1st Sunday in August (John 14:1 – 15:17 and Luke 13:18-19, 17:5-6)
John 14:1-4 SV John 14:1 "Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way where I am going."
As I write, war in the Middle East has again escalated, and the spiral of violence and hatred seems out of control. Television once again reveals the pain and paradox of our lives “in the west”. CNN and every other news broadcasts display, analyze, and display again the most terrible scenes of chaos. But you can switch the channel to innumerable “home improvement” programs that are helping you organize and pacify your private space. Faced with chaos that we cannot control, and prefer to avoid, we turn inward hoping to take control within the four refortified walls of our homes.
Jesus neither retreats into the home, nor abandons the home, but he EXPANDS the home. God’s house has many rooms, and in a world at war in which we try to retreat and defend our private turf, God’s power can help us live together under the same divine roof.
Team Meditation (Luke 13:18-19, 17:5-6)
It is impossible to prepare worship without looking over our shoulders to see if a dust cloud … or worse yet, a nuclear cloud … is erupting in the distance. Where is God? Jesus’ metaphors and parables reassure us that God is constantly working. His mission of redemption may be hidden, but it is as inexorable as leaven chemically transforming bread. That is the faith in things not seen … yet which can be experienced … and which must be shared as bread distributed to the hungry masses.
Worship Theme (John 14:1 – 15:17)
John 15:1-6 RSV John 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.
The organic metaphor of the vine is a perfect symbol of God’s encompassing mission for redemption.
Vines creep. They slowly and inevitably move up and down and sideways.
Vines entangle. They wrap themselves around anything and everything, absorbing the world in a fragrant peace.
Vines bear fruit. They create blessings that can be harvested and shared to quench the thirst of the world for righteousness.
So much as apparent to all. But Jesus reveals and deeper meaning to God’s mission.
Vines can be grafted together. The diversity of the world can be incorporated and included in God’s mission.
The experience of Christ is the vine. He is the power of inclusiveness that reaches out to forgive and unite.
God oversees the entire vineyard. You are just one leave, one grape, one part of a larger mission.
God expects fruit. The purpose of any part of the vine is not to stay green, but to multiply fruit. It is not enough for a church to be merely green … merely friendly, loving, and caring among themselves. It must bear fruit that will feed a multitude of strangers to grace.
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2nd Sunday in August (Job 1-3 and 40-42; Luke 16:19-31)
As I write, the new war in Lebanon continues to escalate, and a new terrorist threat to bomb international airplanes has just been thwarted. All the other chronic evils of society (including sexual abuse, medical emergencies, and global warming) have all receded into the background, but they are still there. Like Job, people everywhere ask why … where is it all going … who is to blame … and how much am I personally to blame? Like the old camp song, sung in some of the darkest days of slavery and disease, we sing “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me, O Lord … standing in the need of prayer!”
Team Meditation (Luke 16:19-31)
The fate of the wealthy hangs over our heads. Leaders of the church and designers of great worship need to become prophets. Long have the wealthy ignored the suffering of the poor. We need to realize that not only do we jeopardize our immortal souls, but also the souls of our children and grandchildren. Our descendants will always follower what we did, not what we wished we had done. Now is the time to model another values system, for our own sakes as well as for the sake of our children and neighbors. Please do not send them home powerfully motivated to have lunch; send them home powerfully motivated to change the world before it is too late.
Worship Theme (Job 1-3, 40-42)
The most powerful reason not to believe in God is the persistent problem of evil. Moral evil we can cope with … rationalize … and even explain away. After all, if God gave us free will, we should take responsibility to use it wisely. The trouble is that the problems of this world are of such magnitude as to be beyond our free choice. Even if we choose rightly, things still go wrong. And many evil things have nothing to do with our choices at all. They just happen, with no rhyme or reason. And there are not beneficial results down the road that anyone can reasonably foresee. And even if we could foresee some glimmering of benefit beyond all the pain people experience, one cannot help speculating that an all wise and compassionate God might have been more innovative to achieve good results with less anguish. No, there is no escaping the problem of evil. It is a problem. Unsolvable.
Fortunately, there is a powerful reason to believe in God despite all the evil. Or rather, two reasons. The first reason is that our hearts just won’t quit. No matter what happens, we continue to long for God, expect God, and anticipate God’s saving grace. Somehow, somewhere, sometime, we just know that our redeemer lives. The second reason is that we have seen the Redeemer. We may be unclear when the Savior is coming back, or where the Savior is right now, or how the Savior is acting in the world, but we have seen the Savior and he is Jesus. This is not just a vague urge or an irrational optimism. It is grounded in fact. God is with us. Be not afraid.
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3rd Sunday in August (Phil. 2:1-18 and 3; Acts 16)
Philippians 2:5-11 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
In a world of constant distractions and temptations, the hardest thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. Focus on what is important, not on what is trivial. Never get sidetracked.
Team Meditation (Acts 16)
Isn’t it interesting that in this paradigmatic story of church growth, there is not mention of worship? Worship is implied. We reasonably presume that Paul and his companions prayed on their journey to Philippi; that Lydia and her house guests explored faith when their cell group met; and we know that Paul and Silas sang when they were in prison. But there is no particular mention of liturgy, preaching, ritual, or services.
Surprise! Worship is not the most important thing in a church. Personal growth and multiplication of disciples is the most important thing. Worship just motivates it and celebrates it. Make sure that worship is not a “stand alone” event for seekers. It must lead them into personal growth processes, and eventually create disciples. It’s what happens before and after worship that counts.
Worship Theme (Philippians 2:1-18 and 3)
Christians often talk about how Christ is “sufficient” for their lives. What does that mean? Why is it that Christians count everything else … including financial stability, career advancement, good health, and even strong family relationships as a distant second compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ? It is not because all things will inevitably happen for people who know Christ. Even the saints will suffer financial instability, job loss, health problems, and even family upset. There are no guarantees, and you have to work hard at all of these. Christ is “sufficient” because his grace is always there to sustain, guide, chastise, and encourage in spite of the unpredictability of these things. Christ is sufficient because even when these things fail, there is still life. Even when stability fails, a deeper stability prevails. Even when jobs are lost, the calling remains. Even when health disappears, you can still be well in your soul. Even if family problems occur, one loving relationship is forever. You can have all these things, and not have Christ, and despair for tomorrow. You can miss all these things, and still have Christ, and hope for the future.
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4th Sunday in August (2 Corinthians 4 and 5; Luke 18:18-30)
Do you believe in heaven? It astonishes me how the debate over heaven misses the point. The ancient Christians did not debate heaven as any particular time and place. They described it in metaphors of time and space because there was no other way to talk about it except in poetry. That does not make heaven any less real, or any less a source of hope. It’s a question of “heart”. Those who do not believe in heaven eventually lost heart for life here and now; and those that do never lost heart.
Team Meditation (Luke 18:18-30)
Who can be saved? It is not the passive seeker who comes expecting to be given a prize and then go home. It is the active, aggressive seeker who comes desperate for grace who will be healed. Salvation does not happen because you give someone faith. True seekers bring their faith with them. They are already convinced that the power of God can heal them. They do not need you to tell them. What they need is to experience the power of God’s holy touch. That is why you create an environment in which they can should to God for healing … and experience God’s healing touch. Don’t explain it. Just don’t get in the way.
Worship Theme (2 Corinthians 4-5)
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 6 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. 17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
The outer nature and the inner heart are related, but different. The body cannot survive without the strength of the inner heart; but the inner heart can endure without the outward body. This is the essential conviction of “heaven”. Heaven is the “place” of the heart. It is the “destination” of the heart. It is this confidence that the inner nature can be preserved in God’s love because it is beyond the constraints of time and space that gives us courage. Belief in heaven is really not about speculation of the future. It is really about courage for the present.