Turning the Page

I've never been a big believer in changes that occur simply because of a new year.  Instead, I've always held the belief that each new day offers an opportunity to bring about a change in one's life.  I don't need the calendar to dictate to me when I need try to make changes to my life.  But I'll be honest, this year is different.  2013 can go ahead and get the heck up outta here.  I'm ready for 2014.

No doubt 2013 had some amazing moments.  We spent an extended amount of time at the Short Cabin in Colorado, we had some amazing Easter and Christmas celebrations at SAPUMC, tried some fun and creative things with the family and the church, and I'm sure I'm leaving out some pretty important 'firsts' along the way.

But the reality is that negative and disappointing far outweigh the celebrations and joys.  I'm a glass half full kind of guy, but this year has taken its toll on us something fierce. We began the year with some serious sickness.  We passed around every kind of virus imaginable, both strains of the influenza, strep throat, and the common cold about 12 different times.  From January until June, someone was sick in our household every single day.  We were constantly at the doctor's office or the pharmacy picking up medicines.  It was so bad that the church even brought some people in to check for mold and mildew in the house. They didn't find anything.

As the weather changed and it warmed up, we got a reprieve from the illness bugs that plagued us.  June and July were okay. Annual Conference and vacation book-ended these two months. 

August brought heartache. My mother's sister, my Aunt Lou, passed away after a really brief battle with cancer.  This meant mom was the last left living from her small immediate family.  My sister and I traveled to Chattanooga on a Sunday afternoon and returned the next day after an afternoon funeral.

In early October, SAPUMC's church secretary of 10+ years passed away from a brain aneurysm while at work.  The professional and personal loss were tremendous.  She was the one who taught me about SAPUMC and was going to be instrumental in our advancement in the future.  She was amazing at what she did and was simply a great person. This hurt a lot.

Several days later I had the first of two skin cancers (basal cell) cut out of my body, this one on my arm.  Two weeks later I went back to have the seven stitches removed, followed by a new incision to remove a spot on my neck.  This time I was left with an 8 inch gash that left me fairly immobile.  Two weeks later, I realized how costly this surgery was, as my should and neck muscles had atrophied.  I was left sore and hurting.  The scar still hurts from time to time and I still have not fully regained strength in my left arm.  I now have new found respect for those who live in chronic pain.  I'm sure I will get better, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it has been hard.

Shortly after Thanksgiving, Megan's grandfather, Rev. Mel Short, passed away.  He suffered from Parkinson's for several years. His passing brought relief, but also more sadness to all who knew him.  Because of cost and timing, Megan went to Wichita without me and the kids, which made it harder still.

So this Advent season, as we anticipated the birth of the one who will one day wipe away the tears from our eyes, it took on a different meaning.  The holidays can be hard for a variety of reasons, but the idea of things being made new and starting over has an especially strong pull this year.  I feel like I have been in survival mode for a very long time and on top of it all, I know others who have it a whole lot worse than we do.  Some are dealing with a tremendous amount of loss, tragic events, broken relationships and other near-unimaginable suffering. So I try not to whine, knowing it could be worse, much worse, but it doesn't really help with the heartbreak and pain.  That, I am sure, will heal with time, no doubt about it.  So just turning a calendar over to a new year won't make things magically better.  That will occur every morning with each time we open our eyes to a great day filled with new opportunities.  It will be a long journey back, more like a marathon rather than a sprint.  But a new year is a start and 2014 is a welcome sight.

Christmas Eve

I have always loved Christmas Eve.  It dates back to when I was ten.  The year was 1989. A few days before December 24th, my mother's mother died of a sudden heart attack.  Needless to say, that Christmas was much different from the previous nine.  The family gathered at the home of my now widowed grandfather, just as it had done in years leading up to this.  On Christmas Eve, because everyone was still in shock, we realized we didn't have any milk for Santa.  While I'm pretty sure I knew Santa wasn't real, we still had to keep up the charade for my sister's sake who was only seven.  So my cousin, 17 at the time, and I jumped in the car at 10pm in search of milk.  Now remember, it was 1989 and back then nothing was open, on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and we were, my cousin and I cruising around downtown Anderson, SC.  It was awesome. We drag raced off every line as the light changed from red to green, I brief reminder of the fact that it was Christmas amidst the pain that we felt.  We would get that beat up car up to about 60 mph before we would come to a screeching halt at the next light. But I think what stuck with me after all the years was how alone we felt, not another car or person was in sight.  It was peaceful, a needed feeling after a tumultuous few days. I'm not really sure if we ever did get the milk.

A few years later, we began a new tradition for Christmas Eve. My mother served on the alter guild at our church and we were asked to help serve communion between the Christmas Eve services that were at 6 and 8.  Little did I know how much of a part of my life this would become.  For the next 10 years, even through my time in seminary, my family and I would spend Christmas Eve together serving the Body and Blood of Christ to our church family.  I remember how peaceful it was sitting in that sanctuary as we waited for people to come into the chapel.  I loved seeing the folks who had raised me as well as long time friends who were now separated by many miles.

When I was assigned to a church in downtown Columbia, I would no longer be serving communion on Christmas Eve to the people I had grown up with, but rather to people who now called me their pastor.  What I loved more than anything during those 7 years was the hour that followed our 7pm service.  By 8pm, downtown Columbia would be a ghost town on December 24th.  Again I was struck by the sheer peacefulness of the night.  What is always a busy and bustling city, at least for one time during the year, slows down and becomes quiet and still.

Now, I don't believe for one moment that the first Christmas Eve was anything but chaotic and crazy, probably filled with a certain amount of fear and trepidation for Mary and Joseph.  But somehow my yearly celebration and remembrance of the 24th is built around calmness. Well, that all changed last year.  With Megan and I serving separate churches, we somehow had to balance both churches' needs. So here's what we came up with: Megan would offer a kid focused 4pm service, we would do 6pm and 8pm at my church, and Megan would do another at  10pm. So basically we started around 3:30 and ended around 11:30.  It makes for a bit of a long day.  And we most certainly couldn't do it without the help of my parents taking the kids during the final two services.  It means we don't get to actually put our children to bed on Christmas Eve either, but they don't seem to mind.  That's also a small sacrifice for amazing blessing of presiding over the 2nd most popular worship service of the year. (Easter still reigns.) We will do it the same way this year and I cannot wait. It is going to be awesome. It will remind me again of how blessed we are to worship a God who came down to earth and embodied the very lives we struggle to live each and every day, a God who loved us so uniquely that rather than coming with power and strength, chose meekness and humility, a God who reigns in both the places of peace and utter chaos. So may you be blessed in however you choose to spend Christmas Eve this year.

Opposite Ends

During our vacation to Colorado we visited and experienced some of the craziest stuff that America has to offer.  Each day it seemed like we were seeing something new.  Two days in particular illustrate this, and I felt like what I saw was, in a strange way, competing world views.

One day we travelled several hours to The Great Sand Dunes National Park.  It was amazing, and I don’t use that term lightly.  While these pictures are great, they don’t do it justice.

You know all those movies that portray the desert in which people are stumbling through in search of water?  Yeah, it was like that.  Apparently over many years, as the wind blows over the mountains, it has deposited the sand leaving these massive dunes.  It is now a National Park, run by the Department of the Interior.  I first saw it on their twitter feed, which I highly recommend as they post some beautiful pictures of our national treasures.  They do a great job of maintaining the beauty of God’s creation so that future generations will be able to enjoy it just as much as we do.

The next day, after our visit to GSDNP, we found ourselves at a rather odd, yet popular site in that part of Colorado.  It’s called Bishop’s Castle.  The only thing that makes the builder of said castle a bishop is his last name.  What he has constructed at this site is definitely something that would cause the average person to gawk.  Again, the pictures don’t do it justice.

What makes this place really strange is how anti-Government this guy is.  We read some reviews before we went that said basically to avoid looking at the guy in the eye and to stay away from any conversation about politics.  Apparently, he thinks that all government is corrupt.  Now, while I am not one of those flag waving Americans like most, I do believe that in comparison to the rest of the world, we have a good thing going.  I take pride in the things we do well as a nation, yet believe that we are not perfect and could always do better.  That should always be our goal.  To improve.

So in two days, I felt like I saw two competing views of the world.  On the one hand, I witnessed one of the most amazing parts of the natural world, what I consider creation, going back to the original story that we find in the book of beginnings, Genesis.  The next day, I saw something that was made with human hands.  I have no idea why Mr. Bishop started to build the castle.  He now uses to attract people and takes full advantage to publicize his odd views on politics.  It all felt a little Tower of Babel-like to me.  In two days, I saw a bit of what God created and a bit of what human hands could create.  Honestly, it wasn’t much of a competition.

Oh The Places You Will Go!

A quick thanks to the long departed Theodor Giesel as I use the title of his famous book for this blog post.  In reality, the last month has been an insane trip, almost as crazy as he described years ago, to some truly amazing places, both physically and spiritually.

On June 25^th, the family boarded a plane to start our eight day vacation to the Shortage Cabin outside of Westcliffe, Colorado.  I’m working on a piece in my mind to talk about the cabin.  Let’s just say, it’s amazing.  

A little secluded and quiet place that Megan’s mother family, the Shorts, have been going for about 60 years.  Hiking, exploring, and simply being together with family were just what were needed for us. It was a perfect family vacation. We are working on a return trip next summer.  More details and pictures will come in later blog posts. 

Upon returning late Wednesday night, I was bound for the Middle Tyger Salkehatchie Camp the next Saturday morning.  For a week, I worked alongside some new friends as we replaced the roof of the home we were working on.  I haven’t ‘run a roof’ in few years, so the rust was evident.  By Wednesday, my skills were up to par and I would put our team up against some of the pros that do it.  The camp itself was run by one of my best friends in the world, who happened to be my first site leader back when I was 15 and attending my first camp.  

Gilmer’s in charge of an amazing church and ran a fantastic camp.  The best part was the one night we sat around and told old stories.  I had forgotten how much Salkehatchie is a part of my life.  I told the camp that apart from meeting my wife, nothing has done more for me as a person and in my faith walk than Salkehatchie.  Having gone to 19 camps in 18 years, I’ve done Salkehatchie more summers than I haven’t.  And after this past experience and how much the kids from SAPUMC loved it, I don’t see that changing any time soon.

Coming back from Salkehatchie, I presided over a wedding renewal service for a couple who celebrated 45 years together.  The next day, we began Vacation Bible School at SAP.  I told the leaders who agreed to help that if they would do the logistics of getting everyone else working, I would basically play the MC role in the opening and closing.  I did this before I realized vacation and Salkehatchie would occur the previous two and a half weeks.  Needless to say, exhausted I was up there playing the role of the Sir Brad at our Kingdom Rock VBS.  

A few would probably tell you I was more of a court jester, but man did we have fun with it.  To see 50 or so kids laughing and dancing and screaming and singing, it was awesome and I loved every single minute of it. 

During that week and since, I have sat with a woman as her 4 year old went through a pretty crazy set of operations, presided over a funeral service with 12 people in a neighborhood clubhouse, witnessed the first sermon (which was really well done) of an individual who is trying to work out his call to ministry, visited a friend who I haven’t seen in a while and who has gone through hell and back over the last two years but who through the grace of God will continue on his journey, shared some meals and a few amazing chance encounters with more than a few faithful individuals.  Yesterday, I learned that my mother’s sister had passed away and so now it appears as if a trip to Chattanooga, TN is coming up soon.

I have caught myself thinking over the last month, “What was I thinking planning my life like this”, but the reality is, I wouldn’t change a thing.  Oh the places I’ve been. And I can’t wait to go again. Maybe after a nap or two.

Gun culture

Megan and I were talking the other night about this story that came out where an 8 year-old boy was suspended for acting like his pencil was a gun and making shooting noises.  Google it if you haven't heard about it.  Megan said, “What if that’s our son one day?” To which I replied, “I’m not going to worry about it.”  In retrospect, my answer could have had a little more substance to it, especially when I received the, “I’m going to remind you of that when it happens.”

The truth is, I will go crazy and cause a ruckus with the school officials or board or whoever the authority is at the time.  I will certainly defend my son or daughter to the utmost of my ability.  But my callous response has more to do with the fact that if it happens, it happens.

Here’s what I know and what I have been able to control.  I do not own a gun, never have, never will. I do not fear for my safety, nor do I lose sleep at night worrying that some band a marauders are going to come ransack my house harming my wife and kids.  Could it happen? Sure. But so could a billion other things too, so whatever.  Like many, I watch violent movies, but far fewer than I used to, and even when I do there is always a little remorse that comes with celebrating and supporting an industry with so much invested in violence.  When we got married, violent videos games saw the same fate as my Goodwill green couch that I bought in college, given away. 

For the last 7 or 8 years I have basically become a pacifist.  Am I comfortable with that label? Sure, why not?  After all, I’m pretty sure Jesus was a pacifist and if I am trying to be a disciple of Christ, then maybe this is one way I can get it right.  Lord knows I fall short in many other areas, maybe this is one where I can take some pride. (Dang it, sinned again.) What I also know is that according to my reading of the Gospels, specifically Matthew’s version of the Jesus Story, the last command that Jesus gave his disciples before his crucifixion was, “Put your sword back in its place…” (I wish I was smart enough to take credit for this discovery, I actually saw it on the wall at Bethlehem Bible College a few years ago.)  So yeah, I don’t own guns and have never even fired one, partly because I wasn’t raised that way and partly because of my progression of faith. (And yes, I do wrestle and live in tension with the fact that I live in a country that is protected by men and women which afford me the right to have my beliefs about guns and violence.  Another topic for another day.)

I share all that with you because I still have a four year-old at home who runs around shooting the ‘bad guys’ with anything he can turn into a gun.  I think the most recent item to be brandished as a firearm is a play T-square from a set of play tools.  Sure, I ask him not to shoot his sister or me (he would never turn it on his momma). Sure I tell him to think about the superheroes he knows and how none of them have guns.  It doesn’t matter, he still does it.  So where did it come from?  It wasn’t something I taught him. It wasn’t something he learned watching PBS kids. Maybe some of the other cartoons, but even then we are pretty strict about what he can and cannot watch.  He had to pick it up from somewhere because I have yet to find a sane doctor tell me that kids come out of the womb with the knowledge of guns.

I think we have a problem in our society.  We are obsessed with guns and violence.  It has become so much of who we are as a collective group that even our very young begin to demonstrate it in actions and behavior, if only in the way they ‘play’.  So when I get a call from the office that my child has been suspended for acting like a pencil is a gun, I’m sure I’ll be furious.  But my rage and my angry will be directed not at my child, but rather at a collective society of which I am a part. Maybe by then I’ll know something more to do about it than just write.

Who is my enemy?

      Last Friday, my son and I drove to Columbia to see a baseball game between our Gamecocks versus the 2nd ranked team in the country, the Vanderbilt Commodores.  It was a big game, that’s why we drove up.  The atmosphere was electric with the home team having a definite advantage.  As I watched the game unfold, I really wanted to view Vandy as ‘the enemy’.  The problem was I could not do it.  And that is even with them being coached by a former Clemson Tiger assistant.  They were too good of a team to ‘hate on them’ as the kids say.  They played the game of baseball the right way.  They fouled off pitches.  They took the extra base.  They played some amazing defense.  And their pitchers were hard throwing and accurate.  As a baseball fanatic, I had to respect them. 

            

        After the game, my son and I went to talk to one of the student trainers so we lingered around as the players greeted their family and friends.  I saw several student athletes from Vandy come over and embrace the USC players and their families.  It occurred to me that even the athletes competing didn’t even view each other as enemies.

            

       So who are our enemies? Seriously, I am wondering.  Sports teams aren’t really enemies, at least not the kind of enemies that are referred to in the Bible.  Who are our tried and true ‘enemies’?  In the Gospel of Matthew we find Jesus’ teaching on the Mount when he says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You must love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.  but I say to you, love your enemies and prayer for those who harass you...(5:43-44, CEB)”  So is it people who harass us who are our enemies?  Is it people who abuse us?  Is it people who work in opposition to the things that I hold dear?  Maybe, but then again maybe not.

       

     I find it even more interesting that in Luke’s Gospel Jesus is asked, by what I would consider a very intelligent individual, “Who’s my neighbor?” in response to a command to love.  Who’s my neighbor?  Who should I love? How about anybody who has breath?  How about anybody else who is created in the image of God?  But the bigger question is why do we get a parable defining neighbor, but no one even raises the question about who this ‘enemy’ is that we are to love?

           

      I’m sure we have people who we look at as ‘enemies’.  Maybe the folks that plant bombs to maim and hurt innocent individuals are our ‘enemies’.  I’m pretty sure that the members of the Westboro Baptist Church (although I hesitate to call them a church) would fall into a list of ‘enemies’, at least in my mind.  I would even throw a couple of television and radio personalities on my list of ‘enemies’.  And I’ll be honest, I don’t want to love them in the least bit. And in reality, I will probably never really interact with any of them in a significant way.  So what does all this talk about ‘enemy’ really mean? 

            

      My hunch is this, and I’m still working on it a little bit, but deep down inside, we paint anyone who opposes us as enemies.  This means, anybody who threatens me and the way I like my life.  So really what we are being warned against when it comes to how we treat our enemies is selfishness.  We were created to exist in community.  And we will not always like the people who are in our community.  But the Gospel truth is whether we call them ‘neighbor’ or ‘enemy’, God’s call is to love.  In this day and time, this is a lesson we should all learn to embrace.

Accepting the gift

“Nonetheless, the Lord is waiting to be merciful to you, and will rise up to show you compassion. The Lord is a God of justice; happy are all who wait for him.” - Isaiah 30:18

“He doesn’t deal with us according to our sin or repay us according to our wrongdoing, because as high as heaven is above the earth, that’s how large God’s faithful love is for those who honor him.  As far as east is from west - that’s how far God has removed our sin from us. Like a parent feels compassion for their children - that’s how the Lord feels compassion for those who honor him.  Because God knows how we’re made, God remembers we’re just dust.” - Psalm 103:10-14

As I read both of these passages this morning, I was drawn to the idea of how gracious and generous God is with God’s love.  In light of the Easter season, God’s amazing sacrifice and victory in the Resurrection are a part of that desire God has to be in a relationship with us. God moving toward us.

But the more I read over these passages and reflected upon them, the more I was drawn to the implication of our response. In the Isaiah passage, God appears to be waiting for the people to respond in an appropriate way.  It’s as if the gift is there, they just have to realize it and then open it.  And then in the Psalm, God’s love is connected to ‘those who honor him’.  

I think this concept of God’s waiting love is one of many things I love about our theology in the Wesleyan tradition.  We call it prevenient grace.  The idea that God’s love is active in our lives long before we are aware of it or acknowledge it.  But at some point, we have to receive it.  A gift is only truly a gift when it is opened.  For me to receive a box that is wrapped up only to leave it on my desk means that I never really used/understood/accepted the gift from the generous giver.  It doesn’t change the generosity of the one who gave, but more speaks to the stubborn nature of the recipient.  

I suppose the question is this: how do we start living into the available love and grace that is open to all of us because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ? What would that look like in my life and in yours?

Lenten Love #40

It seems that all my bridges have been burnt

But you say that's exactly how this grace thing works

It's not the long walk home that will change this heart

But the welcome I receive with the restart

-“Roll Away Your Stone”, Mumford and Sons

Every time I hear this song, I think about the Resurrection story.

Christ Is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Happy Easter!

Be Blessed this Easter Season!
Peace,
Brad
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On Waiting

On Waiting

To start, let me say I am a huge fan of Dr. Suess.  Many lessons can be learned from his writings.  And one of my favorites is Oh, The Places You’ll Go!. But I have huge beef with three pages of the book.  And on this day in particular, a day that we are commanded to ‘wait’, it seems to heighten my disapproval.

“You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place. The Waiting Place...for people just waiting. Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting. Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting. NO! That’s not for you! Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying...”

And so on a day in which we have to wait, these words seem hollow to me.  I feel this way during Advent too, a time in which we have to wait for the coming of the Messiah, despite the fact that most of society celebrates his coming immediately following Halloween (a different discussion for a different day).

The thing is, we are all waiting on something.  

Some good things, some not so good.  

My family has experienced an extreme amount of illness this year.  Every time one person comes down with something, we wait for the rest of us to catch it. Seriously, three major viruses since the turn of the year, and my youngest was diagnosed with Flu, Type B just this morning.  She won’t be celebrating Easter with her church family tomorrow.  I suppose we are waiting to see if any of the rest of us catch it.

But there is other waiting too.

I’m waiting for my son to settle back into a solid sleeping pattern, which means I am waiting for more sleep for me too, which means I am waiting to resume my hobby of running, which means I am waiting to feel more healthy myself.  

I’m waiting for my children to get old enough so that we aren’t spending an insane amount of money on child care, which would mean more money to give away and to spend on my severally lacking golf game.  I’m waiting.  

After seven years of living in a place I’d called home, I’m waiting for these roots we’ve planted in Charleston to take hold, so that it too will start to feel like home.

I’m waiting for the weather to warm up, so we are relegated to the house all the time. 

And on top of all of this, I’m waiting to finally hear some good news from some friends of mine who are battling some pretty ferocious shit (excuse the language) right now.  Because in reality, all the stuff that I am waiting for right now, pales in comparison to the stuff they are waiting for.

So, in all due respect to Theodor Giesel, the Waiting Place is a place of value and worth, because we are all there, and we are people of value and worth.  And waiting three days for the best news the world ever received doesn’t seem to be useless at all.

Lenten Love #39

In Psalm 88, the writer asks of God, “Do you work wonders for the dead? Do ghosts rise up and give you thanks?  Is your faithful love proclaimed in the grave, your faithfulness in the underworld? Are your wonders known in the land of darkness, your righteousness in the land of oblivion?” (vss. 10-12)

On this day, Holy Saturday, it is with hope that we answer, “YES!”.  As we wait ever-so, but really not so much, patiently for tomorrow and Resurrection, Jesus had some unfinished business to attend to that answers the Psalmist’s questions.  

As far as details go, I’m not sure we can be certain.  But according to the part of the Apostles’ Creed that we Methodist leave out, Jesus descended to the dead or to hell.  I would like to think that he was bringing a reckoning for all those who had gone before him, settling some unpaid debts if you will.  Maybe even taking the keys to hell and death, like a person taking ownership of newly purchased house.  Where once another had reigned, Jesus was now in charge, forever.

So as we wait, still sitting with the fallout from Good Friday, may we trust in a God that will go to extraordinary lengths for each and every one of us, going literally ‘to hell and back’ for all of humanity.

Be blessed and be strong friends, Easter is coming!
Peace,
B

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Lenten Love #38

My morning devotion took me to Psalm 22.  I've included it below.  The first lines make it obvious why it is a Good Friday text, but I don't think I've ever realized just how much of it relates to this day in particular.

Be blessed and stay strong friends,

B

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My God! My God,
    why have you left me all alone?
    Why are you so far from saving me—
        so far from my anguished groans?
² My God, I cry out during the day,
    but you don’t answer;
    even at nighttime I don’t stop.
³ You are the holy one, enthroned.
You are Israel’s praise.
⁴ Our ancestors trusted you—
    they trusted you and you rescued them;
⁵     they cried out to you and they were saved;
    they trusted you and they weren’t ashamed.

⁶ But I’m just a worm, less than human;
    insulted by one person, despised by another.
⁷ All who see me make fun of me—
    they gape, shaking their heads:
⁸     “He committed himself to the Lord,
        so let God rescue him;
        let God deliver him
        because God likes him so much.”
⁹ But you are the one who pulled me from the womb,
    placing me safely at my mother’s breasts.
¹⁰ I was thrown on you from birth;
    you’ve been my God
    since I was in my mother’s womb.
¹¹ Please don’t be far from me,
    because trouble is near
        and there’s no one to help.

¹² Many bulls surround me;
    mighty bulls from Bashan encircle me.
¹³ They open their mouths at me
    like a lion ripping and roaring!
¹⁴ I’m poured out like water.
    All my bones have fallen apart.
        My heart is like wax;
        it melts inside me.
¹⁵ My strength is dried up
    like a piece of broken pottery.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
    you’ve set me down in the dirt of death.
¹⁶ Dogs surround me;
    a pack of evil people circle me like a lion—
    oh, my poor hands and feet!
¹⁷ I can count all my bones!
    Meanwhile, they just stare at me, watching me.
¹⁸ They divvy up my garments among themselves;
    they cast lots for my clothes.

¹⁹ But you, Lord! Don’t be far away!
    You are my strength!
    Come quick and help me!
²⁰ Deliver me from the sword.
    Deliver my life from the power of the dog.
²¹     Save me from the mouth of the lion.
    From the horns of the wild oxen
    you have answered me!

²² I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
    I will praise you in the very center of the congregation!
²³ All of you who revere the Lord—praise him!
    All of you who are Jacob’s descendants—honor him!
    All of you who are all Israel’s offspring—
        stand in awe of him!
²⁴ Because he didn’t despise or detest
    the suffering of the one who suffered—
    he didn’t hide his face from me.
    No, he listened when I cried out to him for help.

²⁵ I offer praise in the great congregation
    because of you;
    I will fulfill my promises
    in the presence of those who honor God.
²⁶ Let all those who are suffering eat and be full!
    Let all who seek the Lord praise him!
        I pray your hearts live forever!
²⁷ Every part of the earth
    will remember and come back to the Lord;
    every family among all the nations will worship you.
²⁸ Because the right to rule belongs to the Lord,
    he rules all nations.
²⁹ Indeed, all the earth’s powerful
    will worship him;
    all who are descending to the dust
    will kneel before him;
    my being also lives for him.
³⁰ Future descendants will serve him;
    generations to come will be told about my Lord.
³¹ They will proclaim God’s righteousness
        to those not yet born,
        telling them what God has done.

Lenten Love #37

“The messenger said, ‘Don’t stretch out your hand against the young man, and don’t do anything to him. I now know that you revere God and didn’t hold back your son, your only son, from me’.” - Genesis 22:12

This is how the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac ends.  Abraham is asked to do an act that simply repulses many of us today.  I’m really not sure I’ve met anyone who has kids who can stomach this story.  I know I struggle with it.

I cannot imagine having to go to such lengths to prove ourselves to God that we are that faithful. Maybe we are asked, and maybe not many of us live up to it.  Maybe we aren’t asked it such grand terms, yet we still fail.

But here’s what I know with a great deal of certainty: While Abraham proved himself faithful to God and his son was spared, God proves God’s own faithfulness to humanity in the very act of NOT sparing his Son.  That’s all I know.  And even trying to explain the theological meaning behind it all causes my brain to start to hurt. 

So on this Good Friday, let’s give thanks for the sacrifice of both the Father and the Son. For today, that’s enough.

Blessings,

B

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Lenten Love #36

“Being a servant means giving up the right to control your schedule and allowing God to interrupt it 

whenever God needs to.”

Someone recently showed me this quote from a devotion book he was reading.  I thought it was fitting for today.  Today is Maundy Thursday.  We get the word ‘Maundy’ from the old Latin word meaning ‘mandate’ which was a reference to Christ’s command found in John 13:34, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (NRSV).

So, as we remember Christ’s mandate made long ago, may we ponder the ways that mandate impacts the way we live our lives today.

Happy Holy Thursday!

Peace,
B
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Lenten Love #35

The journey we began 43 days ago picks up steam today.  The build up has been long.  It’s like we’ve been slowly climbing to the top of the roller coaster, and it will come flying down the hills and loops in the next two days.  I hope you are ready.

But the reality is this: it doesn’t matter if you and I are ready or not, it’s coming.  Good Friday is coming, and as painful and hard as it is, we cannot stop it.  And then Easter is coming, and no matter how tough life is in these moments, it will not matter that we ‘don’t feel like celebrating’.  Because these days are not based on us at all.  They are all about Jesus.  

Yesterday, Megan preached a beautiful sermon at the Lenten service that reminded us of that fact.  She talked about the woman who anointed Jesus’ body with the perfume, whom the disciples got angry with because of the waste.  She talked about how alone Jesus must have felt.  And how that small act would have given him a glimmer of hope about the days ahead.  Some scholars even believe Jesus would have still been able to smell the perfume that the woman used as he was hanging on the cross, reminding him, that in spite of what his eyes told him, there was reason to hope, that God was still breaking through in this world.

So as you walk through these next few days, as you attend services, prayer walks, prayer vigils, and other such religious activities, take a little time to focus on your relationship with Christ and what he means to you, but also spend some time giving honor to Jesus, sitting with and thinking about who he was and what he went through as a living, breathing human being.

Blessings,
B
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Lenten Love #34

“I, the Lord, probe the heart and discern hidden motives, to give everyone what they deserve, 

the consequences of their deeds.” 

- Jeremiah 17:10, CEB

This verse from Jeremiah spoke to me this morning.  This, like many passages written before Jesus Christ, demonstrate one of the aspect of humanity’s relationship with the Almighty.  God is judge and jury, finding us guilty and then leveling punishment that fits the crime.

But because of Jesus, things changed.  Sure we still have consequences for our actions and there is still suffering in the world because of harm that we do to others.  We are still human after all.  However, Jesus took on the punishment that all of us deserve because of the sin in our lives.  That sin caused separation from God.  Jesus came to be our Advocate and to plead our case before the judge and jury.  This is no more evident than on the cross as Jesus says, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

And with his body he bridged the gap that we had created between ourselves and God and with his arms opened wide on the cross, he invited all to come in.

Friends, Good Friday is coming, but so is Easter. Thanks be to God for both.

Peace,
Brad
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Lenten Love #33

Ok, so I saw this quote today from a Lutheran minister who I have a lot of respect for named Nadia Bolz-Weber.  I think this was from a sermon she preached: 

"So go ahead. Don't wait until you think your motivations are correct. Don't wait till you are sure you believe every single line of the Nicene Creed (no one does). Don't worry about coming to church this week for the right reasons. Just wave branches. Shout praise for the wrong reason. Eat a meal. Have your feet washed. Grab at coins. Shout crucify him. Walk away when the cock crows. Because we, as we are and not as some improved version of ourselves...we are who GOD came to save. And nothing can stop what's going to happen."

We are exactly, our brokenness and pain, are who Christ came to save. I'm not sure there is any better news than that!

Have a great night!

B

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Lenten Love #32

“So all of us who are spiritually mature should think this way and if anyone thinks differently, God will reveal it to him or her. Only let’s live in a way that is consistent with whatever level we have reached.” - Philippians 3:15-16

As a have thought about these words more and more throughout the day, I believe that Paul’s teaching has a strong relevance to Christians today.  I find some are constantly concerned about ‘others’ and how they are living and acting.  And they become so focused on what someone else is or isn’t doing, that they lose track of where they are in their personal walk with Christ.

I find Paul’s words refreshing.  If I may paraphrase him, I think he is saying, “Listen, live like you know you should, don’t focus so much on other people.  Let God worry about them.  Instead, live your life the way you feel like God is calling you to live, and maybe then God can use you as an example for others.  Maybe, just maybe that is how God will reveal God’s own self to others, when you set a good example.”

And for us to live as a light to others because we have a relationship with the Light that is Jesus Christ will go a long way in revealing God to a world that is in desperate need.

Blessings,

B

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Lenten Love #31

“No one has greater love than to give up one’s life for one’s friends.”

John 15:13

I have heard or read this a thousand times over.  It just seems different to gaze upon it at the start of Holy Week.  To think that by the end of the week, we will be grieving Jesus’ death, well, because we have to.  We have to go through Good Friday to get to Resurrection Sunday.

So as we look upon Jesus’ teaching about self-sacrifice in light of what he is about to do, and before we even think about how we are to respond, maybe we should just sit with it for a little while.  He says, “This is what love is” and while it is one thing to just talk about it, he goes further and says, “Now let me show you.” And indeed, there has never been a demonstration more powerful than that.

Thanks be to God for the words, for the words that were shown and for the Word made flesh.

Peace,
B

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Lenten Love #30

“Who can ascend the Lord’s mountain? Who can stand in his holy sanctuary? Only the one with clean hands and a pure heart; the one who hasn’t made false promises, the one who hasn’t sworn dishonestly.  That kind of person receives blessings from the Lord and righteousness from the God who saves.” - Psalm 24:3-5

As I read these words this morning, I thought to myself, “That’s Jesus!”  As the psalmist asks who can stand before the Lord and then proceeds to describe said person, it dawned on me that this is exactly the direction Holy Week is about to take us. We celebrate the fact that while none of us is worthy to stand before the Lord because of our transgressions and sin, one has come and willingly laid down his life to give us a chance.  

This week will be a hard one. Looking back to the cruelty and pain that are levied upon Jesus is, at times, tough to bear.  And to think that he willingly did what he did, just so people like you and me have a chance to live.  And not just to live, but rather to have life abundantly!  That is some mighty good news and something we should remember, no matter how tough this week is or how tough our life may appear.

Have a great Palm Sunday!
Blessings,
Brad

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