Devotional

Less Is More

/ JJS / 5 Comments

simplicity

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 116; 147:12-20, 1 Kings 11:1-13, James 3:13-4:12, Mark 15:12-21

Is it human nature to be dissatisfied with what we have? Chronic dissatisfaction may seem like a modern ailment, but James had words of advice about it almost two thousand years ago:

Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts.

Our inability to be content with what we have is about more than a lack of personal growth: it can tear at the fabric of our community.

King Solomon was revered for his wisdom and he still struggled with dissatisfaction. Despite warnings from The Lord, his desire for hundreds of wives and concubines of foreign lands eventually led him to follow foreign gods. As a result, God tore all but one tribe from the rule of Solomon’s son.

Consumer culture puts us at odds with each other. It defines contentment as having what everyone else has, and success as having what others don’t. For people that may be things; for churches that may be members; for both it may be status.

In parables about pearls of great price and hidden treasures, by asking rich young men to give up all they had, and by commending the widow who gave when she had almost nothing, Jesus taught us over and over that we find true satisfaction in serving The Lord. So why are we able to say money doesn’t buy happiness, but so reluctant to actually downsize before we’re forced to?

Maybe because downsizing is associated with failure and diminished capacity. We move into smaller homes when we can’t maintain the big one we bought with the maximum loan we could secure. Congregations launch capital campaigns when we believe God calls us to grow, but never seem to think God might call us into a season of simplicity and lean but effective mission to build the community up.

When we learn to view contentment with what we have as a preferable choice rather than a consolation prize (or a resignation to failure), opportunities open up. Resources once dedicated to acquisition or mere maintenance are freed up for the work of the Kingdom – work more concerned with what we give than what we get. We may even learn the more we give away, the more space we make for God’s peace.

Comfort: Your true worth is not determined by bank balances or possessions. 

Challenge: For one month, see if you can give away one possession a day (not something you were going to throw away anyway).

Prayer: God of mercy and love, teach me to desire only your heart and will. Amen. 

Discussion: What’s the difference between contentment and laziness?

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Broken Rudders

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 96; 147:1-11, 1 Kings 9:24-10:13, James 3:1-12, Mark 15:1-11

The Book of James teaches the tongue is small but capable of great feats. James compares this relatively small body part to a tiny rudder guiding large ships through strong winds. For this reason he warns religious teaching is a perilous pursuit, as our tongues are difficult to tame and when used carelessly cause misdirection and harm to ourselves and others. Teachers, James says, are held to a higher standard because a spring cannot produce both brackish and fresh waters – that is, because people rely on them for truth, their instruction must neither contaminate nor dilute the Gospel.

The chief priests and other leaders appearing in Mark 15 would have served several roles, including teachers. When Pontius Pilate realized Jesus had been brought to him because these leaders were jealous, he offered to free a prisoner at the discretion of the people. He hoped they would select Jesus. These leaders used their tongues to convince the people to free Barabbas instead. Technically Jesus and Barabbas would both have been accused of insurrection, but Barabbas was also a murderer. The chief priests used their powerful tongues to steer the crowd to free a killer instead of a messiah.

Even today many a preacher grows a flock by appealing to people’s baser nature and focusing on the “enemies” of the church. In the Western world, authentic persecution of Christians is rare, and systematic persecution is non-existent. Yet some preachers insist on targeting a group (when one group is not politically viable for attack they will move on to the next) and claiming specific people are the enemy we need to fight, all the while twisting the message to seem like love.

We do have real enemies, but Jesus taught us to love them. He also taught us what to fight: poverty, injustice, oppression, and the planks in our own eyes.  They know binding Christ’s message to hate crucifies undeserving victims. They open our eyes to how Christ’s love transforms us, and through us transforms the world.

Comfort: It’s perfectly acceptable to question your teachers. The good ones will welcome and even encourage it. 

Challenge: In most situations experienced sailors rely on subtle adjustments, not sweeping gestures. This is a good model for using our tongues.

Prayer: God of peace, may my words be pleasing to you and beneficial to your people. Amen. 

Discussion: Who was your favorite teacher and why?

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Getting Warmer

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 12; 146, 1 Kings 8:65-9:9, James 2:14-26, Mark 14:66-72

Today’s reading from Mark finds Peter warming himself by a fire in the courtyard of the high priest’s palace, where inside Jesus is standing trial and facing a battery of false witnesses. The witnesses outside aren’t much more truthful. When a servant woman confronts Peter as a companion of Jesus, he denies it and retreats to the forecourt, where it is less warm but he can still feel like he hasn’t abandoned Jesus. After the cock crows she points him out to the gathered guards and other bystanders, but still he denies knowing Jesus. When the bystanders themselves begin accusing him, he curses and swears he doesn’t know Jesus.

After the cock crowed a second time and he remembered how Jesus had predicted these denials, could Peter feel warm no matter how close he got to the fire?

It can be easy to convince ourselves we’re standing by Jesus when we’ve really chosen the coziness of the courtyard over the real heat in the courtroom.  How close do we let ourselves get before our rationalizations begin? Do we want “Christian” values enacted as law … until they affect our wallets? Do we turn the other cheek … until our physical safety is threatened? Do we love our neighbors … until they put up a campaign sign for the other candidate?

We all fall short of living Christ’s love perfectly. When we do, it’s important that instead of making excuses about laws and practical repercussions, we are honest with ourselves and others about our failures, limitations, and fears. Christ knows and forgives them, but we can’t be forgiven for something we won’t confess.

In his epistle, James talks about works as evidence of faith. He’s not saying we’re saved by works – he’s saying if our heart isn’t changed enough to move us to action, it isn’t changed enough. When Jesus talked about loving people, he wasn’t promoting warm feelings, but charitable actions. We can say we love our enemies, but if we don’t do good to them, it’s not the kind of love Jesus addresses. Merely doing no harm falls short of the glory. By extension, if we say we love Jesus but that love ends with words – in the warm courtyard of personal salvation safely removed from the danger of the courtroom  – and risks not even our comfort, do we love enough?

When we hear the crow that forces us to face our shortcomings, it’s not too late to do better. Peter remained the rock of the newly forming church. His courage backslid once or twice but, as the memory of that courtyard surely never left him, he ultimately did right – even when it cost him.

Christ promises us a failure is not an end. When confessed and confronted, it is an opportunity to grow ever closer to him.

Comfort: You haven’t done anything God hasn’t already forgiven someone else for. 

Challenge: Look for reasons to love extravagantly, rather than excuses to stay comfortable.

Prayer: Loving God, may my actions reflect the state of my heart, and may the state of my heart reflect Christ. Amen. 

Discussion: Where do you struggle to act on your faith because doing so is uncomfortable or impractical?

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Poverty Line

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 62; 145, 2 Chronicles 6:32-7:7, James 2:1-13, Mark 14:53-65

The 2017 Federal Poverty Level – a factor in qualifying for some federal benefits – is $12,060 for an individual, and $24,600 for a family of four. We often call this threshold the Poverty Line.

Unfortunately many people make a host of assumptions based on a person or family’s financial position relative to the Poverty Line, which tells us one and exactly one thing. Assumptions multiply if people use the benefits available to them. Somehow the American Dream – and its bastard child the Prosperity Gospel – have managed to frame poverty as a moral failing, despite Christ’s consistent solidarity with the poor.

Jesus talked a lot about the poor. More importantly, he talked to and with the poor, assuring them their circumstances did not reflect God’s love for them. As Christianity gained favor with the affluent, the church found it necessary to counsel those who carried biases about the poor into their faith. In his epistle James wrote:

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

Today’s judgments and evil thoughts are more subtle. Our attitude toward charity waxes and wanes according to our judgment of whether people in need are deserving or undeserving. Somehow their decisions and actions seem to warrant more scrutiny than our own. We mask the stinginess of our hearts and wallets behind otherwise noble concepts like stewardship and accountability.

Jesus didn’t make distinctions among people in need based on their worthiness. As Paul reminds us in Romans, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Perhaps the biggest mistake we make when talking or thinking about the poor – is thinking of them as “the poor.” To follow Christ is to be a servant to all; there’s no service in washing clean feet.

Additional Reading:
For more thoughts on today’s scripture from James, see Solidarity.

Comfort: Poverty is not a sign of God’s disfavor. 

Challenge: Pay attention to what aspects of life and society unnecessarily favor people of greater means over people of lesser means.

Prayer: Gracious God, teach me to see all persons as you do. Amen. 

Discussion: What are the differences and similarities between tackling poverty on a national or global scale, and loving the poor on a personal level?

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Let No One Despise Our Youth

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 108; 150, 1 Kings 8:22-30 (31-40), 1 Timothy 4:7b-16, John 8:47-59

Did you know millennials are responsible for social ills from the closing of chain restaurants to the end of free speech on college campuses? At least that’s what some pundits, questionable social critics, and click-baiting media sources would have us believe. Older generations have always lamented the lack of values, morals, and responsibilities of younger ones. They look back to the times in which they were at the height of their vigor and become nostalgic for them less for their reality and more for the feelings they revive.

In his first letter to Timothy, Paul advised his young protégé to “let no one despise your youth.” Paul understood people, so he understood we’ll use any flaw we find in a messenger to dismiss a message that causes us discomfort. In fairness young people often lack experience that they can’t understand they lack, but they can also have experiences their elders have not. In Timothy’s case, this was the experience of living the Gospel. If Timothy wanted to be successful, Paul suggested he would have to be nearly flawless in his example and teachings for people to take him seriously.

When we harp on the flaws of younger generations, what are we really commenting on? Each generation is a product of the ones which preceded it. Perhaps we don’t like being reminded we are in part responsible for what we perceive as deficiencies. And maybe some of our complaints – for instance, how kids today have it too easy (and what generation hasn’t said that about the next?) – come from a place of jealousy or resentment.

Does every generation have its quirks and flaws? Yes. But it also does some things better and smarter. Human rights, for instance, have a steady record of improvement with each generation. And though it may not feel so because of the seemingly inescapable 24-hour news cycle, the world is becoming a less violent place.

If we let them, young people have much to teach us about the world and ourselves. It won’t always be something we want to hear. But why miss something we need to?

Comfort: We don’t need to be young to learn. 

Challenge: Make a habit of getting to know and listen to younger people.

Prayer: Eternal God, help me to always teach and be willing to learn the eternal values taught to us by Christ. Amen. 

Discussion: What have you learned from people younger than yourself?

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Defenseless and Naked

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the-taking-of-christ-1602

The Taking of Christ (Judas’ Kiss), Caravaggio, 1602

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 122; 149, 1 Kings 7:51-8:21, Acts 28:17-31, Mark 14:43-52

The Garden of Gethsemane was a place Jesus often met with his disciples. It’s no surprise that Judas, leading a band of Jewish leaders and armed Roman soldiers,  knew to find him there. The kiss Judas placed on Christ’s cheek is the most obvious moment of betrayal in this famous scene, but betrayal was everywhere.

Beforehand the disciples had fallen asleep when Jesus needed company, and afterward Peter would deny knowing him – events that bookended a series of betrayals small and large. In a betrayal of Christ’s mission, as well as his lessons, one of the disciples struck the slave of the high priest with a sword and cut off his ear. All the disciples fled, and one young man in particular left behind the linen cloth that was all he’d been wearing.

None of us wants to think we would abandon or betray Jesus, but these were his closest friends and even they couldn’t follow him all the way to the cross.

We want to defend Christ, but following him means abandoning our weapons. Sometimes those are actual weapons, but sometimes they are weapons of anger, pride, and force we think we are using to attack his opponents without understanding attacking is not serving.

We don’t want to admit we’ve strayed – or even fled – from Christ, but that moment of spiritual nakedness, when our weakness or sin is uncovered and on display, eventually catches up to us. Often it’s revealed by our enemies who use it to expose our hypocrisy, and other times we sabotage ourselves; either way the shame is real.

Defenseless and naked. We can end up there through poor choices and weak excuses.

Or we can volunteer.

When we volunteer, when we follow Christ to the foot of the cross and humbly lay our betrayals there, when we lay down the weapons, armor, intellect, strength, or self-righteousness which we have called discipleship without understanding what that truly means … our new life begins.

We enter life defenseless and naked. It’s a kind of spiritual symmetry that’s how we and the apostles would be reborn in Christ.

Comfort: Christ is our strength and hope. 

Challenge: Be sure what you do in the name of Christ is what Christ would have you do.

Prayer: Merciful Lord, I seek to be born anew each day. Amen. 

Discussion: The apostles had chances to commit and re-commit to Christ. Have you ever felt the need to re-commit to your faith?

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Just five more minutes, Jesus…

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 88; 148, 1 Kings 5:1-6:1, 6:7, Acts 28:1-16, Mark 14:27-42

Are you a fan of the snooze button? Do you crave those precious extra minutes under the covers after the alarm goes off? Or maybe you are the snooze alarm when your children or spouse make it your responsibility to get them moving by asking for “just five more minutes.” Perhaps you belong to that increasingly rare breed who wake up refreshed and – miracle of miracles – don’t need an alarm.

Whatever your situation, research shows that using the snooze alarm leaves you feeling less rested. Once you’ve been jolted awake, the sleep cycle doesn’t continue, it reboots.

At the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter, James, and John did some notorious snoozing. As Jesus remained resigned to God’s will but prayed desperately that the cup of the crucifixion might pass him by, his friends couldn’t manage to stay awake. Three times he woke them, and they didn’t know what to say to him.

Only hours earlier he had predicted that in the hour of his death they would desert him, and Peter declared “Not me!” Yet even in this matter of sleep the disciple’s weak flesh overrode his willing spirit, a foreshadowing of the greater desertion to come. Jesus, fatigued and frightened, had to rouse them to accompany him in his last moments of freedom.

The trick to avoiding the snooze button is to develop healthy sleep patterns. If you don’t have them, you have to work at retraining your body and mind – or flesh and spirit, if you will. Developing healthy spiritual patterns can be similar. If we don’t have them, when life’s alarms go off – alarms like death, illness, betrayal, and tragedy – leaning  on faith may seem more an effort than a comfort.

Despite Christ’s warnings, Peter wasn’t ready in the garden. He wasn’t ready at the crucifixion. But after Christ returned from death? Reboot. His flesh and spirit finally knew true rest in the embrace of Christ. We too can find that strength-building rest if our faith is not merely a series of reactions to alarms, but a healthy, regular pattern of renewal that helps us stay spiritually awake.

Comfort: You can find rest in Christ. 

Challenge: Read this article on improving your sleep, and see if you can make any changes that might help.

Prayer: Merciful God, let me rest in your arms and find strength for my days. Amen. 

Discussion: Do you get all the sleep you need? Why or why not?

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Baby Steps

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 143; 147:12-20, 1 Kings 3:16-28, Acts 27:27-44, Mark 14:12-26

A famous story about King Solomon’s wisdom involves two women who bore sons within days of each other. After one of the sons died, one woman claimed the other had switched the infants while she slept. Each insisted the living child was her own. Solomon proposed to treat the matter like any other property dispute by physically dividing the infant in half. One woman immediately relinquished her claim so the child might live; the other agreed to his decision. Solomon declared the true mother to be the woman most concerned with the child’s survival.

There is a big difference between loving something, and loving to own it.

Is there anything we claim to love which we are willing to see destroyed rather than let it continue existing outside our control? Does the church come to mind? The innumerable denominations of the Christian church exist because people would rather divide over doctrine than live without control. When we sing “One Bread, One Body” is it more longing than truth?

Then there is public space – the civic and social realm in which we all interact. Americans say we value freedom of speech and religion, but our behavior doesn’t always align with those ideals. For most of our history, the default expectation of religion in the public space was Christian (and usually a homogeneous kind of Christian). As the public space grows more diverse – the inevitable outcome of the American experiment – some people find they don’t care to share it. From enacting laws that cross into theocracy to shutting down speech we find offensive, we seem determined to strangle freedoms rather than let them survive outside our control.

Like the grieving mother, we are more vulnerable to demanding control when we grieve. If we grieve the passing of a way of life we treasured, perhaps what we really grieve is not having our control challenged. If we grieve a past that left us voiceless, we can’t enforce silence and call it reconciliation.

Not everything we love, once let go, fully returns to us. If that stops us from loving it, maybe we never really did.

Comfort: You don’t have to control everything. 

Challenge: You don’t have to control everything.

Prayer: God of Mercy, unite your children in love. Amen. 

Discussion: Have you ever left a community over a disagreement? Have you ever been forced out because of a disagreement? How are they similar and how are they different?

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Decorate Your Own Cookie

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 65; 147:1-11, 1 Kings 3:1-15, Acts 27:9-26, Mark 14:1-11

One of the most powerful scenes in The Wizard of Oz takes place after Dorothy and her companions have destroyed the Wicked Witch of the West only to discover Oz is not so great and is terrible in all the wrong ways. He has no power to grant them what they asked for (courage, brains, and a heart) but in one of his few authentic moments he teaches them an important truth: they carried these things within them all along.

The Lord visited King Solomon in a dream and instructed him to ask for whatever he wanted. After words of gratitude and praise for all the Lord had done, Solomon asked for “a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.” The Lord , pleased with this request, assured Solomon it would be so.

Solomon could have asked for riches, or long life, or military victory. In an Oz-like twist, his choice revealed the seeds of wisdom already planted in him. Unlike the fraudulent Oz, the Lord did have the power to grant Solomon’s request – in fact, it appears it was granted long before Solomon asked.

We can waste a lot of time longing for gifts we don’t possess, and failing to recognize the value of those we do. Whether a trait is a gift or a flaw may depend largely on how we use it. Solomon could have used his wisdom to scheme, but he chose to use it to serve his – and the Lord’s – people. When Paul refocused his single-mindedness from persecuting Christians to evangelizing Christ, he was unmatched.

Certainly we need to grow and learn all our lives, but twisting ourselves into a shape not meant for us perhaps isn’t the best approach. Once the cookie has been baked, you can’t force it back into a cutter – even the original one. When decorating that cookie, one person will see a flaw to cover up where another sees the opportunity for an unconventional feature. Instead of wasting time lamenting the gifts we haven’t been given, let’s direct and grow the ones we have.

Additional Reading:
For thoughts on today’s reading from Acts, see Crash Course.

Comfort: You have gifts that matter, because God gave them to you. 

Challenge: Appreciate and use the gifts you have. It’s the only way to grow them.

Prayer: Thank you, God of creation, for making me as I am. I will honor you by making the best of it. Amen. 

Discussion: How do you feel when people acknowledge your talents?

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Fresh Start

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 54; 146, 1 Kings 1:32-2:4 (5-46a) 46b, Acts 26:24-27:8, Mark 13:28-37

It’s not unusual for a new CEO to clean house and hire in a team better suited to their vision. Outgoing pastors traditionally steer clear of the congregation for months or years so the new minister can get as fresh a start as possible. There is often unfinished business the outgoing leader, for whatever reason, did not resolve. Sharp transitions open a psychological door for change to enter.

Like many leaders, David was entirely aware of what he’d left undone. Before he died, he advised his son and successor Solomon on the unfinished business of the kingdom. Most of it was in the form of disloyal advisors and rivals who had thus far been spared punishment. Solomon, in what could be considered a pretty hostile takeover, had them all executed within three years.

We can’t go around executing those who hold us back from a fresh start, but we may need to make some seemingly brutal decisions.

The biggest impediment to change is not a lack of will, but lack of understanding how change happens. Recovering addicts and paroled criminals who return to the environments where their troubles began are significantly more likely to relapse than those who find somewhere else to go. Those are extreme examples, but when we are ready to take the next step on a spiritual journey, we first need to identify what’s kept us from taking that step so far. Friends? Comfort? Habit? What rewards us for staying where we are instead of going where we want to be? We must change that first.

It’s important to remember that’s going to be different in tone and purpose than a typical career-minded change. We aren’t trying to promote or exalt ourselves, but rather to grow more humble, more servant-like. That may cost us relationships and status. It will certainly cost us comfort. These changes are difficult and scary, and therefore easy to avoid or backslide. We can set ourselves up for success by making it more difficult to remain or go back than to move forward. If you can’t get off the couch, give it away.

Comfort: Change is possible…

Challenge: … but you have to make it possible.

Prayer: Hear the voice of my supplication, as I cry to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary. (Psalm 28:2)

Discussion: What’s the best change you’ve ever made? How did you do it?

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