CAUTION: This is strictly a personal rant. My biases and narrow-mindedness may come out and I apologize in advance to anyone I offend.
I love Jesus. I do not remember a time when God was not real to me or an important part of my life. As a young child, I remember swinging on the swingset in our backyard and singing songs to God about my day. When I was a little older and in second grade, I wrote love poems to God. I was raised in the church and attended a parochial school up through eighth grade. But for me - before I was ever old enough to be able to articulate it in this way - I KNEW on a deep level that the faith thing, the relationship I had with God, was bigger than the institution of the church. That knowledge has resulted in my having a rather checkered, on again-off-again relationship with the institutions of the church over the years.
While I was raised in the Roman Caholic expression of Christ's church, I have attended congregations of a variety of denominations. I am currently serving as a pastor within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Given my love-hate relationship with the institutions of the church, that is actually pretty ironic. Actually - it also shows what a crazy sense of humor our God has. When I was feeling called to serve the Gospel concerning Jesus the Christ in a concrete way, I never expected that this is where I would end up. But this is where my love of Jesus and the Gospel has led me.
Which leads me to my utter frustration today. As a pastor, I spend a fair amount of time on the road. There are a couple of billboards that I keep passing by that really aggravate me. The first one is from some Christian radio station that says judgment day is May 21, 2011. Give me a BREAK. I read scripture. Forgive me for being naive, but I think that if Jesus says that NO ONE knows except the Father (and that means even Jesus) then NO ONE knows.
First, it irks me that people are arrogant enough to think that THEY have figured out some code to tell them something that even Jesus doesn't know. Second, I get aggravated when folks try to use the threat of judgment to scare people into believing in God. The Jesus revealed in the Bible is one who invites others into relationship. Just not my idea of what Jesus meant when he charged the apostles to "Go and make disciples of all nations."
The other billboard is one from the local Roman Catholic dioscese. It is attempting to draw members back to church and it says "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John miss you." Really? Sorry, I am not buying it. Now JESUS misses us when we choose to absent ourselves from a faith community, but Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John ... nah, not them.
And that sort of brings me to a frustration about churches using billboards to advertise in order to attract members in the first place. They may try to scare us into coming to their congregation(Judgment Day is coming), guilt us into coming back (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John miss you.), or entce us into coming with promises of all of the nice fringe benefits that they have to offer (professional quality music, gymnasiums, rock walls, internet cafes, etc). But I have yet to see a church billboard that offers to introduce us to the living Lord, Jesus Christ.
I will say about the instituation of the church what I said about worship - IT IS ALL ABOUT JESUS. And WHEN did Jesus cease to be enough?
Today - my normally high BS tolerance factor just plummetted into the basement. Just give me Jesus - you can have all the rest. JUST GIVE ME JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope and pray that at the end of the day, whatever I have done in ministry has been for the sake of inviting people to "Come and see" and expereince the remarkable, unchangeable, unconditional, and limitless love of Jesus. Because even though I am not always capable of living like it - I really do believe that it is all about the love of God made know in Jesus.
May you find someone to 'give you Jesus'.
Peace -
PK (+)
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
WORSHIP - The Great Reversal
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. (Psalm 22:27)
Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name; worship the LORD in holy splendor. (Psalm 29:2)
O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! (Psalm 95:6)
Worship the LORD in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth. (Psalm 96:9)
Extol the LORD our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he! (Psalm 99:5)
Worship the LORD with gladness; come into his presence with singing. (Psalm 100:2)
I have been thinking about worship a great deal lately. This is not at all an unreasonable thing when you consider that I am a child of God and a pastor in Christ's church. I have been doing so first out of the office of pastor; considering our communal worship life - how to plan, create, and structure it so that we bring before God our very best. We have been talking about adding additional worship services - a morning prayer service, a mid-week service. We have talked about how to make worship more accessible for families with young children. Many of the conversations have left me feeling energized - I LOVE WORSHIP. I love to worship the Lord. I love to plan woship and lead worship. I love to see the faces of others as they are truly worshiping the Lord with all of their hearts. But every so often there is something about the conversations that nag at me.
Recently, I was talking with a friend who commented that this week was the week for her congregation's 'praise' service. I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was less than enthusiastic about it, which rather surprised me. So I asked about it and she said that it seemed really odd to her. Supposedly, it was "to bring young people into the church." She couldn't imagine any young people wanting to come to this worship service. She has been to 'contemporary' worship services - with me, actually - and they were well done. But for this praise service, there was no musical instruments. This was using a DVD with the congreation singing, dancing, and clapping along and it was just odd to her.
I thought about this congregation that somehow had gotten themsleves to the place where they were planning worship as a means of attracting young people. I thought about some of the conversations we have been having in the congregation where I serve. Attracing young people has been a 'motive' behaind many of our suggestions, as well. Then there have been the comments about people not "getting anything out of worship." The reasons vary - we do not have a contemporary worship service; we use the piano too much and the organ not enough; I kowtow to the young people; I cater to the "old folks" too much; you name it. There are as many reasons for why peope do not "get something" out of worship as there are people who complain about it.
I noticed, though, they all have a common theme: they view worship as the place that they come to get THEIR needs met. That caused me to ask myself ...
WHEN DID WORSHIP BECOME ABOUT US AND NOT ABOUT GOD?
I always regarded worship as the time when I gave of myself - my time, my gifts, my voice, my prayers, my song, my attention to the Word, my confession of sins and of the faith - all acts of bowing down in worship of the one who created, redeemed, and sustains me. I never considered whether or not it pleased me. My pre-worship prayer is always that what we did in worship was pleasing and acceptable to God - as acts of worship. (Perhaps that is my Roman Catholic upbringing coming out, but I think that is a reasonable assessment of the intent of worship.)
I am finding now, however, that many believe that my goal in worship planning and leadership is to design a service that makes THEM feel uplifted, encouraged, and even entertained. The music must be to their tastes - contemporary, traditional, organ, praise band. The sermon should be short and have cute anecdotes in it. The worship service should be an hour or less. (I guess that is all the time God deserves?)
So I have discovered that by the standards of many - in my congregation and in the general culture - I am a FAILURE at worship planning and leadership. Because I always plan the service to point to God and God's redeeming work in the cross of Christ. I do not consider worship as I time for US to be pleased, but a time for us to please God with our worship. I do not consider worship a marketing tool with which to bring people into the church. I DO pray that the Spirit among us as we worship and our sense of community is enticing to those who visit with us.
Perhaps one of the disouraging comments is when someone specifically says that they "just don't get anything out of worship." While I am tempted to take this personally, I suppose what really bothers me is that EVERY WEEK we gather and receive forgiveness of sins, nurture and strength for the life of faith throuh hearing the Word of God, and the very presence of Jesus with us in the sacrament of Holy Communion.
So I find myself with a few rather burning questions; questions that I wrestle with both as a disciple of Jesus and as one called to the office of pastor to lead others in discipleship.
WHEN DID THE GREAT REVERSAL IN WORSHIP HAPPEN?
WHEN DID WORSHIP BECOME ABOUT US AND NOT ABOUT GOD?
WHEN DID JESUS CEASE TO BE 'ENOUGH'?
I have no answers to these questions. I continue to wrestle with them. I know only that I will continually fail in worship planning and leadership as long as those I serve expect me to plan our worship to please them. And that is one of the few failures in life that I am learning to be very comfortable with.
WORSHIP: IT'S A GOD-THING.
Worship the LORD in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth. (Psalm 96:9)
In Christ -
PK (+)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
JESUS HAS 'PEOPLE'
WITH APOLOGIES TO THOSE RECEIVING MY DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR THE REPEAT
THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY: Matthew 1: 1-17
An account of the genealogy1 of Jesus the Messiah,2 the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, 4 and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,1 8 and Asaph1 the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos,1 and Amos2 the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.1 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah,1 fourteen generations.
If you are reading this – CONGRATULATIONS! You have made it through Matthew’s account of the genealogy of Jesus, considered by some people to be rather tedious reading. You are probably also thinking something along the lines of “So what? What difference does it make?”
To Matthew’s original audience it mattered greatly. Jesus had people. He could trace his lineage back 42 generations to Abraham. That fact mattered significantly in the eyes of many people of Jesus’ time. It gave him “street cred” and a level of authority with the higher classes.
We like to tell ourselves that doesn’t matter to us – and when it comes to Jesus’ heritage, we may be correct. But there are ways in which we still cling to our ancestry. We proudly claim our ethnic heritage. “German stubbornness,” “Irish temperament” and “Scandinavian stoicism” are character traits proudly claimed. We proudly cling to an ethnic heritage even though many of us living in the United States are generations away from the ‘old country.’ And we do so with a certain sense of superiority, as if those not like us – without our heritage – are second class citizens. Not that long ago, I was surprised to hear someone in a conversation ask who a young woman’s “people” were? They were trying to get a sense of what kind of person she was and whether or not we knew her family made a difference in that assessment. We may not always be that obvious about it, but we regularly make judgments about others based on their heritage, or maybe their family situation, the type of job they have, the clothes they wear, or even just in which part of town they live.
Our journey through Matthew’s Gospel may begin with a tedious genealogy, but our journey concludes with Jesus’ radical sending to “all nations.”
As humans we are the pinnacle of God’s creation. We can also be tempted to think that we are the center of God’s universe. Yet just yesterday we were reminded that “the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” (Gen 2:7) We are a small part of God’s universe, created from the dust of only a single planet in that great universe. We may be the pinnacle of God’s creation, but we are also not ‘all that.’
How can we truthfully acknowledge our place in God’s creation? How can that help us move to being better able to acknowledge the place and value of others? Who have you dismissed as less than because of an exterior judgment based on their family, residence, attire, etc? How can God broaden your understanding of what it means to share God’s love with all nations?
Dear Father, keep us mindful that the only branch of our family tree that matters is the tree on which your Son, Jesus was crucified. Help us to remember that through his cross we all share the same heritage and without your life-giving breath we are all simply a handful of dust in the universe. Amen
THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY: Matthew 1: 1-17
An account of the genealogy1 of Jesus the Messiah,2 the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, 4 and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,1 8 and Asaph1 the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos,1 and Amos2 the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.1 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah,1 fourteen generations.
If you are reading this – CONGRATULATIONS! You have made it through Matthew’s account of the genealogy of Jesus, considered by some people to be rather tedious reading. You are probably also thinking something along the lines of “So what? What difference does it make?”
To Matthew’s original audience it mattered greatly. Jesus had people. He could trace his lineage back 42 generations to Abraham. That fact mattered significantly in the eyes of many people of Jesus’ time. It gave him “street cred” and a level of authority with the higher classes.
We like to tell ourselves that doesn’t matter to us – and when it comes to Jesus’ heritage, we may be correct. But there are ways in which we still cling to our ancestry. We proudly claim our ethnic heritage. “German stubbornness,” “Irish temperament” and “Scandinavian stoicism” are character traits proudly claimed. We proudly cling to an ethnic heritage even though many of us living in the United States are generations away from the ‘old country.’ And we do so with a certain sense of superiority, as if those not like us – without our heritage – are second class citizens. Not that long ago, I was surprised to hear someone in a conversation ask who a young woman’s “people” were? They were trying to get a sense of what kind of person she was and whether or not we knew her family made a difference in that assessment. We may not always be that obvious about it, but we regularly make judgments about others based on their heritage, or maybe their family situation, the type of job they have, the clothes they wear, or even just in which part of town they live.
Our journey through Matthew’s Gospel may begin with a tedious genealogy, but our journey concludes with Jesus’ radical sending to “all nations.”
As humans we are the pinnacle of God’s creation. We can also be tempted to think that we are the center of God’s universe. Yet just yesterday we were reminded that “the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” (Gen 2:7) We are a small part of God’s universe, created from the dust of only a single planet in that great universe. We may be the pinnacle of God’s creation, but we are also not ‘all that.’
How can we truthfully acknowledge our place in God’s creation? How can that help us move to being better able to acknowledge the place and value of others? Who have you dismissed as less than because of an exterior judgment based on their family, residence, attire, etc? How can God broaden your understanding of what it means to share God’s love with all nations?
Dear Father, keep us mindful that the only branch of our family tree that matters is the tree on which your Son, Jesus was crucified. Help us to remember that through his cross we all share the same heritage and without your life-giving breath we are all simply a handful of dust in the universe. Amen
Monday, March 7, 2011
Blank Blooming Blog
One of the things I have learned in this pilgrim journey is that there are times when it is critical to "Be still." I do not do that very well. In fact, I am far better at going 100 mph until I crash. I overload my schedule or bite off more than I can chew. I knowingly burn the candle at both ends. I will let my enthusiasm for life and ministry write checks that my body cannot cash.
That has happened this last week. I have more on my to do list than there are hours in the day to even begin to accomplish. I have been trying to get to the blog for several days now. Things like sermons, Bible studies, homework, housework , and a zillion other things have managed to push the blogging aside.
Suddenly, I find myself 3 days from Ash Wednesday with homework and a paper due for a class I am taking, three sermons to compose, and daily Lenten e-mail devotions to compose. My burning candle has met itself in the middle.
My normal default position would be to get terribly cranky, skip sleep, make everyone around me miserable, and get it all finished. This time, I am taking a different - more faithful approach. Do what must be done - one day at a time.
That means my spiritual pondering will stay safely in my heart and head for a few more days while I honor my commitments, my relationship with my family, and my relationship with my Creator - being a good steward of the body and the time I have been given.
You can look for another blog entry sometime after this Friday, 11 March 2011.
Until then - keep blooming. The Spirit will be at work in and around us.
Catch you soon -
PK
That has happened this last week. I have more on my to do list than there are hours in the day to even begin to accomplish. I have been trying to get to the blog for several days now. Things like sermons, Bible studies, homework, housework , and a zillion other things have managed to push the blogging aside.
Suddenly, I find myself 3 days from Ash Wednesday with homework and a paper due for a class I am taking, three sermons to compose, and daily Lenten e-mail devotions to compose. My burning candle has met itself in the middle.
My normal default position would be to get terribly cranky, skip sleep, make everyone around me miserable, and get it all finished. This time, I am taking a different - more faithful approach. Do what must be done - one day at a time.
That means my spiritual pondering will stay safely in my heart and head for a few more days while I honor my commitments, my relationship with my family, and my relationship with my Creator - being a good steward of the body and the time I have been given.
You can look for another blog entry sometime after this Friday, 11 March 2011.
Until then - keep blooming. The Spirit will be at work in and around us.
Catch you soon -
PK
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