My New Job Title: Micheal Jordan's Chauffer

It’s official.  I can now say that I have met Michael Jordan.  I had no idea that things had gotten so tough for him, but he is an elderly black man who lives in a flop house on the south side of Memphis.  I have to confess that I don’t truly believe that the man whom I had the gift of meeting today was in fact THE Michael Jordan.  But that is the name he gave me as I was giving him a ride home today, so that is what I will call him until he trusts me enough to tell me his real name. 

I met Michael at a service station not far from the seminary when I stopped on my way to class to get my afternoon Diet Mountain Dew fix.  He was in the parking lot as I got out of my car, and was asking passersby for a little bit of food to eat.  He smelled of alcohol.  His eyes were red.  His clothes were ill-fitting and torn, and he had an unlit Kool Menthol hanging from between his lips.  He was carrying a backpack that had only God knows what in it and was holding it as dearly as a parent would hold a child.  And I found myself hoping that he wouldn't get around to speaking to me between my exiting the car and entering the store.  And worse, I had been on the phone with my older brother Rick talking about JUST such a scenario just 15 minutes earlier!  And I mean that literally.  (God’s timing is impeccable, isn't it?)  Needless to say I wasn't quick enough.  Michael caught me dead to rights.  “Hey man, could you help me get a little food?”  DANG!

What Makes Good Friday Good?

     I was told tonight of a moving letter written by a church member who had realized what Good Friday meant to him.  As I listened to the recounting of the words that this person used and said, “Amen!”  I was also given pause to think about what Good Friday meant to me. 

     I worry that in modern Christianity, or in predominantly western protestant denominations to be a bit more precise, we have come to a place in which we are all too often satisfied to skip over Good Friday so we can get to the good stuff of Easter.  In a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, we get to spend time enjoying the good news of our salvation.  In remembering Christ’s sacrifice, we are reminded of our failings and a call to be better through a sacrificial existence, modeled by our King.  Sunday morning we get candy and baskets and wear our new Easter outfits… Friday evening if we take time to reflect, we get to think about depressing things, and images that are just too ugly and foreign to comprehend, plus, no candy.  Sunrise service reminds us that “Up From the Grave He Arose”!  Friday reminds us that our shame and sin put Him in the grave in the first place.  Easter Sunday reminds us that Jesus goes to prepare a place for us… Good Friday reminds us that His love was meant to transform us as we are freed from sin and death through His pardon and atonement; and we hate to be reminded that we need those things in the first place.

My latest confession...

I Must Confess That I Struggle With These Topics…

     This afternoon, as I picked my daughter up from school, she told me about a young man who has gone public with his desire to be a young woman.  This child is suing the school for the right to live as a teenage girl, including the use of the girls’ restrooms in the school. This teenager is obviously courageous in the fact that this is an issue that could bring so much trouble into a life that is already apparently filled with angst, and yet chooses to move forward in this attempt to live in a way that he or she feels is authentic.  But what is the desired outcome, and what will the measurable outcome be?  I’m just not sure.

      
     The teenage years (even as far away as I am getting from them now) are some of the most difficult years we face as we struggle to find out who we are and who we want to be.  So how do we engage in honest dialogue about these issues with our children and young teens?  How do I as a person of faith, who tries to lead others in their faith walks, engage in discussion of issues that have found no end of argument for as long as humans have been recording their thoughts on the subject?  And am I being authentic in my proclamation of God’s word and its authority in my life, if I don’t recognize that the subject is dealt with fairly clearly in that Word? 

     This is truly a Kingdom shaping moment.  God’s word has been misused so many times in the history of humankind that it renders it vile in many people’s opinions… I am very conscious of that fact.  I tend to be cautious when I approach subjects like this for just that reason.  But because it (like all gifts in creation) can be used for destructive purpose, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t valid or valuable.  It gets tangled and messy.  It challenges us and stretches us.  It tells us things that we don’t want to hear.  It clearly contains language and passages that are foreign to our current experiences.  But it is that “outsideness” that gives it value.