Monday, May 5

Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 42; Ezekiel 3:16-27; Matthew 14:22-36; 1 Corinthians 15:45-58; Psalm 13

Last summer I turned 40. Since then I’ve been wrestling to learn a valuable lesson. The lesson is how to overcome co-dependence. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, co-dependence is where an individual’s boundaries are blurred and he/she ends up enmeshed with other people. Co-dependent folks, for instance, will often accept responsibility for other people’s feelings or choices. They often feel as if they are both the cause of other people’s problems and the cure to those same problems. Sounds absurd, right? I know it does to a non co-dependent person. To a co-dependent person, however, it makes perfect sense. Needless to say, such an approach toward life is totally overwhelming. Having lived with a co-dependent approach toward life for 40 years, it is a challenge (to say the least) to try to undo these thought processes that continue to haunt me daily. As someone wrestling to establish healthy boundaries, I LOVED today’s passage from Ezekiel. And why do I love it? Because it sets clear boundaries about who is responsible for what. The passage tells us of how Ezekiel received a clear message from God: when you receive a message from God, tell the people what I’ve said. That’s your job. End of story. The people’s job, then, is to pick up the message and run. You are not responsible for their choices after hearing the message; you are only responsible for sharing it. That’s the sort of clarity I love and need in my life. It’s easy for people of faith to slide into co-dependent patterns. We do so not for entirely selfish reasons – we do it because we so desperately want to reach and help people. And in our attempts to do so, we end up losing a healthy sense of balance and perspective. Today, let us give thanks for a God who understands healthy boundaries. Let us then honor God by following God’s examples and establishing healthy boundaries in our own lives as well. Til next time…

Sunday, May 4

Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 1; Acts 1:6-14; John 17:1-11; 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11; Psalm 121

I’m generally not a big fan of using the phrase “God is testing me”. While I understand where such folks are coming from (I.e. the book of Job), my personal experience of God suggests that God just wouldn’t act so capriciously just for the sake of proving a point. Having said all of that, today is one of those days where it feels like I have a test. You see on my last day of vacation in the Pacific Northwest, I’ll return to the church in which I was born, baptized, and raised. I’ll go back because of the coffee hour following the service in which the church will celebrate my father’s 80th birthday. So where’s the test lie? Well, in addition to having been baptized and raised in the church, my candidacy for ordained ministry was also discontinued by my home church because I was gay. In the days after my candidacy for ordained ministry was discontinued, I told myself that I would follow the admonition in Matthew 10:14 that says if a group doesn’t receive your ministry you should shake the dust from your shoes and move on. I intended to; I thought that I would never go back. Today, however, on some level it feels as if I have a two-part final exam. The first portion concerned my willingness to set aside my vow not to return and be a part of a family celebration. I’m ready for that portion of the test. The second part of the “test” is much trickier; it involves my decision whether or not to receive Communion in the community that broke its covenant promises to me. For several days, I thought I would make the decision not to receive the elements because of this. Today’s lectionary passage from 1 Peter helped change my mind. Those words from 1 Peter 4:12-13 read as follows: “Friends, when life get really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner” (The Message). Those words reminded me that my Communion experience today will in fact capture the very essence of what the sacrament is all about. Today, as I kneel at the altar, I will know first hand some of the feelings of what Jesus experienced (I.e. pain, betrayal, brokenness). Today, I will also know in very powerful ways other aspects of Jesus’ experience: forgiveness, grace, and love. Aren’t those all of those feelings and experiences (both good and bad) what Communion is all about? Perhaps there are pieces of your life where you feel conflicted - pieces where you want to draw lines around and keep God out. If that’s the case, I would invite you to do what I am in the process of doing - lay aside your pride, ego, will and your pain and invite the healing and transformative presence of God in. If you do that, you just might find that the glory that the author of 1 Peter said lies “just around the corner“ is closer than you think. Til next time…

Saturday, May 3

Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 11; Ezekiel 3:4-17; Matthew 14:13-21; 1 Corinthians 15:35-44; Psalm 139

I remember one Christmas when I was about 5. I was working with my mother as we decorated the Christmas tree. My mom tried to get me to work with the more durable ornaments on the lower portion of the tree (we had 2 cats and a dog so the durable ornaments HAD to be hung on the lower portion of the tree). I insisted, however, that I was old enough to work with the glass ornaments that were hung higher. When my mom stepped out of the room for a few minutes, I dove into the box with the glass ornaments and proceeded to try to hang one ornament up high. Wouldn’t you know the ornament slipped through my fingers and broke on the floor. That ornament was one of my mother’s favorite ornaments. So what did I do to rectify the situation? I did what any five year old would do: I grabbed a broom in the kitchen and swept the broken parts under the refrigerator. My mom came back into the room and we finished decorating the tree. Nothing was said about what happened. Several years later - when my family was decorating another tree - I remember what I had done many years earlier. I decided it was time to come clean, so I nervously told my mom what happened. She smiled and said, “I already knew that.” That day I learned an important lesson. It wasn’t that my mother’s love for me changed that day. No, her love for me was constant. What changed was my awareness of - and understanding of the depths of that love. I learned that she loved me for who I was - not for who I pretended to me. That same sentiment was captured by the psalmist in Psalm 139. In that passage the psalmist beings by acknowledging God’s role in his life: “I’m an open book to you”. The psalmist continues by observing “You know when I leave and when I get back, I’m never out of your sight.” So many individuals lead lives of hopelessness and fear as they struggle to come to terms with parts of themselves. They spend much time trying to prove or earn the love and respect of God and others. Today’s psalm calls us to realize that there is no reason to try to be anything other than yourself; for God already knows and accepts who you are. The only person left struggling to accept you is most often you. Today, I would encourage you to take time celebrating a God who knows and loves us: not for who God thinks us to be, but rather for exactly who we are. Til next time…

Friday, May 2

Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 10; Ezekiel 1:28-3:3; Matthew 14:1-12; 1 Corinthians 15:29-34; Psalm 7

There are many roles that spiritual leaders of faith communities are called to play. At times, for instance, spiritual leaders are called to serve in administrative roles; at other times, they are called to provide pastoral care. One of the most important roles they are called to play is the role of the prophet. In my first few years of ministry I’ve found that the prophetic role is perhaps the least understood role of all the roles we pastors play. When most folks hear the word “prophet” spoken, they assume a prophet is merely someone who points toward, or predicts the future. Others hear the word and think of a prophet as someone who heralds gloom and doom for a community. Neither of those descriptions really get at what I feel is the heart of the call to be a prophet. The way I think of the prophetic role is to be someone who names things for a community. Through that naming process greater clarity is introduced into the situation. In today’s passage from Matthew, for instance, we hear a bit of John the Baptist’s history recounted. In that recounting, we are reminded of John’s courageous ability to name something of great important. You see in John’s day there were lots of folks who looked around and saw the nature of Herod’s relationship with Herodias (Herod‘s sister-in-law). And while they knew the situation was problematic, most folks were willing to simply look the other way. John was the one who finally stepped forward and named what was happening. Of course things didn’t turn out well for John personally (as they often don’t for those who claim their prophetic voice). And yet despite the personal outcome for John, greater clarity was introduced into the situation because of John’s courage to name what was happening. John’s community was strengthened in the long run. Perhaps there are ways in which God is calling you to assume a prophetic voice - to name some things that are happening around you in order to restore a sense of health and balance. If that is your call, take courage in knowing that while the ramifications of finding your voice might be difficult in the short term; the long-term health and well-being of your community (and your own peace of mind) just might rest upon your ability to do so. Til next time…