The Wide Boundless Ocean

"When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water,.." Luke 5:4a

“If you want to build a ship, don’t summon people to buy wood, prepare tools, distribute jobs and organize the work; teach people the yearning for the wide, boundless ocean.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Jesus' words to Peter are words for us as well. "Put out" are
words which convey Jesus' desire for Peter to reorient his focus from the shoreline in order to embrace where he wants him to go. "Into deep water" connotes abandon, surrender, and maybe even trusting obedience.

So why do these words seem so odd, especially when spoken to a commercial fisherman ? And how can they disturb the faithful
followers of Jesus some twenty centuries after they first echoed across the surface of Galilee?

I have to admit that I actually like the movie, "Castaway". Maybe this says more about me than I care to disclose. Each time I watch the film I find myself experiencing feelings of euphoria
when Tom Hanks' character burst free from his island prison. Through the aid of a port-a-john
sail, aboard their rickety wooden raft, Hanks and his faithful companion, "Wilson", are able to scale the breakwater and reach the open seas. Just seconds after they pierce their breakwater prison, crossing over to freedom, our eyes are forced to focus on what Hanks sees. The island which has been his home, his security, his sustenance .....slowly disappearing from sight.
The stringed music is somber as the island shrinks from sight. Soon there is only the vast ocean
to call home. Horizon serves as the only point of reference, and boundaries become non-existant.
This sounds a bit like following Jesus. The Master calls us to push out into the deep and off we go....The adventure of all adventures begins...... Saint-Exupery is correct. Having the right tools, organizing the process, and delegating the responsibilities will never put us out into the deep. Waiting until the risks are minimized and safety is maximized will keep us on the shoreline the rest of our lives. It comes down to obedience. Availability trumps ability every time.

And so I ask, "Sailing anyone?"

In Christ,
Jon(the methodist)

Forty-Five Years And Counting.......

Last Sunday our faith family celebrated forty-five years of history, in community, with Jesus and one another. We noted that this is about the same length of time taken in building the Herodian Temple in Jerusalem. Students of history know that the Romans had something to say about that building project in the year 70 AD. If you visit Jerusalem today you can see the remnants of that structure, known as, the "Western" or "wailing wall". In 70 AD the temple was brought to the ground, the inhabitants of Jerusalem were scattered like seed in the wind, but the followers of Jesus were sprouting in fellowships dotting the Mediterranean landscape.

Someone has said that the 21st century church suffers from an "edifice complex". That is to say,we seem prone to building things that will not last, buildings that will one day crumble and fall, We tend to prefer building edifices to God's glory rather than forming one another in the image of Christ. Brenda Husson describes our tendencies with these words.

“WE HAVE A KNACK FOR CREATING STATUES, PUTTING UP

PLAQUES AND FASHIONING MEMORIALS. GOD PREFERS TO

BUILD UP THE BODY OF CHRIST. THIS IS WHY (GOD) GIVES

THE HOLY SPIRIT.”

Reuben Job offers us the following encouragement about Jesus’ practices and promises regarding the importance of “being in” community.

Jesus lived his life in community. From his childhood with Mary and Joseph to his calling and traveling with the disciples to his declaration that he and the Father were one, Jesus lived in community. A community of faith nurtured him, supported him, and informed him. It is unthinkable that we would try to live a faithful life without the gifts offered in a faithful community of Jesus. Jesus was known for valuing solitude since he retired to rest and pray, but living in a community also marked his life….Jesus makes a dramatic and revolutionary promise when he says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Matt 18:20) This is a welcome promise to those who may wonder if God is present in their lives or their affairs. This is a hopeful promise for those who sometimes feel alone and forsaken. This is an enormous assurance for those who face the unknown and need companionship and community.

My prayer for the followers of Jesus is that we will sense and ackowledge his presence among us, and that we will encourage, admonish and commission each other to live lives which are shaped by the gift of Christ with us and within us.

In Christ,

Jon(the methodist)

When Jesus Gets Locked Out Of His Own Church

Several years ago I was astonished to learn that a pastor can be locked out of a church - not by accident (I've done this to myself a number of times). I still remember the day my district superintendent (at the time) wanted me to accompany him to a meeting in a community of faith where the pastor had arrived at the church, days earlier, only to find it padlocked. As odd as this may sound - such is the unpredictable life of people who claim allegiance to Jesus on planet earth. This particular group claimed steadfast allegiance to Jesus, but weren't very enthused about some of Jesus' children whom the pastor was bringing into their facilities. They were God's children, but according to congregational leaders they were the wrong color. This was the 1990s not the 60s. Regardless of the decade, a cancer is a cancer is a cancer. Foolishness is foolishness no matter when it manifests. So my superintendent friend had to intercede and have the padlock and chains removed from the doors. Try picturing this, and you'll come up as confused as I am even to this day.

I was reminded of this episode while reading ReJesus, co-authored by my old friend Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch. The boys from Down Under reminded me of singer/songwriter Sinead O'Connor's album of 2007 entitled, Theology. They note, "Raised Catholic, the brunt of her attacks has invariably been borne by the church of her childhood, but the sting in her beautiful songs can be felt by any church or denomination that shuts Jesus out of its religious system. In her searing lament "Out of The Depths" she captures the Psalmist's broken-hearted cry for mercy. It begins with a paraphrase of Psalm 130:1 In her song (O'Connor) imagines this lament being sung for a God who is locked out of (his) own church.

This is actually the same thing Vincent van Gogh was trying to say in the late 1800s when he painted "The Church at Auvers". Take a close look at Van Gogh's depiction and you catch a glimpse of a church with no doors, no light, and no life. Life flourishes outside the church, but that is in spite of the life-less church of Auvers. Many people don't know that Van Gogh was at one time a student in seminary. His stinging criticism is more subtle than O'Connor's, but no less damning. It makes me think of another daughter of the church, Flannery O'Connor who describes the church pastored by Reverend Haze Mote, in her novel Wise Blood. She describes that congregation as being one where, "the blind don't see....the lame don't walk, ....and what's dead - stays dead!"

As frustrated as people like the O'Connor girls and Vincent Van Gogh may be, try and imagine God's frustration... Imagine the Creator God, witnessing the very humanity for whom God died claiming allegiance to God's mission on planet earth, yet, at the same time perpetrating a foolish obstinance. This is the risk God takes on us. We can get it right, or we can get it wrong. And the truth be known - even on our best behavior we probably never bat above .500. As Barbara Brown Taylor reminds us, no matter how hard we try to do things right we're going to always get some things wrong. And no matter how wrong we can be some things just keep turning out right. That has little to do with us and everything to do with the God who loves us. And for this I give thanks.....

In Christ,

Jon(the methodist)