Ministry Musings

Dragons

Dragons.

I have been thinking about dragons today.  Dragons are imagination-capturing creatures.  They are bold and foreboding and scary and fascinating all at the same time.  Dragons seem to be creatures waiting for an opportunity and it does not matter whether it is for good or ill.

Dragons in Near Eastern mythology are monsters of chaos.  For some reason I get this picture of Godzilla.  If you have seen the movies, you can see it too.  The waters of Tokyo Bay churning and air raid sirens blaring loudly, the monster Godzilla arises from the deep, aroused by some nuclear tinkering of humanity, to wreak death and destruction on a fleeing and frightened populace totally ill-equipped to deal with the monster's power.  This monster of chaos is always driven back but at the end there is always the lingering threat that someday......

Dragons are dangerous and deadly.  In literature, dragons represent greed, evil, lies, and death.  They can infect humanity and change people for the worse.  In the Bible, specifically the Revelation to John, the dragon is called "satan," the "devil," and the "serpent."

Dragons are iconic.  That is, dragons are windows into the world of chaos that our "-isms" can create.  Materialism, hedonism, secularism, alcoholism and its addictive corollaries including workaholism, individualism, relativism and many others can become monsters which churn in the depth of our souls.  Alarms begin sounding warning us that we are totally ill-equipped to deal with this threat and that we are treading dangerously close to death and destruction in our souls.  We might be able to beat them back but there is always the lingering threat that someday...

One of the more recognized icons is that of St. George and the dragon.  This "window" (that is what an icon is) into the realm of God shows the valiant saint riding a white stallion trampling a much smaller black beast.  In meditation one is to notice that good always truimphs over evil and that the powers of darkness are absolutely no match for the power of God.

Dragons, whether beasts of darkness or "-isms" causing restlessness and discontent, are ultimately no match for God.  However, dragons will stick around unless we are willing to look deeply into their beady eyes and answer some questions.

Will we lose our fear of dragons and place our trust in the life-changing, life-giving love of God?  Are we ready to have God the Creator, the Loving Father of all defeat once and for all the dragons which keep us from becoming the jewel of God's creation and His devoted, loving child?

Like a valiant knight we will have a moment of truth when we will decide to say "yes" to God and allow His power to defeat, once and for all, the dragons which torment our souls.  But unlike a valiant knight these dragons are not to be slain by lance and sword, or as in the Godzilla movies bombs and bullets.  No, these dragons can be slain by only one thing:  the undying love of God's Son who delivers us and makes us new.

Bread

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.”  (John 6:37-39)

God has a dream.

God has a vision.

God has a plan.

The dream, the vision, the desire that God has is one in which God’s people might not continue forever to be lost.

Lost.  Yes, that is the state of humanity.  Lost is the reality of the state of the world.  Don’t believe me?  Haven’t you read the paper or watched the news on TV?  Just this week:  an unimaginable terrorist plot uncovered; bombs continued to kill and maim in Lebanon; 6,000 children today will become AIDS orphans; our own citizens, our own neighbors here in San Antonio, are suffering from poverty and hunger; untold numbers of families are on the verge of utter collapse chasing the “American Dream” of economic and social success.  I could go on and on and on but you get the point.

This is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

Jesus himself points to the truth of God’s love for the world.  His mission is to reclaim that which has been lost and raise it up on the last day.

No longer does humanity need to seek after the bread of this world which is here today and gone tomorrow.  For that is exactly what the manna does in the desert.  God sends it and the Hebrews are to gather up only enough for today.  If they gather up two days worth the bread goes bad, spoils, after a day.  Yet, the crowd in chapter 6 of John seeks the “magic” bread, the bread which is perishes.

Jesus himself is the bread provided by the Father and is the only bread which last for eternity.  The words which precede the beginning of the passage today are these:  “you have seen me and yet do not believe.”

There is warning in those words for you and for me.  Are we looking for the bread which perishes?  Are we looking for the bread which we make with our own hands and our own efforts?  If so, it will spoil.  We can do no good on our own.  We might get lucky for eventually our luck will run out.   We need something more than bread made by our own hands.  We need something more than bread which is here today and gone tomorrow.

God provides this bread.  God provides the finest of bread.  God provides the bread of eternal life:  Jesus, his Son.

This is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

So, what are we to do?

Our salvation depends not on our work.  Thank God!  I don’t know about you, but I am not very good at baking bread.  I have yet to make any that lasts very long.

Here are some of the recipes I have tried:

W      Think that straight A’s would make me happy.

W      Think that drinking and eating were the answers to my problems.

W      Think that acquiring material possessions would give me fulfillment.

W      Think that the latest self-help book or management theory or leadership tactic or spiritual fad would bring me an enlightened heart and mind.

W      Think that the more ministry I did the closer I would get to God, the more He would love me, the more anyone would love me.

W      Think that I could earn my salvation.

I have seen yet I have not believed.

Yet believing is all that I can do.  Believing is all any of us can do.  And believing is enough.  If we can just come to believe in the one who has come to bring salvation, if we can just come to believe in the one who is making God’s dream come true, then we too can be sure of being raised up on the last day.

Listen to what else Jesus says:  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

Amazing, isn’t it?

Jesus, the one who claims to know and live “the will of him who sent” him and promises that he will “lose nothing of all” that he has been given,” but raise it up on the last day,” has already done what we could never, ever in a million years do for ourselves. 

He has brought us salvation.  He has given himself to us as bread which will bring us life with him forever.  He has given himself to us as bread, not made by human hands and human will, but by the will of God to bring the world back into relationship with him.

What is even more amazing is this:  That as we are fed by the bread of heaven, we become a part of God’s plan for the reclamation of the world.  As you and I are fed by God’s word and sacraments, we are a become part of the flesh, the Body of Jesus Christ.  We become, with Jesus, the bread which he gives “for the life of the world.”

God has a vision.  And that vision is of a world which once and for all recognizes God’s rule, God’s reign.  It is a vision in which God’s people once and for all completely trust him to give them their daily bread and quit living as though God has no power to bring the world and all of its people to himself.

God has a dream. And that dream is a dream in which humanity would once again walk shamelessly with God in complete trust and in complete relationship with Him and each other.  A dream in which “swords will be made into plowshares” (Isaiah 2.4); where The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together” (Is. 11.6); where the poor receive good news, the brokenhearted are raised up, the captive receiving liberty, where the blind receive sight, where God’s favor is proclaimed. (Is. 61.3)

God has a plan.  The plan is Jesus.  This is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

God’s plan includes you and me as we take care to prayerfully seek to look on the Son, Jesus, and trust and believe that God has already uniquely called us and equipped us to be agents of His life transforming love in Christ Jesus.

How humbling it is to know that through us, through our lives lived to God’s glory in the ordinary everyday world, Jesus will draw the world to himself.  How awesome that Jesus will accept our offering of our lives and labors to be an ingredient in the Bread he will give to for the life of the world!

Let us pray:

“Yes, Lord, we believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who has come into the world.”  May we seek you where you will to be found and may our lives be acceptable ingredients in the bread you fashion to bring life to the world.  Use us, we pray, as you will and always to your glory and for the welfare of your people!  Amen.

A Messenger's Burden

Who am I in Christ Jesus?

The life of a messenger had to be one of constant preparedness.

There could be no other way.  To be a messenger of a king’s court must have required constant readiness.  A messenger never knew when he would be called upon to quickly deliver an important message across the kingdom.  Whether by foot or horse a messenger needed to be healthy and strong, ready to endure the hardship of travel.  He needed to be of single-minded focus.

The job was dangerous.  Thieves, bandits, scofflaws of all sorts would populate the roads, especially at dark.  And, a messenger never knew whether the message being delivered was going to be received well or not.  This must be the genesis of the old preface we have all used when we are called upon to deliver someone else’s unpleasant news, “Now, don’t get mad at me, I am only the messenger, but….”

The job of messenger was difficult, dangerous – risky.  To be a messenger was bear a difficult burden.  To stand in the place of someone mightier is a heavy burden indeed and this is exactly what a messenger must do.

John the baptizer had such a role.

Even in his mother’s womb he, “leapt,” that is heralded or proclaimed the coming King Jesus who was, also, in his mother’s womb.  You might say that the whole meaning of his life was to point to someone who is mightier than even he could imagine.  He was, you might say, born to be a messenger.

John’s story verifies what I have already said about the job of a messenger being difficult, dangerous, and risky.  In John’s ministry he gave up all comforts that his family status could have provided him.  He chose to wear the clothes of a wilderness prophet and eat a diet of locusts and honey.  He criticized Herod and his incestuous relationship with Herodias.  For his efforts he was imprisoned.  In the end, his unswerving dedication to proclaiming the truth of God’s word cost him his head.

John’s diligence to his role as messenger is helpful for us.  You see, we are also messengers.  Our role is not much different from John’s.  We are to proclaim the one who is coming.  We are to herald the coming King.  We are to leap for joy over the coming birth of King Jesus.

Believe me, our job as messengers is still difficult, dangerous, and risky, just not in the same was as it was for John.  To be a messenger in our own day is still a burden.  You are I are still entrusted with the role of pointing to the one who is “mightier than we.”  You and I are still given the responsibility of proclaiming the one whose “sandals [we are} not worthy to even untie.”

The difficulty here is that we are to speak to a world that has begun to not listen.  Whether it is the fault of the noise of the world – the constant chatter and noise of TV, radio and other news and entertainment media– or our own fault for not checking to see whether we are communicating in a relevant or, even understandable, fashion, this reality remains:  we must work especially hard to communicate that King Jesus is coming and develop creative ways to invite people to ready their hearts to receive him.

The danger for us is not physical.  The danger for us is that we will lose our resolve.  The greatest danger we will face is to decide that the rest of the world is not interested in the salvation offered in Jesus Christ or, worse, that they do not deserve it.  In the face of ever increasing odds, we might be tempted to take the easier, softer way of sitting back and waiting for people to come to us.  The real danger of being a messenger in our day is that we won’t put on our running shoes and race around the countryside sharing the message.

The messenger business is still risky, but just not in the way you might imagine.  The risk for you and I is that people will listen.  Like the people of Nineveh, those who hear us proclaim the message of hope and life and love through Jesus will respond and then we will be responsible for their continued development and growth as believers.  We will become responsible for their lives and will have to see to it that they reach the full stature of Christ.  We will have to give up our own comfortable habits and adopt new ways of being God’s family that include our new family members.

And all of this is still a burden.  Yes, it is a burden.  But burdens are not exclusively negative.  You see some ministry can be a burden without being burdensome.  The business of being a messenger is such a ministry.  You see the burden of being a messenger comes from standing in the place of the One who is Mightier.  As messengers of King Jesus, you and I stand in his place proclaiming to all who have ears to hear the wondrous and wonderful good news of God’s saving work.  Through our words we prepare the way of another’s heart to receive Jesus as a baby at Christmas so that they might receive him as King when He comes again to judge the living and the dead.  As messengers of the Holy One we have the potential to influence the direction, not only of someone’s life, but of someone’s eternal soul.

That kind of eternal significance is a heavy, heavy burden to bear. But, let us not be discouraged.  Let’s always remember that Jesus promised us that his “yoke [would be] easy and his burden light.”

So, on this day, I invite you to gladly bear this wonderful burden at Advent as preparation for the rest of our lives.  You and I are called by God bear this burden of messenger each day to each person we encounter in our daily walk.  This is who you and I are called to be in Christ Jesus.  You and I are called to bear the message of hope and love and life in Christ Jesus to the world.  You and I are called to recognize that we, like John the baptizer, were born to be messengers of Christ Jesus so that others might experience the joy and wonder of Jesus’ birth in their hearts.  AMEN.

Who am I in Christ Jesus?: Awareness and the In-between

The family and I returned yesterday from a Thanksgiving trip to my wife’s family ranch. We had a great time. The weather was great – although a bit warm – and we enjoyed roaming around the 50-Acre Field and just wandering around.

I have a little bit of custom that has turned into a personal tradition. On Thanksgiving morning each year, I wander out to do a little deer hunting. I enjoy very much the time spent alone in the field. I find that I hear better. I can hear things that normally I miss. The noise birds make when they jump from branch to branch and sing their songs. Sometimes I wonder if their melodies are warnings to others of my presence or if they are serenading me as their guest.

Did you know that cottontail rabbits make noise? In the quiet of the field one can hear the “scritching” and scratching as they move over caliche road foraging for their breakfast or dinner. Nature has a language all of its own and I take time when I can to reacquaint myself with that tongue when I can.

In today’s gospel, Mark’s Jesus warns us of the signs of God's coming kingdom. Where our text ends today is with Jesus calling the disciples and us to “Keep awake” or, in my translation, “stay aware.” Jesus is teaching his followers that if we can stay aware, we can recognize the signs of his coming again and the establishing of God’s kingdom once and for all.

We must remain aware of one reality which the early church faced: they were persecuted. They lived and moved and had their being in a world which was hostile to their faith. Further, in the face of growing persecution, they began to hope for the return of Christ Jesus for with that would come the final and full establishment of God’s reign. Those early Christians believed that Jesus would return and the Kingdom of God would be established in their lifetime.

So, now here we are. Some two thousand years later and we are still hoping and praying for the return of Christ Jesus and the coming of the final and full establishment of God’s reign. This reality can pose some difficulty for some since it seems to be inconsistent with what Jesus himself spoke about his return and with the early teachings of the apostles.

So, in her wisdom, the Church begins each liturgical year with the season of Advent. We are in a different season, a different time. At the church I serve we started our worship with an ancient rite, the Great Litany, which reminds us of our mortal, sinful nature and asks deliverance from God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. We have toned down our music to remind us that we are now in a time of preparation, a time of getting ready for what Christians in all ages have longed and hoped: the coming of Christ Jesus our King.

The Church in this season stands in stark contrast with our culture. Go to any store and what will you see: Christmas lights and trees, Santa, and you will hear the cheerful music of Christmas. That is fine. I like all of those things. In fact, I am not an “Advent Nazi,” opposed to anything Christmas before the actual liturgical season.  But, I do think it a big mistake to not sit and linger with Advent and let Advent work on us. If we miss Advent then we miss an important piece of who each one of us is in Christ Jesus and a vital piece of the process of growing in our spiritual lives.

You and I live in a time of in-between. We are in-between the victory of God’s kingdom in the resurrection of Jesus and the final establishment of his Kingdom. Christ has secured the victory of God’s kingdom already, but the kingdom is not fully established yet. In Advent, we prepare for the first coming of Jesus as vulnerable, helpless baby in a cave in Bethlehem and his final coming as a victorious king with all of his heavenly hosts. We live in a world I like to call “already but not yet.”

The problem with living in the already but not yet is that we can get too easily distracted. Unless we pay very close attention to being aware and staying aware we can get caught up in the cuteness and preciousness of the baby Jesus being worshipped by Santa, and lose sight of the coming Victorious King that scares the preciousness clear out of the county!

Awareness is the key ingredient to a balanced life in Advent. Where will you take some time away during the next four weeks? Have you filled every waking moment with shopping and celebrations? Have you allowed your calendar to continue to rule your life? Where will you take some quiet to listen? Where will you take some time hear God’s “scritching and scratching” on the roads of your heart foraging for your being, your very soul?

Part of who you and I are in Christ Jesus is an in-between time follower who is in much need of practicing awareness. As we become aware, that is “wake up” to the signs of God’s coming reign in our lives, we can become more of who God has created us to be for the world in our in-between time.

Keep awake! The signs of God’s present kingdom are all around us.

Stay aware! God is continuing to create you into the likeness of Jesus.

Wake up! Let God lead you to your life of mission and ministry into the world.