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NAKED FAITH

Former American Press staff writer Sunny Brown Farley writes "Naked Faith," a look at faith in its natural form: lived out in the day-to-day lives of ordinary people.

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The Ultimate Host

Posted May 10, 2010 at 1:57 pm
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Yesterday was Mother’s Day and so I have been thinking a lot about my mom.

I am sure a lot of people have bragging rights about their moms. I guess that’s why all of the pink Hallmark cards sold for Mother’s Day say something like “Mom, you are the greatest!” Or “Mother, you’re the best!”

I feel that way about my mom.

I think the thing I admire the most about her is that she is an amazing host. She is someone who can make you feel welcomed and special and loved and cherished! I think that is a spiritual gift and it is one my mom definitely has and the reason.

There is a story in the Book of Acts about a host.

In it, we find a woman named Lydia.

What we know about Lydia from the biblical account is that she is a Macedonian woman. She’s a gentile. She’s a businesswoman – a career woman. It says she sells purple – which is purple cloth, which was a valuable textile because purple was an expensive dye to make in her day and age. Looking at our story, we also see that Lydia was a woman of faith. Our story says she and other women were gathered together outside a city gate down by a river at a place of prayer. And another thing we find in our story that Lydia had a household. She lived with others and presumably she lived with family just as we do in our households today.

The story doesn’t say how many people were in Lydia’s household. It doesn’t say she had a husband and a bunch of kids or that grandma lived with her, but I imagine Lydia did at least have children.

I can also imagine that having a household in her day and age presented itself with challenges and opportunities just as it having a household in our day and age does.

I wonder how many of yall were frustrated trying to get to church this past Sunday? Is it just me or does there seem to be a cosmic conspiracy that makes it impossible to get anywhere on time when you have children?

If you have little kid tell me if this sounds familiar to you:

About 15 minutes before you have to be somewhere your child or children need a drink, have to potty, refuse to get dressed, complain adamantly, suffer an injury, have a snotty nose, want a snack or assume that limp-body posture? I have a friend who calls it the peaceful protestor. They refuse to cooperate but they don’t put up a fight.

You parents of older kids, teenagers, also are victims of the conspiracy that makes you late. I only know this because I work with college kids at the Wesley Foundation and I see it: You’re about to walk out the door and they announce they’ve lost their cell phone or they can’t find their keys. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the excuse: My alarm didn’t go off. Am I right?

Having a family, a household, presents its challenges, doesn’t it? But being a leader in a household also has its opportunities and certainly its rewards.

Isn’t it great when your kids “get it?” When they catch on to something important that you’ve been trying to teach them? What about that feeling you get – that incredible feeling – when you realize that your child has become what you hoped they would be? Yours is the sweet kid, the sensible kid, the smart kid, or the faithful kid.

In our gospel story, we find that Lydia is converted to Christianity. It says that God opened her heart to respond to the message preached by the apostle Paul. Then it says she was baptized AND – here is something wonderful – her entire household was baptized. How cool is that? Her household followed after her and became Christians just as she became a Christian. I can only imagine she was very excited about this. I can imagine she was overjoyed! I bet she was one proud mama.

Our story goes on to say that Lydia invited the Apostle Paul and the author of Acts into her home. She persuaded them to come and stay with her.

Lydia was a host to the great leaders of the early church – welcoming them into her home – indeed, into her heart.

But now this is the point in my blog when I tell you that in this Bible story of ours, the real amazing and incredible host is not Lydia, bur rather God.

You see, what we learn about God in this passage of scripture and indeed in all of the Bible, is that He is the extender of a great invitation. He is the great persuader of people. God lays out the welcome mat for each and every one of us.

In the United Methodist Church we talk a lot about something called prevenient grace. We understand grace to be God’s unmerited, undeserved favor and God pours out that grace on us all the days of our lives. God’s grace goes before us, luring us, beckoning us, to respond. God’s grace welcomes us to the Christian faith.

That’s the thing about God. To God, we are all quite special. We are created in his image, we are loved by him, treasured by him, desired by Him.

God opened the heart of Lydia. He invited her into the household of faith – God’s household, the household of the family of believers.

God is the head of this household and I think that is why God is such an amazing host. God is a parent. I reckon when God saw Paul and Lydia and Lydia’s household come to faith God was quite proud of them. They got it!

I hope all of us can get it! On this good day, let us consider making the parent we all share a proud parent. Amen.

The Ultimate Host

Posted May 10, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Filed Under Faith & Religion | Leave a Comment

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Yesterday was Mother’s Day and so I have been thinking a lot about my mom.

I am sure a lot of people have bragging rights about their moms. I guess that’s why all of the pink Hallmark cards sold for Mother’s Day say something like “Mom, you are the greatest!” Or “Mother, you’re the best!”

I feel that way about my mom.

I think the thing I admire the most about her is that she is an amazing host. She is someone who can make you feel welcomed and special and loved and cherished! I think that is a spiritual gift and it is one my mom definitely has and the reason.

There is a story in the Book of Acts about a host.

In it, we find a woman named Lydia.

What we know about Lydia from the biblical account is that she is a Macedonian woman. She’s a gentile. She’s a businesswoman – a career woman. It says she sells purple – which is purple cloth, which was a valuable textile because purple was an expensive dye to make in her day and age. Looking at our story, we also see that Lydia was a woman of faith. Our story says she and other women were gathered together outside a city gate down by a river at a place of prayer. And another thing we find in our story that Lydia had a household. She lived with others and presumably she lived with family just as we do in our households today.

The story doesn’t say how many people were in Lydia’s household. It doesn’t say she had a husband and a bunch of kids or that grandma lived with her, but I imagine Lydia did at least have children.

I can also imagine that having a household in her day and age presented itself with challenges and opportunities just as it having a household in our day and age does.

I wonder how many of yall were frustrated trying to get to church this past Sunday? Is it just me or does there seem to be a cosmic conspiracy that makes it impossible to get anywhere on time when you have children?

If you have little kid tell me if this sounds familiar to you:

About 15 minutes before you have to be somewhere your child or children need a drink, have to potty, refuse to get dressed, complain adamantly, suffer an injury, have a snotty nose, want a snack or assume that limp-body posture? I have a friend who calls it the peaceful protestor. They refuse to cooperate but they don’t put up a fight.

You parents of older kids, teenagers, also are victims of the conspiracy that makes you late. I only know this because I work with college kids at the Wesley Foundation and I see it: You’re about to walk out the door and they announce they’ve lost their cell phone or they can’t find their keys. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the excuse: My alarm didn’t go off. Am I right?

Having a family, a household, presents its challenges, doesn’t it? But being a leader in a household also has its opportunities and certainly its rewards.

Isn’t it great when your kids “get it?” When they catch on to something important that you’ve been trying to teach them? What about that feeling you get – that incredible feeling – when you realize that your child has become what you hoped they would be? Yours is the sweet kid, the sensible kid, the smart kid, or the faithful kid.

In our gospel story, we find that Lydia is converted to Christianity. It says that God opened her heart to respond to the message preached by the apostle Paul. Then it says she was baptized AND – here is something wonderful – her entire household was baptized. How cool is that? Her household followed after her and became Christians just as she became a Christian. I can only imagine she was very excited about this. I can imagine she was overjoyed! I bet she was one proud mama.

Our story goes on to say that Lydia invited the Apostle Paul and the author of Acts into her home. She persuaded them to come and stay with her.

Lydia was a host to the great leaders of the early church – welcoming them into her home – indeed, into her heart.

But now this is the point in my blog when I tell you that in this Bible story of ours, the real amazing and incredible host is not Lydia, bur rather God.

You see, what we learn about God in this passage of scripture and indeed in all of the Bible, is that He is the extender of a great invitation. He is the great persuader of people. God lays out the welcome mat for each and every one of us.

In the United Methodist Church we talk a lot about something called prevenient grace. We understand grace to be God’s unmerited, undeserved favor and God pours out that grace on us all the days of our lives. God’s grace goes before us, luring us, beckoning us, to respond. God’s grace welcomes us to the Christian faith.

That’s the thing about God. To God, we are all quite special. We are created in his image, we are loved by him, treasured by him, desired by Him.

God opened the heart of Lydia. He invited her into the household of faith – God’s household, the household of the family of believers.

God is the head of this household and I think that is why God is such an amazing host. God is a parent. I reckon when God saw Paul and Lydia and Lydia’s household come to faith God was quite proud of them. They got it!

I hope all of us can get it! On this good day, let us consider making the parent we all share a proud parent. Amen.

The Ultimate Host

Posted May 10, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Filed Under Faith & Religion | Leave a Comment

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Yesterday was Mother’s Day and so I have been thinking a lot about my mom.

I am sure a lot of people have bragging rights about their moms. I guess that’s why all of the pink Hallmark cards sold for Mother’s Day say something like “Mom, you are the greatest!” Or “Mother, you’re the best!”

I feel that way about my mom.

I think the thing I admire the most about her is that she is an amazing host. She is someone who can make you feel welcomed and special and loved and cherished! I think that is a spiritual gift and it is one my mom definitely has and the reason.

There is a story in the Book of Acts about a host.

In it, we find a woman named Lydia.

What we know about Lydia from the biblical account is that she is a Macedonian woman. She’s a gentile. She’s a businesswoman – a career woman. It says she sells purple – which is purple cloth, which was a valuable textile because purple was an expensive dye to make in her day and age. Looking at our story, we also see that Lydia was a woman of faith. Our story says she and other women were gathered together outside a city gate down by a river at a place of prayer. And another thing we find in our story that Lydia had a household. She lived with others and presumably she lived with family just as we do in our households today.

The story doesn’t say how many people were in Lydia’s household. It doesn’t say she had a husband and a bunch of kids or that grandma lived with her, but I imagine Lydia did at least have children.

I can also imagine that having a household in her day and age presented itself with challenges and opportunities just as it having a household in our day and age does.

I wonder how many of yall were frustrated trying to get to church this past Sunday? Is it just me or does there seem to be a cosmic conspiracy that makes it impossible to get anywhere on time when you have children?

If you have little kid tell me if this sounds familiar to you:

About 15 minutes before you have to be somewhere your child or children need a drink, have to potty, refuse to get dressed, complain adamantly, suffer an injury, have a snotty nose, want a snack or assume that limp-body posture? I have a friend who calls it the peaceful protestor. They refuse to cooperate but they don’t put up a fight.

You parents of older kids, teenagers, also are victims of the conspiracy that makes you late. I only know this because I work with college kids at the Wesley Foundation and I see it: You’re about to walk out the door and they announce they’ve lost their cell phone or they can’t find their keys. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the excuse: My alarm didn’t go off. Am I right?

Having a family, a household, presents its challenges, doesn’t it? But being a leader in a household also has its opportunities and certainly its rewards.

Isn’t it great when your kids “get it?” When they catch on to something important that you’ve been trying to teach them? What about that feeling you get – that incredible feeling – when you realize that your child has become what you hoped they would be? Yours is the sweet kid, the sensible kid, the smart kid, or the faithful kid.

In our gospel story, we find that Lydia is converted to Christianity. It says that God opened her heart to respond to the message preached by the apostle Paul. Then it says she was baptized AND – here is something wonderful – her entire household was baptized. How cool is that? Her household followed after her and became Christians just as she became a Christian. I can only imagine she was very excited about this. I can imagine she was overjoyed! I bet she was one proud mama.

Our story goes on to say that Lydia invited the Apostle Paul and the author of Acts into her home. She persuaded them to come and stay with her.

Lydia was a host to the great leaders of the early church – welcoming them into her home – indeed, into her heart.

But now this is the point in my blog when I tell you that in this Bible story of ours, the real amazing and incredible host is not Lydia, bur rather God.

You see, what we learn about God in this passage of scripture and indeed in all of the Bible, is that He is the extender of a great invitation. He is the great persuader of people. God lays out the welcome mat for each and every one of us.

In the United Methodist Church we talk a lot about something called prevenient grace. We understand grace to be God’s unmerited, undeserved favor and God pours out that grace on us all the days of our lives. God’s grace goes before us, luring us, beckoning us, to respond. God’s grace welcomes us to the Christian faith.

That’s the thing about God. To God, we are all quite special. We are created in his image, we are loved by him, treasured by him, desired by Him.

God opened the heart of Lydia. He invited her into the household of faith – God’s household, the household of the family of believers.

God is the head of this household and I think that is why God is such an amazing host. God is a parent. I reckon when God saw Paul and Lydia and Lydia’s household come to faith God was quite proud of them. They got it!

I hope all of us can get it! On this good day, let us consider making the parent we all share a proud parent. Amen.

I’m Reaching

Posted April 22, 2010 at 5:01 pm
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Lately I have been working out an hour a day on the treadmill.

So that I don’t stagnate in my workout, I have been trying to change up the routine a bit.

The other day, I thought I would kick up the incline as high as it would go and walk briskly for ten minutes in the middle of my workout.

I was feeling pretty confident. In fact, I think I actually spoke aloud to my treadmill. “Bring it!”

For the first five minutes, I was hanging in there pretty good. Then at six, I was relatively sure I could not make it to the end of the 10-minute commitment.

It was then that I felt like God began to teach me something.

Sometimes we get a little over-confident in what we are doing.

In fact, perhaps we get shamelessly arrogant in how we think we can perform.

With three minutes left in the killer part of my workout, I reached out and grabbed hold of the console and caught my breath.

I then said a little prayer. “God strengthen me.”

Isn’t that what we are supposed to do in life? Reach out and take hold of the resources all around us and reach out to God as the source of our strength?

I made it to the end of my 10 minutes of hardcore workout and reflected a bit on how I needed to be less self-supporting and more reliant on God and what God has provided for me.

I apologized to God and it was then that a song came on my headphones. The song, though secular, ends with a nice refrain. Over and over, it repeats, “Go now, you are forgiven.”

All things are possible

Posted April 11, 2010 at 8:01 pm
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Awhile back, some of my students were sitting around talking about how horrified they were that someone in East Texas was burning down churches.

In all, 10 churches were torched in a string of serial arsons. A pair of young men are now in custody on charges related to the fires. One of those young men was a student at our college.

Our discussions about the fires centered around God’s presence in the midst of tragedy.

We then began to look for God in the midst of the fires. We found God all over the place.

We saw God in the way the community came together and supported one another. We saw God in the strength of the congregations who refused to be destroyed even though their places of worship were destroyed. We saw God in the way denominations overcame their theological differences to host the worship services of the displaced in their sanctuaries.

Our conversations eventually turned to how we could be part of what God was doing in the aftermath of the fires.

Of course, college students don’t have a lot of resources to give – not a lot of cash and belongings. However, they have a lot of creativity and energy.

Our students decided to hold an art exhibition depicting triumph over tragedy. We called it Beauty for Ashes from the scripture in Isaiah where God talks about trading beauty for ashes and restoring His people.

Our students painted pictures, wrote poetry, made sculptures and even crafted crosses out of burnt pieces of wood form one of the church fires.

It was an incredible act of compassion.

The art exhibition was held over the weekend. In all, it raised about $3,000 – all of which will be donated to the victim churches.

I am touched beyond belief at what God is doing in this world and I am reminded that all things are possible – in and through Christ.

Praise God!

Eye to eye

Posted March 26, 2010 at 10:18 pm
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Tonight I took a group of college students to see an ecumenical, community Passion Play.

Actors representing about a dozen or so churches of different denominations came together to present the story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

I have seen and read this story so many times. I know it by heart and, yet, somehow there is something new and inspiring about it every time I encounter it.

Tonight, it was the way Jesus inter-acted with the crowd as he struggled to carry his cross on the road to Calvary. He dropped the heavy wooden cross, just as I knew he would. Then, his eyes met the eyes of a person sitting on the front row of the amphitheater where the performance was staged.

I wondered how the man on the front row felt when he locked eyes with Jesus.

I wondered if he felt compelled to respond in some way.

I thought about how many times our eyes look into the eyes of someone in need. I think it must be just like staring into the very soul of our Lord.

I am reminded of a story about goats and sheep.

Matt. 25:31-46 says: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

The Best Part

Posted March 13, 2010 at 7:12 am
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This week was Spring Break and our family decided to spend a few days at a lake relaxing.

At one point, my son really wanted to watch a movie and I agreed.

He asked me to watch it with him and, again, I agreed.

I got it all set up and running, then I thought of ten things I needed to do. I needed to get the dishes done, toys picked up, check on the dog, etc., etc.

Instead of sitting down to watch a movie with my son, I started doing chores.

“You’re missing the best part,” my son said.

I wondered what the best part of the movie was to a three-year-old. Then it struck me, that I was missing the best part – the best part of the moment. I was missing the best part of spending time together as a family. It’s not the chores and the work and the making sure everything is just perfect, it’s the little moments of shared happiness. It’s the snuggling on the couch to a children’s movie!

God, help us to not miss out on the best parts in life!

So Close

Posted March 1, 2010 at 5:43 pm
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A few years ago while serving at a church, I met a man named Ron. Ron was amazing. He went off to fight in Vietnam as a young man. He came back safe and sound and somehow didn’t let all of the post-Vietnam war stuff get to him. He took a job at a warehouse – working for some big company and he was responsible for stocking the shelves and keeping track of products and so forth. Well, one day while on the job, something bad happened. A big, heavy crate fell from a high shelf and landed on Ron. Miraculously, he survived, but he broke his back.

I remember him telling me the story of his long stay in the hospital. He had several surgeries and was subjected to intense physical rehab. The doctors and nurses made him stretch and more and do all sorts of exercises in order to regain the use of his limbs. He said it was like completely starting over. It was as if he had never used his arms and legs. At one point, he told me they had him try to feed himself and was focused on getting his hand to his mouth and he just kept hitting himself in the face. He said he laughed and laughed at himself because it was just so ridiculous.

God love Ron. His attitude is unbelievable in the face of the adversity he has faced. He is one of the cheeriest people you have ever met. Ron did regain some use of his arms and legs. And he remained unstoppable despite his disabilities. When I met Ron he was serving on like three church committees, he was the lay leader of the church, he put out the church newsletter and perhaps most remarkably, he was involved in the Meals on Wheels program. Do you know the Meals on Wheels program? It is designed to bring a hot meal to those who are elderly or disabled? Well, every Monday, Ron would pull up to church in his specially-designed Suburban – a suburban that was outfitted to make it easy for him to drive – and someone from the church would load up his vehicle with a stack of hot meals and he and a partner would take off and deliver food to maybe a dozen or so people in the area who were not much worse off than Ron. I can’t tell you how many times I thought that he should be at his house and we should be bringing him a hot meal. Ron was seemingly unshakable.

I submit to you that he is the exception to the rule.

I think most folks, when in the face of such extreme hardship and pain and suffering might become – instead of cheery optimists like Ron – something more like a bitter, pathetic, angry person.

Think about it? If you were paralyzed, how would you respond? I will just confess to you that I wonder if I would become angry and frustrated and maybe even hopeless.

This is how I imagine the paralytic man in John 5:1-9. He is sitting by a pool of healing water and he can’t get to it. Every time it gets stirred up, others jump in and he can’t get in. Apparently the healing powers of this pool were only effective when the waters were first stirred and so there are all these folks who immediately jump in and the poor paralytic man can’t compete with them. He has no one who will carry him in – no one who will champion his cause and get him to the place where he might be healed.

He just lays there, day after day, watching others get healed, unable to do anything to help himself.

I can imagine he was angry and sad, and frustrated and bitter and then again, maybe he had just lost all hope. Maybe he had just given up.

The worst part is that the solution to his problem was so close but yet so far.

I wonder if there are solutions to your problems that are just out of reach.

Have you ever said the words, if only?

If only I could get this job or if only my pay raise would come through my finances would be saved.

If only, I could get in to see this one doctor, I might could get the health care I need.

If only someone would carry me over to the healing pool, I would be able to walk again

If only – fill in the blank…..

I wonder if this was what was going through our poor paralytic’s mind as he sat by the healing waters of the pool.

Seemingly, the solution to all his problems was right there…. Just out of reach…. So close, but yet it might as well have been miles away because he just couldn’t reach it.

So close….

How many times in life, have we felt like something good was close but just out of reach? We keep looking ahead and saying things will be different for us in the future – once I get in the water, I will healed…. after this big project at work, I’ll have more time for the family. After I get through final exams, I will start working out and eating right. Once I retire, I can go and have some fun with my spouse. We see something better – a better time – a better life, but we can never actually attain it.

About 10 years ago, my husband and I went on a medical mission trip to Nicaragua. I don’t know if any of you have ever been to Nicaragua, but it is a poor, Central American country and in the poorest villages there, the people live side-by-side in shacks they make out of scrap pieces of cardboard and wood. These shacks don’t have any flooring so its just dirt and mud underneath them and flimsy walls on every side. One evening as we walked through a shanty village, I noticed something shocking. These shacks had electricity. The wires were strung from shack to shack and many of these homes had small televisions – not the big flatscreens like many of us have, but small, old televisions that picked up weak signals with rabbit ears and aluminum foil.

And what were they watching on tv? American television programs – they were watching Friends and Entertainment Tonight and MTV. Shows about people who lived far from them – not just in terms of miles but in terms of how they lived. I have thought about that scene so many times. Poor masses of people huddled around a television in a third world shack. Those televisions were like windows to a world they would never know – glimpses into lives they would never have.

Is there any wonder why so many people want to come and live in our country? I wondered how many of them were saying, “If only I could get to America.”

If only I could reach the pool of healing water … .

There are so many if/onlys and when/thens in all our lives.

But if we are honest with ourselves I think we have to admit that in various aspects of all our lives, we are still sitting on a mat like the paralytic man in our scripture. And maybe, like him, we have been sitting there for some time unable to move closer to our goal.

We are stuck. And I wonder if it’s because we’ve focused on the wrong things. Our eyes are fixed on the healing waters, the financial windfall, the potential for our situations to change by way of luck or human intervention and we forget completely about God’s role in all of this.

In our gospel story, our poor paralytic is transfixed on the pool – the seeming solution to all his problems. I can see him – eyes locked on the water and here comes this stranger. I wonder if he even looked at Jesus or if his eyes stayed focused on the pool of water. I wonder if Jesus had to wave his hand in front of the man’s face to get his attention.

Isn’t it funny how God has to get our attention sometimes when we are locked in on something? We just get an idea of what will make our lives good and whole and happy and well, we lose site of the One who is the author, creator and sustainer of goodness, wholeness and happiness.

And so God gets the attention of the paralytic… Jesus says to the man, Do you want to be healed?

The man doesn’t even answer Jesus’ question. Rather, he expresses his frustration – I can’t get to the water! The water, water, water, water…. Everyone jumps in ahead of me! No one will give me a chance!

Our paralytic remains transfixed on what he is convinced is the solution to his problem.

And then something amazing happens. Something wonderful.

Jesus heals the paralytic.

Jesus says to the man, pick up your mat and walk! And at once, the paralytic was cured and he picked up his mat and walked. After 38 years of paralysis, the man is healed.

I think its important for us to remember that the man was paralyzed. It was impossible for him to move himself or to heal himself. He needed help and no one around him would help him. In fact, they got in his way and kept him from reaching the pool.

And here comes God into his sad and seemingly hopeless situation.

Jesus heals him without the water – Jesus didn’t need the water. He didn’t even need the man’s permission or his faith. None of that is in the story. Jesus just stepped in and made it all happen.

The paralytic thought he was so close to his healing. He was even closer than he thought, wasn’t he? Because the healing he needed could be found in the man standing next to him.

Brothers and sisters, let’s look up from our mats. Let’s look away from what we are so certain are the solutions to our problems.

Rather, let us fix our eyes on Christ, the One who is close by, waiting to heal us and make us whole in every way. Amen.

Dusty Road

Posted February 18, 2010 at 8:17 am
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Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten Season. We, like Christians who’ve gone before us observe this season as a time of spiritual preparation leading up to Easter.

We are reminded during this time that before there was a resurrection, there was a crucifixion. Before there was salvation, there was suffering.

We are reminded that we are part of a great story. We are part of salvation history. During Lent, we are reminded that our story begins with dust. God created us, humankind, from the dirt of the ground. And it will be to this dirt that we return.

In between, we walk a dusty road.

Our journey is one that takes place in a fallen and imperfect world that is, like each and every one of us, in need of redemption.

As we make our way through Lent, we wrestle with ourselves and look within our hearts and lives to see the imperfection that is within each of us.

We are not a perfect people. We are all sinners who fall short of the glory of God, as the apostle Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans.

We struggle with temptation and recognize those things in our lives that would separate us from God. Maybe they are obvious things: like drugs or sex or maybe they are less obvious, like Facebook and pizza.

What is it that dominates your time, your life? Is it God or is it something else?

During Lent, we often give up different things – maybe chocolate or television – so that we might refocus our attention on what really matters: Our Lord, who gave up so much more than chocolate and television for us.

May these acts bring us to repentance and to a right relationship with our God through Christ Jesus.

But, but …

Posted January 31, 2010 at 9:27 pm
Filed Under Faith & Religion | Leave a Comment

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I love the story of the call of Jeremiah.

When God called Jeremiah, Jeremiah said what a lot of people say when God calls them to do something. Jeremiah said, “But, but … ”

There are many “But, buts” in the Bible. Consider Moses: “But, but… I stutter.” How about Jonah: “But, but… I don’t want to go to Ninevah.” Or how about Gideon: “but, but I am too young and hail from an unremarkable tribe of people.”

As a campus minister, I try to encourage students to overcome the “but, buts” in their lives.

Yes, they may be young, but God uses young people – that is what we find in the case of Jeremiah and Gideon and, of course, later in the case of young Timothy the disciple of Christ.

All of us have “but, buts” we must overcome in order to be used of God. All of us have conditions, situations, circumstances that would seemingly make it impossible for God to use us.

Some of us have big “but buts” and some of us have small “but buts,” but we all have “but buts!”

What are some of the obstacles to our fulfilling God’s will for our lives?

Maybe it is age, gender, level of education, experience, socio-economic status, physical appearance “But, but God, I can’t because (you fill in the blank)!”

Now, don’t feel bad because you feel unworthy of serving God. Truth is, you ARE unworthy! All of us are. None of us is perfect. All of us fall short of the glory of God because all of us are sinners. That’s what it says in the Book of Romans. And it’s true. If we were not dreadful sinners, we wouldn’t need a Savior.

It isn’t about whether or not we are worthy, it is about whether or not we are willing.

We are fleshly, human, imperfect people. And yet, God chooses to use us in all our unworthiness to accomplish his will in this world.

Jeremiah says to God: “But, but I am just a boy.”

God says to Jeremiah: Don’t say you’re just a boy, because you will go where I send you and say what I tell you and don’t be afraid because I am with you to deliver you!

God effectively tells Jeremiah that it isn’t about Jeremiah’s abilities or lack thereof. God has got his back.

God is the power and strength in Jeremiah, enabling him in what God wants him to do. The young prophet won’t be relying on his own strength and power, but on God’s.

It’s amazing how God used Jeremiah. Jeremiah preached to the people a message of judgment and hope. God used him to help the people see the error of their ways. Jermiah tells them that they have placed their faith in the wrong things – temple worship and the covenant of God with the dynasty of David. Instead, they needed to return their faith to God Himself.

As we know from history, Judah soon fell to the Baylonians and the people suffered many years in exile, but the people of God were not be abandoned by God. Jeremiah preached a message of hope in the midst of the hardship. Jeremiah proclaimed to the remnant people that they would renew their covenant relationship with God and faithfully follow God’s law – because it would written on their hearts.

God is still concerned with our hearts today. Ours is a religion based on heart. God wants our love and devotion.

What was it Jesus said was the most important commandment? To love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, strength…

When you love someone, you want to make them happy, right? And so when we love God, we want to serve God. Service to God is not born of some warped sense of obligation but the result of an overflow of the heart.

So, whose job is it to serve God? It is all our job. That is why we are the Body of Christ. We all function together in different roles to do God’s good work and accomplish God’s good purpose in this world.

What a beautiful thing it is to see the Body of Christ in action. If you turn on the news, you can see Christ all over the world. In recent weeks, we have seen Christ in Haiti. Christians have rallied to bring comfort and provision to a poor, suffering people. We see Christ in the faces of those handing out bottled water and removing rubble. We see Christ in the tear-stained faces of those who have lost so much but have been drawn near to God in the midst of their pain and grief.

On the campus where I serve, one can see the Body of Christ in action. I recently made a newsletter highlighting everything going on at the Wesley Foundation and I included photos of our students. After I put it together, I noticed something. The photos of our students show them living out their faith. There’s a picture of one student preaching a sermon. There’s a picture of another painting a house while on a mission trip. There’s another picture of yet another student volunteering with children at a local church.

The other day, I took some students to worship and on the way home, there was a woman stranded beside her stalled car at a busy intersection. We no sooner noticed her and one of my students was out the door, racing through five lanes of traffic to push her vehicle to safety. Later that day my three-year-old son said, Brad helped that lady with the broken car. He’s like Superman. I said to my son no even better, he’s like Jesus.

So, how do we know what God is calling us to do?

Sometimes, God’s calling presents itself to us in an opportunity or a need like the woman at the intersection. Sometimes it is something we feel drawn to do or perhaps there is a spiritual gift God has given us or resources we have and God merely wants us to use that gift or resource for his glory.

One thing is for sure: God is calling! God is calling each and every one of us!

And so how will we respond? Will we, like Jeremiah, come up with an excuse for why we can’t do what God wants us to do in our lives? Will we say to God, “But, but … ” Or, will we say to God, “yes Lord, we will be part of the Body of Christ knowing that we can live out your plan for our lives in your power and strength.”

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