Life After Haiti -- From David Hayward's Blog

Been following David Hayward's nakedpastor blog -- funny, insightful, love his cartoons. David just came back from a trip to Haiti and his accounts have been, I think, quite moving. I quote/post the following because I read it over a couple of times this morning. I think it gets at some of the emotions those who go on mission trips experience when they come back to what we might call the "easy life" back here in the US or, in David's case, Canada. And, on top of it all, he's got some great photos, like the one below.  The link at the bottom of David's post will take you to Adventures in Mission with descriptions of their work and how you can help.

Yesterday morning I had a breakfast in Haiti of fresh mangoes and coffee. We sat on our duffle bags in the back of a pickup truck as we rode through Port au Prince on our way to the airport. Getting through security was a quagmire of bribes and explaining in my broken French to get to the gate on time. By 8 pm that night I was sitting inside a limousine on my way to my friend’s house for a barbecue. I arrived to be greeting by a couple of my good friends. We drank expensive bottles of red wine they had acquired while we ate grilled sea bass, truffled cheeses, and smoked a #2 Montecristo into the wee hours of the morning. Now I am sitting in the comfort of my mom and dad’s home in Newmarket, just north of Toronto.

You catch the disparity…

The photo was taken from the roof of the AIM base in Port au Prince, Haiti. Click on it for a larger image. The sun was setting and the sky and city was absolutely beautiful. It is a beautiful country with beautiful people. They didn’t deserve this tragedy. But they do deserve our help. There are billions of dollars, supplies and people waiting to be deployed in Haiti’s aid. There is so much to be done. The problem is so overwhelming it would be tempting to just forget about it, like a Soduko puzzle too complicated to complete. It would be simpler to forget about the pastors and the churches in their communities and leave them to their own devices to survive and figure things out. It would be easier to let the sun set on our initial shock and attempts to help and pretend that the problem disappears under the cover of darkness.

Please help.

Reflections on the Holy Trinity

John 16:12-15

The Spirit comes silently into our hearts
bringing love
bringing life
and pointing to the one who brought us life
Jesus the Christ
The Living God
In our desires to be the center
and our desires to turn inward
wrapping ourselves up in ever smaller packages
fearing that if we are not the center
there will be no center
in our emptiness
longing to find that to which we can cling
The Spirit comes
and points to the Christ
the one who walked with us
the one who lived with us
the one who was us
and died like us
only to live and bring life
This is the one to whom the Spirit points
simply
quietly
that we may know God’s love for us
and burst forth in new life
new creation


This is from Pastor Dan's Grace Notes at Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church in Anchorage.

Gift Giving / Stewardship -- A Quote from Roberta Porter

If I see a gift as mine alone to give, I might give hesitantly, even grudgingly, considering my options, then giving from a sense of ought. If I see the gift as God's who allows me to use it for a time, then the gift can flow more freely, as I join with others to be a channel for God's love and mercy.

- Roberta Porter, from her poem, "Grace in Giving"

Christian Scholarship and the Bible -- A Quote Soren Kierkegaard

The following is a quote from Soren Kierkegaard. I had this read to me out of Shane Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution a couple of times over the last two days:

"The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any word in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. "My God," you will say, "if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world?" Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church's prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament. "

--Søren Kierkegaard, Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard, ed. Charles E. Moore (Farmington, PA: Plough, 2002), 201

Introduction to Parables

Jesus loved to tell stories—perplexing, yet revealing stories. “To the others I speak in parables,” he once confided to his disciples, “so that ‘looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand’” (Luke 8:10b). Jesus’ parables teach us, spiritually blind and self-deceived as we are, to see reality beyond ourselves and to know God’s love and loving demands on our lives. With their two levels of meaning—a story and the divine reality that the story reveals—the “parables are imaginary gardens with real toads in them,” Kline Snodgrass has observed.

Yet they also lead us to acknowledge the darkness in ourselves. “Parables invite the hearer’s interest with familiar settings and situations but finally veer off into the unfamiliar, shattering their homey realism and insisting on further reflection and inquiry,” Ron Hanson reminds us. Thus, “we have the uneasy feeling that we are being interpreted even as we interpret them.”

From Robert B. Kruschwitz, Christian Reflection, 2006 The Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University

Photo above by Madison Murphy.  It is one in a series of images telling the Parable of the Sower.  See her Flickr Photostream Here.

Christians and the Poor -- Quote from Shane Claiborne

"I asked participants who claimed to be ‘strong followers of Jesus’ whether Jesus spent time with the poor. Nearly 80 percent said yes. Later in the survey, I sneaked in another question, I asked this same group of strong followers whether they spent time with the poor, and less than 2 percent said they did. I learned a powerful lesson: We can admire and worship Jesus without doing what he did. We can applaud what he preached and stood for without caring about the same things. We can adore his cross without taking up ours. I had come to see that the great tragedy of the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor but that rich Christians do not know the poor."

-- Shane Claiborne

iPhone Worship Band -- "How Great is Our God"

This is cool. You know, I knew there were "music apps" out there. And I knew that someone could have fun with it. But, this is cool.

Comments Section Now Working!

Thanks to my friend Andy who told me that the comments weren't working. They are functioning now as the post on Orthodoxy and Soteriology has an actual comment on it.

Woo Hoo

Pastor Apologizes/Sometimes The Internet Will Bite Ya'

Here's the scenario as best I can make sense of it:

1. An audio recording surfaced on Vimeo. (recoding has now been removed)
2. The audio is of a 15 year old sermon by West Virginia pastor Jeff Owens (Shenandoah Baptist Church), apparently at a college chapel
3. In the sermon, Pastor Owens calls for Christians to "Burn and Shoot Fags"
4. After the audio recording of the original sermon, Pastor Owens issues the following apology

The text of the apology is below:

If you are responding to a sermon that I preached about gays I would like to render the following apology.

Nearly 15 years ago I preached a sermon that promoted physically hurting gay people. I was young, stupid and immature. I didn’t even hold to the belief of hurting people when I wrongly made those comments. I regret those words and have asked God to forgive me for them. I am not a believer in the gay life-style but I was profoundly wrong in making any comments about hurting people. If I could retract those words I certainly would.

I wrongly represented both God and myself. I truly believe that God is a God of LOVE. I believe he loves the whole world even when people in the world do things that are wrong; Such as my wrong representation of how to treat someone who does not believe the same way I do.

I no longer preach like that and I purposely teach and train others to preach and behave properly as well. The hurtful words in that sermon tape were erased many years ago and somehow have resurfaced much to my disappointment and embarrassment.


I realize I have disappointed many who have heard those words in that sermon. May I include my disappointment in myself. Once again, I offer my humble apology.


With a sincere heart,



Jeff Owens

A few of points here.

First, I don't really want to comment on the content of that first sermon. I didn't see it. I didn't hear it. If you want to read some comments from those who have seen/heard it, please go over to JesusNeedsNewPR.net where I found out about this yesterday. It looks like he called for the killing of homosexuals. Again, though, that's just other people's comments.

Second, I don't really want to guess the reason for the apology at this point. For all I know, like he said in his apology, he preached some things in a sermon that he would never say at this point. It came to light and he's embarrassed about it. I have no reason to doubt his sincerity.

Third, the point I'm really getting at, is that the internet is forever. I don't think I have the sermons I preached those first three years of ministry in Frankfort, Indiana. And, that's probably a good thing. I was young(er) and naive(r) back then. And, I know there were some times, in the midst of conflict, that I probably preached some things I shouldn't have. I used the pulpit as a weapon a couple of times. It was not "pastoral." It was, in retrospect, more "angry." I remember that. Understand, I wasn't calling for the killing of anyone. However, I would probably be embarrassed if those sermons hit "the net."

All of this adds to my (perhaps healthy) fear of what it could mean to keep my sermons on "the net." Hopefully, I'm smarter and a better preacher in the coming years. I fear I'll look back and say "I was a dumber and worse preacher in those days."


And, let's face it. This "Internet is forever" thing goes for anyone who posts stuff online...Twitter, Facebook, web pages. We all need to be aware that it might be one of us issuing an apology at some point.

Sometimes the internet will bite ya'.

Some Reflections on Orthodoxy and the Spirit

Two days ago was Pentecost Sunday and Girdwood Chapel, like many, many churches around the world, celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit to God's church.

Of course, we read Acts 2:1-21, with some dramatic flair--even starting worship with it. We also read from John 14, closing with:

”I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

We sang "Sweet, Sweet Spirit" and "Spirit of God" as found in The Faith We Sing hymnal. We had our "Pentecost People" (red clothing in the shapes of persons) up on the wall.

The occasion of the coming of the Spirit got me thinking a little bit about "ORTHODOXY" -- right belief.


See, some years ago I had a member of a church approach me with questions about the Holy Spirit. This person believed in Jesus as "Lord and Savior" and believed in God the Father. This person recited the Lord's Prayer with gusto and sang in the choir and served the poor. From looking at his life, he certainly "looked" a whole lot more Christian than a lot of the other people sitting in the pews. What this person said was that they could not do was believe in the Holy Spirit. At this point in time, several years later, I'm not exactly sure what the holdup was. I understand that, intellectually, the Spirit seems to take more of leap of faith for some persons. It's that whole "you can't see the Spirit but you can see what the Spirit does" thing. But, at the end of the day...and at the end of the conversation...he didn't believe in the Holy Spirit.

Is that outside the realm of "ORTHODOXY"? If so, what does that mean? Is that person going to burn with unquenchable fire? Does grace abound? Does it matter if one stands outside of traditional orthodoxy? These are not simple, little questions.

So, is this outside of the realm of "Orthodoxy?" I want to say, "yes." I view traditional orthodoxy as the historical creeds of the church -- the Apostle's, the Nicene, etc. I want to say that this...this...is right belief...orthodoxy. So, if that's where I draw the lines, then what does it mean to be outside of that? What does it mean to have "incorrect" or "wrong" belief?

What if I believe that God used evolution as a tool to create the human race whom he loves? What if I believe women should be priests/pastors or if I'm a pastor who has experienced divorce and still is serving a local church? What if I believe that Scripture is the infallible and inspired Word of God but have difficulty with "literalism"? What if I believe in premillennial dispensationalism rather than postmillennnial dispensationalism? How narrow a circle are we drawing here and what are the ramifications for being on the outside of that circle...being "heterodox" in belief? And, where does grace come to us on our journeys outside of orthodoxy? And where does our quest for orthodoxy merely lead us into the realm of the Pharisees, straining gnats and swallowing camels?

Two thoughts here:

1. Eternal ramifications: I know that whoever calls on the name of Jesus will be saved. Beyond that, it is not my place to say. I put my trust in a God whom I believe has "Grace greater than all my sin" and will be much more welcoming at the pearly gates than I ever would.
2. Rather than focusing on a legalistic, separating, self-defining, other-defining orthodoxy, it's important for the church to bring persons into relationship with each other and with Jesus Christ, to be in a posture of growth, and to cast ourselves upon Christ's great mercy. "Correct belief" is not unimportant. I'm just not so sure we need to get into the level of detail that we have been known to do.

So, where does that leave the fellow who didn't believe in the Holy Spirit? Well, I want to say that his belief system was not orthodox. He stands outside the realm of orthodox Christianity and, if I were still his pastor, it would be part of my job to explain the reasons for our traditional understanding of the Holy Spirit and continue to work with him to live his life fully in Christ. And I'll put my trust in the Amazing Grace of our God to work out all the eternal details for each of us.

Christianity in America -- Quote from Brian McClaren

Sometimes I think there is really only one Christian denomination in America: American Civil Religion -- a consumerist, militarist, therapeutic, colonial, nationalist chaplaincy that baptizes and blesses whatever the richest and most powerful nation on the planet wants to do.

Brian McClaren (words at the front of Shane Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution)

I struggle, in particular, with the church being a chaplaincy.

So, then, what do we do?

There Is No Substitute for Preparation

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four hours sharpening the axe." -- Abraham Lincoln

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first five and half hours doing something that has nothing do do with the tree at all and will eventually come to the realization that I don't have an axe or a chainsaw or anything that can cut a tree. Eventually I'll just give up and check my e-mail or something." -- Jim Doepken

I LOVE this Church Sign.

Taken from blog.beliefnet.com by way of thechurchgeek.com

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Watership Down: A Lesson in Storytelling

I have announced that we'll be starting a new sermon series next week on the parables and we're calling it, "The Stories Jesus Told."  I don't know many preachers who don't like the parables.  We all, I think, have our favorites.  My favorite is "The Parable of the Prodigal Son" from Luke.  It always has been.  I see myself in it as the younger son and the older son, and sometimes like the Father.  I think it's pretty much the Gospel in Parable form.

But, more than just liking the parables, part of the education I received had a focus on the narrative nature of our faith.  Stories define us.  They shape us.  They provide context.  Indeed, they form the basis of our communities.  We are who we are because we share certain stories about each other and about ourselves as a group. Think of how stories defined your own family...perhaps the stories that were told when you gathered for Thanksgiving dinner or a family wedding.  They are what we talk about and laugh about and tell over and over and over again.  And if we don't have those stories?  Well, then we just have awkward silences.

And so, for us Christians, the stories we tell define us.  They shape our ministries and provide a context for our discussions.

If we forget the stories, then, in a real sense, we forget who we are.

When thinking about all of this, I was reminded of an essay I read of Stanley Hauerwas way back when I was in undergraduate school.  Hauerwas is Christian theologian and ethicist.  And I took a class under him when I was in seminary at Duke.  Hauerwas wrote "A Story-Formed Community: Reflections on Watership Down" back in 1981.  I must have read it about 1990 while I was in undergraduate school.  It's a good read.  And from this we get a clearer understanding of the importance of narrative in our communities.  If we forget to tell the stories or if we forget to take them seriously then we run the risk of losing our identities.


Donna Farley of A Spell for Refreshment of the Spirit has a nice summary of this work...all the way down to three paragraphs long.  The important things to know is that Hazel is our hero as he leads a band of rabbits around.  Hazel and the others have left their warren out of fear for their lives and are left to wander.  They meet other warrens, particularly "Cowslip's Warren" that have become highly individualized and have forgotten the stories that are meant to shape them into followers of El-ahrairah.

Stories of the rabbit hero El-ahrairah are embedded in the main narrative, each one recounted at a time when the rabbits need to be buoyed up by the particular lesson of a particular story. These tales are by turns inspiring, thrilling, humorous, or frightening; and they model such virtues as cleverness, courage, and teamwork.
In contrast to the love of Story shown by the band of rabbits led by Hazel, another group of rabbits in the story have forgotten, downplayed and despised the traditional stories, instead steeping themselves in depressing modernist poetry. This rabbit warren, know as Cowslip’s warren, is living in self-deceit. They train themselves to accept death—because death is the price they pay for comfort. Their warren is surrounded by snares set by the farmer who feeds them and keeps off the foxes. Whenever one of their number goes missing, they pretend to forget that rabbit’s existence.
It is a chilling portrait. But the rabbits of Hazel’s group are by contrast the kind of characters the reader finds himself wanting to emulate. Inspired by the daring and cunning of El-ahrairah and his faithful helper Rabscuttle, Hazel’s rabbits dare to make a journey to find a new home. They learn new skills, make friends of other rabbits and even non-rabbits, and hold together against the attack of the martial warren of Efrafa. When the story of Watership Down is over and the warren at peace, Hazel and his friends have become part of the story tradition that is being learned by new generations of rabbits. What a thing to aspire to—to be part of the great Story of life in such a way that we, even we ourselves, can become the heroes of our children and grandchildren!

So, what does this have to do with our Parables?  Everything!  The Parables of Jesus (along with the rest of the Bible) is, indeed, truth.  But it is truth in story-form and was meant to be shared and passed on to our children and our children's children so that they can continue to define us.   For, if we fail to do this, we may end up like the poor rabbits at Cowslip's warren, lost and story-less.

(This analogy takes on added weight in an environment where our native brothers and sisters have lost many of their stories over the last 70 years as "white" culture has taken over.  How important are the stories of our Alaskan Natives?)

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Jesus' Resume (satire)

Apparently Jesus wants the top management position in your heart.  This copy of his resume was found over at unreasonablefaith.com.  It's satire, but makes me wonder what accomplishments Jesus really could put down.  One might think just being the Son of God would be sufficient.  Some of the comments on the site are helpful here.  One of them says the following are missing from the resume:

• Led a group of 12 followers with success
• Able to solve problems with ease (turned water into wine) (John 2:1-11)
• Easily can make up errors in accounting (If I can turn one loaf of bread into enough to feed many fixing the numbers in the books should be easy ) (Matthew 14:13–21)
• Experience in being a mediator. (I Tim. 2: 5)
• Would walk on water if needed to get this job (Matthew 14:22-33)
• Has given time and money to charitable causes

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"I and We" -- Quote from Julie Neidlinger

Everyone wants to be part of a "we." Though living in the world of "I" and pretending that "I" is enough, it is really "we" that is wanted.

Found this over at "A Prodigal's Blog"     Julie Neidlinger blogs at loneprarie.net

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Some Advice About Social Media and the Church

So, here I am, "Director of Communications for the Alaska United Methodist Conference."   It's a job I inherited just because, at a meeting about four years ago, I mentioned that I thought our Conference Website was in need of a makeover and we could do a better job presenting ourselves to the world.  And the job became mine...with no skills to speak of...either then or now.  So, we started a redesign, which is still a long way from where we'd like it to be.  So, we got ourselves one of those newfangled Facebook pages and what's that "tweeting thing?"  Oh, yeah, Twitter accounts.  And, for better or worse, I was supposed to be leading in the area of web presence and social media.  (I might have mentioned that there are still no skills in these areas to speak of.)

At this point in time, I'm learning.  I serve a small church in a small community.  While some of our folks are social media savvy, many of them find it gets in the way of their fishing and skiing and biking and all of the other things we like to do far away from a computer screen.  But, I'm always looking for ways to help our churches get into social media and understand it a little better.

It's in this regard that I want so share something I found on a very beautiful blog written by Brad Ruggles.  (Seriously, it's beautiful.  I'd love a blog that looked like this.)  The blog is called Learning How to Live and the post title is "Going Overboard with Social Media."  Brad says we live in a culture and a business environment that can get too much into Social Media.  It can go overboard.  So, as businesses talk with him about getting into it, he often says "don't do it."  Here are some of his reasons.

• Don’t do social media just because everyone else is doing it. Remember what your mom used to say, “Just because all your friends jump off a bridge…”
• Don’t launch your social media efforts prematurely. Splash around in the kiddie pool before you take off your floaty and jump into the deep end.
• Don’t do it all. There are a lot of fish in the sea. Throwing a few lines out is good but if you have too many you’ll probably get your lines tangled.
• Don’t venture into social media without a well-thought-out strategy. It’s an awfully big ocean out there and it’s easy to get lost at sea. Think through your strategy before embarking into open waters.
• Don’t do social media if you’re looking for a miracle fix. Social media is a tool to help your organization communicate with your fans and followers. It’s not a silver bullet. Jumping on the social media boat will not instantly make you cool, hip or connected.
• Don’t do social media if you can’t do it well. The social media ocean is littered with the floating remains of abandoned Twitter profiles, under-utilized Facebook accounts and YouTube accounts with one video from 2007. If you don’t have the time or people to do it well, wait until you can.
• Don’t do it if you’re looking for instant results. With all the buzz about viral campaigns some people think that after their first Tweet they’ll instantly start an international sensation and the followers will come by the thousands. Not true. Growing your presence in the social media landscape takes time.

Now, I have to confess that I have a couple of underutilized Facebook pages and I'm still not sure whether or not Twitter is really doing anything to advance our local congregation or our Annual Conference...although I've found a lot of good stuff through both of these.  And, my biggest advice to churches would be to be aware of the time required to do this well.  I've  become very well aware of the time this blog takes from other stuff that I probably should be doing.  But I would suggest that dabbling in social media...and therefore learning it...is better for churches than not being involved in it at all.  The social media world is changing rapidly and our younger folks will be well-versed in it...particularly in our more urban areas I think.  So it would make sense, for the sake of evangelism and spreading the message of Jesus that we stay up on all of this.


So, that's some advice for you.  And do go check out Brad Ruggles' blog.  As I said, it's a VERY nice looking blog.

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"Spirit of God" -- By Steve Garnaas-Holmes

*Hymn: #2117 “Spirit of God” (The Faith We Sing)

Spirit of God, bright Wind, breath that bids life begin,
glow as you always do; create us anew.
Give us the breath to sing, lifted on soaring wing,
held in your hands, born on your wings.
Alleluia! Come, Spirit, Come! (2 times)

Spirit of God, bright Dove, grant us your peace and love,
healing upon your wings for all living things.
For when we live your peace, captives will find release,
held in your hands, born on your wings.
Alleluia! Come, Spirit, Come! (2 times)

Spirit of God, bright Hands, even in far off lands
you hold all the human race in one warm embrace.
No matter where we go, you hold us together so,
held in your hands, born on your wings.
Alleluia! Come, Spirit, Come! (2 times)

Spirit of God, bright Flame, send us in your holy name,
the power to heal, to share your love everywhere.
We cannot fail or fall, or know defeat at all,
held in your hands, born on your wings.
Alleluia! Come, Spirit, Come! (2 times)

Spirit of God, in all, we gladly hear your call,
the life in our hands that sings, the power of your wings.
Born of your grace we rise, love shining in our eyes,
held in your hands, born on your wings.
Alleluia! Come, Spirit, Come! (2 times)

See the composer's interpretation of this hymn HERE

The Problem With Blogging

Everything is fodder for blogging.    Or potential fodder for blogging.

Image location     http://www.makeuseof.com/tech-fun/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/boredinternet.png

A Prayer for Pentecost

It must be "Spirit Friday."  This is a Holy Spirit-themed prayer/poem based on John 14:8-27 by Pastor Dan of Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church in Anchorage.  He blogs over at Pastor Dan's Grace Notes and is a person I'd love to have some coffee and conversation with.

We have seen the Lord
not high in the Heavens above
but right here in our midst
living among us
living within us
and within those who do not know
they are loved
We have seen the Lord
in the eyes of a child
the eyes of a foe
and we are not afraid
for we live in the presence of the Lord
surrounded by the Spirit
filled with the peace of Christ
and called to reach out
to let others know of this love
(Peace)
calling toward the peace of Christ
that is within them
God created and said it was good
as the children of God
We see
good
God
in all that
and in all who
surrounds us
living as the children of God
Knowing
we are never alone
(Peace )

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"The Comforter Has Come" -- A Video by Jars of Clay

A Prayer

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know.

Be still.

Be.

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God and Money....Part II

This church is giving away cash at the end of services.  Does this make church a game of chance?

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The Holy Spirit...in 100 words or less (Brian McLaren)

So, how would you describe the work of the Holy Spirit in 100 Words or Less?

Last one from Patheos.  This was written by Brian McLaren, who blogs over at Brian McLaren.

On the grass-roots level, there are tens of thousands of Christians who aren't waiting for denominational leaders to fix things. They're just getting on with it. They're doing it, living it, making it real in their lives, in their neighborhoods, through small groups and mission trips and so on. When you have leaders at the top working for needed change, and people at the grass roots doing the same, and when you're confident that the Holy Spirit is behind it all, eventually the tide will turn and a new day will come.

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The Holy Spirit...in 100 words or less (Amy Julia Becker)

Another post from Patheos.  This is by Amy Julia Becker who has a blog called Thin Places.

In nudges and whispers.
Like a seed growing, imperceptible at first. Like wind, invisible, refreshing, transformative. Like water, cleansing, renewing, powerful.
Unpredictably. Uncontrollably.
Praying: for us, with us, in us, through us.
Convicting, like a judge in a courtroom. Comforting, like a mother with a frightened child in the middle of the night.
We know her work by experiencing it. She will not be pinned down, can only be described with analogies.
But wherever there is forgiveness, redemption, reconciliation, grace, she leaves her fingerprints.
Always the one connecting, making us into the Body of Christ, God's hands in the world.

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The Holy Spirit...in 100 words or less (Byron Wade)

The following was taken from Patheos.  It is written by Bryon Wade who blogs at Vice Mod Blog as a part of the Presbyterian Church.  It is in response to the question, How does the Holy Spirit move today?

Many people question if the Holy Spirit is at work in the world today. Put on some different eyes and see --
The claiming of an infant in baptism
The faith of a spouse in the loss of a loved one
The building of a Habitat for Humanity home
Strangers assisting in areas of a natural disaster
The grace exhibited to one another after a difficult discussion
And the ability to awaken to see a new day . . .
Then you can say the Holy Spirit is at work.

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The Holy Spirit...in 100 words or less (Alyce McKinzie)

I was tooling around the net, as I worked on worship for this week -- Pentecost.  I found an interesting approach over at Patheos, home to several bloggers.  They asked several different folks to describe How The Holy Spirit Is At Work in The World Today in 100 words or less.  I'm going to post a few of them.  This one is from Alyce McKenzie:

At Pentecost the Spirit filled the room with a mighty wind, it touched everyone in the room and everyone could understand everyone. It was no humanly manufactured breeze to be turned off and on by human hands, it did not touch only the "spirit filled," and it did not enable people to understand only those who already spoke their language. As the third Person of the Trinity, the Spirit lives in community with the Father and with the Son. The presence of Jesus in his physical absence, the Spirit prays in our inward lives "with sighs too deep for words."

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New "Face of Immigration"

According to the site HERE.  It is true that President Obama is deporting more persons than President Bush did, with an increase in the number of convicted criminals being deported.  And, so I've read, it is true that this is being done with fewer "factory raids."  However, we, as the church, must continue to ask about the intersection between hospitality and national security or, perhaps more difficult, hospitality and national identity.

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God and Money -- the Consumer Church

Was at our bimonthly clergy gathering in Anchorage for lunch today.  It's always nice, whether we have a book study or some soul-searching or, like today, shoot the breeze.  Our conversation shifted to tithing via credit cards.  Now, I'm well aware of the benefits of this procedure--it's easy for folks who are used to paying with credit card for everything, it can lead to more regular givers as they set up automatic payments, and there's a good paper trail for the church.  And, I'm well aware of the problem that many churches have with the whole thing--namely about 3% of the gift gets taken as a finance charge.  You can do the math.  If someone gives $100, only $97 goes to the church or the particular ministry within the church that the giver wanted to give to.  I brought up that I wasn't too concerned about the 3% charge because I think that's more than made up for by the more regular giving that can be encouraged.  My problem is, perhaps, 21% finance charge that will be put on any unpaid balance on that credit card.  We have too many people in our churches in too much debt.  Does the church really want to enter into that?

Our God had some choice words to say about this interplay between faith and finances.  After The Parable of the Shrewd Manager in Luke 16, he says:

"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

But we sure try to serve both....

And the relationship between these two, God and money, comes up again.   One of our United Methodist Churches in Anchorage has been doing a very successful Wednesday Night Dinner.  They've been very clear.  It's a time for fellowship and to welcome persons into the church in a non-threatening way.  It's for community-building.  It's not for study.  It's not for worship.  And it's not a money-maker.  It's free.  The church didn't want funding to get in the way of ministry.  So, a free meal is given.  The burden is shared.  The community is blessed because of this.  I would argue that this gift is a good thing.

Then, however, I find this picture over at Michael Toy's Blog.

According to the author, this is a picture of:  a church, somewhere in America (not important where) which has asked their members to donate stuff, and then on Easter they are giving it all away.  The hope is, the lure of stuff will cause people to come hear a sermon about the free gift of salvation.  And, if only one person accepts Jesus, it will all be worthwhile.  The picture is of the lobby in their church.
Michael Toy has two reactions to this:

1. Cripes, are you kidding me?  Did anyone ask "wwjd" before they scheduled an orgiastic celebration of consumerism on Easter?  Did they read what Jesus did in the temple?
2. This is so us, so American, so perfect.  No matter what the problem is, the answer is always contained in consumption. 
   

Americans, maybe more than anyone else in the world, are "CONSUMERS."  We consume everything.  We consume more than our "fair share."  We consume when we're depressed or happy or bored.  We consume food just because it's there (I say with latte in front of me at the coffee shop!).  Even after our country was attacked on 9/11 we were directed to the malls to keep American businesses going strong. 



As I go out on a limb and say that providing a free meal on Wednesday nights is "good," I want to say that that giving away cars is probably "bad."



We need to find ways to protect ourselves from serving God and Money.  They both demand our allegiance.

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Conflict -- Quote from John Howard Yoder

To be human is to have differences; to be human wholesomely is to process those differences, not by building up conflicting power claims but by reconciling dialogue.

--John Howard Yoder, Body Politics

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"A Church By Any Other Name" -- Church Names

I pastor Girdwood Chapel.  Now, technically, we could be called "Girdwood Chapel United Methodist Church."  However, when I got here in 2000 and needed to come up with letterhead and business cards, it was clear that most people in the community called us "Girdwood Chapel."  After all, only about one half of the people that show up on a Sunday morning seem to be Methodists.  The rest are...well...something else.  And so, "Girdwood Chapel" it was.  That's what's on our logo.  That's what I refer to it as.  It seemed a natural name.

This got me to thinking about the names of churches...really cool names that are out there.  I don't mean to put any of them down.  A lot of these churches are really reaching out to new people.  They are going on mission trips.  They are changing communities.  They are immersing people in the Word of God.  All good stuff.  But it seems like we've moved away from names like "First United Methodist Church" that I attended in high school.   The move from denominational affiliation can be a good thing.  However, it can also be that we're being disingenuous in how we present ourselves to the world.  What does it say that, in our post-modern world, the names of many of our churches have changed?



The following is a list from Ur Scaramanga's blog.  He got it from Dennis Baker and then added his own comments in parentheses.   I'm familiar with some of the ministries listed and respect them.  But the list made me think about all the reasons why "Girdwood Chapel" is our name in our community.

Have you noticed that church names are getting increasingly strange? Our friend Dennis Baker has. He's been keeping a list of church names in order to document how far we've come from the days of "First Presbyterian" and "Springfield Baptist." He sent us the following list of 129 church names. I've added my reactions in parentheses.

1. Resonate
2. Revolution (Where only senior pastors get beheaded.)
3. Radiance (Where the female vocalists all glitter like Mariah Carey.)
4. Elevation (U2 songs every bloody Sunday.)
5. Restoration
6. Renovation (You can do it! God can help.)
7. Mosaic
8. enCompass (Wii th-|-nk [outside] the box. We R crAtiVe.)
9. Epiphany Station (Next stop, Conjunction Junction!)
10. Soma (Our pastor knows Greek.)
11. Sanctuary
12. Rock Harbor (If your life hasn’t run aground yet, we can help.)
13. Journey (“Don’t Stop Believing” is our theme song.)
14. The Rock (If film producer Michael Bay ever created a church…the pyrotechnics are amazing.)
15. The River (The pastor ends every sentence with “… in a van down by the river.”)
16. The Flood (Natural disasters always provoke worship.)
17. The Bridge (William “the Fridge” Perry’s post-ordination nickname.)
18. Bridges
19. Real Life Ministries (Where reality TV stars come for healing.)
20. Mars Hill (Mars was the god of war … prepare for battle.)
21. Imago Dei (Our pastor knows Latin … well, one phrase anyway.)
22. Corem Deo (Our favorite movie is Dead Poets Society.)
23. Celebration Church (We don’t do funerals.)
24. Passion City (Not to be confused with the adult superstore on I-94.)
25. Oasis Church (Serenity Now! Serenity Now!)
26. Paradox (Modernity sucks.)
27. Renaissance Church (Are nude frescoes a distraction in worship?)
28. Origins (Home of the Young Earth Gospel. Darwin was a chump.)
29. Legacy (We’re scared to death we won’t have one.)
30. Tapestry (Our pastor really loves that “the threads don’t make sense until you turn the cloth over” illustration.)
31. Church w/ No Walls (And a never-ending building campaign.)
32. Sojourners (Wait. We didn’t know it was liberal Christian magazine too. Dang.)
33. Out Post (The parsonage is known as the “Out House.”)
34. Generation (which one? X? Y? Pepsi? I’m confused.)
35. Encounter (Sounds like a ride at Epcot. Where are the aliens?)
36. Warehouse (Where Christians are organized, packaged, and safely stored until the rapture.)
37. Warehouse 180 (If we can’t grow a church we’ll start a nightclub.)
38. Relevant (Our name is writing checks the preacher may not be able to cash.)
39. Radiant (Sounds like a line of makeup for pre-teens.)
40. Elevate (Our pastor’s pedestal is higher than yours.)
41. Illuminate (The lights are on but nobody’s home.)
42. Anthem (For God and country. Yee haw!)
43. TerraNova (Trekkies for Jesus. Live long and prosper.)
44. Crux (Ah Shux. How cute.)
45. True Spirit Ministries
46. The Well (The un-well best worship elsewhere.)
47. Jacob’s Well (Where bachelors hang out to find their future wives.)
48. Matthew’s Party (Where the tax collectors and thieves have been replaced by IRS agents and investment bankers.)
49. The Brook
50. Awakening (We do early services like nobody else.)
51. Mercy Street (Where Sesame Street characters go for rehab. Cookie Monster has checked in 7 times.)
52. Expedition (Anything with an “x” is cool.)
53. Carpenter’s Shed (Where church discipline happens the old fashioned way.)
54. Outcast Fellowship (The “Table 9” of churches.)
55. Flipside (If you don’t get the reference to vinyl records, you’re probably too young to attend.)
56. Harbor 316 (God so loved the world ... that whoever believes in him might have a 30’ boat and reduced fee slip.)
57. True North (not like all those other North wannabes)
58. A Village Community (Ambiguity is the best way to avoid controversy.)
59. Refuge (Is this what we offer, or what we long for?)
60. Substance (Come for the substance, leave with the residue.)
61. Solomon’s Porch (The guy had 1,000 wives. He was a tough dog to keep on the porch.)
62. The Salvage Yard (Jesus loves white trash.)
63. The Upper Room (Where we cling to our guns and religion and hide from the authorities.)
64. Urban Refuge (AKA the suburbs.)
65. New Spring (We give away bottled tap water.)
66. New Song (Be the 10th caller if we play the same artist twice, and you’ll be entered to win a trip to Cancun.)
67. New Beginnings (Where we make new resolutions every Sunday and break them on Monday.)
68. New Life (Same baggage.)
69. The Church @ 514 (Man, that’s early.)
70. The Pursuit (Speed dating every Wednesday at 10 p.m.)
71. Crossings (We yield for pedestrians.)
72. FrontLine (No fleas or ticks for up to 3 months guaranteed.)
73. Depth (We’re so deep even the poets at the indie coffee shop can’t stand us.)
74. Haven (Some get Haven, others get Hail.)
75. Sandals (Church membership includes a timeshare in the Bahamas.)
76. Compass (Our sermons have four points.)
77. Paradox (See #26. Redundant is bad. Repetition is good. Ahh. Hmm.)
78. 2 Pillars Church (Islam has 5. Christianity is way easier. )
79. Standing Stones (No clapping, hand-raising, or swaying during worship, thank you.)
80. 12Stones Church
81. Vintage (We use real wine for communion.)
82. Vantage
83. Cross Culture (It was this or Empty Tomb Culture ... )
84. Scum of The Earth (Finally some honesty in advertising.)
85. Guts Church (We’re here to pump [clap] you up!)
86. The Cause (Because our marketing consultant told us 20-somethings are activists.)
87. Healing Place
88. The Homeless Church
89. Overflow Church (For those who couldn't find a seat at the megachurch down the street.)
90. NorthPointe (Adding an “e” tells everyone we’re sophisticated. We drink lattes.)
91. CenterPoint (We used to have a space in the middle, but we grew. Now even our name is crowded.)
92. OceanPoint
93. SouthPointe
94. WestPoint (Praise the Lord. Pass the ammunition.)
95. EastPoint
96. MidPoint Chapel
97. CrossPointe
98. GracePoint
99. LifePoint
100. FaithPoint
101. MercyPoint (Okay! Okay! I’ve got the point!)
102. The Point is to Serve (Where the whole service is announcements.)
103. BridgePoint
104. VantagePoint (Where we look down from our lofty perch.)
105. 7 San Diego (Stay classy San Diego.)
106. The Intersection (Where sermons can crash and burn.)
107. In-Between (A church for the undecided.)
108. Element 3 (Lithium. We worship Lithium.)
109. The Orchard (What we tore down to build this facility.)
110. The Fields (What we paved over to build the parking lot.)
111. Harvest
112. Life On The Vine (Even poop is organic.)
113. The Table
114. The Free Church (If something sounds too good to be true …)
115. Spread Church (Cream cheese, strawberry preserves, honey butter … communion is sweet.)
116. The Exchange (We give you religious goods and services in exchange for your tithe.)
117. The Encounter (There are two "n's" in our name. How many in our mission statement?)
118. The Hub (Where the pastor spoke and the people never tire.)
119. Tribe
120. Enclave
121. Axis (For a generation raised to believe the world revolves around them.)
122. Praxis (We adapt whatever Willow does.)
123. Cool (All other churches drool.)
124. Synergy Church (At last, an energy source we will never deplete.)
125. Immersion (It sounds way cooler than “Baptist.”)
126. Impact
127. EpicLife Church (The space bar is for losers.)
128. Liquid (Where the meat of the Word is processed and blended into delicious and nutritious shakes for the busy Christian on the go.)
129. SoulSearch (We really thought StarSearch would be around a lot longer.)

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"Religion today..."; A quote from A.W. Tozer

Religion today is not transforming people; rather it is being transformed by the people. It is not raising the moral level of society; it is descending to society's own level, and congratulating itself that it has scored a victory because society is smilingly accepting its surrender.

... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)

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Looking Biblically At Immigration -- Sermon from 16 MAY 2010

The following is, as stated, my sermon from 16 May 2010.  It was preached in four sections.  The prayers for that Sunday also dealt with immigration issues.  My hope with this sermon was not to provide all of the answers or, really, take sides.  I wanted to congregation to think biblically about immigration rather than thinking politically or economically.  While politics and economics and fear and frustration enter into the discussion, I truly believe that the church is at its best when it looks at these issues through the eyes of Scripture...ALL of Scripture.

While I looked at a whole lot of stuff online and read some very passionate and angry and awful comments on various weblogs, there are two non-Biblical sources of that provided a great deal of help in the sermon writing and in my plan for how to address this issue.  They are Daniel Carroll's book, Christians at the Border and the Immigration Study by the Desert Southwest Conference of the United Methodist Church.   I was also able to draw on my experiences in Frankfort, Indiana as we, as a church and community, struggled with the cultural issues surrounding immigration of Latinos into our area.

As with all of my sermons, I view this as a particular word to a particular people at a particular time.  My research was not exhaustive and I recognize that, a year from now, I could preach a different sermon.  But this one was for this particular day.

PART 1:  NO BUMPER STICKERS

Scripture Genesis 12:10-16

Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to reside there as an alien, for the famine was severe in the land.  When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘I know well that you are a woman beautiful in appearance; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, “This is his wife”; then they will kill me, but they will let you live.  Say you are my sister, so that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared on your account.’  When Abram entered Egypt the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.  When the officials of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.  And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female slaves, female donkeys, and camels.

The CNN.com report of yesterday begins this way:

Staring at the throngs of media representatives who came out to hear and see her Friday, Jessica Colotl took another step into the fight for her future.  The undocumented student from Mexico whose case has become a lightning rod in the immigration debate had been released on $2,500 bond just a couple hours earlier. The 21-year-old student at Kennesaw State University in Georgia surrendered Friday morning to authorities in response to a warrant for her arrest issued Wednesday night by the Cobb County Sheriff's Office.

In short, she’s been here illegally for 10 years.  She’s going to school to get a degree.  She has no ID.  She got pulled over.  She will be sent back to Mexico.  But Immigration and Customs Enforcement will let her earn her degree next year.

Jessica is just the latest face in this immigration dilemma.  Arizona enacted a tough immigration law recently and, while some celebrate it, others question whether anyone who looks Hispanic or even dark-skinned is in danger of getting “rounded up.”  We recognize that, in Southern states, gang violence is spilling over from across the border.  For years we’ve seen that the insatiable American appetite for drugs has been connected to our border security on land and on sea.  This is not new

Now, there are those who say the current influx of immigrants that is in the news…namely Latinos – often called “Hispanics” which is not quite as accurate, or “Mexicans” which is kind of like calling all Anglo people “Brits”…some say these folks are not as good as immigrants of years past.  Those immigrants of yesteryear, they say, knew how to assimilate and were much more appreciative of the benefits of living in this country.  I received an e-mail this past week stating this case.  However, I don’t think that’s true.  Most immigrants, still, learn the language.  They still get “assimilated” and eventually get jobs, pay taxes, worry about getting kids to school, etc.  I looked at bunch of statistics (Thank you, Desert Southwest Conference Immigration Study).  I’m not sure I could, in this time, offer any numbers that would prove particularly helpful.

The main problem with addressing this issue is that it’s big and it can’t be condensed down to a bumper sticker.

Just think of the economics of immigration.  When I was in Frankfort, Indiana, we had an influx of Latino immigrants.  They had been migrant workers, in the fields.  And then they bought houses and got other jobs.  When they started to “settle” they were much more of a “threat.”  The Hispanic United Methodist Church pastor said he frequently heard how his parishioners were taking the factory jobs away from blue-blooded American workers.  He said they were only taking the jobs that the American workers wouldn’t take.   And it’s not so simple to say that immigrants are taking low paying jobs away from Americans when the companies that hire them are under pressure to keep their costs down so they can have a cheaper product to sell because blue-blooded Americans want a deal and won’t pay the price for items that we’d need to pay if it was made by the workers we think should be working there.  It’s a worker problem.  It’s an employer problem.  It’s a consumer problem.  And it’s complicated

About a week ago I read about raids on chicken factories in North Carolina, with the stated goal of rounding up undocumented immigrants.  The authorities sometimes tip off the employers to let them know they’re coming.  They bust in and arrest a few…enough to scare the workers and break up a few families…while keeping the rest of the workers working for their piddly pay.  Because, well, if all of the immigrants were deported, how could we get cheap chicken?

Even this morning while at The Grind, one customer mentioned that her Father did the same thing at a Factory in Illinois…not because he wanted to be doing anything illegal but because he had to keep salaries lower than residents around him wanted for their jobs.

It’s complicated.

It’s also complicated because there are very real and valid fears that are tied up in the issue of immigration.  Violence and drugs.  People being packed into cars and vans with the promise of a new life.  Persons dying in the desert.  Stresses on school systems and social services.  These are all very real. 

But they are complicated.

It’s complicated politically.  Voters with both major parties have ties to immigrant populations.  California is overwhelmingly Mexican and Central American.  Florida Cuban and Puerto Rican.  I wouldn’t be surprised if politicians who believe everyone should speak English are smart enough to put out Spanish ads for their campaigns.  It makes sense.

And it’s complicated for Christians too.  See, being an alien or an immigrant is part of our story.  Just a bit ago, we read a passage from Genesis, with Abram and Sarai, before their names were changed.  The two of them fell on economic hard times because of a famine in their land and they went over to Egypt to reside there as aliens in the hopes of a better life.  They lied to the authorities.  They got government handouts: “sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female slaves, female donkeys, and camels.”  That’s part of our story.

It’s also complicated because, at least with the Latino immigrants, almost all of them are Christian—Catholic and Evangelical.  I’m not saying that breaking the law doesn’t matter, then.  Breaking the law is breaking the law.  But, I am saying that it changes the dynamic of how we relate.  These are folks who turn to the church, not just for social services and food banks and clothes closets, but for Spiritual guidance and Holy Communion and Bible Studies.  And they can give to the church as much as they get.  Hispanics are changing the landscape of American Christianity, and in some places bringing to life churches that were thought to have closed their doors forever.

I know that emotions can run high here.  And I want to tell you that I’m conflicted.  I don’t have a magic solution for you.  I don’t have easy answers.  But, today I hope to look at the issue of immigration from a Biblical perspective.  For, if the church is going to be part of the solution, we need to realize that our strength is when we play on our own “turf” – the Bible – and not economics or politics or fear.  And we do a disservice when we enter into the war of bumper stickers, turning opposing viewpoints into caricatures, pretending like this is easy for anyone.  It’s not.  We’re dealing with people and lives and money and fear and compassion and faith and politics.  It’s not easy.

        

PART 2:  HOW DOES THE OLD TESTAMENT INFORM US?

Scripture – All from New Revised Standard Version  The Following Video was played in both services to introduce the Scriptures

1. Do not let the foreigner joined to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from his people." (Isaiah 56: 3a)
2. And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, . . . these will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer . . . (Isaiah 56: 6a, 7a)
3. .  . . . for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. (Isaiah 56: 7b)
4. When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 19: 33, 34)
5. You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. (Exodus 22:21)
6. You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. (Exodus 23:9)
7. You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow's garment in pledge. Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. (Exodus 24: 17-18a)
8. When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes...of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19: 9,10)
9. When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow . . . (Deuteronomy 24: 19a)
10. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. (Deuteronomy 24: 21)
11. For the LORD your God . . . executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and . . . loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. (Deuteronomy 10: 17, 18)
12. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10: 19)
13. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13: 2)

A book I’ve been reading this week, in preparation, is Christians at the Border: Immigration, Church, and the Bible, by Daniel Carol.  A lot of how this sermon is structured is due to his work.  He talks at one point of wearing bifocals because he can’t see close up or far away without help and, when working at his computer, he can never find the right spot to look.  He writes:

In like manner, all of us have a certain way of looking at ourselves and the world in which we live.  Every one of us, in other words, has a particular set of lenses through which we interpret the reality that surrounds us and our identity and role in that context.  These lenses are calibrated according to our background and experiences.  But for the Christian, the Bible can serve as a different and fresh set of lenses.  As the Word of God, it should profoundly shape our vision of life…. Through the Bible we as believers gain proper perspective, the angle God desires we have on important issues.” (64)

So, what are the things we learn from the Bible—from the Old Testament?

From Genesis 1, we recognize that we are made in the image of God.  Therefore, immigrants are made in the image of God.  They are worthy of respect in word and deed.  This doesn’t mean we have to let every undocumented immigrant stay or that we have to allow everyone in that wants to come in, but it does mean we need to recognize the “contrary allegiances” that might want us to deny entry to a nation or a race.  We need to realize that that, particularly speaking of Latino immigrants, that there are multiple nationalities and histories and cultures represented and we need to understand some of the human issues that have led to persons coming to this country…some that we have caused (such as our desire for cheap items).

It is hoped that we’ll look at people differently if we start by recognizing them as being made in the image of God.

From the Old Testament, we can also be informed about how often persons in our own Scriptures relocated and for what reasons.  Some, such as Abram or Ruth, relocated because of hunger and economic unrest.  Some, such as Joseph or Daniel, were forced into exile…Joseph sold into slavery and Daniel deported.  These and others took with themselves part of their old country (including their faith in Yahweh) and assimilated parts of their new country.

And, from the Old Testament, we can learn that our God is definitely not silent when it comes to issues of hospitality and welcoming of the alien and stranger.  We heard a bunch of these verses in the video.  We make a much bigger deal at times with issues about which God speaks much less.  There is a lot here.  Don’t oppress.  Don’t deprive of justice.  Do not glean your fields, but leave them for the alien.  God loves them and gives them food and clothing.  You shall love the stranger for you were once strangers in the land of Egypt.  How important do we think THESE verses of our Bible are?

So, how would knowing this affect—not whether or not we HAVE border security, but HOW that border security works?  How would this shape—not whether or not we let all undocumented immigrants stay but how we work out a plan for having some stay and also how we do this in such a way that we keep as many families together as possible?  The fact that so many families are broken up in our processes is tragic.

PART 3:  HOW DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT INFORM US?

Scripture:  John 4:1-9

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, ‘Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John’—  although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized— he left Judea and started back to Galilee.  But he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.  Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’.  (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)  The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)

As Christians, we can, at times get cerebral – focusing on the theology of our God, how Jesus can be both God and man.  Next week we’ll look at the coming of the Spirit and what it means for the church.  Other times we can get very spiritual – focusing on our love of the living God.  We want to know if persons are “saved.”  We want to know where persons are on their journey with Jesus.  Sometimes we fail to recognize that the things that Jesus said and the things that Jesus did should inform our own lives.  And, while he never devoted a recorded sermon to the issue of immigration, we can be informed by what our Scriptures tell us about him.

We need to remember, of course, that he started out life as a refugee.  That flight to Egypt after his birth was because of the Herod-led unrest and violence in his home country.  Perhaps that should shape our discussions as we consider those who come to our own country trying to escape unrest and violence?

But, more, from the New Testament, we can see how Jesus reacted to those who were Outsiders.  And, here, there is a lot to offer, particularly when it came to a particularly loathsome people – the Samaritans.  And, just how bad it was between Jews and Samaritans can be seen from the disciples’ reaction to a Samaritan village rejecting Jesus in Luke 9:51-56.  James and John wanted to call down fire upon them—but Jesus rebukes them.

And, of course, we have the passage we just read, of Jesus and the Samaritan woman.   Samaritan women, in Jewish tradition, were always to be considered ritually unclean (which reminds me of the people in my own church in Indiana telling me that the Hispanics in our community were unclean--that they had messy homes and yards, and had lice and whatnot).  But we know the story.  Jesus approaches a Samaritan woman…a woman of ill-repute, no less…at the well and, much to the amazement of the listeners of this story, he asks her for a drink of water even though Jews do not associate with Samaritans (4:9).  The end result is that she brings other to Jesus.  The harvest is at hand and, look where the field is ripe…THE SAMARITANS!!!

Now, there are other stories with Samaritans.  There is THE GOOD SAMARITAN, there are ten lepers healed in Luke 17 and it is the SAMARITAN leper who comes back to praise Jesus.

And beyond Jesus’ actions with the Samaritans, it is clear from his teaching that he introduces a new way of looking at persons who are outsiders, unknown, and unacceptable…women…the poor…the sick…the Gentiles…the stranger.  And it seems to have some eternal consequence.  Remember that in Matthew 25, with the sheep and the goats, eternal blessing and eternal judgment are based on how people have treated the Son of Man and the “least of these brothers of mine.” 

In our own country we have always had issues of cultural identity and the growing presence of immigrants…from the Irish and Italians to the immigrants from China and Japan to build railroads to the many immigrants in the Anchorage area to the growing national concern over the presence of Hispanics.  Culturally, it can be a problem. I can picture Latino music booming from a nearby car in Indiana much to the dismay of my own passenger.  And, I know, in myself the thoughts that cross my mind when I can’t understand the checker at the grocery store or the person on the other end of the phone line.  In his actions, Jesus seems to put aside any negative feelings towards those of a different culture and welcomes those with different backgrounds.  If we believe in Christ, shouldn’t all the rest just be details?

As followers of Jesus Christ, there are certain things we say are important matters of lifestyle.  The Christian church is big on touting that our faith is a belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  But, more, it is a way of life.  We believe that we should be honest in our dealings with others.  We believe that fidelity in marriage is vitally important for keeping our marriages together.  We believe that we should be good stewards of money.  And we believe in “turning the other cheek” although we have real trouble putting that one into practice.  So, where does compassion towards the outside, the stranger, the alien, even the illegal alien fit in that scheme of things?  How does that enter into our Christian “way of life”?

Now, this is a two-way street here.  If immigrants are Christian, then they need to be aware of what their coming means to this host country.  They need to be honest and faithful we expect participation in our country not just social welfare.  And I would say that, if legal means of getting documented are made available, they would seek those out.  While we are not in a position to demand, we should expect compassion and understanding in return.  Don’t make those of us who have been here a few hundred years into something we’re not and we’ll try to do the same.  If we’re going to have dialogue…if we’re going to work together…this needs to be the case.

PART 4:  OUR RESPONSE

Scripture:  1 Peter 2:9-12

        

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul.   Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge.

“I urge you as aliens and exiles,” says Peter.  Other translations say “aliens and strangers.”  The New Living Translation says, “temporary residents and foreigners.”  It is true that history of the people of God is one of sojourning in the faith – we are passing through this present age.  But, it is also true that the history of the people of God is one of sojourning literally.  It goes back to the time of Abraham when he was without land or roots in the region in which he settled.  The rejection that our ancestors faced was spiritual, but also literal. 

Perhaps this means that we can picture Egyptians furious at the handouts Abraham received.  Perhaps this means that we can understand the struggle Joseph and Mary must have had to find adequate housing when they were refugees.  Perhaps this means we can understand what it must have been like, through the Psalms, for the Hebrews to try to keep connected to their faith…their culture…in a foreign land.  And, perhaps, this means we can see in our story of faith the story of the strangers, the aliens, the immigrants to our own country.

I know that few, if any of us, are really on the “front lines” when it comes to immigration issues.  We may read about it.  We may hear stories from friends and family.  We see and feel anger.  We feel threatened.  And I’m sure that almost all of us say things and use language that we really should never use.  Something needs to change in this country.  The tenor of our conversation needs to change.  The complexity of the issues needs to be realized.  The underlying economic issues need to be addressed.  We need comprehensive immigration reform that addresses our porous borders, issues of illegal activity with drugs and violence, and a clear path for citizenship for some of the folks who have been contributing members of our American society—although HOW that’s decided I’m not sure.   And, through it all, we need to enter discussions about reform and laws carrying the testimony of Scripture.

Says Daniel Carroll:

If one begins with a biblical orientation that includes the centrality of the importance of the immigrant as made in the image of God, if one can appreciate how pervasive migration experiences are to the history and faith of the people of God, if Old Testament law projects an ethics of compassion, if the thrust of Jesus’ ministry and the New Testament as a whole is to love the outsider and be hospitable, then the inclination is to be gracious to the immigrant in the name of God and Christ.  This inclination, in turn, will affect how one assesses present legislation and ponders where things should go from here at a personal level, in the local and national church and other Christian spheres, and finally within the country at every level of government. (131-132).

It’s not so much a “blueprint” as it is a guiding principle.  And it gets the conversation back on our “home turf” – the Word of God.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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