Mercy

We are heading into the last couple weeks of Lent.  How have you focused on your spiritual life these last few weeks?  Have you given something up or added something meaningful?  When taken seriously Lent can really be a challenging and growing time, leading to that great Easter celebration "Christ the Lord is risen today."

Lent began with these words from Psalm 51:

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Tomorrow I have the joy of preaching with a few of my students.  We are talking about mercy.  This Psalm begins, "Have mercy on me O God."  I has caused me to pause and reflect on how merciful God must really be, and just how unmerciful I can be.  It is in my blood for some people to "get what they deserve" to hold on to a bit of anger rather than learning to really forgive.  Truly showing mercy is a hard thing to do.  Sometimes it is easier to care for a stranger, to engage in acts of mercy on behalf of others in the name of Christ than to be merciful with those who have hurt or disappointed us.  

What role has mercy played in your life?  Is there someone to whom you can show mercy this Lent season?  

Prayer:  Merciful God, help me to understand the depth of your love and mercy.  Help me to offer this same depth of grace to the challenging places and people in my life.  Create in me a clean heart, free from selfishness.  More like you, Jesus.  More like you.  Amen.  

Lean In

Tonight a devotion in song, one of my current favorites.  I listened to this one as I prepared the memorial service for my grandparents.  It made me wonder about the experience of being encountered by the love of Christ as we transition from this life to the next.  It also made me realize how wonderful it is to know we can lean in to the love of God at any moment.  

How does this song speak to you?  

Soccer Mom.

Oh my.  As of today I am actually the owner of a mini-van.  I'm selling my Element and saying goodbye to the silver toaster that has kept me company for the last eight years.  Something about serving in campus ministry and driving a million miles made me realize that having a car that gets so-so gas mileage and can only hold four people is not very smart.  And then I have these super-generous friends who seem to do whatever they can to support me and Wesley.  They offered me Old Blue, the minivan from Lake Ann that has traveled a bazillion miles on youth adventures and crazy mountain bike and skiing trips.  Old Blue it is - a practical decision, a generous gift that will help us do great ministry.  Old Blue is the place where lots of sacred conversations have taken place, where teenagers have discussed difficult things, where laughter and tears have been confronted with love and kindness.  Who knows what we will encounter together!

Transitioning vehicles has taken up way too much space in my brain for the last few months.  Something about it has scared me, I guess because I wasn't exactly sure what I needed to do.  Sometimes I get the feeling that I'm the only person in the world who doesn't get something.  In the midst of feeling stupid I get anxious about whether or not I'm making the smartest decision.  Then the whole thing gets way bigger than it really is.  Today I decided I'd take care of this transition with my insurance folks and the Secretary of State's office.  I have to admit that after about 20 minutes the whole thing was done.  Now all I have to do is sell my car. What a silly thing to get so overwhelmed about!

Does that ever happen to you?  Where something that  you don't know much about gets you scared or feeling foolish?  My experience today reminded me again how hard it is for me to ask for help and to trust that others are gracious and kind in giving it.  It also made me ponder these words from Proverbs 3, that seem to come up at Wesley with some frequency:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge God, and God will make your paths straight."


This is one of those verses that I need to have tattooed on my forehead because I seem to forget it as I try to figure out everything on my own.  What I lose sight of is the call for us to work together as the Body of Christ.  The gifts given to me may be helpful to you, and the gifts you've been given are certainly helpful to others.  Today I was reminded that it is ok not to have everything figured out, that needing to rely on others is a good thing.

How do you trust in the Lord with all your heart?  Do you have trouble asking for/receiving help?  How might God be using others gifts to strengthen your own?

Prayer:  God, sometimes I forget the most simple of things.  I need reminding that trusting in you is more important than coming up with all the answers on my own.  Help me receive the gift of other people, to rely on those in my community, that all of us may come to acknowledge and praise you!  Amen.

Patience Grasshopper.

I am no theology geek, but I must say that the main reason I am a United Methodist is because of our understanding of grace and the fact that how we come to interpret Christ's action in the world is through this quadrilateral of Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience.  This allows us freedom to recognize that God speaks and moves in many different ways, just as we are all unique.  Rather than base our understanding of God on personal experience alone, we filter that experience through our knowledge of the others.  Rather than simply base what we know on the tradition from which we come, we allow our personal experiences to color our understandings of who God is in the world today.  This prevents us from being overly dogmatic and allows our theology and worship to unfold as God continues to reveal God's self in the world.  

So many times in life we are confronted with situations for which we want immediate answers.  Often we find ourselves in relationships that need some help and we aren't sure what steps to take.  I know for many making career decisions can be a painful and scary process if we have to live in the uncertain for too long.  For me, it's easy at this point to take things into my own hands and try to figure out the quickest (often easiest) solution.  It's easy to deal with these things when we think we are in control, when we think we know all the factors and consequences.  It is much harder to reflect on what Scripture, tradition, reason and experience might teach us....and even harder to trust in a God that doesn't "speak" immediately.  

The lectionary Scripture for today comes from John 8:

12 Jesus once again addressed them: “I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.”

13 The Pharisees objected, “All we have is your word on this. We need more than this to go on.”

14-18 Jesus replied, “You’re right that you only have my word. But you can depend on it being true. I know where I’ve come from and where I go next. You don’t know where I’m from or where I’m headed. You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don’t make judgments like that. But even if I did, my judgment would be true because I wouldn’t make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father. That fulfills the conditions set down in God’s Law: that you can count on the testimony of two witnesses. And that is what you have: You have my word and you have the word of the Father who sent me.”

Jesus is challenging these Pharisees to recognize that they must see outside of their experience and what they've been taught if they want to recognize God.  It is too easy to simply live our lives based on what we can "see and touch" we must do our best to tap into the "largeness" of God, a perspective that just might be much different than our own.  

These days it seems like we take all sides of every issue and rather than embrace the mystery of how God might be at work we divide ourselves into camps.  It is easy to pull one verse of Scripture and tell the world that "God says" or "God believes" and much more difficult to embrace the mystery of God.  It is easier to divide and dislike than to open ourselves to the unfolding knowledge of God's story in the world.  It is more comfortable to make decisions based on our opinions, to make our own plans at the expense of what God-opportunities might come to fruition.

What situations, people, or plans are you trying to control?  I want to be more intentional about grounding myself in this process of reflecting before I rush to say or do.  It will take patience.  Yikes.

In what ways does this Scripture speak to you?  

Hijacked.

This quote from the great JW is one that is paraphrased in many different ways, but the point is always the same - people love passion, people follow enthusiasm, and both passion and enthusiasm can lead to change.  When is the last time you were really filled with passion about something?  I find that it is in these types of moments that we are confronted with who we really are - the deepest parts of ourselves set on fire by a cause, or something much bigger than "I".

When I decided to apply for the campus ministry job at Ferris I really didn't know what I was getting myself into.  Basically I felt that if I was going to keep saying how important it was to support young adults and campus ministry I should put my feet where my mouth was - realizing that there's only so many years that one can really be effective in this type of ministry.  So I trusted the nudging in my spirit and accepted the job.  It's been quite the transition in many ways as I really see myself as more of a pastor, than a director.  I miss so much about serving in the local church, but in the last nine months I have realized how imperative it is that campus ministry be a priority for the UMC at this time.  At least I really feel this is the case for my conference, West Michigan.

Last spring at our annual meeting Wesley Campus Ministries made a huge push for more funding.  Funding for campus ministries had been cut for years (more drastically than nearly all other ministries.)  We asked the conference to agree to support a full-time director position for five college campuses.  It was a heated debate on the floor of annual conference.  It passed as people became aware of the enthusiasm and passion for young adult ministry.  It passed because of the young adults who were present and unafraid as they spoke to the people gathered in the assembly.

Financially speaking the floor of Annual Conference is not the place to change the budget in such a drastic way, especially in light of the great challenges we face financially at this time.  The UMC is dealing with shrinking finances (and a shrinking # of people).  The crunch is real - and it effects our ability to be the UMC as each line of the budget faces the chopping block.

In the last two months I have heard multiple times that the Wesley directors need to be kept away from the microphones at conference, that we sabotaged the assembly, that we hijacked the budget for our own desires.  I wonder what JW would have to say to us.  It seems SO absurd to me that while this great flame is catching fire - while Wesley ministries develop young Christian leaders, offer challenging spiritual growth opportunities, focus young people on the power of missions and connection to the larger church - while all of this amazing growth is happening there is this spirit of competition for funds.  Rather than our leadership jumping on board with this "spark" we are seen as a threat - though what happened last year only occurred because there was no other option for us.  For ten years ministry funds have been cut, and cut again.  It seems the conference has spoken and desires for this ministry to be a priority.  Is this a democracy?  I'm beginning to wonder.

Though I've only been a Wesley Director for nine months I can tell you without a doubt that this is the only really effective young adult ministry I have ever been a part of.  It is only by having our presence in the midst of college life that we are able to see within these students the amazing leadership potential that rises to the surface when given a chance to blossom.  Students are learning about the inner-workings of the church, speaking about the call God has placed on their lives, singing in praise together as a group.  There's nothing quite like a bunch of college students genuinely worshiping God.  There is hope in this.  Hope for the UMC, hope for the future, hope for the Church.
Last week on mission trip I tried to sing the song Pass it On.  You probably know it -

"It only takes a spark to get a fire going,

And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing;

That's how it is with God's Love,

Once you've experienced it,

Your spread the love to everyone

You want to pass it on." 

It's a spark that gets a fire going.  I believe that these campus ministries are the spark that can ignite a passion for the life of our church again - that we can look to this powerful movement of the Spirit as a sign of hope, a sign of God's faithfulness.  Why are we so afraid to trust in this movement?  Why is it so hard for us to trust that God will provide enough if we are faithful to God's movement in our midst.  Could it be that spending money on young adults now might save our church in the future?  Might it lead to a re-prioritizing of all facets of this beloved "budget" that reflects what our church is to be about?

We all have passions and enthusiasm for the things we love.  I admit that my enthusiasm for Wesley has only grown as I have seen the fruit of the extra funds, the extra time spent in relationship with young adults who are in love with Jesus.  Yes there are lots of things to which we can give money and time - but I now recognize that this is one of the most fruitful investments we can make at this time, in this place.

Just a few thoughts I needed to get out of my head before I lose faith in humanity. As one who may serve in this conference for thirty more years I have hope that the future may not be as bleak as the present.  

Sometimes God hijacks our best-laid plans - sometimes people with passion hijack the politically correct process - often it is in these times when we really see what is most important.  

May God set us on fire that others may come from miles to watch us burn.  Amen.  

Greater.

The project was demolition, how hard could it be to knock something down, right?  Well - it was a lot BIGGER than I thought.  If we had any sense we would have just rented some big wrecking ball and knocked it down in seconds.  But we were there to do the work piece by piece - and it was more important than just tearing it up.  

Bruce was a carpenter by trade, but now he's retired.  He grew up on Goose Island in this home.  There were 212 homes on this Island before hurricane Irene, which damaged 200 of them.  Bruce has worked with mission teams ever since, doing his best to help all those in need in the area.  The people on the Island have a deep respect for him, as he serves as a volunteer and is fueled by his deep faith and love for God.  This was the last home that would be demolished, saved because of the many memories Bruce has of his childhood, his parents and siblings.  The entire week became a process of letting go for him, as we too grew to love the home and it's owner.  For Bruce tearing down this home piece by piece was the only proper way to do it - and in it's walls were found old report cards, recipes, and gadgets of old, the foundation made strong by the addition of thousands of oyster shells that had once been dinner during long winter months.  The soul of the home was a wooden beam pieced together by wooden pegs, the strength of which has never failed.  It was to be saved and used in a future project.  I'm pretty sure this beam is the very reason we were slated for this project.

Our team of 28 was strong and worked hard and by Friday the only thing left were the pine stumps upon which the house was built.  It was amazing as I honestly thought it was something that we could not possibly accomplish in only four work days.  

Our theme this year for the trip was "How Great is Our God!"  and I have thought long and hard over the past ten days about just how great God really is - God takes our efforts and provides the strength and perseverance we need.  God showed up in the compassion of neighbors who stopped by, in caring chaperones who loved to laugh and went with the flow.  God is greater than the limitations we place on ourselves and our abilities.  God is greater than the barriers we put up to keep our hearts safe.  God's greatness shown forth in stories of young adults whose lives have been difficult and filled with pain - yet have found a way to grasp onto God's love for them and others.  

1 John 4 says:

4 My dear children, you come from God and belong to God. You have already won a big victory over those false teachers, for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world. 

What a powerful thought to recognize that the Spirit of God living in us is more powerful than anything in the world.  This past week I saw that Spirit come to life as students gave of themselves to care for a love a man who was grieving the loss of his childhood home and all it stood for.  

How have you witnessed this power in your own life?

Prayer:  God tonight I give you thanks for being bigger than I can even begin to imagine.  I thank you that you cannot fit into the limitations of my understanding and ask that you open my mind and heart to know you more.  Help me to grasp onto the Spirit of power alive in me, that I might embrace the call to care for and empower others.  Amen.