The Surprising Gifts that Come from Hard Times

November 1 is known in the Church calendar as All Saints Day. It’s a day to remember and honor those godly people who have gone before us in faith and life, and whom we’ve lost in death even while we celebrate their eternal life. At UPPC, for the past two years we have seen this day as an opportunity to contemplate the interplay between loss and redemption. This week, we were blessed by Brahms’ Requiem, which he composed as he processed his own grief and hope in Christ.

This interplay is very much at the heart of the Bible’s wisdom literature, including the book of Ecclesiastes, from which comes this famous passage on the inevitability of seasons in our lives. When we read it, we’re reminded of the truth that there is a time for all things. That said, we tend to strive for only some of the items on that list — the seasons we would call “good,” of course. But the reality is that all of those items are inevitable for all people in some form or another. The reality is that if we are alive, we will endure times of loss and the need for restoration.

The Japanese art of kintsugi entails the repair of broken pottery through bonding with gold. It is a beautiful proclamation that not only can we survive the experience of being broken and imperfect, but we can become more beautiful and valuable in the healing process. In kintsugi, the cracks in each pot are unique, and rather than being hidden are highlighted in beauty.

https://www.urushi.info/kintsugi

So the wisdom we might share with our younger selves this week is: “Pain is a catalyst for spiritual growth.” When we do more to become involved in the world and our communities, we set ourselves up for more hurt. It’s an essential ingredient to the love by which we live into the world. A teacher of Pastor Aaron’s once remarked, “One day, you will lose everything.” At first glance, this seems painfully dark and pessimistic. But insofar as “everything” entails the measurable phenomena of our lives (family, friends, health, wealth, etc.) it happens to be true. The “Teacher” who wrote Ecclesiastes is wrestling with this very inevitability and seeking to articulate the motivation behind living in a life so characterized by loss.

As followers of Jesus, we know that the material losses we endure, as rightfully painful as those losses can be, do not have the final say about our lives. And no, it’s not because we just close our eyes and brace ourselves for life’s pain as we await the “afterlife.” Rather, it’s because Jesus “brings gold into our losses.” We must never forget that Jesus is intimately acquainted with pain, loss, and of course death. And while we may be perplexed by God’s unwillingness to spare us of these things, we are also strengthened by the way God redeems pain to make us stronger, so that the world may also experience God’s love through us.

Consider Jesus’ disciple, Peter. In one night, eager Peter boldly claimed he would never deny his Master, and promptly did that very thing. Imagine how broken he must have felt when Jesus was crucified, and for the excruciating day that followed. Imagine also Peter’s tearful humility as he looked his risen Master in the eye on the seashore, only to be forgiven, restored, and put back to work for the sake of Jesus’ new kingdom. Here was a man, strengthened through the experience of being broken and restored.

For reflection:
– Consider your personal life. What aspect(s) of your life appear to be whole, but are actually broken?
– Kintsugi does hide cracks, but highlights and beautifies them. Are there broken parts of your life that you’re hiding, but which can be made beautiful?
– Consider your community. What people, places, or other aspects of your surrounding community are broken and in need of restoration?
– Consider the national and global communities. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your mind toward the broken people and places for which to pray.
– How could it change your view of contentment to remember that God is not only unafraid of brokenness, but willing to enter it, feel the world’s pain, and still offer healing and wholeness?
– The Hebrew word shalom roughly translates as “peace.” But its meaning is broader, more like “wholeness” or “complete contentment.” Take a few moments to describe what one day of shalom would look and feel like for you.

Six Hazards to Avoid on the Discipleship Pathway

I have recently been reminded of an important characteristic of being human — we are designed to practice and learn new skills. My main hobby and fitness regimen is Taekwondo, and for the past two weeks we have been practicing the fundamental steps of what’s known as a 540 spin hook kick. I would demonstrate it for you, but…I’m still practicing. Suffice it to say that I’m having to re-learn how to use my body in an entirely new way!

It has been a good reminder that in addition to practicing new skills, we can also grow mature in those skills (proven by my teacher doing the kick like it’s no big deal). But ironically, sometimes it is our mastery itself that can become an obstacle to growth. Sometimes, to grow we must unlearn what we thought we knew and begin again.

“Dear Younger Me:  You won’t spiritually mature just because you are a Christian.  It takes practice to learn how to walk the pathway of discipleship.  And sometimes, you must forget what you think you know and start learning all over again.”

This series is based on the idea that we can share the wisdom we’ve learned through experience. While wisdom is often associated with a kind of deep knowledge, it also includes the idea of skill. In fact, the Hebrew word translated “wisdom” can also mean “skill.” So, to be wise is to be “skilled at life.” And to build skills, we have to practice.

Paul knew this. In this letter to the Ephesians, he spends the first half reiterating the heart of the Gospel — that by God’s grace we are re-created in Christ, into new lives. Here are the Gospel basics from ch. 2:1-10 —

• We were all once dead in our sins;
• But because of his great love for us, God made us alive with Christ;
• For it is by grace we have been saved, through faith;
• It is the gift of God, for we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus 

And so, because by God’s grace we are given new life in Christ, we are called to a new way of living. The second half of Paul’s letter, chapters 4-6, get into those details. And that latter half begins with Paul’s eloquent description of the process of living this new life as we grow toward maturity. That process is like a pathway on which we are called to journey. It is not always smooth, of course. It has hills and valleys, caverns and caves, and there are many hazards to trip us up along the way. So here are six pathway hazards to avoid, and alternatives to do instead, as you walk with Jesus.

1. Reject excuses — Accept your gifts

There’s a difference between excuses and obstacles. Obstacles legitimately stand in the way of something. But an excuse is a false obstacle we create to let ourselves off the hook.   Instead, take an inventory of what God has given us — limited though it may seem at times — and say “with these gifts, I’ll move forward in my walk with Jesus.”

2. Leap over fear — Trust the process

Fear is based on our inability to know the future.  Like on a high ropes course, you may have seen others go before you, but still be wondering, “What if my rope is the first one to break?!”  When it comes to following Jesus, similar fears can trip us up. “What will my friends think? What if I look weird?  What if I don’t understand it? ” But instead of letting fear trip you up, trust the process and the sisters and brothers who have gone before you.

3. Beware of comfort — Find peace in discomfort

Everyone loves a comfy set of flannel PJs or new slippers.  But to learn or grow in anything, actually, requires a degree of discomfort.  Jesus actually did promise that we could have peace.  But comfort?  He actually promised we’d have the opposite.  So if we want to grow, we need to find peace in being (at least a little) uncomfortable. 

4. Sidestep blame — Take responsibility

One of the greatest recent changes in the institutional church is the realization that its primary role is to do what Paul says right here in 4:12: “to equip Christ’s people for works of service.”  When the institutional church is seen as the primary “doer” of ministry, it’s all too easy to blame the church for my own lack of spiritual growth: “The reason I’m not growing is because the Church isn’t doing something for me.”  But when we take responsibility for being functional, contributing members of the Church as Christ’s living Body, then we’ll begin experience spiritual growth.

5. Refuse passivity — Lean into the “hill” 

Passivity can actually lead to blame, because it’s characterized by having something done to me or for me — rather than an active pursuit.  If discipleship is like a pathway, then when that pathway goes up a steep hill, passivity will stop me or even make me fall backward.  It happens. We call it “backsliding.”  The alternative is to lean into the hill, and actively pursue spiritual maturity.

6. Resist riding others’ coattails — Walk your own walk.

This is a common experience in a community.  For example, it’s common in a marriage for one spouse to be spiritually maturing, while the other spouse basically tags along.  And what about kids?  As kids grow up, it’s easy for them to ride the momentum of mom’s or dad’s faith without growing into their own faith.  But as a professor of mine once said, “God has no grandchildren.”  You can’t inherit your parents’ faith.  And for that matter, God also has no in-laws; you can’t marry into the Body of Christ either.  So rather than trying to ride someone else’s coattails — vicariously applying their spiritual growth to ourselves — take one step at a time and walk your own walk with Jesus.

A couple parting thoughts:
1) Don’t try to think your way into spiritual maturity any more than you think your way into playing the piano, cooking a 4-course meal, or doing a 540 spin hook kick. You’ll only know what you need to practice when you start to practice.
2) It’s okay to try something in discipleship and realize it’s not helping you grow. It’s not a test, it’s a learning process. Let that thing go and pursue another avenue of growth with Jesus.
3) Visit UPPC.org > Pathways to see what discipleship opportunities there are for you in our local body. It’s updated every quarter. In the meantime, engage with the teachings on Sundays, online, or by listening to our weekly podcast Bible Jazz.

For reflection:
– When you think about someone being “spiritually mature” what kind of person do you envision?
– Do you have a way of measuring your own growth in spiritual maturity? Or does the goal seem too foggy to move toward?
– We teach that there are four discipleship fundamentals: Scripture Fluency, Active Prayer, Intentional Community, and Acts of Service. Do you have room to grow more mature in any of those?
– If you’re ready to get active in your own growth as Jesus’ disciple, do you know what your next steps are? Do you know where to find guidance?

In peace,
MM

Dear Younger Me: I Need Your Help

Jesus tells the disciples something that is at once comforting and endearing, and at the same time fundamentally challenging: “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

This week, our series took a different turn as youth ministry Rob Clark realized that in his letter to his younger self, he actually needed to ask for advice. Something like, “Dear younger me: will you teach me again how to wonder? How to notice the little but beautiful details of life? How to have faith?”

Have you ever taken a walk with a 2-year-old? It doesn’t go quickly. The little one is far too busy enjoying the world God has made and placed them in to be bothered getting to an actual destination! Every rock along the pathway has a story to tell!

The prophet Elijah, in a biblically famous moment of real anxiety, needed this reminder of youthful faith. He needed to hear from God, and God knew exactly how Elijah needed to hear from him — in the quiet. Ironically, this was on Mount Horeb, the very place Moses had heard from God, but not in the silence. Rather, Moses had heard God’s voice in the mysterious burning bush. It seems that God will be present with people in the way God knows we need him to the most. It doesn’t matter how many books we read, sermons or podcasts we listen to, or conferences we attend. If we are trying to force God to talk to us in a certain way, God might not. But if we relinquish that control — if we become like little children — then scripture’s testimony is that God very much will be noticeably present to us.

In today’s restless culture, one has to wonder what we’re losing when we lose our time in the quiet with God. When we lose our time walking with no destination. When we lost our time lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling, just to…well, just to stare at the ceiling. In these moments, we remember that as little children, there was not much we really needed our parents to DO for us. But there was a deeply primal need simply to just BE with them. We’re no different now. We have a deeply primal need simply to BE with our heavenly Father.

We cannot really have a serious conversation about creating space for quiet in our lives without confronting our use of mobile technology. The ways we engage with the internet on our devices are not all “wrong” (though some are, let’s be honest.) But the way we use those devices has the potential to steal our childlike presence with God away from us. So here are a few tips to challenge yourself with this week:

1. Go for a walk … and don’t count your steps. In fact, don’t take your phone at all (if you dare.) Don’t even take a watch. You’ll know when you’re done. And the world will continue to turn while you’re out there.
2. Read a book printed on paper. It doesn’t update every five seconds, and it’s not as convenient as a Kindle. But you’re more likely to remember what you’ve read because of the multi-sensory experience of the feel of the cover, the smell of the pages.
3. Create space to have your own thoughts, not just thoughts in reaction to others’. this is where social media and news have really taken their toll on us. What comes to your mind on its own?
4. Have a “phone bucket” in your house where everyone puts their devices during important times like dinner, conversation, reading time, prayer, board games, etc.
5. Give the members of your family (especially your significant other) complete access to your device. There is enormous freedom and trust in complete transparency. If there’s something you’re hiding, you’re not free.
6. Give yourself permission to not respond immediately to texts and emails. And give grace to others when there’s a delay in their response.

For reflection:
– Which of these six guidelines will challenge you the most? Which the least?
– What are some of your favorite memories of childhood?
– How would you feel about spending an entire 12-hour day in total silence, including no reading or writing?
– If you could ask your younger self for advice, what advice would you ask for?

Many blessings,
MM

Breaking Sabbath: The Sin that Keeps on Taking

Look, according to scripture, everyone sins. Paul said “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). That means that there are ways of being and doing that go against God’s will, which is for us to have an abundant, fruitful life. We get it. And if you grew up going to church, you really get it. And for the most part, people are in agreement about obeying the commandments. I mean, we know it’s bad to steal, kill, and cheat on spouses, right?

But there is perhaps one commandment that is the most shamelessly ignored above all the others: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy…” Sabbath is more than just “not working.” To keep Sabbath is to reorient our entire selves around a God-given rhythm that balances being and doing. It is, in essence, living according to how we are made.

We all struggle in one way or another with self-worth. And the world sends us a clear (but deceptive) message that our self-worth is tied up in our productivity. But we know better, in our heart of hearts. The psalmist put it this way: “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” He makes me. Why? Because he loves me. And he knows I need to be recreated after a week of toil.

So as we explore the wisdom we with we could tell our younger selves, consider this: “Dear Younger Me: don’t fall victim to the sin of busy-ness that keeps on taking. Instead let God bless you with Sabbath rest.”

Here are three things to doggedly exclude and replace if you want to experience God’s joy on Sabbath:
1) Exclude: Work. Oh boy, this concept has created centuries of debate. But let’s put it this way: “work” echoes God’s description of Adam’s experience of “toil.” So let’s define work as “toilsome deeds which wear us down.” Activities we do on Sabbath, then, are the opposite. Avoiding work doesn’t mean sitting still and doing nothing. It does mean avoiding activities that weary us.
Replace with: Physically Restful Activities. Be honest with yourself about activities that restore you, and limit your Sabbath activities to those things. It might be knitting, hiking, listening to music, or napping. (But it’s probably not watching TV, by the way.) Don’t know what restores your body? Ask around, do some reading, try things. Not anything can be holistically refreshing, but many things can be.

2) Exclude: Buying & Selling. This one will feel like paddling against a tidal wave. The whole world of goods and services are at our fingertips every day, and usually 24 hours a day. It seems crazy to avoid getting gas or groceries, or meeting that friend out for coffee, just because it’s Sabbath. But we are more than consumers. We are spiritual beings who ultimately subsist on every word that comes from the mouth of God. That means we can wait to place that Amazon order until tomorrow.
Replace with: Spiritual Replenishment. Have you ever asked yourself the question: “What gives me the most joy?” It’s not the same question as “What do I do for fun?” Activities that bring us joy replenish and refuel our spirits. And much of the time, they’re free! Spending time with loved ones, reading, walking, and so forth.

3) Exclude: Worry. We might think we’re not working when we glance at that work email. But mental and emotional work can be just as taxing (and sneak up on us!) Depending on what you do for a living or lifestyle, consider how susceptible you are to having worry sneak up on you; and consider your ability to say “no” for a day a week to that worry.
Replace with: Soul Restoration. It can be challenging to think of “activities” that would qualify as “soul restoring,” and we’ve probably already listed a few ideas. But this morning Pastor Aaron put it best when he said, “Dream with God! Make time to celebrate!” I love the image of the child and baby in the cover art because it’s a reminder of how freely we are made to imagine, dream, and feel the free joy of simply being alive.

Here’s the good news this week, folks: You are a creature. You are not the Creator. You aren’t made to go without sleep, to solve the world’s problems, or to constantly produce. God offers — no, commands — the gift of rest because God loves us and wants us to experience life in all its abundance.

For reflection:
1) What is the biggest obstacle you face that makes it hard to keep the Sabbath?
2) Have you ever had a negative experience of keeping Sabbath? What made it negative?
3) Have you ever had a positive experience of keeping Sabbath? What made it positive?
4) Do you believe the world would survive (and thrive) if, in theory, everyone on earth had 24 hours a week of whole-self rest?

Blessings,
MM

Moses: 10 gods, 10 plagues

Pastor Aaron has a friend in Chicago who slow cooks a prime rib for 14 hours every year for Christmas dinner.  But one day in February, he got his natural gas bill, which was for more than $3000!  Turns out the outdoor natural gas for his barbecue had been running since Christmas Eve — for two months. 

This kind of rude awakening, after having done what you think you’re supposed to do, must be a glimpse into the kind of disappointment Moses and Aaron experienced after they initially confronted Pharaoh in Exodus chapter 5: ““Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me?” (v.22).

Have you ever prayed like this?  “Lord, don’t you care?  Don’t you care about the hostility in our country?  How long will extremists kill, and children suffer?  Where are you when my own family is falling apart?  What kind of God are you?”

God’s answer to Moses is a repeated promise, starting in chapter 6 verse 1: “Now you will see…”  What follows is the story of the ten plagues, starting in chapter 7.   What is especially interesting is the context of Egypt’s religious culture, and the way Yahweh’s plagues addressed their various gods.

In the plagues, Yahweh demonstrates lordship over the entire world, from the supply of the Nile to the fertility symbolized in frogs. The ninth plague, darkness, is the penultimate showdown between Moses, perceived to be a nobody, and Pharaoh, the most powerful person in the known world. Moses spent forty years thinking he was somebody, then forty years learning that he was a nobody, and his final forty years realizing what God can do with a nobody (D.L. Moody).

Even today, our battle is not against flesh and blood. What would Moses say to us today, when our expectations are disappointed? Would he encourage us to take part in God’s “long game,” encouraging us to trust in God’s eternal perspective rather than our own short-term point of view? Even today, we could ask, “Why would God allow Israel to suffer more after Moses obeyed?” But even that question presumes that we know how God should operate. We inadvertently presume we know best, especially from the darkness of our own suffering. And we may not be able to comprehend God’s activity in our lives. But what we can do is trust. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for” (Hebrews 11:1-2). This is also what Jesus is commended for (among other things) as he can empathize with our disappointed prayers. Jesus, who asked for God to spare him his suffering, just before the troops came to arrest him.

Do you ever give yourself the time to contemplate that God is at work even though you may not perceive it? Do you ever give yourself the time to ask, “Do I really trust?” It can be a frightening question, but it is the question of the faithful.

For reflection:
– What struggles have you had that made you wonder if God was present or cared?
– Did you find the ability to trust?
– If you did, how did you find it?
– If you did not, how did you cope?
– Do you know someone struggling to believe that God cares, or even exists? How do you relate to them?

In grace,
MM

Re:Lent – Recreate

Sometimes, we need to be reminded that there is truth about the world that we simply cannot yet see.

This week, Pastor Aaron recounted a (hilarious) story of a rigorous backpacking trip with his family and some friends. The 9-mile hike to the lake was grueling and Aaron honestly told us that several miles in, he was ready to quit! Of course, the group persevered and discovered, when the tree line parted in front of them, the grand beauty of the mountain lake. And they were able to enjoy a couple of days of heaven-on-earth.

“The worst thing is not the last thing.” –Frederick Buechner
Jesus’ disciples had just endured the worst thing they could have imagined — not an uphill mountain hike, but an uphill death march to Jesus’ crucifixion. For centuries, Christ’s followers have tried to imagine what it would have felt like to see the one they called Teacher, Master, and Friend betrayed, shamed, and executed. No wonder, then, that they all had to process Jesus’ resurrection in their own way. The gospel of John spends ample time on a disciple named Thomas, and the way he responded to the news: “So the other disciples told [Thomas], ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe'” (John 20:25).

The question is: what did Thomas really need? Was he doubting the news the way we typically think of doubt? Or was Thomas a pragmatist, unable to simply take his friends at their word (and a seemingly outrageous word at that!), and instead wanting to experience this news first-hand? In any case, Thomas’s realistic view of his world is one that most moderns like ourselves can certainly empathize with. We live in a post-Enlightenment, “scientific” age that claims everything we can know and need to know is attainable by way of empirical evidence and sensory experience. Many of us are like Thomas. So we can learn, as he had to learn, that there are truths (even facts, gasp!) about the world we inhabit that we have not nor cannot apprehend without God’s gracious revelation.

This is why Thomas utters such a profoundly repentant statement when Jesus does give him the gift of first-hand experience. Having touched Jesus’ wounds with his own hand, Thomas said: “My Lord and my God!” Is there any more profound way of turning away from trying to occupy a place of omniscience and turning toward the freedom of faith?

This Easter, and really every day of the year, God invites us to new experience of the resurrection life Jesus began, and therefore to a much larger vision of the paths that each of us are walking along. Jesus even gave a blessing to you and me, and countless people that would follow him in the years to come: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). What is that blessing? It is to have our vision widened from the small and temporary kingdoms of this world, to the large, eternal, and life-giving reign of God as we await the completion of the new creation begun in Jesus’ resurrection.

For reflection:
– In what ways are you like Thomas today, facing obstacles to your belief in Jesus’ resurrection?
– Beyond intellectual “faith,” what obstacles might be standing in your way of letting go of your vision for your life and beginning to learn about God’s vision for your life?
– Is there a relationship in your life that needs to be reconciled?
– Is there a disappointment in your life that you need to confront God about?
– Is there a wrongdoing you’ve committed that you need to confess and be free of?

May you know new life this Easter!
Pastor Mike

Re:Lent — Release

Last week we looked at one of the common myths we tend to believe: “I am in control.” And of course, the way to answer or repent from that myth is to surrender. Today we’re jumping off from that point as we look at another step in the process of living a life of repentance: RELEASE. Repentance is best understood as a change of disposition, particularly toward God. When our disposition is to fight God, or perhaps flee from God, we’re beckoned to change that disposition and return to God, who is ready to celebrate our return.

One man who was with Jesus, both in person and disposition, was Peter. Jesus even tells Peter, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (Mt. 16:18). Can you imagine how that would make Peter feel? So affirmed, right? But in the very next passage, as Jesus explains his perplexing death and even more surprising resurrection, Peter can’t conceive of it. Unable to release his own perception of God’s Kingdom, Peter refuses to believe it and Jesus rebukes him with one of the most memorably stunning lines in scripture: “Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me” (Mt. 16:23).

From cornerstone to stumbling block. Not just a play on words, but all too true of any follower of Jesus sometimes. While Jesus calls us to enact God’s Kingdom, we are often in the way. Why? For the same reason as Peter — we can’t release our control.

It’s not that Peter’s objection to God’s plan for Jesus was unreasonable. We could imagine how ready Peter and the rest of his people were to have the oppressive Roman empire dealt with once and for all. Surely they were ready for that David-like king to usher in a new era of independence and peace. But God’s sights were set much higher — rather than defeating Rome, God would set us free from sin. Rather than worldly blessing, God would usher in eternal life. But no servant is greater than his or her master, so we find ourselves perplexed by God’s plan for victory when we can’t release our worldly measures of victory.

And so we’re called to repent. In this case, to repent of our need to control. If we can’t release ultimate control to God, then our religious exercises become caricatures. We cannot accept God’s gifts when our fists are grasping the controls. To receive what God is doing, we have to release.

For reflection:
1) We are meant to be wise with the lives God gave us, so what kind of “control” do you think we have to release to God?
2) Can you think of examples from history or current events when people’s need to be in control has been destructive or painful?
3) Can you think of examples from history or current events when religious people’s need to be in control has been destructive or painful?
4) When we let God control what we cannot, what might be the result? In what way might the world become better?

Many blessings,
MM

Godspeed: Rooted

In any culture, we are shaped by forces which we don’t choose but which have enormous influence over our lives, our perceptions of ourselves, our world, and even God. Today, one of those forces appears to be “individualism,” otherwise known as the “self-made person.”

But that’s just not how things work, is it?

Consider the human body, as one basic example. As a metaphor (there are always exceptions if we take this analogy too literally), it reminds us that a single living organism is actually a series of interdependent living things. In fact, when the body isn’t operating interdependently, it is said to be in a state of “dis-ease.” So it is with the Church, which Paul called the “Body of Christ.”

The health of the interdependent Body is largely determined by its stability. If the parts of the Body aren’t stable, then the whole Body becomes less stable. Benedictine monks understand this when they take their vows, one of which is the vow of “stability,” that is, the willingness to live in a particular community for the rest of their lives, through thick and thin, and to renounce the endless (and fruitless) search for greener pastures elsewhere.

The corporate nature of life in Christ is emphasized throughout scripture. In other words, salvation is not just personal. We are saved into something greater. We are baptized into something greater. We eat the Communion meal in the presence of something greater, as we anticipate something greater, that is, the fulfillment of God’s kingdom.

Sometimes our lives are thrown into seasons of instability, when we feel uprooted. Failing health and the death of loved ones; struggling relationships and divorce; corporate lay-offs, or corporations moving employees to new locations; military families moving every three years; these are legitimate and real reasons we can become uprooted. The call to be a rooted people is not meant to indict our real-life situations, but rather, to acknowledge that ultimately we need stability in a community with deep and healthy roots as we seek to know ourselves, our God, and our place in God’s world.

For reflection:
1) Are currently feeling “rooted” or not? What are the factors contributing to your answer?
2) Is there a way to feel “rooted” if forces outside of our control (job, health, etc.) are making us feel unrooted? What ways might there be?
3) Do you know someone whose life has recently been “uprooted?” Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide what you might do to bless that person this week.

Godspeed: Identity

When God created the world, he called it “good.” But when he was finished with his final piece of creation — human beings — he exclaimed “Look! Good!”* Why?

“Identity” is a buzz word in our culture these days. But among the many ways people describe their identities, few people are discussing how they arrived at their description. Are we the authors of our own identity? If not, where do we find it? In the Bible, it starts…well, at the beginning. When God created human beings, he made them (male and female) in the imago Dei — the image of God. The gleeful exclamation in Gen. 1:31 is just a glimpse at how God rejoices over people, whom he creates to reflect his glory more than any other part of creation. God rejoices over you. Therein lies the core of our identity — we are the beloved of God.

But what happens when we forget, or choose to forget, or have not yet heard this great news? We become driven by a need to prove ourselves. Driven by fear of failure or inadequacy, rather than by the joy of being God’s beloved, we scrape and fight our way through the world, trying to make a name for ourselves, trying to secure a place for ourselves.

But as bearers of God’s divine image, we have a name. We have a place. This simple concept is part of the reason why the story of the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 is one of the best in all the gospels. Here was a woman who had been given many labels. Surely she had given herself a few, and doubtless others had many names for her. Shunned from normal society, she was compelled to fetch water at midday when no one in their right mind would be out in the hot sun. It was there, in the illogical place, that Jesus met her. He broke rule #1: don’t travel through Samaria. Then he broke rule #2: don’t speak with Samaritans. And finally, rule #3: don’t share a cup with a Samaritan!

But he didn’t care. Jesus knew who all that this woman had done. He knew who this woman was. She was God’s beloved. And he wanted to tell her. As this powerful spoken word poem reminds us, “to be loved is to be known.” And so for the first time in John’s story, Jesus revealed his true title to her: Messiah (in Greek, “Christ.”) And she ran off to tell everyone she knew about him.

For reflection:
1) To know our identity as God’s beloved, we must listen for God’s loving voice — when this week could you find an extended time to set everything aside and just listen? It might take longer than you think to silence the noise in your mind.
2) To know our identity as God’s beloved, we must be reminded. Find a place to put these words somewhere you’ll see them every day: “You are my beloved child, whom I love.”
3) To know our identity as God’s beloved, we must also help others know their identity as the same. Who is a “Samaritan woman” in your life who may need to hear that she or he is loved by God? Do you have the courage to share that good news with them?

Many blessings,
MM

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*Gen. 1:31, Septuagint. Most translations read “very good.”

Godspeed: Pace

God is a great gift-giver, even though we often neglect or refuse his gifts. One of the most famous is this invitation from Jesus: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Right away in the next verses, Jesus shows us one of God’s main gifts — Sabbath.

Sabbath basically means “rest,” and ever since the beginning, it is the way God has set the pace of our lives. It’s even one of the ten commandments! Over the centuries, there have been countless interpretations of what it means to honor the Sabbath, and during Jesus’ earthly life there were two basic approaches, which I’ll call External and Internal.

The external approach is like the “letter of the law.” You consciously choose to do what it says, regardless of circumstances. The internal approach is like the “spirit of the law,” when the focus is on whether or not the law’s goal is being met, and then adjusting your practice accordingly. These two basic approaches are the crux of many arguments about how to honor the Sabbath: either an objective or subjective approach. But an either-or misses the mark.

Jesus’ approach to Sabbath was both-and: we both make intentional, measurable choices to shape our lives around the Sabbath (external), and we remember the purpose of Sabbath and make occasional adjustments so the purpose is being met (internal).

When Jesus’ followers picked grain on Sabbath, they weren’t abandoning God’s law. They were hungry. And Jesus used the occasion to show us that in every situation we can shape our lives around God’s pace — we can intentionally set aside time and adjust when we need to.

One of the most helpful ways to understand Sabbath comes from the Jewish theology of the temple. In the Godspeed documentary series, N.T. Wright highlights that “The Jews will tell you that the Sabbath is to time what the temple is to space…the temple is the place where heaven and earth meet, and the Sabbath is when our time and God’s time intersect.”

Are we accepting God’s invitation to experience this intersection of the divine and earthly? To fully know that God is both transcendent and imminent; both beyond us and intimately near? This is the gift of Sabbath, and we’re being invited back to set our pace by it and live at Godspeed.

For reflection:
– Take a look at this week’s schedule. Consider canceling one appointment or somehow opening up just one hour to create Sabbath-space.
– Consider what you might do in your Sabbath-space that lifts your spirit heavenward (plain old idle time rarely does the trick); make a list and fill your Sabbath-time with those activities.
– As you make a habit of creating small Sabbath-spaces in your schedule, challenge yourself to gradually increase that space with the goal of having a full day each week that is an experience of God’s presence.