February 26, 2012
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Mark 1:1-15
Today’s sermon was focused on the Greek word Euthus, often translated into English as Immediately. The sermon’s theme was about the Gospel of Mark and it’s sense of urgency. After major events, Jesus, the disciples, the crowds all performed their actions with urgency, as if they all knew that there was not enough time to get everything done.
It seemed that the sermon suggested that if you see something important happening around you or in your life, you don’t sit to the side and think about what needs to be done, you act immediately. You act with conviction. You do what is right. You do what you know to be true, leaving not a second to chance or doubt.
But what if you don’t feel that sense of urgency. If you do not feel that you need to do something right away, what does that mean? Does it mean that what you are feeling (or not feeling) is not right? If you are not feeling an immediate pull to something that others are already following, is the path the others are taking not the right path for you?
If you do not feel compelled to do something, could it be that you are not supposed to do it? Is Euthus an indication of a call? Or is it just one indication?
What happens to those who follow at a less immediate pace? Are we left behind to wonder what all the fuss was about? Or, perhaps, do we come with a different perspective, a different account of what happened?
If you feel a sense of urgency in what you are to do, embrace the Euthus. But, I think, if you do not feel that same requirement of speed, take a steady and slow approach to it. Do not feel as if your experience is “less than” just because you did not have that sense of rush, that Euthus. Perhaps God has slowed you down for a reason. Perhaps you are needed where you are right now.
Perhaps I need to follow my own advice.
Be Loud In Love
John 13:31-25
31 When (Judas) was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him.32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
33 ”My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
34 ”A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Matthew 22:34-40
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:36 ”Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment.39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.‘40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
These rules, set in place by Jesus of Nazareth are to be the most important rules Christians follow. And there are many other rules that came from Jesus’ most devoted followers. For example:
Romans 12:9-13
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Love is one of the most successful motivators. Love encourages us. Love breaks down walls. Love heals us. Love sustains us.
At my church (and many others), we sing a hymn titled “They’ll Know We Are Christians (By Our Love).” I know that there are others who take issue with this idea: that someone can tell I am a Christian because of how I love others. Does that mean that Jews do not love? That Muslims do not love? Do people of other faiths love their neighbors any differently than Christians do? Love is not unique to Christianity. So I’m ignoring that the song seems to suggest that Christian love is different than love from a non-Christian, and instead I’m trying to look at it a different way. Perhaps it is reminding Christians that love is an element that can bring people to know Christ and to know God. If I follow that thought, then it leads to the conclusion that in order to help draw people to Christianity, I need to love them. Simple enough.
But not really. There are some Christians who “love the sinner, hate the sin.” This seems to me like a backhanded insult, that the Christian does not love the whole person, but instead they love who they, the Christian, want the ”sinner” to be. You can’t only love someone’s potential, you have to love their reality, too. That’s like saying “I love the thin person inside of you.” This idea is not love, it is simply tolerance. Love is accepting, not tolerating. Since the beginning of mankind, intolerance of differences have posed a problem. But with knowledge, kindess and love, differences can be seen as assets and intolerance can turn into mutual respect. Why we haven’t learned that yet as human beings I just can’t understand. And no matter who we are, believers or not, we need to stand up and say, “This is not acceptable.”
It seems that Christianity is getting a bad rap. The loudest supporters of Christianity, the people who get all the media coverage are those who do not show love. Instead they show hate and intolerance. Not every Christian shows hate and intolerance and not every denomination of Christianity shows them either. But those are the ones that infuriate people who do show love, and therefore those Christians are the ones we hear about most. We don’t often hear about the Christians who love and accept.
Those of us, Christian or not, who oppose closed-mindedness and injustice in the world try to spread love, but I wonder how many people who need love the most actually hear us. We can re-post cute sayings and stark images all we want, but those who do not love the way we want them to usually don’t pay attention to what we have to say because we are “the sinner” they are trying to reach, thus rendering our words pointless. A recent photo going around Facebook is of two characters from Modern Family. The two male characters are life partners and they are holding up a sign that reads “How could you NOT want to see us tie the knot?” It’s a very nice idea, but here’s the thing: the people who oppose gay marriage likely don’t watch Modern Family because it deals with gay characters. So, A: that picture isn’t going to reach people who really need to see it, and B: that picture doesn’t really spread love. Don’t get me wrong, I’m against Prop 8 whole-heartedly. I just don’t think reposting a picture without a personal testamonial is going to change someone’s mind.
I’m all for trying to open a closed mind, but that is not really my objective here. What I want this post to say is: Not all Christians are closed.
I am a Christian. I am a straight Christian. I am a lifelong Christian. And I am loving. I attend a congregation that is Open and Affirming; we welcome gay, lesbian, and bisexual members. And by welcome I mean welcome. We don’t just “say” we like all people, we really do. We have gay lay leaders and gay ministers in our congregation. We don’t like people just for who we want them to be, we love them for who they are. Or were. Or want to be. That is love. We embrace differences so much so that we don’t single people out for their ethinicity, their background (religious or personal), their sexual orientation or their gender. We have female and male ministers and leaders. We have worship services led by people from all walks of life and all ages; two of our more popular services are the one led by the children and the one led by the youth. We have sermons based on scripture, on life experience, on movies, on books. We get involved in righting social injustice. We welcome all visitors and guests. We embrace other religions rather than condemn them. We love each other.
Love needs to be heard. Love needs to be louder than hate. Love needs to be louder than just tolerance.
I am a Christian and I love all people.
I only hope that more loving Christians will stand up and be loud, too.
If you are looking for a church that is Open and Affirming, click here to see a WORLDWIDE directory; there are over 6,800 churches that are gay friendly. “Affirming” means that the church does not view homosexuality in and of itself as a sin and therefore they would welcome and treat a homosexual person no differently than any other person who walked through their church doors seeking Christ.
Thoughts on Stewardship – January 22, 2012
Today I helped lead worship at church. It was my duty to read the Hebrew and Christian scriptures and to offer an invitation to Stewardship. Below is what I said.
“You must pre-pay for your car’s fuel before a single drop sees the inside of your tank. You pay for your groceries before you can leave the store with them. You pay your electric bill once the utility company calculates how much you’ve used. You get your paycheck after you’ve put in your time. The newspaper company will leave a paper in your driveway after you’ve paid for a subscription. You can’t hear your favorite artist perform live until you’ve purchased entry into the venue.
The majority of this world relies on payment for services. If you want something, you have to pay for it.
This church is not a store, but it does give you many options when it comes to filling your spiritual shopping cart. It is not a gas station, but it does give you the fuel you need to keep going. It is not a restaurant, but it gives you a period of rest between all the activities that fill your life. It is not a utility company, and yet it fulfills the basic need we all have that keeps us coming back for more: love and truth.
This church does not require payment for services rendered. There are no bills from the church at the end of the month. There are no hidden fees. There are no payment plans to help you get out of debt to the church.
And yet we pass these collection plates down the pews each week, hoping that you will give a goodwill offering. Something to show your appreciation, your gratitude, your faith in the church. That what we are doing here, what we are, is something good, something fulfilling, something everyone needs.
The diaconate will now come forward to collect your offerings to the church.”
Thoughts – December 21, 2011 – A follow-up
[/caption]This is a follow-up to my post on December 18, 2011. I’m writing it because I’ve had people ask me what an Affirmation Circle is, after I posted on Facebook ”I feel like I need a church camp affirmation circle experience right about now.” I’m writing this post to enlighten those who didn’t understand and to preserve the feeling as best I can so that I don’t forget it.
Monday was a bad day. Well, it actually started on Sunday, but I didn’t feel the impact until Monday morning.
Sunday I learned something about a close friend of mine that made me re-think my relationship with that person and forced me to evaluate my core values (still evaluating). I also felt a huge stab of betrayal, hurt, confusion and dread.
Then on Monday, I learned that my manager is retiring in January. Yay for him, not-so-yay for me: I’ve had 3 managers in 5 years and there’s almost always a long adjustment period when the new one steps in where I end up questioning if I’m right for this job, and if it’s right for me.
Mix those two together and it makes for a very, very emotional me. A very full-of-self-doubt me. A what-am-I-doing-wrong me.
I was very much in need of what our Interim Minister spoke of on Sunday: the gift of encouragement. But the more I thought about it, it wasn’t so much encouragement I needed. I needed reassurance that I was in the right place, that I was safe, that I was loved, that I was not the cause of the problem with my friend. I needed Affirmation.
At summer church camp, almost every small group held an Affirmation Circle at the end of the week. All the kids would sit in a circle, the lights were usually dimmed (or it was done during the nighttime small group time), and the Affirmation would start with one camper in the middle of the circle. One by one, each camper and counselor in that small group would touch the camper in the middle and say something affirming. “You are kind.” “You are a good friend.” “You have good insight.” “I like that you sat next to me even though you didn’t know who I was.” “You give good hugs.”
When you spend a week with 50+ kids your own age and quality small-group time with 10 of those kids, you get to know each other very well, very fast. You laugh with them, you cry with them, you fall down in front of them, you help them up. You eat with them, you sing with them, you share with them, you listen to them. A week of this almost guarantees that you will not only want to come back year after year, but that years, decades, after camp, you will still consider these kids (adults) to be your closest friends; you can only see them every 3 or 4 years and yet it’s like you’re just starting up a conversation where you left off when your cell phone dropped the call.
To have these kids, who have seen the very best of you and the very worst of you, lay their hands on you at the end of the shortest and longest week of your life and tell you, one at a time, that you are loved for who you are is probably one of the best feelings I have ever felt, second to the feeling of love that surges through you when your infant smiles at you with recognition for the first time. Affirmation from your peers after a physically and emotionally draining and uplifting week is the cherry on top of the experience that is church camp.
I did end up getting my Affirmation feeling Monday night; one of my best friends came over for wine and Mac & Cheese and she listened to me first and then she Affirmed me. She reminded me of who I am, where I’ve come from, where I’m going and what I’m doing. She touched me, my soul and my quivering heart.
Thoughts – December 18, 2011
Luke 1:26-38
If someone doesn’t tell you what they want or need, how are you to know? If you don’t tell people what is in your mind or heart, how are they to understand you? Why is it so hard for us to ask for help when we need it? Why do we hide our fears and needs from others? Why do we still think that showing our fears to others will make us look weak? The difference between a hero and the would-be hero is that the hero realizes he is afraid of what is ahead of him and acts anyway/. The hero does what is right even if it is a frightening task. Being afraid of something doesn’t make us weak: running away from that fear does.
We are not alone in our fears. All of us fear something (or somethings). So why don’t we share those fears? Why don’t we ask for help or encouragement? And why don’t we give it to others when we see their fears? Telling your neighbor that you are there for them during their trials can make a hero of both you and your neighbor. We should always ask for strength from our friends, family and neighbors when facing something we believe to be stronger than us.
Imagine the strength you can feel with you neighbors, friends, family and God behind you. You always have an army standing behind you, ready to help and defend.
You just have to turn around and see them.
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