The Least of These

On Sunday, we joined churches across our country in recognizing the Sanctity of Human Life. Andy Spade, one of our Elders here at Grace, encouraged us to take time this week and reflect on Matthew 25:31-46. In that passage concerning judgment at the Second Coming of Christ, Jesus indicates that those who are truly His have a heart like His. And how was Jesus’ heart? In vv. 40 & 45 He says,

I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me (40)… I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me (45).

Within the immediate context, Jesus is probably talking about care for Christian brothers who are “less notable,” but Paul tells us that our care and concern should be for everyone, not just our own. He wrote to the Galatian believers,

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:10

This last Christmas season, many people in our church family had an opportunity to do that in a very real way. And by nature of my position, I was blessed to be along for the ride, so to speak. I want to tell you about the outreach what we did to Point Pleasant.

Point Pleasant is a home in Lancaster for medically-fragile children ranging in age from infant to 21 years. The facility’s goal is to enable children with special needs to realize their fullest potential in a caring, supportive home under the care of nurses, social workers, therapists, and physicians. I found out about Point Pleasant when Julie, part of our church family, told me of her passion for and compassion toward these kids. What God had placed on her heart, she was unwilling to pursue alone. She wanted to invite others from our church family to minister to these kids.

I want to tell you briefly about what I saw when the presents donated by our church family were delivered. For the most part, I will not tell you the names of these kids. I would like to protect their privacy. However, we did get a few pictures from the facility which I have permission to publish here.

First, I want to say that the staff at Point Pleasant have amazing hearts! The circumstances in which they work/serve daily are challenging. One worker shared that she usually has to start her day by finding a quiet place, often in the bathroom, and having a good hard cry for the kids and families served by Point Pleasant. But she said that it’s sort of like a psalm of lament for her. She needs to connect to the pain of a broken creation before she can give it fully to the Lord and just serve.

I’m not sure what I expected from the kids. Nothing could have prepared me for the scenes I observed. For those foolish enough to believe that these kids are unaware of their circumstances, I invite you to experience what I did that evening. For the most part, our volunteers had to open gifts and then show the kids what they got. And how they oo’ed and ah’ed over each gift as they held them where the kids could see. Some kids began kicking their legs in joy. Some squirmed right out of their shoes. Others squealed with delight. They could clearly feel the love of attention from their guests; they even liked some of the gifts! :o)

Let me tell you about two boys who rocked our souls. The first was a cute little boy who is about 4. He’s a sweetheart and was clearly Julie’s favorite. He was in the first room we visited, a common space for medical attention. But then we went to his room and found that he shared that space with his 13-year-old brother. One from our group, upon realizing the relationship, was devastated. How could God allow this to happen to two children in one household? She looked at me and just muttered, hoping to get an explanation that made sense. But, what explanation can there be to make us feel OK with that reality? Even one child born with such tremendous medical needs is unbearable. But two in one household? Our worker’s grief as she empathetically entered into the suffering of that family is a beautiful picture forever etched in my memory. I think she felt the pain the Lord felt as He gazed upon His friend’s tomb.

One more story to tell you about… And here is a place where I will break from my commitment to protect identities. At the end of our brief visit to Point Pleasant, we realized there was one undelivered bag of goodies. The tag on the bag simply said “Angel.” And no doubt, that is exactly what this little boy was to his parents, their darling little angel from the Lord. The reason the bag was still sitting on the floor is that the Lord had called this little one out of his painful existence. My notes say that Angel was with us only a brief 5 years.

Some are wondering how you could minister in these circumstances. Others are wondering why we have suffering like this at all. And theologians wrestle with making sense of all of this while atheists use these conditions as proof that there is no “good God.” But, in the midst of awful circumstances, I saw the faith and hope of God’s people as they reached out to minister to the “least of these.” Rather than ask “Why?” (though they probably each wondered it quietly), they heard the Lord call them to be like Him and reach into suffering with love and grace.

Do you want information on how you can serve regularly at Point Pleasant or other places where “the least” congregate? Let’s talk…

Friends Don’t Let Friends Attend Church

What is church? For those who are Christian, you know that a huge part of our life involves adopting Christian culture. Rightly or wrongly, we focus a lot of our energy upon changing our behaviors and our words to align with this new “family” with which we are now joined. One of the words we pick up is church. But what exactly is church?

Well, if you want to consider the context of the origin of church, there is a little confusion surrounding the word. The Greek word which we translate church is ekklesia. But what exactly does that word mean? Etymologically, ekklesia comes from a root word, kaleo which means to call out and the prefix ek which means from. So, literally, ekklesia means to call out from. Some have used this argument to say that Christians are called out from the world and therefore should live lives separated from its evil influences. There have been monastic communities throughout the history of the church that have been build around this notion, that the world is evil and we, if we are to be holy as God is holy (Leviticus 11:44), are to separate ourselves from all chance of contamination. But this misses the way ekklesia was used in Jesus’ day. This calling out was used in the sense of calling villagers out of their homes for a town meeting. The idea was that there were times when life needed to be interrupted in order that clear communication from governing officials could be made to the people so that they would understand what was expected of them and how to live. In practice, the word ekklesia carried more the meaning gathering or meeting. Ironically, this is very close to the meaning of the word synagoge, the word we transliterate synagogue which means place of meeting.

So, what does this mean for us? Well, for starters, we need to consider what happens when we “go to church.” The event that we call church which happens on Sunday morning is a sacred time more than it is a sacred place. The building at 501 W. Lincoln is just that, a building. There is nothing special about it until it serves as the place for God’s people to gather. And it becomes sacred because of the gathering. On Sunday morning, God’s people come together for a sacred purpose. They come together as those with a common identity due to God’s calling, redemption, adoption of them. They come to be together, to come out of their day-in day-out life and to prepare to hear from their King. And they acknowledge the message by proclaiming it back to Him in song and confirm their understanding by allowing it to produce Kingdom living as they are sent forth into the world.

So, tell me: Can you be a Christian without church? Please, I’m not talking about a works-based righteousness, that you will somehow be saved by attending church on Sunday. In fact, I’m suggesting exactly the opposite. Shouldn’t a vibrant relationship with our Living God produce love for Him and love for others, beginning with His people? Shouldn’t there be a “holy expectancy” as His children gather weekly to be with each other and to open themselves to communion with Him through the preaching of His Word and the work of the Holy Spirit? Shouldn’t His people continually look for opportunities to be poured out in the service of others, starting with the weekly gathering but spilling out into our daily lives? Shouldn’t there be something sacred about these times together? Or, is church a building and a show, a space where you hope to fulfill an obligation and maybe hear something new and interesting, if not in the sermon then maybe in a morsel of gossip? What do you and I expect on Sunday morning? And a tougher question, what do we do to help create a sacred ekklesia?

Growing as a Christian

I don’t think I have ever asked a Christian the question, “Do you want to grow in your faith?” and received back a negative response. Sure, affirmation of the desire to grow is more convincing in some than in others, but every follower of Jesus Christ wants improvement in their walk. The places they want to grow and the motivation for change can run the gamut of possibilities. Some are significant changes and others less so, at least from the perspective of the person not struggling in that area. But if there’s a persistent issue or pattern in your life that you want to alter or eliminate, a mole hill can seem like a mountain. (This is a good place to resist the clichéd Christian retort, “Faith as small as a mustard seed will cast mountains into the sea!” Well, in 12 years of ministry, I have yet to see that splashdown.)

So, where do you want to grow? Or rather, where do you need to grow? Maybe you need to better understand God’s Word and how it directly relates to your life. A popular New Year’s resolution is to commit to reading through the Bible in a year. Two comments on that discipline: 1) Consuming large chunks of Scripture is vitally important to understanding the entire God Story. If you find this practice difficult because you want to slow down and savor every morsel, then you should seriously consider the Big Bite Commitment. And, 2) Expect to get bogged down in Leviticus and 1 Chronicles, even in some of the more repetitive prophets. If this is the case, start by committing to follow through regardless of how you feel. And something that works for some people is to use an audio Bible. I recommend listening while tracking in your study Bible, highlighting and marking anything that you find “meaningful” in the moment. If you come across something that generates more questions than answers, jot it down on a notepad and talk it over with someone when you have a chance.

Now, you knew there was going to be a plug in here somewhere for community. Here it is. (I hate to disappoint!) Bible reading is seen as a personal, private discipline. But that was not the context of all of the biblical admonitions to consume God’s Word. In fact, personal ownership of Bibles didn’t begin to come into play until the invention of the printing press in the 15th century. Here are some things that you get when you think of Bible reading as a corporate discipline:

You have other people with whom to discuss the meaning of the passage. Face it, there are some passages of Scripture that are downright confusing. Still others we think we understand, but we are disconnected from the author’s cultural context so we end up with a wrong interpretation. When it comes to understanding Scripture, generally speaking you are better off with more minds applied to the task.

You can hold one another accountable as you corporately commit to reading at the same place. Listen, you don’t have to be in the same room to read “together.” There’s a group I know that’s taking the month of January and reading through Matthew one chapter each day. But they are doing this privately. Then, they email and text one another about their understanding and reflections on each day’s reading. It’s a great way to keep daily “touches” within your group while also encouraging one another concerning the commitment to read and the value of meditation upon God’s Word.

And corporate commitment to the reading/study of God’s Word is significantly more likely to produce transformed perspective and behaviors in your life. Groups tend to reflect at a much deeper level and then hold one another accountable for following through on application of God’s precepts.

So, how are you doing with spending time in God’s Word, allowing it to penetrate deep into your heart, transforming your perspective and your behaviors? I’ll confess that I let my spiritual disciplines get out of control during the holiday season. It took getting back to devotions in a serious way to quiet my soul. The good news is that I started sleeping better and have much less back pain. The better news is that I’m seeing things in a more positive way than I did before. Same circumstances. Better constitution. Dare I say it? Even peace.

2011 Resolutions

So, it's 2011. And every New Year brings an opportunity for reflection and recommitment to a new life, a "preferred" life. I find it a little humorous that we are willing to put up with unacceptable circumstances or behaviors in our life until the calendar changes. But that's another post...

I have run into quite a few folks who are very frustrated with their inability to overcome specific areas of sin in their life. Maybe they struggle with anger or legalism, pornography or jealousy, the list is long and infamous. Almost every time, the statement comes in a form similar to, "I hate this about my life and I have tried everything. I can stay sin-free for (insert some time period), but then I slide back into my old ways. Why can't I live without this burden?"

And therein resides the problem. We are not talking about a change in behaviors so much as we need a change in our thinking. We think that the Greek word, metanoia, which we translate "repent" means to change our activities. What it really means is to change our mind or our thinking. We have bought into a series of lies about God and ourselves and our social obligations that have replaced what God would have us understand, and these wrong thoughts form the foundation of our behaviors. Frankly, if we want to change our behaviors, we first need to purge our minds of these wrong ideas.

Once you have addressed those lies and replaced them with God's truth, you need two more things to create real change in your life. The good news is that only one of them is your responsibility. You need to discipline your "flesh" as Paul puts it. Sarx, translated "flesh," in this sense is not so much about the meat on your bones, but your tendency to rebel against God and His Kingdom. So you need spiritual disciplines to help you tame those desires and redirect your heart toward the Lord.

And the part that is not up to you? Well, true transformation comes thru the work of the Living Spirit of God. Every person who has put all trust and hope in Christ for salvation is given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The change that you are looking for in your life is a result of the work of God, the Holy Spirit.

There will be more on this in the future. This is a big part of what we will be looking at in 2011 at Grace. This is at the core of real Discipleship. And Paul says that this is how we are to worship God. I'll leave you with his words from Romans 12:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2