Week 10: 1^st Sunday in March (Romans 12; Acts 27 and 28:1-16)

Those who can afford the time and money (and a good many who can’t afford the time and money) will be traveling to warmer climates and recreation during the school break in March. It is more than just stress relief. It is a deep desire to escape and lead a different life … to pretend to be someone else, somewhere else, and break the deathly routine of our lives. Some will eat and drink to excess; some will become excessively suntanned or damage their bodies with unusual exercise. The operative word, of course, is “excess”. Most will return home more tired than when they left.

The real issue is not to make your lifestyle different, but to make it better. And the fundamental challenge is to shift your attitude away from yourself to focus on a higher purpose. The problem with most lifestyles is not that they are hectic, but that they are purposeless. There is no real point to living beyond personal success, self-indulgence, or individual satisfaction. We can go to excess on March Break, and pack in as much self-centeredness as we possibly can in the space of 7 days, but we just come back with a literal and spiritual “hangover” that is worse than before. If only there was more to living than lifestyle, we might experience a happier and more fulfilling life. We might not even need a March Break. When you know your purpose in life, everyday is a holiday and every meal a feast.

Team Meditation (Acts 27 and 28:1-16)

Life is deceptive. As the saying goes, “March comes in like a lamb and goes out like a lion.” We start a journey on calm seas, and end up shipwrecked by a storm. We escape on danger, and just when we are staring to relax we are faced with another danger. It’s enough to make pessimists of us all. My Hungarian grandmother escaped post-war poverty and communism in her homeland; traveled to Boston in the hold of a freighter across the North Atlantic in March; nearly perished in a flu epidemic upon arrival; and survived as a housemaid in a wealthy household in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Later in life she married, raised a family, and found relative security. But I remember she never failed to warn me on every birthday: “Tommy, don’t be too happy, for tomorrow will be worse!”

Paul’s journey to Rome is an example of the deceptiveness of life. Paul barely escapes prison, and almost drowns. He barely escapes drowning, and is almost bitten by a snake. Yet his attitude is remarkably different than my grandmother. He is an optimist. His advice would be: “Tommy, don’t be too cynical, for tomorrow will be better!” And indeed, this deeper undercurrent of faith is what got my grandmother through all those trials. She was a deeply committed Christian. Like Paul, she never bothered to curse her fate, because with her whole heart she anticipated God’s grace. She just knew God’s grace would not come through birthday cakes and easy living, but through suffering and persistence.

Worship leaders have simple choice. You can be pessimists, or you can be optimists. Both are reasonable options.

Pessimism is reasonable. The fact is that things will go wrong, the worship will not be perfect, and only a few people may be touched and transformed. Whatever emotional high or deep serenity you have leaving the church may be overturned by a collision with a bus or the bite of a serpent the following afternoon. More than one worship leader has ultimately shaken their head, shrugged their shoulders, and given up.

Optimism is also reasonable. The fact is that you were saved against all odds in the first place, and you have precedents to believe it could happen again, at any time, for anybody. The missional impact of worship never really depended on you in the first place, but on God’s mysterious Spirit. Whatever emotional depression or ho-hum indifference you have leaving church may be overturned by a collision with grace or the voice of an angel the following afternoon. More than one worshipper has ultimately shaken their heart, lifted their chin, and faced subsequent adversity with faith.

The choice between pessimism and optimism is made on the basis of courage … not reason. Where are you going to stake your life? What attitude are you going to risk?

Worship Theme (Romans 12)

We talk a lot about “core values” today … in school, business, non-profit social service, politics, and church. A “core value” is a “positive, habitual behavior pattern”. It’s not about what you think or how you vote, but about what you do and how you behave on a moment-to-moment and day-to-day basis. How do your friends (and enemies) reasonably expect you to behave? How does your family expect you to behave, so that, if you didn’t behave that way, they would be surprised and think you an impostor in disguise?

The “Biography channel” is full of stories of people who stopped behaving one way, and started behaving another way, until it was engrained into their very habits and lifestyles. Along the way, they lost some friends and gained some friends, changed careers and started careers, because their “old” selves were just too different from their “new” selves.

This is what Paul means when he urges you to stop conforming to the world, and become transformed by God’s grace. You simply live differently. Here’s the contrast:

Christian Behavior                               Worldly Behavior

Honest self-assessment                      Delusions of grandeur

Living spiritual gifts                            Pursuing a career

Genuine love                                         Manipulative emotion

Familial affection                                  Competitive collegiality

Honorable action                                 Pragmatic self-advancement

Enthusiastic service                            Grumbling duty

Liberal hospitality                                Selective welcoming

Persistent optimism                             Persistent cynicism

Empathic relationships                        Self-centeredness

Respectful humility                              Judgmental arrogance

Ready forgiveness                               Ready vengeance

Peaceable living                                   Angry living

Desire for goodness                            Desire for success

The Biblical view of humanity is different. Every person is gifted; every Christian is called. The world does not believe this. The world believe every person is stupid idiot, and every winner has the moral right to use losers for their own purposes.

The spiritual gifts give to every person might include gifts for serving, teaching, motivating, giving, helping, healing, and so forth. You find your gift, live your gift, and whatever your employment might be you will find joy and fulfillment. The spiritual call, however, is a higher goal. There is a point, or a purpose, to the exercise of your gifts. That call is to use your gifts to help other people enter into a relationship with God through Christ … that you might “prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Do that, and you will not only transform yourself, and your neighbor, but the whole world.

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Week 11: 2^nd Sunday of March (Isaiah 52 and 53; Luke 21:7-19 and 22:1-6)

The winter months … and March in particular … are among the most productive months in business, government, and education. Manufacturing is going at full speed, government meetings are setting public policy, everybody it seems that everybody is involved in some form of continuing education. True, this season of industrious behavior may also be grinding and wearisome, but it is productive and we like to believe it will make a difference to improve our lives. One of the marks modernity since the Renaissance is the conviction that with a little education and a lot of energy, even the lowliest human beings can change things for the better.

The one thing that is most offensive to contemporary people about classic Christianity is the conviction of the ultimate helplessness of humanity. According to the classic Christian faith, people are free to be incredibly creative to make a better world … but utterly incapable of creating a perfect world. We can find ways to cure diseases and slow down aging, but we cannot eliminate evil entirely or guarantee eternal life. At best, “being human” is a profound and wonderful experience, but “being human” is necessarily falls short of “being god”. Health may lie without our grasp … if not today, then some day. But salvation does not lie within our grasp … not today, not ever.

So we need help. Human beings don’t like needing help. Fortunately, the ultimate helplessness of humanity is paralleled by the ultimate love of God. If we can’t achieve perfection and overcome death, God can. The real significance of Jesus Christ is not what he taught (as profound and important as that is), but what he accomplished. He bridged the gap between our ultimate helplessness, and God’s ultimate love.

Team Meditation (Luke 21:7-19 and 22:1-6)

When Jesus spoke of the “End Time”, he used metaphors just like the prophets before him. Why? Because the final consummation of God’s purpose is complex in meaning, and significant in different ways, to different people, at different times. 

• A child says: “Show me a map of the world.” Our first instinct is to show him a political map that shows the boundaries of countries and capital cities. Yet there are many maps that may be of far more significance to the future of the globe: topographic maps, geographic maps, ozone layer maps, demographic maps, etc.
• A student asks: “Tell me the history of the 20^th century.” Our first instinct may be to tell him of wars, revolutions, inventions, and the names of great politicians and scientists. Yet the history has been also been shaped by music, immigration, and countless anonymous people and minor accidents.
• A seeker asks: “Tell me how salvation history will end?” Our first instinct may be to describe the defeat of evil or the justification of the righteous. Yet the consummation of God’s purpose is also about the hopes and fears of individual believers, the relationships of love each person cherishes, the peculiar emptiness and brokenness each individual yearns to fill or heal.

There is a gap between the passion of the true believer (the spiritual adult, the wise teacher, or the church leader) and the skepticism of the real seeker (the spiritual child, the naïve student, or the church visitor). The more that gap widens, the more frustrated … the more angry … the true believer becomes. And the more militant, and perhaps even violent, their language about salvation becomes.

I have been in more than one worship service (for members or seekers) and come away thinking, “You know, these worship leaders really don’t like these people much.” They are impatient, frustrated, angry, and all too ready to throw up their hands and say “OK! I’ve done all I can! Believe it or not! Be rescued or doomed! But when the earthquake shakes your life, and your family breaks apart in conflict, and your conscience rises up against your behavior, and you face the moment of your death, don’t come crying to me!”

That is when Satan entered the heart of Judas. That is when church leaders become tempted to betray their Lord. Their anger gets away with them. Their frustration gets the better of them. They actually envision the pain and dismay of seekers and parishioners, and glory in the unspoken words they long to say: “You see! I told you! You wouldn’t listen … and now see how you inherit the wind!”

Jesus says that the frustration is to be expected. Indeed, it might even get worse. It even might go beyond feeling frustrated to being persecuted. But your job is not to judge, but to endure. “¹⁹ By your endurance you will gain your lives”. You are about to teach the people Isaiah 52 and 53. That is your example.

Worship Theme (Isaiah 52 and 53)

The cinema marked a turning point in our culture in the 1960’s. You may recall a scene from the movie Annie Hall in which Annie discovers her boy friend is seeing an analyst. “You see an analyst?” she says alarmed. “Yeah,” he replies, “but only for 15 years.” With that exchange, it became socially admirable to admit to being in psychotherapy.  Today people (young and old) claim to be in therapy, even if they cannot afford it and have never actually done it, because it has become the preeminent sign that you “have your act together”. You are in control. You are OK.

This is the essential scandal and offense of the Gospel. The Gospel boldly and honestly declares what, in your heart of hearts you have long suspected, that fundamentally you are not OK. Despite higher education, successful career, happy marriage, healthy children, perfect church attendance, and 15 years of psychotherapy, you are still not OK. You will never be OK. There is something fundamentally wrong with the human species in general.

One sign of this fundamental “not-OK-ness” is that no matter how intelligent we are, we always manage to screw up. We fight a war, learn from our mistakes, vow to get it right, and still screw up. We cure a disease, clean the environment, make all the right policy decisions, advance the technologies, and still screw up.

Another sign of the fundamental “not-OK-ness” is that we inevitably die. No matter young we look, how much we exercise, how careful we are about our diet, we still die. Indeed, we cannot even control when, how, or why. All too often, the reason we die is tied to the fact that we inevitably screw up.

Isaiah 53 contains a prophecy that from the very beginning, when Jesus himself was on earth, was applied to Christ.

Isaiah 53:4-11  ⁴ Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  ⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.  ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  …

This may sound like “good news” to some … but for many of us it is an insult. Indeed, the more educated, affluent, and seemingly successful we are the more offensive this Christian belief becomes. The more years we have spent in psychotherapy, and the more convinced we are that we are OK, the more offensive this Christian belief becomes.

Yet it is true. If we can only get beyond our pride, we see that “LIFE” is a gift and never an achievement. It was a gift the day we were born from our mother’s womb, and it is still a gift the day we die and are born again in God’s grace. Use whatever metaphor you like to explain our predicament and God’s purpose. Psychotherapists can apply all the bandaids in the world and reduce the pain. Only God can kiss us and make the pain go away.

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Week 12: 3^rd Sunday of March (Matthew 16:24 – 17:23; Luke 18:31-43 and 19:28-44)   

Of what real value is faith? We live in a culture of bargain hunting and getting value-to-the-dollar (or Euro, as the case may be). Recent tragedies like the Tsunami have sharpened the questioned, but the question has been poignant for contemporary people for some time. It would be nice if faith guaranteed privileges. Faith in God translated into more personal security, better family health, social advancement, financial success, or, if nothing more immediate, at least eternal bliss. It’s pretty obvious, however, that it doesn’t work that way. Good, faithful, devout people still suffer. Bad, faithless, impious people still prosper. And for a culture that no longer thinks long term, the guarantee of eternal bliss does not inspire confidence (much less much personal sacrifice). Like it or not, we are a bottom-line selfish creature.

I think that is why Christians have always considered faith to be a gift. At times it may even be an unwanted gifted … an extra burden, a liability, something we cannot let go but which is very possibly going to drag us down. People don’t decide to “have faith” … and people can’t simply decide to jettison faith if they are in trouble. It’s easy enough for us to let go of liabilities, but faith isn’t something we ever held in the first place. It held us. It grasped us. Sink or swim, wherever faith goes, there we go, too.

The most immediate “value” of faith is that we are not alone. We are never forsaken. We don’t suffer alone, and we don’t celebrate alone. God is with us. And while the cynical side of our minds might scoff at God with us without always rescuing us from pain, there is a deep down confidence and hope that can never be extinguished simply because of that faith. I don’t have to wait for death to experience bliss. All I need to do is hold out until tomorrow, and hope for joy.

There is another “value” to faith, but this can only be discerned if we stop limiting the criteria of worth to personal privileges. The deeper value of faith is not that it blesses me, but that it blesses the world through me. Ancient stoics knew the value of participating in a higher universal order of the Good, the Beautiful, and the True. Eastern (or non-westernized) Christians have long celebrated faith as a participation in the Cosmic Christ, a purposefulness and providence that is larger than any single human being. Insofar as we remain “faithful”, we contribute to that larger purpose and order, which, in turn, blesses our children, that stranger’s children, and even our enemies’ children. The world does not revolve around me. It revolves around God, and by faith I can orbit around God’s Son.

Team Meditation (Luke 18:31-43 and 19:28-44)         

Luke 18:37-42  ³⁷ They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."  ³⁸ And he cried, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  ³⁹ And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  ⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped, and commanded him to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him,  ⁴¹ "What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, let me receive my sight."  ⁴² And Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."

Telling seekers about God is a lot like explaining sight to the blind. Some lost their sight through accident or disease early in life, and only have scattered memories of what it means to see. Some have never been able to see, and cannot even imagine what God might look like. Telling many church members about Christ is a lot like explaining color to the color-blind. Church members tend to think in “black-and-white” (liturgically, ethically, and theologically), and it is hard for them to even imagine the varieties and shades of meaning implied in the experience of Jesus.

So we do our best to describe it through words, songs, rhythms, images, video clips, smells, dramas, and anything else we can imagine. There are some who think there is nothing really to see, and they are the hardest people to involve in worship. For them worship is a duty, or an organizational ploy to raise philanthropic funds. All we can do is keep telling stories and pointing to miracles, and pray that one day they will intuit that there has got to be more to their relationship with Christ. For some, however, worship is an experience of intense yearning. Like the blind man in the scripture, these people have been listening for God, yearning to see, for a long, long time. They come to worship in the same way that a lonely senior goes to the mailbox, hoping for a letter, a postcard, some sign that they are loved. Imagine their joy when one day they go to the mailbox full of hope, and find not a letter, but the Beloved Son himself, ready to greet them.

These are the people the worship team is most planning to reach. They are most open to the stories we tell and the experiences we share. They are ready. They are searching. And we have to design worship with the same persistent hope that they bring to the experience … the anticipation that today, of all days, their faith will make them well.

Worship Theme (Matthew 16:24 – 17:23)    

People say that “seeing is believing” but it really isn’t true when it comes to God. Experiences of God are either so amazing or so ordinary that we either cannot believe it is really happening, or we cannot believe it is really God. We see it … but we don’t comprehend it. We see it … but we miss its real significance. Our eyes are open, but our hearts are not. We see, but fail to believe.

Much can be said of the story of the “transfiguration” (a long word that basically means a brief revelation of the glory of Christ that lay hidden in the experience of Jesus). The most important insight, however, is that the disciples saw it and still didn’t believe it. Jesus was “changed” from a rather seedy-looking, inoffensive rabbi, into a glorious and authoritative lord, and they didn’t get it. They suggested buying property and building three little shrines to remember the moment, and failed utterly to realize Christ was asking for the surrender of their lives and their participation in a movement. So Jesus’ later words took them quite by surprise:

Matthew 16:24-26  ²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  ²⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 

The disciples thought they would become important trustees of a stewardship plan and the chief executive officers who would maintain memorial property. They didn’t count on being asked to follow Jesus to the cross … and even beyond the cross to the four corners of the world on the mission of Christ.

That’s really what it means to be a Christians. Some of the people worshipping today may be considering joining the church. Others are already members of the church. But everyone needs to understand what the covenant of membership means. It is not a commitment to pay for the operating budget and maintain a property. It is a commitment to shape your lifestyle around Jesus and embark on a mission. Don’t just stare at the cross, or meditate on the cross, or affix the cross to the wall of the sanctuary. Pick it up and carry it … in your heart … out of the church … and into your workplace, neighborhood, family home, and daily life. 

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Week 13: 4^th Sunday in March (Luke 24:36-53 and Acts 1:1-11; Mark 14)

The first thing to notice is that I have reversed the two scriptures for this Sunday. The scripture originally designated for team meditation is now the worship theme; the scripture designated for the worship theme is now the team meditation. The flexibility is inherent in the Uncommon Lectionary. You are encouraged to customize the scriptures for your context and your sense of the leading of the Spirit.

Easter is no longer of general spiritual significance to the public. I hate to say it. I wish it were otherwise. The reality, however, is that that the general publics (and indeed, most church members) are frankly confused about Easter and the events of Holy Week. If they pay attention, they ask “Why? What’s the point? Other than the fact that another good man has been victimized by stupid people or oppressive politics, why does this event matter any more than the death of Socrates at the hands of stupid Athenians and the convoluted politics of ancient Greece?”

The most common response of conservative Christendom is that some kind of sacrificial magic is happening in which Jesus “represents” humanity and somehow removes our sin by his personal sacrifice. There may be a profound truth here, but frankly this is so far removed from the experience of modern people who grew up in the public school system and the norm of scientific methodology that is makes no sense at all. “Better to ignore it”, they conclude. “Concentrate on the return of spring.”

The most common response of liberal Christendom is that the events of Holy Week and Easter are steeped in ancient Jewish prophecy and the customs of a foreign culture. If we only understood the socio-economic significance we would be inspired to lead a moral life. If the public has the patience to listen to the lecture (which they don’t), they are left wondering why on earth the point could not have been made more clearly by simply reading Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from a Birmingham Jail and skipping all that liturgy. “Better to ignore it,” they conclude. “Concentrate on reforming the judicial system.”

Yes, it is still true that worship attendance generally goes up on Easter (although that varies in different parts of the country). Do not be deceived. It has more to do with the rites of spring and familial obligations to grandparents than any particular clarity about salvation. If it were otherwise, they would be back next Sunday … and they won’t.

UNLESS …. unless you convince them that having a relationship with Jesus Christ (the only man who ever beat sin and death) is the one way they can beat sin and death. This is the #1 question buried in the heart of every seeker: “Is there hope?” The question is not “Is there life after death?” but rather “Is there real life in the first place?” Is real life even a possibility? Or are we doomed to merely survive as long as we can? You know have one hour to convince them.

Team Meditation (Luke 24:36-53 and Acts 1:1-11)

Mark 14:3-7  ³ And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.  ⁴ But there were some who said to themselves indignantly, "Why was the ointment thus wasted?  ⁵ For this ointment might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and given to the poor." And they reproached her.  ⁶ But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.  ⁷ For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you will, you can do good to them; but you will not always have me.

I can just picture liberal, philanthropically minded, activist church members doing a double take reading this scripture.

“Jesus is in the house of a leper”. Check.

“A woman (not a man) ministers to Jesus.” Check.

“She anoints Jesus with ointment as a sign of his impending victimization.” Check.

“Expensive ointment was used, but it’s a one-time-only deal, so we will cut her some slack.” Check

“Jesus accepts poverty as a chronic problem and focuses all the attention on himself.” HUH?

It’s sort of like saying that needy people in worship is a chronic problem that will never end, so spend the entire church budget simply to praise and honor Christ. Sounds rather insensitive, doesn’t it?  Sounds like we don’t really care about the poor … or like we have given up trying to establish the just society here on earth.

But no. What the Gospel is saying is that there can be no hope for justice at all unless Christ is at the center of it. There can be no economic liberation for the poor unless Christ is at the center of it. There can be no freedom for the oppressed unless Christ is at the center of it. Take away Christ, and the woman with the alabaster flask hasn’t a hope in hell. Put Christ at the center, and victory for that woman with the alabaster flask is guaranteed. Put Christ at the center.

Worship Theme (Mark 14)

Luke 24:36-39  ³⁶ As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them.  ³⁷ But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit.  ³⁸ And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts?  ³⁹ See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have."

You can’t touch a ghost. You might see a ghost or hear a ghost. I can’t recall hearing anybody smell a ghost or taste a ghost. By all reports, ancient and modern, you can’t touch a ghost. Your hand will pass right through them; the ghost will pass right through you. Ghosts are “sort of” in this world … and “sort of” not in this world. Scrooge’s spirits could walk through walls. The movie “Ghostbusters” allowed ghosts to leave behind a residue of slime, but they still hid inside chairs and walls. Ancient people believed in ghosts, too, and it wasn’t surprising to hear reports of ghostly appearances of well-known dead people days after the funeral.

What is shocking to both ancient and modern people alike is that Jesus would insist: “It is myself … handle me and see.” It’s no ghost. He’s all there. Every bit of him. It defies both logic and superstition and we don’t like it at all. We’ll try any invention or circumlocution to explain it away.

“It’s only his spirit”, we say, hoping it will soon leave us alone and let us get back to fishing or window shopping. But no. You can handle him and touch him, and he isn’t going away any time soon, and will accompany you strolling along the mall.

“It only resembles Christ … a stranger perhaps, who has taken on the moral teaching of the master or who imitates the suffering of the Lord … but not really him.” Nope. Jesus is not just peering at you through the guise of a fellow human being in need. It’s really Jesus. You can feel the unhealed scars where the nails went in.

“It’s really my imagination”, we say. “I am simply seeing what my heart most longs to see. It is a memory so real that it gives me goose bumps”. No. It’s Jesus. Good ol’ Jesus. He doesn’t want you to have goose bumps. He wants you to eat breakfast with him. He wants to discuss tomorrow’s agenda and develop a business plan for the next phase of redemption.

I find that even Christians have trouble believing it’s really Jesus. They imagine him risen from the dead … standing aloof. He’s smiling beatifically at them from over there. They have a hard time realizing that the pressure they feel on their shoulder is the hand of Jesus, or that the kick to their shins under the dinner table is Jesus’ well-worn sandal, or that slap on the face that awakens them from their materialistic stupor is Jesus’ backhand.

I know there are complicated and important reasons why the bodily resurrection of Jesus was crucial for salvation, but as far as the skeptical public are concerned it boils down to this. If Jesus has been only partially raised (a ghost, a symbol, or a memory) then hope is “sort of” true … if we can get our head around it. But if Jesus has been fully raised (every bit of him) then hope is really true … if we can just put our hand in his.

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