God or Wealth? That seems to be the question we're being asked. When I was a kid I hated this lesson. It used to really tick me off that Jesus seems to be saying pick one and only one, God or wealth. Why can't we have both? If we have wealth why can't it be okay to do some good things with that wealth?
I suspect the real issue here is who are you going to worship, God or wealth? Back in the old days, when we used to actually go inside banks, I noticed stained glass in the windows at my bank. I also looked around and noticed high cathedral style ceilings. The bank building looked like a church and contained many of the same trappings you might find in a church. This bank looked like a modern place of worship. I believe Jesus is trying to say worship God not money and wealth.
That's the problem for many particularly in our world where we can have anything we want with one quick mouse click. Many worship their possessions and wealth rather than our Lord. It is so easy to place priority on obtaining things and protecting wealth rather than focus on a relationship with God. It is easy because our world bombards us with "things and stuff." We all want to the latest and the greatest things and the coolest stuff. We work hard for the money we have and want to spend it "our way."
Jesus is telling us that a relationship with God is worth more than all the wealth in the world. He is actually saying pick one, wealth or me. But, it is not so much a referrendum against wealth as much as a highlight of the importance of a life with God. When we place a life in relationship with God as our priority we are being led by the Kingdom and being taught to choose that relationship above and beyond all else.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
Proper 19 - Pentecost 16
This is a rambling and thinkin' out loud kinda blog. In all my years I don't think I have ever approached this text from Luke, the parable of the lost sheep, from the perspective of the lost sheep. My tendency is to always view it as someone looking in on the scene or from the perspective of our benevolent Lord never giving up on us. Think for a minute about the Lost Sheep. How must they have felt or better yet think of a time you were physically lost ... it's scary!
Emotions run wild when your lost. At first you might be embarrassed about getting turned around or missing a turnoff. Then that embarrassment turns into some concern about hurriedly getting yourself out of the situation. You know the quick, quick look around see what looks familiar thing. Then fear begins to creep in ... "oh no, what if I end up in the wrong place. What if ..." The fear can turn to panic when you realize that no one knows to look for you. No one knows where you are nor has any reason to come looking in the place where you might be lost. That's the greatest fear that no one will come looking and that you only have yourself to rely upon.
When you know someone is gonna come looking you can get proactive. You can build a shelter or sit in a coffee shop or wait near a landmark because someone is coming. There is peace in know that someone is looking for you.
Never thought about this parable that way. Simply stated Jesus is always looking for us. We don't need to panic because he is always looking for us. When our daily grind seems like to much or when we feel lost and estranged from the conditions of life he is always looking and seeking to move us to a place of familiarity, comfort and peace.
Emotions run wild when your lost. At first you might be embarrassed about getting turned around or missing a turnoff. Then that embarrassment turns into some concern about hurriedly getting yourself out of the situation. You know the quick, quick look around see what looks familiar thing. Then fear begins to creep in ... "oh no, what if I end up in the wrong place. What if ..." The fear can turn to panic when you realize that no one knows to look for you. No one knows where you are nor has any reason to come looking in the place where you might be lost. That's the greatest fear that no one will come looking and that you only have yourself to rely upon.
When you know someone is gonna come looking you can get proactive. You can build a shelter or sit in a coffee shop or wait near a landmark because someone is coming. There is peace in know that someone is looking for you.
Never thought about this parable that way. Simply stated Jesus is always looking for us. We don't need to panic because he is always looking for us. When our daily grind seems like to much or when we feel lost and estranged from the conditions of life he is always looking and seeking to move us to a place of familiarity, comfort and peace.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Proper 18
This story/anecdote is kinda corny. I've used it in sermons and talks many times. I actually first saw it in a church bulletin probably 20 years ago. The story goes like this,
A man was walking on the beach saw that it was littered with thousands of starfish. A little boy was picking up the starfish one by one and throwing them into the ocean. He asked the boy, "What are you doing?" The boy replied, "I'm throwing starfish back into the water. If I leave them here they'll dry up and die." The man said, "But look how many starfish there are. What you're doing can't possibly make a difference." As the boy picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean he said, "Well, it makes a difference to this one!"
See what I mean ... you've heard it before. The boy understands that he can't help every starfish on the beach but he also understands that he can make a difference to at least one. I believe God is using Luke's gospel to tell us to be sure that we know what we are capable of doing. He's saying something that we sometimes tell our children, "don't bite off more than you can chew."
After the preceding explanation you're probably saying, why does the the scripture have to be so disturbing and upsetting? I agree. None among us wants to hear that Jesus is calling us to hate our family members. I don't want to hear that and you don't want to hear that. Families and homes are supposed to be a place where we are nurtured, fed and loved ... not hated. Robert Frost once said, "home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in."
It seems to me that God is calling us to carefully understand that complexities of our commitments to him. In Luke's gospel Jesus is saying, my ways might put you at odds with the ways of the world ... they might even put you at odds with your family! In the 1st century world Jesus was preaching to an audience that had gotten very comfortable with a socially accepted religious tradition. He is telling his listeners this is a new way of doing things. Know that your family and friends may no understand "my way" but stay the course and don't give up. Further, he counsels to understand that "you can't save everybody but your commitment can lead some not all to me."
Jesus is asking us to commit to him as he committed to us. The cross is representative of his extreme and awesome commitment. His resurrection is a commitment to walk us through all the highs and lows of our life and to be with us every step of the way.
A man was walking on the beach saw that it was littered with thousands of starfish. A little boy was picking up the starfish one by one and throwing them into the ocean. He asked the boy, "What are you doing?" The boy replied, "I'm throwing starfish back into the water. If I leave them here they'll dry up and die." The man said, "But look how many starfish there are. What you're doing can't possibly make a difference." As the boy picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean he said, "Well, it makes a difference to this one!"
See what I mean ... you've heard it before. The boy understands that he can't help every starfish on the beach but he also understands that he can make a difference to at least one. I believe God is using Luke's gospel to tell us to be sure that we know what we are capable of doing. He's saying something that we sometimes tell our children, "don't bite off more than you can chew."
After the preceding explanation you're probably saying, why does the the scripture have to be so disturbing and upsetting? I agree. None among us wants to hear that Jesus is calling us to hate our family members. I don't want to hear that and you don't want to hear that. Families and homes are supposed to be a place where we are nurtured, fed and loved ... not hated. Robert Frost once said, "home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in."
It seems to me that God is calling us to carefully understand that complexities of our commitments to him. In Luke's gospel Jesus is saying, my ways might put you at odds with the ways of the world ... they might even put you at odds with your family! In the 1st century world Jesus was preaching to an audience that had gotten very comfortable with a socially accepted religious tradition. He is telling his listeners this is a new way of doing things. Know that your family and friends may no understand "my way" but stay the course and don't give up. Further, he counsels to understand that "you can't save everybody but your commitment can lead some not all to me."
Jesus is asking us to commit to him as he committed to us. The cross is representative of his extreme and awesome commitment. His resurrection is a commitment to walk us through all the highs and lows of our life and to be with us every step of the way.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Proper 17 - Pentecost 14
This one is all about Katrina. I know I'm a little more sensitive about the 5th anniversary of the most devastating storm in our country's history than many people. More sensitive because of my connection to the Coast and my move from the Coast a mere 8 weeks prior to Katrina making landfall on August 29, 2005. I loved living there and those years provide some really precious memories. It is where Kyle and I began our priesthoods. Both of my children were born on the Coast, Katie in Mobile, AL and Betsy in Slidell, LA. Central Mississippi is my home and I love it, but the Coast was my home and in many ways still feels like home.
The Coast has always been a real "earthy" place complete with all sorts and conditions of characters. Everywhere you turn there's somebody with a story. Maybe it's some old koot in Bay Saint Louis who went to school and played football with Doc Blanchard years and years ago. Maybe it's somebody who spent their whole life there and remembers vividly when gambling wasn't legal, (wink, wink) but"everybody knew where to go for a card game and to play the machines." It wasn't uncommon to run into a former Rex (New Orleans, Mardi Gras heavywieght) or the Queen of Commus' grandparents. There's something about the water and the way of life that makes people get there and never want to leave. I knew it was time for me to leave and that God wanted me to make the move but seeing the area devastated by Katrina was heartbreaking. In addition it was so painful to see the people I lived with and cared for lose so much and see their lives changed so dramatically. One picture burns in my mind of some dear friend who I would describe as refined and always well groomed. I saw them just days after the storm in downtown Bay Saint Louis. The refined well-kept appearances were replaced by a disheveled, unkempt look. Their appearance just accentuated and profiled the devastation that affected the area.
In the face of that devastation I witnessed some very unique attempts by everyone involved to care for each other. I watched neighbors who didn't know each other and who sat on different sides of the "socio-economic aisle" work together and take care of each other. At least in the beginning they shared everything. People opened their homes to others whether they knew them or not. If someone had 12 gallons of water they gave 6 to their neighbor. After the National Guard arrived they shared MRE's and even talked openly about which ones they like best! I ran into a former parishioner (age 81) and asked him how he was getting along, he replied that the "boys next door are taking good care of me I am so lucky" The boys next door where a gay couple that prior to this time he didn't approve of.
Katrina brought out the worst in some people. But it also brought out the best in others opening their minds and hearts along the way. I believe that Jesus is bidding us to open our minds and hearts. He is asking us to not wait for catastrophe when we reach and look outside of our normal comfort zone. He is asking us to do all those things now not because it will earn us a spot on the citizens council or because it will earn us points or a place in heaven but because people need him and he operates through us.
When people work together and open their hearts the Holy Spirit operates in some amazing ways. I read a book called "Under Surge, Under Seige" by Ellis Anderson. It's an outstanding story about Katrina and Bay Saint Louis. In it the author talks about how a family from up the street and around the corner found their way to her house by holding on to a boat in order to keep from drowning. The amazing thing about that boat was that it was chained to trailer in the families front yard. It had been chained to that trailer since the womans son and granddaughter were killed in car accident 10 year earlier. The old woman is convinced that her boy and God made sure that boat came unchained and floated towards his Momma.
God can make amazing things happen when we work together in the spirit of cooperation, peace and love. It's been 5 years since Katrina and it is far from the place I left 5 years and 2 months ago. Even though there's been another setback it is still rebuilding and being reborn. It's hard, slow and frustrating but it is happening. Christianity promises us new beginnings and hope that's comes with our baptism. We have to hold on to that hope and believe in that promise even in the face of catastrophe and chaos. When we find it hard to believe and difficult to understand we need to look to our brothers and sisters to prop us up and hold us. That is how Christianity works. It works when stop doing things for gain but instead for others.
The Coast has always been a real "earthy" place complete with all sorts and conditions of characters. Everywhere you turn there's somebody with a story. Maybe it's some old koot in Bay Saint Louis who went to school and played football with Doc Blanchard years and years ago. Maybe it's somebody who spent their whole life there and remembers vividly when gambling wasn't legal, (wink, wink) but"everybody knew where to go for a card game and to play the machines." It wasn't uncommon to run into a former Rex (New Orleans, Mardi Gras heavywieght) or the Queen of Commus' grandparents. There's something about the water and the way of life that makes people get there and never want to leave. I knew it was time for me to leave and that God wanted me to make the move but seeing the area devastated by Katrina was heartbreaking. In addition it was so painful to see the people I lived with and cared for lose so much and see their lives changed so dramatically. One picture burns in my mind of some dear friend who I would describe as refined and always well groomed. I saw them just days after the storm in downtown Bay Saint Louis. The refined well-kept appearances were replaced by a disheveled, unkempt look. Their appearance just accentuated and profiled the devastation that affected the area.
In the face of that devastation I witnessed some very unique attempts by everyone involved to care for each other. I watched neighbors who didn't know each other and who sat on different sides of the "socio-economic aisle" work together and take care of each other. At least in the beginning they shared everything. People opened their homes to others whether they knew them or not. If someone had 12 gallons of water they gave 6 to their neighbor. After the National Guard arrived they shared MRE's and even talked openly about which ones they like best! I ran into a former parishioner (age 81) and asked him how he was getting along, he replied that the "boys next door are taking good care of me I am so lucky" The boys next door where a gay couple that prior to this time he didn't approve of.
Katrina brought out the worst in some people. But it also brought out the best in others opening their minds and hearts along the way. I believe that Jesus is bidding us to open our minds and hearts. He is asking us to not wait for catastrophe when we reach and look outside of our normal comfort zone. He is asking us to do all those things now not because it will earn us a spot on the citizens council or because it will earn us points or a place in heaven but because people need him and he operates through us.
When people work together and open their hearts the Holy Spirit operates in some amazing ways. I read a book called "Under Surge, Under Seige" by Ellis Anderson. It's an outstanding story about Katrina and Bay Saint Louis. In it the author talks about how a family from up the street and around the corner found their way to her house by holding on to a boat in order to keep from drowning. The amazing thing about that boat was that it was chained to trailer in the families front yard. It had been chained to that trailer since the womans son and granddaughter were killed in car accident 10 year earlier. The old woman is convinced that her boy and God made sure that boat came unchained and floated towards his Momma.
God can make amazing things happen when we work together in the spirit of cooperation, peace and love. It's been 5 years since Katrina and it is far from the place I left 5 years and 2 months ago. Even though there's been another setback it is still rebuilding and being reborn. It's hard, slow and frustrating but it is happening. Christianity promises us new beginnings and hope that's comes with our baptism. We have to hold on to that hope and believe in that promise even in the face of catastrophe and chaos. When we find it hard to believe and difficult to understand we need to look to our brothers and sisters to prop us up and hold us. That is how Christianity works. It works when stop doing things for gain but instead for others.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)