Change?
“Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation…’”   - Genesis 12.1-2a

Thus begins a saga of the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Abram has spent 75 years close to dear old dad, Terah, on his father’s land. He’s married Sarai and they have never been able to produce children. One day, we are told, God comes to him and changes his life! God tells Abram not just to move outside his comfort zone, but to take Sarai and MOVE out of their beloved home! Wow! We might be given to believe that all would be smooth sailing for the two of them, since they were doing what God has told them to do.
They are in for a big surprise. It seems that nothing is simple when it comes to following God’s instructions. Abram loves this God who has spoken to him. Trust that God? Eh, that’s the sticky part. His wavering faith and his need to do things his way cause many troubles for he and Sarai. Also sorts of disasters come their way and yet, they persevere on their journey. God shows them that the land of Canaan will be where they will become the ancestors of a great nation. At one point, to avoid famine, the two of them go to Egypt. Not because of any command from God. They went there because Abram was large and in charge of his own life, thank you very much!  He manipulates Pharaoh through trickery and deceit, God gets cranky with Pharaoh; and eventually Pharaoh makes things right by telling Abram to take all that he has received from Pharaoh and get out of Egypt.
Sarai has still not been able to give Abram an heir, so she takes the situation and insists that her slave, Hagar, sleep with Abram. Ishmael is born of that union. Eventually, when Abram is about 99 years old, God changes their names to Abraham and Sarah. Sarah at last becomes a mother to her own child, Isaac. A whole lot of challenges come their way in this story. I invite you to read Genesis starting at Chapter 12, Verse 1 and “hear” the story in its fullness. The story of Abraham and Sarah is a story of change, fear, doubt, growth, and trust in God.
I enjoy this story. Too often we don’t read these “overarching” stories of the lives of individuals in the Bible. I enjoy it, because it reminds me that “change” can be scary. Even though we know that God has promised to be with us through those changes, we still get nervous and want to solve every challenge ourselves or go back to the familiar where we believe it might be safe. Every time there is a hiccup, a bump in that road of change, we forget that God is there and we need not be afraid. We begin to hear our voices instead of God. Disaster ensues, because it isn’t God’s instructions but our own fears we are following. Sometimes, at the very last minute we wake up and hear God encouraging us to “choose life” and travel on, living into the changes.
Change, as it has been said, is inevitable in life. Acceptance and trust are choices we have to make. In the end, Abraham trusts God and accepts the inevitable changes before him. It sure isn’t easy or simple. Yet the results, over time, are wondrous to behold. Where are you facing change in your life? In the life of your family or friends? Keep traveling. Trust God. New life is only possible when we do!

Building Encouragement
 “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God …be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.”   Ephesians 4.29-32  
Many years ago, I directed the children’s and youth choirs in a local church. One of my favorite songs was based on the above verses from the letter to the Church in Ephesus. Years later I encountered one of my choristers, now grown and on her own in the world. She reminded me of that particular song and shared how she still sings it and how much it impacted the way in which she lives her life. Wow. That was exactly what I had hoped would happen when we learned those songs! You see, singing engages both sides of our brains and therefore plants the words more enduringly in our memory! I was reminded of that conversation last Saturday evening, as I sat in my lawn chair next to a sweet 88-year-old lady (she was proud to volunteer her age!). We were listening to the “Akron Symphonic Winds” play some of the “old” songs from the early part of the 20th century and we sang along!
Over and over, the epistles speak of “building one another up”, with words that “give grace to those who hear”. This is a direct rebuke of bullyish behavior. You see, bullies give nasty or demeaning nicknames, insult others about how they look, their speech, their physical or mental challenges, and more, all so that the bully can feel superior Bible passages such as this one from Ephesians remind us that we are to do differently, to build up and not tear down.
Compliment a stranger on their shirt or dress, or their hairstyle, or their smile. Compliment a parent on their child or children. Sympathize with that parent struggling to calm a child. Be aware of ways that you may be helpful to others. I have been the recipient of such kindnesses and find my shoulders straighten and my smile comes out when I hear the kind words of others to me.
 To borrow a phrase, when you see something good, say something positive! In many cases, you may be the only good news they hear all day.
          Too many of have lost the way to give a non-threatening smile to an individual we see. Try it and see how often that smile comes back to you and the ways in which the individual's appearance or demeanor changes.
           It is lovely to tell or acknowledge someone such things face to face. While not often possible, a written note also has greater value than we might believe. I have been the recipient of written notes over the years. I would find myself re-reading them and feeling encouraged in times when I was sad, overwhelmed, or even doubted my place and contribution to this world.
Maybe you really liked the music someone shared. Perhaps it spoke to your heart and you feel grateful. Possibly someone provided nurture for your body or spirit. Maybe you saw someone aiding another person or warmly engaging another person in conversation at a meeting or your local church. Perhaps you see a congregation "member" actively engaging guest who comes to receive encouragement.
         Were you the recipient of someone's kindness and it changed your outlook or lifted your spirit? Did a child do something that gave you hope for the future or simply gave you a smile? Perhaps you see someone giving time and talent to one of the vital outreach activities in the life of the congregation. Big or small, our actions do truly matter. You may well find yourself lifted up, encouraged, and smiling as you attempt to do so for someone else.
          The best way to share the gospel is to BE Jesus for someone else. In that moment, you have demonstrated your belief that they are worthy of acknowledgement, respect, and love. Laugh with those who rejoice; sit with those who weep; feed those who are hungry; make a difference in the world, one Jesus action at a time.
 
“Do for others what you want others to do for you.” (translation, mine), says Jesus in Luke 6.31 and Matthew 7.12. Words to love by. Always.

Failures, Faults, and Faithfulness

In the Hebrew Scripture books of 1&2 Samuel, we read the King David story and how he became king and what happened to his kingdom rule. David is a deeply flawed individual. He is headstrong and often foolish or selfish in his behaviors. Yet, he truly loves God. He never stops believing in God, even as he relies on himself and gets into awful troubles. Those awful troubles usually result in others, besides David, paying a steep price.
Too many times we overlook or dismiss the failures and faults of the “heroes” of the Bible. We focus on the gallant things they have done and ignore the awful things. This truly skews the picture for us all. We can see these figures as powerful or even better than we are. We begin to match our faults to their successes and feel that we are lacking somehow in our own lives.
The Bible doesn’t skim over the faults of God’s children. Throughout the story of David, as example, we are continually made aware of his failures and his willfulness.  We also get a good picture of the consequences of those actions, and the pain caused to others. We see the many times that others pointed the gravity of David’s deeds to him in order to turn his arrogance to humility.
David loved God. He never lost that love. Yet, David also loved David, at times more than David loved God.  The Psalms attributed to him are filled with his remorseful pleadings and confessions to God. It was only in the aftermath of his arrogance that David fell down before God, offered repentance and sacrifice, and accepted his actions as his sin. Isn’t that true of most of us? David had many opportunities to choose his actions wisely. He didn’t. He lost beloved family and community respect because of his behavior.
Yet, still God loved him. God never gave up on him or turned away from him.  God used that faulted, failure of a man to do good as well, and commended David’s faithfulness. David rose from obscurity to power yet died without fanfare or glory. He did great things for Israel and for that he is remembered.
When we choose to read or teach only the “good stuff” of the heroes and their heroic deeds, we are in danger of believing that we are a disappointment to God. After all, we have failed to be heroes, we have faltered in our own arrogance and we have tried to credit God with the faults we commit when our focus shifts from God to our own selfish desires. When we read the whole story, the picture is much more faithful to the way that God sees us. Yes, we are also flawed. Yes, we also have faults. Yes, we often fail. God never gives up on us or turns away from us. God constantly calls us to turn around (metanoia – literally “change one’s mind”) and choose the better path, the one that leads to faithfulness. God loves us. God loves us as we are, and for what God knows we can become.
Every hero has a backstory. Every hero has times when that hero is a failure, surrenders to the hero’s own will and desires, instead of the way that leads to goodness and wholeness for themselves and for others.  When we only compare our lives to the heroic acts of others, we are at risk of becoming convinced that we are failures, unlovable, and unredeemable. The Bible stories show us that those “failure” times do not need to define us. We do not need to get stuck in our own faults. With the love of God, we are able to change our minds and accept the grace we are offered, in order to do goodness in Jesus’ name.

Jesus Loves Me - the Bible Tells Me So

 I believe that there are not many Christians, or even non-Christians, who do not know at least the first verse of this song. I was glad to hear him make the connection with Karl Barth, a 20^th century theologian. The story is that Professor Barth once made this statement in response to a query asking if he could sum up his life’s work in theology in one sentence. “Yes, I can” he is purported to have replied. "In the words of a song I learned at my mother’s knee: ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’”

That story has long troubled me. Exactly how did Barth know that the Bible told him? Was it the words on the pages? Was it the stories Jesus told? Did something just light up as he read and give him the sign? It’s important to note here that theologians and bible scholars for two thousand years or so have wrestled with this question. There are libraries filled with the written works of these devoted servants as they have tried to describe God and how God’s love for humanity is mediated through Jesus the Christ. I am in no way trivializing that work. 1,500 to 2,000 years of life, languages, and human understanding have transpired since the words of Scripture were first recorded, even first reported!

Language is always changing, until it dies. The Bible has gone through many languages, some with meanings lost to time. Some of those translations claim to be literal, although we truly do not know the subtleties of the ancient languages they translate. Some folks read the Bible literally, usually as a book of rules, a set of “do’s” and “don’ts” for life. We must get those rules right, or God won’t love us and we will be lost to eternity. Others read the Bible, and hear “morality tales”, cautionary stories of the consequences of “bad” or “sinful” behavior. Still others read the Bible metaphorically, looking for the words of wisdom and the ways in which God might connect with humanity and encourage us.

One of my personal favorite theologians is Rudolf Bultmann. He wrote about the Bible as a thin veil between us and the Divine. He believed that when we spend time reading, praying, and studying Scripture, there are moments when the Spirit of God blows gently through the words and moves the veil. In those moments, we gain insights to the glory of the Divine and the depth of love that God has for us. Another of my favorite theologians, John Wesley, saw the Scriptures as an illumination of God’s Grace, there for us before we even know we are in need of it. The opening translated words of John 3.16 tell us, “For God so loves the world that God gave Jesus…” God loves us first. That, friends, is Grace. We act toward ourselves and others with that same Grace, in gratitude for the Grace, the Love, that God has already given and continues to give to us. For me, when Jesus tells the Pharisee that the Greatest Commandment is to love God with every fiber of our being, and the second, just as important, is to love others as we love ourselves, we need to pay attention. He further states that “on these two hang all the Law and all the Prophets”. (Matthew 22.34-40) How do we practice that love? By acknowledging and practicing the Love we have received, throughout all of creation.

I remind myself of this every day. We live in cranky, angry times. It’s not easy to love the unlovely. By God’s Grace, it is possible. I don’t believe the Bible is first about morality, mine or anyone else’s. It is about the Love that comes through the practice of Grace. When others see that Grace in us, we don’t need to judge them. We don’t need to chastise or shun them. We need to show them the Love and Grace of God, through who and how we are. It isn’t so much about changing minds, as it is about the deep change of heart that God’s Grace works in us. Don’t tell others. Show them. As the song from the “Jungle Book” film says, “Ooo, I wanna be like you.” May it be so, and may we sing this to God. Then, and only then, will others begin to understand Grace, not judgement.

"For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another." Romans 12.4-5

John 17:18-21 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

"As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth. I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in my through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in my and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me."  - John 17.18-21

Religion can be a set of beliefs about God or it can be an adherence to the rules of a spiritual teacher. It can be an activity that leads one to behave in an intensely devoted way, or a systematic approach to moral and ethical direction.
The root of the word is Latin. "ligere" meaning tied or bound, and "re" a prefix meaning again. Religion throughout recorded history has been a means of taking people who may have become separated and tying them together again. Those bound together by religion have rules, doctrines, beliefs and practices that adherents believe identify them as distinct from others.
"Religion" is an overarching designation for those practices that keep us distinct. Whether your religious practice is Hindu, Buddhism, Christian, Judaism, Islam, or one of so many others; it is common agreement to certain tenets that keep you connected - bound - to one another in that religious practice, that particular "faith".
Humans seem to be somewhat obsessed with being more correct, more unique, more important than others. It doesn't take long for a faith to become fractured and divided as adherents disagree on what remains "core" belief and how that faith practice is lived out in community and in the world.
Christianity is a good example of this phenomenon, yet by no means is it unique in the experience.
The early Church consisted of small congregations who were encouraged and lead through the teachings of the Apostles, and the letters of faithful followers that circulated among the believers.
As happens, over time differences arose. Eventually conflict came, some congregations identified and connected with the Eastern part of the Church and the Constantinople leadership. Other congregations identified and connected with the Western part of the Church and the leadership in Rome. Since 1054 these two "halves" of the Church have been disconnected from one another.
In the early 16th century there began what came to be called the "Protestant Reformation". Ostensibly it began with Martin Luther who questioned several of the Roman Church's teachings. The main conflict was not unlike the main East/West conflict. The Roman Church insisted that a core teaching for Christian faith must be the infallibility of the Pope. They held that the Pope could never be wrong in teachings, because that office began with Jesus' "appointment" of Peter as the first Pope and the continued work of the Holy Spirit in choosing his successors.
What began as "house churches" two thousand years ago, today exists as myriad Christian faith practices, each holding some unique teaching or interpretation of Scripture that "separates" one from the other. Not all Christian faith practices agree on what is necessary for salvation or for Christian faith itself. As we have become more divided as people, more intransigent and intractable in our belief demands, the possibility that "all may be one" seems more and more remote.
Here is are some questions that lay on my heart. What if the Kingdom of God cannot be fully realized until all of God's disciples are willing to lay aside their demands and come together? Will the day ever come when we accept that we are stronger together than we are in conflict with one another? When we give assent at last in agreement on the core tenets of a faithful Christian life and accept that much of what we demand is "adiaphora" - unnecessary for faith or salvation? Jesus told his first disciples that "wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." (Matt. 18.20) Imagine how the world could change of we ALL came together in Jesus' name? What a day that would be!