The Extreme Jesus

"Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?  Will you go where you don't know and never be the same?  Will you let my love be shown; will you let my name be known; will you let my life be grown in you and you in me? (John Bell,"The Summons" verse 1 lyrics, 1987, WGRG The Iona Community, GIA Publications, Inc)
Do you hear Jesus summoning you to follow?  The "Extreme Jesus" demands your all in order to follow him surrendering all that would separate you from making Jesus your #1 priority.  The "Extreme Jesus" is NOT:  "My dearest darling, I love you more than anything in the world.  I would climb the highest mountain and swim the widest ocean just to be at your side.  I will see you Saturday night if it does not rain.  Love always, John." (ministrymatters.com)
Just as "John" uses hyperbole and exaggeration to describe his love, so Jesus uses hyperbole when he says the cost of discipleship is hating father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even life itself. (Luke 14: 26)  But in contrast to the above letter, Jesus' hyperbole is to grab our attention as Jesus marches toward the cross and crucifixion and challenges us to take up the cross of faithful following.  While we don't take such a challenge literally, I believe we must take it seriously.
Quite the opposite of the so-called prosperity gospel, in Luke 14: 25-33, Jesus cautions us to count the cost to ensure that we're not following with unexamined or naive enthusiasm.  Just as we calculate the cost of building our house or estimate the cost of sending troops into Syria, Jesus warns us that following him demands our all - our total commitment.
"Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?  Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?  Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?  Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?" ("The Summons," verse 2)
What do you find hard to let go of?  What sort of things (material possessions; values; prejudices; other commitments; time; energy; doubt; grief; loss) cause you to hesitate in following Jesus fully?  In acknowledging the need to surrender all such obstacles, Jeremiah 18: 1-6 reminds us that we are created/formed/made by God who cares and provides for us.  It is God's faithfulness to this covenant of care that enables us to live sacrificially and to persevere when we can't make it on our own.  When we open up our clenched fists and let go of all that we cling to other than Jesus, our hands are free to be transformed and to receive God's grace.

Thanks be to God.
Pastor Shelley

God Holds a High Bar: Putting Jesus First

Remember Abbott and Costello’s hilarious baseball dialogue full of misunderstandings:  “Who’s on First?”  Perhaps Jesus could have used a bit of humor to soften the blow of his demanding call to discipleship.  BUT…Jesus has “set his face toward Jerusalem” in Luke 9: 51-62 as he begins his journey with unwavering determination toward death by crucifixion.  Time is running short for Jesus to teach and model for his disciples exactly what lies ahead for them – and for us as we more fully commit ourselves to being Christ followers.  So, the context of Jesus’ often confusing, surely shocking responses to three would-be followers is that they’re in a time of urgent transition and turmoil and transformation.  Would this characterize our time today also?  If yes, then we are called to take Jesus’ responses seriously.  We’ve run out of time for excuses.

Following Jesus is not going to be a picnic.  Instead it’ll be more like traveling to El Salvador and living in the rural homes of sisters and brothers with limited comforts to which we Topekans are accustomed.  Jesus accepts no excuses – whether it be tending to family needs or even taking time to say goodby to family – if the excuses are used to prioritize our desires or needs above our commitment to following Jesus.  Going and proclaiming the kingdom of God as Jesus urges does NOT mean we throw our families out, but that we live our lives within the context and demands of living, speaking, and doing according to Jesus' teachings and modeling.  Nothing must get in the way of our “followership.”  Like any school teacher or parent, Jesus has heard all the excuses and rationalizations and procrastinations and he dismisses them.  We do not set the terms of our discipleship.  Jesus does. 

I’m reminded of the bumper sticker:  “If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”  The question we are called to examine is:  How are our lives different as Christ followers than what they might have been otherwise?  Following Jesus gives us a new identity as a child of God which means we live in communion with all children of God.  May Jesus’ urgency shape our priorities so that all we do is according to the guidance that the Son of God provides, such that “first things first” is our mantra: faithfulness in following means Jesus is in front of us, beside us, behind us, above us, beyond us, and within us in all we say, think, and do.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Shelley

When Judgment is a Good Word

When we have our temperature taken - when we receive a report card - when we step onto the bathroom scale -when we go to our annual review - when Mom says, "Sit down, we need to talk" - we realize that life is full of times of judgment. Sometimes we learn we need some meds or more exercise or less pie. Sometimes we receive an A and sometimes a D or F. Sometimes we receive praise and sometimes criticism with suggestions for improvement.

Read Ezekiel 34: 11-16 and Matthew 25: 31-46 for two stories about the role of leadership (shepherds and kings) who are major players in our times of judgment. Whether it's God as shepherd king or Jesus as shepherd king, we answer to both when we pause at times of judgment to learn how we're doing in our discipling - in our faithful living. The Bible gives us mixed messages about the nature of their kingship.

In Ezekiel, we see God as shepherd king who provides us with protection and nuture and salvation. But God also declares that God will judge between the fat and the lean sheep - between those who butt the weak and those who don't. In Matthew, Jesus declares that he will judge whether we choose to act to grow more and more into his likeness by how we treat the lost, lame, and least of these.

Why are these two scriptures good news? First, God is among us in Jesus - in the ugly, messy parts of life, wherever the needy (you and me and the least among us) cry out. Second, Jesus' judgment comes so that we can change our priorities and our choices. Jesus' judgment gives us chance after chance - choice after choice - to become more faithful in our following by looking for the face of Jesus in those we call other.

As we conclude our "Kingdom of Heaven: Here and Now" sermon series, the judgment rendered by the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, reveals God's reign among us. As we look and listen and respond with loving, caring acts, we draw closer to recognizing the reign of Christ here and now. Recognizing and participating in the kingdom of heaven is the abundant life that is God's shalom - God's will and wish - for all of us.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Shelley