Month: November 2016

One year later…

/ JJS / 1 Comment

Blogging – especially about faith – has been a humbling experience. Pretty quickly I learned that I’m not writing to instruct, but to learn. Each lesson I draw from scripture is one I need to internalize; sometimes I can, sometimes … not so much. Every  day I realize how far short I fall from being the person I think Jesus and God want me to be. 

But that’s a good thing. More than once I’ve paused before doing or saying something to think: “Be the person your blog thinks you are” and made a (hopefully) better choice. James warns us about the dangers of calling ourselves teachers, the struggle with hypocrisy. So I’m happy to be a flawed student sharing my notes and homework with you.

Today marks the one year anniversary of Comfort & Challenge. I haven’t missed a day, though some have squeaked in just under the midnight wire, and that surprises me. I have you to hank for that. Thoughtful, kind, and challenging reactions here and in the Facebook group help me feel like this is a conversation, and it would be rude to quit in the middle. Plus I am genuinely interested in what you have to say.

Because the blog is based on the daily lectionary, and the lectionary takes us through the bible in two years, we have reached the halfway point of Comfort and Challlenge, at least in its current format. I am excited for the downhill leg, and blessed to share it with readers who have been with me from the start and those who meet us along the road.

Thank you for reading, and God bless you.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

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Beautiful version of an Advent classic.

 

Invitation: Graduation

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Today is the first Sunday of Advent. It’s a solemn season when we reflect on the past and look toward the future. Advent reminds us why Christ needed to come into the world, and why we need him to return. As the world observes the approaching Christmas holiday by urging you to buy more, eat more, and do more, the church asks you to slow down, to remember, to mourn. The world’s message is a lot more fun, but all it seems to get us … is more of the world. The conflict. The need. The emptiness.

No one wants to be a wet blanket tossed over the Christmas party buffet, but Christmas without Advent is like celebrating a graduation for someone who never went to school: the cap and gown are nice for a day, but ultimately there’s nothing inside. The season of Advent is our preparation for the Christmas graduation. It is a time for exams – examination of ourselves, examination of our relationship with Christ, and examination of the world in all its brokenness. At the end of our forty-day term, we understand why the world needs Christ. And like graduation, Christmas is a watershed moment. It marks the completion of one journey, and the beginning of another. What we learn during Advent is celebrated on Christmas, but then we have the responsibility of putting that knowledge to work to better ourselves and the world.

Advent means we have the opportunity to prepare and graduate every year. Like any school experience, you get out of it what you put into it, especially if you are wise enough to retain and build on what you learned before. Every year we learn what more we can contribute, and understand better how that all depends on surrendering ever more completely to our dependence on our God. The wiser we get, the less we know.

So if Advent is our school term, the communion table is our study group. Here we check in with our adviser, and learn from our fellow students. But we can’t just sit in the room with our noses buried in our own books; we must become invested in each other’s success. To know when to tutor, and when to be tutored. To dedicate ourselves to one another, because that is the condition of the full ride scholarship paid for with the life of Jesus. Whatever our life circumstances, the offer is available. Communion is the ultimate student union.

Pop quiz: Who does Christ invite to the table? Answer: Everyone.

May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Your Humble Servant

/ JJS / 2 Comments

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 63; 149, Zechariah 14:12-21, Philippians 2:1-11, Luke 19:41-48

The media often portrays Christians as some sort of monolithic hive-mind, acting and reacting in unison. The truth is, we are all over the map on social and political issues, and understanding or representing anything deeper than a caricature of us takes more work and nuanced thought than the average broadcaster or viewer will invest.

The fault may be partially our own. We each have an assumption of what it means to be Christian, and by default tend to project it onto other Christians until they prove otherwise. Now that doesn’t mean we necessarily buy into the definition we are projecting; some of us assume other Christians will agree with us, and others assume we will be opposed on some issues. It can be tempting to say someone isn’t a “real” Christian if they think differently than we do, or to quickly make it clear we aren’t one of “those” Christians. Either way, too often we limit what it means to be Christian, making it that much easier to stereotype us.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul advises them to “be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” In our diversity, have we betrayed that advice? Is it any longer possible for the diverse universe of Christians to be in “full accord?” It is if we look at how Paul defined it:

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.

There isn’t one word of dogma in there. No specific religious practice. It says to look out for others first. That means listening more than convincing. Learning more than preaching. Serving more than insisting. Loving more than condemning. If I’m putting you first, and you’re putting me first, we aren’t even agreeing on who is first – but we are acting in accord. Following Christ isn’t about insisting others believe exactly as we do, but on serving them exactly as we believe Christ would have us do.

Comfort: You can love and serve Christians who think differently than you do.

Challenge: You have to love and serve Christians who think differently than you do.

Prayer: Lord, teach me to be your humble servant to all people. Amen.

Discussion: Beyond accepting Jesus, do you think there is a minimum set of beliefs necessary to be a Christian?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Guess Again

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 84; 148, Zechariah 14:1-11 , Romans 15:7-13 , Luke 19:28-40

Jesus used many parables to describe the Kingdom of Heaven: great banquets, lost sheep, bridesmaids, poor but generous widows, scattered seed, and on and on. What he didn’t do was provide a literal description. We can assume this was intentional, and for good reasons. However, while we wrestle with those reasons and interpret parables, we continue to disagree on the details. Perhaps the best, if most trite, advice we have is: “Expect the unexpected.”

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, he confounded both Pharisees and Roman officials by mocking the authority of empire. He also defied the expectations of his own Jewish people, who were anticipating a military-style messiah but got a radical peacenik. Because he was not limited by assumptions, he embodied an unpredictable threat to both the status quo and the hoped-for change.

The Apostle Paul also operated outside acceptable social parameters. As a Jew and Roman taking the gospel to the Gentiles, he expanded the Christian world beyond the imaginations of Christ’s original Jewish disciples. Furthermore, in his letter to the Roman church, he justified it using the words of their own prophet Isaiah: “The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope.”

Most of us have some idea of the type of justice we hope to see in Heaven’s fully realized Kingdom. For some, it is the righteous elimination of sin and restoration of goodness. For others, it’s an inclusive realm where the marginalized find their place at the table. There may be as many visions as there are Christians, and somehow the diversity of creation simultaneously supports and disavows each of them. The only thing they all share in common is their incompleteness. Whatever the true Kingdom looks like, it is beyond our imagination – not just in the sense that it is greater than our hopes, but also that it is beyond our ability to conceive.

Insisting on our own vision of the Kingdom is like having a roadmap but never unfolding it; we can only understand the places we’ve already been.

Comfort: The justice you long for is part of the kingdom…

Challenge: … but is it only a part.

Prayer: Gracious God, I will be open to your Kingdom and humble in my expectations. Amen.

Discussion: When did something turn out different – but better – than you expected?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Invest Wisely

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 116; 147:12-20, Zechariah 13:1-9, Ephesians 1:15-23, Luke 19:11-27

Jesus told a parable about a rich man who traveled out of town to secure a royal title. He gave ten of his servants equal sums of money to manage in his absence. The man was not popular, so the town sent messengers to ask that he not be made king, but he received his title. While he was away, one servant doubled his sum and another increased it by half. The new king was pleased and rewarded both with proportionally greater responsibilities. A third servant had buried his sum. Because the king was displeased, the servant explained he feared punishment had he invested the money and lost it. The king took the sum and gave it to the servant who had invested most wisely. The moral is that those who are trustworthy with a little will be given more, and those who are untrustworthy will have it taken away, so use your time and talents to the best of your ability to further the kingdom of God.

Most discussions of this parable focus on using our talents wisely, but let’s ask what it means that the servant buried what was given him, instead of banking it as his master would have preferred. The man was gambling on the hope that his master would not return a king – and maybe not return at all. Banking it left it in his master’s name; burying it in secret gave him a chance to claim it. If we devote our time and talents only to personal gain, and not to the greater purposes of God, we are in effect stealing what has been entrusted to us; we are betting against the ultimate righteousness of God.

Christ drives this point home in more than one parable. No one’s gifts are too meager to be put to good use. While taking a chance with them can be scary, these parables don’t condemn those who try then experience setbacks – they demonstrate disfavor toward those who do nothing. What you have to offer will be multiplied when you put it to use. Trust God to trust you.

Comfort: Your gifts and talents are meaningful when you give them meaning.

Challenge: One talent most of us have is the ability to encourage others in the use of their talents. Be generous with your encouragement.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the many gifts and talents you have given your people. Guide me to use them to glorify you. Amen.

Discussion: Have you ever been surprised to discover a talent you didn’t know you had?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Go climb a tree.

/ JJS / 1 Comment

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
 Psalms 96; 147:1-11, Zechariah 12:1-10, Ephesians 1:3-14, Luke 19:1-10

Zacchaeus was a tax collector and a wealthy man. As a tax collector working for the Roman occupiers, he would have been considered a traitor by many (if not most) of his fellow Jews. As a wealthy person, he would have seemed like the enemy to many of the poor and oppressed followers of Christ. Nevertheless, he was determined to see Christ. Zacchaeus was also short in stature, so in order to see Christ, he climbed a sycamore tree to see over the crowd.

Seeing him in the tree, Jesus called to him, saying: “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” Many people began to grumble: why would Jesus be going to spend time in the home of a sinner? Zacchaeus welcomed Christ into his home, and promised to compensate fourfold anyone he had cheated (a common exploitive practice of tax collectors) and to give generously to the poor. Christ celebrated with him, because a lost sheep had been returned to the fold.

We can all be a Zaccheus. Our desire to know Christ may encounter many obstacles. Perhaps we feel guilt about our sinful past – or present. Maybe others try to stand in judgment between us and Christ. Others, more out of ignorance than ill will, may not realize their language, traditions, and expectations create barriers we can’t see past. And maybe we have shortcomings we can’t change. Whether people are purposefully unwelcoming or just ignorant, we must work with what we’re given.

It may not seem fair, but fairness is not something Christ promised us. If you don’t feel like the church is welcoming you – and that may be equally true for lifelong members as well as those who have never stepped foot in the door – isn’t it better to forge a path than cry about being lost? Christ welcomes any effort to be closer to him – from climbing a tree to facing our critics – by inviting himself into our lives. He doesn’t care whether other people judge or ignore us, so neither should we.

Comfort: Jesus doesn’t need you to be worthy, just willing.

Challenge: If there are obstacles in your way, don’t waste time cursing them when you can be going through them.

Prayer: Loving God, I will make myself available to you. Amen.

Discussion: Describe an obstacle you have overcome.

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Holy Inappropriate

/ JJS / 1 Comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 12; 146, Zechariah 11:4-17, 1 Corinthians 3:10-23, Luke 18:31-43

The Washington Post, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications have written about how the voices of women in the workplace are not heard as strongly as men’s. There are multiple cultural reasons for this, and possibly a few biological ones. When women attempt to compensate, they are often labeled “bossy”, “shrill”, or worse. In environments where men (and sometimes other women) don’t or won’t recognize this phenomenon, women are caught in a no-win scenario of being ignored or being dismissed.

We dismiss a lot of people. As Jesus passed Jericho, a blind beggar on the roadside asked what the commotion was about. When he heard it was Jesus, the beggar called out, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those in front scolded him, but he persisted. Eventually Jesus stopped and ordered the crowd to bring the man over. He asked Jesus to restore his sight, and of course Jesus healed him. Then began to follow Jesus and glorify God, and the crowd praised God also.

Jesus wasn’t concerned that the beggar approach him the “right” way. If he hadn’t shouted and annoyed people, he wouldn’t have been heard at all. His blindness and his poverty were greater issues than whether the people around him were comfortable with how he cried for justice. Except for Jesus, not one person in the crowd was noted to express concern with his situation, but they sure spoke up when his attempt to do something about it inconvenienced them. The majority attempting to silence the minority – or the one – has always been an impediment to justice.

How do we silence people today? How often do we insist they need to be polite more than they deserve justice? We comfortably ignore them as long as they remain quiet in the back of the crowd, shush them when they don’t, then dismiss them as inappropriate and undeserving when they do what they must to be heard. Jesus never said “be polite” or “don’t make anyone uncomfortable.” If someone needs to shout to be heard, it’s time to ask why we didn’t notice them before.

Comfort: Everyone’s voice deserves to be heard.

Challenge: Pay attention to any tendencies you may have to dismiss a message or concern because you don’t like how attention is brought to it.

Prayer: Lord of Peace, teach us to listen to one another in love. Amen.

Discussion: When have you felt like you weren’t heard? Or when have you failed to hear someone else?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Prosperity of the Wicked

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 73; 145, Zechariah 10:1-12, Galatians 6:1-10, Luke 18:15-30

For I was envious of the arrogant;
      I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For they have no pain;
      their bodies are sound and sleek.

They are not in trouble as others are;
      they are not plagued like other people.

Therefore pride is their necklace;
      violence covers them like a garment.

Their eyes swell out with fatness;
      their hearts overflow with follies.

They scoff and speak with malice;
      loftily they threaten oppression.
– Psalm 73:3-8

When the psalmist writes of “the prosperity of the wicked,” who among us can’t relate? The world is full of people who not only get away with but profit from murder, greed, and oppression. Playing by the rules – God’s or man’s – seems to be for suckers. Evil skillfully creates new ways to seize and maintain power at the expense of the most vulnerable. The temptation to fight fire with fire is great. If good were only as conniving, ruthless, loud, and lethal as evil – as willing to do whatever it takes – wouldn’t we all be better off?

Not at all.

Our benchmark is Christ. When he told us to forgive and to turn the other cheek, he didn’t add “until it gets uncomfortable” or “until you are scared” or “until you might lose” or even “until harm threatens you or your loved ones.” Each of us is capable of living out these commands to different degrees, but the standard set by Christ does not waver.

However, let’s never confuse being servants with being subservient to anyone but God. We cry out for justice for the oppressed. We name and stand opposed to evil. We bring light to truths evil would keep in darkness. But we do these things out of love for the least among us, not for retribution or anger. The moment forgiveness is off the table, we have lost more than the battle; we have lost our souls.

Keep the faith, in all ways. While evil will prosper, it does not win unless we accept its ways as our own. You are a child of God, and nothing can take that away.

Comfort: Evil may prosper, but goodness endures.

Challenge: When you are motivated by anger or fear, take time to pray before taking action.

Prayer: Lord, where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon. Amen.

Discussion: Have you ever taken action, then realized the ends did not justify the means?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Hammer or Nails?

/ JJS / 4 Comments

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 108; 150, Zechariah 9:9-16, 1 Peter 3:13-22, Matthew 21:1-13

For Christians, victory is a challenging concept, because so often it looks like defeat. Our savior overcame death, but first he had to humble himself before the powers-that-be and willingly accept the cross. Throughout history beloved saints and martyrs have followed in his footsteps and died for their faith, but collectively we seem to be much more eager to kill for it.

In his first letter, Peter advised disciples to do good even if they suffered for it. Does that sound like what we do today? Or do we, as the dominant faith in our culture, succumb to the temptation to force others into submission to our will and beliefs? The United States is a nation founded on religious freedom, but we certainly didn’t allow the Native Americans to practice their religion in our midst. Every Christmas season, examples of religious inclusion are mocked as politically correct or attacked as un-Christian (and by association, un-American), as though businesses, cashiers, and baristas are somehow obligated to acknowledge Christian traditions to the exclusion of at least a half dozen other religions celebrating holidays in December. When we bury ourselves in wrapping paper and bows, happily co-opt pagan symbols like trees and mistletoe, yet take offense at “Happy Holidays” in a place of commerce (and in today’s reading from Matthew we read about Jesus cleansing the temple of commerce), we aren’t so interested in sharing the Gospel as force-feeding it.

Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to tell the Empire its power was irrelevant. The marriage of faith identity to national identity produces some unholy offspring. It turns the faith into a hammer, when we are supposed to be willing to take the nails. We only feel the need to hold power when we ourselves are in the grip of fear. Peter wrote: “Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord.” Delivering the Gospel on the point of a sword sanctifies nothing, and ultimately undermines Christ’s message. Living as persistent, humble witnesses, regardless of whether the world accepts us, is true victory.

Comfort: As long as we rely on God, we are never defeated.

Challenge: Examine parts of your life where your decisions are based on fear.

Prayer: Almighty God, in you alone will I seek victory and validation. Amen.

Discussion: Can Christians declare loyalty to a particular nation? Why or why not?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!