Reflection on James 1:17-27

James 1:17-27 (NRSV)

¹⁷Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. ¹⁸In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

 ¹⁹You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; ²⁰for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. ²¹Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
 ²²But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. ²³For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; ²⁴for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. ²⁵But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.
 ²⁶If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Reflection 

Years ago, during my pastoral internship, while I was unwrapping my lunch, I got a call just before I took a bite.  It was a woman who was asking for some food.  She had nothing to eat.  I looked at my sandwich and gave it a sigh of sad goodbye.  I wrapped my deli-made, ham sandwich in its wrapper, put it in the paper bag with the bag of chips, and proceeded to drive to the local woman’s shelter, where she was staying. Just so you understand, the shelter provided dinner, but lunch was on your own.  Most women just made sure to have leftovers from dinner, but this woman had just entered into the shelter that morning after days of homelessness.  The previous days had yielded just scraps of food, and she was weak and famished.

After knocking, the door opened to reveal a very thin, old woman with paper thin skin.  Before thinking even to reach for the lunch bag, she said, “Thank you so much, kind sir,” and she shakily took a seat.  I handed the bag to her, and while taking the bag with one hand, she took my hand with another, pulled it up to her lips and kissed my hand with its cross engraved ring, as if I were some sort of royalty; as if I were divine myself; come from above.

“Thank you, Jesus” she declared, kissing the ring again.

It felt so weird.  I was just an intern; not even a pastor.  I was wearing a t-shirt and old shorts; far from looking royal or divine.  I was not worthy of such an honor.

Even today, I can guarantee that there is still nothing that is all that great about me.  And, after spending two weeks with me in close quarters while on vacation, I am certain that my family will whole-heartedly agree.  I was just a guy bearing a cheap lunch from the grocery store deli.  But to her, my meal was something more.  And to her, I was something more.  And this week, as I meditated on our reading from James, I realized that apparently I was something more to God also.  And, so are you.

But, first we will talk about the cheap meal from the deli; that simple ham sandwich.  James 1:17 teaches us, “Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Have you ever had a divine, ham sandwich? 

To tell you the truth, those deli sandwiches were not really all that good.  They were from a pitiful grocery store and were almost good enough for lunch.   But to her, the sandwich was the “perfect gift,” given to her from a generous God.  To her, it was a sandwich that was bathed in a theatrical beam of white, holy light from the “Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow.”

And, it was delivered by God’s very own divine messenger, who was glowing in his t-shirt and old shorts.  She kissed the divine messenger’s cross ring, to show her appreciation.  He was one of God’s “first fruits” from creation.

And, as ridiculous as that sounds, James claims that it is true.  We are God’s first fruits.  He says: “In fulfillment of his own purpose [God] gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures” (James 1:18).

In Matthew 5:42, Jesus instructs us to “Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42).  That day, I was birthed by his word, listening to Jesus, and his word about giving, and I took it seriously.  I am not saying that I have always done so.  There are plenty of days that I have kept the sandwich and moved on, but that day, for whatever reason, the “word of truth” shaped who I was, and in doing so I was counted among the “first fruits of this creatures.” 

Have you ever considered that you are one of the “first fruits” of creation?

Lots of people, whenever they read this Bible passage, are led to believe that the things they are given from God are the first fruits to be given towards God’s purposes, but if you read this scriptures close and meditate on it, allowing it to soak into your mind, you will notice that we “become a kind of first fruits of his creatures” (James 1:18).

We are like the first trees mentioned in Genesis, chapter two of the Bible, which are “pleasant to the sight and good for food” (Genesis 2:9).

We are like the first fruit that are harvested and given to God, as the Israelites were instructed in Exodus 23:19.

You are the first fruits that Jesus himself chose and harvested, to be set aside as special so that God has someone who can be devoted to serving God’s purposes.

It is kind of like being chosen to be the teacher’s helper in elementary school.  Do you remember that?  It is such a huge honor to be chosen.  It makes you feel bigger than you actually are.  It is a special gift that fills you with excitement.  It is a role in which you strive to do your best so that the teacher might be proud.  And, it is a role that is not earned, but given; and because of that it makes you to be better than you actually are.

Say with me, “I am God’s first fruit.”  I know the first time saying it just feels stupid.  But, say it again with me because it is true.  “I am God’s first fruit.”  And, say it again a third time because the third time it actually starts to become a part of who you are.  “I am God’s first fruit.”

You are the first fruit, picked and chosen by Jesus to be his love in the world.  And, being a first fruit looks like something.

It looks like someone who, the Bible says, is “quick to listen” (James 1:19).  Now, there are lots of people in this world who are quick to talk.  You know them.  They are the ones who do not really listen at all, but just wait for a break in the conversation in which to insert themselves and all of their knowledge.  We all know people like this, right?  Most of us have all been people like this from time to time, right? 

But, James says this to the people who are the first fruits of Jesus: “You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak,” because in that way you are actually present to the people with whom God has placed you.  How many people, who are feeling lost in life, wish that God would send them someone to just be present with them, to listen?  You are that gift, as unlikely as it may seem.

And, when you are truly present with people, and deeply listening to them, you are then also able to be “slow to anger;” (James 1:19).

And, that is important because the Bible says that “your anger does not produce God’s righteousness” (James 1:20).

Always remember that “righteousness” in the Bible does not mean “being a good and perfect person,” rather righteousness specifically means being in “right relationships” with people.  Those whose minds have been consumed by anger cannot possibly figure out how to be in a good relationship with others.

If I had allowed myself to get angry about my lunch being disrupted once again, “All I want is a moment of peace so that I can eat!  God, can’t I have even that?”  If anger was my response, then a hungry woman may not have received the gift of God.

“Your anger does not create God’s good relationships,” indeed!  In fact, anger derails good relationships all of the time.  

So, as Jesus teaches, do not continually to be angry with one another (Matthew 5:22).  Allow the anger to stop, and do something else instead. 

James tells us that maybe a better use of our time would be to undress from the filth that clings to us, like taking off blood soaked clothes after a vicious murder.  James tells us to “rid [ourselves] of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness” (James 1:21).  We are to rip off the filthy socks and stained shirts from our souls.  We are to undress from the desire to hurt others and injure others.  How can we possibly hope to help those who we are angry with, James would ask?

Can I just stop right here and say out loud that this is a lot to ask?  I do not know about you, but I quite like my righteous anger, thank you very much.  Evil people are exactly that: evil.  They need to be called out.  They need to be disliked.  They need to be punished in one way or another so that they understand all that is wrong with them!  Though I do not wish them harm, if a bus just happens to hit them on their way across the street, I am not exactly going to cry.

And, then I remember the meaning of “righteousness,” which is “seeking right relationships.”  Can “righteous anger” even do that?  If anger inherently pushes us further apart, can anger ever act in a righteous way and bring us together?

This undressing of the soul is hard work, and it leads me to think that I need a wise word, a divine word even, from Jesus to help me out.  How about you?  Are you ready to accept that your opinion probably is not all that important and that you need to listen?  Are you ready to admit some powerlessness in actually making this happen?

Then, let us join James and “welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls” (James 1:21). That is right, we want the word of Jesus grafted right onto our souls.  We want that salvific word of Jesus engraved right into our hearts.  Jesus has the wisdom we need.

But, where do we even start to look?  How about we look where James loves to look?  James really, really loved the words of Jesus found in the Sermon on the Mount, and he uses Jesus words from there all the time throughout his letter.  Now, in that sermon, Jesus talks about how we should not judge and condemn people.  Instead, Jesus says that we if we see a speck in someone else’s eye, a sin within someone else’s life, that the first thing we need to do is “take the log out of [our] own eye” (Matthew 7:5).  With a log in our own eye, there is no way we can possibly see to help the speck in our neighbor’s eye.

You are Jesus’ chosen student of the day.  You are the teacher’s helper who wants to do the best and be the best helper possible.  But, you cannot do that if you do not go and look in the mirror and get that big, ridiculous looking log out of your eye.

That is the wisdom.  That sort of self-reflection is the gift that Jesus provides to become his first fruits of love to our neighbors.  James puts it this way, “Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.  For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like” (James 1:22-24). 

Allow yourself to actually look in the mirror and see yourself as you are; good and bad.

I once had a friend who lived on a cow farm.  He came to school every single day stinking of cow.  But, we were his friends, so we never let the sometimes very, very pungent smell keep us from our friendship.  It was hard sometimes, but not once did we ever mention the smell.  He could not help it!  He lived on a cow farm!

But, one day a new friend arrived in our little group of friends who also had a certain, very present fragrance about her.  We too vowed to not even mention this fact, so as to provide a place where she could find some friends.  But, one morning, the cow friend said to the rest of us, “That girl smells rank!  I am not sure I can handle it!”  We all just stared, wide-eyed at one another.  How could he not see…or smell?

And, we can be like that.  We can look in the mirror and walk away without ever really looking and seeing.  But, being loved and chosen by Jesus first, without any conditions, means that it is safe for us to take a good look in the mirror at ourselves before we do anything to help someone else.

And when we do, when we see the truth about ourselves and how Jesus has chosen us to be his first fruits anyway, James is confident that we will not be “hearers who forget” but rather “doers who act” (James 1:25); people of real religion who do not just talk about God’s love, but are God’s love (James 1:26).

After-all, there are hungry, old women who need food.  There are smelly people who need friends.  There are people with specks in their eyes who need someone who can lovingly recognize the speck and help. 

Jesus has chosen all of you to be his first fruits of all created creatures.  That means that you are not only loved by God, but you love on behalf of God.  Jesus has chosen, even you, as faulty as you may be, “to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27).  May you too be surprised and humbled when your hand too is kissed and God is praised because Jesus urged you to offer your ham sandwich, or something even greater.  To God be the glory.

Reflection on Ephesians 6:10-20

 

Ephesians 6:10-20     

10Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. 19Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak. 

Reflection

When I was young, the Andy Griffith Show was on television when we got home from school.  We would sit down with our snacks and watch the type of good and wholesome entertainment that most of us wish our children could get today. 

With that said, there was one episode that really troubled my young self.  The episode troubled my heart again and again, as I struggled with its message.  You might even remember the episode.  It is the one where Opie, Andy’s son, gets pushed around by a bully at school, and he does not know what to do.  Andy’s suggestion is to give the bully a good punch, and then the bully will leave him alone.  The end of the episode, as I remember it anyway, shows Opie returning from school with a black eye, but smiling because he punched the bully, and now he will be free from his tormentor.

It was the old, “punch them so that they will be too scared to punch you again” trick.

I was disturbed by the message.  I had bullies in life, but I had no desire to punch them.  Rather, what kept going through my mind were the Bible verses that our Sunday School teachers were trying to impress upon us as they desired to shape us into good Christian children.

Jesus teaches: “But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also” (Matthew 5:39).  Jesus further teaches, “All who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52).

And the Apostle Peter reiterates this point, returning us to the teachings of Jesus by proclaiming: "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called” (1 Peter 3:9). 

In the television show, Andy was teaching his child something that was contrary to the Bible, and it was all portrayed as a good lesson for all of us good children watching to learn; and it troubled by young heart to no end.  I lost sleep over this one as I pondered the conflicting messages.  I obviously can still remember the moral conflict 37 years later.  It was a big pull on my heart.

My heart is still troubled when I see seemingly good and honest people going down the road of repaying “evil for evil.”  I see people that I respect mentioning that maybe now is the time for a political revolution involving violence, and it troubles my heart.  They hint that now is the time to make sure that God’s virtues are upheld.  “Sometimes,” they say, “evil needs to be confronted with force.  You cannot just let evil rule the day.”

I agree that the evils of this world need to be confronted in some way, but these people insinuate that holy violence is acceptable.  “Do not repay evil with evil” the Bible teaches.  But these good, Bible believing people seem to have forgotten.  The words of Jesus plainly instruct: “Do not resist an evil doer.”   Jesus talks about turning the other cheek, but these words seem not to even influence these people at all.

I have to cut them some slack through, because forgetting to turn the other cheek goes as far back as Peter himself, if not much, much further.  In John 18:10, Peter pulls out a sword and cuts off the ear of the High Priest’s slave when a group of officials and soldiers come to arrest Jesus and take him away. 

“Put your sword back into its sheath.” Jesus reminds Peter.  “Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (John 18:11). 

God does not need protection.  The one who is able to rise again from the grave needs no army.  Jesus does not need Peter to take up arms for him.  Jesus does not need a violent army to protect him.  He did not need it then, and he does not need it now. 

Violence is not the way the kingdom of God works.  Maybe, Peter’s failure in the garden that night is the very reason that Peter continues to reiterate Jesus’ teaching years later as he teaches his own disciples: “Do not repay evil with evil.”

As people within our own nation suffered under the daily horrors of racism, the Reverend Martin Luther King also was troubled by the impulse to make change using violence.  There is no holy violence, the reverend reasoned.  Though terrible violence and discrimination against blacks was being tolerated by otherwise good people, he was adamant that those who are suffering not “repay evil with evil.” 

In his sermon notes, a sermon that was titled, “The Peril of the Sword” the Reverend Martin Luther King said, “The method of violence assumes that evil can overcome evil. It confront[s] a negative with a negative. Retaliatory violence does nothing but multiplies…”

There is this fun little experiment that you can do in order to illustrate King’s point.  If you ask people to pair up, and you tell one person to push the other person, and then permit the other person to push back, what inevitably happens is that both people start pushing each other increasingly harder and harder until it just gets out of control.  And, none of these people even have anything against the other person.  Now, imagine what happens when you ask husbands and wives to do this at a marriage retreat!  And, I am not even going to talk about the time we invited teens to do it at a confirmation retreat.  Needless to say, it was not the most brilliant of confirmation lesson ideas.  “Retaliatory violence does nothing but multiplies.”

Counter to this, the Reverend Martin Luther King suggests that “the doer of [the evil] must always be respected” as a person.  They too are a child of God.  They must not be treated as anything else, even if those who do evil to us treat us as something other than children of God.  The Reverend continues, “The aim of the sword is to defeat injure and humiliate an oppressor. But the true aim should be to convert him, to change his understanding and his sense of values.”  In other words, even the oppressor should be treated as a child of God who can be forgiven and who can change.

But, if we are going to do that, then we will need some different battle armor.  Our swords and shields are going to be different than those of the people who would do us harm.  And, the writer of Ephesians is keenly aware of this.  Roman soldiers wear a belt which shows their rank and honor, a breastplate to protect from blows to the vital organs, boots with which to trample, a wet shield to snuff out burning arrows, a helmet to protect the mind, and the sword to cut down the opponent.  A small, outlawed, religious sect, such as the Christians, had no hope of arming themselves against such a powerful, well equipped military foe.  But, neither were they asked to do so by Jesus or his apostles. 

Rather, the writer of Ephesians asks them to be made strong by the Lord.  The Greek reads, “Be made strong in the Lord” (Ephesians 6:10).  For, it is the Lord who dresses them for battle.  But, it is not a battle against other people.  “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).  People are not our true enemies, the writer says.  They can change.  You can hear the heart of Ephesians echoing in the Reverend Martin Luther King’s words, “the true aim should be to convert him, to change his understanding and his sense of values.” 

Rather, Ephesians teaches that we are in a battle against the “spiritual forces of evil” who are behind those flesh and blood attacks (Ephesians 6:12).

So, donning our God given armor looks a lot like putting the “belt of truth” around our waist.  Remember that the belt was primarily to show rank, with straps and small pennants attached.  The belt of truth helps us to remember who we are, and more importantly, “whose” we are.  We are not someone worth trampling on, nor are we people who return evil for evil.  We are the children of God our belt straps and pennants remind us.  We are the followers of Jesus Christ.  And, we put that belt on first so that we never forget.

Then we put on the “breastplate of righteousness,” or right relationships.  Our enemies are not our enemies.  They are people worthy of love, and seeking a loving relationship with our enemies will protect our hearts.  It is a breastplate of love.

As for shoes, we put on whatever helps us run and “proclaim the gospel of peace” to a world that keeps seeking violence.  God’s peace is what heals the world.

Of course, with all of this, God gives us the “shield of faith.”  It is this baptismal water soaked shield of trust in the Lord, which “will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16).

You can hear just how strong the shield of faith can be when you listen to the words of the Apostle Paul.  He asks, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Romans 8:35).  “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).  For Paul, even though arrows of death can piece our hearts, they cannot pierce our shield of faith that binds us forever to Jesus Christ through God’s unfailing love.

With the shield on our arm, we wear salvation on our heads, tassels of grace flailing about for all to see, and in our hands we hold the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).  We do not hold real swords, because we do not “aim…to defeat injure and humiliate an oppressor,” as the Reverend Martin Luther King reminds us.  Rather, with our sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, we aim to convert [others], to change [their] understanding and [their] sense of values.” 

Wearing the full armor of God, we pray for the day

when love will replace retaliation,

when friend will replace enemy,

when peace will replace fear,

and when trust in God will replace trust in evil ways.

With the Reverend Martin Luther King we pray “that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (“I Have A Dream” Speech).

Lord, your kingdom come, your will be done.

Reflection on Ephesians 5:15-20

 

And I will raise you up

And I will raise you up

And I will raise you up

On the last day.

Sister Suzanne Toolan of the Sisters of Mercy wrote those words, which are found in the beloved hymn, “I Am the Bread of Life.”  She wrote them as a high school teacher during one of her free periods.  When the bell rang for the next class she decided she did not like the music, so she tore it up and threw it in the wastepaper basket.

Her classroom was next to the nurse’s office, and a girl came out of the nurse’s office and said, “What was that?  It was beautiful!”  The girl was moved by the song and she encouraged sister Toolan to go back into the classroom, take the manuscript out of the basket, and tape it back together.

That torn up song, over the years, has touched the souls of people throughout the world.  Its strong promise, echoing the words of John 6:54, “And I will raise you up,” repeating three times in a powerful, ascending musical crescendo, spoke powerfully to a young man sitting toward the back of a funeral.  The man was moved to tears, accompanied by weeping that would have been audible if it were not for the echoes of voices repeating, again and again Jesus’ promise, “And I will raise you up.” 

Not only was it a promise that sang deeply to his grief filled soul, as all good church music does, as he despaired the loss of a good friend to an automobile accident, the tune also sang directly to the rest of his life.  It was as if Jesus had walked in the doors of that church, sat down right next to him, looked at him in his lowly, fatigued, and hungry state, and said, “I will raise you up.”

And, he was desperate to hear the words, because this friend’s death was not the first loss sending him into the pit of despair.  He had already fallen into the pit.  This death was just more dirt heaped from above, burying him deeper.  He had recently lost one of his parents, on top of the death of another good buddy from school.  You can also add a job onto the list of losses because the grief and depression had caused him to make some recent, poor life choices involving intoxicating liquids.

The sharp, black suit that he sported made him look presentable at the funeral, but hidden behind the nice exterior was a man who longed for a fresh drink of spiritual water and a bite of holy food.  How he longed to be refreshed and healed from his long lists of personal tragedies and losses.  He longed for Jesus.  How he longed to be “raised up.”

That song, that message of Jesus, spoke right to his soul that day, and it kept singing in his head again and again.

And I will raise you up

And I will raise you up

And I will raise you up

On the last day.

That crescendo of a chorus, “And I will raise you up” hummed daily in this man’s head, in a good, and glorious way.  He heard it again the day he saw another guy, who looked about as well off as he.  “And I will raise you up” went through his head, as he dug into his wallet, took out his remaining cash, and paid for the man’s modest meal of a bagel and coffee. 

“And, I will raise you up” went through his head as he stared at the bottles of liquor in the cabinet, and decided for the first time in a long time to close the cabinet door. 

The words of Jesus lived in this man through this tune, and in turn, this man lived the life of Jesus because of the tune.  That is the power of song.

And I will raise you up

And I will raise you up

And I will raise you up

On the last day.

The writer of Ephesians understands the power of faithful songs.  He understands the power that these songs have when sung together.  He understands that sometimes the way to wise, Christian living, is not necessarily through the head.  He understands that sometimes you need something that can penetrate the soul: song.

You see, the writer of Ephesians really wants us to understand that we are God’s people.  And, we are God’s people, not because we were able to do anything to earn it.  We are God’s people because God decided that we should be so, despite all we have done or who we have tried to be.  We are God’s people because of God’s grace.

The writer forcefully states: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

This is not your own doing.  We do not save ourselves.  Our lives of faith are a gift from God, given to us through the promise of new life in Jesus Christ, and Christ’s redeeming love shown on the cross. 

But, that gift of love does something.  It looks like something.  And, conversely, it does not look like something else. 

“Be careful then how you live,” he says, “not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit…”

“Be careful then how you live…”  You are a people who have been formed and saved by a loving God who cares about you...all of you…your entire being and your entire body.  God only wants the best for you. 

Therefore, Christ’s followers who are wise are not going to waste their time focusing on things that are just plain foolish, and maybe even hurtful in the long run.  “Do not get drunk with wine…but be filled with the Spirit…”

Now, it is easy to say something like that (“Don’t drink too much, it can’t bring anything good in the long run”), and it is even easy to agree with it in your head (“Sure, I won’t use alcohol as a crutch”), But, like many other things which are driven not by your head but by your emotional state, it is a lot harder in reality. 

As you may know, in my family we have four wonderful, independent, strong willed, creative thinkers in our house.  Now, have you ever had four independent, strong willed, creative thinkers all creatively thinking independently in a strong way at the same time?  You might sometimes stare at the wine rack too.

I do not mean to make too light something which is not light.  We all know what happens when we are forced to rely on treatments for our problems which hurt more than they help.  Food, drink, gambling, an unhealthy solitude, the distraction of work, the invigoration of fighting with others, or any number of things, which are all used by the best of us to fill the deep hole of pain that can form in the soul. 

The writer of Ephesians has an idea.  Instead of filling that hole with things that can harm, allow that void to be filled by the God’s Holy Spirit.

“Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit…”

And, this is where the wisdom of Ephesians really starts to become clear.  Rather than fill that hole in your being, that hole in your soul, with time spent doing what dulls and harms, how about you sing some songs of faith?  Rather than allowing the harmful thoughts to bounce around in your head, allow the words of the Holy Spirit to bounce around there.

“Be filled with the Spirit,” the writer of Ephesians says “as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Now, I want you to understand that singing gospel songs well is not how you become a good Christian.  You do not need to know how to sing good in order to be a Christian.  Singing really well is not what you need to do in order to become a faithful person.  Those who choose to keep their mouths closed during the hymns so as to spare the rest of us from eternal torture are all collectively saying, “Thank you, Jesus!”  And, so are we.  Singing is not another thing that you need to do to get yourself into heaven.

And, that depressed man did not show up at that funeral thinking, “Well, today is the day I’m going to get my act together after a couple years of failure by singing some songs in church!” 

No!  He only showed up to church because he was drawn there under terrible circumstances.  He was not there to prove anything, or even to get anything.  He was there because the newspaper said that the funeral started at 10am. 

But, because he was there, Jesus showed up, and Jesus sat down next to him during that song, and Jesus spoke, not to his head, but to his heart, as the faithful people of God together sang about the promise of Jesus:

 And I will raise you up

And I will raise you up

And I will raise you up

On the last day.

“Be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts…” the writer of Ephesians declares.

These songs of faith are precious keys on Jesus’ holy keychain that are somehow able to penetrate the locks of our souls.  “Knock and the door will be opened.”  They are the Word of God set to the rhythm and heartbeat of our spirits.  They are gifts of God that the Holy Spirit uses to move us in ways that no other means can even hope to achieve.

To this day, the song, “And, I will raise you up” sings in that man’s head. 

The message of that song is the one that sings in Mary’s soul as she gets the courage to be mother to the Son of God.  “And I will raise you up.”  The message of that song is the one that the disciple Peter hears after he has ruined everything by denying Jesus, but is called to follow Jesus again anyway.  “And I will raise you up.”  It is the song of resurrection promise given by Jesus himself. 

It is the song that still gives hope whenever the man falls on hard times.  “And I will raise you up.”  And, it is the song that allows the man to see what Christ might be leading him to do on any given day.  The song is his soul’s guide.

It sings to him the day that he walks into the café, sees a young woman, an acquaintance from work, crying over tea in a booth.  It whispers Jesus’ truth, “And I will raise you up.”

“Hi,” he says to the young woman.  “I know you don’t know me all that well, we work together, but it looks like you need some help getting up from here.  How can I help?”

And I will raise you up

And I will raise you up

And I will raise you up

On the last day.

What is your song of faith?  What song does Jesus use to move you?

Reflection on John 6:35, 41-51

 

John 6:35, 41-51

35Jesus said to [the crowd,] “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

41Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. 44No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Reflection

As our train whisked past the vast rolling grasslands of western North Dakota, carrying us to our destination of family in Montana, I noticed a glimpse of life out the window.  In a low area between two hills in the treeless landscape sat a lone cottonwood tree.  The scant water from infrequent storms running down the hills was obviously sustaining this single tree in the harsh, dry environment.  And, eating from the lower branches of this single tree was a small, whitetail deer.

It was a quick glimpse of life, sustained by God, which was soon gone as the next, treeless, grassy hill quickly obscured the view.  Even in the harshest of environments, God provides a tree and some food.

As I sat back in my seat, I thought of Elijah, tired, hungry, and alone in the wilderness.  I thought about how he too was sustained by God under a solitary broom tree.  Full of fear and despair, God also sent a gift of freshly bakes cakes and water; bread from heaven (1 Kings 19:5-6).  Though Elijah was in the shadow of death, God provided a tree and food, just as the deer was provided a tree and food.  Even in the harshest of times, God provides a tree and some food.

As the train passed into Montana, I saw more cottonwoods as the dry, grassy hills gave way to a small oasis with a flat, slow moving stream at its base.  Cattle were drinking and others were sleeping nearby.  Watching a calf wade into the shallow waters, I thought of the joy of the Israelites when they wandered in the wilderness and God gave them their own oasis.  Trees, water, and soon food falling from the heavens were all gifts from heaven to sustain them through the harshness of their wilderness wandering.  Despite their biting accusations, accusing God of abandonment in the wilderness, God gave some trees and sent manna from heaven (Deuteronomy 15:22-16:21).  Even in the harshest of life circumstances, God provides a tree and some food.

It has always been this way.  From the beginning of time, God provided a tree and some food.  God provided a tree in the middle of the newly created garden (Genesis 2:9).  The tree of life was there, to provide food to sustain life forever. 

It is still there, in the garden, sustaining life through the end of time.  The book of Revelation says that the tree of life “with its twelve kinds of fruit,” will be there, “producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tress are for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2).  Revelation teaches that God’s people will “hunger no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:16-17).  Even when this first creation comes to an end, God provides a tree and some food.

There is a legend that when asked what he would do if he was told that the world was going to end tomorrow, church reformer, Martin Luther, answered, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”  He knew God’s heart.  He knew that even when things start going to pieces, it is in God’s heart of provide a tree and food, thus he would forever seek to do the same with his apple tree.

God provides a tree and some food.

“Daddy, I’m hungry,” were the words that drew me from my tree and food ruminations on the train.  It was one of my kids, seeking some train sustenance.  It is kind of ironic when you think about it; I was thinking about trees and God providing food and one of my own were seeking some snacks. 

I took off one shoe, stood on the seat and reached up into the overhead bid, where our snack container resided.  I grabbed out our pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  It was bread from heaven; well at least bread from the overhead bid. 

There was a little Amish girl who was staring at me from a few seats ahead the entire time.  Well, she was actually staring at the sandwiches.  Apparently, it was getting close to lunch time for her as well.  And, though her parents brought plenty of food for the train ride, the hunger in her face reminded me of the fact that this sort of bread does not last.  Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will only fill the belly for so long, and then we will be hungry again.  The hunger in her eyes reminded me that not all children have even peanut butter and jelly to fill their bellies.

Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that grows into “the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches” (Matthew 13:32).  He goes on to say that the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that was hidden in three measures of flour, “until all of it was leavened” (Matthew 14:33).  In God’s kingdom, God provides a tree and some food.

But, not everyone gets some of it.

Though it is no longer the news of the day, malnutrition is taking the precious lives of children in Gaza.  They are caught in the middle of a battle of which they have no part, but are being starved because of it.  In God’s kingdom, God provides a tree and some food, but not everyone gets some of it.

You see, as the first humans looked into the middle of the Garden of Eden, they saw the tree of life which provides fruit to sustain life forever, but they also saw another tree of which they were not to eat.  And, as those first humans stared at the middle of the garden, they had a choice.  Trust God completely and eat of the fruit that gives life forever, or eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and trust in themselves? 

Which would you choose?  Which do you choose?  When faced with trust in God’s provision or trust in your own ability to provide, which do you choose?

Of course, we know which tree Adam and Eve chose.  We know how they rejected the tree of life and the food that it provides.  And, people have been rejecting it ever since.  People withhold food to tip the balance of wars, and it has deadly consequences.  People horde more food than they could possibly need for the day, or the week, or even the month, trusting in their own bread from heaven rather than that of God.

I do not know about your heart, or your pantry, but if you looked in mine it probably would not inspire in you a great sense of trust in God’s provision, unless God directly provides an overabundance of cookies from heaven.

We stand in the garden, looking at the two trees every single day, deciding from which tree we will pick.  Do we choose from God’s tree of life?  Do we choose from our own tree?

And, that is the choice that Jesus puts before the crowds as he talks about the bread from heaven.

“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:48-51).

You see, when we stand and look toward Jesus, we have the same choice as when Adam and Eve stared at the two trees in the garden.  We can choose to trust in Jesus, the one who promises to give us the gift of life forever; a living bread “so that one may eat of it and not die” (John 6:50).  Or, we can choose the path of trusting in ourselves, because that seems to be working just great. 

Wars, a divided nation, family members disappointing and betraying, substances influencing, and can I throw in there just simply not knowing what to do when the weight of the world starts to bleed our lives of vitality, all seem to point to the fact that trusting in ourselves always seems to lead to death.

But, we still stare in the wrong direction anyway.  Having control of the world is enticing.  Having control of our lives is a strong need. 

And, as we continually stare in the wrong direction, we hear Jesus calling us to look in his direction, drawing us to walk in his way.  “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).  “No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day” (John 6:44).  “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51).

Jesus calls us toward himself, so that we can finally have true life.

“I had only a can of soup and no can opener,” the man told me.  “It seems funny now, but it was anything but funny then” he explained.  “I had fallen so far in life, lost my job from being stupid, drowning my loneliness in beer (I wanted a girlfriend so bad but couldn’t get one), and there I was in my tiny trailer by the river with only a can of soup and no can opener.  I walked outside and just screamed my anger at God.  I looked up to the starless night sky of the city and just screamed, throwing the can to the ground.”

“I woke up my neighbor.  He was an old, limping, but happy sort of guy.  He came out of his trailer, sat on one of my cheap, plastic patio chairs, and listened to me that night.  He even opened my can for me.  I hadn’t thought to ask a neighbor.  Then, he took me to church the next day.” 

“That was when my life changed.  It was while at church that I learned about Jesus who offered life to me.  It was while at church that I heard about how Jesus died on a tree, burying my sins with him and rising again so that I could feast with him forever.  It was while at church that I learned that Jesus cares for guys just like me.”

In God’s kingdom, God provides a tree and some food.  In God’s kingdom, the tree is cross shaped, it is love shaped, and the food is Jesus himself who feeds us with eternal life with him.  The man’s testimony was a powerful proclamation about how good Jesus is, but it was also a testament to how important Jesus’ people are as they come out of their trailers, open a can of food, and share the food that leads to eternal life. 

As we stare ahead, we have two choices: Jesus, who is our tree and eternal food, and the choice of our own desires.  Only one gives life.  “Whoever eats of this bread will live forever” (John 6:51).  Only one chooses to die so that you may live.  Only one cares that you have true, eternal life.  Choose Jesus, because he has already chosen you.