Friday Five, 2/26/2010

I can't wait until the baseball season starts. I gave serious thought to putting Spring Training at the #1 spot again on this week's Friday Five, but thought better of it. So, without any more boring introduction:

#5 - Canadian women bring home hockey gold
Apparently Canada has had a heck of a time in these Olympics. It's hard being the host and living up to the overly high expectations (just as Albert Pujols about last year's All Star Game in St. Louis). Of course, according to Deadspin.com the real story is that after they won the gold, the ladies decided to celebrate... with beer and cigars... on the ice... and at least one of them is underage. Oh, Canada....

#4 - USA Hockey beats Canada
In what some were calling the biggest US Olympic hockey game since the 1980 Olympic game against Russia, the US hockey team beat the Canadians. It is the first victory over Canada since 1960 for the men's team. The men could very well have a rematch against Canada if both teams win their semi-final match-up today.

#3 - Kentucky gets a little payback on South Carolina
You may remember a few weeks ago, just after Kentucky hit #1 in the Men's College Basketball polls, they promptly went into South Carolina and lost. Well, on Thursday night, they exacted their revenge. Kentucky beat down South Carolina 82-61 at Rupp Arena. Why is this #3? Because it's my top 5!

#2 - Purdue loses Hummel for the season
Junior Robbie Hummel, a key player on #3 Purdue, busted up his knee in the game against Ohio State this week. It is a major blow to the Boilermakers. However, it goes about as far in hurting their Final Four chances as them making the tournament in the first place. In other words, don't expect to see Purdue in the Final Four, with or without Hummel.

#1 - "Old" star running backs released
The running back fraternity took a major blow this week when two quality veterans were released by their teams. LaDainian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook were released by their respective teams this week. Westbrook has dealt with injuries nearly every season that I have had him on my fantasy teams, and LT has had a severe drop-off in production in the last couple of years. This just goes to show you that 30 really is old, so I'm gonna live it up while I'm still young.... i.e. for another 362 days.

Every Journey Begins Somewhere

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, February 21, 2010. The text for this week's message is Romans 10:8-13.

Today is the first Sunday of the season of Lent. Lent is the time of year when we look forward to and prepare for Easter. Officially, Lent starts with Ash Wednesday, which we celebrated just this past week. It began in the early church and eventually became a 40-day period that serves as a spiritual preparation for Easter Sunday. Essentially, it is a journey. It is a spiritual journey that we take as the people of God.

Maybe it’s just me, but I love a good travel story. And I’m not talking about the kind of story that involves hundreds of slides and long descriptions of the events that took place on a cruise. I’m talking about epic journeys that we watch on the big screen, or we read about in the comfort of our favorite chair. Stories of adventure and danger; stories that make you want to stay up late just to see what happens next. Stories that just suck you in.

One of my absolute favorite movie series is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I didn’t know much about them when they first came out, but for some reason, we ended up watching the first one, Fellowship of the Ring, with some friends who had joined us for dinner one night. And from that point on, I was hooked. Not long after we saw the first one, The Two Towers came out. We kept meaning to go see it, but when you’re a newlywed just trying to pay the bills, you don’t get out to see a lot of movies, and we never made it out to see it in the theater.

When Return of the King finally came out, we did go see it in the theater, and I can remember vividly how my heart was pounding as we watched the battle scene outside of Minas Tirith. It was exciting. I hadn’t read the books, so I had no idea what was going to happen next. I was thrilled. And to top it all off, there are some great illustrations and talking-points in all three of these movies.

But what got me so interested in the first place was that it was a story about a journey. Four little hobbits taken out of their comfortable world, and thrust onto a scene of events with global, long-reaching ramifications. The thought that someone who was often overlooked and deemed insignificant could do something that would have such long-reaching effects stuck with me. It intrigues me. And it is a solid metaphor for who we are as Christians.

Have you ever thought about your faith as a journey? There is an ultimate destination – heaven. Along the way, we encounter all sorts of things. Now, perhaps our journey is not nearly as dangerous as Frodo’s. As far as I know, there are no goblins or orcs trying to get to us. But for millions of people all around the world, it is a dangerous journey. There are places in this world where it is dangerous to live out the Christian faith and illegal to share the gospel. And like all journeys, there is a beginning to our Christian walk. And today’s Scripture gives us a glimpse into the beginning of our journey.

We kind of jump in to the middle of a conversation that Paul is having with his readers when we start with verse 8, so I want to take a brief look at what is going on in Romans 10 prior to today’s reading. Paul is laying out an argument that focuses on righteousness based on the law verses righteousness based on faith. Righteousness that is based on the law is a fleeting type of righteousness. For those who haven’t given up on reading through the Bible this year, you’ve recently walked through one of the toughest parts of Scripture. The laws that are laid out in Leviticus are very dry reading, and those are a lot of the laws that the people tried to keep in order to maintain righteousness.

As we’ll find out from reading the rest of the Old Testament, the Israelites didn’t do such a good job of keeping those laws. In fact, they were terrible at it. They were constantly turning to false idols, and trying more and more to become like the world that surrounded them. The righteousness based on the law was inadequate. Paul writes earlier in this letter, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

There is not one who has accomplished righteous living according to the law because if a person is guilty of breaking one part of the law, then he/she is guilty of breaking all of the law. It is impossible to be righteous from “doing the right things.” So, it is clear that our journey doesn’t begin with “doing the right things,” or “by being a good person.” Those aren’t the ways to begin your journey in the Christian faith. In fact, there is nothing outside of us that we can do to earn the righteousness of God.

Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 30:12-14 in Romans 10:5-8, and gives us a bit of commentary on that passage. And the last part of that Deuteronomy passage is what Paul quotes in verse 8. “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” And what Paul is saying here is that the word of faith, the gospel that they have been proclaiming, is what they need in order to receive salvation. And he goes on to say that by confessing with one’s mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in one’s heart that God raised him from the dead, one can be saved.

Salvation is not that complicated. We have made it complicated by attaching all of these rules to it. But it’s really not. The Christian faith is not about a list of do’s and don’t’s. It’s not about what you should watch and what you shouldn’t watch. Or what you should listen to or not listen to. Those things come into play on the peripheries, but aren’t the focus of the Christian faith. In the season of Lent, we hone in on what the faith is all about. It’s about Jesus.

It’s not about what color the sanctuary is painted, or the type of carpet that we have, or where people sit, or what people are wearing. It’s not about saying the right things or about doing the right things. It’s about confessing that Jesus is Lord and believing that God has raised him from the dead. Let’s take a few minutes and look at those two statements.

First, confessing that Jesus is Lord. Think about the context for just a minute here. Paul is writing to the Christians in Rome. The Roman church was a gathering of Jews and Gentiles. In the Roman Empire, the emperor, also known as the Caesar, lived in Rome. And in the Roman Empire, Caesar was Lord. To confess that anyone besides Caesar was Lord was to commit treason against the Roman Empire. And treason was an offense punishable by death. Suddenly, confessing that Jesus is Lord just became a whole lot more dangerous. But this confession is so much more than simply a statement that somebody makes. It is something that has to come from a deep conviction.

Saying, “Jesus is Lord” is not a magical formula. It’s not like “open sesame” or “abracadabra.” It’s not like somebody can just make this confession and move on with their lives as they had before, assuming that now they are saved and can do whatever they want because now that eternity is taken care of and they can move to more pressing matters. Unfortunately, that is how some people treat their salvation these days. They treat it as if it is something to be checked off a to-do list, and not as a central focus in life. But when we understand what Paul is saying here, we see that there is no way we can possible approach our faith like this.

Paul is saying that our confession must come out of a deeply rooted belief that God has raised Jesus from the dead. Paul says that we must “believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead.” And the heart here doesn’t simply signify an emotional belief, but the heart was understood as the very core of a person. He is saying that we have to belief with all of our being in the resurrection of Jesus. And when you believe in something with all of your being, you can’t help but confess it.

Confessing that Jesus is Lord and receiving salvation from that confession begins with the heart, with the core of your being. Our sin is atoned for through our belief in the resurrection of Jesus. That’s what this season of Lent is all about. It is about a spiritual journey that we take to prepare our hearts for what it is that has been done for us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a journey in which we remember the story of the Christian faith. We remember why we do what we do. The message of salvation is the single most important message that you will hear and that you can share in your entire life. And it is a message that should be shared with everyone.

Paul goes on to say that the message of salvation is for everyone who believes. All who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Who are we to discriminate who gets to hear this message? As a Jewish listener to this letter, one might get offended. We talked about it a couple weeks ago when we looked at Jesus’ message to the people of Nazareth. The idea was that this message of salvation was only for the Jewish people, God’s chosen people. Jesus was very clear that salvation is for all people. Paul is simply following along those same lines. And yet, whether we realize it or not, we discriminate when it comes to sharing the gospel with others.

Everyone has that mental list of the people who they try to avoid. The name pops up on the caller ID, and you say, “Oh, I’ll call them back later” and never do. You get an email from them and your eyes immediately roll back. Or maybe it’s not somebody that you know. Maybe it’s those “loud neighbors” who are always outside making a ruckus. Maybe it’s those people down the street that you wish would just move already. There’s somebody like that in your life. And let me ask you – how willing are you to share the gospel with them? How willing are you to let them know that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead so that they could have salvation and enter into relationship with the God who created everything?

It’s tough, but that’s the logical end to what Paul is writing here. Paul and his companions went through all kinds of things to share the gospel with people that they didn’t even know. They faced persecutions, trials, beatings, execution, all so that they could spread gospel all over the known world. And yet, we have a hard time talking about Jesus to somebody that we see at work every day in a country where it is all right to talk about Jesus without any kind of legal consequences.

As we go through the season of Lent over the next month and a half, I want you to think seriously about your faith. Lent isn’t just a time when we give up soda or chocolate. It is a time when we remember the message of salvation. It’s a time when we remember what Jesus has done for us by giving his very life on our behalf. It’s a time when people all around us need to hear the good news that Jesus Christ died so that they could be reconciled with God. As we go through this season of Lent, don’t worry about what you are going to give up. Be thinking about what God gave for you and for those around you. Look at them with eyes that are colored by God’s love.

Friday Five, 2/19/2010

Not a lot going on in the sports world this week... you know, apart from the Olympics. Unfortunately, I haven't watched a single minutes of the Olympics so far.

#5 - Olympics
A bunch of stuff has happened, and some people have won gold, silver and bronze metals. How's that for in-depth, cutting edge coverage? I don't know what it is, but I've never really gotten into the Olympics all that much. Growing up we used to watch the women's figure skating, but I'm not even really sure why. I think it was the whole Nancy-Tonya thing. Maybe if somebody got whacked in the knee, I'll tune back in.... maybe not. The one piece of big news that I did hear is that Ms. Vonn won gold in something related to skiing. It's a big deal because she caused a bit of a ruckus with her "controversial" Sports Illustrated cover, and she did it with an injured shin.

#4 - NBA All Star Weekend
Again, something that I don't really watch, or care about, but it was pretty big for the sports world this week. I think either the East or the West won the game. Some guy won the dunk contest, and 14 people showed up to watch the 3-point shooting contest because, unlike in baseball, chicks don't dig the long shot.

#3 - Frank Thomas retires
The Big Hurt, who played the last half of his career battling big hurts, called it a career this week. I think we perhaps forget about how good Thomas was for the first several years of his career. But let's face it - he was dominate. AL MVP in 1993 & 1994, a 5 time All Star, won a batting championship in 1997 with a .347 average, also had seasons of .353 and .349. A career .301 hitter with 521 HRs and over 1700 RBI's. In the early '90's, few were better than Frank Thomas. Unfortunately, he continued playing well past his prime (and was still a pretty good ballplayer), and many people may have forgotten about how good he really was. I think he is certainly a Hall of Fame player. I guess we'll find out in five years what everyone else thinks.

#2 - Tracy McGrady traded to the Knicks
Allegedly, this is the Knicks way of clearing some salary room so they can sign LeBron James in the off-season. We'll see how that pans out, but let's not forget that McGrady is quite a player himself. He's not going to do anything to make the Knicks a threat this season, but at least the people going to Madison Square Garden will have at least one name that they'll recognize in the starting lineup.

#1 - SPRING TRAINING!!!!!!!
That's right folks! Baseball has officially begun! Pitchers and catchers officially reported this week, and all the pre-preseason workouts are in full swing. Spring training games start in about a week and a half, and the season will be upon us before we know it. Cardinal Nation is turning its eyes toward Cincinnati where the Cardinals will be opening the season on April 5th, the day after Easter (y'all know what I'm going to be doing on that Monday - chilling out and watching Cardinal baseball on ESPN!!!)

From the Mountain to the Valley

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, February 14, 2010. The text for this week's message is Luke 9:28-43a.

Today is a special day in the Christian calendar. It is known as Transfiguration Sunday. As you can probably guess from the name and from today’s Scripture, it is the Sunday when we look back at the story of Jesus’ transfiguration before three disciples on the mountaintop. It is an important story in the New Testament, and as we’ll see shortly, it is a story that puts things into motion; things that will ultimately end with an empty tomb and a proclamation that will forever change the direction of the world. So, let’s buckle up and see where this ride leads us.

And as always, let’s get a little bit of background to give us an idea of where we are as we come to this passage. Prior to today’s reading, a very important conversation took place. Jesus and his disciples are walking around, and Jesus asks them, “Who do people say that I am?” It’s an interesting question because Jesus usually doesn’t seem too concerned with what other people think. But on this day, he wants to know what people think of him.

The disciples respond by saying a number of things. Some people think that Jesus is John the Baptist back from the dead. Others think that he is Elijah, or one of the prophets of old. In other words, the crowd, the everyday person, they don’t really know who Jesus is. There is a lot of speculation going on in the region.

And honestly, there’s a lot of that same stuff going on today. People don’t really know who Jesus is. Go to the religion section in just about any secular book store, Barnes & Noble, Borders, places like that, and you’ll see a wide variety of books published addressing the question, “Who is Jesus?” I always find that to be an enlightening exploration because, really, the only book you need to answer this question is the Bible, but there is no shortage of books on Jesus. Some of them are pretty good. Some of them are awful. I want to encourage you to read these kinds of books, but I think it is important for you to be reading it with your Bible open right next to you. The crowds that Jesus is asking his disciples about live all around us, even today. People have so many different views of who Jesus is.

But then, Jesus makes the question more personal; he asks them, “Who do you say that I am?” Another good question that we have to face in our own lives. Now before, the background information becomes the sermon, let me make one more remark. We have to decide on that question before we move on to the rest of the story. If we decide to stand with the crowd, we are going to be left confused. We won’t understand what is going on, no matter how hard we try. But, if we make the proclamation, as Peter did, that Jesus is the Christ, we still may not understand what is going on, but we put ourselves in a better position to see what God is going to do.

This question, “Who is Jesus?” lies in the background of today’s text. When we read the story of Jesus and these three disciples at the transfiguration, we need to have it in the back of our minds. “Who is Jesus?” How you answer that question determines the direction that you will take in your life of faith. And now, we pick up in verse 28.

Just over a week after Jesus and his disciples have this conversation, Jesus takes Peter, John and James with him to the mountaintop to pray. Here is where the three laws of real estate take place: location, location, location. Having this event take place on a mountaintop is really more theological and geographical. Mountains have a significant role throughout Scripture.

It was on Mount Horeb that Moses just so happened to see a bush that was burning but wasn’t being consumed. It was there that he encountered God for the first time. Later on, after he led the people of Israel out of Egypt, it was on Mount Sinai that Moses received the commandments from God. Elijah had his encounter with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, and then fled to Mount Horeb where God spoke to him in a low whisper. Jerusalem was built on a mountain. Often the mountains, or the high places, were where you would find altars. The idea is that they get you as close to the heavens as you can possibly be. And here, in Luke 9, Jesus takes three of his disciples up on a mountain so that they can pray.

And as Jesus was praying, something incredible happened. Luke writes that his face and clothes became a dazzling white. What it neat is that the word used is the same word that might be used to describe a flash of lightning. It was extremely bright. And it brings to mind the stories of Moses speaking with God on the mountain. When he came down, his face was so bright from being in the presence of God that he had to put a veil over his head so that the people could look at him. It’s incredible.

Is it a coincidence that this is how Luke describes this event? Doubtful. Because look at who else is in the scene: Moses and Elijah. Two other people, who have encountered God on the mountaintop in such profound ways in Scripture, are standing around talking to Jesus. Wouldn’t you love to be there for that conversation? Well, in a sense, we are, Luke tells us that they were talking about Jesus’ departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. In other words, they are looking at what lies ahead for Jesus. Chapter 9 is pivotal in the Gospel of Luke because of Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ and because of today’s passage. From the point on, we are building up to Holy Week.

That’s kind of appropriate isn’t it? Because this Wednesday is known Ash Wednesday on the Christian calendar. It is the start of the season of Lent. Lent is forty days, not counting Sundays that lead up to Easter. Just like Advent brings us to Christmas, Lent brings us to the cross and to the resurrection. And this event is the catalyst that leads us into the season of Lent.

Remember the question that should be in the back of our minds when we come to this section? Who is Jesus? We just got a whole lot closer to understanding that question through understanding what is going on here. The glory of God shines all around Jesus. Two figures, who represent the Law and the Prophets in the Old Testament, come together over Jesus. The Law and the Prophets point to Jesus; they are fulfilled in him. And on this mountaintop, three disciples, who are a little sleepy, who had no idea what they were going to see on top that mountain, these three disciples see something that nobody else in history had ever seen.

And Peter doesn’t know what to do. And in all honesty, I don’t think any of us would know either. He says one of the biggest “no-duh” statements in all of Scripture. He says, “Master, it is good that we are here.” Well, no duh, Peter. But what else do you say? Peter, of course, continues speaking. And he wants to build three tents, or booths for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. He wants to stay in that moment. But just as he is saying this, a cloud surrounds them, and the Father speaks.
Again, this is not the first time that God speaks out of a cloud. When Israel was in the wilderness, a cloud was over the tabernacle when God was there. When the cloud lifted, the people knew that it was time to pack their belongings because it was time to move on. And they continued following the cloud, which symbolized the presence of God in the tabernacle, until it was time to enter into the Promised Land.

The Father speaks to the disciples from the cloud. And He says, “This is my Son, my Chosen one; listen to him!” Once again, they are headed towards the Promised Land. We start to pick up steam from here on out until everything clashes in Jerusalem. Jesus is arrested, tried, and crucified. The disciples are dejected and don’t really know what to do. And then the report comes, the tomb is empty. Jesus has been resurrected. That is the ultimate end to the journey, but it begins right here, on top of a mountain, where the answer to the question, “Who is Jesus?” is address by God Himself.

The next thing the disciples know, it’s just them and Jesus, and it’s time to head back down the mountain. At the base of the mountain, there is a boy who is possessed by a demon, and the disciples cannot cast him out. We have all been there at some point, haven’t we? Suddenly, unexpectedly, we see Jesus in a whole new, and we think that our lives will never be the same. We don’t know how to process what has happened, and eventually, we come back down the mountain. Life catches back up, and we are faced with new challenges. Maybe we feel defeated once again. And we so frustrated that nothing changes, and it seems like things will never change.

But we cannot forget the truth that we learned on the top of the mountain. There will always be highs and lows in our walk of faith. But what do the disciples do? They keep walking with Jesus. They travel all over the place with him. They learn from him. They listen to his teaching and marvel at his works. After the resurrection, they change the world because they finally get it. And this time, it’s not just a momentary glimpse, but it is a vision that will stick with them for the rest of their lives; lives that they give in the service of God.

One thing we can’t miss in today’s Scripture is the stark contrast between the mountain and the valley. On the mountain, they go to pray. They go to be with God, away from the distractions of this world. In the valley below, evil is still at work. A demon torments a young boy. On the mountain, they see Jesus for who he is, the Son of God. In the valley, they see Satan for who he is, one who torments and destroys. On the mountain, they don’t know what to do. In the valley, they are unable to do what they are supposed to do. And this is all in the same day.

Don’t be discouraged if you have a bad day in your faith. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t seem to do the things that you are supposed to do. Find your mountaintop. Spend some time with God, and allow Him to speak to you in powerful ways. Ways that will affect you for the rest of your life.

Friday Five, 2/12/2010

I realize that today is Saturday; I'm not calendarily challenged (yes, I did just make up that word). However, most of my Friday was spent in a place without internet, and so I could not do a Friday Five on Friday. Thus, this is a special edition of Friday Five on a Saturday.

#5 - Illinois wins consecutive games against top-15 Big Ten teams
Okay, the real reason this is on here is because I'm an Illinois fan. However, it is nothing to sneeze at when you beat the #5 and #11 ranked teams in a matter of days. On Saturday, the Illini welcomed in #5 Michigan State, and sent them to #10 in a thriller. And on Tuesday, they went into Madison and snapped Wisconsin's ridiculously long win-streak against Big Ten teams at the Kohl Center. Next up for the Illini: #16 Ohio State on Sunday. Talk about a rough 9 days!

#4 - Cavs continue major win-steak
Apparently the Cleveland Cavaliers are pretty good. It seems like they just keep winning. Their count is at 13 now heading into the All Star break. They pick up after the break against a pretty good Denver team, so we'll see how it goes for The Akron Hammer and the Cavs.

#3 - Georgian luger dies in training accident
On the day of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, Georgian (the Soviet, not American Georgia) luger Nodar Kumaritashvili passed away due to injuries sustained in a training accident. He lost control of his sled at around 90MPH and hit a steel pool near the finish line. Officials were unable to resuscitate him.

#2 - The Olympics start
The opening ceremonies for the Olympics were Friday night. I'm not much of a fan of the Olympics, so don't expect to see too much on this space about them. Welcome to Vancouver!

#1 - The Saints win the Super Bowl
In case you haven't heard by now, the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts to win their first Super Bowl. Drew Brees was named MVP of the game, and all the commentators once again get to talk about how Peyton Manning chokes in the big game. Overlooked was an outstanding performance by Colts running back Joseph Addai, 130+ total yards and a TD. As if they needed it, the people of New Orleans were given an excuse to party on Bourbon Street until morning, vomiting and flashing one another until collapsing in a drunken puddle of urine.

An Inconvenient Call

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, February 7, 2010. The text for this week's message is Luke 5:1-11.

Over the last couple of weeks, we looked at Luke 4. In that chapter we have seen some important things that we need to keep in mind as we press on in our life of faith. Luke places Jesus’ visit to his hometown of Nazareth at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus is invited to speak at the synagogue, and instead of going with the traditional memorized lesson, he begins to preach with authority, the likes of which the people had never seen. At first, they are proud of the hometown boy, but very quickly, they become enraged by what he is saying.

Essentially, what Jesus is saying is that the good news of the kingdom of God is that it is not just for the Jewish people. It is for all people. And, really, when it is all said and done, we are faced with a very important decision. We can choose to listen to Jesus and embrace the gospel, or, like the people in his hometown, we can turn on him and reject him. Before we walk through today’s passage, let’s take a look at what happened between where we left off this week and where we are this week.

After he gets away from the crowd in his hometown, Jesus heads back to Capernaum. We see that he is teaching in the synagogue once again, and the people are amazed that he is teaching with authority. While he is teaching, there is a man who is possessed in the crowd. And he cries out in a loud voice that he knows who Jesus is, and Jesus very quickly tells him to be quiet and to leave the man. It’s pretty clear that word was starting to get out about Jesus, but after this event, people were really excited and spreading the word about him.

Once he leaves the synagogue, he heads out to Peter’s house, only to find that Peter’s mother-in-law has a high fever. Jesus stands over her, rebukes the fever and it is gone. Luke says, “Immediately she rose and began to serve them” (4:39). Now, it doesn’t say this in the text, so I’m just going on pure speculation here, but I think that Peter’s mother-in-law made some of the best roast beef and mashed potatoes, and Jesus was just really hungry. Peter had been talking it up for a while, and when they finally get there, they are a little bummed out that she’s not feeling well, so they were going to have to settle for canned tuna. Jesus was getting a little tired of eating fish, so he healed her, and they had some of that roast beef. I don’t know for sure, purely speculation, but that’s what I’m going with until I learn otherwise. Well, anyway, as the day was ending, word must have gotten out because people started showing up out of the woodwork wanting to be healed. The next morning, after having some time to himself, Jesus decides that it is time to keep moving.

Now, I know that this is not the passage that we are looking at today, but I do want to take just a minute to pause here and talk about something important really quick. There will always be more to do. There is always somebody else that needs help with something. There is always something more that can be done. One of the reasons why it is so important for us to spend time in prayer, listening for God’s direction for us as a congregation, is so that we know what makes sense, and what doesn’t make sense for us in ministry. We have to be willing to say “no” to things every once in a while. This isn’t to say that the ministry isn’t a good idea, or even that it is not needed, but there is only so much that we can do, and it is important for us to be listening for God’s call on us as a congregation to determine the direction of future ministries of this congregation. Okay, into Luke 5.

Luke tells us in the opening verse of today’s passage that the crowd is pressing in on Jesus to hear the word of God. Word is getting out about Jesus, people are hearing about the things that he is doing, and they want to see and hear for themselves. There are so many people that they are pressing in on him, crowding him so much that he ends up getting in a boat to teach. Can you imagine the scene?

What would it look like to be in the midst of this right now? You’re on the shoreline, with people all around you. You’re straining to hear Jesus teaching, but it’s a little faint, so you try to get a little closer, but so is everyone else. And the reason that you are listening so intently is so that you can hear the word of God. Do we do that today? Do we try to get as close as we possibly can to hear what Jesus has to teach us? What if we did? How could Jesus use us if we are willing to get just a little closer and listen more intently? I think we’d see some amazing things. I think we’d start seeing God work in some awesome ways. And that is just what happens in this scene.

We are told that Peter (or Simon, as he is called here) and his fellow fisherman are on the shoreline cleaning up their nets after a long and unsuccessful night of fishing. Along comes Jesus, and asks to teach from his boat. Now, imagine this for a second. You’ve had a long day at the workplace. You are wrapping things up and getting ready to go home for the day. You’re looking forward to getting a bite to eat and get some sleep. Along comes this guy who asks if he can use your workspace for a little bit. How willing are you going to be to let him do that? I can’t imagine that Peter would be in a good mood at this point, but he lets Jesus on his boat anyway.

After he is done teaching, I imagine Peter is really ready to go home, eat and get some sleep. However, Jesus tells him to, as Luke says, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Okay, just a shot in the dark here, but I imagine that Peter’s first thought is something like, “Are you out of your mind? You may be able to teach and heal some people, but I’m the fisherman here. You don’t fish in the middle of the day. I don’t tell you how to drive out demons, don’t tell me how to fish.” That may not have been exactly what was going through his mind, but I bet it’s not far off. Peter is not crazy about doing it, but he does say, “All right. We’ll do it your way because you said so.”

You know, sometimes in life, we think we know better than Jesus. We think, “Hey, we’re the professionals here. We are the ones who have lived here all our lives. We are the ones who know how things work around here. I don’t tell you how to cast out demons, don’t tell me how to do things.” But we just have to stop ourselves and say, “All right. We’ll do it your way because you said so.” We aren’t always excited about ministry are we? We aren’t always excited about doing something for somebody else for whatever reason. Maybe it’s inconvenient for us. Maybe it’s too much of a stretch. Maybe we just don’t think we’re cut out to do it in the first place. And yet, Jesus says to us, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

Understand this, Peter was cleaning his nets. He was done for the day. His office was packed up and he was just about to lock the door. And Jesus says, “Hey, how about some overtime?” Do you ever get tired of working so hard on something when it just seems like there wasn’t much of a point in doing it? Peter and his partners had been out all night and haven’t caught a thing. They had to have been tired and discouraged. But they pressed on anyway. Because Jesus said so, they go out one more time. And not only did they go out again, they went out to the deep part of the lake.

I don’t know a whole lot about the lake of Gennesaret, also known as the Sea of Galilee, but I do know that you don’t find the deep part of a lake while you are sitting on the shore. They had to load the nets back into the boat, and do some rowing to get out to the deep part of the lake. They are already tired, hungry and discouraged from a night of fruitless working, and now they load everything back into the boats and work to get to the deep part of the lake.

Sometimes, when God calls us to do something, it is inconvenient for us. It would be so much easier to ignore the call. It is so much easier to just continue doing what we are planning on doing and not load up the nets and head back into the deep part of the lake. The call of Jesus never comes at a time when we have all our affairs in order. The call comes when the time is right, not when we want it to. Not when it is most convenient for us. And in spite of all the inconvenience, in spite of the fatigue, in spite of the hunger and in spite of the discouragement, Peter and his partners set back out into the lake. And what happens?

They drop their nets and end up with the largest catch of their life. And notice something, Jesus doesn’t tell them that this is what is going to happen. Jesus doesn’t say, “Hey, guys, thanks for letting me use your boat. As a reward, let’s go out and I’ll give you the greatest catch of fish that you’ve ever seen.” No, he doesn’t say that at all. He simply tells them to go out to the deep part of the lake. Through their obedience to this call, they end up with more than they ever could have imagined. It took a step of faith in order to get this catch.

Once Peter sees what has happened, his first reaction is to fall before Jesus and confess his sins. Peter recognizes that there is something going on here, which goes far beyond a lucky guess about where the fish are at that time of day. He sees Jesus for who he is, and like the prophet in Isaiah 6, he realizes how far away he is from the holiness of God. Peter’s immediate response is to recognize that he has fallen short in his own life, and that he is not worthy of being in the presence of God. He gets a proper perspective of who he is and who Jesus is.

It is a perspective that we all need to have when it comes to ministry. And again, it’s not always going to come at a convenient time. Is it ever really a convenient time to take a look at ourselves and realize just how far we are from where we are supposed to be? But when God calls us, we realize how inadequate we are for the task at hand. But notice something that’s very important here: This is the beginning. God prepares those whom he calls. God equips those whom he sends. Do you feel inadequate for ministry? Good! It is so important for us to have a perspective like Peter’s, to realize that we are indeed sinful people, people in need of a savior, people in need of forgiveness. Our adequacy for ministry comes out of our recognition that we cannot do it alone.

And finally, at the end of the story, Jesus says to them, “Do not be afraid, from now on you will be catching men.” It begins with a simple act of obedience to push out from the shore in spite of the fatigue, hunger and discouragement. It ends with a miracle and a call to something more.

When Jesus calls us to follow him, at first it may not seem like that big of a deal. Maybe he wants you to do something simple. Maybe he wants you to cast nets. Maybe he wants you to be just who you are and where you are. I think so many people are afraid of responding to the call of Jesus because they think that means they will end up among the indigenous tribes of the Amazon. But Jesus calls us where we are. He calls us to cast out our nets one more time, even though we are tired, hungry and discouraged. He calls us to be witnesses to the world, even though it would be so much easier for us if he just left us alone.

The call of Jesus is inconvenient. It is a call that causes us to go beyond ourselves. It is a call that causes us to stretch ourselves. It is a call that causes us to lay down our pride and follow after him, regardless of the cost. When we look at the call of the first disciples, we need to realize that this isn’t just a story about what happened in an isolated place centuries ago. We need to realize that it is a story that is taking place right here, right now, among us. It may seem inconvenient, but Jesus calls us on his terms, not ours.

Friday Five, 2/5/2010

It seems to be a rather slow week in sports, as we are in the limbo between the Championship games and the Super Bowl. Not surprisingly, the majority of the talk in the sports world is centered in Miami for the build up to the Super Bowl. Ironic how people complain about there being too much of a delay between the LCS and the World Series, and yet there are two weeks between the championship games and the Super Bowl. Hmmm....

#5 - Australian Open
It's not often that I'll dive into the world of tennis; however, it's hard to ignore a major. The Australian Open is the first of four majors in tennis, and so, it is appropriate that it is on this week's Friday Five. Roger Federer dominated Andy Murry to extend his record Grand Slam collection to 16. On the woman's side, Serena Williams beat the recently unretired Justine Henin to tie Billie Jean King with 12 Grand Slam singles titles.

#4 - Baylor goes into Austin and takes care of Texas.
I don't know why a Texas loss actually deserves to be in the Friday Five for a second time; however, this is really more about the Baylor win. This one is really more for my buddy Joseph, a Baylor grad. It is the first time that Baylor has beaten Texas in Austin since 1998. While the win took place in OT, Baylor held the lead for most of the game, opening up a 13 point lead at the beginning of the 2nd half.

#3 - Dwight Freeney's ankle
This has been one of the major stories that Colts fans have been following this week. It was originally reported that Freeney had a ligament tear and probably would not be able to play in the Super Bowl. The latest that I have seen is that he is doing much better and will play on Sunday. Freeney is going to be an important part of a pass rush that cannot allow Drew Brees to have plenty of time to throw if the Colts want to win.

#2 - Pro Bowl played with paltry players in power positions
I didn't watch it this year. Actually, I don't know if I've ever made it a point to sit down and watch the Pro Bowl. This is the first time that they played it the Sunday prior to the Super Bowl, and a lot of people weren't particularly happy about it. Super Bowl teams had their representatives in Miami to be introduced before the game, but did not participate. Considering that was 11 or 12 of the best players in the game, it was certainly a disappointment. However, Matt Schaub and David Garrard lit up the NFC secondary for 372 combined yards and 3 TD's, and Chris Johnson scored with 5 minutes left to give the AFC a 41-34 victory. Schaub was the MVP of the game. That's right, Matt Schaub was the starting QB and Most Valuable Player; do I need to say more about why I don't watch the Pro Bowl?

#1 - Kurt Warner retires
After jumping onto the scene in 1999 with the Rams, disappearing for a while with fumble problems and helping turn the Arizona Cardinals into an offensive power house, Kurt Warner has retired. In 1998, Warner was bagging groceries, in 1999 he was bagging the NFL MVP and a Super Bowl ring. Not a bad turn around. Some sports talkers were saying that Warner doesn't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, but I have a feeling he'll get in and be right at home. He has the top three passing games in Super Bowl history, and the only reason why he doesn't have three rings is because of last minute drives when the defenses couldn't fend off the Patriots or the Steelers.

Movie Tour, DVD-style: Away We Go

And thank you, Netflix. The other night, Katie and I watched Away We Go starring Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski.

Plot Summary
Away We Go is about a couple trying to find a place to call home. Burt and Verona are a couple who are expecting a baby. At six months in the pregnancy, they discover that Burt's parents are going to move to Europe for two years just a month before their baby is born. They see this as an opportunity to move wherever they want, and embark on a journey to find the perfect place to raise their child.

Review
I didn't know what to expect for this movie. Obviously, I love John Krasinski. He is hilarious in just about every role that I have ever seen him in. However, I hadn't heard a lot about this movie, so I was a little hesitant. All in all, I'd have to say that I liked it. There are some language issues throughout, and there is a lot of frank and very open sexual dialog. If that kind of stuff bothers you, then don't watch it. It was interesting to me to see the idea of a road trip movie being taken to a new level. This wasn't your typical road trip. It is more of a cross between a road trip movie and a finding oneself movie. It is done really well. There are a lot of laughs, and a lot of things to think about. The cameos in the movie are also pretty funny.

Recommendation
It is worth seeing if you don't mind the language and sexual dialog. If you don't like that kind of stuff, then I definitely would recommend staying away from it. If you have Netflix, put it in your queue. If not, don't be in a rush to see it, but do pick it up when you come across it.

Best Part
The soundtrack. It is probably the best chill-out soundtrack that I have heard in a long time. It was so good, I looked up the artist (Alexi Murdoch) on Last.fm and created a station. There are also a lot of funny parts courtesy of John Krasinski that had me laughing quite a bit.

Responding to Jesus

The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, January 31, 2010. The text for this week's message is Luke 4:21-30.

We are diving into the second half of Luke 4 this week. We looked at verses 14-21 last week, and I want to take a minute to hit a few of the highlights from last week’s passage to bring us up to speed for this week’s. First off, it’s important to remember that this is the opening of Jesus’ ministry in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus has been preaching and teaching all over Galilee and has come to his hometown of Nazareth.

He is asked to read and comment on the Scripture during worship at the synagogue. Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah and he reads from Isaiah 61. It says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” We talked more in depth about what that means last week, so for this week, let’s just say that this passage serves as a mission statement for Jesus’ ministry, and that Luke places this story at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry for this very purpose.

Last week’s passage closes with something that is totally unexpected. Instead of going with the lesson that he learned in synagogue school, Jesus begins his message with where we pick up in today’s reading. He says, “Today this passage has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Anybody that was there would have known right away that there was something different going on during this worship than during the normal Sabbath worship. And that brings us into today’s text, in which we hear a little more from Jesus and see the reaction of those in the crowd on that day.

I am always fascinated about how passages start. Often, we just jump right in and don’t think too much about the opening of a passage, but, sometimes, that can provide us with some very rich insight. And this passage is no different. How does it begin? With one simple word – “today.” We talked a little last week about how it wasn’t normal to talk about fulfillment when one commented on the Scriptures, as Jesus does here. And perhaps what is so unusual is because Jesus is talking about something being fulfilled in their midst, at that very time. A lot of times, these were lessons about their past or about their distant future, but rarely about their present.

Jesus flips their expectations here. He is talking about something that God is doing right at that moment. “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” At the time that the people have spent waiting is not more. The wait is over. The prophets talked about a time when all these things would happen; the people learned about a future in which the day of the Lord would take place; everyone expected it to take place… sorta, kinda, eventually. But Jesus starts his preaching by saying that God is doing something right now. He’s not talking about what will happen; he’s talking about what is happening. And people didn’t do that.

As we read through the gospels, we see on a few different occasions that the people are amazed at the authority with which Jesus speaks. A big reason why they were so amazed was because people didn’t speak in the synagogue in the same way that Jesus spoke to them. People worked from strict memorization of what they had heard in the past. And in this era, that’s how things were passed down from generation to generation. But Jesus didn’t do that. He spoke with authority; he spoke as one who knew what was going on in Scripture, and one who clearly saw what God was doing in their midst.

For centuries, the Jewish people were waiting for their Messiah. For centuries, they were watching for that one person who would lead them back into prominence. For centuries, they passed on the stories of the prophets, but hadn’t heard from one until John the Baptist pops onto the scene. And now, Jesus shows up, talking about what God is doing today. Certainly they were caught off guard. They had fallen asleep waiting for their Messiah, and when he finally did come, they weren’t ready.

The obvious questions jump out at us from the page. Will we be ready when God starts working in our midst? Will we be asleep when God is ready to move in a big way in our midst? How much do we have in common with the people of Nazareth? Do we expect God to work today, or do we expect Him to work someday? Are we looking at what God is doing now, or are we looking forward to what God is going to do in the future? Ever hear the saying “He’s so heavenly minded that he isn’t any earthly good.”

I know I’m toeing the line of a social gospel here, but look at the life of Jesus and the disciples. Just a quick aside here, this is the difference between the social gospel and the gospel that calls out to us in our daily lives: the social gospel says that we need to do good works for our salvation; the gospel says that we need to do good works as a fruit of our faith. We aren’t called to spend all of our time in solitude, simply worrying about our own spiritual needs. We are called to be a witness to the world. You know a tree by its fruit. You know a Christian by what he or she does. Let me be clear about this: good works do not give us salvation, the blood of Christ gives us salvation. Good works show the world that Christ is working in our lives. Now, back to the point at hand.

Do we honestly expect God to be at work in our midst today? Today? Or do we expect God to do something eventually, someday, down the road? Have we fallen asleep at the guard tower, so to speak? Think about it honestly this week. You don’t owe me an answer. You owe it to yourself. That some pretty tough stuff to think about, and we are just getting started here.

Another part of this passage that I find interesting is how the people react initially to what Jesus is saying. In a sense, it is almost like they don’t even realize what he is talking about. They “marveled at the gracious words coming out of his mouth.” It’s almost like the magnitude of what Jesus was saying didn’t strike them at first. They speak “well of him.” And a few of them even say, “Hey, isn’t this Joseph’s son?” I think the tone of this question was one full of pride about the hometown boy doing well. At this point, it seems as though things are going good for Jesus. And really, if Jesus had just stopped there, everybody would have been happy, and things would have gone on just like normal. But, of course, Jesus didn’t stop there, as we already know. Quite frankly, that is often the case when it comes to proclaiming the word of God. We cannot always stop at the feel-good parts of the message. It sure would be nice if we could though, wouldn’t it?

As we begin to see, when Jesus continues preaching, there is often an element that is uncomfortable for us when we encounter God’s word. There is often something that shocks us our of our comfort zone and challenges some of the most basic assumptions that we take for granted. When Jesus continues, he reminds the people of two stories from the Old Testament, and there is something in these stories that causes the people to go from being impressed to being enraged. They aren’t saying, “Hey, remember when he was just a little guy!” They are saying, “Let’s stone him!”

The first story has to do with the prophet Elijah, and is found in 1 Kings 17. At the beginning of Elijah’s ministry, he tells Ahab, the king of Israel that there is going to be a severe draught in the land. Afterwards, Elijah goes off east of the Jordan where the Lord provides for his needs during a season. And once that season in Elijah’s ministry comes to a close, he is sent to a widow in Zarephath. Elijah asks the woman for some water and bread. She is a little concerned because she doesn’t have a lot of flour left. And during a draught, food eventually becomes scarce. However, Elijah tells her that she will not run out of flour or oil because God will take care of her. And, indeed, the jar is never empty of flour during the draught. It’s a great little story in 1 Kings.

Jesus then brings to mind another story, this one is found in 2 Kings 5, and is a part of Elisha’s ministry. Elisha was the pupil of Elijah, and is the second major prophet in the book of Kings. Elisha tells Namaan, who was afflicted with leprosy, to go dip himself into the Jordan River seven times and he will be healed. Namaan isn’t crazy about doing this at first, but he relents, does as Elisha says, and is healed.

These are two really cool stories in the history of Israel, but for some reason, when Jesus tells them these stories, suddenly, the people get pretty upset with him. Actually, in my translation, it says that they were “filled with wrath.” Something tells me that “filled with wrath” is a little more extreme than “pretty upset.” So, why are they “filled with wrath”? What was it about what Jesus said here that would anger them so much? These are two stories that they would have known, but what I didn’t say is that the widow and Namaan were Gentiles.

The people of Nazareth have heard about the things that Jesus had been doing all over Galilee, and they probably expected him to do some of those same things now that he was back in his hometown. But Jesus says, “No.” He’s not going to do any of those miracles in Nazareth. In reading through some of the gospels, it seems as though Jesus was calling Capernaum home now. Capernaum was a town that had a lot of Gentiles in it. By his words and his actions, Jesus is saying that what God is doing is not limited to the Jewish people. What is worse, not only was Namaan a Gentile, he was the commander of the Syrian army. Given that the Romans were currently occupying Israel, the analogy was pretty clear, and they weren’t happy about it.

When Jesus first tells them that God is doing something today, in their midst, they were pretty happy about it, but Jesus twists things from what was probably expected. Again, he is saying that what God is doing is not limited to the Jewish people. After all the waiting, all the expectations, all the anticipation, the people of Nazareth are told that what God is doing is not just for their sake, but for all the world – even the Gentiles. And that’s when they get mad.

The Gentiles don’t deserve God’s mercy. The Gentiles don’t deserve to be a part of what God is doing. The Gentiles are the problem. The Jewish people are God’s chosen ones. They are the ones who deserve it. They are the ones who have been suffering and waiting for the Messiah, not the Gentiles. And suddenly, Jesus has gone from hometown-boy-made-good to false prophet deserving to be stoned to death. It’s amazing how quick a crowd can turn when the message is suddenly unpopular and unflattering.

Now, here is where it comes home for us. Today, God is at work in our midst. Today, God is doing something that will blow our minds. But we aren’t getting special treatment. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus is for everyone. There are no limits as to who can be the beneficiary of the blood of Christ. And as we enter into the Gospel of Luke, we are almost immediately faced with a dilemma.

What are we to do with the message of Jesus? Are we going to continue following him in spite of the fact that this message might be for some whom we deem unworthy? Or are we going to turn inward and keep this message to ourselves? Here’s the problem with keeping it to ourselves – we can’t. God’s word has a way of getting to where it needs to be; the only real question is are we going to be a part of it, or are we going to try to throw Jesus off the cliff? Are we going to embrace Jesus’ message, or are we going to be enraged by it?

We talked about this at Bible study last week, and I think it is appropriate to mention it here. With Jesus, there can be no indifference. We can either accept him, or reject him. We cannot be indifferent. So, where are you going to find yourself? When God starts working all around you, are you going to embrace or be enraged? Two extremes, but there really isn’t any middle ground.