June 2
If you are like me, you have struggled with the serial readings in II Kings. There seems to be a lot of brutality, killing, revenge and pillaging. Where is the "good news?" In reading these middle chapters of II Kings I was reminded of something that an Old Testament professor told me in seminary. It may have been a "passing remark", an "off the cuff" remark but often those are the words that have the most impact upon us. Dr. A.B.Rhodes once said "Not everything in the Bible is for our imitation. Some things are for our information!"
It is easy for us to forget that the Old Testament is the "faith history" of a particular people. It is their "history", and it reflects their growing understanding of who God is. When I consider this simple fact I realize that God is a god involved in history AND, if God is involved in history, the Almighty in also present in the events of today for Today is Tomorrow's history. God's involvement does not mean that the Lord is an eternal cosmic director of events and we are but players going through "our" lines. It means, I believe, that God speaks that "still small voice" that Elijah first heard in the opening chapters of II Kings still whispers to us today.
John Mulder, the former president of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary once said that "God's call is not a blueprint for our lives, but a call to the pilgrimage in the wilderness, sustained by God's love and grace. I do feel called to be the president of this seminary, but I pray for the humility to know how God will lead this institution." You may have been "called" to your particular place in life or you may be "called" to a new place but in either case, you and I both need a healthy dose of humility as we seek to follow "the still small voice." ("Call" and "vocation", but the way come from the same root word. Literally your vocation is your "calling.")
Two brief words on the reading from II Corinthians. "As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain." (Verse 1, chapter 6) We are partners with God. One of my professional mentors from "afar" was the late Rev. Dr. David H.C. Read. He wrote a three volume spiritual autobiography, one of which was entitled This Grace Given. By grace God invites us to be co-labors in the Holy's vineyard called "the world." We are not to waste this opportunity. Many of Jesus' parables remind us of this. The opening verses of II Corinthians 6 reminds us that we are not to put obstacles in the paths of others seeking God and being sought by God. We are to have hearts that are "open wide."
The second word has to do with verse 14. It has been misappropriated on so many occasions. Some study bibles say that this verse encourages believers to separate themselves from non-believers. I find this to be an overly simplistic approach. Christians are not to be separate islands but oceans that wash up against every human shore. It is true, especially with couples considering marriage, that there are special difficulties to be addressed if they come from quite different spiritual backgrounds or traditions. It is better to address those issues up front rather than think that the other person will "change." Religious beliefs are the most deeply held and unexamined parts of our nature. Paul's word of caution, though, (Do not be mismatched with unbelievers), is simply a call to the Corinthian community to be clear about what they believe--or more accurately, in Whom they commit their lives. One of the ancient Israel's temptations throughout the Old Testament, and one of the temptations that we still fall prey to today is the belief that the faith is a smorgasbord buffet; "it doesn't make any difference what you believe as long as you believe in something" or "that all paths lead to the same place." We cannot pretend precisely to know how God works in this world. It is entirely possible that both of those statements may be accurate, BUT the belief or path can make us very bloodied and bruised. When Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life" he was saying that if we want to know who God is, we need to only look to Him, for in the words of Colossians "He is the image of the invisible God." (1:15)
June 3
Psalms 64 and 65 are an interesting pairing. In Psalm 64 we have the writer asking for God to save his life from "secret" enemies. The power of rumors, innuendo and half truths are acknowledged. Your mama may have told you that sticks and stones may break you bones but that words will never hurt you, but that is simply not true. Many a reputation has been destroyed by accusations. As a matter of fact, it seems that we live in balkanized time when making "innuendo with the spirit of conviction" passes as truth. The psalmist asks God to step in. Whether or not God does is not stated. This psalm-prayer is a wish, a wish that everyone who has ever been the subject of malicious talk can appreciate. It expresses faith in the Lord. As Hebrews 11:1 reminds us, Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. (New Living Translation).
Psalm 65 is an acknowledgment of God's power and worthiness to be worshipped. Praise is due to you...When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions...you answer us with deliverance. This is a good Psalm to read as you get ready for church. It reminds you why you worship. We worship God because the Almighty alone is worthy of our gratitude.
June 4
June 4
Actions have consequences. Sometimes the consequences are irrevocable. This is one of the insights provided in II Kings 17 and 18. The nation of Israel to the Assyrians under the kingship of Hoshea. This was not unexpected. Their fall was a natural consequence of their actions. The prophets warned the ten tribes of the northern Kingdom that they were on a course of internal strife that would lead to their demise. They were either incapable or unwilling to change course. (One of the interesting things that the Bible study The Mighty Acts of God points out is that the prophets did not "foretell" the future as much as they pointed out that if a nation or people continued on a particular course, there would be natural consequences.)
It is both odd and tragic that the southern Kingdom of Judah did not learn from what happened to Israel. They, too, merrily went on a path of self destruction--a path paved in corruption in courts, increasing disparity between the rich and the poor, lack of spiritual discipline and a spirit of selfishness ("boot-strap" social values and an "I've got mine" attitude.)
Many years ago I attended a workshop lead by church consultants Easum and Bandy. I took two things away from that workshop. One was their prediction that within 50 years 80% of the churches in existence today will not be here either because they would not or could not change. An example of "could not change" deals with those communities where the population base is in population demise. "Would not change" addresses churches that have grown too comfortable in their way of doing things. A strange paradox is that doing the same thing in a changing world is NOT really doing the same thing. The second thing that I took away from the workshop was a prayer the relates to what I just wrote. It is a prayer that is taped to the wall near my desk. "Lord, put me in the path of what you are doing in this world. Show me where You are working. Run over me by your Presence and guide my path to the Other Side."
We do well to consider whether or not we are on the road or in a rut. We need to be willing to have God to "run us over" with Divine Presence.
June 5
On the way out of church one day a parishioner said to a pastor who had just delivered an impassioned sermon on stewardship, "It seems to me all that this church is about is 'give, give, give.'" The pastor looked surprised before a smile swept across his face. "My, what a wonderful definition of what it means to follow Jesus!"
In Second Corinthians 8 the apostle Paul is encouraging the Corinthian spirit of gracious giving. There are essentially two kinds of givers; those who give by reason and those who give by revelation. Those who give by reason ask themselves “How much can I afford to give?” Those who give by revelation ask themselves, “How much can I give away?” The difference is whether a person looks at the meagerness of their resources or the greatness of God’s grace. We need to ask ourselves, "What is my modus operandi?
The author Maya Angelou in her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings once observed,
I find it interesting that the meanest life, the poorest existence, is attributed to God's will, but as human beings become more affluent, as their living standard and style begin to ascend the material scale, God descends the scale of responsibility at commensurate speed.
As we make our stewardship decisions we need to do so with two things in mind. As we dedicate your stewardship intentions today, I want us to do so with two things in mind.
First, whatever we give, we need to do so with a joyful heart. If we’re tempted to make your commitment grudgingly, then we’re better off not making a commitment at all. God loves a cheerful giver because that cheer comes from a contented heart that knows God’s grace can meet all of their needs.
Second, give in response to God’s blessings. If we are honest with ourselves, most of us have been extravagantly blessed—good health, loved ones, good jobs, nice cars and nice homes. All of us have the spiritual blessing of the church, salvation, the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life.
The opportunity of stewardship is not a time of obligation but one of opportunity. It is a time when you have a chance to say thank you to God for God’s grace in our lives by setting aside a portion of our income to do God’s work through the hands of a particular congregation.
In the words of the old hymn, We give Thee but Thine Own, Whate’r the gift may be; All that we have is Thine Alone, A trust, O Lord, from Thee. May we Thy bounties thus As stewards true receive, And gladly, as Thou blessest us, To Thee our first fruits give.
From your June 4th post, like you comment on the "could not...would not change" and put the question out for us to contemplate as a congregation? Where is God calling us in Williamsburg to share God's mission in our community?
ReplyDeleteI think that the question that Williamsburg and all congregations have to ask themselves, prayerfully--really prayerfully, is how can we serve? Are there unmet needs that we can address? How can we "give" ourselves away? We give ourselves away not because we will get anything but because we are "seeking the Kingdom of God and God's righterousness." It would be presumptous of me to say how Williamburg would answer that question, but I can give you an example that occurred long ago when I was the pastor there. It was the first time the RAGBRAI was coming through Williamsburg. The community decided to pool all resources to serve the riders and split the proceeds. Now, it was not in the best interest of FPC to do that because we were on the main drag. The front yard and trees provided shade and a great opportunity to make a "financial killing." However, we were willing to give up this advantage in order to set an example for the rest of the community that we needed to work together. It did make a difference. Others seeing what FPC was willing to give up followed suit. Another example was the church's willingness to allow organizations to meet in the church free of charge. The session "sold" the approach to the "financially responsible" members of the congregation by reminding them that we have a special responsibility, that we have been "saved to serve", as the Book of Order indicates. We are a part of a community with tax exempt status and receive police and fire protection. It is a matter of responsibile citizenship to open our facilities--it was the "taxes" that we "paid" to live in the community. A thrid example is when the HACAAP preschool flooded and the church opened its doors tot he preschool free of charge for as long that they needed. It was an inconvenience but it was the right thing to do--it is what Jesus would do. All of these things provided a strong witness to the community of what Christianity is really about. So, to loop back around, ask the questions of how can we serve, not ourselves but others. The truth of the gospel is accurate, we find our lives only when we are willing to lose it for the sake of the gospel. Hope that this helps. God bless, Robert and others who may read this.
ReplyDeleteRe: your June 5 post on giving cheerfully - that is the heart of it, isn't it? In my church last week during the adult Sunday School we were talking about something along this line. One person made a comment that "When you look at a garbage dump and you see all the items in it, realize that all those things were once someone's dream." Whether it be the rusted out old car that once upon a time someone saved years to purchase and proudly drove home or even the wrappers from our fast food that we just had to have for supper last week - all of these things, in fact, everything in this world, is temporary. Why *not* give away as much as we can to make our fellow human beings' journey through life better? We can't do everything, but everyone can do something.
ReplyDeleteTwo things; one a correction and the other a comment. In an earlier response I said that it was in the best interest of FPC to contribute to the community RAGBRAI pool. Actually, I left our the word "not." It was NOT in the church best interest, from a worldly selfish point of view, but it was in keeping with Jesus style of liberal and cheerful giving.
ReplyDeleteAn add on to Ranchmom. Her comments reminded me of something that John Wesley said about stewardship: "Earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can." Some people manage to do a "reverse tithe"--give away 90% of their income. Rick Warren comes to mind as an example.