“I think it is one of the tragedies –– one of the shameful tragedies –– that 11 o’clock on Sunday morning is one of the most segregated hours, if not the most segregated hour, in Christian America…”                                                                                                                          Martin Luther King Jr.

 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus                       Galatians 3:26-28

I can only imagine what the impact of these words were as believers gathered to hear Paul’s letter read aloud. Paul was stating that Jews and Gentiles stood on equal ground in Christ. That slaves were not inferior to their masters. That women were not subservient to men. All status is equal at the cross. In Christ, there is equal standing, and this is ordained by God’s own command.

Yet, interestingly enough, in the world today, there are still marked racial divides. Women did not even get the right to vote in America until 1920. In some cultures, and religions, there are still clear, and at times violent, repressions that are carried out due to the beliefs that all humans are not equally of value.

Imagine receiving such a letter as Paul’s some 2000 years ago in a culture that had never heard of such a thing! Is it any wonder that Paul died a martyr’s death? That Christians, who proclaimed the good news of loving all neighbors whatever their gender or status, also often suffered martyrdom?

We as Christians have the mission to deliver that same message as Paul. All people are loved and valued by God.

Can we as human beings do any less than what God expects?

Prayer: Lord, give us the vision and passion to live the word that God loves all people, Amen

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope

Romans 5:3-4

Unearned suffering is redemptive. That is one of the many great quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As we approach the day that is annually set aside to honor him, I have been looking at some of those quotes.

Our pastor today referenced the phrase wounded healer, a phrase I have usually associated with the book of the same name by the late Henri Nouwen. The idea of a wounded healer speaks to the idea of redemptive suffering. That is, when one has experienced suffering, it must somehow be redeemed for the good of self and others in order to be bearable. This is especially true of unearned suffering, which flaunts our idea of moral justice. Dr. King experienced the suffering brought about by racism and oppression. He was able to redeem that, in a non-violent way, by fighting for justice for all people.

Each of us has experienced some type of suffering, perhaps unearned. The question always before us is “What do we do with that pain?” Do we lash out toward others? Do we curse God as being unjust? Do we simply shrink into ourselves in pity or anger? There are many options for us. The best and healthiest option is to redeem that pain into gain for others.

An example might be parents who have lost a child to some illness setting up a foundation to help others suffering with the same illness.  Whatever the source of suffering, there can be a way to redeem it to the benefit of others.

In so doing, we have given meaning to the suffering which otherwise cannot be explained.

Prayer: Lord, suffering is universal. Help us to redeem it into good for others, Amen

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works…                                                                                    Psalm 139:14

I recently had the opportunity to speak with a client who is dealing with a dying relative. The relative has a degenerative brain disease, and she now has very little short-term memory. Therefore, she is constantly contacting my client, asking the same questions over and over several times per day. It is, of course, very wearing on my client, and he has become irritable to those around him. He is depressed and unmotivated, but clearly angry in general.

As we discussed this, I pointed out that he was likely experiencing anticipatory grief. He is already grieving the loss of his loved one. He knows that her illness is terminal, and he feels sad and frustrated. Indeed, sadness often comes out like anger and irritability in such situations.

Just being heard and supported can be helpful for this client, but also, the explanation of his situation being anticipatory grief helps give a label to the pain he is experiencing. It is not uncommon, of course, for feelings to come out in unintended ways. Sometimes fear or sadness comes out looking like anger or irritability.

We are complex beings, and God has designed us so marvelously. We struggle with human emotions, and sometimes we simply do not understand them. Just having another person experience those feelings with us can be healing in and of itself.

Prayer: Lord, be with those who are suffering an expected loss, Amen

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.    James 1:19-20

I was speaking with a client the other day about his anger responses, which have been a problem for him for many years. Often when people are angry, they have had a sense that somehow,  justice was violated, or they feel that they have been denied something that they deserve to have. We can all think of times that we became angry when our personal sense of justice has been violated.

Perhaps we feel that we have been deprived of something that we deserved to have, something even as small as a few spaces up on the highway when another driver cuts us off (in our opinion). I am not saying that such things aren’t annoying and upsetting at times- they are. But such feelings can also trigger in us a sense of entitlement which may or may not be real. It may simply be our rationalization for higher levels of anger.

We don’t like to think that we are “entitled people”. Yet at times, we act exactly that way as a rationalization to engage in gratifying behaviors that give us some momentary pleasure or relief.

When I discussed this with my client, he paused, and agreed that this was likely true for him and it had gotten him into trouble in the past.

We can rationalize so many things in our mind, often without really thinking about it. We can give ourselves reasons for behaviors that are not healthy for us, or those around us. As I said to my client, we all have capacity to do things that we are not happy with ourselves about. Owning them, and looking at ourselves in fearless honesty is a great remedy for change.

Indeed, the truth sets us free!

Prayer: Lord, give us the courage to look into ourselves and see the places that we fail, Amen

“But let justice roll out like waters, And righteousness like an ever-flowing      stream.                                    

   Amos 5:24 (NASB)

We are all familiar with Dr. Martin Luther King’s work in the civil rights arena for trying to end segregation, and to improve voting rights for African-Americans. He helped to shine a light on the violent threats that Blacks faced in the Deep South, and indeed, he survived those same threats himself until his assassination in 1968.  

Less remembered is his strong witness against the war in Vietnam, and his work on the Poor People’s March, which was a diverse effort to point out the effects of poverty in America. While Dr. King met with and influenced President Lyndon Johnson, he did not hesitate to confront the President when he believed that Johnson must do more from his position of power. King was the model of speaking truth to power. Dr. King believed that he must live out his witness to Jesus Christ even though it meant unpopularity, and even more threats against him. Power was not his goal- justice was his goal.

Prophets have a responsibility to be a witness for justice. The goal of Christians should not be pursuit of power, but rather pursuit of justice. Dr. King embodied that goal, and that is why we celebrate his legacy later this month.

Prayer: Lord, give us the courage to always work for justice, not power, Amen

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.                                                                                                         Matthew 5:8

So, what does it mean to be “pure in heart”? It does not mean a “perfect heart”- that is not possible. It does mean that we have looked into our heart and we have seen it for what it is. It is selfish and pleasure seeking, if left to its own devices. Our job is to cut down on how often it is “left to its own devices”. In other words, we are to be stewards of an inherently selfish nature.

In the book of Jeremiah, the prophet asserts “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be. Jeremiah 17:9-10

We are clear that we are not perfect in heart, but we can be pure of heart. We can do that by agreeing with God on it. He knows our frailties, and he detests the practice of trying to cover it up, pretending we are something that we are not.

The counseling principle of ownership of our innermost being frees us to become who we are truly meant to be. Truth in agreeing that we are sinners in need of a Savior is the step of freedom and change. It is the “moment of clarity” for those in addiction who now see the need for help in overcoming the addiction. It is the moment of salvation for those who see that they cannot solve the sin problem alone.

I have been fond of writing about the relationship of faith and science. Science can explain and solve many world problems. It cannot solve the sin problem. That is the work for faith.

Prayer: Thank you Father for the solution to our heart problems, your son, Jesus, Amen

The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.                 Matthew 13:22

By any measure, the United States is a wealthy country. No surprise there. In fact, the State of the Nation Project (see www.stateofnation.org) recently released a study showing that the United States outperformed 98% of the rest of the world in “Economic Output”. Here comes the rest of the story…

The United States outperforms only 70% of the world in current life satisfaction; 66% of the world in trust in the police; 33% of the world in belief in democracy, and only 11% of the world in depression and anxiety measures.

Are you surprised? Shocked even? I was not surprised by the “Life Satisfaction” results. I had seen those types of numbers before. However, the United States outperformed only 33% of the world in “Belief in Democracy”. Let that sink in- the trust measure for the world’s oldest and most successful democracy is in the bottom third of the world!

The United States is near the bottom of the world in the mental health measures of depression and anxiety. Nearly 90% of the world fares better in what I would call “measures of personal peace”.

As has been so clear for thousands of years, wealth and a sense of personal peace are not well related. In fact, in the case of the United States, they are almost inversely proportional!

Ah, but we already know that real peace rests in relationship with Jesus and trust in his care of us.  

Prayer: Lord, you are the source of real peace, and we are grateful, Amen

These are my two historical novels about a character named Joseph Shepherd. The first one is about a mysterious man who appears suddenly onto the earthly scene in the early 17th century. He travels the world with a partner, Luke Greene, and together they meet some of the giants of the century- Galileo, King James, William Harvey, Francis Bacon, Oliver Cromwell, and William Bradford, captain of the Mayflower, among many others.

Shepherd is an archetype of Jesus, placed into the earth once again. I won’t spoil the endings, because they hold the answer to his appearances. My thesis was that if Jesus came again to the earth, he would once again speak truth to power and he would run afoul of the powers of the day. In fact, he would once again be persecuted and possibly killed. Jesus is always a “lightning rod” for controversy since he pursues justice fearlessly. People in power in any empire will always work to retain power, and justice and mercy may be sacrificed as a result.

In the sequel, Joseph Shepherd once again appears, this time in the United States during the Civil War. He becomes a Union soldier (field surgeon), an advisor to several Presidents, and he is involved (and unable to stop) the assassinations of Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley.

Once again, his upright and challenging stances conflict with the current powers, and he ends up being arrested and persecuted. Along the way his adventures bring him in contact with Thomas Edison, a young Henry Ford, Billy the Kid, John D. Rockefeller, Mark Twain, and a host of American luminaries.

My point through these books is that Jesus, no matter when or where he shows up, pursues peace, justice, mercy and healing – and he is often misunderstood and persecuted.

So, if Jesus were to show up again in a human body, how would he be treated today?

Now also when I am old and gray headed, O God, do not forsake me,
Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.

Psalm 71:18

There is a basketball term, used mostly in the past, called “dribbling out the clock”. That was when the team with the lead and possession of the ball would not attempt to score anymore- they would just kill the clock by dribbling the ball until time ran out.

I have used that analogy with people who are in retirement age who are trying to determine what the rest of their life looks like. Will they use retirement to start a second career? Volunteer their time to worthy charitable endeavors? Travel and spend time with grandchildren?

For me, the option of dribbling out the clock is a non-starter. Studies have shown that seniors who have continued to work, or to volunteer their time to the good of the community live longer and healthier lives.

We are not meant to shut things down at a certain age. Certainly, there are those who are physically unable to work or do many activities outside the home. Even people who are limited physically can still be vital in causes and activities that expand their mind, including life-long education programs.

So, dear readers, the question is do we live until we die or do we exist until we die?

I choose to live my life as vigorously as I am able- no dribbling out the clock for me.  

Prayer: Lord, I am grateful for the health and the desire to continue to contribute to the gift of life you gave, Amen

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help.“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.  For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.  I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 8:5-12

Time after time in the Bible, we see Jesus doing things that confounded his followers. Even his coming to Earth confounded people. Seeing the world from upside down is sometimes the best way to look at it. What do I mean by that?

We look at things through the eyes of logic and reason (mostly) and we have certain expectations of the world. The Jewish followers of Jesus expected that he came to save the Jews from an evil world (the Roman overlords), and to cast out those who were not rigid followers of the Jewish Laws set forth generations prior. All those who were not followers of Yahweh were to be avoided. Those religions were inferior and threatening to the religion of the True God.

Jesus confounded that thinking by giving examples of non-Jews who put rigid religious behaviors to shame. The Good Samaritan is a prime example. The Woman at the Well is another. The story from the passage cited above talks about the faith of a Centurion is another one of many.

Many religious people do much the same as the Jews did and try to make a relationship with God formulaic. Maybe having a formula helps us to feel better somehow, but rigid adherence to formulas isn’t the way that we can reach to God. He has already reached to us (another paradox) with Jesus, whose life was an example of loving those around him.

My point is that just when we think we have figured out a religious method and approach to God, he confounds us again. He says in so many words (if I may be so presumptuous as to put my words in God’s mouth!)

 “You all are overthinking this, folks. Love me by loving one another. Because I have forgiven you, and paid a high price to do so, forgive one another. Quit trying to reduce me to formulas- just go about loving one another and it will please me.”

Prayer: Lord, I trust in the simple approach to you and not tying you to formulas. Thank you for your love for us, Amen