I Must Confess, It IS a Wonderful Life...

Matthew 5: 14 – “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid”

In 1946 Frank Capra’s classic Christmas story “It’s A Wonderful Life” opened in theaters.  It has had such an impact on American culture that it has been copied and paid homage to many times over in the 67 years since its release.  It is required viewing for many people at Christmas time, and can generally be caught on television on an almost uninterrupted loop during the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  And why not?  It is a delightful tale, superbly brought to life by Jimmy Stewart at his “Jimmy Stewart-est” and Donna Reed who always lit up any screen her image was on.  This tale about how our lives are interwoven, and have impact on numerous people that we may not even be aware of, is a pointed encouragement to keep realizing that each life has purpose and value.  And who doesn’t need to be reminded that we have the power to make a difference in the lives of others and that we are valuable to someone?

With that in mind, I had a random thought today about Zuzu’s rose petals.  Zuzu Bailey, the youngest daughter was upset when the flower she brought home from school had lost a few petals.  George (Jimmy) pretended to reattach them while slipping them into his pocket.  This seemingly small action becomes a hinge that is crucial to the story as George knew something was amiss when he couldn’t find Zuzu’s petals in his pocket… and then he knew they were right again when he later found them, right where they were supposed to be.  The question that I was led to in that musing was this: 

“Are our churches like Zuzu’s petals?”

If our churches were suddenly absent from our communities, would anyone miss them?  If they were somehow moved out of the buildings they were in and dropped somewhere else, would people feel the same sense of dismay that George felt when he couldn’t feel the velvety, soft texture and reassuring presence of the petals?  Or would life largely continue as if nothing had changed?  Are we a city on a hill, or are we hidden in our isolation from “outsiders”?

If there wouldn’t be a sense of loss by anyone outside of the congregation, we may need to examine the ways in which we are living within the community.  The body of Christ is intended to be a comforting, supportive, encouraging, and heartening presence wherever it is found.  It is meant to be engaged in relationship no matter where it is located.  Even if it is placed in somebody’s “pocket” (set aside and forgotten about for a while), it should be there when they seek it out to remind them that God’s love is setting things right again.  For George, Zuzu’s petals were proof of God’s forgiveness and abundant gifts.  For the world, the church should be the same thing.  Maybe this Christmas the church can begin to be like Zuzu’s petals.  And when we can do that, maybe we’ll hear someone say (in my best Jimmy Stewart voice), “There they are!  Well what do you know about that?!  Merry Christmas!” 

Your servant in Christ,

Chris    

I Must Confess That I Am Often Less Than Graceful...

One of the difficulties that many experience with living a grace filled life, is that we are naturally predisposed to believing that the Gospels are about other people’s problems and sins (or the entirety of the Scriptures for some).  We cheer when Jesus tells a crowd of men who want to stone an adulterous woman, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,” as if we are not constantly trying to throw stones ourselves.  When we read scripture, we always think of someone else who needs to hear these things.  But the gift given in God’s revealed presence through the word was meant to be a letter to us… not just the “corporate” us, but the individual who is a part of the body. 

Beyond that, it is meant to be a help.  The passages contained within the Bible are a help to become transformed from the broken, inglorious people we are into the magnificent beings that God sees us to be… the beings that we were created to be.  We, who have the Imago Dei woven into our very DNA, are challenged by that presence to rise above our baseness, and to help others to do the same.  But that is all too often forgotten as we try to use verses to prove our “rightness”.  To live with grace is to realize that we need to experience the love and forgiveness of Christ daily… that we can hear the voice of God speak into our own lives daily… and to know that when that voice corrects it is not condemnation, but love, that seeks to move us to be, think, achieve, do, and love, better and more fully.  As Jesus was left alone with this woman whom they both knew was guilty, He gives forgiveness and this directive, “Go and sin no more.”

I have to confess that I have too often read this particular passage and thought, “Well I know I’m not like the men in the crowd.”  But I’ve never admitted that I might be like this adulterous woman either.  It was about “other people” and not me.  But I fail to be faithful to my commitment to Jesus daily in so many ways.  I cheat on Him with each “holier than thou” thought I have about others.  I prostitute myself every time I crave the acceptance of people around me, or worse, my own comfort and gain, more than I crave His loving admonition and guidance.  I am adulterous when I try to convince myself that I am without sin, because in that thought I’m having a love affair with myself.  I am an adulterous wife... no two ways about it.  And yet what He says to me through His word, and His sacrifice is "You're forgiven.  Go and sin no more."  Moreover, it is not a message just for me, but for all who hear the Gospel news of Jesus.

This realization is the beginning of living a grace filled life… for I can only live what I have learned through experience.  I cannot share love unless I have known it.  I cannot give forgiveness, unless I have received it.  In short, I cannot do any of these things unless I have truly experienced them through the gifting of God.  You can’t be graceful unless you’ve been shown how to be.  That begins with the realization that in order to “go and sin no more”, we have to admit that we sinned in the first place and repent.  Difficult?  Definitely.  Impossible? Not with Jesus’ help.    

Your servant in Christ,

Chris

Is the Bible Really Necessary?

I recently had the opportunity to have a discussion with a United Methodist minister in the form of missives left on a comment board of a blog.  The nature of the story we were engaged in this cyber interaction over is something that I choose not to share because I found it to be secondary to a larger issue that this Elder in full connection brought to the fore in his editorial.  That is the issue of Biblical “essentialness”.  This obviously intelligent, well-educated man, who seems to be earnest in his assertions, said something that had me wondering if some in our denomination are in danger of becoming Gnostics.  (Or maybe my fear is that some already are…) 

I will not share his name as I only want to discuss the merits of his arguments and not level personal attacks or “call him out”.  This is an excerpt from his initial post… I will admit that it is not the entire comment because, again, I do not want to focus on anything but the specific issue raised in this statement by Rev. A.  (His other stances on other issues are for separate discussion later.)