Questioning Life

No Time to Waste (Mark 1:14-20, 1 Cor. 7:29-31)

Jesus has been born. We have followed him now from Christmas, through his manifestation to the Gentile world (Epiphany and the Three Kings), and saw him baptized. Now, we see the grown Jesus who has begun his ministry. He tells us that the Kingdom of God is near, at hand, and that we should believe the Gospel of God. That means that the Kingdom has come into history. Jesus calls us to live for that Kingdom, to live for him, for he himself is the kingdom. We don’t have all the time in the world, so to speak. The world as we know it will soon come to an end and be transformed. God is in charge of his world.

Jesus tells us the gospel of God. God’s rule as King is beginning. We must now adjust ourselves to God’s time (repent). God’s kingdom has come into history, with both present and future aspects.

Jesus calls these first disciples, who were very, very ordinary guys. They disappoint him again and again, especially noticeable in Mark’s Gospel. Still, Jesus holds onto these same men as his first followers. He gives them everything he has, all that he is. And, Jesus leads them to the kingdom, the kingdom he talks about here. But, Jesus did not stop calling followers with those first 12. He calls us, too. We are here because we were called by God to be here. And, we are the same ordinary men and women Jesus has called to follow him from these early days.

What to Do When Your Cup Overflows

You remember the line in the 23^rd Psalm: “You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (NIV). Many of us still think first of the older King James Version, “my cup runneth over.” Have you ever considered what you might do with that overflow, with the excess, with the abundance of God’s Spirit, God’s gifts?

Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153), Doctor of the Church and founder of 70 monasteries, had a suggestion worth considering:

“We must not give to others what we have received for ourselves; nor must we keep for ourselves that which we have received to spend on others…(Y)ou dissipate and lose what is your own, if without right intention and from some wrong motive, you hasten to outpour yourself on others when your own soul is only half filled.

“If you are wise therefore you will show yourself a reservoir and not a canal. For a canal pours out as fast as it takes in; but a reservoir waits till it is full before it overflows, and so communicates its surplus… We have all too few such reservoirs in the Church at present, though we have canals in plenty…. They (canals) desire to pour out when they themselves are not yet inpoured; they are readier to speak than to listen, eager to teach that which they do not know, and most anxious to exercise authority on others, although they have not learnt to rule themselves… Let the reservoir of which we spoke just now take pattern from the spring; for the spring does not form a stream or spread into a lake until it is brimful…. Be filled thyself; then, but discreetly, mind, pour out thy fullness…. Out of thy fullness help me if thou canst; and if not, spare thyself” (Sermons on the Song of Songs, from For All the Saints, Vol. III: Year 2, Frederick J. Schumacher, editor, [Delhi, NY: the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, 1995], pp. 187-8).

This is good advice, and from the 12^th century! If we think of God’s gift of the Holy Spirit filling our lives until the fullness of the Spirit “runneth over,” perhaps we could divert this overflow into the lives of those around us and out into our communities.

At the beginning of this New Year, why not let God’s grace and Spirit flow into, through and out of your soul? Don’t dam up the reservoir about which Bernard speaks. Instead, allow for a spillway, so that the Spirit may more easily overflow, taking God’s blessings and God’s grace into the lives of others, through your witness.

Remember that God did not bless Abraham and Sarah with a blessing that stopped there. God said, instead, “I will bless you…and you will be a blessing…and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12).

 That is how we should see ourselves. God has blessed us, adopting us through Christ as his sons and daughters. This is not a gift we can grasp tightly to ourselves. God calls us to be a blessing to those around us, thus witnessing to God’s grace.

Go, be a blessing to someone. Spill the Holy Spirit all over them!

Christ is at the Door (conclusion)

Everything is not yet revealed, but the promise of transformation means we are called to practice humility…and gratitude. What would it look like if we celebrated Christmas as if we really expected to see Jesus again, and sooner than later?

Remember that the Heidelberg Catechism is divided into three sections—guilt (for our sin), grace (God’s gift of our salvation) and gratitude (lived out in service). Remember, too, the words of Mother Teresa when speaking about her organization in Kolkata, India, saying that they are not social workers…they are there doing the work of Christ because this is what God wants them to do. This is gratitude lived out in one’s life.

As many of us sat with family and friends celebrating Thanksgiving Day, we shared that for which we are grateful. I would expect that those “thankful” lists included family, friends, health, and probably thanks for things we have or what we have achieved.

The gratitude of which I write is somewhat different. Foundational to our lives as created by God is gratitude for who we are in Christ, a status we can claim by the grace of God. We are also grateful for who we will be—in God’s presence for all eternity. This is real Thanksgiving, gratitude for being called to be children of God, saved through faith in Jesus Christ.  

We are also called in this in-between time to practice humility. Again, we don’t practice gratitude or humility for God’s good gifts. Look again at the order: guilt—grace—gratitude. Our salvation is something that comes to us from outside ourselves, from God, completely as gift. Therefore, we can only accept God’s grace in humility. We don’t deserve it. We can’t buy it. We can’t pray or fast or feed the poor enough to merit it. After all is said and done, our status as children of God is still 100% gift.

Someone has said that “humility is the ladder to divine understanding.” God knows what he is doing. We do not. By following Christ we can, over time, understand more about the ways of God. Of course, at the end we are still on the first rung of the ladder!

When Jesus returns, all this will be made clear and complete. While we wait, we wait in gratitude and in humility. We humbly acknowledge that God is meanwhile transforming creation, ourselves included. What little we can understand, we can know that Jesus is just outside our door...not “if” but “when.”

I read this Celtic prayer on a blog I like:

Christ with us sleeping, Christ with us waking, Christ with us watching, each day and each night. Save us, Lord, while we are awake, guard us while we are asleep; that, awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in his peace.

I would add the following:

May you watch for Christ.

May you watch with Christ.

And, may Christ watch over you. Amen.

Christ is at the Door, part 4

Jesus will come as King. This will wrap up time and creation as we know them. Therefore, the world, everything and everyone, will be judged as the old is transformed into the new. We see the signs all around us, but we find it hard to believe that all this will take place. It has been so long since the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is often hard to keep our faith. It seems easier to try and pick dates when all this will happen, or tie the promises in scripture to current events. Harold Camping. Adventism.

The Bible teaches that we should be neither fanatic nor unconcerned about the dates. Christ is ever at our doors. Don't sleep. Do watch.

We have, after all, seen many of the "whens" come to pass: prophets come and go, but calamities seems to be worse and worse--earthquakes, floods, fires, falling meteors or space debris, tsunamis, riots, revolutions. Are the ancient powers on the move?  It is confusing, so many signs, year after decade after century. Remember that these are meant to be "when" questions of comfort. Why, because the question is not "if" Jesus is coming, but "when." For those who believe, the "when" will be a time of great comfort.

So let us be concerned with questions of transformation. We will be changed, and that is a good thing, a good "when." 

Christ is at the Door, part 3

The disciples ask Jesus about the last days. Jesus answers by preparing them for a new phase of history (earlier in chapter 13). Just as we are often captivated by events like the discovery of a Mayan calendar that might indicate their belief that the world will end in 2012, or it might only mean that it will be time to turn to the next calendar year!

The end of history will be a time of a break and of a connection. We can expect a radical break with anything which hinders the return or rule of Christ. The resurrection forces already at work in history will be a continuing connection. The church has traditionally been more concerned about the break than about the connection. Scripture speaks of an expansion of the Kingdom of God, suggesting a connection between our world and the new creation. First, the faithfulness of God will be continued. God does not leave unfinished what he has begun. Our Redeemer guarantees our resurrection. We sense eternal joy related to this already. This, too, will connect with the future world. The cross represents the break. The resurrection represents the connection.

Two weeks ago, quoting John Henry Newman (1830s): “Christ is ever at our doors.” Even as the entire creation falls apart around us, God is restoring the brokenness of humanity, first broken in Adam’s fall. God does this by gathering the new humanity in Christ from all over the world (the four winds), from every nation. Look how fast the church is growing in Asia, Africa and South America. A good question might be whether there will be a church in Europe or North American when Christ returns!

In his mercy, God is gathering the fragments of scattered humanity, “forging them together by the fire of love” (Augustine), making one new creation from the pieces of the old. “The one who formed, shall reform” (Augustine). At the judgment, these who are called and gathered will be separated from the rest. The judgment will be God setting everything right. Every relationship will be reconciled to God and to the ways of God, oppressors will be dethroned, and the poor and humble will have breathing room. 

As in 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8 and other texts, the call to “watch” brought with it an appeal for prayer and for the resistance of the hostile powers in the world. This probably means bearing suffering witness and perseverance to the end.

The great theme of Jesus’ proclamation is the coming of the Kingdom of God and the judgment that accompanies it. The coming of God for judgment and salvation takes place through the coming of the Son of Man.

No Believer Left Behind, 5

We are better able to see the meaning of life: “Christ, then, is ever at our doors” (John Henry Newman, 1830s). This is a good motto, too. So, if you were to make a banner or even write this on a slip of paper and attach it to your fridge, I suggest these two sayings. First, “Watch and Pray.” Pray that you are ready when Jesus comes. Second, write this—“Christ is always at my door.” Listen for his footsteps. Was that the doorbell? Listen. Watch, pray, listen.

Kierkegaard (Provocations, #68): “When a ship is put to sea, the end of a cable is cast out and fastened to a tugboat – and in this way the ship is drawn (out into the sea). When a human life is to be commenced and continued without too much dependence upon the temporal, a cable must be cast out. Christ alone is the drawing power from eternity to all eternity.” Christ draws, pulls us to himself, meaning as Paul writes, that Christ will draw us to himself in the air upon his return.

Paul has taught us so much about God here, especially that God is faithful to keep his promises, that God’s Son will return, that we belong to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, for all eternity, both in life and in death. Then, Paul taught us at least these six facts about ourselves, whether members of Thessalonica Presbyterian Church in AD 60 or members of Norwalk Presbyterian Church in the Year of Our Lord, 2011.  Do what Paul tells you to do!

Keep faith in God and in the promises of God. This is an entirely risk-free investment. You cannot lose.

Love one another. This is how people will know you are a follower of Jesus. Nothing you can say will bear a stronger witness than your love.

Remain hopeful. God is in charge. God wins! Read the end of the book.

Be joyful at all times. You belong to Jesus Christ. No one can change that. Nothing can change that.

Prayer is your lifeline to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Talk to God. Listen to God. Share your life with God, joys and sorrows and needs and wants.

Practice gratitude through your service of others. God is faithful. In this we rejoice and are grateful.

God is faithful. He will do what he said he will do. Christ is ever at your door, but if you are in Christ, you will not be left behind.

No Believer Left Behind, 4

The faithful Christian always lives in a state of readiness and watchfulness. Sleep half awake, that is, rise often during the night and give thanks to God (Clement of Alexandria).

The coming of the Lord may be painful, just like any process of repentance and transformation into new life (Chrysostom). Big changes lie ahead!

How are you waiting for the Lord’s return? Or, do you not really believe it might happen in your own lifetime?

What does it look like when we are staying awake and watching for the return of Jesus? Paul says stay sober minded, clear headed, neither drunk nor deluded by the activities around you. We all suffer from such short attention spans these days, don’t we? We spend our days in front of one screen or another. We seek distraction, or as they say in India, “time pass.” We go to any length to avoid boredom. I am that way. I carry a book, paper or electronic, with me all the time. I never know when I might be delayed somewhere for an hour. What would I do? Waste time!

Paul continues by saying that his message has been one of hope—we will spend eternity with Jesus! That should cause us to encourage one another, to build each other into a better church, into better believers. He goes on to say, later in this chapter, that we are to help the weak and be patient with one another, always striving to do what it good for everyone, rejoicing, expressing gratitude to God, holding onto the good and rejecting evil.

And, throughout Paul’s letters and in the words of Jesus in the Gospels, there is always a sense that we are to serve the least among us, always.

People pay less attention to what we say than to what we do. An upright life is a great attraction to the way of truth. Paul puts the health of the community into the hands of individuals, not just the elders, pastors, teachers and other leaders: edify one another; comfort one another. You have known each other a long time, strengths and weaknesses. Use that to build each other into a “better” temple.

Wake up! Live lives of faith, courage, love, sobriety and service. Christ’s coming will then be an occasion of joy and not fear.

Do not be struck blind by the values and practices of the age in which we live. These are not always biblical values or practices.

Know your Bible. How else can you be ready, if you would be so easily led astray by everyone offering a date for the end, or Left Behind novel that comes along, striking fear into some hearts.

Time will yield to eternity when Christ returns. Everything as we know it will come to an end. This is a hopeful time for those of us who are asleep in Christ (not for those asleep to Christ). The Advent hope is an incentive to Christian life and conduct here and now. The power to do this comes from the indwelling Spirit (4:8). God is gracious.

No Believer Left Behind, 3

Many people refuse to believe that God the Son will come to earth and be with his people, that Jesus will return. Further, people ignore what they call the outdated advice of Jesus and Paul that we should “watch and pray.”

Many are asleep to the presence of God (v. 6). Christ’s coming will be a disaster for them. They live, as Paul points out, in a dream world. One day is pretty much like another. While God is at work in the world around them, they take no notice. They talk about someone being lucky, or that some event or other is miraculous. They think of God as acting in the past, before people were educated as well as today. Now, they say, we know better.

Give up the dream world of a false security. You can only take good insurance so far. Your health will be good only so long. They hope for luck, lucky numbers, 11/11/11.

George Washington Carver (and the KJV Bible, Proverbs 29:18, “where there is no vision, the people perish”): “Where there is no vision, there is no hope.” Those who do not see God have no vision and no hope.

In the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), the ten girls took lamps to wait to meet the bridegroom. Note the same metaphors here in Matthew that Paul is using. Christ is the bridegroom. The church is the bride, here symbolically the ten bridesmaids. The foolish five took no oil with them, the five who were prudent did. In other words, they were not really prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom. They dozed off. Their lamps burned out. Just as in Paul’s letter, the girls were not watchful. They did not keep awake. The Bridegroom arrived unexpectedly, went in with the girls who had stayed awake, and locked the door behind them all.

 Look around you at how many have no clue anyone might be coming at all. You are a follower of Jesus. You cannot live like that.

No Believer Left Behind, 2

Our Christian motto is Watch and Pray. We should have banners made! It seems a paradox—the coming of Christ is soon, but perhaps, not soon.

Remember a time when the present was disrupted abruptly, changing our lives forever. What was it for you, 911? Was it the recession of 2008 to the present? Was it one of our major earthquakes in California? Was it a change in your family, perhaps a death or a divorce? Paul compares the return of Christ to one of these cataclysmic events, one that will happen without warning, one that will change your life forever.

How did this occasion help you see that many have no focus on God at all? Did you think of God when your life was overturned? What about those who have these experiences and never think about God? Aren’t these the ones who will truly be left behind?

The theme of this letter is that God is faithful and gracious. Let us ask this text two questions: what does 1 Thessalonians tell us about God, and what does 1 Thessalonians tell us about mankind, ourselves? We will start with God!

The primary theme concerns God and his reliability. God makes claims on those who agree to become children of God through faith in God’s Son, Jesus. God wants us to respond. So, we have the responsibilities of faith, of prayer, or readiness for the return of Christ to his throne and his kingdom. To this end, God makes promises to us, to be our God, to keep all believers close to Christ for all eternity, no matter whether those believers are alive or dead at the second coming. God give us his Spirit and the gifts to make our response possible. God is gracious.

As for what the text says about us, Paul lays out how the church has responded to God’s faithful acts. Our human response is to accept the terms God lays out for us. We must claim our sin, confess it, repent of it and turn away from it. Paul here says as much when he writes of the church turning from dead idols and towards the living God, from darkness to light. God is now our focus, not our own agendas. We belong, body and soul, in life and in death, to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ. Where would we turn? Paul reminds the church in Thessalonica that their faith has shown itself in action, their love has resulted in the labor of hope and persistence (1:3). Why? They did this as a response to God having called them to faith. God chose this church. And the believers responded by copying that they learned from Jesus and from Paul and his party. Their suffering was a model for all of Macedonia, even into Greece (Athens, Achaia). This was the proof of their faith, that they turned away from the dead idols of their culture, refusing to play along with the belief of their neighbors. It was and is costly to take this approach. God is watching. We must be watchful. Jesus is coming back. God is faithful to his promises. Paul advises the believers to live quiet lives and to attend to their own business (4:11), always remaining hopeful in the faithfulness of God.

We don’t know when Christ will return, but why worry? He will return, and we will be with him for eternity. Paul lists six attributes of the lives of those who are followers of Jesus, as they wait for his return: faith, love, hope, joy, prayer and gratitude. We should not take any of these for granted, but work constantly on each attribute.

Paul ends by returning to his large theme in this letter, that of union with Christ. We are in Christ and nothing can separate us from Christ. This means that you, as a believer, and Christ are not two but one. Your destinies are intertwined for all time, and beyond.

This is what Paul is telling us here about God and about the Christians in Thessalonica. We can learn much for our own Christian walk.

No Believer Left Behind (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)

God is faithful. He will do what he said he will do. Wake up! Don’t wait for Christ’s return by living in carelessness or sin. Keep on your toes.

In my Bible, the book of 1 Thessalonians is three pages long. Remember that this is an early, perhaps the earliest letter written by Paul. He writes to a church that is a model to all the believers in Macedonia. Even in their suffering, they joyously imitate Jesus, Paul and Paul’s party. Their faith is known throughout the region, even apparently as far as Athens. These new Christians had turned away from idols, turning towards the living and true God. Paul longed to see his friends in Thessalonica once more, but he sent Timothy to them instead. He also encourages them to understand that, even though the Lord has not yet returned, those who have already died will not miss out on any of the promises of God regarding the resurrection and the future. They must remain hopeful and trust God. Upon the return of Christ, all those who believe, whether dead or alive, all will meet Christ in the air upon his return and will remain with him forever.

A big question here is whether we are asleep to Jesus or asleep in Jesus. It is good to be in Christ, as Paul has written throughout, sleeping in Jesus, dying in Christ, the sleep from which God will wake us to his new day.

Our defensive weapons against the sleep that is not focused on God or the ways of God are these three: faith, love and hope. This is our only defense against the missiles lobbed at us by sin, death and the devil (v. 8). Faith and love happen now, but hope in set off in the future. Hope allows a perspective from “the other side” of the present. It helps us see reality from God’s point of view. Without hope for the future, of what use is the present?

God is faithful. He will do what he said he will do. Practice faith, love and hope until Christ returns.