Fishing Anyone?

When Jesus began his ministry, he did so by calling a group of men to follow him.  He also did so with a promise.  If they would come and learn his ways then he would teach them how to reconcile people to God.  Sometimes it seems as though the Church has chosen not to pay attention.  We have forgotten that before we can go out fishing we must first learn how to fish.  Here's how a lot of Christians go fishing:



The video's pretty funny, right?  I have to admit that many times I find myself in these kinds of situations.  I go out with good intentions but I forget to pay attention.  I forget to look around.  I try to work harder instead of work smarter.

When Jesus issued his summons, "Follow me," he was inviting Andrew, Simon, James, and John to spend time with him.  He was inviting them to pay attention to how he did ministry so that they could learn and grow.  Jesus never sent any of his disciples out before he had instructed them.  He never expected them to take on something that he had not already done.

I'm afraid that many times we as disciples spend more time planning and less time learning.  We spend more energy in doing and less in growing.  We like the activities, but we don't like to sit still.  On the other hand many people in the Church want to go out and fish but they are afraid.  These people feel ill-equipped and unprepared for service so they simply don't do it.

The point is that before we can go out to make disciples of all nations, we must first be a disciple.  We do that by studying Scripture (both privately and in small groups).  We grow in our relationship with God when we learn how to pray and as our prayer life matures.  We are made ready for ministry by spending time listening to sound teaching and preaching.  Our cups are filled when we allow ourselves to be formed by the Holy Spirit instead of trying to form the Spirit to our desires.

As funny as it is to watch Bill Dance try to teach fishing, it's not so funny when we are fishing for people.  Becoming a fisher of people is a massive undertaking.  But the amazing thing is that God is counting on us.  He has placed this duty and privilege in our hands.  And if we allow him to, the Father will form us and mold us into the image of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.  God has granted us the same power and authority that he gave his Son for ministry.  However, it is up to us to work with the Spirit in order to be made ready. 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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Baptism of the Lord

Sometimes the lectionary and the Church calendar are funny things.  What I really like about them is that they both force us to reconsider what we think we already know.  For example, most people think that the 12 days of Christmas are the days that lead up to Christmas Day and that the Christmas Season runs from December 1st through the 25th.  But that is not so.  In fact, Christmas Day is just the beginning of the season and the 12th day does not hit until January 6th.  What I really like about both of these handmaidens to the church is that they require discipline from us.  Many times they slow us down and make us contemplate things that we don't always want to think about.  

This year is kind of a funny year.  We celebrated Epiphany a little bit early for my taste.  Epiphany does not fall until Friday, January 6th, and yet we had to move the date up in order for the other Holy Days to fall into place.  So this Sunday, we celebrate the Lord's baptism in the River Jordan.  This day is rather peculiar in some ways.  Many "why" statements emerge from the shadows as we contemplate what was going on when Jesus was baptized by John.  Questions like "Why was Jesus baptized if he was sinless?" and "Why did God do what he did at the baptism?" sometimes confound us and make us want to simply skip over this event and move forward into the ministry of Jesus.

But there is a reason this story is included in the gospels.  It's not there for dramatic flair.  It's there to help us see the broader picture of who Jesus is, where he came from, and where he was going.  Hear these words from St. Mark:

"In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.  And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." (1:9-11)

Icon of the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan

In these few words, volumes are spoken.  Jesus' baptism is a baptism into service.  It is a baptism of recognition.  It is a baptism of unification.  When Jesus the Christ agrees to John's baptism it is as a servant of the most High God.  It is his leaving behind his old way of living life and beginning a new vocation down the path that God the Father has ordained for him.  When Jesus is baptized it becomes clear that he is the one chosen by God for something unique and special.  All of the preparation that had been poured into this man was now coming to a time of fruition.  All of the prophecies were about to come true.  Since the beginning of the creation, the world had been holding its breath, waiting for this anointed one from God.  And now the time was right.

Jesus baptism points towards who we are through our own baptism.  When Jesus Christ gave us this sacrament of cleansing, he did so as a fulfillment of something he had already done.  When we are baptized with fire and water we can no longer be who we used to be.  We too must leave behind our old way of living life and set out on the new path.  We too must begin our vocation of service.  Jesus lived the life of a true human, the one Son from the Father.  His baptism points towards our own.  Without his baptism, ours is worthless.

This coming Sunday is a wondrous, grace-filled day when we celebrate the baptism of Jesus Christ.  It is a time in the calendar and in our lectionary readings that continues to point us towards the fullness of the ministry from our Lord and Savior.  It is a time where we set out anew and ready to fully engage ministry on God’s terms. 

In a song we will sing this Sunday, the final verse states this, “Come, Holy Spirit, aid us to keep the vows we make; this very day invade us, and every bondage break.  Come, give our lives direction, the gift we covet most: to share the resurrection that leads to Pentecost.”

Until next time…

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

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Here Am I

This week I have been thinking about Mary, the chosen mother of the Christ child.  I have read about her encounter with the angel Gabriel numerous times in the gospel of St. Luke.  I find myself drawn into her story and the situation that she found herself in so many years ago.  I try to imagine what it would have been like to be told wondrous news from a messenger of God.

I have tried to enter into the story as an active participant instead of simply a passive listener.  I have tried to imagine the feelings of Mary and the thoughts that would have been racing through her mind as she was called blessed.  As I practiced this method of Scripture study, I was reminded of a song recorded by Amy Grant several years ago.  Take a moment to listen to the words of this song.




As I listened to this song, I truly began to feel the pressures and great expectations that Mary must have felt as she carried the Son of God within her womb.  In the song she states, "I am frightened by the load I bear; In a world as cold as stone, Must I walk this path alone?"  I understand these words.  So many days I too feel the burden of carrying a heavy load.  It seems as though the world around us is cold as stone and is getting colder day after day.  Sometimes being a Christian is lonely.  It seems as though no matter what you do or say, it is the wrong thing.  It seems as though you are walking along a road all by yourself.

In another verse of the song, Mary asks this, "Do you wonder as you watch my face; If a wiser one should have had my place; But I offer all I am."  This verse of the song came flooding over me.  I think about God's call on my life and his insistence that I go forth to be a pastor.  Mary's words from the song ring true in my life.  Does God look at me and regret his decision?  Does God hear me preach and teach and realize that perhaps there was someone wiser, someone better, someone who would certainly have done a better job?

But here is the lesson I have learned from Mary.  My reply, my desire, my entire life can only respond with "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."  Mary trusted God.  St. Paul tells us that we "have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us."  God knows our insecurities.  He understands our inabilities.  God is more aware of what we can't do than we are.  And yet he has chosen us to carry his Son into a dark world.  Instead of angels announcing the Christ child to all people, he trusts you and me.

So to answer the question, no we are not able.  However, as the song says, "Breath of heaven, hold me together, be forever near...light up my darkness, pour over me your holiness, for you are holy."  Its only through the Breath of Heaven, the Holy Spirit, that we are worthy and that we are able to live up to our calling.  Mary's story reminds us to respond to God's call on us and to allow him to work through us.  Regardless of what we think of ourselves, God knows the desires of our hearts and he will enable us to go forth and do incredible things for his glory alone.  Until next time...

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






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It Snowed in Haskell!

When I taught English, I would save one particular poem until we had our first snowfall of the season.  I remember reading this poem for the first time.  The words leapt from the page and found their way directly to my heart.  Each time I read this poem, the same feelings come rushing over me.  That is the true beauty of poetry.  Since I no longer have "class," I suppose this blog will have to suffice.  I share this poem with you because my current home town received her first snowfall of the winter season yesterday.  May Lowell's words touch you as they have touched me for so many years.

James Russell Lowell--American Poet

The First Snow-Fall

by James Russell Lowell

The snow had begun in the gloaming,

And busily all the night

Had been heaping field and highway

With a silence deep and white.

Every pine and fir and hemlock

Wore ermine too dear for an earl,

And the poorest twig on the elm-tree

Was ridged inch deep with pearl.

From sheds new-roofed with Carrara

Came Chanticleer's muffled crow,

The stiff rails softened to swan's-down,

And still fluttered down the snow.

I stood and watched by the window

The noiseless work of the sky,

And the sudden flurries of snow-birds,

Like brown leaves whirling by.

I thought of a mound in sweet Auburn

Where a little headstone stood;

How the flakes were folding it gently,

As did robins the babes in the wood.

Up spoke our own little Mable,

Saying, "Father, who makes it snow?"

And I told of the good All-father

Who cares for us here below.

Again, I looked at the snow-fall,

And thought of the leaden sky

That arched o'er our first great sorrow,

When that mound was heaped so high.

I remembered the gradual patience

That fell from that cloud like snow,

Flake by flake, healing and hiding

The scar that renewed our woe.

And again to the child I whispered,

"The snow that husheth all,

Darling, the merciful Father 

Alone can make it fall!"

Then, with eyes that saw not, I kissed her;

And she, kissing back, could not know

That my kiss was given to her sister,

Folded close under deepening snow.

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Prepare the Way of the Lord

I was talking with a good friend of mine and fellow pastor this week.  He has been a pastor for many years now and I always appreciate the wisdom that he brings to our conversations.  I admitted to him that when I started preaching from the lectionary back in November that I thought it would be easier, but just the opposite  has proved true.  It has gotten even harder the last two weeks as I have prepared my sermons for Advent.

Many people think of Advent as the days that count down until we celebrate Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Savior.  While that is true, that is only part of the purpose of Advent.  The bigger message of this season is that Jesus Christ will return in his full glory and we will meet him in the sky as a new day of celebration.  However, until then we are to be working.

This week, the lectionary readings focused on proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God.  The primary text that I am using is found in St. Mark 1:1-8.  Mark uses these verses as background information about John the baptizer who appeared in the wilderness ahead of Jesus to a message of repentance before he moves on to tell about Jesus' ministry.

John Preaching in the wilderness.  (Corbis)

I've been thinking about John's message as he preached about the coming Kingdom of God and what that means for contemporary Christianity.  It seems as though we have lost our voice.  Our churches no longer are interested in preaching in the wilderness.  We prefer to write checks and call that our ministry.  I'm not so sure that is what we are called to do.  But I'm afraid that until our hearts are broken, until our eyes fill with tears for those we are called to proclaim the wondrous message of Jesus Christ, our voices will remain mute.  I'm afraid that Advent has become like other parts of the church whereby we have sanitized it to the point where we no longer get dirty.  We no longer wander forth into the messiness of the world and touch those who need to be touched.

I'm as guilty as anyone else in this area.  I too need to get dirty and to come in contact with those who need to encounter Emmanuel.  After all, perhaps it is only through us that God truly becomes present to others.  The way we live our lives should reflect the message of Advent.  That message is summed up by this early proclaimer of Advent when he stated "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop and untie the thong of his sandals.  I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."  Let it be so.

Until next time...

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

"Let us not be satisfied with just giving money.  Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them.  So, spread your love everywhere you go."--Mother Teresa






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All the Heavens

This week closes out another church year.  Last Sunday was Christ the King Sunday that is the pinnacle to the season of Kingdomtide.  This coming Sunday everything begins again with the season of Advent.  Since Christmas has become such a huge commercial endeavor, Advent has become nothing more than a countdown to Christmas Day for most people.  But there really is so much more than that to this season of preparation.

The last few years during Advent I have been reflecting on the amazing paradox in the lives of Christian believers.  Solomon, in all of his wisdom, seems to be the first one that really brought out the amazing reality of God in his greatness (transcendence) and in his closeness (immanence).  Remember with me for a moment to the dedication of the great temple in Jerusalem built under Solomon's reign.  When the people came together to dedicate the temple to God, Solomon prayed one of the most amazing prayers recorded in Scripture.  It begins in 2 Chronicles 5:14, but I will pick up the prayer in verse 18:

"But will God indeed reside with mortals on earth?  Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built!  Regard your servant's prayer and his plea, O LORD my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you.  May your eyes be open day and night toward this house, the place where you promised to set your name, and may you heed the prayer that your servant prays toward this place.  And hear the plea of your servant an of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place; may you hear from heaven your dwelling place; hear and forgive."

Solomon knew that the great creator of the universe could not be contained in the expanse of the heavens, much less within a building made with human hands.  However, he also knew that God so desired to be with the people that he could make his presence known even within the four walls of a temple made with human hands.  How that is possible is beyond human comprehension.  God did come and dwell among the people of Israel within their temple.  After he finished praying, we are told that "fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple."

Artist's rendition of Solomon's Temple filled with Glory of God

The same paradox becomes even more evident in the birth of Jesus Christ.  John's gospel states it this way, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."  The awesome God that the heavens could not hold became close to humanity by taking on the body of a man-child.  How is this possible?  How can something that is beyond the scope of containment be contained?  I'm sure there are all kinds of philosophy terms that someone smarter than I am can use to explain it.  However, when it comes right down to it the answer is love.

St. Paul tells us that all true followers of God are built into a temple together upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone.  The Holy Spirit dwells there, within us, the temple of God just as the glory of God filled Solomon's temple.    How is that possible?  Once again, it comes from the love of God the Father for a broken and hurting humanity.  It is good for us to pause during the weeks leading up to Christmas to meditate on God's out-pouring glory into his holy temple.  It is good for us to remember that love is the motivation and the reason that the paradox of God's transcendence and God's immanence are both found within our savior Jesus Christ.  Until next time...

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




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Work Honestly...So As To Have Something To Share

This past June when Myranda and I packed up the kids to move them back to Texas from Kentucky we were told by several different people how severe the drought was back in this part of the country.  To be honest with you, I had a hard time believing that it was any different than any other year.  From the time I can remember, West Texas has never received enough rain to satisfy folks.  Prayers for rain have been uttered from our lips almost continually since the first settlers built their homesteads on the plains.

But as we waved goodbye to the lush green of the Bluegrass in Kentucky, I had no idea what was in store for us as our small "wagon train" headed west.  All was well until we got to Oklahoma City.  As we pushed further into the Western half of the United States the grass went from green to yellow to brown to dirt.  That's right, dirt.  It really was a shock to me to see just how dry it really was here.  When we finally got settled in Haskell, it was the same here as it was everywhere else.  We went days, then weeks, then months and we still had no moisture.  We were really in a drought like I had never seen before.

Parishioners of my church continually asked for us to pray for rain.  We prayed and believed that God was hearing our prayers and that he would indeed send the moisture that we so desperately needed.  Thanks be to God, we have gotten rain.  We are still behind on our yearly average, but the wheat has sprouted and the grass did green up some before the cold weather arrived.

But in the midst of all of this drought and severe heat, God spoke to me.  He reminded me that even though we have been going through a terrible time of want that he has continued to provide for us.  We are still a blessed people.  Our church is doing well and the Holy Spirit is actively engaging us as we study the Word of God together.  The other night in our Ephesians Bible study, we came across some expectations St. Paul had for the Gentile Christians.  One of these expectations was this, "Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy" (4:28).  Our small group had a great discussion about this verse.  Paul instructed these men and women to turn away from sin not to just help themselves, but to give to those who were in need.

Christianity is not just about turning away from sin and trespasses; it is also about turning towards God.  That is Paul's message to the "thieves."  Quit doing the worldly things and turn towards God by encountering those who are needy.  I look at the church here in Haskell and I think about all the things I want.  The list is long.  But when I look at the list of the things we need, it is almost non-existent.  Just like God has continued to provide during the time of drought, he has continued to supply all that we need.  So this year, our church is reaching out to those in need.  We are working so that we can share the blessings that God has given us with people who cannot help themselves.  We are taking the proceeds of a fundraiser that we normally use in-house and we are planning on blessing others with those funds.

We can all examine how richly we have been blessed compared to those in need.  When we do, we realize that God has given far more than we ever can.  God has sustained us this past year in ways that we can't even imagine.  We do serve a mighty God and he has given from his great storehouse; not for us to keep but for us to give away.  A week from today our nation has set aside a day of thanksgiving.  On that day, let's all remember to turn away from ourselves and turn towards God.  So come, ye thankful people, come and remember that we work not to gain for our wants, but so that we too "have something to share with the needy."  Until next time...

+May God richly bless you and keep you during this season of Thanksgiving.  May you also go and give from your abundance.



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