Not Afraid to ask Questions

Community.

What is true community?

What is community?

What is required in a community?

What makes a community a community?

A question that has been long pondered by many a persons. As i continue to think about sacred space and sanctuary, I cannot help but to talk about the word that i often times find myself saying, probably too much. Yet, it is a deep hope for me that one day I may rest at ease with fellow people and be an authentic commune. Yet I find myself saying words like authentic and rest, commune and sanctuary and I begin to question myself of if I really know what these mean. Well friends, thats why I love blogging and our newsletter and being in conversation with each other for we will take on this dialogue into community and hopefully stumble into it.

Approaching this with particular stories of Scripture in mind, let us think of the disciples. It is an interesting string of events that led these 12 men (and other men and women who found themselves flocking to this group) to come together and follow Jesus. Accounts of how these disciples came to follow the one who is called Christ are recorded throughout the Gospels. Many of the disciples were fishermen, others tax collectors and others came because their brother did. Nonetheless, these men all came with this idea that they would follow this rabbi, teacher, and they would learn from his teachings.

Yet my amazement does not stop there. No, you see what I love about the 12 disciples and Jesus is there authenticity with each other. Granted, Jesus knew everything about them, even those who did hide behind a mask (referring to Judas). However, it was for this very reason I find comfort amidst these 12 men who often times wondered around, as I picture it in my head, aimlessly except with one thing on their minds, follow this guy and try and pay attention. Throughout the Gospel accounts we see Jesus will be teaching, he will teach through a parable or a story and then the disciples ask questions that gets Jesus to respond in a way that seems to be frustrating him. To get a better peek into the lives of these often time disciples, Mark would be a good source to look to as he does not show much favor for these students of the Christ. We see the disciples wrestling with the parables Jesus told and would wait until they were with him alone until they would ask to have it explained. Plus, they were not very good picking up on details of the prediction of Jesus' death (8.32-33; 9.32; 10.32-41). In other Gospel stories they would ask things like, "May we sit at the right and left side of you on your throne? Who is the greatest?" Some, according to the Gospel of Matthew, have their mother ask Jesus questions.

"If your going to mess up, do it big," a quote I once heard in a local bowling alley as a man was attempting a spare to save his team from ending their season. Maybe the disciples too had this thought in their mind when they were with each other. If we are going to follow this guy, lets be ourselves even if that requires extra explanation or even, humility and embarassament. Yet these things are too important to overlook as we evaluate the disciples community. As they wrestled and doubted even this mans divinity, they did not care as to how silly they were and were themselves. They asked the question that the guy next to them was afraid to ask or they did things that were not the best things to do by accident, like falling asleep in the garden. Yet these things played a key role in the development of the community. Everyone had a place and purpose in the 12, even Judas as we see him as the drama unfolds cling tighter to the moneybag and complains when a woman cleanses Jesus feet with perfume, for he knew that it could have been used for the poor. All 12 disciples were called, chosen and sent out for a reason and all needed each other.

Another key point to focus on is the way the disciples went out. You see, they went out not alone but in pairs, covering less ground maybe, but going with each other for support and encouragment we can assume. Never did they do anything alone. Together, always, eating, sleeping, walking and even asking Jesus how to pray. Together, all for one and one for all. No individuals, all striving to be a community.

Take some time to read these times when Jesus and the 12 gathered together. Place yourself in the story and listen to Jesus talking. Look around and look at the faces of those who would be surrounding you and see if you can listen as intently as they are. But if the times comes we you simply do not know or understand, don't be afraid to ask for the guy/gal next to you probably is wanting to ask the same thing. As M. Scott Peck says (who is guiding me behind these posts), "No one could exist without the other." (A Different Drum M. Scott Peck pg. 61.)

Community. A journey we will begin, an ending we hope will come true.
Grace, peace and love to you this day and may you seek the face of Christ in all you meet.

It Gets Sweeter In Time

Invitations have been sent out. Everyone of your close friends will be coming. No one was left out for this party is going to be one you will never forget. It is a celebration in fact. A wedding feast. A dear friend and their new spouse will celebrate the beginning of their lives together. Make sure you come prepared and trust me, there is going to be this one guy there who you don't want to miss.

Indeed this party is great. You reconnect with many of your old friends as you celebrate this wedding. Much laughter is taking place and the wine is flowing. You are glad you came if not for the merry making with friends but for this guy that someone heard something about from some guy who went fishing with this other guy whose brother first saw this man. Yet so far in the party, he has sat there with his mother and brothers and sisters, not really doing much. However you are keeping an eye on him right? You are paying attention because again, he did tell some of those friends he is with that they haven't seen anything yet.

Things are getting out of hand now as people are getting a little anxious waiting for the wine to come around again. Man what they served you first was great huh? Nothing like some great grape juice to go along with your dinner. But for real, when are they bringing out the next...wait, did you just see that? That lady they call Mary just leaned over to him, her son that is, and said something. Well, whatever it was, must not have settled right with him for the look he gave her was one of disgust. I wonder what he said.

You've seen nothing yet friends.

What are those servants doing now? Where are they taking those jars? Is that water going inside of them? Did He tell them to do this? Oh boy, this could get ugly if the host drinks this water. He was right, I haven't seen anything yet, nothing like a brawl that will soon take place. Yet he shows no signs of worry. There he sits, calm and collective, continuing his conversation with those 12 men.

The host is getting up to say something and the servants are squirming, "Usually a host serves the best win first and then brings out the less expensive one next. But you bridegroom have saved the best for last."

What? Did he just say wine? I thought it was water? What just took place? And it is the "best" wine? What did that Man do? Maybe what Nathaniel said was true. Maybe he is...the Messiah?

Drink deep friends of what Jesus can fill your life with. Place yourself in the party. Which table are you at? Who are you sitting by? What makes this party a good one?

Important to note how the tradition of a ceremony such as this would be to serve the better wine first and then the cheaper wine next, so that behind their drunkenness they would not be able to tell the difference. Yet the wine the drink last at this party is better than the best wine they served first. What does this say about Jesus? More than just a miracle happened here in Cana, we are exposed to what Jesus can provide for us. Their best wine was fine because the partiers never had anything better until Jesus came and provided more than they expected.

So why should we settle for less? As life goes on, as we continue to discover our lives in the life of Christ, we may begin to see that much like wine, our life in Christ will indeed begin to taste better.

Quietly He sat, replied hastily to His mother, yet life changing that party was for some. Where are you in this party?

May your cups of life be filled with the wine of Christ, a wine that gets better as time goes on. May you drink deep from it and come to the party with your lives ready to be transformed. Your invitation has come and a party is waiting for us. Drink deep of Christ and taste the richness of his love!

Peace and love to you this day.

d365

I wanted to give you another link for you to visit to hopefully help you take a moment of rest from the busyness of life.
http://www.d365.org/todaysdevotion/

It is another daily prayer opportunity for you. Again, my hope is that you would find time to settle down and take 10 minutes to do pray and meditate.

I am thankful for all of you!

Peace of Christ to you!

Adam

It'll take but 10 minutes...

Greetings friends! I hope that all of you are having a good, fresh start to this new semester and new year. We are almost done with January with only 7 more days to go. It is incredible how fast time can fly and to use a quote from the movie Ferris Bueller's day off, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." I post this blog in hopes that we may be able to stop every once in a while, a breathe, pray and contemplate God's movement. So I am posting this link where you can do all of that.

I encourage you to visit the Youth Ministry & Spirituality Project website and click on the tab entitled prayer. There you will begin a prayer session that takes 5-10 minutes and I encourage you to simply rest and pray. Not much is required for they post the prayers, questions and Scripture for you, so all you need to do is sit and be still before God.

Take some time and do this. Get comfortable, quiet yourself, close the door, turn down the lights, and begin to follow the instructions. Rest and pray, develop a new discipline that enriches our lives!

Linkin Park - Numb

Linkin Park - Numb

What are some struggles that you face? Do you stuggle with becoming something that someone else wants you to be? What about becoming like Christ? Is it a task that is impossible? Can we actually be like the God son? Music is a great way to express yourself and your feelings, to explain yourself in a more creative way.

According to the PCUSA Study Catechism, we are told that the mission of the church is to bear witness to God's love for the world through Jesus Christ. To be out of tuned to God and the sotry he has began to write for your life, such identity the church calls us to have, one in Christ, may seem foreign and even scary. However, the more we are authentic with ourselves, realising what REALLY matters in our lives, we will indeed begin to experience the love of Christ for God has found us and wants us to realize that we are his beloved, that we are loved and nothing can eternally take that away, but we can ignore this and turn our back when we do not want to realize that our true identity does not lie in the hands of others, but in the caring and crafty hands of the creator. He is our belovedness, we are his belovedness. One whom we can actually hold tightly too and know that we won't loose control. Trials and valleys, but hope and joy comes in the end.

Peace, Rest and other Confusing Theological Conversations

Have you ever stopped and looked around at all that surrounds you? Looking at the people that make up your lives. Your parents, your teachers, your friends, your colleagues if you work, and other people that make up your life. Have you ever stopped and looked around to the ways your life is shaped around? Looking at the activities that you are a part of or the things in your life that makes up who you are? Is there ever an end to joining something, becoming a part of, signing up to, and the list goes on. Why is it that we continue to put ourselves through agony in respect to time?

Being busy twenty four hours a day is not a healthy lifestyle. Joining and attending and being apart of everything is not a healthy choice for us to make. But why is it that we continue to find ourselves longing to do "good" and be apart of something that is "good" when in the end, our spirits are broken by it. One of my favorite movies of all time is the movie Tomb Stone. There are many memorable quotes that come from this movie that is based in the days of the "wild west". It stars great actors such as Kurt Russel, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliot and others. I mention this movie because Kurt Russel's character is the famous Wyatt Earp. To get to my point without spoiling the movie, Wyatt Earp is this famous marshal to moves to Tombstone to retire but then gets himself into some trouble by taking on more and more responsibilities. None the less, by it is all said and done, he finds himself loosing many of his close friends, mainly his wife and few brothers. In fact, his brothers die due to Wyatt Earp's involvement with the law. A man of "honor" comes in to settle down, only to find himself not escaping the demands of his popularity and cries of society.

What about your? Where is that you can find peace and rest? Where is it that you can find a place to retire for a short while? Or have you been deceived by the culture of our day to be involved in so much that you simply cannot find time to find rest? When you do find time for rest, in what ways do you feel new life come to you? How is it that your body becomes resurrected? Does that Christ that is the Prince of Peace play apart in your life? Or is he simply a god that you come to sit in and listen to on Sunday mornings?

Our Christian faith is much about conversation. Community is key in the life of a church and one of the spiritual body. You see, everything about our faith is for community. We hear the famous Bible verse, John 3:16, but why do we limit Christ saving grace to just this verse that if you continue on with verse 17 that Christ did not come just to save YOU but rather to save the WORLD and not condemn it. But where does all of this play out in your life? Many people get turned off by the saying of, "my personal relationship with Christ" but I cannot help but to argue that this must be better in the sight of our Trinitiarian God than those who faithful to the building of church rather than the Body of Christ that is the Christ. Because you simply go to church does not make you a Christian, or a follower of Christ. Just like attending a St. Louis Cardinal Baseball game does not make you a St. Louis Cardinal. One simply is a spectator that has no say or control of the organization of the baseball team. Christ, God, Holy Spirit, it is not a organization but often times the way we approach God, we turn him into just that, a country club feeling.

In 1 Peter we receive words of encouragement from the writings of Peter while he explains that we are all indeed going to go through these times of fiery trials and rough patches. In verse five of chapter 1 we read in his letter that God and his mighty power will protect you until you receive this salvation, because you are trusting him. This is in response to the previous quote that our priceless inheritance is in heaven for us, pure and undefiled, waiting for us. So when we trust in the Lord our God, we will receive this salvation, the hope we have of the eternal life. Much discussion on theology can be had here as we bring up the issue of salvation, eternal life, etc. but my main point here is that we are to put our trust and our hope in Christ, the one who came to bring Hope, Peace, Love and Joy. if we find ourselves, molding our lives into something that can be tarnished, that can be defiled and that can be rotten, then where is the joy in life? Christ is not a genie, God is not like the genie from Aladdin, but he loves us more than we can ever know, and if we claim to love God but do not love our selves or others, then we are simply liars. If we claim to love the Lord our God with all our soul, strength, mind, but put our hope and joy in earthly things, then we are simply liars.

What we need in our lives is love. A love that can not be found in anyone or anything. A love that comes from a god that cannot be seen. Although we may not see him, we trust him, knowing His story and his demonstration of love for us. Christ my friends, meets us daily but we find ourselves too busy and living in a fear of being like "them" that we simply miss him. Find Christ, seeing Christ, and being Christ goes deeper than any social club or showing up on any particular day. Much is given and much is required.

Let us get away from hypocrisy, jealousy, coveting, and backstabbing this season, and begin to fulfill the longing that sits in our hearts with the love of God, that was made possible through Christ Jesus. May we follow in the footsteps and bask in the light of the one who suffered for us, only to find ourselves becoming last and not first, lowly rather than exalted and praying rather than complaining. In the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians, "No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven." Live the life of Christ, don't just hear about it and pretend to do it. Love those who need love, lay aside all selfish ambitions and begin to discard everything so that you may have all of Christ.