Psalm 1

Happy are those who do not follow the counsel of the wicked, nor go the way of sinners, nor sit in the company of scoffers. Rather, the law of the Lord is their joy; God’s law they study day and night. They are like a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit in season; its leaves never wither; whatever they do prospers. But not the wicked! They are like chaff driven by the wind. Therefore the wicked will not survive judgment, nor will sinners in the assembly of the just. The Lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

Many of the words in this passage have various meanings. I've rewritten the psalm with some of those words so that hopefully it will be easier to follow. Let's listen again to the words of the psalmist:

Blessed are those who do not follow the counsel of the guilty, nor go the way of the corrupt, nor sit in the company of the arrogant who have no regard for God. Rather, the instruction of God is their focus. They pore over God’s instruction day and night. They are like a tree deeply rooted by streams of water, which yield fruit in their season, it never goes dry, or barren, it is prosperous. But not the self-absorbed! They are like chaff driven by the wind. They are dispensable waste, without roots, without grounding, they have nothing to hold on to. Therefore the wicked will not survive God’s verdict, nor will sinners fit in when the followers of God gather. The Lord watches over and gains intimacy with the way of the just, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction, they are void of blessing, they lose themselves as they seek only their own interests.

When reading the psalms, and even many of the prophets, it’s important to know that often they speak in terms of judgment and when they do they are not necessarily referring to the final judgment, to judgment day, they are speaking of judgment like you would find in a trial court—where there’s a judge who looks at the facts of a case and decides a verdict of innocence or guilt. We saw something like this when we read the passage in Micah—the one that says, “What does the Lord require of you but to seek justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Do you remember that passage? First we read that God had a complaint against the people—oppressing the poor, unequal distribution of wealth, and social injustice. And then the words, “Sons and daughters of Israel, you have heard the charges brought against you, how do you plead?” Okay, maybe not exactly those words, but something to that effect. And then the judge paused, “Wait, before you make your case, let me remind you of a few things, you sit in the court of the one who saved you from slavery, the one who brought you to the promised land, the one who has provided leaders to show you the way time and time again. Now, tell me again what can you say for yourself?”

Do you remember this? The people of Israel were in a situation of judgment, one where there was a wrong committed and facts to be heard and a verdict to be delivered. That court scenario is common to the language of the Old Testament, and particularly the psalms and prophets.

So, today, when we hear the words of verse 5 that say the wicked will not survive judgment, we need to hear them in context—they will not do well on their day in court! As in any court, there are the innocent and there are the guilty. Those who are innocent will be set free, and those who are guilty will be punished. So, then, what are the charges we’re looking at? The charge is a lack of reverence for scripture and a closed heart to God’s action in our lives; in other words, self-sufficient arrogance that negates a need for God. If you deny God and believe solely in your own powers and capabilities, if you believe you don’t need any help from anyone, including God, then today, you are among the wicked—the guilty standing before the judge. If, however, you delight in God’s teachings, if you find your meaning from God, if you know you are dependent upon God for all that you are, then you will be counted among the just, among the righteous.

So, let’s do a little exercise, if you stand among the wicked then you should come stand over here to the left and if you stand among the righteous, then you should come stand on the right. (Pause) No? Okay, how about this….if you’re strong and independent raise your hand. Ok. And if you’re dependent on others put your hand on your heart. Good. Now, those of you with your hand in the air, according to today’s passage, you are the wicked. And if you have your hand on your heart, you are the righteous. Don’t blame me, I didn’t make it up. Blame the psalmist.

To be sure, it’s a challenging passage to hear because it goes against a lot of what we believe. In American culture, we’re taught self-sufficiency and individuality. You’re a better person, a greater success story if you do it yourself without the help of anyone. Think about it, as we age, or if we get sick, we become more dependent on others, and most of us loathe that part of life. We hate not being able to do things for ourselves. We hate having to ask someone else for help, to rely on someone else to go somewhere, or get something done. That’s a cultural more. That’s a cultural value, not a godly one. So on one side we have culture, proclaiming loud and clear that we should not rely on anyone because it makes us weak. And on the other side, we have scripture proclaiming that if we become self-absorbed and arrogant about our abilities, then we will number among the wicked. That’s not a very comforting thought. Are we good Americans or are we good Christians? Having to choose one over the other probably makes us a bit uncomfortable. It certainly makes me uncomfortable. I’m as bull-headed and independent as the best of them, and normally, I’m fairly proud of that, but in reading this passage, I had to take a step back and see that the cultural values are not what God seeks from us. God wants us to be dependent—primarily on God. Because if I can do all things by myself and don’t need any help from anyone, then I won’t need or want help from God either. And if I don’t need God, then I won’t seek God. And if I don’t seek God, then I will perish—maybe not literally, not yet anyway, but spiritually, my soul will dry up and wither away if I don’t stay connected to the life source.

So now that we know the definition of righteous versus the wicked, how do we change that from head knowledge to heart knowledge? How do we live the psalmist’s advice? Through verse 2. “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night.” To move from being counted among the “wicked” to living among the righteous, we must delight in God’s instruction, we must meditate on it day and night. I say instruction and not law because when we think of law we think of rules, but the law here isn’t just the ten commandments or the rules found in Leviticus, it is God’s story—the story of Israel and the ways God has been faithful, it is God’s word through the poetry of the psalms, and yes, God’s law—God’s instructions for holy living. To become righteous, to become God-centered, we have to focus on God’s story. And we find that story in the Bible.

Meditating on God’s word is really about being in right relationship with God, about God being the center of your life and purpose. If we spend time in the Word, then we’re spending time learning about God, who God was, what God’s true character is like, what God hopes and dreams—and in listening to the Word, we’re practicing listening to God.

Spending daily or even weekly time in God’s work is how we listen to God. In prayer it’s easy for us to talk, and talk, and talk. But when are we taking time to listen? We listen through scripture and meditation. Spending time listening is what keeps us planted near the waters, it’s what keeps us giving fruit. We all know that a tree planted by a constant source of water will bear fruit. It’s a natural consequence. Being in the word is like being planted by water and being near the source of life means we will bear fruit—we will be blessed. It’s a natural consequence. It’s not rocket science. It’s nature. If we starve a tree of water, it will dry up and wither away. Without its life source, it cannot bear fruit. The same is true for us—if we’re robbed of our life source, or simply choose to be planted elsewhere, we won’t be able to bear fruit—we’ll wither away—like the chaff of wheat blown away in the wind.

For the psalmist, there are two ways to live: 1) centered on God and rooted in God’s instruction—namely the Word; 2) centered on ourselves. To be centered on God is to be deeply rooted in that which provides life—which offers joy and sustains us even in difficult times. To be centered on ourselves gives only shallow roots that are easily lifted and cast into the wind. On its surface, the choice seems simple and clear. I want to be righteous, I want to bear fruit and be blessed. Let’s call it a day. The difficulty comes in challenging the culture’s blow-horn that tells me to be independent, hard-working, and reliant on no one. Our challenge is not in choosing God, but in rejecting what the culture teaches us about success

Romans 3:21-31

Paul’s letter to the Romans has some of the clearest explanations of who Christ was and what his life, death, and resurrection mean to each of us. It also addresses some of the community issues—issues that were also true for Corinth and other cities in the region. One of those issues was who was better, who was more righteous than whom. The gentiles or the Jews? The circumcised or the uncircumcised? Those who knew the law or those who simply believed? Those who had been part of God’s community forever or the new kids on the block?

From Paul’s letter it is clear that there was dissention in the church. There were arguments about who had a firmer foundation, whose way was the *right* way, and who actually was justified by God. These things took place in the first century soon after Christ’s death. Now, we 21^st century Christians, having all the benefits of modernity, technology, and 2000 years of faith ancestry—we certainly don’t have any of these disputes amongst ourselves, right?

We don’t quibble about whose music draws us closer to God, or whose clothes are more appropriate, or whose baptism is more legitimate. Not us! We aren’t concerned with worship that is unfamiliar or biblical teachings that call upon feminism, the black perspective, or social oppression to find a new reading of the Gospel. We aren’t threatened by different. We aren’t tempted to proclaim our faith as more righteous than that of those who attend the big church down the street. Right?!

This definitely was a first century problem and is not an issue we deal with today.

But, for the sake of argument, let’s pretend we too struggle with conflict in the church. Let’s assume, just for a moment, that we’ve made the mistake of claiming our way or the highway and see what God’s message for us would be.

First, we hear a reminder that righteousness comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Righteousness—in other words, godliness, holiness, uprightness, our sanctification, comes from God as a gift. We don’t earn it; we can’t buy it—the only way we have a possibility at righteousness is because of God’s goodness. And the way we receive that gift, the way we open it, is by faith in Jesus Christ. Paul reminds us that none of us is holy or righteous by our own doings, but only through God’s gift of grace through Jesus.

Now, why aren’t we righteous in our own right? I mean, I’m a pretty good person….how am I so unrighteous?

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Oh. Yeah. That. Sin. It gets us every time! But, I only sin a little—so doesn’t that mean I only fall a little but short of the glory of God?! I mean, I’m not one of those BIG sinners—so I have to be closer to God than they are, right?! Wrong. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. No class system of sin. No lesser sin or greater sin. Just the simple fact that we have turned away from God; we have disobeyed the rules; we have sinned. Period. And because we have sinned, we are all equally unrighteous. We are all broken. We are all imperfect. We are all sinners on equal footing, down at the bottom of the pit in the mire of sin. No distinction. No privilege. No hierarchy. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

And the only way we get up out of that miry pit is through grace. God’s grace pulls us up. And whether we accepted that grace through our faith 70 years ago, or 25 years ago, last year, or today—we remain equal. We are undistinguished in our sinfulness and we are undistinguished in our righteousness.

So those arguments we, of course, don’t have about whose way is better, or whose prayer is more holy, or whose worship service more God-inspired, they’re all irrelevant. There’s no room for them. We can’t boast about being better because we aren’t. We are equally sinful and we’re equally saved. No more, no less. Not the pastor. Not the elder. Not the child. Not the missionary. Not the Sunday School teacher. Not this section or that section. We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and we are all saved by God’s grace alone.

Turn to your neighbor and say: “I’m a sinner. You’re a sinner. It’s nice to meet an equal.” Now say: “God saved me. God saved you. It’s nice to meet an equal.”

Regardless of how many people are in worship, the language we speak, the missions we complete, the music we use—we all sin and we are all saved by the grace of God. So let us not be caught up in proving righteousness or disputing traditions, but let us be bonded as sisters and brothers by the same faith in the same God who offers the same grace in the same way in the same amount to each and every one of us. The same grace, offered to the same sinners, so that we might be justified in the same way, through the same faith, in the same man—Jesus Christ. All on equal footing, equally saved, equally righteous, equally loved.

May God be glorified by the reading and hearing of the Holy Word. Amen.

Micah 6:1-16

Micah was a prophet. He didn’t have ESP. He didn’t predict the future. He was a messenger of God sent to correct the Israelites and call them back to a life of obedience to God’s law. Traditionally, prophets would talk about where the Israelites had been unfaithful, what the punishments had been, what the mandates are, and what the consequences will be if they don’t comply with God’s law.

When looking at the words of a prophet, it is particularly important to know about the context they were in. Micah wrote in the 8^th century BC. In that time the Israelites lived in what we would call Israel, but for them it was divided into two kingdoms—Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Assyria was the major power of the day and in 722 BC the Assyrians conquered Israel, and then in 701, they attacked Judah.

So, Micah lived and prophesied during a very tense time, when attack and conquest by the Assyrians was a very real threat and later a reality. And in ancient times, at least for the Israelites, attack, colonization, empire expansion, and conquest of a kingdom would have been seen as a punishment from God. As God’s chosen people, it was understood that they would be protected as long as they were in God’s favor and the way to stay in God’s favor was through adherence to the law. So, the opposite was also true, if you broke the law, you fell out of God’s favor, and if you fell out of God’s favor, you’d no longer be protected.

With that in mind, let’s look at the text for today. In the first part of the book, Micah basically files God’s complaint against the people—including oppression of the poor, unequal distribution of wealth, and social injustice. Micah was one of the do-gooder, follow God’s law, and make everyone equal kind of people and in his book there is a lot of emphasis on social justice. And in the first few verses he basically says, “Go ahead, plead your case, but first, let me remind you of all the ways God has been good to you. God brought you out of Egypt and freed you from slavery. God gave you leaders. God stopped others from cursing you, and then God helped you cross the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land.” In essence, time and time again, God was faithful to the Israelites, and yet they had been unfaithful to God and God’s law.

Israel acknowledged their guilt and wanted to give something to God to make it right. They wanted to appease God, calm God’s anger, and smooth things over. They say, “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Burnt offerings? Calves? Rams? Rivers of oil? My first born?”

And then Micah responds on God’s behalf: “What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” In other words, God isn’t looking for heartless offerings as a one-time fix to years of disobedience and injustice. God wants actions that make a difference—justice, kindness, and mercy. And those actions should be an everyday occurrence not a once in awhile quick fix when they get called out for their sins.

If we keep reading verses 9-16, we see there were further problems with Israel’s actions—lying, violence, cheating, and religious wrongs. And for all that sinfulness, there were punishments. Verses 13-16 talk about an internal and lasting hunger, work of stomping grapes without reward of wine, stomping olives with no reward of oil and hence no blessing. The Israelites were going to pay for their wrongdoing.

So now, what do we do with this passage? How does it apply to us? Do we say, “Man, those Israelites sure messed up, good thing we’re not like that! Whew! Glad we haven’t messed up like they did.”

Is that how this works? …I don’t think so. Two weeks ago I preached about Bible study and how Bible study is helpful b/c when we learn the stories of God’s people, we learn our stories. More often than not we can find ourselves reflected in the ancient texts. And in today’s case, it begs the question: Where have we been unfaithful? When have we neglected God’s law? Who did we cheat? What lies did we tell? Who is poor because of our riches and abundance? Who among the poor have we neglected?

And when we realize all the ways we have sinned, are we like the Israelites, ready to offer one big apology, one big show to set things right? One long service? One extra offering? A couple extra prayers to prove we can be faithful? Too often, our time of confession is big and extravagant and we seem so apologetic and repentant but then tomorrow comes and we go right back to our old ways. And when we do that, we become like the Israelites.

If we’re like the Israelites, then what is God’s answer to us? “I don’t want some show, some extravagant gesture—I want your lives to change—day in and day out—I want you to truly live justice, not just appreciate it when you have it, but fight for it when others don’t. I want you to love kindness—to live with compassion and empathy, not just to look for it and laud it, but to live it, to love it, and to cherish it. And I want you to walk humbly with me. I want you to walk with me, to take the path I take, to travel the road I do—it may not be an easy road, but it is one we will be on together. And I want you to walk it with humility—not as the head hauncho, but trusting me to be in charge—letting go of control and following my will.

I want you to live your repentance. I want to see your changed heart in what you do each and every day—not just on Sunday mornings when you’re *supposed* to remember and honor me, but every day as you honor not just me, but my people through a life of worship. Live your worship through actions of justice, kindness, and mercy that prove your faithfulness and make the world a better place.

Now, many of us would be happy for the passage to end there. A bit of a reproach, a reminder of what we are to do, and focused on justice, kindness and mercy. But Micah’s words don’t stop there, and so neither can we. In addition to injustice and sinfulness among the community in the ways our actions affect others on the large scale, there are also other sins. Personal sins. Lying. Cheating. Violence. Religious idolatry. And our misdoings are not without consequence.

I’m not sure where we get the idea that with forgiveness through Christ there won’t be consequences for our sinfulness, but I think that wherever we got it, it does us a disservice. Even with mercy, even with grace, our actions have consequences. When we lie, when we cheat, when we neglect God and God’s law, there are consequences. While a murderer in prison may experience God and accept Christ and receive forgiveness for what he has done, he will still have to endure the consequences of his actions. The forgiveness offered won’t free him from paying the price for his wrong action. And if that’s true for *big* sins, why would it be any different for our *minor* sins? For instance, if I lie to all of you and then later confess and repent, you all may forgive me and God will forgive me, but even with your forgiveness, I will still have to earn trust, to prove that my turn to honesty is real and lasting, not some momentary thing. Right? God definitely grants us forgiveness, but that forgiveness doesn’t mean a free pass from all consequences.

The way we prove our repentance, the way our worship and offerings become more than a show, is through our everyday actions. It’s by living the ordinance here in Micah: to seek justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God. Being just, kind, and merciful is what proves we are in right accord with the law, with God’s will for our lives. When we sin we move away from justice, kindness and mercy and likewise when we reject justice, compassion, and grace, we become more sinful. To be obedient is to live as Micah urges. Justice, kindness, and mercy are attractive things. I think most of us would say they are important and we want them in our lives. But they are also difficult to achieve and live out both individually and collectively. They take work, they require sacrifice and commitment. In minor ways they can be achieved each and every day, but for them to pervade and persist every corner of our lives and the lives of all God’s people, will take lots of work, probably some heartbreak, and a collective effort from each of us. May we always be mindful of that which is required: to seek justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God. Amen.

Relationship Building 301--1 Corinthians 13

I’m fairly certain the love chapter is one of the most read and most well-known scriptures in the Bible. My guess is that most of us could recite it, or at least most of it, from memory. Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious or boastful. It holds no records of wrongs. It is not arrogant or rude. Love hopes all things, believes all things, and endures all things.

Love is a good thing. It’s straightforward and simple and it gives us warm fuzzies. We talk about love and most of us around on board. Yeah. I want to be loved. I want to love people. I got this thing nailed. Often, I think we take love for granted. We’ve heard this passage so many times and countless sermons about love that we don’t believe there’s anything else to hear. Some of us may have already tuned out because we think we already fully understand this chapter so we can go back to our golf lesson, or to-do list, or figuring out who’s here and who’s missing and who’s just sitting in a different spot.

But the reality is that the love described in this chapter is not so easy. Sure it sounds simple. Patience , kindness, humility…blah blah blah. Those are the words we always hear when we talk about love, that’s nothing new. And it’s not new. Not at all. Love began in the beginning of time. When God set things in motion, God loved us. Throughout our ups and downs, trials and tribulations, God has loved us. In our most joyous celebrations and our darkest mourning, God has loved us.

It’s simple really. Too simple, actually. We’ve heard it so often that I think we’ve probably become immune to it. We’ve over-simplified it really. Because when you get down to it, this love that is described is incredibly challenging. Simple, yes. Easy, NO! Think about it—how completely have you loved lately? I’ll be honest, when I inventoried myself I didn’t do so well. Patience, check. Well, sort of. I was short with Beth on the phone. I yelled at the dogs. I couldn’t wait for Maggie to stop talking so I could get back to what I was doing. Patience, um, half check?! I definitely wasn’t patient with myself when I didn’t get all my errands run, or all the boxes unpacked. Patience…umm…quarter check.

Ok, let’s try kindness. The Greek word translates as benevolence or to show one’s self useful or to be kind. Well, I was fairly helpful this week. I think….I helped at VBS, I helped serve, I filled water balloons, yeah, I showed myself as useful. But did I do that completely and fully for everybody? There was that homeless man across the street, and I didn’t do much for him. And I’m not sure I directly neglected others, but was I as kind as I could have been? Kindness….half check.

Ok. On to envy. I think I should be pretty good on this one. I’m not really the jealous type. But I did covet that couch I saw, and the way her kitchen was designed. I did envy that woman whose dog didn’t pull on the leash. Hmm. Guess that’s another half check.

All this time I thought I was pretty good at love. I mean, I love a lot of people and feel loved by them. It seemed so simple. But to truly love. To love wholly and completely, that’s hard work. Really hard work. And who would have thought you had to work at love? There are tons of commands to love people in the Bible—love your neighbor, love God, love yourself, love those who do you harm, love your enemies, love the weak, love the poor, love the hateful, love the murderer, love the unkind. I figured if I’m supposed to love so many people that it had to be feasible. Don’t you think?

I mean, love as it’s portrayed here seems nearly impossible. Sure, I can be patient and kind, humble and giving, sometimes…or maybe even most of the time. But all the time? Unconditionally? Let’s be honest—there are some people who just aren’t loveable. They’re obnoxious. They’re abusive. They’re hateful. They’re vengeful and they’re not my top pick for someone to love. But then there’s the kicker in the love chapter—“Love holds no records of wrongdoing”. What?!!? How is that even possible? Come on. That can’t possibly mean NOoooo wrongdoing, can it? None? Zip? Zero? Zilch? But what about the time….? Nope. And what about when….? Nope. Love holds no records of wrongs. Man, if I thought I fell short on the patience and kindness side of things, I don’t even want to explore my long list of wrongs others have committed. I still remember when Matt Lamimon knocked my feet out from under me in first grade! No record of wrongs. Gimme a break!

But that’s what the scripture says. Love holds no records of wrongs. Love is hard. This is a big task God has placed in front of us. And if we’re not careful it becomes overwhelming, paralyzing even. We edge into thoughts like, “Well, if that’s what love is, there’s no way I can do that, so I might as well not even try.” If that’s where you’re at, I totally understand you. But the love chapter isn’t meant to challenge us into apathy. It’s not supposed to make us quit trying. It’s supposed to help us know that we can always keep growing in love, that we can always love more deeply and more fully. And it’s also there to help us know how profoundly God loves us.

Understanding the depth and breadth of God’s love is difficult. It stretches our imagination. I mean, if I can’t love perfectly and don’t know anyone who can, how could I possibly imagine what God’s perfect love is like? I can get mostly there, but I’m not sure I can stay there very long before my doubts take over.

Nevertheless, I think the best lesson in what true love is came from Eva and Charles Brown. Eva had Alzheimer’s and by the time I met her, she was already in the late stages. She could no longer communicate. She could no longer sit or stand on her own. She had to be hand-fed. She was completely dependent on the care of others. Her husband Charles was by her side faithfully each day. Her battle with Alzheimer’s lasted over 15 years and even at the end, when she was in a care facility, Charles would come to feed her, hold her hand, and be with her. Charles in and of himself was an incredible example of love. He displayed so many characteristics of love that are in this Corinthians passage. But I want us to focus on Eva, not on Charles. Some of you may wonder why we would focus on Eva, after all, she couldn’t speak or walk, or even feed herself, how was she capable of love? It may be challenging to understand, after all, we associate so much of love with doing—the care giving, the hugs, the words of affirmation, the small acts of kindness, the gifts—that’s love. Right?! Wrong. Those are signs of love, ways that we show love. But love at its core is what is described in 1 Corinthians—it is patient, it is kind, it is not envious or boastful, it is not proud or rude, but it endures, it hopes, it believes. And when you were in Eva’s presence, really with her in the moment—you couldn’t help but love.

You see, with Eva, there was no past. She could no longer remember it. She, unlike me, had no record of wrongs—neither her own shortcomings nor those of others. With Eva there was also no future. Firstly, her future wasn’t promised. None of ours is really, but looking at her and knowing her illness, it was obvious that the future was not what was key. With Eva there was only the present—only that moment, right then and there that you were with her and she was with you.

With Eva there was no room for impatience. Sure it could be frustrating not being able to have a conversation, having to feed her and wipe her lips, to do everything she needed to be healthy. But if you could let those expectations go. If you could recognize that she couldn’t, nor ever would be able to do those things again, you could just be in the moment with her. It didn’t require patience, it just required acceptance. Often, impatience stems from unmet expectations. We want a project finished by a certain day and time. We expect certain behavior. We strive for certain accomplishments. And when those things don’t happen, we get impatient. But if we didn’t put all our hope and energy into some future thing, then we could just be present in the moment and there wouldn’t be anything to be impatient about.

Eva taught me a lot about love. She particularly taught me about God’s love. For God’s love does not depend on our accomplishments, our GPA, our salary level, our rank, or our status. God’s love just is. God’s love is present in the moment; it holds no record of wrongs. It is patient, it is kind. It is not envious or boastful. God’s love hopes all things, believes all things, and endures all things. Similarly, Eva did not care what I wore, what degrees I had, whether I was overweight or underweight. She did not care if I spoke improperly or with an accent. She was simply present with me, exemplifying all the elements of love when I was with her.

Last week we looked at James and how our actions are a reflection, a manifestation, a fruit of our faith. We saw how we need to spend time investing in others to grow in our relationship with God and with others. We saw how giving of ourselves makes us a better person. And yet, we must always hold that in tension with this lesson about love. Love comes first, independent of who we are, where we’ve been, what we’ve done. And our future actions are a result of that love. We do not earn love. We do not achieve love. We just love. We stay present in the moment, clearing away expectations, and allowing for things to happen as they will.

We’re back to love sounding easy right. Yet, somehow I continue to stumble through this scripture, through this lesson. I stumble because as clearly as I saw and understood love through and with Eva, I have a 101 doubts about doing that ceaselessly. I have things to do. I have places to go. I have unjust situations to fight against. No expectations?! Yeah right. I expect people to act right. I expect people to strive to be better. I expect dedication. I expect commitment. And really, could I really spend my life living without a past and without a future—I mean, not caught up in those thoughts? I have to learn from my past. I have to see my errors and my successes and use those to better my future. I have to plan for my future, for retirement, heck, I have to plan my next sermon, the next staff meeting, the next step for our district in congregational growth and development. How could I lay all those things down?!

Maybe I’m going to be stuck with imperfect love forever. Or maybe I can find ways to let those Eva moments pervade in my life. Maybe I can’t live those Christ-like Eva moments every hour of every day, but I can seek to make them more regular in my life. When I spend time with someone, I can be present with them, ignoring the past and the future and simply focusing on the present. I can remember that my impatience stems from unmet expectations and can change my level of expectations. I can cherish each moment for what it is, nothing more, nothing less. And maybe, just maybe, I can edge closer to God’s perfected love.

Relationship Building 201

This whole month, we are going to be talking about relationships. Last week we started with Ephesians, talking about husbands and wives, as well as our relationship with Christ. Hopefully, for both instances, you saw how relationships should be about mutuality, reciprocity, love, and respect not dominance, subjugation, and inequality. Even the God of all the universe desires to be in a mutual relationship with us.

Today, we are looking at James chapter 2—faith without works is dead. James 2 is one of my favorite passages in scripture. I feel very strongly about doing something with my faith, about sharing God’s love, about living Christ’s example of humble service from the last supper. My conviction is so strong that sometimes it edges into works righteousness—the belief that we earn redemption if we just do enough good. To be quite honest., I’ve had to work hard to accept God’s grace as it comes despite my flaws, and in spite of my lack of action. God loves me, accepts me, and redeems me regardless of who I am or what I’ve done. And, of course, the same is true for you. You do not have to earn God’s love. In fat, you CANNOT earn God’s love—it is a gift of grace—something that can never be earned. It can only be given and received.

Now, despite my love of this passage, or maybe because of it, I heard the passage differently this week. This time as I looked at it again and thought about relationships, I heard not just the encouragement to act on our faith, but I also heard how action leads to deepening our faith—how it strengthens our relationships with Christ and with others. I heard the need to be intentional in our faith walk and relationship building with God.

I regularly look at things in the everyday and see a theological theme and my experience with the show the Bachelorette was no different. This year, I got hooked on the show. Now, in years past I have not had a tinge of interest in either the Bachelor series or the Bachelorette. I’ve avoided the competitive, selfish, forced, and superficial nature of these relationships of this so-called “Reality” tv show. But, somehow, this year was different. This year I watched faithfully as this 26 year old southern belle from Atlanta dated and discerned her way to a life partner. I can’t tell you why exactly I watched DeAnna and her group of bachelors week after week—maybe it was my similarities with her—age, hair color, having lived in Atlanta, hoping to find a bachelor who meets my expectations, or maybe it was the stellar men who lined up at her door—either way, I watched.

I loved the show and would discuss it with friends as they joked that I should be nominated next. And yet, despite my interest, I also had to critique it. The romantic and once-in-a-lifetime dates were incredible, enviable even, but I was always hoping for something more. I wanted a greater test of character, something that added even more depth to their relationships. I began imagining my own dates—a visit to a local homeless shelter to wash feet and feed the hungry, after-school tutoring for elementary kids, building a house for Habitat for Humanity or with UMCOR along the Gulf Coast in Mississippi. I yearned for dates that shape people, that challenge them, and that draw them into being a better person and a better partner.

Having dinner together is great, but I think we learn and grow so much more when we live beyond ourselves, when we invest in others, and when we live the love that God has given.

For me, the need for greater depth of activity and relationships on the Bachelorette parallels our need for greater depth in our actions and in our relationships in our faith walk. I’d parallel going out to dinner on a date with going to church on Sunday. I know, they’re fairly incongruent, but hear me out. Generally, if you’re going to go on a date, going to dinner is a basic, often a given, and an element of relationships that is fundamental and expected. Similarly, if you are a believer—you go o church. It’s the easiest way to identify a disciple—they go to church regularly. Church attendance is basic, fundamental, and generally expected for the Christian faith journey.

Now, let me be clear, I am not criticizing either of these activities. I’ve gone to dinner on my fair share of dates and I obviously believe in going to church! But I also believe in doing more for our relationships. Going to church is a first step. It is fundamental and key to our faith for the way it forms bonds between us and others, how it draws us into worship regularly, how it challenges us to hear and practice God’s word and how it reminds us to be open to receiving God’s blessings. And as great as the blessings are when we gather for worship, there are even greater blessings when we invest in reading together, loving others, giving of ourselves, investing in the lives and well-being of those in need, in sharing of ourselves and our faith story, in praying with one another, in challenging our beliefs, in ridding ourselves of bad habits.

Yes, we can have a good relationship just by going to church, but we have better chances of a great relationship, of really growing in God and with others when we do Christ’s works—when we live our faith.

Let me give you another example, say you grew up, like I did, eating meat and potatoes, chicken, meatloaf, salad, grilled cheese and pancakes, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. You had a good wholesome diet that provided you the nutrients you needed. You had a good menu of foods to eat. But what if your menu could be great?! What if you could sample from the amazing schmorgasborg of food available around the world? Would you enjoy the spice of salsa? Tender lamb with yogurt dill sauce? Mango chutney? The spice of kimchi? The palate cleansing zip of wasabi on your sushi? Not only would you find new flavors, but you would also receive new nutrients and more vitamins and minerals that fuel your body. It’s not that your original diet was wrong, just that there is so much more you could add to it.

In a similar way, your relationship with Christ and with others may be balanced with study, prayer, worship, and mission—a good faith diet. But there is also a schmorgasborg of flavors to try in our faith walk as well—there are hospital visits, covenant groups, meditation time, prayer development, Bible studies to last a life time, and thousands, if not millions, of ways to reach out and serve others.

As we read this passage in James, it’s not just that our works show our faith—that they are a fruit that proves we in fact have faith, but they are the means through which we grow in faith and grow in our relationship with God and with others. Our faith requires action. We need to be involved in active ministry—doing for others in order to receive all the nutrients our soul needs. So as you go forth this day and into the week, I want you to think about how you are nourishing your faith walk and your relationship with Christ. What activities of depth are you doing to foster your relationship? Are you serving others? Spending daily time in prayer? Regular time studying the word? Are you seeking greater depth and not sure where to turn? How are you being challenged in your faith so that you might grow stronger and more faithful?

You have homework this week! And if you want a conversation partner, please just give me a call or make an appointment to see me and we’ll sit and talk about your faith journey and how you might further develop your relationship with God and with others.