conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

craig is a genius

spiritually blogworthy?

One of my least favorite words is "evaluation." No, pastoral ministry did not teach me this. No, I did not have a traumatic report card experience that scared me for life. Though, now that I think about it report cards are at the very least unfriendly. Straight A's? What's that?

I've come to realize once again that I lack spiritual discipline. During my ordination service some five plus years ago now I was reminded that sermon preparation is not the core of a pastor's spiritual life. Nope. One must have a foundation of prayer and contemplation before even stepping into the homiletical waters. Let's not even mention administrivia.

Drat.

I feel called to pray. And yet I don't pray. What the heck is that about?

Once upon a time I would write letters as prayer. I would sit down and write letters by hand. I still write letters, but they are mostly short notes to congregants to thank them for all their astounding work. It's a personal touch that I hope they appreciate. That is the remnant of what was a long letter writing spiritual campaign.

Letters moved to e-mails. E-mails became blogs. Yes, Spiritual Blogging was quite the thing around here once upon a time. As some may have noticed, however, blogging of any sort has been slipping around here of late. At first it was simply because I did not have the time. It ceased to be a spiritual discipline and became something else. Meta? I don't know. Does anyone really know meta? You say tomato and I say to-meta? Nevermind. It's a friggin' snipe hunt.

So, I am trying to collect myself again. I have slipped too far and it's time for a little baptismal or eucharistic rememberance, as some say.

Now, here's the quandary: Is any of this blogworthy? WIll the blog serve again? Or is it time to do something else? I need to make time, make room. I need to Take the Time. Oy, what a mess.

I think Jesus just patted me on the back, shook his head laughing and walked away. Huh. What's that about?

what do you want to read?

So, for the past three years I have avoided speaking specifically about Community Church for the most part. I'll speak about the universal church or Christian trends etc. But other than occasionally advertising an event or two, I don't really talk about CCW. What do you think? Should I be like these people? They do it well. Perhaps I should follow their lead.

Don Heatley
Amy Butler
Jim Somerville

what must die?

Last night while walking home from church I tweeted several times. I have set up the cell phone so I can tweet. This makes me a twit, I am sure, but it's fun. I tossed several little jibes into the twitterverse and one seemed to stick: Following Christ demands such a great change that it's called dying.

One of the things that I have noticed about pastoral ministry is that it is an incubator for conversion, conversion of the pastor. Let me state for the record that though I recognize that conversion is supposed to be good for us, I think it sucks. As a process it is unfriendly even if the outcome is salvific. Why? Well, conversion is change and it is much like dying. There's a reason why Christians define baptism as a kind of death and St. Paul will talk about dying to the world so that he might live in Christ.

Such poetry! Sure. Great. It's still a death. It's unattractive. Saul is blinded by it. It knocks him off his ass onto his ass. The disciples hide from it after the crucifixion. Jesus sweats blood as he prepares for it. Eustace, the boy who was a dragon in C.S. Lewis' imagination, suffers greatly as he is restored, converted by the breath of God (Aslan). There's no song and dance number. There's no "if you order now" promise. It is seldom playful in spite of what Leonard Sweet might suggest. It's challenging enough to beg the questions: Do I really have to? Is it worth it? Is everyone expected to?

I'm led to wonder if conversion is for everyone. Perhaps it's not.

I am in the throws of continual conversion. Today it sucks. I just thought I would share that. There's really not much else to say, but I am hoping that sharing it here will take a little of the sting away. We'll see.

To make it somewhat more relevant to the world and not simply an example of my whining, here is a little Richard Rohr action for you. He asks if institutions are called to conversion as well.

What conversion am I being invited into right now?

What is the future of organized religion? Whatever it is, I hope that we will have the courage to stop rewarding and confirming peoples egos and calling it morality, ministry or church. I hope that we will have lower expectations of leadership and the institution and therefore less need to rebel against it or unnecessarily depend upon it. True leadership is quite rare in my experience and cannot be "ordained" or created by title, office, or costume. Many people are upset with the Church because they expected too much from it. Accept it for what it is and for what it isn't.

More than anything else I hope that the future church can be a people who have entered into Mercy and allow others to enter too. I once saw God's mercy as patient, benevolent tolerance, a form of grudging forgiveness. Now it is apparent to me that Mercy is a divine understanding, a loving allowing, a willing breaking of the rules, by the One who made the rules, a loving wink and smile, a firm and joyful taking of our hand, while we waste time clutching at our sins and gazing at God in desire and disbelief.

Adapted from Radical Grace: Daily Meditations, pp 185 - 186, day 198
(Source "A Church Unashamed to Be Leaven and Salt")

Are our institutions called to die, to convert? It's a challenging question.

adieu

We are off to Virginia. I'll Tweet (@anglobaptist) or update my FB status. Feel free to follow! But there will be little to no access to other "technologies." Have a great week!

sermon: christ's heart

Christ’s Heart

Do you have language for your longing for God?

Does your love of God ever speak and when it does,

what are the words that you use?

Psalm 63 offers beautiful language for what longing for God may be like:

O God, you are my God, I seek you,


my soul thirsts for you;


my flesh faints for you,


as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 


So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,


beholding your power and glory. 


Because your steadfast love is better than life,


my lips will praise you. 


So I will bless you as long as I live;


I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

The longing of the Psalmist is a picture of humanity’s longing for God. And it is God’s longing for us. This is the same longing that Christ gives voice to in John’s Gospel. It is rooted in the longing for steadfast love – God’s steadfast love for us and our steadfast love for God. “If you love me…love one another.” Long for one another. Long for God.

Glenn Hinson, a Baptist theologian and spiritualist, speaks often of Christ’s ministry as one of ushering in a new humanity. Jesus teaches that the foundation of this humanity is the traits listed in our passage from the third chapter of Colossians.

Compassion and kindness,

Humility and meekness,

Patience, forbearance, and forgiveness…

…and more than any of these: love.

These are the virtues of Christ’s new humanity. This is the humanity that has the Heart of Christ. This is the humanity that can navigate the complications of life, the difficulties of a constantly and rapidly changing world. This same humanity will appear strange when compared with the competing virtues of the world. This new humanity will appear backward or foolish, idealistic or naive.

Over the last couple of weeks we have been exploring what it means to be Christ’s hands and feet. We have spoken of the good works we can offer the world. We have spoken about how we can walk into the world offering grace and peace. I think that as challenging as these actions certainly are, the most difficult part of being Christian is this final part. To have the Heart of Christ is the hardest thing of all.

Last week I was supposed to attend a friend’s party. It was a cookout. For various reasons I had to decline my invitation at the last minute. So, as a gesture of friendship I sent him a box of his favorite Christmas candies with a Christmas card. “Christmas in July!” It was a silly gesture, but I wanted to be at the party and felt badly for being absent. So, I sent the candies with another friend and went about my day.

Later that afternoon, I was walking down the street and received a text. The text was a picture of a statue of St. Nicholas that my friend keeps in his house with the words “Christmas in July, indeed. Thank you!” I longed to be with him. And he understood and reached out to me with the same heart.

To be known, to recognize one another, to express longing and love in even the simplest gestures. This is what our psalmist is attempting to articulate. And this is how Christ lived and asks us to live. This is the core of what Paul writes to the Colossians.

For Jesus, each and every moment, each relationship and encounter is pregnant with this intimacy, this longing and love. Jesus is masterful at bringing this to the fore in all his relationships. It’s not sentimental. It is sacrificial. It is the simple recognition of this new humanity, this new creation. It’s not about potential, but about what already is. This truth is the foundation of his ministry.

Jesus is able to live this life because his love is steadfast. His love is relentless. It is founded on God’s longing for all of us. It is founded on the knowledge that we are made new.

How different the world would be if it knew the longing God felt for it, if it knew the longing that we have for God, if they new this love, this steadfast love for God, for neighbor, for friend and enemy alike…If it knew. How might the world be different?

It is so easy to get caught up in all the competing stresses of life. It is so easy to let the voices of cynicism and greed, of shame and violence rule our lives. We confuse the longing for God with the longing for all of those other things, those things that cannot love us in return…whatever they are for us.

Life often seems to be careening out of control. We are overrun by technology and more demands upon our time than there seems to be time in the day. We are beset with illness and struggles and suffering. It is so tempting to let these things define us…to forget God’s steadfast love.

Yet we are the Church, the embodied symbol of this new humanity: Christ’s Body. And as such, we are called to give witness to Christ’s Heart. We are called to live the virtues from Paul’s letter to the Colossians. We are called to longing and steadfast love.

Jesus knows this. And he knows how hard this is for us. “Forgive them, they know not what they do” is a prayer for all creation from the cross. Jesus knows our confusion. Jesus knows our blindness.

And in response he says, “I am meek and compassionate, patient and humble…and I love all creation. I will forgive you even in the darkest hour. I will wait for you. I long for you. My love for you is steadfast, you have already been made new.”

Christ’s Heart is our Heart.

Thanks be to God.

saturday videopost: fidgeting for a living

early morning singing song

Most mornings I rise with the sun. The bedroom in the parsonage faces east. So, the sun rises into the room. I love this. I wait for it some mornings when I rise especially early. I like to watch as the light grows stronger.

In the usual morning prayer order the Venite is sung. "Come let us sing to the LORD/Let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation..." Some mornings I sing the Nunc dimittis. "My eyes have seen the salvation/You have prepared in the sight of every people,/A light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people, Israel."I have seen the light of salvation rise. I know it is a little backward, but "that's how we roll" here in Ouilmette. Sometimes I need to flip things around for them to make any sense at all.

This morning I had another song in my head as I arose. Yes, Good Morning Starshine has been echoing in my head of late. It's a little mortifying. "Good morning starshine/You lead us along/My love and me as we sing/Our early morning singing song/Gliddy glub gloopy/Nibby nabby noopy/La la la lo lo..." Yeah, some days just start with the tangential. And some days it just hurts like biting down on something too sweet. Still, I thought I should share.

steadfast love

In just a few moments my wife should arrive for a mid-day lunch and movie date. We're going to see the latest Potter film. I'm looking forward to it. I am wondering what I might be able to glean from this particular film about steadfast love.

My sermon this coming Sunday is entitled "Christ's Heart." We're looking at Ephesians, Psalm 63:1-8 and John's Gospel. I am looking forward to wrapping up this series with Love...but as Christ's Heart.

We've looked at hands and feet. Now we look at heart: What kind of heart does Christ have? I am inspired by the Sacred Heart, Henri Nouwen's Beloved and Glenn Hinson's Integrity of the Church. Bonhoeffer also said some great things. I'll let you know how it goes.

an ooze vid

Here is a video featuring my friend, Nanette Sawyer from Wicker Park Grace. It's a good sketch of what they are trying to do there. Take a gander if you have ten minutes.

why preach?

blogroll monday

I have been thinking of reworking the blogroll. I have enjoyed the "university" structure and continue to do so, but I seldom read the blogs that are actually listed. Facebook has replaced some of the lines of communication with these people. So, though I "speak" with them, I don't keep up with them through their blogs. There are, however, blogs I read. I am thinking that i need to swap some stuff out.

For example, Fernando's Desk is a good blog. On the Bema is another, as is Theosnob. Mindi blogs here. Though an infrequent blogger, I read to keep up with a creative ABC pastor. Elizabeth blogs as well. She's sharp and thoughtful. And I have been introduced to these two: Margaret Feinberg and fishers, surfers and casters. I need to sort some things out.

If you are one of the bloggers/ists listed above, please let me know if you have a name in mind for your "university" position. The University of Blogaria, Sjbvdnzv Campus needs you! Go, Puffins!

tethered

I am preaching from an outline this morning. It's not a new thing, but I still get nervous. You see, when I preach from a manuscript I get bored. I hope that boredom does not come across, but I don't see how it couldn't. Preaching without a manuscript takes a ton of preparation time. I simply don't have that time every week. Lately, I have been preaching from outlines which allows me more freedom than the manuscript, but tethers me to the point and won't let me wander too far astray. That's good. But the majority of the content is still in my brain and not on paper. By necessity the outline is a map, no more, no less. Maps only tell you how to get there and not what the journey is really and truly like. I still have to provide the journey. Thus, nerves.

This morning I am staring at this outline that I finished last night and wondering how differently it will feel preaching from it in the worship space. That's one thing that still catches me. Practice at home is not the same thing as practicing in the sanctuary. Things simply feel differently. Then you add people. Well, that just throws the whole thing! Heh.

God is present in the preached word, I hope, if by no other means than the receptive hearts of the listener. Still I know that sermons are intended for more than filling time. That may surprise some of you...one, that they are intended for more and, two, that I actually know that.

The quotation I am taking away from this sermon is "To walk humbly...Well, we may as well try to walk on water." Check out Micah 6:3-8 and Mark 6:44-56. How do we trust? What does faith look like? Why is it so hard to recognize God in the storms of life? These are the questions running about in my mind this morning. Trust is hard. Trusting God is supremely difficult for many people. We'll see how it preaches.

Be well.

sailors needed

Exactly how do sailors swear?

is it bad...

...that I no longer believe in the efficacy of traditional forms of homework? If we ever have kids, we'll have to hire a tutor/nanny person to make sure the kids do what they are supposed to do otherwise Spouse and I will just fight all the time. I think homework is the worst way to learn anything. So, do what helps you learn and pooch the rest.

Just being cynical here. Pay me no mind.

not enough time

There's not enough time to do the things that I need and want to do this weekend. It's just a little unnerving.

yep...

No words for that. Nope. None. Drat. Bugger.

the day is already spent

I woke up this morning and took a good look at the calendar. The day is full. I even have to trim back a few things. I dislike having to readjust my schedule. I know it is a common occurrence, but it irks me nonetheless.

It's a good day that's set out before me. Don't get me wrong. I am happy about my day. I'll be spending time in the garden with one of my parishoners. I have one or two phone calls to make about some events happening this weekend. I have a sermon to work on and there's a meeting at a college in the city that I need to attend at 3pm. It's a full day. I am not sure what I'll actually get done.

Part of the issue is that I also have Saturday looming before me. It too is full. So, there is nowhere for the Friday things to move to should I not get to them. I have overscheduled myself. Drat.

Well, I should get to it. I check my e-mail when I woke up this morning. I always do that...to think through the day and to make sure that nothing has burned down during the night. So, I should return a few of those now.

As an aside, I was reminded of these words yesterday - Stanley Hauerwas: “The work of Jesus was not a new set of ideals or principles for reforming or even revolutionizing society, but the establishment of a new community, a people that embodied forgiveness, sharing and self-sacrificing love in its rituals and discipline. In that sense, the visible church is not to be the bearer of Christ’s message, but to be the message.”

Chewing on that, too. I hope you all have a good day.

humility and the way of jesus

Here are two quotations that are shaping my sermon for Sunday. In trying to understand why the disciples are terrified of Christ (They think he's a ghost, for one thing.) because he's walking on water (There's another perfectly good reason to be afraid.), I want to incorporate these ways of walking with God...

Abba Pachomius said, "A sinner like me does not ask God that he may see visions, for that is against God's will and wrong. Hear all the same about a great miracle: if you see someone pure and humble, that is a great vision; for what is greater than such a vision, to see the invisible God in his temple, or a visible man?"

"At every age, there is a need for periods of ripening. They take time. Why be impatient with oneself? Going from one beginning to another can open a way forward beyond discouragements." - Br. Roger of Taize

sermon mumblings: st teresa and feet

Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes through which He looks
compassion on this world
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
- St. Teresa of Avila

The sermon musings on St. Teresa's prayer continue apace this week with a sermon title I assigned myself a few weeks ago: "Christ's Feet." There's a lot I could do with the idea. Foot washing? Walking in the wilderness? Walking on water? In the end, I chose the water. I'll read Mark's version of the story. It omits Peter's attempt to walk on the water, but that's okay. Likely I'll mention Peter's attempt, but it's not the focus of the sermon.

I am enjoying this little series, but to be honest I wish I were preaching on Amos from the lectionary. Or do I? Here's one person's take. Scott is an on-line acquaintance of mine who I really must meet some day. He has an interesting mind and a good sense of humor. Here is one passage from the post. Is this a way of understanding "Holy Poverty?"

I remain convinced that God doesn't give a fart in a stiff wind for propping up institutions for their own sake. Our call to stewardship is both a call to recklessly trust that God will provide and a call to understand that debt and wealth can each be a burden and a barrier between ourselves and faith.

Way to hold back, Scott! Awesome. (/sarcasm) Maybe I'll keep to my series after all.

Similarly, I think that St. Teresa's focus is the same as Amos and the Gospeler from this Sunday's lectionary. Where do we find Christ? How do we understand community as distinct from institutions? Can we? Institutions, like Law (see: Sabbath), are meant to serve the people and not the other way around. What do you think? Clearly, it gets complicated very quickly, yet St. Teresa never says "Your fancy Romanesque bulwarks are Christ's body" or "Your giant projection screens" are Christ's Body. The Body of Christ is enfleshed. It's not encapsulated or contained, but given flesh. When institutions become the tail wagging the communal dog, we have enormous problems. Perhaps that is Scott's point.

This week Jesus will walk on water. We'll read Psalm 24 and praise the King of Glory. We'll hear from Micah as well as he insists we walk humbly with our God. It's essential to recognize how different God is from humanity. Even though Christ is the God of Love incarnate, the disciples are still terrified. We have to ask ourselves if we have Christ's perspective, are we using Amos' famous plumbline or one of our own devising? Are we walking humbly with the King of Glory? Are we embodying Christ's feet or insisting we walk on our own power? Jesus walks by faith.

What keeps us walking?

grace, wisdom, word, jesus

Grace, she carries the world on her hips...
- U2

Last night I went out for a movie with a friend. We saw the Transformers sequel. Um, yeah. I'm not sure if it was good or not. Likely, that's a bad sign. . . What made the movie worth it was time spent with a friend. I need more of that. You?

I am thinking about Grace again. She keeps making these appearances in my life. Sometimes she's standing before me in the clear light of day. Sometimes she's hidden somehow, elusive. She speaks in whispers if not at all. Sometimes she's just beyond reach, just beyond my perception.

When I was in college I took a Wisdom Literature class that continues to be influential for me. Wisdom stands at the gates of the city proclaiming God. She was in the beginning with God, creating with God. Wisdom. Grace. Word. Jesus. Wisdom and Grace have converged in my imagination.

Does not wisdom call,
and does not understanding raise her voice?
On the heights, beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;
beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries out:
‘To you, O people, I call,
and my cry is to all that live.
O simple ones, learn prudence;
acquire intelligence, you who lack it.
Hear, for I will speak noble things,
and from my lips will come what is right;
for my mouth will utter truth;
wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
All the words of my mouth are righteous;
there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.

She is haunting me again...Is it strange to say that I love her? Or that I endeavor to do so?

The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of long ago.
Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth—
when he had not yet made earth and fields,
or the world’s first bits of soil.
When he established the heavens, I was there,
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep,
when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
then I was beside him, like a master worker;
and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always,
rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the human race.

Perhaps it seems strange. I've always been drawn to these passages of the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament passages in John's Gospel that appear to stem from the same spiritual tradition. I'm wrestling with this stuff again. All in all, it is a good thing. Yeah, and I'm thinking of Heather-Maria as well. One does not ever understand Grace. Maybe the next post will be about James' letter...hmm.

joy

There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers.
- Teresa of Avila

This morning I am enjoying the company of good friends and my charming spouse. Coffee. Tea. Fruit. Sunshine and a porch. Really, what's not to like. July has been kind to us this morning.

I am not sure what the meteorologists have to say about the weather here in Chicago, but it strikes me that we have had a very wet and cool summer thus far. This morning the sun is shining and the humidity is mild. All is well here at le Chateau.

This week will be full of good things...or so I am told.

Ah! Here is a photo from the Evanston parade...

the pelagian drinking song

Pelagius lived at Kardanoel
And taught a doctrine there
How, whether you went to heaven or to hell
It was your own affair.
It had nothing to do with the Church, my boy,
But was your own affair.

No, he didn't believe
In Adam and Eve
He put no faith therein!
His doubts began
With the Fall of Man
And he laughed at Original Sin.
With my row-ti-tow
Ti-oodly-ow
He laughed at original sin.

Then came the bishop of old Auxerre
Germanus was his name
He tore great handfuls out of his hair
And he called Pelagius shame.
And with his stout Episcopal staff
So thoroughly whacked and banged
The heretics all, both short and tall --
They rather had been hanged.

Oh he whacked them hard, and he banged them long
Upon each and all occasions
Till they bellowed in chorus, loud and strong
Their orthodox persuasions.
With my row-ti-tow
Ti-oodly-ow
Their orthodox persuasions.

Now the faith is old and the Devil bold
Exceedingly bold indeed.
And the masses of doubt that are floating about
Would smother a mortal creed.
But we that sit in a sturdy youth
And still can drink strong ale
Let us put it away to infallible truth
That always shall prevail.

And thank the Lord
For the temporal sword
And howling heretics too.
And all good things
Our Christendom brings
But especially barley brew!
With my row-ti-tow
Ti-oodly-ow
Especially barley brew!

-- Hillaire Belloc

I am thinking of you, Young Fogey.

sermon: christ's hands

Follow the extended link for the sermon. This is the first of three in the series: Christ's Hands, Christ's Feet, Christ's Heart. Have a great day!

Oh...if you want to read a quick bit about religious freedom to celebrate the weekend worth of holiday, please go here.

Sermon: Faith and Art Series
The Community Church of Wilmette
July 5, 2009

Christ’s Hands

The validity of religion itself is called into question if the social dimension of faith is diminished. Claims to have a relationship with God are discredited if such encounters do not lead believers to the work of the upgrading of the quality of life in human community. How we treat one another is the most telling witness to either genuine or hypocritical faith. Individuals may find inspiration and encouragement from spiritual experiences, but the true test of spiritual maturity is whether one is led to neighborliness, compassion, justice, and respect for others. (James A Forbes, Jr. Sounding the Trumpet Today: Changing Lives and Redeeming the Soul of Society in the 21st Century)

What we do…
What we do with our lives…
What we do with our hands, the simplest gesture…

Holding
Healing
Loving
Calming
Feeding
Growing

…the simplest gesture speaks volumes to the world about our faith and God’s presence, God’s reality, in the world. It calls others, our neighbors, friends and even our enemies, to seek God more clearly when it is clear that we have first done the work of living into our own vocations as individuals and as communities of followers of Christ.

Do you believe this? Do you, church?

I love going to the Biennial so I can come back to you with a word from God, with a word spoken through Spirit-led preaching, song, and testimony. It reminds me of why I was called into ministry and what I was called to say and do. I encourage you all to find such times of renewal in your lives. Set aside time. It could save you.

This year the theme at the Biennial was "The Hands and Feet of Christ." There we were gathered American Baptists sharing what we were doing in our ministries and listening to the national level of the denomination share what we all had been part of…

…refugee resettlement,
building hospitals,
rescuing young women and men from sexual slavery,
feeding and clothing the poor,
advocating for just change in governments across the globe
and reaching into local communities as partners in what Christ is already doing

It’s a powerful time, an inspiring time.

As usual, I was reminded of why I am a part of this denomination…there’s always that moment. For me this year it was when Brad Berglund, the coordinator for the music for the event, began to play a musical setting of St Teresa of Avila’s prayer.

Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet, on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

You can find the prayer on the front of your bulletin this morning.

I love how American Baptists are relatively unafraid to look to the entirety of God’s Church for inspiration and language. We are unafraid of even our Catholic brothers and sisters in faith. Dear God, what have we wrought!

St Teresa was a sixteenth century nun in Spain. She was a famed mystic, an author of several books on prayer the most famous of which is The Interior Castle. She was a powerful witness to the challenging and transforming nature of God’s love.

She was a mystic and a reformer. She was known for her distinct and powerful visions and her no nonsense practicality. Her contemporaries extolled her vigor, her common sense, and her sense of humor. She exemplified for many what a powerful witness for Christ a life can be when the power of prayer is put to use in the world, given hands if you will.

We are Christ’s hands. That’s no small statement coming from a mystic. It is no small vision to lay upon God’s people.

Look at your hands. Listen to these words:

With these hands (your hands) Jesus is healing,
praying,
holding,
eating,
feeding,
breaking bread,
blessing, giving, receiving,
bathing the feet of your loved ones,
casting out the demons of the world,
working,
bringing deliverance,
and bearing the wounds of the cross…

Christ always shows his hands when he serves. Christ is not afraid of the wounds. He is not ashamed of them because he knows how God can redeem all of us even in the midst of great struggle and grief.
His hands show this.

The wounds of the cross have become signs of Grace.

This is the work we have been prepared for.

Look at this morning’s scripture. Open your pew Bibles to Chapter 6:1-13 of Mark’s Gospel. Jesus has been teaching and healing. He’s been through a rough homecoming. He lays his hands on sick people and heals them. Then…then he sends out his disciples.

He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.

He sends them out together, two by two, and says that their hands can do what his hands can do. He equips them with so little…just faith, a little advice…no committees, no building, no budget…

He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place [the town]. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

They proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom, called people to change, cast out demons, and healed the sick. When they weren’t heard, they didn’t yell or pitch a fit. They simply walked away. This is the work of the Kingdom, this is the embodiment of the encounter of Christ Jesus.

Jesus trains us, his disciples, for this work. And Jesus has not neglected any of us. Jesus has given us what we need and called us all to won that vision.

Today we find the presence of Christ in prayer.

St. Teresa says this of the power of prayer: "‘The soul never ceases to walk with her Lord but is ever in his company.’ The Christian who prays is not aiming at a state of passionlessness, but is learning to walk with Christ and to be increasingly on fire with the sparks…of his love." (p. 58,The Life of Teresa of Jesus)

Prayer leads us to encounter with Christ. It is not self-serving. Encounter with Christ leads us out into the world as his hands.

So often we want to separate these two things. We either want to pray or we want to work. We may be inclined to say that one is more true than the other. We speak of “Mary and Martha Christians.” We forget that Mary and Martha were sisters who loved one another. We forget that they lived under the same roof and loved the same God. They both encountered Christ and they both offered themselves to him. As much as we may be inclined toward one or the other, neglect of either may be a spiritual misstep.

James Forbes, in the essay I quoted earlier, does what every good Baptist should do and reminds us of what a Quaker once said: "Elton Trueblood taught that the most important word in the Bible is and. It is not personal piety or social witness. It is both." We are an "and" people. Martin Luther King, Jr was a man of prayer and... William Sloan Coffin was a man of prayer and.... Sojourner Truth was a woman of prayer and... Dorothy Day was a woman of prayer and... They all prayed and they worked. Their encounter with God fueled their work for the Common Good. They were Christ’s hands in the world.

***

Shawna is back. Just in case you were wondering what was happening here down front, Shawna Bowman is back with us this week and next week to create an original work of art for our own congregation’s worship space.

When Shawna and I were speaking about what the focus of these two sermons would be, I found myself wanting to bring the Exodus story of the Hebrew scriptures into the New Testament somehow. Where was the parallel? It did not take long to see that in some ways one parallel moment is found at the Ascension of Christ…that moment when the Resurrected Jesus leaves. What do the people of God do when their leader, Moses, passes away? Or in the case of the disciples, what do the people of God do when it seems that God leaves?

First, they had to learn that God had not actually left them. God’s presence was still with them in the Holy Spirit. This is why the New Testament speaks of the Holy Spirit and why we celebrated Pentecost with a piñata several weeks ago. God spirit is as sweet as ever and pours out upon the world and the people on it.

God sends us that comforting Spirit. And God calls us to be God’s hands, God’s body in the world. Somehow it seems that each generation has to come to terms with this reality in its own way.
We are the Body of Christ.
We have been given what we need:
God’s sustaining Spirit is poured out upon us
no less than it was poured out over Peter and Mary
or James and John, St. Teresa, James Forbes,
or you and me…

"Christ has no body now but yours. Yours are than eyes through which he looks compassion on this world, yours are the feet through which He walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which He blesses all the world. Christ has no body now on earth but yours." (John Michael Talbot)

Amen.

turkeys for the 4th

Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.
- James Bryce

Lately, meaning in the last few years, I find myself backing away rather than picking fights. This is likely a sign of a the looming "middle age." I don't know, but it's as good of an explanation as any. So, to that end I will simply offer up this quotation and wish you all a merry holiday. My your skies be clear. May your grill be hot. And if you are marching in a parade, don't forget to hydrate. Our church is marching this year to promote our 5K. We run in October, but we like to prance around dressed as turkeys in July. These things happen. Remember, Franklin wanted the national bird to be the turkey. So, in a sense, this is patriotic. That's it. Right.

enjoy your holiday

an "and" people

Christ has no body now but yours No hands, no feet on earth but yours Yours are the eyes through which He looks compassion on this world Christ has no body now on earth but yours. - St Teresa of Avila (sixteenth century)

I read somewhere that the most important word in scripture is "and." So often we like to focus on just one aspect of our tradition. Song. Prayer. Good works. History. We fixate. What the tradition offers us, however, is "and." St. Teresa of Avila was a famed mystic and reformer. Many, Protestant and Catholic alike, still follow her example. She prayed and she gave of her possessions and her time. Our call is to embody the conjunction. We are an "and" people.

how does one trust God's process?

This kind of thing shows up regularly in my e-mail.

God apparently loves freedom as much as incarnation. And that is the rub of time and history and our interminable groanings. We are the victims of our own freedom and our bodily incarnations. God took that great risk in creating free human persons, and we must take it too. Doing it perfectly is not the goal, doing it is the goal.

The sons and daughters of God tend to be afraid of freedom and do not trust incarnation. We would rather hide behind the securities of law instead of taking God’s risks. We would rather be “spiritual” than just being human.

Adapted from Near Occasions of Grace, p.5

Have a nice day.

insomniac hymn?

O thou in lonely vigil led
To follow Truth's new risen star,
Ere yet her morning skies are red,
And vale and upland shadowed are,

Obey her call and take thy road,
Obedient to the vision be:
Trust not in numbers; God is God,
And one with him majority!

Soon pass the judgements of the hour,
Forgotten are the scorn and blame;
The Word moves on, a gladdening power,
And safe enshrines the prophet's fame.

Now, as of old, in lowly plight
The Christ of larger faith is born:
The watching shepherds come by night,
And then, the kings of earth at morn!

what I said

Someone here at CCW asked me what I said at the Biennial in support of the proposed amendment for the Bylaws. With the caveat that the bylaws were voted down and sent back to committee, we (members of the ABC-Metro Chicago) presented the amendment to lend some clarity to the objections to the proposed Bylaws. Here's something like what I said. We were allowed two minutes to speak. I had a rough sketch of an outline.

***

Good afternoon.

I am a proud member of the ABC-Metro Chicago and I am glad to be standing before you today.

Our tradition is founded upon the power, the potency of open dialogue...shared ideas and shared testimony. The Holy Spirit lives, I believe, in this conversation - in the tension, the harmony, of distinct and different experiences of God in Christ.

This is faith given voice: noisy, boisterous, passionate, and respectful.

The world is clamoring for opportunities, for places for open conversation and need to be taught how to do this. Just look at the internet for a moment through this lens! In a tradition such as ours where we claim that the Spirit is discerned in the gathering of the Beloved Community, striving not for unanimity but for unity, we need to take the time and make room for "the public square" in our Bylaws. This is the Baptist charism, our gift of the Spirit to the world.

Please continue to keep this central identifying characteristic in the forefront of our minds as we continue to discuss the necessary restructuring of our denomination. This is how we can be a light to the world, our friends and strangers alike.

Thank you.

book list

I have been trying to organize all of the loot from the Biennial. It's challenging. The reimbursement request is in. That's good news. Now I need to prioritize the books somehow. Group book studies first? Or should I lean on the more self-edifying stuff? Here's a list of what I picked up.

Intuitive Leadership by Tim Keel
Justice in the Burbs by Will and Lisa Samson
Enough by Will Samson
Jesus and Nonviolence by Walter Wink
A Pilgrim in Rome, Cries of Dissent by Al Staggs
Tribal Church by Carol Howard Merritt
Community of the Transfiguration by Paul R. Dekar
The Jazz of Preaching by Kirk Byron Jones

It's a good collection. I read the Wink book on the flight home. It'll make for a good group study, I think. It has those handy dandy questions at the end of each chapter. I think we can chew on it for three sessions comfortably.

The other books are also interesting. The leadership tome seems to try to articulate the impossible, but I think I grok it nonetheless. I am hopeful that it won't give me the willies like most leadership books do. I find most to be ridiculous, but that's my strong bias coming out. I've read so many now thanks to seminary training and my own curiosity. We'll see what this one offers. Leaders Who Last by Margaret Marcuson was the most recent addition to the collection.

I have a seminary intern starting at CCW in the fall. I am looking forward to having another body around here to get some things rolling. I may have her lead a study of Justice in the Burbs. We'll see. Have you picked up any good reads lately?