Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust

Today marks one of the more interesting days in our Christian year.  Today is a day set aside for penitence, prayer, and fasting.  It's a day set aside in order for us to move from the "ah ha!" of Epiphany to the "huh?" of Lent.  It's a day where we begin our descent to the holy city of Jerusalem in order for the God of the universe; the King of kings and the Lord of lords to be...killed.

For many years Lent was ignored by many Protestant churches, including the UM church.  I guess they thought it was too "Catholic" (whatever that means).  But it seems as though Lent is making a comeback.  Much like the season of Advent, we are in a waiting game.  Lent beckons us to remember the strange truth of the Gospel.  It recalls for us that humanity could never get to God, so God came to humanity.  Lent forces us, especially us in the Western world, to face our mortality head on.  In these days of eternal youth, Lent tells us that "from dust you came and to dust you shall return."

There is a bit of judgment in this season of purple, prayers, and fasting.  We are reminded that we have not been as faithful as we should be.  We are told to repent; to turn away from ourselves and to turn towards God.  We are reminded that Christ will return and when he does it will be as judge and king.

I suppose that's why some churches, and many people, downplay this season.  We like the lights and gifts of Christmas.  We love the triumph and excitement of Easter.  But one thing I have come to appreciate about this season is that without a Lenten walk, Easter does not mean much.  Without this season of self-denial and self-examination, Eastertide is not much more than eggs and a bunny.

This evening, my congregation will begin our Lenten journey together.  We will have a service of confession, admonition, imposition of ashes, and Holy Communion.  Collectively, we will join our voices in repentance.  Our focus will come together as we make our way towards the cross of Christ.  We will bear one another's burdens and we will lament together.

Whether you are a part of a tradition that gathers for Ash Wednesday or not, I invite you to hear these words from the book of Joel and remember how truly gracious our God is.

"Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing.  Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing."--Joel 2:12-13




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Naaman Enounters God's Grace

This week's Old Testament lectionary reading focuses on 2 Kings 5.  This is one of those interesting stories that we vaguely remember hearing in Sunday school, but it really doesn't get much press outside of that.  This is the story of Naaman going before Elisha to be cleaned up from his leprosy.

You might remember that Naaman is a "mighty warrior" serving under a Gentile king.  In some unknown way he contracts leprosy (any number of skin diseases).  He really wants to get rid of it.  However, leprosy is one of those diseases that was next to impossible to cure of in ancient times.  A Jewish servant girl working in Naaman's home recommends that he seek out a "prophet who is in Samaria" who could cure him.  Naaman eventually makes his way to Elisha's house to find out how to get cured of his disease.

When he arrives, Elisha will only yell at him from inside his house.  He won't allow Naaman in and he won't come out to greet him.  The instructions are simple, "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean."  These instructions make Naaman mad.  He begins to rant and rave about how dumb this entire expedition was.  Why didn't this "prophet of God" come out and say something?  Why didn't this Elisha come forth and chant an incantation or wave his hands over the spot in order to banish it?  What kind of cheap prophet is this anyway?

As Naaman is stomping away mad, one of his servants boldly approaches him.  He says, "if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it?  How much more, when all he said to you was, 'Wash, and be clean'?"  Naaman gets the man's point and goes to the Jordan to wash.  Lo and behold, the prophet was right and Naaman was made clean.

Naaman made clean.

One thing this story does is illustrate that sometimes we choose to make things more difficult than they have to be.  We want some big act.  We want to be commissioned on a great journey in order to encounter God and his divine mercy.  We want to be entrusted with the Labors of Hercules.

But instead, all we are told is to live life.  Jesus Christ sends us out into a world full of people, problems, and daily living.  We are told to witness to what God has done in our lives.  We are told to love people as God loves people.  We are told to care for those who cannot care for themselves.  I wonder if there is a little bit of Naaman in all of us.  We don't want to visit the nursing home, we want to prophecy in the name of the Lord.  We don't want to hold the hand of a dying woman, we want to cast out demons.  We don't want to feed the hungry, we want do mighty deeds of power.

What we fail to understand is that God has nothing to prove.  God is God.  His ways are higher and greater than we can understand.  It is only through service that we can begin to understand him.  Jesus came to serve and since he is our master then we should serve too.  Only after we have died to pride like Naaman had to can we fully grasp the amazing power and authority granted to us as God's children.

One of the things I love about the story of Naaman is how it ends.  After Naaman is cured from his leprosy, he returns to Elisha's house to offer him money.  Elisha refuses and then Naaman declares his allegiance to the LORD God.  He places his faith in this amazing God who has transformed his life.  The real miracle in the story is not the physical healing.  The real miracle lies in the fact that a proud man has been humbled.  And through his humility a Gentile worships the God of Israel.

Naaman comes to realize that he is nothing compared to God.  Even though he is described as a mighty warrior and had high favor with his king, he came to understand that until he knows God and is known by God he is without merit.  That's the way each of us are...we are nothing until we encounter the true love of God.  That, my friends, is grace.  Naaman found it; we have it; it is our duty to spread it.  Nothing more...nothing less.  Let's not make our task more difficult than it has to be.  Until next time...

+May the grace of God the Father, the love of Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you.






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Hurry Up And Wait

The LORD our God does not think like humans think.  As people, we look around us and we notice those who are nice looking.  We pay attention to those who are muscular, well-built, and physically fit for activity.  It is easy for us to appreciate people who are talented athletes.  If the most athletic players are on our favored team, then all the better for us!

But in Isaiah 40, we are reminded that even these people are only human.  Even the most healthy looking, muscular, well-built men and women have to rest.  They cannot continue to perform at 100% all of the time.  They too will eventually wear down.  Their bodies require food, refreshment, and rest.  But not God.  Here's how Isaiah states it, "Have you not known?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.  He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.  Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint"  (40:28-31).

The same is true in our spiritual life.  As children of God, we are sent out to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to a broken world.  We are to continually be witnessing, teaching, and loving a world that does not know God.  But like athletes, we too must rest.  We cannot do the tasks at hand without the strength of the LORD.

As a human, Jesus too got tired.  He too got weary.  He too had to take time away from the constant pressures of ministry.  He found his rest in his Father.  He found his strength through prayer.  He was renewed  for his calling through his relationship with God the Father.

The longer I am a pastor, the more I realize how important my own spiritual growth is for the sake of the community I serve.  If my cup dries up, then I have nothing to share.  If my body becomes weak, then I am unable to help those who are in need.  If my mind is unfocused, then my teaching becomes slack.  So the words of Isaiah have rung true in my own life.  I am still learning to wait on the LORD so that he shall renew my strength.  I am still learning to rely more and more on his power so that I may not faint.  I am learning to lean on his strength so that I am empowered through his Holy Spirit.

Here is a song that I first heard a few years ago.  Periodically, I will play this song when I feel discouraged and tired in ministry.  The lyrics of the song always remind me not to rely on my own strength but to lean on God and his great power.  My greatest desire is to serve God and to set the world on fire.  But none of us can do that alone.  May this song bless you and strengthen your spirit as you continue in your own ministry to the least of these.  Until next time...





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