Posts Tagged ‘jesus’

What is spirituality and how do you practice it?

{ April 25, 2009 @ 3:01 am } · { Wednesday Night Gatherings }
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I am so glad you asked!  We spent Wednesday night exploring those two questions.  We began by watching a section of the Rob Bell video Everything is Spiritual.  If you get a chance watch the whole talk but for time constraints we watched a small clip.  In it Rob speaks of how human beings are the only thing in creation that is 100% physical and 100% spiritual and that the Jewish people had no concept of the modern idea of a spiritual life because to label one thing in life as spiritual is to label another thing in life not-spiritual.  For the Hebrew people just being human makes you spiritual.  Rob points out that the question is not if you are a spiritual person but if your eyes are open to it. 

Colossians 3:17  “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

“I’m not religious, but I’m a very spiritual person. This, of course, is a somewhat misleading statement, for religion is simply human beings’ attempts to sort out the ways in which we seek after God.” The Sacred Way Pg 26

There are several definitions of spirituality (all of these come from the book The Sacred Way)

“Christian spirituality concerns the quest for a fulfilled and authentic Christian existence, involving the bringing together of the fundamental ideas of Christianity and the whole experience of living on the basis of and within the scope of the Christian faith.” Alister Mcgrath

“The spiritual life is simply increasing vitality and sway of God’s Spirit in us.” Marjorie Thompson

“The practice of the presence of God.”  Brother Lawrence

“The goal of Christian spirituality is to be enlivened by God’s Spirit.” Tony Jones

The meaning behind the Hebrew (ruach), Greek (pneuma), & Latin (Spiritus) include “spirit/breath/wind”  Jesus says in John 3, ““The wind (pneuma) blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.”

 

The point is that God at the beginning breathed the Divine spirit in all of us.  It is not for us to manipulate or decide where it goes but the Divine spark in all of us is a gift.  All people have a longing for the Divine because God created us with his Spirit.  Those who in their longing give their life to Jesus receive the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is only possible to dwell in our hearts when we acknowledge Jesus as Lord but God is never far from those who have yet decided to acknowledge Jesus as Lord. 

 Why practice the presence of God?  As a group we looked up a number of scriptures to try to answer this question.

 

Deuteronomy 6:4-6

    1 Chronicles 22:18-19

Psalm 95:6

Matthew 6:5-15

Matthew 14:23

Mark 1:35

Luke 5:15-16

John 3:30

Acts 2:42-47

Romans 12:2

Hebrews 10:19-25

1 Peter 4:8-11

Take some time and explore each of these to see some reasons for why we desire to practice the presence of God.

 

“You can listen to innumerable sermons and read countless books, but the true transformation happens only when you practice the disciplines that lie at the heart of faith.  As the disciplines are practiced, your life becomes more attuned to God’s life, and you become more “at one” with the rhythms of creation.” The Sacred Way Pg 31 

 

There is just something unique and powerful when we allow God to speak directly to us.

 

“In the spiritual life, the word “discipline” means “the effort to create some space in which God can act.”  Discipline means to prevent everything in your life from being filled up.  Discipline means that somewhere you’re not occupied, and certainly not preoccupied.  In the spiritual life, discipline means to create that space in which something can happen that you hadn’t planned or counted on.”  Henri Nouwen

 Matthew 7:7-11

 

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened.   “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

 

As we begin next week practicing these disciplines there are these three questions to ponder.

 What are you seeking? 

 What things do you hope to receive? 

 What doors do you hope are opened? 

 

As we seek, ask, & knock along our journey on this sacred way my prayer is we will find our Creator, we will receive the power of His presence, and the hope of doors opened by the love of the Father.

Peace,

Nate

“The Quest for God”

{ April 17, 2009 @ 4:03 am } · { Wednesday Night Gatherings }
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Last night we started our look at The Sacred Way by Tony Jones.  The first chapter is titled “The Quest for God.”  Tony begins the chapter by telling a story about sitting in a coffee shop and a thunderstorm began.  He was looking around the parking lot and noticed a nice BMW parked far away from all the other cars to keep it in mint condition.  He then looked around and saw a shopping cart being pushed by the wind towards the BMW.  He sat and watched as it inched closer and closer to making its mark on that brand new BMW.  Tony says our God is a lot like that shopping cart.  “No matter how far away we park, and no matter how much we try to avoid bumping into the Divine Creator of the Universe, God finds us and leaves a mark.” 

This is the whole reason we embark on this quest for God.  God crafted us in His image so we all have an awareness of this mark even though we might try to ignore it.  When we wake up to this mark we look for ways to connect to our Creator.  As we begin this quest we may ask what God am I on a quest for?  There are soooooooo many religions which one leads me to God.  Dan Kimball’s book “They like Jesus but Not the Church,” has a great chapter titled “Do Christians arrogantly think all other religions are wrong?”  In it Dan explains that emerging generations are not becoming less spiritual but actually are embracing all spirituality.  In the book he has a conversation with a man named Duggan.  Duggan grew up in loving home outside of a religious blanket.  He said when he was teenager he began having questions about God.  He talked to his Dad and his Dad gave Duggan a King James Bible, a Koran, some Buddhist and Confucian writings and Duggan read and formed his faith from all these traditions.  So when Duggan talks to Christians about religion he can’t understand why they are so hostile towards him.  Like I mentioned before he didn’t grow up with Jesus being the only way, the only truth, the only path to God.  Duggan mentions that it is not what Christians believe that bothers him but rather the way they go about telling others and never listening to others who don’t believe what they do.  He said most of his encounters with Christians come from them quoting scripture to him but never being able to explain why they believe what they do.  Dan thankfully didn’t treat Duggan like another notch on his salvation belt and they formed a friendship.  Eventually after listening to Duggan stories Dan got to share with him.

Tony asks this question in his book, Why the Christian quest?  Madonna once said “All paths lead to God.”  I will tell you when I am exploring theology I don’t look to Madonna for answers but she has a point.  There are similarties in every religion such as the Golden Rule.  large_golden_rule_posterAbove you can see a poster that you can purchase here http://www.scarboromissions.ca/Golden_rule/poster_order.php  On the poster you will find many religions who all have a golden rule in their sacred teachings.  Dan acknowledges this in his book and in his conversation with Duggan.  Dan goes on to explain though there are similarities in many religions that when you really dive deep into them you will start to see that they don’t all lead to the same God. 

In fact they lead to totally different Gods.  Hinduism leads to many gods, Islam leads to One god but Jesus is only a prophet, Christianity leads to One triune God and the only way to that God is through Jesus.  Similarities, check but they don’t lead to the same place.  The reason why we embark on this quest to find God through Christianity is Jesus.  As Tony puts it, “For only in Christianity is there the belief that the one, true God came to earth as a human being, and that, to this day, we can know him in as personal a way as the disciples who shared lunch with him 2,000 years ago.  That is, Christians engage in these spiritual practices not out of duty or obligation but because there is a promise attached:  God will personally meet us in the midst of these disciplines.” 

Our quest for an intimate relationship with God begins with Jesus and I hope you will join us to find him.

Peace,

Nate 

 

Essential reading

{ March 28, 2009 @ 1:46 am } · { Uncategorized }
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Eugene Cho is fast becoming my favorite blogger.  He and his readers spent some time tossing back and forth what they thought was the 10 most essential books for Christians.  You can read his list here http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2009/03/27/my-10-absolutely-essential-books-for-christians/#more-4005

 

 I was looking down the list and can say that I haven’t read very many of those books.  I have read bits and pieces probably but not all the way through.  The one that I find the most essential on that list (keep in mind I am saying the most essential to those I have read on Eugene’s list) is Surprised By Hope by N.T. Wright 

 

suprised

 http://www.amazon.com/Surprised-Hope-Rethinking-Resurrection-Mission/dp/0061551821/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238178153&sr=8-1 

The sub-title is “Re-thinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church.”  Don’t let re-thinking fool you.  N.T. Wright isn’t necessarily re-thinking but rather re-explaining what heaven, resurrection, and the mission of the church meant  in the context of the early church.  He peels back all the layers of tradition that has piled on top to get to the core of what Jesus and his followers believed about heaven, resurrection, and the mission of the church.  It is a beautiful book that would make a great read leading up to celebrating Easter.   Speaking of that I think I am going to re-read it starting today.  Another book Eugene mentions on his list   Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne.

 

 

 

 Irresistible Revolutionis a great book.  The stories that Shane shares are extraordinary.  I mean the man called Mother Teresa on the phone!  It cannot be overstated for people who desire to put their faith into action I can’t think of another book that articulates what that looks like better than this book.

rev

http://www.amazon.com/Irresistible-Revolution-Living-Ordinary-Radical/dp/0310266300/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238179386&sr=1-1

 After reading his list and the list’s of people commenting on his list I started to think of what one book do I chalk up as essential to my journey with God.  What is the one book that I

 

continue to look at, study, ponder, and wrestle with.  The one book that I think every Christian should read.  I know many of you are waiting for me to say the Bible.  I know that many of us read way too much about the Bible instead of reading the Bible but that is not what I am going to say.  This book is the one I go to first after I read my Bible.  Most times that I read my Bible this book is close by so I can see if the author has any insight (and she usual does!) about what I have just read.  To me this is the most essential book I have on my shelf. 

 

 

 It is called Stations of the Banquet: Faith Foundations for Food Justice by Cathy C. Campbell. 

http://www.amazon.com/Stations-Banquet-Faith-Foundations-Justice/dp/0814629385/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238180255&sr=1-1stations

“Stations of the Banquet, a Scripture-based exploration of the Christian story of salvation as a food story, provides nourishment for those engaged in living out the food and justice challenges of the Gospel.  It highlights the power of our biblical and theological traditions to name the root issues of our day, shape our hope, and define horizons for action.  It is a resource for study and prayer.”  

I was in a class in seminary and this book was one of the required readings.  At first I had no desire to read this book.  It just sat on my shelf for weeks.  To be honest it wasn’t really until after the class I read it.  Before every class we would pray one of the prayers found at the end of each chapter of the book.  If you get the book just for that it is worth the price.  The prayers are some of the most beautiful and vibrant prayers I have ever read.  The rest of the book is just as vibrant and beautiful.  For some it might be a bit wordy and I guess that is why I haven’t bought 10 copies and passed them out to friends and family.  This book really needs to be read and digested in community.  If you do decide to check it out I urge you to ask a few people to read it with you.  This book is dense to say the least.  I won’t give you a long drawn out overview of the book because my words couldn’t do Stations justice but here are a few quotes.

“Time spent in prayer is time spent at the heart of the universe.” Pg 54

“In the simple act of feeding the hungry, we do not just do a good thing or follow a moral imperative to care for our neighbor; we are actually invited to encounter the living Christ, the mystery of the universe from before time to after the end of time.” Pg 70

“Generosity is the impulse at the root of a gift economy.  It is our contemporary spiritual challenge.  It is at the core of the path of abundent life for all.” Pg 158

What about you?  Do you have any essentials? 

Peace,

Nate

Where we are headed

{ March 21, 2009 @ 3:47 am } · { Wednesday Night Gatherings }
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58108_1_ftc_dp

Wednesday night we will be starting a new study.  I should say experience.  We will be exploring/discussing/experiencing The Sacred Way by Tony Jones.  

You can look at the schedule here http://tyac.wordpress.com/the-sacred-way/

Along with discussing the book on Wednesday nights we will experience and practice things in Tony’s book.  We will experience some more modern spiritual practices as well.  

Next week we will be heading to Otter Creek Church for their Vesper service.  

Details here http://tyac.wordpress.com/news/

Peace,

Nate

“avoiding the appearance of evil”

{ March 21, 2009 @ 3:26 am } · { Uncategorized }
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There is a great article on Scot McKnight’s blog Jesus Creed by Chrissy Wright.  

Read it here

http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2009/03/friday-is-for-friends-chrissy.html#more

We seem to paint our definition of sin with a narrow brush.  It seems that sin has been reduced to what we can see.  Sin shows up there but as Chrissy points out sin also shows up in things unseen.  As Chrissy says following Jesus “ It is not an easy path. It is not a selfish path. It is not a comfortable path. It is not an orderly, all laid out, avoid these five things, do these three things, neat path.”  Chrissy finishes with, “It is a daily, creative, intentional adventure of learning how to love, learning how to sacrifice, and learning what it is to see His Kingdom come and His will be done.” Amen to that!

Peace,

Nate

Last Night

{ January 30, 2009 @ 3:28 am } · { Wednesday Night Gatherings }
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  We officially canceled Wednesday night activities last night but since I live half a second away I decided to go ahead and have our group meet.  For those who risked their lives to attend it was good to see you.  For those who couldn’t come I wanted to give you a brief recap so we’re all up to speed when we look at Chapter 4 “Leather, Whips, & Fruit” next Wednesday.

Started by watching a clip from the movie “Sicko.”  Here is the trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlDAUKSh9CQ

I know many people disagree with Michael Moore’s message but the clip we watched was to remind us of how we allow human beings to be treated.  In the clip a woman who can’t afford to pay for her hospital stay is put in a cab and dropped off at the Rescue Mission on Skid Row in Los Angeles, CA.  They have the video of the woman being dropped off and she has no shoes on and is still wearing the hospital gown.  Also the name of the hospital was scratched off the identity bracelets.  Needless to say the hospital didn’t want people to know which hospital kicked her out.  The next day another woman was dumped by the hospital.  The question is asked “Who are We?”  Is this what we want to be known for a society who kicks poor people out of hospitals and dumps them on street corners like garbage.  After that it goes into how some who were volunteers at ground zero after 9/11 have developed serious medical issues.  Many were not employed by the state/government so they don’t qualify for medical coverage.  The people who felt compassion and risked their lives to try and save others are denied basic health coverage.   Here we are the richest country in the world and we can’t take care of the poor or our wounded heroes.  Who do we take care of?

Chapter three of “Sex God” is titled “Angels and Animals.”  In it Rob talks about how living like either an angel or animal is ”destructive, because God made us human.”  According to the book living like an animal is “to give in and let our cravings/desires rule us…”  In 1 Corinthians 6 there is a statement ”Food for the stomach and the stomach for food.”  This idea influenced human action “They understood a person to be a collection of physical needs – you’re hungry and there’s food to satisfy your hunger, you’re tired and there’s sleep…” sex was just another physical need.  Paul talks about how ”the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit,” this image challenged the idea that being human is just a collection of urges and needs.  Earlier in the chapter we read “Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial…” which leads us to living like an angel.

Living like an angel is “the denial of the physical and the failure to acknowledge that our sexuality is central to what makes us human.”  In 1 Timothy 4 we read about a group who forbid people to marry and eat certain types of food.  We know from Genesis that what God creates is good so why forbid people to marry or eat certain types of food.  As Rob points out this group saw sex as dangerous and marriage gives people free licence to have sex.  So to avoid that evil you forbid people to marry.  Some food was offered up as a sacrifice to other gods in worship rituals.  “The leaders of this religion decided that if something had been offered to a god they didn’t believe in, they wouldn’t eat it.”  In both these cases Paul says that these things should not be banned “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.”  The abuse of sex and food are wrong but sex and food in of itself is not evil because God created them good. 

The question is how do we live?  Are we the type of people who live by just whatever feels good, we live by impulse and we allow our desires/cravings to rule us or do we live by avoiding conflict and tension, we repress our feelings/cravings/desires.  Both ways deny what it is to be human and in that case deny what God made us to be.  “When we deny the spiritual dimension to our existence, we end up living like animals.  And when we deny the physical, sexual dimension to our existence, we end up living like angels.  And both ways are destructive, because God made us human.”  

How can we move away from living like an animal or an angel and live more like who God created us to be and become?

There are a few Greek words to point out that can help us. 

“aànwqen:”  Anothen- “from above, from a higher place; anew, over again.”

“Pneuma:”  Nooma- “a life giving spirit; movement of air (a gentle blast) of the wind, hence the wind itself, breath of nostrils or mouth.”

 

Both of these are found in a story in the Gospel of John

 

John 3: 3-8

“In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again (anothen).” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water (physical birth) and the Spirit (pneuma). Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit (pneuma) gives birth to spirit (pneuma). You should not be surprised at my saying, You must be born again. (anothen) The wind (pneuma) blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born (anothen) of the Spirit.” (pneuma)

Here we see Jesus talking to Nicodemus.  In it Jesus tells Nicodemus “no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”  The word is anothen and it has two meanings.  One is from above and the other is anew/again.  Jesus is teaching that there are two births.  One is the physical one (which Jesus is alluding to when he says “born of water” we normally attach that to mean baptism but Jesus meant the physical birth) and the other is being born of the Spirit.  That word Spirit is pneuma in Greek.  It has several meanings wind/breath/spirit.  Jesus is teaching Nicodemus that to be in the Kingdom we must be born from above/again/ by the wind/breath/spirit of God. 

The book talks about the Hebrew phase tohu va vohu.  This phrase means wild and waste/void/chaos. 

Genesis 2

“The earth was formless and void (Tohu Va Vohu), and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit (Ruach- Wind/Breath/Spirit) of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”

“Each thing God creates and sets in motion is a step, a progression away from the chaos and disorder toward order and harmony…When we act like angles or animals, we’re acting like beings who were created before us.  We’re going backward in creation.  We’re going the wrong way.”

To be where God wants us to be we have to know what God create us to be.  God created us in his image, to be people who reflect his image in the world.  To live with a higher calling than fulfilling our own desires but also not avoid the tension that our desire causes.  What God created us to be/to become is good.  Our abuses of it are what we call sin.  Those who choose to be born anothen are choosing to let God’s Spirit guide them.  God in the beginning breathed his Spirit in us to give us life.  Now until our last breathe we have the choice to follow the Spirit that is in us or choose our own path.  Being human, being who God create us to be is to be a person who protects the image of God in everyone by loving others as Jesus did/does and doing the hard work of learning from/praying to/wrestling with/following God.  We must go beyond knowing what to do (we tell people and ourselves that we should love people as we love  ourselves, we should give it to God, love enemies, ask for forgiveness and learn to forgive.) We must go beyond that and through the hard work of following God connect  what, to how, to actually doing something!  As Tyler said last night “Connecting what we feel, to what we think, to what we say, to what we do.”

Hope to see you next week when we discuss Chapter 4 “Leather, Whips, And Fruit”

Peace,

Nate

“Feelings are notoriously bad guides to what is true…”

{ January 30, 2009 @ 1:11 am } · { Uncategorized }
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  Dr. Ben Witherington III is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland.  He has a great blog and just recently put one up called “The Nature of True Love.”  I highly recommend you read it and visit his blog often.  To read the blog go to http://benwitherington.blogspot.com

Sex God, Super Bowl, & 30 Hour Famine

{ January 28, 2009 @ 1:47 am } · { Events, Wednesday Night Gatherings }
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sex-god

 Wednesday night we will be discussing Chapter 3 of the book “Sex God” by Rob Bell.  This chapter speaks on how we as individuals should move towards living not as animals or angels but in the space “tension” between the two.

 ”Just as the physical world is linked with deeper spiritual realities, sex and God are intimately connected.  But how?  With unusual beauty and insight, Bell addresses this intriguing question to help you better understand that we can’t talk about ourselves as sexual beings without asking who made us that way.  An enlightening exploration of sexuality and spirituality.”

 

 

 

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   This Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday!  It is a bittersweet day for me.  Though I love the Super Bowl, I hate that it is the last meaningful game until September.  I don’t really know who to root for this year.  I really can’t stand the Steelers and freaking Cardinals has the man (Kurt Warner) who was on the team who beat the Titans in the Super Bowl.  Who am I kidding…GO CARDS!  What an awesome story that would be…and Larry Fitzgerald is a beast!  We are having a party over at Tim & Lisa’s so if you got nowhere to watch the game join us at Tim & Lisa’s.

 

 

 

 

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The T.Y.A.C. is partnering with TCPC youth group to do the 30 Hour Famine Feb 27 & 28.  A schedule and more details to come.  Mark your calender!  If you want more info on 30 Hour Famine check out these sites

www.30hourfamine.org

www.worldvision.org

Peace,

Nate

The Sheep and The Goats

{ December 23, 2008 @ 5:04 am } · { Wednesday Night Gatherings }
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I was visiting one of my favorites sites (www.theooze.com) and found this article.  I love when humor makes a serious point.  

 

 

THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS: Revised Version

by Heather Wax

“Then the sheep will say to Him, “But Lord, when were you naked, and we clothed you, or hungry, and we fed you, or sick or in prison, and we visited you?”
Jesus will reply to them, “For as much as you have done this to the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto Me.”

Then the sheep did a very interesting thing, and replied, “Lord, I remember this story. In the original version, I’m supposed to be all naive as if I never got to read this story, and not know that when I do things for the least of my brethren, I’m doing it to you. So, seriously Lord, for my entire life I’ve sorta been on the lookout for, you know, the “least of these” to um, feed, clothe, and visit and stuff, because I sorta got tipped off when your disciples wrote this stuff down in the Bible and all. But, I gotta admit, I’m still sorta confused.”
Jesus nodded. “Go on.”

“Well, the reality is, no matter how far I looked, I never really found the least of these to clothe, feed, and visit. I mean, I tried to, I really did, but it just didn’t work out.”

Jesus nodded again. “But you did find them.”

The sheep replied, “No, I seriously didn’t Lord. I mean, I thought I was helping one of the least when I picked up that homeless guy, but, he ended up being a pretty cool guy and turned into one of my best friends. He actually was a prophet – remember how he helped me get right with You about that one issue in my life? He’s not one of the least – He’s….Well, he’s just Ed. My friend. My best friend Ed.”

Jesus just went, “Hmmm.”

“And Lord,” the sheep continued,” I gave some clothes to that family, but they weren’t the least either… they were soo cool to be around. I mean, they definitely took some getting used to…but I think that was more me than them. I learned a lot about my messed up ways of viewing people by dealing with the fact that I didn’t want to hang out with them at first. And now once again, I have to say – they sure ain’t the least. They’re my friends…”

Jesus smiled. “And the orphan you took in?”

The sheep replied, “Lord, please! She’s my daughter! We don’t call her an orphan! I mean, you gave her to me – you of all people..I mean…oh whatever… You should know that she’s not “the least!” In fact, I think she’s probably the most important person in my view in the whole world! She’s my baby!

And Jesus smiled again. “Never mind. Forget the “least” stuff. How bout you just sit by my side with all your friends and family here and help me out with these goats here?”

The sheep said ok… still a bit confused. But, ready to change subject to the goats.

So Jesus told the goats – “You didn’t feed, cloth, or visit the least, and therefore you didn’t do it to me.”

The goats objected, of course. After all, they had read the story too, and not only did they know the fate which awaited goats, and earnestly didn’t want it to be them…but they also knew the drill, and had acted somewhat proactively to deal with that. “Lord, we read this story and we went looking for you – We fed a bunch of hungry people, clothed some naked people, and visited some sick and imprisoned people. We got our bases covered. See? “International Ministry to the Least” – that was our 501c3. We had it covered. We had YOU covered, Lord.. We even had ourselves covered…prayer covering, board or elders covering, etc etc. There seriously is a mistake here. Are you sure you don’t want to check again? (Meanwhile, the goats called their prayer network up to start praying about their situation. They were promised it was covered.)

Jesus asked one of the sheep to step forward. “Goat, do you recognize this sheep? She was in your small group.”

The goat nodded. “Yeah, I remember her Lord, but, she wasn’t the least. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I never thought she amounted to very much – but, you know, she wasn’t hungry, sick, in prison, or naked or anything. She was just sorta annoying. “

Jesus asked, “Did you treat her like a friend?”

The goat answered, “Lord, you gave me friends. And besides, I was pretty busy with the ministry to the least. And this sheep here..sheesh… I didn’t even click with this person. You don’t want me to be friends with every person in my church, did you?”

Jesus answered, “In as much as you were not a brother to your sister, you were not a friend to me either. However, since this is the revised story, and I’m just a caricature of the real Jesus, I’m not going to sentence you to fire or anything. But I am going to sentence you to think long and hard about the heart of both sheep and goats – when you lay in bed at night, when you’re in the shower,and driving to work…and ask you to read the real story over again. That way, when you meet the real Jesus, you’ll hopefully be a little more ready. Watch and pray.”

 

Many of us (Christians) understand the story found in Matthew 25.  We get that what we do to the “least” of these we do to him but Jesus never intended for us to view people as less-than.  That no one is less than us but rather they might be on the margins/underbelly of society.  People might have the least but they are not inferior.  To believe that is to the miss the point of the parable.  Something else we miss is that Jesus is speaking about how we treat everyone.  Are we so wrapped up in ourselves that we miss the people God has put in our path.  People who need us to listen/pray/help/be-friend/love/cherish/lift up/and most importantly…they need to see Jesus in their circumstances.  Here is a video we watched Wednesday night (http://www.theworkofthepeople.com/index.php?ct=store.details&pid=V00498)

I believe this idea can help us connect word and deed at its deepest level.  Jesus had friends.  He said “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)  So many friendships are based on things like beliefs/economics/likes/dislikes but what if we stopped building these kind of relationships and built them on this text.  What if we built relationships on this principle that there is no greater love than to lay down ones life…that would be a mark of a real/true friend.  What if we like Jesus saw all people as worthy of that kind of friendship.  As we head into the celebration of Christmas let us be mindful of how we treat others and what we are willing to lay down our life for.  Let us each day keep our eyes open to the people in our path and show each of them the love of God through the life/death/resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas

Nate

“Give Life”

{ December 16, 2008 @ 12:30 am } · { Sunday Morning Gatherings }
{ Tags: , , , , , } · { Comments off }

   Sunday Morning we watched a video by The Work Of The People (www.theworkofthepeople.com) called “Give Life.”  You can watch it here (http://www.theworkofthepeople.com/index.php?ct=store.details&pid=V00133)  I hear people say things like “the reason for the season” and put “Christ back into Christmas.”  I always wonder to myself what point in their lives was Christ not in Christmas or I guess when was Christ ever about himself?  I understand that we certainly have used this time trying to figure out how we are going to buy/do Christmas this year when we should be celebrating the Incarnation .  I agree that this time should be spent reflecting on the birth of Jesus and the impact it had and still does today.  The other day I went to a gathering of people exploring the subversiveness of Christmas.  Many of them expressed this idea that in the lectionary(http://www.disciples.org/Resources/Lectionary/WhatIsTheLectionary/tabid/232/Default.aspx) that Advent spends a lot more time speaking of Christ’s return than it does his birth.  (Here is little more about why that is important http://www.catholic.org/clife/advent/advent.php?id=6)  This Christmas season has certainly been different for me.  I have spent a lot more time thinking of what Christ would have me do to celebrate his coming into the world.  Would he want me to teach about putting Christ back into Christmas or teach others how to see Christ in the midst of all the crap we pile on ourselves during this time.  This year I’ve had a moment of clarity (and that does not mean that I have all this figured out it just means I can understand on a level I previously had not.)  Christ wants the world to see him not in gift giving but in giving people a chance at living.  Giving all people a chance to experience God’s love/redemption/forgiveness should be the focus.  Christ coming into the world meant all people could come to know God …what a thing celebrate.  I urge you to take a look at what you give your time/talent/resources too.  Are those things empowering people to see God in the midst of their circumstances?  Are we giving life or just more stuff?  What would it look like if we celebrated the Incarnation instead of Christmas?  Living Waters International is doing great work around the world to give life.  They are empowering people to see God in their circumstances.  Providing clean water  for a community does more than just help cure curable diseases it allows the communities to be sustainable (Go here http://www.water.cc/resources/ and see Development Steps PDF)   Best of all they are meeting spiritual needs by meeting physical needs.  We as Christians have for too long been trying to just meet spiritual needs only.  Luckily we are starting to see that they are connected.  It is naive of us (speaking of Christians) to think we are the only ones doing good in the world.  You don’t have to be Christian to care for the poor but if you are Christian you are commanded to love others as Christ loves us (in other words if you claim to be a Christian you should be in relationship/partnership with some group/organization that is caring for the poor.)  I do however believe (since I am Christian) that not all problems can be solved through meeting only physical needs and that is where I believe organizations like Living Waters International is doing.  To sum it all up how we treat the least of these is how we treat Jesus (Matthew 25.)  I invite you to slow down your frantic pace and see God in the midst of your circumstances.  Open your heart to the cries of those on the margins (and that does not mean just financially poor that means people who feel lost/alone/hurt/ignored.)  Finally, Celebrate the greatest gift that was given to all the world… Jesus Christ.  

Things to look at:

www.water.cc

http://www.onedollarwater.com/

http://livingwater.theh2oproject.org/

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