Friday, January 16

Today’s Readings: Psalm 71; Isaiah 46:1-13; John 1:1-18; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; Psalm 129

During one of my trips home during my seminary years, I found myself bored one afternoon so I started rummaging through old boxes in our garage to find something interesting to read. While glancing at titles, one title caught my eye. The title was “In His Steps”; it was a classic written in 1896 by Charles Sheldon. I had never read it before so I thought it would be worth reading. While the language was definitely dated (and admittedly more than a little cheesy in many places), the book's premise resonated with me strongly. For those of you who haven’t read the book, the basic premise of the book tells the story of individuals who transformed their individual lives (and the life of their community) by asking themselves one simple question whenever they faced a challenge: what would Jesus do? While that question had floated around for a long time, Sheldon’s book helped popularize it (though please don't blame Sheldon for the way the saying has been marketed and commercialized!). While there are some in progressive circles who have dismissed the question by treating it simply as a hokey cliche, I’m not one of those folks. For those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus, that hokey question can help bring a clearer focus to our lives. I was reminded of the question when I read today’s passage from 1 Corinthians – for in that passage Paul wrote: “to us who are personally called by God himself – both Jews and Greeks – Christ is God’s ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one” (1 Corinthians 1:24 from The Message). The simple question – what would Jesus do? – can be a helpful way of accessing God's ultimate wisdom. When I find myself starting to get sucked into a cycle of verbal and/or spiritual violence by a virulent personality like Rev. Fred Phelps, for instance, I can take a deep breath and ask myself, “What would Jesus do in response to Rev. Phelps message of hate?” When I find locked in a power struggle with someone over control, I can ask myself, "What would Jesus do in the midst of the struggle for control?" The list of possible applications of the question goes on and on. Today, when you find yourself in a situation where you are unsure of what to do, try asking yourself that age-old question – “What would Jesus do?” – and see if it helps you access some of God’s ultimate wisdom and insight. Til next time…

Thursday, January 15

Today’s Readings: Psalm 119:73-120; Isaiah 45:18-25; Matthew 4:18-25; 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Two days ago I was talking with an individual in his twenties about some of his friends’ experience of the church. The individual issued one of the most stinging indictments I could have imagined regarding the church; he said the church is totally irrelevant to their lives. “How sad,” I thought to myself as I heard him say those words. I thought that not simply because I’m worried about the future of the institution; I thought that because it was evidence of how much we Christians have gotten off track in our attempts to live out our faith. You see, if there was one thing that Jesus went out of his way to model for us it was that our faith ought to be relevant to the lives of people. Take the way Jesus issued Simon and Andrew’s call in today’s Gospel passage from Matthew. Knowing that they were fisherman, Jesus issued their call by saying: “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you” (Matthew 4:19 from The Message). By using language that was consistent with Simon and Andrew’s social location - language that was relevant to their lives - Jesus was able to reach out and draw them in. My question for you to consider today is this: how relevant is your faith to your day-to-day life? Is your faith a decorative ornament that you tuck away until a moment when you feel like taking it out, or is it something that’s integrated into the fabric of your every day life? Til next time…

Wednesday, January 14

Today’s Readings: Psalm 119; Isaiah 45:9-17; Matthew 4:12-17; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

There are so many stories I have heard over the years about local churches that have failed to live into the fullness of their call to be the Body of Christ. If I had a dollar for every such story, I would be a millionaire. A few years ago, however, I heard the story of a local church who reminded me of what can happen when a church takes that call seriously. The church I’m speaking of was located in a small mountain town in Colorado. One of the members of the church committed an unthinkable act – an offense against a child. The church member was convicted of his crime, served his time, and then released. Instead of doing what many churches would have done – shunned the offender – the local church did something else. They worked with the offender to set up terms for his participation in the life of their church that would make the church safe for the children and the offender. As long as the offender followed the terms, he was welcome to participate in the life of the church. So what impressed me about the actions of the local church? Well, while many churches are satisfied to simply pay lip service to concepts like forgiveness, healing, and transformation; this local church went to remarkable lengths to actually live into those words. I was reminded of that story when I read today’s words from 1 Corinthians where Paul wrote: “God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. [God] will never give up on you. Never forget that” (1 Corinthians 1:9 from The Message). While most of us have never done anything as disturbing as committing an offense against a child, many of us probably have a piece of our past that wouldn’t hold up to the scrutiny of others if brought into the light of day. Maybe that buried piece of ourselves has caused us to withdrawal from God due to a fear of rejection. Paul’s words remind us that no matter what mistake(s) we may have made in the past, there is one thing we never have to worry about: God giving up on us. As you hear those words, I would encourage you to take some of the energy that perhaps you have devoted to shame and self-loathing in the past and instead devote that energy to giving thanks for a God that NEVER gave up on you and pulled you through. Til next time…

Tuesday, January 13

Today’s Readings: Psalm 18; Isaiah 45:1-8; Mark 4:21-31; Hebrews 1:1-11

I learned an important lesson in life at a relatively young age (okay, it took me 21 years – but as a 41 year old, 21 years doesn’t seem that long). The lesson is this: if we take our greatest strengths in life too far, they can easily become our greatest weaknesses. Let me give you a couple examples of what I mean. Let’s say you have a job that you love and are passionate about. That would be considered a great strength by most people. Your passion for your job, however, might consume you to such a degree that you end up completely neglecting your personal relationships. Because of that, your greatest personal strength might become your greatest weakness. Or let’s say you are an extrovert that enjoys being around people. Your love of people might cause you to invest so much time and energy in others that you end up completely neglecting yourself. Once again, your greatest strength becomes a glaring weakness. Today’s reading from Isaiah reminded me of a huge challenge our progressive faith communities face. One of our greatest strengths in progressive faith communities is our love of learning and knowledge. And yet - if taken to an extreme - we may evolve to the point where we come to think of ourselves as a god. Isaiah bluntly challenges that tendency and helps us from taking our greatest strength too far. “But doom to you who fight your Maker-you’re a pot at odds with the potter! Does clay talk back to the potter: ‘What are you doing? What clumsy fingers?’” (Isaiah 45:8 from The Message). Our challenge, then, as progressive people of faith is to find the right balance where we use the wonderful gift of reason with which God has blessed us – but not use it to transform ourselves into gods as well. Til next time…