I am ______________

For my personal devotional Scripture reading, I have began to read through the New Testament again. My goal this time is to read through these 27 books in 90 days, about 3 chapters a day. Today I started into the gospel of Luke. 

In the first chapter of Luke's gospel the angel Gabriel appears to two people to make incredible birth announcements. 

First, Gabriel comes to Zechariah. 

Zechariah was a priest, and was on duty at the temple in Jerusalem. I say "on duty" because the priests worked in rotational shifts to carry out thier work at the Temple, and at this particular time it was Zechariah's group who were serving. And Zechariah himself was chosen this particular day to burn the incense in the temple as the people were gathered outside in prayer. 

While Zechariah was in the temple, Gabriel showed up. 

The second bith announcement was to Mary. 

Mary was pledged, or engaged, to be married to a man named Joseph. Mary was likely a young teenage Jewish girl. 

What makes both of these angelic visits so fascinating (other than the obvious fact that an angel shows up!!) is who Zechariah and Mary were. Zechariah is old, and his wife Elizabeth is old. And even though they had prayed for many years for a child, that had not happened. 

And Mary is a virgin. She is not doing anything that could possibly result in her having a baby.

And yet, of course, Elizabeth gives birth to a son, John. And Mary gives birth to the Son, Jesus. 

What I found interesting today as I read this first chapter of Luke again, was the response of Zechariah and Mary to what Gabriel had to say to them. 

Back in the temple when Gabriel made his announcement to Zechariah, here is what Zechariah said, "I am old" (Luke 1:18b)

(by William Blake, Metropolitan Museum of Art)

And here is what Mary said, "I am the Lord's servant" (Luke 1:38)

(By Fra Angelico, Museum of San Marco, Florence)

And those two responses, I think, are a good picture of how we can choose to respond to what God is speaking to us today as well. 

Zechariah chose to focus on his limitation. 

"I am old"

I wonder what physical limitations we would put in that statement? Perhaps it is the same one, "I am old". I have thought about that as I am nearing 50. More gray in my beard and more aches in my bones. And realistically, more years behind me than in front of me. I will be commissioned as a Provisional Elder in the UMC this year, so that means at least 3 more years before I fully ordained. 

As I see some of the younger seminary students in the same place as I am, sometimes it makes me feel old.

Or would you say "I am not smart enough", or "I am not educated enough" "I am not talented enough", or "I am not able to do that", or "I am not as good as her", or "I am....just not enough"?

So, let me take you back into the temple for a moment. 

Zechariah is literally standing face to face with Gabriel, an angel sent from God! He is full of ALL the emotions and has ALL the feels right now. 

And after hearing Gabriel tell him that his prayers will be answered, that he and his wife will have that child that they have been praying about for years, his response is to focus on what he perceives as a limitation. 

"I am old".

And then Gabriel just cuts him right off and says, "I am Gabriel" (Luke 1:19a)

I love that! Read that again.

"I AM old"

"I AM Gabriel"

There is no limitation to God's promises. So how do we understand and live into a promise from God that seems, well, too miraculous for us to comprehend?

Let me take you back to that encounter between Mary and Gabriel.

Mary's does ask a legitimate question when she first hears that she will give birth to a Son, who "will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendents forever; his kingdom will have no end" (Luke 1:32-33), and her question is "how will this be since I am a virgin?" (1:34)

Legitimate questions are OK. In fact, questions are good. I believe that the Lord welcomes our questions, and our questions can often help us grow in our faith. Mary's question was answered in the best way that she (and we) could possibly have it answered to understand this upcoming incarnation. 

But then Mary's reponse was "I am the Lord's servant". 

I see that in stark contrast to Zechariah's, "I am old". 

And I think they are both there for a reason, for us. Zechariah was the priest. He was the one literally working in God's "house". He had years of knowledge and experience. He was well trained and well versed in his faith. 

And then there was Mary, a young, probably lower middle class, teenager. 

How would fill in this blank today; "I AM ______________________________"

Is your answer a reflection of your percived limitation, or is your answer a reflection of the power and might of our Most High God? And what is that the Lord is saying to you that you have dismissed because of your feelings of limitation? What promise is God asking you to step into today? 

Let Mary's response be your prayer. Simple and yet incredibly profound. A declaration of not what limists us, but rather of what sets us free. Not a statement of who we are of ourselves, but whose we are in Christ Jesus. 

Prayer: "Lord, I am your servant. Amen"

The burning question in Methodism today

 Today I was asked THE burning question in Methodism. And no, it had nothing to do with my faith in Jesus. 

Today I co-officiated a memorial service in Greeneville, TN. The woman that we gathered to celcbrate the life of had passed away earlier this year and today was the occassion to lay to rest her cremains beside her husband. 

When I arrived I parked behind a gentleman who got out of his car with a guitar and Bible in hand, and even though I had never met him, I was pretty sure this was the pastor that I was working with because I had been told that he would be singing, in addition to sharing a message. And he did a wonderful job! His wife and three small children sang on 2 songs with him, and it was an honor to work with him today. 

I appreciate working ecumenically with other colleagues! We have so much more in common than what we disagree on. After all, we all see Jesus as the main thing of all things, and if Jesus is the main thing then I believe our disagreements on other things really isn't that big of a deal. 

At least not in an eternal perspective.

But interestingly enough, as soon as my pastor colleague found out I was United Methodist he asked me THE question,"So are you going to align with the United Methodist or the Global Methodist when your church splits?"

And my heart sank. 

It always does when I hear talk of our "ineveitable" denominational split. I was not born a United Methodist. I chose this because I felt like the UMC chose me. I was welcomed and loved at a smaller membership in Chuckey, TN, Stone Dam UMC. I was encouraged there to participate fully in the life of the church (and yes, I was asked to serve on some committees, too). My first Sunday visiting that church I was invited to walk forward to share in Holy Comunion. There was no talk about my church membership, my beliefs, what I had done or where I had been the night before, they just invited me to come receive the sacramental grace offered at the Lord's Table. 

Because after all, everyone is welcome and everyone has a place at the table. 

I don't fault  my colleague for asking the question. It's all over Christian News networks. And some churches are talking about it alot, and have been for years. I haven't been talking about a split in my beloved Church, because I don't want that to happen. 

I have another dear friend who is serving a 3-point charge in our denomination who thinks I am a little naive in my desires. Many Methodists see a denominational split as inevitable and needed. I would prefer us to remain "United". 

But I suppose that many people in the United Methodist Church have already made up thier minds on the question that was asked to me today. 

And I suppose if I must answer a question on this apprently ineveitable split (though my prayer is still that God will work a new way to keep us all together because we are all needed to be the "church" and we are all deeply loved by our Creator God), then I suppose that my answer is that I am a United Methodist Pastor for as long as the United Methodist Church exists. And that is for many more and deeper reasons than the current issues that are causing potential schism. 

 I have friends on both sides of this, and I feel sort of in the middle. Not because I am not sure of what I believe, but because I prefer to stay close to my friends who are on polor opposite ends. 

I am sure that I willl be asked THE burning question in Methodism again sometime. And I look forward to reading about the amazing things that are happening in Methodist churches all over the world again soon as well. And maybe a split will need to happen to get us to that point. But I am still praying not. 

So I leave you with another burning question. And it has nothing to do with "United" or "Global". 

Do you love Jesus?