Sharing Bread

I love to bake bread. I find the process of mixing and kneading relaxing and the time of waiting for loaves to rise a great opportunity to rest and simply wait. When I am feeling very stressed or waiting for something to change in my life, I will often make bread as a means of de-stressing. The upside to this is that then my house is filled with the aroma of fresh baking and we fill the tummies of our friends and neighbours with the end results. Today, with a little prompting from my husband, I made loaves to share with our Muslim neighbours who are breaking their fasts as they participate in Ramadan. Once the sun went down, we took steaming, warm loaves over to them and wished them well.
Our neighbors were thrilled and blessed. The unexpected gift was gratefully received and they were so pleased that we acknowledged their tradition. You see, all our neighbors know we are Christians, so there was no illusion that we were celebrating as well. They knew that this was a deliberate act to show them love. Interestingly, when Muslims share gifts (usually food) during the holidays they might use the phrase “give gifts to spread love to one another” as a way of acknowledging gifts. So the gift of bread we shared with our neighbours was spreading love.

To be honest, we did not share bread with them because we wanted to convert them or to show them how cool and hip us Christians can be. We shared bread with them because we love them. We love them because they are people, because they are our neighbours, because they have adorable and respectful children, and lots of other reasons. That love we have for them is unquestionably rooted in Christ, and it is most definitely an outpouring of our faith and our desire to give to one another as there is need.

What did Jesus say about this? In Matthew 22: 36-40, he tells us outright that we are to love our neighbour. He didn’t tell us to love your neighbour with the intent of converting them, or love only the neighbours who believe what you do. He doesn’t tell us to love only the neighbours who come to your church events. He just said to love God first, and love our neighbours. I appreciate that there are no qualifying statements on loving the neighbors. It speaks to me that Jesus didn’t want us to have agendas in our love. It seems to me that it demonstrates that once we love God, the rest becomes a natural following of that love. It doesn’t matter if we love Muslims, Hindus or atheists. It matters that we love. It doesn’t’ matter if they are gay, straight, living together, married, single or any of that. It matters that we love.

My husband has often talked about one day standing up in front of a church and saying “Love one another” in as many ways as possible, over and over again so that maybe people will get the message. I understand that he wants to do that because it is so easy to not love those who are different, whose customs don’t align with ours. It’s easier to be indifferent or even away from people who don’t do as we do and it is comfortable to be with people who are like minded. It’s okay, even good, to be with and encourage people by hanging out together. When we are limited to ONLY doing that, I think we miss the point of Jesus’s message to love each other. In our experience, when we commit to loving those who are not like us, we have found that our love for God increases. We begin to see more clearly how each person is created in the image of God and how diverse His kingdom really can be. Loving all our neighbours brings community, vitality and challenge that we would not find if we limited the ‘who’ that we love to people we think are candidates for coming to our church or into our faith community.

This week, I encourage you to think about the verses in Matthew 22. Look around your community and seek how Jesus shows you to love your neighbours. And then, do it. Love one another.

Fragrances

Last Christmas, a dear friend gave me some very lightly scented cream for dry skin. This was a blessing to me because I am quite sensitive to most perfumes and this one is so light that it doesn’t cause a problem. Well, it turns out that this cream also is very effective at moisturizing my dry skin and makes it feel all soft and smooth, which is also a blessing due to my age and all kinds of other fun factors. Most of this delightful product has now been used up and I decided that perhaps I would treat myself and buy another little container of it. I went to the store it came from and found it, without a price tag on it, so I asked the nearby clerk. I guess my face was unable to hide the sticker shock because she pulled up a half size container and told me a lower price. Either way, the lovely cream is out of my price range.

As I left the shop, a few things rolled around in my mind. The first one was: What on earth was my friend thinking when she bought me this lovely and expensive gift? I felt like I had been overly lavished on by her, like I didn’t deserve such an expensive product, even if it is really good. My own ideas of my value as a human cut into my graciousness at the gift. I understand the generosity of the gift, and I still allowed myself to think that I should have been a better friend to her over the last few months, that I should have used it more sparingly, that I should be better at financial management so that I can afford to get some for myself. The list of things I “should” have done became pretty long. Every time that I misspoke or didn’t ‘like’ her status on social media came into play in my mind.

In Luke 7: 36 – 50, there is a story of Jesus at the house of a Pharisee named Simon. A woman comes and weeps at the feet of Jesus, pouring expensive oil out onto his feet. Jesus, not surprisingly, does not have a conversation with her about all the things he should do for her to deserve this gift she is giving him. He doesn’t tell her to wait until he dies on the cross and rises again. He doesn’t list off all the sins she committed and why he isn’t ready to have his feet smelling nice. He graciously accepts her offering. When I am trying to live like Jesus, graciousness needs to be a key part of who I am – without a list of why I don’t deserve it. His character in this situation is simple and kind. This is a tough thing to understand, especially for a person like me whose extroverted nature wants to put others first. I am the queen of excuses why I don’t deserve special treatment, not necessarily because I have low self-esteem but also because I can usually think of twenty other people who deserve to be blessed. However, if I truly want to live like Christ, I need to be willing to graciously accept what is offered.

Going back to my thoughts about the expensive cream, I also thought about the idea of being a fragrant offering. So often when we read the Luke 7 passage, the message ends up being about how we should be like the sinful woman giving a fragrant offering. I couldn’t help but wonder if there is more to it than that though. I am not disagreeing with the idea of giving an offering that smells good, but I am proposing we should be looking at how Jesus responds to the truly repentant woman and modeling our acts of forgiveness in the same manner. Jesus doesn’t shake his feet away and kick the woman off. He lets her be fully repentant and lets her grief of sin run its full course. I am an interrupter. I don’t mean to be, it’s just what happens to us extroverts sometimes. I blurt things out. I especially have a tendency to do this when the situation can be interpreted by myself or others nearby as awkward. I don’t think this is just an extrovert thing, I think it is a humanity thing. Jesus, however, demonstrates that we need to allow people to fully express their feelings. By thinking my friend should not have spent so much on me, have I supressed her desire to show me she cares for me? I hope not! Of course, there are times where a gift can be too lavish (seriously, try to give me my college tuition to see if that is one of them) because of motivation or manipulation, but that isn’t the case here. By following the example of Jesus, I willingly accept the full extent of the care my friend showed me by giving me this gift. That becomes not a fragrant offering, but a fragrant receiving of the gift. As Jesus’ feet were cleaned and smelled good because of this gift, so we need to allow our receiving to make us fresh. We need to be willing to have our walk become fragrant with the gifts of those we associate with.

Lastly, I wondered if Jesus went out and bought a jar of perfume for his feet. Okay, maybe that sounds silly, but the point is that he had just been given this lovely gift and instead of then squandering it for his own benefit, he blessed the woman who gave it and honoured her. I don’t think it was wrong for me to want to purchase the expensive cream, but if that was all I took away from the gift, I would have missed out on something. He used what HE had to bless the woman. Clearly, I don’t have the cash on hand to buy expensive gifts for my friends, so that isn’t an appropriate response, however, if I look at what gifts I do have to give – time, a listening ear, cookies- sharing them with my friend is completely appropriate, even Christ-like. Jesus doesn’t give her what he doesn’t have and I don’t think he expects us to give what we don’t have either. It seems a bit ordinary or common to say only give what you have, but it is, I think, modeled by Jesus.

I liked the cream very much. Honestly, if I could, I would buy it again. It is more important to me, however, that instead of crying over what I can’t have, I model Jesus and his graciousness. This week, are there things you need to remember to receive fragrantly? Are there areas where you need to walk graciously in or with the gifts you have been given?

What’s with the Weather?

It’s beginning to look like spring around our area. As I walk about with my dog, I see all kinds of signs that warmer weather is coming – leaves beginning to bud, trillium sprouts, violets and orchids popping up. I understand why spring is used to describe the beginning of new things. However, last week we had one mother of a storm, complete with hail, freezing rain, snow and high winds. As the temperature fluctuated dramatically over the course of a few days, it was difficult to feel very spring-like! On social media, people posted complaints about the weather, claiming it was unexpected and claiming we “should” be having warmer temperatures by now. Sorry, but this isn’t the first or last time we will be blasted with unpredictable cold followed by unseasonable highs. You can blame it on climate change or pollution or whatever you want, but it’s been happening for as long as there are records about the weather in spring. We simply can’t predict when it will be the idealistic version of spring we all dream about.

In Matthew 24, Jesus is talking about being ready for His return. He uses the fig tree opening its leaves in preparation for summer as an analogy for being ready. Given our current weather situation, I thought this was quite relevant. I couldn’t help but think of the full implication of that. I think that Jesus used that picture quite deliberately. If Jesus was in my neighborhood, he might have used tulips or cherry blossoms or crab apples. Even though I look every day at the growth in our nearby forest, I still can’t tell when the leaves are going to be fully out or if the flowers are going to bloom. It is lovely and beautiful when it happens, but a week ago, I would have told you they were going to be blooming by today. When the ice storm hit, I was certain that they would all be dead and the forest floor would be a puddle of muck and decay. Yet today, when I was walking the dog, there they were, looking (to my eyes) as ready as they were before the storm for the season of blooming.

So how does this affect my everyday life? How do I live with the unpredictability of the weather? The fact is that I am prepared. I can look at the weather forecast and be ready with whatever I need to face the daily changes. I have the tools I need for whatever comes – I have prepared for the eventualities of rain, snow or anything else. The same can be said about my faith. How am I ready for whatever storms happen in my spiritual growth? Again, I have been given tools. Please don’t be confused and think that I am trying to predict that there is a specific time. Jesus was very clear that we will not know that. There is not an accurate forecasting tool for it. When I speak of spiritual storms I am talking about those life events that can feel like they have crushed or defeated my faith, events like sudden loss or lethargy or emotional strains that make me question God. All those things can feel very overwhelming and it is tempting to just complain about them. But storms can also look like unseasonable heat, those times when stuff is going so well, we forget to keep our spiritual life in shape. We still have what we need, even when we don’t feel it. It’s funny because it feels a little bit trite to spell out the tools- prayer, reading Scripture, staying connected to other believers- because it seems so easy to say and yet, during those storms, we forget we have the tools. In some ways, it’s like the people on social media who were taken by surprise and were wearing shorts when the ice began to fall. Looking at the forecast is easy and there are multiple ways to access it. There really was no excuse for not being ready. For followers of Christ, it’s the same. All those things that we can access to brace storms are right at our fingertips to access. They are never too far from us. We just need to do it. We have no excuse except for our own stubbornness or carelessness to be ready.

The great thing about the words about the fig tree is that he promises the good stuff will come. The tree will open its leaves and summer will arrive. Jesus has not left us without hope. It’s about weathering through while we wait. I won’t pack up my winter jacket just yet and I will leave the ice scraper in my car. I will be ready and I will patiently wait out the weather until summer comes. Are there things you need to weather through? Be encouraged by the promises of summer and be prepared while you wait.

Jumping Ahead

In my spare time, I enjoy writing poetry and recently, in an attempt to mature in my writing, I decided to try a new form for how I write that poetry. In the verse that came out of that attempt, I used references to an epic work (Dante’s Inferno). I took the work to my literature professor, and asked him for help in evaluating it. His comments were helpful to me but he also reproved me for my use of the references. I had, in my anxiousness to be more ‘mature’, misused some of the references. He corrected my thinking by explaining the original meaning and context of the passage I had quoted. I appreciated learning it and also that my professor acted Christ-like in his approach to teaching me what I needed to learn. He knew my intentions were good, and pointed me in the right direction.

This desire of mine to jump ahead of what I knew in order to grow is nothing new, either for me or other people. As I grow in my faith, I find myself looking again to how Jesus handled people like me and how He responds when we try to jump ahead of what His plans are. I specifically look at Peter, who is one of my favorite people. In several instances, Peter wants everything all at once (“Not just my feet but my hands and head as well!”[John 13:9]; “Even if all fall away, I never will!” [Matthew 26:33]; “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you!”[John 13:37]). He throws himself with all abandon and good intentions into following Jesus. Like my desire to be more mature, I threw myself into writing the poem, not fully understanding the meanings which I was using inappropriately, without the full understanding. My intention, like Peter’s, were good. It is right to want to be fully engaged in using the gifts that you have to bless the Lord. But also like Peter, I needed correction and patience, to learn the whole of the story before committing to the parts.

Jesus must have loved Peter very much because in each circumstance where Peter wants to jump ahead, He gently corrects him. Jesus is fully aware of how Peter will fall and yet, He still uses him to further the kingdom. Looking at some of the responses Jesus gives, I can’t help but think that Jesus smiled a little when answering:

Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.”” (John 13:10) I like this because it shows that Jesus, even though He knows Peter will deny him in just a little bit, still sees that Peter is ‘clean’. I like how Jesus doesn’t tell Peter he’s wrong for wanting his whole body washed. Peter will see later the importance of the washing of their feet. My attempt to write a poem with references I didn’t fully understand was written with the good intention of being better, of being more mature. That wasn’t wrong, and it doesn’t make me a bad poet. It means though, that I might need to wait to learn a bit more and see a bit more (and read a bit more) before I can fully understand the significance of what needs to change. In my faith, Jesus is continually keeping us moving forward at the pace He determines, not just when we want to be ‘all in’ right away.

““Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.” (Matthew 26: 34-35) When my kids were little, we played this game where we would try to “out love” each other, which usually ended with something like “I will love you to infinity and back”. Then when they were teenagers, there were those days where it was hard for all of us to even go the next few minutes without wanting to sell each other to roving bands of gypsies. The innocent abandon with which Peter declares his love to Jesus is touching. In my mind’s eye, I see Jesus smiling at Peter, maybe even tousling his hair a little, like I would when my little kids promised to love me to infinity and back. Jesus speaks truthfully to Peter and lets him live that moment of abandoned promise. True love, as demonstrated by Jesus, means that correction is tender and firm, aware of the truth and the intent of the person blurting out their declarations and still being okay with what they are saying in response.

“Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me?” “(John 13:38a) I’m so grateful for people who challenge me to really mean what I say. Okay, I don’t always appreciate it at the time, but I usually come around. It was difficult for me to hear that I hadn’t been perfect in my attempt to write. I like the way Jesus is prodding Peter to think deeper about what he just blurted out. Shouldn’t our attempts to correct others always be to make them more honest and truthful to themselves, not just to us? If we want to live like Jesus, that is exactly what we need to do. It’s a learning process to be more and more focussed on who we really want to be. If I really want to be a good poet, I need to be willing to actually learn from what my professor taught me. Peter needed to learn that laying down his life for Jesus was more than he understood in that moment.

I’d love to tell you that I went back and immediately corrected the poem, but I didn’t. I will after I complete the next phase of my learning in literature classes about Dante’s Inferno, but for right now, I am going to let the gentle correction seep in. Like Peter, I may just need to wait a little bit to understand the full capacity of the meaning. I think we all have areas where we either need some gentle correction or need to step back and let corrective words sink in. Maybe you aren’t a poet or writer but have another area where you need to be reminded not to jump ahead of where you are. Correction isn’t a bad thing. Don’t forget that in the end, jump-ahead-Peter was the rock on which the church was built. God uses us when we are ready and gently prepares us in the interim.

Take a Flying Leap

When my kids were small, we used to swim at a local outdoor pool quite regularly. We befriended the lifeguard, Christie, and often enjoyed hot summer afternoons bouncing around in the water. On one occasion, I was helping one of the boys put on his float assists when suddenly the younger broke away from me and jumped into the deep end. He didn’t know how to swim yet and Christie, who knew this, immediately leapt in after him and pulled him to safety. She scolded him appropriately, handed him over to me and no sooner had I said thank you, he (giggling) did it again. Christie, of course got him again, but this time she stayed with him in the pool and helped put the float assists he needed onto his arms while he squirmed and wiggled and told her she was pretty.

I’ve been thinking about John 21. The guys are out fishing and not having much luck, when Jesus tells them to throw their nets on the other side, which they do. Suddenly Peter realises that it’s Jesus. Then dear impulsive Peter puts his clothes ON and jumps out of the boat. I like to think that he was so excited (and so certain that Jesus was the Messiah) that he just fully expected to just run across the water to shore. I also like to think that he arrived at the beach completely drenched but so happy to see Jesus that he just didn’t care. He was ready to completely abandon himself to the Lord. Wow. So I began asking myself, what would it take for me to be that unrestrained in my faith? What would it mean for me to just believe so whole-heartedly in Jesus and have so much trust that he would come through that I would jump fully clothed off a boat? I also asked my husband the same question.

My husband answered with a different question. Knowing I had seen a miraculous healing of a small child while on a mission trip, he asked me if I thought I expected that the next time I saw an ill child, that God would heal that child as well. He then related a story of a time when he prayed fervently for a week for his cousin who is disabled to be healed. He fully expected to see her the following Sunday at church, up and walking around like everyone else. It wasn’t a selfish prayer, it wasn’t a prayer he would get a reward from. It was a genuine prayer to relieve the suffering of someone he loved. When he went to church though, she was exactly the same. And that, he shared, is when he began to distrust God.

I think this is so key in what happens with Peter. He trusts Jesus. My son trusted Christie. And yet, my husband trusted that his cousin would be healed. So then, what do we do with the times when we trust God and he doesn’t come through as we expect? When the answer to our prayers is no? When we step out in faith and it fails? How do we reconcile statements from Jesus that if we had the faith the size of a mustard seed we could move mountains with the many times we pray for people and nothing seems to happen? How do we move from that place that feels like despair and failure because of lack of faith to a place where we will leap out of boats wearing our clothes because we believe in Jesus so completely?

When I look farther back in the story of Peter and his relationship with Jesus, the precursor to him leaping off the boat, I see a very different situation. Peter swears allegiance to Jesus at the last supper, but then falls asleep when they go to pray, denies Jesus, and leaves the ministry of the disciples to go back to being a fisherman. Hadn’t he see firsthand all the miracles? Didn’t he even perform some in the name of Jesus? Didn’t he admit openly that all the promises of God were fulfilled in Jesus? And yet, there he is, after the resurrection, after all he had witnessed, back in the fishing boat, back to the mundane tasks of everyday life.

Perhaps the point of the story isn’t that Peter jumped in the water. Maybe we end with this story and the restoration Peter because the author wanted to show that even before Peter “got it” and had the faith to change the world, Jesus called him. Maybe it was to show that Jesus will restore us no matter how many times we just give up on what he calls us to do. When we get so discouraged that we just give up and go back to fishing because it is so comfortable and familiar, Jesus will still provide for us (although it might not be a meal on a beach), and will still be willing to help us out. Perhaps what we need to learn from this story is that Jesus remains the same guy, even when we do everything the wrong way and don’t trust him at all to do what he says. He will not only welcome us back, but prepare us, forgive us, and keep his promises to us.

I think I might be fishing in my faith right now. Maybe I am sleeping. I know the promises of Jesus. I know they are right and true, but I feel pretty static and unengaged. This story of Peter gives me hope. It tells me that this time in my walk doesn’t mean the end of my faith, that there is always more to come, It tells me that Jesus will provide and restore me and I will know, like Peter did when they cast the nets on the other side of the boat, that it is Him who calls me. For now, I will learn what I can, rest, and maybe catch a few fish.

A Response

I’ve been trying to think of how to write a post in response to the student movement for gun control in the USA. I am Canadian, but I have relatives and friends across the States and am indirectly impacted by the actions. I am also the mother of kids who are barely out of the teenage years. I am immensely proud of my boys and it strikes me how important it is that we give our kids a voice. The march of students, the rising up and protests from this age group inspires and encourages me. In part, I wish my generation had been more vocal about some things or perhaps it is more accurate to say that I wish my generation still was more vocal about these things. In part, I am just darn proud of the action these youth are taking.

I was looking to express some emotions about how this protest, this social justice action has even had to take place. I read a poem by Kathy Fish entitled Collective Nouns for Humans in the Wild . The impactful statement in the poem used words that I had not found. I looked for Scripture and came across 1 Timothy 4: 12 – 15. Again, it gave words that I want to just shout out. “Don’t let them out you down, guys!” And I came across a myriad of song lyrics from characters like David Bowie and Toby Mac. I felt like everything has already been said by a lot of other people, in more effective ways than this little space in which I say my piece.

I’ve been reading the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand (Matthew 14: 13-21) and as I read, I thought that this event has much more to offer than just a story of food. I actually thought of the first response Jesus had to the crowd. He had compassion on them. It’s interesting because he doesn’t teach them a lesson first, he heals them. The youth who are stepping forward are hurting people. They have seen their friends and teachers dying. They are heartbroken. When we ask the now cliché question of “What would Jesus do”, we should see that he would heal them. It’s tricky for us. How do we heal heartbreak? How to we soothe such immense grief? Is it done through prayer? Or is it done by joining them, standing beside them and having tissues to wipe away tears? Is it done through preaching? Or is it done through speaking kindly to them as individuals? Healing might just mean we are standing with them, being together with them – not as moms, dads, cousins or however you want to categorize the relationship – just being together to say that we know they are here and we want to be here with them.

Secondly, he doesn’t tell them to go home. In fact, Jesus tells his disciples that they don’t have to go. When I was young and things were rough in my life, a particular family always had a door open for me. Not having to leave their house was, for me, a show of how much they loved me. These students, as much as I value education, might just need some of us to stand up and tell them they don’t have to go. School, chores and other flotsam of daily life– those things are most definitely important, but so is letting kids have the freedom to stay where they need to be. This ties in with the healing part of how Jesus treated the crowds, but there is also an important difference. I think that Jesus could very easily have told those he healed to go back to work, to go join society as productive member again, but he doesn’t. He tells them they don’t have to go. It’s their decision to make. He has done the healing, it’s complete, but forcing them back to work right away wasn’t his priority. He didn’t heal them just to make them face the situations that might have caused the injury in the first place. The youth, as they are healing, might just need to stay.

Third, he feeds them. I’ve thought at least a thousand times that if I had a pizza business, I’d probably bankrupt myself right now trying to send food out to all these youth. I’d need Jesus to miraculously provide toppings because I would be feeding these kids until I couldn’t do it anymore or until they were all full. Having had teenagers, I know that pizza often fuels life. I also know that after emotional situations calm down, once people feel safe and welcome, they get hungry. It’s a natural consequence of healing. How do they know you are on the road to recovery after a medical procedure? It’s when you eat. I don’t own a pizza business, so I am not giving out pizza, but are there others out there who might? Could churches “be Jesus” to these youth by feeding them? What message would we send them if we provided them with enough food that they would all be satisfied? What did Jesus tell the crowd by his act of compassionate feeding? He showed in a very physical, tangible way, that he will provide enough, even when there are five thousand.

It’s easy for me to write this from the other side of the border. I’m not facing my government or my neighbours when I write these things. I can’t afford to take the trip down to stand with the youth. I’m not standing next to the NRA or another dissenting group. I can’t promise that I would actually do the things I wrote down here. It’s frustrating in many ways. So what can I do?

I already do my best to make my home a place where everyone is welcome, where you can have a different opinion and a voice, where you will always be able to show emotions – any emotions, and where you will always be able to stay a little longer if you need to. I will feed you. I will follow the example of Jesus. I encourage you to do the same.

The Tiger!

Tiger, Tiger burning bright
In the forests of the night
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
– William Blake, The Tiger

My earliest memory of hearing this poem is one of my father holding me on his lap, reading it from a poetry anthology. I easily visualise my father in his chic brown polyester pants, his orange and brown plaid button up shirt and his goatee. I can smell pipe tobacco and whiskey on him as he reads to me in his maple rocking chair. I still have the book, so my immediate picture is one of a cartoonish tiger, smiling in a patch of green grass scattered with flowers.

A few years later I came across the poem again, only this time the illustrator drew a darker picture of the tiger, teeth bared, surrounded by dark foliage and a night sky, ready to pounce on some unseen prey just off the page. The artist had emphasized the yellow eyes of the tiger with hints of flame, making the magnificent beast seem considerably more terrifying. It made more sense to me than the cartoon tiger of my childhood.

Now, as an adult, I have come across an interpretation of the poem that suggests that it is not a physical tiger that Blake was writing about. While I still have an image in my mind this interpretation has helped me to see that there are still new ways to view this old and familiar poem. You could say that my understanding of the poem is evolving or perhaps maturing.

One of the reasons that I like the way Jesus teaches if that he uses the device of parables, and layers his speech with meaning. Interestingly, Jesus is only one of a handful of influential or prominent people who does not have a book of his own writing (Socrates is another). There isn’t a so-called “Book of Jesus” and yet his message was/is so profound that there are multiple accounts of it. This speaks to me that there is a level of expectation from both the Father and Son and Spirit that we use our brains to understand truths.
Do we, for example, think there is an actual field being sown by some poor farmer in the parable of the sower in Matthew 13? Of course, there is a time to think that way. Perhaps you remember felt boards in Sunday school, the ones with a smiling blonde Jesus showing us a poor farmer with a big bag of seeds and all the assorted places where the seed fell to grow (or not grow). There really is nothing wrong with that imagery, however if that is all you take from that story and you never look beyond it in that form, I suggest you are doing yourself a bit of a disservice.

In this particular parable, Jesus does talk us through to demonstrate how to break it down. As he walks us through, he opens up the rest of the parables to be examined. Why would he do that? Again, I think that he is raising a (godly) expectation so that we will not simply blindly accept what he says makes some sort of kingdom sense.

I think that part of the gift of freewill that we are given from God is also that we are free to explore his words and his ways. God wants us to know him well, become intimately acquainted with him, so to speak. Like my growing understanding of The Tiger, I believe the more we seek and dissect and dig into the Word, the greater our understanding and appreciation will be. Will it change our view of God? I hope so! Is that dangerous or bad? The unchanging nature of God will remain constant. Just as the words of the poem never change and it is still a lovely verse to read, so too it will be when we see more and more of the Father.

Where do you need to dig deeper this week? Be encouraged to take a second look and get to know Jesus in new ways.

Think About it

A friend of mine was challenged to read an article about a recent political issue. The article was written by a woman whose political leanings are contrary to what my friend believes and they were written in a journal that my friend dislikes, so the response to the challenge was (I am paraphrasing) that it was not worth his time based on those two factors. This troubled me, not because I agree or disagree with my friend or the author of the article, but because the response of my friend seems inconsistent with how I see Jesus respond to those who disagree with him. It felt to me as though my friend was feeding a growing conception that people who are Christ followers leave their intelligence at the door and either (a) make judgements rather than corrections or (b) live in ignorance of what is really being said. As Christ followers, both my friend and I purport to be people of love and tolerance, aiming to live as Jesus did in all aspects of our lives. The staunch refusal from my friend seemed inconsistent with the message we both strive to portray in our lives.

I’m pretty sure Jesus would not have responded in the way and I think there is good reason to think that. As I have looked into Scripture, particularly Matthew 22: 23-32, I see that Jesus modeled perfectly how to respond to people who don’t think the same way as we do. He’s talking to some Sadducees and they present him with a question that seems quite complex. At this point in the story, Jesus has already told people he will rise from the dead and has talked openly about the resurrection. The Sadducees, however, simply don’t believe in resurrection, a view which is contrary to what Jesus has been teaching. Nonetheless, Jesus hears them out. I think this is the first point where I took issue with my friend. If Jesus takes time to listen to those with differing opinions, shouldn’t I listen too? Scripture doesn’t’ give us a picture of Jesus’s posture or tone of voice, so we don’t know if he was rolling his eyes or yawning or giving them the ol’ stink eye, but I am fairly sure, given the context of other conversations in which  Jesus participated, that it was not in his nature to do those things. In general, people who do that sort of response are not respected and frankly, it’s rude. If I am arguing with my husband or kids and I react in that way, it shuts down the conversation pretty quickly. They don’t feel heard and don’t even want me to respond. I think this is a pretty universal concept, even in biblical times, and am confident that Jesus modeled a different way. He listened and let them say what they needed to say.

My second observation is how Jesus responds. He knows what they are expecting him to say, that they are thinking he will give them a particular kind of response that might justify their own beliefs. Again, however, we see that Jesus responds gracefully to them. He fully knows about his own resurrection and so has an edge, so to speak, on how they are misinterpreting the Scripture. Instead of calling them names or reducing their character, he explains that what they are asking is not the real issue. He clarifies what they are reading and gives clear and precise explanation. To again look at the way I argue with my kids, there was a time where “because I said so” was a valid reason to have them cede to my position.  However, as they got older I needed to explain the why part of my request. I did that (although not always! I’m not a perfect mom!) To give credence to my request. Jesus supports his words to the Sadducees and gives valid argument that they can understand and relate to. I want to be able to be confident in my responses when people ask me questions or present me with arguments I disagree with. Faith plays a huge part in why I believe in Christ, but even more so, it is a logical choice to me. I don’t believe stupidly or blindly, but rather have done my research and had those difficult discussion and come to a conclusion. If I had never listened to the counterpoints to my faith, it would be difficult to maintain or defend it. My friend, by refusing to listen has closed a door to understanding that I just don’t see Jesus doing. In Colossians 2:8, Paul reminds us to look to Christ for our way of thinking.

Lastly I look at how Jesus is received when he responds so patiently and wisely to the Sadducees. The crowds are impressed. I personally would like to be someone that others look up to. Maybe in part it is a prideful thing, but it’s also partly because I want to emulate Jesus in all that I do. If my life is to be a reflection of him, then respect will be a by-product (though some will also dislike me for it). Being viewed as a follower of Jesus doesn’t mean that I am on a pedestal but rather means that knowing the ways of Christ has made a difference in how I live. When we shut others down either in our own refusal to listen or by having an attitude of arrogance/judgement that refuses to respond logically, we lose some of our purpose as believers. Our belief is not stupid, so there is no reason to ignore or demean the opinions of others. If we live as Jesus did, we will engage and reply in love with wisdom and grace.

In the end, my friend did read the article and responded with harsh words directed at the author. On philosophy terms, the argument made was “ad hominem”, meaning against the person. It was invalid because it did not answer the points made, it simply attacked the writer. I know that I need to be ready to respond in the way of Christ when I am faced with opinions or challenges that might be contrary to what I believe. Honestly, I’m not always good at it, so my desire is to keep reading Scripture and looking to the example of Jesus. The more I see of him, hopefully the more he will be reflected in my responses and attitudes. I want to shine the same love that he did and continues to do. This week, I encourage you to look to Jesus to see how he wants you to respond to your situations.

Lottery!

When the lottery gets to be over fifty million dollars, I have a loose agreement with my sister that we will each buy a ticket. I have to admit that I usually forget. As much as I can think of a myriad of uses for that amount of money, it just either (a) isn’t enough of a priority for me to make a trip to a store to get a ticket, or (b) I have other expenses that take priority (like buying milk or eggs or other groceries). My basic understanding of probability also puts the brakes on my desire to spend money for what basically amounts to a very expensive piece of paper. I simply don’t find it exciting or worth the anticipation to play the lottery.

I think that sometimes we ‘play’ with our faith in much the same way that I play the lottery. I don’t think it’s intentional. We simply forget to read Scripture or pursue knowledge in our faith in much the same way I forget to buy lottery tickets. It slips away because we get busy, other things take priority or we are simply lazy. Currently, for example, I have some assigned reading from the book of Exodus for a class I am taking. I have (not necessarily in this order) done my hair, gone for coffee with one of my boys, dropped by for a chat with a new friend, and a number of other petty tasks. I know that if I actually sit down and read it, I will likely gain a better understanding of the topic up for our next class, likely something that will have a life implication. I also know that the reading won’t “just happen”. I am not going to win the lottery by not buying a ticket, nor do I have any expectation of winning, but so often I develop an attitude that says I will understand how to live a Christ-like existence without ever looking into the history that leads up to his coming or, submitting to the Spirit, evaluating my life for that matter, reading his actual words.

Paul talks about the richness of being knowledgeable about Christ when he writes to the Ephesians (See Eph. 1: 17-18). He doesn’t expect them to have a sudden windfall of understanding, to win the spiritual lottery, so to speak.  He expects them to grow in wisdom and understanding.  Unlike a lottery, he expects them to access the riches of a life of faith by setting an educated and reasonable foundation and building on it. I think he’s on to something. Jesus often used reasonable and logical explanations to teach the people (see John 9:2-3 when he gives a logical response to a seemingly impossible question). It seems clear that he values faith to be more than just a whim. Paul also understood this way of thinking wisely about what you believe (see 2 Corinthians 10:5 or 1 Corinthians 15: 12-20).

There is nothing wrong with dreamily thinking about having a lot of money, but it is wrong to only dream and follow pieces of paper as the only way of achieving that dream. You have to be careful with what you spend your money on, budget and other responsible adult things like that. We need to be wise. We have a promise in the words of Paul about our reward if we are wise with our knowledge and understanding of Christ. We will have a glorious inheritance and the full riches of understanding (Ephesians 1: 18 and Colossians 2: 2-3) Faith doesn’t just happen or it wouldn’t be faith at all, just some magic stroke of luck, a piece of expensive paper.

This week, I encourage you to spend some time seeking out the richness God has in store for you in his word. And me?  Well, I am going to go read now… 

Falling Down

The other day, while walking with a friend, I slipped on a patch of black ice, slamming my knee into the pavement. Freezing rain was pelting down from the dark sky, so rather than sit a nurse the pain, we gathered my things up and went our separate ways. I proceeded to get into my car and drive home. It was not until I was securely in my house that I actually felt the severity of the pain. My knee was swollen, bloodied and red. I spent the next few hours icing the injury as my dear spouse tended to things like dinner. (Yay for a great husband!)

As I recover, I have been thinking about a bunch of things regarding my fall and what I might learn from it (I mean beside the obvious lesson of don’t walk around in the dark when there is freezing rain). My focus went to thinking about the sin and pain in my own life, the consequence of my choices. While I don’t completely blame myself for falling, it did get me thinking.

 1.      I was having fun, not really paying attention when it happened. The fall seemed to come out of nowhere!  This happens to me more often than one might think. As a social kind of person, I tend to focus on the people around me instead of the surroundings. This also means that just as I don’t always look where I walk, I am not always as careful with my words as I should/could be. I have a tendency to just blurt things out without considering them first,. Walking into a dark parking lot during a freezing rain storm, while not inherently bad, was a symptom of me just not paying attention to my surroundings. It’s not bad to go there, but not being aware had a pretty serious consequence. Remember Peter? In Mark 14: 27-31 (also John 13: 31-38), he blurts out that he will never abandon Jesus, will never let anything bad happen to him and yet only a short time later (Mark 14: 27-31 or John 18) he finds himself away from Jesus in a courtyard, where he denies knowing Jesus. I can fully imagine how he got there.  He probably just walked to where the people were, without thinking about what was actually going on. It wasn’t until he was questioned that he realized how much danger he was in. Oops! Just like my sudden fall onto the pavement, there was Peter, suddenly keenly aware of the danger he was in. It doesn’t surprise me that he reacted with denial. He did the equivalent of getting up and just walking to the car without paying attention. Peter’s reaction was one of “get me outta here!” I don’t think he intended to do it. It wasn’t a malicious plan, it just happened. Sin is like that. It isn’t always a plan, sometimes it just happens.

2.      The impact of my fall didn’t hit me until I was away from the situation, away from the wet ground, the sidewalk, and even the site where I fell. It wasn’t until I was safe that I became aware of the full effect of the pain. When Peter walks away, the writer of Mark tells us that he wept at his actions. I sure get that! When I am hit by the impact of my sins, when they become undeniable, it is heart-breaking. For me, the physical pain reminds me that we can go a long way before we see the impact of our sin. Sin breaks us. It breaks our hearts and it breaks the stride of a comfortable walk. Sometimes it is immediate, but sometimes it takes a while. I imagine Peter had to walk out of the courtyard before he burst into tears. He was having what I call a “what were you thinking” moment. We have all had them at some point. I think that sometimes it takes a lot of pain to realize it.

3.      I needed the help and comfort of others after I fell. The pain was terrible. I could barely walk, I felt dizzy and sick as the shock wore off.  To take my mind off it, I read and spent time letting my husband comfort me. Peter went fishing. In John 21: 15-23, we are told that he got together with his pals and they went fishing. Life went on. Things still got done. Some measure of normal resumed. When I am aware of my sin, maybe in some respects especially after I have done something stupid, I need some downtime to regroup. I am sorry for what I have done (as Peter showed by his tears of regret) but I also need for things to just be stable for a while. I need that cup of tea, that tender care that brings things from painful back into a perspective of time when things were okay. It was likely very therapeutic for Peter to fish, something so natural to him that it didn’t require him focussing on the lousy things in his past. It was returning to the last time when things were okay, a reset. When Peter admits three times that he loves Jesus, the relationship is restored. I think that is what we all seek when as we get back on our feet.

The great thing about falling in sin is that you are never completely down for the count. My knee is bruised, but it is getting better. I am certainly walking more carefully on the snow covered walkways and being much more aware of potentially dangerous situations. Peter was too. When Jesus comes to hang out with him again, after the resurrection, he knows the love has returned. Jesus guides him on the path he needs to be on. This is so comforting to me! I know that when I mess up, when I sin, Jesus is right there to guide me back to following him.  This week, have you fallen down? Are you realizing you messed up somewhere? Do you need to look to Jesus to get you back on track? Wherever you are, be comforted that Jesus is waiting for you and loves you immensely.