Thursday, January 26, 2017

Me First?




America first!  Oklahoma first!  Tulsa first!  Me first!   Self-interest seems to be the rule of the day.  I find this deeply troubling.  Of course, this attitude is nothing new.  Humans have always had a propensity for putting their own interests above those of others.  Call it survival instinct.  It has rarely ended well.   But, altruism has never held a majority position among humankind.  It seems so unwise.  Counter-productive.  Pointless.   The position of losers and fools.

And yet, Jesus went to a cross… and invited us to deny ourselves, pick up our crosses and follow.  (Mark 8:34)

The Apostle Paul writes, “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others” to a community suffering persecution from without and division within.  He tells them that this is the mind of Christ who humbled himself and took on the form of a servant.  (Philippians 2)

It is clear, I think, that putting ourselves first above all others is not a New Testament teaching.   It certainly was not the way Jesus did business.

The Beatitudes (“Blesseds”) from Matthew 5 are a litany of those the world calls  losers and fools, and of those who willingly put their self-interest aside to walk in the way of Christ-like servanthood.  The poor in spirit, the bereaved, the meek, those who yearn for what is right and just have been stripped down by the world.  The merciful, the pure in heart, and the peacemakers live for the sake of others;  building bridges of reconciliation, compassion and healing in a broken world.

People of faith!  We must work together on behalf of those who have been crushed by hatred, violence and cruelty, those who have lost much and suffered more, those who the world considers weak and worthless, and the millions of people around the world who are crying out for help and healing. 

We must stand for mercy, not rejection. 
We must overcome hate with love, not judgement. 
We must work for peace with justice, not further bloodshed and violence. 

We need to give sanctuary to those wandering homeless upon the earth.  
We must embrace all those made in the image of a God who revels in diversity. 
We must love our enemies and do everything we can to make them our friends.   
We may be called fools for trying but, would our Lord Jesus encourage us to do any less?

Jesus declares those “blessed” who the people of his day called “cursed.”  We must do the same.

We cannot slam doors in people’s faces.  We simply cannot.  Instead, we need to see Christ in their eyes, and serve them in Jesus’ name any way we can.

It cannot be “me first.”  God calls us to so much more.

Peace,
Bishop Mike
  
Thank-you for reading.

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Why Church?




I spend almost every day of my life contemplating the decline of the mainline churches in the United States and thinking about how we might turn around this trend.  This decline is really nothing new.  The downward trend began in the mid-1960s.   In the face of this ongoing decline, many congregations act more like religious social clubs for the like-minded than centers for the proclamation of the Gospel.   Often, congregations pine for times gone by, are gripped by a paralyzing fear of the future and become combative about protecting the few crumbs that are left.   This behavior deeply saddens me, and I am pretty sure it doesn’t make God smile.

Many have written, pontificated and mused upon the reasons for this decline.  Many others have published articles and books with formulas and programs and adaptive approaches for changing the direction of the decline.  I have read many of them.  I’ve written a few words on the subject myself.   Sure, a few churches flourish, thrive and grow…  but their methods don’t seem to translate easily.  Often, their leaders motivate through a personal charisma that is hard to duplicate. 

I have said, more than once, that if the solution to the decline of the church was simple, someone would have figured it out a long time ago.   But, maybe the truth is simpler than we think.

In Matthew 4, Jesus invites Peter, Andrew, James and John to follow him to “fish for people.”  He invites them to join him in casting the net of God’s love and grace far and wide.  But this fishing for people is not just about gathering people into church buildings.  It’s not about putting “butts in the pews” and “bucks in the offering plates.”   (If that’s our goal, is it any wonder why people don’t come?)

NO.

Fishing for people is about continuing the work and ministry of Jesus.  And what is that work?  The last line of this week’s lesson sums it up:  “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.”  (4:21).

That’s it.  That’s what “The Church” is supposed to be about:

1.  Proclaiming the Reign of God.
2.  Bringing healing and wholeness to all people.

Both are incendiary.  Both mean engaging the “powers and principalities” of the world (Ephesians 6:12).  Both mean working for reconciliation in the midst of a world filled with divisiveness, brokenness, prejudice, bigotry and hate. (2 Corinthians 5:18)  Both mean casting the net of God’s love so wide that it truly encompasses everyone – yes, even those the world says we should hate, shun or reject.  Even those who might make us feel uncomfortable and yes, even those who might change us.

Perhaps if we stopped bickering over all the stupid, little things that divide us and started concentrating on  Jesus’ work of proclaiming the Reign of God (and living as if God truly did reign in our lives and in our world) and being forces for reconciliation and healing in the world…  people would be drawn to join us.   I am convinced that they would.

Peace,
Bishop Mike

Thanks for reading.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Lost in Translation




On a visit to the small Mayan village of El Bongo in Guatemala I learned an important lesson in translation.  Most of the people in that community only spoke Quiche, their Mayan language.  A few knew Spanish.  None of them knew English.  I, on the other hand, only spoke English.  I didn’t know much Spanish and not a word of Quiche.  The community was concerned about rebuilding their church, which had been severely damaged by an earthquake.  Not wanting to make promises I couldn’t keep, I told them that we “might” be able to help rebuild the church.  When I visited again the next summer, the people were upset because we hadn’t kept our promises.  I discovered, much to my chagrin,  that there is no word for “might” in Quiche.  When my words were translated from English to Spanish to Quiche, the “might” disappeared.  I understood why they were upset!

I have always found it interesting that John felt it important to translate “Rabbi,” “Messiah,” and “Cephas” for the readers of his Gospel.  Written in Greek for Greek readers, he knew they would not understand the Hebrew/Aramaic terms, to say nothing of their deeper meanings for the Jewish people.   I find it even more interesting that these translation notes are found in a passage that is primarily about the proclamation of the Gospel and inviting others to “come and see” who this “Jesus” (which translated means, “God Saves”) is for them and for the world.  The Gospel writer wanted to make sure that nothing was lost in translation.

Translation is important.  I think it is especially important in a culture where, increasingly, people (even people within the church!) don’t know the basic stories of the scriptures.  Translation is absolutely necessary in a culture where, increasingly, theological concepts and ideas familiar to those within the Christian community make about as much sense as “might” meant to the people of El Bongo.

A few years ago, I was visiting a congregation in the Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod, and during the “Question and Response” time following worship, a man asked me to state the core message of Lutheran Christianity.  “Lutherans insist on the radical, free gift of Grace that is ours through Jesus Christ.”  I said.  

“’Grace is a church word.”  The man responded.  “How would you say that in English?”   He was looking for a translation.

I thought about it for a moment.  “I think I would say, ‘God loves you.  Period.’”

He smiled.  “Now that, I understand!”

Yes, God loves you.  Period.  Just as you are.  Right here.  Right now.   I believe that with all my heart.  But what does that mean?  (Another good Lutheran question.)   With Jesus, I would say, “come and see.”   (Which, translated, means, “it will take more than your whole lifetime to figure it out.”)

Peace,
Bishop Mike

Thanks for reading!