Staying Behind

Luke 2:41-52

 “Staying Behind”

27 December 2015 St. Andrew’s Military Chapel Singapore

Those on my mom’s side of the family get together for a dinner a few days before Christmas. A few years ago I was able to go and we were all having a great time talking and playing, doing what families do over the holidays. I can’t remember what exactly prompted someone to ask “Has anyone seen Walker?” He was around two at the time, so like everyone knows, it’s when a two year old boy is quiet that you have to worry about him finding trouble. We all look around at each other with that combination of laughter with the twinge of worry.

A group leave the dining room to the den to see what toys has his attention and see nothing. I had made a tradition of taking the younger kids around searching for the cats that would hide in fear of strangers, so we searched for the boy on a hunt for cats running in fear of a strange little person chasing them. Still no Walker. Someone looked out on the enclosed porch to see if he made his way out there. Nothing. Now we’re starting to get worried. How does a child simply vanish in a house? It happens all the time, but it is still an amazing phenomenon. I think it was my brother, but someone had the idea to open the pantry door and what did we find? Walker contentedly playing with the canned goods of the pantry. He looked up at us with an expression that said, “What are you worried about?”

Walker was content and safe and there was no need to worry. The look on his face confirmed this and questioned why we were so worried about him and his whereabouts. He was where he needed to be and that was all that mattered. If he had needed something, he would have cried out and let us know.

We all have stories that make us feel like we’re the stars of Home Alone, either the son or the mom. And it is in just this type of situation that we find Jesus, Mary, and Joseph today. Jesus had gone to Jerusalem with his parents for Passover, and like the good theology nerd he was, he slipped unnoticed into the temple to go and sit at the feet of the rabbis of the day.

Now, some people will read this passage and automatically ask how in the world did Mary and Joseph lose track of their son? They knew his was the Messiah, how could they ever let him out of their sight? To those questions I respond, have you ever met a 12 year old? They’ve already gotten everything figured out in life, so they are going to do their own thing regardless of what their parents want.

Jesus’ disappearing act can teach us a great deal about our faith. For one thing, Jesus and his family were a regular part of a faith community. Going and learning from those in the temple was important to the family and it was usual for them to go to the temple on a regular basis.

But, it wasn’t a faith that they just consumed. Jesus was at the feet of the leaders listening and asking. Because he was God there was no need for him to sit in the temple and learn from the rabbis, but he did. I’m sure those around him were learning more than they expected from this young man. At the very least, they were amazed at his understanding and answers. I’m confident he was probing to find ways to present the Gospel in a way that would reach as many people as possible. He was taking the time to learn the culture around him and how they spoke so that he could speak a new theology using the framework of the existing theology. Being able to speak theologically matters, even for Jesus.

I want us to just sit with an amazing fact of this story for just a second. Much like Christmas Eve when I talked about how God chose to become a human as the clincher of the Christmas story, here God makes time to learn theology from those around him. I can’t think of any better reason for us to not only regularly attend a large faith gathering, but also to find someone or group of friends that will challenge and teach us the faith. Just reading the Bible on our own and sitting with our own interpretations will never be enough to strengthen and deepen our faith.

Not only did Jesus get to be a part of a strong faith community, he was part of a strong community of families. It’s almost like Joseph or Mary were in the military stationed overseas. How many times do we travel together with our families because of the strong bonds we have forged during our time being stationed together either here or previously. It always warms my heart when my Facebook or Instagram feed pops up with photos of multiple families from this congregation on a weekend getaway together (even if it means you are skipping church).

That comes from the trust you all put into each other on a daily basis. I don’t live in the immediate neighborhood, but I do spend a lot of time here and at the Terror Club and I always see y’all blending families and even cultures as many of you are friends with our allied families. This fact alone is the reason it took me a good three months to figure out which parents belonged to which kids. The communal force is strong here and it is my prayer that you take the community you live out here and extend it to wherever the military drops you off next.

Because of such a tight community like we have in the black and whites out here, it makes sense that Jesus got left behind. They just assumed he was hanging out with the Jeters. I’m sure Mary looked over saw a huge group of kids hanging out and assumed Jesus was there. If she didn’t see him for a few days, she knew he’d eventually make his way back for food. Other families can only sustain an extra teenage boy for a day or so before they run so low they make him go home.

So, don’t ever let a pastor get away with criticizing Mary for losing sight of Jesus. Jesus was living out a communal life and faith, one that we should all strive to follow. He was drawn to the chapel to engage the rabbis and strengthen his faith. I know that wasn’t the first place I slipped off to growing up. He was part of a large community that was comfortable for him and his family in which they all trusted that he was cared for no matter where he was. Something we can experience here in Sembawang and should strive to take with us.

Let this story always be one that encourages us to seek out and develop a community that allows our young believers the confidence to explore their faith above all else. One in which they know that no matter where they are people will always care for them and that their parents will always eventually find and support their faith development.

Our Peace

Micah 5:2-5a

 “Our Peace”

20 December 2015 St. Andrew’s Military Chapel Singapore

            (Play Imagine)

For many of us this is what we have come to associate with peace. John Lennon wrote this song at the height of the Vietnam War and was working to help people reimagine a different world. One that was free of conflict, where there weren’t borders to define who we are, one where peace has broken out. It was needed in 1971 and was the song that defined his solo career. Imagine has gone on to be considered by many people as one of the top songs of all time. Jimmy Carter has even remarked that he hears that song during his travels around the globe as frequently as the national anthems of the countries he visits. There is a reason this song continues to resonate with us today.

It’s not just John Lennon; we all strive to see a world of peace. We see refugees sacrificing their lives to escape Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Burma, and countless other war torn areas. We see our own tax dollars funding more weapons than homeless shelters. We see people thinking violence is how to get the most attention to their cause, so for some odd reason, people decide to convince us of their religious convictions through horrible methods. We even have episodes in our own lives where we don’t think we’re ever able to be a broker of peace, especially if, like me, driving in places like Los Angeles brings out your best. So we begin to doubt God’s plan.

We tell ourselves that Christ is an unreachable example, an ideal that we just will never measure up to. We say the bar is too high and just give up trying to clear the hurdle. We think to ourselves we aren’t good enough to be the one who brings about peace in our time; we aren’t Christian enough of an example for people to listen to what we have to say through word and deed. We think we’ll let other more capable people take care of ending violence. Maybe we even point to the cross and say if Christ died a violent death, what can we even do to bring about the Peaceable Kingdom Christ described?

But, Micah won’t let us go down that road. Micah says that even Bethlehem, little old Bethlehem will be the place from which the ruler of Israel will arrive. Not only will this King rule Israel, but “he shall be great to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace.” Micah tells us that peace will arise in the most unexpected of places. Just wait, peace will overcome. So, we wait and pay attention. And if we’re open to looking, we will see peace in unexpected places.

We see a Hindu stand up to the British Empire and topple their rule in what many thought the crown of the empire. We see Black man in America in the 1960s unite people of all races and faith groups, inspiring thousands to stand up and risk life and limb to extend basic civil rights to a long oppressed minority. We see a young Pakistani girl of only 16 stand up to an oppressive religious regime and say I, and every other girl, deserve an education. Despite the real threat of death she doesn’t quit and doesn’t back down. We see an economist from Bangladesh realize that peace comes from personal economic security and the sense of purpose from work who begins a movement of micro-financing empowering people and transforming communities.

Not all of these individuals are Christian you may say. I never said God worked in ways I would expect. Micah says peace is coming from the most insignificant place in Israel and Christ was born without any earthly fanfare in a manger in Bethlehem. Because he came from humble beginnings, from a one-stoplight town, many failed to see the fulfillment of God’s plan right there before them. Unlike John Lennon, we don’t need to imagine the world he describes. It’s already here. Christ has already come and will come again. Let us strive to see God working right in front of us.

But, to open eyes to see Christ, we must first accept the inner peace that Christ brings. Without this inner peace, we’ll never be able to fully surrender to Christ and thus bring about his Peaceable Kingdom. Christ’s birth shows us that there is a plan of which God is in control. This plan understands our humanity because God came down and became human. Not only did he become human, he also overcame death and the power of sin in this world. He could have kept that to himself, but he chose to tell us that the battle is over, good wins. Light overcomes the dark. Where O Death is thy sting?

When we accept Christ victorious, peace washes over us like a river and all is well with our soul. Fully believing that Christ has one gives us the confidence to be at peace in our own lives so that we can radiate that peace to the rest of the world. For when we are at peace, we are better able to see peace breaking through all around us and to join in and support those places where we see Christ at work. It won’t make much sense, but neither did an independent India, or Civil rights, or micro loans for budding entrepreneurs in developing countries. Following Christ truly brings about a peace that surpasses all understanding.

Advent has taught us to wait, not just on Christ’s birth, but also his second coming. In Advent we celebrate the already but not yet of Christ. He has come but not yet again. His Kingdom has already won the battle, but it doesn’t yet look that way. Because of that, we don’t have to imagine Christ’s reign, we have to accept his rule in our lives so we can see the incarnation of Christ and his Kingdom all around us.

True Joy

Zephaniah 3:14-20

Philippians 4:4-7

 “True Joy”

13 December 2015 St. Andrew’s Military Chapel Singapore

            (Play laughter video)

That video was a glimpse of true joy, especially the one with the kid holding the water hose for his dog. Those kids are experiencing something way beyond mere happiness. For there always seems to be true, deep, unbridled joy in the laugh of children. Because joy sometimes seems so elusive in our lives, when we see not just happiness, but true joy, we stop and slow down to bask in its warmth and love.

            If all we did were to look at the TV, read the news, or God forbid, read the comments of any website, we may think that joy is elusive and dwindling for the struggle in our lives is real. Circumstances and situations both within and out of our control can put us of the mind that joy is beyond not just our reach but even beyond our comprehension.

            Zephaniah speaks from a situation of national hopelessness and despair. Israel had been defeated and they were subjected to the whims of another culture as slaves. It was dark personally and culturally. God had promised so much; abundant offspring, a powerful society, a promised land of milk and honey, blessings for generations. None of that seemed possible.

            But, Zephaniah is a prophet and he hears from the Lord and is given a different take on things. Oh, he did speak the judgment of God upon his people. However, he was given the full vision, the full word of God where he saw the other side of their grief and pain. He saw joy and light just around the corner. He knew to say, “Be not afraid for God is with us.”

            Paul tells us that our joy is in the Lord and to not worry, to not fear. He even takes it a step further and tells us that we aren’t to seek joy, but rather to make our requests know to God through prayer and pleading with thanksgiving. And that is a hard thing to do sometimes, especially if we find ourselves in a place of despair like Zephaniah was speaking from.

            What I find amazing about Paul’s words is he says we shouldn’t seek joy and I think that is the biggest difference between happiness and joy. We are able to pursue happiness, and our nation’s founding documents explicitly says that it is an unalienable right to pursue happiness. So, we do. We do everything we can to make ourselves happy. We buy things, we collect friends, we strive for success in sports, academics, or some other hobby.

            Pursuing happiness isn’t necessarily a bad thing, for it can sometimes lead to joy. However, we need to be careful for happiness is fleeting and can be addictive so we buy bigger and better things for the momentary warmth of happiness. How many of us when we were growing up begged and pleaded for the one toy that would make us happy only to throw it to the side after a few days? Ever bought a must have gift for a child only to have them find enjoyment in the box in which it came?

            Did anyone ever have a simple toy, worn out doll, tattered stuffed animal, or smelly shredded blanket that was always there? A Hobbs to our Calvin with which we lost ourselves in joy? That’s the difference between joy and happiness. Happiness is flashy and fleeting, the toy everyone wants and needs. Joy finds you in unexpected ways and sticks around forever.

            Culture wants happy shiny people, so much so that we tend to confuse joy and happiness while also trying to smother any other emotion because we don’t want anyone to see a tarnish on our lives. (Play first Inside Out Clip)

            Joy is the bossy pants of the mind giving instructions to Fear, Anger, and Disgust. If she can just keep them distracted long enough she gets to be the #1 emotion, and Riley will be known as a happy, shiny person. Joy knows sadness is a powerful emotion so she tries to put Sadness into a corner, keeping her from “ruining” not just Riley’s first day of school but keeps pushing her away so as not to ruin Riley’s life. At this point Joy is not true joy, she is just happiness run amok.

            We know what’s coming. Life has taught us that happiness has to be punished. It’s almost like there’s this law of finite happiness. I have to take some from you to make my happiness factor rise. Something happens that makes us sad and we try to happy our way out of it. And that can lead to despair. We can find ourselves in need of Zephaniah, a prophet to point elsewhere, to point us to true joy, God’s grace.

            Because joy is part of God’s grace, we don’t find joy, it finds us. Most of the time, we need someone to point it out to us and say, “This is joy. This is all you need.” Sometimes it takes a journey and finding ourselves in a dark place full of forgotten memories to realize the Joy we have been given through Christ.

Visions of joy, however they are given to us, motivate us to change the status quo. That longing we have to bring the world into alignment with God’s plan for us and the world, that’s joy breaking in. That unease with suffering while also being baffled at the joy in those who have less than us, that’s joy breaking in. True joy will always be there seeking us out, sometimes we just have to realize it can be in the most unlikely of places. (Play Inside Out Clip #2)

Riley never experienced true joy until Joy came to realize that Sadness can lead to joy and that she needed to share and let all of Riley’s emotions play a role in Riley’s life. For true joy is complex, but it builds stronger and more lasting core memories. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is our joy. Where we encounter God’s grace is where joy finds us. So, let us go forth living a life open to grace so that the true and lasting joy comes and finds us rather than us pursuing a culturally defined momentary happiness.

First Sunday of Advent

Jeremiah 33:14-16

Luke 21:25-36

 “Waiting in Hope”

29 November 2015 St. Andrew’s Military Chapel Singapore

            So now we wait…And we’re not all that good at waiting, especially those of us surrounded by the military culture for it is a culture full of type A personalities. Combine that with our instant gratification culture and we can feel like nothing will ever be accomplished, at least not as fast as we demand it to be completed.

            How many of us are like the cab driver I had a few weeks ago. As he was driving back from the airport with the speed of someone in Hong Kong, I heard an almost continuous stream of complaints, and probably a few curses, muttered under his breath at each and every driver we passed from Changi to Sembawang. At first it was entertaining, but then I realized I do the same thing to people that dare make me wait even a heartbeat when I’m driving. Who do they think they are trying to slow me down?

            How many of us have attempted something well before we are ready? When I had just graduated high school, I went diving in the Bahamas. All my brother and I received was a quick 30 minute familiarization walkthrough of the equipment and then in short order we were diving on a shipwreck at a depth of over 65’. Once I finally went through a certification course, I thought back on that trip and shuddered at how lucky we really were that day.

            Now, I’m not saying to never push ourselves beyond our comfort zones. For in that stretching of ourselves we learn and grow, but we really need to have a few tandem jumps and ground school before we jump out of a perfectly good airplane with silk square attached to us. Without a proper base of knowledge, our impatience can really cause us some damage.

            I would wager a guess that most of us find ourselves at our most impatient this time of the year. For we are done with Thanksgiving and looking towards Christmas. We look at our shopping lists and our to do lists then glance at our travel plans and feel like the world just doesn’t have enough time to get it all done. We go shopping and get frustrated with the lack of parking, stores running out of what we “need” for the holidays, or get antsy waiting for Amazon Prime to come through and deliver presents out here to Singapore just in the nick of time for Christmas.

            And society wants us to feel this way. Christmas is the biggest shopping season so stores want to get the decorations up as soon as possible. The more stressed and impatient we are about getting the perfect gifts, the more we spend. That’s why most stores just skip Thanksgiving and go straight from Halloween to Christmas decorations. Granted, here in Singapore we were afforded a few extra days as they did wait until Diwali had passed before breaking out the Christmas decorations. Orchard Road waited until the 10^th or 11^th of November to turn on the Christmas lights. Even in Japan, not a Christian nation by a long shot, the Winter Holiday lights were already up before the end of November.

            Which brings us to today, or rather the church season in which we find ourselves today. The first Sunday of Advent is the new church year. Like January 1^st, we are called to look forward to what is coming. We are full of hope about the future. But, instead of making resolutions we are called by Christ to wait, to prepare for his incarnation. In the midst of the most wonderful time of the year and the stress of getting everything ready, we are called to sit and wait.

            Society is running around yelling, “Christ is Coming! Christ is Coming! Hurry and get everything ready for him! Make sure you have all the boxes checked! Make sure you have the right decorations and food!” The church tradition and Scripture are quietly whispering, “Wait. Slow down a bit and pay attention because the Kingdom is near.”

            Tertullian a second century lawyer and priest, who some call the founder of Western theology, wrote, “The kingdom of God, beloved brethren, is beginning to be at hand; the reward of life, and the rejoicing of eternal salvation, and the perpetual gladness and possession lately lost of paradise, are now coming, with the passing away of the world; already heavenly things are taking the place of earthly, and great things of small, and eternal things of things that fade away. What room is there here for anxiety and solicitude?”

            Today, Jeremiah’s words told us that the LORD will fulfill the promise made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah where justice and righteousness will be the order of the day. Luke writes that a day is coming when everything will be turned upside down and God’s redemptive glory is near. Both of these writers are saying we need to wait, as long as it takes.

            Now we can’t just wait without a promise. Us humans aren’t good at waiting, even less so if we are told to wait without a purpose. How many times has the military made us wait? Pretty much every day of our career. But, if they just say wait without telling us why we must wait, we get upset and frustrated. We can wait a long time if we just have hope, and that is what Jeremiah and Luke offer us in these passages, how to wait in hope.

            Luke doesn’t use end of the world language to scare us or to make us wait for the end of the destruction of everything we see. He is using that language to give us hope that we will see many things that make us think things aren’t right, and they aren’t, so that we can recognize redemption when it comes. Luke knows that most everyone of his time missed Christ the first time around, so he is telling us to pay attention because Christ will be back and his Kingdom will reign in its full glory and redemption. So we have to wait in hope for that day to come.

We may not see it, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be ready for the revealing of the Christ’s Kingdom. We have to prepare for Christ so that we aren’t caught off guard again. Christ will show up where least expect him, Advent and Christmas make that clear. He was from Galilee, born in humble surroundings, was a refugee from Herod’s slaughter of untold infants looking for him, grew up not as a ruler or a formally trained rabbi but as a carpenter, travelled around as a nomad, protested against Roman rule, died alongside robbers, and had all of his friends abandon him when he was executed. If that is what our King looks like, we need to slow down and pay attention because we just might miss him again.

Our hope comes from our belief that the story isn’t yet over, that everything we see wrong in the world isn’t the whole story, that there is more to life than just molecules and a life of no meaning. Our hope comes from the fact that we know how this all ends. We know that Christ overcame death, and so shall we. We know that out of this broken world in which we find ourselves come glory and redemption. When we slow down and pay attention we see glimpses of the Kingdom and it draws us in providing more hope so we slow down a bit more and focus on Kingdom things to see more of the Kingdom.

When we tell the story of Christmas during Advent, it isn’t to save people from this world, only Christ can do that. We tell the story every year to teach everyone, ourselves included, to slow down and look for the glimpses of the Kingdom so we are prepared to live in the Kingdom when it comes.

“But amidst all these rejoicings Aslan himself quietly slipped away. And when the Kings and Queens noticed that he wasn’t there they said nothing about it. For Mr. Beaver had warned them, “He’ll be coming and going” he had said. “One day you’ll see him and another you won’t. He doesn’t like being tied down—and of course he has other countries to attend to. It’s quite all right. He’ll often drop in. Only you mustn’t press him. He’s wild, you know. Not like a tame lion.”

We don’t know when we will see Christ again, but we are called to wait in hope for the day that is near.

The One True King

John 18:33-38

 “The One True King”

22 November 2015 St. Andrew’s Chapel Singapore

What a hard passage for us to hear. Here we see Christ not even try to plead for his life. Rather he just does what he always does and answers questions with more questions. He’s a rabbi to the core, no matter how frustrating it is to people, even the one that controls his physical life in that moment. Because we know the rest of the story, we know what comes next.

But, I’m not sure that is what really disturbs us about this passage. Sure, reading ahead may disturb us, especially the violence that Christ will endure. And our hearts may race a bit knowing that is quickly to come. However, this passage, this moment in time goes against everything that we expect of governments.

Here we have the appointed official of an emperor trying to determine if someone else is claiming the crown of his boss. In our society that prides itself on overthrowing the shackles of a monarchy, following a theology that shudders at a top down power structure, this passage stands against everything we know as a republic where our work ethic calls for us to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. In this moment, Pilate knows Christ is King and wants him to admit it so he can pronounce sentence and be rid of him. He wants Christ to seal his own fate. For he knows Christ is innocent and is looking for a way out of this situation.

For us, this passage is convicting because it shows Christ has come not just to be King of the Jews, but he has come to be King of the world. Our King. And Americans don’t particularly care for Kings. We started a war to rid ourselves of one. But that war came on the heels of a religious war that had as one of its reasons, the need to get out from under a religious structure that had all the feel of a monarchy that was not looking out for the faithful.

Over time, scholars have attributed to Christ three major offices or roles: Priest, Prophet, and King. We are always ok with two of these three roles. Christ as priest is just fine by us. We want someone who is there to oversee the sacrifice and pronounce forgiveness for our sins. He will be there to clear the way and act as our mediator and intercessor to God, making sure we have that heaven ticket punched provided whenever we ask. Christ as prophet also gives us comfort. He’s there to show us where we go wrong, to guide us on the straight and narrow gently (sometimes a bit more harshly) correcting and nudging us to a moral life where we become “good Christians.”  That’s the Jesus we like and want, that’s the Jesus that society presents to us.

But, Christ has a way of turning things upside down. Like when he says he is the king of the world. And this isn’t a Leonardo DiCaprio Titanic moment, this is God proclaiming once and for all that through Christ, he is King, period. And we don’t like kings. Kings give orders, define our lives, kings tend to remove our personal choices, expect their subjects to give them everything, they tend to tax people excessively, they don’t care about our welfare. Kings scare people who have lived their entire lives in a representative republic.

However, we’ve all made a commitment to follow Christ in all we do and in all he does, prophet, priest, and king. So we need to look at all that King Jesus requires of us. We know he expects us to give him our all, to love him with all of our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. We can get behind that. What’s hard is doing what he asks because it rarely makes much sense to us. I don’t know why I or anyone else ever really expects Christ to make sense because he works in this world on a heavenly timeline and plan that I can’t fully comprehend. We only get glimpses of the Kingdom, so we have to pay attention with all of our senses to catch them.

C.S. Lewis understood Christ as King through Aslan in Narnia. This week I kept going back to Narnia, especially The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe as I reflected on King Jesus. In it we see the Queen of the world (or at least how the White Witch is introduced to Edmund) in stark contrast to the one true King. Many people throughout history have done just this and attempted to impose their rule over the world, all have failed.

So all of us ask, just like Susan after dinner with the beavers, “Who is Aslan?” Who is Aslan indeed, and what does the Kingdom of Christ look like? Where can we find it? As we answer those questions, let the wisdom of the Professor with whom the wardrobe resided guide us, “[finding the Kingdom will] happen when you’re not looking for it. Don’t try to get there at all. You’ll know [who else has found the Kingdom]. Odd things they’ll say—even their looks—will let the secret out. Keep your eyes open.”

Christ leads an upside down Kingdom, one that Mark describes where the last are first, the first are last, and leaders must first become servants. This Kingdom is so counter-cultural that society will frequently discount the glimpses all around us.

There is a Twitter account called Occupy Advent that was tweeting out many short descriptions of what it means to call Christ Lord, or King. So I want to let that voice begin our description of Christ the King.

In the Roman world, Ceasar was Lord. To confess “Jesus is Lord” was unpatriotic, ungrateful, blasphemous, and illogical. And here we are. To confess “Jesus is Lord” is to deny every other person, thing, or allegiance that would lay claim to us. And let me tell you, this world rages when we say “Jesus is Lord” and mean it. If Jesus is Lord, then nothing else is. If Jesus is Lord, anxiety and fear are not. If Jesus is Lord, our retirement accounts are not. If Jesus is Lord, the approval of others is not. If Jesus is Lord, citizenship is not. If Jesus is Lord, our churches are not. If Jesus is Lord, our schedules and agendas are not. If Jesus is Lord, America is not. If Jesus is Lord, death is not. If Jesus is Lord, I am not.

Christ’s Kingdom isn’t like others, so it’s not one that should make us uneasy and we should rush to embrace Christ as our King. For his Kingdom is a humble one full of broken people doing what they can to help others as much or more than they help themselves. It is a Kingdom looking to make peace with the world and others. Where people care for creation as gardeners not consumers. People who love even their enemies as much as friends and never turn away refugees even if they may turn against them one day. It is inclusive and waiting for anyone to come into the kingdom at any time.

            As young Lucy learned about this Kingdom and King Aslan, she asked the question we all want to know about Christ:

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Cause he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

A safe Kingdom would never ask so much from us, but a good one does.

I leave us with a description of King Jesus by the Rev Shadrach Meshach Lockridge who was pastor of Calvary Baptist in San Diego from 1953-1993.

My King is: The king of the Jews-that’s a racial king. The King of Israel-that’s a national king; the King of glory; the king of kings and the Lord of Lords.

My king is a sovereign king. No means of measure can define his limitless love! No barrier can hinder him from pouring out his blessing!

He’s enduringly strong! He’s entirely sincere! He’s imperially powerful! He’s impartially merciful! He’s the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world!

He’s God’s son! The sinner’s savior! The centerpiece of civilization! He stands in the solitude of Himself! He’s the fundamental doctrine of true theology!

He sympathizes and saves. He strengthens and sustains. He guards and guides. He heals the sick. He cleansed the lepers. He forgives sinners. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate.

I wish I could describe him for you, but he’s indescribable! He’s incomprehensible. He’s invincible! He’s irresistible! 

You can’t get him out of your mind or off your hands! You can’t outlive him and you can’t live without him! The Pharisees couldn’t stand him, but they found out they couldn’t stop him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in him. Death couldn’t handle him and the tomb couldn’t hold him.

That’s my King, that’s my king, that’s my king and he’s the kingdom and the power and the glory Forever. AMEN!

Two Pennies

Mark 12:38-44

 “Two Pennies”

08 November 2015 St. Andrew’s Chapel Singapore

Once upon a time a sheet of copper was cut at the mint and out came two brand new pennies. These pennies were excited to be a part of the vibrant economy. Just think of all the things they will witness as they are transported to the bank and then find a new home with someone who will put them to good use.

Maybe they will be used to buy something extremely important. Perhaps they will buy a new house, or maybe pay for someone’s education. Or they could be given to some young girl who was beaming with pride at finally washing the dishes like mom and dad kept asking. Then she would take the two pennies, along with whatever other coins she had earned, and with the largest grin she could muster, because she was now a grown up, she put all of that change on the counter to buy her first scoop of ice cream all by herself.

But over time, the pennies become faded and worn out. Inflation happens as it so often does, so the pennies aren’t worth what they were the day they were produced at the mint. In fact, right now pennies actually cost more to make than they are worth. Because of this, people didn’t know what to do with these pennies, so they just began to sit in jars or dishes at someone’s house where at best they would get deposited with hundreds or thousands of their friends after sitting for a few years. Or maybe they would find their way to a military family and the bowls they lived in would get packed up every few years where the movers would probably lose them or pack them with some strange items.

At worst, these pennies would get thrown to the ground because they had just become some annoyance to whomever had the unfortunate luck to buy something that cost something ninety nine. They began to feel that they had lost all meaning, that they weren’t making a contribution, they weren’t bringing people joy and helping people purchase things. People didn’t want them, didn’t need them.

Then one day they found their way into the hands of a nice elderly lady who didn’t really have much. Maybe she found them sitting on the sidewalk, in desperation took them from the leave a penny jar, was given them on the sly from someone who didn’t want to embarrass this gentle soul in her poverty, or maybe she got them from her local church as part of their charity program.

Much to the surprise of these two coins, when they were slipped into her pockets they were all alone. When she emptied her pockets at the end of the day, they were all alone. The pennies realized that they were everything this lady had. Once again, they mattered. They could buy her food, help her live.

For this woman, these pennies were an abundance. She had probably been financially ripped off, as trusting elders can be duped. Just look at who the Nigerian scams and some mortgage companies target for bad loans. After living with little for a while, these two pennies seem like a gift from heaven, an unexpected bounty in a world of little.

Now, what would we do if we won the lottery? Where is the first place we would go? Zillow to look for a new house? The car dealer to get a shiny new car? To the bank to deposit the money so it can be invested in the stock market to make more? Set up the kids for college? Whatever we would do, I am fairly certain it would be something to either save the windfall or spend it on something we need. Our actions would come from our cultural conditioning that there is never enough money to go around so if we have it we should either keep it or spend it. And this lady’s culture is no different than ours in that regard.

But, she does something unexpected as tends to happen with our grandparents who always seem to buck convention and do something to make us take notice. This lady goes and heads to the temple to give out of her abundance to God. Well Jesus knows she’s on her way so he decides to sit across from the treasury and watch the show.

A huge crowd was there to give to the temple so there was the buzz of humanity gathered in a small area. People are talking, kids are probably running around playing, yelling, having a great time. Many people were gathered around the treasury to see who all was giving to the temple, and how much because there needed to be some gossip about who made how much and who were the biggest donors. Some of these people were making a show out of their generous donations, playing to the crowd so everyone knew they were there.

The disciples are getting fidgety and wondering why Jesus is people watching and still hanging around the temple he just overturned the tables in. Because of the attention Jesus has attracted from those in power, they just want to get out of dodge and not get arrested. They’re starting to realize this may not end well. So they aren’t really paying attention to what is going on.

All of a sudden Jesus says, “look over there do you see that?” They follow his gaze and his finger and at first wonder if he is excited about the people he just derided for giving money. But the momentary break in the commotion and a quiet moment catches their eyes. “See that, see that widow? She has given so much more than everyone else today combined. That’s what I want from you. I want all you have.”

Jesus wants all of us. He wants us to live as if he is all we need. Does this necessarily mean that we have to give all of our worldly possessions? Not exactly. But it does mean that we should live as if Christ is all we need. It means that we should live a life from a place of abundance not of scarcity. We should live such that we know there will always be enough to go around, not live such that we need to hoard to get ours before anyone else. That’s tough because our culture, our society tells us differently.

Now as a military chapel, we are in a unique position to practice this first as a community so we can take that lesson back to our lives and the world. Typically, when you give to a church there is a budget that it is trying to meet covering everything from buying paper to salaries and mission work. This is achieved through generous giving from the congregation. Here we don’t have to raise money for keeping the AC on or paying my salary, or to keep Sam providing his amazing piano talent every week.

With this freedom, comes a requirement that every 6 months in January and July we spend down what we collect in our offering to a certain amount. This is an amazingly missional requirement from the Navy. As a congregation we are forced to live abundantly in our support of missions. We aren’t allowed to hoard finances. We have to spend this money to further Christ here in Sembawang as well as around the world.

So how do we support the community and the world? Well, your money is constantly feeding the families who attend AWANA as we have instituted a meal at the end of the classes each week, which I think has been highly successful and the right answer. This money also goes towards our community meals with the Catholics allowing us to build a stronger chapel community. Some also goes towards the youth group each week to buy their food. A youth group that Catholics as well as a number of students without a church home attend. We are reaching the local community in big ways here.

These sound like big expenses and they are. However, because of your generous giving, we have an abundance right now that we need to decide where to give. We will spend down the account in January, but let us start to think where we want to give that money now. Let me know what ideas you have for the January disbursement right now or you can email me. We’ll put together a list of all the possibilities and take a vote in January (probably on the 10^th) so that we, as a community, decide where we use our abundance to impact the world.

By keeping this process of our giving to the world open and transparent you will see how we are trying to be like the widow and giving all of what we have as a church in the service of Christ. From there my prayer and hope is that we will all look at our own lives and when we come into unexpected abundance through either our time, talents, or treasure we look for ways to give that abundance back to whence it came. For this building, this money, won’t last. Remember that the very next chapter of Mark has Jesus predicting the destruction of the temple.

We are called to be a people, a church that gives everything to Christ. Even. To. Our. Death. There is a faith group that describes this in a beautiful way, “The Church is called to undertake [its] mission even at the risk of losing its life, trusting in God alone as the author and giver of life, sharing the gospel, and doing those deeds in the world that point beyond themselves to the new reality in Christ.”

Let us strive to live a life of abundance like this widow where the size and amount of our abundance don’t matter. What matters is that we recognize we are called to live an abundant life where we undertake our mission in the world even at the risk of our lives individually and collectively as the Body of Christ.

Resurrection People

Revelation 21:1-6

 “Resurrection People”

01 November 2015 St. Andrew’s Chapel Singapore

Over the last few weeks we’ve seen how hard it can be to live in the world. We only need to turn on the news to learn of the many crises that are ongoing all around us. From six church leaders here in Singapore being convicted of laundering church money to the seemingly never ending flood of refugees fleeing air attacks from both the US and Russia in Syria. From hackers getting their hands on all of our personal information to a cop brutally removing a child from a classroom in front of all her friends. From corporations letting slash and burn tactics get out of hand to the Navy poking China’s territorial claims. Sometimes we have to wonder where good resides in the world.

            Believing what we see around us as the ultimate reality we cry out like Qohelet, the author of Ecclesiastes, “There’s nothing to anything, it’s all smoke. What’s there to show for a lifetime of work, a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone?” (from The Message) It’s understandable and even Biblical to feel like this in the midst of our lives.

            And when we are deep in the events, situations, and stuff of life that make us feel a special kinship with Qohelet, we can begin to ignore four crucial chapters of the Bible: the first two and the last two.

            When we do this, that leaves our functional canon, or the portion of the Bible we intently read and study as starting at the fall in Genesis 3 and ending at the lake of fire in Revelation 20. The world around us tends to confirm that canon. I mean what’s the harm in leaving out 4 of the 1180 chapters of the Bible? It’s only .3% of Scripture.

Andy Crouch, the executive editor of Christianity Today, in his book Playing God warns against the tendency to gloss over or forget about these four key chapters because the other 1176 don’t really tell the world anything new, never mind any good news. We can see Genesis 3 through Revelation 20 by turning on the news or just looking around. Scandal, exploitation, murder, good people trying to make a difference, church fights, the church reaching out to the marginalized.  

Now before everyone starts calling me a heretic for leaving out the fact that Christ’s death was significant and led to good news, let me say I agree. Back to Andy Crouch who in his book Culture Making calls the resurrection, “the most culturally significant event in history.” It was and will remain the center of history, until we get to Revelation 21. It set the stage for the good news of resurrection for us all that we see at the end of Revelation.

So, lets spend a moment with these four chapters and their significance. Genesis one and two clearly state that creation was created with care, love, and purpose. Its important that these chapters begin the story. We are told from whence we came and that we were wonderfully made in and with love as part of a plan with no expectation of anything in return. More importantly, we learn that all of creation is created good with humanity deemed very good.

So where does all this evil in the world come from? Why is it here? Why do bad things happen to the creation that was crafted from nothing by God? All great questions that we could spend years debating. Just browse Amazon or check out a theological library and you’ll see every angle you could think of to answer those questions and even some that you’d never imagine. But, in the end do those questions become more stumbling block than we anticipate?

I’m not saying we shouldn’t engage those questions. Actually we should struggle with them because they are important questions and will help us navigate the trials of life as well as help us sit with others suffering and struggling with the same questions. However, we need to keep Revelation 21 and 22 fresh in our memory to help us answer these weighty questions.

On the back end, here in Revelation we learn that all will again be redeemed and made good. This passage is amazing because it shows us not the end, but rather the teleos or culmination of things. Revelation shows us our destiny, what we are meant to become, of what we are meant to be a part.

John vividly describes how Rome, socialism, ISIS, capitalism, the US, and any other human institution will never be supreme. God, and only God, is supreme. And that is the Gospel, that is great news.

Here in Revelation the Gospel is fulfilled. We, as a part of creation, reach our destiny, our own teleos, our fulfillment. We return to where we belong, where we were made to live. This is why God tells John, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” God was the beginning and invited us into a plan and God will be there with us at the end. Everything is made new, remade and resurrected according to God’s plan.

From dust you came and to dust you shall return.

In my tradition, when someone dies we don’t call it a funeral rather a Service of Witness to the Resurrection. When we believe that resurrection is something we all participate in through our belief in the promise of Christ’s resurrection and the words at the end of Revelation, death isn’t the end, nor is it a beginning. Death is a reunion with God, with Christ, with all those who have gone before.

I have to admit, it seemed odd to have a passage from Revelation appear as the suggested text for All Saint’s Day. But as I sat with these words over this week, it made so much sense to have us hear these words on the day in which we remember all who have gone before us on this Christian journey.

In a culture where we elevate celebrities, we need a reminder that there are saints among us, many that we will never know. Additionally, we also need the hope of the Gospel that tells us that we aren’t saying hollow words in the Apostles Creed when we say I believe in the communion of saints. We are all a part of that communion of saints. Christ showed us that resurrection is for those that believe and this passage demonstrates that we will all be made new. That what was begun will end at the same place, in the glory of God.

We are invited into this glorious reality. We may not be able to fully comprehend what it will be like. And I think that John is trying to use some glorious metaphors over the remainder of Revelation to describe the beauty and love of his vision, but no human words can adequately describe what is waiting for us. We were created very good and will one day, along with all who have gone before us those saints we lift up today, learn what our true teleos is, who we truly are when we are beyond the fall and with Christ.

Let us work hard to not let the demands of life, the struggles of being human, the frustration of following Christ keep us from remembering four important chapters. For all stories have a beginning and an ending which are just as, if not more important, than the character development. We know where we are headed, we know of Christ victorious. We know we were created good and will return to that state, even if we can’t fully comprehend or imagine what that looks like.

So as we remember all who have gone before and that we will see again, let us truly live as resurrection people who know the end of the story and live a life that reflects our part in the resurrection of all creation.

A Road Less Traveled

Job 42:1-6

Mark 10:46-52

 “A Road Less Traveled”

25 October 2015 St. Andrew’s Chapel Singapore

A man suffers tragedy after tragedy, most of which we can’t really fathom. Despite repeatedly getting kicked while he was down and losing everything that ever really mattered to him, he never gave up his faith. As a result, he didn’t get to see God eye to eye, but he did get to hear God speaking from inside a whirlwind, probably the whirlwind of tragedy. That conversation solidified everything Job knew about God, vindicated his faith, and changed his life.

Years ago a boy was born and baptized with one name, but called another by his father. He grew up wealthy as his father was a prominent merchant. At a young age he once gave money from a clothing sale to a beggar for which his father chastised him. As young men are wont to do, he went off to war, was captured and became a prisoner of war for a year. After this, he returned home to the life of wealth not earned but given. Most likely out of a lack of calling he returned to the military, but had a vision that made him return home.

While home again, he withdrew from his life in high society and was drawn closer to God. Eventually, he had another vision, this time an icon of Christ that said, “Go and repair My house.” This led him to sell some cloth from dad’s store to provide money to the priest for restoring the church that housed the icon. Dad was none too happy such that he physically beat this young man for his new life. The young man would not be swayed, so Francis of Assisi renounced his father, even taking off the clothes his father had purchased and became a beggar while he restored other churches around his hometown.

            A woman has been discovered having an affair, or some other culturally inappropriate relationship and is being dragged out of her home for punishment at the hands of the all male authorities. Another man walks up and confronts the mob of self-righteous men asking which of them had never made a mistake in their lives. While he awaits the response he focuses on the dirt and inscribed something of which to this day no one knows what was written. As he writes, the judgmental men leave and it is just this woman judged immoral by society and Christ. He looks at her and says, “I don’t judge you, in fact, I forgive you go forth and live.”

            A man that has brutally hunted and murdered Christians is walking along the road, probably on his way to continue his righteous work of ridding all that are impure. However, Saul experiences a blinding light from which he sees the risen Christ standing before him. He is told to go and seek help from the very people he has been chasing. He regains his sight and from then known as Paul he spread the Gospel throughout world and is the attributed author to the majority of the New Testament.

            A young woman of 18 embarking on a modeling career finds herself in a dark and dreary Parisian room, that the other models in the house call the dungeon. She had just come back from visiting family back home. While unpacking, she discovered the small Bible her mother had slipped into her bag before her flight. Because she was jet lagged and feeling all kinds of confused due to the time difference, she opened it and began to read. She discovered that Jesus loved and honored women, including her. Today, Kathy Ireland is remembered as one of the greatest supermodels of all time, but has dedicated her life to following Christ through family and philanthropy. 

            He followed Christ everywhere for years. He was in the inner circle, even got to see the Transfiguration. But, like all 12 disciples, he had trouble figuring out what it was all about. What following Jesus really meant. He was once even called Satan by Christ. He promised to be there with Christ through it all, even boasted about his dedication at the Last Supper. However, after the cross he denied Christ three times. Then, one morning after a tough night fishing, because what else did he know, where else could he go? Christ walked up and forgave him and gave Peter the keys to the Kingdom and made him the shepherd of the flock.

            When she was 18, her parents divorced. She blamed her mother and put the source of all her pain on her mother. This led her to an eating disorder where she ate to hide the pain, but got caught in an endless cycle of pain and eating to ease the pain. One day, in a holy moment, she got a call to appear on TV in The Biggest Loser. So, she called her father who, in what can only be described as divinely inspired insanity, told her to do it…with her mom. So she publicly fought her demons with the one person she saw as the source of the pain, and Michelle and her mother won the show, but also so much more.

            A man senses Jesus walking down the street, because he was blind. Maybe he hear the crowd, felt the feet pounding on the ground, or tasted the cloud of dust get thicker as they approached. Whatever let him know Christ was near also gave him courage because he yelled out the Kyrie, “Christ, have mercy on me!” Because of that faithful cry, Jesus heals his blindness and Bartimaeus removes his robe and follows Christ on the way to Jerusalem.

            All of these individuals met God in someone else or some situation or had the honor of seeing Christ in person. And in each instance, that encounter changed them for good. Their stories aren’t odd or isolated. Testimonies like this abound in our shared story.

For some, they were at rock bottom and saw Christ because typically when we are in the valley of the shadow of death, Christ is the only one left there with us, so it’s pretty easy to see him. But, God isn’t only found in suffering. Sometimes we find God in the midst of success because God is the one whispering, “I can give you so much more.” Christ is the road less travelled.

Job and Bartimaeus saw the Glory of God first hand, not through a glorious sight that transformed their skin like Moses bur rather they saw the it in the transformation of their present situations, and hence their lives. Job was in the midst of unspeakable tragedy, something we touched on last week while Bartimaeus was unable to see and that is all he asked for.

One was wealthy, one was an outcast. One was blameless, one we know little about. However, both were restored, both were loved by God, both show us our lives have purpose. We may never understand that purpose, but only God can define and guide us to that purpose. Both had hope that there was someone bigger than the world they saw that could change their world. That is faith.

And that is hard. It’s hard to believe that we are meant for something greater than ourselves. Both of these individuals have inspired people for centuries. All of the examples I provided earlier have impacted thousands of people. None of them knew the reach their lives would eventually have. Most of us won’t discover the full impact of our lives until we’re standing face to face with the risen Christ.

That’s ok, because Christ tells us we have a purpose. No matter how dark things may seem, no matter how on the sidelines society places us, no matter how our mind tries to trick us and tell us we don’t matter, Christ says “I’ve got this. Trust me, follow me. It won’t be what you expect, but it’ll be worth it because you are part of my plan, so much so that I don’t have a backup.”

So, let us always be looking for God speaking to us and through us. Sometimes God will tell us to go onto a TV show with the one that has caused us pain. Sometimes, God will speak to us from the whirlwind of life. Sometimes, Christ will touch our face and we’ll see things anew. But, if we’re not looking, not expecting to see Christ in everyone, we not sense his presence and won’t be able to tell him to have mercy on us. Let us go forward with the faith of Job and Bartimaeus that God has a plan for us and that Christ is always near to guide us towards his purpose for us if we’re looking.