discipleship

Blind Faith

/ JJS / 4 Comments

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 84; 148, Job 19:1-7, 14-27, Acts 13:13-25, John 9:18-41

Author G.K. Chesterton asked why anyone would attempt to defend Christianity, since to defend a thing is to discredit it. What might he have made of the hundreds of books dedicated to apologetics which fill the shelves of almost any Christian bookstore? Of course we want to be able to talk intelligently about our faith, but is the truth of our faith ever adequately expressed in argument, no matter how well-reasoned?

When the man cured of blindness testified to the Pharisees about the impact Jesus had on his life, he didn’t construct a theological argument. He stated the simple truth: “I was blind, now I see.” Not much arguing with that statement, is there? The obvious changes faith has produced in our lives communicate the Good News more effectively than any appeal to reason or logic. Each of us has a different spin on the blind man’s truth. Maybe it’s “I was addicted, now I am recovering.” Or “I was in despair, now I am full of hope.” Or “I was angry, now I am at peace.” The reality of our story is its own defense.

A history professor once told me history shows us rationalism is not the only way of knowing about the world. In a culture demanding we reason our way to faith, this thought frees us from the need to understand everything in terms of pure intellect. This doesn’t mean science is out the window and superstition rules, but it does help us accept the untestable truth that putting our faith in God forever alters our lives.

Just as a strong faith doesn’t depend on a steady supply of supernatural signs, it also doesn’t rely on an unshakable foundation of logical proofs. They are two sides of the same coin. A lack of either should not derail our faith journey. The signposts that best help us find our way are the changes we experience in our own lives and see in the lives of others.

Perhaps another thought from Chesterton best summarizes today’s reflection: “Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.”

Comfort: Reason is compatible with faith, but faith does not depend on it.

Challenge: When you discuss the Christian faith, have confidence your own experience is a powerful testimony for the Gospel.

Prayer: God of life, thank you for the mysteries and realities of faith. Amen.

Discussion: Have you struggled to reconcile reason and faith?

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Money for Nothing

/ JJS / 1 Comment

saint benjamin

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 15; 147:1-11, Judges 18:16-31, Acts 8:14-25, John 6:1-15

The “prosperity gospel” teaches that if we give our resources (usually money) to God, God will reward us several times over in kind. Some preachers sell this idea through a basic list of proof texts, usually neglecting the proper context. Worse, they reduce faith to a transaction or formula ($1 x God = $10), and when people who faithfully put up money don’t realize a material return, their faith is called into question. Think about it: with all the spiritual difficulties Jesus assures us attend wealth, wouldn’t bestowing wealth almost be a punishment? Fortunately, Acts and John teach us some real truths about the nature of giving and resources in God’s kingdom.

When Simon, a magician-turned-convert, saw the apostles’ power to impart the spirit by laying on hands, he offered them money for the same power. Peter’s reaction is unequivocal: “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money!” Maybe Simon mistook the disciples’ practice of pooling resources for a membership fee, but his understanding of the relationship between faith and giving was seriously flawed. No one can buy grace or power. We do not give because we expect a return of wealth or status; we give because a relationship with God prompts generosity.

The miracle of the loaves and fishes is told in all four gospels. Beyond a sign of Christ’s power, this event teaches us no resource is too small in God’s kingdom. Like Andrew – who asked “But what are they among so many people?” – our expectations of God can be surprisingly low. Faith is not about outcomes, but trust. We should first have faith that when we act in God’s name, our resources will be abundant. This differs from the prosperity gospel because we believe God will use resources given in good faith to increase the kingdom, not our personal bank accounts.

“Believe and receive” is a misleading simplification of our faith in a God who provides for our needs. We are not called to a faith that bribes God to action, but to actions confident in a faith God has already provided.

Comfort: Our generosity is a grateful response to God’s generosity.

Challenge: Meditate on whether your giving fully reflects your gratitude.

Prayer: God of renewal, I offer generosity in thanks for your many gifts.. Amen.

Discussion: Money isn’t the only way people try to by favor. What other ways have you seen?

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The More Things Change…

/ JJS / 1 Comment

seeing red

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 89:1-18; 147:1-11, Judges 13:15-24, Acts 6:1-15, John 4:1-26

Famed novelist and relapsed Catholic Anne Rice once made a splash with a series of Facebook posts declaring she was “leaving Christianity” but not Christ. Her reasons aren’t exactly groundbreaking. She found Christianity (but not Christ) intolerant, quarrelsome and disputatious. Well… yes. Gandhi supposedly said: “Your Christians are so unlike your Christ” as though that was news to us. We embark on the journey to become more Christ-like specifically because we fall short. We especially need to support each other in the journey when we can’t stand each other. Christianity as a concept or a faith cannot exist outside community.

My former pastor, who worked for years to promote fairness for the LGBT community in our city, engaged the very people Ms. Rice “quit” when she endorsed an employment fairness bill. In the name of Christ, these people demanded the council deny this bill. One council member marveled that all his hate mail all seemed to be from Christians. Also in the name of Christ, many people, including my pastor, spoke in favor of it. The following Sunday she spoke to us about the hard but necessary work of loving those who oppose us. No matter which side of an issue one falls on, praying for one’s enemies is the Christ-like response.

We barely get into the sixth chapter of Acts before the squabbling begins. When Greek Christians felt Hebrew Christians were not treating the Greek widows fairly, the Greeks didn’t pack up and quit. The Hebrews got a little indignant, but the community reached a solution. Nowhere does scripture claim Christians are without quarrels. Without quarrels, Paul’s letters might never have been written! What the gospels and epistles do provide is instruction in how to live together in covenant despite differences.

People haven’t changed much in two thousand years. Some are liberal and some are conservative. Some are traditionalists and some are experimental. Etc., etc. Most of us usually think we’re right. Christianity has never been a monolith of thought and belief. It has always been about loving our enemies – even the ones sitting next to us on Sunday.

Comfort: God made us capable of thoughtful action and reaction.

Challenge: Fact check even the claims you are inclined to agree with.

Prayer: Glorious Creator, thank you for the gift of discernment. Amen.

Discussion: How have you resolved differences with your fellow Christians?

For further reading on today’s passage from John 4, see Worship Well.

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Mellow Harshed

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 63; 149, Judges 9:22-25, 50-57, Acts 4:32-5:11, John 2:13-25

Acts chronicles wonderful stories of the faith and courage of the early church … and then there’s the tale of Ananias and Sapphira. The earliest believers held their possessions in common. Barnabas, a recent convert, had just sold a field and gave all the money to the Apostles for them to distribute to the needy. Ananias and Sapphira were a married couple who also sold some property, but when they brought the money to the Apostles they secretly held some of it back. When Peter asked Ananias what possessed him to lie to the Holy Spirit, Ananias dropped dead on the spot. Three hours later Peter asked Sapphira if the property had sold for the amount donated. When she corroborated Ananias’ lie, Peter called her on it and she too dropped dead.

Seem harsh? Theologians have concocted a stew of reasons for the death of this couple, but it’s a bitter mix. Some claim they died for lying to the Holy Spirit. Others claim they died for introducing sin to the community of believers. Still others claim God needed to make an example of them to show hypocrisy was not acceptable among those who would be part of the church. Finally, by citing Peter’s claim that Ananias had let Satan fill his heart, some speculate the deception was the latest in a series of sins. Somehow they all conclude the lesson is that God is merciful, and only his grace spares us sinners from destruction … unless it doesn’t.

So what do we do with this? First, we note scripture doesn’t say God (or Peter) killed them: it says they dropped dead. Though it feels like judgment, that’s an important difference. Second, the story is not tied up in a neat moral bow like one of Aesop’s fables. But we can draw some lessons: grace is unearned but not guaranteed or to be taken for granted; hypocrisy is fatal, especially in churches; salvation is more than a feel-good promise – we must let it guide our actions.

God does not seek our understanding or approval. Christianity is always a humbling experience.

Comfort: God is always good, even if we don’t understand how.

Challenge: Create a list of your own  hypocrisies. Add new ones as they occur to you. Every day work toward eliminating one.

Prayer: God of Power and Glory, I am your humble servant. Amen.

Discussion: Have you ever felt like you’ve gotten a raw deal from God?

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Variety is the Spice of (Eternal) Life

/ JJS / Leave a comment

beautyjourney

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 96; 147:1-11, Judges 7:19-8:12, Acts 3:12-26, John 1:29-42

According to John’s gospel, the first two disciples of Jesus were originally disciples of John the Baptist. One Jesus walked by the three of them, and John declared him the Lamb of God. The two disciples began to literally follow him, until he turned around and asked what they were looking for. Then they followed him home. One of them (Andrew) found his brother Simon to tell him they’d found the Messiah. When they met, Jesus told Simon his new name was Cephas (Aramaic for Rock, the same meaning as Peter).

Don’t Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell a much more interesting version of this story? In that one, Jesus goes down to the docks, starts recruiting, and promises to make any who follow him “fishers of men” – a sales pitch so good people drop their nets and follow him immediately.

In both versions, whether guided by a teacher or invited directly, Jesus’s disciples feel immediately drawn to follow him. In a way, these two paths reflect different ways we come to know Christ: we can be born into a faith passed on to us, or Jesus can come bursting into our lives from seemingly nowhere. Neither way is more correct than the other, but one makes a more exciting story. While this was not the point John’s gospel was trying to make, it may help us be more open to the variety of faith journeys we encounter.

If we have been born into a faith, dramatic conversion stories may seem more compelling than our own lifelong belief. We should let their enthusiasm reinvigorate our own faith and challenge us to look at it as if it were new to us. If we are converts, we have recently given much thought to what we believe and why, like immigrants who’ve studied to become citizens. Though it may seem others haven’t worked quite as hard for the privilege, we can rely on the grounded experience of lifelong citizens of faith to inform us of the rich traditions we share. No matter how we’ve come to know Christ, we have gifts to share.

Comfort: Whether your faith is new or lifelong, you are an equal member of the Body of Christ.

Challenge: Share your faith journey with someone, and invite them to share theirs with you.

Prayer: Gracious and loving God, thank you for providing many roads to relationship with you. Amen.

Discussion: Have you found anyone’s faith journey particularly inspiring?

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Christian Community

/ JJS / 3 Comments

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 62; 145, Judges 6:25-40, Acts 2:37-47, John 1:1-18

How would we react if our pastor suggested we take all our money to church, throw it into a big pile with everyone else’s money, and let people take what they needed when they needed it? In most churches, we’d start the search for a new pastor. However, Acts 2 tells us that’s how the earliest Christians chose to shape their community.

When our church plans a mission trip, our preparation includes reflection on Acts 2:43-47. We do indeed pool our resources, eat and pray together, and gain the good will of the people by serving them. So far we haven’t sold all our possessions, but members of some Christian communities – often called the New Monastics – have done just that to better serve each other and their neighbors. Some commit to this way of life permanently, and others do it for a season. Mission trips usually last for a short season, but living this way only for a little while can have a profound impact.

The Christian community of Acts functions very differently than today’s mainstream Christian communities. When we hear from people who want to define America as a “Christian nation,” how often do they suggest we divest ourselves of possessions and pool our resources? When someone expresses a desire to do so, do we take them seriously or call them communists or radicals? American culture is based on capitalism and democracy. As Christians, we recognize these are not ends in themselves, but means for building a society. When they are used as tools for injustice and exploitation, as any government or economy can be, we must be the voice of justice – the voice of Christ. When we value ideologies above the values taught by Christ, we must examine and adjust our priorities.

Should we all sell everything and live in communes? Probably not. But we should embrace the underlying values of the early Christians: community is more important than personal wealth; trust is more important than certainty; and time spent in service transforms us in positive ways. What changes can we make to reflect those values in our own lives?

Comfort: Each small step toward community make the next one easier.

Challenge: For each nine dollars you spend on food this week, spend the tenth on donations to a food bank.

Prayer: God of hope, thank you for the gift of community. Amen.

Discussion: What do you think are the positives and negatives of communal living?

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Road Trip

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 123; 146, Joshua 8:1-22, Romans 14:1-12, Matthew 26:47-56

“Christian” is not always a useful term. To people outside the faith, it’s often defined by a set of assumptions and biases that may or may not reflect the beliefs and actions of any particular person. Inside the faith … well, it’s pretty much the same thing. Not only have we divided ourselves into denominations, within those denominations we differ along liberal/conservative lines and other polarities. Non-denominational congregations often become de facto denominations with a single member church. On our good days we work toward being ecumenical, on most days we are tolerant but pretty convinced we are right, and on bad days we think “those people” are not “real Christians.”

Chapter 14 of Romans offers us some advice. Paul tells those who are strong in the faith to welcome the weaker (even those terms contain judgment), but not to quarrel over opinions. If the weak reject certain foods, or consider some days holier than others, the strong (who had moved beyond the law) should not chastise them, but instead recognize these actions were intended for the glory of God.

Our mistake lies in assuming that once we have embraced the Christian label, we have reached a destination.  In truth, we have only begun a journey. We follow the path to Christ our whole lives and beyond. We’re all at different places on the path, and that’s fine. If our fellows aren’t as far along as we are (and isn’t that a subjective call!) we may feel like they are holding us back and be tempted to drag them forward. Ever physically dragged someone along? Not only is it exhausting, it results in unsafe stumbling for both parties. What we can do is blaze a trail, mark it with friendly sign-posts, and wait to offer the refreshment of bread and wine before resuming our journey together. We can offer guidance when asked, and corrections if they wander off the path entirely or try to drag us backward with them. And we can humbly remember that up ahead, maybe out of sight beyond a curve in the road, someone waits patiently for us.

Comfort: Faith is like a road trip; we’re all trying to get to the same place. 

Challenge: Faith is like a road trip; we all have to stop at different times.

Prayer: Loving God, grant me patience and endurance for my own journey, and patience and generosity to help others on their own journey. Amen.

Discussion: Have you ever been tempted to think that someone who identifies as a Christian is not a “real” Christian? Why or why not?

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Hosanna!

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hosanna

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 56; 149, Numbers 20:14-29, Romans 6:1-11, Matthew 21:1-11

Today’s passage from Matthew is traditionally read during the Palm Sunday passion narrative. Jesus sends a couple disciples ahead to find a donkey and a colt so he can ride them into Jerusalem. A crowd gathers and lays cloaks and branches on the road as they praise his arrival with “Hosanna!” The colt and the donkey are rich with symbolism and meaning, but today let’s think about what it means to hear this story outside the Lenten and Easter season.

As Jesus arrived, word spread. Without social media, television, or cameras, word of mouth quickly drew great numbers – enough people to put the literal fear of God into local religious and civil authorities. A couple thousand years later, this is still true. When Christ is present in our communities, we see and hear about that presence in the testimony of changed lives. Sometimes, maybe unbeknownst to us, we are the ones testifying. When people hear our individual and collective stories, who responds with “Hosanna!” and who trembles? Throughout history, Christ has been on the side of the marginalized and downtrodden. If our lives causes the poor and the outcast to be afraid, and the powers-that-be to celebrate, it may be time to seriously re-calibrate our outlook and message.

Then there’s the other side of the coin. Most days we’re in the crowd minding our own business. When Jesus shows up are we more likely to recognize him in a polished preacher who could sell sand in a desert, a person wearing rags and living in a car, or someone who looks like they are from our own neighborhood? It’s a trick question, because it’s the message, not the style of messenger, that counts; any person we meet could be spreading the Word; we need to be open to hearing it.

We should be prepared to greet Christ not just yearly, but daily. The cloaks we lay before him are woven from lives of service; the branches grown from seeds of neighborly love. Though that first road led to the cross, we now follow him down the road to new life.

Comfort: Every day presents a chance to be renewed through Christ.

Challenge: Christ often arrives in unexpected ways, sometimes ways we find difficult to accept.

Prayer: God of New Life, thank you for the life, sacrifice, and resurrection of Christ Jesus. May my life be a worthy tribute to lay at his feet. Amen.

Discussion: Where have you unexpectedly discovered Christ?

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