A Purposeful Invasion

This week I am busy participating in the gift of our United Methodist connection known as The Board of Ordained Ministry. Each of us has been reminded what a gift it is to travel the road of discernment with the candidates as well as the friends who serve on the Board. These experiences bring to mind one of my favorite passages of Scripture and a poem which bubbled up from my encounter with the Text last fall.

However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, (so) that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.
II Corinthians 4:7 (Amplified)

Vessels of Earth

From the soil of YOUR MAKING we are created,
called into existence by THE VOICE,
a lilting silence, gentle as baby’s breath,
yet, resonant within; singing our slumbering dry bones to LIFE!
As by intention the glistening humus quivers with possibilities…… breathing in THE EMPOWERING GENESIS LIGHT.
In the passing shadows
ordinariness is conformed towards original image.
GREAT UNSEEN HANDS are at work,
moving in and over the feeble, selfish dust.
FINGERS OF PERFECTION, intent in love to knead our brokenness
into usefulness, are shaping these frail vessels of earth,
filling us to the utter brimmed-limits
with GOD’S PRECIOUS TREASURE.

All of this is GOD’S DOING……an extension of GOD’S BEING….
a DIVINE POWER which comes to us from above….
unwilling to remain distant, aloof……..uncaring,
but intent to risk a purposeful invasion……….
Surely this is not of ourselves……
nor only intended for ourselves……..
The grandeur and exceeding greatness belong to GOD ALONE.

j.e.s 10/08

A Cross-less Faith?

Someone has said that Western Christians can often be a mile wide and an inch deep. Like all such statements there is a measure of truth in there somewhere. I'm reminded of theolgian H. Richard Niebuhr's now famous assessment of Christian theology, with a uniquely American flavor ( a generality - but prophetic nonetheless). It goes something like this:

"A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministration of a Christ without a cross."

My old professor Will Willimon chimes in with Niebuhr in a 21st century prophetic word of his own as he notes a recent encounter with one of America's most popular"TV preachers" . The Christian bookstores aren't the only ones spreading his blessings gospel" nonsense. Even Borders and Barnes & Noble (to name a few) seem content to sell his wares. Bishop Willimon comments.

"I just heard the sermon of a TV preacher (who preaches each Sunday to more people than I preach to in a year). Though his sermon was charmingly delivered, his message was one of autosalvation - you are a good person who, with the right principles in your head (which I will tell you), by the application of the right technique (which I have discovered and will now graciously give you) will be able to save yourself by yourself."

Bishop Willimon's tongue-in-cheek satire is painfully to the point. Many of us prefer a cross-less version of following Jesus. Years ago, while visiting a church member who lived in a nursing home, I found myself in a theological discussion with one of the home's employees. This African-American lady offered me a healthy dose of
Christology 101, 201, and 301 when she said something like, "You know preacher....there's a lot of folks go roun' talkin about the crown they're gonna be wearin' one day, but they ain't willin' to take up their cross in the here and now! You can't wear that crown unless you're willin' to take up His cross."

In Freedom of Simplicity, Richard Foster says the same thing another way. "Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, "Pray for me that I may not loosen my grip on the hands of Jesus even under the guise of ministering to the poor." That is our first task, to grip the hands of Jesus with such tenacity that we are obliged to follow his lead, to seek first his Kingdom. The next step is so simple I am almost embarrassed to mention it, and yet it is so important I must. Begin now to obey him in every way you can."

I meditate on this word, but sooner or later meditation is empty if it stops short of obedience....

Still In ONE Peace,
Jon(the methodist)

If I Had A Hammer, I'd........

The morning paper included an article today about the death of Millard Fuller, founder and visionary of Habitat For Humanity. Millard Fuller will be remembered for coining phrases like, "sweat equity" and "theology of the hammer". His legacy will also include the construction of some 300,000 homes which are now residences for 1.5 million people around the globe. This giant tree of compassion has grown from a tiny mustard-seed of faith, planted in south Georgia less than thirty-five years ago. Millard Fuller was fond of reminding the world that Habitat for Humanity was not the same thing as (Lottery For Humanity). What he meant was that the modest homes this ministry inspired were not intended to be places of luxury, but safe, affordable, and dignity-building; not a hand-out but a hand up.

When Hurricane Andrew ravaged south Florida some years ago the national media discovered a small cluster of homes standing amidst the rubble of post-storm-devastation. It was an odd sight because all of the surrounding homes were completely destroyed. When one local building official was asked his opinion as to why these modest homes withstood the storm, his answer was simple and straightforward: " These (Habitat) homes were built to code!"

Millard Fuller was a servant of the Kingdom whose life was dedicated to Kingdom of God principles; principles he first encountered in a south Georgia Christian community known as Koinonia Farms. "Koinonia" is the Greek word meaning, " fellowship or community". Koinonia Farms was founded by Clarence Jordan and his wife, Florence some thirty years before the inception of Habitat For Humanity. The Kingdom's seed may take time to sprout and grow, but the Kingdom of God exists in the here and now. Bill Lane, a one-time resident of Koinonia Farms sums things up with these words of wisdom.

"....the sowing of God's ideas does create obedient discipleship. There are some who do genuinely respond. The truth penetrates our hardness, overcomes our fears and destroys our old allegiance. The Kingdom takes root in our lives and brings forth an abundance of faithfulness."

Building "to code" is a life aligned and in sync with God's Kingdom.... A life committed to God's Kingdom will weather any storm that comes. Millard Fuller could have used a hammer to injure someone, or even worse, to tear down and destroy. Instead, he submitted his will to the Master Carpenter and became an instrument for God's use in the Kingdom's building. In Christ a simple man's hammer can become a source of life and hope for millions.

God, help my life to become a tool for your using - a source of hope for the hopeless - a visible sign of your Kingdom here on earth......

In Christ,

Jon(the methodist)

The Best Part of Waking Up Is.....

Saturday morning my discipline of coffee-making experienced some technical difficulties. The appliance was in working order. I had adequate coffee supply and filters to spare. What tripped me up was a mis-shapen filter basket. The plastic basket had undergone a baptismal experience the night before in our dishwasher. Saturday morning - it was in no shape to make coffee. (pun intended) It hadn't been submitted to full immersion, just sprinkling with some serious heat to endure. The warped coffee filter basket was non-cooperative. Well, I did what any red-blooded United Methodist clergy would do in a similar situation - I became really frustrated! After ten minutes of filter basket disobedience, I received a revelation. Soon the coffee was perking - with the help of a large rubber band, which I had stretched from the front of the basket to the back of the coffee maker. It was a calculated risk, I'll admit. But caffeine is a regular part of this pastor's breakfast. The rubber band held the basket in place. Sunday morning I noticed that it was working again - without a rubber-band crutch. The once mis-shapen vessel has been healed and the brown brew is flowing freely again, as it should. All is well with the world. Well, at least the coffee cosmos anyway.....

As odd as this may seem, the whole experience causes me to reflect back to an experience some months ago. In May of 2007 our church welcomed a long tall stranger into our midst. His teaching was some of the most life-giving I have ever been priviledged to experience. This gifted communicator and teacher was none other than Robert Mulholland, Jr. By the end of the weekend he seemed more of a friend than a stranger. In, Shaped By The Word, "Bob" Mulholland writes:

"When God puts a “finger” on those things in our lives that are inconsistent with God’s will for our wholeness, it is not simply to point them out. It is not just to say that they must go or must be changed. That finger has a hand attached that offers us the nurture into wholeness that we need at that point. This concern for our whole being is the essential nature of God’s knock upon the closed doors of our lives. The knocks come at those points where God is shut out of our lives, and we are imprisoned within; imprisoned by some bondage that does not allow us to be free in God’s love and in God’s will for our wholeness in our life with others. Precisely at these points in my life is where I regularly encounter something that disturbs me, upsets me, troubles me, throws me off balance in either my perceptions or my feelings. With consistent regularity, these experiences become God’s knocking upon the closed doors of my life. These are the points where God chooses to begin a new work of growth toward wholeness in my being."

The malfunctioning filter basket is a metaphor for my own life; created for a purpose, yet distorted from my original God-image. I am unable to re-shape myself - yet hands are constantly at work , nurturing me back toward my original shape. To borrow from one comtemporary songwriter, "This is the air I breathe....Your Holy presence...living in me."

I once attempted to capture this miracle in a verse.

The Master comes to bring us life - abundantly,
To breathe into our very souls His Kingdom's seed.
Transforming us with unseen hands - the Potter shapes the clay;
Then pours into our hearts - God's never-ending day.......

Still In ONE Peace,

Jon(the methodist)

Raising Children Jesus' Way

Early on Wednesday morning my phone rang. I recognized the voice of a dear friend's daughter. The purpose of the phone call was not altogether unexpected, just difficult to grasp. I can only try to imagine how difficult it was for her to make. She phoned to tell me that her father had died earlier in the morning; just a few minutes before the call....his battle with cancer now complete.... Our conversation was brief.... Hanging up, my mind wandered back in time to a moment almost twenty-five years earlier when I saw her for the first time. Actually I saw the evidence of what she was yet-to-be, as unborn, she expanded her mother's abdomen for everyone to see. I'm sure I joked with her expectant mom and teased her about being "great with child". But the truth of her existence was, nonetheless, real - and the rest of the world- including her mom and dad - would have to wait the requisite nine months to be properly introduced. Yet, the waiting did not diminish the reality of her existence in any way whatsoever.

So today - hours after the phone call - I went searching for an image I had long ago encountered. Soon the brush strokes of Henry Tanner's painting, "Resurrection Of Lazarus" were reintroduced to my eyes. Today I have pondered their significance anew......Like any work of art the medium seems initially stagnant, or even worse - antique. Yet, interestingly enough the painting continues to speak. For one thing, Tanner's depiction of the crowded tomb almost makes me claustrophobic. I also notice there are children who witness the raising. It seems as if Mary and Martha (Lazarus' siblings) are the ones kneeling in the cave; one with head in hands as if she can't bear to see what happens next, and the other preoccupied with her distraught sister. Someone has the head of Lazarus in his hands (maybe this is Tanner's way,like Rembrandt, of creeping into the scene of his own design). One devout onlooker is praying with open eyes and palms upturned toward heaven. Then there's Jesus - standing with inviting hands amongst the gawking crowd - eyes firmly fixed on his deceased friend - a picture of quiet, calm, confidence - The Lord of Life demonstrating that he is also the Lord of death.

Today I noted for the first time that everyone in Tanner's depicted tomb is reacting to Lazarus' death in a different way. One man even turns his back on the whole process. This reminds me that each of us encounters the reality of death from our own, unique perspective. But the one constant in the midst of all the shrouded mystery of death is this: Jesus. Prayers from the liturgy of Death and Resurrection are one of the ways I experience the quiet, calm, confidence of Jesus in the here and now....even in the face of death.

We pray to you for one another in our need, and for all, anywhere,
who mourn with us this day. To those who doubt give light; to those who are weak, strength; to all who have sinned, mercy; to all who sorrow, your peace. O God, all that you have given us is yours....As first you gave James to us, now we give James back to you.....Gracious God, we thank you for those we love but see no more. Receive into your arms your servant James, and grant that increasing in knowledge and love of you, he may go from strength to strength in service in your heavenly kingdom; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Raising children Jesus' way has a name - RESURRECTION - a reality we can experience while we have life and breath, and one we experience in completeness when we stand in his presence on the other side......Author Eugene Peterson speaks of the mystery of resurrection in this way:

"Jesus resurrection provides the energy and
conditions by which we "walk before the Lord in
the land of the living" (Psalm 116:9) The resurrection of Jesus creates and makes available the reality in which we are formed as new creatures in Christ by the Holy Spirit....the resurrection is not something we can use or manipulate or control or improve on....resurrection is not available for our
use; it is exclusively God's operation."

from Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places

From the tomb of Lazarus we hear Jesus speak: "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." (John 11) So on Saturday we will gather....family...friends....former
parishioners,..colleagues and classmates....yet all of us children.....and none of us able to "raise" ourselves any more than Lazarus could. Our job is to acknowledge God's power and to assist in God's resurrection work by letting James go. "Before he is ours - he is yours", prays the liturgy.

As our Lord declared to Martha, he now says to us: I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will
live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and
believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?

There was a time when yet-to-be-Kristi, though
unseen, was present. Not being able to see her
in no way diminished her existence. In time the invisible became visible. So now her father - invisible to us for a season is undiminished in his existence and is present with the Lord.

I say, "Yes, Lord - I believe....help my unbelief..........."

Still In ONE Peace,

Jon(the methodist)

....Come Down From Heaven

6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. 8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55 NIV)

Come Down From Heaven....
“Come down…..from heaven…..watering-snow…….
bringing with you all the budding-possibilities….
Flourish…. yielded-seed….flung with intention from The Sower’s hands

…… Die to live…..Take root…..

Rise from your earthen tomb…..
Grow….Stand upright and sway in the unseen breeze……
Wait for the harvest of earthen-hands….

Be garnered.......carried to the threshing floor…… dismembered from the chaff…..milled into promise…..kneaded into One Loaf…..

Tested by fire you become bread to the eater…….
a creation of the Word who speaks us all into existence….

Come, “Creative Word”….
Accomplish your deepest desires……
Achieve your grandest purposes……
…..in us……..

JES (01/20/09)

Birthday Party or Martyrdom Significance?

January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968

Monday the nation is poised to pause and remember the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The holiday is almost overshadowed this year with the remarkable occurrence of the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama. It is in many ways a fitting epilogue to the life of the slain pastor and civil rights activist. The historic inauguration of a man of African-American heritage is only possible in the 21st century because of the work initiated by Dr. King in the 20th century. His dream for America - and the whole world for that matter -included the hope that one day, persons would be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

One of my favorite stories about Dr. King involves his response to a heckler who was in attendance at a location where he was speaking. If my memory serves me well the story goes
that Dr. King was interrupted by a man who said, "Oh, all you want to do is marry my sister!"
Martin Luther King's calm response was: "Sir, I don't wish to be your brother-in-law. I wish
to be your brother."

I also think of the class I attended as a student @ Duke Divinity School some years ago. The class was called, "Black Theology". One day we discussed the MLK holiday and the potential significance it holds for our nation and the world. After all, Dr. King was more than an American.
His receiving of The Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 made him a citizen of the world. In "Black Theology" class I posed to the professor and my classmates a question, "Why do we choose to
remember Dr. King's birthday, but barely acknowledge his death-day? I still believe this is an
important question. The followers of Christ call this kind of death more than an unfortunate case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Dr. King was in Memphis for a purpose. That purpose contributed to his death. Therefore, we refer to this as his martyrdom.

In a sermon offered on April 3, 1968 - the night before his death - Dr. King concluded with with these words.

And then I got into Memphis. And some began to say that threats, or
talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want
you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

So what does the life and death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. mean to you? My hope is that some of our nation's day apart (January 19) will be focused around that question. I welcome your contributions to the answer.

Gratefully,

Jon(the methodist)