2008.03.23 Finding Jesus

Scripture: Luke 24: 1-12

The Christmas season traditionally begins after Thanksgiving, but retailers have moved it up to begin after Halloween. When does the Easter season begin? Since Easter is a moving target each year, it is harder to pin down a consistent retail game plan—but not for lack of trying. I noticed that ToysRUs, Target, Costco and other big stores have been marketing “Easter gifts” for weeks. Not only are baskets and plastic eggs on sale, but so are lots and lots of toys. Apparently, the stores are trying to convince us that gift giving is a tradition for both Christmas and Easter. Because truly, if they were able to transform Easter into a major gift-giving season, the toy makers (and sellers) would have two profitable seasons instead of one.

Yet it is not really working, I think. Consider this—when you walked into the sanctuary this morning, did you do so with even half the anticipation that you normally hold when you walk into a Christmas worship service? Probably not.

Unlike Christmas, the general populace does NOT spend weeks leading up to Easter decorating their houses, singing Easter carols, throwing special parties and shopping for multiple gifts. Unlike Christmas, the general populace does not get kinder and more generous before Easter—this is, after all, tax season—plus, if you’re a homeowner, it is property tax season as well. Your offices are not throwing holiday parties, and some kids (like mine) don’t even have vacation this month.

This difference shows up even in the church. Christmas is preceded by 4 weeks of candle lighting and anticipation. Easter is preceded by 40 days of penitence and reflection. On a scale from 1 to 5, the excitement of Easter usually ranks below that of Christmas.

And yet Easter is the most important holiday of the Christian year. Without the events that happened on Easter, our faith would not be possible. This church would not exist. Our lives would be radically different—as would our larger society. Yet more often than not, our Easter celebration seems to be more hype than reality. We say “rejoice,” but do we really experience joy on this day?

The 1st Easter did not have this problem. We turn today’s scripture:

1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 `The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " 8 Then they remembered his words.

On the 1st Easter, there was nothing to celebrate—at least, not when the day began. The followers of Jesus were disheartened and discouraged from the events of Friday. They had watched as their beloved friend and Lord was crucified on a cross for claiming that he was the son of God.

If you didn’t believe Jesus’ claim, then there was sadness that such a promising life had to come to an end.

But, if you were like the disciples, and you had indeed been convinced that this man Jesus was from God, there was more than sadness.
There was confusion—what happened? I thought Jesus was going to bring God’s kingdom here.
There was disappointment—I gave up everything for this. How can it all be over?
There was wondering or doubt or maybe even anger—I believed him! How can this be? How can he be dead?

On television or in the movies, there is sometimes that moving moment near the end when the protagonist is dead—or at least we think so. We hold our breaths, wondering if the “impossible” is going to happen—is the hero really dead, or did I just see his arm twitch?

In Jesus’ case, he was dead. They stood at the foot of the cross as the nails in Jesus’ hands and feet took the weight of his body. They watched as people jeered at him. They waited as the minutes ticked by. They heard him cry out to God, and they saw his body go limp. At that same moment, the sky went dark, just like their hope. Jesus was dead, really dead.

This was true as his body was taken down from the cross. This was true as Joseph of Arimethea wrapped Jesus’ body in linen and placed it in his tomb. This was true as the stone was rolled to seal the door. Jesus was dead.

In the days after a loved one dies, the details of life become inconsequential. You have no appetite; sleep is fitful; conversation seems pointless. Yet somehow, in the midst of their grief, some women remembered that Jesus’ body was not yet properly prepared, so they went to the tomb with spices.

What they expected to do was to serve their Lord one last time.

..What they found was an empty tomb.
..What they heard was a message from two men in glowing clothes asking, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!”

What in the world did this mean? Even in their surprise and shock, I imagine that something clicked for those women. Something made sense. The glowing men said, “Remember how he told you..” and in verse 8:” Then they remembered his words.” It doesn’t mean that everything made complete sense at that moment, but this was something. It was something different.. it was hope.. hope oozing through the cracks of disappointment, confusion and doubt.. hope bringing in that first crack of sunlight.

9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Naturally, the women went to go tell the others. He’s not there. The tomb is empty. Don’t you remember what he told us? He had to die and on the third day be raised. He is ALIVE!!!

And the disciples didn’t believe them. (This is a great place for a comment about how women are more intelligent than men, but I won’t go there because that is not what is happening.) Whether you are a male or female, ask yourself honestly—would I have believed them? Would I have believed these women? Not b/c they are women, but b/c of what they were saying. If you were a character in a movie or even a soap opera, yeah, you could believe it. But I’m talking about YOU—would you have believed them?

If your answer is “no,” then you are putting yourself in some very good company. These followers—men and women—who had witnessed Jesus’ miracles, heard Jesus’ teaching, experienced Jesus’ love—they did not believe the women who went to the tomb. They didn’t believe because they needed to experience the resurrection for themselves.

The same is true for you and me. If you do not personally experience the truth of Jesus’ resurrection, then why should you believe it?

A couple of weeks ago, my oldest child’s teacher pulled me into the classroom after school to speak to me privately. This has never happened before, so I was wondering what in the world my child did that day that would merit this impromptu conference. Once the teacher was sure that the classroom was empty, she turned to me and said, “We’ve been talking about St. Patrick’s day in class, and your son told the class….. that his dad told him that leprechauns don’t exist.” (pause) I waited for more. But there was no more. I didn’t have anything to say. So the teacher went on to explain that my child’s comments sparked some protests from the other kids and how the class is going to make leprechaun traps so that perhaps my child could just not mention the non-existence of leprechauns in class anymore. I said, “Uh, sure, no problem” and left.

Just like adults propagate stories about leprechauns, Santa Claus, the Easter bunny and more, Christians were accused of propagating a lie about Jesus’ resurrection. I am not going to go into all of the evidence that exists to support the truth of the resurrection—but if you need it, I can find it for you.

What I would like to point out is that, like the first disciples, we have heard the testimony of others who have experienced the living presence of Jesus Christ, but we also need to experience it for ourselves. In verse 11, it says that the disciples did not believe the women; in verse 12, we read that Peter decided to go see for himself and he left wondering why the tomb was empty.

Do you wonder why our Easter celebrations can seem to be more hype than reality? Oftentimes it is because it IS more hype than reality. The flowers are here; the white banners are beautiful. Some of us are dressed slightly nicer than usual. For lunch we’re going to have a catered meal. But does church feel any different today than it did last week? It may look different externally, but IS it different?

In fact, is church any different for you—substantively—than it was a month ago or a year ago? Maybe yes, maybe no. Today is the day that we celebrate the fact Jesus Christ died, was buried and rose again. If you have not ever experienced that reality for yourself, then every worship service you attend will rest only on the externals; If you have experienced the reality of the resurrection—but not lately—then again, worship will only be meaningful as far as the externals are concerned—the music was lovely, the flowers were beautiful, the service was “nice.”

What we have been called to celebrate today—and every day—is that Jesus Christ is not in the tomb. Jesus Christ is not where we expect him to be. The women looked inside the tomb, and the glowing men asked, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” Peter ran to the tomb and saw that it was empty. He went away wondering what happened.

Where was Jesus? Not in the tomb. Once the women and Peter and the others met the resurrected Jesus, once they saw their hope was based on something real; once they heard his voice and realized “wow—he died for ME” and he had the power to come back again … they knew where to find Jesus. Jesus was NOT in the tomb.

Jesus was and is alive, and he can be found where there is life. In Jesus’ presence, life looks like what we read in scripture:

Matthew 11: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

The women who approached the tomb, even though they had witnessed 3 years of Jesus bringing life from what was considered dead—they only expected death. Yet in Jesus’ presence, they found life: the blind receive sight; the lame walk—all of these things are literal but they can be figurative as well. As we participate in today’s worship service and others in the weeks to come, do we come expecting death—the same old thing, the predictable, the things that follow the rules of this world, or do we come to celebrate life—that the tomb is empty and that Jesus Christ is risen; the chains of death are broken.

I shared the story a long time ago about when I visited a prison in Jamaica, but I will share it again today. It was a huge prison, men only. Everything was sand-colored much was open to the elements. I walked through a series of huge metal doors with my seminary group and felt stifled—not by the heat, which was oppressive, but by fear. Like other prisons around the world, this one was overcrowded and inadequate for its purpose.

There were male prisoners everywhere, walking freely around the compound. We took a tour around the facility. I remember the dusty ground, and I remember looking at a jail cell the size of my walk-in closet—it was just four brown walls with a dirt floor—and at night it held more men than there was floor space to lay down. I was tense. Prisoners were staring at us from everywhere.

Then our leader took us to a small roofed area at the side of the compound to have us join the Christian brothers who were worshipping there. As we sang “Amazing Grace,” tears began to fall from my eyes. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.”

When I was walking around that prison, I was looking at the tomb. I saw death, I felt fear—I was a wretch. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.”
Yet by God’s amazing grace, I was standing in the midst of brothers who had committed unspeakable crimes and I realized that in the presence of God there was the gift of the empty tomb: my wretchedness and their wretchedness, the walls, the heat, the fear—they were no longer. Instead, in God’s presence, in the presence of the living Christ, there is amazing grace, hope, the gift of life. Right there in that Jamaican jail, my soul was allowed to soar.

On this Easter Sunday, we have been called to celebrate the gift of life given to us by our resurrected Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If you find that today and other days are more tomb-focused, seek the resurrected Lord—he is not in the tomb. He may not be where you first suspect, but he will be found in places and times and moments where there is life, life in its fullness. Simply seek, and you will find that amazing grace.

(Pastor SKA)

2008.03.16 Running with Perseverance: Confession

Scripture: Psalm 32: 1-5, 11

This week, the governor of New York resigned because he has been linked to a “high class” prostitution ring. Although he did not admit anything in public, he confessed his involvement to his wife and aides after hearing that the federal government had linked him to the ring.

More locally, a teacher at Mills high school down on the peninsula has been put on administrative leave. It turns out that large amounts of the school’s computer server were being used, and when their computer technician investigated, he found that someone had placed a camera in the girls’ restroom. The teacher has admitted that he is guilty.

Even closer to home is our own mayor’s failings from a year ago—he had an affair with the wife of his friend and campaign manager. He too, admitted his failure after being confronted by the husband.

In all three of these examples, the guilty were caught first. Then they admitted the truth. Would they have come clean had they never been caught? Well, we’ll never know.
Confession is admitting our failure; admitting that we have not been honest; admitting that we have been pretending to be something that we are not. It is hard to confess—because whether we are confessing to someone else or even to ourselves, it is an acknowledgement that we have been false and that we have caused disappointment and hurt.

When you are caught, it may be easier to confess—after your wife or girlfriend has seen the Internet history of porn sites on your computer; after your dad sees the dent in his car. But then again, maybe even when we are caught we don’t want to confess.

When I was in the 2nd grade, I had a teacher, Ms. Eldridge. This woman was mean, ugly and intimidating. One day, my class had been particularly rowdy, and Ms. Eldridge roared that we must all be silent—no talking, period. The problem was, I had to go to the bathroom. Yet I was pretty sure that when Ms. Eldridge said “no talking,” that included raising your hand to ask to go to the restroom. So I held it, held it, held it… The next thing I remember is Ms. Eldridge finding a puddle on the floor. Our desks were arranged in groups of four, so Ms. Eldridge commanded that my three deskmates and I go to the girls’ restroom and line up. We stood there, lined up like soldiers, silent and shaking. I have this vision of Ms. Eldridge barking at us like a drill sergeant, demanding that one of us admit to having peed on the floor. I was petrified, and there was no way that I was going to confess.

I was raised in a Christian home, and I believed in God. I knew that lying was a bad thing, but at that moment, I was waaaay more scared of Ms. Eldridge than I was of God. Because God was my friend; God loved me. Ms. Eldridge wanted to yell at me.

I have no memory of what happened next, but I do know that I was sent to the front office to wait for my parents to bring me clean clothes. Did I confess? I honestly don’t remember, but I’m pretty sure that I was the only one of the four girls who had wet pants, so it was not that difficult to figure out.

Are you more afraid of other people or things than you are of God?
Do you fear losing your job more than you fear God? Then it is easier to take ethical shortcuts at the office.
Do you fear your in-laws more than God? Then it is easier to pretend or just flat out lie to them about what they want to hear.
Do you fear the opinion of people you walk by on the street more than God? Then it is easier to punt when opportunities to serve or to witness come your way.

This is not going to be a hell-and-damnation sermon, but the first and most fundamental point I want to make about the Spiritual Discipline of Confession is that our relationship with GOD is the reason that Confession is important. There are hundreds of psychobabble books (both Christian and secular) that talk about how confession is cleansing for your soul, it can relieve your mental stress; it can bring emotional healing. All of those things are true; however, as Christians, the fundamental reason we engage in the practice of Confession is to restore our relationship with God.

In other words, our fear of God (meaning our respect of God)—wanting to please God, to respect God, to do good by God—needs to be strong than our far of other people or things, even Ms. Eldridge.

So when we consider the Spiritual Discipline of Confession, our primary concern is what God thinks. King David of the Old Testament was a man who sought God’s heart—who sought to please God. This is what David wrote about confession:

Psalm 32

Of David. A maskil.

(“maskil”—likely a literary or musical term)

1 Blessed is he
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.

2 Blessed is the man
whose sin the LORD does not count against him
and in whose spirit is no deceit.

This is the state of a person who has confessed; who has come clean before God (transgressions forgiven; sins covered, sin the Lord does not count against him, in whose spirit is no deceitàcome clean)—they are blessed; they happy; they are free. Then David talks about his own experience:

3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.

4 For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
Selah

When David was not able to admit his wrongdoing, he was sluggish, unable to move forward. He writes that his “strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.”

If you’ve ever travelled southward on this planet, you know that we are totally spoiled here in the Bay area during the summer. Where I grew up, the heat of summer means that the moment you step foot outside, you’re instantly sweaty. Secret, Speed Stick, Arrid—the bread and butter of those companies is summertime in the South. When you see pictures of Southerners on their white porches (to reflect as much sunlight away as possible) drinking lemonade, they’re doing it b/c the sugar in that drink is the only thing that is keeping them from collapsing from the weight of the heat. In weather like that, you don’t want to move, and you actually can’t move. For David, the act of NOT confessing was that oppressive; that stifling. The weight of his unconfessed wrongdoing drained him like a hot summer day.

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, "I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD"--
and you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
Selah

Then David confessed, openly: “I..did not cover up my iniquity.” And in God’s presence he found forgiveness. David goes on to encourage us, saying:

11Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

You (who are) righteous; you who are upright in heart. The Psalm ends with an exhortation to celebrate—rejoice, sing—when you have gone before God to confess.

Through this Psalm, we are given an example of how confession works. We first recognize that there is something that we have done (or not done) that is wrong. We experience—whether physically, emotionally, psychologically or otherwise—we experience the negative effects of our wrongdoing, like David, whose strength was sapped as in the hat of summer. Knowing that we have done wrong, we come before God openly to confess, and we are promised, as the scripture says in the First Letter of John, Chapter 1:9 If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

If we confess, we will be forgiven and experience what David did—an urge to rejoice, a desire to sing.

Yet many of you already know this—most of our members are Christian and have experienced the deep sorrow of confession and the subsequent joy of forgiveness. But I share all of this again to help us remember that we are forgiven sinners. We often emphasize the former (forgiven), but today I want us to acknowledge the latter (sinners).

Every day we do things that violate the will of God. We were created to love God and love one another. Yet how easy is it to forget. We call out to God at our convenience; we yell at our kids; we lie; we pretend to be people that we are not; we steal; we covet our neighbor’s things; we gossip; we fudge on our taxes. …and those are the “small” things. None of us here are elected officials, so our own indiscretions will not be played through the news cycle when they come to light. However, whether your sin is headline-worthy or something that everyone does, a sin is a sin because it grieves the heart of the God who created us to be good.

One afternoon, I was sitting with a woman who was telling me that she stopped going to church when she was in college b/c she got really tired of hearing what a bad person she was—that she was a sinner. After all, she said, “I’m a good person!” And really, she is. She’s very thoughtful, she’s a great mom and wife, and she hasn’t murdered, molested or maimed anyone to my knowledge. And really, in a church like this, we’re all “good people.” The Pharisees were “good people” too. But Jesus pointed out that the Pharisees needed God just as much as the prostitutes, tax collectors and other “bad” people did.

It’s because we are sinners. The “small” things I mentioned before—we have done them, and we still do them. What’s worse is that we’ve developed a hierarchy of sins—murder, that makes God mad. Fudging a little on my time card, probably not a big deal. Having an affair, that would break God’s heart. Drinking a little too much, aw whatever.

Every time we violate the will of God, we commit sin. I’ve mentioned the story of Edith Delgado before—the teenager who was speeding one night and caused a car accident that killed the prince and princess of Tonga. That incident is such a clear example to me of how dangerous sin is. Speeding is a simple act; everyone does it. Most of the time, there are no negative consequences—at least that we know of. But sin dangerous, and when we become reckless with sin, the consequences can be enormous.

The Discipline of Confession slows us down. It is a deliberate decision on our part to pause and reflect on our actions. Sometimes, our sins will come to mind quickly; at other times, it can take hours, days, weeks or even years for us to recognize some of our willful mistakes. I don’t mean that you need to sit and think about it for years, but sometimes we need to grow up a little or experience a different perspective to recognize our sin. Either way, when we make it a regular habit to pause and think about our actions (or lack of actions) we are more likely to recognize the sins that we commit.

When the recognition comes, we need to take it before God and confess—admit it freely and completely. The more specific we are, the better.

When I was teaching youth, the younger ones would often pray “and please forgive us for all of our sins.” That’s not confession. Confession is “I lied about my work hours on the time sheet this week because I didn’t want my boss to know I was slacking off.” Specific confession is what leads us to genuinely repent, to feel sorry for what we have done.

What follows confession is restoration. Like the verse from 1st Peter says, God will forgive us, but just like in human relationships, a simple “I’m sorry” doesn’t always cut it. Genuine repentance always comes with action so that best effort is given so that the sin does not happen again.

Last summer, I sat on an ecclesiastical trial where a pastor was caught using the church computer to view multiple porn sites. He confessed his sin and expressed remorse for his actions. But when he was asked to place a filter on his computer so that the porn could no longer be accessed, he balked. Genuine confession is always followed by action to restore, to heal, to do better.

Today is Palm Sunday, which means that Lent is over, and we are entering Holy Week. As we prepare to celebrate the joy of Easter next Sunday, I want to encourage all of us (myself included) to take time at least once this next week to engage in a time of confession. It is only with the Good Friday side of the cross—Jesus’ crucifixion and death for our sins—that the joy of Easter is made complete. Just as spring always follows winter, joy follows sorrow. So may we make the time to confess our sins before God this week so that we may have a greater understanding of the joy we will celebrate on Easter.

(Pastor SKA)

2008.03.09 Running with Perseverance: Service

Scripture: Mark 10:35-45

During this season of Lent, we have been looking at different spiritual disciplines. Thus far, we have looked at prayer, study and simplicity. Today we’re going to look at service.

As a reminder, the function of spiritual disciplines is not to punish us, which is what we may first think of when we hear the word “discipline.” Instead, spiritual disciplines are exercises that train us for the life of faith.

For example, little league season began two weeks ago. My two oldest sons are playing. At each of their practices, they stretch, run laps, practice batting, practice fielding. Last week I watched as my younger son was taught the different positions for fielding. My oldest son was taught how to properly throw a ball. The coaches do this so that the kids will not hurt themselves (or others) when they play the game. They do this so that the kids will enjoy the game and play it to their fullest ability.

In the same way, spiritual disciplines train us to live our faith in our ordinary days—in ways that are not harmful to ourselves or others, and in ways that free us to live our lives to the fullest.

The discipline of service seems rather straightforward. Just serve. Sign up for the next visit to the Edgewood Center, volunteer to provide childcare in Fishers Village or bring some food to our next gathering. Pretty simple.

Yet there is more. My sons are learning the mechanics of baseball, but whether or not they will become baseball players is yet to be seen. If you’ve played sports before, you know that there is a difference between someone who knows the mechanics and someone who knows the game. This is true in other areas of life. I took piano lessons for 8 years, but that did not make me a pianist. You can go to graduate school and know what’s in the books, but application of that knowledge requires more.

In the same way, you can act like a servant, but that doesn’t mean that you are a servant. There is an inner dimension to the discipline of service that needs to be coupled with the outer acts of service. That inner dimension is, in a word, humility.

Let’s look at a scripture passage that can help us to understand this better:

35Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask."
36"What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
37They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."
38"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"
39"We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared."
41When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John (STOP)
James and John’s vying for top position, and the other 10 disciples’ subsequent anger reminds me of a situation with a public school on the peninsula.

There is a school on the peninsula that is so popular with local residents that parents line up the day before registration to get their children in. Yes, they spend the night. There is no predetermined time for the line to begin. If registration begins on Wednesday at 9:00 am, then the line begins on Tuesday whenever someone decides to start the line. The line normally started in the afternoon or evening. Two years ago, it started in the MORNING. What that meant was that families who were prepared to have one spouse do a ½ day at work were suddenly scrambling to get into that line. One mom told me that there was much anger pointed toward that 1st person—the one who decided to get ahead and give up an entire day of work to get his or her child into this particular school. Then this current school year, the line started TWO DAYS in advance—meaning, if registration was on Wednesday, the line started on Monday. Imagine what kind of anger was pointed at the person who was 1st in that line.

What these parents are trying to do is to position themselves to get their children into the highest scoring school in their school district. What James and John were trying to do was the same—trying to put themselves in the best position possible. They asked to sit at the left and right hand of Jesus. This would allow them to be privy to the best that was available in the coming Kingdom of which Jesus often spoke.

When the other 10 disciples heard about it, they were mad. Were they mad b/c James and John had made a ridiculous request? No, they were mad because they had not asked first—that perhaps James and John would get those spots b/c they had been “first in line” to ask.

This is how the world works. We plan and prepare to put ourselves in 1st place—or at least near the front of the line—to get what we want.
Early decision applications to colleges are meant to say—Hey, I like you so much that I am willing to make you my 1st choice. So guarantee me one of those spots.
When we apply for jobs, we polish our resumes to make it look like we are, in essence, the best possible candidate—the 1st one, so to speak—for the position.
Even with our children, we search for the best programs, the best teachers, the best food, all of the sake of helping them be 1st among their peers.

And like the other 10 disciples, we get angry or at least frustrated when others get ahead of us.
When someone cuts you off on the road, part of you may have been scared that an accident could have occurred. However, sometimes isn’t another part of you just mad that that driver got ahead of you in traffic?
When the lines at Costco are each 5 carts deep, it is expected that when a new register opens up, that the cashier will quietly go and pull the next person in line to go first. When this doesn’t happen, there is a free-for-all to be first in that new line. If you had been 1st, you probably wouldn’t have given the violation a 2nd thought, but if you were not quick enough to make there, don’t you get annoyed at the cashier for not following protocol?

Life today is all about “me.” If I make it to 1st, great! If I don’t, though, that’s when the grumbling starts.

The discipline of service trains us to think differently. This is seen most clearly in Jesus’ response to James, John and the other 10 disciples:

42Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Jesus says, “Look, guys. We live under Roman rule. You’ve seen first hand how those who are first in this society behave—they look out for #1—themselves—at the expense of others. Not so with you. In my kingdom, if you want to be great, you must be a servant. If you want to be first, you must be a slave.

And just in case that is too theoretical for you, let me point out that I, the Son of Man, “did not come to be served, but to serve.”

The discipline of service trains us to live as Jesus lived, turning the logic of this world on its head. To be great, you need to be a servant. To be first, you need to be a slave.

This is not ideological chit chat. History shows Jesus’ words to be true. This man—God incarnate—on the night of his arrest, took a towel, knelt down, and washed the feet of his disciples.

I like baby toes. Specifically, I like to pretend to eat baby toes. It’s a real crack up for them. We no longer have baby toes in my house. My two older boys’ toes—no way. My 3 year old, though, he’s the baby of the family. So sometimes, even now, I will be wresting with the boys and then I’ll whip off the 3 year old’s sock to pretend to eat.. but WHEW! STINKY TOES!! And this is from my son, who stays indoors most of the day on clean floors and wears socks. Jesus Christ took the stinky toes of grown men who wore sandals all day long on dirt roads and dirt floors. This, in a society that didn’t bathe nearly as often as we do. He took their feet and washed them.

The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. And in doing so, he demonstrated for us the heart of God. The greatness of God is not about being first or being the best. The majesty of the Almighty does not come from his ability to dominate. Rather, the power of our God is that our God LOVES, and that love is demonstrated through service. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.

Every time that we are able to exercise the discipline of service, we come closer to the heart of God.

Yet as I mentioned earlier, it is possible to act like a servant and not actually be a servant. I once travelled overseas with a man who is highly regarded in for his Christian work. One of my former youth group kids studied with him several years ago and took no small delight in extolling this man’s brilliance. Yet this same person is someone who decided to take his frustration out on me one day because some luggage was lost by an airline, and despite my best efforts, I couldn’t make the lost bags materialize before our eyes. The hotel employee who witnessed my chewing out was furious and when the Christian man left, the employee tried to comfort me and call him a “bad man.” I was mad. There was nothing that I could do to find that lost luggage, and any reasonable person who has lost a bag knows that. The lost bags were not even his. The bags belonged to two women in the group he was leading—two women who, by the way, were tired but made the best of things by buying new clothes the countries we visited. Yet this man, who is seen as a wonderful leader and teacher of God’s Word—who is seen as God’s servant—only knew how to treat me as a servant, not be one himself.

If his expressed frustration and sorrow over the lost bags was so deep, there were plenty of other actions that he could have taken. However, this servant of God chose to yell at me, as if that would have brought the bags any sooner (and it didn’t).

It is possible to appear to be a servant and not actually be a servant. The discipline of service, when exercised well, gives us the gift of humility. So with that in mind, here are five different ideas that come from Eugene Peterson’s book Celebration of Discipline:

Do the small things
A long time ago, my mom told me a story about a person who always cleaned up any bathroom that he entered. She was trying to impress upon me the value of service. I sometimes curse whoever told my mom that story, because ever since I heard it, I can’t go into a restroom without at least thinking about cleaning it. (Paper towels, toilet paper, flushing the toilet, whatever is needed). Do the small things.

Exercise common courtesy
Holding a door, saying thank you. Courtesy on the road—yielding. In a store, let someone ahead of you. It sounds small—and it is—but it communicates volumes. It shows respect and deference to another person.

Listen
Just listen. Don’t interrupt. Don’t bring in your agenda. Just listen..

Practice hospitality
Whether it is inviting someone to your home, bringing a meal to someone, greeting visitors at church, it is communicating the warmth and love that Jesus has first shown to you.

Bear each other’s burdens
(one of our former members) suffered the death of her mother this week. Pray for her and her family.. Take her a meal. (One of our members) is pregnant with her 1st child. Pray for her and her family. Share with her what worked for you; consider how you can support these new parents. In essence, consider someone else’s burden and ask, how can I serve him/her?

In all of these things, you will need time. Not scheduled time—although that may be required as well—but time to notice. When we are busy trying to be first, when we are preoccupied with our schedules and our priorities and our wants and our needs, there is no time, there is no space to even notice an opportunity to serve. There is no mental alarm that goes off “ding ding ding—opportunity to serve!!!” when you’re focused on your own agenda.

The discipline of service takes time. It takes the time to notice—to see, hear or sense intuitively—where service is needed. To exercise the discipline of service, you start by giving yourself time—build cushions around your schedule so that you’re not in a hurry, so that you have space to do what you need to do and still serve others. The discipline of service is important because it helps us to recognize that our importance, our worth will not ultimately be attained through long to-do lists and constant jockeying for 1st place. Our greatness comes and will come as we make time to serve others.

Whether it is in doing the small things, exercising common courtesy, listening, practicing hospitality, bearing each other’s burdens or just taking other opportunities that you may see—all of this service is the way that we follow the example of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He came to serve and asks us to do likewise.

(Pastor SKA)

2008.03.02 Running with Perseverance: Simplicity

Scripture: Matthew 6:25-33

This past Tuesday, I went to my room to get something. It was 7:18 pm, so I turned on the radio to hear the 5-day weather forecast. Tomorrow would be sunny. Good; that meant that my oldest child could ride his bike to school.. wait. The bike that was still at the school. Ah. I had forgotten it b/c I had picked my son up by car to take him to baseball practice... The same practice where we had left his glove behind. The email that told me about the glove was right above the email about the school announcement that I forgotten to send that day before the 12:noon deadline.

None of these things were catastrophic. I went to pick up the bike; I replied to the coach to say thank you for keeping our glove; and I emailed my co-chair to let her know why our announcement wouldn’t be in tomorrow’s newsletter. There was no devastation created by my slip-ups; however, it was yet another indication to me of how flooded my mind can become with the multiple things I try to manage in my life.

Today we are looking at the spiritual discipline of SIMPLICITY. What is simplicity? Why is it important? And how can we exercise it? These are the questions that we are going to examine today.

First, what is simplicity?

There is a magazine called Real Simple; you might have seen it in the racks at the grocery store. The things I like about this magazine are the clean lines in the pictures and the articles about organization. My human instinct tells me that if I can just discover the right arrangement of organizational tools—calendars, cubbies, storage bins—that my life will magically become more manageable—that it will look and “feel” as clean as those simple magazine pictures. In this view, simplicity is synonymous to healthy balance.

The Bible, however, does not agree. Biblically speaking, simplicity is not balance of many things. Simplicity is not the ability to effortlessly manage my children’s extracurricular activities in a clean house. It is, instead, having ONE FOCUS. We see it most clearly in today’s passage from Matthew 6:

MT 6:25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

MT 6:28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.

In the book Celebration of Discipline, Eugene Peterson refers to the theologian Soren Kierkegaard’s reflection on this same Scripture passage. Kierkegaard considers what effort, exactly should a person make to “seek first the kingdom”? Should you get a job that helps others, like with Compassion International or the Edgewood Center? Should you give all of your money away to feed the poor? Should you go and tell everyone you know that we need to seek God’s kingdom? No. Kierkegaard’s answer is “no.” No because we are FIRST to seek the kingdom of God. So then:

Kierkegaard concludes, “Then in a certain sense it is nothing I shall do. Yes, certainly, in a certain sense, it is nothing, become nothing before God, learn to keep silent; in this silence is the beginning, which is, first to seek God’s Kingdom.
-from Celebration of Discipline, p.87

The discipline of simplicity is to seek ONE THING; it is to seek one thing first: God’s Kingdom.

And Peterson continues:

The person who does not seek the kingdom first does not seek it at all. Worthy as all other concerns may be, the moment they become the focus of our efforts they become idolatry.
To center on them will inevitably draw us into declaring that our particular activity is Christian simplicity. And, in fact, when the kingdom of God is genuinely placed first, ecological concerns, the poor, the equitable distribution of wealth, and many other things will be given their proper attention.
-from Celebration of Discipline, p.87

So, what is the discipline of simplicity? It anchoring your life with one thing: to seek first God’s kingdom.

Why is simplicity important?

It is a spiritual discipline, but so what? Why do we need to train ourselves to have one focus? Why do we need to practice anchoring our days to seek first God’s kingdom?

Let me step back a moment to remind us of the big picture to our sermon series. We’re calling the series “Running with Perseverance.” During this season of Lent, we examining the spiritual disciplines; we are seeking to find how it is that we run the race of faith so that our strength is renewed, so that we soar on wings like eagles, and we run and not grow weary.

Simplicity helps us to do this. Just as in a race, there is only the finish line to focus upon, with simplicity, there is only one goal—to seek God’s kingdom. I want to examine two areas of our lives to help us understand why this is important.

First, let’s talk about material things in relation to Simplicity. Scripture abounds with teaching about material goods:

People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap... For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. 1 Timothy 6:9-10

Whoever trusts in his riches will fall… Proverbs 11:28a

No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Luke 16: 13

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

All of these talk about the proper place for our “stuff.” It is not money that is evil—it is the LOVE of money. It is not riches that will bring you to ruin; it is when you TRUST in those riches.

Our money, our riches—their proper place is not first, at least, not if you are a Christian. “You cannot serve both God and Money.” Instead, the material treasures we have here are to be used for here—because you can’t take it with you when you die.

When we exercise simplicity, when we seek God’s kingdom first, it is much easier to keep the material in proper perspective. I read an article recently that noted the popularity of the iPhone and how it was introduced at one price and then lowered by a couple of hundred dollars just a few weeks later. There were some people who were outraged and demanded a price adjustment. However, that disgruntled group was surprisingly small. Why? Because a lot of the first customers got what they paid for—bragging rights; extra points for “coolness;” attention and envy. This is a phone for crying out loud. The extra $____ premium that the first buyers spent could have supported ____ through Compassion International where we sponsor Jackline. ___ versus bragging rights for ___ weeks. Which one would you choose?

And if you scoff at the idea of the iPhone, substitute instead something from your own life, b/c we’re all guilty of coveting and obtaining excess—whether it is more square footage in our houses, the upgrade for our cars or even the clothing label that perhaps no one but our dry cleaner sees—but we know.

Simplicity challenges us to rethink our purchase parameters; to reconsider our changing definition of needs versus wants. To use money and material things properly—because we seek FIRST the Kingdom of God.

But simplicity is not just about tangible things. In Eugene Peterson’s words,

“The Christian Discipline of simplicity is an inward reality that results in an outward lifestyle.”
-E.Peterson, Celebration of Discipline

The exercise of simplicity does not—can not—begin here (head); it starts from here (heart). It begins inward and influences what comes out.

The easiest way I could think of to explain inward simplicity is by first talking about its opposite. The opposite of simplicity is…? duplicity. Now normally, I think that most of us would define the opposite of simplicity is as complexity. A square versus a cube; 2+2 versus the square root of 2. Simplicity ßà Complexity
However, from a Biblical perspective, the opposite of simplicity is not complexity; it is, rather, duplicity. For example:
Did Moses’ life become less complex after the burning bush? (Egypt, slaves, Pharoah, 40 years in the wilderness) No.
Did Esther’s decision to follow God make her life less complicated? (approaching the king under threat of death, exposing the king’s right-hand man, saving her people) No.
Did the Apostle Paul’s conversion bring an easy, simple life (being beaten, stoned and jailed; starving, living in danger, deprived of sleep—all so that he could tell people about Jesus Christ)? No.

In all cases of those who sought one focus—the kingdom of God—no, their lives did not become less complex. Exercising simplicity does not eliminate complexity.

Instead, when we fail to exercise simplicity, we find ourselves engaging in duplicity.

In duplicity there is a discrepancy between the reasons we give for doing something and the real reasons why we are doing it. We gossip to tear someone down so we can feel superior, but we do it in the name of “praying more intelligently.” We say something that sounds humble, but secretly know that we are trying to impress people with our apparent humility.
- from The Life You’ve Always Wanted by J.Ortberg

The reason why it is important to engage in the spiritual discipline of simplicity is that it frees us from duplicity; from being someone who we were not created to be; from being someone who, really, we don’t want to be.

Early in my married life, several of my older women friends shared stories with me about their relationships with their mothers-in-law. I, being the obedient, Confucian daughter-in-law that I am, was amazed at how each one of these women advised me not to pretend that I was something that I am not with my mother-in-law. One woman refused to cook when her mother-in-law visited—because this woman didn’t normally cook when her mother-in-law was not around either. So in that spirit, I never pretended to be a Korean daughter-in-law. B/c the truth is, I don’t know how to be one. I only know how to be me—a Korean-American daughter-in-law whose language skills are fuzzy and whose knowledge of Korean social rules is incomplete. It hasn’t always been an easy path to take, but I can recognize now that it was the less stressful route to take. There is no façade to keep up when I am with my in-laws. I am who I am, and they love me nonetheless.

The discipline of Simplicity begins inward and moves outward where it allows us to be free—to be free to focus our selves, our possessions, our everything, on ONE THING.

Experiencing the inward reality liberates us outwardly. Speech becomes truthful and honest. The lust for status and position is gone because we no longer need status and position. We cease from showy extravagance not on the grounds of being unable to afford it, but on the grounds of principle. Our goods become available to others.
-from Celebration of Discipline, p.80

Again, “The Christian Discipline of simplicity is an inward reality that results in an outward lifestyle.” Simplicity is important because as our characters, our “insides” are transformed we are liberated to exercise simplicity toward the outward things—whether they be tangible (our stuff or money) or intangible (our relationships). We become people with ONE FOCUS—to seek FIRST the Kingdom of God.

So how do you do it?

There is an article, titled “Two of Me” found in Leadership magazine where the author, Mindy Caliguire, offers four examples of questions you can ask yourself to see if you need to exercise the discipline of simplicity:

Do I feel overwhelmed by options?
Do I feel burdened by impossible demands?
Do I often buy more than I can afford?
Do I frequently desire to be more than I am?

She follows these questions with this: “When I feel the pull to be more confident, more together, more successful, more spiritual, more hard-working, or more organized than I really am, I am tempted by duplicity.”

Therefore, Caliguire suggests (Quote) “God loves a cheerful giver, but that does not mean we should give what we do not possess to gain his approval or anyone else’s. It does mean, when the balance on our account is in the black, and we write the check, or make the phone call, or join the committee, or lead the team, [God] gets a kick out of it. We need to [serve] “in the black” so we have something to give. Giving “in the red,” what we do not possess, means we are living in duplicity. We are not loving God or others authentically because we’re not being honest.”

So to practice the discipline of Simplicity—to have ONE FOCUS, which is to seek God’s kingdom first, we need, as Kierkegaard wisely observed, to “do nothing”: “to become nothing before God, learn to keep silent; in this silence is the beginning.”

If suspect that you need the practice of Simplicity in your life (I know I do!), do the “nothing”, the keeping silent before God as your first step. Do it so that you can find out how it is that you can seek first God’s kingdom. I began this sermon by talking about how muddled my mind can become during the week. I have a lot of things going on. My first instinct would be to simply drop things off our family’s schedule. However, that will not guarantee simplicity. Remember, the opposite of simplicity is duplicity, not complexity. So even before I drop something from my schedule, what I need to do first is the nothing—to seek first the kingdom of God. If you find yourself harried by your schedule, I’d encourage you to do the same. Exercise the discipline of simplicity. Seek first the kingdom of God.

(Pastor SKA)