"I longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15, NIV)
I've just about stopped adding to my list of "friends" on Facebook. While it might be nice to think that I'm friends with my bishop, a famous author, or even a kid in the youth group, I've begun to have second thoughts whenever I'm asked to add another "friend" to my list.
To me a friend is one with whom I can share my innermost hopes and dreams, as well as my trials and defeats. A friend is one who, whether I write to express a new thought or an old emotion, will write back to show his/her understanding. Few of my Facebook "friends" will do any such thing. Come to think of it, few people I know will do that at all. I written before that Facebook friends seemed to be consumed with what they themselves are doing. That's not always the case, but it often seems to be. Even some non-Facebook people who say they are my friends grow weary after a while of responding.
The old hymn, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" says that Jesus is our friend, because we can take all of our griefs and cares to him in prayer. On the other hand, Jesus himself told his disciples that he considered them his friends because he had already told them everything he had learned from his Father.
Let me rephrase that. I tend to consider someone a friend if I can tell him/her what's on my mind and get a response. Jesus called his disciples friends, because he had told them everything that was on his Father's mind. What kind of response did he expect? Just one verse prior to the one above he tells them: "You are my friends if you do what I command" (vs. 14).
And what is that? "Love each other as I have loved you" (vs. 12). It is love that on the Father's mind constantly. It is his Father's love that Jesus tried to teach and demonstrate in his interactions with his own followers and friends. In turn, it is that love that he expected, even commanded, those who followed him to share with others.
Many people, myself included, tend to think of friends as people who will demonstrate a friendly sort of love to them. In that way we try to make them our servants. Jesus, on the other hand, expects his friends to demonstrate love for one another, to, in effect, be each other's servants.
Now, as I go down my list of Facebook friends (and other friends, as well), a new thought will occupy my mind: "How can I show them God's love?" When I'm through doing that for the "friends" I already have listed, I just may have add some new ones. That is how God's love spreads.
Blessings,
John
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Where are the sick?
"Jesus said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'" (Mark 2:17).
Time after time I've seen it. Someone makes a mistake with their life--something obvious and public--and all of a sudden they disappear from church. Or someone becomes mentally ill, and the same thing occurs. When you get sick, you go to the doctor. When you get really sick, you go to the hospital. But get spiritually sick, and suddenly you are isolated as if you have some horriby contageous disease.
Jesus encouraged the spiritually sick to come to him, so why is that the church seems to be such an anti-magnet to the same crowd? Could it be that the majority of people in the church (pastors included) are under the illusion that we are spiritually healthy, and that the sick belong somewhere else, lest they "infect" the rest of us? Where else can they go to encounter Jesus in his flesh and blood--in the body and blood of Christ that is offered in Holy Communion and in the flesh and blood of human beings created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus so that they might BE Jesus to others in this world. Shunning them or (God forbid) driving them away would be like the hospital receptionist telling a prospective patient that he/she is too sick to be there, and yet it happens all too often in real life.
A colleague of mine decided this past week to remain an independent evangelist rather than tie himself down to a particular congregation. I was disappointed, because I believe that he needs the stability a congregation would bring, but I also understand. As an independent evangelist he is free to minister to those who know they are spiritually ailing, wherever he might find them. As a pastor in a congregation he might well be distracted by the concerns of those who believe they are healthy, or at least pretend that they are, while hiding their sickness inside. The reality is that a parish pastor typically ministers to both, and, if fortunate, he/she can empower those who really are more healthy to help those who are more in need of spiritual healing. That is the power and potential of true Christian community.
My fervent desire for the church is that it might become more like an Alcoholics Anonymous group, where everyone knows that he/she is still sick and in need of constant repentance and reassurance, where the confession we say at the beginning of the worship service is said honestly and with a passion, so that everyone who comes might be willing to simply relax into the company of fellow sinners who are only too eager to help each other experience the love of our Creator God, the redemption of Jesus Christ, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the blessed consolation of the saints who are the living body of Christ.
Time after time I've seen it. Someone makes a mistake with their life--something obvious and public--and all of a sudden they disappear from church. Or someone becomes mentally ill, and the same thing occurs. When you get sick, you go to the doctor. When you get really sick, you go to the hospital. But get spiritually sick, and suddenly you are isolated as if you have some horriby contageous disease.
Jesus encouraged the spiritually sick to come to him, so why is that the church seems to be such an anti-magnet to the same crowd? Could it be that the majority of people in the church (pastors included) are under the illusion that we are spiritually healthy, and that the sick belong somewhere else, lest they "infect" the rest of us? Where else can they go to encounter Jesus in his flesh and blood--in the body and blood of Christ that is offered in Holy Communion and in the flesh and blood of human beings created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus so that they might BE Jesus to others in this world. Shunning them or (God forbid) driving them away would be like the hospital receptionist telling a prospective patient that he/she is too sick to be there, and yet it happens all too often in real life.
A colleague of mine decided this past week to remain an independent evangelist rather than tie himself down to a particular congregation. I was disappointed, because I believe that he needs the stability a congregation would bring, but I also understand. As an independent evangelist he is free to minister to those who know they are spiritually ailing, wherever he might find them. As a pastor in a congregation he might well be distracted by the concerns of those who believe they are healthy, or at least pretend that they are, while hiding their sickness inside. The reality is that a parish pastor typically ministers to both, and, if fortunate, he/she can empower those who really are more healthy to help those who are more in need of spiritual healing. That is the power and potential of true Christian community.
My fervent desire for the church is that it might become more like an Alcoholics Anonymous group, where everyone knows that he/she is still sick and in need of constant repentance and reassurance, where the confession we say at the beginning of the worship service is said honestly and with a passion, so that everyone who comes might be willing to simply relax into the company of fellow sinners who are only too eager to help each other experience the love of our Creator God, the redemption of Jesus Christ, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the blessed consolation of the saints who are the living body of Christ.
Monday, March 9, 2009
STAY CONNECTED
In the middle of a storm, it's important to stay connected. I've heard stories of blizzards on the farm, when farmers would tie a rope from the house to the barn, so that they wouldn't get lost or disoriented and wind up stuck out in the cold and snow. Nowadays, if someone should have to venture out on the road in a storm, they can take along a cell phone and keep people on each end of their journey informed as to their progress. Either way, staying connected is not only a good idea, it can save a person's life.
Likewise, as you and I encounter difficult times in life, it's also important for us to stay connected--to people we know and love, to groups and/or practices that keep us anchored, and, of course, to God. In times of sickness, mourning, marital or financial trouble, staying connected through coffee-chats, phone calls, e-mails, worship, prayer and devotional reading can help people see their way through the storm and back home to safe ground.
We're in the midst of quite a storm right now. Economic uncertainty, fighting in two countries, and competing moral values in society can leave us wondering where we're going, or at least, when we're going to "get there."
God knows and can guide us along our way. The Bible is full of stories of people who have weathered life's storms. Others close to us may have similar experiences and can offer wisdom and encouragement. Staying connected with any and all of these can help us to keep from getting lost in the present storm--and any future ones as well.
Life will always bring us storms. Winter snows give way to spring downpours and summer's tornados. Whatever the season, then, it's always important to stay connected.
Blessings,
John
Likewise, as you and I encounter difficult times in life, it's also important for us to stay connected--to people we know and love, to groups and/or practices that keep us anchored, and, of course, to God. In times of sickness, mourning, marital or financial trouble, staying connected through coffee-chats, phone calls, e-mails, worship, prayer and devotional reading can help people see their way through the storm and back home to safe ground.
We're in the midst of quite a storm right now. Economic uncertainty, fighting in two countries, and competing moral values in society can leave us wondering where we're going, or at least, when we're going to "get there."
God knows and can guide us along our way. The Bible is full of stories of people who have weathered life's storms. Others close to us may have similar experiences and can offer wisdom and encouragement. Staying connected with any and all of these can help us to keep from getting lost in the present storm--and any future ones as well.
Life will always bring us storms. Winter snows give way to spring downpours and summer's tornados. Whatever the season, then, it's always important to stay connected.
Blessings,
John
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