Burdens and Baggage

I read a story this week about a dad who was on a hike with his daughter. She was tired and wanted to go home and was begging him to carry her bucket of rocks.

Evidently, they had been hiking for a while. She had been picking up rocks and twigs and dumping them into a little pink plastic bucket. Now, however, she wanted to go home. She was too tired to walk and carry the bucket. So, she was crying and asking her dad to carry the bucket for her. He told her, “No.” He could see how tired she was, but he could also see something she could not. He knew she needed someone to do something more than merely carry her bucket.

So, he knelt down, and asked her to carry the bucket while he picked her up and carried her on his shoulders. She began to cry. She did not want to carry the bucket, but he lifted her up anyway. He hoisted her with her bucket on his shoulders and started to walk away. And as he carried her she rested the pink bucket of rocks on his head.

In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

I have preached the sermons before on what we need to lay down, and that is true to an extent. There is baggage in our lives that we carry with us that we need to lay down. There are past experiences and regrets that we need to lay down. There are habits and hang-ups that we need to lay down at the feet of Jesus and walk away from.

And for those things, that baggage needs to be given to God so that we can be free of them. We weren’t ever meant to carry those.

But then there are some burdens which we can’t lay down. There are some things that are affecting our lives right now, or the lives of our loved ones, that are heavy and tiresome, but are just part of life right now. We can’t lay them down and walk away because they are right here with us.

That’s where the picture of the dad and his daughter I think is helpful. Maybe there are some things which we just have to carry right now, in this season of our lives. But how do we do that when we just want God to carry them for us? What about the burden? I think the answer is in the yoke.

It’s an interesting picture, especially as we think about our freedom we celebrated just a week ago. The apostle Paul said that we are free in Christ and should never again be bound by the yoke of slavery. Throw the yoke off, I am free!

And yet Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me”.

A yoke was a wooden crosspiece that was normally fastened around the necks of two animals to pull a plow or a cart.

The yoke does not alleviate the burden, but the yoke does share the burden. And Jesus’ offer here is not necessarily to take it all away, but to submit to a different kind of yoke. To work in partnership with Christ. And you will find rest for your souls.

I believe we all need some soul rest, especially right now. May you find it today, yoked to Jesus Christ our Lord to carry the burdens of today, knowing that God is with you.

 

 

The Prodigal's Father

Jesus continued, “There was a man who had two sons”.

                Most people probably know at least something about this verse. It is from Luke 15:11. And the story that follows is most often referred to as the parable of the “Prodigal Son”. The parable is part of three separate stories that Luke 15 contains about being lost; a lost sheep, a lost coin, and here in verses 11-32, a “lost” son.

                I have preached and taught, written and studied, about this lost-ness many times over the years. Most often we are told to see ourselves as the prodigal son, the one who leaves home and does what he or she wants, and then realizes what he left behind, and so the ‘prodigal’ comes back home. There is a deep truth in that for each of us, we are this son. The story is a call to come back home, and the welcome that our Father will give us with open armed forgiveness, grace, and even a heavenly party.

                Sometimes perhaps we see ourselves as the older brother, the one who stayed home and worked for his father while his little brother squandered his inheritance and then only came home when his good times friends had left him and his money was gone. He wasn’t happy at his father’s reaction when his partying little brother decided to come home. He felt like he deserved more since he had followed the rules, he had worked hard, he had been there. There is a deep truth in that for each of us, we are this brother at times as well. It is a reminder of how much God loves all of His children, uniquely and collectively.

                And it is God who we see as the Father in this story. The one who graciously gives to his son and lets him go, and then graciously accepts him back into the family when he returns home. There is no long lecture, there is no “I told you so”, there is simply acceptance in love. There is a party thrown, a celebration because this son was “dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:33).

                Maybe you can identify with the father in this story as well. I know some of you who have had a child leave and you waited day after day until she returned. I know some of you who are still waiting.  

December 19, 2019 gave me a new perspective on this story. It was the day that my daughter left a note and left home.

                Jesus doesn’t tell us what the father did while the son was gone.

But now I know.

He prayed for his child every day. He sent letters and texts, and emails, and snaps. He got angry, and sad, and frustrated. He grieved what felt like the death of his child, even though his child was not physically dead, but day to day he never even really knew that for sure.

                He wondered how this could happen. Why did this happen? Weren’t they a happy family? Didn’t his kids really love each other? Didn’t his child really love him? Where did they go wrong? How could his child feel that leaving a 3-page note was easier than talking to her parents?

                And so he every day he checked his mailbox, checked his inbox, checked to see if the text had been read, checked to see if the snap had been opened, checked the obituaries.

                He hugged his wife more often and cried for no apparent reason other than for seeing a picture that his daughter had painted, or hearing a song that she liked. He ate dried banana chips, even though he never liked them, because it was one of her favorite snacks.

                In the parable the son came home. Maybe yours will too. Maybe mine will. I don’t know. What I do know is how much the father loves, and the hole in the father’s heart when the child walks away. And the father’s longing to have that child come home.

                I have a new perspective on this story now. I didn’t want it. But I have it. Gender identity and pronoun usage aren’t as big of a deal when your child is gone, you just want them back.

                I have four other amazingly wonderful children that I thank God for every day. And yet every day I look for the one who is gone.

                I only have a human glimpse into the pain that God feels as we turn away from Him, for the sadness God feels when He reaches out every single day to talk to us and we ignore Him and don’t respond. If you’re waiting on someone today, keep waiting. Keep praying. Don’t give up, because God never gave up on us.

                One day we will be in the very presence of God forever, and any pain here will be gone, and every tear will wiped away. One day reconciliation will be complete and perfect. And until that day comes, I will continue waiting, and looking, and longing for the day when I can say, “we have to celebrate and be glad, because this sister of yours was dead and is alive again, was gone and now she is home, she was lost and now is found”.

               

Accompany Them With Singing

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GLS7UI/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

One of the books that I used in a worship class years ago was Thomas Long’s “Accompany Them With Singing”. 

It is a book for pastors and churches on death and funerals. I was always struck by the title, and have referenced this book many times over the years. One premise behind the book is that the earliest funeral services involved movement, procession, proclamation of the Word, and singing. If you’ve ever seen a funeral procession through the downtown quarter of New Orleans headed to the cemetery, then you have an image of Long is talking about.

Last Saturday I thought about this idea of “accompanying” again. It was another funeral service already this year, this time for a Telford UMC member. There is an element of “accompanying” that is always on my mind for every funeral service that I officiate. It is my honor to stand beside and walk with the body of your loved ones and my parisherners to their final earthly resting place. It is with much care and prayer that I accompany them. As I walked out of the funeral home that day with the casket was behind me as we headed to the hearse, I led a processional of vehicles to the cemetery as I prayed for the family and thanked God for his grace and love, and then at the graveside I waited for the casket to be removed from the hearse, and I led the pallbearers to the grave.

There is much accompanying in the funeral service. We never leave our loved one alone.

And that is a reminder for where we are today, accompanied by God who will never leave us alone.

And we sing. One of the early nicknames for the people called Methodists was the “singing Methodists”, because of their lust and zeal to sing their faith. We sing at funerals because singing is one way that we still to this day, and even in these trying times, testify to our faith, and also a way that we accompany one another in harmony as well as in life.

One part of the last couple of months that has been so hard is that many people have felt alone. And we were never meant to be alone. God is unity in Himself as the trinity, the 3-in-1 Godhead of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And that example of unity is seen in God’s creation as well. Isolation is not good for any species, and in fact togetherness is critical for survival. Genesis 1 tells us that, “The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Genesis 1:18a).

Maybe today you need to sing. And know that you are not alone. We will accompany one another in person again soon, and in the meantime, the best of all, God is accompanying us now.

So “Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord all the earth” (Psalm 96:1), and know that God is accompanying you today, that He goes with you this week and will never leave you. Your eternal accompaniment is secure.

I Miss Your Smile

During this time of quarantine there have been many things that we haven’t been able to do, that we were used to doing. The stay-at home order made me even more aware of the simple little things that I would often take for granted. Honestly, I never even really liked going to Wal-Mart until I was told to stay home and not go, or that when I did the number of people would be limited. Going to the gym, to the mall, or even to church, are all things that we have not been able to do during this time (honestly, I don’t go to the gym but it sounded good when I wrote it).

            My point today is that there are many things that we miss. I have been thinking about what I miss the most. No, going to the gym isn’t one of them. The worship and community life of the church is something that I miss, and being a pastor that is probably a good thing. I miss visiting people in their homes, and making rounds to the nursing homes where I have members staying as residents. I even miss going to the hospital and seeing some of my chaplain friends.

I miss going to the store and talking to a cashier without a plexi-glass barrier between us, and I miss standing in line without 6 feet of required distance in between me and the other person. OK, so I don’t really miss standing in line either, but I was just making a point about the social distance.

            But all of these regulations are for good reason, and should be taken seriously. Of course there are other things that we can do even in the midst of what we can’t right now.

            Of all these things, however, the one thing that I miss the most is seeing people’s smiles.

            When we wear a mask it’s hard to see the smile.

            1 Corinthians 3 tells the story of Moses meeting with God on the mountain and wearing a veil, or a covering, over his face when he came back among the people. The reason was because Moses’ face was shining so brightly with the glory of God that it would literally freak the people out if they saw it themselves. So, Moses covered it up when he was around the people, he wore a veil over his face. But when he went back up the mountain to be in the presence of God, he would take it off.

            Now I know that the reason we wear masks today is not to cover up the glory of God from other people seeing that on our faces, but rather to cover up the possibility that we would get others sick from what is coming out of our mouths. But, work with me here for just a minute.

            It is recommended that we cover our faces when we are around other people for the time being. And there is good reason for that. But when we are alone in the presence of our Lord, we can take that mask off.

            “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord”- 1 Corinthians 3:18.

            So here’s what I am thinking, since our mouths are covered with our masks, and other people can’t see our smile, then we have to let that smile shine with more than just our mouths. We need eye-smiles. Smiles that let another person know, even from behind the mask, that this will all be OK, that this will all be well, and that God is with us. And when we come before the Lord and have our time alone with him, remove that mask, that veil, and as you do allow His grace to remove any mask that is covering who we really are, so that our authentic selves may be in communion with our Creator.

            I miss seeing your smile. So when we pass by one another, even at a 6’ distance, let your smile shine with more than just your mouth. Allow that God-glory to radiate from you. Because right now, we all need that.

Smile on!

           

Church in 2020--Stay Home

Easter Sunday 2020 will be remembered a lot longer than most of our previous Easter Sunday celebrations. For my family we were not able to all be together, and I missed that. We were not able to have a big choral cantata celebration, and I missed that. We were not all able to gather together for Easter pictures as a family, or as a church family, and I missed that.

            But we were still able to gather for worship, to share in Holy Communion in a new way, and we were still able to proclaim, “He is risen! He is risen indeed!”. We were able to hear sermons from a bunch of different preachers, and even virtual choirs coming together through Zoom and a little editing software to bring us glorious Easter hymns like “Christ the Lord is risen today!”

            Yes, Easter was different, but wasn’t it a memorable day?

            And now Eastertide, the season of Easter that leads us to Pentecost in May, will be different as well. I don’t know when the churches where I serve as pastor will be back together for in-person worship. I know that there are area churches that are still worshipping together in the same building, but we will not be doing that until the health concerns and our stay-at-home orders are lifted.

            So what do we do in the meantime? Online gatherings have offered one way to stay connected, whether that be through Facebook live or Zoom meetings. Personal phone calls are still a great way to stay connected, and I have received more cards in the mail over the past 2 weeks than I have in a normal year.

            But here’s the other thing that I want to remind us of today. This is a great opportunity to grow in your faith, and to impact the faith of those in your own household. This is an incredible discipleship moment.

            At the end of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church he wrote, “The churches here in the province of Asia send greetings in the Lord, as do Aquila and Pirscilla and all the others who gather in their home for church meetings” (1 Corinthians 16:19).

            Church meetings in the home. That was how our faith gatherings began, not in buildings or even in large groups. It was never about that. It was about “house churches”, which was families who learned the faith by living it out in relationship with those closest to them. They read, studied, and discussed the Scriptures, not because they each had their own copy, but from an oral tradition that was handed down within the family unit. The house church. The family church living out faith, singing the hymns and psalms, and even breaking bread and sharing meals together. A holy act when the Lord is invited to be present.

            I am not loving this time of quarantine and the restrictions imposed upon us, but I do believe that we can learn something here where we are, and that we can grow in our faith here where we are. And maybe there is a tradition for those “who gather in their home for church meetings” that can be reclaimed for the glory of God in this time as well.

            We are the church. Not the building. Not the preacher. Not the choir. Not the stained glass windows. I would rather be preaching every Sunday from the pulpit. But I don’t think that would be wisest course of action at this time for the people who I minister to, the people who I love.

            Staying apart is hard. But perhaps we can reclaim a home-church model that will deepen the faith of those who are trying to live it out, so that when we come back together we will be able to live out this deeply disciplined faith as a truly dispersed church in the world.

            How are you deepening your faith while at home? Are you connected in an online small group? Do you think that the small-group house church model is a way to reach new people who would never come into a traditional church building? I don’t have all the answers, but I would love to hear your thoughts.

           

Isolated, but not Alone

           

As I am writing this the state of TN was the latest in the line of states to declare stay at home acts. This is a hard time that we are living in, there is no doubt about that. Every day we are told of how many more people around the world have contracted Covid-19, and how many deaths have been due to this virus. Of course we also want to know how many Americans, and then we need that broken down into how many Tennesseans and even how many in Washington County.

            There is no shortage of this information. The news outlets seem to cover nothing but this, and there are even 24-hour a day streaming platforms to give us up to the minute details of the numbers, the people, affected. We are told of the economic implications that will affect us for years after the epidemic of the virus has been controlled.

            Jobs have been lost, graduations have been cancelled, school will be done a new way, and employers who can keep their workers are struggling to fund creative ways to allow work from home and still stay in business.

            There is no end to the effects of Covid-19. And daily the death toll rises.

            What are we to do?

            The gospel of Mark begins in a unique way, “This is the Good News about Jesus” (Mark 1:1a). Mark does not begin with a genealogy to show Jesus’ heritage and messianic claims, nor does he talk of shepherds and angels and Mary and Joseph. Mark jumps right into Jesus at age 30, being baptized in the Jordan River. Immediately after this Mark says that Jesus began calling his disciples and performing many miracles and healings.

            And then, right in the 1^st chapter of this gospel, Mark writes these words, “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray” (Mark 1:35).

            Isolation. That’s a scary word, and perhaps even more so in the culture of our day. Patients in hospitals all over the world are alone as family members are not allowed to be there with them. The CDC advice to anyone who feels ill is self-quarantine, and in many homes there are isolated people living under the same roof.

            When we are isolated we feel alone. And feeling alone can feed a feeling of fear.

            But I have always found that it interesting, that right off the bat in Mark’s gospel, as he is laying the groundwork of who Jesus is and what is important in Jesus and in life in general, that he intentionally says that Jesus sought out some isolation. Not to be alone completely, but to be alone with his Father, and to engage in a very specific and intentional act….prayer.

            I don’t know where you will be when you read this, or what the numbers of Covid-19 impact will be. But here is what I am thinking that we can do today, allow a time of staying at home, of staying away from others, to draw us closer to our God.

            Seek an intentional isolated place today, and maybe that isn’t going to be too hard. Maybe it’s a favorite chair, or room in your house. If you can get outside in your yard then maybe that provides a great prayer spot for you.

            And then just pray.

Speak to God what is on your heart.

            And know that even in isolation, you are not alone.

The rhythm of the lectionary

                We need some balance in our lives right now. We need some continuity in our lives right now.

                Hebrews 13:8 says that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

                That is a verse we all need in times like this. Knowing that in an upside down out of control world that God is still His always right side up in control Self.

                I would encourage you to hang on to that verse, especially in the week ahead.

                And I want to give you another unchanging resource as well.

                The lectionary.

                Vanderbilt Divinity Library defines the lectionary in this way:

The Revised Common Lectionary is a three-year cycle of weekly lections used to varying degrees by the vast majority of mainline Protestant churches in Canada and the United States. The RCL is built around the seasons of the Church Year, and includes four lections for each Sunday, as well as additional readings for major feast days. During most of the year, the lections are: a reading from the Hebrew Bible, a Psalm, a reading from the Epistles, and a Gospel reading. During the season of Easter, the Hebrew Bible lection is usually replaced with one from the Acts of the Apostles. The lections from the Hebrew Bible are sometimes chosen from the Apocrypha.

The seasons of the Church Year reflect the life of Christ. Consequently, the gospel lections for each Sunday provide the focus for that day. The other lections for a given day generally have a thematic relationship to the gospel reading for that day, although this is not always the case. In Ordinary Time, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two sets of readings for the lessons from the Hebrew Bible. One set proceeds mostly continuously, giving the story of the Patriarchs and the Exodus in Year A, the monarchial narratives in Year B, and readings from the Prophets in Year C. In the other set of readings for Ordinary Time, the readings from the Hebrew Bible are thematically related to the gospel lections. Denominations or local churches generally use either the semicontinuous readings or the thematic readings during Ordinary Time. They do not typically move back and forth between the two over the course of a single season.

The gospel readings for each year come from one of the synoptic gospels according to the following pattern:

Year A - Matthew

Year B - Mark

Year C - Luke

Readings from the Gospel of John can be found throughout the RCL.[i]

So, basically the lectionary is a set of daily Scripture readings, from the Old Testament, from the Gospel, from the Psalms, and from an Epistle (basically Acts-Revelation). I wanted to share all this today because I find the lectionary to be a gift of comfort amid the craziness of the world, especially right now. The lectionary, in conjunction with our church calendar, give us a rhythm and routine to life and worship, and that the two are always connected.

A few years ago I started beginning every day with a reading from the Psalms. Then I incorporated the daily lectionary reading in as well, Old Testament and New Testament. And in this ancient scriptural practice I found a beautiful routine that was comforting, not boring, routine, but not regular.

For me, the lectionary calendar provides a routine that I desperately need.

In my first appointment I came thinking of all the ways that we could change up the worship service, from the music to where I preached from, even to the bulletins and the order of worship. I wanted to make sure that no one was too “comfortable”, which I assumed then would lead to “complacent”. As I sat one afternoon and talked to a recently widowed church member, she said these words, “I can’t wait to get back to church. My life is so out of control right now. At least in church I know what to expect. I know what comes next.”

What to expect.

What comes next.

Those are things that we want now, also, I think.

Her words have stuck with me. I didn’t need to change up an order of worship, there is something important, there is something comforting, in knowing what comes next.

As I sit here this morning writing these words I am looking out my window, and I can’t see past the road at the end of my yard. I know that there are trees on the other side of the road. I know that Willie and Barbara live just to the left. But I can’t see anything past my yard. It doesn’t mean that the trees and the Gehlen’s house is not there anymore, just because I can’t see it. It just means that right now there is something blocking the view for me.

The lectionary is kind of like this for me. I can’t see everything that will happen, and that’s ok. I can see what I need to see, and I know, at least for this moment, what will come next.

I want to encourage you, as we are in this unique time in our lives, to engage in the lectionary with me. I have posted links to both the daily readings (we are in Year A right now), and the Sunday readings, on our Telford United Methodist Church website under the “Ministries” tab (https://webtelfordunitedme.wixsite.com/mysite/ministries-1)

You can even click here to import all of these readings directly into your online calendar!! https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/calendar.php

I hope that the lectionary can be a gift of comfort to you during these days and weeks ahead. And know that there are so many others around the world reading the same Scripture with you today.

And if you haven’t done this yet, you can also sign up to receive a daily devotional email based on the Scripture readings from the lectionary directly from members of our Holston Conference. You can sign up to get this daily email here: https://list.robly.com/subscribe?a=86212b741523f9e41a9d3b61c1c0c05a

Things are different. And they will continue to be. But our God is the same, always and forever. In the midst of the changing landscape of the world we live in, know that God’s promises to you in Scripture, His love shown to you in Jesus, and His presence with you in the Holy Spirit, remains unchangeable and eternal.

Rest in that knowledge. Be comforted in that truth. And engage in a routine with the Lord that brings you closer to Him.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Michael

For those interested, here is my “normal” routine for engaging with the lectionary readings:

1.       Read a Psalm (actually right now I am not reading the recommended Psalm for the day, I am reading through the Psalter in order again, from Psalm 1 to Psalm 150. Sometimes I break up the longer Psalms into more than one day, do whatever you feel God leading you to).

2.       Read the New Testament passage

3.       Read the Old Testament passage

4.       Read a brief devotional (Sometimes I use the Upper Room, or sometimes the Holston Conference email devotional that is listed above—I like this because it goes along with the Scripture I just read. Right now I am reading this book, https://www.amazon.com/Library-Lewis-Selections-Influenced-Spiritual/dp/0307730824, which is a collection of short quotes from some of the writers who influenced CS Lewis.) There are also thousands of devotions through your Youversion Bible app.

5.       Prayer (I keep a prayer journal of prayer requests, what I am thankful for, supplications of others), I begin with the Lord’s Prayer because that helps center me

There is no right or wrong way here, and this structure works for me right now, but will change perhaps as I continue to mature and change as well. Find what works for you where you are right now in your relationship with God. W

We will get through this because God is with us. Take precautions, stay home if you can, follow the health and safety guidelines, and engage with your Father. He’s waiting….

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[i] https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/faq2.php