Category Archives: Humanity

Psalm 10

14 Monday May 2018

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I thought Psalm 10 seemed pretty appropriate for our current time.  I’m sure you can think of recent examples that have made the news.

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.

For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,
those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.
In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, ‘God will not seek it out’;
all their thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’

Their ways prosper at all times;
your judgements are on high, out of their sight;
as for their foes, they scoff at them.
They think in their heart, ‘We shall not be moved;
throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.’

Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.
They sit in ambush in the villages;
in hiding-places they murder the innocent.

Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
   they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert;
they lurk that they may seize the poor;
they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.

They stoop, they crouch,
and the helpless fall by their might.
They think in their heart, ‘God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.’

Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
do not forget the oppressed.
Why do the wicked renounce God,
and say in their hearts, ‘You will not call us to account’?

But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief,
that you may take it into your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to you;
you have been the helper of the orphan.

Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers;
seek out their wickedness until you find none.
The Lord is king for ever and ever;
the nations shall perish from his land.

O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek;
you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear
to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,
so that those from earth may strike terror no more.

(Psalm 10, NRSV)

Social Proof

09 Wednesday May 2018

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I’m reading Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini.  It’s a great book that talks about influence, how it is used and abused.  Here’s a portion of what I read yesterday:

So massive was the commitment to their beliefs that no other truth was tolerable.

(pg. 128)

This was in relation to a cult and how their prediction of the end of the world was wrong.  They didn’t lose members – in fact they gained some and the people who were in it devoted themselves even more. This in spite of fact that all the evidence pointed to the cult being completely wrong.

Why?  Because they had sold everything and had nothing left.  All they had was their belief system, so something had to give.  Reality is what gave for them.  Here’s a quote from one of the members:

I can’t afford to doubt. I have to believe.  And there isn’t any other truth.

(Pg. 128)

Here’s another passage from the book that really struck me:

Since the only acceptable form of truth had been undercut by physical proof, there was but one way out of the corner for the group. They had to establish another type of proof for the validity of their beliefs: social proof.

This, then, explains their sudden shift from secretive conspirators to zealous missionaries.  And it explains the curious timing of the shift – precisely when a direct disconfirmation of their beliefs had rendered them least convincing to outsiders.  It was necessary risk the scorn and derision of the nonbelievers because publicity and recruitment efforts provided the only remaining hope.  If they could spread the Word, if they could inform the uninformed, if they could persuade the skeptics, and if, by doing so, they could win new converts, their threatened but treasured beliefs would become truer.  The principle of social proof says so: The greater the number of people who find any idea correct, the more the idea will be correct.  The group’s assignment was clear; since the physical evidence could not be changed. the social evidence had to be.  Convince and ye shall be convinced!

(Pg. 128)

While Cialdini wrote this about a religious cult, it seems that the basic ideas behind it extend beyond cults to more mainstream things.  Politics throughout the world would be a case in point.

You Brood of Vipers…

04 Friday May 2018

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Here’s your fair warning – this is going to be political – painfully political.  And no, I’m not going to apologize.  I can’t just sit by and be silent.  My focus isn’t even on the politicians.  If you know me at all, you’ll know that I don’t put much faith in politicians, political parties, or ideology.  I find most of them to be worthless and primarily interested in power.  All of them are seriously flawed and frankly, I expect them to worship their idols of power, influence, money, and their other gods that they create in their own image.  I hope this post is extremely uncomfortable.  I hope it is inconvenient.  I hope this because it sucked writing this.  The focus of this post is on the Christians who read this.

Jesus said:

‘Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you, on the day of judgement you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.’

(Matthew 12:33-37)

I can think of no better passage of Scripture that applies to the filthy state of partisan politics today than this passage spoken by Jesus.

Yesterday I received an e-mail with a link to an article by Jeff Roe on why Republicans would be mistaken to abandon Trump in the mid-term elections.  Persona and policy can get mixed up.  The GOP should celebrate the policies and not the distraction of the persona – that’s the argument anyway.  The essential argument is this – the ends justify the means.

Yesterday as I was driving around I flipped through radio stations.  Occasionally I flip over to talk radio to hear what the chattering is about.  I can usually handle about five minutes worth before having to turn the station.  Yesterday I heard the host in his usual blind allegiance of the president and the actions to cover up his affair with a porn star.  The ends justified the means apparently.  Don’t you know, it was the porn star in the wrong.

Today I saw Rudy Giuliani’s interview on Sean Hannity’s show.  During this interview, Giuliani contradicts statements Trump made about knowing there was a payoff and where the money for the payoff came from.  When the ends justify the means, who cares what was said before.

Yesterday was the so-called National Day of Prayer.  People gathered and there was an official prayer stated.  The prayer is eloquent and hits on some very good points – turning from sin, unity of the body of Christ, turning from evil, forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, etc.  All things that I can get behind, but the problem is that I’m not sure if all Christians agree with the definitions of these terms.

I’m not sure that I have the same definition of unity as our “Christian” politicians and those that support their policies that do more harm than good, that uphold Social Darwinism (where only the strong survive), and where the end justifies the means is the foundation of life.

I’m not sure I have the same definition of turning from evil as our “Christian” politicians and those that support their actions by making excuses for behaviors that are unacceptable for you or I, but seem to be just fine because it was two consenting adults, don’t you know.  Yet these same people threw a hissy fit when another president screwed around with someone in the White House – which was just as terrible. But hey, when you believe that it’s a Christian virtue to lay the foundation of your life at the altar of the ends justify the means, then anything goes, right?

Does turning from evil mean that it’s ok to knowingly lie and defend those lies because the truth is inconvenient and is costly?  Does turning from evil mean that you pay hush money for an affair or that you defend someone who does this?  Does turning from evil mean that you use your Christian label as a pastor to make excuses for a worldly powerful person.  I thought we were called to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Jesus if we claimed the label of Christian.

I’m not sure I have the same understanding of the following line of prayer as our “Christian” politicians and those that support their rhetoric:

We pray for all people of all ethnicities and races in America to come together as one, living in peace and unity together.

I’m not sure how anyone can claim to be a Christian and make excuses for a “Christian” politician who offers support to neo-nazis, labels all Mexicans as rapists and murders, who disparages numerous other groups of people.  I’m not twisting words here, go back and see what was actually said.  If you feel the need to defend these words that he said, why?  Why would you defend such vile language from anyone?  Would you defend the same exact words, spoken in the same exact tone if they came from a politician that you didn’t like?  Or do the ends justify the means?

I’m not sure I have the same understanding of the following line of prayer as our “Christian” politicians and those that support their policy actions:

We pray for God’s power to unify families, workplaces, communities, and cities in America. By Your Spirit, lead us to forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, and unity.

I find it hard to say we are all seeking to unify families and communities when we put up more roadblocks to the homeless and poor.  We have families who are living in their vehicles at truck stops.  And they are working, but don’t make enough to find adequate housing.  Men, women, and children living in their vehicles.  And the typical response is something along these lines – well, they should work harder.  Well, they should have not made so many bad decisions.  Well, they get what they deserve.  Well, if they only did this or that.  Well, the churches can take care of them.

BS.

As a pastor who does ministry with the homeless, I can tell you that churches are not equipped to do this.  We don’t have the resources, the training, or the people to do this.  We can do small things, but we don’t have unlimited resources.  We aren’t trained in how to deal with mental illness.  We aren’t taught what to do when we run out of money trying to help someone and they end up back on the street again because all the shelters are full and they have nowhere to turn.

If your response is “well, you should open your own doors then,” or some other snide remark, then you are missing the whole point here.

Jesus never said the ends justify the means.  That’s about as far away from what it means to be a Christian as you can get.  If that is your belief of what it means to be a Christian – then you and I can’t be unified because we don’t have the same foundation.

Is the defense of something and someone who is indefensible worth it?

Or as Jesus said:

Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

(Matthew 16:24-26)

You want to get mad at me – go for it.  I’ve got thick skin.  Frankly, I’m not too happy with you either.  And I refuse to shut up because I’m pointing out something uncomfortable and inconvenient.  Your comfort is not my concern.  Especially when we have people who are homeless, people who haven’t had a meal on a plate since August, people who have families that are living in vehicles, people who are being trafficked on our interstates, people who are treated as second class citizens because of their skin color or orientation.  If that’s uncomfortable, then it should be.  Being a Christian is not comfortable or convenient.  It’s not suppose to be.  It’s supposed to smack us in the face and make us so uncomfortable and inconvenienced that we respond to the injustice we see around us.

Frankly, I’m tired of Christians who want the label, but refuse to live out the calling.  I’m tired of Christians who value their loyalty to a politician or party (any politician in either party – yes, this applies to Democrats just as much as Republicans) above Jesus.  I’m tired of Christians making excuses for “bad trees,” as Jesus called them, all because they believe that the ends justify the means when it comes to policies.

We are called to live out what Jesus commands us to do, not to have blind loyalty to some politician who is temporarily in power.

Pick up your cross and follow Jesus.  Jesus didn’t say, pick up your tweet and follow Trump.  Jesus didn’t say, pick up your sign and follow some other candidate.  Jesus didn’t say send in a check and blindly follow your party.

These are difficult times in our nation.  The call for unity is something that is needed.  However, it is not possible to have unity where there is a strongly held belief that not everyone is equal in value and worth.  How can there be unity when there are some who create us vs. them situations, where the poor are seen as an expense, where we have leaders who firmly believe that only the strong should survive, where we value things over people, etc.

But not all is hopeless or lost.  Last night I heard something that hit me.  I don’t remember the exact words, but here’s what I heard – when everything has been exhausted, there is grace.

Even in this situation, there is grace.  It’s the only thing that can carry us forward.  We humans can’t fix this ourselves – we are too devoted to our divisions and separations.  We have blind worship of our leaders and ideologies.  We cling to our sin and brokenness.

Only God can fix this.  And it may require something else – something that is deeply associated with being a follower of Christ.  It will require death.  Death of our egos.  Death of our loyalties.  Death of our certainties and answers.  Death of our attitudes towards one another.  Death of excuses.  Death of our sin and brokenness.

Only then will we experience the fullness of being a Christ follower – resurrection.  New life, renewed life, restored life, transformed life.

This is my hope.  This is my prayer.  It’s time to start acting out what we claim to believe.  It’s time to start actually being Christians, not just taking on the label.  If we don’t, we’re no better than the people who Jesus called out as a brood of vipers.

Scattering Seeds

02 Wednesday May 2018

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The ministry we do with the homeless is not too complex – at least not right now.  We try to make sure some basic needs are met.  We try to make sure people’s humanity is acknowledged.  We try to create a sense of community.  We try to share Good News with people and let them know that they are not alone.  We try to tell people that they are loved and valued by God and by us.  We try to tell people that they have value and worth.  We try to listen to their stories and walk along side people.  We try to learn from the people we encounter.  The underlying belief is that an encounter with Jesus changes lives – both for the people we encounter and our own lives too.

And the responses vary.  Sometimes people reject us.  Sometimes people are only looking for some material relief.  Some are not open to change in their lives.  Some would rather try to be in control, although being in control is often a part of the problem and a piece of what keeps people where they are.  Some initially come on board and engage with us, only to slip away later on – the tug of their past and their lives is too great.  Some start to see hope for their lives, and then they choose a different path that takes them back into the darkness.  They feel they are lost.

And then there are some who openly embrace it all – they embrace us, even though there is initial confusion on why a group of strangers would go out of their way to care about another stranger – especially a stranger who supposedly can’t offer anything in return.  They embrace a message of Good News, even though their life looks like crap.  They embrace the sense of community.  They embrace their humanity, they acknowledge the pain and suffering they are experiencing rather than trying to dull it.  They let go of control and embrace actual help.

And it’s scary.  It’s scary to completely let go of control of your life.  It’s terrifying.  Yet, this is what Jesus calls on us to do – to let go of our lives, to get out-of-the-way, so that God can come in and transform us.  To let ourselves die, so that we might experience resurrection.  And this is true for those who are being helped as well as the supposed helpers.  With Jesus, the lines blur on who is getting helped and who is helping.

When I think about what is happening, I can’t help but think of the Parable of the Sower.

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!’

(Matthew 13:1-9, NRSV)

Our job isn’t to save people – only Jesus can do that.  Our job, if you want to call it that, is to spread Good News carelessly – to as many people as possible.  What they do with it is not our problem.

In sales, there is a saying – Some will, some won’t, so what, who’s next.  If Jesus has sales training I think he would have adopted this saying into one of his parables.

Some will take the Good News of Jesus and allow it to do its work.  Some won’t.  So what – it’s not for us to decide.  Who’s next – who will be encounter next to share the Good News?  We don’t know.  But we are ready.

City of Death vs City of Life

01 Tuesday May 2018

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I’m not sure what I want to write about.  So, I’m just typing away.

There are days when life is like that – we keep going regardless of what we are feeling.

There are days when we hear people express their doubts about God.  And we hear others tell them that God is there and that God loves you regardless of whether you feel it or not.  The message is so very important for people to hear – especially those who feel abandoned.

There are days when you watch people make bad decisions and all you can do is shake your head and offer a prayer.

And there are days when everything comes together, people’s lives are changed, and you know that God has been at work.

Yesterday I put together a presentation that I am showing in my son’s fifth grade class.  They are reading a book on WWII – specifically about concentration camps.

I don’t know what to call it, so I say it was a privilege to go to Dachau concentration camp when we lived in Europe.  It’s one of the most disturbing places I have ever been.  The gas chamber was probably the most jarring room I have ever walked into.  There is debate about whether anyone was gassed in the room.  But I will tell you this – you can feel the dead in that room.  You can hear the screams.  You can feel the suffering and hear the clawing at the walls as people die from gassing.

Putting this presentation gives me a mix of emotions.  It’s disturbing, but it is also needed for another generation to know how truly evil humanity can be.  We need to tell this story.  And so today I go into a school to share what I saw and felt – the monument that exists today.  It stands as a reminder.  It stands as a warning.  It stands to tell us that terrible things are possible if we aren’t vigilant.

Germany didn’t go from being “normal” one day to killing people in mass quantities the next.  It was a progression.  It happened in a relatively short time, but it was still a progression.

There needed to be “others” that could be blamed.  These others needed to be scapegoats for people’s problems.  They needed to be dehumanized.  And then they needed to be eliminated.

We should be really careful when we start blaming groups of people for our problems.  We should be really careful when we start scapegoating groups of people and labeling whole groups of people as murders and rapists and bringing drugs.

We should be really careful, but I wonder if this message is just preaching to the choir.  The people who should be really careful won’t hear the message.

Today I share images of Dachau concentration camp.  And today I will pray for those who have forgotten, for those who refuse to accept the history, for those who think that a little dehumanizing is acceptable, for those who make people into us vs them, for those who scapegoat whole groups of people, for those who think they are so much better than everyone else, for those who only care about themselves, for those who ignore the plight of the outcast.  They need prayers.  I invite you to pray with me for these people – and for ourselves – that we might be a light in a world of darkness where the horrors of Dachau can happen.

Instead of the death associated with Dachau, God invites us to participate in the life of the holy city of Jerusalem descending from heaven where God will dwell with a renewed, restored, and transformed creation.  A city full of love, mercy, forgiveness, peace, and hope.  A city of life.

Broken

24 Tuesday Apr 2018

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Many of us sit in comfort in our homes of multiple thousand square feet, with our nice lawns measured in either a fraction of an acre or in multiple acres.  We have nice vehicles that are pretty reliable.  We have our well-paying jobs that pay us enough for our necessities as well as for the nicer things in life.  We enjoy our vacations.  We enjoy the health we have.  We sit down in the evenings and enjoy entertainment.  And have no worry or thought that tomorrow will be any different.  Why should we?  We have what we need and many of the things we want.  Is everything perfect – of course not.  But really, we’re doing pretty well.

And many of us have no clue about another population that exists in our midst – usually just down the road.  It’s a population that survives day-by-day.  A population that lives day-by-day.  A population that is constantly worried about what they will eat and where they will lay their head for the night.

This isn’t a lazy population.  They aren’t living in luxury off of welfare.  In fact, many don’t receive welfare, or what they do receive isn’t enough to make much difference in their lives.  They aren’t going to the grocery store to buy lobster.

Many in this population work full-time.  Are you surprised?  They work full time and they don’t make enough to cover housing and the other necessities of life, like food, cosmetic necessities, feminine products, things for their kids, clothing, health care, and transportation.

They live in anxiety – it is a constant blanket that covers them each night.  Only this blanket doesn’t provide warmth and comfort, but rather dis-ease.

Many have animals that they care for. Before you spout off about how these poor folks shouldn’t have animals because they can’t take care of themselves, realize a few things.  These animals are often the only ones who offer these people actual love.  These animals are the only ones who keep many of these people going to the next day – their animals give them purpose for going forward instead of giving up on life completely.  Their animals are there for them when no one else is.

Many of the people I have come across lately are women.  Their significant other left them – often left to fend for themselves and their children.  Their men just up and left, some never to be heard from again.  In some cases, that’s an improvement – at least they aren’t suffering domestic violence any more.

Our society is broken.  There is no other way to describe a society where there are homeless women left to fend for themselves.  We aren’t great – we’re broken.  And for many, there is no recognition that society is broken.  If it doesn’t affect you directly, then there isn’t a problem.  The only problem with that belief is that the belief itself is broken.  What happens to one in a society, impacts the rest.  I know this because I’m willing to bet that as you read this you are felling some kind of emotion – maybe guilt, maybe anger, maybe motivation, maybe a combination of emotions.  At any rate, you’ve been impacted without being homeless yourself.  Your emotional state has been affected.  And that’s just a small impact – tiny actually.  But it’s a start.

Can we agree that we have a problem?  That it’s a problem that we have people who are working full-time and can’t afford housing?  Can we acknowledge that our society is broken – at least in this regard?  Can we agree that something should be done?  And not just throw money at the problem?  Or just focus on the material?

Can we agree on just that?  Once we agree to that, can we figure out what to do as a society?  Can we move past the empty rhetoric of politicians and campaign slogans and propaganda?  Can we actually deal with the problem?

I don’t want to live in a broken society.  Correction: I refuse to live in a broken society.  As Christians, we are called to participate in the unfolding of the kingdom.  I take that call seriously.  I pray that you do too.

Love in truth and action

23 Monday Apr 2018

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How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?

Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.

(1 John 3:17-18)

This reading was part of the lectionary for this past Sunday.  It’s the portion of Scripture that I preached on.  The interesting thing about this is the my sermon significantly changed between the two services.  I realized that what I was preaching was not connecting with people.  So I scrapped the middle part of the sermon and made other changes for the second service. That’s the benefit of being someone who preaches with no notes or a manuscript.  The end result was that the second sermon was far superior to the first sermon.

As I prepared for worship this past week, this passage of Scripture caught my attention and would not let go.  When this happens, I have learned to wait and see what God has in mind.

God didn’t disappoint.  This past week I wrote about the ministry we do at Flying J.  We make sure people get showers that need them, we do laundry with people, and we make sure people are fed. Most importantly, we get to know names and start to learn people’s stories and just sit with people – remind them of their humanity and how God loves them.

This past Thursday was no different.  We had 15 people who came seeking a variety of things.  We meet all sorts of people during out time there. This past Thursday, we met someone who needed some help.  Today there was a follow-up.  This person had pretty much nothing – except their dogs.  Just a few bags with them and that’s all.  No money.  No place to go.  No food.  No nothing.

And I was drawn back to 1 John 3:17-18.  This was someone in need – how could I refuse to help?  We got the person set up in a hotel for the night, got them some gift cards for food that they could get for themselves and their dogs, gave contact information for longer term housing and other services, and offered a prayer with the person.  Also, I told this person that we, the church, weren’t interested in just throwing some material things at them and wishing them luck.  This was the start of a longer term relationship.  But for right now, let’s take this one day at a time.  It was time to stop the bleeding – get some food, get into stable housing, and then start to get their life in order.

The person was grateful for the help and saw this as an opportunity for a fresh start.  And in many ways, it is a fresh start.  In some ways, this is no different from receiving forgiveness of our sins – we get a fresh start, even when we haven’t done anything on our own to deserve it.

Last night, this person rested peacefully, in shelter, with food for both them and their dogs.  Today would be a fresh start with new challenges.  But they would not be walking alone.

Love is more than just a bunch of words meant to comfort and console.  Sometimes, comfort and consoling are exactly what is needed. Other times, like in this case, words and speech would be empty and meaningless.  In this case truth and action were needed.

At the beginning of the week I didn’t know why I was drawn to 1 John 3:17-18.  By yesterday, I knew.

Blessing upon Blessing

20 Friday Apr 2018

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Luke 14:13 – [Jesus said:] “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,“

Last night was the normally scheduled evening for a faithful handful of disciples of St. Stephen Lutheran Church to head over to Flying J truck stop for a couple of hours to provide showers, do laundry with people, and eat with people at Denny’s.  We go over to the truck stop because we know there are people who are living in the parking lot in their vehicles and there are transient people passing through.  And we start with a belief that everyone deserves to feel human, to be clean, to have food in their stomach, and most importantly, to be community where people aren’t looking at you and judging you.

Last night was our normal time to do this, but it was anything but normal.  When we started this ministry, I knew there were people living in the parking lot, but I didn’t know how many.  I knew there were people who needed some basic necessities.  I knew there were people who needed to be reminded of their humanity.  I knew there were people who were doing what they could with that they had and it wasn’t enough.  I knew.

And I shared this with others who took it to heart and followed my lead – as crazy as it sounded.  And we went over to the truck stop.  The first night I wasn’t even there – I was sick, but our people went anyway.  And they encountered a man, did laundry with him, and got him food.  One person.  That’s what it started with.  One person. We continued, trying different times and days, just to see when we could encounter more people.  There was a time when no one showed up.  It was disheartening to say the least.  Then we had two who came regularly, but they weren’t living in the parking lot, but they came.

Then the last time we came, we started to encounter a couple of other people.  I’m not sure who was blessed more by the encounter – the couple we spent time with, or us.  Most likely, both.  The blessings just take place in different ways for different people.

And then there was last night.  It was our normal time to be there.  But it wasn’t normal at all.  15 people came.  Not volunteers from the church.  People who needed help.  People seeking supplies. But really people seeing much more than these simple things.

People seeking humanity.  People seeking normalcy.  People seeking community, conversation, interaction with others.  People seeking out those who care that they exist at all. Isn’t that what we all seek – regardless of our economic status, the possessions we have, and the work we do?   Aren’t we truly seeking to be acknowledged as existing – to know that someone cares that we are here?

We met all sorts of people last night.  The first thing we try to do is learn a person’s name.  A person’s name is vital.  It is a recognition of the humanity of a person.  This isn’t just someone who needs something.  This is Owen.  This is Adam.  This is Rob.  This is Jennifer.  They are people, just like you and I.

They come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, genders, skin color, and challenges.  Some of them have full-time jobs, but they don’t pay enough to allow these folks to find decent housing.  They are not slackers, lazy, or dumb.

Last night we showed up with our shapes, sizes, genders, skin color, and challenges of our own.  And we got to know new people in our lives.  We go to share what we had with people.  And they shared what they had with us – their time, their laughter, their stories, their insights, their wisdom, and even some chocolate.

The part of the evening that has the most impact on me is when we go to Denny’s.  Because there were so many people, we were actually divided into two separate groups, sitting next to each other at a bunch of tables shoved together.

This was a feast in many ways.  There was laughter, joking, sharing of stories, lots of food, and more.  There was humanity on display.  There was joy.  And Jesus was there too.  Sitting in our midst.  Reclining at the table with us, blessing this meal, sharing the love of God with all present.

While this was our normal evening to go to Flying J, it was anything but normal.  It was a blessing.  A blessing upon blessing.  For both the people being served and those who were serving.  The question is this though – what happens where there is blurry line between the served and the serving.  Which is which?  Yes, we provide some material things, but it’s so much more than that.  It’s koinonia at its core.  It is proclaiming boldly the Good News of God’s loving and saving presence in the world – only this time at the Denny’s in a truck stop.  We don’t always know where or what the blessing will be, but we know that when Jesus shows up and encounters us, lives are changed – both those served and those serving.  In this sense, there is no difference between serving and being served.  We are all serving and being served at the same time – serving Christ and being served by him.

Blessing upon blessing.  That’s the new normal.  That’s the miracle that is happening on the Miracle Mile.

 

There are always more to help…

19 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by in Church, Humanity, Theology

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There will always be someone else who needs help.  We have the potential to spend all day trying to fix others, to solve problems, to deal with emergencies, etc.

And in the process, you won’t be any further along than when you started.  You’ll often be more tired, but feel good about your deeds.

The challenge is this – do we do the short-term fix or do we work with people for long-term change?  Short term feels good.  It requires minimal investment of time and energy.  It requires minimal investment of relationship too.  We can throw money at the “problem” and move on.  But has a person’s life really changed?  Have they been transformed?

Churches receive many requests for “help.”  Some are legitimate and other request are a bit more questionable.  Often requests are in emergency stages – only a day or two away from drastic action being taken.  Things like eviction.  Which always raises questions in my mind – why did this person wait until the last-minute?  What caused them to wait until the situation was desperate?

One of the things I look for is the attitude of a person.  I’m not talking about whether they treat others with respect or show gratitude – those are good things though.  I’m talking about how a person seeks out help.  Does the person really want help, or do they just want the pressure of the situation to be reduced?  The difference is in who is in charge.  If a person really wants help, they are open to seeing that their way is not working.  They are open to change and adaptation in order to improve their situation.

Others just want relief from the situation.  They want you to respond on their terms, on their time frame, with what they want, when they want it, with limited questions.  These folks are interested in improving their lives, just getting rid of the situation.  There is no desire for relationship or community.  There is no openness to change or learning.

The question becomes, do we have an obligation to only provide relief?  Or to just focus on help?  If someone is seeking out resources from a church or anyone else for that matter, are they admitting that their way isn’t working?  Some are not willing to acknowledge this.  Is it tough love to withhold relief from someone who has no desire to change?  Is it cruel to withhold relief to someone who repeatedly finds themself in emergencies?

Awhile back, we had an individual who called the church seeking relief.  They had a couple of days to come up with $500 for back rent or else they would be evicted.  It became an emergency for them.  But there is a difference between urgency and important and who’s problem it is.  We found out from the land lord that this person has been at their location for 44 months and had been late 17 times – That’s almost 40% of the time this person resided at this location.  Providing relief in this instance would do very little to help this person – at least in a meaningful and lasting way.  The person wasn’t interested in building a relationship or being a part of a community – only seeking out resources to provide relief from the pressure of the emergency.

So, do churches have an obligation to provide relief always?  Or is there a different way?  I think there is a different way.  I think we need to ask a few questions.  We need to ask if a person really wants help, or if they only want relief.  And each church needs to decide – are they interested in working with people provide relief, or do they feel called to more and to something deeper.  Help is longer term.  It involves a commitment from the person and from the church.  It involves an intertwining of lives.  It involves getting to know people’s stories and finding the value they bring. It’s about community.  But this is costly and often frustrating.  It’s much cheaper and easier to throw money at a problem – relief.

Having said this, relief has its role – there’s no denying it.  But the church also has an opportunity and a calling to be more than just a relief agency.  We are called to showcase how encounters with Jesus change lives.  We are called to build community and relationships.  We are called for the long-term, not the easy fix.  We are called to respond with grace and mercy and forgiveness and show repentance.  To live the Gospel.

 

Jesus doesn’t know what he’s talking about

17 Tuesday Apr 2018

Posted by in Church, Humanity, Society, Theology

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Last week, which seems like a lifetime ago, the US responded with a missile attack on Syria for the controlling regime’s apparent chemical weapons strike on their own people.

This is not an easy topic.  Like most international geopolitical situations, there isn’t a nice easy black and white answer to an extremely difficult and complex situations that have been going on longer than anyone can remember.

Allegedly the regime in charge of Syria used chemical weapons against their own people.  The American president stated that a line had been crossed and would be responding with or without the support of the international community.  And he followed through on that.

It’s easy to get caught up in the arguments that exist regarding this.  Unfortunately, our nation is so polarized with blinders on our eyes that people who support the president were willing to support anything he said or did while those who oppose him would oppose anything he did.  I imagine that had he not done a missile strike then his supporters would have supported that and those opposed would offered their reasons for why they opposed the inaction.  It’s not the actions that people are upset about anymore – but rather who makes them.

Which gets me to Jesus.  And why I titled this post the way I did.

When the culture is polarized as it is, then certain things happen.  We shift how we make decisions.  We shift our center point – the foundation of our lives to things that aren’t God.

For Christians, this means that there is a shift from Jesus.  Jesus preached “Blessed are the peacemakers,” (Matthew 5:9) in the section of the Sermon on the Mount called the Beatitudes.  But is that what we really believe?  Is this what we practice – regardless of who is calling the shots?

In the arguments around the chemical attack and missile strike response, I haven’t heard people argue from a standpoint of following their faith – just political talking points.  The military action was short and quick.  And the responses were just as quick and destructive – showing our shallow allegiances.

Jesus’ preaching in the Sermon on the Mount is uncomfortable and inconvenient.  Read Matthew 5-7 for yourself if you haven’t done so lately.  You come away pretty clear where Jesus stands.  Yet, for those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus, we have to ask this question – was Jesus full of it?  Do we really believe the person we claim to follow?  Or do we make excuses because Jesus wouldn’t understand the context?

Do we claim the label of Christ-follower, but really believe that Jesus doesn’t know what he’s talking about?

The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10) are as especially large challenge to our way of life and thinking here in the US.  We are a nation that values being the strongest, the biggest, the most fierce, the most independent, the most special, the victors, etc.  Yet, Jesus doesn’t say blessed are the strongest.  He doesn’t say blessed is the one with the best military.  He doesn’t say blessed are those who pick themselves up by their bootstraps.  He speaks of the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who are merciful, and the peacemakers, among other attributes.

Did Jesus really know what he was talking about?  Or are these sayings just a nice set of sentiments that we can put off to the side when life gets complicated and uncomfortable?  Do we take Jesus seriously?  Or is Jesus just full of it?