Reaching For a Goal

Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14 NRS)

Many of us are very focused in our work. We have easily defined goals and tasks to accomplish and so it is easy to determine the best course of action to accomplish those goals. Many of us wish the rest of our lives would be so easy to quantify and define.

It’s easy to be pulled in directions we did not intend to go, or to be distracted from the purpose to which God has called us. We live in a world that puts out many ideas about what is most important, about what should be the priority in our life, about what is supposed to matter to us.

The challenge for us as Christians is to remember the purpose that truly matters - the one that God has given to us as disciples. That purpose isn’t well
respected by the world. However you think you are supposed to live out your life as a disciple probably puts you in conflict with the values of this world. It has always been that way.

Our culture has had an ebb and flow in its relationship to God and faith. That ebb and flow goes back to the founding events of Christianity and the first church. Many of Paul’s letters to early Christians were encouragement to hold fast to their understanding of faith in the midst of a world that didn’t accept what Christianity was teaching.

No matter what distracts or tempts us, Paul gives us words of encouragement that we can persevere and obtain the prize that God has offered to us. The prize is life with God and that is lived out as we remember the love that has claimed us and made us children of a loving and graceful God.

Forgetting is hard. Moving on can seem impossible. But nothing is impossible for the God who loves us.

Trying

The views reflected in this blog are my own and do not represent the views of the Department of Defense, the US Navy, Camp Lemonnier, or Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa. In other words, if you don't like it, blame me not them.

I had the occasion recently to be in a conversation about what it means to be a Christian in the midst of all the chaos of this world. What I realized during the conversation is how much I am in the midst of the messiness. I’m not really surprised by that realization. I made the choice to serve in the US Navy because I knew that this world is a complicated reality and I wanted (needed) to do what I could to address that reality. It is important to me not to get stuck living in a theological exercise – an academic exploration of what it means to be Christian – and to actually live out my faith in a way that addresses real stuff. God is not simply something about which to talk and think. God is at work in a world that is truly messed up.

It’s not getting less messed up either. We’re at “war” – again. We've begun airstrikes against ISIS in support of a Middle East coalition to end a threat. Right there we run into the common problem – or should I say problems. This is where it gets messy. This is where the academic exercise ends. Because there simply aren't easy answers when we try to respond to what this world does to itself. I don’t consider myself a militarist. I don’t think violence solves the problem.

But I’m also a realist. I have been pondering Romans 12:18 a lot lately, “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Scripture clearly suggests that the Kingdom of God is not about power and violence, but we don’t live within the fulfilled Kingdom. That little clause, “so far as it depends on you” carries a lot of weight. There is an acknowledgment that we can’t choose peace on our own. Someone else has to be at peace with us or we can’t live peaceably.

The other idea that is a constant companion comes from Stanley Hauerwas:

“you must be willing to watch innocent people suffer for your convictions. Of course, that’s true. In the hard cases, it means it’s not just your death, it’s watching other people die, whom you might have been able to defend. Now of course, you want to try to do everything you can that would prevent that alternative. But you may have to envision that.”

Trust me that I’m not taking this quote out of context. Hauerwas was speaking about how we respond to the violence of the world. I think I can live out “turn the other cheek” when it comes to myself, but I don’t think I can stand by and watch someone else suffer or die because I think it’s more important to stick to a theological ideal.

I’ll be the first to admit that the United States has made a lot of mistakes in how we've handled our role in the world. The messes that exist have our fingerprints on them, but they didn't start when we responded to 9/11 by starting two wars. The conflicts we are now working through have existed throughout recorded history. There aren't any easy answers.

Only the Sith deal in absolutes. If you think pacifism is the only answer, then I encourage you to step away from the theoretical realm and the comfort of your western life to spread the message of nonviolent response to Somali refugees, Iraqi Christians and non-Sunni Muslims, and anyone else who is facing the danger of genocide. We have to stop arguing about ideas that really only matter if they lead to actual change in the world. It may be that the nonviolent path of Jesus is right (assuming we understand it properly), but until you're "willing to pick up a weapon and stand a post" (to add a bit of irony in a Jack Nicholson voice), then all your rightness doesn't do a damn thing for threatened and dying innocents.

Homeless Children at a Day Shelter in Djibouti

I have been accused of defending imperial aggression. I assure you that I don’t think violence is the answer. But I am determined not to live in an academic exercise about what we wish the rest of the world would be. I'm going to give everything I have to make a difference - small though it may be. And right now, that means taking care of people whose job sucks on a daily basis, living among people whose lives are in constant danger because of poverty, malnutrition, and violent extremism. It’s not an academic exercise for me. It’s what I've been called to do. All I can do is try.

Supporting One Another

Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions...Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. (Romans 14:1,4 NRSV)

It’s really easy to judge one another. It is something I have personally struggled with and it can be very unhealthy - both for you and for your relationships with others. It’s even easier to be judgmental when we hold strongly to the truth in which we claim to see what God has chosen and expects of the world.

Throughout the history of the church - the history of God’s people - not everyone has been on the same page; not everyone has had the same strength and clarity in understanding God’s truth and love. Some have struggled greatly with what God may be asking of them. Some (or many) turn away from God because they can’t find a way to allow God to be a part of their lives.

It’s always nice to be reminded that this isn't a new phenomenon. The struggles of the church today to connect aren't really new. In Paul’s letter to the Romans (quoted at left) it is clear that the church of that time wasn't unified and always in agreement. Christians of that time also struggled with faith and how to make it a central part of their lives. 

Paul tells the readers of his letter to “accept.” The “disputable matters” are not to be a source of conflict and disagreement. They were told to let God sort that out. We hear that reminder as well - that God is the master to which God’s servants will answer. 

We also hear words of encouragement. For those who are weak, the Lord will act. The Lord will “make them stand.” Even their weak faith will be enough. For us, we are asked to accept them into our community and learn with them. That’s even easier than judging. 

Binding and Loose-ing

Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."  (Matthew 18:18-20 NRSV)

We are very good at tying ourselves into knots. We’re good at holding onto things that end up weighing us down, tying us to the past - or to things we really need to let go to be healthy and focused disciples of Christ.

The passage  at left comes as Jesus is speaking to his disciples about forgiveness and how they reconcile with one another. Forgiveness in any relationship is a real challenge. We are much better at holding on to our anger or pain than we are at telling someone they are forgiven and moving forward with them.

Jesus tells the disciples to do everything possible to bring forgiveness to a broken relationship and then makes it clear that God is involved in that forgiveness or continued brokenness. Whatever happens here is not far removed from heaven and God is involved. When we fail to find away to loose what needs to be loosed than we are denying the work of God - a work that was done to bring forgiveness to the world.

Jesus goes on to remind the disciples of his never ending presence. Wherever the disciples gather, God is among them. Whenever the disciples can find agreement, God will act. Of course we know that God doesn't always act the way we’d like or expect, but even in those circumstances, the reminder remains that God is with us - especially when we gather in a community of faith.

When Jesus talks about forgiveness, he is very clear that it happens between people who find a way to be in community together. We need one another to help us find forgiveness and restore relationships that have been broken.

We can tie ourselves up in knots over what has happened in our past, or we can loose one another for the work that God has placed in front of us - sharing the love and forgiveness of God to a world in need.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not be so tied to past brokenness that I can’t move as God has called me.

Stumbling Peter

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you." But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." -Matthew 16:22-23 (NRSV)

The words spoken in the verses from Matthew are part of a larger conversation happening between Jesus and his disciples. As is often the case the disciples simply don’t understand what is going on - the greater picture of what God intends to do in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

When questions arise for the disciples it is usually Peter who gives those questions voice. Peter is the one who puts himself out there for good or ill. He was the one who stepped out of the boat. He was the one who tried to interpret the transfiguration. And in this passage, he is the one who doubts - who questions Jesus’ pronouncement that his journey is one that leads to the cross.

Peter is so helpful for us because he provides a way for us to enter into the story of Christ and the cross. His voice is so often the one that raises the same questions we may be afraid to ask. His response to what is happening is so often the way we respond - often exactly the way we respond. He fights. He flees. He denies. He questions. Sometimes he gets it right.

In the passage at left his question comes in the form of a denial that Christ might be something other than he (Peter) expects him to be. All that Jesus says about what will happen challenges what Peter thinks so he responds with denial, saying that “shall never happen.”

We often respond the same way. We expect God to do what we expect and what we think we need. Jesus’ response to Peter teaches us what we have to remember about God. God doesn't think the same way we do. We always come to God with our own perceptions and concerns. They aren't the same as God’s. Our concerns don’t set the path God takes, but instead are sometimes a stumbling block for us.

When we try to fit God onto our path - into our plan and expectations - we stumble. We don’t leave room for what God is really going to do. Thankfully, God does it anyway and the power of Satan and death is broken. That’s good news. That’s what God does despite our failure and doubt.

Community in Christ

 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. (Rom 12:4-5 NRSV)

Perhaps more than any other expression of God’s church, a military chapel community represents the diversity of faith contained in unity with Christ. Each week we come together for worship as Christians from a diverse background, with a diverse set of experiences. 

There are several challenges that come with this diversity. We don’t all understand the gospel in the same way. In each of our faith journeys God has spoken to us in different ways, calling us to understand specific passages differently. 

In our specific community here at CLDJ, we have the added element of constant change. Some of us are here for four months or less, others are here for almost a year, and still others have been here for multiple years. 

In reality, this level of diversity is both a challenge and a blessing. Sometimes we are challenged by understandings of faith that run counter to how we have personally experienced God and God’s Word. These challenges to our own faith can make us nervous and uncertain. They can make us question parts of our faith that we never thought we would question.

But those questions can be a blessing. Those questions can be the way that God chooses to move us along our faith journey toward a deeper understanding of how God is acting in our lives. Anselm, an 11th century monk, coined the phrase, “faith seeking understanding” as a way to describe the journey that we are travelling. We support one another on that journey as we bring new perspectives together into a community that can explore deep questions. We live and work in a desert that can seem harsh and lacking life. But it does not have to be a lifeless time in your faith journey. You can use this time to seek a new kind of nourishment for your faith as you experience and grow through the diversity we bring to one another. Through that diversity, we remember that we are one body gathered around the cross.

Where is Justice?

Note: After a break for my R&R, I return to Djibouti and my weekly reflections. 

This is what the LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my  salvation is close at hand and my  righteousness will soon be revealed.-Isaiah 56:1

Isaiah’s words at the left offer a really straightforward command to us. “Maintain justice and do what is right…” The challenge is finding a way to do that when all around you seems to conflict with these words of encouragement.

They are words of hope and promise as we remember that maintaining justice and doing what is right is possible because of God’s salvation - a salvation that is very close to us. But that promise can be forgotten when all we see is so much injustice and wrongness.

I admit that I don’t follow the news really closely. Sometimes it’s hard to follow when there seems to be no sign of any good news. Often the problem is finding a reliable news source that I trust. All the news outlets are accused of having one bias or another and it becomes difficult to find the truth in what is being reported.

Even when you only pay attention to the headlines (you can usually find at least a hint of unbiased truth by just reading that much), there is more than enough injustice to go around:

• Ethnic violence in Africa
• Violent extremism in all parts of the Middle East and elsewhere
• Religion based persecution in Iraq
• Race based conflict in the heart of the US

The list can go on and on. We live in a world that struggles to find justice. In the midst of that reality we, as Christians, are called to maintain justice and do what is right. We are told not to be conformed “to the pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2)  so we can’t be sucked into the injustice we face every day.

Whatever your news source, look for the injustice in what you read and figure out how you are personally going to stand against it. Look around you in your daily work and find ways to seek the justice that the world can’t seem to find.

God’s righteousness will be revealed as we do what is right. The world needs us to do it.

An Undivided Heart

Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name. I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and glorify your name forevermore. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the pit of death. -Psalm 86:11-14

The psalmist’s prayer at left is a powerful prayer of hope and thanksgiving, with just a touch of desperation mixed in. Whenever you need the words to pray - when your own words simply don’t seem like enough (although God doesn't need special language to hear our prayers) - the psalms are always a good place to turn. 

These few verses accomplish a lot and give us a grounding for our faith. It begins with a request. God, teach me how to follow. Help me worship you. There’s an acknowledgment in these words that we don’t know how to love or follow God without being shown what it means to do so. We can’t find our way to God, we need God to find us and teach us the way we are to go. 

The response to being shown the way is praise and thanksgiving. "With all [our] heart" we give God thanks for what has been done for us and for what God has shown to us. It seems like a simple response, but it asks much of us. It’s not easy for us to give all of our heart to anything or anyone. Think about all the ways we make other things more important than God; and I’m not just talking about coming to worship on Sunday. We have the opportunity to glorify God with every waking breath but we struggle to do that. Sometimes we struggle to find even one breath to worship and give God thanks.

And that’s when what God has done becomes so central to who we are. In the final verse, we are reminded that it is not through our own efforts that we accomplish anything that we are asked to do. It is because of God’s great love (other translations use steadfast) that we are delivered from the pit of death; from the consequences of our actions and in-actions. 

God always acts to draw us into God’s way and God’s truth. God’s constant, unchanging love is always working in our hearts to make us into what God has called us to be. That is a blessing to lives that often feel divided and difficult. God’s love is steadfast. God is faithful to us, even when we fail. For that we give God thanks.

Effective Word(s)

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11 NRSV)

God speaks and things happen. That’s the way it has always been. From the beginning of the story, God makes things happen simply by saying a word.

Through the prophet Isaiah God reminds the people of Israel that the purposes of God will be accomplished. People are changed; the world is changed when God speaks to and through God’s people. Are we taking time to listen?

We live in a world where words have a lot of power. Truth is sometimes irrelevant. Compassion is often non-existent. People use words to change the world into what they want it to be. They use words filled with hate and anger with little thought of the consequences of what they are saying. “Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me” is a myth. Words have power. Our words can be used to dominate and  intimidate. Far too often our words are used to break down individuals and groups.

What if we used words full of compassion and empathy instead? What if we spoke to our brothers and sisters with words of love and hope and peace? What if we spoke to people with the Word of God in our hearts and on our minds as we try to exert a different kind of influence?

The message God gives us through Isaiah is clear. God’s Word accomplishes what God wants it to do. God’s Word goes forth and nourishes the one who speaks and the one who hears. We are good at accomplishing our purposes when we speak. If we speak words of hate, we create hate. If we speak words of anger, we make people angry. If we speak words of mistrust, we create mistrust. If we speak words of love, on the other hand, well I think you get the point.

God spoke and the world was created. God spoke and the people of Israel were freed from slavery. God proclaimed “It is finished” on a cross and we were made free from sin and death so we could be Children of God and could be God’s voice in a world filled with desperate need. Are you listening?

Freedom and Righteousness

But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:17-18 NRSV)

Paul’s passage to the Romans above includes a couple of tough words for us to deal with. Cultural context for the concept of slavery means we have a hard time using it in any constructive ways. Slavery is something to be opposed according to our understanding of history (and rightly so).

Except, in this passage, Paul reminds us that we are slaves. We might not be slaves to sin, but we are slaves to righteousness. And that probably doesn't sound right to you. We don’t want to be slaves. We want to be free. We celebrate the fact that we are free from sin, but we have to acknowledge the other side of that equation. If/when we are set free from sin, it is only so we can be free for righteousness. Nothing that we are or have is for our own enjoyment or purpose. It is always for God’s purpose and for the bringing of God’s Kingdom. So we are still slaves - but it is a slavery to joy and righteousness.

Then there’s that word, “righteous.” The only way it seems to be used today is with “self-” on the front of it. Far too many people are focused on their own righteousness at the expense of others. Instead, perhaps we can remember that Paul also said we are all convicted and in need of God’s grace. That “righteousness” we claim is not from anything we have accomplished or for our own benefit. It is God’s gift of right relationship so we can bring the world back to God.

Martin Luther described our life of righteousness this way, “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject of all, subject to all.” (Freedom of a Christian) Perhaps you can better relate to the word servant. Perhaps not. But it is an appropriate description of our life of righteousness. We are free from sin so that we are able to serve the world. We are free from our sin so that we can be a slave to God. I don’t like the word slave, but if it means I’m in right relationship with God, I’ll take it.

Running and Losing

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;  and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:37-39 NRSV)

Well at least it’s not what Luke says. Luke says we have to hate our family to follow Christ. In Matthew’s passage above we only have to love all of them less than we love God. That makes sense doesn't it? We are supposed to put God first. We are supposed to lose our life in favor of what God has in store for us. That’s easier said than done.

As some of you know (but only a very few), my reflections written here come from my time during Running Faith on Thursday evening. For those of you who don’t know, I’ll offer a commercial: The invitation stands for you to join me at the entrance to the running trail at 1900 on Thursdays. I share a passage (almost always one of the lectionary passages read at the 0800 service on Sunday) and then you can run (or walk) for 30-40 minutes and consider what God is saying to you in the passage. At the end of the appointed time, we gather for a few minutes of reflection and prayer before going on with our evening.

It’s a quick way to spend some time refreshing your soul while exercising your body. I have found it to be a great way to return from the business (the busy-ness) of the daily grind to the Word of God and the promises that God makes to us. And then I read passages like this. The whole time I ran and considered this passage I couldn't help but think about all the ways I wasn't doing it. All the ways I was putting other things – my life – ahead of God.

Some of my occasional running companions.

I wasn't feeling refreshed and renewed at all (and it wasn't just the heat).The question convicts and challenges me. What am I supposed to lose? What does it mean for me to give up my life for God’s sake? I honestly don’t know.

Thankfully I know I will not be lost as long as I continue to seek God at the foot of the cross. Join me next week (Thursday 1900) to reflect on finding life with God.

PS To those of you who may be reading this on my blog, if you'd like to reflect and run "with" me, drop me an email or send me a FB message and I'll send you our passage each week. Feel free to respond with what reflections you might have while you're running.

Peace and Love

Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. 13The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. (2 Corinthians 13:11-13)

Paul concludes his second letter to the Corinthians with the words above. You may recognize the final phrase from worship services you have attended. Many traditions use these words as a heartfelt greeting shared between the one leading worship and those gathered together in communion with one another – in Chaplain Okwori’s “sweet fellowship.” 

Sweet fellowship, communion, peaceful living can be an out of reach goal for many of our communities. We live lives that are anything but peaceful and grace filled. Our mission in this place can be challenging to the concept of peace as we face so much violence and fear. A kiss is anything but “holy” as we face the reality of sexual assault and other issues of brokenness in our relationships.

The picture created in this passage is one of unity and peace, something we have struggled with for millennia. As our world is chopped up in smaller and smaller bits even as we struggle to be more and more connected, agreeing with one another is valued less and less. We find less order, more disagreement, more violence, and the feeling that God is gone from this world.

We have the chance, in our community, to do something else. We have the chance to gather ourselves around the presence of “the God of love and peace.” Despite our differences and disagreements, our God still comes among us to bring peace and love. We are not left to find peace for ourselves, but are given a promise by our loving God and Father. That should be enough. It is enough if we trust that promise. We can live together in peace if we let Christ be the center of that life. 

When all peace seems to be long gone, remember that in the bleak darkness of our lives we see the light of promise that is a loving and peaceful God bringing us into a life of grace and community. When you can’t find peace, bring yourself more fully into the community that gathers here around a God of love and peace.

Connected

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body -- Jews or Greeks, slaves or free -- and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13 NRSV)

Paul talks of one body in the passage quoted above. He is writing to a church that was struggling with unity among a great deal of diversity - to a church that was trying to discover who it would be in a world that wasn't prepared for the message it was bringing about God and God’s love.

We’re not in a vastly different place today. Although the church has existed for a couple of millennium, we are still living in a world that doesn't know what to do with the message of love and grace we bring from God. Of course, that message isn't always clearly stated. Far too often the message received is about Christians themselves and their conflicts with one another over one theological issue or another.

I once served in youth ministry at First Lutheran Church in Chambersburg, PA. My wife joked when I told her about the job, “Oh, as opposed to Second Lutheran.” I said, “Yes, that church is on the other side of town.” Second Lutheran had formed over a disagreement whether to continue to use German in worship. That disagreement happened around 1835. During my time there the two churches still didn't talk much or work together in any way. It’s so incredibly easy for us to find ways to disagree and tear our communities apart rather than seek ways to live in the unity of Christ.

In many ways, we model a better model of unity here in this place. We come together from different faith backgrounds and worship together as one body of Christ. We recently had a Revival that included our Catholic brothers and sisters, just as we had gathered together at the foot of the cross on Good Friday.

The world will continue to try to pull us apart. The world and our own sinfulness will continue to drive wedges of discord and conflict between us as we fall away from the call to be one body in Christ. This weekend we will celebrate Pentecost - the moment when The Holy Spirit brought the message of God to a diverse community. Open your heart to the Holy Spirit to hear the love of God in a way that brings you closer to your neighbor - to a fellow child of God. You might be surprised how much you have in common.

Humility

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7 NRSV)

It’s not something we do well. In fact, in many ways it is trained out of us. If you approach your career with humility, you may be seen as not having leadership qualities necessary for advancement or long-term success. Some of what we do would be negatively impacted if we approached it with humility. From a young age, we are taught to avoid being a doormat and to stand up for ourselves. Assertiveness is a desired and looked for personality trait. Being humble, self-effacing is often not so desired.

The passage from 1 Peter is not the only place in scripture we are told that humility is important. Being too proud, being too focused on one’s own power or status does not fit with the life to which we have been called as Children of God. We dance that line every day. Some leaders are better than others at empowering others to succeed, at serving others before themselves, at seeking opinions from colleagues. All of those attributes are necessary and are skills to be learned in order to be a humble servant leader. Each of those aspects of humility can be learned and can become a more central part of who we are and how we live.

But there’s more to it in the letter of 1 Peter. Here we are given a very important task to do as we seek to be humble. We are called to cast our anxieties (cares) on God. We are not to be so proud that we think we can handle it all ourselves without the love and guidance of our God and King. Our God is so much more powerful than we are. That might be the hardest lesson to learn.

Trusting God - allowing God to be the one to control our lives takes us farther down the road to humility than anything else we can try. Think about the last time you were struggling, the last time you were facing anxiety and trying to figure out what you were supposed to do. Maybe it would have helped to listen to God for a while before you made a decision. Maybe the anxiety would have eased just a bit if you would have asked God to be a part of the struggle with you. Yes, we still have to make decisions; sometimes very quickly and decisively. That’s not necessary being too proud. But, what can you turn over to God? What can you do to let God be more in control than you are?

That’s the call of 1 Peter. That’s God’s call to you as a humble Child of God.

What is Right

Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear,1 and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. (1 Peter 3:13-15a NRSV)

When you read the question at the beginning of the passage, it seems such an easy answer. It’s almost like saying, “Of course no one is going to hurt you if you are doing good.” But we know that isn't actually true. We know that plenty of people are harmed for doing good, for doing what is right.

And then there’s the question of determining what is “right.” I’m reading a book right now called Waiting for Gospel by Douglas John Hall. He identifies an issue in Christianity today concerning how we, as Christians, determine what is right. Many of you correctly jump to the answer that the Bible tells us what is right, and I agree with you. The problem is that good, faithful Christians do not always understand the written Word of God in the same way. That’s part of why the Department of Defense has over 200 organizations that endorse chaplains. That’s part of why there are countless denominations in the Christian community today. While it’s easy to claim there is an absolute “right,” it is much harder to agree on what that absolute right is.

So let’s say for the sake of argument that you know what is right - in a way that is faithful to your understanding of what God is saying to you. Have you ever suffered for trying to live that out? There are many levels of suffering, from simple criticism all the way to being martyred for your faith. In South Sudan, a place some of us know well, a women lives under condemnation of death because she won’t renounce her faith. That takes a tremendous amount of strength and trust.

And somehow through those times of suffering and harm there is a blessing. It’s not always easy to see that blessing. It’s sometimes much easier to see the pain that is caused by doing what is good and right. Sometimes that blessing is only knowing in your heart that you have done what God has asked of you.

Doing what is right can be a daily challenge. Our culture can be very complacent about the way we are “supposed” to live our lives. The author of 1 Peter is very clear. “Do not fear...do not be frightened.” God knows what we are doing and God is present with us in all that we experience. That is a blessing in the midst of suffering. That is a blessing that comes from the cross. 

Chosen For...

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

-1 Peter 2:9-10

There's a lot of pressure in being chosen to be God's royal priesthood. Or maybe it just feels like a lot of pressure. I think the emphasis should be on being chosen for the job and therefore given the amazing opportunity to live into it. That's the BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front).

Now I'll say a little more about what it might mean to be God's holy nation and royal priesthood. The author of 1 Peter is making a clear statement about who we are and to whom we belong. Personally I really like this

language. I like thinking of myself as chosen by God because it means I am, first and foremost, defined by what God sees in me and what God wants for my life. I can make my own choices. I can try to, at times, deny what God wants from me, but from beginning to end I have been chosen to be one of God's people. That God-given identity is no longer up for debate. 

We don't all agree about how that begins. Some see baptism as an act of the believer that comes with a conscious choice. Some come from traditions where baptism comes to an infant (with the promise of the parents providing the "choice"). No matter how you were baptized, you have been joined to a whole nation of people whom God has chosen to be a community together.

In this particular passage, the characteristics of being "God's own people" are pretty specific: proclaim the acts of God (not the acts of humanity) and be receivers of mercy. What do those mean for you in your particular setting? Proclaiming the acts of God can be a little challenging. Many people today have been taught to keep their faith to themselves. We have to be very careful about how we talk about our faith in a world that is very sensitive to different perspectives. There's really nothing wrong with having different perspectives, we just have to be careful about how we "talk."

It's not about "preaching" about God, but it is about living in a way that shows what God has done in our lives and what God wants for the whole world. We experience mercy and so we share mercy with those we encounter. This identity with God is something we can hold onto as foundational to who we are and all that we do. This is the opportunity we have as God's royal priesthood.

Community

I decided it's time to return to my blog. It's probably way beyond time, but it recently occurred to me that I am writing a blog's worth of thought each week for the Protestant Chapel Newsletter, so it doesn't make sense not to post it here. Most weeks it has been a brief commentary on one of the Lectionary readings for the coming week - often influenced by thoughts while doing "Running Faith" on Thursday evenings (an opportunity for folks to run together while contemplating scripture).

NOTE: There will be context specific references in these posts. For now I'm not going to edit them out. Maybe that will change.

So, here it is: a commentary on Acts 2:44-47

All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need...Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. (NRSV)

Community

Or is it communism? Wow, that’s a challenging thought! If you read this brief account of the early church you might feel a little uneasy with how it describes what the disciples did. They sold private property to hold it all together in common so that everybody would have what they would need. Sounds a bit sketchy to us who live in today’s culture of freedom, capitalism, and individuality.

It might be appropriate to challenge how we champion “individuality” today, especially when it is without regard to cost. But we also have to be careful about applying this account of the early church to our lives today without careful thought. This describes a community that was forming out of the chaos of God’s new revelation in Jesus Christ - a community that was separating itself from a communal history and trying to form a new understanding of who they were. This new community formed a new identity and a new purpose for their life - proclaiming the risen Christ and the coming of God’s Kingdom. This is not a commentary on today’s socioeconomic-political realities, but a description of God’s Kingdom.

We still can learn from them, however. Their issues with the world aren’t all that different than our current realities. We share their identity as Children of God.

We can learn from how they handled their “stuff.” All of what they had became completely secondary to their new identity as Children of God. They found community in broken bread and praise. Their community gathered for the purpose of mutual support and the worship of a loving God. We don’t do so well with that today. Our “stuff” has become more important than the community we share - whether it’s back home, or here at CLDJ (even though we have limited ability to accumulate stuff here).

I challenge you to consider what is drawing you away from the community that is here. What is it that has become more important to you than spending time with your brothers and sisters serving in this place with you? What is it that you can do to find a “glad and sincere” heart so that you can praise God?