Bread for Your Journey-Weekly Devotions
Some devotions, sermons, and essays to feed you on your spiritual pilgrimage. You can receive a weekly Bread for the Journey devotion, written by one of the pastors at Luther Memorial by sending a request to luther@lmlc.org. February 8I was screaming at my radio. As I washed the evening dishes, NPR aired a story on the many unintended consequences of the draconian immigration law passed by the Alabama legislature: crops rotting in the fields due to a labor shortage, a rise in violence against Latinos, children afraid to go to school lest they be separated from their parents. At one point the interviewer asked an influential legislator, a man who identified himself as a Christian, if he thought Jesus would have voted for the law. The lawmaker paused for a long time and then, sounding like a Southern politician straight from central casting, he replied “No suh, I don’t think Jesus would have voted for this law.”
“Then why the heck did you vote for it?” I bellowed at the ceiling and flipped a wet bowl toward the dish drain. At that point I had one of those Nathan and David moments: “Thou art the man.” If you don’t know the reference, take a few minutes and read 2 Samuel 11-12. I’ll wait….
I had worked myself up into frothy, self-righteous indignation. “Boy, if Jesus is so important to you, why do you act in a way contemptuous of his welcoming spirit? If Jesus is Lord, why do you treat him like political window dressing? If you long to love as he does, why do you cave to the only barely veiled racism which has plagued our beloved South for too long?”
But then I saw the question coming back to me; if Jesus is your Lord, Bill, why…
Siloing, compartmentalization, prudence—there are a lot of words for it, some more socially acceptable than others. But the reality is the same, we keep Jesus hermetically sealed away from 99% of our lives, sealed in a niche called “religion.” We tend to confess Jesus a lot more than we allow him to make a difference in how we spend our money, treat those with whom we disagree, or use our time.
I give that Alabama politician a lot of credit for honesty. At least he was able to ‘fess up, admit the mistake, and begin down a new path—what the Bible calls repentance. I hope you and I can be equally honest in our self reflection. If we can not imagine Jesus doing it…maybe we should not either.
BK February 1A few weeks ago, my good friend, Tommy McDearis, who is the Senior Pastor at Blacksburg Baptist Church, and I had lunch together. As we were eating and talking, Tommy mentioned a colleague of ours who had recently stopped at the Cellar Restaurant in Downtown Blacksburg for a quick lunch. It had been a very busy morning for our colleague, and he had yet to prepare for his afternoon Bible Study. In order to do so, he had brought his Bible with him, thinking that he could prepare while he was eating. But no sooner did he open the Bible, and the group of people sitting next to him asked if he would close it. When he asked, “Why?” he was told that his religion was a religion that promoted the hatred of others, and they would appreciate it if he didn’t prepare to share that message while he was sitting next to them. How awful that some who call themselves followers of Jesus have spoken and acted in such way that hearers of their words and observers of their actions have concluded that Christianity is all about hate and not about life, love, and peace. Needless to say, Tommy and I spent the remainder of our time talking about how our congregations could work together to combat those misconceptions and get out the accurate word about our faith. Perhaps that is a conversation that all of us should have with ourselves: How are my words and actions promoting an accurate understanding of what Christianity is all about? Is there anything that I am saying or doing that blocks or nullifies that message? gs January 25Last Tuesday evening after having enjoyed dinner and Bible study with the college students, I was driving home almost in a dream. I was savoring the tidbits of conversation and the lively banter around the dinner table. I was absorbed in my musings; the car was driving itself home. I rounded the curve on Airport Road and saw the most ridiculous sight. Out of the gloom what did I see…but nine boys between the ages of 7-11 years old illuminated by a dim streetlight. Their loose limbs were wildly flailing while they yelled unintelligibly as I cruised by. Did I tell you it was 8:45 o’dark and the temperature was raw? Did I mention that they were all wearing dark swim trunks, bare-chested and legs uncovered while their pale bare feet thumped on the icy pavement? It was the most absurd thing I have seen in a long time. I almost drove around the block to make sure that my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. I suspect that these youngsters were celebrating the teacher work day with a sleep over. In their restless untamable exuberance the boys were turned out by the parents on duty to do this harmless energy releasing dance that made me laugh uncontrollably until I pulled into my driveway. Why am I telling you this? In the course of a day, drama can overwhelm us. Tragedy can permeate the best laid plans. In the middle of the night the past can creep into the silence stealing sanity and leaving behind brooding aftershocks. For some the tedium of a boring job or the isolation of the sick room becomes unrelenting. From time to time we need something, anything to lift of our spirits; a word of compassion, the clinch of kindness or an unrelenting belly laugh. In all that we experience from summits of joy to the pits of paradox, God breaks into our lives, illuminating the corners, restoring balance, and helping us to see that laughter is essential. May these moments of grace interrupt you often. JCS January 18Context is everything. In preparation for preaching, I was reading through the appointed lessons for an upcoming Sunday and came on these words from the Blessed Apostle, “…from now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none.” [I Cor. 7:29b] For one brief, whimsical moment I imagined hoards of husbands, eager to spend yet another weekend either out in the woods hunting or plopped on the sofa watching football, scurrying to their spouse’s Bible and bookmarking this verse with a florescent stickie. “Don’t blame me, honey, that’s what St. Paul said!”This is not the text I would pull out in the middle of a marriage counseling session. But I might well cite it (and the rest of the chapter) to illustrate how the early church expected a quick return of the Risen Christ. Context is everything. Context is also important in weighing how we will respond to an angry word, a hurtful action, or a seeming snub. More often than I like to admit I give others good reason to be angry or disappointed in me. Other times, however, I realize that the lashing out directed toward me has very little to do with anything I have done. Maybe they are facing the loss of health. Their children did not make it home for the holidays. They feel devalued on the job, as younger workers come on board. They are frustrated because others do not share their passion for a cause. The list could go on, but the point is that sometimes it is not about us—even when the attack feels very personal and pointed indeed. A gift we can give us others is to see their actions in as broad a context as possible, compassionately trying to see the world through their eyes. That does not mean we become emotional punching bags, tacitly approving hurtful actions and words, but we respond out of a desire to heal rather than hurt. We make understanding a higher priority than delivering a zinger. In short, we try to model the graciousness of our Lord. BK January 11Last Friday morning when I arrived at the church, Sharon told me that there was a message on her answering machine that I needed to hear. I played the message. It was a woman who said she was facing a serious emergency and needed some help. I called the number she left, but got no answer. I left my name and contact information. A few minutes later, my office phone rang. It was the woman. I asked her what her emergency was and how I could help. She told me that she lived in Harrisonburg. Her dog was sick, and the following Monday she was going to bring the dog to Blacksburg where she had an appointment at the Vet School. She said she had the $600 that she was told she would have to pay up front, and she could come up with the balance after the procedure on her dog was completed. Her problem was that, after committing all that money for her dog, she didn’t have enough cash left to pay for a hotel room and meals for herself and her family while they were in Blacksburg with their dog. She was calling to see if our church could pay for the room and the meals. Folks, you can’t make this stuff up! What I am sharing with you is the honest-to-God truth! And while much has been said and written about getting and keeping our priorities in order, this telephone conversation, after it was over, left me sitting in my office reflecting on how I spend my time, energy, and resources, and what that says about my priorities. It’s probably a useful exercise for all of us to engage in from time to time. G.S.P.S. For the record, no congregational resources were made available to the caller. I think Luther Memorial has much more important things to do in this world. GS |