Stages on the Way

We started the morning with the Episcopal, Lay and Young People’s Address, and then went into lengthy debate about the Rules. The length of the debate changed our schedule, and pushed back time for electing legislative committee officers and Holy Conversations on Identity and Theology, and Human Sexuality (intentional, perhaps?).

For Louisiana folks, you will be interested to know that the results of the legislative committee elections lifted up two key leaders from the South Central Jurisdiction as Chair. Rev. Ellen Alston, our Head of Lousiana Delegation, will Chair Superintendency. Rev. Elijah Stanzell (Head of Delegation, Texas) will Chair General Administration, which is the committee that will handle the highly-debated restructuring legislation. Elijah is also one of the Episcopal candidates we as a delegation interviewed in February at FUMC-Baton Rouge, and he is endorsed by Black Methodists for Church Renewal.

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There are very few times in life where I have found myself in a place where Scripture comes alive in real time, but from the beginning of my journey here, from touching down on the plane, riding in the shuttle, arriving in the swarms of color, language, laughter, I have felt enfolded in the presence and passion of the worldwide church.

The whole gang is here–Ellen, Andy, Pat, Bernie, Larry, Sarah, Buzzy, Olivia, Pete, Carolyn, Fred, and me. Edna and Terrell will be joining us this weekend as the plenary begins. Today, we walked through the beginning processes of greeting old friends, making new ones, and attending a series of briefings for young people, women, people of color, and for first-time delegates.

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Sermon on John 1

Methodists have a stigma of shying away from speaking for or about God, wouldn’t you say? And I don’t actually think that’s a bad thing, because it shows that we we’ve gotten the memo that we don’t have all the answers. Maybe you fill in the blank with things like—I don’t know enough, I’m not well-liked enough, I don’t have enough time, I am afraid of messing up, or I have done too much in my life. You can already begin to see that some of these statements aren’t real humility, but are really more rooted in guilt.

The grace in all this is that we find ourselves in a great lineage of others that struggled with the same thing. Think of all of the different prophets and people that spoke for God throughout the Bible—If you block the Hollywood version of the story out of your mind, Moses is not eloquent. Jeremiah said that he is too young and is not wise or wisened even after he answers the call of God. Isaiah deems himself unworthy: Iam a man of unclean lips (6:5) Then there are those that don’t have any perceived lack of giftedness or authority, but choose to turn away, like Jonah, for personal reasons. In all instances, the way they come into their jobs is awkward at best, and somehow God finds a way to use them as God uses us.

The traditional Greek admonition “Know yourself” surely means “Know who you are and who you are not.” Knowing who you are and who you are not.

This Advent is a season where WE are reminded of that.

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Joshua 1-14

I was reading the passage in Chapter 3 as the people of God make their way over the Jordan today. It reminded me of a song we performed in college, “Be Not Afraid.” The composer was one of my classmates and fellow choir members. Today, I am reminded that God will always put people in our midst who will place stones in the rushing rivers of our lives–as a reminder of where we have been, to slow the waters for our safe passage, and to help us move forward into the Promised Land(s) in store for us.

Listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3re8UIqMBA

Deuteronomy 23-34

It struck me today that as much as it seems evident that the laws in Deuteronomy reveal the prevalence of “Black-and-White” thinking of the time, there are some passages that might surprise you. For instance, this passage on the course of action if a man seizes a women–not exactly something the ACLU would approve of, but it shows their understanding that there are shades of grey in some situations.

From Deuteronomy 22: “23If there is a young woman, a virgin already engaged to be married, and a man meets her in the town and lies with her, 24you shall bring both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death, the young woman because she did not cry for help in the town and the man because he violated his neighbor’s wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. 25But if the man meets the engaged woman in the open country, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 26You shall do nothing to the young woman; the young woman has not committed an offense punishable by death, because this case is like that of someone who attacks and murders a neighbor. 27Since he found her in the open country, the engaged woman may have cried for help, but there was no one to rescue her.”

a + b does not always equal c. Just as leading the people + being faithful (most of the time) doesn’t always lead to being able to get to the promised land. I hadn’t read the passages on the death of Moses in about six years. Beautiful, beautiful moment. I’m reminded from God’s words to him that most of the time we all play a part for a season, but very few of us get to see the full “Promised Land” of our endeavors. I feel that often being an itinerant pastor. In some way, it reminds us that it is truly God that is weaving us all together–that it is God that is truly the actor–and we have the deep privilege to participate.

Deuteronomy 8-23

stub·born
Adjective/?stu`born/
1. Having or showing dogged determination not to change one’s attitude or position on something, esp. in spite of good arguments or reasons to do so.
2. Difficult to move, remove, or cure.

So much of the early parts of the Bible talk about a stubborn or “stiff-necked” people. I’ve always known that, but noticed it especially when I was making my way through Deuteronomy today. Deuteronomy 9 has a moment in it when we are reminded of our double-nature: “6Know, then, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to occupy because of your righteousness; for you are a stubborn people. 7Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness; you have been rebellious against the Lord from the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place.”

I found it interesting that the definition of the word “stubborn” used the description of “determination” in it–making it clear that stubbornness is not just a result of inaction or apathy. No, in fact it is actually an intentional decision not to move because of one’s values, fears, or hopes and dreams. I think most people usually think of “stubborn” as a negative attribute. I don’t give much credence to horoscopes, but I was born a Taurus, and anyone born in that sign is deemed “stubborn and earthy”–a description I’ve always enjoyed, because it made me think, for a moment, that I am a strong and grounded person no matter what comes (my husband knows better.)

But in reading about their introduction to the land, and about the establishment of rules–rules for waging holy war, rules for the judicial system, the priesthood, public officials, for debts and slaves, we see that God is giving them land to root themselves in. It is because God knows our double-nature of being righteous devoted and disobedient that he knows we cannot be left to wander around forever. Taylor’s family has some land over in Gilmer, TX, and he’s always told me that owning land is important to him because it grounds each of us–individuals, families–somewhere. You can’t just let land lay fallow. You have to do something with it. And in this moment, God is using their stubborn energies for good.

God trusted their stubbornness.

“The Lord your God you shall follow, him alone you shall fear, his commandments you shall keep, his voice you shall obey, him you shall serve, to him you shall hold fast.” -Deuteronomy 13:4

Numbers 32-Deuteronomy 7

From Deuteronomy 5: “and you said, “Look, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the fire. Today we have seen that God may speak to someone and the person may still live. 25So now why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer, we shall die. 26For who is there of all flesh that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and remained alive? 27Go near, you yourself, and hear all that the Lord our God will say. Then tell us everything that the Lord our God tells you, and we will listen and do it.” 28The Lord heard your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me: “I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you; they are right in all that they have spoken. 29If only they had such a mind as this, to fear me and to keep all my commandments always, so that it might go well with them and with their children forever!”

I thought during this reading day that I might write on the Shema–the great commandment. But I was surprised by this reading and decided to lift it up today. I lifted it up because it shows the people of God in a struggle with their conception of their own image of God. And I’m surrounded with people everyday that struggle with that same question–”Who is God REALLY? …and why should I care? What does God’s nature, God’s action (or inaction), and God’s will or intention for my life actually feel like/look like/practically call me to do?”

Out of the whole scripture, I was captured by their conception of God’s voice–and find it interesting that very seldom today do we ever find people saying that they truly “heard the Voice of God,” but that God speaks to us in many surprising ways. I wonder if that is a reflection of the way we make sense of authority in our culture today–in individualism (God is only for “me”), relevance (authority is only authority if it is relevant to my life), and decentralized authority (God’s authority is in everyone). I think that topic may be a conversation for another day to walk through some of my thoughts around why these changes can be good, and sometimes not so helpful (i.e., “You can safely assume that you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” -Anne Lamott).

I don’t have the book in front of me, but in The Good and Beautiful God, James Bryan Smith talks a lot about God images–how they can be formed for better or worse over time. He reminded me of how our perception of who God is can truly make or break our relationship with the Church, and they can actually make or break our very lives.

What is your “God image?”

The Book of Leviticus

God says, “this shall be a statute to you forever…”
really?
wish that the absolution of my guilt was that easy
if, then,
a+b
all cut and dry
predictable
nothing like the messy life of the Spirit I know

They were ordinary actions
meant for extraordinary purposes
in sacrifice
a harsh reminder
of the hard road to holy

Even the year of Jubilee
accomplishes more for those in need
than Congress can do
in one term
redeeming land
reclaiming time
renewing human life

There is no cut and dry
black and white
to our search for God’s mercy
it is mystery
not equation
it is miracle
not prescription

Laws have their power
in Spirit, and not in letter

We are His…
Not because we do,
But because we are.

Let us never forget.

Exodus 29-40

I have been talking with a couple of friends recently about starting a young adult missional community here in Baton Rouge. This community would help everyone in it keep to a rule of life that we would share together, and it would help to form us as Christians to be more effective and united in our ministry to the world. John Wesley also had a rule Of Life in a way with friends– do good, do no harm, and attend upon the ordinances of God (it was much more specific and lengthy than that, however. if you’re interested, google “UMC General Rules” to see the full list).

The scripture passages today lined out the beginnings of a Rule of Life for the people. They realized after their day of revelry that God intended for them and become focused, intentional, seek above all things transformation and to reach their very best potential in faith and life. One of many rules was in Exodus 35: ”Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, “These are the things the LORD has commanded you to do: 2 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death. 3 Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”

What is your Rule of Life?

Some websites I’ve been checking out on missional communities:

http://www.gcmcollective.com/article/soma-school-session-four-building-missional-communities/

http://www.peopleofnewday.com/

http://theresurgence.com/2010/02/07/10-tips-for-missional-community-leaders

Exodus 16-28

My favorite part about this process of reading the Bible in 90 days is the surprise of noticing scriptures that I may have read before, but never “noticed.”  One of those was from our reading today–  Exodus 17:11-13:  “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. ¹² When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. ¹³ So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.”

Today’s reading included the Ten Commandments and creation of the tabernacle, a sign of the covenant between God and God’s people.  This covenant would sustain the people through sojourns in the desert, through changes in leadership, through their search for the Promised Land.  And I have thought many times, what are our “tabernacles” today?  How do we carry and know God’s presence?  I love the scripture listed above, because it reminds me of friends on the journey that have “held my hands up” late into the sunset.  I think of my husband, I think of my mother here on earth and my dad today in the church triumphant.  I think of, from most recent experiences, my colleagues Susie Thomas and Brad Franklin that have held my hands when I have grown tired, as I have also tried to hold theirs.

Covenant from God comes to us today not in acacia wood, but in the flesh of friends.  Praise God for this gracious gift.