The Spirit Steward: Easter Sunday: The Robin Sings Again.The next...

The Spirit Steward: Easter Sunday: The Robin Sings Again.




The next...: Easter Sunday: The Robin Sings Again. The next time you are up early on a morning in the spring, walk outside your door and listen. You...

Easter Sunday: The Robin Sings Again.




The next time you are up early on a morning in the spring, walk outside your door and listen. You will almost certainly hear this song, the dawn song of a robin.  Long before the sun came up, that robin was singing as it prepared its nest. Even when the rest of the earth is sleeping in the darkness, even when much of the earth is still gripped by the icy fingers of winter, the robin knows a secret. The robin knows that spring is coming.

Did you ever wonder how a robin knows that song, and how it knows how to build its nest? They don't go to school and take a "nest building class", of course. They don't even learn it from their parents. But when a robin sings for the first time, and when it builds its first nest, it's following an instinct that it was born with. It doesn't have to have hope, or faith, or belief. The robin just knows. And it follows this truth without even having to think about it.

On Easter, God is asking us to remember what the robin already knows.  Long ago, when you became you for the first time, God did something miraculous for you. God gave each of you an unbreakable bond to life. God also gave you a promise to remember even in dark and cold times:  Spring is coming, for you and for the world. You don't have to find it, or make it happen. It will just come.  That's God's love, and it isn't a dream or a myth. It is certain. As certain as the morning song of the robin. As certain as the spring.

This is why Jesus said in Matthew 6:

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ... Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 

On Easter, Jesus rose from the tomb that everyone around him thought was permanent death. It was actually never in doubt, and Jesus knew this, even when everyone else couldn't believe it was coming.

So, here is my Easter Prayer for each of you.

Enduring and Miraculous God,

Let us begin this prayer by remembering that you have taught us, through prophecy, through experience, and through Christ, that there is a light that shines in all places. A light that is released once we dig down into our most heartfelt places to remember your miraculous love for us. 

Lord, help us to carry that love into this world, to help this love stretch far enough to reach those who need healing and reassurance, to bring hope to those who need it the most during this season.

Help us carry Your Love to those needing comfort in the cold and the darkness.  To those experiencing loneliness, or poverty, or depression.  Help us hear their prayers, oh God.  Help us be your warmth and light to them.

Help us carry Your Love to those who have prayed to You and are still awaiting an answer.  To the sick, to the lost, to those out of work, to those out of ideas.  Help us hear their prayers, oh God.  Help us to make sure they are not alone in the dark.

Lord, you are the maker of miraculous things, even amidst the clouds of uncertainty.. You bring hope to those of us who can muster it, perhaps that we might give that hope to those who have none left. Let us keep our eyes open for one another, so that as few of us as possible have to be alone in the dark. Let us keep our eyes open to You, so that we, too, might remember that we are never be alone.  For you have taught us, in your enduring light, that miracles are not things that happen to us, but rather things that happen through us when we just let them run their course.

Amen.

The Spirit Steward: Waving our Palm Branches No Matter What.Happy Pa...

The Spirit Steward: Waving our Palm Branches No Matter What.

Happy Pa...: Waving our Palm Branches No Matter What. Happy Palm Sunday, Friends! I am bringing back the blog.  "The Spirit Steward" starte...

Waving our Palm Branches No Matter What.

Happy Palm Sunday, Friends!

I am bringing back the blog.  "The Spirit Steward" started in 2010 with the following mission:

I wish this blog were just a mirror... literally.  I wish it were just a looking glass where everyone who came here saw only the perfect and pure reflection of themselves as God does... the beauty and power possible inside of everyone.  When I look at people every day, that is what I see - it's all I see - their Spirit, just as it was intended.

God built in each of you a light and a power to be you, from the moment you were born.  You didn't have to earn this, you can't buy it, and nothing you do - good or bad - can take that away.  It's your free gift just for showing up. It's called God's grace, and it works like this:

Imagine that it's the first day of summer vacation from school.  Thatt's not hard to do these days when we're all kind of in that zone anyway. Your mom or dad says, before they go off to work (in the next room 😏) "Enjoy your day, my beloved child.. I'd like you to clean your room and take the dog for a walk today".  You grunt at them, roll over, and go back to sleep until noon.  You eat a bit of breakfast and spend most of the afternoon binge watching your favorite TV show, totally planning on walking the dog and at least organizing your room into some out of the way piles.. maybe even making your bed.  At 4:00 pm, your parent finds you on the couch in the living room.  Your room is untouched, and the dog has taken matters into his own hands and relieved himself on the carpet in the dining room.  Obviously, they are dissappointed.  Depending on the parent, you prepare yourself for the lecture, the guilt trip, or the yelling... maybe all three.

You actually feel pretty bad that you forgot to do your chores.  Some part of you truly believes, in that moment, that you are probably a terrible person. You wonder what your punishment will be. Maybe you start punshing yourself inside. You go get the leash, take the dog for a walk and start cleaning your room.

As you are cleanring your room, your parent returns and gives you a hug and says that they love you.  You may think that the only reason they did that is because you finally did your chores.  You might think that the hug.. the love.. it's really basically conditional on your performance.

But here's a little secret.  God's love doesn't work like that.  There are parts of it that aren't conditional one you getting perfect grades in "Good Kid Class".  There is a huge, sustaining, part of God that loves the kid on the couch putting off their chores and watching YouTube videos all day.  Why?  Because God believes in you, and knows that being human is having days like this where we are less than the perfect version of ourselves.  God actually has a lot of faith in you, because God knows you and what you are capable of. God believes in that, loves and cherishes that, and celebrates that.  Even when you don't, or when you don't believe you are possibly worthy of that love. That love was there before you were born, and will endure forever.

From Psalm 118:28-29

Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter.  I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. Lord save us! Lord, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Walking Humbly in a Power Hungry World

When I was in college, I was leader of the campus environmental group, and went with a group of fellow students to an environmental organizing workshop in Ogden, Utah. There, I attended a workshop on environmental racism. Environmental racism is based in the fact that minorities are much more likely to live in environmentally degraded areas and be impacted by environmental problems; more so, even, than people who are simply poor. It was an important topic, as it related to why people of color had up to that point been left out of the environmental movement. Unfortunately, the workshop soon turned into a contest to see who could use the most politically correct words they learned in their environmental justice class.

But as the discussion went on, the facilitators, both students of color, worked in some of the themes – that we needed to realize the impacts this has in communities and stop ignoring this in the environmental movement. It caused me to reflect about my own agenda for environmental advocacy; national parks, large carnivores like wolves and grizzly bears, old growth forests and wilderness areas. I had often judged those who didn’t support these issues for their lack of compassion for someone besides themselves, but I had to ask.. have I ever lifted a finger to right the injustice of communities of color who were being most impacted by pollution of air, water and soil in their own back yards? My wilderness ethic was just fine, because it related to the nice places that I got to go spend time, but for the first time I realized that perhaps this was just an extended form of selfishness.

When it came my turn in the discussion – I said. “I’m a racist. I’m sorry, but after hearing about this issue, and thinking about who is benefitting from my environmental work, and who is not, it seems like I’m using all of my education and standing to support issues that do nothing to move the needle for those most impacted by environmental problems. Therefore, I am an environmental racist.” Shock and awe followed, and the sharks circled me, trading off between disdainfully mocking my ignorance and patronizing me. The leaders just smiled – of all these white folks, perhaps they had cracked, at least a little bit, one of them.

These days, I feel like I’m back in that room at Weber State University – surrounded by people facing the urgent problems of our day, many who will be affected by those decisions, like Muslims, or immigrants, or people of color, or the LGBTQ community. And a bunch of us who will likely not be impacted by the decisions are trying to figure out what to do about that. This time, I am trying to talk less and listen more, like we did at last week’s forum here at Edmonds UMC, where Jessica, Hashim, and Josefina shared their perspectives of being Gay or Lesbian, Muslim, or an immigrant in America at this particular point in time.

But now the tables are turned, and it is my turn to talk, and not listen. The problem is, as I prepared the sermon this week, the words – unlike usual for me – did not come, and I felt like the letter to the Corinthians applied to me in spades this week.

 “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

This letter to the Corinthians speaks to a people who are spiritually lost. The Jews keeping hitting the “refresh” button on the tried and true prophesies and news sources, looking for a “sign” that never seems to come. The Greeks, or gentiles, prided themselves on being wise in the ways of the world, which became a sort of intellectual elitism. Paul knew that this preoccupation with signs or worldly elitism not only cut them off from really knowing God, but it also threatened the Christian unity so important to the early church. Paul doesn’t elevate either of the Jew or Gentile over the other, doesn’t fall for the creation of an “Us” and a “Them” theme that gets used so often. Instead, he reminded them that they were bound through Christ, and that this alone would open the door between them and the restorative hand of God.

Can you see the similarities? How many times have those of us from different backgrounds come into current discussion from a place of division rather than unity? We are worried about everything from foreign terrorism to domestic fascism, about economic well-being, about whatever problems we see in the worlds we live in. There is so much that is changing right now, and there is no small amount of uncertainty, and fear, and worry, about what that means. Black Lives Matter! Blue Lives Matter! Health care is a right for all! We need to protect our borders! We need to be a country who welcomes all people! We need to restore those who have lost opportunity! The conflicts are raging. Never, since perhaps the Civil Rights era or the Vietnam War, has America been so divided, and the gulf is seeming to grow by the day. It’s in our churches, in our families, in our communities, in our nation, and in the entire world. This is a great time of discord – which from what I know about Washingtonians, is very, very uncomfortable.

But we really can’t avoid the conflicts, because there is a lot at stake, things that we as Americans, and as Methodists, have a civic and spiritual duty to respond to. There are important social issues like health care, civil liberties, women’s rights, and the environment, and ethical questions such as yesterday’s Muslim ban. There are wildly competing visions, side by side, for what it means to live out our faith as Christians. There will be real impacts, especially on those vulnerable populations at the margins, those people who lack the privilege to be in rooms like this, or the halls of Congress, debating their fate. We stand at the gateway, here, having so much power to impact so many political and ethical decisions that will mean life or death for so many people.

How will we respond?

To be truthful, I really have nothing that seems quite good enough. I must sit here and confess to you, my friends, that, as good as I am at words, all of them seem to fall short. I came away from hours of sermon preparations yesterday feeling neither wise nor intelligent, but full of unanswered questions. I have no magic nuggets to bring brilliance to the questions of our times. I have no medicine for the struggles that so many, friend and stranger alike, are feeling at this moment in history.

Which brings me to the beginning of my sermon.

And I must begin where we all do, I suppose:

On my knees
with nothing
as nothing

in darkness.

So, let’s go on a spiritual journey together, shall we? Let’s start where so many are right now, for a thousand different reasons. In the dark.

Now imagine, for a moment, that you are one of those people who might be scared or hopeless right now. Maybe it’s not so hard to imagine, or maybe you’re feeling resistance to imagining that at all. But I know every one of you knows and loves someone who is there, so if not for yourself – go here for them.

The thing about being in places like this, as you can see if you are really there, is that it’s hard to imagine anything else, and it’s hard to imagine a way out. This is a place of being stuck, of not being able to breathe, of oppressive weight. Maybe you are feeling that too. There is fear here. There is sadness, anger, despondency. You may feel powerless, and blind to the paths leading you back to light. That is understandable. This is the beginning of understanding suffering.

You are not alone, as many others are suffering similarly. For those of you in the depths of this suffering, or know people who are there, let there be a prayer of comfort for your, that God may attend to you in your suffering. For those of you new to this place, who may be feeling uncomfortable right now, let this discomfort by the crack through which the word of God might reach you. For in this darkness, there is a longing, and a hunger for something new in your life – for truth, meaning, security, and a sense of power in your life. For God. So, hopefully, each of you is sitting in the comfort of God, or feeling a sense of longing for God. Both will work for what’s next.

So What’s next? This darkness, this void, this nothingness is the beginning of the journey. Right now, in this place, I want to suggest that you are at a crossroads. This is a crossroads that you or a person you know, that people in our families, in our communities, and in our nation are facing right now.

One path leads towards peace, happiness, and strength; One path leads back into the darkness. Which path shall we take? And how shall we know the way?

If we consider Paul’s letter, there is hidden in the text a compass, but it’s not an easy one. For if you look up on a hill, you no longer see God coming down with “right and wrong” or “Yes or No”, you don’t see judgement of who is good, and who is bad. You see neither wisdom of man nor wisdom of the prophets. You only see a cross, and the Christ, along with the words:

He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

In the Text of Micah today, the Israelites, too are at a crossroads. They are choosing between the world and God, and the prophet is there to judge how it’s going. It’s not going well. Those in power are cheating and taking from the less fortunate. Some men are elevating themselves above other men (not to mention women), and the language they use towards one another is violence, lies, and deceit. They have turned away from God, and have started down a pathway back into the dark.

So how is this a pathway back into the dark? It begins simply enough, we feel powerless over things that scare us. We simply want to overcome our powerless feelings amidst things that make us anxious. We tell ourselves, or each other, that we deserve to be secure, to have control over what happens, to not have to be afraid. We feel a sense of urgency, like we have to do SOMETHING. And, it seems reasonable enough that we if can gain some sort of edge over our problems, then we can have the power to protect ourselves from our fears. This is called projection of power – we insert a strong narrative into our fears to defeat them, because we feel like we lack the power to defeat them ourselves.

The next step is to look for the cause of our problem. Depending on which way we go, this is often where the slippery slope back into darkness, or worse, appears. We must be very careful here. This is, in fact, where we are in America right now – there is an enormous fight raging about how to define the problem, and who gets to define it, and what that definition gives them a right to do.

It is here that the most important part of the journey lies. We turn from being lost, from suffering, fear, and pain, and we turn towards either hate, or love.

Of course, the cross is always there. The reminder of Christ that connects us through love of one another and faith into the renewing grace of God. People often think of the cross as “Jesus suffered and died for our sins”, but there’s a deeper truth to be learned here that doesn’t fit into an easy sound byte. God sent Jesus to be joined in our suffering, both from what we bring on ourselves and what others do to us, which is a sort of sin. But God doesn’t do this to judge us, God does this so that we aren’t alone in the dark. God joins our struggles, suffers with us when we hurt ourselves or others hurt us, and then shows us the way back to God. Christ is always there waiting to walk beside us and lead us home.

But too often, we are led along toward another option entirely, especially when we are hurt, afraid, and angry: Hate.

Because, as we can see, over and over and over again, there are always people who desire power out there. They are waiting for us to get to that point in our despair and turn away from our faith in God, and instead put our faith in them. They know that this moment when we most doubt God, or our neighbors, is when we are looking for something, or someone, outside of ourselves that can project power over the problems we have. And they are always all too willing to do that. So, we take the pathway towards hate. We name an enemy, we call them a “them”, and we begin to tear them apart.

We do it a thousand ways, on both sides of the political aisle and all over the religious spectrum. It’s the playbook of politics of our country – I know, I was there, learning it from those who helped write it.

· We are Legitimate Americans and they are terrorists

· We are holy before God, and they are sinners

· We are good Christians, and they are bad Christians

· We are hard workers and they are lazy

· We are Smart and they are Stupid

· We are educated and they are ignorant

· We are enlightened and they are racists

· We are great and they are bad

· We are law-abiding, and they are criminals

· We are Good and they are bad

· We are just, and they are unjustified

· We deserve to win, and they deserve to lose.

So, are you with us, or are you with the terrorists, the sinners, the lazy, morons, the greedy, the stupid, the racists, the losers, the criminals. Pick a side, because if you don’t pick ours, you will lose.

This is what’s known as the politics of fear and manipulation. And it’s everywhere. We must not be fooled by this, because as soon as we turn away from a love all people, from compassion, from the mercy and justice of Christ, and turn towards hatred of others, from an “Us vs Them” mentality, we are committing sin.

We cannot give in to this world of hate. As Christians, neither can we stand on the sidelines when sins are committed against even the least of our brothers and sisters. We must look to the cross on that hill in this dark time, and we must follow that cross to do what God Requires of us

to do justice, and to love kindness,^[b]
    and to walk humbly with your God?

So let us emerge from this darkness, and let us remember, that as Christians, We are:

A people who remember that Greatness is not about who can get the most. Greatness is about who has the courage to stand up for the least.

A people who will remind others that human vanity is something more divine than we could ever imagine. Because, when a consciousness filled with fear, brutality and doom takes hold of the world around us, we will through our faith tell the even stronger story of love, mercy and life. And we hold steadfast as a people who do not so easily sacrifice courage for fear, because America has always been at her greatest when she had the courage to stand up for the oppressed.

A people who will remind our leaders and others that "Me first" is not really a thing, in any religion, and challenge those who say that and claim to represent God. Because we know that God doesn't pick winners and losers, because God is too busy picking up the lost and renewing the fallen.

A people who will work for justice, even if we are not sure what we are doing or if it will even make a difference. We will do this because someday, in the future, in some place we can’t see, we will have created life that otherwise would have not been there, and some part of us will be redeemed.

A people who will listen to all sides as openly as we can, and then we will be convicted by truth and nothing less, if if that truth is not always what we want to hear.

A people who respond to these times with the best in us and in humble service to the will of God. For liberals, that means giving compassion to all people. For conservatives, that means giving compassion to all people. For Americans, that means giving compassion to all people.

A people who will try to remember the power of humility. Only then can we be aligned to see the suffering in the eyes of those being dragged through the dirt. And understanding suffering is the way of Christ.

A people who also remember that humility is not the same thing as complacency, but rather a way of staying connected to God’s will as we seeks to bring it about in the world.

A people who, amidst any darkness, will respond with nothing less powerful, than a humble walk toward Justice and Mercy, searching for God at each of the crossroads in our life.

In Love for us, Christ calls us fight for the vulnerable.

I understand the sentiment - that we as progressive elites have done our part, and we should avoid losing too much sleep over this.  Let them fail, so to speak.  But my heart tells me that this response is a luxury of the old (at best). As life draws down, there is less and less to lose, at least from  the individual's perspective. As someone of such privilege myself, I also have the luxury of walking away to watch some birds, garden, take a hike, or play a round of golf, if the fight gets too hard.

There's complexity to this, of course.  Because too many efforts to pass enlightenment on race, gender, multiculturalism, and LGBTQ status to others have drifted from inspired teaching and discipleship towards shame-based evangelism; Because there has been too much eagerness to look out our windows in disgust at "bad people" without noticing the pale reflections of the onlooker standing right beside them; Because judgement is quick and humble love is too uncomfortable (because we don't want to be like THEM, do we?) - because of all of these things and more, we have become divided against ourselves. And this division will result in very real suffering.

What I can tell you, is that I have work to do.  I like being comfortable, in a place where my time at the barricades are more to legitimize my ego-drive ideology or whitewash my guilt than anything resembling necessity.  It's certainly not a matter of survival, unlike others. I have been guilty of hiding behind my words I learned on that test I aced in college, so that I might not have to acknowledge my own very real fears, biases, xenophobia, idolatry, exceptionalism, and privilege.  I am not so different than those we shout out to in disgust.  We are a very Matthew 7:5 kind of people, quick to judge, slow to humility.  I include myself among those, which is my sin.

Though it's only my belief, I wonder if many people misunderstand the reason Christ taught what he did, which was - in a nutshell - Humble yourself before God; and Love each other, including your enemies, but especially the poor.  If Christ indeed loved us, why did he want us to seemingly do things that exhausted our own resources simply for the benefit of someone else.  What did such willing poverty ever do for anyone, really?  Is there some karmic trade-off between being diminished now and being exalted in the hereafter, or vice versa?  Is there a net zero sum game at work in our material and spiritual lives, in the context of eternity?

Or, was Christ trying to teach us something about the nature of happiness?  Consider the 12 steppers who have come back from the near-death of their addictions, or the Bangladeshi children frolicking in the brickyards behind Dhaka, or any of those blessed with the freedom of knowing there's nothing more to lose.  Is it possible that he was simply trying to connect us with the true happiness of meaning, and the joy of an authentic union with God  - not in the next lifetime, but in this one?  In a sense, the Kingdom of heaven is available in the now, not just the not yet?

What is happiness, meaning, and connection with God then?  How, then, shall we live?  This is what Christ had to say about all of that, and I think he said it not because he just cared about the poor, but because he also so deeply loved his disciples:

The Beatitudes
(Psalm 1:1-6; Matthew 5:3-12)

20Looking up at His disciples, Jesus said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

21Blessed are you who hunger now,

for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

22Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man. 23Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For their fathers treated the prophets in the same way.

Woes
(Amos 6:1-7)

24But woe to you who are rich,

for you have already received your comfort.

25Woe to you who are well fed now,

for you will hunger.

Woe to you who laugh now,

for you will mourn and weep.

26Woe to you when all men speak well of you,

for their fathers treated the false prophets in the same way.

Love Your Enemies
(Leviticus 24:17-23; Matthew 5:38-48)

27But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.

35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Do Not Judge
(Matthew 7:1-6; Romans 14:1-12)

37Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

39Jesus also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

41Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? 42How can you say, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while you yourself fail to see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

A Tree and its Fruit
(Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 12:33-37)

43No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44For each tree is known by its own fruit. Indeed, people do not gather figs from thornbushes, or grapes from brambles. 45The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.

The House on the Rock
(Matthew 7:24-27)

46Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I say? 47I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them: 48He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.b

49But the one who hears My words and does not act on them is like a man who built his house on ground without a foundation. The torrent crashed against that house, and immediately it collapsed—and great was its destruction.” 

"Who Really Needs Church, anyway?

From the Chronicles of "ACK!! I'm too busy!!!"....

We Christians all love Jesus, and are often comforted by his soothing words.  So hear these from Matthew 11:28-30:  

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Did you ever wonder how Christ knew so much about what it was like to be so weary?  Maybe it was because he spent all those years walking around hot, dry, war-torn lands in holey shoes and helping hungry, poor, and oppressed people find hope in a new God no one really believed in.  Or maybe because he had just spent the last several months walking in the wilderness, performing countless miracles of healing and compassion, and unveiling a whole new way for the world to know God.  Maybe, like so many of you, he was just so busy all the time with all the stuff he had to do that he barely had time to stop and rest.

Christ knows the contents of your schedules, your IPhones, and your hearts and souls, because of your relationship with Him, so imagine what you would tell Him if He asked you the question above:  

Who really needs Church, anyway?  

In this world of busy schedules, trying to keep up with the steep expectations of school or work, athletic or musical performances, being enough for our kids or families, fitting in socially, finances, etc, etc, etc, it's actually a pretty good question.  Given all these things competing for your energy and time, is church something that you really need? Is is a place where you find God and experience Christ?  Is God or Jesus something that you really need? Where do you find God?  Where does Jesus exist in your life?

Now, imagine what Christ would say to you if you asked Him a similar question.  "Why do I really need church, anyway?"

While you listen and discern for what Christ's answer to you might be, here is mine:

I need a church that is more than just a church. What if it were more like one of those families where everyone who walked in the door was welcomed and embraced, no matter what.? What if it was a refuge -  a place where we could take time out of our busy lives to rest, be ourselves and know that we will be supported for who we are.  What if it was  a place where God met us in person, in how we treated each other, in how we celebrated each others lives, in how we worship together, and in how we served others who need it most?  What if church was more than just new carpet, or an updated brochure, or a capital campaign, or a marketing campaign to bring in the millennials? What if church was not just another place to make ourselves busy, but rather a place where our burdens were lightened because we learned how to bear one another's yokes?

In this increasingly turbulent world, we need more pools where we can rest and be renewed by one another.  We need more places where no one is excluded, judged, or less than anyone else.  We need more places where our deepest longings, wounds, and fears are met with the best parts of God's love - places where people stop and take the time to show up for each other, and in doing so allow each other to experience Christ.  Because this showing up, not in a building, but in each other's lives - that is Church.  And if that is church,  make room in the pool - because I'm jumpin' in!

Note: To readers who don't follow the Christian faith, neither this nor any of my other posts are intended to elevate my belief in God above either your beliefs or disbelief, with the exception that I will freely and tirelessly confront any belief system, Christian or otherwise, that justifies hatred, injury to others, or abuse of power.