irreplaceable water

Water is a beautiful thing and it has a story to share. It is something irreplaceable and at the foundation of all life. It is weaved in the very fabric of our physical being and through water and The Word we are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and given new life.

One of my first posts on this blog is entitled, "Living Water." In it I talk about a plant given to me on my first day at Christus Victor. Now two years later the plant is still living. It has slowly become a spiritual discipline to water this plant. As I water it I take a moment to think of the ways that I am fed, watered, and nourished spiritually.

The truth is there is no new source of water - every drop that exists today was in existence at the earth's creation. No wonder why my soul has been disturbed by the oil spill due to our dependence and love of oil. No wonder why most people love to be on the shore of an ocean, lake, river, or creek. Water has the power to connect us to the earth, the creatures of the earth, and one another. The story and life of Jesus is even revealed in the use of water.

The following video reminds us of the power of water and that we get to live a new life through Christ.

Church (Thrift) Shopping

by Johanna Johnson

I would say that literally three quarters of my wardrobe comes from thrift shops. I’d like to think you’d never be able to tell; I frequently get compliments on what I wear.

It wasn’t always this way. In fact, I used to hate thrift shops. I hated walking in and being overwhelmed by the vast variety of articles, nothing the same as the next, no way to simply find what I wanted in a different size. I hated that I usually couldn’t walk in and immediately find something I liked, that finding anything worthwhile required effort and patience and sometimes more work than I wanted to put in. I hated that so many things seemed so old fashioned, too old for me, too worn out. Shopping should be easy, right?

How many of us have felt that way about church? That there are too many people or practices there we can’t relate to, that we can’t simply exchange one person or practice for something that fits us better. That we sometimes go to church and can’t find something we immediately like, and leave feeling like nothing really struck our fancy. That worship feels old fashioned, or worn out. Church should be easy, right?

I have certainly felt this way. But as it turns out, faith isn’t easy. Like a thrift shop, it requires a bit of effort. Like a thrift shop, if you are willing to put a bit of effort into it, and not sit back and just wait for it to come to you, you will inevitably find something wonderful. Sometimes I walk into a thrift shop and immediately see something I like; sometimes this happens in church, too. But more often than not, God isn’t speaking in ways immediately apparent to us. Hearing God’s Word requires some patience, some effort, and the willingness to be open-hearted. With this attitude, you are much more likely to find that treasure that God has in store for you.

Overwhelming Peace

Currently, my heart cries for the families who have lost a love one due to the oil rig explosion. My heart cries for all the living creatures of our ocean dyeing because of our love and dependence on oil. My heart cries for the victims of the China and Haiti earthquakes. My heart cries for those dyeing of AIDS and Malaria in Africa. My heart cries for the tension in Thailand. What’s even scarier is that this list goes on and on and on...

Honestly, all of this is OVERWHELMING and Exhausting. After all there is not much we can personally do about it. I know that I’ve often wanted to crawl in a corner and ignore it.

And sometimes we do. We have the choice to turn off the TV. Build a strip mall around the run down trailer park that has poverty written all over it. We can bury things and pretend they are not there.

I imagine the 12 guys hiding in the upper room – realizing what happened when Jesus died. Not knowing the next move. So, naturally they locked the door and hid in fear.

So what does Jesus do? He meets them where they are at and says, “Peace be with you.” Then Jesus shows the disciples his wounds and again says, “Peace be with you.” Friends in Christ, this is not a greeting. It’s a gift. Jesus gave them peace. Jesus gave them the breath of the Spirit.
Even before the disciples were locked behind doors with fear. Jesus was offering peace.

Jesus knows that our hearts are easily troubled. Jesus knows that the ways of this world are overwhelming and that is why we can grasp at the words, “I do not give to you as the world gives.” Jesus even on the way to the cross was assuring us peace over and over again. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Don’t let your hearts be troubled, do not be afraid.

How many more times do we need to hear it?

It’s like a child that has been injured. Imagine a child bumps his head or scrapes her knee what do they run? They run into arms of a mother or father and just want to be embraced. A child knows that the parent cannot actually take away the pain. But there is renewed life found in the embrace of the parents comforting arms.

This world is fallen. We fall. We may not be able to physically run into the arms of God our father, our mother – but we sure can embrace our gift. A gift of peace. A gift of the Spirit.

Instead, of being overwhelmed by this world - we get to experience overwhelming peace.

Lord today we again cry for your peace.

Slithery Serpents

Take away the serpents
© 2009 John A. Clausen
ref: Numbers 21:4-9, John 3:14-21

Lord, take away the serpents.
The bite is cruelly sharp.
The poison, now injected,
speeds quickly to my heart.
The venom of the reptile,
which courses through my veins,
gives pause to longer living
the poison, dark sin, stains.
Lord, take away the serpents;
I’ll take away my pride.
Lord, listen, answer truly,
lest the poison stay inside.

The serpents’ deadly pestilence
remains despite my prayer.
Yet lifted high above me
new life is fix’ed there.
You didn’t take the serpents,
but in answer to my plea,
you gave a means of living
as you died upon the tree.
You didn’t take the serpents;
you took, though, all my sin
and placed its fearful poison
in your life, mine to win.

So, when the serpents slither,
give now your gift of grace;
forgive my constant failings
my sins, by love, erase.

I want a pet dragon!

Growing up, one of my favorite movies was The Neverending Story. I wanted to be Atreyu. I wanted to fly on the back of Falkor. I loved the movie because of its excitement and adventure along with its creative and unique characters. In this movie the parallel fantasy world is being destroyed by the Nothing, which represents people’s lack of imagination in the real world.

I also wanted to be Bastian the one reading The Neverending Story in the attic. Bastian is the nerd, the outcast, and is rejected by his peers. Why would I want to be him? Because he gets to be the hero! He’s the one who finally gives into his imagination and in doing so saves the parallel fantasy universe. Plus, he rides Falkor in the end!

I recently watched How to Train Your Dragon. After leaving the theater I of course wanted to get my own dragon. I mean riding on the back of a dragon – seriously just as cool as riding on Falkor… if not cooler because the dragon is a scary beast. Oh, wait… that’s the point. The scary beast doesn’t turn out to be so scary. And yet again I left the theater wanting to be Hiccup. Hiccup is the nerd, the outcast, and is rejected by his peers. Why would I want to be him? Because he gets to be the hero! He’s the one who dared to do the unthinkable. He befriended a beast and in the end saves both the dragons and his people.

In movies we tend to root for the underdog. Yet, we don’t do this in the real world.

We may not root for the underdog – but God does. After all God called Abraham in his old age, Moses even with a speech impediment, Jeremiah even though he was young, Paul who was the leading persecutor of Christians, and let’s not forget the mother of Jesus, Mary, a teenager who wasn’t even close to being a queen.

Then there were all the times that Jesus rooted for the underdog. The Samaritan woman at the well who was clearly not a Jew and I’m sorry to say a bit smutty. He transformed fishermen into fishers of people. He ate with Zacchaeus a short sinner and tax collector. He gave a second chance to a woman guilty of adultery. He even dared to touch a leper.

Maybe we have a lack of imagination as to who is worthy. Maybe we need to dare to do the unthinkable.

Onto Galilee

This week I would like to share with everyone the devotion I read at our council this past week. It is one that speaks too many at this moment. I have brought it up on the phone a number of times this week. Therefore, I feel called to share it here. I did not write this nor do I know who did – but thanks be to God for their message of Christ resurrected!

Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

The shouts of joy echo in our churches as we celebrate this season of resurrection and new life in Christ.

It might be tempting for us to gather around the empty tomb, amazed at what has happened. We might also be tempted to focus on the signs of resurrection in our own lives or in the life of our congregation and to think that is what Easter is all about. The empty tomb, the announcement of resurrection and the signs of new life are only part of the message of Easter.

The rest of the message moves us into the future. The angel at the tomb said the risen Christ is going ahead to Galilee (Matthew 28: 7b). Following Christ does not end at the empty tomb. Following Christ always takes us on to another place, to where we are not yet, to some “Galilee” where Christ goes before us.

To live the resurrection is to be called to movement, to change, to transformation – as individuals and as congregations. Sometimes it can be frightening to leave behind the places where we have already seen signs of resurrection. It can be scary to step out into the unknown, into ventures of which we cannot see the ending, as one prayer puts it.

But this is not just change for the sake of change because we are bored or want something new. Our trip to “Galilee” is for the sake of the world, for the sake of those who still need to know Christ’s resurrected life.

How can we dare to do this? Because Christ is already there. The one who has gone ahead of us into the tomb and triumphed now goes before us into “Galilee” and promises to meet us there.

Let us then not hang around the empty tomb, but let us go on to “Galilee” where we can expect to find the risen Christ in the most unexpected places.

AMEN!!

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions are few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the enemy, pander at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till he comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till he stops me. And when he comes for his own, he will have no problem recognizing me... my banner will be clear.

(From a note found in the office of a young pastor in Zimbabwe, Africa, after he was killed for his faith.) Quoted in The Signature of Jesus by Brennan Manning

Lent is over. Our journey through the wilderness – to the cross – led us to a place where we can roll away the stone and let light into the dark tomb. Light penetrates into a place where we assume there is death – only to find life. That is why the pastor above wrote powerful words in such a dismal time. The passion that evoked the words of this pastor is something I wish we could all feel on Easter morning.

So that our words change, our thoughts change, and our actions change. Our whole being is changed in Christ – our journey doesn’t end – instead, it begins. The light of the resurrection cannot be extinguished. God’s love for us cannot be abolished. That is a banner we can all hold high!