Thoughts from our trip to Israel #2: Size is relative

Masada: Looking across to the Dead Sea to the mountains of Moab

The Jordan River, we've got two bigger river flowing through Franklin

Looking across the Sea of Galilee, we'd call it a lake here.

Size is relative, that's a phrase you'd heard before, and one that hits home when you see with your own eyes the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River.  In many parts of the world, especially places with much higher yearly precipitation totals, neither of these bodies of water would be all that remarkable.  A decent sized lake, albeit a deep one, and a narrow river, wouldn't feature prominently into the narrative of very many historical moments if they weren't located in a place as significant as this one.

Because important things in the Bible, and especially in the life of Jesus, took place around (as well as upon and in) these bodies of water, they have an outsized place in our collective imaginations that looms larger than what familiarity with them would have otherwise given.

Another way to look at it, however, is to wrap your mind around how important these two bodies are water are in this land precisely because freshwater is scarce.  The Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River have been vital to life in the Holy Land for thousands of years, and remain so today, even if they look unremarkable to those who, like me, grew up on a peninsula surrounded by the Great Lakes.  

The picture from the top of Masada emphasizes that the Jordan River Valley, like its namesake river, isn't all that wide (further upstream it is narrower even than this).  As we journeyed south from the Sea of Galilee toward Jericho, it was easy enough to see both side of the river valley from our bus windows.  At times the two hilly/mountainous regions that the river runs between were no more than a couple miles apart, the fertile valley (thanks to the river) between them only a farm or two wide.

For Americans, in particular, used to the vast Great Plains, the Mighty Mississippi, and trips in the car where you can drive for hour after hour without seeing much change in the landscape, this truncated scale takes getting used to.

Lastly, while it is indeed a small land when compared to other places on the planet, the events described in the Bible were taking place at a walking pace, we might be able to drive from Galilee to Jerusalem in considerably less time than it takes to cross Ohio on I80 (mores the pity: it is obligatory to make as many Ohio jokes as possible when you grew up in the Mitten), but it still took a goodly number of days to make that journey on foot.

Sermon Video: Jesus heals publicly, and prays privately - Mark 1:29-39

 The healing of one man on the Sabbath brings a vast crowd to see Jesus that evening when the Sabbath ended.  Having spent the evening healing many, Jesus gets up early the next morning to go out to a solitary place to pray.  Why?  For the same reasons we need to imitate him: (1) the physical/emotional need of every human being for rest and recuperation, (2) our need for ongoing perspective and balance, and (3) our need for communion with our Heavenly Father.  We, as Christians, need to regularly employ private prayer, hopefully with the bonus of solitude.  While public corporate prayer is a huge part of our worship and the life of the Church, that does not end our obligation.  Each Christian should approach the Father in prayer, unburdening our hearts and minds, seeking guidance and wisdom, and maintaining our sense of a family connection to God.  With the way that 2020 has gone thus far, don't you need some time for solitary prayer?

To watch the video, click on the link below:

The value of perspective: The American Church is a minority

Don't underestimate the value of a proper perspective.  Our ability to see the Truth and facts clearly, which exist independent of our comprehension or acceptance of them, often is heavily influenced by the combination of our own point of view, and our awareness/acceptance that other views exist.  With that in mind, the chart above offers us 18 categories where statistics regarding the global Christian population can be applied.  Before offering some general thoughts, let me look at whether or not I am in the majority or minority for each.

1. Language: Minority.  I speak English, only 10/100 Christians speak English
2. Continent: Minority. I live in NA, only 11/100 Christians live in NA.
3. Tradition: Minority.  I'm a Protestant, only 22/100 Christian are Protestants
4. Gender Inequality: Majority.  55/100 Christians live in nations with low inequality.
5. Age: Majority.  64/100 Christians are between 15-64
6. Urbanization: Minority.  Only 35/100 Christians live in rural communities
7. Internet: Majority.  53/100 have access to the internet, but its almost an even split.
8. Water: Majority.  86/100 have access to clean water.
9. Malaria: Majority.  95/100 do not have Maleria.
10. HIV: Majority. 99/100 do not have HIV.
11. Life Expectancy: Majority.  55/100 have expectancy of 75+ (It is currently 78 in USA)
12. Infant: Majority.  98/100 children born to Christians survive infancy.
13. Physicians: Majority 66/100 have access to doctors.
14. Development: Minority.  Only 19/100 Christians live in highly developed countries/regions.
15. Corruption: Minority.  Only 21/100 live in countries with low levels of corruption.
16. Income: Minority.  Only 19/100 live on >$100 per day.
17. Literacy: Majority.  89/100 are literate.
18. Education: Majority.  65/100 have secondary education.

Looking at the list, that places me in the minority 7 times, with the majority 11 times, but the ones where I am in the minority (and so are you if you're reading this as a Protestant in the USA) are very significant: Language, Continent, Tradition, Urbanization, Development, Corruption, and Income.  The conclusion is inescapable: When compared to the bulk of Christians living in the world today, I have tremendous privileges and advantages.  {And yes, this doesn't take into account the additional benefits of being a white male as well, placing me ahead of others here in America that must contend with racism or sexism.}

1. The Church in America is a small piece of God's Kingdom around the globe.
Given the cultural hegemony enjoyed by America, as well as the out-sized role played by the United States on the world stage since WWII, it is natural for American Christians to assume that we are the rudder that steers the Christian vessel; that what happens here will determine the future of the Church.  The explosive growth of Christianity in the Southern and Eastern hemispheres in recent generations has made that assumption less and less true with each passing year.  This was, of course, the dream of the Modern Missions movement, establishing the Church in new nations around the globe.  Our responses?  Humility and hallelujahs.  Whether or not the Church in America grows or declines in coming decades, the global Church is moving forward, the kingdom of God is expanding rapidly, and souls are being saved.

2. Most of the worlds Christians do not speak our language, enjoy our rights/freedoms, or have nearly as many resources and opportunities in life.
As Christians, we ought to be familiar with God's grace.  It is part of the foundation of our theology that we don't deserve the loving kindness of God shown to us in Jesus Christ.  We need to also remember that many of the other blessings we enjoy in life are 'accidents of birth', not products of our hard work, and thus once again acts of God's grace.  Thank God for your blessings, support organizations that work to help alleviate poverty and injustice, and pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ for whom the simple act of living life is not so simple.

3. Our hopes, fears, concerns as rural American Protestant Christians may be out of touch with the hopes, fears, and concerns of most of the world's Christians.
Have you ever been involved in a social media squabble among Christians about an issue that would seem trivial to Christians living under an oppressive regime or trying to raise a family on less than $10 per day?  Have you ever been to a church committee meeting where people were upset about a decision made, not because we have no choices, but too many?  Perhaps some of what consumes our time and energy is not as important as we think it is.  We have Bibles in abundance, access to numerous excellent seminaries, the freedom to worship where, when, and how we choose.  The controversies that consume us, the fears that keep us up at night, are not the same as those facing the majority of our brothers and sisters around the globe.

Sermon Video: Set your hearts on things above - Colossians 3:1-4

Having refuted legalism and asceticism as being illegitimate paths to piety for disciples of Jesus Christ, Paul turns his focus upon the appropriate direction for God's people, that is, their need to set their hearts and minds on "things above".  Instead of spelling individual things out, Paul focuses upon the direction and focus of the passions and thought processes of those who know that they will one day appear, with Christ, when he returns in glory.

What does it mean to have your heart or mind set upon things above? For the Christian, this means living here and now as a citizen of heaven.  Having the perspective of someone who knows the future and lives today in light of it.  It means having a spiritual perspective as well, one that sees beyond the material and one that invests in eternity (though self-sacrifice today).

To watch the video, click on the link below:

A world without extra food: The not very distant past.

While reading Tom Holland's The Forge of Christendom: The End of Days and the Epic Rise of the West, I was struck once more with the realization that most of modern humanity has no real notion as to what life was really like only a few short generations ago before the food surpluses we enjoy came to be following the Industrial/Agricultural Revolution.  Our ancestors lived season to season.  Every spring was a time of want, last year's harvest having been exhausted and this year's produce not yet available.  A single bad harvest could throw a family, a village, even an entire region into famine and starvation.  Is it any wonder that a people living such a precarious existence, while having faith in God, were still superstitious as they looked to the heavens and prayed that nothing would destroy their crop before the harvest?
Famine still exists in the modern world, much of it the result of human malfeasance, but weather related disasters still occur that threaten once more to plunge people into hunger.  There is a profound difference, however, between modern hunger and its past manifestations.  When hail, locusts, or a band of marauders ruined the harvest in 10th century Francia, 12th century Bavaria, or 14th century Ireland, there was no outside help to come to the rescue.  The U.N. did not exist to send relief, nor did international charities, or friendly foreign governments.  We still have humanitarian crisis in our world, and they still do spiral out of control at times, but a possible solution to them always exists.  There is enough food in the world to feed everybody, our ancestors couldn't imagine such abundance.
If you know history, you learn perspective, if you have a reality based perspective on the world, finding wisdom is far easier.  Is life difficult now?  Yes.  Do people suffer in the Third World and in even rich nations?  Of course.  Understanding that things were worse, significantly worse, in the past doesn't minimize the suffering of the present, but it does remind us that gratitude ought to be near to our lips far more often than grumbling.  There are a lot of people who don't know what they will eat tomorrow, but gone are the days when nobody could prevent starvation following a bad harvest.  Shouldn't we therefore be a people who don't have to be reminded to offer up thanksgiving to God?

Sermon Video: "whom you should fear" - Luke 12:1-9

Fear is a powerful emotion, it affects many of the decisions we make in life, for both good and ill.  After speaking to the crowd about the danger of hypocrisy, Jesus transitions to one of its causes, fear of persecution by telling them that they should not fear those who can ONLY kill you and then do no more.  On the surface of it, that statement is one of the boldest things Jesus ever said.  It is only natural to fear those who could kill you, and if they can do that, what more could there be?  Jesus explains his statement by going on to say that we should fear him who can actually send our immortal souls to hell.  The perspective Jesus is advocating, viewing the afterlife as more important than this life, and fearing God more than man, is necessary if we are to truly become his disciples.  We must begin our path to God with a healthy fear of his divine power and authority as both Creator and Judge of this world.  Our realization that we must account for ourselves before God need not lead to despair over our unworthiness, however, as Jesus goes on to say, God cares for the sparrows, surely he will not leave you in a state of depravity without a rescue plan?  The way out, the escape plan from our earned fear of the wrath of God, is to simply acknowledge the Son, claim Jesus as Lord and he will testify before his Father that you are part of the family, and we can have confidence that Jesus will be our advocate, which in the end will leave us with nothing to fear.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: "while we wait for the blessed hope" - Titus 2:13-14

What impact does the knowledge that a Christian has of how the story ends have upon his or her life?  In Titus 2:13-14, Paul continues with the previous two verses' idea of how grace teaches us to act morally by expanding the perspective of our need to be a people who are "eager to do what is good" to include God's overall plan and purpose for ourselves, Christians in general, and the world.  While we learn from grace, we also await the "blessed hope" of the return of Christ in glory.  That knowledge ought to give Christians optimism, encouragement, hope, and instill in us boldness as we know that we are already on the winning side of the future when we are on the side of the king of kings.  We have hope for our own lives, that heaven awaits us beyond the grave, but we also have hope for the world, for Christ will return, not to strive once more in the world, but to reign.  In the meantime, God's plan is to create a people brought together by faith in Christ, a people purchased by his blood and transformed by the Holy Spirit, who will be his instruments for the kingdom of God in this world.  How will we accomplish the plan of God, by being a people who are eager to do what is good.  Our calling is a high one, but we have been equipped for it by the Holy Spirit, and we know that our side cannot lose, more than that, that it is guaranteed to be victorious in the end, for Christ will come again in glory.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

The importance of heaven: a life lesson from Everybody Loves Raymond

In an episode of the excellent sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond, Ray's brother Robert is faced with a moral dilemma because he for once has a beautiful woman, Stephana, who is interested in having sex with him.  Robert, a lonely middle-aged man with serious fears of commitment, makes the morally correct decision to not get into a physical relationship with Stephana, despite her overwhelming beauty and clear willingness.  As Stephana leaves in anger from his apartment after Robert informs her that they shouldn't see each other anymore, she taunts him one last time with the beauty that he had chosen to abstain from, after Robert had shouted at her, "I did the right thing, morally".  After her taunt, Robert says to himself, "there had better be a heaven".  Sitcoms are meant to be funny, first and foremost, but in this case Robert is also hitting upon an important moral principle.  The morality that we live by is not limited to this lifetime; it is affected by, and carries over into, the afterlife.  Because Robert was a Christian, a Catholic to be precise, he believed that making morally correct decisions was more important that worldly pleasures.  That Robert is counting upon heaven to recompense him for his sacrifice is not a cop-out, but a wise perspective on his part.  Too many Christians live too much of their lives as if this life is really all that they believe there is.  When we instead consider eternity as we think about today, our perspective changes, what we place value in changes, what we focus upon changes, and we find motivation and encouragement that will help us to achieve victory over temptation as well as endurance in our acts of righteousness.  Robert chose to do the right thing, he did so in the hope that there is indeed a heaven, fortunately for him and all of us, he is right.

Sermon Video, "rejoice that your names are written in heaven" - Luke 10:17-20

When the seventy-two, sent out by Jesus to prepare the towns and villages for his arrival, return full of joy at their major success, they share with Jesus their enthusiasm that “even the demons submit to us in your name.”  Jesus confirms their success by relating to them that he witnessed the fall of Satan, “like lightning”, and then he goes further by telling them that they will do even greater things for the kingdom because he has given them his authority and power.  With that ability the followers of Jesus, soon to become the Church after Pentecost, are entirely capable of overcoming the forces of darkness and carrying the Gospel’s saving grace to the ends of the earth.  There is much in Jesus words to give us confidence and hope as we continue to be beacons of light in a dark world.

                After building up their enthusiasm and expectation, Jesus ends the conversation by reminding his followers that wielding power in his name, even over the forces of darkness, is not an end in and of itself, but rather an outcome of the foundational work which he is about to accomplish on Good Friday and Easter.  Jesus reminds them that the most important thing is that they can rejoice that their “names are written in heaven.”  If we, as individuals and as a Church, don’t have that, we don’t have anything.  This perspective has major implications for each one of us and for our collective efforts to do fulfill our mission through the ministry of his Church. 

                Is this then a call, by Jesus, to place our focus entirely upon evangelism to the exclusion of service?  Of course not, that would fly in the face of the approach that Jesus himself used as he continually met the physical needs of the people he met in the process of sharing with them the Good News of the Gospel.  This is not a call to divorce evangelism from service, rather it is a reminder that the two must be inextricably linked, because the evangelist who cares not for the people will soon have no audience, and the servant who doesn’t bring the Gospel with him/her will have no message.  In the end, figuring out how we combine service and evangelism in our personal, Church, and para-church efforts will be an ongoing task, but as long as we keep the proper perspective from Jesus that there is only one foundation we can build upon, we will continue to be useful to the kingdom of God.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video

Is it time for you to take a Sabbatical?

One of my fellow ministers here in Franklin is leaving today for an extended Sabbatical until after Easter.  The first thought that most of us have on hearing something like that is a bit of jealousy.  Wouldn't we all love to walk away from our job for a while and get a break that last longer than the standard two weeks?  The idea of a Sabbatical, which comes from the Hebrew Shabbat (Sabbath), is actually something that God intended to be an integral part of the way that society functions.  We are all familiar with the weekly Sabbath, for Jews Saturday, for Christians Sunday, that reflects the seventh day of rest at the end of the Genesis account of Creation.  That weekly break from labor is certainly something we can see the value of, and something we ignore at the peril of our own health, but God inteneded it to be part of a greater scheme of rest that went far beyond a weekly break.  In the Law given to Moses, the people were commanded to let the land have a rest, and themselves as well, every seventh year.  In other words, they were to work the land for six years, and then take one year off.  We have much the same concept regarding the land today with crop rotations and allow the land to lie fallow from time to time, but the idea of giving ourselves longer breaks from labor has always failed to gain hold when practical considerations overrule such considerations.  Today, only professionals, especially academics and scientists, consider a sabbatical to be a part of their career path, although most of these use that time away for an intense level of work on a special project such as writing a book or doing field research.
Do any of us ever really take time AWAY from our 24/7 connected and wired-in world anymore?  What would it be like to walk away from e-mail, voice-mail, facebook, and who knows what else, for not just a few days, but for a few months?  The problem with never stepping away from the daily grind is that we don't take the time to step back and look at how we do what we do, or why.  The next day's work is coming too fast, no time to think about priorities, no time to evaluate the quality of life we're living, nor to consider the opportunities that pass us by to help others.  What could you accomplish with a sabbatical?  What would happen if you took the time to look at your life from the outside for a change?  God knew what he was doing when he told his people to include rest in their lives.  I wish my fellow minister well in her time off, and I wonder, who will return to us after it ends?  Hopefully, and I mean this in the right way, not the same person who left.

When you start to whine about your life....

Yesterday was one of those days that reminds me that my life is pretty good no matter how it may seem from time to time.  A 7th grader at Ionia Middle School had to call 911 at 4:30 AM because of an argument between her parents.  When the cops arrived they discovered that her father had shot her mother, her brother, and then killed himself.  It is certainly beyond my imagination how difficult this little girl's life is right now (as of now, both her brother and mother are in serious condition at the hospital).  I was called to the MS on friday morning to cover the classes of one of her teachers.  When you find out that you're working today because three people were shot, it puts things in perspective.
We all tend to be a little myopic about our lives, don't we?  We all have problems, many of them serious, and it really takes a jolt to get us to see beyond ourselves.  None of us are promised a tomorrow, today could be your last day.  Is it worth is to spend this day complaining?  As the Apostle James wrote, "Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."  Take a realistic look at your life.  Thank God for you many blessings (and tell him of your cares and worries in prayer), and never forget that life is a precious gift, one only our Creator can give.