Thoughts and Musings from My Faith Journey
Today’s voice of the day is so simple as to be self-evident.
Most good things have been said far too many times and just need to be lived. — Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution, Updated and Expanded: Living as an Ordinary Radical (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015), 30.
We’ll have Ash Wednesday services at 12:15 pm and 6:30 p.m. this coming Wednesday (March 1, 2017). We expect both services to last about thirty minutes or less. The second service will include communion.
The miracles of Jesus have often been interpreted as signs of God’s Kingdom breaking into the present (and they are), but Shane Claiborne wants us to also remember them as signs of God’s love.
But what had lasting significance were not the miracles themselves but Jesus’ love. Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead, and a few years later, Lazarus died again. Jesus healed the sick, but they eventually caught some other disease. He fed the thousands, and the next day they were hungry again. But we remember his love. It wasn’t that Jesus healed a leper but that he touched a leper, because no one touched lepers. — Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution, Updated and Expanded: Living as an Ordinary Radical (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015), 75.
Your challenge for the day: go out in love and touch a leper (either literally or metaphorically—here in Abilene, probably metaphorically).
Aaron Niequist posted a picture on Instagram of a small frame church with the following words: “If the church is not political, it’s irrelevant to the world that God so loves. But if the church is partisan, it becomes a tool of the empire.”
“If the church is not political, it’s irrelevant to the world that God so loves. But if the church is partisan, it becomes a tool of the empire.”
He then had the following statement which gets at what I tried to say in a sermon a while back:
Many have been pushing to keep politics completely separate from faith right now. I understand the discomfort and huge dangers, but here’s why I respectfully disagree:
Being political means we are engaged in how our society is organized. If we want to love our neighbor, we will naturally get involved in building the systems that lead to flourishing, and fighting to change the unjust systems that target the poor, weak, and marginalized. We can’t pretend to love our neighbor while we ignore the realities that hurt them.
But the moment we tip into wholesale support for one party against the other, we take our eyes off our neighbor and join the system as an apologist for only half the story. Neither party is fully aligned with God’s Kingdom, and we need to find a way to engage the full reality of society without selling out to one side.
Friends, this is incredibly difficult…and I’ll be the first to say that I don’t do it perfectly. The temptation to flight or fight is so strong. But let’s not give up! May God be gracious as we stumble forward—three steps forward and two steps back—into humble and meaningful engagement with the world that God so loves.
Amen. I know that it sometimes seems to some of us that one party or the other has gone so far off the deep end that we can safely pitch our tent with the other one, but that’s never really the case. Our absolute loyalty is to be reserved for God and God alone.
I want to invite and encourage you to join me in reading the through the four canonical Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) during the upcoming seasons of Lent and Easter. There are copies of a Gospel Reading Plan available in the narthex and online at the church’s website. We invite you to pick one up and join us in this challenge. The Forty Days of Lent do not include the six Sundays that fall within the season, so there will be some slack in the reading for those who fall behind to catch up. There are only eighty-nine chapters in the Gospels, but the first chapter of Luke contains eighty chapters, so we split in two.
Link to the Plan: https://abilenefirstumc.org/downloads/
Today’s voice of the day comes from Shane Claiborne:
In college, one of my professors said, “Don’t let the world steal your soul. Being a Christian is about choosing Jesus and deciding to do something incredibly daring with your life.” — Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution, Updated and Expanded: Living as an Ordinary Radical (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015), 18.
Don’t let the world steal your soul, use your faith to do something daring.
It’s 2017, I can’t believe that anti-Semitism in the United States is still a thing. (Of course, I’m white, male, heterosexual, and Protestant, so I lead a pretty sheltered life.) More than 100 tombstones in a Jewish Cemetery were toppled yesterday (Monday, February 20, 2017). This is wrong, and we should be ashamed that such a thing (and countless others like it) could happen in our country. I am firmly convinced that although God has grafted the church onto Israel (Romans 11), God has not forgotten nor forsaken the Jewish people. To quote Romans 11.1-2a (CEB): “So I ask you, has God rejected his people? Absolutely not! I’m an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God hasn’t rejected his people, whom he knew in advance.” Moving from general human decency into specifically Christian ethics, if God has not rejected them, then we dare not reject them either.
I’ve tried to make this point in any number of sermons, but I really like the way Shane Claiborne puts it.
“God doesn’t want to change the world without us. There are times when we throw our hands up at God and say, “Do something!” and if we listen closely, we can hear God respond, “I did do something. I made you.” Sometimes we are waiting on God, and God is waiting on us. When it comes to combatting injustice, this has proved to be true: God wants our help. Certainly, God can work miracles without us. It’s not that God needs us but that God wants us, and that is pretty spectacular. So next time you ask God to move a mountain, don’t be surprised if God hands you a shovel. This is a divine conspiracy. We get to be a part of the action.” — Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution, Updated and Expanded: Living as an Ordinary Radical (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015), 61.
In a previous post, I commended the Irresistible Revolution to you (especially because Amazon.com has an electronic version for just under a buck). If you read it, I’m sure you’ll find things you disagree with (I sure did), but I think you’ll also find yourself liking Shane and the sense of joy and adventure he brings to the prospect of faithful Christian discipleship.
The following is from the Announcements in next Sunday’s bulletin.
Have you been touched in some way by the card ministry of our church? Our cards reach so many people through our congregational cards, prayer vigil, prayer partners, and other special occasions. In the past three years our ministry has produced over 2,300 cards. But quite often, there are only two of us crafting. We would like to welcome new crafters to join us. There is no strict time commitment, and we have opportunities for all levels of ability.
To encourage more interest in our group, we will be holding a workshop on Thursday, February 23, at 9:00 a.m., and an additional session at 7:00 p.m. that evening. We will be making a minimum of two cards, one to donate to the church and one to take home with you if you like. If you are curious about what we do, have an itch to create, whether you are an experienced paper crafter or have not worked with paper since you were in grade school, or you are just looking for an informal fellowship, come join us! If you have any questions, please contact Velda Becker, 785-263-3039.
“We are called not to be successful but to be faithful.” — Mother Teresa as quoted by Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution, Updated and Expanded: Living as an Ordinary Radical (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015), 69.
I’m really enjoying The Irresistible Revolution and I promise you that it’s not just Mother Teresa quotes. For the month of February 2017, Amazon.com has the Kindle edition for just 99 cents.
Link: https://goo.gl/fQrXAi
Danny Robinson recently had his leg amputated due to complications from diabetes. The Young, Younger, and Youngish Class will host an enchilada lunch to help offset medical expenses and lost wages in Wright Fellowship Hall on Sunday, March 5 from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. The meal will include 2 beef/cheese enchiladas, Mexican rice, and chocolate sheet cake. There is a suggested donation of $7 per meal. Drive thru and to go meals will be available.
This weekend (February 18-19, 2017) the confirmation class and a few other youth will be going to Wichita for the “Faith Weekend.” There they’ll visit Southwind Sangha (Buddhist), St. George Greek Orthodox Church, East Heights UMC (where they’ll spend the night) St. Mark’s UMC and the Islamic Society of Wichita. Jenny’s going with them, so I’ll be preaching (you can’t say I didn’t warn you).