No More Walking on the Water

Emily Bowen, a friend of mine from seminary recently made this comment on Facebook:

“Does anyone else find this sentence in scripture humorous? – ‘When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea.’”

Now that I visualize it, it does seem funny. The disciples are in the boat when they see the newly risen Jesus on the shore.  Peter stands up in the boat, puts his clothes on, then steps out of the boat and into the water.

That’s not how I go swimming.

Regardless of various theological interpretations, this would have gotten a laugh if it had been in front of an audience. 

Earlier in the Gospel, Peter had dared to step out of the boat and walk on top of the water to meet Jesus, but not this time. From then on there was no more walking on the water.  Everything would be harder. 

But better, too.

Later, by the fire, he stood before Jesus and was given the opportunity to state his love for the Rabbi, but it was painful rather than the boastful declarations he had made in the upper room before the crucifixion. Showing this love would require commitment and action. Furthermore, Jesus told him that he would face times when he would be powerless rather than impressive. 

There would be no more walking on the water.

And yet, as hard as everything would become, Peter was about to do his greatest work.  He would become the preacher, healer, and leader he had been destined to be, a true hero of the faith. 

Our greatest achievements come in the wake of humility, when we become willing to do the hard, unglamorous work.   

Are You Thirsty?

One hot afternoon when I was a teenager, a man saw me mowing the lawn and he recognized that I was dehydrated. He gave me his jug of ice water and insisted that I drink as much of it as I wanted. I didn’t realize I was thirsty until I took that first swallow and then I couldn’t stop. I was embarrassed to be drinking all of his water, but he assured me he could get some more and I could drink it all, so I plopped myself under a tree and did just that.

I’ve never tasted anything so good as the water that restored my body that afternoon. However, I have had similar moments when someone offered me other things I couldn’t refuse. 
 

Like right now. I found some music online that is so wonderful! I went ahead and spent money to download the whole album. I should be working on other things… my sermon, letters....an article…, something. I should be calling on some of my people….

But I just can’t right now. I have to take in this music. I can’t help it. I need it.  

At other times, I have had friends that I needed desperately and I took too much from them—time and attention they could have spent on other things, but they gave it to me because I needed it so much. 

 

Sometimes I see the signs in people that they are desperate for… something.  They come to church thirsting for the Spirit. I watch them cry softly and soak in the music and the prayers and even the sermon because they need it so much.

In the Bible I see people's thirst when they tried to get near Jesus, like Zaccheaus, who struggled to get through a crowd that didn’t like him. He finally climbed a tree so he could at least see Jesus.  Jesus saw him, too, understood his need and went home with him. 

I see it in the young woman, Mary, who stayed at Jesus feet, even though others were calling her to her duties.  Jesus understood her need and assured her she could stay where she was.

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And I see it in Jesus himself, who went without sleep so he could pray. One night he stayed away so long that the people were clamoring for him the next morning when he got back.  

What are you thirsting for? Sometimes it takes a long time to realize what we need, ask for it, even to neglect other things in order to reach for it. 

The rest of us need to be patient with others and let them stop to get what they need. And I think sometimes we are the ones designated to share with them what we have (time, attention, energy) so they can get what they need.    

“If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water….” (W)hoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (taken from John 4).

Confusion and Clarity

Sometimes confusion is reality colliding with our convictions 

“Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.” (Luke 24:12) 

Peter could be wrong but he was rarely confused. However, when he looked into an empty tomb where only the burial clothes remained, he reached a pinnacle of confusion. 

I think it began in Gethsemane when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, and Peter was ready for the revolution to begin. He was sure this would be the climactic moment when the glory of Jesus would shine, the corrupt religious hierarchy would be abolished and Roman oppression would be overthrown.  This was the moment where he had no hesitation in taking up his sword to lash into the crowd. 

But Jesus stopped him and healed the one man Peter managed to wound, then went willingly to his persecutors. The confusion continued as he followed Jesus and the soldiers to the temple. When he warmed himself at the fire in the temple courtyard and someone asked if he followed Jesus, he said truthfully, forcefully, with an oath, that he did not know the man. 

He was right. He didn’t know the scope and majesty of Jesus’ Lordship.  He could only imagine Jesus being king over a small patch of the world, when Jesus was destined for the Kingdom of heaven. 

If Peter were to ever clearly understand Jesus, he had to be jarred from his earlier assumptions. To let go of our convictions in order to perceive greater truth is always disorienting.  Of course he was confused.  He had to reach this moment in order to gain further enlightenment. 

Which leads me to an interesting Easter message. Perhaps things are very confusing for you right now. Sometimes we reach a point where we just don’t know what to believe anymore. 

This is good news. It means you are on your way to greater understanding.

For Peter, the confusion meant he was about to see Jesus more clearly. 

The Case for Judas

Did Judas go to heaven?

If he did, he wouldn't quite fit any of our clever little “Steps to Salvation” formulas.  However, I read where he confessed his sin and he showed remorse when he threw his blood money onto the floor of the temple (Matthew 27:3-5). And I see the mercy of Jesus on the cross when he said, “Father, forgive them….” Wasn't he including Judas?

Before the argument begins, consider this:

Why would you argue for Judas’s condemnation when Jesus argues for his salvation?

1 John 2:1-2 gives us the image of Jesus as the lawyer defending us before a judge, arguing for our redemption and release.   Do you want to be on the opposing side of Jesus?  Do you want to side with the prosecutor who is Satan, the accuser of our brethren?

Or did you want to replace the Judge?

I like to imagine a scene in heaven, where we are creatures of light. As we see each other in our true states, it might be hard to recognize everyone at first. One person especially shines with the glow of redemption, where all of his wounds have been healed and he is in his perfect state. Then we recognize him and rejoice that even Judas made it. 

The same grace that saves us saves him.

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2 NIV).

A Blog is Born

My friend Kristen Melton has a new blog. Everything she does, she does well and I'm looking forward to what she has to say. Check out her first entry: 

http://heartfrolics.blogspot.com/2013/03/apples-or-peaches.html?spref=fb

Focusing on the People

I remember something Scott Peck said in his book, The Different Drum, Community Making and Peace:  When people come together, there comes a point where some are tempted to retreat into organization. I’ve thought about that and I’ve noticed how often inspiring movements become bogged down institutions that demand constant self maintenance. 

Sometimes, in a church meeting I’ll think, “We need to get some focus here.” Others will be feeling it too, and someone will say, “We need a mission statement.” Another will say, “Don’t we have one of those somewhere? Remember that Saturday we spent composing it? What did we do with that?”  Somehow it became just another forgotten project.

We don’t have to form a committee to help us stay focused. I can tell you what we need to focus on in five words: 

People, people, people, people, people. 

I’ll expand on that:

Wounded people, lonely people, angry people, and hungry people. People at war, people in poverty, people mired in forms and financial confusion.  There are divorced and widowed and people who suffering other kinds of grief. People are in jail, going to jail, and getting out of jail. People are addicted to every kind of substance and/or activity.  People are sick and dying. People are young and directionless, old and confused, middle aged and overwhelmed. 

The primary questions we should be ask are not, “How do we get them to Sunday school or worship services? How can we get them to join our church?”

We need to ask, “Where are they? What do they need? What can we do? What can we give them? How can we communicate our concern for them? How can we tell them of a God who cares? How can we help them get in touch with that God?

It’s overwhelming. It is much easier to say: “Let’s have an attendance drive for Sunday School.  Let’s have a basketball goal installed for the kids. Let’s get some cool music that will appeal to the younger families.” They are not wrong, but they do not really address the question. 

Remember, our goal is not to preserve a church but to save people.

PS: My father has been a minister for close to sixty years. He has a plaque on his wall that Mom made for him many years ago. It has one word: “PEOPLE.”  

Going Up

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3).

Sometimes I think we are engaged in prayerful tug-of-war that goes something like this:

We look to the heavens and call aloud to Christ to come down to us, to involve himself with our earthly issues: “Help me with my finances, my family, my sickness, my discomfort, my fears, my loneliness, and my halitosis.” 

Meanwhile, Jesus is calling down to us saying, “Quit worrying about those things and come be with me in the embrace of God.  Come experience all that is holy, lovely, beautiful, musical, peaceful, wonderful, and joyful. 

“But I live in the real world,” we say.

“Reality (truth) is where I am,” Jesus says. “Come to me. You’re weary and burdened. Take a rest with me.  Don’t wallow down there; come up here with me.”

“But I am wallowed down here. This is my body, these are my responsibilities and struggles, and they’re real.” 

“But your true home is in heaven with me. Use your prayer time to visit here with me.”

“How do I do that?”

“Ask me what I’m thinking about. Ask me what I care about.  Listen for the things I want to say rather than what you want or expect to hear.  Ask how you can get involved with my work instead of insisting on my getting involved with yours.  Or maybe you could just be quiet and be with me.

“There’s only one way this relationship is going, my child, and that’s up.”