Romans 12: Words to live by:

· Love must be sincere: Remember the Red Skeleton show? Every show would end with the words, “Good Night and God Bless”. Kind words and a great way to end a show, but, what if that was the same way your spouse told you they loved you? Sincere love gets into the nitty gritty. Sincere love knows all about you and loves you anyway. Sincere love is there for the long haul in the ups and in the downs in life. Sincere love is the way God loves us.
· Hate what is evil: The trouble with this is that all too often we want to define what is evil. Sin is defined as that which separates you from God. Evil is what draws you into that separation. What is evil for you might not always be evil for someone else, in fact sometimes what is evil can be projecting what is evil for you onto someone else.
· Cling to what is good: There are times when we are so obsessed by what is evil that we forget to embrace that which is good. Embracing good is often the best antidote to evil. The difference between good and God is “o” which is sometimes written as a zero.
· Be devoted to one another in brotherly love: Erotic love, which drives so much of our entertainment industry, is here today and gone tomorrow. Brotherly love is willing to argue, fight, wrestle, tell the other when they stink, but it never gives up. It is here today and here tomorrow and has more to do with the other and the relationship than with the self.
· Honor one another above yourselves: To honor someone is to not only respect them, but to show them respect. We honor God by joining together in corporate worship. We honor our relationships by remaining loyal and faithful. Judges are called “Your Honor” not so much because they are honorable, but because they represent something honorable, the same with politicians.
· Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord: After a while the zeal just seems to drop away. It is akin to what happens in a marriage after the honeymoon phase is over. Also like a marriage, the way to keep up the zeal is in doing. In the beginning it is the love that sustains the marriage; in the long run it is the marriage that sustains the love. It is the move from receiving to giving. A long term relationship with the Lord is not about mountain top experiences, though they are nice, it is about down in the dirty street serving. I think that is what Christ had in mind when sent us out to announce that the Kingdom is near, dirty hands.
· Be joyful in hope: Hope looks at tomorrow with a smile on its face. Fear looks at the problems of yesterday and expects more of the same. Life does not always joyfully live up to our hopeful expectations, but fear always has a way of making its expectations come true.
· Patient in affliction: During the summer, things slow down pretty much at our church, they do not however slow down with me. Every late summer I consider putting in for another call, somewhere where people “get” the Gospel and consider church and God an important part of their life. Then the people start coming back, slowly, but coming back and I decide to give it another try. If one does not have the long view in life, life can give you some pretty nasty short term whacks upside the head. The long view allows us to live in hope, the short view allows us to live in fear. When teaching your children to ride a bike, one of the things to teach them is to look ahead. If they look down, they will fall over, if they look ahead, balance returns. Same with life, keep your eye on Jesus, on the Kingdom, especially when life seems to be a bit out of balance.
· Faithful in prayer: How do you pray? When do you pray? How often do you pray? What do you pray? A friend of mine tells me that everything we think, do and say is a prayer, we just have to ask ourselves if it is a prayer we want to be praying. If that is the case, then being faithful in prayer means keeping your eye on the Kingdom. Let Christ guide you in what you think, do and say so that indeed you will not only be faithful in prayer, but prayerful in life.
· Share with God's people who are in need: Is there any greater prayer than a cup of water, or bowl of food, or shelter from the elements, in the name of Christ. In the book of Matthew, Jesus #1 concern is for faith, Jesus #2 concern is for caring for the needy. In many of those instances, caring for the needy is the way one shows faith. Each Sunday we collect food for the Lutheran Social Service Food Bank, it has been a bit thin this summer. In the current economy there are many who depend on that food who are also getting a bit thin.
· Practice hospitality: Hospitality is welcoming people, most of us seem to get that. There is another part of hospitality that is a bit harder. The best way I have heard it expressed is in the book, “the Pedagogy of the Oppressed” by Paulo Freire. To paraphrase the thought, to invite someone into a situation which must remain unchanged is an act of violence. Churches are often guilty of this. We invite in, we introduce the Gospel, but we refuse to let their experience of that Gospel shape "our" church. In the end we are left with a dead same old, rather than an organically alive sense of worship. Too often hospitality is killed by hanging on to what is rather than embracing what could be.
· Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse: When our focus is on what the other did to us and how we are going to get back at them, we are no longer in charge, the other is. In reacting to perceived injustice by fighting back, we become the very thing we are fighting against, we become that which we hate. Pogo said it best, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." We are rather called to bless those who persecute us. Just sit back and moment and think about that and name the persons in your life you should be praying for. Who are those you see on the news you should be praying for? Pray especially for our politicians.
· Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn: Be with others where they are at. It is easy to do that on the rejoicing side of things, but it is even more important to be with those who mourn. You don't need to fix anyone or anything, just be there. In those moments You Are the Kingdom of God, being there is enough.
· Live in harmony with one another: We have all met them. They walk into any situation and can find something to complain about. They can throw a wet blanket on any good mood and curdle milk from 30 feet. We have met others also. They walk into any situation and seem to bring a feeling of safety, comfort, and often a smile. They are not out to change you, they are out to be with you. That is the Kingdom to which we are called to be.
· Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position: In Paul's day, social status was of paramount importance. "Can anything good come from Nazareth" was not just a slam against Jesus, it was a common way of looking at, and coming to conclusions about, others. We are more sophisticated than that. We find new inventive ways of judging others. It is the common thing to do. It is absolutely against the Kingdom of God.
· Do not be conceited: You have heard of people with "I" trouble. You know, the ones who cannot get through any conversation without using the word "I" an exorbitant number of times. Now the trend is to start everything with a small "i", ipod, iResponse, i this and i that. e.e.commings in so many of his poems uses the small "i" as a way of downplaying the self. The Kingdom has an "i" in it, but it is not central or first. It is not iKingdom, it is God's Kingdom. It is only when we get that, that your "i" will fit into that Kingdom.
· Do not repay anyone evil for evil: This goes back to not becoming that which we hate. In repaying evil for evil, we have become the very thing we don't like in the other. I say that in the midst of a political season where all the major media pundits are almost begging for things to get nastier. Vitriol sells, but in the end you end up eating it yourself and your right it tastes like ……….
· Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody: OK Paul, now you have gone a bit overboard. If you can swing this one you are not being real. I think you can do what is loving in the eyes of almost everyone, but not what is right in the eyes of everyone. Even Jesus torqued off his fair share of people and ended up on the cross for it. Christ not only came to comfort the afflicted, but to afflict the comfortable.
· If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone: OK Paul, now we are making a bit more sense. We cannot control what others might do or say or think, but we do have control over how we choose to live. Living at peace, as far as it is possible, is to bring the presence of the Kingdom into the world. That peace extends to creation as well as to creature. For to not include creation in that equation is to not live at peace with those who are to follow you in this life, including our own great grandchildren. Not living at peace with creation is as easy as taking candy from a baby, it is also just as vile.
· Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay, “says the Lord: It is amazing how many get to this part of Paul list and think, Oh goody, at least in the end, "they" will get "theirs." But wait a minute; how does God avenge, how does God repay? The answer is by going to the cross and even when Peter suggested that there might be another way, Jesus responded "get behind me Satan, for you do not have the ways of God in mind, but the ways of humanity." The ways of God always seem to land on the side of grace.
· On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink: What if the thrust of dealing with our enemy was to give them food and water? What if, instead of bombers we used cargo planes to drop food and supplies to the hungry? What if instead of a mother holding her dead son she was holding her fed son? How would this affect how much we had to spend on bombs and guns in the long run? I think it would be a real money saver, as well as a world and a soul saver.
· In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." There you go with those thoughts of revenge again!! Two thoughts on this quote taken from Proverbs 25. A common way of carrying hot coals was in a container on your head. Thus you would be providing a means for the other to prepare food for themselves and their families. A second thought is that by bringing the enemy to remorse with one's generosity, you will bring about change. In late Egyptian texts, standing with coals of fire on one's head is a rite of penitence. Your enemy has thus been both punished and reinstated as a friend. I think both providing for the other and allowing for reinstatement into the community is what is called for in this text.
· Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good: The only way to overcome evil is with good. Any attempt to overcome evil with force simply strengthens the evil. Good does not work right away, nor does it always leave us in charge, but in the long run your children and their children will be thankful. Good, as hinted to earlier brings about repentance. The word for repentance means to turn around. If you turn evil around you get live. (I know it is cheesy, but it works)

Matthew 16:21-26

Oh how we would love to have
according to our schedule
the world laid out in perfect rows
giving us the choice of this or that
free from any harm
or responsibility
to face the happy ending
in half an hour complete with commercials
Never Lord
was the cry of the Rock
on whose recent confession
the church would stand
Never shall I allow you to go
to the cross
death
new life
Never
shall the designs of humanity
freely allow the
Freedom of the Cross
to enter in
Never shall we know of the kingdom
on our own
without the Christ breaking in
and replacing our inward gaze
With the light and hope of His love.

What if!?!?

Sunday August 31st, Romans 12: 9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Think about this list from Paul. What if the world did just that? What if the world loved that which was sincere, chose good over evil, loved and honored one another, was alive in Christ and filled with hope and prayer, practiced hospitality and cared for those in need? What if? What if congregations did that even a little bit? What if? Most people reject Christianity because it deals with hot button issues rather than love issues. We are more concerned with who someone loves than with how someone loves. But what if??

Sounds simple!?!?!

Monday September 1st, Romans 12: 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. What if we lived together as brothers and sisters, even with those who do not agree with us, or with whom we do not agree? Is that possible in the real world, or only as a figment of Paul’s imagination? Can life produce such harmony or should we just give it up and go to war? Where would God have us go in times of conflict, to the negotiation table or to the battlefield? We as a people, created in God’s image keep going to the battlefield saying the negotiation table doesn’t work. And as long as we never try it in any sustained way, we prove ourselves right, and God wrong.

Enemy? Us?

Tuesday September 2nd, Romans 12: 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay, “says the Lord. F Buechner talks about “anger” in wishful thinking by saying something like: Of the seven deadly sins, anger is perhaps the most fun. To let grievances long past roll of your tongue. To look forward to the bitter confrontations yet to come. To savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back. In many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is what you are wolfing down is yourself, the skeleton at the feast is you. Pogo tells us that we have met the enemy and he is us. Wink warns us to not become that which we hate. Paul says to not take revenge but leave room for God. And still well over half of our nations budget is tied up in war. Some people never listen.

Where's the money

Wednesday September 3rd, Romans 12: 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Paul gives us a “how to” on how to live as a child of God. And even when we think we have some hope to be buttheads with the heaping coals line, we are called to understand that that was the normal way of carrying the hot coals one needed to get a fire going to cook a meal for friends or family, it was not a revenge statement at all. I wonder if Romans 12 will make it in any of the political speeches from either pulpit or politic? Naaaaaaaaaaaah, no money in it.

Oh! so close

Thursday September 4th, Matthew 16: 21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" So close, Sooooo close, Peter almost had it didn’t he? Just last week he represented the disciples by saying that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. In doing so he, standing in Caesarea Philippi at the foot of the power that destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, standing in the town named after the power of war and the power of Caesar also known as the son of god, Peter spoke for the disciples in his proclamation of faith. Now, unfortunately he seems to speak for most of us. You don’t really need to do that Lord. I think you can bypass Jerusalem, I think you can let me walk on water, I think you can turn these stones into bread if you are hungry, I think you can wow everyone with stunts, I think you can have the whole world (if only you will….) I think you can be a follower of Christ and fit in church when it is comfortable for you….No!! Says Jesus. Pick up your cross and let’s get going.

not the last temptation

Friday September 5th, Matthew 16: 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." This is not the last temptation of Christ, that is yet to come. Jesus puts it into perspective with the call to get behind me Satan. How often do we tell Satan to get behind us? How often do we let Satan take the lead and tell us that being a Christian is OK, but there is no need to get all that excited about it? In C.S.Lewis’ Screwtape letters, he does a great job of letting his minions know that you cannot tear one away from following Christ, all you will get is resistance. The way you tear them away from following is to set the thought in thier minds that religion is not something to get all that wired about. To let them know that it is OK make time for Jesus when you have the time, to convince them that occasional attendance at worship is OK. In time, it all seems less important and Satan is not behind any longer.

Pick it up

Saturday September 6th, Matthew 16: 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. OK, let’s get this straight. God loves you, you are saved through the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Now to make life meaningful for you and for those around you, pick it up. You know what I mean, it is right there with you all the time. It is that thing you walk around, talk around, think around and live around your whole life long. It is Your cross, and to pick it up and walk with it is to give this life, here in the already not yet, meaning. Life is just a little less without it.

A class sister act - maybe

Aug 24, 2:58 PM (ET) Associated Press

ROME (AP) - An Italian priest and theologian said Sunday he is organizing an online beauty pageant for nuns to give them more visibility within the Catholic Church and to fight the stereotype that they are all old and dour.

The "Miss Sister 2008" contest will start in September on a blog run by the Rev. Antonio Rungi and will give nuns from around the world a chance to showcase their work and their image.
"Nuns are a bit excluded, they are a bit marginalized in ecclesiastical life," Rungi told The Associated Press after Italian media carried reports of the idea. "This will be an occasion to make their contribution more visible."

Rungi, a theologian and schoolteacher from the Naples area, said that visitors to his site will have a month to "vote for the nun they consider a model."

Nuns will fill out a profile including information about their life and vocation as well as a photograph. It will be up to them to choose whether to pose with the traditional veil or with their heads uncovered.

"We are not going to parade nuns in bathing suits," Rungi said by telephone from his town of Mondragone. "But being ugly is not a requirement for becoming a nun. External beauty is gift from God, and we mustn't hide it."

Rungi said the idea was first suggested to him by nuns with whom he regularly prays and works. He hopes there will be dozens of submissions once the Web site is started.

The contest drew criticism from the association of Catholic teachers. "It's an initiative that belittles the role of nuns who have dedicated themselves to God," the group's president, Alberto Giannino, told Italy's ANSA news agency on Sunday.

visual look at tax proposals from the Washington Post

Matthew 16:13-20

You are the Christ
The Son of the living God
and upon this confession
the Church will be built
upon this confession
the foundation of the church
Stands
All of heaven
all of hell
hinge on that simple creed
Who do you say He is
in your heart
with your words
I believe in God
The Father Almighty
Creator of Heaven and Earth
with your heart
and in Jesus Christ
God’s only Son
Our Lord
Kingdoms rise and fall
Worlds become and end
and yet all of life stands on that simple
Who do you say I am
in your life
in your heart
in your voice
and confess the God of Love

Justice light

Sunday August 2th, Isaiah 51: 4 "Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: The law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations. When we speak of justice what are we talking about? Justice is more than equality, which always ends up being less than equality. Justice is more than fair, which always ends up being less than fair. Justice is more than caring, which ends up with a narrow focus of who we care for and how we care. Justice is about caring about the other enough to want to what is best for the other, through the others eyes. It always involves more than equality, more than fair and more than caring. Justice means knowing that without the other living up to the potential God has called the other to be, you are less than God has called you to be.

Justice

Monday August 25th, Isaiah 51: 5 My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm. When we think of God’s justice we tend to think of bringing someone else to justice rather than bringing justice to someone else. The first is akin to revenge and usually turns around and bites us in the behind. The second calls us to action and often, sacrifice. It usually turns around and blessed us. Out tendency to go for the first rather than the second shows our lack of trust in God and God’s ways. God’s justice will come, we need to decide if we want to be a part of it or not.

stench

Tuesday August 26th, Romans 12: 4-6 In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So much for the spirit of rugged individualism. Part of the problem faced by America is the move toward the pseudo-individualism. We can hold up the façade of making it on our own, and damn those who dare ask for my tax money on government handouts. So we drive on or roads to work in a big corporation that gets government contracts or tax breaks to produce a product helped by government regulation while looking down our nose at someone just wanting some food for their children. It is often not someone else that cuts us off from the body, but rather we ourselves who do it. Paul points out in some rather graphic ways just what happens when we do fool ourselves into the notion of rugged individualism, we not only die, we send out a bit of a stench in the process.

Smile

Wednesday August 27th, Romans 12: 6-8 If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face. Doing the kingdom work is simple. God gives you the tools, the talents, the time and calls you to simply use them for the kingdom. Sometimes we think that somehow We need to teach God how to do it better. Humanity has had that trouble since the first bite. God smiles when God hears us do the “me do it” routine the same way we smile when our young one does it. It is when we forget to smile and laugh at ourselves for our tendency toward the grandiose that we get a bit dangerous.

Head to heart

Thursday: August 28th, Matthew 16: 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" The movement from what others say to what do you say is the movement form the head to the heart. Most of us live in our heads, it is safer and requires less commitment. From time to time we live in our hearts, we say things like “I do” and “You are the Christ.” These are the statements and times that change lives.

Who??

Friday August 29th, Matthew 16: 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ the Son of the living God." For Peter to say to Jesus, “You are the Christ” is not only moving from head to heart, it is also saying that Caesar, the empire, the state is not the Christ, is not in charge. During Peters day, saying that Jesus is the Christ was an act of sedition. Today he would at least be on the no fly list if he was not locked up somewhere no one knew about. It is laying it on the line. Today we have a much lower cost involved in moving it from head to heart, but it still seems way too much for many. Who do You say Jesus is?????

Keys

Saturday August 30th, Matthew 16: 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Peter received the Keys to the Kingdom, and with it the responsibility to use them wisely. We too through our baptism into Christ have received the Keys to the Kingdom. When called to use them remember. If you forgive the sins on any, they are forgiven the same as if Christ himself forgave them. Whatever you bind, or hold onto, or refuse to forgive, you are still holding onto. It’s not a matter of the other receiving forgiveness or not, it is a matter of whether or not we participate in the joyful experience. Whenever you use the keys to lock the door, Christ is on the other side.

Rain!?!?!?

OK, I know there any number of reasons I don't go along with Focus on the Family, but even this is pushing things a bit. Click either on the title above or the link below for:

Focus on the Family Ask God to Rain Out Obama Speech

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/12/focus-on-the-family-asks_n_118512.html

Matthew 1:21-28

14th Sunday after Pentecost

She looked up and said Daddy
I love you
and I knew there was depth that was unsurpassed
She loved
not out of need
not our of want
but out of the depth of her life
Oh to have love like that
deep total faith
and adoration
The woman knew that
even with the expected words of the time
She knew that love and adoration
and faith
She knew this Jesus was the one
the Holy one
who could being life
in the midst of death
and Jesus looked at her
breaking through
theology and tradition
and said
to this child of God
marginalized by our own insecurities
You of great Faith
Go in the Peace
You bring to this World

Thy Kingdom Come

Sunday August 17th, Isaiah 56: 1 This is what the LORD says: "Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. Maintain Justice and do what is right. Great words, which are all too often used on the other among, or apart from, us. The words do not pertain to the other however, but always to the self, whether that self be individual or corporate. It is not a call for someone else to maintain justice, it is a call for us to announce, proclaim, show, demonstrate, that the kingdom is near, that salvation is close at hand, by what We do. We are not saved by what we do, but not doing it sure can lead us down the wrong path. Each and every day, ask yourself, how am I showing that the Kingdom is near. Each and every week ask your church, how are we showing that the Kingdom is near. God in Heaven, Holy is your name. Your Kingdom come, Your will be done here and now as it is in Heaven. We call for the kingdom, now we are called to be the kingdom.

Sovereign Lord

Monday August 18th, Isaiah 56: 8 the Sovereign LORD declares— he who gathers the exiles of Israel: "I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered." Who are the others that are being gathered, and by what means are they being gathered? Many Christians consider themselves as the others who are being gathered through Christ. But is that the end of God’s mercy and justice? Is it not possible that others, many others, even all others, will be gathered through that same grace that gathers the community of Christ followers? Is God limited by our definitions, assumptions and ego’s? Is not the Lord who declares that I will gather still others none other than the Sovereign Lord? In a smackdown between the Sovereign Lord and some joker who has a bad haircut and a TV show, I go for the Sovereign Lord who declares, I Will gather still others.

All God's children got a place in the choir

Tuesday August 19th, Romans 11: 1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. The promise has been made to Abraham and to all the children of Abraham, I will be your God and You will be my people. It is not rejection, it is a means of acceptance, and that means is Grace. Grace for Paul, Grace for you and me, Grace for the Israelites and Arabs, the easterners and westerners, the northerners and the southerners, the proclaimers and deniers, the good, the bad and the ugly, all saved by grace. Not rejected, just a bigger family than you could ever have imagined.

it is what that comes out

Wednesday August 20th, Matthew 15: 10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. 11 What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' We can at least control to some degree what goes into someone’s mouth. We can have our rituals and traditions, which can be rich in meaning and history, which can help us connect to the love of God, which can convey comfort and grace and forgiveness, but in the end they are only tools. We cannot control what comes out. In the long list Paul gives us of what comes out, we tend to focus on the sex. Yes John, Bill and Larry blew it with the sex, but George and Dick and many others have brought about the deaths of thousands with stories of yellow cake and war on terror. Some have moved toward healing by at least confessing their lies.

dirty hands

Thursday August 21st, Matthew 15: 17 "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' “19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' The laws of what was clean and what was unclean governed all aspects of life. That may seem silly to us now, but we tend to do the same thing only more subtly.

fishing

Friday August 21st , Matthew 15: 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession." 23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us." 24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." Every gone fishing? Jesus has just finished the Kingdom is like discourse where the mustard, leaven and net are equated with the kingdom in that they are common, unclean, and get into our lives. Jesus just finished demonstrating the Kingdom in the feeding of the 5000 where a little goes a long way when there is sharing and people are not worried about what is clean and unclean. Now this woman, this Canaanite woman, this unclean woman who is not of the faith, comes crying. Not yet, not yet, don’t pull up yet. The disciples ask to have her sent away, Jesus responds with justification by narrowly interpreting his mission, not yet, not yet………… let the bait sit there a little bit longer…… not yet!!!!!!

the kingdom is like.......

Saturday August 22nd, Matthew 15: 25 The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said. 26 He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." 27 "Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." 28 Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour. Not yet!!!! Make the bait a bit more attractive, it is not right that you, a dog, a bitch, should get anything from the kingdom, it is only for those who are clean. Yahhhh! Jesus you tell her, now you are finally getting it right. Who does she think she is, this foreigner, this pagan, this dog……… NOW!!!!!! Her response is her getting the kingdom, Pull up Now….. and the hook is set. The disciples are caught in their own narrow kingdom view. As Jesus reels them in, he emphasizes the point. In contrast to Peters little faith doubting statement, IF, then let me walk on the water like the gods do, this dirty dog, unclean, common, foreign, pagan, woman, gets the kingdom. Great is her faith, healed is her daughter, a little sore and wiser are the disciples. The Kingdom is like…….

Matthew 14:22-33

12th Sunday after Pentecost
Matthew 14:22-33

Lord help me to see
help me to have faith
to see the wonders you have for me
to be with me as I walk in this faith
be with me and give me strength
wisdom
understanding
that I might not fall
and fear
when the troubles of life
surround and dash me
from all sides
give me the faith to know
in my very heart
that in you
All will be Well,
All will be Healed
All will be Peace
Shalom
in the midst of the seas
be with me Lord
show me your hand that has never left me
help me to open my eyes to your grace
and help me stand
and walk on the path you have set before me
to reach the other side
and find there
the Kingdome waiting

What are you doing here?

Sunday August 10th, 1 Kings 19 : "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." 11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" When we run from the path the Lord has set before us, we are always called back unto that path. Elijah was having a pity party, and if one deserves a pity party, Elijah would fit the bill. But God had other ideas for Elijah, and God has other ideas for us. Look at all I have done is not enough. Look at what God has done is more of the driving statement. It is also important that God does not always or often in the big and the mighty. God does not come to Elijah in the adrenalin pumping storms just as God does not always come to us in adrenalin pumping highs. It is the still small voice, and it always sends us out.

What are you doing here?

Sunday August 10th, 1 Kings 19 : "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." 11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" When we run from the path the Lord has set before us, we are always called back unto that path. Elijah was having a pity party, and if one deserves a pity party, Elijah would fit the bill. But God had other ideas for Elijah, and God has other ideas for us. Look at all I have done is not enough. Look at what God has done is more of the driving statement. It is also important that God does not always or often in the big and the mighty. God does not come to Elijah in the adrenalin pumping storms just as God does not always come to us in adrenalin pumping highs. It is the still small voice, and it always sends us out.

over it and into God

Monday August 11th, 1 Kings 19: 14 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." 15 The LORD said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. No matter how much the world seems to hate us, God always sends us back out into it. Walking in the ways of God are not walking on the mountain tops. Walking in the ways of the Lord are not religious highs any more than they are drug highs. Having Jesus is not the latest designer drug, it is work, and the work is out there in the world where we often came from. Back to our roots, because who knows them better than we do. God knows the danger. God will be with you. That does not mean you are invincible like some superhero come to save God’s reputation. Instead, God is more interested in saving the lives of those God has created and called good. They might not be people you like, get over it and get into God.

self-absorbtion

Tuesday August 12th, Romans 10: 5 Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them." 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 "or 'Who will descend into the deep?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," It is not through the road of a righteous high that you find God, it is not through a road of ascetic deprivation that you find God. They are both about you and therefore self-absorbed and not about God. It is in recognizing the Kingdom is near, it is in your heart and in your mouth and in the heart and mouth of those on the other side of life and the world. The kingdom is never about God and I, it is always about God and the universal we. Until you bring the Gospel out there, you never quite find it in here.

but they're dirty!!

Wednesday August 13th, Romans 10: 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11 As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." If you trust God you will not be put to shame for your self-absorption, instead, you will be sent out into the world where you find the Kingdome is already here. For the Kingdome is not about me, it is about us. The Kingdome is the recognition that God has created all that is and has called it good. Our job as the children of God is to help others find the good within, the Kingdome within. Then you will know there is no East or West, no North or South, no Slave or Free, no Gentile or Jew, no Black or White, no Gay or Straight, no Red or Blue, no……………for all are on in Christ Jesus.

If

Thursday August 14th, Matthew 14: 22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. In Matthew 4 we hear: 1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Mark’s version doesn’t lead Jesus, but rather drives Jesus out in the desert to be tempted. Here, Jesus drives the disciples out to the world to be tempted. Go to the other side, go to the gentile side, and see if God is not there also. In Matthews’s time the church was struggling with the chaos of defining the church. Matthew tells this story to let them know that the Kingdome is in the chaos. Where is the Kingdome Chaos in our day? Is the church safely tied up to shore or out in the world announcing the Kingdome? This section began with, “the Kingdome is like…..the unclean mustard, the unclean leaven, the unclean pearl, the unclean net and the unclean crowds gathered to hear the word and eat. Now the disciples are being sent into the unclean world on “the other side”. What do you call unclean? The Kingdome is calling!!

deep and hot, deep and hot, there's a chaos boiling deep and hot

Friday August 15th, Matthew 14: 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." 28 "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 29 "Come," he said. Only gods could defy the rules of nature. Adam and Eve ate of the tree of knowledge to become like gods and only found they were naked and out of the garden. Gilgamesh traveled to Apsu the underground ocean to pluck the tree of life and become like god, only to find the serpent had taken it. The tempter said to Jesus, If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread and eat. Peter says to Jesus, If it is You tell me to come to you, defy the laws of this world, and walk on water like a god. Jesus gives him his shot. If we want to go that way, Jesus also gives us our shot. Just make sure you are wearing your asbestos lined survival suit, the chaos is deep and the fire is hot.

Reality check

Saturday August 16th, Matthew 14: Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Reality check, Peter, even you are not a god. There are two possible ways to look at this, either Peter is greater than you or I and can at least take a few steps on water, proving once again that if only you had enough faith, you could beat the game and become some sort of minor god, or, even when we get too big for our britches and think we are gods and can defy the laws of nature, God comes along and saves us. Mostly what God has to save us from, is ourselves. What Peter finds is that when he climbs back in the boat headed for the other side, when he goes about the task God has set before him to bring the good news to the people out there, the chaos calms. What is the task God has set before you? How are you avoiding it by trying to play god? By being religious?