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The Pantheon, An Example of Redemption and Transformation and Vocation
Devotional and Discussion Thought of the day:
A post on Facebook this morning brought memories of our trip (dare I say our pilgrimage) to Rome last year.
We were walking down a street – just trying to get a feeling for the city. An amazing city, and dare I say it had a sense of both home and holiness. It is hard to explain – but it was there, not just in the churches, but among the very streets. We came across this building from the back, obviously a place that was old and needing more restoration. As we rounded the front – it was the Pantheon – the incredible temple built for sacrifices to be offered to the pantheon of Roman Gods – its oculus – the hole in the center of the dome – even on an overcast day lit this ancient magnificent structure incredibly. The huge iron doors, amazing.
Yet what astounded me the most, this incredible building, built to worship false gods, built as a place to appease them, was transformed, sanctified, set apart centuries later to be a place of like transformation, a place to celebrate the Light pouring into lives.
What I never read of, what I never realized – is that this building is now a church – an active place where people are baptized, and transformed by the Love of God. A place where the Body and Blood of Christ is the only sacrifice that matters, the only one that could be used to redeem and revive and restore.
A place that was redeemed, that was set apart (sanctified) to be a place where redemption and sanctification of man occurs, because of the love of the One, True God, who does that which we cannot. He buys us back, He redeems us, He cleanses us, He sets us apart….for Him.
As I walked into the Pantheon, as I saw the altars, the paintings, the incredible dome, the oculus, a sense of awe overtook me – much different than the awe at the forum, or at Triumphant Arches, or looking at the wall, or even as we walked through the ruins of Pompeii. It wasn’t just a historical reminder of our past, of the culture we’ve lost.
It’s a place where faith is strengthened, where life in Christ begins, where redemption is seen and known.
A place where God has come.
A place where I have hope – for if God can transform such a place – I realize that I too can be transformed – and that I too can be a place where God dwells, where He abides, where with other believers, we form a temple not made with hands… and our sacrifice is not to die, but to live. Where as this building gains the identity of being a place of God, such is my vocation and life. Yours as well.
Such is the wonder of walking with Christ.
He makes all things – whether ancient temples dedicated to man’s glory, or men themselves…new.
May our lives praise Him, and may people glorify Him more as they see His work in and through us. AMEN
Remember – We Speak for Christ
We Speak for Christ
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
† In His Name †
As we speak for God, may we speak through the knowledge of the grace, the mercy and love which reconciled us to God, as we bring others the message of reconciliation!
We Speak for Christ, but what are we saying?
The sermon title you see before you, “we speak for Christ” is one which is an incredible burden, but it is something we need to keep in our mind, not just during the sermon, and the worship service, but every moment of the day.
You see if we claim to others that we speak for God as we talk about His will, as we talk about grace, as we invite them to church, then we need to realize that often, they will judge God by what they hear from our voices at other times as well.
I was talking to a lady this week, she was talking about why she and her husband were considering leaving the big church they were going to, and thinking about looking for a smaller church. In the process, she told me about the church that they went to before the mega-church. I asked her about why they decided to check out the big church in the first place, and she told me of the event that soured her husband on their original church some ten to fifteen years ago.
She related how they had gone there one morning, in her husband’s older truck. As they parked the truck in the parking lot in front of the church, a man came out, and asked them to move the truck and park it somewhere else. The man was concerned with what kind of image would be given, if beat up cars were in plain view in the parking lot.
The man moved the truck, to a different church and its parking lot where he and his wife have been going to that church ever since. She did promise that upon their return from vacation, they might return to the church here. You see, this church was where their children were baptized and confirmed.
It is a challenge for us to do what we are told in Colossians 4:6, 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Colossians 4:6 (NKJV)
It is even harder sometimes, for our words to be Christ’s as we respond to those who’ve sinned against us. It is hard for us to forgive those whose words may not have been as gracious to us, for in that same way we are tempted not to be gracious.
How we see them, determines how we speak to them
I’ve joked once or twice about not putting Christian bumper stickers on my car, because I don’t want my driving patterns to reflect badly on God. There is some truth in that, and the same thing when not thinking about representing God, we step on our tongues and insert our foot in our mouths. There is one thought – maybe we just never claim to talk for God? Then people wouldn’t blame God for our failings – right?
But then, we are ignoring the multitude of scriptures that talk about the people of God, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, being God’s voice to call people out of darkness and sin, to share in His peace. We need a better solution than just being quiet about our faith, our of fear of misrepresenting God.
It is found in the first verse of our epistle reading, St. Paul writes,
“16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!
Most of our problem, controlling our tongue is because we look at people as un-redeemed, or not worth our time, or for that matter, God’s time. Maybe we are snobs, and think others are below us, or that they are just different, or maybe, even as we look around this room, we think – “thank God I’m not like that sinner…”
How we interact with people is based often in how we “see” them, how we perceive their value to us, to society. It isn’t just the generations represented in this room – it’s been a problem even back to the time of Christ…
For some, including Paul who wrote this letter, saw Jesus as illegitimate, as an outcast, as an wandering religious kook – who, because of a lack of education, couldn’t possibly understand the deepest part of the Jewish faith… to the extent Paul really persecuted the people whose trust was in Christ. Paul would realize Jesus was more than homeless religious fanatic… that he was the Son of God, and what it mean – that Jesus would die on the cross.
The difference comes into play when we stop looking at them based on human standards of value, but understand how Christ sees every man, woman and child that has ever existed, and when we consider their value to Him.
How does Christ see them?
In verse 17, we are told that anyone who belongs to Christ isn’t just waiting to become something else – they have become something new already. It’s passages like this – and the discussion between Jesus and a Pharisee named Nicodemus that we get the concept of being born again, the washing of rebirth that we commonly call baptism.
Which Is how we are to see each other – as people whose value is not measured according to value on earth, but rather value to God. Who thought enough of us, who valued us enough, that He reconciled the world to himself – He brought us back – He reconciled us, He cleanse us, the ways scripture describes this incredible work we given “church words” like justified and sanctified, ransomed and redeemed, and the one in this passage – reconciled.
As in reconciling a checkbook, or a set of accounts, where not only is everything accurate, but it is the way it should be – every negative entry accounted for and every error corrected. Where there is nothing left to devalue what is, by God’s account – priceless and precious. Where after everything is accounted for – and everything is checked – it all balances….
And this miracle – the way that every sin has been paid for – Paul describes in verse 21:
21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
That is Christianity simply put – God loved the people He created, to the extent He has taken care of our sin. He values us, our company, our presence, He values us enough to let Jesus bear all of our debt on the cross. All of it.
That is how, then we are to relate to each other, with the same value as God has for us…. We are to each other as people God cared enough that Jesus would die for them.
The offer on the table…which we take to them
That then leads us back to the original concept – that people base their perception of God on how we treat them, of the things we say, and don’t say…
That we are His ambassadors, given the task of reconciling all people to God. That we have the responsibility to plead with those who don’t know Jesus, who don’t know the love of the father, to come back, just like the prodigal does, when he remembers how his father treated all of his people.
To see it through – we need to look at others, as those God would die for, for indeed He did. We need, for our own deeper understanding of God’s love for us, to realize it extends to all – that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all would be reconciled – that’s why Christ came to reconcile us all – so that all children of God could always come home.
That Is the glorious message we have been tasked with, the message we, as Christ’s ambassadors are tasked to deliver… and no other message then this… that all would come back to God…
That they would all know His love…
His mercy…
His peace.
The peace of God that is beyond all understanding, the peace in which we are kept, for we dwell, reconciled in and by Christ Jesus. AMEN!
It’s not “what” you are called to do…
Devotional/discussion thought of the day….
One of my favorite spiritual books – which we soon be re-opened – was written not by a famous pastor or priest – or by a saint, or by a powerful bishop or pope, but by a baker in a monastery. It tells of finding service to God in serving where one is put…. and that it is more important to serve well, than where one serves. (that is but one of the lessons) I know some people like that.
I know a lady who has volunteered at her church for 30 years – maybe 40. She is presently working in the sanctuary, filling the oil candles. Other times, she sits in the office, waiting for the phone to ring, or cutting out things for the pre-school teachers, or talking to those who drop by the office, lifting their spirits. She would turn bright red if she knew I was writing this blog about her and others. But if the church she serves runs smoothly – if we get things done – if things are in order… it is because of her service.
I know as well a number of teachers – but this morning I think of five – who are quite gifted – incredibly so. When their school closed, one stayed and has done a marvelous job with the preschool there, another went to another preschool and teaches the littlest – caring for them with incredible grace., two others are back teaching in elementary schools – teaching those who’ve others have given up on – the most challenging of kids to teach… and one serves the church as a office manager. What amazes me is that all of them are incredibly qualified and gifted – and yet they choose to serve where they do. All have chosen to serve those… who others would not, dare not. They do it – because God has placed them there – and though they may struggle with it – they serve those around them.
One of my favorite writes said this,
In God’s service there are no unimportant posts: all are of great importance. The importance of the post depends on the spiritual level reached by the person filling it. (1)
Luther – another of my favorite authors comments similarly
Now you tell me, when a father goes ahead and washes diapers or performs some other mean task for his child, and someone ridicules him as an effeminate fool—though that father is acting in the spirit just described and in Christian faith—my dear fellow you tell me, which of the two is most keenly ridiculing the other? God, with all his angels and creatures, is smiling—not because that father is washing diapers, but because he is doing so in Christian faith. Those who sneer at him and see only the task but not the faith are ridiculing God with all his creatures, as the biggest fool on earth. Indeed, they are only ridiculing themselves; with all their cleverness they are nothing but devil’s fools. (2)
It is not what we do – as the six ladies above demonstrate – it is that we do it in faith, trusting God to use what we do, trusting Him to turn our simple works into something which blesses those around us.
As I go to write my final manuscript this morning, as I find myself distracted by a number of things – this too comes out – I have to depend on the Lord who put me here – I have to go to Him first, I have to see His work, in those around me, and find the assurance that He will work through my hands, through my voice as well.
For that is what makes the difference. Many won’t recognize the work and devotion others have… yet without their work…without their example to me…without seeing what God does in their life…and with their selfless work… my serving would be weakened.
Thank God for those who serve around you – especially those whose work is not easily seen.
And as you consider the effect of their work, of God’s work through them, may you find yourself being used where you are at as well!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2285-2287). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) Luther, M. (1999). Vol. 45: Luther’s works, vol. 45 : The Christian in Society II (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.) (40–41). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
Compelled to Share the Gospel
Devotiona?Discussionl thought of the day:
14 For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike. 15 So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News. 16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. Romans 1:14-16 (NLT)
In yesterdays blog – which gratefully caused some interesting discussion, a point was made – that our ministry, though it may change over time – is not one that we can retire from.
Today we see a bit more why.
The obligation Paul speaks of, in my mind opinion, is not one of the law, unless it be the law of Christ which he speaks of later. Instead, I believe it is the same sort of obligation that drives us when we see someone in pain, and are compelled to help. Or the need to go and sit by someone who is grieving – to share in their grief – or for that matter to share in the joy of someone who is rejoicing.
One of the commentaries last week talked of “sympathetic lamentation” – the sense that the emotional state of one can cause a nearly simultaneous reaction in all of us, even those most determined not to show such emotion. Or to use a more blunt analogy ( which those who don’t like to show emotion would equate it to ) the sympathetic reaction that occurs when someone near them has a truly violent explosion and regurgitates their meal.
The compulsion for Paul is to see people living under the burden of the law – either the Ten Commandments/Mosaic Law or the Natural Law – and living condemned by it. It is a situation he can remedy, for the gospel is indeed that which can address and remedy their desperate situation.
The question then, is , do we feel the same compulsion? Do we, who know the joy of being delivered by Christ, see those who have not been, as those in desperate need. Or do we walk away… not caring – not loving, ignoring their need the same why guys try not to cry at the end of a gut wrenching movie?
Maybe we need to reconsider… not their need, but exactly what we’ve been given.
No Retreat….No Escape.. but no need…You are Holy
Devotional Thought of the Day…
“God is not removing you from your environment. He is not taking you away from the world, or from your condition in life, or from your noble human ambitions, or from your professional work… But he wants you to be a saint—right there!” (1)
Well, we made it to Saturday! The week is seemingly over for most of us, and we can enter a moment of rest for our weary bodies. If you look at the freeway last night, or this morning, there were people on their way out of town. Some were in RV’s, others pulling toy haulers, others on their way to the bright lights of Vegas. All working at a feverish pitch to escape, to get away, to escape. Some are leaving on more nobler causes – a weekend retreat in the mountains with other people who trust in Jesus. Even so, there is a sense of haste, a sense of a need to escape the world.
Throughout the centuries, people of faith felt this need as well. Whether it was the acetic monks finding caves in Egypt, or the orders that built monasteries that looked more like castles, some of talked of the need to escape the world to pursue holiness. And they did. To tell you the truth there is a great temptation there for me, to escape the distractions, to escape the conflicts, to escape the temptations and the problems of life. That was the thought then, that holiness and full concentration on God could be attained if we only gained enough separation from the world. What they tried to do for a lifetime – we have sped up – and seek the same things in a weekend!
I know myself though, and it is my nature that anything could become a distraction from God. Instead of a charged comment on Facebook, it could be the ant trail. Instead of the commercial with scantily clad models selling a hamburger, or a phone, it could be hunger. Jesus understood what makes us tick, and He said “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. 21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” Mark 7:20-23 (NLT)
So if our reason for escape is to avoid temptation, to avoid sin, to pursue holiness/sainthood, then we can’t succeed by simply running away, or finding a remote place.
Another reason to try and escape the world would be “rest”, yet I’ve seen the work it takes to get my camper ready for the weekend. The stress of driving through traffic, and then the stress of setting up, and taking down, camp. Not an easy thing! For 20-25 hours of rest we add 12 more backbreaking hours of work and driving!
The quote got me thinking practically today.
If escaping the world (for months/years) and its “input” doesn’t help us find either great rest or achieve holiness, then what does?
I believe the answer is found quite simply, in being transformed into the likeness of Christ just in the place we are. For there is no place on earth where we cannot find Christ’s peace, where we cannot find rest and holiness as we abide in Him. Jesus said we are not of the world, yet He also said we are in it. Our vocations are found in life, in work, in our marriages, in being parents and children, in being friends, in being part of a community. In being apostles, sent by God to share the hope of His love and mercy and presence.
It is here, as we live in Christ, that we find our rest. It is here, that we find out our holiness, our being set apart.
For He is here, because the Spirit has gathered us, because we have been united with Christ, and causes us to abide in Him.
You have no need to escape, no need to retreat from the world you know, save for short periods of time to pray, to study His word, to Worship. but those things must be part of your daily life here. Pray unceasingly, find your focus in your devotion to Him.
Know that you dwell in His peace!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1428-1430). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
That I may know how to…
That I May Know How..
Isaiah 50:4–10
† In His Name †
May the gifts of God’s love, mercy and peace truly sustain you when you are weary!
The purpose of being taught –
There is one phrase in our Old Testament reading that I would like to focus on this morning, and I have to admit – it is quite convenient for a day when we dedicate our staff for the new year, and we have some of our children sing.
It is the first verse of our Old Testament, there on page 5.
“The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary.”
I think if we as parents, could look ahead to see our children grown, and ready to retire from their careers, if this is a phrase that described their lives, we would be proud, and quite joyful.
If beyond what the world that counts as success, we knew they learned how to care for others; if they learned how to help others endure in life; if they learned how to care for others; how to love, then we would consider that we’ve done our job as parents and teachers and as a church well!
Think about It this way, if our children grew up to be the next Bill Gates, or Steven Spielberg, or even Tom Brady, would it be worth it, if the cost was their alienating themselves from their families; if they had no their friends and they ended up rich and famous, and alone. Would we be as satisfied and content as if they spent their life helping those who couldn’t help themselves?
We have a challenge, in this God-given task of raising children, as parents. We also have a challenge, those as the people of this church and school, to come alongside parents to support and assist and encourage them in “training up” their children.
It is a God-given task, which in order to succeed, requires that we need to trust and rely on God. For we have too accomplish in the midst of a world that would encourage them to aim for success, to look out for number one, to have it all, even though they cannot take it “all” with them.
When God teaches – we..
When Isaiah credits God for giving him the voice that speaks the words of comfort, he is crediting God for that which has trained him to be able to do so. You see, the word there for taught is used for vocational training not just academic teaching. He provides on the job training, not just schooling. Or to use our preschool’s language – God gives both an academic and developmental learning experience!
The next verse talks of how that training takes place – as God gets us to listen, to hear Him. In Isaiah that is a constant topic, as repeatedly the people of God are described as those who don’t listen, who don’t see that which God says and shows them in life. If only they did, they would not rebel, they would not get themselves into trouble, they would know peace, and their lives would not seem so broken.
In many ways, that is reflected in society today, where self-centeredness and the need for immediate gratification has made our world so dark, so narcissistic, so full of anxiety, and so little hope. We are unwilling to learn why, or why there are consequences to actions, we just take them, and the consequences be… well you know what I mean.
A great example is seen in how Isaiah talks about being able to deal with opposition, with insults, with those that would distract us from what we’ve been trained to do. In Isaiah’s day, that kind of opposition was very physical in the way it mocked and worked against those who would serve others. Today it is more subtle, more sophisticated, but the world no more understands those who try to live a life that lovingly serves others, and call them to a life that is lived hearing God.
There is a great temptation, to defend ourselves, to engage in foolish verbal fights and arguments! And often we are tempted to hit back when insulted, or when people judge us as fools, or condemn us for being “irrelevant” or out of touch. It is interesting, no its critical that we understand that it is God’s grace – His gift that enables us to have the strength to endure that adversity, as we bring the message that gives comfort and strength to those who are weary.
Learn to trust and rely on God
The message of course, is the same message that causes us to endure hardship, mockery and ever condemnation. For we learn, through experience, on the job, that it is God’s judgment we need to be concerned about, not that of others. For when we bow to the pressure of others, we become distracted. When we let the pressure and condemnation of the world affect us, we compromise, and eventually lose that faith which undergirds our message.
But when we listen to God, we find out there is no disgrace, no shame, for in His love and mercy, He has forgiven our sin and errors. It is He that vindicates us, that will judge us in the end, and He has promised that those who trust in Him, those He’s roused and who listen and trust Him, to remove all that would cause guilt. That is why we don’t have to fight – as St Paul says,
34 Who, then, will condemn them? Not Christ Jesus, who died, or rather, who was raised to life and is at the right side of God, pleading with him for us! Romans 8:31(TEV)
What happens if, in the midst of the learning, we find that we have defended ourselves, that we have treated others wrongly? If we have confidence in God, if we have learned to rely on His strength, we know what we can do, we can go back to that person, and make it right, we can apologize for our error.
Why? Because Jesus is our Model
When I started this message, I mentioned that if we want our children and the next generation to grow up well, to be the kind of people we are proud of, then the challenge is in our being the kind of people that model the faith and trust in God which develops us into such people. That we are described in those words of Isaiah as well as they are. Remember that line?
“The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary.”
How do we find the strength for this? How do we come to be able to sustain those, with a word, when they are weary – even if it is those who mock and attack us?
The key is realizing that while this passage encourages us, it is not about us, but about the one we are courage to imitate, to live like. It’s about Jesus.
For He, when beaten and scorned didn’t fight back. But instead trusted in the Father. He sustained the weary with the “word”, He gave it all and then some, and listened to God the Father and never once rebelled.
Why? To sustain us, to bring light into our dark lives, to give us hope.
Even at the cost of His life. St Paul said it well…
“5:8 But God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! 9 By his blood we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by him from God’s anger! 10 We were God’s enemies, but he made us his friends through the death of his Son. Now that we are God’s friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ’s life! 11 But that is not all; we rejoice because of what God has done through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has now made us God’s friends.
Romans 5:8-11 (TEV)
It is in Christ, united with Him in our baptism, looking to His love and mercy demonstrated in our lives every day, and every time we approach this altar, that we see our example- even as the children will see our example.
He gave it all – he didn’t despite who hated Him, He listened to the Father and learned to love, He shared His life, and eternity, even though the cost was huge personally.
It is Jesus that Isaiah’s prophecy is about – the Jesus of whom Paul said, imitate me as I imitate Jesus Christ…. May we learn to do so, may we allow ourselves to be trained, so that we can say to these children, and many more – imitate us, as we imitate our Lord, our Savior, our Friend, Jesus.
As we do, as we experience His mercy and grace, we will find that a peace comes over us, the peace of God our Father, a peace unexplainable, in which our hearts and minds are guarded, in Christ Jesus. AMEN!
