Monthly Archives: June 2018

Together in the Same Boat

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jesus boat

One of the oldest images of the Church is a boat.

Many congregations gather in a worship space that is shaped like an upside-down boat. The place where the congregation sits during worship services is called the “Nave” – a word that has its origins in the Latin word “Navis” meaning: Ship. You might even say that Christians are “all in the same boat,” and that Jesus is carrying us from wherever we are in life right now to wherever God wants us to be – as we continue to gather as God’s people and participate in the ministry of the Church.

The Sacred Story tells us that the disciples of Jesus traveled in a boat; and so, every time we hear stories about the disciples in a boat, we need to think about the Church. And as we do that, we can learn many important lessons about faithful living and ministry that apply to our lives and to our ministries even now.

How are things going in your boat these days? Have you noticed that the days of putting extra chairs in the aisle during worship services are pretty much gone, and that the news is filled with more and more stories about unfolding chaos in the Church? People – in the 21st-Century – tend to view attending a worship service as one of the many equally valid options in a sea of other activities on an average weekend. Most Christian congregations and Jewish synagogues have seen a nearly 50% drop in worship attendance – in just the last ten years. It appears that the boat is sailing through a pretty rough storm right now, and that water is splashing over the gunwales as waves crash all around us.

“Together in the Same Boat” is a message that’s been created to help us to make sense of that and to help us to hear what Jesus might be saying to the Church these days. Perhaps, we need to listen to Jesus as He says, “Let’s go over to the other side”? Perhaps, we need to realize that the Church needs to change as people change? Perhaps, we need to realize that, while the message of Christ crucified and risen doesn’t change, the we way that we communicate that message to people needs to continually change? And that change is going to require faith.  “Going over to the other side” can be very scary; and, maybe, it’s OK for us to admit that we’re experiencing some angst and fear these days? As we travel to an unknown future – trust and faith and daily prayer are more necessary than ever!

But, as people of faith, we don’t need to be discouraged and overwhelmed. In fact, the Sacred Story reminds us of four truths that we must keep in mind as we journey together into the future:

  1. The Sacred Story reminds us that “we’re all in the same boat” – and that, even as we travel into uncharted waters, we have each other as faithful companions.
  2. The Sacred Story reminds us that, as Jesus calls us to “go over to the other side of the Sea,” He hops into the boat with us. Jesus is here – and we’re not alone.
  3. The Sacred Story reminds us that, as we move forward, we need to celebrate the fact that the ministry that we’ve done in the past is still good and worthwhile. Our movement toward the future isn’t meant to invalidate what we’ve done in the past, or to say that it was, somehow, “wrong.”
  4. The Sacred Story reminds us that, even though what lies ahead is still unknown, the “other side of the Sea” is a place where Jesus is going to help us to do great and wonderful things – and the future before us is going to be both God-filled and good.

And so, always remember that we’re “Together in the Same Boat” as we journey into the future with Jesus by our side and with the Holy Spirit as the wind in our sails. And, also remember that the destination that lies before us is going to be a place that will be filled with new challenged and blessings, new storms and times of peace, new blessings from God and new life to be shared by God’s people.

 

Living in the Legacy of Jesus

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Have you ever thought about the purpose and the meaning of your life?

The Bible presents the story of a God who’s at work to topple the forces of evil. The Sacred Story tells us that God created the world by bringing order to chaos, but it also tells us that everything fell apart in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate fruit from the “Tree of the Awareness of Duality.” The Sacred Story reminds us that people have struggled since the beginning of time to “get right with God,” but it also tells us that the path to peace with God has been provided by Jesus. God is going to win! The Sacred Story tells us about a Great Day when God’s going to wipe every tear from our eyes, and when there will no longer be pain and sorrow and mourning. And the great “Hero” of the Sacred Story is Jesus. Jesus – the great “Hero” – rises-up to confront what’s wrong with the Creation and to conquer the forces of evil, so that good will ultimately win.

You and I, and all of the people who have been bound to Jesus – the “Hero” – in the waters of Holy Baptism are engaged in the Great Epic Battle. You and I, and all of the people who have been bound to Jesus in the waters of Baptism, are called and summoned to step-up to the plate, to directly engage the forces of evil and to overcome it in the name of God. And our participation in that Great Epic Battle – the ongoing war between good and evil – is ultimately what provides meaning in our lives and the purpose of our ministries.

“Living in the Legacy of Jesus” is a message that’s been created to stir you and to call the Church, as a whole, into action. We live in an Age where increasingly large numbers of people are struggling with an addiction to opioids, and when a growing sadness in many hearts is driving people to suicide. We live in an Age where poverty creates a situation where nearly half of the children in America go to school with an empty stomach – and lose an important meal every day during their summer vacation. We’re living in an Age where racism and bigotry have been revealed as the Achilles’ heel of American culture. We live in an Age where countless boundaries and barriers and walls are being created, and where people are being encouraged to experience life as “Us versus Them.”

As we fight the epic battle against duality – following Jesus, the “Hero” – we write a story that not only tells the story of our lives, but that also tells the world how we make sense of what it means to live in the legacy of Jesus. As we fight the epic battle against duality, the story we write is used by God to stir-up and create faith in others.

The story that we write helps people to understand what God’s doing in the world today. The story that we write is also one that invites others to join hands with us – so that, they can also be a part of what God’s doing.

You and I, and all of the people who have been bound to Jesus – the “Hero” – in the waters of Holy Baptism are called to engage the forces of evil, and to overcome them (with God’s help) in the name of everything that is good and right and holy and true.

“Living in the Legacy of Jesus” – by participating in the epic battle against duality is, ultimately, something that gives meaning to our lives, and provides a purpose and a “calling” to the ministry of the Church. And as we write the story of what God’s doing in our midst and in the midst of our churches, as we celebrate our victories and learn from our mistakes, and as we tell others about what God’s doing, ministry becomes magnetic – and people see that we have something both significant and life-giving to share with the world – as we invite them to be a part of what we’re doing with the help of God.

Give Yourself (and Others) a Break!

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Do you ever feel like there’s not enough of you to go around?

I begin my morning by reaching over and grabbing my cell phone off the nightstand, so that I can see what I need to do. I watch people running from place to place to place – trying to juggle their schedule at work with their commitments to their children, while trying to take care of aging parents as the grass on their front lawn continues to grow. I recently asked a group of teenagers, “How many of you would like to tell your parents that you just need to stop once in a while?” – and every hand at the table went up. How many of you have convinced yourselves that you’ll have all the time in the world to do the things that you want to do when you retire? But, what if you don’t have enough energy to do those things, or the gift of good health, when you retire?

This week’s message, “Give Yourself (and Others) a Break!”, calls us to stop and to think about the Sabbath. The Sacred Story tells us that God created the Sabbath after being busily invested in the all-consuming and exhausting work of Creation. The Sacred Story tells us that God created the Sabbath because we live in a world where we don’t allow ourselves to stop, and because we live in a world where other people don’t allow us to stop either. The Sabbath is a time to be filled and sustained with God’s gifts. God created the Sabbath as a time of healing – even though other folks don’t often think about the fact that we need God’s healing and restoring power in our lives.

But the Sabbath wasn’t just given to us. The Sabbath is also a gift that we can extend to other people. What would life look like if we began to realize that life is about more than an endless list of chores and obligations? What would life look like if parents began to realize that young people need to stop as much as they do – and if young people could see that their parents sometimes need to stop running, too? What would life look like if we began to realize that other people can’t always pick up the ball and run with it every time we decide that we don’t want to do something anymore? What would life look like if we built our society upon the premise that God has given the gift of the Sabbath to everyone; and that people who are working two, three, or even four jobs to make ends meet, need to be paid high enough wages to be able to stop and rest, too?

The Sabbath is a gift that allows us to break-away from our busy routines, but the gift of the Sabbath is also an issue of justice. “Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy. On in you shall not do any work – you or your son or daughter, your male servant or female servant, your ox or donkey or livestock, or even the traveler who is within your gates – so that they may rest just as you do.” (Exodus 20:10-11)

Do you ever feel like there’s not enough of you to go around?

If you just answered “Yes!” to that question, you’re in good company. “The Sabbath was made for people,” Jesus once said (Mark 2:27). Don’t we all need to shift gears once in a while for the sake of our own health and well-being? Don’t we all need to remember that we live in a world where we can feel like there’s not enough of us to go around – because we never allow ourselves to step off of the running treadmill – and because we don’t allow other people to do it either?