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Tuesday, February 07, 2012
God's Crooked Lines
Psalm 111; Mark 1:21-28
When I was a Presbyterian seminarian in St. Louis, MO I went one day to the campus bookstore at St. Louis University, a Jesuit school. When I settled up at the counter the clerk asked me, "Are you religious?"
A little startled, I was at a loss for words. What I thought, though, was, "Well, I'm buying these books and trinkets in your little Catholic shop, aren't I?"
Seeing my hesitancy, the guy explained that he wanted to know if I was a priest or seminary student, since that would qualify me for a discount. So I did get the discount that day, plus a new entry in my vocabulary.
What threw me about the way he used "religious" was my Protestant understanding of the word "vocation" or "calling." In our tradition, not only are ministers called to serve God in church leadership, but all followers of Christ are called to use their talents in service to God in and out of the church.
So, when it comes to church life, we Presbyterians ordain three kinds leader: Ministers of the Word and Sacrament; Elders; and Deacons. The ministers are usually paid and work full-time; the other two are part-time volunteers. All three are equally called to serve God and God's people, but each employs a different set of gifts for the work of service.
In the world out there beyond the church, we believe that any field of endeavor that isn't illegal, immoral, or fattening can and should be understood as a person's calling. Whether you're a shoemaker or salesman, a teacher or an engineer, an artist or forest ranger, whatever you do can be done for the glory of God and the well being of God's world.
Among the items I bought that day way back when in St. Louis was a bookmark that read, "God writes straight with crooked lines. (Portuguese proverb)."
That curious little statement has encouraged and challenged me for forty years now, all the way along this long and winding road of my faith journey. Surprises... interruptions... distractions... disruptions... disappointments... discoveries... serendipities... Each of them and all of them were God's crooked lines of grace and goodness.
And what, you may ask, does that have to do with Mark 11's story of Jesus teaching one day in the neighborhood synagogue and casting out a demon in the process?
Listen to the GODcast!
posted by Jack Buckley at
3:15 PM
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Drop-Everything Faith
Psalm 62:5-12; Mark 1:14-20
"Drop everything," Jesus said. "Come with me."
And they did just that, right on the spot. At the drop of a net four young fishermen stepped out to follow Jesus wherever it was he wanted to lead them.
I call them young, but who knows? They were old enough to have built a successful small business in the fishing trade. Peter and Andrew they were, and James and John. Two pairs of brothers who made up the first 1/3 of Jesus' full complement of disciples in about five minutes flat.
I call them young because their behavior in this instance is like that of an enthusiastic 20 year old. All full of energetic optimism, deciding in a split second and accelerating to 60 mph in no time at all. Something about Jesus' invitation (command?) convinced them that tomorrow would somehow take care of itself. And all the tomorrows after that one.
I guess that's what faith is really all about.
Oh sure, the longer we live the less likely we are to plunge recklessly into even the best of new endeavors. We'll count the cost more closely. We'll take careful stock of our own talents, our available time, and the tenacity of our spirit.
But there's something about believing in Jesus, and trusting his call to discipleship, that makes calendar time more or less irrelevant. Faith turns everything into prime time. Preparing my sermon on all this, I happily remembered three very different people whose "Yes" to Christ vividly demonstrated that point. Different ages, different life circumstances, different calculations to make about the details. But one common eagerness to let everything else go in order to hold on tight to Christ and his great calling.
Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby celebrate Maggie, Karl, and Al. And when you've heard my tribute to them, I'm sure that you will too.
Listen to the GODcast!
posted by Jack Buckley at
3:25 PM
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Known From The Inside Out
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18; John 1:43-51
You've probably seen the picture. It's a portrait of Jesus, with his eyes looking straight ahead at the viewer. If you move to the left or to the right, his eyes appear to follow you. The intention is to encourage you. To assure you that no matter where you are, Jesus is right there with you and he's watching out for you. Well and good, but potentially a little creepy, too.
I'm thinking of the joke you may have also heard.
A burglar stands in a darkened living room. He's cased the joint and knows the owners are out of town. But as he gets set to do his dirty work, he hears a voice: "Jesus is watching." Startled, he stands stock still. Silence. So he starts again, only to hear a second time: "Jesus is watching."
"Who's there?!" he asks.
"John the Baptist," comes the reply.
He turns on his mag light, aims it towards the voice, and he sees... a parrot!
"Who in the world," he mutters to himself, "would name a parrot John the Baptist?"
"Same guy," says the parrot, "who calls his rottweiler Jesus!"
And aren't you glad that Jesus is not a rottweiler? But he has been called "Christ the Tiger" (T. S. Eliot)... And "Aslan the Lion King" (C. S. Lewis)... And "The Lion of the Tribe of Judah" (Book of Revelation, 5:5).
When I preached about this week's assigned Psalm and Gospel passages, I was struck by the mixed emotions they revealed even in people of sincere faith. Especially in people of sincere faith.
The Psalmist sings God's praise for always being there, wherever there might be, and for always knowing exactly what is going on in a person's life, even inside a person's life. Awesome. Wonderful. And more than a little bit frightening. Given that none of us is eager to know everything there is to know about ourselves, let alone have GOD know it all.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus calls out a man named Nathanael, revealing he knows the man's name before they're even introduced. And more. He knows Nathanael is a straight shooter, the real deal, a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of guy. Wonderful. Awesome. And kind of creepy, too. What else might he know about this man he's only just now met?
I don't know. Maybe I'm projecting my own personal problems on these Bible characters. But what if I'm right? What if more of us than we'd like to admit have very mixed emotions about those ever-present, ever-watching eyes of Jesus?
Why not tune in for a few minutes and see where the Spirit took me when I preached about these things the other day?
Listen to the GODcast!
posted by Jack Buckley at
4:45 PM
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