The Mustard Seed

This Thing Called Freedom

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A Family Matter

Family life can be a complicated thing.  But it doesn't have to be.  Click on the audio link below to learn more.

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Fertile Ground

“Fertile Ground”     Text:  Luke 8:1-15
Elpis Christian Church
June 14, 2009

 Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about gardens lately.  Across the road here our “Seeds of Faith” Food Outreach project in well underway.  We’ve even made our first contribution to alleviating hunger.  Last week a few of us noticed that the “first fruits” of that garden have gone to some rather bold rabbits and deer in the area.  So much for trusting that the nearby houses and church traffic would keep them at bay.  In a way – I don’t mind that they were the first to eat from the garden.  After all, I suppose we can’t complain too much about tithing to some of God’s favorite critters.  On the other hand – we don’t have to overdue things either.   So - thanks to Clinton, Oscar, and Curtis, there’s a nice new fence up too.  In the future – the wildlife will just have to go the food bank like everybody else.
 The other reason I’ve been thinking about gardening is that, having completed my initial sermon series on Spiritual Formation, I now want to go a little deeper on what resources we have at our disposal for that.  And I can think of no better place to turn than what Christ himself calls the “word of God.”  You know, it’s tempting to think that phrase – the “word of God” – was invented by twentieth century evangelical Christianity.    But in my reading of the scriptures – and I’ve consulted a number of translations – Jesus himself is quite comfortable with the term.  And that got me thinking.  What is this “seed” he refers to in today’s scripture passage?  And what are the aspects of daily life we must nurture if we want the seed to produce a crop one day worth harvesting?  Put it another way – how are we to “tend the garden” so that God can grow something really wonderful and productive in our lives and in the lives of everyone we meet?  Let me suggest a few things.

1. We have to be realistic about the risks we are taking if we want to have a faith garden at all.
2. Having recognized those risks, we have to take prudent measures to protect our investment.
3. And after protecting, and nurturing, and carefully tending to the seed, we have to harvest it – not just for ourselves – but others too.  In other words, to paraphrase a popular slogan, a garden of faith is “a terrible thing to waste.”

First – what are the RISKS of this gardening life we are talking about?

Well, not to be overly dramatic about it – I think we risk it all.  What do I mean by that?  I mean that if we are serious about our discipleship, serious about studying and applying God’s word to our lives – not just the printed ones but the ongoing influence of the Spirit as well – we had better be ready for some predators to show up.  We laugh about rabbits and deer sneaking into our little garden across the way, under cloak of darkness, and eating up all the cucumbers.  But Jesus makes no bones about it.  To those first faithful who followed him, including incidentally the women who, Luke clearly states, “had been cured of evil spirits and diseases,” the Lord has this to say.  “The seed is the word of God.  Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they not believe and be saved.”

I think we miss something important when we put too many limitations on our definition of what Jesus may mean by that.  If we get too hung up on how we define the “devil” or what it might mean to lose this “salvation” he speaks of – we are going to go down a slippery path.  Why not leave it at this:  Whatever it is that God plants in our hearts have to be protected – just like the cucumber we planted across the street.
Now on the surface, that seems obvious.  But the fact is – I think we often forget to protect and nurture what God has done in our lives.  We get busy, or lazy, or tired, or for other reasons, just don’t take care to be sure that the fragile seed can take root in our lives – before someone or something comes and tries to snatch it away.  I don’t care whether you can easily visualize a real “devil” doing that – or if you need to think of evil in some more abstract way – I just want you to take seriously the threat.  I, for one, am quite sure the Devil is real and dangerous.  I’ve felt his presence too often.  But – as I say, for the sake of argument, go ahead and replace that idea with other threats: depression, cynicism, fear, worry, idolatry, greed, anger, racism, and apathy – go ahead name any of these if you prefer.  The point is: they and others are what will try and steal away the gospel from our hearts just as soon as the rabbits and deer in will steal our cucumbers if we let them.  So be on guard – and put a fence around your faith.  It’s only prudent.  Guard your prayer life, your worship time, your church time, your family time, your time with God.  Or one day – you’ll find the seed of faith – never really had a chance to grow at all.

That’s what I mean by “being realistic” about the risks – the dangers – that are out there.

So how do we protect the seed?

Well, look at the detail Jesus offers in his little parable.  What does he mention specifically we must guard against?

The seed falling along the path – snatched up; the seed falling on rock – withered for lack of moisture; that sowed among thorns – choked.  I think these are not just colorful illustrations.  I think they are the very specific ways that Jesus is showing his first disciples how they must order their lives.

You know, it’s interesting to note that Jesus used this parable during what is known as the “year of popularity” in his ministry.  Luke is the only one who records it – and that’s interesting too, because I think Luke is particularly sensitive to the needs of the common people who came to Jesus for help.  Doctors are like that – at least the good ones.  They have a good sense of what the patient needs – not just by what he or she presents on examination – but by what is there unspoken or unseen as well.
And Luke seems to want us to understand that Jesus was all about reaching the people with the medicine they desperately needed in their lives.  So – here they are – during this time in Jesus’ ministry when he was popular and the people were thronging to hear and see him and be healed by them.  The small bands of disciples are witnessing all this.  And the Lord explains, in no uncertain terms, what might prevent the people from being reached – what might literally be “the death of them.”

Lack of a protected environment; lack of moisture; lack of room to grow – that’s what they must address.  Only then can God “grow” their fledgling faith into something beautiful.

We’ve already touched on the protected environment piece – so let’s look briefly look at the others.

 First Jesus reminds the disciples that it’s not enough to be joyful about our faith.  It has to be deeply rooted in our lives.  It’s not enough to just come together once a week or so and smile and sing and say “ain’t God great?”  We have to know God’s ongoing presence in our lives is essential to our survival.  Our bold declaration is that the life of faith is essential – not optional.  And Jesus warns that if the “word” isn’t rooted in our lives deeply – during what he calls “a time of testing” – we will just fall away.  We will just decide that it was all just wishful thinking.

Just so, he also warns that when we are “choked by life’s worries; riches and pleasures” faith can’t mature.  B y the way – did you note that worry and riches and pleasures are linked there?  Just something to think about.

So here we are – reminded that the dangers of losing our faith are very real in this world; that those dangers are lack of a protected and nurturing environment.  And that both testing and worry are key dangers.

But – what about when we do protect our tiny seeds of faith?  What about when we do guard our time with God carefully?  What about when we are vigilant about making sure our worries are kept in check and we turn to God for strength and resources during all the times of “testing” we might endure in life? What then?  Then – Jesus says – get ready for a wonderful harvest.  You can be sure that the seed will produce ten, thirty, a hundred fold.  God will see to it that we have a very, very good harvest.

Isn’t that great news?  That in the face of all the very real threats to our faith, in the face of all that I mentioned before – the “other names” I often attribute to the devil - depression, cynicism, fear, worry, idolatry, greed, anger, racism, apathy – in the face of all this and more, God is faithful.  And with his guiding and loving presence, our harvest of faith will not only survive but thrive.

And then when it does – we have the responsibility to share it with the hungry – we have the responsibility to take the life we have found in the faith and offer it to others.  And the faith grows, and grows, and grows.  I would love to see that happen here at Elpis.

As I said when I started –

I’ve been thinking a lot about gardens lately: not just the “Seeds of Faith” Food Outreach Garden project but all the “seeds of faith” we can and must nurture in our lives.  I’ve been dreaming about the way we can protect and nurture and grow our spiritual lives so that we can have more than enough to share with the people in our community who are starving for some good news and a little grace.  I think – I know – that with God’s help – we have the potential of a really good harvest ahead.  So join me – in doing some gardening:  across the street – and in our ministry here at Elpis.

The risks and the dangers are real.  Don’t ever doubt that.  But so is the potential for doing something really amazing.  And with God’s help we can feed a lot more than a bunch of rabbits and deer.  We can feed the world something than can never, ever, be taken away.

AMEN.  

Spiritual Formation and Direction at Elpis

If you have been keeping up with our posts lately you note that our church has just completed a series of sermons on six main aspects of the Christian life.  Drawing on material from the book DEVOTIONAL CLASSICS, edited by Richard Foster, and other resources from the RENOVARE' ministry, our congregation explored

• the comptemplative or prayer-filled life
• the holy or virtuous life
• the incarnational or sacramental life
• the charismatic or spirit-empowered life
• the evangelical or word-centered life and
• the socially active or compassionate life

Now, we are pleased to offer some great additional resources.  First, note the contact information for our Pastor.  He is available for individual consultation both in person and via email.  Second, we've added convenient links to RENOVARE', THE REVISED COMMON LECTIONARY, and BIBLE GATEWAY: BIBLE STUDY MADE EASY.  We hope these resources are helpful as you grow in your Christian faith and discipleship.

Overflowing Christianity

“Overflowing Christianity”   Text: Amos 5:24
Elpis Christian Church
May 31, 2009

 When I was a kid, I hated playing the piano.  In fact, to be more accurate, I hated playing the organ.   Much to my mother’s pleasure – and much to my dismay – I grew up in a home where we had a big, old Hammond organ.  It was the kind you might see in a church, or on the stage, backing up a 60’s era rock band.  It had – I can’t remember, exactly, - one or two big Leslie speakers which, when at full tilt, made a sort of “wah-wah” sound.  Technically, that’s called vibrato.  And my mom LOVED it.  I mean, she really loved it.  I can still recall sitting at that organ, my feet barely reaching the big, long foot pedals, trying to squeak out some awful arrangement of a Beatles hit – “Yesterday” or “Penny Lane” – and my Mom insisting that I not forget to add that vibrato.  Can’t you picture it?  Here I am - this skinny, little kid with glasses and a crew cut, hammering out “Eleanor Rigby” or “Born Free” – absolutely hating every minute – while his Mom smiles and hums along at his side.  And picture that scene being repeated – over and over and over again.  What’s worse – I couldn’t even read most of the music.  So I just had to fake it.    It didn’t matter, though, not as long as I was sure to fire up those Leslie speakers and let the “wah-wahs” fly.  Mom was in seventh heaven.  And I was in hell.  And this particular form of divine torment was exasperated by the fact that my older brother got to play the “real” instrument – the piano – on the other side of the room.  He could even read music.  There’s no justice.
 Then something amazing happened.  I grew older.  I learned to fake it better.  I moved away and left that big old organ behind.  And I found I could play piano pretty well – even if I couldn’t read the music.  And I started to love it.  I fell in love with the music.  And Mom didn’t need to force me to practice every day.  It became something I was passionate about, something I could rely on when I needed to go deep into my soul and feel something – or express something.  It became a huge part of my life.  And it still is.   What changed?  How did the burden become the blessing?  Well today I want to offer a theory about that – and apply it to our spiritual lives.

 First, let me put things in context.   We come today to the last in my sermon series which has explored six great aspects of the Christian walk.  Bear with me as I repeat them one more time – we’ve now looked at:

• The CONTEMPLATIVE or PRAYER-FILLED LIFE
• The HOLY or VIRTUOUS LIFE
• The INCARNATIONAL or SACRAMENTAL LIFE
• The CHARISMATIC or SPIRIT-EMPOWERED LIFE
• The EVANGELICAL or WORD-CENTERED LIFE

And today we come to the final one – the SOCIALLY ACTIVE or COMPASSIONATE LIFE.

Or, to put it another way, what I would call “Overflowing Christianity.”

Now, that said, let’s get back to the “keyboard” – literally.

What I learned – the hard way – about becoming a musician – is that most of us have to crawl before we can walk.  You have to learn scales and fingering and when to play loudly and when to play softly and – most important of all – how NOT to “pound on the keys” – as my Mom would say.   If you have to learn to play the piano in such a way that it becomes not a burden but a blessing; not an exercise in hitting keys but an expression of pure spirit – first you have to learn the difference between a C major and an A minor.  And that takes time, and effort, and discipline.   Unless you are just some sort of child prodigy – which I of course, was not.

The Christian walk is like that too.   Can you love God before you’ve ever heard of Him?  Can you appreciate the “height, and depth, and breadth” of what God has to say to you if you never open up your Bible and see what it says?  Well, perhaps, at some level you can.  I do think there we, as God’s children, have some natural ability to appreciate His universe and His ways.  Even the smallest child has some sense of the miraculous and holy.  In fact, in some ways, that small child is closer to it that we big old “grown-ups” are.  But I am talking here about a full, deep, mature, sacrificial, loving, life of faith.
I think THAT takes a lifetime to develop.  And God is very patient with us as it unfolds.   Like my Mom, lovingly and patiently listening to all the squeaks and squawks and mistakes at my keyboard of faith – and telling me, all the while, to crank up the vibrato.  To feel – to let the music move me – and so enable me to let my song move others.  That’s the kind of faith that takes a long time to develop.  But God has plenty of time – and is plenty patient.  And if we will engage in that journey – full and honestly and courageously – something wonderful will come of it.
One day – we will find that our Christian calling is not a burden but a joy.  We will overflow with love and compassion and patience and joy – and all the gifts of the Spirit.  We will find a life of compassion is something we don’t just do because we “ought” but because we “love” to do.  The keyboard scales and exercises will become pure joy for us – and God will smile.
Let’s use a different analogy.  Look at today’s small scripture passage.  It speaks of letting justice flow down – overflowing – like fresh, clean, sparkling water from a living stream - instead of just being drawn from some desert wadi – from a tepid, stale pool of leftover water.    It’s a powerful image, one that reminds us that our daily walk of faith can become a joyful, celebrative thing.  It can refresh others – and refresh us.  The way we spend our time, the way we spend our money, the way we worship, the way we love – God, others, ourselves – all this can be living stream of life-giving water.  Or, the way we spend our time, the way we spend our money, the way we worship, the way we love – can all be a pond of stale water.   Something that keeps us from dying of thirst – but never truly refreshes.  The choice is ours.
I think the way we get there – to the living stream – is by daily, prayerfully, taking the time and discipline to develop it.  It doesn’t happen naturally.  To push the analogy even further – we have to dig the well – dig deep – and then, let the underground spring begin to well up and overflow.  Or, we can just sit back – and let whatever little water accumulates do so – and settle for whatever we get.
Whichever image you use – whichever works for you – the analogy of a kid learning to play the organ – or the one of a stagnant pool versus a living stream of water – the point is the same.  The Christian life can be boring and tedious and lifeless or it can be vibrant and ever changing and full of life.   And we can choose which it will be.
Hannah Whitehall Smith, the author of the classic book, THE CHRISTIAN’S SECRET OF A HAPPY LIFE, has this to say:

“It is altogether the way we look at things, whether we think (the things we do in our life of faith) are crosses or not.  And I am ashamed to think that any Christian should ever put on a long face and shed tears over doing a thing for Christ which a worldly person would be only too glad to do for money. “

“What we need in the Christian life is to get believers to WANT to do God’s will as much as other people want do their will.  And this is the idea of the Gospel.  In describing the new covenant in Hebrews 8:6-13, He says it shall no more be the old covenant made on Sinai – that is, a law given from the outside, controlling man by force, it shall be a law written WITHIN, constraining us by love. . . .This can mean nothing but that we shall LOVE his law; for anything written in our hearts we must love... Nothing could be more effectual than this.  How often have we thought, when dealing with our children, ‘Oh, if I could only get inside them, and make them WANT to do just what I want, how easy it would be to manage them then!’ . . . .God’s way of working, therefore, is to get possession of the inside of us, to take the control and management of our will, and to work it for us.  Then obedience is easy and a delight and service becomes perfect freedom, until the Christian is forced to explain, ‘This happy service!  Who could dream earth had such liberty!”

It all comes down to this.  With God’s loving and patient help – all the tedious rules we thought we had to follow become the joyful things we can’t wait to do.  The kid who used to hate practicing begins to love playing music.  The stagnant pond, from which we used to begrudgingly sip, becomes the cool, refreshing, gushing stream in which we frolic.  How does that translate into a life of compassionate love for God and others?  It changes from being the life we “must” live – to one we can’t wait to live.

Let the music begin.

Open-Minded Christianity

Open-Minded Christianity             Text: Luke 4:16-20a; 42-44
Elpis Christian Church
May 24, 2009

 Some of you have heard me tell the story of a lady I knew in Kentucky who loved her King James Version of the Bible.  In fact, to say she loved it is something of an understatement.  She was rabidly defensive of it.  Faced with the dilemma that each year there seemed to be more and more translations of the Bible hitting the shelves – she had only one thing to say.  She would always stick with the KJV because, and I quote,
“If it was good enough for Jesus – it’s good enough for me!”
Now – I know she meant well.  I’d even agree with her that there’s no beating the King James Version when it comes to the beauty of its poetic and well-turned phrases.  I mean, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…” can never be replaced adequately with “God’s my buddy; he’s got me covered….”  But – that said, we have to understand.  Beautiful or not – while Shakespeare’s crowd might have used and loved the KJV – Jesus certainly didn’t.
Still, I’ve always remembered that little lady, and her devout allegiance to a particular version of the scriptures, for another reason.  She reminds me that we who identify ourselves as members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) are “people of the Word” in no uncertain terms.  We are steeped in the tradition, and devoted to the idea, that part and parcel with who we are – is a love for the scriptures – however they are translated.  KJV – NIV – TEV – NEB – take your pick – we love the Word.  And we are deeply committed to the idea that it is there we will find the deepest questions and most profound answers; the best poetry and the most tragic history; the wisdom that can guide nations and the common sense that can best advise individuals.  The Word is central to who we have been, who we are, and who – by God’s grace – we can become.
 And that, brothers and sisters, puts us soundly in the camp of EVANGELICAL Christianity.  Over the past few weeks we have looked at the Contemplative, the Virtuous, the Incarnational, and the Charismatic aspects of the Christian walk – and today we turn to the Evangelical.  And perhaps of any of the great streams of Christian tradition that we have explored thus far – this is the one where we, as Disciples, should feel most at home.
 Alexander Campbell, one of the founders of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) movement, coined a pithy phrase that gets to the heart of the matter.  He said, “Where the scriptures speak, we speak; where the scriptures are silent, we are silent.”  That’s more than just a catchy slogan for us.  It’s open-minded Christianity.  It means that we believe in the ability to take our common sense, our intellect, our spirit of honest and deep inquiry, and turn to the scriptures for guidance.  We believe in the practice of honestly searching – and honestly and openly debating – the meaning of those scriptures.  And we believe in the idea that where scriptures speak on certain important subjects – we ought to be equally bold in our proclamation on the matter.  But, that where questions remain, and the scriptures are not so clear, we need to tread more lightly.  Disciples are not, historically, the type of Christian who take a narrowly interpreted view of the scriptures and force everyone else to tow the line.  We are not the “my way or the highway” type Christian – thank the Lord.  We are the ones who invite honest inquiry, open debate, and welcome the idea that good people of conscience can come to different conclusions.  I’ve grew up in a church where one could go to Sunday School – have a knock down drag out fight (so to speak) with his fellow believers, then – when the bell rang – go happily into worship and gather around an open and inviting Communion Table.  That is, in my opinion, the great strength of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  And it’s a strength we should champion far more often than we do.
 If we want to be truly evangelical – in the best sense of that word – if we want to share the “good news” of God’s love – we, of all people, can and should be the ones who go out into our community with a very special and much needed message.  It is this,
“God loves you.  And God invites you – as we do – into a community of faith – where you can study his word honestly, prayerfully seek guidance there, and follow your mind and heart to conclusions that will inform and inspire your life.  And we celebrate being on that journey with you – wherever it might lead.”

That’s a very different church than one whose message is,
“We have studied the scriptures thoroughly – we’ve got all the answers – and if you adhere to our version of things – you are more than welcome to be a part of our fellowship.  If not, well, God bless you – we will pray for you and hope you come to the true light – someday – before it’s too late.”

As I’ve said from this pulpit more than once – people are hurting out there; people are dying out there – and we have the good, life-saving news, they need.  But we offer it in no pre-packaged, denominationally pre-approved form.  We just say, as the Psalmist has, “come and see” that the Lord is good.  We may not have all the answers to your questions – but we think God does.  And we champion and celebrate your right and ability to seek out those answers as part of our community.
Of all the churches out there – shouldn’t the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) churches be packed to capacity?  We have the fewest “requirements” for membership of all.  We keep it simple.  No creed but Christ.  Where the scriptures speak, where the scriptures are silent we are silent.  In essentials unity; in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.  These are more than catchy slogans from our denomination’s history.  They are the core of who we are.  And they ought to be shouted from the rooftops.
 But we have a problem – don’t we?  So often we are hesitant to be truly “evangelical” because we are so afraid of being associated with some Bible-thumping, tract wielding caricature of a believer.  We don’t want to be seen – at school, or work, or on the ball-field, as being some kind of “holy-roller” type.
Well, all I can suggest is this.  Remember that, no matter how they act on the surface - often, deep down, people are struggling.  They are seeking deep, fulfilling answers to life’s greatest questions.  They are – at school, or work, or on the ball-field, often struggling with finding meaning and direction for their lives.  They are just trying to make sense of it all.  And WE have those answers – we know the way to finding that meaning and direction.  What a waste it is if we don’t take the opportunity to share it.  You don’t have to be a biblical scholar.  All you have to be able to do is say, “You know, at my church, we have a good time talking about all this kind of stuff.  Why don’t you come with me sometime?”  It’s as simple as that.  But did you notice the invitation wasn’t “Why don’t you come visit sometime?” it’s “Why don’t you COME WITH ME sometime?”  That’s the key to evangelism: the personal touch.  Always remember that.
 Well, today I’ve shared no profound quotes with you.  I’ve not mined deeply into the definition of what Biblical truth is – or what the historic differences in understanding of that truth have been.  I’ve only suggested that we, of all people, are soundly grounded in what living a Word-Centered Christianity is all about.  It’s about issuing an invitation – an open minded and open ended invitation.  And being willing to lovingly, and openly, walking with someone in their life of faith.  Can we do that?  I pray that we can.
 I once knew a devout little lady that insisted she would live by the KJV because “if it was good enough for Jesus” it was good enough for her.  I can’t agree with her on that point.  But I can heartily agree that living a Word centered life, an evangelical life, a life that openly and faithfully shares the good news that God is love – THAT is the way to life.  “If it was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me.”  AMEN to that.

Picky Christianity

“Picky Christianity”   Text: Luke 16:19-31
Elpis Christian Church
May 17, 2009

 Years ago, when I first came to Richmond, I worked in a Day Care Center for awhile.  I drove the bus and co-lead an after-school program there.  But during the morning I worked with the little guys and gals – the pre-schoolers.  And one of the jobs I had to do with them was to encourage them to eat lunch every day.  Now that was no easy task.
 If we rolled out the serving carts and they were filled with sausage-pizza squares or deep-fried “tater-tot” potatoes it was a breeze.  But – as was more often the case – if we wheeled out those same carts and they were filled with broccoli casserole or spinach surprise – well, you get the picture.
 I remember one little girl who one day lifted her plate for me to dollop some food on and the look on her face communicate pure and utter disgust at what she was about to receive.  I insisted that she have at least one spoonful of the vegetables and she adamantly refused.  So, clever teacher that I was, I thought to myself “Well, at this age, they like to have some control over their choices…,” so – I gave asked her if she would like to serve herself.  This delighted her no end.  She took the large, silver serving spoon – and proceeded to doll out for herself the teeny-tiniest little serving of food that I have ever witnessed a human being consume.  I mean, it wasn’t any bigger than her thumbnail- which was of course, not big at all.  Then she went happily on about her business – content with her microscopic portion of veggies.
 “Picky, picky, picky,” that’s the motto for many a toddler.  And – sadly, it’s the motto for many a Christian.  Today I want to talk about two types of Christianity.  In the past weeks we’ve touched on the Prayer-Filled or Contemplative Life; the Holy or Virtuous; the Sacramental or Incarnational Life; and today we address the Spirit-Empowered or Charismatic Life.  And that means we have to deal with the issue of discernment.  We have to look at what it means to be picky in our Christian walk.  But, as I say, there are it seems to me, two ways to be picky.  One is life-give giving and empowering.  The other will starve your spiritual life just as quick as being picky in the lunch line will.
 Now this kind of pickiness – the one that turns its nose up at what is good and healthy for you – that is far too prevalent in the lives of Christians today.  It’s the approach to the life of faith which says, “I want to be happy and healthy and get all the goodies that God offers me.  But I also don’t want to be put out; don’t want to be stressed or challenged; don’t want to be too uncomfortable.  And PLEASE don’t ask me to grow too much in my faith.  Just entertain me, or reassure me, or pat me on the head and tell me how good a boy or girl I am.  And serve me – or better yet – let me serve for myself what I would like to pick and choose out of my chosen life of faith.”
 I think we are all tempted to try and live out our faith this way sometimes.  We memorize scripture verses that comfort us –and forget about those verses that disturb us or challenge us.  We act compassionately or boldly for our faith when it suits – and if it doesn’t we find someway around it.  We switch off our brains from time to time – so that we don’t wrestle with questions that we need to wrestle with.  Or, worst yet, we switch off our hearts when we need to be understanding of someone or compassionate or giving in a truly sacrificial way, in the name of our faith.
 It’s especially been true that in recent years “church shopping” as become very popular for this reason.  And I’m not talking about prayerfully searching for the community that is right for you – because is very legitimate.  What I’m talking about those is the individual who goes from church to church until he or she finds the one that has the most entertaining worship service or the nicest facilities or the best pot luck dinners.  That’s no way to follow God’s calling in your life.
 On the other hand, there is a good kind of “picky” Christianity.  It’s the one where you listen carefully – engaging your mind and heart alike – seeking, always seeking God’s presence and God’s will.  It’s the one where you read all of the scriptures – not just the ones you like best – and you seek direction from them.  It’s the life-choice wherein you see a problem in your own life, or the life of your church-community, or your family, or your chosen work, and you say, “Lord, show me the way.  Let me have the courage and strength and the discernment,” – there’s that word again – “to know which step to take next.  And then lead me in your way.”  Last week we talked about the importance of asking that question, “What would Jesus Do?”  This week recognizing that the only way we can make the right choice is my openly asking for God’s Spirit to help us decide.  Otherwise, how can we possibly know whether we are making the right choices – or just giving in to our own picky preferences?
 The scripture I read a few moments ago makes me uncomfortable every time I read it.  It makes me uncomfortable because here, on the very lips of Jesus, is a tale of mercy and justice – of reward and punishment – and of eternal consequences.  It makes me very nervous.  But I dare not pick and choose and toss it aside lightly.
 I need to hear how it challenges me to make the right choices in this life that lead to life – and not death.  It challenges me to say that we must discern the way TO God and the way that may well lead AWAY from God.   And finally, it reminds us that there are just some people in this life who won’t see the writing on the wall until it’s too late.  “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets,” says Jesus, “neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”  Lord keep me from being one of those who just won’t see.
 The alternative, though, is truly life giving.  It’s empowering.  It’s Spirit-empowered.  It’s the willingness and the desire to open ourselves up to God’s indwelling guidance.  It is the Charismatic life, not in the sense that we will all start speaking in foreign tongues.  But in the sense that God will guide us and help us to make the healthy and right choices for ourselves and for how we fit into our community, church, and the world.
 Catherine of Genoa was born into a prominent religious family in the fifteenth century.  She lived for a decade or so as the wife of a nobleman – but she was converted to a more contemplative life of faith.  And after her husband lost his fortune – they both pursued a deeper Christian life.  They both went to live among the poor in Genoa, and they began working full time in a nearby hospital.  After her husband’s death, Catherine went on to become the matron of the hospital.  And she went on to write a number of spiritual writings which have become classics.  In one of them she writes of this life of discernment this way,
“God gives us his light in an instant, allowing us to know all that we need to know.  No more is given to us than is necessary in his plan that leads to perfection.  We cannot seek this light; it is given to us from God only as he chooses.  Neither do we know how it comes, or how we even know that it is!  If we try to know more that we have been made to know, we will accomplish nothing.  We simply wait like a stone, with no capacity until he brings us life.”

“Therefore I will not weary myself with seeking beyond what God wants me to know.  Instead I will abide in peace with the understanding God has given me, and I will let this occupy my mind.”

Now, on the surface, that might sound like Catherine is advising we simply not think too much, that instead we just let revelation come as it might and we not spend a lot of time thinking about or seeking direction.  But her own life was an example of seeking God’s will.  So I interpret what she is saying this way.

We seek direction – in faith that God will help us discern – and little by little God is faithful.  We may not always understand the direction he wants us to go.  We may not always be resolved about what we are to learn or what we are to do.  But, in the seeking, if we rest in the peace that the God who loves us will – in His own timing and in His own graceful way – show us – we will slowly, and surely grow as His children.
 Discerning God’s will – hearing the Spirit’s counsel – does not need to always be an anxious thing.  But we must be open and we must be ready to receive.  Always picky in our discernment of God’s way from some other way; never picky in refusing to receive God’s grace when it is so lovingly offered.
 Back when I worked in that day care center – I saw many a picky eater.  I saw child after child who, if given a chance, would choose to take a spoon and serve themselves a tiny, worthless, portion of something that was good for them.  In years of ministry I have watch many a picky Christian – and I have been one myself – try and serve myself a tiny, worthless, portion of God’s grace.  Only in recent years have I come to fully appreciate how it is in being willing to receive a full portion of that good, life-giving grace that I am fully nourished and can grow.  There is nothing wrong with a life of “Picky Christianity” if we are picky in the right way.
 Use your mind – use your heart – use your faith – and wait patiently and expectantly for God to love you and guide you as fully as He desires.  Be a picky Christian – and choose life.

 
 

   

 

Wide-Eyed Christianity

“Wide-Eyed Christianity”         Text: Mark 8:22-26
Elpis Christian Church
May 10, 2009

 Well, today we come to the halfway point in our exploration of six great aspects of the full and healthy Christian life.  We’ve looked at the PRAYER –FILLED or contemplative life.  And we’ve considered the VIRTUOUS life – that is the one who daily asks “What would Jesus Do?”  And to help us remember these aspects of the Christian walk – you might recall - I’ve labeled these, respectively, CLOSET CHRISTIANITY and EVERYDAY CHRISTIANITY.  Now this morning I want to talk about what I’m going to call WIDE-EYED CHRISTIANITY.  I want us to touch on the SACRAMENTAL aspect of our faith – or to come at it still another way – that which has been traditionally called the incarnational tradition.
 Now we don’t want to get too bogged down in theological terms today – especially today, that’s the last thing I want to do.  But we do need to understand at least the basic idea of the incarnation.  And I would put it this way.  To live an incarnational Christian life is to live one that sees God’s holy, miraculous, beautiful presence – in the most ordinary of places and things.

• It’s seeing God’s handiwork in a warm loaf of bread, placed lovingly on the supper table, by the one who has baked it.
• It’s seeing something holy in the eyes of your beloved old dog that looks at you with such trust and unconditional love.
• It’s hearing God’s laughter in the uncontrolled chortle of a two-year old.
• It’s seeing the wonders of the universe packaged in a blade of grass or even a persistent weed.
• It’s recognizing that the mud that is caked on your boots and tracked across your kitchen floor is the very stuff of life.

And most of all, it’s recognizing that God loves you and me and the universe so much that He stepped into it in the flesh, blood, and bones of a man named Jesus of Nazareth.

John put it this way:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”

And in those few sentences, he addresses the tragedy I want to confront today.  That, as he says, the very light that is life “was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. “ How he “came to that which his own, but his own did not receive him.”

In many ways – they – WE – still don’t.

Just as He did in the past – so often God steps into our everyday lives now in ten-thousand different ways – and we just miss Him.  We don’t see Him – we just keep on moving.  And so, we look at that warm loaf of bread so lovingly prepared; the old dog lying at our feet; the laughing toddler; the grass that needs to be cut or the weeds that need to be sprayed; and the mud on our boots – and we miss it – we miss God.
The remedy to all of this is to live a life of wide-eyed faith and observation.  It’s to be intentional about being thankful in not only the great, dramatic ways God intervenes in our lives – but in the small, seemingly insignificant ways too.  And to realize that they may be the most miraculous ways of all.

But that takes vision.

Today’s scripture passage takes us back to the day when Jesus healed a blind man in the town of Bethsaida.  It’s good to note that the account is sandwiched in the same chapter of Mark in which we are told of Christ’s miraculous feeding of the four thousand and we hear of Peter’s great confession of faith.  It’s in the same chapter in which we hear Jesus also what he calls the “yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod” and where he first predicts his death and resurrection.

Sandwiched in with all of this tremendously important material – comes this story about a man being healed of his blindness.

What I love about this particular story is that, for whatever reason, when Jesus first touches the man - it results in only a partial healing.  Though the man’s vision begins to return he only sees people that “look like trees walking around.”  It is only when Jesus touches the man’s eyes again that he begins to see everything clearly.

Isn’t that a good metaphor for life?  And for this truth we are exploring today – that seeing God’s presence clearly in all the miraculous things that surround us daily – this is a process.  And it’s a process in which Christ is intimately involved not just once and for all – but again and again.  It is a partnership of faith in which Christ touches our blinds eyes – and little by little – we begin to see God’s presence – in ever clearer and more powerful ways.

When we live a life of wide-eyed Christianity we see God everywhere – not just in the pages of our Bible or the worship service here on Sunday morning.  When we live a life of wide-eyed Christianity – we notice the small things and recognize they’re not small at all.  And we are healed of the spiritual darkness and blindness that has never understood the light.

There’s a bird here on the premises – I may have mentioned him to you before.  He’s a cardinal to be exact – that drives me a little crazy.  He’s bright red, beautiful, a wonderful work of nature.  He also appears to be a rather stupid bird or at least a vision impaired one or by now even a brain damaged one.  Because several times a week he flies into the window of the nursery – I suppose to get at the other cardinal he sees there – in what of course is only his own reflection.

He just can’t see reality – and comprehend it – and so in frustration he keeps bashing his head against the glass day after day after day.

We can become like that.  We just can’t see reality – the reality that recognizes God’s sovereign, loving, holy presence – his incarnation.  And so we frame reality in another way.  We bash our heads, so to speak, against the mere reflection we think is real.  And we grow more and more frustrated.  We might even become a little brain damaged in the process.

But I believe that if we pray for God to open our eyes and help us really see – life takes on a whole and beautiful new meaning.

Instead of seeing people – and treating them – as if they are just “trees walking around” we recognize how every single human being has worth.  Instead of seeing our work as merely a means to an end called a paycheck we recognize it can become something meaningful and worthwhile.  And if it can’t – then maybe we can see new possibilities in other pursuits.  We can see our families and friends in a new light – we can see our church life from a new perspective too.  God can open our eyes to seeing that even the simplest, most mundane actions can be acts of celebration and growth and worship.

Poet Kathleen Norris talks about it this way:

“When confronting a sinkful of dirty dishes – something I do regularly, as my husband is the cook in our house and I am the dishwasher – I admit that I generally lose sight of the fact that God is inviting me to play.  But I recall that as a college student I sometimes worked as a teacher’s aide in a kindergarten and was interested to note that one of the most popular play areas for both boys and girls was a sink in the corner of the room.  After painting, the children washed their brushes there, but at other times, for the sheer joy of it the tickle of water on the skin and God knows what else – a few children at a time would be allowed what the teacher termed ‘water play.’  The children delighted in filling, emptying and refilling plastic bowls, cups and glasses, watching bubbles form as they pressed objects deeper into the sink or tried to get others to stay afloat.”

“It is difficult for adults to be so at play with daily tasks in the world.  What we do of necessity can drag us down, and all too often the repetitive and familiar become not occasions for renewal, but dry, stale, lifeless activity.  When washing dishes, I am no better than anyone else at converting the drudgery of the work into something better by means of playful abandon.”

“The contemplative in me recognizes the sacred potential in the mundane task, even as the terminally busy go-getter resents the necessity of repetition.  But as Soren Kierkegaard reminds us, ‘Repetition is reality, and it is the seriousness of life  . . . . repetition is the daily bread which satisfies with benediction.  Repetition is both as ordinary and necessary as bread, and the very stuff of ecstasy.”

What are they talking about?  Simply that even the repetitious acts of doing the dishes or other chores can nourish us if we look at them in a new and fresh light.

Does that make me want to rush home and do the dirty dishes?  No – sorry, Elizabeth.  But – it does remind me that every waking and sleeping moment of our lives – if viewed from an incarnational perspective – can open our eyes wide with appreciation.

Norris tells the story of a little girl she observed one day, who while out with her mother, found a penny on the floor of a post office.  ‘Look, Momma, a penny,’ she said.  Her mother, busy with the clerk at the window mumbled an acknowledgement.  Norris said, “I was surprised to see the girl put the penny back on the floor, in a different location.  ‘Look, Momma,’ she said again, ‘I found another one!’  She kept it up until she had found five pennies, each of them new.”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful – if we could have just a bit of that young child’s playful vision and imagination?  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if with wide-eyed expectation we could greet each day and see in both the grand and the mundane the handiwork of God?  “Look, Momma, a penny.   And another one…and another one…and another one.”  Wouldn’t that be great?

 

Everyday Christianity

“Everyday Christianity”   Text: James 2:14-26
Elpis Christian Church
May 3, 2009

 
 Well some of us got our hands dirty yesterday.  We got our “Seeds of Faith” garden project going – and one thing is clear.  I’ve got A LOT to learn about growing vegetables.  The good news is that here at Elpis we have one or two people who have forgotten more about gardening than this city boy will ever know.  So I’m looking forward to learning.  And let the deer be officially put on notice – this food is for PEOPLE in need not WILDLIFE in need, though we’ll have to wait and see how closely they pay attention to pastoral proclamations.  And just in case – I’m pretty sure there are plans for constructing a fence.
 The main thing that I’m excited about is that this small garden project is going to give us an opportunity to “put our money where our mouth is” – so to speak.  First – we’re going to be using a $350 grant from District 10 of the Christian Churches in Virginia – to get things up and running.  Second – we’re going to be using volunteer time and labor to keep things growing.  And – with help from God and lots of faith – we are going to one day be showing our community that Elpis Christian Church doesn’t just talk about loving others – when needed it puts food on their plates too – free of charge.  James would be proud of us.
 The James, that is, that wrote today’s compelling scripture passage.  With one question he cuts right to the heart of the matter.  “What good is it, brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?”  Ever since those words were penned – and actually before they were – people of faith have been arguing about the issue.  In the context of our series of sermons on the Christian life – we might phrase it this way.  “If you want to live the virtuous life – how can you do that – while people are starving – right in your own back yard?  If you want to live the holy life – how can you do that – while people right next door need clothing, or housing, or a decent job, or medicine?”
 Now in response – there has always been two strong answers.  One says – you can’t.  Faith and compassionate works go hand in hand – otherwise your faith truly is dead.  The other says, “Hold on!  What about responsibility?  What do hand outs have to do with Christian love?  Isn’t it just breeding dependency – or, at best, isn’t it just putting a Band-Aid on the real problem?”
 If you ask me – both voices need to be heard there.  Breeding dependency and irresponsibility IS a major problem in our society.  And churches can get caught up in just giving a bag of groceries here, a little cash there, and forget that these problems are much bigger than that.
 But for me that only challenges us, as the body of Christ, to do MORE not less.  Do it with responsibility and with good stewardship?  You bet.  Do it in such a way that it is only the truly needy –and not the moochers of the world – that receive our help?  Absolutely.  To do any less is to be very poor stewards of God’s abundant grace.  But, as the modern day slogan says so well, when all the dust settles, we still need to “just do it.”  We need to find the starving, find the naked, find the brothers and sisters with the holes in their roofs and the dirt floors in their homes, find the children and adults who can’t read the instructions that the local clinic or school gives them to read, find those who tonight will eat processed noodles, again, for supper – and put some real vegetables on their table.  And most important of all – as we do it – we need to do it to the glory of God.
And when they ask us why we care – we need to answer loud and clear – because we’re trying to love them the way God loves them – simple as that.
 So often we complicate things.  So often we debate the fine points about the nature of the Christian life.  I think more often we need to just stop talking and plant a few beans – and let God take over from there.  That’s what we did yesterday.  And if you missed a chance to be a part of it – I hope you’ll get on board soon.  If you can’t physically participate in the garden itself – then we’ll find some other way for you to get involved.  Maybe you can help us publicize the project to the local paper or where you work.  Or maybe you can help package the food once it’s grown.  I don’t know – but God knows where you can be used.  Just do it.  Live the virtuous life – the holy life – by getting your hands a little dirty.
 William Law was a devout Anglican priest in the seventeenth century.  His practical work was as a spiritual director, offering guidance to people who sought a closer, deeper relationship with God.  His best-known written work is a book called A SERIOUS CALL TO A DEVOUT AND HOLY LIFE.  It’s a classic among historic Christian literature.
 Law has a lot to say about a word you don’t hear too often this day – piety.  He writes of devotion and prayer and all the things you would expect a good Anglican priest to write about.  But it’s striking to me that for Law the pious life – what we might call the virtuous or holy life – can’t be separated from a life that is spent daily living out God’s love in a thousand practical ways.  Here’s what he has to say about that:
 “The simple point is this: either Christianity prescribes rules to live by in our daily lives, or it does not.  If it does, then we must govern all of our actions by those rules if we are to worship God.  For if Christianity teaches anything about eating or drinking, spending our time and money, how we are to live in the world, what attitudes we are to have in daily life, how we are to be disposed toward all people, how we are to behave toward the sick, the poor, the old, the destitute, whom we are to treat with particular love, whom we are to regard with particular esteem, how we are treat our enemies, and how we are to deny ourselves, we would be foolish to think that these teachings are not to observed with the same strictness as those teachings that relate to prayer.”
 “It is very observable that there is not one command in all the gospel for public worship.  One could say that it is the duty that is least insisted upon in Scripture.  Frequent church attendance is never so much as mentioned in all of the New Testament.  But the command to have faith which governs the ordinary actions of our lives is to be found in almost every verse of scripture.  Our blessed Savior and his Apostles were very intent on giving us teachings that relate to daily life.  They teach us: to renounce the world and be different in our attitudes and ways of life; to renounce all its goods; to fear none of its evils; to be as newborn babes who are born into a new state of things; to live as pilgrims in spiritual watching, in holy fear, and heavenly aspiring to another life; to take up our cross daily, to deny ourselves, to profess the blessedness of mourning, to seek the blessedness of poverty of spirit; to forsake the pride and vanity of riches, to take no thought for the morrow, to live in the profoundest state of humility, to rejoice in worldly sufferings; to reject the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; to bear injuries, to forgive and bless our enemies, and to love all people as God loves them; to give up our whole hearts and affections to God, and to strive to enter through the straight gate into a life of eternal glory.”
 And then Law concludes with this one, pointed, question that rings down through the ages into the lives of believers everywhere:
 “Isn’t it strange that people place so much emphasis upon going to church when there is not one command from Jesus to do so and yet neglect the basic duties of ordinary life which are commanded in every page of the Gospels?”
 Wow.  Those are strong words coming from an Anglican clergyman of the seventeenth century.  Hundreds of years later – a much shorter version of what he had to say was made popular by the modern church – especially among young people.  It said, “When it comes to day to day living, when you are faced with some very tough decisions, just ask this:  WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?”
 There are some you say that is a naïve question to ask in these modern and complicated times.  But I think it’s a good one.  While it may be simplistic, in some ways, to put ourselves in the sandals of Jesus – that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth trying.
 James would say it’s simple really.   People of hurting, they are hungry, and thirsty, and they need some real help.  How can we sit on church on Sunday – and not do something about their need on Monday?  WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?  I don’t know what Jesus would do about some things.  But I think it’s a fair guess he’d be happy about our humble little effort called the “Seeds of Faith” garden project.  He’d smile at Oscar or Lewellyn or Clarence showing Kaitlyn or Libby or Coleman or Paul about how beans are supposed to be planted right.  And I know God is pleased whenever one of his children is just a little less hungry because another one of his children put his or her faith to work in a simple, practical way.
 “Everyday Christianity” is Christianity where when we leave this church on Sunday we go out into a mission field and show we really mean what we profess here each time we gather.  And, hand in hand with the “Closet Christianity” of dedicated prayer life, we do great and important things in Christ’s name.
 Some of us got our hands dirty yesterday.  I hope in the coming days and weeks all of us will get our hands dirty, literally or figuratively speaking.  It’s the way to holiness.  It’s the way to a virtuous life.  It’s what Jesus would do.
 

   

 

Closet Christianity

“Closet Christianity”    Text: 1 Kings 19:9-13
Elpis Christian Church
April 26, 2009

 Last week in my sermon, you might remember, I asked the pointed question, “Does Easter Matter?”  And of course I suggested it does – and it should – and talked a little bit about how it matters.
 Well this week I want to begin of series of sermons that I hope is going to add a little flesh to the bones, so to speak, and explore with you what this thing called the Christian life ought to be about.  Along with the scriptures themselves I’m going to be sharing with you the wisdom of some of the truly great Christian souls from ages past.  I’ll be drawing on a wonderful resource, edited by Richard Foster and James Bryan Smith, called Devotional Classics.  And I hope when our journey two things will have happened.  First, you’ll have a deeper appreciation for those aspects of the Christian life with which you are already most familiar.  And second, you’ll have been introduced to some areas that you’re not so familiar with and which would be good to start exploring more.
 

The Christian life that is full and productive and growing and healthy has six aspects to it.  And here they are:

1. The Prayer-Filled Life
2. The Virtuous Life
3. The Spirit-Empowered Life
4. The Compassionate Life
5. The Word-Centered Life
6. The Sacramental Life

I’m going to suggest to you today and over the next six weeks that if you are unfamiliar with any of these – you are really missing something.  Does it mean your eternal salvation is at risk?  No, probably not.  Does it mean that you are incapable of making a good living, or having a happy marriage, or raising your children?  No, probably not.  But – if you are unfamiliar or unskilled at tapping into and drawing from the wisdom and strength you can find by daily living the prayer-filled or virtuous or spirit-empowered or compassionate or word-centered or sacramental life – well then, at the very least you are crippled somewhat.  Because God is there, ready to be a part of your life, in all these different ways.  And you’re missing that opportunity.  And that’s what I want to help correct.
 You know, just yesterday Elizabeth and I were talking about the fact that in our physical lives – we might know what is for best for us.  We might go to visit our doctor once or twice a year.  And he or she will look over our chart, ask a few pointed questions, check on how well we’ve been sleeping or eating, and how much coffee we’ve been drinking.  And then, usually, as we leave the office we are given some helpful advice – or maybe even a prescription or two – so that we can improve the quality of our physical condition.  And sometimes, maybe more often than we would like to admit, following that advice or filling those prescriptions may mean the difference between life and death.
 Well, spiritually, it’s the same.  If I am your spiritual doctor, so to speak, and you only come to visit me once or twice a year – or even if we visit regularly – the occasion will surely arise for me to ask some pointed some pointed questions.  I’ll ask how well you’ve been eating or sleeping.  I may even ask how many cups of coffee you’ve been drinking lately.  More to the point – I may ask how your prayer life is going or if you’ve read that book I recently recommended you read.  And little by little – we will determine together – how healthy you are spiritually – and what to do about it.  Well, that’s what I hope to do with this sermon series ahead.  And I pray it’ll benefit us both.  So let’s get started.

1. The Prayer-Filled Life

This is touching on what is known within the life of the Church at large as the “contemplative” tradition.  Think about that for a moment – that word “contemplate.”  What do you spend most of your waking hours, and more than a few of your sleeping hours, contemplating?  Is it your family life; your bank book; your career; your physical health?  Do you spend most of your time contemplating whether or not you’re happy; whether or not you are accomplishing your goals?  Or do you spend most of your time, and most of your life, contemplating the day to day issues and problems you must face – your bills, your kid’s homework, what your boss said to you recently, or how your garden has been looking lately?  This is the stuff of life, isn’t it?  And it weighs heavily on us.
 Well – the prayer-filled life – is the life that assumes that God cares about these things too.  And it is the life that assumes and promises that if you will bring each of these concerns to God, on a regular basis, God will guide you and strengthen you and equip you so that you can deal with these things effectively and in a life enriching way.  Moreover, the prayer-filled life assumes that – in addition to being, literally “self-centered” about all of this stuff – we need to do something else.  We need to be “God-centered” first and foremost.  We need to fill our days with praise and thanksgiving and worship and appreciation for all that is holy in creation.  We need to get our minds off ourselves on a more regular basis.  And we need to get our minds and hearts focused on the very source of life.  The prayer-filled life says we need to stop talking so much – and spend more time listening.  Not just to our fellow human beings – but to God.
Now there’s a problem.  The world in which we live is very, very noisy place.  It demands of us almost constant attention to a thousand different things.  And each one of those things – big and small – scream at us, “I’M MOST IMPORTANT!  PAY ATTENTION TO ME – RIGHT NOW!!”  From our family life, to our work life, to our civic life, to our life as members of the world wide human family – we are pulled at, and badgered, and called upon to respond.  The world is a very, very noisy place.
 And in response, the prayer-filled life, calls us to do something very, very important.  We are called, as the Psalmist puts it, to “be still and know” that God is God.
 The Prophet Elijah was in a tough spot.  A little crooked minded, mean-spirited lady by the name of Jezebel was out to get him.  And her threats were no idle threats.  She had already summarily dispatched – that is she had killed – a whole bunch of other guys who had gotten in her way.  And so Elijah was on the run.  And where does he run but to that sacred place where long ago God met with Moses – Mount Horeb, better known as Mount Sinai.
 We find him, in today’s scripture, just hiding out there in a cave.  And God comes to him and asks him a question, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  Well, it’s almost as if Elijah can’t believe his ears.  He responds as if to say, “What do you mean, ‘What are you doing here?’  Don’t you know what’s been happening to me God?  They’re out to get me – they’re all out to get me!”
Elijah is scared, and frustrated, and angry, and feeling pretty darn sorry for himself.  So God tells him to go outside the cave – God wants to talk further with him.  But here’s the real clincher.  How does God come to him?   You know the answer.
God comes to him – not in an earthquake, not in the fire that follows, but in a gentle whisper.  God whispers to him.  And in that whisper, God asks him again the question that really matters.  And this time Elijah hears the question differently.  There’s no condemnation here.  There’s no threat or accusation.  There’s just a loving reminder, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  And God goes on – in that moment of prayerful conversation – to reassure his prophet, and strengthen him, and send him back into the world again with the reminder that he is not alone as he goes.
 Prayer does that for us.  In the midst of the earthquake, and the fire, and in the face of those who would like to have our head on a platter for one reason or another – we run and hide in the cave.  And God finds us there.  In his mercy and grace God finds us there.  How sad it is that so often God has to come running after us.  How much better it would be if each day we made a point to quiet our souls and minds and let God whisper to us as He will.
Father Henri Nouwen, writing in a book entitled Making All Things New, reminds us,
“The spiritual life is a gift.   It is a gift of the Holy Spirit, who lifts us up into the kingdom of God’s love.  But to say that being lifted up into the kingdom of love is a divine gift does not mean we wait passively until the gift is offered to us.”
“Jesus tells us to set our hearts on the kingdom.  Setting our hearts on something involves not only serious aspiration but also strong determination.  A spiritual life requires human effort.  The forces that keep pulling us back into a worry-filled life are far from easy to overcome.”
“Here we touch the question of discipline in the spiritual life.  A spiritual life without discipline is impossible. . . .our lives have become absurd.  In the word absurd  we find the Latin word surdus, which means ‘deaf.’  A spiritual life requires discipline because we need to learn to listen to God, who constantly speaks but whom we seldom hear.”
“When, however, we learn to listen, our lives become obedient lives.  The word obedient comes from the Latin word, audire, which means ‘listening.’  A spiritual discipline is necessary in order to move slowly from an absurd to an obedient life, from a life filled with noisy worries to a life in which there is some free inner space where we can listen to our God and follow his guidance.”
 I think what Nouwen talking about so eloquently is that we need to live a life of “closet Christianity.”  Not closeted in the sense that we are totally shut off, out of touch, uncaring, unreachable.  But in the sense that we daily go into that secret place, what the old King James version of the
Bible calls our ‘closet.’  And there – we need to shut the door for awhile and talk with God.  More importantly – we need to shut the door – and listen to God as he whispers a message of love to us.
 You can’t live a spiritual life without it being a prayer-filled life.  And a prayer-filled life is one where you are in prayer not just once a year, or once a month, or once a week – here at church.  A prayer-filled life is not even one where all through the day you half-heartedly ask God for a little help.  A prayer-filled life is one where you submit to the discipline to spend dedicated time in a closet, or down by the pond, or in your bedroom or work shed or out walking or somewhere – just communing with God.  And if you don’t do that – life will often seem absurd and out of control.
 I know many of you do this.  I know some of you don’t.  I can’t make you pray in a disciplined way on a daily basis any more than my doctor can make me take cholesterol medicine and lay off the hamburgers.  But I know that if I don’t do that – my heart is eventually going to have something to say to me.  And it isn’t going to be pretty when it does.
 Live the prayer-filled life.  Find that inner, secret, quiet place where God can whisper to you – before the next earthquake or Jezebel comes along.  Be still and know God is God.  And when you go back out into that noisy, noisy world – you’ll know just what to do.  And more importantly, you’ll know Who goes with you into the day.