Who “Deserves” Anything?

Photo credit here

S (Scripture): Matthew 13:3 Jesus said many things to them in parables: “A farmer went out to scatter seed. 4 As he was scattering seed, some fell on the path, and birds came and ate it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground where the soil was shallow. They sprouted immediately because the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But when the sun came up, it scorched the plants, and they dried up because they had no roots. 7 Other seed fell among thorny plants. The thorny plants grew and choked them. 8 Other seed fell on good soil and bore fruit, in one case a yield of one hundred to one, in another case a yield of sixty to one, and in another case a yield of thirty to one. 9 Everyone who has ears should pay attention.”

O (Observation): What is the seed? Who is the farmer? Quite often, we mix literary styles when trying to interpret what Jesus is saying. Is this an allegory, in which we can see a one-to-one connection of Jesus to the sower and us to the soil? What is the sun? What are the thorns? Is this all a metaphor, in which we are comparing something to another thing? And on and on…

Here is a way to understand the important of a parable, which is what this text is:

Parables function as metaphors challenging or inviting the audience into a new or deeper experience of God’s dominion, a dominion identified with those who are the LAST, LOST, LEAST, LITTLE, & LIFELESS. (credit here)

A little later in the text, Jesus does explain this parable, which is a rarity.

The last line about “those with ears should pay attention” is not just telling the people to listen up, because parables are important. This line is important to THIS parable! If you can hear, PAY ATTENTION to what God is up to!!!

Jesus tells the people that receiving the Kingdom of God has complications at times. Sometimes the Word is received and the devil takes it away. Sometimes the response is short-lived. Sometimes the response is riddled with thorns. Sometimes the response takes root and bears fruit! And no one knows exactly how much fruit will come…but sometimes…the amount of fruit is amazing!

In other words, the worth of the person is not more or less because of the results. The seed is always the same, always good. Sometimes we just see the fruit, and sometimes other things happen to prevent the fruit from growing. God never causes the fruit to NOT take root. The seed is ALWAYS good.

A (Application): We tend to enjoy assigning blame to what is going on in the world around us, don’t we? We see how bad other people are and how idiotic they can be. We think about what they could have done differently. How Tom Brady should have caught that pass in the Super Bowl, how the Super Bowl commercials could have been better (though I enjoyed several of them), and on and on.

We like to look at homeless and young immigrants who are DACA recipients as people who have chosen terrible pathways and need to find other ways to live (as in, not in my backyard). I know many Christians who narrow down these situations to a series of poor life choices for these folks. That these folks have chosen to live their lives this way – always wondering about their future.

I think many of these folks (like the homeless, like DACA recipients, like <fill in the blank>…) want to receive grace, just like I do. I don’t deserve grace any more than anyone else, but I receive it and hope it continually takes root. And maybe if I can help share that seed (the Good News) here and there in my community, maybe it will bear fruit.

And maybe I will be asked to share that seed in other places, outside of the normal venue of the church I serve. Maybe I will be called to share that seed at community gatherings, at the coffee shop, at the theatre? Who knows where it will take root?!?! Who knows how much of the seed God plants in me will take root?

I don’t know…I just pray that God keeps sowing…that I can keep sowing…that the Spirit can continually turn the soil in my heart…to make my heart good soil.

P (Prayer): God, grant my heart to be a place of good soil. Keep sowing your seeds of grace and mercy into all lives on earth. Amen.

Coldest Nights

Photo credit here

S (Scripture): Psalm 12:1 Help, Lord, because the godly are all gone;
the faithful have completely disappeared
from the human race!
2 Everyone tells lies to everyone else;
they talk with slick speech and divided hearts.
3 Let the Lord cut off all slick-talking lips
and every tongue that brags and brags,
4 that says, “We’re unbeatable with our tongues!
Who could get the best of us with lips like ours?”

5 But the Lord says,
“Because the poor are oppressed,
because of the groans of the needy,
I’m now standing up.
I will provide the help they are gasping for.”

6 The Lord’s promises are pure,
like silver that’s been refined in an oven,
purified seven times over!
7 You, Lord, will keep us,
protecting us from this generation forever.
8 The wicked roam all over the place,
while depravity is praised by human beings.

O (Observation): The psalmist speaks from a place of despair once again. Yet hope remains because God makes a promise to feed and support the oppressed. And God’s promises are “tried and true.”

But what does a fulfilled promise from God look like? Is it something that appears out of thin air? Are God’s promises fulfilled through people? Perhaps it is both!

A (Application): Some people say that prayer works in this way: “Pray that hungry are fed. Then, go out and feed the hungry.” We can Pray and pray and pray…and maybe, by some miracle, God will answer that prayer. God has done this for many (as we see in Scripture). God can certainly work in this way.

And yet, I can’t help but feel called to step into action, because I have been given a willing spirit – at times a broken spirit, but a willing spirit, nonetheless. A spirit willing to serve those in need (and to learn from those seeking help). A spirit willing to speak up about injustices and encourage others to work towards justice. A spirit willing to encourage conversation and to even get in the public square to right wrongs and to feed and clothe those in need.

But in all of this, I know that God is who calls me to action. And as I look around our community of Murfreesboro, I see Christians, atheists, Muslims, B’ahi, agnostics…All coming together to serve one another…to walk with one another. And I am encouraged. The wicked will not win out. God calls all people from all walks of life to serve and encourage one another.

Today, my wife and I continue that work, by making some mashed potatoes for the local homeless women’s freeze shelter (opens when temps dip below freezing). Murfreesboro Cold Patrol facilitates these shelters through what it calls Coldest Nights program. They work with local law enforcement and volunteers who seek out some of the homeless to come in off the streets for a meal and a warm place to stay. Day shelters assist during the day time, but for tonight…in a cold and snowy Murfreesboro (with temps below ZERO), we work together to feed and house folks. Perhaps tonight, we will save a life. Or better yet, God might further open my eyes to become even more concerned and involved in getting to know more about these fine folks who have no place to lay their head at night.

P (Prayer): Lord, give me strength and a willing spirit. Amen.

Click here to learn more about the Murfreesboro Cold Patrol and the Coldest Nights shelter.

Freedom: What Do We Do With It?

Photo credit here

S (Scripture): Jeremiah 22:15 Is this what makes you a king, having more cedar than anyone else?
Didn’t your father eat and drink and still do what was just and right?
Then it went well for him!
16 He defended the rights of the poor and needy;
then it went well. Isn’t that what it means to know me? declares the Lord.
17 But you set your eyes and heart
on nothing but unjust gain;
you spill the blood of the innocent;
you practice cruelty;
you oppress your subjects.

O (Observation): God describes what is just, not just habit or impulse.  God wants the kings that represent God’s people to be fair and to serve those in need.   Being king is not about accumulation of wealth or status.  

Being king means using your resources to serve your neighbor who is in need, not crush them under your boot. 

A (Application): Oh, would the politicians we elect embrace these words from Jeremiah this day.   To let them know that those in power (the wealthy, the strong, the equipped) need less help than those on the fringe (the poor, the homeless, the sick).  And not only this, but that the politicians might embrace their position as a place of honor and lead with the posture of a servant to the community in which they serve.  

My all-time favorite movie is Braveheart.  William Wallace, the main character, tells Robert the Bruce (politician and potential king of his people):

There’s a difference between us. You think the people of this country exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom. And I go to make sure that they have it.

Freedom.  What is that?  What if freedom means being released from more than political chains?  What if freedom is more than being released from physical chains?   

What if freedom meant not having to decide between paying rent OR paying for food?   What if freedom meant not having to decide if antibiotics OR paying the electric bill were more important today?  What if freedom meant not having to be reminded of slavery by having a Confederate statue in the public square?

We have everything we need in this world to feed and clothe and house everybody.   But in order to do this, we must repent of our selfishness and give to others our time and our financial resources.  We will open up our hearts and homes to welcome in folks.  

We have the resources and means to re-locate Confederate statues into more appropriate places besides the public square.   

We can do these things.  

My friend once answered the following question with a great response:  What can we do to help the homeless?  He replied, “Become friends with them.”   He didn’t just talk about money or positions of power.  He encouraged us to get to know some one. To start a relationship with some one.   

We can get to know Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy.  We can talk to descendants of the United Daughters of the Confederacy who raised funds to place many monuments like the one in the public square in my town.  We can become friends.  

We have lots of options to serve God in this world.  We have lots to say and do on behalf of God.   Let us serve God with a humble heart, and let us treat our neighbors as we would want to be treated.  

P (Prayer):  Lord, give us hearts willing to serve.  Amen.  

Who Defines “Contentment”?

Photo credit here.

S (Scripture): Philippians 4:10 [Paul writes] I was very glad in the Lord because now at last you have shown concern for me again. (Of course you were always concerned but had no way to show it.) 11 I’m not saying this because I need anything, for I have learned how to be content in any circumstance. 12 I know the experience of being in need and of having more than enough; I have learned the secret to being content in any and every circumstance, whether full or hungry or whether having plenty or being poor. 13 I can endure all these things through the power of the one who gives me strength.

O (Observation): Paul is wrapping up his letter to the church in Philippi. He knows that his fellow Jesus-followers in Philippi have supported him all along, but he must have been able to receive some concrete form of support from them. He mentions "you have shown concern for me again…". He knows they have cared for him all along, but seeing a gift is like icing on the cake.

But in any case, Paul is content. He is happy whether or not he receive tangible evidence of support, because he has discovered something even more powerful and effective: endurance through the power of Jesus.

Paul has had plenty and has had little. In both cases, he was content. This is the Gospel strength: in much or in want, he can be content, with strength to endure though Jesus.

A (Application): When was the last time you were truly content?

Being content is difficult in our consumerist society. You are constantly reminded of what you don't have. For Paul, he had times when he had very little; he had times when he didn't even have his freedom (imprisoned).

Paul was gifted with strength to endure times of want…and to find contentment even with very little in hand. He found his strength in Jesus.

With strength through Jesus to become content, what does this do for us? Being content allows us to focus less on ourselves, and opens us to care for others. Unfortunately, this looks like foolishness to the world. So not only do we have to contend with personal struggles of denying ourselves, the world is also on our back, demanding that we look out for me, myself, and I…first and foremost.

The only thing to counter these struggles (which Jesus has already overcome) is to lean on Jesus' strength.

I suggest we learn about others needs, in the meantime. Especially listening to those who are NOT like us. (For me, "us" means white, male, Protestant.)

I have a lot to learn about those around me. My understanding of contentment may have to be different than the understanding of contentment to the homeless community, the black community, the Hispanic community, the gay and lesbian community, the atheist community.

I wonder if there is a difference.

I won't know…until I listen.

P (Prayer): Lord, help me to listen. Amen.

Murfreesboro Cold Patrol – Justice for the poor

S (Scripture): Psalm 72

12 For [the King] delivers the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no helper.
13 He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life;
and precious is their blood in his sight.

O (Observation):  The King is addressed in this psalm.  The ideal picture of a king is laid out in this psalm.  The king is praised for serving the needy, he defends the cause of the poor and crushes the oppressor.   The ideal king rules with righteousness and governs the poor with justice. 

A (Application):  The cause of the poor and needy is always with us.  Sometimes, we even do some good in the cause of justice for the poor amongst us.  

We Americans live in a nation where we believe we get what we deserve.   We believe that if we are in a challenging situation – especially a financial one – we must deserve to be where we are.   We must have screwed up along the way…and there is little mercy shown. 

Well, thankfully, I know a group of people who respond differently to poverty.   Whether they follow the God I believe in or not, they are living the call of the King from this psalm: they deliver the needy, the poor when they have no helper.  

The folks I speak of gather under the name of the Murfreesboro Cold Patrol.  (Click link to go to their website, or here for their Facebook page.)

I went to their open house last night.  They now have a space for the staff or volunteers or homeless folks to sit and gather for a brief respite.   They are located in the heart of the city, close to folks willing to serve and close to folks in need.  

When asked how the Cold Patrol is different than other service organizations in Murfreesboro, one of the board members said the difference boiled down to one word:  relationships.   She said that “we go out and get to know these folks.”   The other organizations in town do serve a HUGE need in terms of supplying clothing, food, housing, etc. to the homeless population.   But the unique element of the Cold Patrol, is that they are intentional about going out into the streets and the woods and getting to really know the homeless population and are working on ways to connect the homeless in Murfreesboro with assistance and to find them some ways to help themselves.  

They are also doing some much needed work in gathering data for research on homelessness issues, that we might better serve the community, or at least to better diagnose the problems for the homeless in Murfreesboro. 

Well done, good and faithful servants.  Thank you for bringing justice for the poor.  

If you would like to make a donation to the Murfreesboro Cold Patrol, click here.   

P (Prayer): Lord, help us to walk with the poor and needy.  Might we be reminded that we are called to serve one another.  Amen. 

Being sent

S (Scripture): John 17:1 Jesus…looked upward to heaven and said, “Father…15 I am not asking you to take [my disciples] out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world. 17 Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. 19 And I set myself apart on their behalf, so that they too may be truly set apart.”

O (Observation):  Jesus praying for the disciples!   How cool is that!    To be able to overhear this prayer is such a privilege and an honor.  

Jesus’ prayer shows that mission is the key to being a disciple.  The mission – to go and help others to believe in Jesus Christ – moves from Jesus to the disciples.   Jesus knows the road is tough. Yet he doesn’t ask that the disciples be removed from the world.  Rather, he prays that God would guide them in their earthly mission, and protect them from the evil one.   Don’t take them out of the world, but do protect them!

Jesus was sent.  Now he sends the disciples.  That is a great view for our call to mission and ministry.  

A (Application):  How do we respond to the call to serve God?   What is our starting point?   Jesus says that he has been sent and that he now sends the disciples, which includes you and me – that’s our start!  

When the rubber meets the road, though, how do we respond?   

When someone comes to you for help, how do you respond?  What if you know the person?  What if you don’t?  Why if they look like you?  What if they don’t?   What if they believe in your view of God?  What if they don’t?  

Do we help people?  At what point do we pass on the work of helping folks to an agency?  What does that mean for us as God’s people?  How do we serve?   

Part of the reason for the delay in posting my blog today is that I met with a gentleman who has money but terrible credit and is having trouble getting into a rental situation.  He didn’t ask for anything but a prayer, but I’m going to follow up with some of my friends to see if there are other stories like this here in Murfreesboro, TN.

This fellow is a hard-working man, with what I believe is a true story.  And if his story is true, then we may have an institutional or structural problem with housing here.   What is my role in that?  

Please keep me in your prayers as I work on helping to find a solution for this gentleman.   Let us pray that all such folks receive the mercy and attention they need.  

P (Prayer):  Lord, you know our concerns and struggles.   Help us all to find a place to lay down our heads at night…off of the streets, in a safe place.  Amen.