1^st Sunday in May (Isaiah 55 and Acts 8:4-40)

I pause to pray and ponder the scriptures. Pope John Paul II has recently died, and the Cardinals are now in conclave to elect a new Pope. Never has the election of a Pope stirred such media interest. News agencies are scrambling to find authoritative “color commentators” for the Vatican. I watched a Canadian broadcast, calling upon their “Vatican Correspondent” in Washington, to comment on scenes projects from Rome.

Yesterday a Vancouver antique store announced that patrons had seen a side-view of the face of Jesus in an antique chair being sold for $650 in the store. Clientele increased just to see, sit, and pray in the chair. The owner offered it for sale on E-Bay, but declined the maximum offer of $15,000 (thinking it was worth more).

Yesterday in Chicago passersby believed they saw the image of the Virgin Mary outlined in water drainage on the side of a downtown building. A large crowd formed to view it and pray. Some other prankster wrote the words ‘Satan Lives” on the same wall, scandalizing the faithful.

Can anyone doubt that the public hungers and thirsts for God? So we come to the passage from Isaiah:

Isaiah 55:1-3  "Ho, every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  ² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in fatness.  ³ Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

Team Meditation: (Acts 8:4-40)

It is extremely difficult to hire staff, nominate officers of the church, or elect leaders. You can observe their actions, but cannot read their minds. You can track down references, but want to give credit for grace and spiritual growth. You can evaluate skills, but it is much more difficult to read the heart.

Phillip experienced this. He was better at celebrating God’s grace than discerning a person’s character. On the one hand, Phillip baptized Simon Magus (“the magician”) and allowed him to enter his circle of disciples. Only Peter could see into the man’s heart, to realize that behind the apparent skills and theologically correct words, here was a man primarily motivated by profit and power. We don’t know what happened to Simon, but legend has it that he went on to become a persecutor of the church.

On the other hand, Phillip baptized the Ethiopian treasurer and sent him away rejoicing. He bent a number of rules along the way (baptizing him without the permission of a church, in a mud puddle, without connecting him to a continuing Christian congregation). Yet this time his choice was well-founded. Legend has it that he went to Ethiopia to found a major Christian movement in Africa.

So how do we know who to add to our worship teams? Clearly the choice has to be founded more on our prayerful intuition of the leading of the spirit, and our glimpse into the “heart” of the individual, than on evaluating particular skills or theological smooth talk. You can always train skills if the enthusiasm is there. You can always mentor faith if the experience with Jesus is there. Even then, mistakes are bound to happen. So the wise worship team regularly does peer evaluation, inquiring of each other whether lifestyles and spiritual growth are aligned with the values, faith, vision, and mission of the church. If not, there is counseling and coaching, but if all this fails, there must be termination. You cannot allow a “Simon” to remain on the team, without damaging the mission of the church.

Worship Theme: (Isaiah 55)

Isaiah 55:10-11  ⁰ "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return not thither but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,  ¹¹ so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

There is an unstoppable inevitability about God’s grace. Christian’s call this God’s “providence”. God provides. God will provide. God’s purposes will be fulfilled. Place an obstacle in the way, and God’s grace will flow around it, under, or over it … and eventually erode it or sweep it away. Subject God’s grace to the randomness or violence of human history. Draught or flood, war or pestilence, do what you can to trample God’s word under foot, but by God! That seed will bear fruit, and it will feed the hungry and quench the thirst of those seeking righteousness. That’s the way it is with God. God will win.

Pop spirituality today loves to see things dualistically. People think the world is torn in spiritual warfare between forces of darkness and forces of light. They think that the history of the world still hangs in the balance. They think that there are some people who are EVIL, and other people who are GOOD, and most of the population are somehow helplessly caught in between.

But God’s “providence” looks at things differently. There is no warfare. God is already victorious through Christ. Yes, there are many evil things happening, but God’s grace is unstoppable. It is rushing down the mountain of history; it is sown in the depths of the soil of human longing. Nothing will stop it, although many try. Nothing will keep it from bearing fruit, although many doubt. There are no EVIL people, and no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace. That’s why there are ministries in penitentiaries. There are no GOOD people, because everyone is tainted by sin and require God’s grace. That’s why there are ministries in churches.

There are times when things look bleak. There are times when life seems hopeless. But God has spoken his Word. The Word became flesh in Jesus. Jesus rose again from the dead, and will come again to finally fulfill the inevitable victory of God. Keep going.

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2nd Sunday in May (Mark 10:1-31 and John 8:1-11; and Luke 8:19-21)

John 8:9-11   ⁹ But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.  ¹⁰ Jesus looked up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"  ¹¹ She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again."

The story of the woman caught in the act of adultery … and subsequently forgiven by Jesus … is not found in all the oldest manuscripts of the New Testament. Presumably, some ancient scribes were embarrassed that Jesus should seemingly “go soft” on adultery. The irony, of course (that was not lost on the Reformers of the church), was that the very scribes who were so self-righteous about punishing adulterers were often as adulterous in imagination and deed as everyone else.

Fast-forward to modern America. It is no accident that the emergence of Mothers Day as one of the most popular and financially lucrative holy days of the pagan year exactly parallels the aging of the Baby Boomer generation. This is one of the most selfish generations … and most promiscuous generations … in history. Marital infidelity and divorce skyrocketed with this generation. They have made the single parent family and the broken home normative for their own children. And they have been most likely to place their aging parents in nursing homes and forget to visit them for long periods of time.

The phenomenon of “Mothers Day” results from the accumulated guilt of the Boomer generation. They observe the day, not because it represents their core value, but because it represents their core nostalgia. Therefore, when the anticipated crowds return to church on Mother’s Day, Jesus message to the woman caught in the act of adultery seems quite appropriate. Jesus understands the universality of our transgression against the family … and will forgive. But here is the rub: “Do not sin again”.

Team Meditation: (Luke 8:19-21)

Luke 8:19-21  ¹⁹ Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him for the crowd.  ²⁰ And he was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you."  ²¹ But he said to them, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it."

We use the phrase “family church” in so many non-Biblical ways, that it is important for worship design teams to understand exactly in what sense the church can be considered “Christ’s family”. 

• We are NOT a “family church” in the sense that the only people we include in the fellowship are families, or even people who want to have families in traditional or non-traditional ways. Participation in a human “family” is not a criterion for being Christian.
• We are NOT a “family church” in the sense that absolutely anyone is welcome to be a member simply because they are wealthy or poor, lonely or happy, or just as they are. Merely being human is not a criterion for being Christian.

Jesus says that his “family” is made up of those who “hear the word of God and do it.” They may be individuals or families; they may be traditional families or non-traditional families; they may be rich or poor, hungry or satisfied; they may be members of the church institution or adherents or participants or occasional visitors. It doesn’t matter. What matters is this: Do they listen intently, searchingly, and eagerly for the word of God … and when they hear God’s word, do the act upon it, live up to it, and do it?

Worship Theme: ((Mark 10:1-31 and John 8:1-11)

Mark 10:14-16  ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God.  ¹⁵ Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."  ¹⁶ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.

A parent is defined not by what they are, but who they care about. That is why Mother’s Day is not really about mothers, but it is really about children. In our newspaper this week there is a painful and dramatic story about two girls struck by a car as they rode their bicycles. Both girls were severely injured. Rescuers found the youngest lying with a broken leg singing to herself:

“Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so;

Little ones to him belong; they are weak buy he is strong.”

Their father, by the way, is a small group pastor at a local church. The vision of Jesus embracing the children … and the children eagerly opening their hearts and trusting in his strength and mercy … is among the most enduring images in our culture.

Yet there is something awry with this image. When Jesus said “Let the children come to me”, he was not addressing the children. He was addressing the adults. When he said that people needed to receive the kingdom of God like a child, he was not looking at children. He was looking at adults. So the song “Jesus loves me” is not quite accurate. It may be true that “little ones” belong to him. What is also true is that “big ones” belong to him.

Many of the parents and adults aged 25 – 55 gathered in worship today may be glowing with affection for their children on one side of them, and their older parents on the other side of them, but in their hearts there is an emptiness all their own. They are filled with regret. They feel guilty about ignoring their parents and neglecting their children. They long for lost innocence. They yearn to once again be able to rely entirely upon the strength of Christ without any of the ambiguity or worry or doubt that has crept into their lives.

Jesus may be holding the little children, but he is addressing the “big children”. His grown up, wayward, doubting, realistic, skeptical, hard hearted, success oriented, selfish, adult children. The big children belong to him also. You are weak, but he is strong. You can still enter his embrace, too.

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3rd Sunday in May (Proverbs 3 and Luke 17: 11-19)

The end of May represents a definite shift in North American lifestyle. Especially since 911, Americans and Canadians have been “nesting” as never before … finding solace and hope in home improvement, environmental forgiveness in home gardening, and greater control over their chaotic lives by limiting their emotional investment in a small circle of neighborhood friends. The end of May launches a period of time in which this “nesting” becomes an ultimate concern.

In Canada, it starts with Victoria Day (3^rd weekend), and in the United States it starts with Memorial Day (last weekend). These long weekends draw people away from institutional forms of religion, toward the goddesses of hearth, home, home improvement, health, the outdoors, and nature. Spirituality has “relocated” for the next several months. And along with the “relocation”, the old rules and moral restraints have been at least temporarily abandoned.

Team Meditation (Luke 17: 11-19)

This is one of the brief stories Gospel stories that is clearly “real”. It is so easy to imagine this actually happening. We can imagine the disciples observing the event, and realizing that something of profound and universal significance has just been re-enacted before them. Yet they are not sure they understand it. It is as if you were walking along a familiar path and saw a small whole in the ground … but when you poked your head in to look around, you discovered that small hole opened into a vast cavern of meaning.

Ten were healed. Only one gave thanks. Presumably, all ten remained healed, but only one found faith. Worship leaders who boast large attendance during the year, and large recognition among seekers and strangers to grace, suddenly find themselves in May wondering where 9 out of 10 people have gone. Even relatively veteran members of the church have disappeared or become unpredictable in worship attendance. Suddenly we realize that out of every ten people we thought were Christian disciples, nine of them are still pagans under a veneer of Christianity.

Rather than lament the disappearance of the nine, focus on the faith formation of the one who returned to give thanks. This is an opportunity for deeper mentoring and discipling. When the other nine healed lepers return again (and at least 6 of them will), the one healed leper you have mentored deeper into the faith will work more effectively among his wayward colleagues.

Worship Theme (Proverbs 3) 

                Common sense is the single most powerful factor that guides our daily living. We can read all the self-help books we want, but in the end we are most likely to instantly and habitually act using common sense.

• If the burner is on, don’t touch it.
• If there is a fire, don’t use the elevator. Use the stairs.
• If the plane suddenly loses altitude, put on your own oxygen mask first.

Unfortunately, common sense does not help us much in leading a spiritual life. Since “common sense” is essentially about self-preservation … and since deep spirituality generally leads to self-sacrifice and self-discipline … then “common sense” would actually lead you to avoid spirituality altogether.

The Bible is full of practical wisdom … but it is really “uncommon sense”. Proverbs 3 is among the most ancient self-help advice in history. The Bible literally borrows the entire chapter from ancient Egyptian teaching that is a further 4000 years old. “Wisdom” in ancienty Egypt was called “Ma’at” and usually personified as a woman. 

Proverbs 3:15   ¹⁵ She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

The foundation of all “uncommon sense” is the fear of the Lord. That is, center yourself in awe and thanksgiving on God. It is the basis of true serenity in life. It is the balance that helps you cope with the unexpected. It is the foundation from which you can act with integrity and be effective as a human being.

                 Many of us think of “wisdom”, “serenity”, or the “awe of the Lord” far to abstractly. We assume it is a good feeling, or that it is a semi-comatose state of spiritual lethargy, or some dogma that we write down on a piece of paper or carry like a talisman in our pockets. In fact, the “uncommon sense” in Proverbs is must more practical for daily living.

                It’s about justice. If you are centered on God, you will become hyper-sensitive to other people who are victimized, abused, bullied, belittled, or hurt in the midst of daily living. And you will spontaneously, courageously, and daringly put yourself out, and place yourself in harms way, to intervene on their behalf. You will set aside you personal desires, take time off from your vacation plans, and reach out, and help someone. And you will feel God smile upon you.

                It’s about money. If you are centered on God, you will become more generous and more careful with your money. You will invest it where it will do the most good. You will spend it on others. You will improve life. You will be confident in bad times and in good times.

                It’s about relationships. If you are centered on God, you will commit yourself only to safe, healthy intimacy. You will be rescued from temptations; you will be loyal to covenants; you will be fair and trustworthy in your actions.

                The “uncommon sense” is that if you put yourself at risk for others, then when you are in need others will put themselves at risk for you. If you are careful and generous with your money, in the end you will have more money to be careful and generous with. If you are responsible and fair in your relationships, you will be confident that you will never be abandoned or alone. Think long term … not short term.

                The foundation of all this “uncommon sense”, however, is not your self-interest. It is your awe of God. It is your honor of God. It is your thanksgiving toward God. There is an Ultimate Concern that is higher than anything else … higher even than yourself … higher even than your personal safety, security, comfort, or success. It’s God. Surrendering yourself to God actually brings greater personal rewards. Giving away life actually brings abundant life back to you. It makes “uncommon sense”.

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4^th Sunday in May (Genesis 17:1 – 18:15 and Luke 13:22-30)

 Team Meditation (Luke 13:22-30)

The first shall be last, and the last first. The people who are feeling most confident in their salvation are the furthest from it; and the people who are most desperately aware of the great chasm between their lives and God’s love are the closest to it. These are hard words.

Ask any member of the worship team if they are “saved”, and they are likely to say yes … confidently, enthusiastically, and even joyfully. Yet their very confidence translates into “ego”, and that implies “pride”, and immediately they are furthest from God’s salvation. Ask any seeker who happens to show up for worship if they are “saved”, and they are likely to look puzzled, scared, or lost. Yet their very yearning translates into “self-surrender”, and that implies “humility”, and immediately they are closest to God’s salvation.

Suddenly the worship team leaders redefine their position vis a vis the seeker. It is not “I will help you!” but “May I help you?” It is not “Join us for worship!” but “May we join you in your spiritual journey?” It is not as teacher and expert that you are among the seekers, but as player/coach and servant that you are among the seekers.

Tom Bandy

Worship Theme (Genesis 17:1 – 18:15)

Most people find the church condescending, if not downright judgmental, and frankly it compromises their sense of integrity to imagine that by joining the church they must become like that. So they don’t join the church. They stay on the fringes, dance around the edges, and hedge their bets. They assume that to be a church member you have to be supremely confident, absolutely clear, and incredibly knowledgeable … ready to sacrifice your life if the Vikings raid, and forever optimistic in the face of evil.

So it comes as a surprise to discover that the roots of Christian community actually lie in skepticism and laughter. God promised to make Abraham the father of nations … and Abraham scoffed. God promised to make Sarah the mother of God’s chosen people and she laughed. She didn’t just giggle. She laughed, and laughed, and laughed. It was a big laugh and a deep cynicism. God chose the most unlikely pair of old, poor, homeless people to be the parents of our faith community. And the truth is (if you read further about their story in Genesis) that they were not particularly good parents. Their children misbehaved, were incredibly selfish, and tried to kill each other.

Presumably God knew all of this before choosing them. They were ordinary people like us. No, in fact they were worse than ordinary people and maybe less well off than us. So what was it about them that God thought was so valuable as to make a 4000 year old covenant with them? They were stubbornly faithful. Once convinced (and Abraham and Sarah were eventually convinced), absolutely nothing would shake them from their loyalty to God. The temptations of Sodom and Gomorrah didn’t tempt them. The tragedies of their children and grandchildren didn’t shake them. War and persecution and suffering didn’t overcome them. Even God’s apparently irrational and unpredictable and uncontrollable nature didn’t cause them to give up.

The root of our community of faith is sheer stubbornness. No matter what happens, Christians still believe in God’s grace, God’s promise, and God’s purpose to make disciples of all nations. People may scoff and people may laugh … the future may seem impossible and failure inevitable … the answers to life may be unclear and joy a distant memory. Yet we stubbornly believe God will be redeem us, use us, and grow us into a Kingdom of love, peace, and justice.

Isn’t it about time you stopped dancing around the edges, and joined the church?

Tom Bandy

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5^th Sunday in May (Acts 2,3 and 4:32-37; and Acts 10, 11, 15)

This is a season of “memories” … or at least of formal “memorializing”. Victoria Day (Canada) and “Memorial Day” (USA) are only the tip of the iceberg. Beyond these formal remembrances of political origins and national sacrifices, the May-June season is filled with wedding anniversaries and grand openings for the general public, and congregational anniversaries and ordination milestones for the church. Coincidentally, this is the usual time of year when the church has historically “memorialized” its own beginnings as Christian faith community.

The word “Pentecost” has dropped out of popular vocabulary, but in a time of relative milestones and memories it is well to recall one that is more absolute.

I have written several places about the pre- and post-modern distinction between the “Body of Christ in Residence” (epitomized in the strategic plan of the earliest Church in Acts 2 and 3), and the “Body of Christ in Motion” (epitomized in the mission to the gentiles described in Acts 10 and following).

The “Body in Residence” memorializes the “institionalization” of the church. It recalls the site and floor plan of the Upper Room, the election of the apostles as institutional leaders, and the appointment of deacons to manage church affairs. The “Body in Motion” memorializes the “calling” of the church. It recalls Christ’s command from the cloud to go to all the nations, the innovation of Phillip, the redirection of Peter, and the conversion of Paul.

Among the memorials that compete for our attention today, the most important one is this: Do you remember who you are, whose you are, and what you are supposed to do about it? The temptations to be distracted from your personal mission are going to escalate dramatically in just a few weeks. Take time now to align yourself properly to God’s will  … and to the call to care for the world … before selfishness sweeps you away on the summer holidays.

Team Meditation: Luke 10, 11, 15

In the movie 50 First Dates Lucy Whitmore (Drew Barrymore) suffers from the fictional Goldfield Syndrome, a form of the real anterograde amnesia.  In the movie, Lucy has been in a car accident that has left neurological damage and every morning when she wakes up she has suffered a memory loss of anything that has happened since the day before the accident.  Every year, the church heralds Pentecost as the birthday of the church, but then it seems we suffer from Goldfield Syndrome from about that point to this.  As Tom points out, we tend to memorialize the Body in Residence and conveniently forget about the Body in Motion.

However, it turns out that perhaps the church is suffering from a genetically disposed neurological disorder.  Peter has part and parcel of the Body in Residence until his vision.  Jesus sent him out of his comfort zone and into the mission field at Cornelius' house where Peter did exactly what he needed to do.  But it turns out, if you measure his next actions, he must have experienced Goldfield Syndrome almost immediately.  Sure, he could remember the Cornelius' event, but apparently he returned to the upper room in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Jerusalem</city></place> where he helped "oversee" the church from his pastor's office, only leaving it to go to meetings when the board heard about the event or when some other dispute arose and he had to referee (ch. 15).

When we memorialize the church, as Tom points out, we can herald buildings and structures or we can memorialize what's been done by joining Jesus in the mission field.

So, this week as a memorial/Pentecost celebration will you take this opportunity to find healing from Goldfield Syndrome and enter the mission field with gusto?  If so, in which Starbucks, Hard Rock Café, or which of your local Cheers will you be holding your board meetings, leadership meetings, and small group meetings at?

-Bill T-B

Worship Theme: Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-37

As Tom pointed out, this week marks the touchstone of many memorials.  It's the season for the birthday of the church, the anniversary of multitudes of marriages, celebration of ordinations, as well as the season of reruns (sigh…even TV turns to remembrances - if only the memories weren't so last season!).   Memorial events such as Victoria Day and Memorial Day are often invitations to look back and remember the sacrifices others have made of our behalf.   On the other hand, we live in a troubled world already and as grateful as we may be for the sacrifices of the past, most prefer to remember "the good ol' days."  Indeed, one of the therapeutic interventions for troubled marriages is to invite the spouses to revisit their courting years, to recall the early days of their relationship: "Remember why you got married in the first place." 

When we remember the "good ol' days" of the church, many of us remember full pews, burgeoning coffers, and rousing revivals.  Days when we didn't have to practice "Dialing for Bodies" to fill vacant committee seats.  But that was then, this is now.

But some of those "good ol' day" memories are remembrances we should be celebrating - and expanding on.  In those "good ol' days" the church took care of each other.  If someone was sick, the church community was the first to organize a casserole brigade.  You could count on each other whenever there was a tragedy or whenever there was a celebration.  Whatever the circumstances, the church was there.

In our passage this week, we have the opportunity to recall and remember - and to hold on to that which is real and good and true.  The church in Acts should be today's touchstone, the standard, by which we measure how we treat one another in the church.  They gathered daily.  They ate dinner together.  They took care of each other.  No one - note that: no one, was found in need.  They didn't just share resources, they shared their lives.

This is the real memorial of the season of Pentecost.  Remembering what is most true about the church - and recapturing that truth for today.

-Bill T-B

Worship Design

Nostalgia isn't a bad thing if it's not overdone.  This would be a great week to do a walk through the halls of nostalgia of your local church.  It's not necessarily the time to do "homecoming" and to recall all the history, but to revisit some of the positives of the church "back in the day."  Take a walk down memory lane through the music.  Haul out those dusty revival hymns that will get your seniors' toes tapping (maybe even some of those old politically incorrect hymns that are etched into hearts whether we want to recognize it or not: There's Power in the Blood, I'll Fly Away, Onward Christian Soldiers).  Take a stroll through the Ralph Carmichael years and sing a couple of the camp songs like Put Your Hand in the Hand, He's Everything to Me, and Pass it On.  Use PowerPoint to flash up stills from Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver, The Partridge Family, and The Brady Bunch (remember, you violate current copyright laws if you show any clips from a broadcast television show). 

Once you've ushered in Brother Nostalgia, it's time to do a reality check.  A reading of today's Scriptures sets the standards for how the church is expected to behave towards each other.  The disciples of Jesus didn't meet weekly in a church building.  They met daily in homes and in public places.  They counted on each other in the good times and the bad.  They took care of each other - and they took care of each other well. 

Unfortunately, the <place w:st="on">North America</place> church today has been taken for a ride.  When things began to fall apart in the 1960s, in good Modern fashion we turned to "science" and programs to fix things when we should have returned to what has always made the Body of Christ strong - relationships.  But the gap between the "younger generation" and the "establishment" seemed too great.  Instead of relying on rebuilding relationships, the church changed focus to structures and expanding parking lots and bring-a-friend programs.  When the hard work of healing relationships would been the solution, we embarked on the search for the magic pill instead.

A good clip to illustrate the choice we have to make can be seen in the movie Secondhand Lion.  About two-thirds into the movie you'll find a clip where Walter has been picked up by his mother and her new "boyfriend" to move to <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Las Vegas</place></city>.  In the conversation in the car, mom reveals that she's actually married the "boyfriend" and that she's counting on things "being different" in the future.  Walter is faced with a choice: stay in the car where he's clearly being taken for ride, or not.  He makes a decision to return to his uncles - to choose hope over delusion.  So he bails out of the car while it is moving - perhaps serving as a reminder to all of us that it can be a risky, dangerous, and painful decision to make significant changes in our lives.

-Bill T-B

 

 

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