Each network has its big Emmy award winning shows that create a lot of buzz and make the network a lot of money. But, every single show the network produces cannot be big shows. There have to be some filler shows. These are mainly low budget little shows that are just good enough to keep our attention. These may be shows that air right before or right after one of the big shows. Mainly you see these shows as you channel surf the thirty minutes before your favorite big show comes on. My guess would be that about all the time these little shows have on the Nielsen rating is whatever time it takes for you to hit the channel up or channel down button on the remote control.
The more popular of these smaller shows have been: “Last Comic Standing,”So You Can Dance,” “Rock Star,” and “Supernanny.” One that has especially gotten me cracking up is “Wife Swap.” If you haven’t seen it the show is about two families who take a week or so and swap wives. In this process the producers cleverly find two totally opposite families. One family may live as far out in the country as one could go while the other family lives in downtown Atlanta. It is really quite hilarious when the opposing wives first step into the home they are going to be living in for the next little while.
As I have watched the show it really amazes me how different we all are. And not only how different we are but how amazing it is that some of us find people in this huge world to marry and live the rest of our lives with. It goes to show you that God has a really good sense of humor.
But, it also got me thinking that since we all are so different we also have a hard time getting along with one another. We will find anything and everything about someone to not like simply because they are different. It is not necessarily because we are mean or cruel, it is just our nature as different people living in this world.
I apologize, but you are not going to find anything overly theological in this article. (I am saving that for all for the ordination paperwork I will be writing a month from now.) All this simply got me thinking about the overwhelming love that God has for us. A love that stretches across all the differences we have as people. It is impossible for us to love each other all the time (I know it is for Amy to love me!) but it is never impossible for God. No matter how bad we may feel about ourselves. No matter how cruel we feel we have been. No matter how negative we see things at times. God still loves us. And God is always going to be there for us. It is just as simple as that!
So, go ahead Wife Swap.......Bring it on! I am ready! Just not one who is messy..........or likes snakes as pets..............or is taller than I am.................or is.......
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Seeing With Our Heart - Mark 8:31-38
It is amazing how quite often our emotions get in the way. They get in the way so much that sometimes it is hard for us to think straight. I see that happening with Peter in this lesson from Mark. And Peter’s boldness really strikes me. After Peter hears something that he does not like to hear, he rebukes Jesus. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I hear of someone rebuking someone else, that does not paint a very pretty picture. It ends up being one of those confrontations that is always a little uneasy. Why would Peter be bold enough to rebuke what Jesus had told them? Did he know what Jesus was saying? Was he confused like the disciples usually are? Well, we don’t know but I can almost bet that Peter understood perfectly what Jesus was saying and he did not like what he had heard. The rebuke to Jesus was not a rebuke of hatred but one of love.
Do you remember when you used to get scolded by your parents? I hope that you had situations where your scolding was out of love and not out of hatred, but for most of us our scolding was out of love that our parents had for us. An example of this would be when a young child endangers him or herself when it comes to something hot. A child comes close to getting seriously burned by a stove or fireplace or something like that and the child gets scolded by his or her parents so that they would get the signal of danger and keep away. Parents scold their children in situations like this to counteract a decision of the child to touch something hot. It is a lesson in love because the parent does not want the child to get hurt.
We see this with Peter. Peter is acting as a sort of parental figure concerned for Jesus’ well-being. He ends up scolding Jesus because he does not want Jesus to be harmed. Jesus is important to him and he loves Jesus very much. Just like a parent does not want his or her child to be in any harm, Peter does not want Jesus to be in any harm as well.
Now, as children, I doubt many of us did what Jesus did and rebuked Peter back. When we got in trouble, I doubt many of us rebuked back. We probably got our ears full and accepted our punishment whether we liked it or not. But here, we see that Jesus turned the situation around. He is always good at doing that. We see that Jesus becomes more of the parental or authoritative figure than Peter. Jesus knew what he was doing and he saw that Peter understood. But what he also saw was that Peter did not comprehend what Jesus was teaching. He saw that Peter understood but Peter did not see the big picture. Jesus saw that something was in the way of Peter’s vision that kept him from seeing the divine path that Jesus was going to go down. Peter is looking with worldly eyes instead of divine eyes. Peter is looking with the eyes of his mind instead of the eyes of his heart.
It seems as if Jesus refers a lot to the differences between seeing through divine eyes and seeing through human eyes. I believe we have talked about this before. But, here we see again the frustration Jesus has when we look at things through our human eyes. Peter is upset, as are the rest of the disciples, that Jesus is going to die. Death is something all of us struggle with. We struggle with it because we keep our minds on what or who we can see or touch. Jesus sees beyond that and he is trying to teach his followers the big picture. This world in which we live is fools gold compared to the treasure we will have in heaven. It is always exciting to receive material goods and to witness the creation we live in, but those things cannot compare to what we will experience in heaven.
I was talking with someone the other day on the phone and the subject of laziness and sloppiness came up. I said something like “I’m definitely not going to heaven because I am becoming too lazy and sloppy.” The person on the other end of the line responded, “Well, that is going to be my kind of heaven. Lazy and sloppy.” We had a good laugh from that comment but later that day I began to think of myself, sitting up high on a sofa cloud, eating whatever I want and watching movies all day long. I will have to admit that it got me a little excited.
Instead of being afraid and saddened by what’s to come, we should look at the big picture and see the reward we will one day have. That’s what Jesus was trying to teach Peter and the disciples who were fixed too much on the limited rewards the human world has to offer.
Jesus then teaches the disciples and the crowd to the job that are to do as Christians and as followers. They are to deny themselves, pick up their crosses and follow Christ. What a task, what a request, what a job. We see later in the text that they did what was requested of them. Many Christians throughout that time died for what they believed in. They became martyrs because of the promise they made to Christ. It got me wondering if we are doing the same today.
Let me give you a modern day illustration of a man whom I believe both understood and exemplified Jesus’ words on self-denial, cross-bearing and following Him. Some of you may be familiar with the name Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was a Lutheran pastor who lived in Germany during the Second World War. Convinced that it was his Christian duty to work within his own country for the defeat of Adolf Hitler, Bonhoeffer became a part of an underground resistance movement. Unfortunately, his involvement was discovered and he was sent to a prison camp. He never returned. In 1945, at the age of 39, he was executed by hanging, just as World War II was ending. We may not share in all of his views, but by any and all definitions he is a 20th century Christian martyr.
World War II was not long ago, but I believe that there are martyrs even today. We hear stories of missionaries killed because of their belief. We may hear of deaths due to religion in the wars we are fighting in Iraq and in the war on terror. There was even a death this past week. Martyrdom is not a thing of the past. It very well lives within our modern day life. The same thing is happening today and the Christian faith continues to be ostracized and ridiculed, depending where you are. But, we learn through lessons like the one we have today that there is a big picture and that the life we live now is very small compared to the life we will live in heaven. That life we will receive is due to the decision Christ made. Peter couldn’t understand it. The disciples couldn’t understand it. But we can understand it. And the disciples understood it after Christ rose from the grave. But, just like we fear death today for ourselves and for our loved ones, the disciples feared Christ’s death. If they had been looking through their heart instead of through their human eyes, they would have understood.
By the time of Bonhoeffer’s death he had already done quite a bit of writing. Perhaps his best-known work (still available and popular today) is entitled, "The Cost of Discipleship." In it he offers many thought provoking statements on the Christian life. One of the phrases he uses over and over again (and something he accuses many modern Christians of buying into) is the concept of "cheap grace."
Listen to how he defines it: "Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ."
As Christians, there is a cost we have to pay. What Bonhoeffer is referring to when he talks of “cheap grace” is the grace we receive without the burden of discipleship. It’s riding the way. We’ve all done it. We’ve all put in only 20% into something that other people had put 120%. And we took the credit for it. We said that it was our project. We said that we did a great job. Where really, we know inside that we did not do as much as we knew we could do. That is cheap grace. And that is what Bonhoeffer refers to as “the enemy of the church.” We have to find within ourselves what it takes for us to “pick up the cross” and follow Christ.
I did gain some insight on this from Fred Craddock, a well-known preacher. In a sermon on this text he spoke about commitment and sacrifice and grand gestures. He told this story: "A wealthy man went to his priest with a check for fifty thousand dollars made out to the church. He handed the check to the priest and the priest looked at it. It was a lot of money! Then the priest handed it back and said, "Go cash it in. Cash it in for quarters or dollar bills and spend fifty cents or a dollar at a time doing the Lord's work." The man exclaimed, "But that will take the rest of my life!" "That's right!" answered the priest. That is the point!"
When we pick up our crosses, are we seeing that our cross is heavy or light? Most people would probably say that they want a light cross. “Being in church Sunday morning will get things right for me. I don’t need to do anything else.” A light cross. “Honey, I got our tithe in. We should be set for the next month.” A light cross. “I’ve served my time at the soup kitchen downtown. That should get me set for a while.” A light cross. That’s “cheap grace.” If we’re just looking to pick up a light cross, we are putting our belief in the wrong savior. Because the service we are to provide the savior I believe in is not about light crosses at all. But crosses that carry a lot of weight.
Denying ourselves cannot be easy. We pretty much say that what we have done up to this point is not who we are. That is never an easy thing to do. But what you have said is that from now on the decisions you make will be with your heart, instead of with your eyes. That’s a change and a significant change. And the rest of the world will see it as well.
Jesus concludes his teaching to us of following him to the cross with an important observation. He says, "Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." This is not sour grapes. Jesus simply states the facts that should be most plain. Most surely international events of any given year should make it perfectly plain that we live in an adulterous and sinful generation. If you do not want to admit to that, then listen to the national news on your television tonight and judge whether you live in a sinful and adulterous generation or not. If that does not do it, watch the local news.
What Jesus is saying is that anyone who is foolish enough to take one's chances with a world that is so obviously fouled up and cannot learn from its own history deserves to fall with it. Why should we be ashamed of God's own Son who comes into the world to assure us of his Father's love and then lives it out by suffering and dying for us? That just does not make sense. The one sure thing you know about the world is that this Christ who died in this world and rose again will come again in all his glory with his holy angels. If we do not want to identify with that, then we will be stuck. He and the whole host of heaven will have to count it a shame that we ignored him. Far better for us to deny ourselves and take up the cross and follow him to glory.
We must change our vision. We must see things in a new light. We must look with our heart, that can understand the big picture, and not with our eyes, that can only see the immediate result. What you see with your eyes will stay in your mind until you die. What you feel with your heart will be with your soul even after you die. Look at your life now, are you seeing things with your eyes? If you are, look for the change. Look for the ability to see beyond the distance to the life we were given when Christ died on the cross. Because Easter is coming are we are to prepare for his arrival.
Do you remember when you used to get scolded by your parents? I hope that you had situations where your scolding was out of love and not out of hatred, but for most of us our scolding was out of love that our parents had for us. An example of this would be when a young child endangers him or herself when it comes to something hot. A child comes close to getting seriously burned by a stove or fireplace or something like that and the child gets scolded by his or her parents so that they would get the signal of danger and keep away. Parents scold their children in situations like this to counteract a decision of the child to touch something hot. It is a lesson in love because the parent does not want the child to get hurt.
We see this with Peter. Peter is acting as a sort of parental figure concerned for Jesus’ well-being. He ends up scolding Jesus because he does not want Jesus to be harmed. Jesus is important to him and he loves Jesus very much. Just like a parent does not want his or her child to be in any harm, Peter does not want Jesus to be in any harm as well.
Now, as children, I doubt many of us did what Jesus did and rebuked Peter back. When we got in trouble, I doubt many of us rebuked back. We probably got our ears full and accepted our punishment whether we liked it or not. But here, we see that Jesus turned the situation around. He is always good at doing that. We see that Jesus becomes more of the parental or authoritative figure than Peter. Jesus knew what he was doing and he saw that Peter understood. But what he also saw was that Peter did not comprehend what Jesus was teaching. He saw that Peter understood but Peter did not see the big picture. Jesus saw that something was in the way of Peter’s vision that kept him from seeing the divine path that Jesus was going to go down. Peter is looking with worldly eyes instead of divine eyes. Peter is looking with the eyes of his mind instead of the eyes of his heart.
It seems as if Jesus refers a lot to the differences between seeing through divine eyes and seeing through human eyes. I believe we have talked about this before. But, here we see again the frustration Jesus has when we look at things through our human eyes. Peter is upset, as are the rest of the disciples, that Jesus is going to die. Death is something all of us struggle with. We struggle with it because we keep our minds on what or who we can see or touch. Jesus sees beyond that and he is trying to teach his followers the big picture. This world in which we live is fools gold compared to the treasure we will have in heaven. It is always exciting to receive material goods and to witness the creation we live in, but those things cannot compare to what we will experience in heaven.
I was talking with someone the other day on the phone and the subject of laziness and sloppiness came up. I said something like “I’m definitely not going to heaven because I am becoming too lazy and sloppy.” The person on the other end of the line responded, “Well, that is going to be my kind of heaven. Lazy and sloppy.” We had a good laugh from that comment but later that day I began to think of myself, sitting up high on a sofa cloud, eating whatever I want and watching movies all day long. I will have to admit that it got me a little excited.
Instead of being afraid and saddened by what’s to come, we should look at the big picture and see the reward we will one day have. That’s what Jesus was trying to teach Peter and the disciples who were fixed too much on the limited rewards the human world has to offer.
Jesus then teaches the disciples and the crowd to the job that are to do as Christians and as followers. They are to deny themselves, pick up their crosses and follow Christ. What a task, what a request, what a job. We see later in the text that they did what was requested of them. Many Christians throughout that time died for what they believed in. They became martyrs because of the promise they made to Christ. It got me wondering if we are doing the same today.
Let me give you a modern day illustration of a man whom I believe both understood and exemplified Jesus’ words on self-denial, cross-bearing and following Him. Some of you may be familiar with the name Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was a Lutheran pastor who lived in Germany during the Second World War. Convinced that it was his Christian duty to work within his own country for the defeat of Adolf Hitler, Bonhoeffer became a part of an underground resistance movement. Unfortunately, his involvement was discovered and he was sent to a prison camp. He never returned. In 1945, at the age of 39, he was executed by hanging, just as World War II was ending. We may not share in all of his views, but by any and all definitions he is a 20th century Christian martyr.
World War II was not long ago, but I believe that there are martyrs even today. We hear stories of missionaries killed because of their belief. We may hear of deaths due to religion in the wars we are fighting in Iraq and in the war on terror. There was even a death this past week. Martyrdom is not a thing of the past. It very well lives within our modern day life. The same thing is happening today and the Christian faith continues to be ostracized and ridiculed, depending where you are. But, we learn through lessons like the one we have today that there is a big picture and that the life we live now is very small compared to the life we will live in heaven. That life we will receive is due to the decision Christ made. Peter couldn’t understand it. The disciples couldn’t understand it. But we can understand it. And the disciples understood it after Christ rose from the grave. But, just like we fear death today for ourselves and for our loved ones, the disciples feared Christ’s death. If they had been looking through their heart instead of through their human eyes, they would have understood.
By the time of Bonhoeffer’s death he had already done quite a bit of writing. Perhaps his best-known work (still available and popular today) is entitled, "The Cost of Discipleship." In it he offers many thought provoking statements on the Christian life. One of the phrases he uses over and over again (and something he accuses many modern Christians of buying into) is the concept of "cheap grace."
Listen to how he defines it: "Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ."
As Christians, there is a cost we have to pay. What Bonhoeffer is referring to when he talks of “cheap grace” is the grace we receive without the burden of discipleship. It’s riding the way. We’ve all done it. We’ve all put in only 20% into something that other people had put 120%. And we took the credit for it. We said that it was our project. We said that we did a great job. Where really, we know inside that we did not do as much as we knew we could do. That is cheap grace. And that is what Bonhoeffer refers to as “the enemy of the church.” We have to find within ourselves what it takes for us to “pick up the cross” and follow Christ.
I did gain some insight on this from Fred Craddock, a well-known preacher. In a sermon on this text he spoke about commitment and sacrifice and grand gestures. He told this story: "A wealthy man went to his priest with a check for fifty thousand dollars made out to the church. He handed the check to the priest and the priest looked at it. It was a lot of money! Then the priest handed it back and said, "Go cash it in. Cash it in for quarters or dollar bills and spend fifty cents or a dollar at a time doing the Lord's work." The man exclaimed, "But that will take the rest of my life!" "That's right!" answered the priest. That is the point!"
When we pick up our crosses, are we seeing that our cross is heavy or light? Most people would probably say that they want a light cross. “Being in church Sunday morning will get things right for me. I don’t need to do anything else.” A light cross. “Honey, I got our tithe in. We should be set for the next month.” A light cross. “I’ve served my time at the soup kitchen downtown. That should get me set for a while.” A light cross. That’s “cheap grace.” If we’re just looking to pick up a light cross, we are putting our belief in the wrong savior. Because the service we are to provide the savior I believe in is not about light crosses at all. But crosses that carry a lot of weight.
Denying ourselves cannot be easy. We pretty much say that what we have done up to this point is not who we are. That is never an easy thing to do. But what you have said is that from now on the decisions you make will be with your heart, instead of with your eyes. That’s a change and a significant change. And the rest of the world will see it as well.
Jesus concludes his teaching to us of following him to the cross with an important observation. He says, "Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." This is not sour grapes. Jesus simply states the facts that should be most plain. Most surely international events of any given year should make it perfectly plain that we live in an adulterous and sinful generation. If you do not want to admit to that, then listen to the national news on your television tonight and judge whether you live in a sinful and adulterous generation or not. If that does not do it, watch the local news.
What Jesus is saying is that anyone who is foolish enough to take one's chances with a world that is so obviously fouled up and cannot learn from its own history deserves to fall with it. Why should we be ashamed of God's own Son who comes into the world to assure us of his Father's love and then lives it out by suffering and dying for us? That just does not make sense. The one sure thing you know about the world is that this Christ who died in this world and rose again will come again in all his glory with his holy angels. If we do not want to identify with that, then we will be stuck. He and the whole host of heaven will have to count it a shame that we ignored him. Far better for us to deny ourselves and take up the cross and follow him to glory.
We must change our vision. We must see things in a new light. We must look with our heart, that can understand the big picture, and not with our eyes, that can only see the immediate result. What you see with your eyes will stay in your mind until you die. What you feel with your heart will be with your soul even after you die. Look at your life now, are you seeing things with your eyes? If you are, look for the change. Look for the ability to see beyond the distance to the life we were given when Christ died on the cross. Because Easter is coming are we are to prepare for his arrival.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Change of Seasons
Well, I think I'm about ready for Spring. I have always been a fall and winter lover. I love the cold air, snow (if we get any), and the coziness and comfort of a wood burning fire in the fireplace. However, I have come to realize that the hopes for snow are slowly going away. Living in east Tennessee does not do much for the hope of snow. Realizing that, I believe I am now ready for the "all go" for Spring.
The changing of the seasons has always fascinated me. It truly helps me to see the amazement and power of our creator God. The ways in which the trees turn from looking completely dead to alive. The grass turning from a brown to green color. And the ways in which the birds and animals realize that it is time to come out of their winter hibernation and begin their spring and summer living. Only God can create such mystery and wonderment. And I give thanks that I am able to experience such a world that we have.
Spring also brings one of my favorite foods back into existence that disappears during the cold months: ICE CREAM! So, I must now end this blog entry to go enjoy some sweet ice cream on this early Spring day.
The changing of the seasons has always fascinated me. It truly helps me to see the amazement and power of our creator God. The ways in which the trees turn from looking completely dead to alive. The grass turning from a brown to green color. And the ways in which the birds and animals realize that it is time to come out of their winter hibernation and begin their spring and summer living. Only God can create such mystery and wonderment. And I give thanks that I am able to experience such a world that we have.
Spring also brings one of my favorite foods back into existence that disappears during the cold months: ICE CREAM! So, I must now end this blog entry to go enjoy some sweet ice cream on this early Spring day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)