Re-Creation

Wow. The last few days have been exhausting. It seems like every moment has been packed with one thing after another. And then we had a few unexpected surprises along the way, namely me getting sick and our basement flooding, to make things even more hectic. And now that it’s Thursday my whole being is yearning for rest.

Because Sunday is a work day for me, my normal day “off” is Friday. I put that in quotes because it is supposed to be my day off but more often than not I find myself finishing up a sermon, making calls, working on a disciple class, or any other number of various tasks. More often than not I find that my time off is used to catch up on the multitude of things still on my to-do list. It’s easy to justify using this time to work. After all, it’s all worthy stuff that needs to get done. It’s all a way of helping other people. All of it needs to happen at some point and since my husband is at work I tell myself I might as well get this done while he is busy instead of working on it when I could otherwise be spending time with him.

I think this is a common scenario in our day and age. Many people work way more than 40 hours a week. In a society where our value is determined by our productivity level, it is easy to guilt ourselves into working on weeks. We feel lazy if we actually take a day to rest and relax.

Yet one of the first things that God commands us to do is rest. I think it is striking that every living thing that I can think of needs some form of rest. Even plants lay dormant for a period of time. All of life needs rest to be renewed, to be re-created. God knew that we would need a day of rest and it would seem that God has made us partners in the creation process. God invites us to a time of rest and recreation so that we can be re-created, so we can be renewed and regenerated.

So tomorrow I will be having a day of much needed rest, a day without sermons or phone calls, a day without prep work for classes or any other ministry. What needs to happen so that you can also have a day or rest? What are the barriers to you experiencing a day of rest each week? And how can you work towards removing those barriers?

Housecleaning

My husband and I are getting ready to move from our house in Damascus to a smaller house here in Mount Airy. As we prepare for our move we have begun the arduous process of repacking most of our belongings. We began this process last weekend and as we looked around the house at the task before us, we realized there were still several boxes that had never been unpacked.

As an army brat who moved around a lot, I’m used to this process of packing, unpacking, and repacking. And with every moved we made in life, no matter how long or short our stay had been, there were always at least a few boxes that had never been unpacked from the previous move.

Those boxes are mostly filled with old papers or toys, well loved stuffed animals or the occasional trophy. But more than anything else those boxes are filled with tangible reminders of past memories. Some of them are happy memories, some of them remind me of how proud I felt after particular accomplishments, some of them remind me of painful times in my life. I have old report cards that remind me how proud I was to have earned an A in a particularly hard class. But I also have letters that my father wrote to me while he was stationed in Iraq back in the 90’s. The letters remind me of the painful time of my life and yet I can’t bring myself to throw them out. Those boxes are filled with the stuff of my memories, and I carry them with me, wherever I go.

But this past weekend, I realized that just like those boxes in my basement, most of us have unpacked emotional and spiritual boxes we carry around in life. So often we go through life, carrying with us the scars of our past. We carry the guilt of things we’ve done and things we left undone. We carry the anger and resentment caused by past wrongs and wounds. We carry the fear and anxiety that our previous experience has taught us to expect the worse possible outcome. We all have past baggage we carry with us wherever we go.

Sometimes we need to take some time to clean our houses and our hearts. We need to be intentional about inviting God and the Holy Spirit into our lives to help us remove the unnecessary baggage we carry around with us. God wants to help us clean out our hearts.

I encourage you to consider what needs to be removed from your heart? And what would you like God to place within you?

If you would like a scripture to help you think and pray about this question, read Ezekiel 36:25-28.

Identity Theft

We live in a world where Identity Theft is the newest kind of theft. With a few bits of personal information such as name, date of birth, and social security number, strangers can take on our identity. They can take money out of our accounts. They can open new accounts in our name and not pay the bills. They can even take out loans. In the electronic world we live in, they essentially become us.

This Identity Theft affects the way we live. It can takes years to sort out the purchases and accounts that we made from the fraudulent ones made in our name and it can be difficult to rebuild our credit scores. Since Identity Theft can be so difficult to correct after it has happened, most of us take a lot of precautions to prevent it. We shred anything with our name on it, we put passwords on all our accounts, and we guard our social security number as if our lives depended on it. Identity Theft is something most people are concerned about but perhaps it's not as new as we think it is.

Identity Theft has been something that people have struggled with through out the ages. When Israel was conquered by other empires, many of the Jews would be dragged into exile where the conquering empire would do whatever possible to erase their Jewish identity. The Jewish elite would often be taught the language of the conquering empire, they would be given new names, and they no longer had access to the temple in Jerusalem.

In order to preserve their Jewish identity even in exile, many Jews would keep strict food observance, as well as observance of the sabbath, even though they were not able to go to the temple or offer sacrifices. Additionally, many Jews would live in community with other Jews in exile. They would observe special holidays together and would continue to tell the stories of their corporate Jewish history. These historical stories became even more important to tell and retell. These stories reminded them of where they had come from and who's people they were. These stories reminded them of God's previous acts among them and that God is still God even outside of Israel.

It occurred to me recently that, like our forefathers in faith, Christians also struggle with Identity Theft. We are bombarded by a variety of language and cultural differences that are counter to our Christian identity. We are told over and over again that money is how we keep score, that looking out for ourselves, and getting even is the only way to succeed in life. We're told that demeaning language and harsh words are the only way to gain respect. We're told that sex, drugs, alcohol, and the latest electronic gadget will make us happy. With all the pressure coming at us from every angle, Christians struggle with how to live out their Christian Identity in today's world.

So what is it that we can do to combat this Identity theft? What can Christians do to support one another in living out their identity as God's children? In many ways, this is where being part of a Christian community comes in. Having other Christians around to encourage us, to share our corporate story, and to hold us accountable helps remind us of our identity as God's children and that we are called to live in a particular way.

There are many different ways that we can guard against our Christian Identity Theft. What are your thoughts? What can we do to combat this Identity Theft?

What are you going to do about it?

The following is a sermon I preach on Easter Sunday (March 23, 2008) on the scripture passage John 20:1-18:


Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen indeed!
What are you going to do about it?

I think that must have been the question of the day. What are we going to do about it? Imagine the disciples, after the death of Jesus. They’re all mourning the loss of their teacher, their friend. But more than that, they’re mourning the loss of all their hopes and expectations, all their dreams of what the future would look like with Jesus in their midst. And now, with the painful reality of Good Friday still fresh on their minds, they’re faced with the tomb, and the penetrating question, what are we going to do?
While the others are wondering what to do, Mary visits Jesus’ tomb. So early on Sunday morning Mary goes to the tomb. But instead of finding things as expected, Mary is confronted with an empty tomb. She runs to the other disciples and says “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have put him.” Her words and her urgency seem to be calling the other disciples to action and it seems she’s really asking, “What are we going to do about it?”

In response, Peter and the other disciple run to the tomb, and inspect it. They find the tomb empty, with only the grave cloths left behind. After inspecting the tomb and finding Jesus’ body missing, the disciples return home to ponder, what are we going to do? Scripture tells us the disciples still did not understand that Jesus would rise from the dead. In the midst of the chaos and the pain of their grief, the disciples still didn’t understand what was happening. It would seem there was nothing they could do at the tomb so they return home.

Yet, Mary remains at the tomb, consumed by her grief, still plagued by the question. Mary in her grief and her pain yearns to do something, anything. She wants to do something so badly that she wants to find the body of Jesus and bring it back, even if she has to do it by herself. Mary can’t bear for things to end this way.
When faced with the empty tomb, Mary and the disciples, think it’s the end of the story. The two disciples return home, and Mary remains at the tomb consumed with her grief. How could it have ended this way? Wasn’t it bad enough that they killed him? Did they have to steal his body too? The disciples had given up everything to follow Jesus and now the end of the road has come. The end has come and they’re left with nothing, not even the body of Jesus. And the question remains: what are we going to do?

Most of us get to this part of the story and think to ourselves, how could the disciples not know? How could they have spent all that time with Jesus, seen all the miracles, heard all the parables, shared all those meals with him, and still not know? how could they have gone through so much with Jesus, and still not know that an empty tomb wasn’t really the end? Jesus had repeatedly predicted his death and resurrection. How is it they could possibly think the empty tomb was the end?

We chastise the disciples for thinking the crucifixion was the end, and yet many of us act as if the resurrection is the end. We have the benefit of hindsight. We know that when Jesus talked about his death and resurrection that he meant he would be raised from the dead. And when we hear of the empty tomb, we automatically think of the resurrection. We know that God has triumphed over death and evil and as the story is read we wait with anticipation for Mary to realize the person she speaks with in the garden is not the gardener but the resurrected Jesus. We celebrate with the disciples as they learn that Jesus is risen! With triumphant joy we shout, Christ is risen! That’s the story most of us come to hear and most of us end the story there.

The disciples made the mistake of thinking of the crucifixion was the end, and most of us make the mistake of thinking the resurrection is the end. It’s such a common mistake that many people in our society believe that to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior is an ending. We act as if it's one more thing we can check off our list and then get on with the rest of life. But what we see in the gospel story is just the opposite. Belief in the risen Lord is not an ending but a beginning.

As soon as Mary recognizes Jesus, he sends her to the other disciples. Mary becomes the first person to proclaim the good news of the resurrection. Mary’s realization that Jesus has risen, is not the end of the story. Instead Jesus commissions her to go forth and share the good news. This story begins to answer the question, what are you going to do about it? This story marks the beginning of the disciples’ witness to the world. Likewise, Jesus’ appearances to the other disciples are also marked by him calling them to service. When Jesus appears to the disciples in the locked room, he sends them forth. When Jesus appears to Peter, he commands Peter three times to care for his sheep. Each appearance of the Risen Christ implicitly asks the question, what are you going to do about it? Each appearance of the Risen Christ involves the disciples being called to witness to the resurrection.
It is a witness that happens not just in word but in deed. The disciples are called to live their lives in such a way that everything they do points to the resurrection of Christ. They are called to love one another, to offer forgiveness, to share with one another, and to be a community in which the presence of God is made known. Once the disciples encounter the resurrected Jesus their whole purpose in life changes. They realize that Jesus really is the Son of God. They realized that the crucifixion wasn’t the end, and neither was the resurrection. Instead the resurrection was just the beginning of God’s work in the world and their new life in God.

The same is true for us. When we encounter the risen Lord we too are commissioned to proclaim the good news of the resurrection with our words, but more importantly with our lives. When we believe in Jesus, we find ourselves with a new purpose in life. We have received forgiveness for our sins and the times we have hurt one another. But we have also been called to extend that forgiveness to others. As a believer, we are called into community with other believers and we are called to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world. We are called to be a part of God’s work in the world. God is actively at work to bring healing and wholeness to the world and we are called to be a part of that process.

We, like the disciples, are asked the same question this morning, what are we going to do about it? This morning the Risen Christ calls us. This morning the Risen Christ calls us each by name. This Risen Christ calls us to proclaim the power of the resurrection and the work of God in the world. The story of Easter, and our own personal experiences of the risen Lord, are all beginnings that draw us deeper into relationship with God, and deeper into God's mission in the world.

This Easter morning is not too different from that first Easter morning. The question of the day is still, what are we going to do about it? Yes Jesus is risen. Yes, death has been conquered and our sins have been forgiven. But what are we going to do about it? Are we going to choose to live in the reality of the new life God has given us? Are we going to act as if nothing has changed?

Christ has risen!
Christ has risen indeed!
What are we going to do about it?