Dealing with Temptation

In thinking about this week's text from Luke of Jesus' temptations in the wilderness I'm reminded of some of my favorite temptations...foood.

In fact, I just had a nice conversation with one of our church's bulletin folders about how my biggest dietary no-no that is so hard to resist is late-night snacking. You know, I'll get to thinking that a handful of Hershey's kisses wouldn't be too bad. But then half an hour later I wonder if a handful of chex-mix wouldn't balance out all of that sweet of the previous handful with a little saltiness. And then before you know it I've found something that's somewhere between the sugary, chocolaty, sweetness and the crunchy saltiness to finish off the night of snacking and before you know it I've consumed just as many calories as dinner without any of the nutritional value.

And then I'm reminded of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness and the millions and billions of people around the globe who know true hunger after days and weeks without proper nutrients. And when I remember such things I am ashamed. I am also reminded how easily we can excuse away our temptations. You know, thinking things like, "who is it going to hurt if I have one more handful of whatever?"

And its not that there's anything wrong with snacking or being grateful for the overwhelming abundance with which we live in throughout our comfortable middle American lives, but we should pause once in a while and reflect on what it means to have so much when the rest of the world has so little. And if we can get to that point where we really get it; where we really see how fortunate we really are; might we not be led to think of some of our choices as giving in to temptation?

Somewhere along these lines I'm reminded of some of the words that precede that glorious Psalm of deliverance, Psalm 23. They are words that so few of us have ever experienced in our abundant lives, but they are words that hopefully will make us pause as we remember Jesus' temptations in the wilderness as well as our own temptations in a land of anything but wilderness, a land flowing with Costco, Supermarkets, and fast food chains:

For dogs are all around me; a company of evildoers encircles me. My hands and feet have shriveled; I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me; they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots. (Psalm 22:16-18)

As you ponder these words, may you thank God for all you have been given and think about what it might mean to live more responsibly with temptation.

Trust in God No Matter What

Today is the second day of Lent. How are you doing with your Lenten disciplines, you know, those things you've chosen to give up or those practices you've chosen to take on for the forty days of Lent? As for me, I'm hoping to read the daily lectionary, dedicate more time to daily prayer and read the Mission Yearbook, along with blogging.

In today's lectionary reading from the prophet Habakuk, we find these words:

Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will exult in the God of my salvation. (3:17-18)

As I read those words and as I read the Mission Yearbook's description of a Presbyterian Mission school in a war-torn section of Ethiopia where children make music out of discarded oil tins from UN refugee camps and practice art by sculpting giraffes and elephants out of mud, I was struck by how many people are able to praise God and participate in God's creative love even while living far removed from the comfortable lives of just about anyone who might be able to access and read this blog.

And so when I think about maintaining daily disciplines like reading scripture, dedicating myself to prayer and recording my thoughts online it is with a sense of deep gratitude and humbleness, for there are billions of my fellow brothers and sisters whose lives are far more complicated and desolate whose dedication to God is inspiring.

May you in your efforts at observing daily Lenten disciplines be strengthened in your journey with the knowledge that no matter what, God walks by our side.

Anticipation or Relief

Today is the fourth Sunday in Advent and with it a question came to mind: are you feeling a growing sense of anticipation of celebrating the birth of Jesus or anticipating relief that in a few days life will return to normal? Maybe you hadn't thought about that before, how as we get closer to Christmas there is at the same time, for people of faith both a growing sense of the culmination of so much preparation for us to join in celebrating while at the same time for so many Christmas afternoon or evening will bring a sigh of relief that all of the holiday expectations can be put away with the decorations until next year.

Maybe I'm just being a little too cynical this morning, and that's o.k. I guess. It's just that my heart goes out to so many who are working like mad to make their celebrations grand when really the best we can do is give thanks for God's love and for those God has given us. Perhaps our Pilgrim and Puritan forebears were right in de-emphasizing this holy day in favor of others; because if we can't keep straight what it is we are to be about in these next few days as well as throughout the rest of the year then maybe we really have lost our way.

I don't know. Maybe I sometimes wish that I too could have some of the wonder of childhood back. Watching Eric's eyes grow wide the closer we get and seeing him really live faith, albeit faith in Santa, is amazing to behold. Granted, there's nothing all that bad about his faith in Santa, after all his faith in Jesus is stronger and it seems to me that what he believes of Santa is generosity, love, and many other gifts that God bestows upon us. So maybe that's how I'll answer my own question, that is, I'll join with Eric in his childhood faith in Santa and allow my anticipation to build throughout the next week but I will also breathe a sigh of relief as December turns to January that my little boy's faith is still in tact.

City Lights

Today's Gospel is John 3:16-21 and in that passage so well known to so many is a word about what the judgment is to be:

And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.

That the judgment is light made me think about all the lights that go up all over town at this time of year.

And that made me think about all the heart rending rhetoric in December about how people don't remember "the reason for the season." I myself have been guilty of this too and maybe the real problem is that we don't look around and see just how many people understand the power of the light. I mean there are hundreds of homes just in our small city that are all decked out with lights of many colors and designs. Now I'm sure that some might say that has nothing to do with Christ or Christianity. But what about God's ability to use anything for the good?

Maybe God is using all those decked out homes to remind people of the power of light over dark. Perhaps when we see those holiday lights our hearts might just light up and we can see things in a new way. Couldn't it be that all those festive lights turn us toward forgiveness, love, joy, hope and all things blessed by God?

Or it could be that I'm just plain old silly in reading too much into all the lights around town. But then again, why not?

The Challenge of Keeping Awake

Personally that's a rather ironic titled blog for me this December since I've been having rather a lot of trouble lately getting to sleep and staying asleep. Between the regular demands of the church and family there is the added nagging thought out on the horizon of my calendar of the impending Judicial Action of Kendall Presbytery slated for early January where I will be chairman of the Prosecuting Committee representing the presbytery against one of our minister members. Needless to say it is something that keeps me up at night or jumps into my thoughts when I awake at the small hours of the night.

But as I read the daily lectionary passages for today: from the Psalms through the prophet Zechariah to Revelation and onto the gospel of Matthew they were all about keeping awake for something big coming, for the coming of the Lord. Now for most of us the December crush has probably gotten our Scrooge going pretty good or at least we're having to constantly remind ourselves, even if we're the most devout Christian, what the reason for the season is.

And that's where this "challenge of keeping awake" stuff comes in. I mean, even for the devout, isn't it difficult to keep focused on Jesus? When there are so many expectations placed on us at this time of year how do we keep our focus where it belongs? What, with sales, and wish lists, and bell ringers, and travel plans, and various tasks to complete before midnight on the 24th even if we're engaged in "religious" activities it can be challenging to say the least to keep our focus on Jesus.

Knowing that and feeling it all too often lately is one reason why I've been starting each day with the daily lectionary. Yes, I'm doing so in part to work on an Advent Blog. But I'm also finding that along the way of starting the day with the daily lectionary that my focus, if just for a few minutes is on something other than the pressing demands that may or may not have anything to do with God's will or my relationship with Jesus. The ancient-present words of the Old and New Testaments push me to think about how God is indeed working in my life and at the same time how far I can get from having God in my life.

So, if you have access to a computer I wholeheartedly encourage you all to spend five to ten minutes a day reading the daily lectionary and listening for how God is speaking to you today.

A Revelation

One of the big perennial questions or concerns of new leaders in the church is prayer. Not feeling comfortable praying out loud or more likely, not really knowing what to say is a fear very common in church leaders who are asked to pray. I'm not really sure where this fear comes from. It could be that pastors who are expected to develop a prayer-life over many years of preparation for ministry and throughout our various calls simply look way more comfortable than we really are. Or it could be that those who are less than comfortable praying aloud have seen one too many professional pray-ers and believe that they, themselves, come up short.

But when we turn to the Bible and see snippets of prayer or worship in the Scriptures themselves what is often astonishing to me is how simple and God centered prayer is. Gone are the long-winded prayers that last an eternity, the poetically articulate prayers of note are somewhat missing and in their place what is it that we see?

Well, for instance, take verse eight of chapter four in John of Patmos' Revelation. After John describes the heavenly thrown room of God and the various creatures that inhabit the eternal presence of God almighty we are given a hearing of what the eternal song of praise is when John writes:

"Day and night without ceasing they sing, 'Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.'"

It really is beautiful in it's simplicity isn't it? It may not be what many people have in mind when they think about prayer, especially if prayer is about asking. But if prayer is about forming our relationship with, to, and for God, then what better prayer than one praising God?

As you continue to move along the path of Advent that culminates in our celebrations of the birth of the One "who was and is and is to come" may your prayer life be just as filled with prayers of praise to God for being God as much as you prayer by asking. For when you do so, I believe you will begin to see how many of your prayers God is already answering.

Be Silent

Those two simple words "be silent" taken from the thirteenth verse of chapter two from the prophet Zechariah are words that we all would be better off heeding at this time of year or any other for that matter. After all, how often do we sit in silence waiting on the voice of the Lord? How willing are we to let the Spirit speak to us and not just ramble on about our needs, wants, and desires? For how many people is prayer nothing more than a shopping list or wish list?

The fuller context of these two words in the particular passage from Zechariah follow a passage about the return from the Babylonian Exile. It is a passage filled with hope and joy and expectation. It is a passage filled with action words like Up!, Escape, Sing, and Rejoice; of many nations, of many people gathering before the Lord in Jerusalem once again. And then we read the words:

Be silent, all people, before the LORD; for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

Do you have the time to listen? How will you be silent before the Lord? Are you prepared for the coming of Him who has roused himself? Please, I implore you, take some quiet time today to be silent and listen for the coming of the Lord!