Alienation

Alienation

The state or experience of being isolated from a group or an activity to which one shoujld belong or in which one should be involved

 

28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture)"I thirst." 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch andlain held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said,"It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

John 19:28-30 ESV

Growing up in and being apart of the church, I have noticed that there is a segment of the Christian tradition that goes from Maunday Thursday, to Friday and asking Jesus if He is dead yet, completely skipping Holy Saturday and going straight to Resurrection Sunday. I think skipping Holy Saturday is allowing us valuable time to reflect on the importance of Gods sacrifice, realizing that God actually died and forcing us to actually be present with ourselves, each other and with God

The first value that Holy Saturday brings is that without Gods sacrifice, we would still be dead in our sins. Yes I know that the resurrection is the completion of Gods work and it as weird as it may sound, Jesus resurrection killed death. The death of sin, destruction and death itself can not be made possible without Christ actual Christ death on the cross. Just as the Apostle Paul states in Romans 5 that just as death entered through one man in Adam, life eternal will enter through one man in Jesus. Our sin and disobedience needed to be atoned for if we ever wanted to have our relationship restored with God.

Sin separates us from God because God is Holy and that His perfection does not allow sin or disobedience to stand in His presence. Sin and holiness are like oil and water, they are essentially oil and water, they do not and can not mix. There are only two ways that sin can be dealt with. The first one is judgement which leads to condemnation and death. The second way is for forgiveness and for our relationship to be made right. The only way forgiveness is made possible is a perfect sacrifice to be made. This means that something or some one that is perfect takes our punishment for our disobedience. In the Old Testament, this was a lamb that was without blemish. Jesus is the only person that fits the perfect sacrifice to end all sacrifices because He was Gods only Son and He was sinless. Our sin demands a response and Jesus took the death and banishment that was rightly ours and placed it on Himself so that we may have eternal life.

The second value of Holy Saturday is that God actually died and is sitting in the grave. I think we often over skip this because it might make us uncomfortable that the Creator of the Universe is sitting in the grave and all hope is lost. This is where I think alienation really comes in. How many times in our lives where we thought that God was actually dead or at least not responding to us and our prayer time has become so stale that we just quit doing it. Or how about us praying for cancer or any other medical issue to be healed and it never was. When we feel like we have been alienated by God, we think that He does not exist, or does not have the power to intervene. Or we come to the conclusion that God is a thug who gets His jollies off of seeing His creation suffer. No matter how hard we demand answers from God, we feel either that He has either abandoned or alienated us and we feel hopeless, angry, frustrated, depressed, or any other number of emotions. The beauty of Holy Saturday is that we are given the opportunity to wrestle with these feelings and emotions. We can always run away or minimize them, but Holy Saturday is calling us to wrestle with God and to ask ourselves the question of is God going to stay dead. The Old Testament is littered with promises that God will not only be put to death, but also rise again (Isaiah 25:8, 53:5 Job 19:25)

The third value of Holy Saturday is it forces us to be present. One of the things I constantly observe in the break room at work is that there can be a group of people sitting at a table not saying a word because they are all on their phones. I am guilty of this as anyone and are we really mortgaging the gifts of being present in the here and now for something that we really can not feel, touch and for those wants and emotions that fleeting. When we are not physically and emotionally available in the present we are saying that ourselves and others do not have value or our smart phones have a greater value than those who we are sitting with. Jesus tells us to stay focused on today because tomorrow has its own issues. This does not mean we should not be prepared, but it is focusing what is important for today and this will help set up tomorrow when it comes. Just a reminder, we are not guaranteed our next breath, so getting worked up about tomorrow is pointless. The chances of an error is greater is when the baseball player thinks about throwing the ball to first base before they even have the ball in their glove. So lets stay focused on what is important and what is in front of us before we move on.

I will close with this. I was did an internship at a hospital with the Spiritual Care team and I was talking with a patient who was in long term rehab and he received the news that his son had died and he could not make it to the funeral. I was not completely present with the patient and I was focused on his issues and I was not letting him grieve the death of his son and not being able to go to the funeral. Being present, even in the difficult times when it is the hardest allows us to understand, hear and to be heard. Here are some questions worth pondering

How often in difficult times, are we like the disciples and go to what we know instead of trusting Gods promises?

What are those areas that need our attention and presence, that we either skip or gloss over?

What is the most challenging thing to being present?

Miracles

MIRACLE

An extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs

20 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well." 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said,"Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well

Matthew 9:20-22 ESV

As I was taking one of my seminary classes, the professor asked a profound question, which was "if God could heal one thing in your life, what would it be?" As I thought on this question, the superficial answers jumped at me first such as good health, winning the lottery, and Minnesota’s four major sports teams winning their perspective championships made the list. As I thought of this question more, some of the more deeper issues, desires, pains and regrets surfaced and asking God to heal at least one of them would be great, but it would have to be done under two conditions. The first one is that it needed to be done instantly and the second requirement, is that it would have to be how I wanted it fixed. Here are some observations that I have wrestled with miracles and healings

My first observation with miracles is that it always makes us question and define the natural and the supernatural. According to CS Lewis, when God performs miracles, He stays within the natural law that He created. Natural law are the rules that govern the universe, such as gravity, the earth going around the sun, and such things as centripetal force. Super natural law is where God steps in and does whatever He sees fits. Lewis is arguing that God does not break His own rules when performing a miracle. When God created the earth, He set it up within certain parameters. Just like rules for playing a particular sport. In order for a certain game to be called baseball, it has to be played by certain rules and certain equipment. That is the same with the universe, there are certain rules that God set up and that He abides by those rules. So the big question is that, is something truly miracle if it stays within the natural order of things, and plays by certain rules. I believe that God does limit Himself and works within the rules He created, but I also question of different stories where God made the sun stand still for the Israelites so they could win the battle. This is something I do not have a complete answer yet for.

My second observation on miracles is that there is always desperation. It is having our backs against the wall with no where else to turn. God is going to have to intervene because if He doesn’t, death and despair are already kicking down the front door and coming in to ruin us and everything we hold dear. We have said our prayers, fasted, and did everything humanly possible and the only way our front door is going to be spared, is if God somehow intervenes. I will be honest, this is a really scary place to be, because it really leaves us vulnerable and it might even leave scars, but God comes in on the white horse and saves the day. Our enemies are put back into their place and we walk off holding our heads and arms up high praising God and His goodness. These type of miracle stories are usually when people are down to their last dollar and there is still that one bill to pay. They go out and check the mail and there is money in the exact amount for the last bill of the month, or the bag of groceries are delivered to a family in need. Some of the greatest miracles are when we go to the doctors office and receive the news that either they are or a loved one is completely healed and the doctors are left speechless. I am not trying to be cynical and make light of these stories, because they are really cool stories and it shows Gods goodness and love for His creation, but what happens when God does not pull through and intervenes. What is our response then to a God that is all powerful and yet chooses not to act. We have all been there, where we and our army of praying warriors have prayed, fasted, done everything possible, but we are or someone we love is still stuck in the same bad relationship with no way of getting out, medical diagnosis that is scary and that probably will be our demise, or in a job that we absolutely despise. Here are some different directions where we can go and maybe even I have been.

The first direction we can go is that we actually take Job’s wife’s advice and we curse God and die. We develop this idea that God does not care so why should we. Taking the eternity conversation out for a minute, we might think that death and whatever is next, if anything at all still has to be better than this. At least we do not have to deal with questionable relationships, a bad medical diagnosis, or a job that we despise. We want to call up Scotty from Star Trek so he can beam us out of here and to whatever is next. How often does depression, anxiety, loneliness, self deprivation , and even narcism accompany the thoughts of wanting to check out and never come back. Maybe it is our way of sticking it to someone (yes even God) or a group of people, or even thinking that the world is better without us. If you ever get to this point, reach out to someone you trust for help.  If anything else, here is the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1.800.273.8255

The second direction we can take is we take our ball and go home. It comes with the idea that if God is really all powerful and all knowing, He would of acted on my behalf and since He didn’t, I am forgetting God and doing it on my own. At least I have control over what happens, and I am not putting my faith and trust in some divine being that either can not or will not act on my behalf. This mantra, we tend to think that we sleep better at night and have a cleaner conscience because we have done everything we can. Life may not be perfect, but at least we can tell people we do not like where to go and pursue things that we think makes us happy and content. We try and become the master of our own destiny and we rely on karma to work things out.

That third direction we often take is that we become that jaded Christian. We still follow God, admittedly with some apprehension, but we are still there. Most of the time we are just going through the motions while saying and doing the right things. We have been indoctrinated enough in church lingo and culture where we know how to act and behave. In essence we are just going through the motions because we are waiting for God to respond to our demands and questions and yet He is still silent. We have a hard time trusting, God, those connected to God, and probably people in general, because we have felt we have not been heard and even screwed over by God or His people and there is no explanation or payment of said actions. Knowing from personal experience, this is the most dangerous place to be because we can often be consumed by hate, distrust, anger, resentment and even apathy. We can put on a good face, but in the end, we put up walls to protect our fractured faith and ego. These things will catch up with us and we will just become bitter old people who are unforgiving and are suspicious of everyone and everything.

The fourth direction is the most difficult one and makes the least sense. The direction is that we still place God on His throne and submit to His authority and Lordship. This is not always easy, nor does it seem very pragmatic at times. God calls us to have faith and to step out, but I think there are times where a blind faith is detrimental to our relationship with God and with people. When we follow the phrase "God said, it, I believe it, and that settles it," is dangerous. God does call us to walk in faith, but He also calls us to use our brains. I believe that God is big enough to handle our complaining, anger and even our rage, but at the end of the day after we have said our peace, do we actually follow God or do we do our own thing? This is where faith and trust meet and where rubber hits the road and where we walk in obedience. Sometimes the greatest miracle is trusting God by reaching out in faith and putting one foot in front of the other. So here are some questions to ponder:

Can it really be a miracle if it does not break the law of the universe?

What is our response to God when a miracle does not happen?

Do we trust the most ourselves, others, or God?

Do we allow God to work in our lives or do we try and take control?

is Your Faith Vain

Vain

Having or showing an excessively high opinion of ones appearance or worth

We all know someone who cares more about the image that is being betrayed than the content of their character. They spend more time crafting and portraying a particular message that they come off as either shallow or narcissistic people. Jesus calls these people a bunch of white washed tombs because even though they make look good on the outside, because not only are they dead on the inside, but they stink, especially when their backs are up against the wall.  The title song to the vain soundtrack would Carly Simon’s song You’re So Vain and how often do we think the love song is actually about us?

1. Now I would remind you, brothers,of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2. and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

I Corinthians 15:1-8 ESV

     In this passage the Apostle Paul is hammering home an essential truth and this truth is that we should not believe in vain. So my question to all of us is, what does it mean to believe in vain? So here is what I think Paul was getting at, and the first observation is that believing in vain actually is distorting the truth. The Apostle Paul reminds us that he preached us the truth and the hearers of that word received it. Believing in vain actually is taking the truth that we hear and know, and we distort it for our own personal gain or for what makes us feel warm and fuzzy. We essentially turn into the Beauty and the Beast character Gaston and where we think that we are Gods gift to everyone and we start to believe our own hype. When we start believing our own hype, we tend to think the world and God revolves around us and that we either are Gods only or biggest voice. When we go down this path, we become a narcissist who lacks any sort of accountability.

     The second idea that Paul is getting at is that when we believe in vain, our works out ways Gods grace. We try and earn our way into heaven by doing and or saying certain things and in essence this is works righteousness. At best we minimize Gods grace because we don’t really need it because we can just earn our way into heaven. This means that we are all about following rules and we limit the relationship with God and others. I think we do this is because relationships are messy and why do messy when we can just follow a strict order of rules and regulations. This faith is more about our head and not so much heart.

    Another way we can believe in vain is the idea that we either limit the power or flat out deny that the resurrection ever happen. There were several groups at the time of this letter including the Saducees that did not believe in the resurrection. This is why Paul goes on the defense explaining the resurrection and how Jesus showed Himself to His disciples and five hundred people after His resurrection. Jesus even appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus. A dead person, whether its Jesus or anyone else really can not appear Himself unless they are resurrected. The other aspect of this is that, if there is no resurrection, the Christian faith is pointless. The lynch pin to the Christian faith is the death and resurrection of Jesus, and if He did not do this, Christianity does not exist.

    Here is the truth about sin, death and resurrection in relationship to Christianity. Because of our sin, we can not be in relationship with God, because God very character and nature prevents Him from being in contact with sin. The only way our relationship can be restored is through a sacrifice. The only two requirements is that the sacrifice is perfect and blameless. Jesus is the only one that meets this requirements. If there was another way for Jesus to restore our relationship with God, it would of been done. If Jesus would of just died, our sin would of been take care of, but victory over sin still would be an issue. This is why there needed to be a death and a resurrection. Jesus death takes care of our sin issue, and His resurrection gives Him victory over death. This means that our relationship can be restored with God and that eternity in heaven is a possibility. So lets finish up with some questions to ponder throughout our day and week?

Are there certain beliefs or actions that makes my faith about me?

What are those actions, thoughts or words we use to prevent healthy vulnerability and that leave us comfortably numb?

Are there any ways where we try to earn our way into heaven or earn the favor of God or others?

Sacred Spaces



According to google, the definition of a sacred space is a place that focuses attention on the forms objects, and actions in it and reveals them as bearers of religious meaning.  Such sacred places are mosque, temples or churches.  These buildings hold different icons that are important to their faith and this is often where they go to meet and even interact with the Holy.  One of the images that comes to my mind is the famous painting of Gods finger reaching down and connecting with Adam's finger.  As I have talked with people over the years, I have learned that sacred spaces go beyond places of worship.  Whether it is because they experience Gods grace a particular place and time, or had some sort of meaningful event or conversation in said place, or it is just a place to put things back in order.  I think sacred spaces are evolving to not only include particular buildings that are designed for worship to it being any place that we can meet the Holy.  So it could be anything from a local park, bar, to even fishing on a lake or hunting in the woods. I think it is essential to have these places where we can be reminded what is important and for it to be a time to connect with God and or others.  So here is one of my sacred places.

  This picture is taken from Canal Park on the western edge of Lake Superior.  This is probably one of my favorite sacred places, especially when I am listening to Bob Uecker call Milwaukee Brewers baseball games.  Watching the freighters come and go with their cargo is another reason that draws me to this place along with people watching.  This is also one of my places where I come to center myself and to put my life in order.  In essence this is where I have my come to Jesus meetings.  One of the things that I am consistently reminded of is the power of the lake.  It has enough power to move 1,000 foot freighters loaded with cargo to the next destination, and also has enough power to cause millions dollars worth of damage and change the weather on a dime if the wind is right. 

 

 

  So here are a couple of questions for us to ponder.  The first one is that do you have a sacred place to recharge, reconnect, refuel, and if not, why?  The second question is, do you  use it and if not, why? My third question is what does your sacred space say about how you view yourself and how you view God? The last question is that do you use your sacred space to connect with God or to become the master of your own destiny?

 

  I will leave you with these last two thoughts.  When we strive to become the master of our own destiny, this is usually where we get into trouble.  How often when we try and take control of situations and try to impose our own will, it rarely over goes well.  The my last thought is that sacred space and safe spaces are usually two different things.  I think there are times where we need a safe space and it can be a holy place, but sacred spaces and activities forces us to look at ourselves, ask and be asked tough questions and to grow.  Sacred spaces and moments in time gives us the opportunity to be introspective, to grow and mature.  Its a place for us to connect with the Creator of the Universe and for Him to love on us and to speak truth into our lives and draw us closer to Him.  In essence sacred spaces takes us of our throne and puts God back in His rightful place

Good or Great Choices

  As I was trying to fall of sleep the other night, I was dwelling on some advice that I often receive from my favorite baristas of don't fall, don't do drugs, don't get lost and make smart choices.  I am all for this advice, but if it leads to us living a sheltered life, something is not right.  Maybe with this advice along with an Aerosmith song title of Living on the Edge we can spice up our life and make life a little more interesting.

    The first one idea is that non of us like to fall, because it could make us look like a fool or that we hurt something and it will end up with expensive doctor bills.  As I  am consistently reminded that when we take risk in life we often are going to fall, skin our knees and get some bumps and bruises along the way.  Are we avoiding taking life's risk because we are afraid of the skinned knees and the bruises that we could get.  If we are unwilling to take a risk, why are we getting out of bed.  Admittedly, when we take a risk, there are people who are willing to call us crazy for attempting great or that is out of our comfort zone.  The risk we are willing to take and what we are willing to fail at, will it make a difference in the here and now and for eternity.  Or does this risk make us YouTube famous and we will be forgotten about in fifteen minutes.  A prime example is Henry Ford, if he didn't take a gigantic risk, the Ford Motor Company would not be what it is today, and the assembly line would have taken even longer to be revolutionized.  Just remember not all risk should be taken.  I shouldn't go jump off the ledge of the Grand Canyon without a parachute and expect to live to tell about it.  Discernment is key to deciding what are good risk to take and bad risk to leave alone. Do we have thick enough skin for when we are laughed and our motives questioned to keep on moving. The last time I checked we are all going to get wounded in this life and develop scars.  Are those scars because of risk and adventure we learn something from, or is it from sitting on the sideline and we have the scars of pain and regret. 

   The second idea is the idea is that we shouldn't do drugs.  I know here in American our view on drugs, whether prescribed or others have changed, which is a lengthy conversation that can be held at another time and preferably in person.  What I will say is this, what are those things that we turn too to help us check out or avoid situations.  In my book that is a better definition of drugs/addiction is what is that one that one thing you can not live without and you often feel naked when you are not doing it.  What is that one thing that if you don't have or not doing on a regular basis causes you to become discomfort able and puts your life into chaos.  I find it interesting for the people who quit smoking, often gain weight.  They are trading the addiction of the nicotine and emphysema for food, weight gain and probably diabetes.  When we get rid of an addiction, we have to realize that we are creating a vacuum and we need to fill it with something that is good, healthy and constructive.  So instead of saying don't do drugs, we should find those things that has a higher value in our life than it should (smart phones, social media, sports, books or even certain relationships) and work on either limiting or even getting rid of said things.

   The third concept is that we should not get lost. I have done enough traveling to know that I am directionally challenged and I get lost easily.  This may have prolonged a trip or two, but at at least I got to see some pretty landscapes and just maybe I was living by the philosophy of not all who wonder are lost.  So here is my question for all of us, do we know where we are going or are we taking life as it comes.  There is the philosophy that those who do not know where they are going might not get where they want to end up.  Are we taking inventory of our goals and making sure that we are doing things to meet those goals.  If a ship going across the ocean from NYC to London, and it is one or two degrees off its direction, the ship will end up anywhere but London.  This is where we need to make sure our compass is true. Is what keeps us grounded and on the straight and narrow true, or does our does it need to be recalibrated.  We also need to reevaluate our goals from time to time to see if we are meeting them and if not, reevaluating and adjusting them.  We all have desires, wants and aspirations, the question is that do we put in the goals to meet them or do we which that they just happen magically.  I can dream about losing weight or writing a book, but if I don't put in some tangible goals and work to meet them, that book isn't going to get written or weight will be lost. So being lost is more than just being in an unknown location, but it is not having any direction.

   How often the choices we make not the brightest.  I know I have made my fair share of mistakes and they become pointless when I don't learn anything from them.  When we make choices, we can either do nothing, play it safe or take risk.  There was a pastor who was leading a missions trip to Africa and someone told him to be safe.  His response was that God did call him not do anything stupid, but God didn't call him to be safe.  This is where discernment comes in because discernment always should tell us what is a good choice and what is a stupid one no matter how risky it may be.  I think there are times when called calls at least me to take risk to get outside of my comfort zone. There are decisions and choices that seem stupid to people but makes perfect sense to God.  Just remember, choices not only have consequences, but they often cost us something, and sometimes it comes with a really big price tag.  Are we willing to pay that price tag to make the decision or go down the path that we know we should.  Or are we willing to play it safe and live a life of mediocrity.  The question is who are we listening to when we make our choices, are we listening to ourselves, others or God. There is nothing wrong with asking advice from people who are mature and have that gift of discernment, but we really should be seeking God first.  I will walk off with this as a challenge and good advice from the Bible, is what we are seeking worth finding and are we willing to give everything we have to seek it. Also, where our treasure, our heart will be there also.