Church in the World

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 04:47:00 +0000

Church in the World has moved. Please click here for the new blog.

a voice in the wilderness of uncertainty

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 15:03:00 +0000

"Annunciation to the Virgin Mary (detail)", Pontormo, Jacopo da, 1494-1556.

For Sunday, December 4, 2011
Second Sunday of Advent

The wilderness of uncertainty is where our culture has chosen to stake it's tent. It's in vogue to be uncertain: to be certain is deemed arrogant and narrow-minded. Of this thought is the Secular West, ironically, most certain. The problem is this: while the wilderness can be a good place for the occasional adventure, it's not a very hospitable place to live. Hence do this week's readings call us gently, lovingly, and compellingly to better ground.

This week's first reading comes from Isaiah 40, which is a profoundly beautiful chapter of the Bible. "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins" (Isaiah 40:1-2). The gospel invites us to come out of the wilderness and make our home by the verdant river of God's grace, alongside which we have received from the Lord's hand "double for all our sins".

"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8). One of the most important roles of the church in the world is to proclaim the Word of God. We get so caught up in the latest social developments, whether the Tea Party or the Occupy Movement, that we forget that these things, albeit important, are ultimately fleeting. What is going to last? What has lasted from the very beginning in Eden, through successions of the rise and fall of empires, up to this very day? The Word of the Lord. When we proclaim this Word, however imperfectly, we are grounding ourselves in something both true and enduring. How a culture living in the wilderness of uncertainty needs this slake of truth.

Turning then to this week's second reading in Psalm 85 we read: "Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation" (v. 6). What God wants is not that we would continue hurting, but rather to heal us through his unfailing love. There is comfort, confidence, and strength in his redemptive purpose for each of us. "Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven" (v. 11). The gospel is like a cool spring flowing down a rock on a sky blue sunny day. May this cool water and warm sunshine refresh our souls and bring joy to our bodies.

In this week's third reading, Mark 1, Mark the evangelist begins his gospel by quoting from this week's first reading. He follows the quotation with this: "And so John came" (v. 4). In other words, the voice of the wilderness has been revealed. It is John the Baptist. This John said, "I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:8).
When we come to Christ by believing in his ability to forgive our sins, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our lives. God marks our confession of faith with his own personhood in the person of the Holy Spirit. Don't despair, for if you have believed, the Holy Spirit is in you.

Finally, in this week's fourth reading, the Apostle Peter sums up what the reality of the gospel means for each of us who believe: "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be layed bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming" (2 Pet. 3:10-12a).

Reader's Corner:
What is God putting on your heart this week to live out a holy and Godly life? How might your unique gifts and talents be used by your Heavenly Father to speed the coming of the day of God? Please feel free to share in response: it would be an honor to pray with you this week for God's purpose to be fulfilled in you.

adventus Jesus

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:57:00 +0000

"Adoration of the Shepherds", Guido Reni (1575 - 1642)

For Sunday, November 27, 2011
Advent Sunday

This Sunday moves us from the Revised Common Lectionary's "Season After Pentecost" to "Season of Advent" and from Year A to Year B. What this means is that we've completed our first of three annual sojourns through the Bible and are now beginning the second. It's a good time to pause and reflect: how has my life been saved or changed by the gospel of Jesus over the last year? How this next year might my life be saved or changed as I deepen my commitment to him?

The English word 'advent' comes from the Latin 'adventus' which means "coming". The purpose of Advent is to give us a reason to pull out all of our Christmas kitsch. Well... sometimes it seems that way, doesn't it? What Advent is supposed to be about is this: preparing ourselves as the people of God for our Savior, the one through whom God would save us from ourselves and restore a world broken beyond recognition.

This week's first reading, Isaiah 64, moves us from Christmas kitsch to the cosmic significance of what actually happened 2,000 years ago:

Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! . . . Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

Mary and Joseph waited on God and he acted. We may find ourselves waiting likewise today. What if we really believed God would act on our behalf? Take heart, because He did, and He will.

Yet while we wait expectantly we must also wait penitently:

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we shrivel up like a leaf (a good metaphor for late fall in Wisconsin), and like the wind our sins sweep us away. . . Do not be angry beyond measure, O Lord; do not remember our sins forever.

As this week's final reading, 1 Cor. 1:3-9, reminds us, our Heavenly Father has bestowed upon each of us who follow Christ boundless gifts of grace and strength:

For in him you have been enriched in every way - in all your speaking and in all your knowledge . . . Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

May this Advent be one in which we bring ourselves into the Nativity ("the birthing among us") of Jesus, and in the wonder of this moment find the grace which can renew our souls and slake the thirst of those around us who remain utterly lost in a desert of despair.

A shepherd, his sheep, some goats, and a destiny

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 19:11:00 +0000

"Christ in Judgment", Florence, Italy (1300)

For Sunday, November 20, 2011
Reign of Christ
Proper 29

Are you feeling lost today? “Lost, ah... no. Just temporarily disoriented.” Right... Well... if you ever do find yourself lost, this week’s readings can be of encouragement. They are about a shepherd, his sheep, some goats, and a destiny.

In this week's first reading, Ezekiel 34:11-24, we read about a God who is intent on serving himself as shepherd who will seek out, find, and provide good pasture for lost sheep:

For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them . . . I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. . . I will tend them in a good pasture.

There is no place I would rather be than under this Shepherd's care here in this good pasture. How about you?

In this week's second reading, Psalm 100, we find reinforcement for the reality of the people of God as sheep under a good Shepherd in a very good place:

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture (vv. 1-2).

In this week's third reading, Matthew 25:14-30, we learn what separates the sheep from the goats. The sheep are the ones that respond to others in need - whether they be thirsty, away from home, sick, or imprisoned. The goats are those who fail to recognize the face of their Lord in the presence of the needs around them:

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people from one another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

The sheep will be the ones that saw the needs around them, saw the face of their King on the pang of the throng, and responded accordingly. The goats will be the ones that also saw the needs but did nothing but look the other way. Here is a haunting question: how many of us are counting ourselves among the sheep while merely looking the other way in response the needs around us?

In this week's final reading, Ephesians 1:15-23, we read about sheep who have been empowered by the God who has put their Shepherd at his own right hand. Hear how the Apostle Paul prays for his dear followers in Ephesus:

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his might strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but in the age to come (vv. 18-21)

And why did God do this? . . . all for a bunch of sheep (a.k.a. the church):

And God placed all things under his feet (Jesus's), and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fill everything in every way (v. 22).

The church in the world is a very good place to be. May we be in the world what God has called us to be.

buried treasure?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:09:00 +0000

Woodcut of the Parable of the Talents

From Historiae celebriores Veteris Testamenti Iconibus representatae (1712).

Matthew 25:14-30
For Sunday, November 13, 2011
Proper 29

Have you heard the the Parable of the Talents before? A master is going on a long journey and entrusts his estate to his servants, of which there are three. He gives five talents to the first, two talents to the second, and one to the third. After "a long time" (v. 19) he comes back and discovers that the servant who had five talents now has ten, the servant who had two now has four, and the servant with one now has... oh... still one.

The master is understandably pleased. He received 100% return on his investment from servants number 1 & 2. Servant 3, whom everyone already knew was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, only had 1 talent anyway, and at least he didn't lose it. No harm, no foul, right?

Wrong! Servant 3 suffers withering criticism. "You did what?!", the master asks? "You buried my money in the ground. The least you could have done was take it to the bank for a a Certificate of Deposit!" The master then takes Servant 3's lone talent and gives it to Servant 1, who is now known as Mr. Ten Talents Plus 1. Servant 3 is then earmarked for the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

"Wow, that seems a bit harsh," we say in response. Then we think about it some more. "Wow, that seems incredibly harsh!" How can the master, known as a "hard man" (v. 24), demand that the dullest Servant in the drawer suddenly become a successful entrepreneur? It wasn't even the Servant's money!

What, though, was the Master really angry about? Was it that he only got a 90% return on his investment instead of 100%? No . . . what he was angry about was that Servant 3 squandered the opportunity given to him. A talent was equivalent to 20 years' wages. At $40,000 per year, that would have been $800,000. Rounded up (to keep things simple) that's a million dollars.

Servant 3 was entrusted with a million dollars but he never engaged: he just buried his treasure in the ground. How many of us do the same thing with our faith? We've been given something far more valuable than one million dollars: we've been given eternal grace and peace that is intended to transform not only our own lives but everything around us.

The important question this parable asks is this: "What are you going to do with your million?" As a child of God, you have been entrusted with the kingdom of God. God's plan for the redemption of the world is you. Don't fear: engage.

"But where do I start?" you ask. Pull out a piece of paper. Take 5 minutes to write out brief answers to these three questions (Would you mind turning off the TV while you do this? Thank you so much):

How would I like to engage today?
How would I most like to engage this month?
How would I most like to engage this year?

Now go, and don't forget, you are worth a million bucks.

So what is this thing called "All Saints Day"?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:10:00 +0000

Eastern Orthodox icon of All Saints. Christ is enthroned in heaven surrounded by the ranks of angels and saints. At the bottom is Paradise with the bosom of Abraham(left), and the Good Thief (right). (Description from Wikipedia)

For Sunday, November 6, 2011
(Readings for All Saints Day, Nov. 1, 2011)
Proper 27

This Sunday is All Saints Day. If you are a Protestant than what this probably brings to mind is nothing but the sound of crickets. Yet in this quiet moment why don't we let history speak to us and see in what direction it might redirect us forward?

Dr. Dan Clendenin has a wonderful essay entitled "Celebrating the Saints: All Saints Day" in which he traces the origins of this day and suggests some ways it could bless us in the present. He notes that in the first four hundred years of the church's history there was a felt need to remember those who had founded the faith, especially at the price of their lives. Just as those of us who are Americans draw strength from remembering George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln, so did the early church draw strength from remembering heroes such as The Apostle Paul, Justin Martyr, and Augustine. The author to the Hebrews provides a wonderful panoramic of the people of God's early history in Hebrews 11 which he concludes with this:

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned into strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. . . Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword . . . the world was not worthy of them. (Heb. 11:32 - 38, selected).

If the church is to be what she is called to be today then this legacy must be nurtured and cherished. Yet as Clendenin notes, in honoring this legacy mistakes have been made. He quotes Martin Luther, whom many consider to be the founding father of Protestantism:

These vulgar distortions of the Gospel made Luther's blood boil: "What lies there are about relics! One claims to have a feather from the wing of the angel Gabriel, and the Bishop of Mainz has a twig from Moses' burning bush. And how does it happen that eighteen apostles are buried in Germany when Christ had only twelve?"

So how might we recover the legacy without being blinded by such abuses? Clendenin points the way forward:

. . . Protestants shouldn't overreact and throw out the baby with the bath water. We shouldn't dismiss a practice just because it's abused. Protestants could do a better job of honoring the role that the saints can play in our Christian lives, especially for us who in stressing the personal nature of salvation often slide into individualistic, privatistic, and even narcissistic patterns of discipleship. We should see ourselves in the greater, communal identity of all God's people. There's a social and corporate dimension to our journey with Jesus that should include the saints.

When I think about the saints, whether the especially holy like Mother Teresa or the egregiously fallen like Jimmy Swaggart, I'm reminded that I have choices to make in my Christian life, and that my choices matter (emphasis mine). These choices have consequences for my spiritual welfare.

Here then are a few practical suggestions on how we might mark All Saints Day personally and corporately. First, if you are part of a small group, take an evening to share about your favorite biblical heroes of the faith, and how they inspire you. Second, consider reading a book about great heroes of the faith, such as John Woodbridge's Great Leaders of the Christian Church. Third, take a morning to journal about the contemporaries who have made the most significant marks on your own journey faith. I think of people like Jan Godfrey, Bill Godfrey, Stuart Briscoe, Mike Franz, Steve Sonderman, Jeff Chudy, Sam Osterloh, Doug Clarkson, and Jerome Iverson. Unfortunately, like the author to the Hebrews, I don't have time to tell you more.

The important thing, however, is to remember that God in his mercy and sovereign glory uses those who have gone before to point the way ahead. On this All Saints Day may our common path forward be blessed by the rich legacy into which we've been called.

Brief: Walter Isaacson on Steve Jobs on 60 Minutes

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:21:00 +0000

I saw the 60 Minutes interview in which Walter Isaacson shared some of his last conversations with Steve Jobs. Mr. Isaacson mentions that in some of those questions the subject of God came up. He said that Steve said, "Sometimes I believe and sometimes I don't." I find this fascinating. Just maybe God found Steve before he died.

authentic leadership

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:33:00 +0000

Raphael, "Joshua Crossing the River Jordan"

For Sunday, October 30th, 2011
Proper 26

Authentic leadership refreshes the soul. When encountered such leadership is both recognized and remembered. This week's passages are an invitation to lead authentically in light of the gospel of grace and truth.

First, in Joshua 3:7-17 we learn that authenticity means leading like we have Jesus preceding us, because we do. When the Lord called on Joshua to assume the mantle of leadership from Moses, he didn't put Joshua all the way out front. In front of Joshua was the ark of the covenant, an incarnation of the presence of God with his people. Joshua said to Israel, "See the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you." As Christians, we don't have this. We have a better incarnation: Jesus himself. Let us therefore lead like Jesus is preceding us. There are times as a dad, a husband or an employee that I feel like I just don't have it in me to lead as I ought. Yet when I remember Jesus in front of me it's so much easier to take the next step forward.

Second, in Psalm 107:1-7 we learn that authenticity means leading like we know where we are going and we know how to get there. "But I don't know where I'm going much less how to get there," you may object. This passage tells us where we are going: to a city in which we can live (v. 7b). How will we get there: easy, the straight way (v. 7a). A colleague shared with me this week how his church is growing and thriving. Nothing fancy: they are just loving people, starting with the kids of the area through their Awana program, and then on from there to the kids' parents. It isn't rocket science: it's merely taking the straight way to the place God intends for us.

Third, in Matthew 23:1-12 we learn that authenticity means leading like its not about us. Why? Because it's not: it's about Jesus, and God's redeeming the world through Him. It's not about having the right color robe, it's not about the size of the church, and it's certainly not about the kind of Bible we carry much less the positions we hold. It's about humbling ourselves that we might be used as God intends. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted (v. 12). Fourth and finally, in 1 Thes. 2:9-13 we learn that authenticity means leading like a father would his children (v. 11). How does a father provide good leadership for his kids? By encouraging them, comforting them, and urging them on into the calling God has on their lives (v. 12). This is how Paul led the Thessalonians and this is the example we are challenged to follow. What a joy a father has when he can pour out his heart to his kids by encouraging them when they are sad, comforting them when they are hurt, and urging them on into a life walk worthy of being called into God's kingdom and glory.

Would that such authentic leadership would break out all around us to the grace and glory of our Father in Heaven who leads us in these very same ways.

Reader's Corner:
Where and when in your life have you experienced authentic leadership? Was there something in that experience that resonates with what is being described here?

Who is this guy?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:27:00 +0000

Brewer Closer John Axford being congratulated after Game 4
of the 2011 National League Championship Series.

Matthew 22:34-46
For Sunday, October 23, 2011
Proper 25

Was Jesus credible? When reading this passage it's very easy to focus on the first part and forget about the second.

The first part is certainly compelling. In his prior at bat, Jesus hit the Sadducees out of the park. Now the Pharisees, as the other half of Israel's theological "A Team", decide it's time for them to step in. They send their Closer ("an expert in the law") to see if this Jesus character can't be brought back down to size. The Expert comes in hard, high, and fast: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?" The idea is to throw Jesus an un-hittable pitch (how could any one commandment be greater than all the others?!)

Jesus answers in two parts. First, he says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Love is the glue that holds the gospel together. If we aren't willing to love our Heavenly Father with all of our heart, soul, and mind, the exercise of Christianity is really pointless. The second commandment then naturally follows from the first: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Good answer. Jesus has just knocked The Expert's best pitch clean out of the park.

Yet Jesus does not stop there. He proceeds to throw the Pharisees a pitch of his own: "Whose son is the Christ?" "Oh, well, that's easy" respond the Pharisees, "The Christ is the Son of David. Everybody knows that." The hanging curve came in looking like a big softball, but then the pitch breaks violently. Jesus asks, "Okay... if Christ is the Son of David then why would David call him Lord? If David called him Lord, how could he also be David's son?" Swing and a miss: "No one could say a word in reply and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions." For the Pharisees, questioning the validity of the Scriptures was a non-starter. There was only one other option: The Christ was not only David's son but also God himself in human form, now standing right in front of them.

What holds these two passages together is the question, "Who is this guy?" Jesus' credibility was being challenged by the best lawyers and theologians in the land and he passed with a home run followed by a shutdown inning.

So what does this passage call for from us? For those of us who are not yet Christians this is a call to wrestle seriously with whether Jesus was who he says he was: the Son of God and God's final offer to save us from ourselves. For those of us who are Christians this is a call to live in light of the truth we know: do our lives reflect the credibility we know Jesus to possess?

Reader's Corner:
If Jesus' credibility was being challenged in our culture, who would be challenging him, what questions would they ask, and how would he respond?

Author's note: I have informed Google that the extra spaces their editor is putting between my paragraphs may soon cause me to migrate to WordPress. Manually editing the HTML has grown tiresome. I am still awaiting a reply. Blogger just hasn't been the same since it's acquisition.

iSurrender

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 14:00:00 +0000

For Sunday, October 16, 2011
Season After Pentecost - Proper 24

Steve Job's aspiration was to make a ding on the universe. The dimple on the bottom of my iPhone suggests he succeeded.

I'm personally saddened by his loss. I admire his genius for fusing technology with design. I thoroughly enjoy using both my iPhone and my iMac. I've felt affirmed as a person when I interact with his company for service. Recently, rather than fighting through layers of automated menus only to be asked verbally for the phone number I had just provided to a computer prompt, the Apple representative I was on the phone with said, "Rather than calling the local stores yourself, would you like me to do that for you?" Thank you God!

My condolences go out to his family. I watched my brother die of emaciating cancer. It is difficult to see the vitality of a person's life inexorably drain away. My condolences also go out to the company as well: it's hard to lose your visionary. I saw the picture above flashed on a billboard on the way to work here in Milwaukee this past week. It seemed fitting: well done Apple. Yet it was sad. iSurrender.

Andy Crouch published an extended essay in Saturday's Wall Street Journal called "The Secular Prophet". He highlights Mr. Job's 2005 Commencement Speech at Stanford University as a means of summing up Steve's philosophy of life:

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart, and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become (emphasis mine).

Steve was a Zen Buddhist and an Existentialist. This gave him a firm grasp on the first two stanzas of Reinhold Neibuhr's "Serenity Prayer."

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

What Steve may not have grasped was the wisdom of the next two two stanzas:

Trusting that you will make things right if I surrender to your will, that I might be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with you forever in the next.

Steve Jobs surrendered to death but maybe not to the One who claims to have created us and to understand us better than we understand ourselves. We indeed ought to listen to our "own inner voice, heart, and intuition". Yet do these not tell us that we are profoundly lost and in need of something outside of ourselves? Could it really be that in Jesus there is a way to avoid surrendering to death by instead surrendering to life?

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3:16).

iSurrender, yes, but not to death. iSurrender to the love of God for me. I was indeed naked but now I'm clothed with forgiveness, grace, and peace. While I'm still very much a work in progress, I hope for something better and humbly invite you to join me on this journey.

Reader's Corner:
Philippians 4:8 says this: "... Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." What do you most admire about your iMac, iPhone, or iPad? What in this material reality might point to a deeper spiritual reality running both around and through it?

Image credit: www.apple.com

many are invited but few are chosen

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:00:00 +0000

Jasper Johns (American, b. 1930). Numbers in Color, 1958–59.

Encaustic and newspaper on canvas. 66 1/2 x49 1/2 in. ( 168.9 x 125.7 cm).

Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1959. Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, N.Y.

Matthew 22:1-14

For Sunday, October 9th, 2011

Proper 23

"The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepares a wedding banquet for his son." This is how Jesus begins his third in a series of three parables (a story with a point) in Matthew chapters 21 and 22. If you are interested in understanding who wins and who loses in the divine economy you might want to pay attention.

The ones who win are those who show up for the banquet properly attired. They realize their blessing in having received an invitation and have done their best to honor the blessing by putting their best foot forward.

The ones who lose are those who either ignore the invitation or treat it lightly. Many ignore the invitation because they have a career to attend to or a business to build. Others show up for the party but their heart just isn't in it. They might be bothered to come but there is no gratitude.

Because each of us are loved by God we've received an invitation to the party. Yet because each of us are also profoundly broken we're not going to make the event without God's sovereign grace carrying us there. This is the point of the parable's final words: "For many are invited, but few are chosen."

So then what might we take away from all of this? First, let's remember that living an authentic Christian life is not drudgery: rather, it's like attending a wedding feast. Weddings are great occasions to set aside mundane concerns for the joy of the moment. This is the invitation our Father extends to us and longs for us to extend to those around us.

Second, let's put on our wedding clothes before showing up at the party. There is no room in the divine economy for posers. Is there something hindering your ability to enjoy this? Take it to your Heavenly Father and a trusted brother or sister in the faith, confess, repent, and receive the forgiveness, grace and freedom you need to enjoy your host and the moment fully and completely.

Third, let's remember that the only reason we are here is the grace of God. We aren't here because we are the few who put it all together: we are here solely because God carried us here in his sovereign grace.

final offer

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 01:01:00 +0000

For Sunday, October 2nd

Matt. 21:33-44

Proper 22

One way to summarize The Parable of the Tenants in Matt. 21:33-44 is this: Jesus is God's final offer.

In the parable a vineyard owner rents out his vineyard to tenants. Later he sends servants to collect his rent and the tenants kill the servants. The owner then sends a larger delegation, only to have the same thing happen. Finally, the owner sends his son as his final offer, thinking that surely the tenants respond positively. It didn't happen.

This parable may have been intentionally more transparent than many others Jesus told. In most cases, only a sympathetic ear could discern the intended meaning but not here. Jesus was accusing the chief priests and Pharisees of being like the tenants in the parable. Matthew makes clear that when these leaders heard the story "they knew he was talking about them" (v. 45).

As readers of the story, that the chief priests and Pharisees stubborn and narrow minded is clear. What may not be so clear is that we ourselves suffer from the same ailment. God sent his Son as a sacrifice for our sin (our failure to live up to the standards we know within ourselves to be true). We have a choice: accept the offer, or be destroyed. In such a situation, who is more stubborn and narrow minded: the person who accepts the offer, or the person who rejects the offer, thereby choosing their own destruction?

This is the question that the gospel - the good news about Jesus as God's final offer - puts to each of us. If you are reading this as a non-Christian then may this be an invitation to accept the forgiveness God is offering you in Christ. If you are reading as a Christian, may this be an encouragement to share with others winsomely what accepting God's final offer has meant in your life.

by what authority?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:31:00 +0000

Lt. Oliver North testifies regarding Iran-Contra (July 9, 1987).

Matthew 21:23-27

For Sunday, September 25th, 2011
Proper 21

"By what authority are you doing this" This is the question that the power brokers of Jesus' day put to him. These power brokers were "the chief priests" and "the elders of the people". The "chief priests" were senior members of the priestly aristocracy that held the keys to Jewish power. A contemporary U.S. equivalent might be the U.S. Senate. The "elders of the people" were key civic leaders in the community who worked alongside the chief priests. A U.S. equivalent might be the U.S. House of Representatives.

There is a reason that "the chief priests" and the "elders of the people" are mentioned here rather than than "The Pharisees and the Sadducees" as are often found elsewhere. While "Pharisees" and "Saducees" were politically-oriented designations (like "Republican" and "Democrat"), "chief priests" and "elders of the people" were structurally-oriented designations (like "Senate" and "House of Representatives"). The challenge being made here was not on the basics of politics: it was on the basis of social power (1).

By come into Jerusalem the way he did, very publicly, drawing on the Jewish prophetic imagery by riding on a colt and donkey, with the resulting groundswell of Jewish popular support, Jesus was shaking the existing social order to its foundation. The power brokers in Jerusalem were worried. They responded by forming the equivalent of a "Special Congressional Committee on Social Order (SCCSO) (a.k.a. " The Committee") and then subpoenaed Jesus to appear. If this happened today Jesus' testimony would have been carried live on all the major television news outlets much as Lt. Oliver North's testimony was carried during the Iran-Contra scandal.

In his testimony Jesus apologized for causing offense, retreated to his holy huddle, and was never heard from again. Okay . . . that's not accurate. What he did instead was argue that he lived in a Christian country and that everyone should return to the Bible. Okay . . . that's not accurate either. What did he actually do? He answered The Committee's question with a question. His question was grounded in something undeniable from the Committee's own experience but for which they had no explanation: "John's Baptism, where did it come from? . . ." The Committee was well aware that something remarkable was happening in the desert. There was a populist figure named John the Baptist who was having a remarkable impact in saving lives and changing lives through a ministry of baptism.

This was... awkward for the Committee. If they answered, "From God himself," then Jesus would say, "Then why aren't you listening?" If they answered, "From men who only think they are hearing from God," they would drive a wedge between themselves and a very popular movement. So they took door number 3: "We don't know." This made clear that they weren't ready to engage Jesus honestly and transparently so there was nothing further for him to say. He refused to answer further questions.

Let's then conclude by drawing out two implications. First, for those of us who stand with Jesus, we must be willing when called upon to speak truth to power in the form of countering questions. If for example, the ACLU asks, "By what authority are you bringing religious considerations into public schools?" we might answer, "By what authority are you excluding them?" We might press further with this: "If you really believe in diversity then why would you move to exclude religious considerations from the mix?"

Second, in our advocacy for the grace and peace brought into the world by the good news of Jesus, let us engage skeptics on the ground of shared experience. Let us not quote Scripture to them, ignore them, or demagogue them. Let us rather leverage our shared experience with them. For example, what really happened in the Wall Street meltdown? Have we not all suffered financially as a result. Was it not a total failure of ethics? Was it not immoral? (2) And if so, what ought to be done about it? (3)

1) Expositor's Bible Commentary, Matt. 21, v. 23. Also with appreciation for insights on "Jesus in Context" by Dr. Michael Crow in "Multiplying J-Mentors", Missiology, January 2008.
2) Read Michael Lewis, "The Big Short".
3) For a fascinating conversation on this particular question please see www.doingtherightthingevent.com.

the generosity of grace

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:37:00 +0000

Matthew 20:1-16
For Sunday, September 18, 2011

Imagine you've been unemployed, and finally through Manpower you get a chance to do a day's labor landscaping for a small business owner for $100. You work from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm under a 90 degree hot sun only to find out at the end of the day that another guy who waltzed in only an hour before also got $100. "What's the deal?! You mean I could have sat around for 11 hours, waltzed in here at 5:00 pm, and still picked up $100? That's not fair!" you say.

You are now in a teachable moment. The kingdom of heaven is like this small business owner. "Well, if that's the case, then I guess the kingdom of heaven is an idiot!"

That's one way of looking at it. . . but here is another. You earned your money, yes, but why did you even have the chance? Because there was a small business owner who gave you the opportunity, not because you were entitled, but because he was generous.

No one enters the kingdom of heaven because they are entitled. The only reason any of us ever have our sins forgiven is because our Heavenly Father is generous.

Have you been blessed materially? If so, why is that? Because you've worked hard, or because your Heavenly Father has been generous with you? You know the answer, and it's going to change the way you live. You are going to stop working merely to pad your bank account and feed your ego and you are going to start asking yourself, "How can I be as generous with others as God has been generous with me?" This is the generosity of grace.

the gospel and disputable matters

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 12:10:00 +0000

Jackson Pollock (American, 1912-1956). Convergence, 1952.
Oil on canvas. 93 1/2 x 155 in. (237.5 x 393.7 cm).
Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1956.
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, N.Y.
© The Pollock-Krasner Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Romans 14:1-12

For Sunday, September 11, 2011
Proper 19

We are now 10 years from the fateful day when Al Qaeda traumatized all of us by flying a plane into each of the Twin Towers in New York. I was in Pasadena, California visiting friends. I remember distinctly seeing the second plane hit the north tower on live TV. That evening we went to my friend's church where he was leading an impromptu prayer service. A couple walked in and sat in one of the pews. I approached them to introduce myself and asked, "Are you members?" They responded, "Oh no, we've never been in a church before in our lives, but given the events of today, we just knew we had to come." What a blessing to hear this and be reminded that as an ambassador of the gospel (the good news that we're not alone, that we're loved and forgiven by God, and that we can live for him) I carry with me the thing that people need the most. 9/11 moved us from the secondary to the primary in a moment: What really matters?

This passage asks the same question, though not through traumatizing terror, but rather through some clear-headed theological perspective. Our perspective too often is limited to "disputable matters" (v. 1). It's understandable: these are the things right in front of us. What is a Christian diet? Is alchohol ever okay? Must we observe the Sabbath? Must we tithe?

Yet, the Apostle Paul writes to us in Romans 14:1-12, these things are actually secondary to what is to be primary, which is that each of us will give an account of ourselves before the judgment seat of God (v. 10). What God will ask us that day will not be for our thoughts on Bill's drinking or Susie's smoking. What he will ask us is this: Did you live for me? Did you die for me? As Paul puts it: "If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord" (v. 7).

Does this mean for believers that our salvation will be called into question? No, that question was settled at Calvary through Christ's death on the cross. What will be in question on judgment day is not our salvation but our rewards. Where did we actually live for Christ and where did we not? The fact that each of us will give an accounting of ourselves is wonderful motivation to live each day to the glory of God. The gospel is not about eating and drinking but about living and dying to the glory of God.

This same gospel is the only thing that can bring hope to the traumatized cries of 9/11. Where is there justice for the victims as well as for the perpetrators? Where is there justice for America as well as for its conduct in the world? Where is there justice for Arabs as well as for Jews? These questions all point to where today's passage also converges - at the judgment seat of God.

What we will be asked then is the very same thing God is asking us today: "How would you justify yourself before me?" The only way we will be able to answer is by saying, "By the forgiveness you offered in sacrificing your own Son on the cross." Yet will we say this, or will we have denied the offer because we have lived only by ourselves and for ourselves?

Let us then stop judging one another on "disputable matters": the call of the gospel is for us to bring glory to God - together.

seizing the day understanding the time

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 12:41:00 +0000

Salvador Dali, "The Persistence of Memory"

Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York, 1931.

Oil on canvas, 9 1/2 x 13" (24.1 x 33 cm).

Romans 13:8-14
For Sunday, September 4, 2011
Proper 18

The sun is peaking out from under the clouds and just over the trees. The alarm clock signals the break of dawn. How will we respond? Hit snooze, roll over, and hope it all gos away? Or will we seize the day understanding the time? This is the question posed to us by Romans 13:8-14.

The passage divides into two paragraphs. The first paragraph, vv. 8-10, is about "Seizing the day." Paul encourages us to "let no debt remain outstanding." In other words, live debt free. Have you ever been debt free? It is tremendously liberating. You aren't encumbered: you can do what your heart is set on doing. This is far more valuable than any Aston Martin DB9 or summer home could ever be. When we live debt free, not only financially but also personally, we are positioned to seize the day for the glory of God.

The second paragraph, vv. 11-14, is about "Understanding the time." Paul says, "The hour has come for you to wake from your slumber. . . the night is nearly over, the day is almost here." We have a choice to make: stay in the dark, or put aside the deeds of darkness - whether self interest, drunkenness, or sexual bondage - that we might "put on the armor of light" and live to the glory of God.

The alarm is sounding: will we personally and the church corporately answer the bell?

Here is one practical step you might consider. Invest Saturday morning September 24th in attending or hosting a "Doing the Right Thing" simulcast.

living an alternative lifestyle

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 18:09:00 +0000

Ilya Repin. A Fisher-Girl. 1874. Oil on canvas. The Irkutsk Art Museum, Irkutsk, Russia.

Romans 12:9-21

For Sunday, August 28, 2011

Romans 12:9-21 is not the way the world lives. The world lives by the world's rules which might be summarized like this:

Look out for #1
Enhance your own standing
Leverage personal power

This passage, which lays out imperatives in view of the indicatives of the gospel of grace, suggests an alternative lifestyle:

Cultivate love
Extend love
Watch the world be redeemed

Firstly, in this alternative lifestyle we cultivate love. Verses 9-13 speak about cultivating love in our own thinking. Rather than looking out for #1 we're supposed to look out for #'s 2 thru 12 and beyond. Cultivating love means a sincere commitment to hating evil, devoting ourselves to one another, and practicing hospitality. When we first moved to Russia, the fact that people could show up at our door unannounced at any time of day or night and expect hospitality was . . . difficult. Yet once we let go of control, and let love flow, it was actually great fun. As the Doobie Brothers put it, "Love the ones you're with."

Secondly, in this alternative lifestyle we also extend love to others (vv. 14-16). We extend love by blessing those who persecute us, empathizing with both the happy and sad around us, and by looking down the pecking order rather than up. It's liberating and empowering, as I can attest from my albeit woefully inadequate experience.

Lastly, in this alternative lifestyle we watch love redeem the world (vv. 17-21). Suddenly, there are fewer eye for an eye kerfuffles; self awareness break out all over place; and enemies are killed with kindness.

That the world will be redeemed is made certain by the gospel of which this passage is a part. The only question is this: will we be counted among those who have been overcome, or among those who overcome? Let us not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

the Resurrection: was it real?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:33:00 +0000

Rembrandt, "The Risen Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene"

For Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter Sunday

Did The Resurrection really happen? If it did, this was the turning point of all of history, for in this moment, Man discovered that his relationship with God, broken by his own rebellion, could be reconciled, and with this, his entire life restored.

I believe this did happen and is an historical event. If it could be proven otherwise, then I would reject my faith, for it would be useless. As said the Apostle Paul:

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain; your faith also is in vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we witnessed against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless (1 Corinthians 15:13-17).

How about you? If you aren't sure, here is a good place to start.

I became a Christian at age 13 by praying a simple prayer. "God, I believe that you sent your son to earth to die on the cross for my sins." I believed. I am now 47 years old and I still see that as the crucial moment of my life. I'm still on the journey, and haven't followed perfectly by any means, but I'm still following, and still being blessed as Mary was when she realized that the man she mistook for a gardener in Gethsemane was none other than Jesus himself, raised back to life.

For those of us who believe, when we get to heaven, wouldn't it be fascinating to sit down with Mary and ask her, "What was that like?" We'll have the opportunity and this is indeed something to celebrate.

Happy Easter.

hope for lost people

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 11:16:00 +0000

For Sunday, April 10, 2011

Fifth Sunday in Lent ("Spring")

Are you lost? "Lost? No. Temporarily disoriented, maybe." If the person speaking is a male with a significant other who is female this is where she says, "Yes, we're lost."

This week's readings describe what it means to be lost spiritually and how one can be found spiritually. In the first reading, Ezek. 37:1-14, the Lord shows Ezekial a valley full of dry bones. This picture describes what it really means to be lost. The bones, having a modicum of self-awareness, say, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost, and we are cut off completely" (Ezek. 37:11). To be lost spiritually means that your bones are dried up, your hope is lost, and you are completely cut off from what you know you need to live. Ever felt this way? The solution to the problem is to have the presence of God in our lives: "I . . . will put breathe in you, and you will live" (Ezek. 37:6).

This week's second and third readings confirm and expand upon this. In the second reading, Psalm 130, the Psalmist says, "Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord." Translation: "Wow, I really am lost. This is not good." The metaphor then gets spelled out: the reason we feel lost spiritually is because of our sin, meaning our active rebellion against God or passive indifference toward him. Being found means being forgiven of this sin. This is the standing offer from God to each of us. "For with the Lord is steadfast love and great power to redeem" (Psalm 130:7).

The same point is made, albeit with some humor, and this week's third reading, John 11. It's like a Monty Python sketch. Jesus says, "Well boys, my friend Lazarus, back there in Bethany where we were almost stoned to death, has fallen asleep, so we need to go wake him up." His disciples point out insightfully, "Uh, Jesus, if he has fallen asleep, he will eventually wake up . . . on his own." Jesus then explains that Lazarus isn't asleep as in "temporarily disoriented". He's ASLEEP . . . as in D-E-A-D. This is our spiritual condition if God has not yet breathed life into us.

This week's final reading, Romans 8:6-11, makes clear how we can move from being lost (a.k.a. D-E-A-D) to being found (a.k.a. alive and in peace). All we need do is invite Jesus to dwell in us. "If the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead (God the Heavenly Father) will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you" (Rom 8:11).

Have you yet invited the Spirit (this is the Holy Spirit) to come dwell in your life? If not, why not do so right now? If you have, rejoice in the life you now have and go and share it with those you would like to see get found.

peace and joy?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 01:00:00 +0000

Wassily Kandinsky, Composition VII

1913, The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Romans 5:1-11
For Sunday, March 27, 2011
3rd Sunday in Lent

What are a few of your favorite things? For me, here are three: a 1999 Harley Davidson Road Glide, an iMac, and a man cave. What are yours? All of us have a few favorite things that bring real enjoyment into our lives. Yet at the end of the day we know these are just things. They don't have any lasting meaning in and of themselves. So while they bring a fleeting enjoyment, what they don't bring and can't bring is true and enduring peace and joy. What can?

The answer is the topic of this week's New Testament reading, Romans 5:1-11. What can and will bring true and enduring peace and joy to our lives is simply this: peace with God. This is precisely what Christians possess. ". . . since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand" (Rom. 5:1).

Granted, there is a lot in this verse, so let's unpack it. First, note that "we have been justified." To be justified means to be pronounced righteous. Second, note how we have been justified: "through faith." We aren't justified on the basis of our conduct but on the basis of our faith in Jesus Christ. This is picking up on what is stated in the prior verse: "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification" (Rom. 4:25). Third, note the result of this faith commitment: we are now standing in grace. 'Grace' means "favor" or "gift". Christians stand in God's favor, not because we deserve it, but rather because of God's gift of love to us.

Have you found lasting and enduring peace and joy? If not, stop looking for it in your stuff. You have in you a God-shaped void that not even an iPad 2 is going to fill. What will fill the void is peace with God and God is offering it to you right now. Will you receive it?

where do you want to be?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 03:13:00 +0000

The Grand Tetons

Gen. 12:1-4
For Sunday, March 20, 2011
Second Sunday in Lent

I've never seen the Teton Mountains with my own eyes but as a family we're going there this summer. We're looking forward to where we want to be.

Where we as believers want to be is in the kingdom of God. I often wish I could do a better job conveying to those within my circles of influence what it's really like to look forward to this. It's a place of peace, opportunity, justice, and hope. What a contrast to the strife, limitation, injustice and frustration in which we so often find ourselves mired. If a person was so inclined, how would they move from where they are to this kingdom? This is what this week's readings are about.

First, where does God want us to be? In Genesis 12, God says to Abraham, "Leave your country, your people, and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." Where Abraham was might have been very familiar and comfortable but it wasn't the place he was supposed to be. The journey of Christian faith starts just this simply. God is there and he says to us, "Leave, and go to the land I will show you."

Second, to what kind of land is God inviting us? It's a place in which the help we need comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121:1-2). "But I don't need help and I don't want help," you say. Ah hem ... so you want to sort out the Tsunami of your life on your own? How realistic is that? There is a God who can watch over you and keep you from all harm, if not completely in this life, then most certainly in the next. He's waiting for you to look up and cry out, "Help!"

Third, how does one enter this land? The only way is to be born spiritually from above: "Jesus declared, 'I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born from above" (John 3:3). Other translations read "born again". The bottom line is this: entering the kingdom of God requires a spiritual birth. Yet again, for this to happen, God waits only for us to ask.

To my readers who have not yet embarked I invite you today to join me on this fantastic journey of faith. I can tell you from personal experience (even though I'm still on the journey): this is the place you want to be.

Lenten Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Clark Greenwood Voorhees, "Landscape, Early Spring"

Psalm 32

For Sunday, March 13, 2011

First Sunday in Lent

If you live in northern climes like here in Wisconsin this can be a hard time of year. The snow is old, the sky is gray, and both seem to pull downward on one's soul. We so long for spring to burst forth.

Western culture can feel much the same way. Television seems to love to fixate on what is old and gray. Where are the marks of joy, much less the sublime? Not here. Sure, there are the clever Google dioramas that appear periodically on that well-worn home page, but sublime? No.

Where then to go? I can think of no better place than the readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. As I write this morning I am listening to Gwilym Simcock's "Blues Vignette". This music sings the song of the longing of my soul this morning.

As we move today from the lectionary season of Epiphany to Lent, recognize that the Lenten Spring is upon us. "Spring" is what the word 'Lent' actually means. The original Latin term was 'quadragesima', which meant "fourtieth day". Quadragesima was in turn a translation of the original Greek term 'tessarakoste' (εσσαρακοστή). The idea was to mark the fourtieth day before Easter and to count down from there (1).

As believers, our faith comprises the very core of our beings around which all else turns. This is at it should be. At the center of this core is the death and resurrection of our Lord, the place from which the power of Lenten Spring bursts forth with the rising of the sun in the warming and lengthening of the days.

What then to do to overcome the gray? Strip away the dead wood to make space for new growth. How practically might this be done? Over the centuries believers have identified three key practices. The first is prayer, in which we celebrate justice toward God. The second is fasting, in which we seek justice toward self. The third is almsgiving, in which we seek justice toward our neighbors. What if this Spring the church worldwide sought justice toward God, justice toward self, and justice toward our neighbors (2)? A joyous spring indeed this would be.

So then, to what prayer, fasting, and almsgiving is the Spirit of God drawing your heart today? Rejoice: these are the marks of Lenten Spring bursting forth.

"While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. . . Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the guilt of my sin. . . Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD. Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart."

(Psalm 32, selected)

Christian plausibility

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 22:38:00 +0000

Jesus, "Pantocrator", Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

2 Peter 1:16-21
For Sunday, March 6, 2011
Transfiguration Sunday

Why believe Christianity is true? Isn't it just one of the great faiths along others such as Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, or Hinduism? (What's strange about this question is that we don't list Secularism as a great faith alongside these others. We're so steeped in it that we can no longer even recognize it for what it is).

The Apostle Peter gave his answer without equivocation: "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (v. 16). The event to which Peter refers is the Transfiguration of Jesus, which is recorded for us in another of this week's readings, Matt. 17:1-9.

Matthew tells us that at one point Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him up a mountain. There Jesus was transfigured. "His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus" (Matt. 17:2-3). When referring back to this event, Peter is saying very plainly, "Look, the reason I believe is because I saw Jesus transfigured before my own eyes."

Where does that leave me? Do I need to see Jesus transfigured to believe? No, because I believe that what I'm reading here in 2nd Peter is a factual account. I believe that Jesus really did walk the earth, that he really was resurrected from the dead, and then ascended to the right hand of the Father. There are other reasons I believe too, but for me, this is the anchor of my faith.

A great conversation starter is this: "What is your philosophy of life?" Give them time to answer. Listen. Let them identify it and articulate it as best they can. (It's not the easiest question in the world to answer). Then ask them, "On what basis do you believe this?"

The irony is that if Christianity really is true, rather than a cleverly invented story, then the other great faiths, including Secularism, can't be anything but cleverly invented stories.

So whose story to believe? It's worth pondering, for the answer to this single question will direct the course of our lives.
This Sunday, Transfiguration Sunday, marks the climax of the Season of Epiphany. The Son of Man has been revealed. Now as we enter the Season of Lent we begin journeying to an even greater climax: the Son of Man dying on a cross to forgive our sins, conquer death, and give us new life.

change at the core

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 13:32:00 +0000

Sam Francis, "The Overyellow"

Matthew 5:21-32
For Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011
Epiphany Week 6

The Sermon on the Mount does not strike me as a seeker-sensitive approach to sermonizing. This is particularly true for this passage. It may be true that honey gets the bee but here, clearly, the bee is not the objective. If Jesus was preaching this from a church, the sign out by the road would read, "Today's message: Murder, Adultery, and Divorce."

What Jesus was after was not filling the pews so as to pay off the mortgage but rather change at the core of our beings. The Jewish synagogue, the reigning religious institution of the day, had standard practices when it came to murder, adultery, and divorce. If you murdered someone you would go on trial for it. If you committed adultery, you would be shunned. If you divorced your wife, you had to provide her with a certificate of divorce.

What Jesus is saying is this: "I don't want you merely to comply with standard outward practice. What I want for you is authentic transformation at the core of your being. For this to happen recognize that at the core of murder is anger, and I want to redeem your anger. For this to happen recognize that at the core of adultery is lust, and I want to redeem your lust. For this to happen recognize at the core of divorce is selfishness, and I want to redeem this too.

This is the preaching we need as believers for the core is the level at which the gospel does its most powerful work. What a different place the church would be if believers were challenged to address their anger, lust, and selfishness in the light of the grace of the gospel.

Let us therefore stop preaching to the lowest common denominator and rather preach to the gospel's deepest aspirations. For at the end of the day the measure of our ministry will not be the size of our buildings or programs but rather the depth of the change we have engendered in others as well as in ourselves. Jesus himself didn't have a building. He didn't need one. All he needed was the power of the gospel. The core transformation it engendered then in a small group of men and women continues to shake the foundations of the world to this very day.

blessed are the poor in spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Godfrey) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 01:55:00 +0000

Claude Lorrain, "The Sermon on the Mount" (1656)

The Frick Collection, New York

Matt. 5:1-12
For Sunday, January 30th, 2011
Fourth Sunday After Epiphany

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

These are such familiar words but what do they really mean? What does it mean to be 'blessed'? What does it mean to be 'poor in spirit'? What in fact is the kingdom of heaven?

'Blessed' means "to be favored". God's favor rests on believers. While 'happiness' is merely an internal feeling experienced inside a person, 'blessedness' is an objective reality as seen from the outside looking in. Ultimately, believers are 'blessed' because we are part of God's eschatalogical plan to restore every good thing to the way it was intended to be (EBC).

'Poor' refers to both material and spiritual poverty. This is why Luke can say 'blessed are the poor', Matthew can say 'blessed are the poor in spirit', and yet both point to the same ultimate meaning. Poor people aren't troubled by the trappings of wealth and are therefore more inclined to be aware of their own vulnerability and brokenness. Their blessing is not their poverty but rather their nearness to entering the kingdom of heaven. The poor in spirit, those aware of their own vulnerability and brokenness, are precisely those most likely to let God in.

The 'kingdom of heaven' is a place where Jesus the Messiah reigns and in which his subjects are blessed. As Christians we experience a joy that we know innately is not of this world but rather anticipates something far better to come. This is the kingdom of heaven being manifest within us and among us.

What is so hard for the rich to understand is that all of us are vulnerable and broken. This is why it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Are you feeling vulnerable? Broken? Then don't despair. It's going to get better. God is going to redeem the pain, suffering, and loss. Ours is the kingdom of heaven.