The Connectional Church

Over the past month or two, I’ve had a number of experiences that have renewed my hope in and thankfulness for the “connectional church.”  The first came when I was able, for the first time in seven years, to attend Christmas Eve services at the two congregations in which I grew up.  Reconnecting with people who were my Sunday school teachers, and seeing young adults who were once “youth” when I served as an advisor, was wonderful.  I remember getting ready for bed that night and thinking, “Where else do I feel so connected to the flow of generations?”

My second experience of hope and thankfulness came at the Montreat College Conference at the beginning of this month.  What a joy to see over a thousand college students gathered during the final days of Christmas break to worship, hear calls to lives of discipleship, and enjoy fellowship.  While I enjoyed watching students from all over connect, my moments of hope came as I joined other clergy and church workers/volunteers for meaningful conversation about ministry, our lives, the world, and just where we saw God’s kingdom breaking forth.  I realized that I’ve known some of those people since I was 15 or 16 years old.  Again, where else but within the connectional church do I have relationships that span a lifetime?

The final experience I will share with you is the weekend I just had.  On Saturday morning, our local TOT group helped guests shop for food and clothes at The Little Pantry That Could.  Stacy and her committed band of helpers are practicing the gospel of abundance and hospitality in radical ways.  Then, just last night and this morning, PSF hosted Room In The Inn at St. Augustine’s Chapel.  Last night I watched college students lovingly prepare mattresses for our overnight guests, serve a meal and eat with new friends, clean up after the meal, and get things ready for this morning.  Ah, this morning.  It began at 4:15 with students and friends rolling in to make breakfast, keep the coffee going, drive guests back to the RITI mothership, and clean up St. A’s so nobody would know we were here.  As I sit here waiting for the laundry to finish, I’m mindful of all the other congregations throughout our fair city and, indeed, throughout the nation who shared this experience on nights past, this very same night, and will do so in the future.

In this week’s scripture passage, Jesus tells Peter that he will be responsible for calling people out into a new form of community.  For all we may want to say or not say about “the church” there is still beauty in the connectional nature of our community of faith.  I pray that you will find reasons to hope in what God is still doing through disciples in this day and age.

Matthew 16:13-28

Peter’s declaration about Jesus

¹³ Now when Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “ Who do people say the Human One ^o is? ”

¹⁴ They replied, “ Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. ”

¹⁵ He said, “ And what about you? Who do you say that I am? ”

¹⁶ Simon Peter said, “ You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. ”

¹⁷ Then Jesus replied, “ Happy are you, Simon son of Jonah, because no human has shown this to you. Rather my Father who is in heaven has shown you. ¹⁸ I tell you that you are Peter. ^p And I’ll build my church on this rock. The gates of the underworld won’t be able to stand against it. ¹⁹ I’ll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Anything you fasten on earth will be fastened in heaven. Anything you loosen on earth will be loosened in heaven. ” ²⁰ Then he ordered the disciples not to tell anybody that he was the Christ.

First prediction of Jesus’ death and resurrection

²¹ From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and legal experts, and that he had to be killed and raised on the third day. ²² Then Peter took hold of Jesus and, scolding him, began to correct him: “ God forbid, Lord! This won’t happen to you. ” ²³ But he turned to Peter and said, “ Get behind me, Satan. You are a stone that could make me stumble, for you are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts. ”

Saving and losing life

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “ All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. ²⁵ All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me will find them. ²⁶ Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives? What will people give in exchange for their lives? ²⁷ For the Human One ^q is about to come with the majesty of his Father with his angels. And then he will repay each one for what that person has done. ²⁸ I assure you that some standing here won’t die before they see the Human One ^r coming in his kingdom. ”

 

Scarcity or Abundance?

One summer, on a mission trip to Chicago with sr. high students, I sat with everyone around tables, after a long day of work, and listened as the leader of the DOOR program there explained how we would be doing dinner that evening.  Each person would be given $, be transported, with 10-12 other folks, to an area of the city and encouraged to find dinner.  There were a few ground rules:

1. You couldn't use any of "your" money that you brought with you.
2. You couldn't do a street performance of any kind, because Chicago required a license to do so.
3. You could beg for money, but you had to tell people you were part of a group participating in a "poverty simulation."

You can imagine the moans, groans, and questions that erupted in the room.  "Seriously?"  "This is stupid." "But I'm sooooo hungry."  You can also imagine different ways in which individuals and groups handled the situation.

• Some people exited the van, walked into a convenience store and bought a snack item that cost less than $1.
• Some people cheated and pulled money out of their own wallets.
• Some people went in together to buy a pizza, only to find that they couldn't afford a very large pizza with only $10-$12.
• Some people went straight to asking for money and found it was harder than they thought, and that they felt pretty embarrassed to even be asking.
• Some people tried to find a grocery store, but their area of town was a food desert.
• Some people pooled their money, did find a grocery store, and also begged for money

The group I was in did that last thing, with no direction from me or the other adults, by the way.  We were able to buy enough food to feed everybody in our group, including sandwiches, chips, fruit, and even some ice cream that somebody behind us in line helped us buy.

As we processed this activity, we found that groups who focused on how little they had and became defensive of "my dollar" had the most difficult time, while groups who thought positively and sought communal solutions with "our money" seemed to fare better.

That experience was a real-life example of how different things can go depending on whether you focus on scarcity or abundance.  In a scarcity worldview, there are only so many resources and I need to "get what's mine" so I withhold from others, hoard what I do have,  and live in fear of losing what's mine.  In an abundance worldview, there is more than enough for what everybody needs, I take joy in thinking creatively about how to make sure everyone receives "enough," and I live without so much fear and anxiety.

In this week's story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people, we see a story of abundance, even though the disciples seem to live according to scarcity.  Whether this was a miraculous replication of 5 loaves and 2 fish into enough food to feed the multitude, or it was an example of everyone sharing what they had so that people were fed, it is a beautiful story of provision.

Questions to consider:

• As you think about resources, do you think in terms of scarcity or abundance?
• How does that affect your choices regarding the use of resources and/or sharing resources?
• When have you experienced unexpected abundance?
• When have you hoped for abundance and only found scarcity?

Matthew 13:13-21

Feeding the five thousand

¹³ When Jesus heard about John, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. When the crowds learned this, they followed him on foot from the cities. ¹⁴ When Jesus arrived and saw a large crowd, he had compassion for them and healed those who were sick. ¹⁵ That evening his disciples came and said to him, “ This is an isolated place and it’s getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves. ”

¹⁶ But Jesus said to them, “ There’s no need to send them away. You give them something to eat. ”

¹⁷ They replied, “ We have nothing here except five loaves of bread and two fish. ”

¹⁸ He said, “ Bring them here to me. ” ¹⁹ He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them and broke the loaves apart and gave them to his disciples. Then the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰ Everyone ate until they were full, and they filled twelve baskets with the leftovers. ²¹ About five thousand men plus women and children had eaten.

Gracious Abandon?

Ah, Jesus and his stories about farming and living off of the land.  I can’t say that all of Jesus’ agrarian stories “speak” to me in quite the same way they may have for his early listeners.  I’m not sure I’ve ever kept a plant alive longer than six months, even the ones that people hand to me and say, “Oh, you can’t possibly kill this one.”  I underwater, I overwater, I put it outside one day too early and it frosts, or I simply forget the plant is there until it sheds its leaves and I’m sweeping them up.  While I am drawn to the beauty of nature, and have a sense that I would love to grow some of my own food, I have yet to master any elements of gardening or farming.

Maybe that’s why, in previous readings of this passage, I’ve been fairly frustrated with Jesus as he goes on about secrets and all the bad soil and equates that soil with “bad people” who waste the gift of God’s word.  After all, doesn’t God know about casting seed in productive ways designed to pull in the greatest gain?  It seems like if God is a farmer, he isn’t a very good one.  To be honest, I would walk away from this passage shaking my head a bit, wondering why the seeds, the path, the rocky soil and the thorn-infested soil seem to take the brunt of Jesus’ judgment, when they aren’t the ones casting the seed.

I suppose that’s why God casts scripture in front of us again and again.  It may be that I’m placing my own bias on this text…my own American bias toward productivity and efficiency.  A bias that values strategic planning, measurable results, and predictable timetables.  This little bit of scripture just might call all of that into question, at least when it comes to how God chooses to operate in the world.  It just might be that God is less worried about productivity, efficiency, and predictability, and is more concerned with the practice of gracious abandon.  This will be the question before us at PSF on Tuesday.  I hope you’ll come and join us in the conversation.

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

The Parable of the Farmer

13 That day Jesus went out of the house and sat down beside the lake. ² Such large crowds gathered around him that he climbed into a boat and sat down. The whole crowd was standing on the shore. ³ He said many things to them in parables: “ A farmer went out to scatter seed. ⁴ As he was scattering seed, some fell on the path, and birds came and ate it. ⁵ Other seed fell on rocky ground where the soil was shallow. They sprouted immediately because the soil wasn’t deep. ⁶ But when the sun came up, it scorched the plants, and they dried up because they had no roots. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorny plants. The thorny plants grew and choked them. ⁸ Other seed fell on good soil and bore fruit, in one case a yield of one hundred to one, in another case a yield of sixty to one, and in another case a yield of thirty to one. ⁹ Everyone who has ears should pay attention. ” 

Explanation of the parable of the farmer

¹⁸ “ Consider then the parable of the farmer. ¹⁹ Whenever people hear the word about the kingdom and don’t understand it, the evil one comes and carries off what was planted in their hearts. This is the seed that was sown on the path. ²⁰ As for the seed that was spread on rocky ground, this refers to people who hear the word and immediately receive it joyfully. ²¹ Because they have no roots, they last for only a little while. When they experience distress or abuse because of the word, they immediately fall away. ²² As for the seed that was spread among thorny plants, this refers to those who hear the word, but the worries of this life and the false appeal of wealth choke the word, and it bears no fruit. ²³ As for what was planted on good soil, this refers to those who hear and understand, and bear fruit and produce—in one case a yield of one hundred to one, in another case a yield of sixty to one, and in another case a yield of thirty to one. ”

Unlikely Pairs

Advent is almost upon us.  The season of anticipation.  The season of waiting.  The season of looking ahead to the incarnation of God almighty in a vulnerable baby boy.  Yes, Advent is almost upon us.  During the season of Advent, we remind ourselves of the many, many, many voices throughout the history of Israel that foreshadowed the inbreaking of God's presence here on earth.  We read passages from Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Psalms, and remember the future.  Yes, we re-member the future.

In this week's passage from Isaiah 11, we are provided imagery for a future king who will rule with a spirit of wisdom, understanding, planning, sgrength, sknoledge, and ultimately "fear of The Lord."  We are also shown a picture of what the future will look like on God's holy mountain (basically a euphemism for Zion/Jerusalem).  Wolves and Lambs lie together (not Lions and lambs...look it up), Lions and Calves eat together, Cows and Bears graze together, and in the midst of it all, we have Children playing near Snake holes (possibly reversing the condemnation of the serpent from Genesis).  It is an idyllic depiction of some future time when God's peace reigns completely, and it is beautiful.  This isn't some Circle of Life kind of thing where the animals that usually serve as prey are shaking with fear that the predators will change their minds at any minute.  This is a truly transformed world in which all have been redeemed by the peace of God.  I've included some images inspired by this passage.

For today, though, I wonder how this passage might read if we were to write it today and substitute pairings of people for the pairings of animals, keeping in mind the former relationships of predator and prey listed in the Scripture.  These pairs would include violent/non-violent, oppressors/oppressed, predators/victims, powerful/weak, etc.  To maintain the unlikelihood of the pairings, I think we would need to be prepared to think deeply about the nature of how people relate to one another in our society.  Historically in the US, we might put a slave owner and slave together.  In today's context, we might put child abuser and abused child together or sex slave trafficer and sex slave together.  Would we be willing to draw such a picture?  Are we willing to proclaim that even violent, oppressive people will find their way onto God's holy mountain along with non-violent, innocent, long-suffering people?

What pairings would you include if you were to write this passage and expect it to be truly transformative good news?

If even Lions and Bears become vegetarians in the "peacable kingdom" what does that say about our eating habits as we seek to live as kingdom people?

Reflect on who it might be hard to sit next to on God's holy mountain without God's peace transforming all parties involved.

Isaiah 11:1-9

1 A shoot will grow up from the stump of Jesse;
a branch will sprout from his roots.
2 The LORD ’s spirit will rest upon him,
a spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a spirit of planning and strength,
a spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
3 He will delight in fearing the LORD.
He won’t judge by appearances,
nor decide by hearsay.
4 He will judge the needy with righteousness,
and decide with equity for those who suffer in the land.
He will strike the violent with the rod of his mouth;
by the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be the belt around his hips,
and faithfulness the belt around his waist.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
and the leopard will lie down with the young goat;
the calf and the young lion will feed together,
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow and the bear will graze.
Their young will lie down together,
and a lion will eat straw like an ox.
8 A nursing child will play over the snake’s hole;
toddlers will reach right over the serpent’s den.They won’t harm or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain.
The earth will surely be filled with the knowledge of the LORD,
just as the water covers the sea.

Love Thy Neighbor

Last week at PSF, as folks arrived for worship, they were invited to think about various types of neighbors they would be called to love, despite what happened or didn't happen in the election.  Here's what people wrote down:

Love thy uninformed neighbor
Love thy ignorant neighbor
Love thy worried neighbor
Love thy passionate neighbor
Love thy confrontational neighbor
Love thy argumentative neighbor
Love thy opposing neighbor
Love thy new neighbor
Love thy negative neighbor
Love thy marginalized neighbor

May we all seek to love our neighbors no matter what.

Come to Jesus

It seems like I often hear the phrase, "Come to Jesus" in the context of having a true heart-to-heart with someone, as in, "We're gonna have to have a come to Jesus conversation about that."  This implies that there's a desired course of action, and the recipient of that conversation needs to repent and get with the program. 

Sadly, I think we people of faith have given the impression (or have said explicitly) that coming to Jesus means acknowledging all your faults, getting your stuff together, and then approaching Jesus to be scolded and set back on the right path.  It's not hard to understand why so many people are choosing other stories over that one.

In this week's scripture passage, Jesus calls his followers to approach him when they are weary, struggling, carrying heavy loads, and in need of rest and rejuvenation.  He promises to give us rest and offers his yoke of gentleness and humility.  This seems a far cry from only approaching Jesus when you have it all together or you've figured out all the right things to say, believe, or do.

In the second part of this week's scripture, Jesus continues to debate with the Pharisees about legal obligations.  Again, Jesus seems more concerned with the state of one's heart than with one's ability to do everything perfectly.  "I want mercy and not sacrifice" he says (quoting from Hosea 6:6). 

This week at the 824 Luncheon for PSF, Jaco Hamman, a professor at Vanderbilt Divinity School talked to those gathered about taking time to slow down, and to play.  I'd like to think that part of taking on the yoke of Jesus might include some time for play.  As he finished speaking, Jaco challenged us to make time for play in our lives in three ways, and I want to share them with you:

1. Practice Hospitality
2. Practice Slowness
3. Put yourself in situations where you experience awe and wonder

I won't dare to try to explain those the way Jaco did, but will instead invite you to be in touch with him or pick up his book A Play-Full Life: Slowing Down and Seeking Peace.  For now, I encourage you to approach Jesus for rejuvenation and don't dare wait until you have it all together or all figured out, for I expect you would never end up approaching Jesus at all.

Ripples in a Pond

“People say, what is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words and deeds is like that. No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do."  -- Dorothy Day

In this week's passage, the twelve disciples (some previously un-named in Matthew's gospel) are commissioned to go out into the world around them and do a variety of deeds, including miraculous acts like casting out demons and raising the dead.  At it's core, I think the commission of the disciples was to seek out people in need and to help them in radical ways.  This was not simply offering to pray with them or handing them a bottle of water on a hot day.  This was/is life-transforming stuff.  

The disciples, and by association, we are called to change lives, and to do so expecting nothing in return.  There is no expectation of sweat equity, or helping those who help themselves.  Sure, somebody in town was expected to extend the hospitality of room and board to the disciples as they traveled, but I doubt those folks received extra miracles as a result.

I find it particularly interesting that Jesus didn't promise the disciples comfort, prosperity, or unconditional welcome and acceptance.  On the contrary, Jesus told them that some folks wouldn't be so keen on traveling miracle workers, and that other folks would actually drag them to councils and governors because of their charitable acts.  This passage causes me to question a prevailing myth (not read as fairy tale) I hear often in church circles in which we church folks get out into the community to perform acts of charity and thus the community will see how great we are and flock to our worship services, sunday schools, and other programmatic activities.  

Maybe we church folks should get out there and meet needs not because we're hoping for more members, but because Jesus calls us to do so.  Maybe if we work hard to cast out the demons of our culture and bring life to dead places, the powers-that-be will call us in for a little chat.  Maybe we'll end up in front a hearing about un-american behavior.  Maybe we'll be called to give testimony as to why we're so radical in our message.  Or, as I suspect is more likely to happen, maybe we won't do any of that for fear of what we might say or what might happen to us along the way.

Where do you see "demons" actively causing mischief in our culture?

What situations or which people are most in need of new life in our community?

If you were called to testify about your faith, what do you think you would say?

Matthew 10:1-20

Mission of the Twelve

10 He called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to throw them out and to heal every disease and every sickness. ² Here are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, who is called Peter; and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee; and John his brother; ³ Philip; and Bartholomew; Thomas; and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; and Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the Cananaean;^u and Judas, who betrayed Jesus.

Commissioning of the Twelve

⁵ Jesus sent these twelve out and commanded them, “Don’t go among the Gentiles or into a Samaritan city. ⁶ Go instead to the lost sheep, the people of Israel. ⁷ As you go, make this announcement: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases, and throw out demons. You received without having to pay. Therefore, give without demanding payment. ⁹ Workers deserve to be fed, so don’t gather gold or silver or copper coins for your money belts to take on your trips. ¹⁰ Don’t take a backpack for the road or two shirts or sandals or a walking stick. ¹¹ Whatever city or village you go into, find somebody in it who is worthy and stay there until you go on your way. ¹² When you go into a house, say, ‘Peace!’ ¹³ If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if the house isn’t worthy, take back your blessing. ¹⁴ If anyone refuses to welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet as you leave that house or city. ¹⁵ I assure you that it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on Judgment Day than it will be for that city.

Response to harassment

¹⁶ “Look, I’m sending you as sheep among wolves. Therefore, be wise as snakes and innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Watch out for people—because they will hand you over to councils and they will beat you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ They will haul you in front of governors and even kings because of me so that you may give your testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ Whenever they hand you over, don’t worry about how to speak or what you will say, because what you can say will be given to you at that moment. ²⁰ You aren’t doing the talking, but the Spirit of my Father is doing the talking through you.