fixed on jesus

fixed on jesus

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Let us run with determination the race that lies before us … keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.

There are a few phrases in scripture that speak with particular clarity and power. This is one of them. It speaks a word the Church needs to hear! This is what holds us together. This is what gives integrity to the Church’s mission. In the face of broad disagreement about theology, about ethics, about church and culture, about worship style, about evangelism, about mission itself, if we simply keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, we will not lose our way.

Sure, we will even disagree about Jesus! But the key is not what we think about Jesus, or what we think Jesus is telling us or anybody else to do. The key is not what we think. The key is keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus! The key is not letting our attention be captured by other commitments, other priorities, other loves.

This word speaks to the Church, but it also speaks to me. In the midst of struggle and pain, joy and sorrow, success and failure, exhiliration and disapppointment, clarity and confusion … I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. It is the only way …

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poor in spirit

poor in spirit

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Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven …

In Luke’s version, Jesus says, Blessed are you who are poor. Luke draws attention to Jesus’ offer of grace and favor to those people human society has cast aside. Luke celebrates Jesus’ stirring announcement of good news to the poor — to those who are quite literally poor. But in Matthew’s version, Jesus says, Blessed are the poor in spirit … Meaning those who recognize their own spiritual bankruptcy, who realize their desparate need for God’s grace and forgiveness? Probably …

But what if the word poor in this instance was still understood in its primitive sense as referrring to material poverty? Then what might Jesus mean by poor in spirit? Poor … in spirit. In spirit, laying aside claim to anything we may possess. Acknowledging in our hearts and minds that whether we have much or whether we have little, all that we have we hold in trust. It belongs to someone else. It is ours to use … at the pleasure of our Master.

When we are poor in spirit, our possessions do not control us. We let go. We let go of everything. We are poor … in spirit. We have nothing. And yet, we have everything … because ours is the kingdom of heaven! When we are poor in spirit, our possessions do not get in the way of our relationship with God. And when we are poor in spirit, our possessions do not get in the way of our relationships with each other. There are no “class” differences, because we are poor alike, and since what we have we hold in trust, what we have is readily shared. When we are truly poor in spirit, it may be that no one need be poor in reality! (See Acts 4:32-35!)

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with boldness and humility

with boldness and humility

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Two week before the opening of the United Church of Christ General Synod in Atlanta, I expressed my hopes for the coming deliberations:

May the Holy Spirit lead our church as we struggle with difficult issues, as we seek to know the mind of Christ. May we act with all boldness, and love each other with all humility …

It seems that my wish has come true. Reports from General Synod describe an especially solemn and respectful and careful deliberation on the issue of same-gender marriage, from committee work through the floor debate and the final delegate vote. The UCC Newsroom gave this report of the proceedings:

Delegates wrestled with the resolution for about an hour before casting a decisive vote in favor of the resolution that was refined and recommended late Sunday by a 54-member Synod committee. The document was altered by only one amendment, which delegates readily accepted, that expressed a spirit of concern for those who must deal with the resolution’s impact in the months ahead.

When debate was closed — with only a whimper of opposition — a hush fell over the great hall of Atlanta’s Georgia World Conference Center. The Rev. Bernice Powell Jackson, executive minister of Justice and Witness Ministries, then asked moderator Eric C. Smith, who led the proceedings, for a moment of collective prayer. Delegates prayed silently.

Moments later, when voting began, a horde of raised hands — holding green voting cards — told the world that the resolution had passed overwhelmingly. Afterwards, instead of loud applause, there was a dignified moment of stillness broken only by the voice of the Rev. John H. Thomas who offered a prayer.

“Lord Jesus…We give thanks for your presence, especially here this morning,” the UCC’s general minister and president prayed in a soft, pastoral voice. “We have felt your warm embrace, stilling us as we tremble with joy, with hope, with fear, with disappointment…Let us use our hands not to clap, but to wipe away every tear…”

I am glad for the dignity and spiritual sensitivity of the process … even when I would have voted against the resolution itself. This issue has such power to divide, and that, I think, is what is most dangerous for the church as we struggle to be faithful. I can live with a church that has disagreements, even serious diagreements, among its members, as long as we are together genuinely seeking the mind of Christ and acknowledging our oneness with brothers and sisters who are doing the same.

Unfortunately, the grace and dignity of the Synod process has not been followed by the many of the folks offering their post-vote commentaries. Two examples from the UCC Blog:

One response: God is still speaking, but the General Synod of the UCC by passing the Resolution in Support of Equal Marriage Rights for All, has arrogantly supposed to speak for God. Marriage between one man and one woman is a reality established by God in creation and reflected in the church itself. This resolution does not validate same sex relationships but only invalidates and de-legitimizes the UCC as a religious body. This decision will force many congregations to disassociate and will cause the further decline of this historic denomination …

Another response: To those who want to continue hating, misinterpreting Scripture and selling our Lord short, see ya! Those of us who have taken on the mission of love, intelligence, acceptance and fair-mindness our Church will be stronger and our faith will be stronger!! We don’t need judgmental hate-mongers and homophobes in our midst. Go join those who can’t and don’t think for themselves. There are plenty of “leaders” like Dobson will will take your money and teach you how to hate even more.

There it is — “us” and “them” … the “good guys” and the unchristian heathens. Now matter where you come down on the issue, stooping to such name-calling is the real travesty. God forgive us. And God help us to continue to struggle together … with boldness and humility.

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who am I?

who am I?

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Who am I?

I may spend an inordinate amount of time and energy and worry trying to “make a name” for myself … when I already have a name. God has given me my name: my name is “child of God!” I am a human being, made in God’s own image, and my highest calling, indeed my only calling, is to reflect that image as best I can.

We need to remember our true names! We need to remember the true name God has given to each person we encounter. It is only when we forget that we lose ourselves in depair or become engulfed in great battles over politics or values. Remembering keeps things in perspective and reminds us we have nothing to lose … because everything that matters is already ours and will be ours forever.

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jesus is lord

jesus is lord

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From the United Church of Christ newsroom:

Jesus sole head of church, Thomas affirms
Written by Will Matthews
Tuesday, 28 June 2005

Refuting claims to the contrary, the Rev. John H. Thomas, general minister and President of the UCC, unequivocally re-affirmed Monday that “Jesus Christ is the sole head of the church, Son of God and Savior.”

In a letter submitted to the Bergen County Record, Thomas responded to a story that appeared in the New Jersey newspaper June 15 that centers on a proposed General Synod resolution.

The proposed resolution, slated to be debated by close to 1,000 General Synod delegates who will gather in Atlanta this week, asks the UCC to affirm the Lordship of Jesus.

The story quotes the pastor of a New Jersey UCC church that is one of a handful of sponsors of the proposed resolution as saying that denominational leaders are “fuzzy” about their belief in God.

But Thomas in his letter said such a statement couldn’t be farther from the truth and that the UCC in fact is firmly grounded in its belief in both God and Jesus as “our crucified and risen Lord.”

“Our faith is not in a book or tradition, but a Sovereign who is risen, is present with us and thus a Word that ‘still speaks,’” Thomas wrote.

The resolution, sponsored by eight geographically-diverse congregations, asserts that the greatest issue currently facing the denomination is whether to acknowledge the Lordship and divinity of Jesus.

But Thomas in his letter said the question is a moot point.

“When the delegates to the 25th General Synod of the United Church of Christ gather for opening worship in Atlanta on July 1, they will join in an affirmation of baptism that begins with the public confession of the triune God, including belief in ‘Jesus Christ, the only one begotten of God before all worlds.’”

The full text of Thomas’ letter, as well as the link to the June 15 Bergen County Record story follows:

Letter to the Editor:

It will take more than a resolution to the General Synod and an article in a local newspaper to create an identity crisis for the United Church of Christ. The fact is, the only reason we can use a comma along side our more traditional emblem of the cross, crown, and orb, is because of our confession that “Jesus Christ is the sole head of the church, Son of God and Savior.” Our faith is not in a book or a tradition, but a Sovereign who is risen, is present to us, and thus a Word that “still speaks.”

Ask anyone baptized using the liturgical rite of the United Church of Christ Book of Worship: “Do you profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?” Ask worshipers in our local churches who Sunday after Sunday read from the United Church of Christ Statement of Faith, printed in our hymnal, “In Jesus Christ the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Lord, God has come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the world to God’s self.” Ask our ecumenical partners, including Lutherans, Presbyterians, Disciples, and members of the Reformed Church in America who as recently as1997 recognized the UCC as a “church where the gospel is rightly preached.” Ask Christians around the world who share fellowship with the United Church of Christ in the World Council of Churches on the basis of our common confession of “the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Savior according to the scriptures.” Ask our pastors who affirm at their ordination that they “hear the word of God in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,” and who “accept the word of God as the rule of Christian faith and practice.”

When the delegates to the 25th General Synod of the United Church of Christ gather for opening worship in Atlanta on July 1, they will join in an affirmation of baptism that begins with the public confession of the triune God, including belief in “Jesus Christ, the only one begotten of God before all worlds.” In the remembrance of these baptismal vows, the delegates will begin five days of listening for the living Word from the living Christ, a Stillspeaking God whose voice is never bound by the periods of time, culture, or convention.

The Rev. John H. Thomas
General Minister and President
United Church of Christ

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“god bless america” is not the doxology

“god bless america” is not the doxology

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Worship as Higher Politics – Christianity Today Magazine

I was pointed to this article while checking out another Christian blog. It is well worth reading.

There is a Christian politics, which is to say that following Jesus must lead us to care about the political decisions, the law-making and law-enforcement, the policies of war and economics and international relations that impact people’s lives in profound ways.

But it is a politics of Jesus. When we wed a Christian politics too closely to the aims of one particular political party or to one particular political entity — e.g a particular nation! — it is not a politics of Jesus any more.

Followers of Jesus are first and last citizens of the kingdom of heaven.

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good people

good people

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I have been privileged to know some good people in my lifetime:

  • people who fight to defend other people’s rights
  • people who say “I forgive you” … and mean it
  • people who seem never to tire of serving friends and strangers
  • people who believe in a project and support it wholeheartedly … and don’t care about who takes the credit
  • people who can be passionate and articulate about their faith without drawing attention to themselves
  • people who live their faith in decisions about lifestyle, investments, career, politics, social life
  • people who teach their children about social justice
  • people who tell their children about Jesus

I have been so blessed to know some good people in my lifetime …

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i have a dream

i have a dream

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I have a dream …

Like the dream of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it is a dream about reconciliation. It is a dream about two groups of people divided by history and culture and prejudice learning to live together, to respect each other, to recognize the strength and beauty in each other, to work alongside each other to make the world new.

I dream of reconciliation between “progressive” Christians and “evangelical” Christians. I use these particular terms because they are the terms the two groups use to identify themselves. I put the terms in quotes, however, because the words may not be the most apt descriptors for the two groups. “Progressive” Christians may well be evangelical in the sense that they bear a message of good news into a hurting world. And “evangelical” Christians are certainly progressive in that they seek not just to preserve the status quo, but to transform it.

Why do I dream of reconciliation? Because the antagonism and mistrust of each group for the other cripples their witness and defames the name and the way of Jesus! And Jesus is what they have in common. They are “progressive” Christians … “evangelical” Christians. The key to reconciliation must be found in what they do have in common: Jesus Christ, Jesus the Christ who prayed that his followers be one.

It may seem preposterous to think these two groups have anything at all in common. Their values and principles and practices are so much at odds that surely one must be mostly right and the other mostly wrong. Or both groups may be mostly wrong. Now, I believe, we are getting closer to the truth! Both “progressive” Christians and “evangelical” Christians need a healthy dose of the cardinal Christian virtue — humility.

“Progressive” Christians need to realize, need to BELIEVE, that they need Jesus; it is not Jesus that needs them. They need to learn from Mary, who sat at Jesus’ feet, to be content with saying nothing, doing nothing, coming empty-handed to Jesus to listen, to be healed, to be given gifts of light and life. They need to work hard, yes, but know that the future rests in God’s hands, that at every moment they live in and by and for the grace of God.

“Evangelical” Christians need to realize, need to BELIEVE, that Jesus does not need them to defend him or to speak for him. Jesus can that just fine on his own, thank you! Instead of telling everyone else what Jesus wants them to do, they need to listen to Jesus themselves … and obey. Not listen to the “Jesus’ jargon,” the packaged “gospel” all done up neat and tight, but listen to the real Jesus. Read the gospel record and listen! And then … follow.

I have a dream … that all of those, all of us, who desire nothing more than to follow Jesus faithfully, will need no other title than Christian. That word will say enough. And that word, that name, will be one that brings us together and leads us into the world with news that is truly good!

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