Past, Present, and Future

Revelation 1:4b-8

4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen. 8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Reflection

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.  Those are pretty strong words.  Maybe it's strong because you've heard it so many times.  Maybe it's strong because of who is supposedly saying it.  Maybe it's strong because of the sheer thought of some being who is eternal.  Maybe it's strong because, somehow, you believe it. 

This passage gives the reader lots to imagine: seven spirits, freedom from sins by blood, a kingdom and priests, glory, clouds, sight, wailing.  With all that excitement, the bearer of these words begins with a greeting of something stronger than any of that: grace and peace.  And, not just the kind of "grace" we say at the dinner table or the "peace" we claim outside of wartime.  No, this is grace and peace from God who is and who was and who is to come.  This is grace and peace from the seven spirits (the number seven represents wholeness...one could go on forever about the number seven and the seven spirits and what it could mean).  But, what I find most profound today is: This is grace and peace from Jesus Christ who is not only raised from the dead, but plays a major role in the current world--the ruler of the kings of the earth.  

God isn't only eternal.  If we think about God as trinitarian--that is the Father, Son, and Spirit, then God is more than eternal.  God is other-worldly and very much here, ruler of heaven and ruler of the kings of the earth.  God's grace and peace is so much more than a promise for the future, it's for here and now.  John uses this greeting, not like some mindless phrase, but like something awesome and real.

I know, you're probably thinking that things don't seem graceful and peaceful (well, I thought about that).  And, if you thought that, you're probably right.  We live in a world where--even when we want to be perfect mini-Christ's doing good for all humankind--we mess up.  We live in a world where when we want peace, our lives are upturned by joblessness, by disasters, by deaths, and by so much more.  Even-so, we live in a world where we get glimpses of this peace and grace.  

A glimpse of grace: A couple of weeks ago, I was rolling silverware at my restaurant job.  I saw a guy with one leg, scraggly hair, and a big bag, rolling uphill to our door.  I opened the door and he rolled up to the counter and asked for the manager.  As I went on to my work, I heard him ask the manager if she could give him any food.  Her answer was, "I'm sorry, my budget for meals is gone for the month."  A woman who was waiting with her toddler for a to-go order, witnessed the situation and offered to pay for the man's meal.  As she reached for her wallet, my manager said, "Wait, you know what, you can have my meal for today."  She called me to the register, I rang up the man's meal and gave him a fountain pop.  And, I witnessed God's grace pass from a customer, to the heart of my manager, and to the hungry, one-legged, scraggly old man.

A glimpse of peace: Today, I woke up feverish and with a massive sinus headache.  My alarm went off three times--which irritates the heck out of my husband.  But, my husband tucked me back into bed after giving me some ibuprofen and he even put an extra blanket on the bed so our 80 pound mutt, Loo, could curl up next to me to keep me warm.  He went to play guitar for worship and I went back to sleep.  When I awoke a couple hours later, there was a very quiet dog laying on the pillow next to me, looking right at my face.  I got up and took the dog out.  Down the way, I saw a HUGE malamute.  Knowing that Loo is usually only feisty and protective when my husband is gone, I was a little worried.  So, we stood back a bit off the sidewalk as the other dog approached and passed.  Loo didn't raise a hair.  In fact, he and the other dog just wagged their tails as they watched each other.  The other dog walker stopped and inquired about Loo, all the while the animals were quite at peace with one another.  Now, it wasn't a peace between nations or between political parties in one nation.  But, there was peace in my husbands understanding and care, and there was peace between two enormous dogs.

Sometimes, it's hard to see that the eternal God of grace and peace does rule on this earth.  But, I have hope that we will see grace and peace, Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen.  Look! (You might just believe it!)

Back in the Saddle

Daniel 12:1-3

1 "At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. 2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Reflection
This morning, I am deeply sorry for leaving you hanging (that is...all three of you who sometimes glance at this blog because you're good friends).  As you can imagine, I've been very busy not having a "real" job.  Actually, I kind of have been.  I've been picking up hours at my part-time-in-between-job and also doing some pastoral stuff on the side--like preaching and praying at weddings.  Frankly, this latter part has turned me into an adult-sized, jealousy-ridden toddler.

See, I like my part-time job.  I am grateful for it.  I look forward to going to work, giving customers some good food, smiling, making a few bucks, and coming home.  I look forward to meeting people I know I'd never meet in the parish.  I look forward to working with people I won't meet on Sunday morning.  But sometimes, that novelty wears thin.  Last weekend, I had a chance to play pastor, to preach and teach.  In that experience I remembered why I went to seminary and why I went through this insane process the church has JUST to say that if a church wants me then I can be ordained.  I did all that because that's what I love.  I love meeting with people who love each other and want to live together and share God's love with their family.  I love sharing prayers and teaching creeds.  I love leading worship.  But, even more than those things, I love reading a text or a situation and finding that God's love is all over it.  I love that, ultimately, it's not about me.  I love that it's not about whether I made sure the right kind of chicken was on a dish or about whether I'm rolling silverware fast enough.  I love that, when it comes to pastoral stuff, I get to use the brains that God gave me and I get to openly testify to and witness God at work.

So, when I got to do that pastoral stuff, I realized that I am jealous.  I am jealous of every person who is doing what they have trained to do.  I am jealous of my pastor friends because of the solid place they have in the world.  I am jealous, because I know--or hope--that my name is written in that book, but I can't find the darn page!  I hear and feel a call, but I can't see it yet.  And, well, I want it now!  Enough about me, because you probably have had that feeling too.

This reading (above) from Daniel is apocalyptic.  This means that the person writing it was pretty sure that the end of the world was coming soon.  And, why wouldn't they hope for that?  In the end, God's people were to be saved from damnation and live eternally in the presence of God.  "At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. 2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." That's pretty awesome.  Really. Would you want to stay in a world where you were persecuted, where life sometimes really sucked, where people died--if you could hope for this end time, you would....well, I would anyway.

Put yourself into these verses.  Where do you find yourself?  In a time of anguish?  Mourning those who sleep in the dust of the earth?  Bursting at the seams with some kind of wisdom just waiting to shine like the brightness of the sky?  Well, there is good news.  Those who anguish, your people shall be delivered.  Those who mourn, your loved ones shall awake.  Those who have wisdom to share, you will share it and it will shine like the stars of the sky forever and ever.

That said, we are here, now.  The writer of this text surely thought that he and his people would see this end of times.  And, for them, it would not be just an end.  It would be the beginning of this better life with God.

Right now, I get that.  I won't lie, I am learning things in life right now, but I don't want to live this life forever.  No, I want to live in a place where I can share in everlasting life--where the greatest thing isn't that we've added pork to the menu.  It's not always easy to see that this will be over, that life will change, that things will be better than they are in the present.  It's not always easy to see that God is changing us now and in times of anguish God has delivered and is delivering us.  It's not always easy to say that God loves us, created us, and gave his Son to walk with us and carry us through those days when we feel like upset toddlers and infants.  But, those things happen.  We are delivered from anguish.  We live.  And, because we are delivered, because we live, we have hope that our names really are in this book.  We really do have a place in God's kingdom.

(I'm hoping that place doesn't involve rolling silverware.)

Prayer
God, give us strength and hope to grow out of our tendencies to want immediate gratification.  Help us to look to you so that we might be better signs of your love in the world.  Amen.

Lament!

Jeremiah 11:18-20
18 It was the LORD who made it known to me, and I knew; then you showed me their evil deeds.  19 But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. And I did not know it was against me that they devised schemes, saying, "Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name will no longer be remembered!"  20 But you, O LORD of hosts, who judge righteously, who try the heart and the mind, let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.

Reflection

This text, the first reading for this coming Sunday, is what we call a lament.  If you've never heard of a lament...check out the Psalms, check out the rest of Jeremiah.  Or, read some poetry.  Listen to those sad songs about heartbreak--Why'd my girlfriend leave?  My dog died.  My truck's broke--you probably know what I'm talking about by now.

This lament comes from Jeremiah, a prophet who was not always happy with what God called him to.  This is one of a collection of laments from the prophet.  Jeremiah's lament has some grounding.  He was bringing the word of the Lord to these folks who were really doing evil deeds!  They schemed against him.  They call him the tree and say that they will cut him off--that's a threat to his life!  Here's a person just doing what he's supposed to do--what the Lord is calling him to--and he's getting the shaft.  If there is ever a time to lament, to cry out about a situation in life, this is it.

But, the lament doesn't stop with Jeremiah whining.  No, Jeremiah also holds strong to his call.  He calls upon the Lord to judge righteously, he asks to see the Lord's retribution, he asserts that he is committed to the Lord.  In all the woe and fear, Jeremiah remembers that the power, the authority, to judge these people belongs to God.

Today, rather than share a prayer with you, I call you to lament.  Maybe your lament is like mine--I'm waiting for a call, I'm missing my family, I'm working, I'm trying to serve God's world, but the right time and place haven't coincided for me to do that in the ways I'm gifted, trained, and called. My life isn't threatened like Jeremiah's, but I'd certainly prefer working in a congregation right now rather than in a restaurant.  Maybe your lament is over the 2012 U.S. presidential election and the uncalled for hatred that our party system fosters.  Maybe your lament is over the Lonmin/Marikana Massacre.  Maybe your lament is over the loss of a parent or child or other loved one.   Whatever it is, lament!  But, as you lament, remember:  Judgement and retribution belong to the Lord--the same Lord who created you, who loves you, who calls you, who gives you life everlasting.

Who do you say that I am?

Mark 8:27-38
27 Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?"  28 And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets."  29 He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah."  30 And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.  31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.  33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."  34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.  36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?  37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?  38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Reflection
Who do people say that I am? Our answer to this probably wouldn't be too different from that of Jesus' disciples back in the day.  Sure, we might say, "Our Muslim neighbors call you a prophet, our atheist neighbors call you a character in a story," etc.  We might even answer Jesus' second question, Who do you say that I am? in Peter's words saying, "You are the Messiah."
But, Messiah has a drastically different connotation for 21st century disciples than it did for those first disciples of Jesus.  For us, Messiah is Jesus.  For us, who have four gospels and a slew of other material regarding the life of Jesus, we know this Jesus to the one who suffered, was rejected, killed, and risen.  We know that his Messiah-ship wasn't about to appeal to those folks who wanted to save themselves, who thought they could right their own sins against God and neighbor.  Peter's perspective must have been different than ours.  He clearly didn't know that Jesus would suffer because Jesus has to tell him what's coming.  He clearly didn't know that he couldn't save his own life, Jesus has to tell him.

We are lucky to have a perspective different than Jesus' first disciples.

We come at this world, knowing that Jesus has suffered for us.  Then again, we also come at it being told, If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. This is a big cost of discipleship... This is something Peter probably understood better than we do.  The cross was a real instrument of suffering and death for these people. It was gruesome (if you can't picture it, watch the last bit of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, I can't imagine the cross was more glorious than that).  The cross was a real threat for the disciples if they followed Jesus as he overturned the rulers' concept of a Messiah.  Our "crosses" are different.

Some people might think we're weird for praying.  Some people might call us (or at least think we are) weak for laying our burdens down for God to pick up.  These are kind of general things which I've heard Christians (of varied denominations) claim as crosses in today's world.

What's harder (for me) than those things, though, is getting past this re-emerging notion that Christianity is about prosperity.  This notion that it is about glitz and glam.

Because I'm working a part-time-job (finally, yay!), I still get to catch some morning TV.  The channels that the antennae (yep, those exist in flat-screens) could get in yesterday were a Christian channel and a Spanish channel.  I opted for the Christian one, so I could understand it.  Boy, that was a mistake.  Between programs which had some shoddy theology (by that, I mean programs in which I was told that in order to be loved by God I had to do something...that's wrong), there was an offer.  I could go on a trip to the Holy Land--for under $4,000!  This trip included spas, special meals, seeing beautiful landmarks... It actually did look quite lovely.  But, after the commercial was over, I realized that there was no mention of visiting actual historic places.  There was no mention of deepening faith through remembering and learning of the sufferings and trials of the people who inhabited and have been driven out of this land.  NO! All the deepening of faith offered in this trip came from spas.  Is the message of Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, a message of vacation for the prosperous?  This, friends, is what we are up against: people who crucify the gospel again and again for prosperity's sake.  People who save their own lives of comfort, glazing over the reality of the world which the Messiah came to endure and bring to new life.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm sure we--you and, definitely, I--do a bit of our own which glazes over what's going on in the rest of God's Kingdom--You know, the world in it's entirety.  The world where people take advantage of one another (often unknowingly), where people try to save themselves.  Today, we are reminded by Mark's gospel that we are called out of that, to pick up the crosses (to pick up all the crap, hate, death, fears, etc. that exists) and follow Christ.  And, what does that mean, to follow Jesus?  I think it means to call each other out--like Jesus did to Peter  It means that when our brothers and sisters start to get a little too materialistic, we call them out.  Likewise, it means being called out--in last week's gospel message, a woman whose daughter had a demon called Jesus out when he said he was going to feed the kids before he healed her...the woman told him that even the dogs get the children's scraps.  Jesus changed his mind and told the woman to go because the demon had been cast out.  Jesus, the Messiah, took seriously what other people said.  He listened!  So, we should listen.  Taking up the cross doesn't mean that we are always the most persecuted, the most suffering, but it means that we recognize every gruesome part of life--we listen to people around us.  We recognize that we contribute to the gruesomeness of the world.  We recognize that because Christ gave his life for us, we are freed to give ourselves, our time, and our possessions for the sake of the gospel--for the sake of sharing in God's love.

Pay attention this week. In all your burdens and blessings, Who do you say that Jesus is?



My Prayer for Today
Suffering, mind-changing, faithful God, I give thanks for the freedom you give us to live in your world.  Help me to see that my suffering is not the only suffering.  Help me to look upon my neighbors--of wealth and of poverty--with grace.  Help me to remember that this grace is not cheap, that discipleship is costly.



Note: Vacations are good, I recommend them.  They can help you rejuvenate so that you can live more fully in God's world. However, take care not to miss out on what is going on in the world.  Don't vacation with ignorance of and disregard for where you're vacationing.  Learn there.  Take in more than a week of spas.  God's people are everywhere.

Rich and Poor

James 2:1-10, 14-17

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?  2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in,  3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet,"  4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?  5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?  6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court?  7 Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?  8 You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.  10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?  15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food,  16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?  17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Reflections

Who is really poor? According to James, there is the poor who don't wear "fine clothes," who are told to stand or sit at the feet of others, who are judged by others, who are dishonored, who are oppressed.  But, these poor are are rich in faith and are heirs to the kingdom of God!  So, the poor are rich.

Who are the rich? Those with bright and fine clothes, those who oppress, they blaspheme, they sin by showing partiality to one person over another.  So, the rich  do bad things to other people, who say bad things about God's people...unless you're talking about those who are "rich in faith."  That's different. Those who are poor but rich in faith are something else.

This kind of thought might seem wrong (it does to me).  It exacerbates the negativity of an "us versus them" mindset.  This kind of overturning of "judges with evil thoughts," really just places those who are poor but rich in faith in a position above those who are rich with nice clothes. I mean, really think about it.  Say you're an unemployed 20-something (or, 30-, 40-, 50-something) who has experience in your field, or has the willingness to learn, or has college or master's degrees tucked in a box in mom's closet.  Imagine that you've got the talents and know-how, but you have no job (for some of us, it's not too hard to imagine).  But, everywhere you go, there is someone richer, with finer clothes, a better history...there are people in higher society positions who get better jobs or choose someone other than you for a job.  I can see how these verses about the rich and poor might prompt me to vilify every person who has more than I have.  But, they don't.  Because James doesn't stop at telling us that the poor are promised the riches of God's kingdom.

Notice, James does not say all of the rich are blasphemers, evil judges.  James doesn't even say that the rich cannot have faith.  But, James does say: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?

James makes us ask ourselves, What good is my faith? I know that faith comes through hearing the Word of God, faith comes from experiencing that great love which surpasses all understanding, faith comes from our parents and friends and teachers and even strangers, faith comes from the work of the Spirit.  I know what faith feels like.  Faith feels like I'm rich--even when I'm poor--it feels like there is love even when I know that I have sinned and blasphemed more than any person of wealth could sin or blaspheme.  And, faith feels like I can't just have it.  It feels like I can't just sit on a wealth of faith and tell those who don't have it to sit at my feet.  Faith prods at my conscience when I want to condemn the person who has better clothes than I have (fyi: clothes is probably just a metaphor for anything that we materialize and give value).  Faith makes me consider that even the person I think is worthless is not.

The terms poor and rich are relative.  We each bring baggage to discussion of these terms--my baggage is that I've never had money but always had family and while that's not entirely bad, it takes effort for me to remember that even people who have money can have good families, too.  Your baggage might be different. I think what is consistent though is that everyone is susceptible to comparing one person to another--or oneself to another.  When it comes to faith, no person's faith  is richer or poorer--God calls us into (or maybe out of) faith to stop comparing, stop judging, stop creating lines of rich and poor and to start loving.

In his speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention this week, Bill Clinton said, "We're all in this together," more than once.  He said this mindset is morally right and beneficial for our society.  As Christians, we ought to think this sounds right.  Living together, loving each other, erasing those lines between poverty and upper classes...that's what James is telling us faith does.  Faith helps us react to the problems of the world with love and care without partiality to those who are like or unlike us.

My Prayer For Today
God, remind me that faith is for all.  Remind me that you call servants from all walks of life in ways which use our gifts.  Give me patience as that call arises.  Give me gratitude as others are called.  Allow all of your people--rich and poor--to see the equality that your grace give us that we may be called by faith to live fully in your kingdom. Amen.

(I know this entry doesn't solve any issues that anyone probably has with the text...hopefully, it gives you something to think about...I'm sure thinking about it.)

Hurried Hearts

Isaiah 35:4-7a
4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you."
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water...

Reflection

Say to those who are fearful of heart... I don't know about you, but that meets me where I am.  I don't want to admit it, always, but I AM fearful of heart.  If that doesn't help you, if that doesn't speak TO YOU, maybe the Hebrew translation of this would be better suited: ble-yrEh]m.nIl. Wrma. A translation of this, closer to the Hebrew, would be: Say to the hurried of heart...

You know that racing feeling--the flutter of your heart.  Maybe when you were excited about something good.  But, also when you were excited about something not-so-good.  I think of that first phone call in which I found out I wasn't chosen for the job. It didn't help that they wanted to keep me in mind, "In case things didn't work out," with their chosen candidate.  My world felt turned upside-down.  I was the first of my classmates who had that phone call.  And, then the second time.  My ears were deafened to the support of my professors, pastors, and friends who told me there is a congregation who needs the gifts God has given me.  (After two rejections and watching almost every other classmate get at LEAST one offer, I wasn't so sure.)  My heart still races thinking about all of it. It's like I'm trying to swim (something I'm not great at) and the water is all muddy and thick, my body is exerted and my heart races in anticipation of what I'll see when I come out of that mud.  If you haven't ever felt like that, you're lucky, but be prepared because I think you probably will.

Isaiah uses great imagery in this passage--especially, for those of us who feel like we're swimming through mud: the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped, the lame will leap, the speechless will sing!  Even the destitute lands are promised healing as every dry and lifeless place bounds with water.

We are promised that our God will come and save us.  We no longer need to fear with racing hearts because God comes with vengeance.  That's not to say that God will come and smite those who've rejected our job applications.  Rather, to say that God will set things right. In God's kingdom, there is a place for each of us where we excel.  It's hard to not be fearful of heart when you're jobless (or underpaid or underemployed) and thinking of paying school loans, medical bills, rent, for kids needs, for groceries, etc.).  The prophet Isaiah doesn't tell us how to do those things.  While, I'd be happier if he DID give us a guide to that sort of success, I am hopeful that things won't always be like this.  After all, Christ DID come and heal many sick, made the lame walk, raised Lazarus from the dead.  My hope is in the God who makes those things happen, who sends aid to those ravished by famine, drought, disaster.  My hope is in the God who places people in the world to care for it.  With a racing, hurried, fearful heart, my hope is in a God who will help me to not only walk out of my lame state, but to leap.

My Prayer Today
God, we thirst and we are sometimes blind to your actions of grace and love for the world.  Help us to see your hand in our lives.  Calm our hurried hearts, move our paralyzed legs, give sound to our stifled voices that we may live more fully into your kingdom on earth.  Amen.

Mirror, Mirror

James 1:17-27
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.  18 In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.  19 You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger;  20 for your anger does not produce God's righteousness.  21 Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.  22 But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.  23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror;  24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.  25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act-- they will be blessed in their doing.  26 If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.  27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Reflection
I've always had some problems with the book of James.  James' notion of faith has always seemed so different than that which my Lutheran heritage taught me.  (Martin Luther himself wasn't too keen on the book nor was my Literature of Old and New Testament prof.)  I've always thought of James' faith as a work--a BIG no, no to Lutherans who understand God's grace as a gift which isn't something which is attainable rather something given by God alone in Christ alone. This week's reading, though, resonates quite well with the notion that because God gives grace, something compels us to do the same.

James tells us that we are the first fruits--God has created us and gifted us. James tells his readers, or hearers, to "understand" this. Verses 19-20:  You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. Thinking back, there is probably something to that.  God created humankind in God's own image--male and female!  We know from verse 17 that God, according to James, is the bearer of good gifts, perfect and whole gifts.  These are gifts without darkness and shadow.  So, as images of God, as God's first-fruit--that is God's gift--we are supposed to listen before we speak, we are supposed to be slow to anger.  We are supposed to know that our anger--towards ourselves or those different from us--does not make God's righteousness.

But, how then, do we act? How then, does God's righteousness come about?

Well, look into a mirror.  What do you see?  Do you look at yourself and see every flaw--every scar, blemish, crooked tooth?  Do you see these and forget what you are like? Do you forget that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, created in the image of God?  Do you walk away from the mirror and forget that God has created you and given you a world for which you can care?

23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror;  24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.

James preaches, not only the law which reminds us what we look like in the mirror, but also a law which sounds a little graceful. God creates us.  God gives us to the world--to the orphans and widows or to whoever those marginalized in our current society might be.  God doesn't require us to do things, but we are freed to do things for others.  We are free because God has forgiven our every maliced glance in the mirror--through Jesus who erases our blemishes and restores us to what God created us to be--images of the divine, to be bearers of good gifts, to be beacons of light in the world.  God in Jesus is what brings about righteousness.

25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act-- they will be blessed in their doing...27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

So, what?  What does this "religion" tell us today?  What does this tell the person who is looking for their place in the world?  It tells you this: You have a place and that place is to hear the word that you are free because God loves you. It tells you this: You are free to look into the mirror and see that you have gifts, you are God's gift. It tells you this: You are surrounded by a world which will try to stain you, but care for those who are in the world anyway. It tells you this: Find the marginalized--those orphans and widows, those who are without food or family or the care of society--and care for them. To do this, you don't need to have the perfect job or any job, you don't need to have a bachelors or masters degree, you don't even need to have the right words to say.  Remember, You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger...


My Prayer Today
Father of lights, giver of every good gift, thank you for freeing me to give.  Help me to remember those who do not have what I have.  Help me to hear their tribulations with mercy, not anger.  Let all those who need a word a love become hearers and let all those who have heard become doers through the love of Christ and the work of your Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Neither add nor take away...

Deuteronomy 4:1-9 
So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.  2 You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the LORD your God with which I am charging you.  
3 You have seen for yourselves what the LORD did with regard to the Baal of Peor-- how the LORD your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor,  4 while those of you who held fast to the LORD your God are all alive today.  5 See, just as the LORD my God has charged me, I now teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to enter and occupy.  
6 You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!"  7 For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is whenever we call to him?  8 And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?  9 But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children.

Reflection
It is interesting (maybe upsetting) that the Revised Common Lectionary leaves out verses 3-5 when verse 2 told the Israelites to NOT take anything away from the commandments which the LORD was about to give through Moses (just, FYI, Moses is speaking these words  to the Israelites). It seems that the verses following 2 just might pertain to those commandments and just might be worth reading.  So, I copied 3-5 in italics, above.  And, they are worth reading. Verse 5 tells us basic information: that the "statutes and ordinances," those are the laws Moses will be talking about, come from God, not Moses himself.  It also says that these are for the Israelites to practice in the land that they will be going into and living.

Maybe more disconcerting and compelling are verses 3-4: 3 You have seen for yourselves what the LORD did with regard to the Baal of Peor-- how the LORD your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor,  4 while those of you who held fast to the LORD your God are all alive today. The lectionary took out the scary part, the part where God destroyed those who followed Baal.  For a reference, some Israelites back in the day decided to "have relations" with Moabites. These relations led to Israelites making offerings and worshipping, Baal.  This was a CLEAR violation of the first commandment, which is that God's people "should have no other gods."

There is some hope in this dark, depressing section, too: 4 while those of you who held fast to the LORD your God are all alive today. There is something to be said of holding to the LORD, of trusting that the LORD God will bring the people (I venture to guess that all people are God's people) to the promised land.   We, God's people, are told to neither add nor take away from that command to love and trust in God alone.  The Israelites who worshiped Baal changed that command by putting their faith into another god.  But, those who held fast, who trusted, were alive to hear this message Moses spoke.  That message told the Israelites to take care of themselves by upholding the commandments which the LORD had given through Moses.  In addition, the Israelites are told to remember what they have seen.  This message isn't just about holding onto the promise of God's Word, but about remembering the experiences of faith.

What does this mean for us today?  What about those of us who have spent years trying to figure out exactly what "land" God is leading us to?  What about those of us who have observed heartache and felt left out of God's promise?  What about those of us who cannot help but wonder if we ought to give into the temptation of following another god--maybe not the god Baal, but maybe a god that leads us away from doing what is right, something like a job that compromises our own ethics or a job that might hurt other people? What about us, who have kept as many commandments as we think we can but still have not been taken to our place in this land?

All I can say to those questions is that we are still here.  In some way, we have held fast.  Maybe others have held fast for us...actually, I'd say that the grace of God given in Christ Jesus has held us fast.  I'd say that maybe there are other people, too, who helped keep us alive today by witnessing to that grace.  Like the Israelites were commanded to make their story known to their children and children's children, people are here to make the story of God's love known to us. Things can be really crappy.  We might be underpaid, unemployed, existing on ramen noodles and the generosity of friends/family, but we ARE here.  We do have memories of faith--our own memories and those of generations past.  When we are beyond desperation, when we are beyond hope of holding fast, we hear that constant message: "I am the Lord your God...you shall have no other gods."  This means, as Martin Luther writes in the Small Catechism, "We are to fear, love, and trust God above anything else." Above all else--above all those fake job postings on Craig's List, above all those fruitless interviews, above all those things in the world of job-searching which get you down--above all that, trust that, "I am the Lord your God."

I can't say that you will find a job today or tomorrow. or that I will be extended a call next week or month or year.  I can say that this text about Moses telling the Israelites to follow the commandments isn't just about law, it's about preserving that story that God chooses us and loves us.

Clearly, though we each likely falter and put faith and trust in things other than the LORD our God, our fate isn't that of the Israelites-turned-Baal-worshipers. We are still here. We remember our joys and sorrows regarding faith and the LORD our God.  And, we remember that there is a long line of God's people who have passed down this story of God's love and they've done that for us.  For those people who feed me with food and with that "great wisdom" of which Moses spoke, even in midst of those crappy things that get me down, I can't help but be thankful.

My Prayer Today
Lord, God of Moses and the Israelites, help me to hold fast to the story of your love.  Give me the heart and mind to witness to that love in all I do.  Guide me in this search for a job, for a vocation.  Lead me to work in your name, for the sake of all your people. Thank you, today, for the memories of all those who have shared your love in the world. Amen.

About This Blog

The title of this blog is "tous magous," which is Greek for, "the wisemen." I've always thought it sounded funny and I've spent a lot of time thinking about the magi. So, I called this blog, "tous magous." It has taken me years to figure out what this blog is about. This blog's purpose is to reflect on biblical passages (maybe some other things) in a devotional manner.

For some background, I'm a recent seminary graduate who is awaiting a call to a congregation (that's the church jargon for "a job as a pastor") in the ELCA (The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America).  I spent the past two and a half months looking for part-time work everywhere I could think of (from restaurants to churches of all denominations to dog-poop removal services).  Every Sunday during those weeks, I agonized over not being able to preach.  The texts for the week spoke differently to me as I was unemployed, no longer a student, homesick, and thinking about all of the loans I'd need to start paying back SOON.  Then, it dawned on me: I could still work on the weekly readings that my seminary pals were preaching on and I could do it for people in circumstances similar to mine.

These reflections (hopefully, there will be three to four weekly reflections on the text for the following Sunday) are about and for those who are unemployed, underemployed,or discerning what the heck God is calling us to today.