Lament As Worship

05/23/2008 - Lament is not often a part of our gathered worship - except when we gather for the memorial services of those we love - but it has a legitimate place in our worship, public or private.

The book of Lamentations mourns the exile of Israel and the overturning of Jerusalem with deep passion and a sense of irretrievable loss. In the middle of the collection of recorded sorrows, like a flower in the desert, are these lines of dependence on God's mercy:

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

"They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

"I say to myself, 'The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'

"The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

" it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD." ~ Lamentations 3:21-26

Following - The When and The Where

05/22/2008 - "Peter asked, 'Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.' " ~ John 13:37

" 'I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.' Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, 'Follow me!' "" ~ John 21:18-19

Much has been said about Peter's impetuous zeal to follow Jesus. Yet he seemed to know what the cost would be - his life. And though he may have denied knowing Jesus three times as predicted, he may well have been in closer proximity to his Lord than any of the others who followed. Jesus, returning in resurrected form, meets Peter on the shore with another prediction.

If we knew what was ahead for us, would we still follow?

Even at a distance?

Enjoying the Favor

05/21/2008 - We live in a time when Christians are not well-perceived. It hasn't always been that way, even within the lifetimes of most of us.

At the time described by Acts 2, followers of Christ are described as "enjoying the favor of all the people."

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

What practices contributed to their good reputation then?

Would they help now?

Feeding the Hungry

05/20/2008 - "Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 'I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.' " ~ Matthew 15:32

Three days.

Had the crowds been out in the wild, away from their cities and homes and jobs, for three days while He taught them? Was it the kind of encampment that Restoration churches picture at Cane Ridge, Kentucky? Had they exhausted the food that they had brought, hungering so much to hear His words that they were willing to put up with a little growling in their stomachs?

We don't know. But the possibility does cast doubt on the idea proposed by - and with all due respect to the intentions of - folks like former minister Barbara Brown Taylor or Frank Cottrell Boyce, scriptwriter of the movie Millions: that the "real" miracle may have been that Jesus persuaded the crowds to share what they had brought and hidden away in folds of their cloaks for themselves. He did say, "...they have nothing to eat." And He was rarely wrong about such matters.

What we know for certain is that Jesus cares for people in the here and now, as well as in the hereafter. He shared the words, the bread that brings life here and to come, but He also shared the bread and fish that sustain it now.

Else He would not have placed such a priority on feeding them by the five thousands or the four thousands or as an instruction to His followers in Matthew 25.

An Important Request

05/19/2008 - "One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.' " ~ Luke 11:1

Luke begins his account of Jesus teaching His followers what we call "The Lord's Prayer" with their simple request. We have the prayer they asked for as an example, and while it has value as a prayer that gathered worshipers can repeat in unison, the principles of prayer within it have perhaps more value to the individual worshiper.

In Luke's record, Jesus tells a story recommending persistence in prayer, and another that points out the Father's love in giving gifts to those who ask - especially those who ask for His Holy Spirit (v. 13).

For at the times when words fail and principles of prayer have temporarily lost their meaning " ... the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." ~ Romans 8:26

Ask

05/18/2008 - Jesus' followers asked a lot of questions.

"The disciples came to him and asked, 'Why do you speak to the people in parables?' " ~ Matthew 13:10

"Then the disciples came to him and asked, 'Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this' " ~ Matthew 15:12

"His disciples answered, 'Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?' " ~ Matthew 15:33

"The disciples asked him, 'Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?' " ~ Matthew 17:10

"Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, 'Why couldn't we drive it out?' " ~ Matthew 17:19

He may have been frustrated with them sometimes (Matthew 17:17), but if He hadn't wanted them to ask, He wouldn't have told them to (Matthew 7:7-8; 21:22; Luke 11:9-13).

As followers, we should ask. It's part of our job description.

No Longer Following

05/17/2008 - It sounded like He was advocating cannibalism. What Jesus had just said was so unexpected, so repulsive in its seemingly literal meaning, that ...

"On hearing it, many of his disciples said, 'This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?'
"Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, 'Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.' For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, 'This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.'
"From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him." ~ John 6:61-66

Was it literal? Was it hyperbole, exaggeration, symbolism, prophecy, a foreshadowing? They could not have known about a Lord's Supper before He began it. Did He mean to pique their interest so that they would follow Him to learn His meaning? Did He mean to winnow out the ones who could only see reality in literal terms?

He seems to have been angry that some had demanded a sign like manna though He had just fed five thousand; that they grumbled as He sought to explain that He was the true Bread from heaven, the One that gives life without end. So He turned to the ones closest to Him:

" 'You do not want to leave too, do you?' Jesus asked the Twelve.
"Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.' " ~ John 6:67-70

So they kept following.

Even though He said one of them was a devil.

Do we abandon Him when His manner seems harsh or His words abstruse, hard to understand?

Jesus Called Them ... Two by Two

05/16/2008 - The children's Bible School song notwithstanding - "Jesus called them one by one ..." that's what Mark's gospel seems to indicate, at least for the first few disciples.

"As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will make you fishers of men.' At once they left their nets and followed him.

"When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. ~ Mark 1:16-20

Perhaps He recalled His Father's wisdom in the garden that it was not good for man to be alone. (Genesis 2:18) Perhaps He recalled the wisdom of the law, that the credibility of every matter must be established by two or three witnesses. (Deuteronomy 19:15) Perhaps He recalled the wisdom of the Preacher that two have a better return for their work. (Ecclesiastes 4:9) Whatever the source of the wisdom, He chose them by twos - and sent them out by twos (Mark 6:7; Luke 10:1)

Perhaps we should call on that wisdom as well - and work together when seeking to help build His kingdom in this world.

The Toll on the Narrow Way Road

05/15/2008 - Jesus was not evasive about the costs of pursuing a life of worship - not to a would-be follower; not even to one who was already following Him.

"When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, 'Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.'
"Jesus replied, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.'

"Another disciple said to him, 'Lord, first let me go and bury my father.'

"But Jesus told him, 'Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.' " ~ Matthew 8:18-22

Nor was He any less harsh in winnowing out huge numbers of people who sought to follow Him:

"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 'If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.' " ~ Luke 14:25-27

There is a cost to following Jesus.

And it isn't cheap.

The Harvest is Plentiful

05/14/2008 - In our labor to serve the Lord, to tell His Story and draw souls closer to Him, it's easy to become discouraged when there aren't immediate results, or when we can't see them, or when we realize how huge the task before us is. We'd do well, in our moments of public and private worship, to remember the words of encouragement that Jesus shared with His followers:

"Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.' " ~ Matthew 9:37-38

Do we ask?