Author: firstdelray

Romans 12:2 (Common English Bible)

            Antoine de Saint-Exupery wisely said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” It is ludicrous to suggest that any follower of Jesus lacks the goal of spiritual growth; lacks the desire to become more Christlike than they are presently. Adult baptism and membership in a church are intentional decisions. No one stumbles into the Christian faith. And ask anyone seated in church on Sunday morning if they would like to be a better Christian and I doubt there will be any surprises. There is really only one reasonable answer. Ask that question and I imagine you may receive some strange looks. Common courtesy may prevent an honest answer but stirring in the minds of many would be the curt response, “Do you know the trouble I had this morning to simply show-up at church?” No one stumbles into the Christian faith. And no one stumbles into Christian worship. Naturally, every follower of Jesus has the goal of spiritual maturity.

            The difficulty is that in many faith communities, in many churches, there is so little evidence of Christian growth. Listen carefully to many church members and they sound no different than those who remain outside the church doors. Gossip abounds, grumbling is heard and self-righteous judgement is whispered in every pew. Perhaps each person guilty of such bad behavior desires to be better than this but there is simply no movement in that direction. The reason should haunt each of us. We lack an intentional plan for growth. Antoine de Saint-Exupery is correct, without a plan, the desire for becoming increasingly Christlike is nothing more than a wish. Worse, without a plan for growth, says Paul, the natural consequence is conformity to the patterns of the world.

            If a wish is ever to become a goal, a plan is required. Weight Watchers offers a plan if the goal is to lose weight. Fitness Centers offer a plan if the goal is improved fitness and health. Language video and audio programs may be purchased if the goal is learning a new language. Any goal must be translated into a plan or it simply remains a wish. The same principal applies to spiritual growth. The plan need not be difficult or complex. In fact, the likelihood that a plan will be placed into action increases if it is simple to understand and follow.

            Paul’s words here offer a glorious promise. Identify a spiritual growth plan, remove it from the box and implement it fully and the result will be growing clarity of God’s will. Some people despair because God’s will is often difficult to know. Many times that is because they expect clarity without effort, without following an intentional plan for growth. The trouble is that God’s will for our lives is always inextricably bound to a growing relationship with God. It is never one or the other. Pursue an ongoing relationship with God and God’s desires will become apparent.

Joy,

John 2:2 (Common English Bible)

            Here is a remarkable miracle, and a remarkable story of Jesus. Remarkable because it places Jesus right in the center of Jewish life, during the celebration of a wedding, when he performs his first miracle – the changing of water into wine. Jesus’ first miracle was not healing someone who is sick, casting-out an evil spirit from someone possessed, or raising the dead. Jesus’ first miracle was performed in the midst of an ordinary dilemma that seems, in many ways, embarrassingly inconsequential. During a wedding celebration, the host of the party runs out of wine for his guest. That is the dilemma. But, informs the writer of John’s Gospel, “Jesus and his disciples were invited to the celebration.” And because Jesus was present, he saves the party.

            Before Jesus began his ministry, Satan provided several opportunities for Jesus to exercise his divine powers for the extraordinary. When Jesus grew hungry, Satan asked Jesus to simply turn stone into bread and eat. Certainly, Jesus could do that! Jesus refused. Then Satan suggested that Jesus “show-off” by throwing himself off a mountain, to be caught by the arms of angels. Again, Jesus refused. Jesus isn’t interested in using his capacity for the miraculous for self-aggrandizement or for his own creature comforts. That would miss the point of why Jesus came to earth. Jesus life’s purpose is to live for others.

            This miracle announces that there is no moment of life that we ought to get along without God. It goes without saying that the moments of desperation or grief we all experience need God’s help. But so do the moments of celebration and joy. This early glimpse of Jesus ministry, his presence at a wedding feast, shows Christ most completely at home in any circumstance and occasion of life. Before Jesus would face the darker side of life, this story vividly reveals a happy Christ who knew how to have a good time. This is a side of Christ that is often overlooked.

            Often the church seeks to spiritualize the work of Christ and conclude that he is only in the business of saving souls and renewing lives. The unfortunate consequence is the assumption that Jesus isn’t really interested in the commonplace events of life. Yet, this first miracle story announces something quite different. Jesus went to where life was, even ordinary moments, and brought blessings. Jesus is never out of place. This story catches Jesus being interested in everyday living, and taking seriously everyday conundrums. Jesus was invited to a wedding celebration and he accepted. And his presence transformed the occasion for everyone.

Joy,

Deuteronomy 4:23b (Common English Bible)

            The word, “remember” has taken on fresh poignancy for the citizens of the United States. Recently, our nation observed the fifteenth anniversary of the terrorist attack in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.  Commonly referenced as 9/11, the entering High School freshman class this year is the first class to begin High School who was born after these attacks. It is all history to them. Why is it important to teach these young students what happened that September day before they were born? Foremost, it is important because it is a critical part of our shared story as U.S. citizens. That single incident has dramatically reshaped the landscape of how we live today. Secondly, the story keeps all of us wide-eyed of what occurs each day around the world and how our lives may be impacted.

            Here in Deuteronomy, Moses asks the people of God to “remember.” Remember their slavery in Egypt. Remember God’s leadership, and care for them, as they traveled from Egypt, through the wilderness, to a new land that will be their home. Remember, because all that history has shaped them as a people; has shaped them as a nation. If they are to have any understanding of their identity, they must remember who they were and God’s mighty acts among them. Just as important, their future is filled with uncertainties – as is any future – and the very act of “recalling” God’s presence and care in the past strengthens them for whatever they would face moving forward. “Don’t forget the covenant that the Lord your God made with you.”

            This is an important reason for our regular worship and personal reading of the Bible. Like the nation of Israel, we also must remember. In those times when our life has reached the depths of disappointment and struggle, it is easy to remember; to remember and call out to God for help. But when life is sailing from one beautiful shore to the next, difficulty is at a minimum and resources to meet any emotional or physical need are abundant, remembering God is difficult. Little by little, a notion expands upon our consciousness that God can be dispensed with. The tragic result is to face the future alone, with only our strength. Eventually, that strength will be insufficient.

            Perhaps a greater concern is that when a nation loses its faith, a sense that each of us belong to something bigger than the present moment, that nation ceases to be a nation at all. What is left is a lot of people milling around with no larger story arc than their own small lives, going nowhere. It is important to remember origins, to remember where we came from and how we got here. This memory dispenses the lie that we made something out of our lives from nothing. Memory becomes the source and impulse to new life; a life full of hope and promise for the future. And the nation that recovers a sense of responsibility, under God, discovers a divine purpose that strengthens the bonds that binds one to another and thrusts it forward into the future with confident expectation.           

Joy,

Mark 5:36 (Common English Bible)

            Faith is difficult to hold onto when a loved one dies. The Reformed theologian Karl Barth said that people come to church with only one question in their minds: Is it true? The promises of God, the saving power of Jesus Christ, the resurrection from the dead and eternal life: Is it true? This is the most fundamental question of faith. When those same people gather for a funeral service, gather to honor and remember the life of a loved one, the question is even more compelling: Is it true? Can God be trusted when death seems so powerful? Certainly, that is the question that occupies the thoughts of Jairus when he is told that his daughter has died.

            In this poignant story from Mark’s Gospel, Jairus seeks after Jesus; seeks to intercede on his sick daughter’s behalf and ask for her healing. It is an active prayer. Prayer is seeking God – whether for a stronger relationship or to claim God’s power. Jairus is seeking God, through the person of Jesus Christ, and seeks God for the benefit of a sick daughter. Yet, messengers have now shown-up reporting to Jairus that his daughter has died. “Why bother the teacher any longer?” But Jesus overhears their report, turns to face Jairus, and says, “Don’t be afraid; just keep trusting.” Apparently, death doesn’t seem as final to Jesus as it does to us.

            It seems that for many people, the time comes when they simply quit praying, simply give-up on trusting that anything can be different. Either they sense that they can’t have what they want or that the opportunity has past. After their request has been ignored, or denied, they don’t want anything else. God has failed miserably in the role of Santa Claus and they will not consider the possibility that God’s desire for them may be something far better than what they seek. Rather than keeping their eyes wide-open for what God may be doing differently in their lives, they simply stop trusting.

            Jesus seems to suggest here that when trust is lost, what remains is fear. Certainly for Jairus, news of his daughter’s death is cause to abandon hope. And when hope is gone, fear takes-up residence in our lives. But pay attention to what Jesus does in this story; Jesus remains calm: “Don’t be afraid; just keep trusting.” We miss the depth of meaning here if we expect the child will come back to life. What Jesus does is demonstrate a confidence that God still holds our lives, and future, in God’s powerful grasp, particularly when death seem victorious. Whether the child comes back to mortal life is not the issue. Jesus’ calmness exudes a confidence that God will come mightily to care for us if we would but surrender ourselves completely to God’s mercy and care. It is our continuing trust in that promise that strengthens our capacity to hold onto faith.

Joy,

2 Corinthians 12:10 (Common English Bible)

            Now this, of course, is a paradox – the notion that when we are weak, then we are strong. It is an assertion that appears to be contradictory or opposed to common sense. Rationally, we are either one or the other. We can’t be both at the same moment in time. Yet, this is precisely the assertion that the apostle Paul makes to the Christian church located in Corinth. Such an absurd idea would not be worthy of our attention had it not come from the hand of Paul. But here it is! And the early church has declared these words to be the inspired Word of our Lord. So a closer look is demanded.

            Any responsible study of this claim must begin where Paul begins, with the circumstance that drew from Paul this great paradox. He identifies the origin of this thought as a discomfort of “a thorn in my body” that Paul implores God, on three occasions, to remove. Remember, Paul was a man, who sought with considerable vigor, to destroy the Christian faith. Now, with equal vigor, Paul is advancing the faith he once sought to stamp-out. But there is some difficulty, some physical handicap located in his body, that weakens his effort. Paul never identifies the nature of the handicap. The only information Paul feels is relevant is that this difficulty is slowing him down from effectively preaching Jesus Christ. So he implores of God to remove the handicap.

            What is puzzling, at first glance, is God’s refusal to honor Paul’s plea. Appealing once again to the rational, wouldn’t God want Paul to be as strong as possible for the preaching ministry of Jesus Christ? That is certainly the thought process of Paul. So Paul asks for extraordinary strength for the preaching of an extraordinary Gospel. What Paul discovers, however, is that in the mathematical equation of God’s Kingdom, if Paul preached only from his strength, any power of Jesus Christ would be hidden. All people would see is Paul’s strength.

            Paul’s discovery becomes our discovery. Each of us has some weakness. The weakness may be physical, emotional, or social. The weakness may be some irrational fear or brokenness in our lives. And I quite imagine that each of us has prayed the prayer of Paul; has prayed that the weakness be removed. But imagine the logical result if we were made strong in all things – we would have no need for God. At least that would be the notion that would grow upon our consciousness. The tragic result of such thinking would be moving further from God, rather than closer. The truth of the matter is that we will always be incomplete without God. And it is only when we, in our weakness, lean into the power of God, that we become the recipients of God’s strength.

Joy,

Romans 12:12 (Common English Bible)

            The choice is ours. Just as each day we choose the clothes we will wear, we choose the disposition that will clothe our heart and mind. The winds of daily circumstance, whether it is good fortune or disappointment, have no access to matters of the interior life. No one can see what any day may bring in the home or the office, but we can determine that each day will be met with a buoyant spirit. Begin the day with a dark spirit, a sour and unpleasant disposition and usually something will happen to confirm the prior decision to be unhappy. Start the day with a positive tempo in your step and the same law will be at work; something will occur that will give affirmation that all is well, even if the day brings disappointing news. How we begin the day is a choice.

            But the choice must be inspired by the Christian understanding of hope. Used in the New Testament, hope is never wishful thinking. Christian hope, of which the apostle Paul speaks of here, is the deep conviction that we belong to God. A positive promise woven throughout the New Testament is that our heavenly Father has each one of us in his keeping and will be present in the midst of any difficulty. We are never alone. God remains with us, regardless of the circumstances that may swirl around our lives. Begin each day with that knowledge, that God is present with us, and God will lift your vision to the sunnier possibilities available and rescue you from the power of frustrations and defeat.

            It is a great and liberating thing to know that God is with us. It is a knowledge that strengthens our knees and secures our footing. Particularly when the winds of trouble blow, as they must for each of us at some time, we discover that we are able to stand firmly without fear of being defeated. It is a knowledge that frees us from personal concern, and the emotional energy which that effort consumes, so that we may devote all of our strength to reach for life’s highest purposes.

            Occasionally the winds that blow against us are quite strong. A secure footing is important, such as our knowledge of God’s continued presence and care, but something more may be required. As a sailor standing on a boat that is being tossed about, we must grab hold of something. As a Christian, we grab hold of God in prayer. “Devote yourselves to prayer,” writes Paul. Prayer is the abandonment of any other crutch, any other hope, and the clinging to God. It is recalling that God is all that is necessary. Prayer nurtures intimacy with God and it is the surrender into the loving presence of God that results in inexpressible joy. For Paul, prayer is not a matter to be taken lightly. Simply, prayer is integral to the choice to be happy in all circumstances.

Joy,     

Matthew 6:33 (Common English Bible)

            I don’t find many sermons today on the sovereignty of God, that five dollar word that simply asks, “Who is God?” It is an important question. As any good question will do, the question gives birth to a host of other questions: Who owns the earth? Who rules our hearts? To whom does our first allegiance belong? These are the urgent questions for our day. They are the questions that frame the political, economic and ethical conversations we are drawn into on a regular basis. I am, therefore, grateful that the other day I discovered a gem among my library, a sermon by J. Wallace Hamilton: “Who Goes There?”[i]Though it was preached sometime in the 1950’s, it retains a crisp and clear presentation of that great question and solicits our faithful response. 

            Wallace offers a persuasive argument that there is present today a practical atheism in our nation, a denial of placing God and God’s purposes first in our lives. Some will announce a conviction, “nation first,” while other voices will clamor, “team first” or “family first.” What about God? The first step for addressing the unsettledness of our nation, suggests Wallace, is spiritual; returning God to the center of our lives. The way we think and the values that shape our lives are rooted and nourished by the gods to which we give our lives. And nothing will end well for us, or as a nation, until we get the center right. Every loyalty will disappoint us until we give our highest loyalty to God.

            What this means in terms of practical action reaches into every area of our lives. There must be a resolve against the segmentation of our lives; the separation of business, family and the religious dimension. Some years ago, a politician spoke rather harshly about some political comments made by the Pope, arguing that the he should leave politics to the politicians. If the Pope is representative of God’s claims and purposes in the world, there is no area that is off-limits, especially politics. With God at the center, our responsibility is to answer every question as it arises on the basis of God’s sovereignty; on the basis of what God would have us do.

            Among the great sins is the notion that the world is ours; that we are free to do with the world what we will. That notion simply doesn’t square with scripture. The world isn’t ours to serve our needs and do with as we please. That is the great lie that stands in the way of an authentic embrace of the sovereignty of God. Who owns the earth? That answer all depends upon the god that is at the center. The question of God’s sovereignty eventually comes home to each of us. To place God at the center may require a new mind and a new birth. But for those who return God to the center, it is a tremendous experience.

Joy,        

           

1 Peter 2:9 (Common English Bible)

            I am fond of the work of John Andrew, formerly the pastor of St. Thomas Fifth Avenue, New York City. One of his sermons delivered in that magnificent and admired church provides a fresh and inspired look at this one sentence from 1 Peter; an invitation to imagine that church from four vantage points: to suggest, to remind, to invite, and to inspire.[i]Now in the midst of our building campaign, to expand and update our church facilities, I draw from three of Andrew’s words as we consider our heritage and future.

            Our church, the First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach, is located here in this beautiful spot, one block from the beach, to remind us of who we are and to whom we belong. Andrew states it so well, “There is not one of us in the Christian family who does not need the memory jogged on occasion about who we are and whose we are.” Each member of this superb church has been entrusted with a rich heritage of Christian witness in this location. This beautiful church reminds us of that heritage and calls each of us to advance that witness into the future. St Peter makes this point with force in these few words: “But you are a chosen race…” Certainly that begs the question, chosen for what? All of scripture is clear; we are chosen to participate in God’s continued work in the world. This church reminds us of that continuing responsibility.

            The second task we are here to perform is to invite. We must identify winsome and compelling opportunities to attract and convince people who move into this community to join us. This is done by uplifting Christ in such a way that people long to know more about him and, eventually, to love him and dedicate their lives to him. A warm welcome on Sunday morning and a smile can work wonders in a beautiful place like this. But this is then followed by the rich experience of beautiful, traditional and compelling worship. More, people must know that here prayers are spoken not only for our members but for those who visit this beautiful community and make it their home.

            Invited is then followed by inspire. What I speak of here is not the natural inspiration that touches the mind and heart following worship, though that is important. What is demanded from those who would follow Christ is sacrificial generosity; the compulsion to participate meaningfully in God’s unfinished work. Serious, sacrificial and regular financial giving brings honor and integrity to our rich heritage in this place, for an ungenerous Christian is a contradiction in terms. When we commit ourselves to this kind of giving, we are doing no more than what Christ did before us, for Christ gave his own blood for us that we may have eternal life.

Joy, 

             

           

           

           

 “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.”

Psalm 107:2 (New Revised Standard Version)

            Our daily conversations do more than provide a running narrative of our lives; such conversations shape our experiences, practices and life with one another. As we speak, our thoughts and understandings are more deeply formed and clarified. Through speech, we do so much more than transmit information to another. We process that information in a manner that deepens our convictions. When that conversation turns to matters of faith, my friend Thomas Long, brilliantly observes, “When we talk about our faith, we are not merely expressing our beliefs; we are coming more fully and clearly to believe. In short, we are always talking ourselves into being Christian.”[i]

            It is uncertain that this is the conviction behind these words from Psalms. What is certain is that God’s people are directed to speak of their faith; are commanded to share their faith story with others. It is the duty of every person of faith. The man or woman who has been “redeemed” by the Lord must become a busy person. They are to be messengers of God’s love and transformative power. It is this kind of witness that captures the interest of ordinary people and wins their verdict. Clergy are expected to speak of holy things. But when ordinary people speak of God the testimony takes hold with arresting strength and considerable surprise.

            But, argues Tom Long, such conversation serves a sacred interest. Speaking with another person about our faith confirms experience; it sustains it and enriches it. Any experience which is denied expression speedily fades away, such as a second language that is never used. The loss may be imperceptible at first but, over time, more and more is lost until little remains. Yet, when voice is given to matters of faith, faith quickens and is given strength. A powerful dynamic is released: as we take hold of our faith, our faith takes hold of us. Doubts melt away like mist when we go public with our testimony of what God has done for us.

            The Bible is filled with miracle stories. They are the stories that shape the contours of our faith and reveal God to us; stories that bear witness to God’s power. But they are not the stories that are the most vital for living a transformed and transfigured life. The miracle that is most vital, that is most urgent today, is not the miracle that is read about but the one that walks about in every believer who gives confession of their belief. The Lord says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.” That is the Lord’s command. The world is waiting for our obedience.

Joy,

           

John 17:19 (Common English Bible)

            This one prayer by Jesus may be the most sacred passage in all four of the Gospels. As the shadow of the cross grew larger upon our Lord, he gives himself to God, and he gives himself fully, without reservations. The depth and richness of the prayer is missed if the reader fails to grasp the deep meaning of the word, “holy.” Throughout the New Testament, as it is used here by Jesus, the word means, “Set apart.” What Jesus does by this prayer is to fully dedicate his life to God’s purposes; Jesus has “set apart” his life for God’s desires thereby surrendering any other pursuit he might have had in life. Before anyone choses to dedicate their life to God, it is wise to ponder deeply this example of our Lord.

            First, Jesus begins his prayer, “I made myself holy.” What is at once both unmistakable and essential for any authentic commitment to God is that it must be personal. No one is truly dedicated if the dedication is made on their behalf. Dedication to God is a personal decision of any individual. Additionally, though participation in a corporate service of dedication with others similarly making a commitment may be quite meaningful, such participation does not necessarily mean that an individual has been dedicated. The act of dedication, an extremely personal decision, is hidden in the heart of the individual. Only the individual and God know if an authentic dedication has occurred.

            Second, Jesus’ prayer continued, “…on their behalf.” Here, Jesus demonstrates that any dedication is always made for some specific task, for positively impacting a people or a movement. For Jesus, his dedication is to share in God’s burden for the world, to seek out those who have lost their way and bring them back to God. His dedication is undertaken for a particular people, for a particular purpose, and so must our own dedication. A dedication that does not result in some urge to do something definite, to make some difference for God in the local community or the world is empty and a waste of time. “…on their behalf,” Jesus makes his dedication.

            Finally, Jesus’ brief prayer concludes, “…that they also would be made holy in the truth.”  The certain indication here is that any motive for doing something positive is for the purpose of changing lives. Jesus sought to change the lives of others, to bless them that their lives may, in turn, bless others. Absent in his dedication is any hint that Jesus sought to win favor or acclaim. That would be unworthy of a dedication. Jesus’ dedication was to influence others to similarly dedicate their lives to the purposes of God. The result would be that God’s kingdom would experience an exponential expansion throughout the world. Whenever men and women gather to dedicate themselves to God, it is good to understand, with considerable clarity, what Jesus has taught such a dedication entails.

Joy,