8-31-18 - Walking the Walk

(You can listen to this reflection here.)

“If you’re going to talk the talk, walk the walk” might be an update of what James has to say in the passage we read this week: 

“But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.”

Those who hear the Word of God and think they’re all set, are kidding themselves, he claims. If we don't act on what we hear, there is no way to retain the Word.

Many a churchgoer faithfully attends worship, hears the Word read and preached, and then never thinks about it again till the following Sunday, living his or her life by the values of the world. That’s what it means to be a hearer only. But what does it mean to be a “doer” of the Word?

For James, it means keeping a good guard on your tongue and resisting religiosity that lacks heart. In fact, he labels as “worthless” the religion of those who “do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts.” Worthy religion involves personal integrity and active care for the poor and vulnerable: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

These qualities, alas, are not what people always see when they look at churchgoers. Too often they see a love of prosperity, allegiance to old ways of being, and judgmental condemnation of people who look, speak or live differently. In too many cases, observers do not see the Good News that Jesus Christ proclaimed and demonstrated being lived out, and so they turn away.

What if we were to spend much more time and energy and resources dealing with poverty and justice, and much less on who’s doing coffee hour this week and does everybody like the hymns? What if we were less inwardly focused on our own congregations, and more aware of our status as out-posts in a worldwide enterprise with the strategic goal of reclaiming, restoring and renewing all of creation to wholeness? What if we put transformation before comfort?

There is a promise for us, when we focus on the law of liberty instead of legalism, when we proclaim God’s freedom for all those held captive by any person, institution or condition: 

But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act – they will be blessed in their doing.

May we be blessed in our doing, and in our being.

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8-30-18 - The Implanted Word

(You can listen to this reflection here. The epistle reading for Sunday is here.)

For the rest of the week, we’ll turn to the letter of James. Unlike Paul’s epistles, usually addressed to specific people or communities, about matters of concern, confusion or conflict, the letter attributed to James is more of a general exhortation on how Christ-followers are to live. He responds to problems he sees emerging in the early church, and offers correction. Because the author of James (who may or may not have been the brother of Jesus and head of the Jerusalem church) is so concerned with behavior, not only belief, the letter has been judged by some to be legalistic, too short on grace and mercy.

Yet James is strong on mercy for the poor and those on the margins; he reserves his condemnation for the wealthy, the hypocritical, those who pay lip service to the demands of the gospel but fail to live its principles. There are many nuggets for us in this letter, so as it comes up in our lectionary this season, let’s have a look.

As Paul does in Ephesians, James begins by praising the generosity of God, the “Father of lights,” whose gift to us is the ground of all giving. Like Paul, he speaks of God’s purpose being fulfilled in those who believe in Jesus, likening the early community to the “first fruits” of God’s harvest:

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

James emphasizes that this gift of God’s grace must be expressed in the way we live, especially in our interactions. His counsel is one we might all hang on our refrigerators as we start our day: “Let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness.”

What a world we would have if more lived by that precept! Anger is often a natural response to provocation; we need to become aware when we feel it, try to locate its source and pray that out. We don’t need to feel entitled to express it around other people – or on social media. And being quicker to listen than to speak would also improve the quality of discourse around us.

I love the phrase James offers to help us move out of angry reactivity into grounded proactivity:
“Welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.”

Having rid ourselves “of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness,” we turn to the Word who dwells within, the Spirit of Christ who takes up residence in us at baptism and lives with us through everything we face. This Word is not just hanging out – he has been implanted in us by the Father of lights, in whom there is no change or shadow. Just dwell on that awhile.

How does it change the way we live to know that the Word of God has been implanted in us? How does it change the way we talk to other people? How does it change the way we regard ourselves? There’s no room for self-condemnation or shame when we’re aware that the Word of God lives in us. The more that awareness grows, the more we become like Paul, who said, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)

And I guess the next time we're filling out a medical history and are asked if we have any implants, we’ll have to say yes!

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8-29-18 - Output

(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)

Jesus’ teaching often turns on its head the conventional wisdom of the world. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, don’t seek revenge, trust in God’s provision when there is clearly not enough to go around. Here, too, he up-ends the standard way of looking at holiness and sacrilege, placing the focus not on what goes into a person, but on what comes out, the fruits of a life:

"Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile."

This week’s teaching invites us to look at our output in life. Not only the big-picture achievements, acquisitions, prizes, gains, goals met, works produced, but also the day-to-day external evidence of our lives. What are we putting out there for the world to see?

Is the fruit of our existence good and life-giving, nourishing and tasty, or is it old, rancid, stale, mealy? Do people associate knowing us with wisdom and insight, encouragement and enthusiasm, or do they encounter sadness or anger, bitterness or resignation? What words would you use to describe your affect?

Of course, we could ask the people we know how they experience us – that would yield some interesting feedback. We can also become intentional about observing our interactions as we move through the day, reflecting back on each encounter. What did we lead with? What emotion was dominant? What outcomes resulted from our interactions?

Our bodies teach us that output is connected to input, so it’s not entirely divorced from what we take in. Heart, lungs and digestive system all involve input and output, in some cases waste product, and in others renewed and renewing substances. Not all output needs to be vital and important, yet over all, we’d like what comes out of our mouths, our minds, our work and giftedness to bless others.

This week, pay attention to what you hear yourself say, what you watch yourself do. Rejoice in the outputs you like, and ask for God's help with the ones you don't. With God's Spirit at work in us, we can leave a trail of compassion and love, gratitude and grace.

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8-28-18 - Inside Out

(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)

Americans are increasingly conscious about what we consume. Soaring rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and substance abuse – not to mention a culture obsessed with body fat – have led to a focus on fat, sugar, gluten, pesticides and their attendant evils. Vegan, vegetarian, Paleo, organic diets are all the rage. We know all about the damage we can do by what we take into our bodies.

Perhaps we’re not so different from the Pharisees of Jesus’ time. Focused on the fine points of the Mosaic Law, they were hyper-conscious about the dangers of eating the wrong food or overlooking the proper precautions and rituals. Jesus had a thing or two to say about that:

Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” He went on to list a great many sins and character flaws that issue from the human heart – and to suggest that we concern ourselves more with what comes from inside us than from without.

It’s not either/or. The emotional climate in which we operate factors into the thoughts and behaviors we exhibit to the world, just as the actual food and drink we consume play a role in the health of our minds and spirits. And Jesus is right, as usual: It’s ridiculous to worry about the toxicity in our food supply while we sow discord in social discourse, or to demand transparency about genetically modified foods and not in our financial or political systems.

To Jesus’ list of “evil intentions” and wickedness of which the human heart is capable, I would like to add a list of all the good things that also issue from inside us: compassion, generosity, forbearance, empathy, love – the fruit of the Spirit at work in us that Paul mentions in Galatians.

As we allow the Spirit of Christ to live in us, we can become more aware of the interior landscape in which we ask that Spirit to dwell. Is it littered with garbage and debris, old wounds, dysfunctional patterns of being and relating? Toxic dumps of anger, fear, envy and shame that leak into our reactions and interactions?

Might we ask God to tour that landscape with us, and invite healing and cleansing of all that leads to hurt? There’s some prayer work, to be done with God alone, or with the help of a spiritual director, confessor and/or therapist.

And then let’s pay attention to what we take in – not only good and healthy things for our bodies, but all that is good and true and worthy (another great list from St. Paul in Philippians 4…). So may we be able to say with the Psalmist, “Let all that is within me bless God’s holy name.”

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8-27-18 - Majoring in Minors

(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)

Were you ever sent away from the dinner table with the stern command, “Wash your hands?” It was ingrained in me as a pre-prandial requirement, though we ate with utensils, not bare hands. When I cook I've learned to wash my hands frequently, lest any bacteria escape my chicken or kale.

Health concerns may have been behind the elaborate washing rituals handed down in Hebrew tradition, but Jesus and his disciples seem not to have bothered with these rites, for the Jewish leaders who had come from Jerusalem to investigate the Jesus movement found them eating with “defiled” hands. So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 

Jesus is not gentle in response: He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.' You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” 

Once again, his accusation against his interrogators is rooted in his perception that they are missing the point, majoring in minors, distorting the heart of God’s law. It would appear these rituals were an age-old community practice that had become elevated to the status of Law. This was not bad in itself, but Jesus asserts that these men focused an inordinate amount of attention on matters of human tradition while they ignored actual laws of God, such as the command to care for the poor, the orphan and the widow, or the command to honor your father and mother.

Sound familiar? How often do we see faith leaders attacking other Christians over lifestyle or political issues, yet doing little to proclaim the Good News of God’s mercy and forgiveness in Christ? How often do we see churches, even those facing declining attendance, focus their resources on maintaining a certain style of liturgy, or replacing the sanctuary carpet, or organizing yet another congregational dinner instead of turning their vision outward?

Oh, it’s easy to point fingers. Let’s bring it closer. What occupies much of our time and emotional energy? Is it the “commandment of God” or “human tradition?” I know I spend an awful lot of time perpetuating institutional life, which may or not be how the Spirit is inviting me to spend the time and gifts I have been given in this limited life.

How about you? Might we do a little inventory of where the bulk of our energy, time and money goes? A quick glance over calendar and checkbook (and Facebook…) can tell us a lot.

What if we were to ask God to tell us daily where our energies can most fruitfully be invested? And listen for the answer before going about our day? That’s a lot more important than washing our hands before meals.

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8-24-18 - Defended From Evil

(You can listen to this reflection here.)

We will once again end our week looking at the reading from Ephesians appointed for Sunday. This passage follows nicely our recent discussion of the distinctions between spirit and flesh. Paul reminds his readers that their enemies, though they may have human faces, are not those actual people so much as the spiritual forces of evil that animate them.

For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the spiritual realm.

We need to remember where our battle ground really is – that can help us avoid demonizing other people and begin to pray for them instead. And it invites us to lay down our human weapons – anger, aggression, gossip, manipulation – and instead take up what Paul calls the full armor of God. As he details each piece of this armor – the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit – notice that each item is for defense. The only weapon mentioned is the sword of the Spirit, which Paul says is the word of God. Though that is often used as a blunt instrument, it is a force we can wield with truth and love in humility.

I consider this text foundational for living the Christian life. It reminds us where the true battle is, with the forces of evil that seek to degrade and destroy humanity. Accurately pinpointing the enemy is key to defeating him. And let's not forget that Christ has already vanquished this enemy. Yes, the skirmishes with evil continue, as sin is woven so deep into human hearts and interactions, but Christ’s authority over evil also prevails. We need only invoke the name of Jesus, and in his power and love command the evil one to depart and take his minions with him. Does that sound too easy? Maybe it is, if only more Christians would deploy this weapon given to us instead of expending our limited strength trying to fight battles Christ has already won.

Beyond all these forms of spiritual armor, which amount to claiming our inheritance as saints of God, Paul admonishes us to, “Pray in the Spirit at all times …. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.”

Praying for each other, for all those in ministry, all those who engage the forces of evil, is an essential part of the battle. Often, if we lead with prayer, we find the opposition fades away altogether. That has been my experience, at times when I’ve realized there was some spiritual warfare going on in a difficult situation. When I rebuke Satan in the name of Jesus, and invite Jesus to cover the situation with his power and love, I am brought back to a place of peace.

The “cosmic powers of this present darkness” are making a lot of noise in our world. As reaction to modest gains toward peace and justice bring to the surface uglier human realities like hated, greed, racism, xenophobia, exploitation, there is a lot of flack flying. It is easy to target those who generate it, and they do bear responsibility. But our fight is not with them; in fact, fighting with them yields only more fighting.

Let’s pray for them, and take our fight to the one scripture calls the father of lies, the accuser. Better yet, let’s line up behind Jesus and let him do the fighting for us, as we go about his work of restoring to wholeness all life degraded by the evil one. That is how we remain strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.

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8-23-18 - Where We Gonna Go?

(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)

A measure of doubt and despair is normal in a healthy faith. After all, the opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. If we’re going to live on the ledge of faith, it’s not surprising periodically to look down and experience a wave of “what am I doing here?” This can come in times of personal crisis, or when it seems evil is still winning, or just because we read something that challenges our ideas.

It can even come because of something we hear Jesus said or did. So it was for his followers in the wake of his “Eat my flesh” comments, when he suggested that those who couldn’t accept this teaching had not been called by God:

“For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.” Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” 

What a beautiful statement of faith Peter makes! “Lord, to whom can we go?” might contain an element of, “You’re the best of a range of bad options,” “but that is quickly eclipsed by the simple and profound declaration of belief: “You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

That is how faith in God grows; it is something we both come to believe and something we know, not all at once, yet fully even as it is still growing. Gradually, our heart knowledge comes to override other input of our senses and intellect that suggest God is not real or to be trusted. When hard things happen or we see the persistence of evil rampant in the world, it’s not that those things aren’t real. They are true, and we believe Jesus is the Holy One of God. We hold those truths in tension.

Spiritual maturity comes in our ability to live with that tension, not seeking the comforts of an either/or. The realm of God is a both/and place, and the more comfortable we become with nuance and shades of grey, the more room the Spirit has to move in and through us.

What things cause your faith to weaken? How do you deal with doubts or a desire to jump ship when they come up? We can always pray right then and there, as honestly as the psalmists do, being real with God about what we’re feeling and thinking. That’s how the relationship deepens.

I pray that, through our deepening relationship with God in Christ, living more and more in the Life of God, we can come to say with Peter about Jesus, “We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

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