Sunday, November 2

Today’s Readings: Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37; Joshua 3:7-17; Matthew 23:1-12; 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

In the first six years of my ministry, I’ve been slower to learn one lesson than any other. The lesson I’ve been slow to pick up on is this: whenever I open my mouth, I need to realize that people hear me on two levels. First, they hear the words I speak as words spoken by "the pastor"; and second, they hear the words I speak as words spoken by "Craig". “So what difference does that make?” you might wonder. Well, there have been times when "Craig" has been processing something aloud and has said something that gets taken back to others as something "the pastor" said. This has led to problems at times. Part of my difficulty in remembering to keep both pieces in mind ("the pastor" piece and the "Craig piece") stems from Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel passage in Matthew. In that passage Jesus said, “Don’t let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don’t set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let [God] tell you what to do” (Matthew 23:8-9 from The Message). As a pastor, I’ve drawn my way of leading from the pieces of the Reformed tradition that envision the pastor simply as first among equals. It centers me in the fact that God has called me to a place of spiritual leadership - not because I’m radically different than others; no, my call is primarily grounded in my ability to connect with folks due to our similarities. My job as a responsible spiritual leader/guide then is to constantly point people back to the one – and only one - Expert: God. My question for you today is this: where do you locate your source of ultimate authority? If that source of ultimate authority is in a person, I would advise you to return to Jesus’ words and remind yourself who your “life leader” should be. Til next time…

Saturday, November 1

Today’s Readings: Psalm 34:1-10, 22; Revelation 7:9-17; Matthew 5: 1-12; 1 John 3:1-13

In looking back on Christian history, an important change had taken place by the time we reached the 4th Century. The change that I’m talking about had to do with a change in emphasis: some leaders in the emerging Christian movement shifted from an emphasis on orthopraxis (which put an emphasis on right living) toward an emphasis on orthodoxy (which put an emphasis on right belief). This shift may have seemed subtle to some, but the effects of that shift were seismic and have been felt for generations. The shift made it easier for religious folks to feel their spiritual houses were in order as long as they spouted the popular beliefs of their day. Rarely were they asked to examine their day-to-day activities to see if their actions were in accord with Jesus’ values. Sadly, this shift from orthopraxis to orthodoxy caused many folks outside the faith to conclude that Christians were simply hypocrites who said one thing and did another. I can appreciate the words from today’s passage from 1 John because they were recorded in an attempt to fend off this shift. In placing his emphasis on orthopraxis rather than orthodoxy, the author observed: “So, my dear children, don’t let anyone divert you from the truth. It’s the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah” (1 John 3:7 from The Message). Of course it’s important to acknowledge that one’s actions are connected to one’s beliefs. All of this talk of orthopraxis vs. orthodoxy, however, really boils down to which of those you consider most important. As you consider what it is that makes a person faithful, I would ask you where you place your emphasis: do you consider a person to be a faithful Christian if he or she simply believes in the right things; or do you consider a person to be a faithful Christian if he or she does the right things? Til next time…

Friday, October 31

Today’s Readings: Psalm 122; Numbers 23:11-26; Matthew 7:1-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-6; Psalm 129

I love the exchange between Balak and Balaam as recorded in today’s reading from Numbers. Why do I love it so? Well, that passage gets at one of the challenges some of us have in our relationship with God. You seem Balak comes into the exchange with the prophet Balaam with a very specific outcome in mind. He wants to use Balaam (and by extension, God) to get an outcome he had already pre-determined: he wanted to use the prophet to reign down curses on his enemy. Unfortunately for Balak, a problem arose. The prophet he engaged had a little something that Balak forgot to factor in: integrity. Balaam refused to say or do anything that God had not instructed him to do. As a result, Balak’s plans fell apart – and God’s plan thrived. Of course Balak isn’t the only one to try to approach God and try to manipulate God for his or her own purposes. All you have to do is flip on the television or radio and you’ll hear politicians trying to use God for their personal gain or see athletes talking about how God had blessed them so they could defeat their “enemies”/opponents. All of this reminds me of how difficult it is for we human beings to allow God speak for Godself without superimposing our own ideas and agendas on the situation. Today I would invite you to explore your life to see if there are places where you have acted like Balak and projected an outcome that you are trying to force upon God. If so, remember Balaam’s words to Balak – “all God speaks, and only what God speaks, I speak” – and then stop talking and start listening to God and see where that guidance leads you. Til next time…

Thursday, October 30

Today’s Readings: Psalm 142; Numbers 22:41-23:12; Matthew 6:25-34; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17; Psalm 128

This fall I got an amazing lesson in what it means to live into Jesus’ words from today’s Gospel reading. “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now,” Jesus said, “and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes” (Matthew 6:34 from The Message). You see two months ago we learned there was a good chance my partner’s position at work might be eliminated. We weren’t sure what the timeline in the decision-making process was so we didn’t know from one day to the next whether or not he would still have a job. In addition, both of our health insurance is tied to his position so we didn’t know if we would be joining the ranks of the uninsured as well. Needless to say, I had never been in a place before where I lived in such constant stress for such a prolonged period of time. Let me say it was one of the most emotionally exhausting periods of my life. What I noticed is that gradually I began to slowly let go of the worry and live into Jesus’ words. I learned to slow let go of the things that lie beyond our control and focus on what was really important: today. After the first month (yes, I’m a slow learner) I could say I really believed that God would “help us deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” Thankfully, the situation was resolved this week when we learned that my partner still had a position in their new re-structuring. Although the position didn’t pay quite as well, there was MUCH less stress involved in his duties so things worked out very well. As I look back, I realized the experience provided me with a valuable opportunity to “study” scripture in a different way. Instead of sitting back with a pile of books around me and contemplating God’s wisdom embedded in printed words, I had the chance to literally dive into those words and experience them first hand. What an amazing and transformative experience! Perhaps there is a part of your life where worry has threatened to creep in and overtake you: a financial crisis, a health scare, a broken relationship – you name it. If that’s the case, I would encourage you to not simply re-read today’s Gospel passage but to work on living into it. It may take a while, but I guarantee that the effort will be worth it. Til next time…