I had a communication today around this issue which made me think that this may be fertile ground for some reflections. My introduction to this will be a public confession: I have always struggled with faith.
Admitting such a thing is upsetting to some and consolation to others. I guess I hope only the latter group reads this! I think that my desire to be authentic is part of the problem. I want to make sure I am honest and so belief is something I self scrutinize. Also, as an educated person, I have been trained to probe and question everything. I try not to run away from difficult issues. In my job pain and crisis walk in the door on a regular basis. I have seen suffering first hand. So there is a theoretical and existential aspect to all this. I also don't want to be weak. I don't want to believe in God to cover over difficult challenges in my life. Finally, I am surrounded by unbelief. There are people who delight in challenging my faith. Their words find soft spots in my faith and weaken it.
Now, having said all this, I conclude with this. I do believe. I faced tragedy, pain and struggle in my own life and as a companion to others. I have analyzed and questioned and assessed the reasonable basis of faith. I can say that it is very reasonable to believe, even if I do not "feel" if sometimes. I have had experiences which make believing sensible. And most importantly, I have also investigated unbelief. If it is hard to believe in God, it is more difficult to be an atheist. Atheism has more holes in it then theism. So I can with integrity say the creed. I believe in Father God. I believe in Jesus. I believe in the Holy Spirit and the church. And I look forward to all things consumating in the Kingdom of God someday.... It makes me smile to write this! more next week
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Disney, Universal and The Kingdom of God
More vacation thoughts!
We were at Universal Studios three days, followed by a one day park-hopper experience at Disney. The Disney day really impressed me. We stayed at the All-Star resort Friday night which is their low end hotel. As we walked through the process of getting a room, riding transportation and wandering around the campus I was struck by how well Disney operates. Room keys are personalized souvenirs. Admission tickets are colorful keep-sakes. Extensive information is presented in a pleasant format. The TV has numerous stations dedicated to commercials about parks and activities to keep you interested. Every employee we encountered was hospitable, friendly and upbeat. I was impressed. Apparently so are the Europeans because we heard many languages and most of the English was with a British accent!
In Luke 16:8 Jesus concludes a parable about a crafty employee with these words: (NAB) "The owner gave his devious employee credit for being enterprising! Why? Because the worldly take more initiative than the other-worldly when it comes to dealing with their own kind." If Jesus went to Disney He would be able to point out many things for His people. I do not think most church members are commited to evangelize or serve the way Disney is committed to its mission. We are not as focused on the other person as we need to be. Many times the life of faith is portrayed as a downer and a negative. Eternal life is better than any roller coaster, so why are we not as excited about our relationship with our Heavenly Father as kids are about Mickey and Minnie?
No one goes to Disney to give them money. We give them money because of what they do for us (and our kids!). Learn from that. Look around at the well run entities you encounter in your life. Give them credit for what they do well. Learn from them and put it to work in your own life. What is more important than knowing, loving and serving God? Do it with the same excellence as Disney does vacations!
We were at Universal Studios three days, followed by a one day park-hopper experience at Disney. The Disney day really impressed me. We stayed at the All-Star resort Friday night which is their low end hotel. As we walked through the process of getting a room, riding transportation and wandering around the campus I was struck by how well Disney operates. Room keys are personalized souvenirs. Admission tickets are colorful keep-sakes. Extensive information is presented in a pleasant format. The TV has numerous stations dedicated to commercials about parks and activities to keep you interested. Every employee we encountered was hospitable, friendly and upbeat. I was impressed. Apparently so are the Europeans because we heard many languages and most of the English was with a British accent!
In Luke 16:8 Jesus concludes a parable about a crafty employee with these words: (NAB) "The owner gave his devious employee credit for being enterprising! Why? Because the worldly take more initiative than the other-worldly when it comes to dealing with their own kind." If Jesus went to Disney He would be able to point out many things for His people. I do not think most church members are commited to evangelize or serve the way Disney is committed to its mission. We are not as focused on the other person as we need to be. Many times the life of faith is portrayed as a downer and a negative. Eternal life is better than any roller coaster, so why are we not as excited about our relationship with our Heavenly Father as kids are about Mickey and Minnie?
No one goes to Disney to give them money. We give them money because of what they do for us (and our kids!). Learn from that. Look around at the well run entities you encounter in your life. Give them credit for what they do well. Learn from them and put it to work in your own life. What is more important than knowing, loving and serving God? Do it with the same excellence as Disney does vacations!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Funerals
Today I have a funeral. She was dear to me. My best friend from high school is burying his mom tomorrow. I cannot be there. I was asked last night to visit a man dying of cancer this Thursday. I am a priest so I have a role to play in such challenging circumstances. At some level our faith is "you are going to a better place." The implication sometimes is "if you have real faith death is no big deal." Yet I find I often cry at funerals (which makes it tricky when you are preaching) and I am often sad.
Jesus wept before the tomb of Lazarus. There are different theories as to why. My guess is it just made Him sad. There is something sad about loss and pain. Yesterday I shared some of the sadness of being with friends whom I have not seen in many years. There is loss there. These are men with whom I shared a deep bond. We had a connection at a core level. Somehow a decade passed and we have done little more than e-mail or phone on occassion. It made me aware of what I had lost.
I believe this desire for life and friendship and companionship are placed in us by God. The big hole in each of us will be totally filled some day. Every tear will be wiped away. We will gather to worship together. Better days are coming. In the mean time we need to be brave and faithful
Jesus wept before the tomb of Lazarus. There are different theories as to why. My guess is it just made Him sad. There is something sad about loss and pain. Yesterday I shared some of the sadness of being with friends whom I have not seen in many years. There is loss there. These are men with whom I shared a deep bond. We had a connection at a core level. Somehow a decade passed and we have done little more than e-mail or phone on occassion. It made me aware of what I had lost.
I believe this desire for life and friendship and companionship are placed in us by God. The big hole in each of us will be totally filled some day. Every tear will be wiped away. We will gather to worship together. Better days are coming. In the mean time we need to be brave and faithful
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Reflecting on Vacation
Vacation week was fun. We Marxes spent every day together as a family. Our normal schedule is not like that. Connecting as a family was a blessing. After four days of theme parks we spent two days visiting my old frineds. This past weekend I reconnected with five friends, four of whom I spent some time with in seminary. As we sat around laughing and remembering our own children wandered into the room. Eventually, they began to request their favorite stories. Obviously all of us had told stories at home!
I reflected on a couple of things. One was the importance of connections. Many of us, especially men, do not have life long friends. We find ourselves connected to people who have known us for the last few years. My buddies in Florida have been close friends in regular contact for over thirty years. That is a wonderful blessing. I think part of our identity is tied up in relationships with shared memory. The Lord Jesus made a point of telling the apostles to remember Him (in the holy meal we celebrate each Sunday). To re-member is to bring parts back together again. I think this weekend some of my broken parts were re-attached. It was happy and sad to be with the guys and their wives. Happy because I love them. Sad because there is so little chance to be together. I think this weekend was a foretaste of the kingdom. People who love God and love one another. Eating, talking, listening, laughing. God is good!
I reflected on a couple of things. One was the importance of connections. Many of us, especially men, do not have life long friends. We find ourselves connected to people who have known us for the last few years. My buddies in Florida have been close friends in regular contact for over thirty years. That is a wonderful blessing. I think part of our identity is tied up in relationships with shared memory. The Lord Jesus made a point of telling the apostles to remember Him (in the holy meal we celebrate each Sunday). To re-member is to bring parts back together again. I think this weekend some of my broken parts were re-attached. It was happy and sad to be with the guys and their wives. Happy because I love them. Sad because there is so little chance to be together. I think this weekend was a foretaste of the kingdom. People who love God and love one another. Eating, talking, listening, laughing. God is good!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
The Pause that Refreshes
I will post again on October 26th. It has been an amazing experience to share my reflections. Over 500 people have visited in less than three weeks. I pray that it has been a source of inspiration and enlightenment. I am open to suggestions on topics or questions, so e-mail me at Jeff@standrewscollierville.org if you have any.
Taking Sabbath is a command of God. We are required, if we love Him, to actually rest and recreate sometimes. It is easy to be so busy that we lose track of family and friends. I am going to spend time with both. My family is pretty amazing. So are my friends. I am sorry that I am not more aware and thankful. I wonder if I will ever learn to really contemplate and deeply realize how many blessings there are that I just take for granted. "Give us eyes to see, O Lord!" "Give us a heart of thanks!"
My "to do" list sometimes distracts me from seeing all the beauty and blessings. I think the culture just makes it tougher. But I plan to do some pondering and some thinking and some thanking the next week. I hope to rest up and be restored. I hope it is a good time for my family as well. I pray you find some Sabbath rest as well. The Lord bless and keep you!
Taking Sabbath is a command of God. We are required, if we love Him, to actually rest and recreate sometimes. It is easy to be so busy that we lose track of family and friends. I am going to spend time with both. My family is pretty amazing. So are my friends. I am sorry that I am not more aware and thankful. I wonder if I will ever learn to really contemplate and deeply realize how many blessings there are that I just take for granted. "Give us eyes to see, O Lord!" "Give us a heart of thanks!"
My "to do" list sometimes distracts me from seeing all the beauty and blessings. I think the culture just makes it tougher. But I plan to do some pondering and some thinking and some thanking the next week. I hope to rest up and be restored. I hope it is a good time for my family as well. I pray you find some Sabbath rest as well. The Lord bless and keep you!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Jonah III: On Parable
Yesterday I said Jonah may in fact be a parable. That worries some people. The word parable seems to imply "not true." I want to say a few things about that.
1. The story of Jonah may be straight history. Perhaps we are getting all facts. Even if we are, the story is short (read it in fifteen minutes!) and covers very little of all the actual events. So if it is facts, it is darn few facts about events stretching over many days.
2. The story may be based on historical events, but the writer has chosen to shape the story to make a point (which I wrote about yesterday). The author is emphasizing certain aspects for a reason. That is true of any story. We leave out details because we have to. We tell teh story to communicate our points.
3. The story may be a parable based on a historical event or person. Today many movies begin with the words "inspired by an actual event." When we see that we know that there is a mix of fiction and history. A parable has a point to make. Facts and Truth co-exist in a parable. When Jesus tells the parable of the man sowing seeds I believe He pointed to an actual farmer. I think as the farmer was throwing seeds Jesus used him as an example, told his parable, and led folks to understand how God works in the world. But seriously, folks, how many of us would be upset to know that Jesus just told the story with no reference to anyone? Who wants to engage in arguments about that?
I want to hear God, encounter God, love and serve my Father in heaven. The Bible is inspired and contains information about our relationship. Jesus points to Jonah and makes a connection to His impending resurrection. That is amazing!
I think the story of Jonah, be it parable, history or something inbetween, has a huge impact on how I understand God's saving will and my own vocation. It is a type (Example) of the resurrection. It is an exhortation to go into the world to the "least, last, lost"! So who has God sent you (and me) to preach repentance to today?
1. The story of Jonah may be straight history. Perhaps we are getting all facts. Even if we are, the story is short (read it in fifteen minutes!) and covers very little of all the actual events. So if it is facts, it is darn few facts about events stretching over many days.
2. The story may be based on historical events, but the writer has chosen to shape the story to make a point (which I wrote about yesterday). The author is emphasizing certain aspects for a reason. That is true of any story. We leave out details because we have to. We tell teh story to communicate our points.
3. The story may be a parable based on a historical event or person. Today many movies begin with the words "inspired by an actual event." When we see that we know that there is a mix of fiction and history. A parable has a point to make. Facts and Truth co-exist in a parable. When Jesus tells the parable of the man sowing seeds I believe He pointed to an actual farmer. I think as the farmer was throwing seeds Jesus used him as an example, told his parable, and led folks to understand how God works in the world. But seriously, folks, how many of us would be upset to know that Jesus just told the story with no reference to anyone? Who wants to engage in arguments about that?
I want to hear God, encounter God, love and serve my Father in heaven. The Bible is inspired and contains information about our relationship. Jesus points to Jonah and makes a connection to His impending resurrection. That is amazing!
I think the story of Jonah, be it parable, history or something inbetween, has a huge impact on how I understand God's saving will and my own vocation. It is a type (Example) of the resurrection. It is an exhortation to go into the world to the "least, last, lost"! So who has God sent you (and me) to preach repentance to today?
Friday, October 15, 2010
Jonah II
As I think back on discussions I have had about Jonah, I think almost every single one has focused on the whale and "did it happen?" Some folks do not believe the story, other folks believe it thoroughly. A few can get almost violent about it.
Reading the Bible is perilous for us because we live in an unbelieving age. Our social environment is literally toxic to faith. I have heard that an African bishop was glad to leave the USA because he said it was too hard to live here. Material benefits abound, but he felt that faith gets choked here. Since I went to seminary doubts and struggles have been a huge feature of my faith journey. I prayed for healing about this a few years ago and was annointed by a man in the healing ministry. Since then I do have more peace. Part of the peace has been found in asking the question, "What is the biblical author communicating?" As I said yesterday, Jonah is not about the whale. It is, I think, a parable about Israel's call. God made Abraham the focal point of God's "Operation Rescue: Saving the World" (Gen 12:1-3 begins this). The Jews, Abraham's descendents, are Chosen People. Throughout the OT we read that all the nations will find God through them. In the NT Jesus also says the same thing. Matthew 5:13-20 (You are the Salt & Light of the world). It was years before it dawned on me that Jesus is talking to Jews here! The Jewish vocation (John 4:22 ...salvation is from the Jews) is to bring people to God, but sometimes the conflicts with Gentiles led in other directions. Being "Chosen" made some feel separate from the world. Think how many Christians talk today (I am saved, you are going to hell) and you get the idea. In Jonah, we have a proto-typical prophet (called by God) who does wrong. The 'evil' Assyrians are God's concern (Shock) The prophet wants to flee his vocation (an image of Israel failing in her vocation). The wonderful result (king and all the people repent) is the largest full scale conversion in the bible. Meanwhile, grumpy Jonah wishes he were dead because he is mad. A Jew reading this (probably during their exile in foreign lands) would be confronted with a challenge. Am I doing my vocation? Am I seeing God's love for these people? Am I proclaiming God's kingdom?
I think that today the question about the whale is Satan's way of keeping us from being addressed by the story. The real question is not "did it happen?" The real question for me and you is "will I make it happen?" Will I proclaim the kingdom? Will I see God's heartfelt desire to be in relationship with all of His creation? Will I be light to the world? The word is alive. It is a calling. Arguing historical details is really a distraction. Is Jonah a true story? You bet it is, I live it every day! How about you?
Reading the Bible is perilous for us because we live in an unbelieving age. Our social environment is literally toxic to faith. I have heard that an African bishop was glad to leave the USA because he said it was too hard to live here. Material benefits abound, but he felt that faith gets choked here. Since I went to seminary doubts and struggles have been a huge feature of my faith journey. I prayed for healing about this a few years ago and was annointed by a man in the healing ministry. Since then I do have more peace. Part of the peace has been found in asking the question, "What is the biblical author communicating?" As I said yesterday, Jonah is not about the whale. It is, I think, a parable about Israel's call. God made Abraham the focal point of God's "Operation Rescue: Saving the World" (Gen 12:1-3 begins this). The Jews, Abraham's descendents, are Chosen People. Throughout the OT we read that all the nations will find God through them. In the NT Jesus also says the same thing. Matthew 5:13-20 (You are the Salt & Light of the world). It was years before it dawned on me that Jesus is talking to Jews here! The Jewish vocation (John 4:22 ...salvation is from the Jews) is to bring people to God, but sometimes the conflicts with Gentiles led in other directions. Being "Chosen" made some feel separate from the world. Think how many Christians talk today (I am saved, you are going to hell) and you get the idea. In Jonah, we have a proto-typical prophet (called by God) who does wrong. The 'evil' Assyrians are God's concern (Shock) The prophet wants to flee his vocation (an image of Israel failing in her vocation). The wonderful result (king and all the people repent) is the largest full scale conversion in the bible. Meanwhile, grumpy Jonah wishes he were dead because he is mad. A Jew reading this (probably during their exile in foreign lands) would be confronted with a challenge. Am I doing my vocation? Am I seeing God's love for these people? Am I proclaiming God's kingdom?
I think that today the question about the whale is Satan's way of keeping us from being addressed by the story. The real question is not "did it happen?" The real question for me and you is "will I make it happen?" Will I proclaim the kingdom? Will I see God's heartfelt desire to be in relationship with all of His creation? Will I be light to the world? The word is alive. It is a calling. Arguing historical details is really a distraction. Is Jonah a true story? You bet it is, I live it every day! How about you?
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