WHY PRAY?

      "My Lord, God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead... but I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost...." Thomas Merton
      "God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time...taking (as Jesus did) the sinful world as it is... trusting that you will make all things right if I surrender to your will.... Amen. (adopted from original prayer written by Rheinhold Niebuhr)
      "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, light; where there is sadness, joy; Lord, may I not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.... A powerful prayer for transformation from St, Francis.
     
      Prayer is essentially a dialogue that springs from surrendered trust... and the desire to walk with God each day. We have needs of course- wants too- and God is eager to hear all of them, but prayer is not a matter of listing all of things we would like from God. It is, instead, the simple desire to speak and listen to him, just as we would with anyone else whom we love.

"Pray and let God worry." Martin Luther.
"I don't pray because it makes sense to pray. I pray because my life doesn't make sense without prayer." Noah Benshea
   
"Prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the prayer." Soren Kierkegaard
"Go where your best prayers lead you." Frederick Buechner

"For me prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a look to heaven, a cry for recognition and love, embracing both trial and joy." St. Therese

"Prayer makes your heart bigger, until it is capable of containing the gift of God himself, Prayer begets faith, faith begets love, and love begets service on behalf of the poor." Mother Teresa

      Prayer is necessary for our Christian journeys and it lies at the very heart of our commitment and faithfulness. Prayer is the engine that fuels our growth as Christians and it is the source of our deepening relationship with God. Prayer feeds on itself and increases our confidence in God's love- not because we get all that we want- but because we get to know our God with greater clarity and intimacy! Prayer works! It transforms lives. It builds communities and increases faith. We will be much more Christlike if we pray. We will be more likely to have the courage and the acceptance that Niebuhr prayed for... if we pray. We will be more likely to put our burdens and our grief in God's hands, if we pray; and we will be far more likely to see the Image of God in others and in ourselves if we pray. So, let's pray! Let's be a praying people. Let's be people who pray. Let's pray, not as a way of getting what we want from God, but as a way of building our relationship with God. Let's pray because we trust God and whether his answer is "yes" or "no," let's keep on praying because praying is its own reward. Over the years, God has said "no" to many of my prayers. I prayed that both my brothers would live, but they died, and I prayed the same prayer for many others whom I've loved as pastor (they died too.) Still, I prayed... and I even prayed more because I wanted to know my God and I and receive His guidance!
      Prayer is the language of love between God and His people, but there some people, even in the church, who don't pray much, if at all. Some of them may have a cherished sin that they don't want to give up and this will kill any prayer life because a passion for sin and a passion for prayer don't coexist very well. Some people struggle with prayer because they struggle with a sense of unworthiness; some people quit praying because they didn't get what they asked for the last time they prayed. Some people just get out of the habit of praying and even as prayer begets more prayer, praying less inevitably leads to less prayer. Some people, despite the witness of Scripture and the testimony of others, cannot bring themselves to believe that God is listening... and some people think they are not qualified to pray. They say that they don't know the right words or how to express them, but in truth, prayer is simply God-talk... which anyone of us can engage in. "I believe- help my unbelief," is a prayer. "Thank you," is a prayer. "Remember me," is a prayer.
      We can all pray and as Christians we must pray. I pray that we will grow in Christ, each one of us, and as a community. I pray that you will be compelled to pray, each day and along the way, out of your love for God. I am not an authority on prayer, but I've learned some things along the way and I will close with the top ten reasons I pray.
1. I pray because Jesus did, each day and when he needed strength;
2. I pray because I love God and love demands conversation;
3. I pray because I need to express my deepest thoughts and feelings;
3. I pray because I need guidance. I don't know which way to go;
4. I pray because I need assurance. Life is difficult. The path is uneven;
5. I pray out of love for others and I'll never quit offering intercessory prayers;
6. I pray because I need to. I don't feel right when I starve my prayer lfe;
7. I pray because I am part of God's family and I am invited to speak freely;
8. I pray to seek forgiveness for actions, words, and motives that are not loving;
9. I pray to enlarge my heart. Without prayer, my heart only has room for me;
10. I pray to make sense of my life!
      Pray that we all become prayer warriors. Pray that we will look forward to talking with, and listening to, God. Begin today. Pray at first as a spiritual discipline, then pray because your conversation with God is comforting and helpful to you... and you will find yourself praying because prayer is part of who you are! You will be empowered, comforted, heard, and healed. Amen!

LIVE AS IF CHRIST IS LORD

          As Christians, we're called to to "pick up our own cross" as a witness to who and whose we are. As Christians, we called to live to the beat of a different drum because Jesus Christ is our Lord,,, but most of us don't have the courage to go that far. Throughout the ages there has been a huge gap between the values that Jesus lived and died by... and the values his followers have chosen to embrace. Jesus said that the meek shall inherit the world, but few are those who seek to be meek. Jesus said that the last shall be first, but this does;t even make sense in our time. Jesus said that we will find life by yoking ourselves to him, but being "yoked" is the last thing we want to be. For centuries now Christians have been tempted to keep their faith to themselves as they publicly embrace the very same values that their neighbors embrace. By and large Jesus' followers choose an easier and softer way because the don't want to "stand out." After Jesus had given a speech about his upcoming death, he and his disciples walked back home. One would thing that their conversation would center around service and sacrifice, but as it turns out, some of his followers were arguing about which one of them would "be first" in the kingdom. Jesus told them that, in the kingdom of God, the leaders would be servants and they couldn't conceive of such a thing because they had embraced the values of their world. We do the same, of course, and to the extent that we don't live AS IF Jesus is our Lord, our witness to others is compromised.
      Jesus marched to a different drum beat. He defined success in a different way than others did; he measured achievement in a different way too; and he valued things like grace, forgivenss, mercy, and sacrifice much more highly than others did, In a word or two, Jesus' core values were at odds with the world's and he was crucified for not fitting in. His story is a powerful story in itself. It's violent, heroic, poignant, and victorious... but the challenging part of his story is this: he wants us to share in it. He insists that we also carry a cross and follow him along the narrow path. He expects us to embrace and live out the same values that he lived by, and that's a BIG hill for most of us! 
      With that in mind, let's reflect on the core values that define us. How many of the following values describe your own core values as you live out each day? Integrity... service... grace... forgiving others... humility... wealth... friendships... authenticity... power... justice... love... family... freedom... wisdom... pleasure... balance... gratitude ... compassion... humor... kindness... generosity... security... tolerance... perseverance... discipline... glorifying God in every way you can... or something else? Can you identify your top ten core values? Can you trim your list to five? What would you die for? What do you live for? Are there things that you would never do? Are there there things that you must do because they are part of who you are? If someone writes an honest obit about us some day, what three or four behavioral traits would stand out? Our we living as if Jesus is Lord or are we living as if we belong to the world?
      In Jesus' time, his "world" valued things like power, control, faithfulness to one's tribe, obedience (rebels were not treated well), religious observance, rank, and family. Today, we have many of the same values, but ours are much more self-indulgent and self-centered. Today, in addition to pampering the "omnipotent baby" called "me," we embrace values like: money (at least enough to secure our future), freedom (to do our own thing), having a voice (via Facebook, twitter, or at McDonald's on Sunday mornings), choice (we insist on having choices), power (if might is no longer right, it's still valued), and instant gratification (I pull the coffee pot out before it's done brewing). We still recognize honesty, faithfulness, and self-control as good things... but we hardly insist on them... and values like mercy, justice, forgiving, gratitude, service, and sacrifice are not high most peoples' list. To embrace the things that Jesus valued is hard to do and to actually live as if they are our own core values is even harder. The Biblical record is clear. The values that Jesus called his followers to live by were challenging and some of the things that we said are downright startling.
      He called us to love him more than anything else in our world; 2) he said that we would be forgiven to the extent that we forgive others; 3) even though we insist that faith is a private matter, Jesus called us to let our lights shine and to make disciples of all nations; 4) in a time when we have trouble even talking with people who don't agree with us, Jesus said that we should love our enemies... and do good to those who hate us; 5) in a age when wealth was seen as a sign of God's pleasure, Jesus said that it's easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich person to get into heaven. 6) Don't worry, he said. Don't give any thought to tomorrow for God's eye is on the sparrow. 7) Don't judge, he said. Focus more on the log in your own eye and less on the speck in you s eye. 8 ) He said that those Christians who do not feed him when they see him hungry or clothe him when he appears before them naked will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, even if they call him "Lord." 9) Instead of elbowing our way to the front of the line, Jesus said that whoever wants to be first must be slave of all...because the kingdom of God is an upside down place which rests on love and service. It is a place where, if there were such things as performance reviews, they would include categories like love, grace, forgiving and helping others, and showing mercy. The Kingdom of God is a place where whispered prayers are louder than boisterous speeches, where banquet rooms are filled with the poor and poor in spirit, where those who sat on the dais are men and women who don't even know which fork to use first. The kingdom of God is a place where children count, where people live with childlike trust, where there is no black or white, no male or female, no straight or gay, or anyone who is too old or too young to matter. In the kingdom of God, we won't have to wonder who is in charge... because they will be the ones washing other peoples' feet!
      The core values that Christ has called us to live out... are at odds with the values and behaviors that are applauded in the world. Christ knew this... which is why he forewarned us that, if we live AS IF we belong to him, people will roll their eyes, talk about us at their parties (which we won't be invited to) and persecute us if we're too vocal about our allegiance to Christ. Maybe this is why most Christians keep their faith to themselves, but to live AS IF we believe in him. If we welcome people who others won't and called on people who others don't; if we give more that seems prudent and take a little leap of faith in that way; if we forgive someone, knowing that we will have to forgive him or her again; if we mention our faith in public and invite another person to "come and experience" the joy that we've found in Christ; if we find greater meaning in serving than in being served; if we live in such a way that people watch their language and keep their prejudiced thoughts to themselves when we're around; if we find that we have undergone a rearrangement of our values at the deepest level, so that we no longer find our identity in how much we have or how many people we control... we should leap for joy because we are on the right path. It's important that we live AS IF we believe because, as Billy Graham said, "We are the Bibles the world is reading, we are the church the world is needing, and we are the sermons that world is heeding." We may be the only Christian some of the people we meet may ever know. Amen!
   

LIARS, HYPOCRITES, AND YAKKING YAKS

      As we go through life we experience thousands of “little deaths.” They come to us in ways we can’t control- someone we love dies, someone lies, someone we trusted betrays us, someone becomes something that we didn’t see coming, someone gossips about us and assassinates our character… and the pain lingers on,  sometimes flaring up when a certain thought crosses our mind. There are also self-inflicted wounds that come from things we’ve done and said. There is pain in just knowing that the “little deaths” we’ve inflicted on others cannot be erased or taken back. The record shows that my journey has been cluttered with words that I shouldn’t have said and things I should not have done. I would take them back if I could… because they hurt others.

      Oh, the tongue and the trouble that it causes. It is the mightiest small thing in the world. With it, we can praise God or curse God; with it, we can inspire others or deflate them; with it we can affirm others for what they do well or we can criticize them for the ways in which they come up short. The tongue has the potential to inspire others … and it has the power to break a heart, crush a soul, or divide a family. Careless, thoughtless, divisive, and mean-spirited words do lasting damage. I knew a man who didn’t talk to his own son for 27 years because of something one of them said to the other; I’ve seen church meetings deteriorate into name-calling and even profanity; and I’ve seen tongues destroy relationships that took generations to form. Our spiritual journeys begin when we do business with “the Cross,” but living as a Christian includes many other behaviors, such as forgiving seventy time seven; mourning for a broken world; giving to those who ask; prayer and study; and “taming our tongues” so that God will be glorified.

      The signs of a tongue gone wild include 1) swearing, 2) gossiping, 3) lying, and 4) using insensitive words (eg. telling someone who has confided in you about their cancer… that your dog had cancer too). Swearing, gossiping, murmuring, lying, or simply being insensitive- all of these threaten our own spiritual growth and undermine our witness to Christ. So, as Christians, we have to tame our tongues. I came across a list of tongue twisters about taming the tongue. (used by Rev. Magrey deVega) Let’s see how many of us can say the tongue twister, as we remind ourselves of the ways in which we need to tame our tongues:

1. If liars lie in lairs of lies, in their lairs lie lots of liars. Speak the truth. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Don’t tell tales or bear false witness;

2. If you attack behind their back, they’ll be back to bite you back. Don’t gossip. It’s insidious. It destroys people and relationships. We shouldn’t gossip under any pretense and certainly not when we pray . Don’t say something like, “Lord, I pray that you will help Ken with his drinking problem.” Or “Lord, we pray that Mary will go straight home tonight;”

3. I don’t need your needles; they’re needless to me. It need not be needed to be needling me. Everyone loves a good joke and most of us can stand being the butt of the joke from time to time…but no one likes barbs that are personal, painful and never-ending;

4. Ye have two ears to hear in here, so hear ye with your ears, and don’t pak your yaks like a yakking yak packs yaks. Be quick to listen- really listen. Listen to hear and not just to wait your turn. Listen for the other person’s pain, hopes, and stories and be slow to speak. May we consider and weigh our words and not use them impulsively, like a yakking yak packs yaks;

5. Love best builds and fills when its built and fills your will (Lord). Build others up! Speak an encouraging word, Never miss an opportunity to affirm someone else. It won’t “spoil” them, trust me;

6. Would you bother to bother a brother if you offer one offer but proffer another? If you pretend to be something you’re not, all that you say is shallow and hollow. If we’re not real, we are of little help to anyone. Don’t be a hypocrite;

7. Speak the truth in love. Don’t lie, don’t mislead, don’t deceive or patronize. Speak the truth… but speak it in love because I don’t want to hear that my suit no longer fits, or that I just hit a grounder off the tee, or that someone somewhere doesn’t particularly like me. Consider these questions: is it necessary, is it helpful, is it kind- and speak it in love.

      Whoever said “words will never hurt me” was either naive, kidding, or taken out of context… because words can create debilitating and long-lasting pain, They reveal who we really are. They break down or build up, they destroy or transform. They can even shape a life. Years ago, when I taught Leadership classes in colleges around Omaha and Chicago, I would ask students to identify those people who made the biggest difference in their lives. I would ask them to list the people who shaped and guided them. Then I wrote their answers on the board and tallied them. Mothers were always #1, dads #2, spouses if the students were old enough, siblings and good friends, grandparents, and then, those who worked in the helping professions- teacher, doctors, counselors, a minister now and then. These were the people who had shaped their lives and their common threads were these: they believed in them, they cheered them on, they affirmed them, they stayed with them, and if asked, they gave them words of wisdom. They were supportive and when they spoke the truth, they spoke in the language of love! 

      Nearly every day we have the chance, in Luther’s words, to be a “little Christ” to someone else by handing out bread, clothing our neighbors, visiting people who don’t get many visits, smiling and welcoming others as you meet them… and in the words we choose to use! May we avoid lies, gossip and hypocrisy like the plague. May we guard against careless words and may we always speak the truth in love! May it be so. Amen!

FAVORITISM IS NOT ALLOWED IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

      When I became a pastor, a friend told me to buy a clergy shirt and a collar... and wear them when I renewed my driver's license. He said it would come in handy. In one of the churches I served, we had a food pantry and we gave a lot of food to needy people. Sometimes we would invite them to join us for worship... and I remember the day when one of them showed up. He came to church in clothes that were not particularly Presbyterian. His hair was unkempt and he took a seat in the rear (where most of our members were sitting). He didn't say much, but his mere presence made our saints nervous because he didn't fit in. In the song, Big Boss Man, Elvis sings, "Big Boss man, can you hear me when I call? Well, you ain't so big... you're just tall, that's all." Maybe so, but research shows that tall people get better jobs and earn more money than their shorter counterparts-$800 per year, per inch, according to one study.
      There are many ways in which we favor some people and put others down, aren't there?Everybody knows that, unless it's closing time, the pretty girls get more drinks and dances than those are aren't so pretty... unless they have dark skin... because it's been shown that dark-skinned African-Americans with Master's Degrees have less chance of success that light-skinned African-Americans with Bachelor's degree. There are a lot of reasons why some people get more love and opportunity than other people do, and ability is only one of them. I know of a small church, not all that far from here, that became aware of the fact that a gay man had moved into their small town. They had their eyes on him, and they knew he was planning to attend their church on a Sunday morning that was Communion Sunday. So they held a quick meeting before worship and agreed that it would be a sin to invite a gay man to the Lord's Supper. My brother, Randy, was gay and he was never accepted in a mainline church... not even when he died of AIDS. There are many ways in which we favor some people over others, including the barriers we place before those who are disabled. Then, too, there are the matters of money and prestige, which are generally enough to get you the best seats in the house. James speaks of this in the 3rd chapter of the book that carries his name and Hank Williams Jr. sings about it in a song entitled, "The American Way." In part, his lyrics go like this: if you fly in from Birmingham, you'll get the last gate/if you blew in from Boston, no, you sure won't have to wait/ and I'm learning a little more every day about the power of the dollar and the people with white collars and the good old American way. I've noticed I don't get much help when they see my blue jeans/ some slick with a suit walks up/oh, can I help you please?..."

      Favoritism.Tall men and pretty women, Nob Hill and the bottoms. I call the physician "Doctor," the boss, "Mr," and the sales clerk, "Jimmy." It's the way we roll. It's part of us. I read of a holy man who was about to be elevated to a higher status... when an important member of his community died. It fell upon this holy man to conduct the funeral and it was a big deal in his village. Well, things went fine at the funeral service itself, but after the service this holy man turned down his "promotion," noting that he was not yet ready... because he had allowed the deceased man's status to affect his ministry. I found, he said, that I was more anxious than usual and when the palms of my hands started sweating, I knew I was not yet able to see people as God sees them. Status, money, titles, they affect all of us. Favoritism is intertwined with how we think... but IT'S NOT ALLOWED IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD! It is a sin, according to James. It violates the Image of God that each of us bears- the tall and the short, the rich and the poor, the gay and the straight, the black and the white, the old and the young, the urban and the rural, the educated and the uneducated, the Catholic, the Protestant, the Jew, and the Muslim too. Each of us bears the image of God, and the Biblical record is clear. Genesis 1:27- So God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God, he created them, male and female, he created them; Galatians 3:26f- So, in Christ Jesus we are all children of God... there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor male or female, for you are all one in Christ. And I would add, no rich nor poor, no black nor white, no old nor young, no big nor small, no any other way at all... in which we favor some people and discriminate against others!
      There is no favoritism or discrimination in the Kingdom. There are no whites-only cafes, no Alzheimers Memory centers, no cheap seats, no southeast bottoms, no second-rate citizens... not after what Christ did to tear down barriers and open wide the gates of GRACE... not with the Imago Dei within us... not with the Holy Spirit imbuing us with eyes that see Jesus as he stands in our food lines, sleeps in our shelters, lies in our nursing homes, or begs for a dollar as we pass by on the street. He may appear in farmer's overalls or a hoodie. He may appear with lock of blond hair or with dreadlocks. If we want to see Jesus, we need to look into the eyes of the men and women who need to experience His grace. If we want to manifest the Image of God that we bear, we will quit judging others and drop our holier-than-thou personas. Instead, we will throw a party when our prodigal son or daughter stumbles home; we will welcome others as we find them; and we will forgive and forgive and forgive, to the point where other people laugh at us. If we choose to show the world that we are "in Christ," we will tear down all barriers that prevent others- no matter what they look like or how much money they have- and open our hearts... so that the winds of grace, acceptance, and renewal blow freely and powerfully in all that we do.
      Over the years I've seen a number of "angels who flew to close to the ground" (to use Willie Nelson's words) and I've seen how they soared when they received God's acceptance, love, and grace. I've seen men and women, of all ages, sizes, and colors, find peace in who they are... even if they've spent their lives doubting themselves and never quite believing that God loves them simply because they bear His image! Pastor Lu was a pious man. He was born among the tulips in Pella, Iowa and he was reared in the Reformed Church of America. He came from a world that was mostly white and well-behaved. So it's not surprising that he was more than a little nervous when he walked into the Eppley Center to meet me for the first time on the 6th floor of the alcoholic's unit... but he visited me anyway. Without judgment, he welcomed me into his world and he invited me to begin a new life in Christ. He told me that God loved me and he acted as if he did too. He accepted me at a time when being accepted was what I needed most. Pastor Lu was a decent preacher, but he was a marvelous minister because he looked at every person he met through the lens of faith... and saw the image of God in others!
      There are people in our lives who are doing well and there are others who are struggling. We know people who are svelte and we know others, like me, are not. We know people who have risen to the heights of their careers and we know others who can't seem to get untracked. We know people who live exemplary lives and we know others who seem to be majoring in sin. We know old people who've forgotten too much and we know young people who haven't learned nearly enough. We know privileged white people who were born on 3rd base and we know people of color who would be absolutely great... if only someone would give them chance. We know people who are gay and we know people who are straight. They are all our brothers and sisters and each one of them bears the Image of God! Amen.