August 17, 2014

This Sunday, we will be looking at Matthew chapter 15:10-20. 

In this passage, Jesus teaches “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles”…”for what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles.”

It’s an exchange that comes on the heels of a confrontation with the Pharisees, when they question Jesus about his disciple’s lack of attention to tradition. After all, they don’t wash their hands before they eat. 

It’s an interesting exchange, and Jesus makes a clear point. The Kingdom of God, the Kingdom he came to announce, it’s not like any other social group we’ve ever known. It’s not defined by outward appearances, external characteristics, or adherence to certain rituals or traditions. 

Membership in the Kingdom of God is first a matter of the heart, which leads to the transformation of our outward actions. It makes it tricky to tell who’s in and who’s out…because only God can truly judge the heart for what it is. 

But that doesn’t mean we don’t try, does it? We love to consider who’s in and who’s out. It’s a much easier game than turning our attention to the deceit we find within ourselves, the puffed up sense of entitlement we enjoy, the lusts we live with, the greed, the dark ways we sit in secret judgment upon those of whom we disapprove.

The Kingdom has come, in the person of Jesus. I think the church is better served by focusing on a different kind of “In” and “Out”. That is, the inner journey, the inner transformation that each of Christ’s followers must undertake by the power of the Holy Spirit, and then the outer manifestation of that transformation as our membership in God’s kingdom gets worked out with fear and trembling, false starts and stumbling. 

It’s telling that Matthew goes on from this story, to tell about a Canaanite woman approaching Jesus. Here was a woman who was so obviously ‘out’ that even Jesus himself seems to assume she knows her place. Yet her heart sought the Kingdom not even for herself as much as for her daughter. Jesus is moved with compassion and commends her faith…he puts his teaching into action, albeit somewhat seemingly unwillingly.

So I invite you to take an inner journey this week, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. We are asked to enter it not simply through blind devotion to exterior signs, but rather through the inner transformation that comes through Christ, as he lays claim to our lives bit by ragged bit. 

There is an “In” and an “Out” to the Kingdom of God…but it’s not the kind of “In” and “Out” that we’re used to. It’s a journey that consumes the whole of our lives, as we allow God to change our inner landscape to reflect the beauty of Christ’s Reign, first in our lives and then in the world. 

This is the conversation we’ll be having this Sunday. I hope to see you here!

 

Sunday, June 8, 2014

There are two basic, human responses to witnessing the work of the Holy Spirit in our world. We find them both in the story of the first Pentecost as we find it in Acts chapter 2.

In it, the Spirit descends on the people of God, and comes to rest upon each one as a tongue of flame. They speak out concerning great deeds of power performed by God and miraculously, each onlooker hears their words in their own native language. 

Towards the end of the story, we are told that some turn to each other and ask, concerning this mystery “What does this mean?”.

Others proclaim with certainty “They are filled with new wine” (which is a first century way of saying “they’re drunk”). 

I believe the first response is the most Christian, the most faithful to the Spirit of God working in our world. We are meant to construct meaning in this world and in this life, not just in our isolated bubbles, not just with like-minded family and friends who share our point of view, but with all who are experiencing the same phenomenon, all who ask the same question “What does this mean?” 

This question is a hallmark of those seeking the Kingdom of God. It is found on the lips of those seeking after the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit, living and active in our world. This is how we create meaning. This is how we interpret the action of God in our world…together. 

It is unfortunate, then, that so much of our conversation centers not around the actions of the Holy Spirit, but rather on the certainties we bring to the scene, no matter how completely they defy logic. We come to the scene and we would rather pronounce “they are filled with new wine” rather than make space for the mystery of it all. 

But I’m not technically preaching on Acts chapter 2 this Sunday. I’m preaching on 1 Corinthians 12. In it, Paul makes a case that there are a variety of gifts, but one Spirit that gives them. He likens the church to a body consisting of many members, all of whom need the others. 

One problem, as I see it, is that we’ve stopped needing each other. We surround ourselves with like-minded people in a similar socio-economic plane, people who more or less look like us, smell like us, and think like us. 

We have become members unto ourselves. Sure, we’re not all or eyes, or ears, or mouths…but look under the hood of any congregation and I’m guessing you’ll find more ‘heads’ or more ‘hearts’ than complete, healthy, full bodies complete with feet and hands. Can we dare to hear each other? Can we dare to seek to understand more than to be understood? Can we practice the patience of God as we pay attention to the Spirit’s work among us?

This is Pentecost Sunday, a Sunday where we pay more attention to the Holy Spirit than we might during the rest of the year. We will offer an opportunity to receive anointing this Sunday, a sign that the Spirit of God is living and active among us. We will also say goodbye to some dear friends who will be moving to Indiana in the near future, with a special fellowship time between Sunday School and the worship hour. 

We hope to see you here!