Typhoons and the Drowning Man

28 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. 29 He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. 30 Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; 31 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. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

I served in the Navy from 1989 - 1993.  The ship I was assigned to was cruising from South Korea to the Persian Gulf and encountered three typhoons off the coast of Taiwan. Living in the Far East, I now understand that typhoons in this area of the world are common, especially in the late summer and early fall.  The was made the decision to steam through in such a way that we rode the edges of all three storms, letting the "safe" edges of the storm front carry us through. I’ve never been through anything quite so rough while at sea. Most of our crew was bedridden with sea sickness and those of us who did not get sea sick worked extra watch shifts until we made it to the other side. There were moments when I wondered if we would make it to the other side.

Such is life from time to time.  We find the "safe" spots to push through the brunt of the storm, any yet...and yet...there are moments when we wonder--not when--but if we will make it to the other side.  In “Drowning Man” we are reassured that “the storms will pass” and “this love lasts forever.” The lyrics make a direct reference to Isaiah 40: “rise up with wings like eagles” and “run and not grow weary.” 

It is sometimes difficult to not grow weary when life is dumping buckets on us.  It is sometimes difficult to also rise up when the winds seem to be pushing us down--or that we're running into a strong gale wind.  It is difficult sometimes to not grow faint under the circumstances of life.  This is why we need community.

Maybe you have disengaged from community because someone let you down when you needed help the most.  I would encourage you to seek out community again so that you aren't carrying your burdens alone.

What is the source of your inner strength? What is it that helps you get through the rough moments of your day, week, month, or year? If you do not already do so, hold on to the love that last forever! Take the hand of the One who, when everything else is falling apart and failing, stands strong right beside you. 

I've head people say that life has meaning only if God is completely in control of everything.  And when I listen to them, I get this image of God as a puppet master who is manipulating every moment of life.  Or that God is one of the Fates who has written every detail of life into a book and we're just living out the script.  And when that understanding of God is challenged, life ceases to have any meaning at all.  Everything is chaos and faith is difficult to have.

I recently asked someone: "Is it more important to you for God to controlling every aspect of your life or that God be present with you, no matter what?"  It's important to consider that question.  Do you feel better knowing that "God's plan" was to plop you into three typhoons or that God is with you in the three typhoons.

I have come to understand that the great power of God is not in the manipulation of our day to day activities--I cannot believe that we are marionettes acting out a great script written for us that we have no control over.  The power of God is in being with us when we are happy and being with us when we grieve.  And not just being present with us, but rejoicing with us, and grieving with us.  Loving us through thick and thin and whispering encouragement to us all along the way.  God's power lies in love that holds us when we are weeping, like a parent holds a child.  God's power lies in loving us even when we're having a tantrum...yes, even when we're screaming at God we are loved. 

So, hold on.  Hold on tightly.  And if you are not tossed in a storm at the moment, offer hope to those who are.

Promises, Promises (Part 1)

I began a sermon series last week that's looking at covenants in the Bible.  I talk about covenants quite a bit in a variety of settings and usually I get a "lights on" kind of look from folks when I explain the difference between a contract and a covenant.  Contracts are rooted in convenience and return on investment; covenants are founded on relationships and trust.  And when the trust is broken in a covenant, we learn what grace and forgiveness are all about by making the choice to not walk away and to work it out.

The lessons in the lectionary this year are about covenant and we get to move from God's Covenant with Noah and all of creation, to God's Covenant offered to the world on Easter.

But maybe promises and vows are things that we struggle with, and maybe you cringed a bit when I mentioned choosing to not walk away but working it out, because we're accustomed to the "Promises, Promises" mentality.  In the 80s there was a song by Naked Eyes that went something like, "All of your promises you knew you'd never keep; promises, promises, why do I believe?"  We're pretty much ruined when it comes to promises and trust because we've all be hurt more than once, maybe even more than once by the same person.  And on the flip side of the coin, we're pretty aware of how many times we have broken promises ourselves.

And you know that rhyme from when we were kids, if someone doubted our truthfulness, we'd say, "Cross my heart and hope to die."  Maybe add "stick a needle in my eye" if we wanted to really assure the other person of our honesty and trust worthiness.

But the foundation of any covenant is trust.  Plain and simple.  Whether we are in covenant with other people, or in covenant with God, trust is the cornerstone.

But there's another important piece in God's covenants and that piece is a word called "Hesed."  Hesed is a Hebrew word that means steadfast love, unending mercy, never ending loyalty. The cornerstone of trust cannot be crafted without the vital ingredient of "Hesed."  And any covenant that is made by or with God requires knowing about this word.

In Genesis 9:8-17 God promises Noah and all of creation, "Never again."  And what's so interesting to me about this particular covenant is that there's only one party bound by it, and that party is God.  There's nothing for humanity to do, no role for us to play, no vows for us to fulfill.  The only thing we have to do in this covenant is trust--have faith that when God says, "Never again."  It's a "never" that is solid.

I know, there was Hurricane Katrina and there was the Tsunami in South East Asia and, about one year ago, the tsunami here in Japan--but the "never" in Genesis 9 isn't about natural disaster or about floods; the "never" is connected vindication and punishment.  One scholar says that in the Noaic Covenant God, "turns from vindication to forgiveness, patience and steadfast love for creation and for humanity, despite the knowledge that the human heart may (will?) never change."

God says, "regardless of the inconsistency of the human heart, my mind is set.  Never again.  And to remind me, I will hang my bow in the clouds."  We see the word bow and think of a rainbow because of all the pictures and movies and nursery paintings, but one pastor suggests that " as a celestial memory aid, God promises to set in the gathering clouds his war bow, unstrung and pointing away from earth."

Stop and let that picture settle into your mind and heart for just a second.  The war bow of wrath is no longer directed at us, even though our hearts are as constant as a tray of Jello Jigglers.  If one song writer wants to know "Or am I too far gone to get back home?" when asking the "stranger man" to save him, the bow in the clouds reminds us that God has given a resounding "No!" in answer to that question.  Am I too far gone, am I too broken to be fixed, have I changed my mind and my heart one time too many?

God's Hesed says, "No!"  Hesed--steadfast love, unending mercy, never ending loyalty.  Hesed says, "No, you're not too far gone."

When we're at the end of our ropes, when we're at the end of our hope...when we look out the window and all we can see are gray days that go on and on and on and on....Hesed says to us, "It can't rain all the time."

But, let's talk about rainbows...because rainbows are awesome, right?  When we see rainbows we run and grab people so we can share the rainbow with them; we take pictures and post them on the social networking site of choice for other people to see; we ask later in the day, "Did you see the rainbow?"  And there's this innocent joy that radiates from us as we talk about "the rainbow." (You're thinking about it aren't you?  Either that or you're thinking about Kermit the Frog playing his banjo and singing "Rainbow Connection")

The cool thing about rainbows is that they pop up everywhere.  Sunlight breaks through a sprinkler's mist at the just the right angle--BAM there's your rainbow.  Sunlight comes through our windows at just the right time of day, and the glass cuts the ray of light in just the right way--BAM there's your rainbow (again!)  Even on the cover of a Pink Floyd album...

And that's just how Hesed works, if we give ourselves the eyes to see, it's everywhere; and usually, we'll get a reminder right when we need it the most and we have hope to carry on.

Soul Surfin' with the Spirit

5 Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, "You must be born from above.' 8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:5-8)

Surrender can be a scary thing. When I first learned how to surf, I needed to learn to surrender to the ocean wave. If I didn’t surrender to the wave, if I didn’t let the ocean’s power carry me, I would end up underneath it. And in the beginning, I ended up underneath a lot of waves. I don’t know how many waves I was buried by, but I remember the first time I stood up and rode a wave. When I caught that wave, when I surrendered to it—it was amazing! It was scary because I knew how much I wasn’t in control, but it was an awesome experience.

We don’t know how God works. Through the prophet Isaiah, God says: “8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa 55:8-9) and in John’s Gospel, Jesus says, “The wind blows where it chooses…you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.” In Scripture the words “wind” and “breath” are often used to talk about God’s Spirit. When Jesus says, “born of water and Spirit” he says born into, trusting wholly in, the Spirit of God, who, when we surrender, takes us to places we might never imagine. 

And this is where the surfing metaphor may be somewhat incomplete because it’s not that we get buried by God for fighting against the movement of the Spirit, but when we surrender and allow God’s Spirit take us to new and unexpected places it is truly exhilarating.  And I have met my share of people who, when they talk about a life of moving by the Spirit, get the same distant look in their eyes that the soul surfers would when talking about waves.  

It’s the soul surfers who moved me to learn to surf--and I miss it, because I haven’t ridden the waves in years and years.  I hope you meet a Spirit surfer who inspires you to new heights (and depths).  I hope you learn to trust God more and more. I hope you find a place this day to surrender again to the “Mysterious Ways” of God’s Spirit as it move you, as it lifts your days and lights up your nights.

Moments of Surrender

28 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11:28-30 The Message)

This song reminds me of how busy, crowded and yet how painfully lonely life can be at times. “I did not notice passers-by and they did not notice me…speeding through the subway through the stations of the cross, every eye looking every other way, counting down ‘til the pain will stop.” We can be very socially connected and yet very lonely and disconnected at times, and I often wonder who supports us as we surrender to things on any given day. When we surrender to our impatience, when we surrender to our frustration, when we surrender to our pain, when we surrender to busyness when we yearn for rest, when we surrender to God…who is your community of support? Who do you turn to when you are tired, worn out, or burnt out?

I love the way that the Message paraphrases this passage from Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus gives us an invitation to walk with him, to watch what he does and how he does it; he invites us to learn the unforced rhythms of grace. (The rhythm of His heart, the rhythm of His soul) He says, “Love believes in you. Keep company with me.”

Keep company this Lent.  Don't let disconnectedness and loneliness rule your life.  Don't let virtual relationships replace flesh and blood relationships.  Find community somewhere so that when you find yourself on the edge of surrender, there's someone to catch you.

Apologetix

I don’t want to come across as snarky.  Really I don’t.  I’m even trying to turn away from my sarcastic habits--trying my best to give it up for Lent, but I find a fast of not eating to be easier than a fast of not being sarcastic (blame it on too many seasons of Seinfeld, I guess.)

I became aware of this story courtesy of Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, but found the following news story to be easier to link to: http://newsok.com/episcopalians-take-it-to-the-streets-for-ash-wednesday/article/3651812

Again, I don’t want to be snarky, but...

Where in the Bible do we find worship and convenience going hand in hand?  I seem to remember Jesus saying “let anyone who wants to follow me (come after me) take up your cross, daily, and follow me” (Daniel’s paraphrase of a passage from Luke’s gospel.)

Look, to all of you out there chasing down your sheep, making yourselves available to ash the members of the flock who are “too busy” to come to worship...you’re not helping.  I know that you have great intentions.  But you’re not helping.

I’m sorry.  

Actually, I’m not sorry.  You’re not helping.  You’re making it worse for those of us who actually believe and teach that being a disciple of Jesus has a cost associated with it.  And by “us” I mean you.  

Why are you chasing down people in the street to give them ashes on Ash Wednesday?  Because they can’t be bothered to attend. 

Why can’t they be bothered to attend?  Because you’re willing to chase them down.  It’s not the Church coming to the people.  It’s the Church helping it’s sheep stay lost and wandering and misdirected and under prioritized.  

The Ash Wednesday liturgy (worship service) is about saying, in one form or another, “Time out!  Stop the rat race for a few moments, ponder the things that are really important: grace, mortality, grace....grace.  It’s about slowing down and checking our priorities; looking for things in our lives we have made into Idols and turning away from the little gods to be embraced by the Redeeming God.

Ash Wednesday helps us step into the season of Lent, which is a season of slowing down and paying attention to God, and my humble opinion is that to chase down people who are “too busy” to attend isn’t doing them any favors.

I know you’re intentions are pure.  But the thing is this isn’t about taking the Church to those who don’t have access to the church.  We aren’t talking about shut-ins, or homebound members, or soldiers in Afghanistan, or Sailors in the middle of the ocean.  We’re talking about folks who think they are “too busy”, who think their jobs are “too important”, or that worship isn’t important enough to say, “Hey Bob, I’m gonna be late today because I need to be at worship.  It’s Ash Wednesday.”  We’re talking about folks who need to pause and hear, really hear, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

I know your love for them.  I know that you want to bring them back.  I know how many people in our world need to words like this:

“The sorrow of God lies in our fear of Him, our fear of life, and our fear of ourselves. He anguishes over our self-absorptions and self-sufficiency. Richard Foster wrote, ‘Today the heart of God is an open wound of love. He aches over our distance and preoccupation. He mourns that we do not draw near to him. He grieves that we have forgotten him. He weeps over our obsession with muchness and manyness. He longs for our presence.’” (Richard Foster quoted in Abba’s Child by Brennan Manning.)

Understand this my fellow clergy folks, I love you and I love your passion, but if we want to help our flocks move from sitting in our stadiums and cheering about the things Jesus does to being on the field with him and slugging out life down by hard fought down, then we have to stop making the life of following Jesus so convenient, we cannot become enablers.  Make them take the time out that this season calls for; make them choose the One they and their house will serve.  

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

“13 For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.” (Psalm 139:13-16)

I know someone who seriously dislikes having their picture taken.  When asked why, the answer has to do with "not liking how I look." It's not up for discussion; it just is.  No pictures.  Period.

When you look in a mirror, are you happy with what you see? Residual self image can be a hard thing to overcome.  I used to weigh 220 pounds, and I was accustomed to seeing a large man in the mirror.  After losing thirty to forty pounds,  I have a hard time not seeing the large reflection.  It's a challenge to overcome the way we are used to seeing ourselves.

And like I hinted at yesterday, it's even harder to overcome the self image that is given to us by others. The echoes of names and labels can stay with us even longer than the echoes of physical images (who we used to be, how we used to look.)  It's even harder if those self images are handed out on behalf of those who represent God.

In reading Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman, I was struck by a passage where he talks about the dinner Jesus has in Simon the Pharisee's house.  A woman from the community--a woman labeled "sinner"--comes into the house, washes Jesus' feet with her tears and her hair.  Idleman writes, "...maybe it wasn't what Jesus taught. Maybe it was the way he looked at her. His eyes communicated her value and worth. She wasn't just a 'sinner' to him; she was a beloved daughter. And perhaps when Jesus finished teaching she  knew God loved her and hadn't given up on her, even if everyone else had."

So when you look into a soul mirror or a spiritual mirror, do you like what you see? Do you see only the brokenness of life, only hurt and regret and pain and "sinner"?  Or do you see the "Imago Dei" the image of God, Beloved son, Beloved daughter.  

“Oh you look so beautiful tonight.” Can you imagine God speaking those words to you? Try it. Try it, because God is speaking those words to you right now. “You look so beautiful tonight because you are my unique creation: fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Is there something that holds you back from fully accepting God’s love for you? Is there something that was said to you that holds you back from feeling the depths of God’s love? Let it go! In the name of love let it go! You are fearfully and wonderfully made—even though you make mistakes, because we ALL make mistakes—you are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are a people who embrace the fullness of God’s grace—the core of which is this: “Blessings aren’t just for the ones who kneel…luckily.”

The Wanderer

"Yeah, I went with nothing, nothing but the thought of you.

I went wandering. "

“11b I myself will search from my sheep, and will seek them out. 12 As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered…” (Ezekiel 34:11b-12)

For fear of sounding simplistic, there’s something that we need to understand as the heart of the gospel. Jesus came for us. John 3:16 tells us very plainly that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that those who believe might have life. To use the words of this song, Jesus came and walked and wandered and gave himself with nothing but the thought of you. He came looking for you.
He came to rescue you: from sin, from shame, from hurt, from loneliness, from anger, from isolation, from fear. He came to give you forgiveness, and worth, and wholeness, and community, and joy, and connection, and life.

We can get caught up in a lot of things that aren't all that important. Debates about morality; disagreements about theology; we can get spun up about which translation is the preferred translation or whether or Jesus is my Homeboy or Holy.  When we get stuck in these rabbit holes we forget the simple core of the story.  Jesus came wandering.  Jesus came to extend grace when we need it the most and have earned it the least.  

We can be very good at putting words like "useless" and "worthless" into the self identification vocabulary of other people.  I want to do my part to drop some friendlier phrases and to remind you that the One who made you came looking for you; he's wandering, calling your name, trying to lead you home.  

"40" at 40

“1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.” (Psalm 40: 1-3)

The song “40” was probably my first exposure to the psalms. I had no idea that I was singing scripture all those times I sang along with one of my favorite bands and yet I knew as I sang the song that some part of my spirit, my soul, felt better because of it.  Years later, at the age of 40, this song still gives me hope and release.

We all have moments in life when, like young children searching for words, we simply cry out to the Holy, where we lift up the word or the thought or even the emotion: "How long?"  We release the cry of our heart and wait for God to meet our need. (And to quote a different musical artist, "The waiting is the hardest part...")

There is power in the act of "naming."  In Exodus, Moses asks for the Name of God to which God replies, "I am who I am" or "I will be who I will be."  To possess the name of a deity in the ancient world was to wield power over that one deity.  The act of naming continues to be important when we name our troubles, when we name our “miry bogs” —whether it’s a bad habit, a troubling situation, financial difficulties, an illness or a frustration—name it, let it go, and then watch to see what God does. A big part of healing, forgiveness and reconciliation is letting go of whatever past we feel trapped in and moving into a future with God.

(A prayer form that works well for “letting go” of frustrations: hold your hands in a “palms down” and closed position. Imagine that whatever it is that holds you in place is in your hands, take a deep breath and then open your hands, letting out your breath. Say “God I give you…(whatever you have let go of). Now turn your hands palms up keeping them open (a position of receiving). Take antoher deep breath and say, “God I receive your…”(whatever you need in the moment, peace, comfort, security, forgiveness—usually something opposite of what you let go of.))

Ash Wednesday and U2's "Bad"

A couple of years ago I wrote a Devotional for the season of Lent based on song by U2.  I decided this year to re-tool the devotional and publish it on my blog in the hopes of re-igniting my discipline of writing.  I used to write a lot, but have not had--or not made--as much time in the last 18 or so months to write as much as I would like.  So here is my offering to the void on this Ash Wednesday.

“12 Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 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)

“This desperation, dislocation, separation, condemnation…isolation, desolation/Let it go and so to find a way.” The 40 days of lent tend to be a ritualistic surrender of something we love because tradition says we’re supposed to “give something up for Lent.” We give up chocolate; we surrender time spent on Facebook, or texting on our cell phones, or our favorite television shows for 40 days (ex-ing off every single day until Easter finally arrives). What if we made Lent an exercise in surrendering to God in each moment? Surrendering our isolation, surrendering our self-condemnation, surrendering our dislocation. What if we used Lent as a season of reflection to “let it go” so that we can grow in God’s Love?


A Facebook friend posted this thought today:  "What’s the difference between a flute and a stick in the mud?” our priest asked on Sunday. He then went on, “The stick in the mud is full of itself. The flute has been emptied of itself so it can make music.”


Lent is a season where we are called to re-turn to repent to stop juggling so much *stuff* so that we can take up greater quantities of grace, greater amounts of the presence (and presents) of God; it's about emptying ourselves so that we can play the music of salvation for the world to hear.


What do you need to let go of during this season of reflection so that you can live in and share God’s love more fully? Say a prayer asking God to help you “let it go” and then rest in God’s love for a minute or two.

Prayer for the Day

Courtesy of Midday Prayer for Sunday*:

 O Lord my God, to you to to your service I devote myself,
body, soul, and spirit.
Fill my memory with the record of your mighty works;
enlighten my understanding with the light of your Holy Spirit;
and may all the desires of my heart and will center
in what you would have me do.
Make me an instrument of your salvation
for the people entrusted to my care,
and let me by my life and speaking
set forth your true and living Word.
Be always with me in carrying out the duties of my salvation;
in praises heighten my love and gratitude;
in speaking of You give me readiness of thought and expression;
and grant that, by the clearness and brightness of your holy Word,
all the world may be drawn to your blessed kingdom.
All this I ask for the sake of your Son,
my Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

*From The Divine Hours: Pocket Edition. Compiled with an introduction by Phyllis Tickle. Oxford University Press, 2007. Sunday: The Midday Office, "The Concluding Prayer of the Church."