"God is in Charge"

It always feels good to have the season of Lent underway. I know that, technically, Lent should be no different than any other time of year in terms of our practice of spiritual disciplines. However, Lent feels to be like a great time to reboot spiritually speaking. Yesterday, we began our sermon series "Giving Up for Lent: Gaining Life by Losing It." We will spend Lent talking about specific things that we need to give up in order to live abundant life in Christ. Yesterday, I said that saying God is in charge does not mean that God has controlled and manipulated every moment and event in our lives. For that would eliminate free will (and it would make our sin God's fault). However, it does mean that God has created the universe and our place in it to follow certain principles. When we decide to live our lives in accordance with those principles, we experience the peace of God. What are those principles? Where can I learn them? Good question. Read Matthew 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount. This is Jesus’ major sermon. I like to think of it as his “manifesto of discipleship.” If you would like something even simpler, read Luke 10:25-37. These are the principles of the universe that God has created. If we learn to “go and do likewise” as Jesus said, we will know true peace. Sarah Parsons, in her book, A Clearing Season: Reflections for Lent (which is the book we are using for our Lenten study) wrote, “One of the greatest temptations all of us face is the temptation to be like God.” I could not agree more. This temptation is the first temptation, going back to Adam and Eve, and it is still the most powerful temptation that we face. That is why I am suggesting that the first thing that we need to give up for Lent is our need to be in control. Consider this for a Lenten practice. Consider this question. Honestly sit down and pray about this. What is in my life that I need to release to God’s control? What do I have to “give up” to honestly live as though God is in charge? And then release that thing to God's care.

"Preaching to the Choir is not the Point"

Yesterday, we talked about the importance of not being so concerned with "preaching to the choir" that we forget to reach out to other people with God's love. Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with others is important in our Christian walk. However, there was more to Jesus message to the Pharisees in Matthew 9:9-13 than just encouraging people to share the good news. One of the lessons that we learn from Jesus calling of Matthew is that all too often people “inside” the church have attitudes that actually discourage others from feeling welcome. The Pharisees objected to Jesus healing the paralyzed man (Matthew 9:1-8) not because the man was made well, but because Jesus had the nerve to claim that the man was forgiven. They did not like not being in charge. They objected to Matthew's dinner party because it wasn’t with the “right people.” We in the church need to recognize that, unfortunately, we more often behave like the Pharisees than like Jesus. We also must recognize that when God’s love and forgiveness are truly present, when people’s lives are genuinely transformed, it may not always look like we think it should. It almost certainly won’t be clean and tidy and manageable. That has never been the way that God has worked.

I also mentioned during the sermon yesterday about the tendency that many people have to be "spiritual but not religious." If you would like to read more about this, follow this link to an article about this topic.

"Political Theology"

Election seasons are either the bane of my existence or a drug that I cannot get enough of - I can't decide. What I enjoy is the dialogue about what is happening (or not happening) in our nation and what can we do (or not do) about it. What I find frustrating, as I am sure many people do, are the personal attacks, the divisive language, and the overall tone and tenor of politics in America. Having said that, as a pastor, I tend to be most attentive to how candidates frame different issues in terms of faith, especially the Christian faith. Consider Rick Santorum's comments about President Obama's theology in this article from Yahoo. Whether you agree with Santorum's comments, or not (and I don't), I get frightened when I hear political leaders debating their theology. Rick Santorum's "Christianity" is a conservative understanding of Christian theology. Anyone that does not share his view of Christianity, he deems to not be genuinely Christian. The problem, of course, is that there are many Christians - good, solid people of faith - whose theology looks nothing like Rick Santorum's. However, by framing different issues in terms of faith, politicians appeal to voters on an emotional level. Political leaders, when seeking to win "the Christian vote" assume that we are one bloc united against homosexuality and abortion. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It will be a glorious day in the life of our nation when Christians are known as much for what many of them stand for (justice, peace, equality) rather than what some stand against.

"Christianity"

Yesterday, we concluded our sermon series on “Christianity and World Religions” by talking about our own faith. Christianity is distinguished by the fact that, through Jesus Christ, we have access to a personal relationship to God. And that relationship is our source for abundant life in this world and in the next. Transformation occurs as the result of that relationship – transformation of our selves, but also of the world. That is why, at its core, I believe that Christianity is beyond creeds; because it is based on a relationship. Just like the depth of love that we experience in marriage is not confined simply to the parameters of the wedding vows, Christianity should not be limited by creeds. Christianity does have historical creeds. But, they are only a starting point. They should never define the outward parameters of our faith. And we, as Christians should always challenge efforts to reduce Christianity to a given creed, because being born anew – born from above – transcends creed. We diminish what Christianity is when we reduce it to dogmatic claims. Having said all that, I would invite us to consider that the great creed of Christianity is articulated in Matthew 22:34-40.

Resources to learn more –

http://www.religionfacts.com/

Christianity and World Religions by Adam Hamilton

Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense by N.T. Wright

The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

"Judaism"

Scripture: Genesis 12:1-3; 15:5-6

It is appropriate that we talked about Judaism on the Sunday we celebrated Holy Communion. The central feature of Judaism is the notion of covenant – the mutual promises that God shares with his chosen people. In our communion liturgy, we recite the words that Jesus spoke at the Last Supper, “This is my blood of the new covenant which is poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.” This covenant that God first had with the Jewish people, through Jesus Christ, has been opened up to all who choose. And when we consider that Jesus lived and died a Jew, we must consider what this covenant means to us in our lives. It is one thing to say that covenant is important in our faith. But, how specifically does notion of covenant translate to Christianity? What does it mean that Christians are also a part of a “covenant community?” Those are very good questions. We will talk more about that next week. For a preview, follow this link to view John Wesley's Covenant Prayer.