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Posted by at 8:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I read the Bible a little again today. Just a little. But its pretty cool how you really don’t need to look too far to find life in its pages. After all, it is alive, right?

I didn’t have anything specific to read today, so I just flipped around to see if anything caught my eye. I opened to Matthew 12 and read one of many accounts where the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus with questions about the law. They questioned him about his disciples eating some grains as they walked through a wheat field on the Sabbath. I have a confession regarding this. It’s a very serious confession. Please do not condemn me. I’m trying to be vulnerable here. Once upon a Sabbath, I walked to our mailbox and got the mail. Please forgive me.
Dang! If that’s breaking the law, I’m glad I’m not under it. We can and will never live up to the letter of the law. Thanks for Jesus. Thanks for grace.
Anyway, Jesus responded by reminding them of some Old Testament stories where similar things had been done (in those days, they didn’t call it the “Old Testament” though – it was the only text they had). Then he quoted Hosea and said, “If you knew what these words meant – ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’ – then you would not have condemned these innocents.” (my paraphrase)
I think that’s pretty smart. In a way, he said, “Have mercy on people. People are far more important than the sacrifices you make to keep the law.”
Then Jesus went on to the synagogue and saw a guy with a mangled hand. The man was probably holding a pencil like Bob Dole to make it look more natural. You know how we try to cover up all our blemishes and faults? He was probably doing that. But like Bob Dole’s hand, no one was fooled. I think Bob Dole should have worn one of those big foam #1 hands. It would have given him an edge in the elections because people would have seen that he had spirit…like he was rooting for himself or our nation. I would have voted for him then.
Moving on. The Pharisees were still at it. They wanted Jesus gone or dead. So they kept trying to find ways to accuse him. They asked Jesus if it was cool to heal on the Sabbath and Jesus totally slam dunked over them. “Boo-yah!” he said.
Actually, he said, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you pull him out of there? This guy is way more important than a sheep. You ask, ‘Is it okay to heal on the Sabbath?’ Well, here’s my answer: Its okay to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he told the man to stretch out his hand, and the man immediately dropped his pencil and started to play the banjo.
Boo yah! The Pharisees hated that, so they went to make plans to kill Jesus.
What the…?! Why would they do that? Because Jesus never failed to make them look like idiots, and that made them angry. It tore through their shiny exterior and exposed the rust and rot beneath.
Here's the truth I’m holding on to today: Forget the checklist of things to do in order to look pious and righteous. Just do good. When our enemy tries to deal you a dirty hand, love is always the trump card.
Republican? Democrat? Liberal? Conservative? Pro-choice? Pro-life? Gay marriage? Heterosexual marriage? Christian? Non Christian? Muslim? These are not the flags we are meant to wave. Our banner is love. The rest falls into line when we get that right.

Posted by at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I don’t pray much unless I’m in a heap of trouble. Of course, I have a million excuses why I’ve not spent the energy to develop the discipline. But of them all, I think the main reason is that I feel somehow obligated. I don’t like that pressure, so I avoid it. When I pray, I usually try to get all somber and serious and use a lot of Christianese words – especially when others are listening. I love the feeling I get after a well rehearsed prayer goes off publicly without a hitch. Makes me feel like a better person.

But I don’t think God is impressed. In fact, I was reading my Bible this morning for the first time in several months (that’s another story in itself – judge not), and I opened up to Jesus words about prayer. He said that when we pray, we shouldn’t get all wordy and feel obligated to pray for a long time. He said only religious frauds do that. In fact, he said we should just keep it simple. Like this:
Daddy in heaven, you’re pretty great.
Please help this world today to run the way you’d choose. Help it be a little more like your world.
Give me what I need today, and keep me safe and out of trouble.
Help me treat people like you would treat me.
Because its your world, and only you have what it takes to change it.
Amen.
Last night I laid in bed and tried to pray. The problem with that is I usually drift off to sleep. But it was different last night. I genuinely wanted to talk to God. So I started to pray in my usual Pavlovian way: “Dearest Heavenly Father, I pray that you would bestow your bountiful blessings on me this day - that thou wouldst provide continual inspiration to pen songs and bless those around me with the gifts you have so graciously afforded me…”
Okay, I embellished a little there. My prayers aren’t quite that medieval. Still, I think King James would be quite proud. But as I prayed, I suddenly felt this horrible pressure to change my tone to that of a sad puppy. Like I was going to show God how meek and pious I was, with a hint of reverence, from the posture of a victim. I was conscious of it, so I stopped praying, and, conversely, simply waited for what God might want to say to me instead. Something within me brought to light this question: Do you talk to your real dad like that? Is that language you would use to address a friend?
That’s all I needed to hear. I changed my tone immediately. The pressure was off. I said, “God, I’m a little depressed that I haven’t been writing much lately. Actually, I’m a lot depressed. Will you please help me? I have a feeling it has something to do with the fact that I’ve been so distant lately. I’ve been ignoring you. I’ve pushed away from good teachers. Sorry for that. Can you help me with that attitude? Can you help me want to talk to you? I hope so. I don’t like where I’ve been.”
And here I am today with something to write about. That’s the cool thing about God. Our little efforts to get close to him pay off. And the experience ends up being one we want to tell others about.

Posted by at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My wife has a super high I.Q. So high, in fact, that she won't tell me or anyone else what the number is. So humble. So I'm always happy when I feel like I am smarter than her on a given topic. Like today, for example...

After a short break from work this morning, I was getting ready to return to my basement office, so I told my wife, "Well, I'm headed back to my lair."
"Lair? What's that?," She asked.
"You've never heard of a dragon's lair?"
"Yes, I've heard of a dragon slayer."
"No, a dragon's lair. Its the place where a dragon hangs out. Kinda dark and cave-like. Like my office."
"Oh, whatever."
Yeah, whatever. I just schooled you, wife. Like a teacher. Of course, I didn't actually say that last line. I just thought it.
I don't particularly pride myself on having a large vocabulary. There are people I know who are hard to talk to without having a dictionary or thesaurus handy. They use big words that I've never heard. Sometimes I wonder if they just make words up because they can't find the appropriate word quickly enough. Oh, the folly of pride.
Oooh. Folly. Good word.
Anyway, I just thought our exchange was a funny one, so I thought I'd share it. I love you, Carol!

Posted by at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)