fulfilling all righteousness

This past Sunday many churches celebrated Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:13-17). Jesus told John that he should be baptized “to fulfill all righteousness”. As I read this passage, I wondered: didn’t Jesus need to die and rise again before everything would be fulfilled? How could a single act like his baptism fulfill ALL righteousness?

But Jesus was human and bound by time/space. He wasn’t saying that this single act was the sum total of all righteousness. He was just doing what he needed to do at the time. And that was enough.

I need to learn to live in the moment and do what God is asking me to do now without worrying about what God will want me to do later or trying to come up with a grand unified plan of everything that I or Grace Community needs to do. There are times when my brain becomes exhausted with trying to come up with a more comprehensive strategic plan. Sometimes I’m paralyzed simply by knowing that there is so much for me to do. I sit, dazed, and try to get my brain around the whole map. But there are times when simply taking the next step is “fulfilling all righteousness”.

soul massage

What are you supposed to think about when you’re getting a massage? I like massages: I have plenty of aches, probably from internalizing too much stress. And at my age, someone said that if you don’t ache somewhere you’re probably dead. I like how a good massage therapist can tell if I’m tense, and then works on that part of the body, relaxing the muscles so that I’m able to use that part of my body the way it was supposed to be used. It may be a little painful at times (“deep tissue” massage is a euphemism for “painful”). And when s/he’s done the massage therapist always tells me to “drink lots of water” because of all the harmful stuff that’s been released from my body and is now floating around in my blood stream and needs to find a way out.

Not everyone likes massages. Some people are uncomfortable with the idea, even though it might be good for them to loosen up a little. Or they may not want someone else to know their body that well, where they’re tense or where they have a blemish that they themselves can hardly even see except with a tri-fold mirror in a dressing room.

I had a massage recently and here’s what I was thinking about: contemplative prayer is like a full body massage for your soul. It starts with my cooperation: I need to release myself to God’s loving hands. At first it may be merely relaxing. But then He finds the places where I’m tense and don’t want anyone to see and He works out the toxins. He tells me to drink of the living water so that the bad stuff gets purged from my soul. Often it’s painful, but I’m more able to live up to the potential that He’s built into me.

So when was the last time you had a full-soul massage?

compassion prayer

Lord, may I never be seduced by sweet devotion while I have more than I need and others have less. (from Sacred Space for Advent 2010)

waiting

A lot of us aren’t “into” observing Advent. If we're honest with ourselves, we don’t want the rhythm of our lives dictated by the Christian calendar. We’re so busy with our Christmas shopping and other activities that Advent as a Christian observance feels like an intrusion or, at best, a waste of time. We really don’t think that we can set aside some time each day for prayer and reflection, especially at this time of the year.

I recently read this Advent prayer: “Lord, help us to wait, with patience, with longing, for your coming – your coming into our poor lives. As once your people waited, and you came in our midst as a child, to be among us - so help us now to wait, and hope, and love what we wait for: your coming, and your peace.” The prayer seemed oddly anachronistic, out of place in contemporary American society. We are all about instant everything. We become agitated and even angry if a business makes us wait. And that carries over into our personal relationships. We can’t stand a person who makes us wait.

I think our impatience is one of the by-products of living in affluence. Do we really think that we need Jesus to come “into our poor lives”? What sort of poverty does it take to find the love, hope and peace that Jesus can bring? What kind of person is able to wait on God? Can this season help to make me that sort of person? What does God need to do in me to prepare me for his coming into my life and my world?

“Lord, help us to wait, with patience, with longing, for your coming – your coming into our poor lives. As once your people waited, and you came in our midst as a child, to be among us - so help us now to wait, and hope, and love what we wait for: your coming, and your peace.”

teaching songs

Psalm 60 has an interesting inscription: “for teaching”. The Psalms have been called “Israel’s songbook”. What is the purpose of singing? As a worship designer and leader I tend to use music for dramatic effect, to get the worshipers excited or reflective, to lift their spirits or to open their hearts. I’m not saying that this is bad. Worship should involve our emotions. But how often do I think of music as a teaching tool, one that opens our minds to new truths?

And Psalm 60 is about hard, challenging times, times when God seems to have rejected us (verse 1): “You have shown your people desperate times.” (verse 3). When we sing about those kinds of times we are being taught something about ourselves and about God that we might not get out of a “happy” song. So I’m glad that songwriters are still writing those sorts of songs for worshiping God. And I’ll try to use them more as I design and lead worship.

for the King

Being a pastor brings out the worst neuroses in me. I feel responsible for everyone, I assume a “caretaker” role, I’m everyone’s co-dependent. I want to make everyone feel good and feel good about me. The result is that all I hear is complaints, which is to be expected if I’m hyper-vigilant about making people happy. But what’s worse is that I’ll mostly hear complaints if I’m encouraging people to focus on their own desires rather than leading them to follow God. For example, imagine if I were the coach of a football team. If I’m constantly asking the players if they’re comfortable, then I’ll constantly hear about whatever makes them uncomfortable: the pads are too heavy, the sun is too hot, the Gatorade is the wrong flavor. And I’ll spend all my time trying to make adjustments. But if I’m emphasizing winning games, then I’ll make sure water’s available, but I’ll also remind the team “no pain, no gain”.

The famous “prayer of Jabez” is in 1 Chron 4:9-10. Jabez requested blessings and God granted his request. Some see this as a justification for “name it and claim it” theology. But a few verses later (I Chron 4:21-23) another clan within Judah is listed, the sons of Shelah. What are they noted for? “They were the potters who… worked for the king.” Could I be content to be the best potter I could be, knowing that my work was being used by the King? Or would I plead with God, “Enlarge my territory!”

What’s more important than personal accomplishments is the fact that I work for the King of kings. Instead of trying to please everyone, I need to please only one Person. And it doesn’t matter where God places me. If I’m a pastor or a janitor, my calling still comes from God and I have something to contribute to God’s mission in the world. And that should be good enough for me.

I read about the sons of Shelah in the devotional book “Streams in the Desert” (Nov 12) in a selection written by Frances Havergal. She’s the author of the lyrics to “Take my life and let it be” and “Like a river glorious”. It seems that she knew something about consecrating one’s work solely for God’s use and resting in the presence of God. I’m glad that she focused on the sons of Shelah rather than on Jabez. I don’t know why Jabez’ story is included in 1 Chronicles. But I’m glad that the sons of Shelah are there, too.

the God of Jacob

Who is the God of Jacob?

In Psalm 146 the God of Jacob is the God “who upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.” Jacob was a fugitive because his brother was trying to kill him. His own uncle cheated him. And in a lot of ways Jacob deserved it. He had stolen his brother’s birthright and was a schemer by nature.

Yet God had mercy on Jacob. Not only did he survive his flight from his brother (at one time he had to sleep in the open with only a stone for a pillow), he eventually found shelter with his uncle and became wealthy. Jacob wrestled with God, and so God made him lame. But God also blessed Jacob, giving him the name Israel and telling him he had wrestled with God and won.

That is the sort of God that I have. He knows my weaknesses and sins and yet he is with me anyway through all the struggles, many of which are self-inflicted. I have no right to ask anything of him, yet he blesses me.

“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.” Psalm 146:5