What if We're Wrong

Mark 9:38-50

 “What if We’re Wrong?”

27 September 2015 St. Andrew’s Chapel Singapore

Confession time: street preachers cause me all kinds of frustration and unease. Living in downtown San Diego, I would see and hear my fair share of people telling everyone that the end was nigh and we were all going to hell. My first thought is usually, “C’mon man, my job is hard enough already without you yelling hellfire and damnation to everyone you see.” My problem is the assumption that none of us just going to the grocery store, out for a run, heading to a ball game, or taking kids to the park have faith really gets my blood boiling. It’s really bad during Comic Con because the street preachers are playing off a stereotype and approaching it in the absolute worst way.

  Now, have I ever stopped and talked to these preachers and asked them their reasons for such an approach? Nope. Have I ever told them how I feel? Nope. I did participate in a counter protest of Westboro Baptist while I was in seminary, but they never showed up so that doesn’t really count. Did I ever muster up the courage to take the advice and example of my preaching professor and counter their preaching with my own street preaching emphasizing grace and love over judgment and despair? Not a chance. Have I mumbled and grumbled to God about how I don’t like what they are doing? Of course.

Which places me squarely in the line of the disciples in this passage, and that’s probably not a good thing. I think that if I asked Christ his answer would be, “he’s not against us, so he’s for us.” And I really don’t want to hear that I’m on the same side as that guy, especially because his theology isn’t my theology. I’m not really a huge theology snob, but there are a few theological interpretations that will really get me fired up.

As I read and pondered this passage over the week, while on one hand it was convicting my own behavior towards certain lines of thought and interpretation. This passage also made me think about what kind of theological stumbling block merits a millstone around my neck?

Mark writes that Jesus used the Greek word micron in this passage. We tend to interpret this as we shouldn’t cause children to stumble, but we can also translate micron as “of least importance, insignificant, or humble.” If we go that route, it still includes our children, but it also widens those we should prevent causing a stumbling block to any who are marginalized or new to the faith.

Theology matters and is important, but how we express and explain theology is also of vital importance. And that importance may be difficult to reconcile with the fact that no one may be fully equipped to judge another’s theology. By definition, theology is an inherently impossible task. How can a finite being fully understand the infinite God? Like the disciples, my interpretation may be wrong and I may be expecting everyone to follow the same theological interpretation I have. The disciples are mad that this exorcist isn’t following them. They assume he has gone rogue because he isn’t in their group.

Jesus quickly tells them, he isn’t against us so he’s for us. Notice that word choice. It casts a wide net for following Christ. It pitches a big tent in which we can hold a large variety of theological viewpoints and teachings and all get along. As long as you aren’t working against Christ, you are working for him. Just sit with that for a minute. If our theology isn’t working against the work of Christ in the world, we’re with Jesus. If we use Jesus’ name and power for good, we’re probably doing it right and are not against him.

Now, some of you are better Biblical scholars than myself and might want to bring up Matthew 12:30. In that verse Jesus says, “whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” He says if you are not with Jesus, you are against him. Loyalty to Jesus is important, not loyalty to our interpretation of Jesus. We don’t control God and his work. The Gospel is the Gospel and will always be the Gospel despite any of our attempts to put it into a certain box or theological framework. We must remain faithful to the Gospel because our theology may just miss the mark and not be the correct interpretation. Where we come from and how we have grown in Christ color how we interpret his work in the world. Again, theology is important, but Mark is telling us we must handle the act of teaching theology with care.

Those that are young, either in age or faith, are malleable and impressionable. When we are new to an experience, we tend to drink it in and experience as much as fast as possible. We pay more attention to things. Just look at the young people in our midst. Infants are wide eyed, observing how things are and what things mean. Toddlers are experimenting with walking and talking and figuring out how to make it in the world. Elementary aged children are excited to learn something new, even more so when they feel they’ve mastered something. Remember the first time you rode a bike without training wheels or an adult holding the bike running along beside. Oh the sweet feel of freedom blowing through your hair, the sheer joy at pedaling on your own, leaving mom or dad in the dust. It didn’t matter if you crashed after 100 yards, you were free!

And isn’t that the same sweet taste of freedom we savor when we find the Gospel. When we finally get it and fully surrender. That ironic freedom in surrender is at the heart of the Gospel. So shouldn’t all of our teaching, all of our interactions with others be such that the other walks away not in fear of or disgusted with a Gospel encounter, but excited and reenergized by the prospect of such freedom. But, even if they aren’t wholly convinced shouldn’t they at least walk away curious as to how we can live with such freedom and long for a moment like that first bike ride?

What might this church look like? It would be one that isn’t worried about how many people show up, but how much like Christ the ones that do show up become. We’d focus less on growing numbers and more on growing disciples. When we say all are welcome we’d mean it. It wouldn’t matter how holy someone is or isn’t, nor how much they make or don’t, nor how they look, nor what gifts they posses. A former pastor I worked under told me during my first week, “I’ve got Bible thumpin’ conservatives sharing communion with tree hugging, gay loving liberals, so we’re doing something right.” We’d focus on hospitality and relationships because we’re all broken yet redeemed and seek for all to be redeemed, so we treat them as such.

We’d find a place for everyone’s gifts and talents. We wouldn’t brag about the work we do as the hands and feet of Christ, but rather we’d be the type that would blow off lunch with power brokers when they only want us there to bolster their image to spend it with the least of these because that is where we are called. When we see someone living out the Gospel, casting out demons in Christ’s name, we’d applaud her even if her theology isn’t ours.

This chaplain would finally quit his silent judgment of street preachers. We’d fight for a few underdogs. When the world kicks in our teeth, we’ll give the best we’ve got anyways. We’d be humble enough to listen to Christ speaking through others even if what he is saying isn’t what we want to hear. We’d be humble enough to know that our human attempts at theology, in other words, our attempts to define God might just be wrong. We’d acknowledge that misinterpretation, adjust, and move on.

In a nutshell: We’d love God, love people, and reach the world for Christ.

Is this list all inclusive? Of course not. Could it be wrong? Yes, because I’m sure there are flaws in my theology. But it’s my prayer that all of us are striving towards the goal of living faithfully into the freedom of the Gospel where our love of Christ overflows into love for everyone we encounter.

So, let us strive to make our theology less right and more solid, more in line with Jesus’ idea that those who aren’t against us are with us. What a different perception of the church we would have if we could break the stereotype of Christianity as being about rules and who isn’t part of the club, but rather about a place where we recognize that Christ works in mysterious ways, through people I may never expect to do the works of Christ. For then we’d be a salty church bringing flavor and peace not only to ourselves but to the entire world.

Important Questions

Mark 9:30-37

 “Important Questions”

20 September 2015 St. Andrew’s Chapel Singapore

Have you ever been scared to ask someone a question? Maybe it was your first crush and wanting to know if he/she liked you back? For those that are married, I’m sure the one asking the question was scared out of their ever loving mind, no matter how sure you were of the answer. What if you froze at the idea of asking someone about career advice, taking a specific job, or asking about getting a raise or promotion? Well, today we see a group of men scared to ask a question about where they rank on the hierarchy of status within their merry band of brothers.

Today, Mark passes along Jesus’ words saying not only are we to care for the least of these, but “whomever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” He then says that by welcoming children we welcome not only Christ, but God as well. Sometimes I really want to just tell Jesus to stop with the demands.

So why does he hold up children as the example in this passage? Probably because they have no fear in questioning everything while the disciples preferred to quarrel with each other rather than risk the chance of asking a stupid question.

Like our disciples, I know I hold back on complaints and questions knowing that Christ is convicting the selfishness inside. And who really wants to ask Jesus selfish questions? Even the disciples showed trepidation in asking Jesus to clarify a statement, so I don’t feel too alone in fear of looking dumb in front of the professor. But, what are we afraid to ask Christ?

Of course he knew the disciples didn’t want to show ignorance in front of each other after Jesus predicts his death and resurrection. Who really wants to be the one that asks the stupid question? Plus, when you’re competing to be the #1 EP on that eval or FITREP you can’t show any chinks in the armor. So it’s interesting that Jesus uses children as the example in this passage.

Now before we get totally enthralled with children, I will make this disclaimer: children are broken sinners just like us. They aren’t perfect angels and idealizing them is just as dangerous as ignoring them. We all know I don’t have any, so someone like me doesn’t have to live with them 24/7. Neither did Jesus, but he doesn’t put children on a pedestal.

Why would Jesus pick children as the example of least to first in this passage? Why not focus on the same groups he mentioned in Matthew 25? What else is there about children and their faith that is drawing Jesus’ attention?

Jesus picks children because they had a tough go back in the first century. Children could just be left on the road to die of exposure. Children were considered property of the parent and how you raised them, if you sold them to slavery, if you let them die were all the sole decision of the father. Back then children had no rights. They were thought of as a burden first, future income second, and never really considered as a blessing to the world.

So, Jesus is showing children as an object lesson in how what the world considers the least, the lowest on the social ladder is actually a beautiful gift in the heavenly economy. What all can we learn from children and what makes them an example of least to greatest, especially after learning that the disciples were scared to ask Jesus a question they were obviously having heated debates over?

Compare our adult fear of asking questions with the inability of children to hold back in their questioning of everything. They always ask questions. About. Everything. They want to know why. About. Everything. To paraphrase the GEICO commercials: It’s what they do. The disciples were afraid to ask Jesus who was the greatest. A kid wouldn’t hesitate. Then they’d ask fifty times to make sure Jesus kept his story straight. And woe upon Jesus if the story changed in the slightest.

            Children ask questions and in the life of faith, that is an important trait to have and practice. As a recovering Nuke, I still remember the mantra that we needed to have a questioning attitude beat into my vocabulary from day one of Nuke School. What is interesting is that as I grew out of childhood through High School and college, I had lost the ability to question those in authority. And, in a broken and hurting world, maybe we need more people to question why things are the way they are rather than lemmings following the crowd. Hence the reason Jesus raises ever questioning children as an example of faithfulness.

We all need someone around to question us, to make sure we are following Christ and keeping ourselves on track. Many in this room participate in a small group of some kind throughout the week. That is where most of this process of iron sharpening iron occurs. Those questions make us take a look at how we are living out Christ’s call on our lives and how we interpret Scripture. It takes a lot of faith in yourself to stand up and question what the world considers normal. Kids do this regularly, adults not so much and when we are questioned, we tend to get a bit defensive. That’s a natural reaction, but we follow a supernatural being.

While it may just seem that a child is asking questions due to stream of consciousness and that it isn’t really thought through, those questions help them learn where they stand in the world. Their questions force us to explain sometimes complex topics in ways that not only do they understand, but in language we can express. Our faith requires us to ask questions of ourselves and each other in order to understand what we believe about God. Sometimes in the answering, we are forced to put the answer in terms the other will understand, which deepens our own understanding.

People may feel uncomfortable with questioning what Jesus said in the Bible because it can feel like a lack of faith. But, Jesus mainly taught through parables which are designed to make us question how we see the world through countercultural and counterintuitive stories. Personally, I have to sit for a few minutes scratching my head after reading a parable asking what just happened. Through those questions and the challenge to how I live out the specific parable, my faith deepens, even if just a tiny bit.

Our questions aren’t a lack of faith, but a deepening and strengthening of our faith. If, as children, we had blindly accepted everything that we were told we would never personalize our learning. Answering our own questions allows us to internalize and own our learning. The harder and more important the subject, the tougher and deeper the questions. Because this story is so important, we should expect tough and life changing questions as we digest what Christ means in our lives.

So, if we are to have the faith of children who ask questions when the disciples (and us adults) are afraid of looking stupid, what questions should we ask of the world? How do we treat the other, the immigrant, especially in light of the fact that we are the other here in Singapore? Who is my neighbor? Why do bad things happen to good people? How do we balance national security with accepting refugees from a place dominated by a religion we don’t agree with? What do we mean by national security?

How do we better reflect Christ in all we do? Are we welcoming to all we meet throughout the week? How can Christ sustain us on our bad days? Do we use Christ as an ATM of grace? Do we look at children as a burden or a joy (and yes that probably changes from minute to minute)? What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow? What am I being sent into the world to accomplish for Christ this week? Who has the church ignored or forgotten for social or selfish reasons and how do I show them they matter to Christ?

How deep and wide is our forgiveness? How do we speak the grace of Christ into difficult situations? How do I navigate following Christ in the military? What defines who I am? My job, my money, my status, my accomplishments, my children, my ability, my deficiencies, or being named a wonderfully made child of God? How do I help the world elevate the least of these to those worthy of God’s promises? What else can those I consider the least of these teach me about my faith?

Our questions matter, just like the questions of the least of these matter, because we all matter in the eyes of God. So let us go forth questioning the world like a child to strengthen our own faith while we show Christ to those who think he has forgotten about them.

Living Out The Gospel

Matthew 25:31-40

 “Living Out the Gospel”

06 September 2015 St. Andrew’s Chapel Singapore

“Preach the Gospel, use words when necessary.” Famous and deep words attributed to St. Francis of Assisi and a pretty good summation of this passage. Now, this is a tough passage to hear because this is Christ calling us out. I know you say you believe and are following me, but if you aren’t immersed in the pain of the world you won’t find me.

We don’t like to sit with pain, we hate to see suffering, we don’t like to be uncomfortable at all. I’ve often heard that one of the jobs of the preacher is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Based on this passage, maybe that mandate is a call for all Christians, for we are all called to minister to the world in accordance with our gifts.

So today, you won’t hear my voice as much as the voices of those who chose to step into discomfort and sit with the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner. At some point each of these people experienced a moment that illuminated their calling in a sort of Popeye moment where they thought, “I’s got to do what I’s got to do.”

In 1998 a former Marine Chaplain’s Assistant during Vietnam who later went and earned a Master of Divinity and was ordained in the Methodist church realized there is enough food to feed everyone about 4 pounds a day. He left his job at another aid agency and started a charity Stop Hunger Now which in just 17 years has packaged over 211 million meals in 71 countries. (Play video)

In 2004, Scott Harrison felt spiritually bankrupt and made a trip to Africa with Mercy Ships, which we’ll highlight shortly. He saw the joy in the volunteers he journeyed with and he fell in love with Liberia. He recognized the need for clean water and used his Manhattan connections to fund wells around the water with his organization Charity:Water. (Play video)

Gary Haugen was a human rights lawyer for the US focused on cases of police misconduct. In 1994, he was sent to Rwanda with the UN to investigate the genocide there. What he saw changed his life. He realized that the rule of law was important for protecting the poor around the world. Because of this he started International Justice Mission in 1997 and they are a key player in combatting the trafficking in persons right in our neighborhood in SE Asia. (Play video)

In 1952, the American evangelist Everett Swanson travelled to South Korea to preach to US servicemen and was convicted to help the orphans he encountered. Over time, the name changed to Compassion International and thousands of children each year are cared for, educated and introduced to Christ through partnerships with local churches, many in countries we partner with for CARAT.

In 1978 Don and Deyon Stephens heeded God’s call on their lives to bring the love of Christ to those in medical need. So, he bought a ship on which they lived for the next 10 years, and took it to ports in poor countries to provide life changing surgery free of charge. Additionally, everyone onboard the ships are there voluntarily and pay their own way. (Play video)

From 1969-1973 Charles Colson was Richard Nixon’s hatchet man in the administration. A ruthless operator, he was convicted during Watergate and spent 7 months in prison. He became a Christian just a year before his time in prison. During his incarceration, he saw a need for ministry to his fellow inmates so upon his release he founded International Prison Fellowship. (play video)

All of these are just a small sample of the many ways in which people are the hands and feet of Christ in the world. We aren’t all called to found NGOs. We are just called to give Christ our time, talent, and treasure both locally here in the chapel community and in the larger world.

Maybe we volunteer our time to help lead worship, sing in the praise band, or take and count the offering on Sundays. Maybe we volunteer with AWANA, the youth group, or Sunday School. It doesn’t have to be every week for if we all pitch in, we get to share the load. Perhaps we share our time through service in the wider community through Scouts, a soup kitchen, coaching a sport, and other community service opportunities available.

Perhaps we want to offer our talents and sing a solo or present another talent during the offertory. Maybe we share our talents with the local community by sewing clothes, knitting for newborns with Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, etc.

For some of us, our lives are so busy that we can’t imagine putting any extra time into our schedule for volunteering or taking on any additional responsibilities. Well, you can still live into this scripture by funding not just these Christian charities highlighted today, but many others that you have encountered in your lives. Aid agencies need financing and some of us are better equipped for that than others. The money from our offering gets spent in many ways. From providing food at fellowship events to directly funding Christ centered charities. In the coming weeks, we’ll have a discussion as to where those funds are going and where we think they are best directed going forward.

There are many ways to glorify Christ in our actions to the sick, hungry, thirsty, poor, naked, stranger, and prisoner we encounter in our lives and even the ones we may never encounter on this side of eternity. Christ calls us to action and to a living faith so that when he sees us we didn’t know we were serving him. He wants us to live in such a way that, because we treat everyone as if they are Christ among us, we don’t realize he was in front of us the entire time. Then, on that day we’ll say, “when did we encounter you among the suffering” and he’ll respond with “good and faithful servant, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”

Re-Membering Jesus

John 6:51-58

 “Re-Membering Christ”

30 August 2015 St. Andrew’s Chapel Singapore

            Recently a presidential candidate was asked if he ever asked God for forgiveness. He stated he hadn’t asked for forgiveness but he did routinely participate in Communion stating, “When I drink my little wine—which is about the only wine I drink—and have my little cracker, I guess that is a form of asking for forgiveness, and I do that as often as possible because I feel cleansed.”

            As a pastor-theologian, that rankled me a bit. It made me say, wait just a second there buddy. There’s nothing “little” about communion. This isn’t some minuscule thing we celebrate here every week. Communion, Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, however we name this sacrament, is important. The elements may appear simple, but their meaning isn’t. How can someone be so dismissive about such a powerful element of our story?

            And then I answer my own question; I can be that dismissive of the Lord’s Supper. Because it is simple and routine, we are probably all guilty of diminishing the larger actions that occur when we come to this table. We all need forgiveness, spiritual nourishment, community, grace, and a true identity. There aren’t many places where we can find everything we need, but in our Triune God we find all that we need, and this table represents that.

            So what all is going on when we come and “eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood?” What does it mean to abide in Christ and him in us? What does it mean for us to come to this table and remember all that it signifies?

            We remember the fact that Christ was fully human and suffered a human death. We are forced to face the fact that he endured a horrific death following a kangaroo court convened on trumped up charges because he spoke truth to power. This meal represents the irony that Christ was sentenced to death by the very people he came to save; us. However, despite this betrayal, Christ stayed true to himself and us and went through with his death on the cross. By doing that, we are ultimately re-membered into the body of Christ and abide in him.

            We remember our own sins and our perpetual state of sin. None of us are perfect, far from it. Sometimes we forget that we are broken individuals in need of grace and this meal reminds us that all of us come to this table broken, yet loved. Sinners, yet forgiven. Sentenced, yet free. Because Christ abides in us and has re-membered the broken parts of our soul

            So this meal represents our forgiveness. Not just for some of our sins, but for them all. Without any reservation. It represents the forgiveness we all too often fail to give to each other. The Lord’s Supper reminds us of a new reality for us in which we are re-membered into a body of unconditional forgiveness.

            We remember with thanksgiving. This meal is called the Eucharist for a reason. Surprisingly the Greek word is Eucharistia, or Thanksgiving. Now, this meal wasn’t named as such by Christ the night he was betrayed. Rather, it came to be known as the Eucharist over time, but it is appropriate to call it a Thanksgiving meal. For when we reflect on the forgiveness of our sins we can’t help but express thanksgiving for the grace we have received. We are thankful that our souls are re-membered through the grace of Christ.

            This meal also points us to remember community. This meal started out a little differently than the manner in which we participate today. At first, it was a shared community meal around a table with your church family. Because of that, this meal isn’t one to be celebrated in solitude. We need each other to fully understand and appreciate this meal. By partaking of this meal as a Christian community, we are physically demonstrating the re-membering of the present Body of Christ, the church.

            We remember hospitality and equality. This table is for all Christians regardless of their background, their wealth, their health, their race, their gender, their age, or their denominational affiliation. Take a look around, we are all different and have different stories united by the story of Christ proclaimed by this table and our presence around it. We re-member the Body of Christ around this table with Christ abiding in us and us in him.

            We remember Christ’s inspiration in our lives. The story proclaimed by this table has outlasted the test of time because 12 men were inspired to spread the Good News that God became human for our salvation. These men endured death to share that story and make sure it was passed down through the generations. The same story that inspired the Apostles inspires us and we are re-membered with the original 12 in this meal.

            We remember that all we need is right here before us. This table provides all of our needs. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure there will be leftovers. When we come to this table we take all that we need to go out into the world. No matter how much or how little we take there will always be more for those that need more. Every time we come here for nourishment, it’s here waiting to feed us. Our cup runs over, even in the presence of our enemies. When we remember this abundance, we are called to live lives of abundance where we know there is plenty rather than lives of scarcity where we fear there isn’t enough.

            So as we prepare to come forward and partake of this feast, let us remember all that this meal signifies. Let us come to the table not only seeking, but also providing forgiveness. Let us remember to not always seek, but to provide out of our abundance at the same time. Let us not only remember what Christ has done for us, but let us actively strive to re-member ourselves within the Body of Christ.

Swimming With Jesus

Luke 3:15-22

 “Swimming with Jesus”

23 August 2015 St. Andrew’s Chapel Singapore

                        Sometimes a pastor will wonder, how do I introduce a topic as big as baptism to the congregation? Other times, a change in the worship space such as adding a very unassuming baptismal font, will catch the eye of a young girl. Moment of truth; how many of you noticed the simple font last week? Well, last week Bella noticed. She walked right up to it, put her hand in it, and then patted her head with the baptismal water as she headed back to her seat. Kids do the darndest things. But, without saying a word, they speak theology that makes us old folks stop and take notice.

            While you ponder Bella’s theological statement from last week, take a look at another young Christian making quite a theological splash. (Play Cannonball baptism video).

            We all tend to grow up with preconceived notions of what a baptism should look like. Some of us grew up seeing mostly infants trying to figure out why in the world they were dressed up in a long white robe getting water sprinkled on their foreheads by someone in a long black robe. For others, baptism brings forth a vision of people making a conscious decision to invite Christ into their lives and then getting fully immersed into a large pool like the one in the video or into a river, ocean, etc.

            Each of these visions are correct because it isn’t the form of baptism that makes the sacrament work. Baptism is best defined as an outward sign of an inward grace. And when we think about that for a moment it is freeing definition. Calling baptism an outward sign of an inward grace allows us to focus on the grace that has already been bestowed on us. So, what is this inward grace we receive in baptism and how is baptism a freeing event for a believer?

What is more graceful and freeing than the proclamation that we are wonderful and beautiful children of God? When we baptize someone regardless of their age, or the manner in which the baptism was performed, the church is publicly proclaiming that individual as part of the tribe. He is one of us. She is a child of God!

            Not only are we claimed by God as one of his children, God also tells us he is pleased with us. Now, during a baptism I’ve never had the clouds crack open and heard a voice say, “this is my beloved in whom I am well pleased.” But, based on the reactions I’ve seen I know the individual senses that acceptance and love. Again, back to kids understanding theology on a level us adults fail to grasp, look at this photo from the last baptism I had the honor to perform.

Look at young Madaline, in her white dress in front of her dad. Before I baptized her, I had a fun time trying to convince her that I was going to dump all the water in the bell on her head. Maybe that is why she seems frozen in this photo (Madaline’s baptism). Right afterwards, I baptized her little brother. Can you see her reaction in this photo? Let’s zoom in a bit on her. Look at the joy on that face. She gets it. She is on her toes cheering for her brother during his baptism. That is what a free person looks like.

The act of baptism publicly declares that the Holy Spirit is now residing in that person and has endowed them with spiritual gifts that will glorify the Lord. As we discussed a few weeks ago, it could take our entire lifetime to determine what that gift or gifts are. But, regardless of when we discover that gift, we have a purpose. The Spirit gives us that purpose and the church declares its intent to help us discover and nurture that purpose to glorify Christ.

Baptism is also a way in which we state that God is God and we are not. Truly living into this idea is a great way to free ourselves. When we give up our God complex and quit trying to be a messiah of sorts, we free ourselves to not have to fix everything. Our Western culture constantly tells us we need to fix everyone, including ourselves, right now. We aren’t equipped to fix ourselves, much less anyone else. When we live into God and let God handle the big stuff, we free ourselves to live a life that focuses on following Christ and living into the call of our baptism.

Now, don’t take this idea of letting God take care of everything as a license to sit back and let the world pass us by. Baptism doesn’t grant us permission to be passive watchers of the world. None of us are called to sit on the sidelines and watch the game. We are called into the arena of life and to play our position to our fullest. Following Christ is a full contact sport. Because of this we are free to go out and do something. Christ gives us permission to be his hands and feet in the world. As Christ’s ambassadors on Earth, we are called to build bridges and extend relationships. Neither can be accomplished by locking ourselves away from the world.

Baptism also brings us into a community. Not a community where we are all alike, as is the nature of most communities we choose. Rather, we become part of a global community of people of all races from almost every country on the globe. This community of ours is messy and beautiful at the same time. We disagree on one thing, but agree on another. While the Christian community has its internal disagreements, sometimes vehemently, when we live into our baptism we, like the universe point towards justice and reconciliation.

Being part of a loving community frees us to fail. It frees us to try big things. It frees us to love without bounds. Because we know we are supported by all of those around us and that if we fail in the attempt, there are hands to pick us back up, dust us off, nurse our pride, and then send us back out to do God’s work.

Baptism lets us symbolically participate in the death and resurrection of Christ, especially in an immersion baptism. You are immersed under the water representing a death to all that is sinful in you and the world and emerge washed clean and free of sin through a rebirth in Christ. And if you are reborn, free of the weight of punishment of sin you can make a claim to sin boldly such as Martin Luther.

Let's Pray

 

Ephesians 6:10-20

 "Let's Pray”

16 August 2015 St. Andrew’s Chapel Singapore

            If you are like me, you’ve probably heard or read this passage many times in your life. Paul’s vision of protecting ourselves with the whole armor of God is especially vivid. It brings forth the vision of a knight in shining armor going out to defend what they believe is good and right in the world.

            Looking at the news, or just the world around us, we know this passage is especially relevant today for we see destruction and suffering everywhere we choose to look. Understandably, we want to protect ourselves and our loved ones from every bad thing in the world. A passage like this fills us with hope that we can protect ourselves and stand up to the onslaught of the “powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

            Sometimes we read this passage as a way to build up our defenses and hunker down in our own cocoon shielded by the indestructible force field named God. Other times we read this passage as a call to arms, the Gunny saying stand up, buckle up, shuffle to the door. For there is a battle raging and we need to get out there and do our part.

            But, what if we look at this passage as a daily routine to get ourselves ready to face the world? What if this is the equivalent of waking up, getting dressed, eating breakfast, brushing our teeth, gathering everything we need for the day, and stepping out into the world? What if this is how we should continually prepare ourselves to worship everywhere?

            Truth, righteousness, proclamation, faith, and salvation. These are all the things Paul tells us we need to put on or carry to withstand the evil in the world. Wise words from a spiritual hero.

            But, as I reflect on Paul’s words here, I keep coming back to his emphasis on prayer. While all of the armor of God is important, prayer seems the thread that connects it all and keeps the armor ready for whatever it may encounter. If prayer isn’t vital to our survival, Jesus wouldn’t have taught us a certain prayer to get us started. And it is important to note that what we call the Lord’s Prayer was given during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ own kind of call to arms.

            There are two questions we should always ask with a spiritual practice: what it is and how do we do this practice? Let’s explore the what question first.

Many years ago, a series of questions and answers about our faith was written and a few of the questions dealt with prayer. The Larger Catechism defines prayer as, “an offering up of our desires unto God, in the name of Christ, by the help of his Spirit, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.”

I belong to the PCUSA and, in our Book of Order, we define prayer as:

“the heart of worship. In prayer, through the Holy

Spirit, people seek after and are found by the one true God who has been revealed in Jesus Christ. They listen and wait upon God, call God by name, remember God’s gracious acts, and offer themselves to God. Prayer may be spoken, sung, offered in silence, or enacted. Prayer grows out of the center of a person’s life in response to the Spirit. Prayer is shaped by the Word of God in Scripture and by the life of the community of faith. Prayer issues in commitment to join God’s work in the world.” Book of Order W-2.1001

Sometimes our needs are such that words can’t adequately express how we feel. So we use dance, song, art, poetry, etc. Or we groan on the inside. All of these are types of prayer. 

Anne Lamott, an irreverent writer who really can speak to our feelings and struggles in our walk with Christ once wrote, “Here are the two best prayers I know: ‘Help me, help me, help me,’ and ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

We may think that statement a bit simplistic, and maybe it is. But, sometimes the simple answer is the best answer. While my denomination defines 6 (not 2) categories of prayer, I think even these formal categories can boil down to Anne’s two:

Adoration-Praise God for being God

Thanksgiving-Gratitude for what God has done

Confession-Repentance for what we have done or failed to do

Supplication-Plead for ourselves and the gathered community

Intercession-Plead for others, on behalf of others and for the whole world

Self-Dedication-Offer ourselves for the purpose and glory of God.

            Now that we are all experts on how to define prayer, let’s turn to how to pray. First off, there is no one right way to pray. Prayer is messy. It looks weird from the outside. Sometimes it is orderly and formal, other times it’s off the cuff and meandering. It can be individual or corporate.

            Well thanks, Chaps you aren’t helping us out. No I’m not. And that’s because it isn’t my job to help you pray, that’s the job of the Spirit and I sure don’t want to stand in the way of something that makes an entrance with “a sound like the rush of a violent wind” filling this entire chapel with tongues of fire gifting us with many gifts including prayer.

Our friend, The Larger Catechism can guide us by describing how the Spirit is our guide in prayer saying, “We not knowing what to pray for as we ought, the Spirit helpeth our infirmities, by enabling us to understand both for whom, and what, and how prayer is to be made; and by working and quickening in our hearts (although not in all persons, nor at all times in the same measure) those apprehensions, affections, and graces, which are requisite for the right performance of that duty.”

Prayer isn’t our words, but rather inspired words. Even when we are asking for supplication, Anne Lamott’s help me, help me, help me prayers. And I’ll admit, that’s probably my most popular form of prayer. Even in what we may view as selfish moments, prayer is guided by the Spirit giving voice to our groans.

When we pray, we typically use more than one of these six categories at a time. The key to prayer is not hitting the categories or trying to pray a certain way. Paul recognized we are horrible at prayer and that we need the Spirit to interpret our prayers to God. Jesus knew we needed help so gave us a starting point. John Calvin once wrote, “Our prayers depend on no merit of our own, but all their worth and hope of success are founded and depend on the promises of God.” The point is not how you pray or what form you use, but that you pray and maintain that contact with God.

            So let’s explore some different prayers. Typically, us Christians find ourselves uttering formal prayers in worship and using laid back and shorthand language at home. Because of the wide variety of language in prayer, let’s have a little audience response. I’m going to read some prayers and we’ll see if we can determine who wrote, said, or even sung these prayerful words.

“In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die. Where you invest your love, you invest your life.” (Mumford and Sons)

 “Make us instruments of your peace, where there is hatred, let us sow love.” (attributed to St. Francis of Assisi)

“My feets is tired, but my soul is at rest.” (Rosa Parks)

“O Lord, break the internet forever, that she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers.” (Tina Fey)

“May the angels protect you, trouble neglect you.

And heaven accept you when it’s time to go home” (Lady Antebellum is one of many to sing this song)

            “You held me down, but I got up already brushing off the dust. You hear my voice, you hear that sound like thunder gonna shake the ground.” (Katy Perry)

            “I’m not trying to stop a hurricane, I’m not trying to part the ocean waves. I’m just trying to find a way to make it back home.” (American Authors)

            As these examples show, prayer is our speaking to God in the best way we know how. But, prayer isn’t always spoken. Here’s a video of a prayer done as a group movement to a song some here may find familiar. (Share the Well).

Prayer doesn’t have to be something that takes energy or movement, it can be sitting in silence waiting to hear the still small voice of God. How we pray is not the point, the point is that we do pray.

            When asked about how to learn the arts, and prayer is definitely an art, David McCullough, the author of books such as John Adams and 1776 states, “The great thing about the arts is that you can only learn to do it by doing it. And if a child gets that idea early, that that’s how you learn things, by doing it, that may be the most important thing you give them.”

Or, in the immortal words of the sage prophet Yoda, “do or do not, there is no try.”

So let us leave here today committed to prayer. It’s definitely something that could use some work and dedication in my own life. Prayer is a practice, which means we may never totally feel comfortable praying. That’s ok, God knows what we’re trying to say even if we aren’t sure. We just need to commit to the act of prayer in whatever way best allows our heart to speak with God.

Worship Everywhere

Here is the sermon from yesterday at the chapel. Sorry it didn't go up last night, I was busy watching Singapore celebrate their 50th birthday. What a party!

Psalm 100

 “Worship Everywhere”

09 August 2015 St. Andrew’s Chapel Singapore

For the next few weeks, my sermons will provide glimpses into my theology and where I see us heading over the next few years. At times these may seem idealistic and unreachable goals. That’s ok. If anything I ever say touches a theological nerve in you let me know and we can chat over a cup of coffee (or glass of soda for those weirdoes like me who don’t drink ground beans).

So, let’s start with a simple question: Why are we here? And I don’t mean the large metaphysical why but rather why are we here to worship? For many, that is a simple because mom or dad made me come. But why do our parents drag us to church (hopefully we’ll be a community where we don’t feel drug to worship)? And even that has a fairly simple answer, because in passage such as the one I just read God tells us to worship. And we always do what God says, right? So maybe the right question isn’t why do we worship, but what exactly is worship?

Psalm 100 is a great example of what it means to worship. We find there are six imperatives within the Hebrew that tell us how to worship. For those of you looking around wondering what in the world an imperative is, it is a command. And don’t feel bad because this engineer had to relearn all of that stuff they taught me in English when I learned Hebrew in seminary.

The Psalm gives us six one word commands regarding what it means to worship. Shout, Come, Worship/Serve, Know, Praise/Give Thanks, and Bless. For once, God breaks this whole following him thing down Barney style. Can it really be that simple? Let’s take a look at each of these and see.

Shout! Worship excites us about our faith. We are to shout our faith from the mountaintops. We tell people when they ask, but use our lives as the reason they ask.

Come! We are called to worship as a group. We can have worshipful moments alone, but we need others to truly experience the power of worship. Matt. 18:20 “Wherever two are three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Coming together in Christ’s name draws him into the worship making the worship perfect. Community gives encouragement, prayer, support, role models and teachers. Coming together shows us we aren’t in this alone. God knows we can’t succeed in this new way of life alone. Plus, we need each other to make worship work because each of us bring a bounty of gifts that enhance each other’s worship experience.

Worship/Serve! Sitting at God’s feet in a room of other believers we learn we are God’s. God is God and we are not. By serving God we acknowledge there is a higher purpose to our being alive. If we focus on ourselves as the center of all things, we’ll never find that purpose.

Know! We worship in order to learn, and not just from the pastor. Pastors don’t have all the answers. The Word of God is our teacher as it is read and interpreted through others. Again, a community is needed to learn and know of God. We ask ?’s of each other, challenge each other and thus dig deeper into our faith and know more. Worship allows us to know a new story that the world won’t tell you. Worship allows us to know our part in the larger story of God both individually and collectively. Knowing this story opens a new pattern of life that will seem at odd to the world because we know that we aren’t the focus of life.

Praise/Give Thanks! In worship we express our thanksgiving for leading a different and renewed life through the grace of God. Our prayers allow us to directly thank God in words. We learn to respond to God’s Word through our actions. Sometimes we are inspired to give financial resources as a means of praise for God’s impact on our life.

Bless! We are called to leave this place and bless the world as part of our worship. This command tells us to take our worship beyond the walls and that worship continues all week long. These services are a recharge so we can go and live into our original call given through Abraham. In Genesis 12 God says: “I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.” We are blessed to go and be a blessing to the world. We are commanded to take worship into the world. We are tasked to worship everywhere. (Play video clip).

What if we took not just improv comedy into the world in creative ways, but what would it look like to worship everywhere?

Over the next few years, let us do our best to worship everywhere. That doesn’t mean that we have to go out and be street preachers. In fact, that could get us in a whole heap of trouble here in Singapore. What we are called to do is to live our lives in a way that we are always a source of worship.

Shout may look like one who is excited about life, living in such a way that people see the joy in everything you do. Come could be that you are always looking for new ways to be a community or that you are exploring ways to deepen your commitment to a particular community such as this wonderful group of people, or even your office mates. We are relational and need others to fully thrive, so we should go out and embrace that facet of our lives.

Knowing plays itself out in reading the Word outside of worship or group Bible study. Those are important, but we need to study on our own as well as read a variety of things where we see God at work. Even fiction has God in there as the Bible has inspired and is a part of so many works of fiction throughout the ages.

We’ll talk more about our call to serve in a few weeks, but that is more than just helping others. It revolves around our knowledge that we are serving the goals and plan of something greater than ourselves, something greater than the military. Praise and give thanks is something we’ll dig deeper into next week as we explore prayer, but we are called to find the best in others. Let us always live a life full of prayer and thanksgiving in the fact that we serve an awesome God.

Because of all of the above commands, we are allowed to be a blessing to the world. We can operate in a way that the tribulations of the world, while significant and burdensome don’t win. Christ has already won and we are the instruments to spread that blessing to the world.

This is how we become members of the gospel troupe Worship Everywhere. Let us take the lessons of Psalm 100 out into the world so that everyone sees our worship not in our words but in our actions, in our demeanor, in our being.

When we do this and take worship into the world, there is a good chance that something amazing will happen. We will become people who see God’s blessing all around us, we’ll see God’s hand at work in all of creation. Because we are worshipping everywhere we’ll see God everywhere. (Show Instagram photo). We’ll even see God at play in a opening door. This photo is from the Duke Youth Academy for Christian Formation during Lent with #rethinkchurch. The caption reads, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.”

Let’s not confine our worship to this beautiful chapel. Worship is more than music, or prayers, or silence, or reading the Bible. Worship should be the core of our living. So, as you go about the week and see something that you find sacred and worshipful, take a photo and send it to me through one of the ways on the screen. And yes, your chaplain is on Twitter and Instagram.

Use #worshipeverywhere and we’ll incorporate those into our worship experiences. Live tweet our services. I’m working on getting WiFi in here to facilitate that, but give me some time.

For many Christians the idea of having a “liturgical chaplain” is a bit scary. Many people are skeptical of liturgy for fear that it makes church feel like a stuffy service from the frozen chosen of the Presbyterians (and yes, I can pick on them because they are my people). But, I want you to provide me a bit of grace and space to briefly explain the structure of this new worship format and hopefully make liturgy a word that you love.

Liturgy provides a form to our worship time. How we follow that form is meant to be fluid, allowing space for the Spirit to move in our worship and in our lives. By providing a repetitive structure each week, we provide ourselves with space to practice out our faith so that we can take a strengthened faith out into the world and, like our comedic friends we met today, truly worship everywhere.

If we look at the order or worship, there are four movements to our worship, and all of the elements under each movement relate. When we arrive, we gather as a community offering praise and thanks to God through prayer, song, and greeting each other in the name of Christ. Soon we’ll add a prayer of confession into our gathering movement. This sets our frame of mind for what comes next, our proclamation of God’s Word where we can hear, or maybe see, Scripture and then meditate on how we can apply that word to our lives.

After hearing God’s word, we are called to respond to that word in a variety of ways. We’ll sing, offer our time, talent, and treasure, proclaim our faith, pray for God’s help in living out our calling, and participate in sacraments. Finally, we will take the world into the world so we can #worshipeverywhere. We do this by singing together and receiving a blessing on our way.

If comedy can work everywhere, we can take this liturgy, this basic structure for telling the greatest story ever and apply it to anytime we gather together for worship and study and let it soak into our lives so that it structures how we live every day. Gathering together as brothers and sisters in Christ, opening ourselves to hearing God’s word and seeing the worshipful moments all around us, then discerning how to apply that word, or object lesson into our lives, and finally, blessing the rest of the world with that worshipful moment. When we let the liturgy of worship guide the entirety of our lives, then we truly are a community that worships everywhere, because God is everywhere.