guilt, the call for hope, and the expectation of rescue from sins, enemies, and situations. The 7 Penitential Psalms are:
Psalm 6 – A prayer in times of sorrow
Psalm 32 – A prayer to celebrate forgiveness
Psalm 38 – A prayer to recognize God’s anger
Psalm 51 – A prayer of confession
Psalm 102 – A prayer in the presence of enemies
Psalm 130 – A prayer in time of trouble
Psalm 143 – A prayer for rescue
Of these seven, the one that the lectionary picks for this Sunday in Lent is Psalm 130 – This psalm not only resonates with the Psalmist’s deep faith in God, but shows a map to deal with that hobgoblin of spirit and truth – Guilt
What HIV is to the blood, guilt is to the Spirit of God within us. Guilt eats away at us, sometimes invisible on the surface, and other times creating reactions that show through all of our attempts to conceal them, creating havoc and destruction in its wake. It comes into our life through various ways – the well meaning, accidental lessons of parents to children they want to behave, the lines drawn across our life paths from teachers, preachers, mentors and friends, and the internalized “shoulds” we get from myths, media and messages around us.
It’s not very hard to know how we get it. The question is, how do we get rid of it? Lent isn’t just about recognizing and repenting – it’s also about recovering and relationship.
Rabbi Naomi Levy (one of the first female Conservative Rabbi’s in the US) wrote a book of prayers to help people deal with the real life recovery and relational situations titled “Talking to God”. There are prayers for young parents worried about the future, young women looking for love, and blessings for weddings, funerals and coming of age. There are also prayers you won’t find anywhere else – a prayer for a woman who has had an abortion, a prayer for a man going through divorce, a prayer for parents of children with special needs, a prayer for a survivor of personal trauma, and a prayer for a spouse who has had an affair, a prayer for someone dealing with vanity. I have used these prayers and many more countless times in ministry and care and witnessed their power.
Her prayer about guilt resonates with everything that is wrong about guilt. Guilt usually isn’t based on what we have done or what we are responsible for doing. More often than not guilt eats away at us for things we imagine we should have done differently, better, or impossibly. Guilt isn’t based on our sinful realities (that’s consequence). Guilt is based on our imagined deficiencies. Yet even as we read her prayer, we know it’s a cry from deep within our souls.
A Prayer to Subdue Guilt
“I’ve been blaming myself, God, for the tragedy that has befallen me. The thoughts keep running through my mind. I could have done more. I should have done more. But none of my self doubt is helping to erase the past. Teach me, God, to believe I do not deserve to be punished forever. Help me to forgive myself. Help me to love myself as you see me, despite my weakness. Show me your love, today and always. Amen.”Talking to God, page 154.
Much in the same way as the liberating prayer helps us identify and reckon with the guilt in our life – Psalm 130 shows the three tools we can use to get through it and heal from it.
Call Out
“Out of the depths, I cry to you O Lord” – The psalmist calls out to God from that place where guilt has taken him. The bible is full of people who call out to God from the depths: Jeremiah from the depths of a dungeon, Daniel from the depths of a lion’s den, Paul from the depths of prison, and Christ from the depths of agony on the cross. It is the first step to release and repentance. Calling out to God about the things we hold deep within us.
We all carry the secret self in our hearts. Counselors typically call it the “If persona” as in: “Oh sure, they like me – but IF they only knew what I was really like – they’d turn away” or “My boss keeps promoting me, but IF he only knew how little I know, he’d fire me” or “People say I’m strong, but IF they only knew what I did (or didn’t do) they would see how weak I really am.”
The way to begin to work with God to heal is to admit to God (and sometimes to others – after all, a psalm isn’t a diary – people heard these songs out loud!) that “If person” is in us, and needs to be set free. Call out from your depths, and examine the ideas churning guilt like an underground spring in your soul.
Perspective
“If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand?” – The psalmist begins to recognize the problem isn’t that God doesn’t forgive him. God keeps no records of our atoned wrongs. Like a loving parent who remembers our childhood from a collection of refrigerator pictures and mother’s day gifts, instead of every misspoken word or disobedient rally we had as teens, God remembers us not by the list of sins we’ve committed but the love and reconciliation we have made together.
This perspective helps us let go of useless guilt – the “I should have known”, “I could have done things differently”, “I would have given…” phrases that keep us up at night. When we surrender to God’s forgiveness, we can be free to forgive ourselves too. Because, if God forgives us – who are we to hold on?
Expectation
“My soul waits for the Lord and in his word I put my hope” – the psalmist recognizes healing and deliverance take time. He doesn’t just cry out, feel forgiven and go on with his day blessed and happy. Although our guilt has been relieved immediately by God’s love repairing the damage already done will take more than a minute. Yet, even as he waits not just “feel better” but to “be better” the psalmist knows it is going to happen. Want to know the best tool in your box for releasing needless guilt? Hope.
When we cry out and understand that our God is the God of hope not the impossible “should haves”, we may have to review and release a few times before our minds, bodies, souls and circumstances are actually willing to let go. Yet even then – when regrets threaten to mount – we have the hope that knows God’s love, God’s future, God’s power will get us through this and we will be free.
Never give up calling out. Never give up tools, and perspectives. Never, never, never give up on God.
A Prayer When We Are Too Hard On Ourselves
“Teach me how to love, God. I am so critical of myself. I set such high standards for myself. I accept shortcomings in others, but I am so unforgiving of myself. Help me, God. Teach me how to enjoy my life. Remind me to be kind to myself. Show me how to embrace the person that I am. Soften my heart, God; open my eyes. Fill me with the capacity to treasure my life. Thank you, God, for creating me. Amen.”Talking to God, p 235.
Amen, and Amen.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Chiaroscuro: The Clear Dark
Chiaroscuro: The Clear Dark
Lectionary Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14
Anybody who enjoys language inevitably picks out words they love to say or hear. When I was in middle school I fell in love with the word “Lugubrious”(mournful and brooding) after a teacher said a 500 word essay should not be written lugubriously. By high school I picked up “Isomorphism” (a mathematic concept in linear algebra of one-to-one correspondence of sets) as my word love affair. I frequently stated my chess club and math club were isomorphic (yea, that’s the nerd in “Shepnerd”). My favorite Hebrew word is “Tzedakah” (to give charity justly) and my favorite Greek word is Ekkletos which literally means “gathered in from different sources” and became the biblical word for “church”. My favorite Spanish word (out of the 7 or 8 I actually know correctly) is “Esperanza” (hope). But of all the words in all the languages in all the world – my favorite word is “Chiaroscuro”.
Chiaroscuro is a word used to describe the interplay between darkness and light. It’s used in art, in photography and interior design. It comes from a combination of two Latin words: Ciarus (Clear) and Obscurus (Dark). The clear dark. Shadow and light. Darkness and dawn. What a perfect metaphor for my life, and my faith. What a perfect way to describe what God is trying to do in our world through us – to make the night clear, and overcome the darkness with light. Paul certainly thought a lot of this symbolism. He uses darkness and light as one of the major analogies in his letters and the lectionary scripture for this week in Ephesians is a great example.
Reminding the Ephesians, and all of us, that we are children of light – even in the darkest of situations – Paul draws contrast to the differences between darkness and light. Let’s look at the Chiaroscuro.
The Surrounding Dark – The Comforting Light
There is darkness in our world and each of us encounters it sometime. Some go through long periods of their life journey when God seems far, or hope seems lost. They tend to call that the “dark time” of their life. Others can point to a singular event of blinding intensity that enshrouds them. Some folks have “dark people” who draw them into avenues or habits that nearly choke the light from their soul. Others have dark thoughts of emptiness or depression – described by Catholic mystic St. John of the Cross as the “dark night of the soul”. The surrounding darkness is pervasive in our world.
Everyone has things they do, eat or run to when looking for comfort and light. Some people take walks when they are hurting and clear their head that way. Others write journals, go fishing, watch movies or drown their sorrows in a couple of pints of Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream. For me, anytime I am about to be overcome by a surrounding darkness I resort to a technique I have used since I was a kid – listening to music in the dark, with the stereo lights on. When I still lived with parents, it was a huge all-in-one record, tape, and radio set with headphones (waking my parents up while listening to Van Halen at midnight would have definitely increased the darkness in my life!). As time went by the media changed – car radio, clock radio, boom box, centrally wired home theater system, modem shining in my office – but the comfort remains.
Not long ago, I sat in my office in the dark one night – praying and thinking – when I heard Kate Voegele’s “Its Only Life” sing…
While it’s not the most theologically profound piece of secular music ever written (that would be Madonna’s “Crazy for You”), it touched me with the right message at the right time – encouraging me to face the issue and find perspective. That’s what the comforting light does. That’s why I love to hear music by the stereo lights.
It doesn’t seem a fair contest – A tiny green LED light or small blue modem flickering against the surrounding darkness – and yet the light always perseveres. Paul describes us as CHILDREN of light. Not warriors. Not lighthouses. Not supersonic lasers. Children: the smallest of people, the most vulnerable, the most fragile. Yet even when we feel so small and overpowered by the dark things we encounter – that tiny light of us – powered by the inextinguishable Spirit of God is enough to keep the darkness at bay.
The Initial Darkness – The Natural Light
Genesis tells us the world was in darkness until God said “Let there be light”. So darkness was first. It goes that way with us too. Each of us is born into a world with a certain amount of spiritual darkness. We are born knowing need, knowing hunger, needing touch and our parents provide that for us. Before too long our little baby brains figure out a great spiritual truth – we need a provider. But, once we start toddling along and learn to feed ourselves we buy into the idea that we have all we need. Even in Christian homes where prayer happens before every meal and Sunday school is the norm – the darkness of self-providence and ego comes upon us. As Paul tell us in this passage (approximately quoting Isaiah 60:1) – its time to wake up. Arise. Shine. (give God the glory, glory…).
There are 2 ways for people to wake up. First there is the sudden glaring beam of light way. In this method – the person pulls down the shades – covering all windows and closing all doors. At some point the alarm will ring and the shades will be raised or the light turned on all at once. After squinting in the painful reality of morning, the person becomes ready to embrace the day. While the method is fast, it is also quite jarring and visually painful. The other way is to leave the shades up and the door open. As the sun rises, so does the light – slowly, naturally – waking the person in small degrees. It can take a lot longer, but the pain is vastly lower.
Those are the two ways we wake up to God. Some people meet God through their every day life – through parents and school, through friends, church and mentors. Slowly they add to their faith and relationship with their creator. Others have a life crisis – a moment of loss or a moment of change or clarity profound in its ability to stun and blind. Then they see God and realize the light has come.
Peter and Paul are two good examples of this awakening. Peter saw the life of Jesus shine every day. He saw healing, heard sermons, engaged in prayer and conversation. Slowly with every footstep at Christ’s side (and through that dark night where his feet led him away from the savior) Peter saw the light. Paul didn’t get a couple years of lessons, tutoring, astounding forgiveness and commissioning. Paul was riding along when WHAM! Darkness in the form of blindness and three days later WHAM! Amazing, beautiful light.
Is it any wonder Paul tells us so much about chiaroscuro? Paul knows all about darkness and light.
We as people of God, as children of light, need to understand what Paul is saying - there are those unspeakable things that happen in the darkness that surrounds our world. But more than that – we need to know – like Paul – with no uncertainty that the light overcomes the darkness. Whether it comes shining in all at once from the Spirit, or slowly rises on a path of healing that takes time and wisdom– the light will shine on you, in you, and through you. The light will cleanse you of your sins, and heal you from your sorrows.
No one is so small that God cannot shine a light that drives even the greatest darkness from around them. Even now we live with hope and assurance that God will create for us a clear dark.
Lectionary Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14
Anybody who enjoys language inevitably picks out words they love to say or hear. When I was in middle school I fell in love with the word “Lugubrious”(mournful and brooding) after a teacher said a 500 word essay should not be written lugubriously. By high school I picked up “Isomorphism” (a mathematic concept in linear algebra of one-to-one correspondence of sets) as my word love affair. I frequently stated my chess club and math club were isomorphic (yea, that’s the nerd in “Shepnerd”). My favorite Hebrew word is “Tzedakah” (to give charity justly) and my favorite Greek word is Ekkletos which literally means “gathered in from different sources” and became the biblical word for “church”. My favorite Spanish word (out of the 7 or 8 I actually know correctly) is “Esperanza” (hope). But of all the words in all the languages in all the world – my favorite word is “Chiaroscuro”.
Chiaroscuro is a word used to describe the interplay between darkness and light. It’s used in art, in photography and interior design. It comes from a combination of two Latin words: Ciarus (Clear) and Obscurus (Dark). The clear dark. Shadow and light. Darkness and dawn. What a perfect metaphor for my life, and my faith. What a perfect way to describe what God is trying to do in our world through us – to make the night clear, and overcome the darkness with light. Paul certainly thought a lot of this symbolism. He uses darkness and light as one of the major analogies in his letters and the lectionary scripture for this week in Ephesians is a great example.
Reminding the Ephesians, and all of us, that we are children of light – even in the darkest of situations – Paul draws contrast to the differences between darkness and light. Let’s look at the Chiaroscuro.
The Surrounding Dark – The Comforting Light
There is darkness in our world and each of us encounters it sometime. Some go through long periods of their life journey when God seems far, or hope seems lost. They tend to call that the “dark time” of their life. Others can point to a singular event of blinding intensity that enshrouds them. Some folks have “dark people” who draw them into avenues or habits that nearly choke the light from their soul. Others have dark thoughts of emptiness or depression – described by Catholic mystic St. John of the Cross as the “dark night of the soul”. The surrounding darkness is pervasive in our world.
Everyone has things they do, eat or run to when looking for comfort and light. Some people take walks when they are hurting and clear their head that way. Others write journals, go fishing, watch movies or drown their sorrows in a couple of pints of Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream. For me, anytime I am about to be overcome by a surrounding darkness I resort to a technique I have used since I was a kid – listening to music in the dark, with the stereo lights on. When I still lived with parents, it was a huge all-in-one record, tape, and radio set with headphones (waking my parents up while listening to Van Halen at midnight would have definitely increased the darkness in my life!). As time went by the media changed – car radio, clock radio, boom box, centrally wired home theater system, modem shining in my office – but the comfort remains.
Not long ago, I sat in my office in the dark one night – praying and thinking – when I heard Kate Voegele’s “Its Only Life” sing…
"Tears are forming in your eyes
A storm is warning in the sky
The end of the world it seems
You bend down and you fall on your knees
Don't look away
Don't run away
Hey baby it's only life
Don't lose your faith
Don't run away
Hey baby its only life"
While it’s not the most theologically profound piece of secular music ever written (that would be Madonna’s “Crazy for You”), it touched me with the right message at the right time – encouraging me to face the issue and find perspective. That’s what the comforting light does. That’s why I love to hear music by the stereo lights.
It doesn’t seem a fair contest – A tiny green LED light or small blue modem flickering against the surrounding darkness – and yet the light always perseveres. Paul describes us as CHILDREN of light. Not warriors. Not lighthouses. Not supersonic lasers. Children: the smallest of people, the most vulnerable, the most fragile. Yet even when we feel so small and overpowered by the dark things we encounter – that tiny light of us – powered by the inextinguishable Spirit of God is enough to keep the darkness at bay.
The Initial Darkness – The Natural Light
Genesis tells us the world was in darkness until God said “Let there be light”. So darkness was first. It goes that way with us too. Each of us is born into a world with a certain amount of spiritual darkness. We are born knowing need, knowing hunger, needing touch and our parents provide that for us. Before too long our little baby brains figure out a great spiritual truth – we need a provider. But, once we start toddling along and learn to feed ourselves we buy into the idea that we have all we need. Even in Christian homes where prayer happens before every meal and Sunday school is the norm – the darkness of self-providence and ego comes upon us. As Paul tell us in this passage (approximately quoting Isaiah 60:1) – its time to wake up. Arise. Shine. (give God the glory, glory…).
There are 2 ways for people to wake up. First there is the sudden glaring beam of light way. In this method – the person pulls down the shades – covering all windows and closing all doors. At some point the alarm will ring and the shades will be raised or the light turned on all at once. After squinting in the painful reality of morning, the person becomes ready to embrace the day. While the method is fast, it is also quite jarring and visually painful. The other way is to leave the shades up and the door open. As the sun rises, so does the light – slowly, naturally – waking the person in small degrees. It can take a lot longer, but the pain is vastly lower.
Those are the two ways we wake up to God. Some people meet God through their every day life – through parents and school, through friends, church and mentors. Slowly they add to their faith and relationship with their creator. Others have a life crisis – a moment of loss or a moment of change or clarity profound in its ability to stun and blind. Then they see God and realize the light has come.
Peter and Paul are two good examples of this awakening. Peter saw the life of Jesus shine every day. He saw healing, heard sermons, engaged in prayer and conversation. Slowly with every footstep at Christ’s side (and through that dark night where his feet led him away from the savior) Peter saw the light. Paul didn’t get a couple years of lessons, tutoring, astounding forgiveness and commissioning. Paul was riding along when WHAM! Darkness in the form of blindness and three days later WHAM! Amazing, beautiful light.
Is it any wonder Paul tells us so much about chiaroscuro? Paul knows all about darkness and light.
We as people of God, as children of light, need to understand what Paul is saying - there are those unspeakable things that happen in the darkness that surrounds our world. But more than that – we need to know – like Paul – with no uncertainty that the light overcomes the darkness. Whether it comes shining in all at once from the Spirit, or slowly rises on a path of healing that takes time and wisdom– the light will shine on you, in you, and through you. The light will cleanse you of your sins, and heal you from your sorrows.
No one is so small that God cannot shine a light that drives even the greatest darkness from around them. Even now we live with hope and assurance that God will create for us a clear dark.
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