[This is a reprint from a recent newsletter]
I recently filled out a self-evaluation as part of my work here as the pastor of Saint Francis. Probably like many of you, I was asked to list my strengths and weaknesses. I thought hard about the question and ended up naming “faith” as one of my strengths. I explained this by stating, “I really believe that God’s ways are better than ours.”
I consider faith as one of my greatest strengths. But the truth is I don’t always practice it. This is a paradox, isn’t it? On the one hand, I have some faith. And what little I have is as important to me and my work as a Christian leader as anything else. But at the same time, I don’t trust God as much as I believe I should. Yet, even here—even in my lack of faith and lack of its employment—I still desire that God’s work and will be done in my life and in the life of the churches that I serve. I live in the world through a hope that springs from a seed of imperfect faith; yet I long for it to grow.
Now that was an awkward and imprecise paragraph. But faith—at least faith on this side of the veil—is awkward and imprecise. And this, I think, is an appropriate way to step into the season of Advent.
The readings, the songs, the poetry—these all point to something that is desired but not yet known, at least not fully. To sing, “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus,” is to take what faith we have and lift it heavenward. To say, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” is to offer a hope-prayer that we do not yet fully understand. Yet, there remains something within us that moves us to trust and to seek an even greater depth of trust.
If we do not know the value of trust… if we do not appreciate the beauty of hope… if we do not have a longing for deliverance… then, chances are, Advent will mean little to us. It will be little more than a countdown to Christmas. On the other hand, if we do treasure the seed of faith growing within—no matter how small it might seem—then Advent is perhaps the greatest of seasons. Advent nurtures the awkward and imprecise faith of pilgrims. It blessed the trust of the patient and the longing of the hopeful.
So come again to light the candles as we await the coming of the Savior. Be with others who’s awkward and imprecise faith is their greatest strength. Join those who’s half-lives are longing to be made whole. And you will find that the seed within you can grow…
Grace and Peace,
Mark
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Mangers and Tombs
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Luke 2:7
We had the annual meeting of our church last night. In Methodism, this is called Charge Conference and charge conferences are typically dreaded by pastors and churches alike. They are probably dreaded by district superintendents as well, although they are less inclined to admit this.
The reason for this is simply the predictability of it all. This is a lot like the regional manager come to check in with the branch office. But a critical element of the Church is the fact that it is NOT a business. And because of this, whenever a clearly corporate activity is applied to the community of faith, there is always a degree of awkwardness and discomfort. Of course, it doesn't help when the district superintendent approaches the gathering with the same tone that Paul speaks to the faithful in places like Corinth... I commend you for this but you really need to work on these things... There is nothing wrong with the district superintendent doing this. It is actually his/her job to speak the truth to the local church. It's just that this only adds to the feeling that all this has more to do with numbers than Jesus. Hence the dread...
So imagine our surprise when we actually felt that Spirit moving and speaking last night. Despite the fact that it was a business meeting of the church... Despite the fact that we did hear a bit of I commend you here but... Despite the fact that the superintendent did seem to look like he has been to a few of these things already this fall... Despite all these things there were nevertheless clear signs that God is present and actively working at Saint Francis United Methodist Church.
These signs were most evident in the stories that were told by the Saint Francis faithful. Men and women of various ages and even youth with the congregation shared sincere testimonies about how they have seen God at work in the ministries and missions of the church. There were many different kinds of stories involving many different groups both in and beyond the local church. However, there were two common denominators in each of these stories. The first was a clarity on behalf of each speaker that God was clearly involved. The second was the fact that authentic human relationships were front and center in each of these testimonies.
As the gathering came to a close, I was reminded of something about the Christian faith. Time and again, the Scriptures testify that God is often found where we least expect. When God looks upon the plight of the Israelites, he summons Moses, essentially an Egyptian prince. When God looks for an appropriate King, he sets his eyes upon Jesse's youngest son, David. Mary is essentially an unknown woman. The Savior is born not in Jerusalem but in a modest manger in Bethlehem. The Son of God is revealed not on a throne but on a cross and an empty tomb. Time and again, the Lord comes to modest places to accomplish amazing things.
That makes me feel pretty good about where I am right now. I'm humbled and grateful to find my home among the modest folks of Saint Francis.
God bless us every one...
We had the annual meeting of our church last night. In Methodism, this is called Charge Conference and charge conferences are typically dreaded by pastors and churches alike. They are probably dreaded by district superintendents as well, although they are less inclined to admit this.
The reason for this is simply the predictability of it all. This is a lot like the regional manager come to check in with the branch office. But a critical element of the Church is the fact that it is NOT a business. And because of this, whenever a clearly corporate activity is applied to the community of faith, there is always a degree of awkwardness and discomfort. Of course, it doesn't help when the district superintendent approaches the gathering with the same tone that Paul speaks to the faithful in places like Corinth... I commend you for this but you really need to work on these things... There is nothing wrong with the district superintendent doing this. It is actually his/her job to speak the truth to the local church. It's just that this only adds to the feeling that all this has more to do with numbers than Jesus. Hence the dread...
So imagine our surprise when we actually felt that Spirit moving and speaking last night. Despite the fact that it was a business meeting of the church... Despite the fact that we did hear a bit of I commend you here but... Despite the fact that the superintendent did seem to look like he has been to a few of these things already this fall... Despite all these things there were nevertheless clear signs that God is present and actively working at Saint Francis United Methodist Church.
These signs were most evident in the stories that were told by the Saint Francis faithful. Men and women of various ages and even youth with the congregation shared sincere testimonies about how they have seen God at work in the ministries and missions of the church. There were many different kinds of stories involving many different groups both in and beyond the local church. However, there were two common denominators in each of these stories. The first was a clarity on behalf of each speaker that God was clearly involved. The second was the fact that authentic human relationships were front and center in each of these testimonies.
As the gathering came to a close, I was reminded of something about the Christian faith. Time and again, the Scriptures testify that God is often found where we least expect. When God looks upon the plight of the Israelites, he summons Moses, essentially an Egyptian prince. When God looks for an appropriate King, he sets his eyes upon Jesse's youngest son, David. Mary is essentially an unknown woman. The Savior is born not in Jerusalem but in a modest manger in Bethlehem. The Son of God is revealed not on a throne but on a cross and an empty tomb. Time and again, the Lord comes to modest places to accomplish amazing things.
That makes me feel pretty good about where I am right now. I'm humbled and grateful to find my home among the modest folks of Saint Francis.
God bless us every one...
Thursday, November 18, 2010
In there somewhere...
Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;
because they delivered entire communities over to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of kinship. So I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, fire that shall devour its strongholds. (Amos 1:9-10)
In a recent Bible study, we were reading and discussing the book of Amos. Amos is called to bring the word of judgment to Israel. After overlooking the nation's transgressions time and again, the Lord's patience has finally come to an end. The shepherd turned prophet is called and the Word comes swift and relentless. Things begin to change rapidly in Israel and the people come to see that this is God's judgment befalling them.
The question raised in the Bible study was: where is this today? Where is God's hand? Where is God's response to modern sin or disrespect? Is God patient or irresponsible? Or is it that we just haven't reached the tipping point just yet?
The specifics in our conversation had to do with the environment. Some of the people in the group noticed that we aren't hearing as much about global warming as we did just a year or two ago. Why is this? Is it because the evidence now suggests that the matter is not as urgent as some initially believed? Is it because all this is simply too big and involved and there really isn't anything that we can do about it? Is it information overload?
These are all reasonable explanations. But there is another question--what does God make of all this? What does God make of the 70+ Million Barrels of oil that the planet is burning through each and every day? What does the Lord think about the vanishing rain-forest or the level of pollution escalating in developing countries like China and India?
The members of the bible study struggled--not merely in answering these kinds of questions but in even thinking about them. What does this mean? Does it mean anything? My point is not to suggest I have some kind of insight or righteousness. The fact is that I am as incapable of talking meaningfully about this stuff as anybody else. But something tells me that it does matter.
Next time you pick up a paper or click on your favorite Internet news-source, ask yourself that question--what does God make of this? Because it seems to me that whether we are talking our personal decisions or national priorities or corporate values or whatever... God has got to be in there somewhere. Maybe the Lord is patient or hopeful and, therefore, remaining hidden and inactive in some of these situations. But according to the prophets, if there is real sin or wickedness involved, there does come a time... Indeed, there must come a time when all that patience runs out.
For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;
because they delivered entire communities over to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of kinship. So I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, fire that shall devour its strongholds. (Amos 1:9-10)
In a recent Bible study, we were reading and discussing the book of Amos. Amos is called to bring the word of judgment to Israel. After overlooking the nation's transgressions time and again, the Lord's patience has finally come to an end. The shepherd turned prophet is called and the Word comes swift and relentless. Things begin to change rapidly in Israel and the people come to see that this is God's judgment befalling them.
The question raised in the Bible study was: where is this today? Where is God's hand? Where is God's response to modern sin or disrespect? Is God patient or irresponsible? Or is it that we just haven't reached the tipping point just yet?
The specifics in our conversation had to do with the environment. Some of the people in the group noticed that we aren't hearing as much about global warming as we did just a year or two ago. Why is this? Is it because the evidence now suggests that the matter is not as urgent as some initially believed? Is it because all this is simply too big and involved and there really isn't anything that we can do about it? Is it information overload?
These are all reasonable explanations. But there is another question--what does God make of all this? What does God make of the 70+ Million Barrels of oil that the planet is burning through each and every day? What does the Lord think about the vanishing rain-forest or the level of pollution escalating in developing countries like China and India?
The members of the bible study struggled--not merely in answering these kinds of questions but in even thinking about them. What does this mean? Does it mean anything? My point is not to suggest I have some kind of insight or righteousness. The fact is that I am as incapable of talking meaningfully about this stuff as anybody else. But something tells me that it does matter.
Next time you pick up a paper or click on your favorite Internet news-source, ask yourself that question--what does God make of this? Because it seems to me that whether we are talking our personal decisions or national priorities or corporate values or whatever... God has got to be in there somewhere. Maybe the Lord is patient or hopeful and, therefore, remaining hidden and inactive in some of these situations. But according to the prophets, if there is real sin or wickedness involved, there does come a time... Indeed, there must come a time when all that patience runs out.
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