From Christoph Blumhardt's Letters to His Son-In-Law, Missionary in China
The following is taken from "The Hidden Christ," a collection of letters sent in the early 20th century from Christoph Blumhardt, a German pastor, to his son-in-law, who was a missionary in China. These letters are a remarkable witness to the true gospel of God, which is free from the dictates of Church and State.

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Excerpt from Letter Written by Christoph Blumhardt to his son-in-law, Richard Wilhelm, who was commissioned a missionary to China in 1899 by the General-Evangelical Protestant Missionary Society of Germany:

"God's love tears down old divisions. No longer religion against religion, Christians against non-Christians, but justice against sin, life against death. His love embraces everyone. Therefore, every person you encounter should be your concern. Do not settle for less. The whole world must see the glory of God. I long to see you free to share in the gifts God gives the Chinese. This is our hope, but its fulfillment will have to be fought for.

"God protects the oppressed. He will see to it that they receive his blessing. Today his spirit moves the upright hearts everywhere, without asking what kind of religion they cling to. Our task is to spread the gospel of Christ, not the gospel of Christians. Christ does not want separation. This is difficult for us to keep in mind. It is not easy to interact with sinners without yielding to the pressure of either compromising or distancing oneself. I hope, however, that we - you in China and I in Europe - will experience the all-embracing, creative power of Christ.

"This is why I choose to stand on the side of the humble, the working class. Tragically, the church has abandoned them to darkness. Yet this same church lives with this darkness, and in so doing absorbs the very same sinful principles that rule the world. Christians should serve, not rule. Their acts of violence make them worse than the so-called heathen.

"The chief thing is to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, not an apostle of the European Christian world. Have patience, and whatever you do, stay clear of forming a party. Your work must embrace the whole, then your integrity will win you everyone's trust.


-reprinted from www.bruderhof.com. Copyright 2002 by the Bruderhof Foundation, Inc. Used with permission

"Living While Waiting"

Acts 1:1-5; Matthew 6:25-34: “Living While Waiting”

Jesus had told his disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. This was the reason he had lived and died; was to open the way of this great coming of God’s Spirit to earth. Jesus had lived and died and had been raised in newness of life, by the power of this coming Spirit of God. This Spirit through which all things were made; this Spirit that had shaken the earth and raised Jesus from the dead; this Spirit of God which was remaking all things in the good will of God.

Jesus told them to go to Jerusalem and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. He had told his disciples that when the Spirit comes, it will bring to remembrance my words, it will lead you into all truth; it will give you words to speak; it will bring the comforting and inspiring and liberating presence of God among you. So, go wait and pray together for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

When this Spirit comes, you will know that I am with you, and that where I am so is my Father in heaven.

And, so these followers of Jesus who had suffered through his death and then been shaken to new life by his resurrection, went to Jerusalem and prayed together, waiting for the coming of the Spirit of God.

Between the day of promise and the day of fulfillment, there is waiting in faith. And, in so many ways, faith has to do with a certain kind of waiting. Learning to wait in hope; learning to wait but being free to do God’s will even while waiting – that is at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus’ way.

I have always been impressed with people who can wait in serious situations but still manage to keep up their responsibilities and manage to really keep their heads and hearts open and involved in whatever they are doing.

The kinds of situations I am talking about are: when you are waiting to hear about the biopsy that has been sent to the lab to determine if you have cancer; when you are waiting to hear about how a dear friend or family member has made it through open heart surgery; when you are waiting to hear whether you still have a job; when you are waiting late at night to see if your teenage son or daughter will make it home. And, there are the longer, less intense periods of waiting in life – like the waiting to see if our children are going to grow up and become self-sufficient and responsible for helping other people in this world. Or, waiting to see if our efforts to reestablish understanding in our marriages and family relationships will ever bear fruit. Or, waiting to see if the work we have put in in our church will bear fruit in a stronger and healthier and more vibrant community of faith that will bring light and hope to the lives of many people.

Yes, we live out our lives between the promise and the fulfillment, in a time of waiting. If we don’t learn to wait in a good and healthy way, then our lives are always going to be less than they could be.

But, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Some of us are good at waiting patiently as we continue to work at jobs that are frustrating, hoping for something better to come. Some of us are good at waiting patiently and hopefully when our family members are struggling to make it out of a dark place. Some of us are good at waiting and enduring our sickness in hope as we continue living our lives in faith. But, then some of us have problems waiting in these difficult situations, and in our waiting, we get worn out inside. Some of us have problems waiting when nothing good seems to be coming our way, when the same problems seem to come again and again and again without any relief in sight.

And, it is this need to learn how to wait with an active faith that is so important.

And, I have some real weaknesses in this area, but have also learned some things through God’s grace.

I have learned this: you can always take some hopeful action in every situation. And, when you take a hopeful action, it strengthens your heart and makes room for faith in a situation.

For example: you have had a fight with your brother or sister. You usually stop by their house each week after work on Friday. This week, instead of just stopping by, you bring them a peace offering – a little something to eat or something else they like.

For example, you are having a bad time of it with your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife, and instead of getting up and starting another day over badly, you get up, clean up the kitchen and make some tea or coffee or breakfast. When you decide to live well, it brings life to those around you.

Just the fact that you do not let a difficult situation control you brings freedom. Sometimes it is a matter of being stubbornly focused on having a better life. If the people you are living out your life are continuing to mess their lives up, you can take small or large actions to clean your life up and make it better. You can live in hope amidst situations that seem hopeless. It has its effect.

One thing a person bent on destruction can’t endure for too long is to be around a person whose life is constructive and on an upward path. The person who is destroying themselves but has no partner in this destructive process will either leave or desperately try to sabatoge the other’s hopeful efforts.

In all situations of waiting, no matter how difficult there are hopeful actions, often very small acts, that carry the seeds of change and redemption within them.
How many times in our lives has forgiveness come, not through the words “you are forgiven,” but by some small action to let us know we still belonged? Being invited back to the dinner table when we had brought shame to the family name . . . being invited back into a friendship when we had turned our back on a friend . . . being given another chance at work when we had completely blown the chance we had . . . being welcomed with a hug or handshake when we were expecting an attack or rejection.
Or, being the recipient of the faithful, patient, day after day hard work and kindness of a mother or father who took responsibility for us and for providing us with a future they were never able to have.

Yes, we are here today because of the hopeful actions taken by others during the long waiting periods of life. We live out our lives between the promise and the fulfillment. There is the promise of who we can become, and the active waiting in which we work out that promise towards fulfillment. There is the promise of who others can become, and the active waiting in which we support them in working out that promise towards fulfillment.

And, here you are and here I am this morning. Waiting to see if this or that will work out. Waiting to see if we can work out this or that problem; survive this or that crisis. Waiting to see if those we love so much will make it through a difficult period in life. And, while we wait, there are things to do. Responsibilities to other and self; and also good things to enjoy right here and now as well by your self and with others. As you wait, remember to live well and to the glory of God. It really helps with the waiting. Sometimes we can get so caught up in living well in the present that we don’t have too much time to worry about the future.

You can take a positive-thinking strategy towards the future, focusing on the good propects and ignoring the bad. And, that is good. But, I think the real key is to focus on this day , the present– this is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! I think the real key is to not overlook what’s right in front of your face: your friend, your wife, your son, your neighbor, your garden, your meal. It is shame to always be waiting on something to come and missing what is right there in front of you.

I think that was what Jesus was getting at when he told his disciples not to worry about what they would wear, eat, where they would sleep. He said: “don’t worry about tomorrow; today has enough troubles of its own.” Which I think is another way of saying: “see what you can get done for others and yourself today, giving God thanks for just having this day. When you have done what you can, take your rest, get your sleep and give God thanks and glory for the gift of another day.” Amen.

Doing to others as you would have them do to you

Matthew 22:34-40; Matthew 7:12

The Jewish people had received the holy law from God, and their prophets and then scribes and rabbis had interpreted it for them. And, those who wanted to do God’s will learned the law and tried their best to understand it and apply it to all of life. But, as it goes in life, it is not always easy to figure out how a law should apply in a particular situation. And, sometimes certain laws seemed to conflict with other laws.

And, so the Jewish scribes and experts in the holy laws debated with each other often about how to apply the law to all the varying situations human beings encounter in life. Sometimes the people tired of hearing these debates, but when the Jewish people heard Jesus teach, things became clear. As they said: “he teaches as one with authority, not as our scribes and lawyers.”

Jesus simplified and clarified the meaning of the law for the people. He knew the spirit of the law and so when he interpreted the law of God, he illuminated and clarified and set free by the spiritual understanding that he had.

In many ways, Jesus unified the true experience of God with the true understanding of scripture. And, Jesus’ understanding of God included an understanding of human beings as well. As he looked at the way the Jews were observing the Sabbath day, and how their ideas about the Sabbath were so rigid that they had lost the point of it, he said: “The Sabbath was created to serve human beings; human beings were not created to serve the Sabbath.” He had cured a man on the Sabbath, and they criticized him for being at work and not at rest. His disciples who were very hungry picked some heads of grain from the field and ate them, and they criticized them for gathering on the Sabbath and not resting. Jesus gave an example from David’s time in which they had eaten the holy bread on the Sabbath because they were hungry.

There were so many areas of life and religious practice that Jesus brought light to. And, then he sets forth the heart of the law right here in our passages today.
You shall love the Lord your God . . .
You shall love your neighbor as yourself . . .
And, he says: “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.”

This is Jesus’ way of making very clear what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
This is a very short summary of the meaning of the law and the prophets, but it is a statement that goes very deep. Love of neighbor requires us to try and put ourselves in our neighbor’s shoes… to imagine yourself in his or her position and think of how you would want to be treated if you were in that situation.
This really requires some imagination. This requires moral imagination or compassion. It is largely our capacity to imagine our neighbor’s situation that determines whether we can love them. And, this kind of imagination comes from a certain humility towards ourselves and compassion or concern for others. Where do these spiritual characteristics come from? How do they begin in a human being? I guess we learn humility and compassion from our relationship to God and our relationships with other people. I don’t know where else we would learn these deep lessons.

In 1st John, it says: “We love because God first loved us.” We are able to love when we have a sense of humility about us, and when we have a sense of concern for others. Jesus showed us true human humility and true human love in the way that he lived and in the way that he died. And, Jesus showed us the love of God for us. This love of God for us brings us to humility. This love of God for our fellow human beings inspires love within us for others. “We love, because God first loved us.”

Jesus shows that it is the will of God not to simply keep us from hurting each other, but to get us to commit ourselves to lives of helping each other and encouraging each other. Surely, this is how we would like to be treated by others – to have them committed to helping us along our way in life.
But, if we are to do God’s will and do unto others as we would have them do unto us, how are we to figure out in this and that situation what to do?
If I am to imagine myself in the other person’s situation and imagine how I would like to be treated in that situation, how am I to really do that? I can’t get inside another person’s mind. I can’t know all that that person has been through. How can I really understand their perspective?

It really takes an open heart to carry out this kind of imaginative act. It really takes moral imagination, which is really compassion at work. Humility and compassion are at the root of being able to sympathize with others and see things to some extent from their perspective.

Now, it can be presumptious to think I understand someone else’s situation too well, but if I don’t make the effort to imagine that situation, then I will never come close to understanding another. If I never get close to understanding another person, then I will never get close to loving them. With conversation we can correct misperceptions and increase understanding. With calm, honest conversation: speaking and listening, back and forth.

Where there is a mutual desire to really understand between people and a willingness to share perceptions and correct perceptions – where that is, I am convinced a real understanding comes, and real love between neighbors occurs. Not perfect love of neighbor, but real love – all God ever asked of us.

Last week, a client of the Public Defender’s Office walked in the office door. I asked her if I could help her, and she immediately started ranting and raving about how one of the attorneys in our office was not doing a good job representing her. In fact, the woman said: “she is conspiring with the DA to get me charged with a felony.” I had finished all my court work for the day, so I took some time and began asking her questions about what she had seen and heard in court earlier that day. As she told her story, I started to see where the upset was coming from. But, I also understood that her attorney was doing a good job, but it was hard to understand that from how things looked today in court. I took some more time to be sure I understood what she had seen and heard and how she understood these events. Then, I went through and told her how I understood them and why. I explained to her that actually what her attorney had done was proper, and the DA had gotten mad about it because she didn’t understand the ethical rules for lawyers. Then, she started to see that her attorney was fighting for her. She began to understand some other things too as we talked. I could see that. But, if I hadn’t taken the time to hear her whole story, I wouldn’t have been able to explain to her what was going on. And, if I hadn’t understood how things looked from her perspective, she wouldn’t have listened to me. But, it takes time and patience and a lack of defensiveness to pull this off, and I don’t always have those virtues at my beck and call! This situation was probably easier to address, because I was not personally involved in it. But, we need to find a way to do this even when, and especially when we are personally involved in a situation.

Now, I could tell you ten stories from the past two weeks in which I haven’t exercised this type of patience and effort to see things from the other’s perspective. But, I thought I’d tell you a story where there was some success instead of dwelling on failures. We’ve all had enough of those.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That takes some real humility and some real compassion and some real moral imagination – imagination of the heart that has room for others in the deepest places of the heart.

At church, at home, at work, with our next door neighbor . . . We just need to take more time with each other to establish clarity with each other about how we see things and why. And, each person needs to practice that creative act of moral imagination in which we are trying to understand what it is like to be in the other’s shoes. Where there is patience and this act of moral imagination, understanding comes, and where there is understanding, there is love. I don’t think there is any real love where there is not some real understanding – I didn’t say perfect understanding, just real understanding, that’s all God ever asked of us. Amen.

The Road to Emmaus

Luke 24:13ff “Walking on the Road to Emmaus”
Two followers of Jesus on the very day of his resurrection are walking from Jerusalem to a town outside of Jerusalem called Emmaus. They are having a serious conversation as they walk. Walking is a good time to have a conversation. Something about being outside and walking seems to get the mind going and the conversation carries you a long way before you have even realized how far you have gone. You may slow down or speed up keeping time with the conversation, and forgetting the movement of your legs, the swinging of your arms. Walking and talking. That’s what these two disciples of Jesus were doing later that day, on the afternoon of the first Easter. They had a lot on their hearts and minds. They needed to walk and talk. Only the two disciples didn’t know it was the first Easter.

They were intently discussing what had happened in Jesus’ arrest, mockery of a trial, and execution. And, not only that. They were talking about the circumstances of the burial, and now the report of their women friends that the tomb was empty. And, the report of other disciples who had checked the tomb and also found it empty.

This was a very important discussion for these two men who had put their hope in Jesus of Nazareth. And, suddenly, while they are engrossed in their private conversation, a man overtakes them walking on the road. What should happen is that the man should pass them by, walking at a faster pace, the way someone passes us on a walk, either because they are jogging by or walking a faster pace. And, we may or may not acknowledge or say hello, but that is as far as it goes.

But, what if the person overtaking you on a walking path, instead of saying hello and going on his or her way, what if they said: “What are the two of you talking about? You both look terribly caught up with the subject? What are you speaking about?”

Now, first of all, people may have been more willing to speak to strangers out on the road than we are. But, then again, they may not have been. As people in a culture where walking long distances was a common way to get around, they may have been a lot more used to speaking with strangers. Since they had to share the roadway with them, sometimes for several hours at a time. Sort of like if you ride the same bus on the same route regularly, or take a long bus ride and are sitting right there next to someone for several hours, you might strike up a conversation with a stranger.

But, this intruding into the intense conversation of two other people seems . . . well, intrusive. But, the two who are talking don’t seem taken aback too much for the intrusion, but more because the intruder isn’t catching on more quickly to what their conversation is about. Although they might have been annoyed. They are shaken by the big events of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and execution, and are not hiding their conversation about it. They may have felt if the man has been walking close to them, he had to have heard the basic content of their discussion. And, since he too was coming from Jerusalem, surely he had been hearing about the matter on the streets of Jerusalem.

But, they also might have been annoyed at the intrusion, and that is why they said: “What, don’t you know about what happened in Jerusalem? Have you been asleep for the past three days, or do you not listen or look at what is going on around you?” There is a mark of annoyance and criticism in the disciple’s response to the stranger’s question. A response that indicates that the disciple just may have taken some offense to the man’s intrusion into their conversation.

Of course, as we are reading this passage, we know that the stranger is Jesus, and the disciples don’t know that. Luke lets us in on the secret, whereas the disciples, Cleopas and the other, don’t know who this stranger is. So, we get to watch the story unfold.

Will Jesus let them know who he is? Why don’t they recognize him? What do these words mean: “They were kept from recognizing him?” Mary didn’t recognize him among the tombs. Why not? But, there, he spoke to Mary, and when she heard his voice, she knew immediately that it was Jesus. Jesus was speaking at length to these two disciples but they are still not recognizing him. Of course, he addressed Mary directly saying her name. With these disciples, he is deep in conversation, teaching them, but not addressing them personally by name. And, apparently they are listening to him closely.

So closely that the walk passes quickly, it is now evening, and they have made it to their destination – the place that they live or at least where they are residing for now. And, as it is getting dark, they offer hospitality to the man they have met on this long walk. They invite the stranger in to eat and stay overnight with them. The two disciples have a feeling they don’t want this conversation to end just yet. Something about this conversation has given them hope as they have met a new person, maybe even made a new friend. Jesus has been talking to them about how the suffering and death of the Messiah was prophecied about in the Holy Scriptures. Jesus is beginning to help these disciples understand what has happened as part of a great unfolding holy history, not as just some terrible tragedy. And, this message is apparently lifting their hearts, because they begin to treat the stranger like a friend.

And, surely they began to treat him as more than a friend. Because the stranger had exhorted, sort of scolded them at the start of his teaching: “You who are hard of heart, refusing to believe, didn’t you know it was necessary that the Son of Man, the Messiah, should suffer and die and then come into glory?!” When someone talks to you like that, they are talking to you like a teacher, like someone who knows something you do not, and who is trying to teach you what you really need to know.
When Jesus was teaching these disciples and unfolding the meaning of the events as he spoke of the scriptures, these disciples felt their hearts burning within them. That is how they described it after Jesus had left them. But, it was not until he broke bread and gave it to them that their eyes were opened and they recognized him. Did he say what he had said to the disciples at the Last Supper? It doesn’t say that he did; just that he broke bread and gave it to them. But, they knew it was Jesus, and he immediately disappeared.

Most of the early preaching of Jesus as the Son of God included many references to the Holy Scripture of that day, and explaining how Jesus coming and death and resurrection were part of God’s Holy history with Israel. Those who were grieving the death of Jesus experienced the miracle of his presence among them; the one they thought was dead was not dead, but very much alive, alive in a way that no one else had ever been alive.

For these two disciples on the Road to Emmaus, it was a matter of letting a stranger in on their conversation and listening to what he had to say. It was a matter of offering to this man who had joined their walk and their discussion – hospitality. . . a place to rest and eat a meal. That conversation with the stranger had awakened their hearts when their hearts were hurt so badly with disappointment and grief. As one said, “We had hoped that he was the Messiah to bring deliverance to Israel.” We had hoped . . . Those are some sad words. And, Jesus caught them right there, and began to teach and open a new way of seeing and believing and living.

Why didn’t Jesus just say: “It is I! I am Jesus. My God and Father has raised me from the grave. I am alive. Death could not hold me; sin could not break my communion with the Father and with all who honor God.

Certainly Jesus made more direct appearances to Mary and to the 11 disciples. But, here, he taught. He discussed. He was intent on bringing about a real understanding of how this could have happened and how this was really part of the work of God to bring help and healing and salvation to the world.
Jesus knew that there was a power in Holy Scripture when that scripture is interpreted in the Spirit of God. There is convincing power and healing power and hope in the Holy Scripture when it is understood in the Spirit. It awakens a spiritual knowledge that strengthens the heart and mind and makes a person able to think in a holy way, to understand new things.

Instead of simply giving those hungry what they yearned for, he taught them how to satisfy thei r hunger on their own. As the saying goes: “If you give a man a fish, you will save him from hunger today; if you teach a man to fish, you will save him from hunger for a lifetime.”



Once he had done so, Jesus departed from them. I get the idea from these passages about Jesus’ appearances after the resurrection, that he wasn’t looking for praise and worship. And, I’ll say a bit more about that in a minute. He was there to bring peace and hope and knowledge for the way ahead. He was very matter of fact.
We might have thought he would have said some lofty words like: “It is I. The first and the last, the one who was killed, but now who is risen. Or “They thought they could overcome the Son of God, but the Father has raised me up and the world will never be the same. Draw near to me and experience the power of the risen one, the one who glows with the power of the Father,” etc., etc. But, Jesus apparently didn’t say things like this at all.

He said: “Mary!” She said, “master!” He said: “hurry, go tell my disciples to go on to Galilee where I will meet them!” He said: “Don’t be afraid. It really is me. Now, could you give me something to eat!” He said: “Why haven’t you listened to what the scriptures have said about the Messiah? Listen to me now!” He said to Peter: “Peter, do you love me more than these? Then, feed my sheep.”

Jesus is the great teacher of our souls. Jesus was preparing them for what was ahead. He was consoling their hearts and strengthening their minds. And, he was still the Son of God, and he was still giving glory and all about glorifying – not himself – but God, his Father. Jesus, the teacher of our souls. Jesus, remaining the humble one – who says he is with those who are naked, and sick, and in prison, and thirsty and alone.

But, how can we have an experience like these disciples who were walking on the Road to Emmaus? How can we come to experience that teaching of Jesus that makes the heart burn within us? How can we experience that presence that lifts us to new levels of hope and praise? If we become deeply involved in conversations at our church in trying to understand the scriptures and God, then a stranger might just come into our midst, and join our conversation, and suddenly we begin listening together to a voice that is greater, to an understanding that is deeper. It may come through words you say or that I say or that a visitor says, but at times when the time is right, when the hunger is deep, it comes from God. Jesus has said, “wherever two or three gather in my name, there I am.” That is what happened on the Road to Emmaus.

It might happen in Sunday School; it might happen in Bible Study; it might happen around the dinner table or on a walk with a friend. Where people seek to understand God together, something happens . . . that is where people are truly seeking that understanding.

They were deep in discussion and deep in grief, but they were speaking of Jesus , trying so hard to understand Jesus’ way. And, he joined them. They had no idea that he would but he did. That’s what happens in the Church of Jesus Christ when we truly seek understanding, when we read the scriptures with open hearts and with minds hungry to understand. That’s what happens where we have honest discussions, not simply saying what we think Christian people ought to say, but saying what we really mean. Where two or three are gathered, there I am. Let it be, O God, let it be, speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

I close with a "Protestant" version of the Beatles song, "Let it Be."

When I find myself in times of trouble
Holy Jesus comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness
He is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

And when the broken hearted people
Living in the world agree,
There will be an answer, let it be.
For though they may be parted there is
Still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be.
Let it be, let it be. Yeah
There will be an answer, let it be.

And when the night is cloudy,
There is still a light that shines on me,
Shine on until tomorrow, let it be.
I wake up to the sound of music
Holy Jesus comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
There will be an answer, let it be.
Let it be, let it be,
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

Lyrics from Beatles “Let it Be,” changes mine in language from Mother Mary to Holy Jesus (I bet Mary wouldn’t mind at all)

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Matthew 26:36-46: A Maundy Thursday Reflection

As we read this very moving passage of the Holy Scripture, we can understand it a couple of different ways:

First, we could understand it as if Jesus was simply complying with a script that was written out long ago in the plan of Almighty God. Like a play that God had written out, and Jesus had to fulfill his part. If you read it this way, the actions of human beings are predetermined as well. Whether the human being is Judas, or the chief priests of the soldiers or the disciples or Jesus.

But, there is another way to understand it. And, that is in a dramatic way, as if this account in scripture gives us a picture of the real dynamic relation between the will of human beings and the will of God. As if God and humans have a real relationship and interaction such that God acts towards humans, humans respond to God and God reacts to humans as well. In this view of things everything is not clearly planned out ahead of time. The actions of human beings are not predetermined by a set plan, but represent the true choices and responses of human beings to the actions of God.

The old Calvinists or Presbyterians were prone to read about all things in life as the working out of God’s predetermined plan for human beings. And, to be fair to the old Presbyterians, there is a real emphasis on predestination and predetermination in scripture. You can actually see this emphasis at specific points in the Gospel narratives. Like when the scriptures report that Jesus says: “the Son of man must suffer and die to fulfill the scriptures.” So, there is some real support in scripture as this emphasis on predetermination and predestination of human affairs by God is represented in the Bible.

But, there is another emphasis represented in the Bible as well. It is an emphasis on the remarkable give and take between God and humanity, the dynamic assertion of the Divine will and the response of the human will and the reaction of the Divine will to humans – the back and forth of a real relationship. And, these emphases in scripture, that are really there too were partly picked up on by the Methodists and Baptists who emphasized the real assertion of human will involved, the freedom of human choice and the importance of it in the working out of history, particularly sacred history.

The Baptist and Methodist traditions pick up on one half of the drama – the dynamic role of the human will, but don’t’ pick up any better than Presbyterians the dynamic character of God’s will. And, this emphasis on thehuman will that Methodists and Baptist speakof is really in scripture as well. Surely Jesus’ appeal for humans to repent and believe in the Gospel of God would have been a fairly meaningless appeal if he didn’t expect that humans had the ability to choose or will this repentance and belief. At some level, Jesus felt he could speak and actually get some response from human beings or he wouldn’t have asked for it. But, there are two views represented in scripture itself. To read it otherwise is to simply raise our theology above the Holy Scripture.

But, there is something even deeper in scripture that I don’t think the old Presbyterian and old Methodist traditions emphasize. And, that is the dynamic character of God shown to us in scripture and revealed to us in faith. The dynamic character of the will of God. John Wesley started coming near to this in his older age, when he basically said: “I used to be so sure I understood everything; now I am the opposite. I don’ t feel that I understand anything or am sure about anything but what is revealed to me directly by God.” The old traditions of Protestantism present a static picture of God. The old Presbyterian way presents God as way up there in heaven with his inscrutable plan that will be worked out no matter what and no matter what humans will. God watching his predetermined plan working out. The old Methodist or Baptist way has God with his predetermined plan as well, but leaves it up to humans how they want to accept or reject that plan.

But, we really need to get back to the raw truth of the Bible,thewitness to something real and dynamic that escapes our theological rationalizations. And, an honest reading of the Bible sees the process of theological rationalization already at work. Right there in scripture with the picture ofJesus falling to the ground and asking desperately ofGod: “Father,if it is possible, let this cup pass from me . . . “ Now to act like Jesus just calmly walked towards his destiny and didn’t struggle with it is to ignore this passage. And, it is to ignore and devalue the struggle of Jesus to obey God, a flesh and blood struggle. And, to act as if it was just all planned out way ahead of time, and God was just sitting up in heaven watching it unfold, is very irreverent to the pain and struggle that God went through to come down to humanity,enter into our mess, and work out our salvation.

But, the very heart of the Bible and the heart of faith shows a God who is not static, but who is dynamic, who responds to human willing, a God who seeks humanity and changes his way of approaching as necessary to break through and save human beings. And, if you are still on board with me, and if you read this scripture today with eyes and ears open to the dynamic character of God in responding to human beings, and the dynamic character of the human response as well, the reading of this passage becomes a deeply moving event. Because it reveals a drama, a real drama at the core of this world’s history and reality. The drama of the Living God struggling with remarkable passion and grace to save a humanity that God loves, a humanity that has a will that is prone to reject God’s efforts to save, but a humanity that has something deep down that craves the saving grace of God. And, a humanity who is represented by Jesus, the Christ, who has a dynamic human will in response to God. “He fell on his face and prayed: ‘Father, if it is possible,let this cup pass from me, but not my will but thy will be done.”

Listen to what is going on here at the center. Jesus has come before God in deep sorrow because he senses the end of life, the suffering, the pain and separation of death that is coming to him and his friends. Jesus senses a certain sense of alienation and separation even from his God. Look closely at what is revealed in this scripture without simply taking it in in the traditional way. Jesus comes before God and prays, seeking communion with God. And, the first time Jesus appears to be asking to be spared from this way of suffering. “Father. Let this cup pass from me if it be possible, but not my will, but thy will be done.” There is a lot in that verse. It shows that Jesus has a human will that is separate and independent from God’s will – a real human will. Otherwise it would make no sense for him to speak of the difference in his will and God’s will and of being willing to submit his human will to God’s will. At this time, so near the arrest and crucifixion, it shows that Jesus does not have a completely clear view of what God’s will is. And, I know there is that other emphasis on how Jesus told his disciples that the Son of Man must suffer and die, etc., but I’ve already talked about the two different emphases in scripture. Here is the deepest. Our Lord first asked if this path of suffering and humiliation and pain for him and those who followed him might be avoided. Second, Jesus went and prayed a second time, which indicates that Jesus did not receive a clear answer from God, but the words of his second prayer are a bit different, showing that Jesus was gaining a sense of what God’s will was. The second time he prays: “If it is not possible for this cup to pass from me, let your will be done.” He doesn’t mention his will, only God’s. But, still there is not a clarity of communion that Jesus normally seemed to have with God throughout his life. Because, Jesus goes to pray a third time, being deeply troubled. Again he prays: “If it is not possible for this cup to pass from me, let your will be done.” And, I sense that there is more resolution in this third prayer, as Jesus now seems to see what is to be.

And, I get the sense that Jesus is experiencing a distance from God that he had never experienced. A distance that would become unbearable on the cross causing him to cry out: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!” This is a real witness to the real struggle of the one holy human being to have ever lived on this earth, the one human who is also the very Son of God. But, we do not honor this mystery rightly unless we realize the real struggle, the real human struggle that Jesus went through. And, the real struggle that God went through.

There is the withdrawal and even silence of God that we cannot even imagine. We have to stop at that doorway. We cannot enter to imagine the suffering of God who heard the cries and saw the pain of his very Son Jesus, and remained silent. We will never know what it costs God in that completely pure heart of God. God, who though he was master of the universe suffered the death of his own son. It really causes us to break down inside if this truth ever gets through to our souls. God is so holy and so pure of heart and so good and so humble. The human race doesn’t deserve this wonderful a God, or doesn’t seem to. But, then Jesus is a part, the very head of the human race, and look at his goodness and his holiness, being really like God in his heart. And, there are the little children of the human race who show a profound goodness and purity that reminds us of God’s goodness. And, every now and then even you and I show some of that purity of heart and goodness in our lives.

And, maybe God is not so hard to understand afterall. God is love. God is just so good and so pure, we tend to avoid him even though we need him so badly. We also tend to forget the simply goodness inside of ourselves because the world would make us ashamed of that. God loves as one who endures and persists in loving. Some of us have experienced the love of others that has endured even through our sins. Some of us have known the love of our mothers or fathers that has endured our shameful behavior. Some of us have given our own family members pain, so much suffering and pain and then experienced that we couldn’t conquer their love for us. Some of us may have done that for others – loved them when they were loveless until somehow hearts of stone were changed to hearts of flesh. Some of us have experienced and even passed on the love of the Father for the Prodigal Son. God comes to us and through us. In his will to save, in God’s active love that will not give up on human beings, God moves to embrace us – when we are alone, when we are with others, and God moves to embrace others through our perservering love as well.

God doesn’t simply offer his love as some plan of salvation and wait up in heaven to see if we want to accept it or not. That’s the Four Spiritual Laws God, not the God of the Bible and God of our hearts. God will go to any depth to save. That’s what our passage reveals. God will even suffer the humiliation of his beloved Son, Jesus, to reclaim human beings, to break the power of sin in our lives. What Jesus was really asking was: “Father, does it really have to go this far? Is this suffering and pain and humiliation necessary? Are my fellow human beings really in such desperate need to require us to go this far to save? If they are Father, I will do your will, to honor you and to save my race. I love you Father. I will drink the cup that is given me. If I need to go this path for you to enter into and change human hearts, I will do it Lord. O God, have mercy on me. Go with me, O God, remember that I am flesh and blood. Amen.”

And, when God heard that prayer, it must have broken the heart of God a thousand times over. Because God saw again the profound goodness that he had meant for the human race. He saw the beauty that he had intended for all human beings. He saw it in Jesus, the Christ of God. God had continued to believe in a good destiny for human beings. But, now surely God’s heart was fortified. Jesus had given back to God the greatest gift humanity could ever give. And, God being so humble and gracious passed on this gift to all the world. Amen.

Revisiting the Story of Samson: Judges 13-16

In Judges 13-16, we find a remarkable story about one of the judges and warriors of Israel. His name was Samson. But, I am getting ahead of myself.

In ancient Israel, there was a man named Manoah, who had a wife. And, he and his wife lived in a time when the Israelites were being persecuted and oppressed by the Philistines. Their houses were broken into; they were stolen from; their women were taken captives; they were abused in public; they were not free to pursue their hopes and dreams, because the Philistines dominated them. Well, in this time, Manoah and his wife were hoping to have children. But, she could not conceive. One day, Manoah’s wife was praying, and an angel of the Lord appeared to her. He heard her prayer and promised her that she would have a son, and she, the angel, told him that this boy was to be set aside to serve God’s purposes. He was to observe the customs of the Nazarites: to not drink wine or strong drink, and to not cut his hair.

And, as promised, Manoah’s wife conceived, and she gave birth to a baby boy and they named him “Samson.” Samson grew strong, and they let his hair grow, and when he was grown, he continued to observe the ways of the Nazarites: he didn’t drink wine or strong drink, and he did not let a razor touch his head – he let his hair grow.

And, God filled Samson with a spirit of concern for his people, the Israelites. He saw them mistreated by the Philistines, and Samson was provoked to attack and push back the Philistines. The Israelites hearts were lifted up when they saw they had a defender and a warrior who would take their side and fight for them. And, it was clear to all that Samson was blessed by God. He was stronger than any warrior anyone had ever known. He was even stronger than the greatest Philistine warriors.

Although Samson wasn’t one to drink, he did have a weakness for Philistine women. And, this gave his enemies the Philistines a chance to entrap him. Samson fell for one particular Philistine woman, Delilah. And, the Philistines who could never overcome Samson in battle, came up with a plan to surprise him when he was with his girlfriend.

They tried, but Samson defeated them. And, Delilah tried to help them surprise Samson, but always he was too strong. Until one day, she got him talking. And, he let her know that he had never cut his hair, because of the command of the angel of the Lord. He said, “If I cut my hair, I would be just as weak as other men.”

And, that was all it took. Delilah knew he had told her the truth about his strength now. And, she notified the soldiers that they could come at a certain time and capture him at her house. She cut his hair when he was sleeping, and when the soldiers came, he thought he would fight them off as usual. But, this time, his strength was gone. They tied him up, and took him away. They mocked him in the public streets. They even goudged his eyes out and beat him, and brought him to the temple of their god, Dagon. And, all the Philistine people rejoiced that their god had delivered their enemy into their hands. And, they celebrated in the great temple.

And, there Samson was – the once proud warrior of Israel, reduced to a prisoner in chains, blinded by his enemies. And, all the people laughed at him and spoke of how their god was greater than Samson’s God. At some point, Samson had had enough. He asked a servant boy to put his hands in the great columns that supported the temple. And, he put his right hand and one, and his left hand on the other, so that Samson stood between the two great pillars that held the roof of the temple. And, he prayed to God for strength this one last time. And, God heard Samson. And, Samson pushed as hard as he could, and his strength had returned and he pushed the pillars of the temple so that they broke and and caused the whole roof of the temple to crash down and kill all that were gathered under it. And, yes, Samson was killed too. But, the amount of Philistines he killed in his death was even more than he had killed in his life, so that the Israelites were able to free themselves from their oppressors.

They remembered the life of Samson and gave thanks to God. The man who would not stand for his brothers and sisters to be mistreated had died. But, in his death, he was true to the purpose for which he had lived.

This is one of those great stories of scripture. It tells the adventures of Samson, as a warrior, a lover, and a warrior who was captured because he entrusted his holy secret to a woman who was really his enemy. But, this story also tells us something about God. It tells us that God stirred up a man to deliver his people from oppression and injustice. It tells us that God taught Samson that he was special and that he was to keep his vows to God: the vows of a Nazarite – no drinking and no cutting of the hair of his head. God would bless Samson, and Samson was to show his respect and love for God by keeping his vows.

Samson would attack Philistines and even made it so they started being afraid. They started leaving the Israelites alone, because of fear of Samson. And, Samson would attack them whenever he had the chance. He had a spirit of vengeance against them, and a spirit to liberate his people.

That was Samson’s calling in life – to bring freedom to his people. He was similar to Moses in that sense. But, when you have a calling in life, you need some support. Samson fell in love with a woman who was a Philistine, and he didn’t think it mattered. Because he knew who he was, and what he had to do. He would keep battling the Philistines, and thought he could love this Philistine woman. The problem was that Delilah remained loyal to the Philistine warriors, and used Samson’s love for her to help her own people. Samson thought he was invulnerable. He didn’t think he could be defeated. He thought he could entrust his heart to Delilah, and nothing bad would happen. Love and his calling were two different things. When it was time to fight the Philistines, he would fight the Philistines, but when it was time to enjoy time with his girlfriend, he would do that. He never thought that his greatest enemy would end up being the one he loved.

Turns out,the only one who could really hurt Samson was the one he loved. And, that is really true in life. And, that is a message we need to take very seriously. Because when someone loves us we can really hurt them if we are not careful; if we love someone, they can really hurt us if they are not careful. Love makes us vulnerable. And, opens us to real communion with others, but also opens us to real harm from others. When we love, we trust; we take down our guard. One of my former clients produced a rap album, and one of his songs goes like this: “Ain’t got no love for nobody who ain’t got love for me.” Another way o f saying that is to say: “I am not going to let down my guard with anybody unless I know they love me – unless I know I can trust them. I am tired of being taken advantage of; I am tired of being jerked around and stomped on by those I love. I am tired of love, because it only seems to bring me trouble.” Samson could have written that song – after his eyes were gouged out.

Maybe some of us could have written it too. But, love is not meant to be the occasion for abuse or manipulation or mistrust. The heart is meant to open to the opening of another heart, not to the coming of another thief or pretender.
We get so mad at others who hurt our children or our wives or our husbands or our sisters or brothers or mothers or fathers, but nobody has ever really hurt them as bad as we have. Nobody has ever really hurt us as bad as they have. It is only those we love who can really hurt us deep down where it counts. It is only those who love us that we can hurt deep down where it counts.

All the evil in the world comes from the hurting of loved ones, who in turn and hurt others out of their bitterness and pain. As the song says: “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.” Take a good long look at your life, and consider who you really love in this life and what they mean to you. And, take a good and holy vow before God to quit hurting those you love. If you have been hurt, it is time to figure out how to quit passing it on to those you love. But, how? By deciding that you are done with hurting those you love. By looking honestly at the course of your life. And, by asking for help in the areas of life you just can’t seem to get control of.

I had never looked at Samson from this side before. Even after all these years of hearing and knowing that story. There is a real tragedy in the story. Samson opens his heart to Delilah, and she abuses his trust and his love. Most all human pain comes of our need to love and the human tendency to take advantage of love. Let’s continue to love, and protect love, and be done with hurting anyone we love and anyone who loves us. And, lets be done with thinking that it is alright for anyone we love to hurt us. Hurt and love don’t belong together. Love heals hurts; it doesn’t cause them. Experiencing that truth in our hearts and in our lives- well, that would be a good start on building a better world.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Is God Revealed or Hidden in Christ?

John 1:1-14; Luke 1:46-55: “The Unassuming Presence of God”

As I was thinking about the Birth of Christ in Bethlehem, and how nobody would have suspected it. And, as I thought about the final day when Christ comes in the glory of God, I couldn’t help but think: nobody will suspect it either. Of course, we are told he will come in glory, but knowing God, it will be understated the way God does everything. Probably most of the world, and even God’s devoted followers will miss it. God is like that – very subtle.

We don’t have eyes and ears to hear the deep truths of God so often, nor are we able to suspect the unexpected ways of God in this world.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem,but who knew? Who would have known? And, he grew up among his people as the son of Mary and Joseph. His father was a carpenter. Not an important man in Israel. The wise men who were not Jews lucked into it, and found him. Besides that, just a few shepherds and animals saw the glory of the birth of God’s Son.

Sometimes we might wonder, “why does God make such subtle appearances? Why doesn’t God make his appearances real clear so that nobody can be mistaken? If God really wanted to be known, why didn’t he choose Rome or Assyria or Egypt – some great nation as his chosen people, instead of choosing the Hebrew people? Why does God make such subtle appearances, so that you might perceive it is God,but then again you might miss it altogether.

And, what about the resurrection appearances? Weren’t those clear? Well, really. Jesus is walking right beside two of his followers on the Road to Emmaus, and they don’t recognize him – and, they don’t even realize who they had been talking to until he has broken bread at the table with him and he disappears. And, what about Mary thinking he was the gardener when she was right beside his empty tomb?
All I can answer is that God is like that. As Karl Barth once said: “God reveals himself in hiddenness.”

I know that you can tune into many channels and go to many churches in which preachers will tell you how plain it all is, and how God makes himself known as clear as day, but the truth is: God doesn’t seem to be that way at all. Or, at least not the God we know in Jesus Christ.

Jesus thanked God that he hid himself from the wise and revealed himself to the simple. Jesus also told those he had healed not to spread the word about being healed by him.

And, for a religion that claims that the ultimate revelation of God is in the crucifixion of Jesus, we ought to wake up to the strangeness of that revelation, and that it has something real important to tell us about God. Because, no one would guess or think that an instrument of torture would be a symbol of God’s ultimate revelation on earth.

I have to confess: I love the strange ways of God, even though I get turned around and confused by it at times. I love that God honored above all humans the one who was humiliated by the powers of the world, because that one human, Jesus, was true to God and truly loved human beings. To me, it just strikes a chord so deep and assures me that it is the story that is really true – so strange it must be true – nobody could have made this one up.

And, I have to confess I give thanks everyday that God chooses to stand with the weak and the poor and challenges the ways of the strong and the rich.

God reveals his truth in a quiet kind of way. If you are wanting a big show and all that, well, God will probably not appeal to you (lots of brand of religion might, but not the true God), because God is simply not that way. Our God is just so humble. It is almost ridiculous how humble the Creator of all is. But, God is. He came among his own and his own received him not.

What more can I say about this than that it makes me so thankful, so happy to be a creature of this God. This God, who thought so much of us and well, didn’t think too much of himself, that he gave of himself to bring Jesus, his Son into the world in Bethlehem just over 2,000 years ago and gave and gave and gave of himself even unto the death of his Son on the cross, and continues to give of God’s very self to sustain and heal the world today. God has come among us, and though we tried to cast him out, he has found a place among us, a quiet and unassuming presence – imagine that, the living God, who is with us in such a humble way.

I ask you to bow prayerfully as you listen to the song of Mary, words from the Apostle Paul, and words from John’s Gospel, about the mystery of God coming in Jesus, the Christ.

Mary's Song:

My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.

Paul's Words to the Corinthians:

21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

From the Gospel of John:

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and yet, the world did not receive him. He came to his own people, and his own people did not receive him. . . The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

“He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and yet, the world did not receive him. He came to his own people, and his own people did not receive him.” I can’t get any closer to the heart of the mystery of God’s humility than that. I can’t say it any better than John did so long ago. “He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet, the world could find no place for him and cast him out. He came to his own people, the Jews, and they could not find a place for him, and cast him out.”

This one is our Christ, the Christ of the world. This one is the Word made flesh, who dwelt among us full of grace and truth.

And, to come to celebrate this subtle appearance of the living God; to come to celebrate what surprises and defies human calculation and expectation, is to welcome the Christ and claim a place for him on this earth and in our midst and in our hearts. And, to come and celebrate the humble ways of our God that defy the ways of human power and pride, is to claim not just a place for Jesus the Christ, but to claim the best place for him in our world, in our homes and in our hearts. For, he is the opposite of kings and presidents and prime ministers and generals and dictators and corporate executives – thank God. And, his ways are ways of peace in a violent world; his ways are ways of humility in an arrogant world; his ways are ways of mercy in a world that loves to blame and condemn. And, we have to confess: “his ways are not our ways,” but by God’s grace maybe day by day, our ways will become more like his ways. Amen.