EGGS CAN'T FLY

      For years I avoided church... and mocked believers as fools and hypocrites. In my view, they were self-righteous pretenders who weren't brave enough to actually embrace Christ... or to give themselves over to their own sins, either one. Christ asked too much of them; the world frightened them... so they joined a church... to hangout with others who were in the same boat.  If they were good at all, they were (to use Twain's phrase) good in the worst sense of the word... because we could all see that they weren't living any differently than we were. They gathered on Sunday, but they worshiped themselves and all of the idols that the rest of us worshiped, and frankly, this was disappointing... because some of us needed a hope that only God could give. Some of us needed a big God- a demanding God- who could give and take life, who would have his way with us, and who could reshape us entirely. Some of us had gotten lost along the way and we were ready, even hoping, to do business with a God who wanted all of us.
      Well, this is the God whom we encounter in Mark 8:31ff today. Rather than being told that we can have our cake and eat it too, we're challenged to make a choice, and rather than encountering a God who only asks for lip service, and a little time now, and (if we feel like it) a little of our spending change, we come face to face with a God who wants all of us. Look, Jesus said, as he called the crowd to gather around, anyone who loses his (or her) life for my sake will find it, and those who cling to their lives... will lose them! What? Yes, you heard it correctly. Anyone who chooses to be a disciple of mine (he said)... must pick up a cross and die to himself! He said this because we are imprisoned to self, and we will never be free... as long as we are bound by our passions, our pride, our possessions, our fears, and our sins (to mention just a few). Our freedom is an illusion because we will never be truly free and fully human until our hearts rest in Christ. Consider the costs, he noted later, and make a choice. I will give you full, meaningful, and eternal life, he promised...IF you die to yourself and give your life to me!
      Come and die. Come and die. When I think of these words I immediately thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who famously said, "When Jesus calls a man, he bids him 'come and die.'" Some men die like the apostles who were called to drop everything and follow Christ. Some men die to self like Luther did, by leaving the monastery and engaging the world... but every man or woman who is called by Christ is called to "come and die to self." And there are no exceptions. Every Christian carries a cross. Every Christian is yoked to Christ. That's what the word "Christian" means and it is what separates Christians from people who aren't. Listen to C.S. Lewis as he describes what Christ wants from us. "Give me all of you! I don't want so much of your time, or your talents or money- I want all of you. I have not come to frustrate the natural man or woman, but to kill it! No half measures will do. I don't want to prune a branch here and a branch there. I want the whole tree out! Hand over... all of your dreams and wishes, your needs and wants. Turn them over to me, and I will make of you a new self... in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you myself. My will shall become your will. My heart shall become your heart!" (Mere Christianity)
      This, then, is the Lenten call to surrender and new life.  This then is the Lenten promise. His heart will be my heart... if I give my heart to him. His will shall be my will, but I must make a choice. Lent is a season for reflections, self-examinations...and choices! Lent is a call to action... but it's not easy! On the contrary, it's counter-intuitive and frightening because no one wants to carry a cross. No one wants to die to self. It's an act of the greatest trust and it's something that the world (nor even your own family members) will never understand. Dying to self... as a means of discovering life... will never be a great church growth slogan, nor will it ever be particularly popular. Indeed, many pastors believe we must lead people from "come and see"... to... "come and die" because it's a decision that requires spiritual maturity.., and even Jesus called us to measure the costs. Let me quote C.S. Lewis again, "The terrible thing- the almost impossible thing- is to hand over your whole self... to Christ. But it is far easier than what we are trying to do instead- which is continue to "be ourselves," to make our own fulfillment and happiness the greatest aim of our life, and at the same time to be good." Look around and see the trail of tears that we have left- all of us and each of us- in an effort to find purpose and happiness without God.
      It can't be done! We will never be fulfilled or free... by trying all the harder and hanging on all the tighter. Never, because we must let go... and besides, surrendered obedience is the stuff that enables us to fly- to soar as Christians. I've told the story before of the little congregation of ducks, who listen to their pastor tell them every Sunday, that they can fly... only to waddle back home again. Well, today, I close with Lewis' observation that eggs can't fly. "It may be hard," he noted. "for an egg to turn into a bird, but it would be a jolly sight harder for a bird to learn to fly while remaining a egg. We are like eggs at the present- (but) you can't go on indefinitely being just an ordinarily decent egg. We must (either) be hatched or go bad." Christ does not give us the choice of opting out- nor making excuses- but instead, he invites us to make a choice- for Him. "Yonder lies your cross. Pick it up... and fly!"

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

            I want to thank you for giving me the chance to welcome you tonight, and for inviting me to say a few words about love. First, we need to thank Annette and her ministry team for blessing us with such a wonderful event!

            And now, on to love, which is why you’re here. Some of you are celebrating marital love and we applaud that wonderful and God-given institution. No less a man that Socrates said, “(By all means) marry! If you get a good wife, you’ll be happy; if not, you’ll be a philosopher!” Either way you’ll be blessed, but love is bigger than any marriage, so we’ll broaden our perspective and recognize Philia (the love of friend for friend), and Storge (the love that forms between family members, one that you’re born into or one you choose, like a military unit or people who share a kindred cause.) We also recognize agape love- unconditional love that knows no bounds or limits. Agape love is God’s love, but I also see it right here… with men and women who have discovered what it means when they said “for better or worse.” Day after day they give their hearts to someone who may not reciprocate or even recognize them. One of my favorite authors is Frederick Buechner and especially his devotional called, “Listening to Your Life,” in which he writes: “The love for equals is a human thing- of friend for friend, of brother of brother. It is to love what is loving and lovely. The world smiles. The love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing- the love for those who suffer, for those who are poor, the sick, the failures, the unlovely. This is compassion and it touches the heart of the world. The love for the more fortunate is a rare thing- to love those who succeed where we fail, to rejoice without envy with those who rejoice, the love of the poor for the rich, of the black man for the white man. The world is always bewildered by its saints. And then there is the love for the enemy- the love for the one who does not love you but mocks, threatens, and inflicts pain. The tortured’s love for the torturer. This is God’s love. It conquers the world.”  Remember these words because they are very profound.

            I thought about trying a little stand-up tonight, but Sherry says that you expect a pastor to be… serious and thought. Presbyterian. So I will read from Scripture. “How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful. Your eyes behind you veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from the hills of Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone. Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of the pomegranate.  Your neck is like the tower of David built with courses of stone…. Your breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle, that browse among the lilies. You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.” Song of Songs 4:1-7. Sensual love… is a gift. So tell your darling that she has hair like goats, and all of her teeth, and that she reminds you of one of Pharoah’s mares (1:9). We celebrate it too if this love is the love you miss most tonight because (in God’s hands) love never dies! But Eros love- no matter how beautiful- is not the half of love- and for many of us, not even the deepest form of love. I mentioned Philia earlier, and the love of friend for friend can be a life-giving thing. “When you’re weary, feeling small; when tears are in your eyes, I dry them all. I’m on your side… when times get rough and friends just can’t be found. Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down. When you’re down and out, when you’re on the street, when evening falls so hard, I will comfort you. I will take your part. When darkness comes and pain is all around, like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down. Sail on silver girl, sail on by. Your time has come to shine. All your dreams are on their way. See how they shine. If you need a friend, I’m sailing right behind. Like a bridge over troubled water, I will ease your mind!” Surely you remember this Simon and Garfunkel song, and probably agree that it is better than Simon’s song, “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover.”

            What a wonderful tribute to Philia, and many of you have been blessed with friends who were sailing right behind, or who were your best cheerleaders when you were shining. May God be blessed for the love of friend for friend- a love that the Bible lifts up with David and Jonathan. Someone said that, whereas in eros love one person wants the other…in real love, that same person will want the best for other. In other words, real love is neither controlling or possessive. It lets go, which brings me to my friend, Johnny, who got caught up in the wrong things and died young. He was hit by a car in Chicago, and I entered his life while he was recovering in Joliet. He had issues, but he was sweet, and he had a big heart. He also had a great family who stuck with him, and at his funeral, I was compelled to read the words of Willie Nelson’s song, “Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground,” because it captures the depth of human love and even some of God’s love… with these words: “If you had not fallen, then I would not have found you- angel flying too close to the ground. And I patched up your broken wing and hung around for a while, trying to keep you spirits up… and your fever down. I knew someday that you would fly away, for love’s the greatest healer to be found. So leave me if you need to- I will still remember… angel flying too close to the ground. Fly on. Fly on past the speed of sound. I’d rather see you up than see you down. So leave me if you need to. I will still remember angel flying to close to the ground.”

            I love those words, and I love “love.” I love the promise of love, and I can’t wait to be in our granddaughter’s wedding this summer. I love the love of family, and it gives me joy when I think of Kendra and Brittany, with their little boys and all the love they will experience… as the years unfold. My love for our daughters is limitless, and I cry for those who have lost children. I love the love of country and of things honorable. I love men and women who have given much more than I’ve ever given, and they gave it out of love. I love “old” love, which has grown to be deeper than words can describe. Over time, I’ve been blessed with more love than I’ve deserved. I’ve known eros and it’s not a stranger yet. I’ve known Philia with deep and lasting friendships. I’ve know Storge with a wonderful extended family, and also with church families- where people loved me without strings and allowed me to love them. Their faces come to me from time to time and they fill my heart and soul. I owe my life to God love, and here I mean the atoning love of Christ in the plainest sense of the word, and I owe what little sanity I have… to the woman sitting over there. Even though my love was self-centered and immature early on, she was there in my darkest hours, and traded in a nice house in Omaha that had a full library in oak… for student housing in Chicago, where the baseboard was duct-tape. Happy Valentine’s Day, Sherry. I love you.

            Friends, life runs out here on earth, as if it was sand in an hourglass. Never pass up a chance to tell people you love that you love them, and always be vulnerable enough to let them love you. Cling to others when you’re invited to cling. Let go when you must. Love yourself as a child of God, but don’t let it blind you to a deeper love that others can give… and certainly not from God’s love … which does indeed save the world. Have a great Valentine’s evening!

STAND UP FOR CHRISTIANITY

      Christians sin on a regular basis because we do not love God with all of their hearts, our neighbor as ourselves, or one another as Christ loves us. There may be "no male or female, no black or white, no slave or free" in Christ, but even today, church services are the most segregated hours in America. I've heard ordained elders use bad language. I knew a deacon who hired a hit man to kill his wife and children, I've known several pastors who have had affairs, and many Christians harbor the same narrow views that others harbor. Some Christians are just plain hateful, and there have been times in history when Christians have done evil things. Although there were brave exceptions, many Christians were tangled up in the holocaust, apartheid, and slavery. This is regrettable...but Christianity has saved the world!
      Christians are not perfect people, far from it... but the vast majority of them try their best to follow Christ. They may not forgive 70 times 7, but most Christians are forgiving people, and while they may not turn the other cheek, they deplore violence. Christians see dimly, but they do see the image of God in others, and they honor it. Christians aren't always their best selves... but they are sincerely committed to a life based on prayer and love. America was founded by Christians, and while it was always more of a patchwork than a melting pot, America was nonetheless, the only place on earth where people could worship God as they chose. America is the greatest nation the world has ever known, and it's greatness can be traced directly to its work ethic... and to its Christian faith. Jesus called Christians to be the light of the world, and while we do not shine as brightly as we should, the world would be a much darker and more violent place without Christians! Christianity is based on love- love for God, love for self, love for other Christians, and love for our neighbor- no matter what color she may be or what faith he may practice. Love is our foundation, our practice, and our hope... and it has given fuller lives to countless numbers of people.
      President Obama noted recently that we can't wage war on any religion... and I agree. We must not wage war on Muslims, or Jews, or Presbyterians because, in doing so, we create a nightmare. We need to be cautious and diplomatic because our world is a dangerous place... and besides, the vast majority of Muslims ARE faithful and peaceful people. I believe this, but we can't throw our own faith under the bus to make others feel better about themselves! Christianity is a great religion (period). This doesn't and cannot mean that we should attack any other religion, but it does call for us to stand for a world in which all people are free of terror and, for that matter, where women are loved and empowered, We must- and I wish our churches would be louder- wage war on bigotry, hate, and violence, no matter who's name it is committed in! Our world will not survive if even a small part of it is stuck in the Middle Ages, and that brings me to the Crusades, PLEASE don't bring up the Crusades when you are dissing Christianity... because it was a different culture and 1000 years ago. PLEASE don't compare the slaughter of children and the savage execution of innocents, in our time... with actions that took place 1000 years ago! The pogroms, inquisitions, and witch hunts of the past were deplorable. There is no doubt about it, and they took place from Europe to China, and from Russia to Africa. It was a primitive time and barbaric people ruled the land... but this is 2015 and we cannot tolerate barbaric people. Launching a "crusade," would be uncivilized and counterproductive. But there's something evil going on here- something diabolical- and it won't be stopped by suggesting that we are evil too.

THE FACES OF LOVE

      When our dog, Nikki, died, I came face to face with a love. As I looked into her eyes, I cried like a baby. My heart was broken when each of my brothers died, and I didn't imagine then... that a deep emptiness would come over me from time to time to this day. This summer I will experience a joy that can only be borne of love when our Brooke gets married, and love demands that I think of our daughters and granddaughters... every single day. When Archer gets excited, a big smile breaks out on MY face, and when I had the chance to hold little Donald, I was filled with joy! These are faces of love to me, but there are more, I have a growing awareness of my love for my extended family these days, and I'm coming to realize how important my aunts, uncles, and cousins are to me. The Greeks called this kind of love "storge." It comes from family groups and work relationships, from schools and teams and military units. These relationships are often profound and storge love is very real. Indeed, C.S. Lewis noted storge love is the most natural and diffused type of love... because it transcends barriers (like race, age, gender, and income), and because it forms so naturally.
      Friends, on the other hand, are chosen, and even though I try to get above it all, I confess that I miss and love the dear friends that I've had in life. From Des Moines and Omaha to Chicago, Kalamazoo, and Peoria... so many people have opened their hearts and shared their lives with Sherry and me... and I miss them... a lot. The Greeks called the love of friend for friend, "philia" (as in Philadelphia), and it makes the world go round for many people. According to C.S. Lewis, in the ancient world, philia yielded the greatest emotional happiness for most men and women. He thinks that it has weakened in modern times... but I've known many older people who would not leave their community to live with a son or daughter... because they wanted to stay close to their friends, Eros, from which we get the word,"erotica," is actually more akin to being "in love," or even "being in love with love." This Wednesday we will be studying "Song of Songs," and I've already warned the class that it is at least PG... because sensual, desirous love, when it is appropriate, is a very powerful form of love. Storge, philia, eros. Affections that form, friendships that are forged, eyes that can't take themselves off of another's eyes. There are the kinds of love that we know... and then there is God's love, which the Greeks called "agape."
      Agape love is unconditional love, which means that it gives of itself, even if it is not rewarded or reciprocated. It is God's love... but we see it on earth from time to time. I see old men visiting their spouses day after day, even when their loved ones don't know them. I see daughters going way out of their way and putting their own lives on hold, so their dads can live at home. I see mothers and fathers who keep on loving their children, no matter how old, troubled, or ungrateful their kids may become. This is something of God's love, in my view, and so is heartfelt forgiveness, and new beginnings. In the passage that Luther called the "gospel in miniature," the Bible puts it plainly: for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. The Bible also tells us that Jesus voluntarily emptied himself of divinity to come down to this earth, where he experienced storge and philia himself, and where he gave agape love so powerfully that the world can scarcely take it in. Jesus touched the lepers, welcomed the children and wept for his friends... and when he hung on his cross, he was mocked and spat upon. But agape love never gives up... and so he said "Forgive them, Father," and "it is finished" before he died... and the Roman centurion proclaimed, "Surely this man is the Son of God." Frederick Buechner noted that the love for equals is a human thing- of friend for friend, brother for brother... and the world smiles. The love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing and it touches the world. The love for the more fortunate- the love of the poor for the rich, of the black man for the white man- is a saintly thing that bewilders the world. "And then there is the love for enemy," he writes, "love for the one who does not love you, but mocks, threatens and inflicts pain. The tortured's love for the torturer. This is God's love... and it conquers the world!" Amen,
      Jesus' face is the greatest face of love that the world has ever seen, but as Valentine's Day approaches, I want tell you about a face that I will never forget. In the fall of 1976 I spent 40 days in a treatment center for alcoholism, and during the weekdays we were required to attend lectures in a large group (that also included our families if they chose to be there). Monday through Friday, we would walk downstairs as a group of recovering (and humbled) alcoholics. It was the lowest point in my life because I knew that I hadn't loved much of anything except myself and my bottle for some time... but when I entered the lecture room, my wife, Sherry, was always there, with a smile and an encouraging word... and with our two little girls. She didn't drive and our home was a long distance from the treatment center. Public transportation in Omaha was difficult and time-consuming, and I had been an arrogant jerk for years... but she was there, with the girls in tow. It wasn't Calvary, but (praise God) her face radiated God's agape love, and even though I was not a Christian at the time, I had the very real sense that I was being forgiven!

OUR DEEPEST HUNGER

      I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I’ve been told that, if I eat something and no one sees me eat it, then it’s entirely calorie-free. I call this the “no evidence” rule, but there’s more. For instance, the “cancellation” rule dictates that diet drinks cancel out calories consumed at the same time, which is why I always drink diet Pepsi with my chili cheese fries. The “medicinal” rule notes that food taken for medicinal reasons can not be fattening, and the “entertainment: rule reveals that food consumed at an entertainment event (like popcorn and hot dogs) is more or less calorie-free. Oh, the rationalizations I have embraced and the diets that I have been on (and off) through the years. There have been scores of them and my closet has been home to pants with waist sizes ranging from 34 to 46. I have struggled to control my weight all of my days… but food is NOT my deepest hunger! 

      Growing up in a troubled home, I remember lying in bed and covering both of my ears in an effort to drown out the sounds of violence, and worse yet, getting out of bed in a foolish and futile attempt to referee the fight. I was starving- that’s for sure- but I was starving for peace. I was hungering for a “ceasefire,” and of real peace (shalom) I knew nothing at all. Troubled and shell-shocked, I longed for attention and order, and I developed a desperate hunger to be SOMEBODY. Somebody worth listening to, somebody worth respecting, somebody worth loving. Many people hunger for food… and I know that it is a serious matter. Bread IS grace to a starving man, and the Bible says that King David took “holy bread” right off of the altar to feed his soldiers. In our abundance we should not minimize the hunger for bread that many people experience- however, my greatest hunger was for love. Like a Rhesus monkey, I hungered for a loved one’s touch. Maybe you hunger for love and respect too. Maybe you hunger for freedom. Maybe you hunger for another chance. 

      We all hunger, it seems, for purpose and forgiveness, and we all hunger for life… which brings me to Christ… because he can fill all of our needs and have leftovers besides! In fact, satisfying deep hunger is His specialty. He confronted deep hunger in the demoniac’s madness. He saw deep hunger in the tax collector’s eyes. He heard deep hunger in the lepers’ cries, and when asked if he really was “the Christ,” Jesus pointed to the hunger he had satisfied. He noted that those who hungered for sight… could see; those who hungered for community were restored; those who hungered to walk… were running laps; and those who hungered for life itself were being fed by the only One who could fill their plates to overflowing!     

GOD DON'T BULLY US

      In the novel, Cold Sassy Tree, 14 year-old Will and his grandpa talk about life and prayer. One day, Will nearly gets killed by a train because he is playing on a railroad trestle. "Grandpa," he asks, "You think I'm still alive cause it was God's will?" "Naw," grandpa replies, "You livin' cause you had the good sense to fall down twixt them tracks." Will wasn't to be dissuaded. "Maybe God gave me the idea,"he said. But grandpa was also firm. "You can believe that son, if you believe that it was God's idea for you to play up on that there trestle in the first place. What God gave you was a brain. It is will for you to use it, particularly when a train's comin'. Do you think it was God's will for Bluford Jackson to get lockjaw and die?" Grandpa spoke kindly, "The Lord don't make firecrackers son. It's just too bad poor Blu didn't be more careful." Will was perplexed, and asked, "You don't think God wills any of the things that happen to us? "Maybe. Maybe not," grandpa replied. Will said, "Mama and papa think he does." Grandpa licked the meringue off of his fork and offered a bit of wisdom. "Life bullies us son, but God don't," he concluded.
      Well, it's an interesting discussion. Years ago a young professional was killed by lightning in Joliet, IL. He was a member of our church and I rushed to his grieving wife's side. Wanting to lift some of her burden, I said, "God doesn't cause these things to happen. They just happen, but God is there for us when they do happen... and He will give you a soft place to fall and wipe your tears." In my mind, it was a comforting comment about a God who suffers with us, but the young widow saw it differently. "I think you're wrong," she replied, "I don't believe things just happen. I believe that God makes things happen, but most often for reasons that we can't understand." Wow, I thought, she would rather believe that God was behind her husband's death... than struggle with the fact that bad things just happen to good people! She was a better Presbyterian than I was, and probably still is.
      As for me, I don't know. Who knows? God can do anything, I know that, but I also know that "stuff" happens. And I also know this: God don't bully us! Grandpa was right about that. Life does. Kids do, and bosses do... but God (I think) is an Inviter. He comes to our door and knocks. He give us "holy coincidences" to guide us. He sets angels in our midst, and he offers us both salvation and freedom. Salvation for our sin and freedom from our obsession with self. I also believe that God really, really listens to our prayer and loves it when we dialogue with him. This doesn't mean that his answer to our prayers will always, or even regularly be "yes," anymore than our parents said "yes," to everything we asked of them. Sometimes he says "no;" sometimes, "not yet." He might even say, "We'll see." These things will become clear to me in time, but for now I'm comfortable believing that God doesn't bully me. What do you think?