Let me to take you on a little journey to a Big, Busy, Shopping
Mall. Let me introduce to you someone.
He caused quite a commotion among the shoppers at the mall.
Many dismissed him as annoying nut. He was dressed in a tattered
flannel shirt and jeans. No one knew where he spent the night, but he
was seen rummaging around the dumpsters for scraps of food from
Orange Julius and McDonald’s. Every day he could be found by the
beautifully lighted fountain near the mall’s food court. Despite his
ragged appearance and that slightly “off” look in his eyes, there was a
kindness and sincerity about him that drew people to him.
He would ask them why they would spend so much money for
Christmas, why they would allow themselves to become so obsessed and
stressed out over this tinseled holiday. “We like our Christmas with a
lot of sugar, don’t we?” he would tease. But Christmas is about hope
and love, he said – and that can be a struggle. Give gifts of kindness and
compassion to each other. Seek forgiveness from family and friends
who may be lost to you. Let the spirit of the Christ Child embrace every
season of the year, not just December.
Those who listened would nod in agreement as he spoke – even as
they tightened their grips on their shopping bags. Some were moved to
quit shopping and go home to be with their families, others would go off
and buy an extra toy or piece of clothing for charity; a few would even
be moved to escape to a church or chapel for quiet prayer.
Sometimes he would rail against the insipid music and the gaudy
decorations. When the mall Santa would walk by, he would make fun of
him, asking the embarrassed Santa pointed questions about the real
Christmas story.
Soon, though, the storeowners had had enough of his distractions.
The mall managers had security escort him from the premises.
He wasn’t really hurting anyone, they realized.
But he had to go, they said.
He was ruining everyone’s Christmas.
“He Had to Go”. John the Baptists 2022. They come in all ages,
sizes, shapes, colors, sexes and backgrounds. What do they do? They
tease, they challenge, they poke us, and they point us to Jesus. To Jesus’
way of life.
Pray with me today, Advent 2022, that we will not be blind to the
John the Baptists that come into our daily lives. Believe me – they will
come. Watch, Listen, and Believe.
Archive for the ‘2nd Sunday’ Category
Watch, Listen, & Believe 12-4-2022
Sunday, December 4th, 2022Life in the Valley 3-13-2022
Friday, March 4th, 2022This Transfiguration event was both literally and figuratively, a mountain-top experience. Only three of the disciples were privileged to witness what happened. Significantly, it all started while Jesus was praying. First, his face changed in appearance. Then, his clothing became brilliantly white. Next, Moses and Elijah appeared and talked with him. And finally, God spoke from a cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to Him.”
But before we deal with it, I want us to skip ahead to the next day and include it in our thinking also. It was then that Jesus and the disciples came down from the mountain and were met by a desperate man with a sick son. The other disciples had tried to help the boy, but their efforts had been in vain. So Jesus filled the gap and did what they had been unable to do.
Each of these back-to-back days represents a vital dimension in the life of us Christians. One is the mountain of worship; the other is the valley of work. We must have both. If we major on either to the exclusion of the other, our lives will become spiritually lopsided.
Each of us as Christians needs to learn how to move back and forth between these two poles. Just as physical life depends upon an alternating rhythm – we inhale and exhale, we work and rest – so our spiritual lives can stay vibrant only when we alternate between taking in and giving out. But this is a very difficult balance to maintain.
This is the inclination of Peter up there on the mountain – He wanted to stay on the mountaintop.
He had never seen or heard or felt anything like that before. Jesus was there in all of his radiant beauty. Moses and Elijah were there – heroes from the past, so real and vivid. For one brief shining moment, everything made sense.
The cares of this world were left behind. Small wonder that Peter said, “Master, how good it is for us to be here. I want to stay!
What Peter wanted was to freeze that moment and hold on to it forever. Who could blame him? Surely, we have all had those mountain-top experiences that we wish would never end. Life was working; God was real. Trouble seemed so far away; and victory seemed so inevitable. That is where Peter was, and he wanted to stay there.
His was a natural inclination. This is what Christian faith means to some people – a retreat from life, far above the cares of the world.
But Peter’s desire to escape was not the only religious stance in evidence that day. We mentioned briefly the other disciples who remained in the valley.
I have wondered at times why Peter, James and John were the only ones who went to the mountain. We have supposed that they were the only ones whom Jesus invited, but that is not specifically stated.
It could be that the other nine choose not to go. Perhaps, they were so aware of the work to be done, of the needs to be met that there was no time for mountain-top retreats. Maybe they were the first century equivalent of today’s activists who think practical problem-solving is the only function of Christian faith.
Thus, we have two extremes – those who would love to stay on the mountain of worship and not be bothered with the problems of the valley, and those who are so involved with the problems of the valley that they have no time for the mountain.
It is worth noting that Jesus did not endorse or reject either position. He went to the mountain, but would not stay there. He returned the next day – refreshed, renewed, ready to meet the needs and challenges of the valley.
Those first disciples had to learn what we need to learn. Christian faith is more than work and more than worship. It is both. Those who would use their faith as an avenue of escape from the world and its problems have totally missed the meaning of Christ and his mission. He is the only one who “came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.” If we would walk with him we must realize that nothing is given to us to keep for ourselves. We are blessed in order that we might become a blessing to others.
By the same token, attempting to give, and give and keep on giving will lead to another kind of problem. Eventually a person must replenish his supply, or he will find there is nothing left to give. Those nine disciples in the valley were eager to help the afflicted boy but found themselves unable to do so. They somehow lacked the resources to meet the need.
So it is with us. We will never be through with the mountain of worship or the valley of service. All of our lives we will need power to live from and purpose to live for.
If You Love Enough 1-16-2022
Friday, January 14th, 2022I had the privilege to be part of some weekends called Engaged
Encounters. On these weekends two married couples would share a great
deal about their married life with about thirty engaged couples. I listened
and learned a lot from these married couples. I was impressed with how
hard they worked at staying married.
On this weekend when we read about the marriage feast at Cana, I
would like to share with you two brief stories about two married couples
that also really touched me.
She fought bravely and valiantly, he always at her side. But after
eight years, cancer took her life. After the funeral, he was cleaning out
the drawer near her bed and found a piece of paper she had written. It
was a sort of love note. It looked a little like a schoolgirl’s daydream
note about the boy in the next row. Except that this note was written by
the mother of seven children, a woman who had been battling for her life
until the end. It was also a wonderful prescription for holding a marriage
together. This is how her note to her husband began. Loved. Cared. Worried. Helped me when I was sick. Forgave me a lot of things. Stood
by me. Always complimentary. Provided everything I ever needed.
Warmth. Humor. Kindness. Thoughtfulness. Always there when I
needed you. And the last thing she wrote sums up all the other. Good
friend. He folded the paper and placed it in his wallet. Sometime later he
was talking to a friend about her. He showed him the paper. The friend,
a much younger man, was deeply moved by the note. The friend asked,
“How do you stick by someone through 38 years of marriage, let alone
the sickness too?” “How do I know I’d have what it takes to stand by a
wife if she got sick?” And he replied simply and quietly. “You will.” “If
you love enough, you will.”
A strong self-reliant ranch owner, who did not very often express
his emotions outwardly, had to rush his wife to the hospital. A ruptured
appendix. The ensuing operation was successful, but the woman’s’
condition deteriorated. Despite the blood transfusions and intensive care,
she continued to lose strength. The doctors were puzzled because by all
medical standards she should have been recovering. They finally were convinced of the reason for her deterioration. She was not trying to get well. The surgeon, an old family friend, went to her and said. “I would
think you would want to be strong for John.” She replied weakly. “John
is so strong he doesn’t need anybody.” When the doctor told the husband
what she had said, he immediately went into his wife’s room, took her
hand in his and said. “You’ve got to get well!” Without opening her eyes,
she asked, “Why?” He said, “because I need you.” The nurse who was
monitoring the blood transfusion said she noticed an immediate change
in the pulse beat and the blood pressure. Then the patient opened her
eyes and said, “John, that’s the first time you ever said that to me.” Two
weeks later she was home. The doctor commenting on the case said it
wasn’t the blood transfusion, but what went with it that made the
difference between life and death for that woman.
In closing, I would like to ask any married couple present here to
stand. I would like to thank you for the hard work you put into your
Sacrament of Marriage and I would like to offer you a special prayer of
Blessing for you both. God, you have called woman and man to become
“one flesh.” What a great sign of your love for us. Send your spirit, O
God, upon those today who passionately proclaim their love for each other. May they always remember that the energy and power source of
their relationship lies in fidelity and commitment to you. May they
inspire all of us to pledge ourselves more deeply to our own promises,
and our own vows to live in love. May these two lovers dance to the
music of Christ. Amen.
