thoughts on left-overs….

I don’t care for left-overs. This goes for left over dinner from the night before, take home boxes from restaurants, and basically any meal that sits in the refrigerator for longer than about an hour. My main problem for any meal eaten like that is that meal was prepared for something else, we are just eating it now because we made too much. The purpose of the meal has already passed.

I think the story of the widow and her two small pennies in Mark 12 is about left overs. The widow gets praised by Jesus simply because she does not give from her left overs. The widow gives from a different place while the others give from a surplus, a left over. I think it’s a story that is typically used in regards to money, but I want to look at it anew. Let’s think about it in terms of time.

Jesus does call us to give financially, but he also invites us to give to him relationally. Jesus invites each of us into a relationship with him, one that will grow as we learn more about one another and thus learn more about ourselves. Like every relationship, time is critical. This relationship demands time.

And time is precious. And for most of us, time is limited.

There are things that must be done: meals to be cooked and served, a house to be cleaned, errands that need to be run, homework that needs to be completed, kids that tend to need a lot of time, and then there is our actual job. There are things we want to do: books we want to read, movies we want to see, people we want to spend time with, hobbies we want to do, and naps we want to take. And when it’s all done, there simply are not enough hours in the day.

And we meant to squeeze some time in for Jesus. We really did mean to spend some time this morning reading God’s Word. We really did mean to pray for something or other, time just got away. We meant to try and listen for God’s still small voice, but frankly that time was spent listening to something else. What we have leftover is five minutes now to try and make this relationship work.

One of the most striking elements of the widow’s story comes early on with these words, “and he sat down and began watching.” Jesus did not merely catch from the corner of his eye who was giving what. Jesus intentionally sat down and watches what people give.

I think he has a similar seat now. I think he still watches what we give. I think he calls each of us to spend time with him. I don’t think he is calling for what we have left in our schedules either. I think he is calling for a place on our schedules.

So make time- no place time- for Jesus.

thoughts on Saints….

This Sunday is All Saints Day. This Christian holiday celebrates all those who while now in eternity with God, lived lives that continue to impact us today. Some of the Saints are well known, including St. Francis, St. Gregory, and St. Augustine. Others such as St. Sabas, St. Ceed, and St Lua are lesser known Saints.

St Gregory’s Episcopal Church in California has a different concept of Saints. This church has decorated the ceiling of their worship center with the Saints of their church. They got together as a congregation and chose those who had made a difference in their lives and faith. Their ceiling is adorned with images of Sojourner Truth, King David, Anne Frank, Miriam, and Lucille Ball. Each week as they gather to worship, they take time to reflect on the lives of those who have made a difference to their unique community.

I like this idea of sainthood. I like to think that each of us carry our own list of saints. We could even each use the same criteria as the Catholic Church. Our saints need to be people who are exemplary models. They need to be extraordinary teachers for us. We need to have seen God’s power evident in their lives, calling, and passions. They need to be intercessors. Finally, something needs to have set their lives apart from all the others. Their influence on our lives needs to be almost miraculous, definitely beyond our understanding.

This concept of Saint can serve to remind us to take time to reflect on those in our lives who have made incredible impacts. It’s a call to gratitude for those who are no longer with us, but live on through each of us.

My list of Saints would include my seminary professor Ruth Ann Foster, Abby’s great-grandmother Nana, the incredible poet Madeline L’Engle, the great Johnny Cash, my great-grandmother Mimi, my great-grandfather Papa , Henri Nouwen, Martin Luther King Jr, the unnamed father in Scripture who prays ‘I believe, help my unbelief’, the author Flannery O’Conner, Mother Teresa, and my 5th grade teacher Carol Hewlett.

Take time this week to think on the Saints in your life. Express gratitude for all they continue to mean to you.

May the concept of Saint also encourage you to examine your own life. Ask yourself: Is there someone out there, who one day when I are no longer, who will call me a Saint? Are there lives that I am impacting for eternity? How many of the criteria for Sainthood are present in my life today?

So, on the Eve of All Saints Day, take time to reflect on your Saints and then take time to be a Saint.

thoughts on giving….

The worst Christmas gift I ever gave was a tire gauge.

It was the typical little kids Christmas situation, my parents had given me money to spend at the Christmas fair we had at our school. For my great-grandmother, who lived in a nursing home, did not own a car, and had not driven in five years, I selected the best tire gauge and key chain combination that $1.50 could buy. My sweet Nanny cherished the gift and put her nursing home key on a tire gauge that she carried around with her in the nursing home.

There is something so wonderful about that image to me, my great-grandmother in her nursing home showing all her friends this great tire gauge that her great-grandson had given her for Christmas.

I think giving is more about the spirit than what is really given most of the time. I think giving might actually be more beneficial to the giver than the given. So what are we giving right now?

Just like any parent taking their kids Christmas shopping, God has gifted us abundantly with the expectation that we will give abundantly.

It’s giving our finances to good causes, making sure that we are giving to the church, helping those who can’t help themselves, giving to feed the hungry, to clothe the poor. They say the best way to find out what a person really stands for is to look at their finances. What does your check book, credit card statement, and wallet say about you? It’s giving our time.

Our time is the most important gift that we can ever give to another person. Are you abundantly giving your time away to things that will eternally matter, things like family, faith, and friendship? Are you giving your time to things that will actually stand the test of time? Does your calendar reflect your priorities?

And then finally, the biggest gift of all- yourself. Are you giving yourself to others? Are there people in your life who you know beyond a shadow of doubt, you would die so that they could live? Are their people who you have really given yourself too? It’s the gift we are called to give to the world.

Are we abundantly giving in return for abundantly receiving?

This week, make sure that you are living a life of giving. Make sure your finances and calendar are in order. Make sure that you are giving gifts that matter. Make God proud in how you give. Teach your children to give by giving. And live, live abundantly.

thoughts on Esther….

She is probably my favorite Old Testament character, simply put she is just a gorgeous woman who marries a king after she wins a beauty contest and then as almost an after thought, she saves the entire Jewish nation from destruction.

Esther is just using her natural gift, beauty. It’s not one of the spiritual gifts that we take spiritual gift inventories over. It’s not something that she could work to attain, she simply is beautiful. She does not seem haughty about it, she simply knows that she was blessed with the gift of physical beauty, it’s in her genes.

When you read the story, it just seems so natural to her. She does not read like the type of girl you are going to find on the runway, but instead the type of girl you pass on the street and think “there is true class and beauty.” It seems Audrey Hepburn-esque.

It’s so opposite of the way we use our natural talents. We have a tendency to either be extremely prideful about them or be so humble about them that we hide them. It seems Esther finds that delicate balance in the middle of the extremes.

In that balance, she wins the favor of the king. She becomes one his most favored wives. And then it all hits the fan, there is this plan to kill all the Jews because one of the kings men has a bit of problem; mainly he is a little prideful and racist. Esther is a Jew; she is the only Jew that is in a position to save a nation.

Her uncle tells her this infamous line to call her to action: “and who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”

Here is where you have to love Esther, she did not set out to save the world, but by being herself she came into a position where she was able to make a huge difference.

There are so many lessons we can take from Esther: courage to do the moral thing, dealing with difficult people, humility, and leadership. I think the lesson we all need to focus on this week is this…. Be yourself. Shine in the areas that God has gifted you. Do not hide your talents, but instead humbly use them. Allow the love, beauty, and grace of God to shine through you in the areas where it seems most natural.

And who knows, by simply being yourself, you could walk into a royal position where you are able to make a huge difference for the Kingdom of God? It’s happened before, it could happen again.

So be yourself, let God shine through you, and always be ready for the difference your life could make by you simply living it right.

Thoughts on Nets

One of my favorite scenes in the Gospel story comes early when Jesus calls the disciples. To understand the calling, you need to understand their world. The disciples were fishermen, which meant that they had tried other routes and no one had picked them. They could not be rabbis, scholars, lawyers, or even a follower of a rabbi. They had not gotten picked, they were overlooked, and so they went fishing. It was not a powerful or popular job; it was a job for misfits and those who the world did not pick. It’s the job for those picked last for dodge ball.

They are out fishing when Jesus calls them. I imagine that it would have been quite a scene. This rough, tired fishermen being stopped by a rabbi, a rabbi would never stop to talk to fishermen. He stops and then he does the unexplainable, he tells them to follow him. He calls them to be his followers, it’s another twist on the story because you asked to be a follower of a certain rabbi, never did a rabbi ask you to follow him. But Rabbi Jesus calls them to follow him.

And they drop their nets and follow Jesus. Never have the heard such a calling. The calling was so powerful and inviting. They dropped what was safe to them, what they knew best, the one way they knew to make a living, and they followed this Rabbi.

Mark adds this detail into his gospel, “immediately.” They did not stop and think about it. They did not make a pro and con list. They did not debate if this was a good road to take. They immediately dropped their nets and followed.

Maybe it was the voice of the one calling them; they had never heard a voice so true. Maybe it was the confidence that this rabbi had in them, his call made them believe in themselves. Maybe it was the compassion, grace, acceptance found in the eyes of this rabbi.

Whatever it was, they immediately dropped their nets to flow. I am not sure we are willing to risk it for the call of Jesus. I think many of us tend to carry our nets with us when Jesus calls; we need a back up, a just in case, a ‘if this does not work out, I can throw my nets out somewhere else’ plan, simply a plan b.

We don’t follow immediately, we tell Jesus we are going to get back with him on this one. We need to make sure that this calling is going to match up with our work and social calendars. We need to check to make sure this is not going to interfere too much with our plans.

Sadly, if we carry our nets with us, we get loaded down and can’t keep up with the footsteps of our Jesus. If we delay answering the call, perhaps we miss the call. By missing that call, we might be missing it all.

So take time today to see if you are carrying your net with you still. See if you have put off answering a call on your life. Become as risk-taking and willing as Andrew and Simon, immediately drop your nets and run after our Rabbi.

thoughts on tears….

Jesus wept.

It’s the shortest verse in Scripture, yet deeply profound. In these two words we find an entire theology, a Gospel message, and comfort. It reaffirms the humanity of our Jesus. It validates the tears that we often hide.

We all know the story of Lazarus. By the time in the story when Jesus is weeping, he is fairly clear about the fact He is going to raise Lazarus from the dead. Thus the tears are not necessary for grieving Lazarus. So, why the tears? Why does Jesus weep?

Perhaps the tears are a result of Jesus feeling the pain of grief on two close friends. Seeing the hurt in their own lives, the pain present in their eyes and their voices might cause Jesus to weep. He might hurt because two of his friends hurt, and when we really know somebody, their pain is also our pain.

Perhaps the tears are a result of Jesus knowing that soon these two women will be grieving his own death. As Jesus is dealing with them during this moment of grief, he had to realize that it would not be long until these two women would be grieving him, and at that point, he would not be there to comfort them. His tears might deal with future pain that he was not able to control or stop.

Maybe the tears are actually about death. Jesus is very aware that his own death is imminent at this point, and even for Jesus, this is a lot to handle. Death is never easy, death always carries a sting. Jesus might be crying over the reality of death, his own death.

It’s also possible that this is the moment loneliness hit Jesus. He realized that most of his followers would not follow him to the Cross. He realized that his own death would be a lonely experience. Maybe it’s the loneliness of being away from his Father. Maybe it’s the fact that he will miss this earthly life that he has adjusted to, he has found beauty in this thing most of us take for granted.

We can’t be sure what causes Jesus to weep. We can’t know what break his heart. But we can trust that Jesus did weep and his heart did break.

That might be one of the most comforting facts about our Jesus. Jesus knew pain. Jesus allowed pain to cause him to weep, openly in front of others.

So may the tears of Jesus comfort your own tears. May you live life with a heart that is vulnerable enough to feel pain and to be broken. May you weep when you need to weep.

May you be comforted that one day our weeping will turn into laughter. For now though, know we have a God who collects our tears and a Jesus who understands our tears.

unbelief….

Recently someone asked me what Scripture I most identify with in my personal life and faith journey. I replied that the Scripture I most identify with is uttered by the Biblical character I most identify with; he is a man who is never given a name, but simply called “the boys father.” He comes to Jesus asking for his boy to be healed and Jesus responds ‘the boy is healed, with me all things are possible.’ The boy’s father then utters this remarkable prayer, “Lord I do believe, help my unbelief.”

I do not think a day goes by when I do not utter the same prayer in my heart repeatedly. I used to feel bad confessing this, but I have become increasingly comfortable talking about my unbelief.

We all have them, theses areas in our heart where it simply does not connect or make sense. It might be a huge spiritual question that you have never been able to answer, it might be a situation that you have walked through without any clarity, and it might be the nagging sense that this whole thing simply is not true.

I think the guilt comes from that awful question that has been poised to each one of us, it comes in a variety of ways with the root being give me a percentage of how much you believe. Most of us were trained that anything less than 100% was a wrong answer. I have stopped thinking this is true for two reasons.

First, the opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. If something is 100 percent believable and truthful, then it is a fact. Gravity is not a belief I hold, nor is it part of my faith journey. Gravity is a proven fact. I do believe a day is coming for each of us when our faith becomes fact, we simply are not there yet.

Second, we are on faith journeys. As we dig deeper we are called to deeper beliefs. As we walk through life, we are given new circumstances and opportunities that call for more and different faith and trust. It’s a constant giving for us on this faith journey. We can never be done with faith and trust.

This boy’s father was a brave man. He prayed perhaps the most honest prayer uttered to our Lord. Furthermore, he gives an incredible example to those around him by admitting that he does not understand it all or have it all together. Imagine the lesson he taught his son through this story.

Jesus really never calls us to totally understand it or have it all together. Instead he calls us to make sense of what we can and then take the leap of faith, which involves things we can not prove. And then he tells us to love.

I think the final exam is going to be more about that love than our beliefs.

thoughts on the basics

Sometimes all we need is a simple reminder of what matters most, what is largely basic, and what our lives are truly supposed to be about. Allow this story today to serve as that reminder.

Dr. Karl Barth, one of the most profound and important theologians in our Christian history, gave a series of lectures at Princeton over church dogmatics in the early 1960’s. At the end of the lecture, he took questions from the audience. A brave student stood and asked him, ‘what was the most important lesson that you have ever learned in all of your vast Christian learning?’

The audience went silent, it was a brilliant question for an even more brilliant man. What one area would he answer? Which of his important theological contributions would he respond with? He sat back for a moment and thought. He leaned forward to answer the question, to sum up the most important lesson, and simply said: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

Perhaps the most important lesson in all of Christendom comes to us in a simple children’s song.

Take that in whatever way you need today.

May it serve as a lesson that in all you are trying to get your children to become, if you are teaching them that Jesus loves them, you are doing a pretty good job.

May it serve as a reminder that in your marriage one of your daily task is to remind your spouse that Jesus loves them.

May it serve as a reminder that in all our vast attempts to understand our faith, the most important lesson that any of us will ever learn is simply to accept the fact we are loved by Jesus Christ.

May it serves as a reminder that in the end, it is not going to matter how powerful, popular, brilliant, and good looking you are. All that really counts is the fact that Jesus loves you.

In whatever way and context you need to hear this lesson, hear it today.

Jesus loves you, this you know, for the Bible tells you so.

thoughts on little kids….

Sometimes I read the Gospel message and I think that Jesus must have gotten it wrong- the last shall be first, the poor shall find abundance, the meek inherit, and those who seem to matter least actually matter most. My favorite theologian simply says that it is an upside down kingdom, which is a great description of the system Jesus sets up for us. It is not at all the system that American society has built and worshipped. It’s opposite of anything that makes sense in our world.

Think about those in this world who really matter. You will begin to think on those who are most powerful, who have huge fields of influence. You will begin to think on those who are most popular, the one’s it seems the entire world has chosen. You think on those who are beautiful, the one’s who radiate beauty. You think on those who are smart, who really do seem to know it all. You think on those who are rich, who have everything you could ever want and then some.

Yet, when Jesus talks about where we find him. He rarely uses people like that. Instead he uses the one’s who in our world seem to have the least power, popularity, brains, and money. He points to children. Snotty nosed kids who speak out of turn, kids who forget to use their inside voices, kids who forget to clean the mud off their shoes before coming in, the one’s who never knock before entering, you know those children…..our children.

Jesus teaches the disciples this important lesson with an object lesson. He picks up a child in his arms, he cradles the small child and then announces that whoever treats children like this, in the end are actually treating him like that. He then goes on to say treating a child in this loving way is like treating our God in a loving way. It’s almost as if he says how we love our children is how we love our God. Or maybe that is exactly what he says.

So today, perhaps the most spiritual thing that you can do is to get on the floor and play with your child, make tents in the living room using sheets and the couch cushions, take time to go outside and run around with them, before bed time tell them how much you love them and all they mean to you, make their favorite dessert, take time to give them an extra hug or if you can to hold them a bit longer.

And in doing so, know that you are loving God as well. It is by our love that we are known. It is by our love that He is known. So today, take time to love your kids.

And know that might be the most important thing you do all day in this crazy upside down kingdom God calls us to.

wanting more….

I have to be honest and admit that Blake’s eating habits somewhat gross me out. She only eats a few things, pureed green beans, pureed sweat potatoes, and prunes, all washed down by some bland formula. It is fairly awful to feed her these things. The smells are bad, the textures are for old people, and when it all comes back up together, well it’s not any better. So to help get through it, at her dinner time we go over the things that she will be able to eat later in life, the good stuff that she is going to really love and enjoy eating. We just have to work up to it.

I wonder if when Peter was writing his letter he had been around a new baby. It would make sense when he writes that “like infants you need to drink deep of God’s pure Word. Then you’ll grow up mature and whole in God.” I wonder if he had been close to a baby and thought, just make it through this stage, it does get better. Just keep on and you are going to get to a point where you start to love all this.

If I decided to try Blake on some of my favorite foods, queso and chips, parmesan chicken, or key lime pie, she would not have developed the palate for it yet. Nor would she be able to handle the richness and complexity. She has to slowly build her taste buds and food possibilities, this take time. So I start her on the basic things, we slowly build her food possibilities, and then a whole new world will slowly unfold before her.

I believe this is what Peter is telling us about our relationship with God. We can start with the very basics of reading God’s Word, beginning to understand it at the surface level, and learning what God has in store for us. Soon, we should be able to digest more- to understand the richness of God’s word, the complexity of Scripture on many levels, and receive the fullness of God’s sweet message of salvation, redemption, grace, and love that exist on every page.

Think about the way we teach some of the Bible stories to children- Creation, Noah and the Ark, Abraham and Isaac, the prophets, Song of Solomon, the crucifixion of our Christ, and the trials of Paul. We make them stories that a child can handle, yet as we grow older the stories are meant to grow with us. We should be digging deeper, looking further, risking the hard questions, and continuing to find the sweet message of salvation, redemption, grace, and love.

As adults we are still learning to drink deep of God’s pure word, we are continuing to discover new layers of meaning, we are revealing new depths to the love letter written to each of us, and we understand and see Scripture anew each time we read the old, old story. Make sure you time of Scripture is a time of drinking deeply and journeying further into the heart of God.

There is so much in it for each of us if only we would take the time to drink deeply.