Creativity

There move the ships, and there is that Leviathan,

which you have made for the sport of it. Psalm 104:27

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think God is capricious.  But there is that Leviathan, which the Psalmist accuses God of “making for the sport of it.” Perhaps “the sport of it” might be better translated as “for its whimsy.”

So much of God’s creativity is whimsical.  Think of baby lemurs, milkweed pods, and the Northern Lights. Or perhaps peacocks, baby giggles, and rainbows. Or giraffes – what was God thinking when God created giraffes? The list goes on and on. Each are gifts from God for us to delight in. Not to dominate. Not to kill. Not to exploit. To delight in.

God takes delight in us when we enjoy those things God has created for the sport of it.

Enjoy. Enjoy them all. 

Truth and Lies

Jesus said, “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.”  John 14: 18-19
 

 

               
 

That’s a promise.  I am grateful that God's promises to us are true. When God promises that he will never leave us or forsake us, when Jesus promises us that he will not leave us orphaned, we know those things to be true.  That’s the rock on which we stand.  We know we can rely on God’s Word.

God gave Moses the 9th Commandment (“Thou shall not be a false witness’) for our protection. God loves us that much! God knows the damage and pain that can result from a lie; what a single lie can do to our sense of safety and to our relationships. God wants to shield us from the pain of estrangement and disconnection. 

Our task as Christians is to understand not only the truth of God’s words to us, but also to understand how easily we can slip away from God when the truth is not in us. Truth telling is important. Trusting each other is important.  Let your yes be yes and your no be no.

We are called to be Truth-tellers.

Stoning and Scapegoating

Stephen said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” But the people covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him;     

Acts 7: 56-58

Maxim Sheshukov MAXIM SHESHUKOV, The Martyrdom of St. Stephen the Archdeacon. Egg tempera on gessoed panel

The stoning of Deacon Stephen is one of the tragedies of he early church. He spoke truth – truth as he had seen and experienced it – and the people turned on him and stoned him. His own people!            

This lesson from Acts is important for us, because it speaks so directly to us. As a community of Christians, to whom have we closed our ears? Who have we stoned? Who do we exclude because of their politics or their race or their experiences?

Civility is breaking down in American culture: punch-fests on airplanes, pushing and shoving in departments stores, and gun violence because somebody looked at somebody the wrong way. Add to that the “You disagree with me so I’m going to take my toys and go home” mentality. All of this speaks to the dis-ease which is infecting American culture.

Look at the included art today: Stephen being stoned. Then look to the top left. That’s the hand of God. The hand of God reaching down and beckoning to us. Always there, ever-present. That is the hand we must extend to those we may have stoned, fought with, dismissed, or avoided.

Christ has no hands or feet on earth but ours.  

Sacramental Hospitality

Now on that same day, two of Jesus' disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.  Luke 24:13-15

 

           "Emmaus"  Sr. Mary Stephens

We’ve read the “Footprints in the Sand” story and we’ve sung along to the song  "In the Garden” and we know “He walks with me and He talks with me,” but C’mon.          

There is a mysteriousness, an ephemeral impermanence to these encounters that can leave us feeling shaky – not quite sure of ourselves. And so we fall asleep with that nagging question, “Was that real, or did I just imagine it?”   

The disciples, still sad, glumly walking to Emmaus, were face to face with the Risen One, and didn’t recognize him.  And Jesus, it seems, was content to move on without ever revealing himself to them, until, the text tells us, “they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is nearly now over.’”

It was their hospitality, their urging, that drew the Risen One back into their midst and gave him opportunity to reveal himself. The question we must ask ourselves is whether there is enough room for him in our lives. Are we offering the Lord enough place in our hearts and lives that he will accept our invitation to come in? 

Faith and Doubt

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.  John 20: 30-31

         "On Faint and Doubt"              Nick Piiero

“So that you may come to believe…..” is one of the most hope-filled lines in all of scripture.

Most of us have questioned the reality of God, or whether the Resurrection really happened, or if being  part of a faith community is worth our time and energy. No doubt, some of us have tried to discover God while sitting on a mountaintop, or by walking a beach, or by sipping coffee on a Sunday morning while reading the New York Times.  Faith is a process, after all.

But grounded, mature faith takes community and relationships with others who are on the same well-worn path. Faith takes tending and digging and retelling the stories of Jesus’ life in order to make them our own.  Thomas would not have believed if his friends had not told him that Jesus was alive; nor will ours.

Who are we telling about Jesus? How are we supporting each other in community so that those who struggle may come to believe?

For that is Christ’s call to us.  

My God, my God....Why?

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
and are so far from my cry
and from the words of my distress?   Psalm 22:1

This intricately woven cross of palm fronds was created by a Coptic Christian for their Palm Sunday celebration. It was an act of devotion and a statement of hope. Little did he or she know how it would all end; that blood would stain the cross, that 44 would be dead, that hundreds more would be injured.  I wonder if the creator of this palm cross knew that a homicide bomber could be filled with such hate. 

As Christians, we acknowledge that evil exists and so we cling to our Lord’s promise: that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. God was there in those two churches on Palm Sunday, blessing and comforting and God will continue to be there, even when only blood stains remain. The Easter message proclaims that God will always triumph over death and destruction.  Always.

Let us wrap ourselves in the love God as we seek to make sense of it all.

The Power of Denial

Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”  Matthew 26:34

                    "The Denial of Peter"     James Tissot

This is one of the most haunting lines in Scripture. Peter, desperate to prove his allegiance to Jesus, promises never to disavow his Lord, and yet Jesus speaks truth.  “Truly I tell you….”   Sadly, Peter believes to his very core that he would never deny Jesus, and yet, we know that on that very night, Peter does exactly that – three times. Our Lord always speaks truth.  

What of us? When and how have we denied Jesus? Is it when we turn a blind eye to injustices observed? Or when we “refuse to get involved” because something doesn’t directly affect us?  Or is it simply when we mask our allegiance to Christ in order to get that promotion or to be better liked?  Peter did it, and so have we all.  

This approaching Holy Week is a time to bring our hearts closer to God, a time to confess the times we have denied Jesus by our thoughts, words and deeds. Join me as we do the important work of transforming our hearts and minds before the cross.

The Lord has need of us.