Today's Daily Lesson comes from Revelation chapter 6 verses 12 through 16:
12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
Last month the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, Lubbock Choral, and Texas Tech Department of Music combined to put on a powerful production of Verdi's Requiem. The most famous score from Requiem is Dies irae -- or "Day of wrath". With its sudden, shrieking beginning, frenetic pace, and startling shouts of lighting played by timpani, the piece captures the terror of the Day of Judgment recorded in Revelation chapter 6. With the sudden realization that the day is now nigh, and all must stand with our deeds exposed before God. Who indeed could stand? We would all fall over in shame and terror.
We can be thankful Verdi doesn't leave us there and that God doesn't either. As awful as chapter 6 of Revelation is, you turn the page to chapter 7 and read these words: “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” This is the assurance that the people of God will endure the day of dread.
Verdi's Requiem -- jarring and frenetic -- in its beginning, turns soft and quiet at its end. The Dies irae turns finally to something like a prayer of deep, deep trust and surrender. It takes us to the place of complete peace and serenity.
This is how the people of God are to think of the Day of Judgment, and all other days of terror also.
For a taste of Verdi's Dies irae see https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDFFHaz9GsY.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 29, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 13 verse 23:
23 "As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."
Yesterday I had the honor of taking part in the South Plains Food Bank Harvest of Hope Luncheon.
During his speech at the luncheon, David Weaver, Executive Director of the SPFB and Second B member, told the story of being stopped at a stop light when a woman got out of the car in front of him, opened her back door, and pulled out a sack David recognized as one from the food bank. She rifled through the sack for a second and then out came an apple.
David then went on to tell the story of that apple and the orchard it came from. Twenty-five years ago, when he 65-years-old and newly retired, Howard Mercer, another Second B member, had the idea of planting an orchard for the food bank. He wanted to leave some kind of legacy. David said he talked with Howard a few years later and Howard had said that that for him was a part of the meaning of life: "To plant a tree under whose shade another generation will sit."
That was as powerful an image as I've ever heard.
I had the task of wrapping up the event with a closing word. I quoted an old aphorism which what I had heard in David's speech reminded of: "You can count the seeds in the apple; but you can never number the apples in the seed."
May we all go out today and plant some small seed somewhere; and when the seed grows up may those from another generation sit under its shade and eat from its fruit.
Missed a Lesson? Find archived Daily Lessons at ryonprice.blogspot.com.
Want to plant a seed with the SPFB orchard? Go to spfb.org/give_help and click the "Donate Now" button.
23 "As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."
Yesterday I had the honor of taking part in the South Plains Food Bank Harvest of Hope Luncheon.
During his speech at the luncheon, David Weaver, Executive Director of the SPFB and Second B member, told the story of being stopped at a stop light when a woman got out of the car in front of him, opened her back door, and pulled out a sack David recognized as one from the food bank. She rifled through the sack for a second and then out came an apple.
David then went on to tell the story of that apple and the orchard it came from. Twenty-five years ago, when he 65-years-old and newly retired, Howard Mercer, another Second B member, had the idea of planting an orchard for the food bank. He wanted to leave some kind of legacy. David said he talked with Howard a few years later and Howard had said that that for him was a part of the meaning of life: "To plant a tree under whose shade another generation will sit."
That was as powerful an image as I've ever heard.
I had the task of wrapping up the event with a closing word. I quoted an old aphorism which what I had heard in David's speech reminded of: "You can count the seeds in the apple; but you can never number the apples in the seed."
May we all go out today and plant some small seed somewhere; and when the seed grows up may those from another generation sit under its shade and eat from its fruit.
Missed a Lesson? Find archived Daily Lessons at ryonprice.blogspot.com.
Want to plant a seed with the SPFB orchard? Go to spfb.org/give_help and click the "Donate Now" button.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 28, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Revelation chapter 5 verses 1 through 5:
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
In the book of Revelation the Scroll of History is revealed and John the Seer weeps loudly in terror and in fear at its sight. Who will open this scroll? Whose hands will it fall into? Who holds the future in their hands? Will they be good or will they be evil?
But then there is the voice of an elder -- a voice of wisdom and assurance, "Weep no more;" the elder says. "The Lion has conquered. He will open the Scroll."
We live in a time of great anxiety about the future of our country and our world. Who will be president? Will they be from my party? Will there be social security? Will ISIS continue to rise? What about climate change? What about the Russians? We too could weep from fear.
But let us remember the elder's words, "The Lion has conquered. He will open the Scroll."
Someone once said, "I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future."
I know Him too; and I trust Him.
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
In the book of Revelation the Scroll of History is revealed and John the Seer weeps loudly in terror and in fear at its sight. Who will open this scroll? Whose hands will it fall into? Who holds the future in their hands? Will they be good or will they be evil?
But then there is the voice of an elder -- a voice of wisdom and assurance, "Weep no more;" the elder says. "The Lion has conquered. He will open the Scroll."
We live in a time of great anxiety about the future of our country and our world. Who will be president? Will they be from my party? Will there be social security? Will ISIS continue to rise? What about climate change? What about the Russians? We too could weep from fear.
But let us remember the elder's words, "The Lion has conquered. He will open the Scroll."
Someone once said, "I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future."
I know Him too; and I trust Him.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 27, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 45 verses 3 through
3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
in your splendor and majesty!
4 In your majesty ride out victoriously
for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
Last night I had the honor of emceeing a fundraising event for veterans and introducing Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Leroy Petry and Col. Jim Ficke, who served as a combat doctor in the Afghanistan.
The Bible says, "Give honor to those whom honor is due," and certainly Sgt. Petry is a person of great honor. He was awarded the Medal for his act of heroism under fire in Afghanistan. After having already been wounded in his legs, Petry reached to throw back a grenade which had been tossed by enemy combatants. The grenade went off just as Petry was throwing it back. The act saved his and his comrades lives, but cost him his hand. Petry then put a tourniquet on his own arm and refused to be medevaced until the enemy was defeated. Dr. Ficke was the Army field doctor who operated on Sgt. Petry later that day.
Upon meeting Dr. Ficke prior to the program last night, I reached out and grabbed both his hands and said, "God has blessed your hands, doctor." He then reached into the breast pocket of his coat and pulled out a small card which had written on it ten principles he said he lives by. Number 9 on the list said this: "God's gift to you are your hands; your gift to Him is what you do with them."
That's what you call a God thing.
I shared that story with those at the event. I then looked over at Sgt. Petry's prosthetic right hand. "Sgt. Petry," I said, "God's gift to were your hands; your gift to Him is what you have done and what you continue to do with them."
The Psalm has come true. The warrior's right hand has indeed taught us awesome deeds -- deeds of service and sacrifice and honor.
3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
in your splendor and majesty!
4 In your majesty ride out victoriously
for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
Last night I had the honor of emceeing a fundraising event for veterans and introducing Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Leroy Petry and Col. Jim Ficke, who served as a combat doctor in the Afghanistan.
The Bible says, "Give honor to those whom honor is due," and certainly Sgt. Petry is a person of great honor. He was awarded the Medal for his act of heroism under fire in Afghanistan. After having already been wounded in his legs, Petry reached to throw back a grenade which had been tossed by enemy combatants. The grenade went off just as Petry was throwing it back. The act saved his and his comrades lives, but cost him his hand. Petry then put a tourniquet on his own arm and refused to be medevaced until the enemy was defeated. Dr. Ficke was the Army field doctor who operated on Sgt. Petry later that day.
Upon meeting Dr. Ficke prior to the program last night, I reached out and grabbed both his hands and said, "God has blessed your hands, doctor." He then reached into the breast pocket of his coat and pulled out a small card which had written on it ten principles he said he lives by. Number 9 on the list said this: "God's gift to you are your hands; your gift to Him is what you do with them."
That's what you call a God thing.
I shared that story with those at the event. I then looked over at Sgt. Petry's prosthetic right hand. "Sgt. Petry," I said, "God's gift to were your hands; your gift to Him is what you have done and what you continue to do with them."
The Psalm has come true. The warrior's right hand has indeed taught us awesome deeds -- deeds of service and sacrifice and honor.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 26, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 12 verses 43 through 45:
43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
I read those words from Jesus and I immediately think, ISIS in Iraq.
I also think of some friends who have gone into recovery and then come out only to go right back to their addiction -- at seven times the pace.
Plus I think of some of the church and non-profit boards I've seen which are a mess organizationally. Someone comes along with the mind and means to set things right, but six months after their departure things start to fall apart again.
There's a short-term plan to get things cleaned up, but no long-term will to sustain it. And in the end, things only get worse and not better.
Sweeping house and tidying up is one thing. But an empty house on the block -- no matter how nice it or the neighborhood is -- will always attract vandals. The house cannot just be swept clean and straightened up; it also has to be occupied and/or guarded and maintained.
When it comes to unclean spirits there are no quick fixes. They must be vigilantly dealt with every day, for the rest of our lives.
If that sounds exhausting -- and it does to me -- we can thank God those days come only one at a time.
That's how to keep the house in order -- one day and demon at a time.
43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
I read those words from Jesus and I immediately think, ISIS in Iraq.
I also think of some friends who have gone into recovery and then come out only to go right back to their addiction -- at seven times the pace.
Plus I think of some of the church and non-profit boards I've seen which are a mess organizationally. Someone comes along with the mind and means to set things right, but six months after their departure things start to fall apart again.
There's a short-term plan to get things cleaned up, but no long-term will to sustain it. And in the end, things only get worse and not better.
Sweeping house and tidying up is one thing. But an empty house on the block -- no matter how nice it or the neighborhood is -- will always attract vandals. The house cannot just be swept clean and straightened up; it also has to be occupied and/or guarded and maintained.
When it comes to unclean spirits there are no quick fixes. They must be vigilantly dealt with every day, for the rest of our lives.
If that sounds exhausting -- and it does to me -- we can thank God those days come only one at a time.
That's how to keep the house in order -- one day and demon at a time.
Friday, October 23, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 23, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Ezra chapter 3 verses 10 through 13:
10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,
“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”
And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.
When after 70 years of exile, the Israelites returned to their homeland and began to rebuild the Temple. As they laid the foundation, shouts of joy and weeping could be heard.
For the aged, who had endured the dark midnight of exile and could remember all that was lost, I am sure the moment was bittersweet. There was the sadness of all that had been lost and the gladness of what was to be regained. The past was past now; they well knew. If Israel had any plans for hope or a future it had to be built on the new foundation.
Earlier this summer I visited Coventry Cathedral, an Anglican Church destroyed by Nazi aerial bombing during the Blitz in November 1941 and rebuilt over the course of the next two decades. As a memorial to the tragedy of war and the loss of civilian lives, large portions of the ruined medieval cathedral walls were left standing. At some point following the bombing, a sign was hung on one of the ruined walls which bespoke of the day of rebuilding:
"THE LATTER GLORY OF THIS HOUSE SHALL BE GREATER THAN THE FORMER SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS AND IN THE PLACE WILL I GIVE PEACE."
The latter glory of that place -- with its modern architecture and brilliant use of light -- is indeed greater than the former. Yet, I am sure that for those who endured the blitz and remembered the cathedral as it was and the people as they were, there must have been something of a lament for the former glory even as the latter was coming into being.
And this is life, whether at the dedication of a new church, or a move to a new house, or the birth of a new child: there is joy and hope at all that there is to now be; and there is also sadness and grief at the loss of all that was. To deny the pain of the loss of the former glory is to undermine then sacred potential of the latter.
"There is a time for everything," Ecclesiastes says, "a time to be born and a time to die . . . A time to mourn and a time to dance."
And then there is the time for both.
10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,
“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”
And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.
When after 70 years of exile, the Israelites returned to their homeland and began to rebuild the Temple. As they laid the foundation, shouts of joy and weeping could be heard.
For the aged, who had endured the dark midnight of exile and could remember all that was lost, I am sure the moment was bittersweet. There was the sadness of all that had been lost and the gladness of what was to be regained. The past was past now; they well knew. If Israel had any plans for hope or a future it had to be built on the new foundation.
Earlier this summer I visited Coventry Cathedral, an Anglican Church destroyed by Nazi aerial bombing during the Blitz in November 1941 and rebuilt over the course of the next two decades. As a memorial to the tragedy of war and the loss of civilian lives, large portions of the ruined medieval cathedral walls were left standing. At some point following the bombing, a sign was hung on one of the ruined walls which bespoke of the day of rebuilding:
"THE LATTER GLORY OF THIS HOUSE SHALL BE GREATER THAN THE FORMER SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS AND IN THE PLACE WILL I GIVE PEACE."
The latter glory of that place -- with its modern architecture and brilliant use of light -- is indeed greater than the former. Yet, I am sure that for those who endured the blitz and remembered the cathedral as it was and the people as they were, there must have been something of a lament for the former glory even as the latter was coming into being.
And this is life, whether at the dedication of a new church, or a move to a new house, or the birth of a new child: there is joy and hope at all that there is to now be; and there is also sadness and grief at the loss of all that was. To deny the pain of the loss of the former glory is to undermine then sacred potential of the latter.
"There is a time for everything," Ecclesiastes says, "a time to be born and a time to die . . . A time to mourn and a time to dance."
And then there is the time for both.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 22, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 37:
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
11 But the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.
There is an old saying around West Texas that the meek shall inherit the earth, but somebody else always gets the mineral rights.
There is much wrong with the world -- things which make no sense and things which are absolutely unjust. Those who have much (individuals or groups or government) are given more, while those who have little (individuals or groups or government), even what they have is taken away. Is it any wonder that so many people are so angry?
Yet, we are told in Scripture to refrain from evil and turn from wrath. Jesus was hunted like a lion, yet he was said to have neither broken a bruised reed nor quenched a dying wick. He continued to walk gently on the earth. He may have been angry -- how could he not be? -- but he did not sin in his anger.
In her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou wrote about her grandmother whom she called Momma and the little store she ran in Stamps, Arkansas in the 1930s. One day some cruel girls from town came and ridiculed Momma with some of the grossest indignities in her own store, knowing they could get away with it because they were white and Momma was black. Maya wrote that when the girls left her Momma saw that she was seething with anger and hurt and even hatred.
"She looked at me until I looked up," Maya wrote. "Her face was a brown moon that shone on me. She was beautiful. Then she bent down and touched me as mothers of the church 'lay hands on the sick and afflicted' and I quieted.
"'Go wash your face, Sister.' And she went behind the counter and hummed, 'Glory, glory, hallelujah, when I lay my burden down.'"
To learn to sing as the caged bird sings is to discover a peace which surpasses all understanding, and is to proclaim a hallelujah even when everything seems to be going to hell.
Surely such meekness shall inherit the earth -- and Heaven along the way.
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
11 But the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.
There is an old saying around West Texas that the meek shall inherit the earth, but somebody else always gets the mineral rights.
There is much wrong with the world -- things which make no sense and things which are absolutely unjust. Those who have much (individuals or groups or government) are given more, while those who have little (individuals or groups or government), even what they have is taken away. Is it any wonder that so many people are so angry?
Yet, we are told in Scripture to refrain from evil and turn from wrath. Jesus was hunted like a lion, yet he was said to have neither broken a bruised reed nor quenched a dying wick. He continued to walk gently on the earth. He may have been angry -- how could he not be? -- but he did not sin in his anger.
In her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou wrote about her grandmother whom she called Momma and the little store she ran in Stamps, Arkansas in the 1930s. One day some cruel girls from town came and ridiculed Momma with some of the grossest indignities in her own store, knowing they could get away with it because they were white and Momma was black. Maya wrote that when the girls left her Momma saw that she was seething with anger and hurt and even hatred.
"She looked at me until I looked up," Maya wrote. "Her face was a brown moon that shone on me. She was beautiful. Then she bent down and touched me as mothers of the church 'lay hands on the sick and afflicted' and I quieted.
"'Go wash your face, Sister.' And she went behind the counter and hummed, 'Glory, glory, hallelujah, when I lay my burden down.'"
To learn to sing as the caged bird sings is to discover a peace which surpasses all understanding, and is to proclaim a hallelujah even when everything seems to be going to hell.
Surely such meekness shall inherit the earth -- and Heaven along the way.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 21, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 119 verse 25:
"My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word."
The soul hangs on.
When the house has been brought low
Razed by flame and fury
With no foundation left
Not even rubble
But only dust
Something in the soul knows how to hang on
Tight
To cling to the dust
And never let go
"My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word."
The soul hangs on.
When the house has been brought low
Razed by flame and fury
With no foundation left
Not even rubble
But only dust
Something in the soul knows how to hang on
Tight
To cling to the dust
And never let go
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 20, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Lamentations chapter 1 verses 1, 2 and 12a:
How lonely sits the city
that was full of people!
How like a widow has she become,
she who was great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
has become a slave.
2 She weeps bitterly in the night,
with tears on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
she has none to comfort her;
all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
they have become her enemies.
12 “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
When I lived in Vermont I would sometimes take the "Vermonter" Amtrak line from Burlington down to New York City or Washington, DC.
Just as the train comes into New York City proper the windows begin to look out onto abandoned industrial buildings, tenements, pawn shop, dollar stores, pay-day lending places, and the millions upon millions of people in the City with all their own stories and family stories. Somewhere right in there you can look out and up and see that someone placed a great-big sign for all the travelers to think on as they make their way towards Manhattan. The words on the sign are from the book of Lamentations:
"Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?"
To have compassion is to literally "feel with" others. To have compassion is to look at and to feel and not just pass by. We cannot do something to address all the needs we see in a place like New York, or even our own place. But to see and to feel and to lament -- this is what keeps us human.
If we ever get to the point where we just pass by, and consider all the suffering and pain as nothing, or don't even see it at all, that's when we've lost something of ourselves.
That sort of makes me wonder if of all the millions in New York City I don't actually know the one who put that sign up.
You might know Him too.
How lonely sits the city
that was full of people!
How like a widow has she become,
she who was great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces
has become a slave.
2 She weeps bitterly in the night,
with tears on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
she has none to comfort her;
all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
they have become her enemies.
12 “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
When I lived in Vermont I would sometimes take the "Vermonter" Amtrak line from Burlington down to New York City or Washington, DC.
Just as the train comes into New York City proper the windows begin to look out onto abandoned industrial buildings, tenements, pawn shop, dollar stores, pay-day lending places, and the millions upon millions of people in the City with all their own stories and family stories. Somewhere right in there you can look out and up and see that someone placed a great-big sign for all the travelers to think on as they make their way towards Manhattan. The words on the sign are from the book of Lamentations:
"Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?"
To have compassion is to literally "feel with" others. To have compassion is to look at and to feel and not just pass by. We cannot do something to address all the needs we see in a place like New York, or even our own place. But to see and to feel and to lament -- this is what keeps us human.
If we ever get to the point where we just pass by, and consider all the suffering and pain as nothing, or don't even see it at all, that's when we've lost something of ourselves.
That sort of makes me wonder if of all the millions in New York City I don't actually know the one who put that sign up.
You might know Him too.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 19, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 36b:
"What you sow does not come to life unless it dies."
When I was at Duke the great luminary Reynolds Price was still teaching at the university, and I would occasionally see him in his chair wheeling down the stone paths around the Quad. In 1984 he began experiencing difficulty walking, and subsequent tests revealed that a 10-inch-long cancerous tumor had attached itself to his spine. Though doctors were able to remove the tumor with surgery and radiation, enough damage had done been done to leave Price a paraplegic.
Late in life, Price wrote his memoir "A Whole New Life: An Illness and a Healing" in which he reflected upon his life before and after cancer. Remembering that fateful day he first discovered he had a tumor he wrote that the best someone could have said to him at that time was, "Reynolds Price is dead. Who will you be now?"
Sometimes the best thing and only thing we can do for one another is to tell the truth about the end. A seed must die before it can be reborn, Paul says. But before all this, it must be buried; and someone must have the faith to bury it. Someone must have the courage to take the spade in hand and lay the dirt down.
Reynolds Price's most brilliant writing came only after the cancer. His deepest insights into what it means to be human were written from the chair.
A whole new life awaits us all; but first we must accept the passing of the old.
The seed must die before it can be born again.
"What you sow does not come to life unless it dies."
When I was at Duke the great luminary Reynolds Price was still teaching at the university, and I would occasionally see him in his chair wheeling down the stone paths around the Quad. In 1984 he began experiencing difficulty walking, and subsequent tests revealed that a 10-inch-long cancerous tumor had attached itself to his spine. Though doctors were able to remove the tumor with surgery and radiation, enough damage had done been done to leave Price a paraplegic.
Late in life, Price wrote his memoir "A Whole New Life: An Illness and a Healing" in which he reflected upon his life before and after cancer. Remembering that fateful day he first discovered he had a tumor he wrote that the best someone could have said to him at that time was, "Reynolds Price is dead. Who will you be now?"
Sometimes the best thing and only thing we can do for one another is to tell the truth about the end. A seed must die before it can be reborn, Paul says. But before all this, it must be buried; and someone must have the faith to bury it. Someone must have the courage to take the spade in hand and lay the dirt down.
Reynolds Price's most brilliant writing came only after the cancer. His deepest insights into what it means to be human were written from the chair.
A whole new life awaits us all; but first we must accept the passing of the old.
The seed must die before it can be born again.
Friday, October 16, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 16, 2015
Today's daily lesson comes from Matthew chapter 11 verses 2 and 3:
2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
At some point in life we all come to the place where John is.
The cancer is terminal. The layoffs got your department. The pregnancy is not going well. The attorney says prison time is likely.
In other words, the cavalry isn't going to ride in and save us and praying for a miracle seems now only futile.
And that's when we all like John begin to wonder about Christ, "Are you the one to come or should we look for someone else?"
The answer? The answer is no and yes. No, there will be no rescue, no act of dramatic deliverance to set us free. But yes also; yes, he is coming to be with us in prison, and in the cancer ward, and among the ranks of the unemployed, and even in death.
No, John there will be no dramatic rescue. The prison doors will not swing open. But keep waiting. Keep waiting because He is coming to do something even greater than set you free from your prison; He is coming to set you free while still inside it.
2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
At some point in life we all come to the place where John is.
The cancer is terminal. The layoffs got your department. The pregnancy is not going well. The attorney says prison time is likely.
In other words, the cavalry isn't going to ride in and save us and praying for a miracle seems now only futile.
And that's when we all like John begin to wonder about Christ, "Are you the one to come or should we look for someone else?"
The answer? The answer is no and yes. No, there will be no rescue, no act of dramatic deliverance to set us free. But yes also; yes, he is coming to be with us in prison, and in the cancer ward, and among the ranks of the unemployed, and even in death.
No, John there will be no dramatic rescue. The prison doors will not swing open. But keep waiting. Keep waiting because He is coming to do something even greater than set you free from your prison; He is coming to set you free while still inside it.
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 15, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 18 verses 16 through 20:
16 He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
20 The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
Psalm 18 is a psalm extolling God for deliverance. In the psalter's preface to the psalm it tells us it is a psalm of David, written "on the day when the LORD rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and the hand of Saul." It is a psalm of great, great celebration -- for victory had been swept from the clutches of defeat, and David had been rescued from the maw of destruction.
I have just one little problem with Psalm 18 and really it's almost impossible to see it except by knowing what we know about what happened to David after he was rescued from the hand of Saul and replaced him as king.
Here's the problem verse for me:
"The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me."
Embedded in this wonderful psalm celebrating God's rescue and deliverance is a small, almost imperceptible thought from David captured in verse 20: "I deserved it." "The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness," David said. And that thought will later prove to be his undoing, because it was based in his own self-righteousness and ego.
After his defeat of Saul, David pens the psalm then ascends to the throne. But not long after, he is sending for another man's wife. And soon after, he is ordering his murder. Why? Because a king deserves to commit adultery and not get caught? But he does get caught, and afterward he pens another psalm, Psalm 51 where he writes the exact opposite of what he wrote in verse 20 of psalm 18:
"Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin."
The take home: Woe be to any of us who have been delivered and brought on high and think it has anything to do with our deserving it. We are today where we are by God's grace and God's grace alone. Tomorrow it could all change.
And surely there would be grace to be found there too.
16 He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
20 The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
Psalm 18 is a psalm extolling God for deliverance. In the psalter's preface to the psalm it tells us it is a psalm of David, written "on the day when the LORD rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and the hand of Saul." It is a psalm of great, great celebration -- for victory had been swept from the clutches of defeat, and David had been rescued from the maw of destruction.
I have just one little problem with Psalm 18 and really it's almost impossible to see it except by knowing what we know about what happened to David after he was rescued from the hand of Saul and replaced him as king.
Here's the problem verse for me:
"The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me."
Embedded in this wonderful psalm celebrating God's rescue and deliverance is a small, almost imperceptible thought from David captured in verse 20: "I deserved it." "The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness," David said. And that thought will later prove to be his undoing, because it was based in his own self-righteousness and ego.
After his defeat of Saul, David pens the psalm then ascends to the throne. But not long after, he is sending for another man's wife. And soon after, he is ordering his murder. Why? Because a king deserves to commit adultery and not get caught? But he does get caught, and afterward he pens another psalm, Psalm 51 where he writes the exact opposite of what he wrote in verse 20 of psalm 18:
"Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin."
The take home: Woe be to any of us who have been delivered and brought on high and think it has anything to do with our deserving it. We are today where we are by God's grace and God's grace alone. Tomorrow it could all change.
And surely there would be grace to be found there too.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 14, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson is from Matthew chapter 10 verses 29 through 31:
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
My parents live two doors down from Slide Road, one of the major streets in Lubbock and because of that they are first-hand witnesses to all sorts of interesting things.
A couple of years ago I was over there on a Sunday afternoon when there was a knock on the front door. There was a man there pointing to his cell phone but not talking. We all thought it was odd for him to be standing there just pointing and making gestures like that without saying anything. As I watched from across the room, I assumed the worst. He was trying to sell something or perhaps get in the house for some not good reason. Was he high on drugs? Pretty soon, my mom looking down at his phone says, "Accident. Call 9-11."
My dad already had the portable phone in his hand and he dialed as adrenaline kicked in and I bolted out of the door and look across the street to see a car stopped in the middle of the road. There is a woman standing outside next to the car. I run across the six lanes of traffic with our strange visitor behind. I reach the woman and say, "Are you alright?" and she too points down to her phone and starts typing into the text. I realize then what the deal is -- they are deaf. As she types I look at the car but see no obvious damage and wonder if someone else might be having a medical emergency in the vehicle. The woman then raises phone - "Accident." I reach for my phone and begin texting. "Anyone hurt?" I ask, showing her the phone. She then points down, and I see for the first time what in my excitement I hadn't seen before -- a single duck lying lifeless in the curb of the street. There's the accident, we've just called 9-11 about.
At just that time I am standing there wondering if it's possible to uncall 9-11, I hear in the distance the distinctively shrill pitch of a police car siren. And right after that the whistle of an EMS transport. And then the unmistakable bass horn of a fire engine -- all coming for this one dead duck in the road. That's when it dawns on me that I am going to have to be the one to try to explain this whole thing. As I stand there in the middle of the road and watch them each pull up one by one, I don't know whether to shake my head and laugh at it all or begin crying for the poor fowl at my feet.
And then the scripture comes to me, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father."
He who has hears to hear let him hear.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
My parents live two doors down from Slide Road, one of the major streets in Lubbock and because of that they are first-hand witnesses to all sorts of interesting things.
A couple of years ago I was over there on a Sunday afternoon when there was a knock on the front door. There was a man there pointing to his cell phone but not talking. We all thought it was odd for him to be standing there just pointing and making gestures like that without saying anything. As I watched from across the room, I assumed the worst. He was trying to sell something or perhaps get in the house for some not good reason. Was he high on drugs? Pretty soon, my mom looking down at his phone says, "Accident. Call 9-11."
My dad already had the portable phone in his hand and he dialed as adrenaline kicked in and I bolted out of the door and look across the street to see a car stopped in the middle of the road. There is a woman standing outside next to the car. I run across the six lanes of traffic with our strange visitor behind. I reach the woman and say, "Are you alright?" and she too points down to her phone and starts typing into the text. I realize then what the deal is -- they are deaf. As she types I look at the car but see no obvious damage and wonder if someone else might be having a medical emergency in the vehicle. The woman then raises phone - "Accident." I reach for my phone and begin texting. "Anyone hurt?" I ask, showing her the phone. She then points down, and I see for the first time what in my excitement I hadn't seen before -- a single duck lying lifeless in the curb of the street. There's the accident, we've just called 9-11 about.
At just that time I am standing there wondering if it's possible to uncall 9-11, I hear in the distance the distinctively shrill pitch of a police car siren. And right after that the whistle of an EMS transport. And then the unmistakable bass horn of a fire engine -- all coming for this one dead duck in the road. That's when it dawns on me that I am going to have to be the one to try to explain this whole thing. As I stand there in the middle of the road and watch them each pull up one by one, I don't know whether to shake my head and laugh at it all or begin crying for the poor fowl at my feet.
And then the scripture comes to me, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father."
He who has hears to hear let him hear.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 13, 2015
Today's Daily lesson comes from Matthew chapter 10 verse 16:
16 "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves."
Now here is direct instruction from Jesus on integration of the whole person -- permission on both the yin and the yang, the lion and the lamb, the serpent and the dove.
To be wise like a serpent is to first off know just what a dangerous world it is and just how many predators there are out there. They know that if you want trouble you'll have no problem finding it. They also know the best way to keep from trouble is to stay away from it. A person who is wise as a snake is a shrewd and self-protecting person. They don't avoid necessary conflict, but they also don't go looking for snake hunters either. Snakes have read Shakespeare; they know the better part of valor is discretion.
Doves, on the other hand, are gentle-spirited and guileless. A dove is so innocent and trusting that she'll place her eggs just right out in the open. When I go out jogging during the nesting season I never get chased by doves. And in that Hitchcock horror movie "The Birds" there was not a dove to be found. Doves just don't attack people.
We are to be both wise as serpents and innocent as doves. But let's also be clear not to get them confused. Serpents are wise enough to know trouble is out; doves sometimes miss that. And doves are harmless enough that one in a horror film just wouldn't even be believable by the general public, while there have been plenty of horror movies about killer snakes. Remember, Jesus did not say be innocent as serpents or wise as doves; that's a mistake a lot of people make and either way it's deadly.
Be wise as a serpent and innocent as a dove and be both all day and every day.
16 "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves."
Now here is direct instruction from Jesus on integration of the whole person -- permission on both the yin and the yang, the lion and the lamb, the serpent and the dove.
To be wise like a serpent is to first off know just what a dangerous world it is and just how many predators there are out there. They know that if you want trouble you'll have no problem finding it. They also know the best way to keep from trouble is to stay away from it. A person who is wise as a snake is a shrewd and self-protecting person. They don't avoid necessary conflict, but they also don't go looking for snake hunters either. Snakes have read Shakespeare; they know the better part of valor is discretion.
Doves, on the other hand, are gentle-spirited and guileless. A dove is so innocent and trusting that she'll place her eggs just right out in the open. When I go out jogging during the nesting season I never get chased by doves. And in that Hitchcock horror movie "The Birds" there was not a dove to be found. Doves just don't attack people.
We are to be both wise as serpents and innocent as doves. But let's also be clear not to get them confused. Serpents are wise enough to know trouble is out; doves sometimes miss that. And doves are harmless enough that one in a horror film just wouldn't even be believable by the general public, while there have been plenty of horror movies about killer snakes. Remember, Jesus did not say be innocent as serpents or wise as doves; that's a mistake a lot of people make and either way it's deadly.
Be wise as a serpent and innocent as a dove and be both all day and every day.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 12, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 13 verses 5 through 6a:
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or keep record of wrongdoing. 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing.
The Germans have a word called schadenfreude which is the delight a person gets at the misfortune of others. Pretty sick, I know.
But there's another sick delight I wish somebody would come up with a name for. It is the delight a person gets at the misdeeds of others.
This is the delight a 5th grader gets when standing at the chalkboard while the teacher has stepped away. There you are, asked to perform your duty in keeping the classroom in good order, but secretly what you're really doing is delighting in writing down the names of your misbehaving classmates.
I wish someone had a word for that.
Or, it's the delight one experiences when having been slighted in some way yet again in church or at work he gets to write down in his little mental ledger another mark of deficit in another's column. It feels good to be able to look down again in the ledger and see yet again how many times somebody else has wronged us. There's a kind of pleasure in the death from a thousand cuts.
Does anybody know German? Because I wish somebody would come up with a good word for this feeling of deranged pleasure at others' misdeeds.
But whatever the word is, when we finally get it and look it up, it's opposite will almost certainly be the word love.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or keep record of wrongdoing. 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing.
The Germans have a word called schadenfreude which is the delight a person gets at the misfortune of others. Pretty sick, I know.
But there's another sick delight I wish somebody would come up with a name for. It is the delight a person gets at the misdeeds of others.
This is the delight a 5th grader gets when standing at the chalkboard while the teacher has stepped away. There you are, asked to perform your duty in keeping the classroom in good order, but secretly what you're really doing is delighting in writing down the names of your misbehaving classmates.
I wish someone had a word for that.
Or, it's the delight one experiences when having been slighted in some way yet again in church or at work he gets to write down in his little mental ledger another mark of deficit in another's column. It feels good to be able to look down again in the ledger and see yet again how many times somebody else has wronged us. There's a kind of pleasure in the death from a thousand cuts.
Does anybody know German? Because I wish somebody would come up with a good word for this feeling of deranged pleasure at others' misdeeds.
But whatever the word is, when we finally get it and look it up, it's opposite will almost certainly be the word love.
Friday, October 9, 2015
Daily Lesson for Friday, October 9, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 141 verse 5:
Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.
Most of us think of discipline as something we once needed but have outgrown -- something we left behind in grade school. But the word "discipline" is closely akin to another word we will never graduate out of but will rather spend our whole lifetimes becoming: disciples.
Part of being a disciple is being willing to submit ourselves to discipline, rebuke, correction, and training in righteousness from others. This is easy when we first start out and know that we don't know much. But it gets more difficult to take correction as we go along. Pride begins to get in our way. Correction triggers our shame mechanism and we flash red. And instead of being able to receive the it, or at least whatever truth is in it, we get defensive and lash back.
But here's a question for we who think we don't need any more correction: Why do the greatest professional of all time still have coaches? Figure that out and we've figured out why we still need discipline and correction and redirection from time to time -- even in old age.
To be corrected or even rebuked is no disgrace. It is a kindness -- like oil for the head, David says. And the mark of being a mature disciple is being able to receive it as such.
Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.
Most of us think of discipline as something we once needed but have outgrown -- something we left behind in grade school. But the word "discipline" is closely akin to another word we will never graduate out of but will rather spend our whole lifetimes becoming: disciples.
Part of being a disciple is being willing to submit ourselves to discipline, rebuke, correction, and training in righteousness from others. This is easy when we first start out and know that we don't know much. But it gets more difficult to take correction as we go along. Pride begins to get in our way. Correction triggers our shame mechanism and we flash red. And instead of being able to receive the it, or at least whatever truth is in it, we get defensive and lash back.
But here's a question for we who think we don't need any more correction: Why do the greatest professional of all time still have coaches? Figure that out and we've figured out why we still need discipline and correction and redirection from time to time -- even in old age.
To be corrected or even rebuked is no disgrace. It is a kindness -- like oil for the head, David says. And the mark of being a mature disciple is being able to receive it as such.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Daily Lesson for Thursday, October 8, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verses 4 through 11
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Can I tell you a family story about my great-grandmother?
She was a very spiritually perceptive woman and had a way of always knowing when the girls had been in trouble in school before they even got back home.
My great-aunt Opal says that one time when my great-grandfather was away hauling butter from the Panhandle all the way out to California the girls could hear their mother in the kitchen up praying in the middle of the night. "Your daddy's in trouble," she told them, "and we need to pray for him." They prayed together in the kitchen for a half hour and then my great-grandmother suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "it's okay, he's out of trouble, ya'll can go back to bed now."
When my great-grandfather got back to Texas two days later he told the family that something had happened to him two nights before. He was driving back from dropping off his load when he fell asleep at the wheel. He said when he awoke the truck was still driving and he was about 30 miles down the road from where he remembered and an angel was standing on the running board with his arms reaching through the windshield and his hands on the steering wheel.
I tell you this story so you'll know why I believe Paul was right -- some really do have the gift of prophecy.
P.S. Lubbock legend and long-time friend fonts family Andy Wilkinson later wrote a folk song about this family story called "Angel on the Running Board".
P.P.S. You can listen to another good story about my great-aunt Opal and her mother and father in last week's sermon (10/4/15) found at the link below:
http://secondb.org/media.php?pageID=5
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Can I tell you a family story about my great-grandmother?
She was a very spiritually perceptive woman and had a way of always knowing when the girls had been in trouble in school before they even got back home.
My great-aunt Opal says that one time when my great-grandfather was away hauling butter from the Panhandle all the way out to California the girls could hear their mother in the kitchen up praying in the middle of the night. "Your daddy's in trouble," she told them, "and we need to pray for him." They prayed together in the kitchen for a half hour and then my great-grandmother suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "it's okay, he's out of trouble, ya'll can go back to bed now."
When my great-grandfather got back to Texas two days later he told the family that something had happened to him two nights before. He was driving back from dropping off his load when he fell asleep at the wheel. He said when he awoke the truck was still driving and he was about 30 miles down the road from where he remembered and an angel was standing on the running board with his arms reaching through the windshield and his hands on the steering wheel.
I tell you this story so you'll know why I believe Paul was right -- some really do have the gift of prophecy.
P.S. Lubbock legend and long-time friend fonts family Andy Wilkinson later wrote a folk song about this family story called "Angel on the Running Board".
P.P.S. You can listen to another good story about my great-aunt Opal and her mother and father in last week's sermon (10/4/15) found at the link below:
http://secondb.org/media.php?pageID=5
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 7, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 9 verses 16 and 17:
16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
This is a lesson for leaders of churches and other organizations and businesses and their reformers.
We always have reformers among us -- people who have a gift for dreaming and putting together new things. The status quo is never sufficient for reformers. Jesus himself was a reformer.
The problem reformers sometimes have, however, is that while the vision they bring requires an altogether new organization to accomplish it, what they either choose or are forced to do is to try to fit the new dream into the old structure. They are trying to put the proverbial new wine into old wineskins and the results are predictable.
But in fact, it isn't always quite that obvious. Actually, Jesus' other metaphor in today's lesson is actually more common. The garment (church, organization, business) is torn -- always. Reformers who don't yet see themselves as reformers come offering to fix the garment, but what they bring is new cloth (ideas) not shrunk to fit (this particular time, place, and people and their history). After not very long the new cloth (reformers and their followers) begins to tear away from the old garment (church, organization, business) and a worse tear (disaffection, dissension, struggle for power) is made.
Two questions reformers would do well to ask themselves: 1. Is the wine we bring so new and so strong that new wineskins are inevitable? Or, 2. Are we willing to be shrunk to fit and mend the frays and holes in the old garment?
Deciding on this first will spare a lot of old, but still salvageable garments and a whole lot of good wine.
16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
This is a lesson for leaders of churches and other organizations and businesses and their reformers.
We always have reformers among us -- people who have a gift for dreaming and putting together new things. The status quo is never sufficient for reformers. Jesus himself was a reformer.
The problem reformers sometimes have, however, is that while the vision they bring requires an altogether new organization to accomplish it, what they either choose or are forced to do is to try to fit the new dream into the old structure. They are trying to put the proverbial new wine into old wineskins and the results are predictable.
But in fact, it isn't always quite that obvious. Actually, Jesus' other metaphor in today's lesson is actually more common. The garment (church, organization, business) is torn -- always. Reformers who don't yet see themselves as reformers come offering to fix the garment, but what they bring is new cloth (ideas) not shrunk to fit (this particular time, place, and people and their history). After not very long the new cloth (reformers and their followers) begins to tear away from the old garment (church, organization, business) and a worse tear (disaffection, dissension, struggle for power) is made.
Two questions reformers would do well to ask themselves: 1. Is the wine we bring so new and so strong that new wineskins are inevitable? Or, 2. Are we willing to be shrunk to fit and mend the frays and holes in the old garment?
Deciding on this first will spare a lot of old, but still salvageable garments and a whole lot of good wine.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 6, 2015
Today's daily lesson comes from Psalm 127 verses 1 and 2:
Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Do you believe in miracles? How about the miracle of a good night's sleep? Do you believe in that miracle? Do you want to receive it?
The key to receiving the miracle of a good night's sleep is trust.
The writer Frederick Buechner once told of a time when he was deeply worried about one of his daughters who was in a place of great darkness. Overcome with worry, he pulled his little car over in the center of his little Vermont town and looked up to see a car pass by with the license plate "T-R-U-S-T". He later learned the car belonged to a banking officer at the local savings and loan. But still, at that moment there was no more necessary a word from God than to trust.
Trust yourself, trust your children, trust the earth, trust the Word, trust God. Learn to trust, and behold you shall finally receive the miracle of one good night's sleep, and then another, and then another . . .
Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Do you believe in miracles? How about the miracle of a good night's sleep? Do you believe in that miracle? Do you want to receive it?
The key to receiving the miracle of a good night's sleep is trust.
The writer Frederick Buechner once told of a time when he was deeply worried about one of his daughters who was in a place of great darkness. Overcome with worry, he pulled his little car over in the center of his little Vermont town and looked up to see a car pass by with the license plate "T-R-U-S-T". He later learned the car belonged to a banking officer at the local savings and loan. But still, at that moment there was no more necessary a word from God than to trust.
Trust yourself, trust your children, trust the earth, trust the Word, trust God. Learn to trust, and behold you shall finally receive the miracle of one good night's sleep, and then another, and then another . . .
Monday, October 5, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 5, 2015
Today's daily lesson comes from Psalm 106 verses 7, 8 and 43-45:
7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider your wondrous works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake,
that he might make known his mighty power.
43 Many times he delivered them,
but they were rebellious in their purposes
and were brought low through their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
when he heard their cry.
45 For their sake he remembered his covenant,
and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
We are told in the Scriptures that when the LORD delivered the Israelites from Pharaoh and brought them through the Red Sea, He did not do it because they were anymore faithful or pious than all the other nations, but He did it that His mighty power would be made known throughout the world. And when they rebelled in the wilderness, we are told that Moses had a heated conversation with the LORD where Moses prayed to (begged, screamed at?) the LORD and begged Him not to abandon the Israelites in their troubles -- not because of anything they had done, but because of His own name's sake. If they were given up for dead how would it look?
It was the great preacher Gardner Taylor who first gave me this insight when he said often he would pray to the LORD and begged the LORD to lead him from temptation and deliver him from evil, not because he deserved it but for the sake of the LORD's good name. Many a time I have thought of that and prayed the same, that no failure of mine would ever bring shame or dishonor on God. I still pray that today.
And yet, in Psalm 106 where at the beginning it says "He saved them for His name's sake," there is also another phrase at the end of the Psalm, "For their sake He remembered His covenant." Now this is a phrase that comes not only at the end of the psalm, but also at the end of a listing of many, many failures and rebellions and rejections by God's people. It is like the psalmist begins by saying that for the LORD's name's sake He sought to bring them out of Egypt, but later on -- when their failures and apostacies just got to be embarrassing -- He kept with them, seeing them out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land, not for any honor it brought Him, but purely because He had promised that He would not forsake them.
Our deliverance may bring God glory among the nations, or it may be bring God no honor at all and may perhaps even bring Him dishonor. Yet in the end, we will be delivered and we will be saved whether that means His glory or His shame, because that is what kind of God He is -- faithful always to His people and to His promises.
And that is why we can say that our LORD is mighty to save and great is His faithfulness!
7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider your wondrous works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake,
that he might make known his mighty power.
43 Many times he delivered them,
but they were rebellious in their purposes
and were brought low through their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
when he heard their cry.
45 For their sake he remembered his covenant,
and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
We are told in the Scriptures that when the LORD delivered the Israelites from Pharaoh and brought them through the Red Sea, He did not do it because they were anymore faithful or pious than all the other nations, but He did it that His mighty power would be made known throughout the world. And when they rebelled in the wilderness, we are told that Moses had a heated conversation with the LORD where Moses prayed to (begged, screamed at?) the LORD and begged Him not to abandon the Israelites in their troubles -- not because of anything they had done, but because of His own name's sake. If they were given up for dead how would it look?
It was the great preacher Gardner Taylor who first gave me this insight when he said often he would pray to the LORD and begged the LORD to lead him from temptation and deliver him from evil, not because he deserved it but for the sake of the LORD's good name. Many a time I have thought of that and prayed the same, that no failure of mine would ever bring shame or dishonor on God. I still pray that today.
And yet, in Psalm 106 where at the beginning it says "He saved them for His name's sake," there is also another phrase at the end of the Psalm, "For their sake He remembered His covenant." Now this is a phrase that comes not only at the end of the psalm, but also at the end of a listing of many, many failures and rebellions and rejections by God's people. It is like the psalmist begins by saying that for the LORD's name's sake He sought to bring them out of Egypt, but later on -- when their failures and apostacies just got to be embarrassing -- He kept with them, seeing them out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land, not for any honor it brought Him, but purely because He had promised that He would not forsake them.
Our deliverance may bring God glory among the nations, or it may be bring God no honor at all and may perhaps even bring Him dishonor. Yet in the end, we will be delivered and we will be saved whether that means His glory or His shame, because that is what kind of God He is -- faithful always to His people and to His promises.
And that is why we can say that our LORD is mighty to save and great is His faithfulness!
Friday, October 2, 2015
Daily Lesson for Friday, October 2, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson is from Psalm 107 verses 1-8, 10-15, 17-21
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
17 Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
they loathed any kind of food
and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love.
Let the redeemed of the earth say so.
Over the last few Wednesday nights at church we've had a series on courage and I asked several people I consider to be courageous people to simply stand up and share their stories. We had a couple who shared the story of losing an infant child and coming to terms with raising another who is gay and another with special needs. We had a man who stood up and began story by saying, "I'm (name) and I'm an alcoholic." That's how he usually begins to tell his story he said. And we had a woman tell the story of how she found courage after trauma. "This is really the story of how courage found me," she said. Then she went on to courageously tell the story of losing her husband to suicide -- a word which she said must no longer be kept silent and in uttered, but must be spoken and cared for.
These were powerful, life-giving stories.
After the parents' story, another pastor said to me, "There were so many places where shame could have silenced them; but they dared to speak." They dared to speak, to tell their story, and therein was the power.
Brene Brown is a sociologist who studies how people react to shame. She says that what she calls "whole-hearted" people ("whole-hearted" might also be "courageous" as "courageous" literally means of the heart) are people who chose not to let their own shame silence them. Rather, they choose what she calls "vulnerability" which she says, "sounds like truth and feels like courage."
Shame wishes to silence us. It is debilitating and isolating. It tells us we're all alone. Speaking, on the other hand -- finding the courage to share our own stories with vulnerability -- is powerful, life-giving, and opens us to community, to intimacy, and to the heart-felt knowledge that God's power really is made perfect in our weakness.
Let the redeemed of the earth say so; let them have the vulnerability to speak that others might hear and find the courage to live and to speak also.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
17 Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
they loathed any kind of food
and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love.
Let the redeemed of the earth say so.
Over the last few Wednesday nights at church we've had a series on courage and I asked several people I consider to be courageous people to simply stand up and share their stories. We had a couple who shared the story of losing an infant child and coming to terms with raising another who is gay and another with special needs. We had a man who stood up and began story by saying, "I'm (name) and I'm an alcoholic." That's how he usually begins to tell his story he said. And we had a woman tell the story of how she found courage after trauma. "This is really the story of how courage found me," she said. Then she went on to courageously tell the story of losing her husband to suicide -- a word which she said must no longer be kept silent and in uttered, but must be spoken and cared for.
These were powerful, life-giving stories.
After the parents' story, another pastor said to me, "There were so many places where shame could have silenced them; but they dared to speak." They dared to speak, to tell their story, and therein was the power.
Brene Brown is a sociologist who studies how people react to shame. She says that what she calls "whole-hearted" people ("whole-hearted" might also be "courageous" as "courageous" literally means of the heart) are people who chose not to let their own shame silence them. Rather, they choose what she calls "vulnerability" which she says, "sounds like truth and feels like courage."
Shame wishes to silence us. It is debilitating and isolating. It tells us we're all alone. Speaking, on the other hand -- finding the courage to share our own stories with vulnerability -- is powerful, life-giving, and opens us to community, to intimacy, and to the heart-felt knowledge that God's power really is made perfect in our weakness.
Let the redeemed of the earth say so; let them have the vulnerability to speak that others might hear and find the courage to live and to speak also.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 1, 2015
Today's daily lesson comes from Matthew chapter 7 verses 28 and 29:
28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
Jesus spoke with authority.
That does not mean Jesus preached with hell, fire, and brimstone; nor with spit. Nor with a tongue of condemnation.
That word "authority" in the Greek is the word "exousia". It means substance and being. It's the same word from which we get our word "essence". Jesus spoke "ex" (from) "ousia" (his essence).
Last night at church a friend (I call her my "sister-friend") told her story -- the story of being a survivor of suicide. She shared the journey and read the poetry she has written since her husband (a brother-friend) took his own life. It was poetry she herself "authored" -- words which came out of her own substance and being. She spoke and shared from the deepest part of herself; and she spoke with great authority.
We do not have to all be preachers or teachers or great students of the Bible to be able to speak with authority. Rather, all we have to do is find that still, small voice within us and let it speak. That's where our authority to speak comes from -- from the deep well of wisdom within us and within the pain and the hope of our own story. It is the only kind of authority that has the power to heal the world.
"And all were astonished at his teaching".
28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
Jesus spoke with authority.
That does not mean Jesus preached with hell, fire, and brimstone; nor with spit. Nor with a tongue of condemnation.
That word "authority" in the Greek is the word "exousia". It means substance and being. It's the same word from which we get our word "essence". Jesus spoke "ex" (from) "ousia" (his essence).
Last night at church a friend (I call her my "sister-friend") told her story -- the story of being a survivor of suicide. She shared the journey and read the poetry she has written since her husband (a brother-friend) took his own life. It was poetry she herself "authored" -- words which came out of her own substance and being. She spoke and shared from the deepest part of herself; and she spoke with great authority.
We do not have to all be preachers or teachers or great students of the Bible to be able to speak with authority. Rather, all we have to do is find that still, small voice within us and let it speak. That's where our authority to speak comes from -- from the deep well of wisdom within us and within the pain and the hope of our own story. It is the only kind of authority that has the power to heal the world.
"And all were astonished at his teaching".
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