Overcoming Obstacles and Oppositions: Nehemiah Part 1

Nehemiah 1: Prayer Overcomes Anger—Nehemiah 4: 1-9; Mark 9: 20-29

            Once upon a time, I dealt with a bully in elementary school. I was in the 5th or 6th grade, and there was a boy who thought it would be fun to needle and pick at different kids in the class. Now I’m not sure if he was mean, or if there were life problems, but nonetheless he was a bully who was mean and taunting. One day it was my turn. I had watched him pick on different ones in the class. I had watched him tease until folks were teary-eyed, and I was prepared for him to one day come for me. 

            Sure enough, I was washing my hands in the bathroom, and he pushed me hard and called me a couple of names. I thought they were awful at the time, but I’m sure they pale in comparison to what my poor ears hear in the criminal justice system. But I was ready. I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and held him to the wall with one hand, totally startling him, while splashing water all over his pants so it looked like he’d had an accident on himself. You see, I don’t really believe in hitting people, and God doesn’t want us to do violence. But there’s nothing wrong with outwitting someone a bit to teach them a lesson. And I told him if he was ever mean again, I’d sit his behind in chocolate next time. 

            Maybe that’s a bit crude for church, but sometimes we face an opponent who has to be outwitted instead of overpowered. When you face deep-seated anger and range, someone who is a hateful bully, you cannot match rage with rage. You must use the better tools God has given you: trust and prayer. 

            One of the most poignant and moving stories in the gospels is here with the father of the boy mentally and physically tortured by an evil presence. The child is ravaged and brutalized by the evil lurking within him. It throws him into fire and water. He’s writhing and foaming at the mouth. He was in and of danger in his life, and his father brought him to Jesus as a last hope for nothing could overpower the evil presence. Jesus tells the father that anything is possible with belief. We see, then, in verse 24 that perhaps the father’s belief wavered a bit, but his trust in Jesus did not. “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” 

            You see, I think the father had lost his belief that his child could be fixed. I think his hope had worn thin. But there was just enough there to push him past his doubts and into one final burst of trust in Christ to heal and save. I imagine (embellishing a bit here) that he immediately says back to Jesus, “I do believe!” And then he sees Jesus looking at him, maybe quietly, maybe knowingly, and so the boy’s father adds, “But help me overcome my unbelief!” Immediately, Jesus was able to rebuke the evil spirit, and it came out of the boy. What the father lacked in his belief, he made up for in his trust. We don’t know what made him suddenly trust Jesus so much, but I can’t help but wonder what was exchanged in the looks and body language between them. 

            That trust formed a prayer, and that prayer was enough for Jesus to rebuke the evil spirit and cast it out. He later tells the disciples, “This kind [of evil spirit] can be cast out only by prayer.” The disciples could cast it out. They likely fought with it and rebuked it, but you can’t always match the rage of evil with and equal amount of rage. Sometimes prayer, trust, and faith in the Holy One is what can help and save. The father found his trust, and that trust in Christ is what healed his suffering son. 

            The tool of trust will often go hand in hand with the resource of prayer. In our Old Testament, which is the focus of our short series on overcoming opposition, we read about Nehemiah and the Israelite people. They are doing the work of rebuilding the demolished city. This comes after Daniel, after the time of captivity in Babylon, and after the downfall of both Israel and Judah. There was a remnant in Jerusalem, but they have fallen away from God, and lived in a mess. Nehemiah asks to go and fix the crumbling city. 

            We learn that when he begins helping rebuild the wall, he and the Jewish people encounter bullies. Just as the boy in the New Testament was bullied by the evil spirt, Nehemiah is bullied by the nearby kings: Sanballat, Tobiah, and others. They attempt to insult and humiliate him. They speak out against him in fierce anger, and they make plans to come and fight with them. For a small, fledgling group of people, this could be oppressive and intimidating. The Jewish people were a minority at this point, and they faced tremendous and systemic oppression from the more powerful people around them. Nehemiah responded not with summoning an army, or reinforcing, or raiding the bullies’ encampments. Instead, he prayed, and kept watch. And in return, God protected. 

            I think sometimes we miss the lessons in the Gospels and other parts of the Bible that teach about God’s power. We worship and all-powerful God, robed in majesty, armed with strength, and sovereign over all of live from the heavens to the lowest depths. Too often, when someone has great power, they use it either to bully those they don’t like or to grow more power for themselves. But what does God choose to do with that all the power he has? God stands up for the marginalized, the broken, the vulnerable, and the little guy. We see it over and over. 

            Here, the broken and demoralized Jewish minority is protected. In the Gospels, demons are cast out, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the silent speak, the unclean outcast is healed and restored to society. We read that the sinner is forgiven. We read that the hurting and lonely find rest and comfort. We read that God is close to the broken-hearted, the vulnerable, and the oppressed. In fact much of the indictment of the Jewish people before their destruction in the Old Testament is about how the exploit and oppress others. 

            Sometimes the resource of prayer and the tool of trust is intended to help us when we are the broken, the hurting, and the vulnerable. And sometimes, it’s designed to call us to repentance when we are the bully. I’ve met a bully or two before, some of whom were in church, and I’ve dealt with folks who were mean to the core. If you choose to fight on their terms, you will never win. But if you trust in God, pray for guidance, and stand in peace and strength, not backing down from what is right and true, the bullies of life will disappear. So find your voice, pray your prayer, trust in God, and then firmly say, “Lord plant my feet on higher ground.” 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/806496373518159/?notif_id=1601233257218857&notif_t=page_post_reaction&ref=notif

How Much Mercy Is Too Much?

How Much Mercy Is Too Much? Genesis 50: 15-21; Matthew 18: 21-35

            A few years ago, a friend of mine decided to take up wine making. She hoped to sell some of it as a side business and provide the wine for Communion at her Episcopal church where they use the real thing in Communion instead of grape juice. She asked if I wanted to join in, and I said no because it’s probably not a good look for a pastor to be bootlegging.  Anyway…she finished her first batch, took a taste and nearly gagged. It was beyond bitter and almost undrinkable. She laughed and named it “Forgiveness.” A short while later, she made a second batch. This time it turned out very sweet and smooth with a great taste. She named this one “Forgiveness” as well. I asked why, and she replied, “Because so often forgiveness is bittersweet.” 

            Today we look at this idea of forgiveness as bittersweet and complex thing in our lives. Both Joseph in Genesis and Jesus in the Gospels taught and lived forgiveness, and their lessons are truly powerful for us today, especially on the limitlessness of forgiveness, the needed boundaries in forgiveness, and what healthy relationships should look like in our lives. 

            So how many times should we forgive? Forgiveness, in our lives, must be limitless because it is for us and our personal healing. Peter comes and asks Jesus how often he should forgive someone who sins against him. He suggests what he thinks is a very significant amount of times at seven. But Jesus totally shocked him by saying, no, seventy times seven times. In essence, Jesus is saying you cannot limit forgiveness to a certain amount of times. Many people believe forgiveness is a grand “get out of jail free” card, but that is not correct. Forgiveness, instead, frees us from the burden of the wrong done to us and turns the offender over to God’s providence. As Romans 12:19 says, “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back,’ says the LORD.” 

            In the parable Jesus tells of a man who owed a huge debt, and when called to repay it, he begged the king for mercy. The king granted him such mercy on an enormous debt. We ask for the same in our prayers when we say “forgive us our debts (or trespasses) as we forgive our debtors.” But the trouble is we become stingy with forgiveness thinking it helps our cause. Anger and a thirst for vengeance is a potent poison, and holding on to it is just the same as drinking that poison. We forgive, not to excuse a wrong, but to release ourselves from the poison it causes in our lives. When our body is poisoned, it has to be flushed out of us. Likewise, when our soul and spirit are poisoned, we must flush it out of our system in order to heal. Thus forgiveness must be limitless in our lives. 

            But, our healing and safety demand that our forgiveness have appropriate boundaries to ensure safety and right behavior. We read further in the parable that the man whose enormous debt was forgiven turned on his fellow servant, treated him brutally, and had him jailed. He had just experienced so much forgiveness in his own life, but could find none for another. He had manipulated and exploited the King, and for this evil, the king punished him severely. 

            Boundaries are hard. But in living a life with appropriate boundaries, we must learn to gently say no. A friend of mine made some poor decisions early on in life. She had a failed marriage and had gone through some issues. Her rather insensitive family liked to make her the topic of discussion and jokes at family get-togethers. Finally one day she found the courage to say, “No, we will not be discussing my life anymore,” then she got up and left. At first it was awful, but eventually, her family respected her boundary and learned to recognize when she was uncomfortable. We will have to do the same at times in our lives. 

            We often in life have to set boundaries for others, and forgiveness is just another boundary—the boundary we set for ourselves. Christ routinely set boundaries. He stopped the hatefulness of the pharisees. He quelled the rumblings of the disciples. We too will have to sometimes say that someone is not going to speak to us that way. We may have to say that we won’t have a conversation with someone until they calm down. We may have to explain calmly and patiently that something hurt our feelings, and this is why. At first you will encounter anger from people who can no longer push you around. But eventually, they will come to respect where and when you say no. If they can’t or won’t offer you that respect, let them walk out of your life. God will deal with them just as the king dealt with the manipulative debtor. 

            Finally, we should remember that all relationships must be built on mutual, Christ-like love for one another. We see this example in Joseph. He had this strong sense of peace and strength. This despite being nearly killed, then sold into slavery by his brothers, and finally being wrongfully imprisoned. He reconciled with those who brought harm to him when he was ready, and when God had their hearts ready. We see here the brothers, filled with shame, guilt, and fear. While they had been living as a family again for some time, it appears that they still worried Joseph was waiting for a good time to seek revenge. But Joseph knew that revenge and payback never come from a holy or Godly motivation. 

His love and forgiveness (from a very Christ-like attitude) proved to his brothers that it is never too late for a right and healthy relationship when everyone’s heart is in the right place with God. This means that Christ is at the center of the relationship, love is the guidepost throughout, and kindness is the standard of all interactions. But most of all we see that if we want forgiveness in our lives, we must be willing to forgive others as well. Joseph’s walk with God gave him the strength to reconcile with his family. But the debtor’s manipulation of the king and abuse of his fellow debtor sealed his fate in his own wickedness and brutality to others. If you expect God’s forgiveness of your sins, you must be willing to forgive even as God does for us. 

Sometimes, though, forgiveness feels bittersweet to us. We live in a world that is flawed, where struggles about, and where pain and hurt affect so many people. And in this life we must find, with God’s help and guidance, that very fine line between forgiveness to protect the soul and spirit and boundaries to protect the mind and body. The way to this balance is to have Christ as the focal point, the model, and the Holy One over all of our relationships and in all of our lives. We must speak as Christ spoke, love as Christ loved (which is unconditionally), heal and Christ healed, and forgive even as Christ forgave. He forgave those who killed him, and he still forgives us even now…seven times seventy times, through the pain and bittersweet, and still forgives us again. So let us do the same. 

 Worship Video:https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/939553159855441

Jonah Part 4

Jonah 4: A Little Bit of Reckoning

A couple of months ago, I had the longest of long days. On my way to work there was a wreck that delayed me an extra hour on my already hour-long commute up I-75. When I got to the office, I discovered that the power and water were off for repairs, so I couldn’t use the restroom despite a rather pressing need. And, because the power was out, the elevators were not working, so I got to hike four flights of stairs, in a suit, in the heat with no air conditioning. By the time all of these nuisances were completed, I was angry, irritated, and bitterly complaining, “Why can’t things just WORK!?” I couldn’t help but think, “You know, this would be a lot better if I were just in control of it.” 

With that mindset before us we see Jonah in this final chapter. He is still just as angry as before, just as bitter, and with a heart still attuned to his own desire for power and control as opposed to being yielded to God. God simply asks him here, “Why are you so angry over something that does not belong to you, isn’t your issue to fix, and over which you have no control?” We turn our attention to this idea of Jonah’s need for control, but we also have to consider perhaps Jonah has other problems in his life including mental health struggles that impair his ability to be yielded as God asks. 

Jonah, quite clearly, has issues with control and power, and the unfortunate part is that those issues lead him to develop a bitter anger towards both Nineveh and God. We read in verse 2 that Jonah understands a few things about God’s nature. He notes that God is merciful, compassionate, slow to get angry, and filled with unfailing love. You would think this would be a comfort to Jonah, but instead he just gets angrier. He even goes so far as to say he’d rather face death than see Nineveh survive. In verse 3 he shouts, “Just kill me now, Lord!” He then goes on to assert he’d rather die if Nineveh is not destroyed. 

Jonah, here, is furious to the point of being sick from the heat and emotion. Jonah is even so furious that he even contemplates harm to himself. He is so (as my grandmother would say) “worked up into a tizzy” that he’s almost ludicrous at a tantrum level of response. The question, though, is why? Why is Jonah so upset? Why is he holding on to all of this? What is that accomplishing? It’s a question for Jonah as well as for us when we become consumed in a similar manner. When we lack control over a situation, it’s a time for quiet and resolute trust in God and not a time to melt down to the point of no return. 

We see the unfortunate result. Jonah never stopped fighting God long enough to allow that grace and trust in his own life. Some have argued, and I think it may be quite plausible, that Jonah is called by God despite his own mental health issues. Jonah’s behaviors are very similar to Borderline Personality Disorder. This is usually marked by fits of anger, depression, anxiety, impulsive behavior, recklessness, self-harm, instability, an intensity of mood that does not match the situation, and constant feelings of abandonment. Jonah seems to struggle with most, if not all, of these issues and symptoms, so it may be fair to say he struggled with an emotional or personality disorder. 

I have often found, in teaching Jonah myself and listening to others, that we are quick to condemn Jonah for his disobedience, his bitterness, his bad behavior. But what if Jonah simply can’t help it? What if it comes from his own inner struggles that he’s unable to overcome on his own? Just because Jonah has struggles in his life including emotional and apparent mental health struggles does not mean he’s a bad person, or unworthy, or unable to be called and empowered by God. Jonah never let God speak to him in a meaningful way. Jonah never listened so that he could truly hear God. He listened only insofar as he got more fuel for his spat with God, not to actually HEAR God. Maybe much of Jonah’s problems couldn’t be helped, and maybe some of it was willful. 

Regardless, what is true, is that Jonah is aware of his own actions and shortcomings. He says to God that he avoided Nineveh because he knew God would likely spare Nineveh. He was angry because he knew Nineveh would be redeemed, a thought that Jonah could not process. But what is also true is that God was constantly present in Jonah’s life. He never destroyed or abandoned Jonah. God continued to work in and through Jonah as God’s prophet. God doesn’t necessarily need your perfection—God needs your surrender, your willingness to be yielded, and your trust. 

But finally, we see a warning. When Jonah desired control in all things and was no longer able to listen to God, it left him unable to see the good in himself or in others, specifically Nineveh. We read how God sends a plant that covers and shelters Jonah from the heat. Then God also sends a worm to eat through and destroy it. There’s no great symbolism in this. God is simply using the plant to teach Jonah a lesson. 

Jonah falls right into the teaching trap God has set for him. Jonah loses his mind over the loss of the plant, and I mean loses it, even claiming it is right for him to be angry enough to die for the plant. And here, just like with the fish, God teaches Jonah a lesson. Jonah is so filled with righteous anger and passion over the loss of the plant that he is ready to die for it, and yet, he has no passion (or even compassion) for Nineveh. Jonah did not make the plant, did not destroy it, and frankly, had no control over it whatsoever. Yet still he is filled with this strange sense of defensiveness for this plant. 

God created all of the people of Nineveh—120,000 people—is the Lord of them all, loves them, and desires to have a right relationship with them. They all belong to God. If Jonah finds righteous passion over a plant that’s not even his, shouldn’t God find the same level of passion for God’s own people? Jonah had become so blinded by his own inner struggles and need for control that he lost sight of Godly priorities and the grace and compassion which lives and moves in and through God. 

Jonah, for us, is an example that it is okay to not be okay, but we must be mindful of when we move from imperfect to in trouble. Sometimes, in our lives, things will be out of whack. Spiritually, we may be restless, untrusting, or worried about or relationship to God and others. Physically, we may be suffering with an illness, or our loved ones might be in need of healing. Mentally, we may have ongoing struggles which require us to be ever cognizant and aware of when we need a greater amount of help. In many ways we struggle and move between okay and in need of healing in our lives. 

None of this, however, robs us of our value or worth in God’s eyes. God still loved Jonah despite his faults. God sent a fish, a plant, and even spoke directly to Jonah to preserve that relationship. Despite Jonah’s difficulty as a prophet and a human, God never dealt cruelly or harshly with him. God was gentle and loving with Jonah, just as God was merciful towards Nineveh. One thing in our lives does not change. We can trust God. We can follow God all the way wherever God is leading. On the journey, if you need help, don’t be ashamed to ask for help. If you are able to help, provide help without judgment. God’s love will always be with you, and God will never stop leading, guiding, and working through you and me. And above all, God will always, always be present with us, for nothing separates us from God’s love for us. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/780562266080083

Jonah Part 3

Jonah 3: Unwilling But Still Going

            One morning before church a few years back, one of our long-term members, Ms. Thelma Price, came up to me with a joke. For those who never knew her, she was about 5-foot tall, late 80s, white hair, and full of joy and laughter. She used to say, “My name’s Thelma Price, and the Price is right!” She always had a joke ready on Sunday morning. Here is one she told. A wife came up to check on her husband one Sunday morning, and he was still asleep in the bed. She told him to get up because they were going to be late for church. He replied, “I’m not going. It’s hot outside, I’m tired, and those people hate me. I’m not going.” The wife put her hands squarely on her hips and in a strong voice said, “There is air conditioning in the car and the church. Those people love you. And lastly, you’re the PASTOR! It’s your job, so GET UP AND GO NOW!” 

            Sometimes in life we lose our sense of “Lord, here am I,” and it becomes more of a, “Oh, no, Lord, no not I.” In today’s scripture we read of two responses to God’s call or God’s word to the people. The first in Jonah’s response. The other is Nineveh’s response. Each of these responses must be weighed carefully—Jonah as God’s prophet, and Nineveh, as the warlike city being called to repentance or destruction. Weigh these responses in terms of both right action and a right heart to accompany the action. 

            First we look at Jonah and his unwilling obedience. We read that Jonah finally went to Nineveh, but it was still not done willingly because he desired to follow God. The word of the Lord had to speak to Jonah a second time to get him to go to Nineveh. One would think the storm and fish were enough motivation, but apparently not for Jonah. This time, God is not so easy in asking Jonah, saying, “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh and deliver the message I have given you.” When Jonah got to Nineveh, he did not preach for them to repent at all. Instead, he said, “Forty days from now, and Nineveh will be destroyed!” Yes, God had given them judgment, but there was still the hope for mercy if they turned their hearts. Jonah offered none of that. In his book, Beyond Bumper Sticker Ethics, Steve Wilkins talks about virtue and says there is a distinction between good character and good rule following. 

            Drawing some on ancient philosophy, he writes, “An honest act is virtuous only if one does it because one is honest.” There is a difference in desiring to follow God wholly and completely, and simply following the rules because you have to. I worry that we have become an entire country of Jonahs. We’ve politicized our entire country, our lives, and our faith. And faith, especially, has become a weapon of politics. Republicans seek to demonize and spread hate about Democrats, and Democrats seek to demonize and spread hate about Republicans. When was the last time you or I went a day without something political thrust in our faces? We’ve lost our virtues. Jesus taught love your enemies and do good to those who hate you. Jesus taught gentleness and kindness and love one another. Where has this gone? We’ve all gleefully marched to Nineveh to preach God’s destruction and found ourselves in our own living rooms instead. 

            The true picture of what God wants is found not in the angry and bitter prophet, but in the City of Nineveh and its heartfelt repentance. We will never find God’s hope or God’s peace, until we find in God’s love the power to change hearts. We must seek the power to change hearts instead of the desire to control power. And all too often humans desire to control power over all else. Look at Nineveh. The Word of God, scathing as it was, moved them to fast and put on burlap. From the king in the highest places, to the poorest in the streets, to even the animals they owned, all fasted, prayed, and asked for God’s mercy. 

            They called throughout the land to give up their violence, their meanness, and their cruelty, and they turned from their evil ways. What they said, to me, is one of the most shockingly moving parts of the whole Book of Jonah: “Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.” Because Jonah was to mean and stubborn to talk about mercy, they repented, prayed, and sought God not even knowing if God would hear them and give them mercy. They certainly didn’t deserve it. And this little bit of work at humility certainly didn’t earn it. But they clung to the hope that God sought mercy over destruction, even despite their violent ways. 

            And God most certainly was and is merciful to those who seek God’s way. When God called Jonah, he answered bitterly and unwillingly. Nineveh, however, responded fully, humbly, and rightly to God’s call. The saddest part about this is that Jonah was God’s prophet, and by the end of this book, no one would say that we should be like God’s own prophet, Jonah. Instead, the example to follow is Nineveh. Sometimes, I think God turns things on their head to show us how mercy and grace truly work. Jesus did so all the time saying to love enemies, the last shall be first, be born again. Those ideas went against logic and expectation. And yet, God sometimes works in very mysterious ways. 

            One would expect mercy for God’s prophet. But here we are shown that sometimes God’s people must stop and evaluate, and the ones perceived most evil will find God’s mercy. It is a reminder to us that forgiveness and mercy are abundant, and they are most abundant when we stay close to the cross. We see here two different cities. The old Nineveh is violent, warlike, and filled with evil. The new Nineveh is humble, repentant, and redeemed. The one constant in all of this is Jonah’s bitterness, for he can neither face the old Nineveh with strength and conviction, nor celebrate the new Nineveh with hope and love. We cannot become a nation filled with Jonahs. 

            I am reminded of two old hymns. One says, “There’s room at the cross for you,” calling us to mercy, grace and redeeming love. The other says, “There is much to do and work on every hand. Hark, the cry for help comes ringing through the land.” At different times in our lives we will hear God calling to us. That call may be for us to repent and be humbled. Sometimes we will be asked to evaluate whether we have listened and follow God or everything else in society around us. You won’t find God’s peace and grace in the news, politics, winning, or the society around us. God’s peace is only found with God. Sometimes we may be tempted to pull the covers over our head and shut everything out, or we may jump in over our heads to everything going on around us. 

            Hopefully instead of one extreme or the other we can find that our strength, our hope, and yes, even our redemption from power, politics, and the love of both can be found in seeking God’s grace. We have to be ready, not just repent and to willingly follow Christ in this world, but we must also be ready to be sent. We may be asked to teach and train within our church family. We may be asked to speak prophetically in Nineveh. Or we may be asked to reach out and find new mission. Listen carefully for God to speak, and then be ready to say, “Lead me. Here I am Lord.” 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/3337309369655385

Jonah 2: Repentance, Perhaps?

“Repentance, Perhaps?” Jonah Chapter 2

            What does it mean to say, “I’m sorry,” and actually mean it? If you think about it, we often say “sorry” in life for and about a lot of things without ever truly feeling sorry for them. For instance, I am sometimes sorry that I got myself into a situation. I’m terrible about goofing up and forwarding emails not meant to be forwarded. I am often sorry—not that I forwarded something—but that I’m now in the mess it caused. We often say sorry to a lot of people and in many situations. It’s greatly overused much like the word, “love.” 

            Sometimes, though, we need to actually live what it means to be sorry—to say it truly and to actually feel every ounce of the meaning of that root word of sorrow. When we say sorry, in the truest and purest sense, it should affect both our heart and mind, bringing grief for what we have done as well as a desire to change and do or live better in our lives. This is how we actually live the meaning of repentance and have repentant lives for what we have done wrong. So, let’s look at that idea of repentance and how it is a state of examination for those who believe, the difference between the words of repentance and a heart of repentance, and how this affects our desire to live into the Gospel of deliverance and healing. 

            First we see in the Bible that repentance was something directed towards the religious, designed to call them into a state of examination of themselves. In verse 4, Jonah says, “O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.” Jonah knew that he had messed up royally, and God was not happy with him. If anything, during his time in the fish’s belly, he definitely learned of God’s displeasure with his willful disobedience. And, I believe that Jonah knew he needed to look towards God, or towards the Temple where sacrifices and penance were made, to be redeemed from his wrongdoing. Jonah was God’s prophet, God’s chosen one, yet he needed to repent. 

            If we read in other parts of the Bible, we see that Jesus often preached not only to the Jewish believers but also to the Pharisees, who were the supposed leaders of the faith. We also read in Acts 3 that Peter preached in the Temple. These were not areas where the unwashed masses or vast unbelievers would be found. These were the faithful, the religious, the followers, and to them God spoke the word, “Repent.” We even read in II Chronicles 7 those famous words we all like to quote on Independence Day, “If my people…will humble themselves and pray.” We don’t hear “those people” or “other people.” The words are my people. That is because we are not exempt, just as Jonah was not exempt. The Pharisees and the faithful of Jesus’s day needed to hear that word spoken calling them to repent. Perhaps the lesson is—if we think everything is fine and we need to make no changes nor room to grow, then we probably are the very ones in need of repenting. 

            Likewise, we must realize from Jonah that there is a difference between simply the words of repentance and having a heart of repentance. In this chapter, we read that Jonah spoke all the right words—his prayer is moving and powerful. But as we see later in Jonah, it’s just words. If you look closely, there’s nowhere in here that he fully embraces the idea of “I’m sorry for disobeying, please forgive me.” He talks in one quick phrase about offering sacrifices and vows, but it’s just a passing thought. Jonah spoke the right words, but his heart is not surrendered, nor is his heart truly repentant. 

            It reminds me of the parable of the pharisee and publican. Both came to pray before God. One boasted in his own abilities and condemned others in his prayer. The other begged humbly for God’s mercy. Saying “I’m sorry” to someone (or to God) is pointless if you don’t actually mean it. And anyone who does not offer a heartfelt sorry in their life or who hasn’t felt true repentance has no room for Christ in his or her heart. 

            It reminds me of the old hymn, “Is thy heart right with God—cleansed and made holy, humble, and lowly, right in the sight of God?” As theologian Karl Rahner said, “The number one cause of atheism is Christians. Those who proclaim him with their mouths and deny him with their actions is what an unbelieving world finds unbelievable.” We must pray, “Lord, tune my heart to sing your praise!” We must live lives where faith and Christ’s love call us to true repentance and a change in our thoughts and actions. And that word is preached to both the church members and those who have no faith. If you and I have no heart for repentance and change, how can we expect anyone else to do so? 

            Finally, we see how this change in our lives calls us to live a Gospel that offers deliverance and healing. God called Jonah to go and preach to Nineveh because God wanted to save and deliver the city. And in verse 9, Jonah says, “I will fulfill all my vows.” He’s still neither agreeable nor willing, but he has learned he really has no choice at this point as he is God’s prophet. This call to heal and deliver requires us to have priorities like Jesus did. Jesus prioritized those in need: of grace, of living water, of sight, of healing because they were injured, lame, and sick, of welcome because were cast out of society for whatever reason. That, right there, is a gospel which speaks loudly and speaks of Christ’s grace. 

            Author Beth Moore writes, “When the [G]ospel has become bad news to the poor, to the oppressed, to the broken hearted and imprisoned, and the good news to the proud, self-righteous, and privileged instead, it is no longer the gospel of or Lord Jesus Christ.” If the Gospel no longer speaks in our world, through us as Christ’s changed and redeemed people, then people will find the Gospel is no longer needed in their lives. In the end no faithful one will be left. Christ’s words are seen and lived by us. Nineveh, as we will soon read, was changed because a prophet finally dared to walk into their city and speak God’s word. That word meant something and made a difference to them. And living and speaking that prophetic Gospel word can still make a difference today. 

            Would we say Jonah was sorry? I think in some ways he was. He was sorry he was in a whale or big fish. He was sorry he got in trouble. He was sorry he caused a mess for the sailors on that boat. But was he sorry he disobeyed and put his selfishness before God’s call? That’s a tougher question, isn’t it? Our words must be accompanied both by right actions and by changed hearts, hearts tuned to God. So, maybe we should wrap up with saying, “Let us be a sorry people.” In so saying, I pray that makes us a people of respect, love, and care. I pray that makes us a people who are willing to repent and do better not because we have to, but because we know it is the right thing to do. Let us be a people and a church that prayerfully and wholly say, “All to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.” 

 Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/314042303154067

Jonah 1: Actions Have Consequences

Jonah 1: Actions Have Consequences

            I will never forget one of my elementary school teachers. Mostly because it was a school year filled with utter and complete turmoil for me. Rarely do I ever blame a teacher for being problematic, but this one took the cake. I probably was not the easiest kid to teach, so I played a role in the problems, but for once in my life, I am going to blame the teacher. The worst part was she told my mom at a parent-teacher conference that I was playing around in class constantly saying, “I don’t get it,” and she believes I was just acting out and saying that. However, when the report card came out, it was VERY evident that I “didn’t get it.” 

            So this teacher told my mom I was “acting dumb” getting me in trouble, then she gave me a bad grade which only made life worse. Finally, in order to explain myself and try to wiggle out of some kind of trouble I said, “But everyone did poorly, we all compared grades. No one did well!” My mom said one of those things which will stay with me forever, “I don’t care how everyone else did. YOU are my son. I only care how you did and that you did well. And if you didn’t do well, we’re going to work together until things are right.” My concern is how well you did, for you are my child. Jonah is a story of how God sometimes works in and through us even despite us and our worst behaviors. Today we look at the idea that actions have consequences, and in doing so we see that disobedience leads to dangerous places, our disobedience can have a ripple effect on others, but God does not let us down or cast us aside even when we are contrary. 

            In our lives, disobedience can often lead us to dangerous places. Jonah was called by God to go to Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian Empire, which was a very war-like and dangerous empire. God wanted Jonah to preach to them and announce judgment should they not be willing to end their wickedness. Jonah did not do this; instead, he directly disobeyed God. I have no idea the motivation. Some theorize he was afraid. Some say he hated Nineveh too much to even want to prophesy to them. And some have said he wanted Nineveh conquered to elevate his own status in Israel. Whatever the motivation, Jonah pointedly disobeys and goes literally the opposite direction. 

            Sometimes though, we take this too far. God does not send disasters as punishment, for instance, you will not get a hurricane because your city did something God doesn’t like. God is more concerned with redemption than smiting things off the face of the globe. But there is a natural consequence to disobedience. If you put your hand on a hot stove, it will burn. God doesn’t burn you on purpose or for philosophical reasons. It simply happens. God sent the storm to Jonah to make him compliant, not to destroy or punish him. And we see that God used the struggle both to work God’s mission within Jonah as well as to bring Nineveh to repentance. 

            But disobedience doesn’t just bring consequences to us—it has a ripple effect. The storm, meant to inspire Jonah, appears to have fallen flat with him, although it severely affected those with him on the ship. We read in verse 5 that “fearing for their lives, the deperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.” Where was Jonah? He was downstairs asleep. Jonah, though, knew he had caused the trouble, yet he didn’t even own up to it. It wasn’t until they cast lots that he admitted what he had done and how God was unhappy with him. 

            It’s a reminder that we do not live in a personal bubble—we live in a community. The other day I read how a lady went to a nail salon then texted the owner and nail technician, “I’m so sorry, but I was diagnosed with COVID two days ago. My nails needed work so bad and I was bored. I’m sorry—you should probably quarantine.” The woman had been silent when asked if she was sick or had been diagnosed. The nail technician is now out of work two weeks struggling to pay her bills. She is also immunocompromised and terrified she will die from getting sick. How we live and act and the choices we make affect others whether we like it or not. Jonah’s selfish choice left his fellow sailors terrified and miserable thinking they had killed him when they threw him overboard. 

            Jonah was God’s prophet, the voice and witness of the Holy One on earth. And Jonah was just as stubborn, disobedient, and sinful as a shady televangelist caught red-handed. Jonah had an obligation and responsibility to follow God. We have an obligation and responsibility to show Christ in our love, our actions, and our behaviors. Sometimes we even have to get up and drag ourselves through our own Nineveh no matter how bad we would rather not. We do not live all alone—we live in a community of people who need us to lead with Christ’s grace and Christ’s way of behaving. When we disobey, it affects everyone around us. 

            But there is good news, for even when we are stubborn and rebellious, God does not let us drown or cast us aside. When the sailors threw Jonah over the side of the boat, it was all but certain that he would drown. But instead something else happened. God sent a large fish to swallow Jonah. I am sure this was not pleasant, but it was not doom, gloom, death and destruction as predicted. God still had plans to work in and through Jonah despite his need for an attitude adjustment. And ultimately, the sailors were spared as the storm dissipated. 

            The story of Jonah shows us that at times we must learn to be yielded to God and yielded to God’s will. That often requires us to have already or receive the hard way a dose of humility, which is a very bitter medicine. Jonah had his mind made up. Jonah knew best. Jonah was fully aware of Nineveh and had no intention of going there. Jonah did not care what God said or asked. Sometimes we must calm the frenzy within us, quell that fiery fury that takes over instead of our Christ-like walk. My mom is fond of quoting from the movie Signs, “Everybody needs to calm down and eat some fruit or something.” But in our souls and spirits we must bring ourselves to be humbled and yielded to God’s will. Always and in all ways God’s will is best even when Nineveh looms on the horizon ahead of us. God’s will is still what is good and what is right. 

            Sometimes we are troubled and unwilling in life. Sometimes we find ourselves weary and “done.” Sometimes we are just plain stubborn and contentious like Jonah was. We are now on month 5 of interrupted lives from politics, pandemic, and the craziness of life around us. We are all getting quite sick of it, tired, and weary. Sometimes this can lead us to go “full-Jonah” and have a meltdown before God in a big way. The better path though is to seek out God’s mission, to rely on the wisdom God gives, and to use the intelligence God gave us.  Actions have consequences in our lives. We have to live with every choice, every action, and—yes—every reaction we make. Why not take God’s path? We can simply say, “Take my hand, Precious Lord, lead me on.” As one old pastor said in a Jonah sermon, “Remember this: it is better to find yourself on the paths of righteousness than in the belly of a fish.” 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/3123089451141429

Ruth Final Part: O What a Foretaste of Glory Divine

Ruth: O What a Foretaste—Ruth 4: 1-6, 11=17; I Peter 1: 1-7

            One of the greatest lessons in life is that God will make a way for us, even when we cannot see the way forward. Let me give you a little example. I have a tremendous fear of heights, and I avoid anything where I might be looking over a ledge, near a suspended bridge, or anything like that. When I was in third grade, we had a small obstacle course for P.E., which we had to complete, and as part of it, we had to slide down the pole from the playground equipment. It was a pretty long pole, and I NEVER went down this. Ever. So that day I was incredibly nervous, panicked even, and didn’t expect to be able to do it. 

            As I got to the pole, I nearly blacked out and moved away from it unable to even go near. Suddenly I felt the teacher come up behind me, and he said, “It’s fine, there’s a slide as well, so there’s another way.” I gave a quick “Thank you, Lord, for making another way!” and went down the slide. Sometimes we have to sit back and appreciate that God’s grace for us is truly amazing. That’s what God’s grace does for us—it finds God way, keeps us safe, and eventually sees us through to our reward. 

            First we see that grace finds God’s way in this world. We read in Ruth how Naomi endured struggle including her husband and children’s deaths, returning home feeling like a failure, poor, and likely embarrassed. She was the object of pity of the other women in the town. But in the end, God redeemed her. The women of the town said, “Praise the Lord who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May [this child] restore your youth and care for you in your old age.” God restored her family and her personally from her devastation. And we see that God is in the business of restoration. 

            God restored Job after all he had was taken from him by Satan. God restored Abraham after leaving his home country making him the father of many generations. God restored the Israelite people after their slavery in Egypt and after their exile in Babylon. Our God is in the business of building back and restoring what is lost and broken. In I Peter 1:6 we read, “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead even though you must endure many trials for a little while.” Naomi and Ruth endured more than a decade of sorrow before they were restored and found joy ahead. But God will deliver joy to us, and there is always hope in the end with God. We have to trust that God has made a way, and that we will be safe when we follow God’s way. 

            Next, God’s grace reminds us that we are safe. Boaz, we read, went out of his way to protect Ruth and Naomi. He kept Ruth safe in the field. He made sure they had plenty of grain and provisions. He worked it out so that they had a family redeemer. Finally he even remembered to send Ruth home to Naomi with plenty of food after they talked on the threshing floor. And here we read that Boaz went even further. He gave Ruth a home, a new family after she left hers, and he gave her love, and security. He married her with the promise that she would not be the foreigner and outcast, nor would Naomi be the foolish and scorned elderly widow. Boaz loved, cared for, and kept them safe in every way. 

            I Peter reminds us, “and through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.” I think, ultimately, that is our greatest concern about the future. Once we get done worrying about the whole “what’s next?” part, we wonder whether or not we will be okay. Especially now with all going on around us we ask this question. There’s a tremendous amount of fear over the pandemic. There’s worry over the upcoming election no matter what side you’re on. We ask, “Have we lost all sense of normalcy…have we lost life as we know it?” But the biggest fear is in the midst of all this struggle, will we be safe and okay? 

            There’s an old hymn which answers that question. It says, “Trials dark on every hand, and we cannot understand all the ways that God would lead us to the blessed promised land.” And it wraps up with these words, “But we’ll understand it better by and by.” God has already answered this question for us. Yes, we may suffer, and yes, we may endure trials and pain, but God is still protecting us. Don’t mistake a trial in life (or many) for God’s abandonment. While God does allow our trials to come, God will never, never abandon us. 

            Finally, we know that grace will lead us home. Ruth found a home and family with Boaz. Naomi found her redemption and restoration in a child which carried on the family legacy. Through much of this Naomi is very miserable and bitter in her attitude. I wonder sometimes how frustrated God got with her. She left her homeland (the promised land) for something better. She often lacked a trust in God. She never seems to soften until God actually gives everything she wants. But she had God’s grace in front of her the whole time. The women of the town say about this new-born child, “for he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!” I often wonder if Naomi stopped sometimes to appreciate the level of God’s grace and love that was present with her in Ruth and Ruth’s love for her. 

            But there’s more at work here. The child was named Obed, and his son was Jesse, and his son was King David in whose family line Jesus was born. Not only did Ruth find a home and a new family, she also became the ancestor of Christ occupying a powerful place in the story of God’s grace and restoration of humankind. In I Peter we hear that our faith is more precious than gold, and that we have a priceless inheritance. I know some these days struggle with this other side of faith which deals with spiritual things, but at the end of the day, I have to believe that following Christ is more than a good philosophy. Yes, Christ’s way is a good way to live, but there’s so much hope built into these teachings that it begs of us to believe that living lives of grace will give us a more eternal hope. Every single gospel writer talks about Jesus in terms of his role as both teacher and Savior. And, I think, when we are struggling, we need to remember that aspect of Christ as Savior and Redeemer in our lives. 

            There’s a song which speaks to us in our darkest hour and most difficult test. It says this, “God will make a way when there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see; he will make a way for me. He will be my guide; hold me closely to his side with love and strength for each new day, he will make a way. God will make a way.” Our darkest hour is never so dark, our toughest trial is never so daunting, and that final hour of life is never so fearful when the light of Christ is with us. In all of life, there is one final word—God will make a way, through his amazing grace given to us.

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/245839556387111

Ruth Part 4: A Story of Redemption

Ruth: A Story of Redemption—Ruth 3; Matthew 18: 12-14

            Now, I loved my college and law school experience, and I will admit that I did not visit home all that regularly. Sometimes, however, the saying is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder. One of the best parts of getting to go home was the great, big, amazing welcome from mom and my family, but especially mom. That’s been difficult during this COVID crisis because it has hampered my travel plans to visit family in Kentucky. After awhile, you start to miss that big welcome home. There’s something about that hug and that welcome that makes all of life okay. It feels like all of that time away and of missing one another has somehow been bought back and been given value again.  

            It reminds me of the word redemption. Now, if you grew up on the Baptist side of things, that idea of redemption, if you glanced in the dictionary, meant “saved by God’s grace from your wicked, sinful ways,” and those words wicked and sinful were always given a very sinister emphasis in the preacher’s voice. But there’s a second definition of redemption that I want us to look at today. That definition is this: to remove a debt or to regain value in something. For instance if you pawn an item, you get it back by redeeming it. You buy it back and add the full value back into it, then you bring it home. 

            So in our text, we see a very crude example of this kind of redemption. It was common in Ruth’s day for a related family member to “redeem” a widow and take care of her and her family.  In Ruth’s time the care of the most vulnerable was placed within the family. In Deuteronomy 25, we learn that it was obligation of the next closest male relative to marry his family member’s widow, so she doesn’t end up destitute, or worse, sold into slavery. Naomi was aware of this law and of Elimilech’s family and relatives and used this knowledge to get Ruth married away. Now, while I’m sure Naomi had good motives for wanting Ruth cared for, she also had a deep self interest in making sure she was comfortable in her elder years. 

            This concept of the family redeemer was done out of rules and obligation. There were some issues here, though. Naomi doesn’t just have Ruth politely ask Boaz. She has Ruth ask for Boaz to be the family redeemer AFTER she has put him and her both in a somewhat compromising position by spending the night with him on the threshing floor. To make matters more complicated, there would be no small amount of gossip about Boaz marrying Ruth, who was much younger in addition to being a foreigner and outsider to the people in Bethlehem. For us, however, redemption is neither an obligation, nor does it come from tricky motives, for Christ redeems us as a free gift out of love and desire to be reconciled. 

            So let’s turn our attention to how redemption looks in our lives and in our modern  times in the parable of the lost sheep. In the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd leaves the 99 other sheep which belong to him and searches for the on which is missing. In the simplest terms, this sheep was lost, but now it is found. But there’s a bit more to that “finding.” The shepherd doesn’t just say, “Oh there’s the sheep,” then leaves it alone. The shepherd brings the sheep back, returns it to the fold, and watches over it more carefully. The sheep isn’t just saved; it is redeemed or brought back to the fold. 

            For some this may be a difficult passage. There were, after all, 100 sheep. What does it matter if one of them wandered off? The shepherd had 99 of them left. Besides, what about the 99? Shouldn’t the shepherd have kept watching them instead of leaving them alone? It’s tempting to think that the attention to the one sheep in trouble is a slight to the other 99, but that’s not accurate. The shepherd did not love or care for the other 99 any less, but they weren’t the sheep who were in trouble. That one sheep was in trouble immediately at that time. Likewise, God’s love is not like a pie, if one person needs a bigger slice at a given time, it doesn’t mean you or someone else gets less of God’s love. Instead, God’s love is all-encompassing, unconditional, and endures forever.  There is always enough of God’s love to go around. 

            That’s what redemption means to us. We hear in “Amazing Grace” that iconic line, “I once was lost, but now am found.” But God’s redemption is so much more than simply finding us. God’s redeeming love brings us back from where we’ve wondered off, fills us with God’s goodness, overshadows the wrongs we have done, and overlooks faults and shortcomings. God’s redeeming love doesn’t just find us, it brings us back and says, “Welcome home, my child.” 

            And that’s the final point. Redemption demands a welcome home. Ruth was without family, friends, and close associates in a foreign and hostile land. But Boaz being the family redeemer said to her, “Welcome, you are home, and this is family.” Likewise the one sheep was out on its own subject to predators, dangers, and death, but the shepherd found it and brought it back into the safety and welcome of the fold. 

            We live in a society that seems to miss the point of redemption, where often African Americans still feel like second class citizens, where Hispanics seem to only be valued for their work and looked down on otherwise, where the mentally handicapped are still an embarrassment and ignored, where those who have physical disabilities are considered weak or needy, where the elderly are considered “beyond it,” and where people who are hurting emotionally and spiritually, who may be right on the cusp of losing it, are told to suck it up, buttercup—and their pain is ignored. Some may call these issues “political,” but if we follow Christ, then we must also buy into God’s redeeming love which makes all things new, makes the wounded whole, heals the sin-sick soul, and calls the lost, the wandering, and those in danger back into the safety of God’s fold with a grand welcome and great rejoicing. 

            As Christians, we have to look to the literal words of II Peter 3:9, that God “is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come back to repentance.” If we believe in God, and if we believe in following Christ here on earth, then we must be about the work of BOTH God’s saving love and God’s redeeming love. For as the old hymn says, “Redeemed how I love to proclaim it! His child and forever I am.” To believe in redemption is to believe in the idea that God’s love says to us and to all who seek God, “Welcome home, my child,” for you are part of God’s family. But I also know this. If ever you find yourself as the one sheep, lost and separated, lonely and in danger, you would pray with all your might for God, the Shepherd, to come and find you and bring you home. That is an opportunity which God affords to every single person. 

            So just as Ruth was preparing to be welcomed into the family, so too, does God welcome us into the holy family. Redemption is an often-tricky idea in faith. It generally means salvation, but there’s something more—giving value back or re-purchase—this idea of paying the debt to bring something home. God has paid that debt, and you are welcomed as God’s beloved children. So, when you find yourself a bit lost or left behind like the wandering sheep (and trust me it will happen in life), listen quietly for your own call to redemption, for God will speak to you in a quiet voice, softly and tenderly calling you home. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/618054372178990

Ruth Part 3: Go Find Your Boaz

Ruth: Go Find Your Boaz—Ruth Chapter 2

            Typically, when churches have turned to the scripture of Ruth 2 and discussed the beginnings of the relationship between Ruth and Boaz, it has been discussed in the context of relationship advice. I can remember growing up and the Youth Pastor cringeworthily telling the girls in the class to “go find your Boaz.” Now, in my current ministry context, this might be a bit of a wasted sermon opportunity if I approach it that way. 

            The church congregation here is generally a bit beyond the years of youthful romance, and for the most part either in committed relationships or decidedly single. In fact, I can hear it now, “I’ve been single for 36 years—why am I about to sit through a sermon on dating advice?” So, perhaps it’s not the relationship advice we should look at in Ruth. Instead we look to the person of Boaz himself. A person ought to be judged by the content of his or her character; therefore, we must look today at the level of character Boaz had. Then, perhaps, we can all listen to the advice, “Go find your Boaz.” 

            If we look at the beginning of this scripture, we see that Boaz had no reason or need to engage with Ruth given his wealth and power, but he did so anyway. We read in Ruth 2 that he was a wealthy and influential man. He had what appears in context to be a significant amount of land, workers, and would have been considered a fairly prominent man in town. Ruth by contrast was poor. She was out to gather grain that had fallen off when the workers were harvesting, so she and Naomi could have a little food. Essentially, she was begging. It wasn’t the kind we see on the street corner; however, it was gathering scraps and remnants left behind, nonetheless. She was also a Moabite, and as we mentioned last week, the Jewish people and Moabite people were not friends. 

            And yet, we see Boaz stoop down from his lofty position to speak to Ruth, to offer her food and shelter, to make sure she gathered as much as she needed to feed her and Naomi. True, that he and Naomi were loosely related by marriage, but that didn’t require him to go out of his way to be nice to Ruth. We see the same example in Jesus, who came down from his lofty place to Earth here with us. Jesus did not come as King and Lord, instead, he spent his time here teaching fishermen, healing lepers, visiting with the Samaritan woman, and caring for the outcast and the stranger. The lesson for us is that Boaz checked his pride and his status in order to care for Ruth, who was far beneath him in society and in economic status. 

            Next, we see that Boaz gave Ruth food, shelter, and extra grain to harvest, and he expected nothing in return. Boaz tells the workers, “Let her gather grain right among the sheaves without stopping her. And pull out some of the heads of barley…and drop them on purpose for her. Let her pick them up, and don’t give her a hard time.” Not only did Boaz allow Ruth to gather the food needed, he made sure she had an abundance from his own fields. He did this because he knew her heart. Verses 11 and 12 tell us that Boaz tells Ruth he has heard of her sacrifice and care for Naomi. 

            Jesus tells us in Luke 6: 33-34, “And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get any credit? And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.” We live in a world consumed by this idea of “what’s in it for me?” We hear it from all around us people saying, “What about me, what about what I want, I, I, I…” and so on. I worry sometimes we won’t be able to find anyone in the world who is a Boaz because we have become so self-focused that we have forgotten about empathy, kindness, and love. We’ve forgotten that phrase in Ephesians4:32, “Be ye kind one to another.” It does NOT tell us be ye kind so long as you get something good out of it. 

            We should not live our life where we struggle to remember the last time we thought of others before we demanded what we wanted. Likewise, every good thing we do should not be plastered on Facebook, twitter, or Instagram as if it were some kind of “good deed porn” for all to view. Jesus lived and died, loved and saved not because we could pay back the debt or work off what we owed, but because he loves us. Oh, how he loves us. 

            Lastly, Boaz realized in Ruth that every person is vulnerable in some way and needs someone in their life who truly cares. In verse 22 Naomi tells Ruth to stay with Boaz during the entire harvest because she “might be harassed in other fields, but…will be safe with him.” We are not told what level of harassment could befall Ruth in other fields, but from the strength of Naomi’s warning, we are left to imagine that it would be very bad. 

            It was startling to me to hear from female friends that, before they go on first dates, they have a check-in time with a friend, let them know what type of car the date drives, what restaurant, what he looks like, and so on, just in case they end up in danger from a predatory man. It’s not a new warning. Naomi told Ruth to stay with Boaz because he was safe and would not let the young men harass her. 

            Ultimately, even though we’re not going on first dates, we crave a feeling of safety and security from the people around us. That’s one of the reasons we trust Jesus; we know we are safe with our trust in him. Jesus tells us Matthew 11: 28-29, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Jesus goes on to say, “I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” One of the greatest aspects of Boaz was the fact that Ruth was safe with him. 

            We must also be the kind of people who make our presence safe for others. We should not be piling burdens on people to make them weary and from the old wording, “laden down with care.” Such people are the equivalent of spiritual vampires, sucking the life and spirit right out of others. Instead, we should be like Boaz who provided food, shelter, and safety to Ruth. We should be like Jesus who lives up to the words of being humble and gentle at heart, and in whom our souls and spirits find rest. 

            In his “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. talked about people being judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Boaz’s character is above reproach. He is a model of what is good, of how to show love, and redemption, and welcome. There are other models for us: Jesus, maybe a father or mother, mentors, pastors, or teachers we look up to. What they have in common is one defining characteristic—that second commandment—love your neighbor as yourself. 

            And so we learn from Boaz that we must reach out to those who are often times socially or economically beneath us even when it’s humbling or a struggle for us. We must give to others in need without expecting a return or reward for our good actions. Lastly we must remember that every person needs love and care, and we offer a presence of trust and love where faith and hope can grow. So, what is your character? There we find the measure of one’s faith. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/325579351904435

Ruth 2: Two Women, Two Choices, and You?

Two Women, Two Choices, and You?: Ruth1: 6-22; Luke 18: 18-30

            Recently, I read an article that talked about church attendance trends during this time of COVID-19, and how the pandemic is affecting church attendance. Many churches have started back some form of in-person worship, and most are still offering either exclusively or alternatively an online worship experience. In this study, it was discovered that only 1 in 3 people have consistently viewed their church and only their church without “church shopping” among videos. Another 1/3 of those surveyed said they were faithful most Sundays but definitely church shopped around for better opportunities online. And 1/3 had stopped viewing, attending, or participating whatsoever. 

            Faith, at its core, involves some kind of commitment to God and to God’s church. I look throughout history, and how church attendance and participation has ebbed up and down, and I wonder if we really have ever fully embraced this idea of commitment? Many of you remember a time (probably in the 1940s, 50s, or so) when churches were filled and the center of family life. If you go a few years before that from the 1890s to the mid-1920s, church participation was at an much lower. And during colonial and early 1800s America, regular church attendance hovered at 25-35%. Historically, we have struggled with the idea of commitment. What does it mean to be committed, wholeheartedly, to our faith? 

            We read in the Book of Ruth about Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah, and their tearful departure after the death of Naomi’s sons. All three are widowed, and, being from two vastly different and often non-friendly countries, Naomi has decided it is better to return home to Bethlehem—alone. The first choice to consider is that of Orpah, who walked away with love and a continued blessing. At first, Orpah was set on going with Naomi. She declared with Ruth, “No, we want to go with you to your people!” in verse 10. But then, Naomi gives Orpah and Ruth a reality check. She is beyond the age of remarrying and having children. She is leaving to a country foreign and hostile to Ruth and Orpah, and there is no way they could marry and be a part of the society there in a legitimate way. So with tears, and final farewells, Orpah chooses her own way and her own future and leaves. 

            We all have these folks in our lives. They talk about a commitment, about faith, about all the grandiose things they want to do. They feel this pull from God in their heart, but in the end, their faith will wither away, and they will walk away. We have to be prepared to handle with love and grace those for whom their heart is not ready for the journey. Faith and following Christ is not an easy journey by any means. It’s a road filled with discipline, trials, struggles, and sometimes pain, but it is also a journey where Christ’s healing, loving, redeeming presence walks with us all the way. 

For some, that is hard to swallow. It was for the rich young ruler in our Gospel lesson. So many things he did right, so much faith and hope were in his life, but his heart and mind were not ready for the journey with Jesus. But Jesus loved him still. Jesus loves us when our hearts and souls are heavy, and when our spirits feel too weak to make the journey. Jesus still loved the rich young ruler. In Mark we hear that Jesus looked on him with pity, or genuine love.  Jesus knew that the only thing to call back someone who is unready is that same love which drew them in the first place—God’s unconditional love. 

The better, and righter path, however, is to make a firm commitment in Christ and let Christ help us live up to it, just as God helped Ruth in the scripture. Ruth made a commitment to Naomi and to God despite knowing it could make her an outcast for years to come. She says, in one of the most power-filled statements in the Bible, “Don’t ask me to leave you or turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God…May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” What a commitment; what a promise! It reminds me of the hymn “Where He Leads Me,” which says, “Where he leads me, I will follow—I’ll go with him, with him, all the way.” 

Ruth had a general idea that she might face loneliness or exclusion, but she probably had no clue how poorly the Jewish nation looked on Moabite people. Yes, there was law in Leviticus which said, “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native born. Love them as yourself for you were once foreigners in Egypt.” (Leviticus 19:34). But, if we’re honest, this part of Levitical law gets shuffled to the wayside from the time of Ruth all the way to our treatment of brown-skinned people and children today. But that’s a sermon for another time. Ruth made a commitment knowing she faced struggles, knowing she faced a potentially terrible journey, and uncertain of what the future might hold for her. Ruth’s decision is a blueprint for us and calls us to make our own commitment to God, to God’s people, and to a life of faith. 

Some struggle because they don’t understand God’s call. The rich young ruler likely missed the point. He heard Jesus’s words to go and sell everything he had and give it to the poor. He assumed Jesus was calling for him to be poor as well. But if you read closely and think on how Jesus works, that’s not correct. Jesus didn’t say, “Go be poor and suffer.” Jesus got right to the young man’s heart. The riches were more important than the desire to follow Christ. Jesus doesn’t call us to give it all up, necessarily, he calls us to value our faith more than our blessings. He gave the young man an opportunity to show where his heart truly was. Jesus’s actions require us to examine our own hearts. What stands between us and Jesus? There is our idol. It’s like the old hymn, “Nothing between my soul and the Savior. Keep the way clear, let nothing between.” 

In the end, however, there is a promised blessing. Peter comments to Jesus that the disciples have given up everything to follow, and Jesus makes them this commitment: “Yes, and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brother or parent or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come.” God will never ignore your faith, nor will God ever forget your commitment to follow Christ all the way. And to follow means Christ will be with you, helping you each step of the way as well. 

When we make a commitment, we do so knowing that we will be journeying through times of peace and joy, through times of struggle and difficulty, and even through times of heartache and sorrow. We are, each one, measured by our commitment—to trust, to love, and to build a solid relationship in all times, and even when we mess up utterly and completely. Faith has not brought me a perfect life by any stretch of the imagination, and I’m certainly not where I envisioned I’d be when I was young. But I have never regretted the choice to follow Jesus as best as I can with his help. The question, now, is yours. As the hymn says, “Will you decide now, to follow Jesus—no turning back, no turning back?” Amen. 

Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/725074441663067