I’ve been thinking a lot over the last couple of weeks about why it is that I am so negative about churches. I mean, I’ve mentioned many things that irritate me about churches, but in this season of advent, where is the hope?
Hope is a hard thing to have, yet it is a fundamental in our Christian beliefs, is it not? Everything we believe revolves around the hope that Christ is who he said he was. It also revolves around the hope that there is something better than this sometimes wonderful, sometimes miserable piece of dirt that we live on. Even more importantly, our faith feeds off of the hope that whatever lies beyond that invisible barrier that keeps us from touching the other side, can no longer barricade our way into the nether and that the “something better” we have been hoping for will finally be ours.
If you ask me, that is a lot for which to hope. However, hope we do, and hope is all we have most of the time. Luckily for us, Christ’s meandering into the lives of you and me, gives some sustenance to our hope, for if he is who we believe him to be, and he did what he and his disciples claimed he has done, then he is the one that helps our hope be more than just a fantasy. Christ is the one that has knocked some holes into the iron curtain dividing life and death. If he is to be believed (and we HOPE he is), then he has given us glimpses of something good after this life. He has given us something to live for, and that something is ironically, hope.
So, there it is. Christ came to give us sinful, arrogant, scared to death of….well death, hope. If we really buy into this whole hope business, shouldn’t our lives and our churches be living lives based on that hope? Shouldn’t we be living like there really is something better beyond the great divide and that that something is worth giving yourself wholly and completely to? Instead, we live as if we have no hope. We gather possessions (yes, I am guilty) and we focus on all of the things that say that we really have no hope at all. If we live a life without hope, meaning that there is nothing to live for, then what becomes the most important thing for us? Our focus stays on the here and now of ourselves. We are focused on turning a good profit, living in luxury, and making ourselves happy.
Instead, if we live by the hope that we say we have, we live life, not for today, but for the day that our hope is fulfilled. In a way, we live for death. I know, that sounds really morbid, but as a Christian, is there a truer statement? We don’t live to make money, because what we hope for can’t be bought. We don’t live for comfort, because nothing here can be as wonderfully glorious as it is there. Instead, we should be so driven by our hope that we strive to do the things that truly matter, like feeding the poor, healing the sick, and visiting with those who have imprisoned themselves to a worldview that does not contain the hope that allows them to truly live life.
Now back to my question, where is my hope? Unfortunately, it is not in the Church. Most of the churches that I see, live as if there is no hope, because it’s people live as if there is no hope. Especially in America, with our capitalist superpower mindset, we can have everything we need and want. When we can ride to Wal-Mart, or (my personal favorite) Target and buy anything that we can think of to want, why NEED hope. There is simply no room for it. Maybe that is our problem. I think that it is part of my problem. We (both people and the Church) have not been without for so long that we have no need for hope; for it is in times of oppression and strife that we most need hope. That was part of the lesson to the Israelites during the exile, that once you have nothing left to lose, all you really want is hope. It is hard to have hope in a church that has grown fat and arrogant on itself. It is hard to believe in an institution that is more concerned about keeping itself alive than it is about giving others hope. That’s just selfish you say, yet that is exactly what most Christians are: selfish! It’s just too bad that the Christian Church is made up of Christians.
But again, I have failed to answer my own question, where is my hope? I believe that my hope is in Christ, and, well…I guess my hope is also that I am wrong. That somewhere those Christians that live by hope will join together and prove me wrong by turning our churches into places that live off of, and disperse hope into the world. It is my hope that one day many of the Christians that I see living selfishly, will once again live for the hope that is in Christ.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Sunday, November 13, 2005
In The Midst Of Life
Where does faith happen? Does it happen in a pew, or in a classroom? Does it happen at Church, during a hymn or the pastor’s sermon?
Where does faith come in? Does it come when we or someone we care about is faced with death? Does it come at the gravesite, the funeral, or only after the fact when we have time to think of that person and about our own mortality?
Where is faith found? Is it on the mountaintop or in the valley below? Perhaps it is on the way to Emmaus or on the Damascus Road.
When does Faith occur? Is it in the morning when the sun arises, or in the evening with a bedside prayer?
The truth is that faith can happen at any of these times or places. But then again, faith doesn’t happen, it just is. Faith is a state of being. Faith is a constant consciousness. Faith is more than a feeling, more than a thought, more than any single action. In fact, the feeling we call faith, the philosophical position that we refer to as faith, or any act of faith, is not really faith, but emerges from, or is provoked by faith.
Faith happens anywhere and everywhere. Faith occurs all hours of the day. The faith that is required of us is a faith that never sleeps. It is not an ideology to be applied to situations for a moral outcome. Faith is not simply A way to approach the world, for a Christian, it is THE WAY in which we approach life! There is no line separating ‘secular’ and ‘Christian’. WE try so hard to draw that line, when in fact, that is the opposite of what we are supposed to do. Christ came to create gray areas while we are struggling to maintain black and white. He came to show us that our faith, if genuine, is not a tool to be pulled out when a problem arises, but the constant state in which we live in this world. With true faith, we cannot separate our ‘beliefs’ from reality. Our faith is how we view reality. It is how we approach reality. Faith becomes our reality!
In the same way, we cannot separate ourselves from the world, to do so would be to separate ourselves from life. We emerged fully in life, and, in the same way, we should be fully emerged in our faith. So how does one find this faith? Why, it is elementary my dear reader. Simply, faith is found in the Midst of Life.
PS-> as an addendum check out my old campus minister's blog post on a prayer of St. Theresea
http://revtmnewell.blogspot.com/2005/10/with-kindness.html
Where does faith come in? Does it come when we or someone we care about is faced with death? Does it come at the gravesite, the funeral, or only after the fact when we have time to think of that person and about our own mortality?
Where is faith found? Is it on the mountaintop or in the valley below? Perhaps it is on the way to Emmaus or on the Damascus Road.
When does Faith occur? Is it in the morning when the sun arises, or in the evening with a bedside prayer?
The truth is that faith can happen at any of these times or places. But then again, faith doesn’t happen, it just is. Faith is a state of being. Faith is a constant consciousness. Faith is more than a feeling, more than a thought, more than any single action. In fact, the feeling we call faith, the philosophical position that we refer to as faith, or any act of faith, is not really faith, but emerges from, or is provoked by faith.
Faith happens anywhere and everywhere. Faith occurs all hours of the day. The faith that is required of us is a faith that never sleeps. It is not an ideology to be applied to situations for a moral outcome. Faith is not simply A way to approach the world, for a Christian, it is THE WAY in which we approach life! There is no line separating ‘secular’ and ‘Christian’. WE try so hard to draw that line, when in fact, that is the opposite of what we are supposed to do. Christ came to create gray areas while we are struggling to maintain black and white. He came to show us that our faith, if genuine, is not a tool to be pulled out when a problem arises, but the constant state in which we live in this world. With true faith, we cannot separate our ‘beliefs’ from reality. Our faith is how we view reality. It is how we approach reality. Faith becomes our reality!
In the same way, we cannot separate ourselves from the world, to do so would be to separate ourselves from life. We emerged fully in life, and, in the same way, we should be fully emerged in our faith. So how does one find this faith? Why, it is elementary my dear reader. Simply, faith is found in the Midst of Life.
PS-> as an addendum check out my old campus minister's blog post on a prayer of St. Theresea
http://revtmnewell.blogspot.com/2005/10/with-kindness.html
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
How to Pack a Shoebox
I would like to begin my sermon with a little ditty that I wrote in my free time (meaning while I was supposed to be paying attention in class). It came about as the result of trying to think of Operation Christmas Child from a Shoebox's point of View.
THE LIFE OF A SHOEBOX
I Am A Shoebox!
Out of cardboard I am made
To hold the shoes, not on display
With a price tag I am packed
Onto a truck way out back
With many like me I will ride
My destination: a store’s inside
Nike, Rebook, New Balance too,
I’m only here to hold the shoe.
I won’t be picked out for MY looks,
I wish I could’ve been a book
And when to a buyer I am sold
It’s only for the shoes I hold
If not trashed or tossed am I,
Then put up on a shelf up high
Now I am resigned to fate;
Collecting dust I now wait.
And I wait, and I wait, and I wait….
Then finally, there comes a day
When I descend down from my grave.
A mighty lung blows off the dust
Amidst the Christmas fuss and rush.
With Shiny paper I am wrapped
Stuffed to the brim I am packed
Cards, crayons, dolls or cars
Packed with gifts to travel far
Now, I’m being shipped again
But this time there is a spin!
My destination is not a store,
But a child; one who will adore;
Not just the objects in my insides
But the gifts: Love, Hope, and Pride.
Now I am much, much more
Than I ever was before
Not just cardboard, not just a box
Even if I just hold socks
Now I am a treasure chest
Who’s packed with a love that will not rest!
I AM A SHOEBOX!
NIV Matthew 10:1 He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Christian commentators have entitled Chapter 10 of Matthew, “Jesus sends out the twelve”. As you might guess from the title, this is the turning point in the role of the disciples. Up until this point the disciples were simply and literally followers of Christ. They really didn’t do that much to help Christ. They mostly walked around with him, listened (and sometimes questioned) his teachings, and watched him perform miracles, some of which they even tried to prevent the person from bothering Jesus with their request for help.
It seems to me, that the disciples were up until now, simply Jesus groupies. You know what a groupie is, right? In music, it is a person who will follow a band around and act as if they are a part of the band, although they have NO roll in the band whatsoever. Yes, they provide the band with revenue from buying tickets to every show; and often times they may provide the band with company (warranted or not). But in all reality, they contribute nothing to the band.
For the most part, that is the role the disciples played…that is, until the events in Matt. 10. Imagine, being one of Christ’s disciples. You are following him around; walking through the towns, stopping when Jesus does, and when he finishes teaching or healing, you quietly get up and follow him back out of town and on to the next destination. However, today is different. Today, you are following Jesus, and he stops, turns, and gathers all of his groupies around. He suddenly says, “You’ve been following me, watching me, and listening to me all this time. But, today’s the day! I am going to be the one to sit here while YOU go out and do all the things that you have seen me doing. I give you the authority, not only to tell about me, but to be able to cast out demons, and heal the sick. You will have the power that my father has given me. Today, you stop being followers, and start acting like disciples.
How scary that must have been to a young angler or a hated tax collector to hear that now he has to preach, cast out, and heal. I’m pretty sure that most of them thought at that point, “this isn’t what I signed up for…all he said was ‘follow me’, and that’s what I’ve been doing. That is all I was supposed to do…but now, he wants…what? This is asking too much. I was not made for this, I can’t do it!
Fortunately, with a pep talk that is worthy of any commander prepping his troops for battle, Jesus gives them their instructions:
“Do not go among the gentiles or enter any city of the Samaritan. Your job, you ask? Go to Israel, go to the lost sheep and preach your heart out. Preach what you have seen and what you have heard. Preach of hope, love, joy, and peace. Preach that I am here, and preach that the Kingdom that they so long for, the kingdom of heaven is near! HEAL THE SICK! RAISE THE DEAD! DRIVE OUT THOSE DEMONS THAT ARE WHISPERING LIES INTO THE HEARTS OF THOSE WHO WANT TO BELIEVE, THAT WANT TO SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD! FREELY YOU HAVE RECEIVED, NOW FREELY, YOU MUST GIVE!”
We have been blessed in so many ways. We too have freely received. I know what it is like to be a poor college student, but I don’t know what it is like to live in an impoverished country not knowing where your next meal will come from. Not knowing what the sickness your parents and friends are dying from. Not knowing if the sounds of civil war that haunt you in the night will reach your doorstep the next morning.
Many of you know that I have a love for photography. One of my favorite photographs is an image that will always haunt me. It is a Pulitzer winning photograph that was taken of a child in Sudan by Kevin Carter in 1994. The child has the bloated belly and muscle-less limbs of starvation. He is crouched in a fetal position unable to move for lack of energy. Behind him is a Vulture bigger than he is, and the vulture is patiently waiting for the child to die. Go on and Google it! Type in: Kevin Carter Pulitzer Photo.
These are the types of people that we are sending our shoeboxes too! These are the people that are receiving our gifts. And I hope that we all know that there is more than crayons, coloring books, cars, socks, and dolls that we are packing. No, what fills in the gaps of our neatly packed boxes are the real gifts that a Christian gives. The gifts of Hope, Love, and Joy! These are what Christ was commanding his disciples to go out and spread. Giving freely these gifts that we have been freely given is what transforms us from being a Jesus groupie, and becoming a Disciple of Christ!
Christ can transform our seemingly mundane gifts. Christ was all about transforming the ordinary to the extraordinary. Christ transformed ordinary water into delicious wine. He transformed ordinary mud into a miracle cure. He transformed ordinary human beings into people with the power to preach, heal, and cast out demons. Like the poem in the opening said, he can transform our measly little shoeboxes into the greatest gift a child has ever received!
Christ said: “Freely you have received, Freely give!”
What will you give this year? How many children will you give the gifts of Joy, Hope, and Love?
THE LIFE OF A SHOEBOX
I Am A Shoebox!
Out of cardboard I am made
To hold the shoes, not on display
With a price tag I am packed
Onto a truck way out back
With many like me I will ride
My destination: a store’s inside
Nike, Rebook, New Balance too,
I’m only here to hold the shoe.
I won’t be picked out for MY looks,
I wish I could’ve been a book
And when to a buyer I am sold
It’s only for the shoes I hold
If not trashed or tossed am I,
Then put up on a shelf up high
Now I am resigned to fate;
Collecting dust I now wait.
And I wait, and I wait, and I wait….
Then finally, there comes a day
When I descend down from my grave.
A mighty lung blows off the dust
Amidst the Christmas fuss and rush.
With Shiny paper I am wrapped
Stuffed to the brim I am packed
Cards, crayons, dolls or cars
Packed with gifts to travel far
Now, I’m being shipped again
But this time there is a spin!
My destination is not a store,
But a child; one who will adore;
Not just the objects in my insides
But the gifts: Love, Hope, and Pride.
Now I am much, much more
Than I ever was before
Not just cardboard, not just a box
Even if I just hold socks
Now I am a treasure chest
Who’s packed with a love that will not rest!
I AM A SHOEBOX!
NIV Matthew 10:1 He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Christian commentators have entitled Chapter 10 of Matthew, “Jesus sends out the twelve”. As you might guess from the title, this is the turning point in the role of the disciples. Up until this point the disciples were simply and literally followers of Christ. They really didn’t do that much to help Christ. They mostly walked around with him, listened (and sometimes questioned) his teachings, and watched him perform miracles, some of which they even tried to prevent the person from bothering Jesus with their request for help.
It seems to me, that the disciples were up until now, simply Jesus groupies. You know what a groupie is, right? In music, it is a person who will follow a band around and act as if they are a part of the band, although they have NO roll in the band whatsoever. Yes, they provide the band with revenue from buying tickets to every show; and often times they may provide the band with company (warranted or not). But in all reality, they contribute nothing to the band.
For the most part, that is the role the disciples played…that is, until the events in Matt. 10. Imagine, being one of Christ’s disciples. You are following him around; walking through the towns, stopping when Jesus does, and when he finishes teaching or healing, you quietly get up and follow him back out of town and on to the next destination. However, today is different. Today, you are following Jesus, and he stops, turns, and gathers all of his groupies around. He suddenly says, “You’ve been following me, watching me, and listening to me all this time. But, today’s the day! I am going to be the one to sit here while YOU go out and do all the things that you have seen me doing. I give you the authority, not only to tell about me, but to be able to cast out demons, and heal the sick. You will have the power that my father has given me. Today, you stop being followers, and start acting like disciples.
How scary that must have been to a young angler or a hated tax collector to hear that now he has to preach, cast out, and heal. I’m pretty sure that most of them thought at that point, “this isn’t what I signed up for…all he said was ‘follow me’, and that’s what I’ve been doing. That is all I was supposed to do…but now, he wants…what? This is asking too much. I was not made for this, I can’t do it!
Fortunately, with a pep talk that is worthy of any commander prepping his troops for battle, Jesus gives them their instructions:
“Do not go among the gentiles or enter any city of the Samaritan. Your job, you ask? Go to Israel, go to the lost sheep and preach your heart out. Preach what you have seen and what you have heard. Preach of hope, love, joy, and peace. Preach that I am here, and preach that the Kingdom that they so long for, the kingdom of heaven is near! HEAL THE SICK! RAISE THE DEAD! DRIVE OUT THOSE DEMONS THAT ARE WHISPERING LIES INTO THE HEARTS OF THOSE WHO WANT TO BELIEVE, THAT WANT TO SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD! FREELY YOU HAVE RECEIVED, NOW FREELY, YOU MUST GIVE!”
We have been blessed in so many ways. We too have freely received. I know what it is like to be a poor college student, but I don’t know what it is like to live in an impoverished country not knowing where your next meal will come from. Not knowing what the sickness your parents and friends are dying from. Not knowing if the sounds of civil war that haunt you in the night will reach your doorstep the next morning.
Many of you know that I have a love for photography. One of my favorite photographs is an image that will always haunt me. It is a Pulitzer winning photograph that was taken of a child in Sudan by Kevin Carter in 1994. The child has the bloated belly and muscle-less limbs of starvation. He is crouched in a fetal position unable to move for lack of energy. Behind him is a Vulture bigger than he is, and the vulture is patiently waiting for the child to die. Go on and Google it! Type in: Kevin Carter Pulitzer Photo.
These are the types of people that we are sending our shoeboxes too! These are the people that are receiving our gifts. And I hope that we all know that there is more than crayons, coloring books, cars, socks, and dolls that we are packing. No, what fills in the gaps of our neatly packed boxes are the real gifts that a Christian gives. The gifts of Hope, Love, and Joy! These are what Christ was commanding his disciples to go out and spread. Giving freely these gifts that we have been freely given is what transforms us from being a Jesus groupie, and becoming a Disciple of Christ!
Christ can transform our seemingly mundane gifts. Christ was all about transforming the ordinary to the extraordinary. Christ transformed ordinary water into delicious wine. He transformed ordinary mud into a miracle cure. He transformed ordinary human beings into people with the power to preach, heal, and cast out demons. Like the poem in the opening said, he can transform our measly little shoeboxes into the greatest gift a child has ever received!
Christ said: “Freely you have received, Freely give!”
What will you give this year? How many children will you give the gifts of Joy, Hope, and Love?
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