Retreat is Good for the Soul

I'll be preaching this weekend but not in the pulpit at Edmond First UMC.  Rather, I'll be preaching outdoors, in an informal setting at Canyon Camp for our Family Camp there July 10-12.  It will be a time of retreat for families who will have their own cabin assignments.  We will be distanced throughout the camp so that there will be much less likelihood of exposure.  Much of the weekend will be unstructured but we will have spiritual activities in which families may engage (or not) at their own pace.

The labyrinth at Canyon is one place where people may engage in a spiritual walk as they pray.  We have a long history at Edmond First UMC of utilizing the labyrinth and there is an outdoor labyrinth on the UCO campus near the chapel if you would like to walk one either by yourself or with your family.  You can also utilize the picture and trace your finger along as you pray at home.

A labyrinth is not a maze in that there is only one way in and one way out.  It is a spiritual walk where we try to pray as we walk.  Often as we walk to the interior, one might focus on one’s own spiritual journey – an inward focus.  As you reach the center, you might give over the things you have prayed to God.  Allow them to be released.  As you walk back out, it is time to focus on the world around us – an exterior focus.  Pray about the wider world and your neighbors in it.

Because we walk with God, we are always changed when we walk a labyrinth.  We are different people when we come out than when we entered, even if just a little bit.  We try to observe silence as we walk it – children can think of it like the quiet game.  This respects the process and respects your neighbors as they experience it too.  Families can walk it simultaneously and don’t have to wait for someone to reach the middle before starting.

  

As we think about COVID-19, there have been a lot of changes in our lives.  One focus of the inward prayer might include the following questions:

What things have you missed the most since the isolation began in March?

If things got back to normal, what is one of the first things you would like to do?

It is okay for us to mourn changes.  Let God know what is making you sad.

God allows us to face all kinds of trouble in life.  Pray for strength for the journey ahead.  Imagine God raising you up on eagle’s wings and giving you resolve to roll with the punches.

In the middle:  Ask God for the resolve to take whatever may come.  Ask God for the ability to find joy in life even though it is different.

As you exit the labyrinth, here’s possible foci for your prayer:

As you have been in isolation, some of our relationships have suffered.  Who have you missed seeing?  Pray for their well-being.  Are you comfortable sharing with them that you prayed for them?

Which people are worse off than you?  Pray for them as well.  Ask for God’s presence to be real in their lives.  Be open to how God might be leading you to make a difference in their lives.

Sometimes a pause like this allows our society to reset certain practices.  Are there any practices you believe need to change in the world today?  If you can’t think of any, ask God to open your mind to some possibilities and remain in the silence for a while.  If something has come to you, make a mental note to discuss this with your family or someone close to you after the walk.

If you go through as a family, I would invite you to process your time together with the following questions after everyone is through:

What’s something you prayed to God about missing?

Who are some of the people you prayed for?  Are you going to let them know?  If so, how?

What changes could you imagine?  Is there anything you would like to do about them?

If there is one thing you could do to make life a little better for someone during COVID-19, what would it be?

This is one example of what we'll be doing this weekend.  There may still be room to sign up at okcamps.org/2020-family-camps/ if you decide you would like to go (assuming you're reading this prior to the retreat!).  But even if you can't, I would encourage you to gather with your family (or meet someone with masks for an outdoor outing) at the labyrinth on campus which is walking distance from our church parking lot.

We will still offer worship at church on Sunday.  Please make your reservations in advance!  We will also have online worship as well.  So whether you get away to our campground or retreat at home, I would invite you to spend some time with God on Sunday!

In Christ,

Sam

Rest for your Souls

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A

Lectionary Reading: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 (NRSV)

Many people may empathize with this feeling
even when we haven't done anything strenuous.

Sunday's reading of Matthew is much more popular than other passages.  Two weeks ago, the lectionary has Jesus uttering gem:

"whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me."                                                                  Matthew 10:38 (NRSV)

In contrast, Jesus tells us this week,

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.                                       Matthew 11:28 (NRSV)

Same person.  Even the same Gospel writer.  When held next to one another, which would you choose? 

Of course, context is important.  People that hold scripture up side-by-side without it, often miss the larger, wider point.  In today's reading, we see Jesus speaking to his disciples.  He's frustrated by the fact that many people may come to "ooh and aah" over his miracles but fail to take repentance seriously (check out verses 20-24 that are left out of the lectionary reading for some reason).  We can see this frustration in the first part of the reading.

Jesus must be wondering, "Why are people so obtuse?"  to somewhat quote Shawshank Redemption.  It's as if Jesus gives us an easy way to go but people stubbornly choose the hard way.  It may be how we are wired.

In his book on teenage boys, He's Not Lazy, Adam Price tells the following anecdote about one of his patients telling him the following:

"Whenever I have a paper to do, I tell myself, 'I'll let future Colin worry about it.  You can trust him.'  Then, the night before the paper is due I say, 'That past Colin is such a jerk.'"

We can smile at this story because we've all got a little Colin in us.  How do we willingly choose the easy path of Jesus?  What does this path even look like?  We know that discipleship is not easy.  It requires a lot of reading, praying and then acting upon what we've read and prayed about.  So how do we engage?  Especially when:

We are weary. 

We are heavy laden. 

We would like some rest that is untroubled.

I hope to explore this idea through our worship service on Sunday.  If you are joining us in person at Edmond, we would invite you to register ahead of time.  If you are joining us online, we would invite you to check-in your presence in some way by making a comment for others to see.  My hope for this sermon is not to just trot out some simple answer that may seem trite like, "Just pray more" which really translates as "Be more faithful."  We'll see what I come up with.  I'll try not to leave the sermon writing up to "Future Sam" even though we can all trust him!

In Christ,

Sam

Photo by Dennis Tai via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Failing the Test

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A

Lectionary Reading: Genesis 22:1-14 (NRSV)

The story of Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son Isaac is a story that elicits a lot of feelings from a modern reader.  It sounds different if you read it while empathizing with Abraham over if you read it from Isaac's perspective.  Did they ever talk about this experience again together?

How would that conversation go?  Um, Dad, do you remember that time you tied me up and placed me on that pyre?  When you raised the knife, were you really going to do it?

If you were raised a Christian, you may not have thought about how this story sounds to people outside the faith.  It raises an important question, "Does God really test us in the faith where life and death hangs in the balance?"  What if Abraham had refused?

In today's society, what would happen to a father who tied his son to an altar over a stack of wood prepared for a fire and then raised a knife as if to kill him?  At the least, any children would likely be removed from the home.  Does this mean that God no longer tests us in this way?  Or does it mean that Abraham was misinterpreting the test to begin with?

If we explore the idea of tests of faith, could the Coronavirus be a test of faith?  I don't mean that God has sent it to kill nearly half a million people around the world so that we might be tested.  But with the circumstances being what they are, is our faith tested by crisis?

Do we grow closer to God or find our relationship more distant?

If it's a test of survival, such as in Abraham's case, survival of his lineage, how are we faring?

Testing is not so bad if you know the
material but curve balls can be brutal.

Am I adequately feeding myself, clothing myself, and finding medical care for myself during this pandemic?  Most people would include their immediate family in gauging how successful they've been.  What about more distant family?  As a Christian, how do we define family?  We take baptismal vows to help each other within the Body of Christ.  Does this mean our immediate congregation, those of our denomination or the much wider group calling themselves Christian?

As a Wesleyan, I believe in Prevenient Grace and so understand that God loves all people and is reaching out to them whether they believe it or know it, regardless of their response.  Does this make them in some sense my brothers and sisters?

If this is a test of faith, how have I responded to the least of these?  And who would be the least in this scenario?  If I am not among the least, do I have greater privilege than they do?  Should I be examining my life?  How am I spending my time?  

If Jesus commands me to love my neighbor, have I done things to protect them within my means?  Have I worn the mask to prevent possible illness in others?  Have I distanced carefully?  Have I avoided large groups so as to limit the possible contagion?

  

Have I spent enough time in prayer?  Have I asked God for release from this illness?  Not for myself but for all those afflicted?  Today?

I could add more questions.  The point in my asking questions is that one could always do more.  One could always be more faithful.  If you haven’t failed the test, we can always ask more questions until you do.

This is how some people honestly see God.  God is waiting for them to make a mistake.  To slip up.  To commit a sin.  Then they hear God saying, “I knew you were a screw up.  Look at you.  Pitiful.”

This week’s scripture from Genesis gives an early understanding of how people of faith understood God testing them.  What can we learn from it?  What does it teach us about God?  What does it teach us about second chances?  What does it teach us about our commitment to God?

I'll be preaching on this scripture passage on Sunday and exploring some of these questions.  You can join us at our campus in the Christian Activity Center at 8:30 or 11:00 am and we ask that you register your attendance in advance so that we'll have enough space.  We'll also continue to offer worship online and hope that you'll join us there if that is a better option for you right now!

In Christ,

Sam

Photo by Paul Townsend via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Easter Sunday

Scripture Reading: Acts 28:23-31 (NRSV)

And here we see the journey complete.  We started out in the first chapter of Acts with the disciples receiving the mission to be witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus "to the ends of the earth."  As I mentioned yesterday, the establishment of the church in Rome becomes a launching place for the entirety of the Roman empire which was their known world at that time.

Paul was not one of those who initially receives this instruction but he discovers it as the story of the church unfolds.  We are reminded of the exponential nature of the Christian witness.  At some point, it is likely that one of the original apostles baptized Ananias who initially received Paul and baptized him. 

We see Paul continue with his witness to both Jews and Gentiles.  Even though he has continually found opposition (sometimes violent) within the Jewish populations, enough have evidently been convinced that he continues to pursue conversations with them. 

We do see his frustration as he quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10 as does Jesus in Matthew in 13:14-15.  But we find that this applies to all people.  There will always be people whether Jew or Christian that do not follow through with the teachings that are laid out before them.

It is fitting that we see Luke describing that Paul shares the gospel boldly and without hindrance.  We don't see anything about Paul's martyrdom in Rome.  There's not even any hint of it.  While some scholars think that there was a sequel in the works by Luke, I'm not sure that Luke doesn't end the story here as a nod to the resurrection.  All of us eventually die be that by violence such as Paul or by old age which is how we would prefer.  But Paul is never more alive here than when he is sharing the gospel in the capital city of the world in which he lived!

And on Easter Sunday, we remember that the resurrection does give us life!  It reminds us to look past our current troubles and to remember that all things renew.  We see God at work in bold as well as subtle ways that lift our spirits and restore our souls. 

As you are a beneficiary of the early work of the apostles, what witness will you bear to the resurrection faith?  How will your story be a part of the larger story of God in the world?  What lives will you touch in a positive way that will look back to you with thankfulness that your paths crossed?

It doesn't take large actions but rather a sense of transformation.  One that bids us to pay attention to those things that build up rather than tear down.  And in this, Christ is alive - in you, in me and in the world.

Prayer for the day:

Gracious God, through the cross, you recognize the frailty of humanity.
In raising Christ from the dead, you move past any limits of frailty and finality.
May we too be raised with Christ.
Free us from the hindrance of sin.
Move us in the Holy Spirit to the freedom of love,
that our very being would be born anew,
and that our witness would emerge from our identification with this marvelous resurrection faith!
Amen.

Photo by Peter Roome via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 34

Scripture Reading: Acts 24:1-27 (NRSV)

Paul has now been moved to Caesarea, a coastal city NW of Jerusalem.  He's under trial before Antonius Felix who was the Roman procurator of the Judea province from 52-60 CE.  The prosecuting attorney, Tertullus, makes his case against Paul as an agitator and states that the last straw was Paul's attempt to profane the temple.  This was referring to Acts 21:27-29:

When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, who had seen him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd. They seized him, shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place; more than that, he has actually brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

I have already referred to the Jewish restriction of Gentiles in the temple.  Roman rule sought to keep order in all of its provinces.  But they also sought to protect Roman citizens and Paul qualified.

Paul makes his own case and testifies that Christianity (aka the sect of the Nazarenes, aka the Way) remained within standard observance of Judaism.  His defense further underscores that this is really a matter of intra-religious debate in the Jewish faith concerning the resurrection.

Felix is note shown in the best light by Luke as he seems to be ruled by fear and greed.  He keeps Paul imprisoned in Caesarea for two years (58-60 CE) without making a judgment against him one way or another.  We see that the prophecy of Argabus from Acts 21:10-11 came true:

While we were staying there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. He came to us and took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’” 

Paul certainly understood suffering for the sake of the gospel.  Within his epistles, the themes of freedom in Christ take on a new ring.  When he writes in 1 Corinthians 13:7 that love "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" we have new insight.

Quiet contemplation can lead us
to greater spiritual insights if we
take the time to ponder.

As we undergo the shelter-in-place orders while the world seeks to get a handle on COVID-19, we may also have a new appreciation for Paul.  We recognize that our own exile from society is nothing compared to Paul's imprisonment.  There was no Wi-Fi, cell phones or ice cream available to him!

Paul was productive in his incarceration.  We have the epistles that were composed while he was in jail.  This makes us think about "throw-away" time.  How can we take some time in thinking about the larger spiritual matters that we face in life?  Are there ways that we can incorporate spirituality into everyday chores that must be done?  Is there a larger issue of your faith that you would like to research?




Prayer for the day:

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
   Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
   to the voice of my supplications!
If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
   Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
   so that you may be revered.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
   and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
   more than those who watch for the morning,
   more than those who watch for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the Lord!
   For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
   and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel
   from all its iniquities.


Photo by photoholic1 via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.