Still Here - Still Waiting - Still Working

We have a real problem in our culture with media hype.  Anyone who wants to do so may have their 15 minutes (or in some cases - 1 week) of fame.  If the right words are said to the right people, and the right kind of marketing happens, then we have a world-class story on our hands.

It is now 12:30 a.m. on May 22, 2011.  Significance of the hour is evident.

The very fact that I am here writing this post indicates several possibilities:

1. I am not among the elect who were to be "raptured" today at 6:00 pm (conveniently in each local time zone; or,
2. No one was elected, and Jesus just was disapppointed and went back to regroup and make another run at a second-coming later; or,
3. Media-hype pushed some thirsty souls to listen to another of the centuries-old predictions that predict a specific moment when Jesus will return; and, more importantly, some people know exactly when that is going to happen; or
4. We really need to help struggling pilgrims to see Jesus' Second-Coming in a far more biblically clear manner and less in hype and inuendo.

Actually, I prefer item 4 listed above.

Freedom of speech and religion can get you into some interesting corners at times.  By the way, we're in those times.

Matthew makes it pretty clear when the disciples ask if it is the time for you (Jesus) to save Israel. (Another way to say "Come back.")   Jesus, normally the one who gives vague references to things that the apostles just have a hard time grasping, stops their conjecture dead in its tracks.  "Neither the angels, nor I know.  ONLY the Father!"  Doesn't leave much room for investigation or speculation on that one does it?  Seems pretty clear to me that some modern mathematicians, the Incas, some successful novel writers, and those just eager to be in the spotlight for a while, have co-opted our rich Christian tradition of the Second-Coming of Christ for their own purposes.

Imagine the apostles bewilderment when they realized that they would still be wearing dusty shoes, walking down dangerous roads,catching smelly fish, associating with all kinds of people, running from the authorities (both civil and religious).  This choice that they had made to follow Jesus was not heading toward a blockbuster movie with all the special effects that made them look good.  This choice kept them engaged with a world that needed Jesus to heal and care for those who were on the outside looking in.  Even after he would ascend. 

Nothing has really changed since the Resurrection and Ascension has it?  Aren't we still charged with living each day AS IF this day were the last and we had little time for triviality because a loved world needed to be loved.  And it needed to be loved NOW!  Not waiting for a cloud-tearing, earthquake splitting event that would set everything right.  Of course, you have to know which side you're on as to whether or not the world is set right.

There is really no option in Jesus' ministry for opting out of our responsibilities as Christians and riding the theatrical spaceship to glory, especially while there is real work to be done.  We will all meet Jesus at some moment in time.  I hope I recognize him - I also hope he recognizes me.  I hope he finds me living a full life of service and devotion to his ministry.  I also hope he'll find me playing with my grandchildren and doing all the things that loving people do.  I am sure that he'll find me wondering about where to plant that rose bush, or build that n-scale bridge, and on and on.

I am quite certain that there will be no litmus test other than "did you love me?"  I'm prepared to answer that, but I trust grace if I am found unloving of his flock.

Doomsday?  Where is the doom in the return of Jesus Christ.  Actually, I never really thought he left.  If we believe in the Trinity, Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are with us even while I'm sitting here unable to sleep and typing this post.

Actually, I wish Jesus would return like some cosmic superman who can:

• stop bullets from taking lives;
• shut down drug dealings with anyone, especially children; 
• who can rescue a town from natural disasters;
• who can bring peace in undeclared war in our cities;
• who can mend broken hearts with a touch;
• who can grow love among the unloveable.

Now that would be some second coming!

But - wait - that's what he told us to do.

Not a lot of empty clothes laying around, nor driverless cars, trains, and planes.  Rather, a dedicated, energized band of disciples who care more for those they serve than the implications of institutional order.  I expect we could even see Resurrection Dances springing up in all kinds of places.

Something to think about in these post-millenial times.

• Brother Simeon - still looking for a crust of spiritual bread.

Nurse Trees in the Smokies

If you have ever travelled to the Great Smoky Mountains in Eastern Tennessee - at least on the high backwoods trails - you've seen life emerging from decay and destruction.

The old American Chestnuts which dominated the high ranges a century ago are gone.  These were beautiful trees that were large and expansive.  They created a canopy that gave the floor of the forest a shady place in which smaller ferns and plants could grow.  As western settlers entered the area, they brought with them small, viral pests that brought down the great trees. 

Their hollow shells still line the floors of many glades and vales.

The loss of the grand chestnut, almost killed the logging industry - which almost killed the mountains.  Logs were taken at such a rate that erosion and mudslides were common.  Gone were the protecting canopy and the fruit for squirrels and other smaller creations of God.

Over the last few decades, a remarkable thing has happened in the high country.  Where chestnuts once stood, new forests are emerging.  When you walk the ridge trails, you see the remains of the chestnuts, but you also see the cradle of a new forest.  You see "nurse trees."

As I passed a "nurse tree" recently, I wondered if these shells weren't God speaking to the Church that we have known in the last century.

• Something has "blighted" our church structures
• The limbs are too big for the trunks to support
• The great structures are falling
• Losses, and unwelcome change bring bad news on a regular basis

I wonder, though, does God have something else in mind for the giants that once dominated our faithscape?

• Are we to give up our massive structures to "nurse" smaller, stonger, and different growth in the forest of faith?
• The sprouting sapplings growing from the rich bed of decaying chestnuts are not chestnut.  But, they are trees.  Some small, others large and able to withstand the rough climate of the mountains.
• Some of the new growth bears fruit, but others bear only beauty.

As I sit here pondering the changes that come in life, I wonder what the nursebed I create for those who come behind me will be like.  Will the soil be soft and receptive of any seed that will sprout?.  Will there be nutrient to strengthen the weak and help the new life grow strong?

Maybe the old structures have to fall in order for there to be new growth to give nurure and comfort.  Time will tell. One hundred years from now, will pilgrims in the forests of faith see massive structures that hide the sky and block the rain and wind, or will they see wispy glades of moving trees whose roots reach deeply down into the soul-soil of those who went before?

 - Simeon Stylites the Elder

Word, Order, and Sacrament

June 4, 2010

When we gather to link the past to our future, we will hear these familiar words spoken by the bishop as the newly ordained take their vows.

We will hear "take authority..."  Unfortunately, some of us take too much of something, but it is not authority.  It is more like power confused with authority.

Authority is granted by the integrity of the three words in the ordination admonition:

We receive our grounding in the Word.  It is here that our true authority (authenticity) begins and ends.  Without this grounding, we simply drift from one hot spot to another, never finding the cool balm of serenity in whatever crisis faces us this day.

Order is what we do.  Often, we want to focus on Word and Sacrament, but Order somehow has been tarnished.  Order is not administration.  Order is the path we take to become effective - we'll hear that word, too.  It is how we live in an unordered world that gives meaning as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Sacrament is the life blood of disciples.  It is the very food that empowers us to meet the challenges of each new day.

As our new brothers and sisters join our ranks, I hope that we will each recommit, with them, to our own vows of ordination (the state of being ordered).

God grant us grace to live our vows in authenticity.

Memorial Day 2010

Once again, the thunder and the lightning remind us of the flash and bang of war.
The smell of roasting steaks and ribs. . .
The memories of those long gone. . .
The hope of peace yet to be.

Maybe we should remember those who died in the struggle for peace.
The simple smiles when everyone was jeering. . .
The gentle word when everyone was snarling. . .
The hopeful word when everyone was frightened. . .
The trusting word when there was no trust.

Watch carefully as they assemble their services. . .
celebrating another kingdom - quite of this world.

Listen hopefully as you hear the trumpets of the real kingdom. . .
blowing softly in the breezes, moved along by angels' wings.