i am unimportant and insignificant. who are you?

gandhi is supposed to have said quite famously, "be the change you wish to see in the world." this is all well and good, but in my estimation it is difficult for most people to decide where to start that change.

last night in our community gathering we talked about a passage from matthew 25 where jesus tells to some a forlorn story. it seems harsh and as though it rails at people who are on the outside of a certain group. without boring everyone from here to timbuktu, let it suffice to say that jesus talks here of all nations being called to him. in other words, everyone has an equal shot. that is as far as i will go with this bit of exegesis, but if you want further explanation just ask.

perhaps what i think is most interesting about this passage though is that jesus suggests our actions matter. the way in which we treat one another is significant. i have studied the idea of community for the past 6-7 years. what i have learned in that time, both experientially and academically, is that it takes intentionality. so often we believe that it will simply happen. surely our desire for it to occur counts for something, but community does not simply spring up wherever we find ourselves. it is something that is developed.

more interesting still to me is that many people equate the words translated most often "least of these" in the passage to marginalized, homeless, poverty level people. i believe these people are included in this group, however i believe we let ourselves off the hook in suggesting this translation. a more accurate translation of this word in the greek could be the "less significant" or "unimportant." to be sure, any people we have marginalized or deemed beyond redemption have been considered unimportant or less significant than ourselves, but i think the meaning is broader and the implications broader still. i see this as a cultural reminder of the fact that all people are deserving of love and compassion, dignity and respect. it is as though jesus suggests that we are to treat those to whom we have no obligation in extravagant ways. we are to go out of our own way to make sure those people to whom we owe nothing and are not beholden are taken care of.

i imagine that first century jewish and roman ears would have heard this message pertaining to the cultural system set up to remind them that they had no obligation to those below them. they owed taxes to caesar and the state demanded your complete obligation. but you had no obligation to the infirm, those outside your household, and certainly to those you had no business interaction with. in our 21st century haze, the message remains the same. we talk as though we have obligation only to those we see most often, work for, or have a nationalist allegiance to, but the reality is we are called to treat all people with love, dignity, and respect.

for the pragmatists out there who are connecting the dots and want the how-to of the lesson of communal living, i suggest the following: it begins and ends with intention. we must be intentional about how we interact with other people. we too often, in my opinion, fail to recognize the amount of responsibility and creative authority we have as humans in relation to god. we participate in a grand way as co-creators with god. and in america specifically i believe this starts with vulnerability. we must learn to talk about ourselves in unguarded and authentic ways. we too frequently hide behind masks of who we want others to see us as, and then wonder how we never know the needs of our neighbors or friends. we must learn to be genuine in our presentation of who we are in order to facilitate relationships that meet needs and foster change in our communities. and then we can begin to see the change we wish to be in the world.

it takes balance

life takes balance.

balance is not something we are good at in the good ole' u s of a. as a matter of personal opinion, i believe it is to blame for a lot of our problems in our country. think about it for a moment.

corporate greed -- out of balance contentment with sufficiency
failing marriages at alarming rates -- our of balance sense of commitment, what relationships should be
increasing and alarming rates of obesity -- out of balance self-care and dietary knowledge, not to mention marketing strategies of those companies promoting fast food
unchecked consumerism -- again out of balance sense of contentment with sufficiency
poverty in a country with more wealth than just about any other country in the world -- unbalanced sense of wants vs. needs on the part of those with wealth and power

i could go on for awhile, but i think the point has been made. we are out of balance.

in my own life this has shown up in several recent encounters and events.

1. my wife and i are close to closing on a house. we struggled a lot with what was enough space and how to best make a decision about location, layout, and design in order to promote a healthy balance in our lives and impact in the world. i hope we have made a conscientious and appropriate decision with the house we have chosen. what i do know is that this experience stretched me to think beyond myself. it forced me to think about how this decision would affect the unborn twin boys my wife is carrying and our relationship as husband and wife. it is by no means our dream home, but what i realized very early on is that i can be content in just about any home, but finding the balance of where contentment meets functionality is what would be significant in our search. this meant that there would be compromise on things and outright rejection of selfish wants on others.

2. i ran a relay marathon last weekend in coprus christi, tx. in some very irreverent yet genuine way, i felt that running in a city named for the body of christ was appropriate for the suffering that i inflicted upon myself. i knew i was going to run about 4.6 miles for months. i had done decent training leading up to the race, but with life surrounding me i let down the couple of weeks leading up to the race, and i paid for that. i ran poorly; i realized i was out of shape; and i came to the understanding that i have allowed my life to get out of balance in regards to exercise and self-care. i am trying to commit myself to more balance in that area in order to be a better person to be around, because i have learned that you cannot love your neighbor or your enemy if you do not first love yourself. that is why when christ tells us to love one another as we love ourselves it should have a shocking ring in our ears. we tend to love ourselves so extravagantly compared to the way we love others, but fail to do so for others. balance in our lives can lead to more authentic and significant service with and for others.

3. finally, a couple in our bible study is contemplating a job offer and move out of the area that we live in. while i have a lot of selfish reasons for wanting them to stay (i.e. i like them and they are cool people), i believe that the struggle they are experiencing in reaching a decision in the matter is one fundamentally of balance. they must find the balance of what is worth striving after and how to best care for their family and relationship. my best piece of advice is this: decide what balance is for you and make yourself resolute to maintain that balance. i believe in some ways god cares much more about us living wholly balanced lives of service in love than lives of erratic support. weighing the options of promotions, moves, family and friend connections can all seem overwhelming, but only two people know whether those things will be detrimentally out of balance if choices are made one way or another.

and in all of this, balance is not a juggling act so much as it is an exercise in self-knowledge and discernment. we must find what balance is for our own lives and protect that, even if it means, as one of my mentors once said, "saying no to jesus," because life takes balance.

a holy week worth living

i have a close friend who is going through a tough time this week. it has brought back a lot of memories for me of a special person that graced my life. i do truly mean that he graced my life. if you knew him you would know that willie was not one to back down from a challenge of any sort. he was tenacious to say the least.

willie was smart and vivacious and taken far too soon from us, but what will be the most lasting impact that willie had for me will be two things. first, he refused to let you be anything but your best. once he glimpsed even a bit of what your potential was, he was not willing to allow you settle for less. he wasn't overbearing about it, but he wouldn't allow you to half-ass things through life. he called you out and made you a better person. he is a person who continues to drive my dreams in memory of who he was.

second, willie lived out loud. he would not hold back what he thought or believed to impress or hide things from people. he also took joy in the small things. my wedding was the first and only wedding he ever went to in his adult life. he was so excited that he made sure everything was just right and even bought us a gift with his very own money, rather than the money both his mom and i thought he had spent of his parents'.

i pray that in this holy week we can see that living the life that jesus calls us to is more than about simply believing a list of things. it is also about doing and being. ultimately it is about being the justice and righteousness of god in others lives. and that makes it about being grace in other people's lives.

on transfiguring

i am not going to lie. i was not that excited when my boss asked me to preach this week in chapel. i could have abandoned the lectionary for something much more amenable to preach about, but i think that is weak for a couple of reasons: 1. i believe the lectionary challenges the preacher to think beyond their comfort zone. 2. there is some inherent beauty to the rhythm of the lectionary. it moves with the seasons and that is something that is both informative and comforting.

so anyhow, i see what is cooking on the lectionary...and it is the transfiguration of jesus and the story of elijah being taken up in a whirlwind by chariots and horses of fire. seriously?!? so i pressed on. resolute that i would make at least enough sense of these texts to have something intelligible to say on thursday morning. the following is what i came up with:

"Transformed for what?"

I would be kidding anybody today if I stood up here and told you that I understand everything that is happening in the Scriptures we have heard today. I could start with the story out of 2 Kings in which Elisha follows Elijah until Elijah is taken up in a whirlwind of chariots and horses of fire. I am not sure I want to spend too much time even thinking about the absolutely terrifying prospect of walking along with someone and suddenly having them disappear in a rush of wind and stampeding horses. It is hard to even place myself in the shoes of Elisha from the time he was called to follow Elijah. As he is plowing his family fields with oxen Elijah comes by and throws his mantle onto him. Now a mantle would have been an outer cloak that Elijah would have been wearing. It would have basically signified that Elisha was a student or follower of his. It would also signify to others that Elisha was chosen as the one who will take over the prophetic clan that Elijah was leading. Much like the rabbis of the time, the prophets would have a group of followers and students who would learn from the leader and hopefully display that they were capable of leading the others in the ways that would be honoring to what God is calling them to speak.

Or maybe I could start with the story of the transfiguration of Jesus of Nazareth. It was high on a mountain that we read Jesus experiences such a significant inner transformation that Peter, James, and John are dumbfounded. There really is no better word to describe the situation the disciples find themselves in. They are so terrified as to not understand not only what is happening on the mountain, but what Jesus tells to them as they are coming down the mountain. I imagine there was quite the surprise and confusion as they stood on the mountain and two supposedly dead (although I suppose Elijah never technically died) guys are appearing as though they are alive before them. This is only compounded when a voice from the clouds, that common depiction of God, tells them to listen to Jesus. Haven’t they already been listening to Jesus?

So, needless to say, I feel like I am in your seat today, waiting to hear from someone with a bit more intelligible things to say about what these scenes are all about and what in the world they mean! And perhaps you can at least sympathize if not empathize with me today when I tell you that obviously I am in the unenviable position of being the one who is trying to make sense of these scenes. And I have spent the better part of a week mulling these ideas over, these non-understandings and have come to some conclusions. But before we get to these conclusions perhaps it will do us well to simply take a moment to locate ourselves in the stories. Where is it that you most identify? Is it with Elisha, confused, yet hopeful that this will be the moment you have been waiting for? Is it with Elijah, ready and prepared, resolute? Or is it with Peter ready to at least try to say something that makes sense of the situation even if it is a ridiculous proposition? Maybe it is with the other disciples; too afraid to even act out or talk until you walk away from the one whom really deserves to be asked the question? Or maybe it is with the voice from the clouds needing to hear the reassurance that Jesus of Nazareth really is worth following and listening to? No matter where you find yourself I believe these stories are significant even if the events of them are not.

When you consider these two stories I believe we have a case of the undercard stealing away the show from the main event. In other words, I believe the events surrounding the central events of Elijah being taken up in a whirlwind of firey chariots and horses and Jesus being transfigured are not as significant for us as those things surrounding these events. And if at this point you are confused, I want to welcome you to the space I have occupied the last several days. In all seriousness, I do believe that something very important did happen to Jesus on that mountain, but I also know that what happened to Jesus is not going to be intelligible for me to describe in any detail. The idea of metamorphosis is something akin to what happened, but that seems to make as little sense of things as anything else I could say about it.

In 2 Kings we find Elisha following Elijah with a fervency that is not matched by the others of the prophetic group they are a part of. Elisha is told three times by Elijah to stay put and stop following him, yet Elisha refuses to stay where he is and tells Elijah that he will not leave his side until he is gone. He knows the consequences of what will happen on this day and yet he refuses to stop following. The same can’t be said for the disciples we will meet in the Markan story, who are marked by failure, and the same probably can’t be said of how we follow Christ at all times. Elijah simply has a drive inside of him that perhaps comes closest to the way we run after something when we really, really want that thing. And most of the time those things are material. And to be clear Elisha knew what was at stake. Elijah asks him point blank, what do you want from me? And Elisha answers that he wants the double portion inheritance. This would be the inheritance of the firstborn. He wants to lead the prophetic guild. I believe this is not Elisha being materialistic or desiring worldly gain, as it might be easy to confuse it for such, but that Elisha clearly understands his calling. He understands what it means to take on the mantle of Elijah and will do whatever he must to be obedient to this call. He leaves behind his family and responsibilities in the field on the abrupt call of Elijah. He follows even when it is clear that everyone thinks he is crazy for following and that things do not look good. And he has the determination to follow through with the conditions of the call – he must watch and see Elijah taken up. Amid all the confusion and chaos of that moment he does that, and yet it is unclear that he understands he himself has inherited what he asked for. He must have the courage to step out and try to part the waters, to lead himself back along the path of exile into the community in order to reintegrate and become a part of the people once again. We can learn something from this clear sighted commitment. We are each called by God to something. I cannot tell you what that calling is, but I do know that when you know that calling, you must determine the best path in order to follow that call. It might get tough at times and it may be confusing and chaotic. However, we are called to maintain our focus and see things through to the very end. In this we will begin to be transformed to become someone different, perhaps even to the point that it is evident to others that we are called and set apart for the glory of God.

I want also to return to the thought that the disciples failed in following Jesus. I am not saying by any means that they ultimately failed, but they did experience failure. This story comes in the middle of significant events of failure on the part of the disciples. Mark is specific to mention that this is six days later. So naturally you might ask six days after what? Or maybe what has happened that we might want to look back at the six days? Six days earlier we find Jesus has healed a blind man in Bethsaida and then he went on with his disciples to Caesarea Philippi. Caesarea Philippi was known as the place where people would worship the Greek god Pan. Pan was the Greek god of the shepherds and flocks, of the mountain wilds, and hunting and rustic music. But in Greek mythology, he also took credit for inspiring sudden fear and loneliness in people and places. So imagine what it means for Jesus to be at this place in Caesarea Philippi where one of the sources of the Jordan River springs to the surface of the Earth and Jesus tells Peter and the other disciples that not even the gates of Hades will stand against the church that he is building on the solid foundation of rock. He is effectively telling them that sudden loneliness and fear, as might be inspired by the coming events of his life and crucifixion will not defeat him and the kingdom of God. He is giving them a foretaste of what is to come. He goes on to tell them of his death and resurrection and Peter tries to rebuke him for which he is ultimately rebuked himself (it was after all when Jesus calls him Satan). And finally, Jesus has told his followers that in order to follow them they must lay down their lives, pick up their cross and follow; they must lose their lives to gain them. It is all of this that immediately precedes and must be fresh in the minds of the disciples as they follow Jesus up the mountain to where they are at once terrified to find Jesus transformed into glory and Elijah and Moses are present before them. Stupefied, Peter suggests that they build tents or places of worship for the three of them as though they were going to stay there atop the mountain, Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. And then the voice from heaven booms at them to listen to Jesus. Jesus didn’t even take the time to reply to his suggestion. Instead as they were coming off the mountain confused and probably still trembling, Jesus tells them not to tell anyone about what happened until after he is raised from the dead. And even though the concept of resurrection would have meant something to the Jewish ears of these three disciples, they are confused. They don’t know what to make of what they have seen and heard.

Maybe they were expecting a different kind of Messiah. Perhaps they expected Jesus to overthrow the current political powers. It is inconceivable for them at this time that Jesus would be talking about rising from the dead and living after death. Perhaps this is also because we know they will have a hard time understanding and grasping that Jesus is resurrected from the dead even when it has happened. The three disciples fail to grasp the significant call for themselves to be transformed and changed for the current world. They fail to watch Jesus in the garden in the coming days and James and John are about to quibble over who is greatest among them. One of the commentaries I read suggested that this scene reinforces to us that, “Appearances of glory do not provide evidence for God’s truth.”

So I ask you, what are we to be transformed for? If we believe something significant happens in Christ promising the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives, what are we changed for? I suggest we begin to get at this in asking how poignant it is that Jesus demands that the disciples not go and tell. Outside of their non-understanding of the significance of the event, it would have been big news to Jews in the area that they saw Jesus speaking with Elijah and Moses. Instead we see that faith is a prerequisite of healing and understanding of the true nature of God. This is what seems to make the sacrifice so big. We must learn and commit to seeing the world in a new way. The kingdom is not something far-off and other timely; it is now in the present. Jesus’ transfiguration suggests that he is preparing to usher the kingdom in with his death and resurrection, which he points to. What the disciples don’t seem to get is that Jesus will bring the kingdom to the present in part in the tension that it will be not wholly present until the final new creation. In failing to grasp this, the disciples seem almost disappointed that Jesus would be alive and present with the saints of Elijah and Moses without being the Messiah they seem to desire, overthrowing the present world order.

N.T. Wright, the Bishop of Durham for the Church of England, puts it this way in his book Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church (which I highly recommend): “What Pastor Gospelman (he is speaking here about two fictitious preachers on Easter) never notices is that the resurrection stories in the gospels aren’t about going to heaven when you die…Jesus is risen, therefore God’s new world has begun. Jesus is risen, therefore Israel and the world have been redeemed. Jesus is risen, therefore his followers have a new job to do. And what is that new job? To bring the life of heaven to birth in actual, physical, earthly reality…The resurrection is indeed the foundation for a renewed way of life in and for the world. But to get that social, political, and cultural result, you really do need the bodily resurrection.” I believe N.T. Wright is on to something here. Jesus, whether in transfiguration, death, or resurrection, is not calling us to other-worldly existence. He is calling us to transform the world in the present through transformed lives. It is our job, duty, and obligation of joy that we are able to participate in the creation of the new world, that we are part of the building of the kingdom of God. So, in closing let me ask, what are you doing and how are you working to transform not only your life, but the world around you? The kingdom of God is here, perhaps not in its full glory, but it is here, how are you participating?