RESTORE: Lenten Devotion Day 39

Lenten Devotion Day 39

RESTORE

And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, 

who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, 

will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. 

To him be the power forever and ever. Amen. 

1 Peter 5:10-11

All of us at times find ourselves on the brink of brokenness. We suffer in all manner of ways: some self-inflicted, some accidental, some inflicted by injustice. The stress of life can become just as visible on our bodies and souls as the stress inflicted upon the walls of the old house I live in. All around my home the walls are littered with stress fractures brought about by years of settling, shifting and...well...living. Despite the cracks, however, our home is secure and safe because the foundation is sure. 

Life may create all kinds of stress fractures in my body, mind and soul...but there is good news and hope that serves as the strong foundation to hold me together in the threat of brokenness. "...Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you...." 

This promise doesn't mean I will never experience stress, suffering, or brokenness...but it does promise that those things will not get the better of me. It does promise that those things will not do permanent damage.

It does promise that Christ will

RESTORE

my scars and establish new life. 

INJUSTICE: Lenten Devotion Day 4

Lent Photo Devotion: Day 4

INJUSTICE

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. 

Isaiah 61:1-3a

There is no denying that this world is full of injustice. It is for this reason that the Gospel message is so important for it brings the good news that injustice will not have the last word and it will not be part of our eternal future.

This past Wednesday we put ashes upon our heads and took a moment to regret and confess the many ways that we contribute to injustice: we withhold our love from some, we seek to promote self over other, we worry for our own gain and deny responsibility for our brothers and sisters in need, we turn a blind eye to oppression as long as we are not oppressed, we fail to understand the brokenhearted, we ignore the captive, and act as judge over others. For these reasons we take up that bowl full of ash and regret.

The promise of Isaiah's proclamation and Christ's life, however, is that we move beyond the ashes and regret and actually change our ways so that we take a stand against all types of injustice. It is even in our vows when joining the United Methodist Church: "Do you resist the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?"

And the people of God say: YES! because it is our calling to "bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; ...to comfort all who mourn; ... to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. 

In this Lenten season I pray by the light of Christ we might see all forms of injustice around us and seek ways to take a stand against it...let us trade in our bowl of ash for a garland of peace.

INJUSTICE

take up your ashes and repent

Light is Coming

From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised.

Psalm 113:3

I have never in my life been a morning person. I have always preferred to experience the sunset and enjoy the calm of evening rather than the expectant hustle of morning preparation. Perhaps it is an issue of aging, or perhaps I just have too much on my mind these days but I suddenly find sleep elusive and as a result, I am forced  to witness the birth of each new day. What a glorious gift it is...even if I am sometimes witnessing it through eyes that are blurry and sleep deprived.

I sit and stare out my window at darkness. I pray. I think. I sometimes write. I enjoy the sounds of my sleeping household. Ever so patiently and serenely the world begins to take shape around me. It begins with the first shadowy outlines of the trees outside my window. The sky begins to turn a lighter shade of black and the world stands in dark contrast. Light is coming. 

Another glance out the window and suddenly the trees are visible and the first splash of color spreads across the sky. Light is coming.

Hues of blue begin to deepen...clouds of red, purple, pink dot the horizon. Light is coming.

I have not yet seen the light. The sun has yet to peak above the edge of the earth but all of creation is now proclaiming its imminent arrival. Birds are singing, the colors deepen and signs of life appear...because light is coming.

From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised. The earth is in full praise mode today. I think I shall be also...because light is coming.

The Advent season is over but the Christmas season is at hand. On Christmas Eve we lit the Christ Candle and proclaimed that into the world has come a great light...Christ, our King. It is a bold proclamation to make given the deep darkness of the world around us. However, in the flames of that candle something else becomes visible: the outline of hope, the first shadows of peace, the initial colors of joy...all made possible because light is coming.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

Dying to Live

The view from my office window is changing, ever so slightly, each day. Just prior to my moving in, the wind blew down a rather large pine tree. At first, I thought that the root system must have remained intact as it fell because it still appeared as green as ever. However in the last few days I have noted the signs of the inevitable - entire branches turning brown and drying up while others are losing their vibrant green and fading to a dusty gray.  The old giant is finally dying...slowly...as if she is fighting it with all she has - refusing to acknowledge that indeed, she cannot possible live in this state. It makes me sad to watch, and yet, even I (a closet tree hugging hippy) must acknowledge it is a cycle of life, a rhythm of nature to be respected.

This morning I met with a group of pastors and as so often happens when pastors meet, the topic ultimately turns to death, specifically the death of churches. As I came home I found myself pondering Revelation 3:1-2 "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: 'I know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God."

I am left to wonder: How many of our churches are like this fallen tree outside my window. They know they have fallen away from the root system that nourishes (in my metaphor it would be the Holy Spirit) and yet they have just enough strength to maintain the image of life for a while. Is that what John is talking about in his revelation? I know of many churches who do good things, who work hard to worship and fellowship with one another, who participate in missions when they can...but who haven't felt the fresh breath of God's Holy Spirit blow through their doors in years...decades.

This past Sunday we celebrated Jesus as the Bread of Life - we were reminded that Christ came to bring life to the world, not death. Shouldn't then it make sense that Christ's body, the church, is meant for life, not death? If we would but embrace the life that Christ came to offer and open ourselves to the movement and power of the Holy Spirit, would we not all be fully alive and growing?

I find good news in this Revelation text - the call to WAKE UP and strengthen what remains. Our hope is that we have time to wake up before it is too late and the last of the green is faded away. Our hope is that we will see the first brittle, dried up signs of approaching decay and be motivated to remember that our main objective is to worship a LIVING God - and allow God to infuse into us once again the breath that only God can give...the breath of life.

It all sounds beautiful on the page doesn't it? But the truth is, to live in Christ is to die to self. To give ourselves (and "our" churches) over to the Holy Spirit means we sometimes have to let go of the things "we" want and give in to the call of what God wants. It means learning to stop using phrases like "I think..." and instead say "Let us pray and listen for God's will."

The last few years have been a personal exercise in patience for me ( a normally impatient person) as I have had to learn that as a pastor, sometimes the bulk of my job is sitting and waiting on God to show me the next move. I learned the hard way that while I am perfectly capable of moving on my own - it is rarely a good result when I do. My finest work turns out not to be my work at all - but instead God's work passed through my patient and yielding hands. I am still not great at waiting but God is a patient teacher.

And thanks be to God for being patient with "us" (the church), as we learn that our greatest work is not our work at all - but our yielding to let God work through us to bring life to the world.

Merciful God, may your church wake up and see once again the beauty of her strength - Life in Christ - Breath in Spirit - Love in you. Amen.

For the Love of Christ...

The ritual of going through the leftovers of someone's life is a mixed bag of emotion. There is the sadness of realizing traditions will end and new memories will not be made. There is also, however, some laughter and joy when a treasure is uncovered that you never knew about, or had perhaps forgotten existed.

Last night while visiting my sister-in-law she was showing us a book she had come across belonging to my father-in-law, Jim. It was a book one of the grandchildren had given him in which he could journal about his life and then someday return the book to them as a gift of treasured memories.  (Fantastic idea!)  She was reading random passages to us when she came across a great story - on how he and Peggy fell in love.

Thursday would have been their 60th wedding anniversary, had they not passed away within seven weeks of one another earlier this year.  So it seemed fitting on the day after their anniversary to read a part of their story. Jim wrote that he fell in love with Peggy on their third date, and so on that date, while driving down the road he said to her, "Peggy, I love you." To which she replied, "Yea, I've heard that before." - which sent us all into fits of giggles. How so perfectly Jim and Peggy - he the brazen romantic and she the cautious pragmatic.  He said he never asked when she had heard it before or from whom she had heard it, but I think it is obvious to all who knew them that he spent the next 60 years proving that he, above anyone else, meant it.

This life, this world, can burn us and leave us cynical to the point that when we hear of the joyous good news of Christ's love for us, all we can muster is a mild enjoyment while thinking, "Yea, I've heard that before." And yet, if we will remain cognizant to God's presence in our lives, we will no doubt learn that this time it is the real deal.  Christ does love us, he never tells us that flippantly or casually - for Christ, love is a matter of life and death.

Scripture refers to the church as the bride of Christ - which means we have moved beyond the "Yea, I've heard that before" and have accepted the true and precious love which He has offered. It is a promise not only for the corporate church but for all her individual members.  Jesus loves you! This you can know, this you can stake your life on.