The Euro Cup and Worship

The Euro Cup and Worship

I have been watching some of the Euro Cup of late and the TV promo caught my attention.  The clip highlights the passion of the fans for various teams. To pulsating background music images of the costumes, body paint, anthems, cheers, banners, dancing in the streets for the winners, and unashamed tears for the losers, flash across the screen.  A gripping chronicle of people at worship.

We are wondrously and dangerously made because we will worship that which holds our deepest passions.  I have no quarrel with the fans devotion to their teams, I’ve been known to wear orange, scream out of character, and react with joy or depression depending on the outcome of the struggle. But watching the video clip raises the question in my mind...do I worship my Creator with that much passion and abandon. Why or why not?  What does my answer say about my deepest passion?  What would happen to me if I did worship Him that way?

I wonder...?

Alive or Dead?

For the word of God is living and active... Hebrews 4:12

The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. John 14:26

What does it mean that the word of God is living and active?  To say that His word is living sounds like He is present to us in the moment.  If He is active, that He engages us through His word and that He directly interacts with us.  

If they are static words given in another time to another person then it is right for me to analyze, objectivize, characterize, memorize, and devise any way possible to understand what was said. If however, they are the living, present word of His Spirit in me, teaching me what He wants me to know in the moment, I need to listen to what is being  said.  How well do  I listen?  Do I even know how to listen?  What will I do with what I hear? Is my Father more interested in my understanding Him or obeying Him?  Does God expect us to ever really understand Him or is He more concerned about us trusting and following Him?  Is that not what faith means, to trust and follow?

We debate about what constitutes a high or low view of scripture?  Maybe the discussion is actually quite simple...do I listen or not?  Maybe the real question is not about scripture at all, the Bible assumes it is alive and active, maybe the question is not whether I have a high or low view of scripture, but a question of life...it is alive, is it alive in me?  James tells us to be doers of the word and not only hearers. (James 1:22)  Are the words dead in me until they are lived out by me?

I believe it was Mark Twain that said, "It is not the things in the Bible that I don't understand that bother me, it is the things that I do understand".  Am I more intent on explaining God than obeying Him?   I do know that when I understand something or someone it gives me a feeling of control.  Do I do feel that way with God too?

It might just be easier to debate how literal is literal and then do business as usual...but would that be living?

 Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy!

On Having

I was standing at the urinal the other day one slot away from my friend Charles. (Pardon  the graphic details) Charles bemoaned the fact that his coffee habit was requiring frequent stops at the aforementioned cubicle.  He laughed when I repeated the old  line, "You can't really have a cup of coffee, you can only borrow if for a short time."

As Charles walked away I began to think about the universal truth of that little punch line.  I began to think about all the areas of life in which we live in the illusion of ownership.  Our language betrays us.  Let me illustrate...

"I think I'll have a cigarette."  Really?  Actually all or most of the cigarette goes up in smoke except for the butt which you throw away.  Even the nicotine which remains in your system to work it's magic for a while will go the way of the coffee.

"I wish I had a life."

"I have a wife."

" How many children do you have?"

We "have" a house, property, or stuff of all kinds.  Wealth is defined by what we own.

"Have a great day."

"Try to have a good time."

"Everyone should have community."

Silly illustrations.  Maybe, but does it say something about us that our language speaks repeatedly about possessing.  Is our engagement/experience of so many things to want  or try to possess or control it?

Does our language betray a view of life that involves taking from others or our environment?  How does that square with, "Losing your life to gain it"?  Or, being stewards of someone else's property, not owners.  Is "my" stuff really mine?  The writer of Ecclesiastes for example laments that he will gather all his stuff only to die  and have it enjoyed by those who follow him.  

The home that I live in, it is "mine" not the banks, and sits on "my" property.  Three hundred years ago some native Americans viewed it as their property and another two hundred years from now someone else who will have no knowledge of me will consider it theirs.  So what does "mine" mean in the context of time or to the property itself?  My legacy to this piece of real estate will depend less on my "ownership" and more on my interaction with it, how I steward what I have been given to use.  Will I leave something beautiful and useful or a toxic waste dump?

Do I have a wife?  When the Pharisees asked Jesus about the woman married to the seven brothers, "to which brother would she belong?"  Jesus responded that in heaven wives are not "given" in marriage.  Wives are not property, they are a relationship.

How about having children?  Are they an asset or am I given a responsibility to raise them in the "nurture and admonition" of the Lord?  Is this ownership or stewardship?  Would we parent differently if we viewed our children as Gods not ours?  Yikes!

Should I really "have" community, is it something I possess or should I be communal in the way I live?  Should I instead be community?  Would life look different if I were not possessive, grasping of those around me, and gave community instead?  Is this what 1 Corinthians 13 is talking about?

The Bible warns often about not being possessed by our possession.  Note the paradox here, when we have much we are in grave danger of being had by them.  Is there a connection to that warning and the first commandment, "You shall have no other God before me"?  Is possible that the only thing/One we are designed to "have" is God, Himself?  What does it mean to belong to Him?

Is the essence of life defined by what we have or by who has us?  What if this life we have been given is like a cup of coffee, we can't really have it we can just borrow it for a while?  I wonder...

Reading and Reflecting

Let me confess at the start that I am a reader.  I usually have two to three books going at a time; a real live book, one in the Kindle, one or two on my iPad,  plus an audiobook playing in my car CD player. I will typically read somewhere between forty to fifty books in a given year. I read the paper most days and a magazine or two as time allows.  I love to read, so this is not a slam on readers.

I was standing in a friends library looking at all his books the other day and it set me to wondering...well ok, to wondering again...this has actually been on my mind for a while.  What I am wondering is, how much impact does all this reading (See above) have on me?  For all my reading, am I more wise, do I better understand how the universe works?  Do I live life in the manner that my heart truly desires to live, much less how God would have me live?  I guess what I am wondering is, from where does real wisdom and a transformed life come?

I have been reading Paul's letters to the Thessalonians, a small church plant, and his letters to Timothy, a young man he had mentored for some time.  I have seen whole shelves of commentaries on these letters, all those books again, and have been struck by how little Paul actually has to say.  He in fact commends the Thessalonians on their love for one another at the beginning of the letter and then later acknowledges that he has very little to write to them about  loving one another, because, God's Spirit is telling them all they need to know.  In both cases it would seem that Paul would have much to say, all kinds of instructions, theology to explain, and practical application to practice, but he is remarkably brief.  Does he believe, really, that God's Spirit is teaching them all they need to know.

In her book Team of  Rivals, Doris  Goodwin contrasts the education of Abraham Lincoln  to that of his rival for the presidential nomination, William Seward.  Seward grew up in a wealthy home with a library of books and received an Ivy League education.  Lincoln grew up with about five books, one being his Bible, and was largely self educated.  Goodwin notes that Lincoln seemed to be able to take his few books and with deep reflection on the few come away with more wisdom than garnered from the many books available to his rival.

We live in the information age. With the touch of a key we can have a plethora of information on any topic imaginable.  We have a data overload, but have difficulty knowing what data is relevant  or how it is all connected.  Our teaching institutions are more and more geared toward transferring information to the student rather than teaching or allowing them to process information.  We are bombarded with information from every conceivable source, yet most of us seldom take the time to reflect or deeply process its relavance, its meaning, or where it fits in this story we live.

Processing, sorting out what is relevant and how things are connected, takes time and takes place in the context of the world view or the story we live in. As Francis Schaeffer says, most of us get our world view the same way we get the measles, we catch it from those around us.  What is my "world view"?  Where did I get it, really?

Jesus says in John 14:26 that His Spirit would teach us all things and bring to remembrance the thinks He has taught us.  In Colossians 1 Paul tell us that , “All things come together in Christ,”  Does "all things" include, all things?  Is God's Spirit available to give us insight on science, politics, raising kids, or the Pythagorean theorem.  Even more important, does He give us insight on how those all connect?  Or does He just do "spiritual" stuff?  What is "spiritual" stuff?  Is it a different category or compartment of life unrelated to the rest or is it possibly the matrix that gives context and connection to life itself?  Is Spirit that which connects all things?

How does one hear the Spirit speak?  I wish I could say I was an expert at this, but I'm not very good at hearing Him speak most of the time.  There are some things that do seem evident and therefore instructive.  One, He is a person and speaks when He wants to speak or deems it time to speak.  Two, the Psalms tell us over and over to wait on Him.  Waiting leads to presence, He comes when the time is right.  We will never hear Him if we are not present to Him and to one another.  Three, He speaks with a quiet voice most of the time.  Quiet voices are drowned out by noise and activity.

Waiting, reflection, quiet, presence, rock solid trust in the One who teaches, brings to mind what I need to remember.  Do these things characterize my practice of life?  Without them can I reasonably expect to gain wisdom or experience transformation in my life?  The Pickles cartoon in today's paper says that, "Aging is the cost of maturity."  Am I getting my money's worth?  I wonder.

Well, as I said, it has been on my mind for a while...now it is "out of my mind"...that could be dangerous.

My Sweet Dog

My Sweet Dog

It ‘s been five months since I lost my dog. Her name was Abby, named for King David’s wife, Abigail.  I have always been impressed with Abigail’s spunk and wisdom in the face of crisis and decided my black lab puppy needed someone to live up to.

My Abby was a sweet, gentle, and attentive companion.  She loved to retrieve a ball and could even pitch it back to me with a toss of her head.  When she was young she would retrieve as long as I was willing to throw, tossing the ball back at my feet and waiting expectantly for the next throw.  When she was old, one throw was enough.  It was as though she wanted to prove she still remembered how, but was just too busy holding down the carpet by the fire to waste her time with childish games.

How do you describe the hole left by your dog when she is gone?  The place on the floor by your bed you once had to avoid when you got up to pee in the middle of the night? The thump of her body on the hardwood floor as she moved from one napping site  to the next.  The regular four to five times a day stroll into yard for her bathroom breaks.  The joyful greeting every time you came home.  The nose pushed between my wife and me when we hugged in her presence or thrust under the newspaper or book if there was inadequate attention directed her way.  The butter wrappers licked clean and the treats savored with relish.  The emptiness beside me when I walk the field for exercise and prayer in the mornings.  I could go on, but you get the drift.

Abby taught me much about how to live a life of simplicity and faith.  Do I walk with the faith and trust in my Father that she unconditionally gave to me?  Do I trust His timing and provision with the grace she showed to me?  Am I as sad when He leaves and does His return become the highlight of my day?  Do I treasure going with Him where he goes, even if it is to the dump in Old Blue, my friend Harold’s truck?  Do His friends become mine simply because He says it is ok?  Do I look out for His family because I consider them to be mine?  Do I love Him unconditionally regardless of circumstances?  Does the sound of His voice give me comfort and direction?

The biggest lesson, I think, came at the end.  The tumor ravished her body and sapped her strength, but it never took the wag out of her tail or the look of trust in her eye.  When she couldn’t stand on her own and I had to carry her outside she accepted it with grace giving me that knowing look as if to say, “Aren’t I a mess?”  

Abby lay on the table, chin across her leg and seemed not to notice as the vet shaved a spot on her leg.  She seemed lost in her own thoughts, content with my stroking of her ears and soft assurances that she was my “sweet dawg”.  When she felt the prick of the needle she raised her head to look at what had caused the offense, then looked at me as if to say, “Is that ok?”  I stroked her head and assured her it was ok and that she was, my sweet girl.  At my assurance, with complete trust, she peacefully lay her chin back across her leg and quietly went to sleep.

I sure miss my dog...

Arrivals and Departures

Arrivals and Departures

Our dear fiends Dan and Lisa became grandparents for the first time last night while we slept.  I remember the night Drew, our first grandchild, was born. The deep warmth inside, the sense that all is right in the world, feels like it must burst out in celebration.  There is nothing quite like the arrival of this bundle of love, a grandchild.  We rejoice with them and look forward to watching Dan become putty in his granddaughter Caroline’s tiny hands.

We received a call early this morning as Jan and I sat on our back porch listening to the rain, saying our morning prayers, and reading our daily readings.  While Dan and Lisa’s grandbaby was making her grand entrance last night our friend Mary Rainey made her grand entrance into the presence of Jesus.  We celebrate again, but this celebration is harder because it doesn’t bring deep warmth and a feeling that all is right in the world.  This celebration comes with a deep sense of loss and a world at odds with what is intended.

This juxtaposition of arrival and departure reminds me of a day last summer in the sacred space of my fathers hospital room as he lay just hours away from his long awaited day of glory.  He had suffered a massive heart attack five days earlier, rallied for a couple of days allowing for sweet good byes, last words, and long hugs from those he loved most.  Now he was unconsciousness and lay peacefully in his bed.  The family had gathered in his room and my daughter in law placed her laptop on the table beside him.  It was an unbelievable moment as she played us the ultrasound video, taken that morning, of her new baby five months into its journey to join the family.  The 3-D ultrasound image flickered across the screen and we oohed and aahed at fingers, toes, the beating heart, and then sat in stunned silence as little “Katherine” turned and looked us in the eye.

Some one asked the question, “In the midst of sadness like this, how do you balance remembering the past and looking forward to what is new?”  What a great question.

It will take someone with more wisdom than me to answer that question.  I guess I wonder if balancing is really the issue here.  How can you possibly balance the home going of saints like Mary and Lolo, my Dad? And how can you ever begin to anticipate the joy, the hope, the new life in the Katherines and Carolines given as the Saints fade away. 

Could it be it is not about balance?  How can you possibly balance the life, relationships, and memories of one deeply known and loved with all that will be new?  Maybe it is not an exchange of one for the other but a wholeness encompassing both that somehow, in ways we can never understand, fills us more deeply than we can imagine.  Maybe it is about hope and receiving…the memories and the expectations.

The words to a song come to mind.  Maybe you know the tune and can sing along.  It gives me chills to sing these words.

You give and take away,

You give and take away.

You give and take away,

Blessed be Your name, O Lord.

Blessed be Your Holy Name.

Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy.  Blessed be Your Holy Name!

Why is Sex Fun?

Why is Sex Fun?

It is a beautiful morning as I walk out on the field for my morning constitution.  The early morning fog has almost gone and the sun is just peaking over the trees on the East.  Everything is green from the recent rains and all is at rest.  The summer has been harsh and the green seems to consist only of scrubby weeds pushing through the greening grass.  The wild flowers of spring are long gone and it is too early for fall to paint its bright colors around the borders of the field. 

What does a late summer morning offer to highlight the pervading green, I wondered as I made the bend at the top of the hill and wound my way closer to the trees and over the dew wetted grass?   I will on occasion pick a bouquet for my wife of whatever the field has to offer, but was not expecting today to be very productive.  But then there they were…a clump of white Queen Ann’s lace here, some purple iron weed there, over here some goldenrod, a bush with green berries I cannot name, and an assortment of interesting weeds which bundled together created a most interesting offering for my sweet wife.

This surprise of diverse color hiding in all the green of the open field reminded me of a column by Joe Bayly many years ago titled, Why is Sex Fun?  I borrowed the title once before when I was teaching an adult Sunday school class.  I announced the title for the next week’s class and we had almost twice as many folks as normal show up.  Marketing is everything…

It was kind of a bait and switch, really.  Joe Bayly pointed out the extravagance of a God who though he could have made us see very adequately in black and white chose instead to allow us to see in vivid color and then proceeded to fill creation with unbelievably diverse color in everything from sunrises and sunsets, painted deserts, birds, flowers, fall leaves, tropical fish, and mixed weeds.  He marveled that even in places we may never go or see, God sees fit to outfit in vibrant and diverse colors and interesting shapes and sizes.  Then his punch line, “why is sex fun?”  He observed that God could have made us like amebas that reproduced by simply dividing.  Very effective and can be pretty rapid if you have ever played host to the little parasites…but not much fun.  But He didn’t, He made it fun.

The first commandment was very utilitarian given its time and place at the beginning of creation, “Be fruitful and multiply.”  It is an interesting God, a good God who wraps this first “duty” in the the joy, the mystery, the exhilaration, the intimacy, the deep satisfaction, and yes the FUN of sex.

So…it might seem like a stretch, but to me the surprising discovery this morning of beauty erupting out of the weeds for no reason except to declare the glory of a good God reminded me of that simple question.  Why is sex fun?

Well, I got to go. I’m going to give my wife the flowers…this could be fun.