CARPE DIEM

CARPE DIEM

It’s not as bad as it used to be, but even now my past tries to undermine my present. During the night I am frequently inundated with memories of the things I said and done, or with thoughts of the bad times we had around our house. These “used-to-bees” try to keep me tied to a time that is long gone!  But the past is not where I live and it’s not where anybody really lives because God’s gift to us is called the “present.”

 

And the second culprit is the future because nothing has ever been done in the future. No one has forgiven, or loved, or danced with anyone else… in the future. We can talk about the future- whether AI will be our servant or our master, whether we will establish a colony on some far away planet, whether or not global warming with finally have its way with us- but no life has ever been lived in the future!

 

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate on the present moment.” ―Buddha

 “It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life waiting to start living.” ― Eckhart Tolle

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matt. 6:34)

 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” (Isa. 55:6)

CARPE DIEM. Seize today. Regrets, sweet memories, daydream, plans for when we get old- these things are common enough, but today is a time for action! When Jesus appeared at the synagogue in Nazareth, he opened the scroll that was handed to him and he read from the book of Isaiah: ““The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,”

Then Jesus at down and the congregation waited for his   interpretation of these words. Would he address the Roman occupation, the taxes which burdened people who were already poor, or his own ministry? Jesus might have focused on a world to come: "Someday, the poor will be lifted up; someday, captives will be set free, and the day will surely come when the blind will see!” But he didn’t recall the good old days or project what God may do in the future. No, he said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

And the people were shocked. Faith communities are often consumed with memories of the past and hopes for the future, but our ministry, happens today. If we love someone, tell them to today; if someone who is lonely, visit them today, if someone can’t get to their feet or buy even a modest meal, give them a hand or money for a meal today, if we need to forgive someone or make amends.... do it today. Today is the only time we will ever have to bring good news to the poor, to advocate and work to release the people in our world, we need to do it today! Today… is our time to shine… or walk on by, to love the unlovable or not, to get involved or just hope that someone else does!

In a very real way, the Spirit was upon Jesus. But He was also upon his friends and neighbors. And now, today, it is on us- calling us to serve Christ today!  I am going to pick up my own cross and follow Christ, I’m going to love the unlovable and forgive those whom I don’t want to forgive, I’m going to join this church ministry or that one, I’m going to start visiting someone after church. Yes, I am! And someone will ask “when?” When are you going to start doing even one of these things?

Let it be TODAY! Amen.

LET THE WORK OF CHRISTMAS BEGIN

 

LET THE WORK OF CHRISTMAS BEGIN

 

When I became serious about my faith, people told me to read John first. Read the book of John first, they said, and for long time, I didn’t understand why because the other gospels were more compelling to me, especially Mark and Luke. But I have been in love with John’s gospel for some time now… because John focuses on who Jesus Christ IS. He cites Jesus’ miracles and encounters of course, but his greater interest lies in believing that Jesus is, and always was, God. In the gospel I meet a God who came to earth to save my soul and to show me God’s loving and forgiving nature. In John’s gospel, I meet a God who cares about me. I meet a God of love who is present to me… and to all of those who are lost and hurting.

 

There is no birth story in John. No genealogy either, not for Joseph or Mary. John doesn’t mention the wise men or Mary visiting Elizabeth, and many other things… but he does tell us who Jesus was! In John’s view Jesus didn’t achieve divinity when he was born, when he allowed himself to be baptized with a baptism he didn’t need, in the way that he died (with Father forgive them on his lips), or even through the resurrection… because HE WAS ALWAYS GOD.

This is the way in which John’s gospel begins: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, and walked among us, full of grace and truth.

Jesus was God, but not considering divinity worth clinging to- not if his people were lost and suffering- Jesus emptied Himself of divinity and became one of us. He came to show us where God’s heart is, and he came to be a light that the darkness will never overcome. Jesus came to manifest God’s love… for us and for all people! He came to show us what real religion is and to show us ministry cannot be done without compassion. He had personal and deep conversations with people whom others ignored, and did several of his miracles out of compassion alone. Jesus came to show us that God values the widow of Nain, and the demoniac who was running naked in a graveyard… as much as he valued anyone else. Jesus came to earth to manifest and talk about God’s love… for God so loved the world that He sent his only Son- not to condemn it-  but to save it! God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. This means that you will die- we all will- but you will not perish. YOU will perish if you “believe in,” and trust the One who came from the Father and walked among us full of grace and truth.

 

Oh God, we thank you for joining us in the flesh and for being a light that gives us a way and a goal. We thank you for revealing God’s nature and for showing us that we matter- indeed, even I matter- because you shared your love, time, and attention with people just like us. The man who was blind from birth, the lepers who stood is the shadows, the shepherds who were perpetually unclean, the nameless widow who was burying her son, and massive crowd of ordinary people who were simply hungry. You invited the children to come to your side and you had a personal conversation with a Samarian woman. You cried over Lazarus’ grave and you cried for the people of Jerusalem. You endured rejection and ridicule on the cross, and you pleaded for sip of water. Thank you, Lord, for showing me that God really cares about me and that I will carry to my grave the promise that I will not perish! Thank you also for inviting me to pick up my cross and follow you… so that I might listen to others, tend to their wounds, help them to their feet, offer prayers and support … all in your name.

 

In John’s view Jesus was always Christ. He was always divine and he came to earth to 1) save our souls and 2) to show us how to live with compassion and love. Christmas invites us to live as Jesus did and with that in mind, I will close with Howard Thurman’s poem: “When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone,  when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins… to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among the people, to make music in the heart.”

                                                                                 AMEN