Considerations for Christmas 2010

Considerations for Christmas 2010

The Danish theologian, Soren Kierkegaard, characterizes the incarnation of Jesus Christ as “The Great Paradox” in which a Person who is fully divine and completely human is born.  The birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, represents the intervention of eternity into time.  This mystical and inexplicable occurrence redefines human chronology.  God’s invasion of human history, through gift of the humble origins of Christ, offers humankind new meaning in life.

The season of Advent arouses a great sense of expectancy and creativity.  I consider Mary’s immortal question, “How can this be?”  How could Almighty God possibly use a poor Hebraic virgin, subjugated by the Roman government, in His grand plan of salvation for humankind?  What qualifies me to be an instrument for God’s service?  Likewise, we ask, “How can God graciously intervene in our lives and accomplish His purpose through the use of our talents and abilities?”  Mary ponders these mysterious matters in her heart.  Coinciding with the end of a year, Advent lends itself to reflection and imagination.  Will the New Year unfold with our expectation of the fulfillment of God’s promises in our daily lives?

The incarnation of Christ gives everyone an opportunity to start over.  No matter whom we are and what we have done, the gift of Jesus’ birth symbolizes new life.  God reconciles humankind to Himself in the sacrificial, invaluable and redemptive gift of Christ.  His eternal grace, unfailing love and unquestionable faithfulness transform the wreckage of our past.  We receive forgiveness for our past errors.  “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.” (Romans 8:1)  Would it not be nice if many persons opened the eternal and sacred gifts of freedom from guilt, fear, punishment, and regret instead of material and earthly packages with fleeting values?  The apostle Paul assures us elsewhere that the gift of Jesus’ life potentially transforms us into “a new creation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Liberation theologians insist that we grasp Christ’s birth as God’s preferential treatment of the poor and the most vulnerable members of the human family.  Jesus’ birth, in a stable on a pile of straw possibly with the pungent odor of livestock and manure, rather than in a renowned teaching hospital or palace demonstrates God partiality toward the “least of these.”  Eternity invades times to redefine it in the most unexpected place utilizing one of the least expected vessels to communicate God’s salvific and transformative love.  These theologians posit that each Advent season reminds us that the Incarnation necessitates that we remove the systemic, economic, political and even religious barriers that prevent anyone from actualizing the eternal potential that God graciously gives to him in Christ.

Accordingly, we must ask Mary’s question again, “How can this be?”  In the United States, how can it be that we fail to resolve any social dilemma (education, housing, voting, racial discrimination, crime, poverty, and healthcare) though we are the most prosperous people in human history?  More significantly, we declare that we possess a better grasp of the meaning of Christ’s birth than other nations.  How can it be that we sacrificed nearly 6000 young and inexperienced lives of American military personnel (not counting the hundred of thousands of Iraq civilian casualties), expending approximately $1 trillion, without any reasonable purpose or concrete political or diplomatic accomplishments?  In the State of Tennessee, how can it be that we live “peacefully” with the denial of healthcare to 200,000 of our most vulnerable citizens some of whom’s death will certainly result from this decision?  How can it be that the residents re-elected the Governor responsible for such an incredible injustice by historic margins and proportions?  Christmas 2010, let us ask this question with the hope of finding the moral courage and spiritual strength in the gift of Christ’s birth to resolve these problems.

God in Christ reconciles humankind to Himself through the gift of personal redemption.  Practically speaking, this eternal gift empowers us to achieve inner healing and wholeness.  However, its clearest expression is most evident in the individual and collective service of all believers to create a just society so that all persons may actualize their God given potential.  Merry Christmas!

The Mystical and Mysterious Empowerment of Holy Communion

The Mystical and Mysterious Empowerment of Holy Communion

Each first Sunday of the month, I have the pastoral and personal delight of welcoming all of us to the memorial meal of Holy Communion.  This monthly celebration of the Lord’s Supper reenacts Christ’s sacrificial death, burial and resurrection.  It is far more than a traditional ritual.  I trust that we consider it to be more than an unnecessary extension of our worship experience.  Rather, the Eucharist is a regular period of mysterious empowerment. 

Through symbolic gifts of bread and wine, the Lord reaffirms His promises of abundant and eternal life for baptized believers.  He continually offers the power of the resurrection for inner healing and wholeness.  The Lord restates His enduring covenant of love for us.  The broken body and the shed blood of Christ establish a “New Covenant” that remits humankind’s sins (past, present and future) and restores forever the harmony between Creator and creature that Adam’s pride, disobedience and infidelity of Eden nullified.

On the night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread.  He gave thanks.  Then, he gave the bread to his disciples.  He tells them, “This is my body which is broken for you.  As often as you eat of it, do so in remembrance of me.”  Those sentences are the first part of “the scriptural words of institution.”  They inaugurate the “New Covenant” of God’s love in Christ. 

Moreover, Jesus’ words remind the disciples of the Passover.  In that covenant with Israel, on the evening before the Lord liberates them from Egyptian slavery, He commands them to have a final, sacred meal.  Exodus 12 details the directives and drama of the Passover.  The Israelites are told to sacrifice a lamb without blemish or defect.  The lamb’s pure blood was to be sprinkled over the doorposts of all believers.  Then, the angel of death would pass by their houses as he traveled through the land extracting the vengeance of Almighty God.  Similarly, in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, today’s believers receive the assurance that death cannot defeat anyone who lives in Christ because death did not conquer the Lord.  Jesus’ broken body symbolizes the papyrus on which the “New Covenant” is eternally written.

After the meal, the Lord took a cup.  He gave thanks.  He poured wine into the cup and gave it to his disciples.  He tells them, “This is my blood that is shed for you.  It is given for the remission of all sins.  It is the blood of a new covenant.”  With those words, the Lord forever implements the “New Covenant” which reestablishes the possibility for humankind to enjoy a right relationship with Almighty God.  The “New Covenant” succeeds where all of the covenants of the Old Testament failed.  John the Baptist describes Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  His sacrificial blood prevents the death of all Christians just as the blood of the lamb on the night of the Passover forced the angel of death to pass over all believers. 

Additionally, the gift of Christ’s life liberates believers from the fear of death.  It frees us to live to the very fullest.  We also know that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to us.  Therefore, we are “more than conquerors through Christ who loves us.”  Nothing that we face can defeat us because Christ's resurrection power always enables us to triumph.  Accordingly, when we partake of Holy Communion we receive this limitless power.

The Eucharist constantly reminds us of the lengths to which God goes to demonstrate His enduring love for us.  (Ephesians 3”14-21)  The Old Testament records countless attempts by God to foster a mutually satisfying and beneficial relationship with humankind.  From the Garden of Eden to the Abrahamic covenants (Genesis 12, 15 and 18) to one with Jacob (Genesis 32) to the Mosaic covenants (Exodus 3, 12, 20, 24 and 34) to the Law and the preaching of the Prophets, God faithfully upholds His promise and perpetually shows His unfailing love.  Yet, sin and recalcitrance consistently tramples upon these covenants.  They seemingly nullify them.  Fortunately, God does not cease to love us.  He offers iteration after iteration with the hope of obtaining humankind’s devotion.

The gift of Christ finally accomplishes the purposes of God’s love.  Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection actually completes the work of creation. (John 1:1-18)  Living in a right relationship with us was God’s expressed intent when He created the universe.  He made us a little lower than the angels but in His image. (Psalm 8 and 139)  He desires that we mirror His goodness.  Just as a priceless painting forever reflects the talent, passion and ingenuity of the artist, we demonstrate God’s character.  Nonetheless, Christ who is the Lamb of God creates a lasting covenant.  The “New Covenant” is not dependent upon any human desire or will.  It also cannot be nullified by any human action.  There will be no more covenants.  In Christ, God inimitably and conclusively reveals Himself and His love.

Practically speaking, accepting the bread and wine during the observance of the Lord’s Supper means that we accept the blessings, promises and responsibility of the “New Covenant.”  As we receive the elements and partake of them, we should further deepen our resolve to utilize the power they give us.  We can leave the Lord’s Table, knowing that He equips us with spiritual resources for victory.  Secondly, we have a greater assurance of God’s enduring love for us.  Therefore, we do not question whether anyone loves us.  We must cease the fallacy of earning the love of others.  In Christ, God demonstrates His love.  Third, we return to the world to share love with everyone we encounter.  Love is the scarcest mineral in the world.  It is more precious than gold, diamonds or oil.  The world needs it more than it needs anything else.  As believers and recipients of the bounty of the “New Covenant,” we have an obligation to share the love of God in Christ Jesus.

As you receive the bread and the wine in faith, share in the new life by faithfully allowing the Holy Spirit to empower you to leave and go into the world “to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly before God.”

Reasons to Keep Going – Part I

Often, we fall prey to the temptation to give up in life.  Working harder than we ever have, we have very little to show for it.  Emotionally, we invest in relationships and try our hardest “to make them work.”  Yet, many primary relationships fail.  We struggle for years trying to make lemonade out of life’s proverbial lemons.  Many of us have been in the same job for years.  We wonder what difference we make.  Understandably, these perplexing situations entice us to give up. 

What difference does it make?  That is the question of the “doer” who sets about changing the world for the better.  On the macro level, he involves himself in social, political and economic affairs with the hope of transforming oppressive systemic causes and structures.  Daily, he wakens with the goal of making the world a more just and peaceful place for all people.  On the micro level, such a person wants the very best for his family.  Painstakingly, he works to offer them the very best quality of living of which he is capable.  On the job, he catches a vision for excellence and tries to impart it to those with whom he works.  Yet, despite his investments of time and talent, he fails to see any appreciable difference in either sector of life.  Tossing in the towel appears the most reasonable response. 

However, I encourage such a despondent person to keep going.  There is an old athletic saying, “Winners never quit and quitters never win.”  Also, you have probably heard the adage, “You’ve got to be in it to win it.”  Moreover, the story of Caleb encourages all of us to persevere and accomplish our goals.  Few worthwhile dreams come quickly or easily.  His example teaches us that victory and joy are the possessions of persons with character, patience, discipline, willingness and faith to endure adversity until triumph emerges.  In Joshua 14, Caleb’s receipt of his inheritance during the division of the Promised Land among the tribes of Israel demonstrates five reasons to keep going.

First, God does not fail.  In the seventh and eighth verses, Caleb testifies to the ageless truth that God never fails.  Caleb tells the assembly about the initial exploration mission that Joshua, ten other men and he undertook to scout out the Promised Land.  Caleb was forty years of age at the time.  Further, Caleb says that he brought back a report according to his convictions.  However, excluding Joshua, the other men “made the hearts of the people melt with fear.”  But, Caleb “followed the Lord [his] God wholeheartedly.”  In consequence, Moses, the servant of Almighty God, swore to Caleb that the land “in which [his] feet have walked will be [his] inheritance and that of his children forever.”  As the division of land progresses, Caleb recalls this tremendous incident that occurred forty years previously.  In so doing, he reminds us that God does not fail!

God kept Caleb alive for forty years.  The faithless generation that left Egypt died in the wilderness.  Caleb attended many funerals.  Also, he fought several enemies and withstood the heat of battle.  In all of that, God did not fail to protect Caleb in order that He might ultimately fulfill the promise that Moses articulates.

Second, God realizes His promises.  If God promises you something, you can rely unwaveringly upon His word.  It will come true!  As the prophet, Habakkuk says, “Although the vision tarries, it will come.”  The delays that we experience are merely “divine intermissions” in which God resets the stages of our lives.  Our impatience and frustrations blind us to the mysterious and majestic “coincidences” of each day. In the tenth verse, Caleb states straightforwardly that Almighty God kept him alive for forty-five years in order to fulfill His promise.  Caleb rejoices, “So here I am today, eighty-five years old!”  Caleb’s testimony assures us that God keeps His promises.

Reasons to Keep Going – Part II

Third, God fights for you.  In receiving Hebron as an inheritance, Caleb is fully aware that many more battles lay ahead.  In fact, the mountain was inhabited by the Anakites, one of the three types of giants the Bible mentions.  Nonetheless, at eighty-five years of age, Caleb willingly accepts the land and the challenges.  He knows that Almighty God will fight him.  He attests that God will give him strength to endure be victorious.  Relying genuinely upon the strength and grace of God, Caleb proudly declares, “I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out.  I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.”  Elsewhere, a prophet assures Jehoshaphat that the Lord will fight for him.  In 2 Chronicles 20:15, the prophet declares that the battle is not the king’s but it is the Lord’s.  He encourages the king to “stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.”  In addition, Paul tells the Romans, “If God be for you, who can be against you?”  Caleb essentially rests in the reality that God empowers His people to be victorious in every circumstance.

Fourth, God gives you the fruit of the promise.  I imagine that Caleb spent those forty-five years in the wilderness envisioning the house that he would build adjacent to Hebron.  One biblical account in the book of Numbers notes that the scouts brought back a bundle of grapes from the land “flowing with milk and honey.”  I suspect that the taste of those grapes became permanent in Caleb’s mouth.  What an image!  It signifies a real heartfelt dream.  Do you have a dream that you can hold onto for forty-five years?  Even so, Caleb unwaveringly believes that Almighty God will grant him the fruit of the promise.  He is correct.  The thirteenth verse shows Joshua imparting the deed to Hebron to Caleb.

Caleb, most undoubtedly, will erect a luxurious home with a verandah.  In the cool of the day, he will sit on the porch.  Probably, he will enjoy a chilled glass of Chablis and a stokie.  Then, he will reflect and allow his mind to drift across the horizon.  He recalls God’s persistent goodness toward him.  Caleb rejoices contemplatively that Almighty God spared his life and graciously gave him the fruit of the promise.

Fifth, God is faithful.  The fourteenth verse says that Caleb’s children inherited the land after him.  In fact, it forever remained in Caleb’s tribe.  Actually, Caleb renames the area and blots out the memory of the Anakites.  This eternal inheritance and provision for Caleb’s family reveals the everlasting faithfulness of Almighty God.  Indeed, “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.  His mercies never come to an end.  They are new every morning.  Great O’ God is Thy faithfulness.”

Summarily, we have five reasons to keep going.  (1) God does not fail.  (2) God fulfills His promises.  (3) God fights for you.  (4) God gives you the fruit of His promise.  (5) God is faithful.  I pray that they will encourage you to “keep on keeping on!”

The Rain is Necessary

During a vacation summer, Curtis, my beloved son, and I had a very interesting conversation.  On the previous day, we went to the beach.  It was a perfect day!  It was nice and warm without humidity.  The water temperature was ideal.  Actually, we did not want to leave.  Since we had so much fun, we discarded all plans in order to return to the beach the next day.  As Mother Nature would have it, pouring rains made us rethink the day’s activities.  As we retrieved those previously cancelled plans and piled into the car, we lamented the rain.  Curtis said, “Daddy, I want to go back to the beach today.  Why did it have to rain today?”  I answered, “Curtis, the rain is necessary.  It causes things to grow.”

As I continually reflect upon my reply to my son, I recall the words of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Almighty God sends “the rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45)  Just as natural rain falls upon all persons, emotional, physical, financial, and psychological challenges occur in everyone’s life.  Additionally, just as physical rain causes the growth of flowers, trees, and plants, spiritual rain produces personal development and spiritual progress.  Rain of either type is necessary for growth.

Accordingly, I suggest that we embrace seasons of spiritual rain.  Accepting various trials is easier said than done.  Usually, we resist the necessity of pain and tribulation.  We wonder why God allows it.  We look for easier and softer alternatives.  We would like to read a book; take a class; attend a seminar; to simply avoid the latest test.  Yet, these trials are absolutely necessary in order for Almighty God to conform us into the character of Christ.  Just as we may enjoy the thrill and freedom of playing in mid-afternoon summer showers, we can find joy in the midst of spiritual rain.

Another author offers two incredible insights on the matter of redemptive suffering.  First, he says, “Pain is the touchstone of all spiritual progress.”  You recall the athletic encouragement, “No pain then no gain.”  Those sayings hold true for the spiritual life as well.  Pain is the catalyst for the rain, which in turn helps us grow.  Second, he reminds us that “the spiritual life is not a theory.”  It really would be nice if reading, classrooms, seminars and weekly church attendance directly yield spiritual maturity and character development.  Instead, we gain spiritually as we experience spiritual rain.  We live through the seasons of adversity in order to acquire patience, endurance, character and hope. (Romans 5:1-5)

Asking “Why?” when rain comes rarely helps.  God allows the rain, in nature and in our lives.  Life could not exist and continue without it.  Nothing grows flourishes or endures without it.  We have no chance of actualizing God-given talents and abilities without periodic rains of challenge and suffering.  Farmers thank God for the rain.  Gardeners and florists are grateful for the rain.  Similarly, disciples of our Lord thank God for rain that aids us in becoming more like Him.  

When natural rains fall, we immediately run for cover.  In the spiritual realm, fleeing does not work.  God desires that we live through the rain.  In fact, He promises that the waters will not overtake us.  The rising waters will not burst the dam of God’s protection and guidance.  The hymn writer in “How Firm a Foundation” speaks of God’s faithful promise of His presence at cresting rivers of life.  God permits these tough circumstances in order to “sanctify our deepest distress.”  Summarily, the rain is necessary for types of growth.  Just as natural life needs water to grow, spiritual life requires episodic torrential downpours of adversity to experience increasing assurance of the Lord’s unfailing love and enduring faithful provision.

Small things Matter a Lot!

Small Things Matter a Lot!

Small things matter a lot!  Homeowners appreciate the power of very small insects called termites.  They also respect the colossal damage that a small drop of water creates in time.  A typographical error on a cover letter or resume can automatically eliminate an applicant.  A curious delving into pornography, during his adolescence, eventually toppled one of the country’s foremost televangelists in February of 1987.  Childhood shoplifting recently derailed a promising ambitions and career of a Southern politician.  It is said, “The devil is in the details.”  Attention to detail, however insignificant in our estimation, is vitally important to success and excellence.

Concentrating on basics is the secret of success.  If you are due for a promotion, you should pay close attention to the minor details of your job.  Punctuality with regard to arrival, reports, expense accounts and assignments from your immediate supervisor will factor significantly into the decision.  However, you may reference one or two instances in the preceding evaluation period in which you saved the company a lot of money or greatly exceeded performance expectations.  Yet, the inability to arrive on time, lax lunch hours and laziness with regard to editing your own work undermine any extraordinary achievements.  The sum of these “small” things equals a rather substantial reason to deny a raise and promotion.  There is a spiritual and biblical principle that reasons the inability to handle “small” things means you are equally incapable of managing “big” ones.  Mastering fundamentals is essential to future attainment.

Periodically, it is in our best interest to evaluate of the little things in our lives.  Are we paying our bills on time?  If disregarded, that “small” matter becomes high interest rates on our credit accounts.  Do we change the oil in our cars on a consistent basis?  The sludge that dirty oil produces creates major mechanical problems.  Do we sit and talk with our spouses, children and family members.  Regular communication prevents “big” arguments and festering resentments.  Do we discipline ourselves to correct our own mistakes before giving work to our bosses?  Memos and projects with typos erode the confidence of our supervisors.  Do we stay on schedule as it relates to annual physicals?  Early detection is the secret of preventive disease healthcare.  Remembering these little things will save time, money, disappointment and perhaps even failure.  Staying on top of small details remains the key to excelling at anything.

Whereas spending erodes the principal of a trust fund, termites eat away the foundation of a building, water corrodes the metal of cars, and procrastination steals our time, those liabilities can become assets.  If we cultivate the willingness and discipline, we can arrest the progression of these unfortunate circumstances.  Had the clergyperson and politician in the foregoing examples gotten help in the early stages of their problems, they would have successfully overcome them.  Each day presents us with another opportunity to triumph over the challenges that we face.  We win by finding the daily wherewithal to take steps in the right direction.  We transform our weaknesses into the strengths.

In as much as ignoring “small” things can be detrimental, observing them can be instructive.  Ants are very small but exceedingly wise.  They are the most disciplined insects: fostering team work among the colony; preparing for winter during the summer, sharing the spoils of acquisition, and refusing to waste time and energy.  “Consider the ant, you sluggard!”  Secondly, the mustard seed is the smallest of seeds, barely visible to the eye and seemingly impossible to fit between the fingers.  It yields one of the biggest plants in a vegetable garden.  You will recall that faith the size of mustard seed can move a mountain of problems. 

The prophet, Zechariah, asks the pivotal question, “Who despises the days of small beginnings? (4:10).”  “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”  A best selling novel is written one page at a time.  We lose weight one ounce at a time.  Future success unfolds one day at a time.  Seeing that “small” things evolve into “big” disasters if treated indifferently, it behooves us to master the details of our lives.  Otherwise, those same “small” things will extract a costly punishment on us.  But, if we channel those minor details toward our purposes, then they will become the building blocks of our success.  Whether negatively or positively, “small” things matter a lot!

When God is Silent

 “When God is Silent” - Psalm 22 – Part I

There are times in our faith journey when Almighty God appears silent.  It is as if the cumulative sum of our circumstances drowns out His voice.  The agony of our predicaments overpowers His voice.  We yell in pain so loudly that we cannot hear Him.  In a calm moment, we ponder His great silence.  We ask the proverbial questions, “Why is God silent?  Why does He not do anything?  Does He not care about me?’” 

Jesus, as He dies on the cross, asks, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?”  The psalmist defines the depth of his torture.  He cries our by the day.  Yet, God remains silent.  At night, he continues his appeals to the Most High for deliverance and relief.  But, God remains silent! 

Have you had the experience of praying without ceasing but leave your prayer period feeling that you have not been heard?  You begin to wonder whether you should bother to pray anymore.  Cynically, you ask, “What difference does it make?”  You say to yourself, “I have never prayed so hard about something in my life.”  Others around you come to you with testimonies of answered prayers.  Skeptically, you fall for the temptation of thinking that God has contradicted His word and become a respecter of persons.  Why is He answering others and remaining silent in my situation?

Yet as a person of faith, like the psalmist, you realize that Almighty God is the Sovereign Lord of the universe.  He is the One in whom our forebears put their trust.  “They trusted and [He] delivered them.”  Fervently, our biological and spiritual ancestors cried out to the Lord because they unquestionably knew that He would save them.  They unwaveringly believed in the gracious and all-powerful hand of God.  Not surprisingly, the unfailing love and faithful provision of Almighty God never disappointed them.

When we stroll down memory lane, we acknowledge that God has never been silent in the past.  He speaks in the midst of our bleakest challenges.  His non-verbal communication is His mysterious and majestic way of orchestrating the details behind the scenes to accomplish His “good, pleasing and perfect will.”  God’s verbal silence resembles the intermission period of a Broadway play.  In the midst of the darkness of our adversities and the foreboding silence, we have the divine assurance that Almighty God is at work in the midnight as He is at noon.  God always shows up seemingly in the nick of time.  Verbally and non-verbally, He speaks forcefully to fulfill His will and transform us into the likeness of His character.

Nonetheless, the tremendous amount of pain that the psalmist feels returns him to a self-deprecating stance.  He refers to himself as “a worm, and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.”  Whereas the furnace of affliction burns away the dross of one’s character, the intensity of its heat often leaves one seeing only the negative aspects of any situation.  Furthermore, God’s apparent silence leaves a vacuum in which the internal and external voices of derision, criticism, and insults resound loudly.  The psalmist says, “All that see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads; He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him.  Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”

Essentially, the psalmist remains perplexed at the silence of Almighty God.  He recalls the many lessons about God and His trustworthiness that the psalmist receives as a child.  In fact, he admits that his mother taught him to believe and trust in God as she nurses him.  From birth, the psalmist was taught to rely upon the faithful provision of Almighty God.  Accordingly, he desperately appeals once again, as if he were launching a “Hail Mary,” to the reputed benevolence of Almighty God.  With all of the strength that he can muster, the psalmist begs, “do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.”

When God is Silent - Part II

 “When God is Silent” - Psalm 22 – Part II

The psalmist vividly describes his situation in the fifteenth verse.  “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my strength; you lay me in the dust of death.”  In the next three verses, he further depicts the horrible scene of human and wild vultures encircling him as life ebbs out of him.  They cannot wait to devour his corpse.  Practically speaking, the psalmist is destitute.  Although he cries out, God is silent as death approaches with the gleeful cheers of greedy spectators whose self-seeking ways prohibit them from helping him.  Most unfortunately, even the “Helper of ages past” acquiesces this dilemma with His inexplicable silence and inertia.

In periods of God’s perceived silence, it is extremely important that we guard against resentment, anger and bitterness.  During these times of spiritual drought, we dwell upon the cumulative string of past disappointments.  We remember every harm, insult, hardship and failure that we ever experienced.  We think of each time we assumed that God did not deliver us.  We resent God for allowing those situations.  To resent means to relive.  When we resent people and past experiences, we relive them as if we were experiencing them for the very first time.  Inevitably, resentment fueled by anger leads to bitterness possibly hatred.  These attributes evolve into a cancer on one’s heart.  Additionally, these emotions motivate thirst for vengeance toward those whom we suspected injured us.  Eventually, we die a slow spiritual death as these toxic characteristics prevent us from enjoying eternal life.

Instead of dwelling upon negativity, we have the option of focusing upon faith and God’s faithfulness toward us.  In each past experience, God transformed evil intended to harm us into a blessing empowering us to accomplish His will.  We can choose to center our minds and hearts on the positive aspects embedded in every incident.  Practically speaking, we learn to let go of unproductive and useless emotions.  Through these experiences, God builds resilience within us.  His silence is His mysterious and majestic method of enabling us with inner fortitude, elasticity and buoyancy to triumph over any adversity.  Daily resiliency reenacts the resurrection.

The psalmist realizes that God has not been silent.  Furthermore, he appreciates that Almighty God has not forsaken him nor has He abandoned the psalmist to his circumstances.  “For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.”  As a matter of fact, the psalmist accepts that God has spoken forcefully in his situation.  He just did not speak when the psalmist prefers.

The blessed seasons of Christmas and Easter remind us of the resilience and resurrection that Almighty God infuses into our lives.  Our Lord resists the temptation of anger and punishment toward His accusers.  He, like the psalmist, appeals in despair to the Holy Father for deliverance.  To accomplish the plan of eternal salvation, God appears silent.  In actuality, He busily instructed the angels regarding the details of the drama of the forthcoming resurrection.  The darkness and silence, which surrounded the crucifixion, were an intermission on the grand cosmological stage.  Behind the curtain, God rearranged the setting to ensure that the final scene would result in the deliverance of His Son and the salvation of humankind.

Anger

Anger

“Anger turns off the light in the mind.”  Indeed, it does.  Anger is one of the most seductive and deceiving emotions.  The initial rush of adrenaline always feels empowering but it is actually poisonous.  Angers leads inevitably to mistakes.  We regret decisions made in anger.  We say things that we wish to retract.  Rather than being the best tool to fix a problem, anger is the sledgehammer of destruction; when unnecessarily angry, one would use it to kill a gnat.  Essentially, the mental darkness that anger produces clouds our decision-making. 

In many instances, anger cloaks deep-seated fears.  The melodrama of rage fools us into believing that we are in control.  We try to intimidate people into yielding to our selfish demands.  We also manipulate our circumstances to prevent losing something that we have.  Fears of unfulfilled desires and loss of property or status belie the eruption of angry emotions.  Instead of the fallacious demonstration of “righteous indignation,” acknowledging our fears and working through them better serve us.

Anger prevents clear communication.  When people yell at each other, they are not communicating.  An explosive dialogue is nothing other than an exchange of volatile emotions.  Ultimately, such a conversation is useless.  People say things that they later regret but cannot erase.  After a cooling off period, all parties can join the conversation with a principled position borne out of lucid reflection and spiritual meditation.  The brilliance of calm analysis surpasses the bleakness of deceitful anger.

It is helpful to learn how to process anger.  Because of its untrustworthy nature, it benefits us if we practice the discipline of filtering it.  I suggest remaining quiet and reflective for at least a cycle of twenty-four hours.  If after a day, you are still angry, then perhaps your emotions are legitimate.  Having utilized this technique, I find that my frustrations, number of apologies and regrets decrease significantly.

Many relationships are torn apart because of anger.  In fact, all us of know people who insist upon nursing grudges against siblings, extended relatives and former coworkers.  When asked what precipitated the crisis and resentment, they do not recall.  But, they remain angry.  Ironically, this anger harms them more than it does the objects of their ire.  Whereas it is necessary to sit on our anger, it is also wise to resolve it permanently.  We relate better to our spouses, children, and friends when we are not angry.   

Retaining useless anger within the mind and heart causes a cancer of the personality.  Captain Ahab in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick symbolizes the fallacy of harboring anger.  In time, his resentment matures into revenge.  He desires to take the life of the great whale that had bitten off his leg.  Ahab’s thirst for vengeance, undergirded by his anger, led to the loss of his life in the final struggle between the whale, the ocean, the natural elements and himself.  Ahab’s anger broke his spirit and blinded him from seeing everything else that life offers him.

You are probably wondering about the legitimacy of righteous indignation.  Are there not times in which anger is justified?  Most assuredly, situations arise in which anger is the most appropriate response.  I submit that fury toward economic, social and political injustice is reasonable and healthy.  In fact, I hate oppression of poor and subjugation of working people regardless of where it occurs.  However, those strong emotions are best directed toward socio-economic and socio-political structures rather than people. 

In the final analysis, it benefits us to channel our anger toward constructive purposes.  As a replacement for the fuel of melodrama, allow your anger to inspire you to work harder toward your goals.  Avoid lingering in the mire of resentment and bitterness.  Direct that energy toward a helpful resolution.  Yet, should we insist upon being angry, then we remain in the pit of night.  “Anger turns off the light of the mind.”

Making the Right Decision

Making The Right Decision

“How do I make the ‘right” decision?”  Prospective college and graduate school students often asked that question, during my ten years as an admission professional.  They wanted to know the “right” choice for a school or major.  People who are engaged want to know that they have chosen the “right” person to marry.  We want the “right” job for us.  Presumably, the “right” choice automatically yields success in school, on the job and lifelong happiness in marriage.  Yet, the daunting question lingers, “How do I make the ‘right’ decision?”

That question assumes that there is a perfect or magical choice.  It also implies that an incorrect choice will certainly fail.  The question cloaks our desire to know that we will succeed in advance.  Otherwise, our choices would not matter as much.  However, it is impossible to make the “right” decision. 

Whereas there are better choices than others, there is no such thing as the “right” decision.  The lifelong process of learning and knowing one’s self is the first major step in making choices.  Discovering and defining one’s God given gifts, natural talents and spiritual passions greatly assist in decision making.  Those three characteristics are sure indicators about what type of job makes you happy.  They determine the subject matter that you would enjoy studying the most. 

As a graduate student, I know myself well enough to realize that history is the primary subject that captures my passion for reading, researching and writing.  Even though other disciplines interest me, none of them do so to the point that I would commit to pursuing a doctorate in the field.  Nevertheless, self-acceptance is the foundation for making preferable choices.

Second, acquiring minute knowledge about all of the relevant factors helps one in making the best choice.  Picking a job should include more than a good salary and a fancy title.  How does one obtain a promotion?  Has there been frequent turnover in the office?  What is included in the fine print of the job description?  Moreover, in buying a house or a car, research is critical to making the better choice for you.  Knowing the condition of the market enables you to get the biggest bargain for your buck.  Our failure to research painstakingly the small details of a decision costs us dearly.

Third, it is always beneficial to talk with a mentor or close friend.  Sometimes, they illuminate matters that blind sides prevent us from seeing.  We need them to motivate us to ask really tough questions.  Do you really love this person whom you are going to marry?  Will you continue to love and accept them even if they never change?  Are you willing to live with that possibility?  Are you just taking this job because of money and prestige?  Are the football and basketball programs of this school factoring more heavily in your decision than they should?  It helps to expose our hidden motives to the light of reflection.

We must additionally lift our desires to divine light of prayer and meditation.  Those spiritual disciplines are crucial to any decision making.  Our Creator knows us better than we know ourselves.  He graciously reveals those things that make us happy.  More significantly, He aids in removing the self-centered fear that often plagues our decision making. 

When we act out of fear, it is virtually certain that we make mistakes.  Fear, despite its sophisticated manifestations, leads to failure.  Believing that this is our only chance to be married is not the sole reason to tie the knot.  Saying, “even if it does not work out, at least I tried,” is not the right approach to beginning a marriage.  Settling for the only person who ever showed any interest in you is not the right mindset to enter a lifelong relationship.  Essentially, fear should not inform our choices.

Together, knowledge of self, research of pertinent details, the perspective of friends and family, and the spiritual disciplines of prayer and meditation equip us to make a decision.  However, their sum does not equal the “right” decision.  Those factors lead to a decision.  When we live into the consequences of our choices then they become the “right” decisions for us.  Through resilience, faithfulness and a willingness to accept the outcomes of our decisions, we make them the “right” ones.  The advance assurance of success never emerges.  Success or failure depends upon our faith to arise each morning and take steps in the right direction.  As we do so, we affirm our choices.  Thereby, we make the “right” decisions.

Unconditional Forgiveness Yields Unlimited Creativity

Unconditional Forgiveness Yields Unlimited Creativity

2 Samuel 13:1-33

The failure to forgive imprisons our minds, hearts, and wills to pervasive and perpetual thoughts of satisfying obsessions with revenge.  When we fail to forgive others, we spend incalculable amounts of time thirsting for revenge and plotting our vindication.  This active imagination yields to fictional and impractical scenarios of how our oppressors will receive their comeuppance.  Spiritually speaking, we ask Almighty God to anoint us as His express instruments to extract His vengeance upon our victimizers.  Essentially, the failure to forgive kidnaps our talents, abilities, creativity, dreams, and emotional health.  More significantly, you cannot be a channel of the Lord’s unfailing love if you harbor bitterness and resentment toward another person.

Recently, I read a newspaper article about a very disgruntled former student of a university in Texas who felt mistreated by the faculty and administration of the school.  Amazingly, this fellow, seeking retaliation upon those persons who harmed him, sent seventy-six thousand (76,000) emails to the university community hoping to expose the deeds of his perpetrators.  Later, I read an article about an Asian man whose girlfriend left him to begin a relationship with an African-American male.  This failed relationship ignited the Asian man’s disdain for interracial relationships.  For the subsequent twenty years, this man steadfastly maintained a campaign to frighten and end all interracial relationships.  He sent hate mail to prominent African-American men in interracial marriages inclusive of marquis Hollywood actors, a U. S. Supreme Court justice, and professional athletes.  If he saw an interracial couple on the street, he would follow them and write down their license plate numbers and letters.  He would then send them hate mail threatening their safety.  Upon being formally charged after an FBI investigation, this man immediately pleaded guilty.  He cited his anger and bitterness toward his former girlfriend as the foundation for his actions.  Third, I recall attending the Holy Communion service at a very popular Baptist church in Harlem in October 1987 as I entered seminary.  As the Pastor officiated over the Sacrament, he appealed to Almighty God that the recipients would enjoy eternal life.  An older woman, sitting on one of the back pews, began to yell, “Hey Minister!  Hey Minister!  Surely she [name omitted] shall not live forever after what she did to me” As the ushers attempted to quiet and comfort her, this elderly woman proceeded to yell more loudly. 

The three foregoing persons had one thing in common.  All of them failed to forgive people who wronged them.  Their initial anger became rage which in turn matured into bitterness and a deep thirst for revenge.  They devoted themselves to extracting vengeance upon their victimizers.  Their mental energies and spiritual imagination were dedicated to ensuring that the people who hurt them are punished sufficiently.  To satisfy their desire for revenge, astoundingly, they were prepared to expend whatever cost necessary. 

Unconditional forgiveness yields unlimited creativity.  It is impossible to actualize fully dreams and goals if unforgiveness clogs your mind, heart and soul.  As recipients of God’s forgiveness in Jesus Christ, we gratefully extend our meager human forgiveness to those who violated our feelings, trust, kindness and love.  We forgive because we have been forgiven.  Our gratitude for divine forgiveness equates perfectly with our willingness to forgive others.  The apostle Paul exhorts the Ephesians, “Be kind and tenderhearted toward each other, forgiving each other for just as in Christ God forgives you.”  Furthermore, we forgive in order to experience incredible and infinite freedom that God offers in the abundant and eternal life.  In consequence, we extend forgiveness without any conditions whatsoever.  This unequivocal forgiveness simultaneously yields unconstrained creativity.

Unconditional Forgiveness Yields Unlimited Creativity - Part II

Unconditional Forgiveness Yields Unlimited Creativity

2 Samuel 13:1-33 – Part II

Lest we laugh at the previously mentioned persons and relegate them as being inexplicably crazy, consider the continual resentment and revenge lists that we keep.  How many people remain on your resentment list?  Have you purged anyone from your vengeance list?  How many people remain on it?  These are the victimizers whom you pray to God to extract His swiftest and severest punishment.  The degree to which we keep, update and rearrange the names on these lists parallels the actions of the three disgruntled persons above.  Moreover, we remain as trapped in the mire of unforgiveness as they did.  Eventually, we become bitter and cynical people imprisoned to the unproductive and purposeless tasks of making our victimizers pay for their “crimes” against us.

I know a young minister who once kept a resentment list of two hundred and fifty-six people.  This clergyperson vividly and meticulously recalled dates, times, places and multiple instances of the ways in which people hurt his feelings, overlooked him, trespassed his kindness, underestimated his skills, demeaned his abilities and failed to reciprocate his goodness.  What an astonishing waste of mental energy and intellectual potential!  Some of us do not even know two hundred and fifty-six people let alone harboring years of resentment against that many people.  This minister did not appreciate the extreme toxicity within his feelings and thoughts.  How could he expect to be creative and industrious given this incalculable drain upon his soul and will?  Moreover, how could he portend to share Christ’s unconditional love with anyone as he continually withheld his forgiveness from those people on his resentment list? 

Again, unconditional forgiveness yields boundless creativity.  If you are stifled professionally, financially and existentially, you may consider whether you continue to withhold your forgiveness from someone who rightly deserves it.  There are new, great and unimaginable vistas God has for us if we will submit humbly and obey His word by unconditionally forgiving everyone.  Actually, God will amaze us with boundlessness freedom when we live at peace with everyone else.  We will discover latent talents and abilities.  We will find ways of translating them into financial success and material acquisition.  We will strive to serve God by serving others.  We will live with purposes of spreading the gospel of Christ and its message of inner healing and wholeness.  We will develop ambitions of building the kingdom of God.  Our souls will sing openly and liberally to the honor and glory of Almighty God.  Freedom to dream and pursue one’s dreams with singleness of purpose is one of the practical benefits of forgiving.

Forgiveness is a selfish act.  We do not forgive people because they need of our forgiveness.  Shakespeare said, “To err is human, to forgive is divine.”  Accordingly, withholding forgiveness perpetually harms us.  As recipients of God’s forgiveness in Christ, we gratefully extend our compassion by forgiving incapacities, brokenness and unresolved pain of people who hurt us.  Forgiveness is a two way street.  One extends as one receives.  Unconditional forgiveness opens the doors and windows of life.  It is a primary prerequisite to becoming a genuine messenger of the Lord’s love with integrity. 

To forgive means to pardon.  It resembles a governor of a state issuing a decree in which a prisoner is released immediately from prison and totally cleared of all crimes and charges whether he or she actually committed them.  A pardon means a clean slate.  Forgiveness, likewise, means that we intend to treat the person who harmed us as if he or she never committed their dastardly deed.

Uncondtional Forgiveness Yields Unlimited Creativity - Part III

Unconditional Forgiveness Yields Unlimited Creativity

2 Samuel 13:1-33 – Part III

We cloak these feelings with the designer religious and rhetorical clothing of “righteous indignation.”  It seems more religiously appropriate and socially acceptable to be righteously indignant than to be murderously angry.  Some believers and churchgoers even rifle through the Bible to find a few scriptures to support their feelings.  Revenge sets in when disciples convince themselves that Almighty God has chosen them exclusively as direct agents of His vengeance.  It is very easy for people of faith to delude themselves into believing that Almighty God sanctions their every thought, feeling and action.  Under the aegis of demanding the rightful consequences of righteous indignation, we cloak self-centered fears that perpetrators will escape as free fugitives of the law.  The culture of Church and religious language become veils for selfish and sadistic motives to see others painfully punished.  Our genuine motivations of finding glee in the destruction of our enemies lie behind the designer and bourgeois religion.

In the compelling and shocking story of this text, Absalom personifies the quintessential archetype of a person who refuses to forgive.  For three years, Absalom nurses his anger toward Amnon for Amnon’s rape and defilement of Absalom’s sister, Tamar.  In time, Absalom’s anger metamorphosizes into rage.  His unrequited gall, personal disdain, unfulfilled judgment, thirst for vengeance and unsatisfied lust for punishment coalesce into murderous fury.  Blinded by the tunnel vision of heartfelt desire to avenge the dignity of his sister, Absalom, in response to David’s inexplicable silence, eventually reasons that the death of Amnon, his half brother and the son of his father, is the only means of rectifying this situation.

The latter chapters of 2 Samuel reveal Absalom’s creativity, industriousness, chutzpah, military acumen, and unrestrained ambition.  Interestingly, as the eldest son of David, Absalom traditionally and legally would ascend to the throne upon David’s death or abdication.  Imagine the possibilities for the reign of Absalom had it occurred within divine providence.  Consider the incredible accomplishments he would have made on behalf of Israel.  He would have defeated all of Israel’s enemies, domestic and foreign.  He would have improved the standard of living of each Israelite.  Yet, his character and personal endowments were corrupted by rage petrified within his mind and heart. 

Absalom’s failure to forgive Amnon forever defined his limitations in life.  Most regrettably, his attitude toward Amnon spilled over into his relationship with his father, King David, whom Absalom disdains because of David’s failure to intervene in this intricate family scandal.  A murderous plot under the aegis of achieving a just outcome to a dastardly deed soon results in a conspiracy to wrestle the reins of power from the king.  As Absalom’s schemes mature into the wanton, cruel and reckless designs to kill men, women and children to whom he is related, he fails to apprehend the gravity of his deeds.  He proceeds with reckless abandonment. 

Had Absalom been successful in his attempt to overthrow his father, his ascension to the throne would not have satisfied him.  The ruthlessness that metastasized within him would have affected negatively every relationship in his life.  A clergy colleague tells the story of going for ice cream one afternoon and observing a St. Bernard tied to a bench outside the entrance.  Unbeknownst to his owner, the dog, unable to evade the leash, somehow manages to wrestle the entire bench out of its pegs.  Then, the dog proceeds to run straightforwardly into traffic to complete his escape.  Concerned and observant motorists slam on their brakes to avoid hitting and possibly killing the dog.  As he flees, the bench flings sideways causing collateral damage to cars and anything in the dog’s path.  As Absalom’s rage transforms into ruthlessness, anyone he encounters become collateral damage to satiate his unrestrained ambition and limitless thirst for revenge.

Examine Absalom’s captivity to these outrageous thoughts and deeds.  What if he had been able effectively to resolve his anger and resentment?  He would have been the recipient of the ultimate liberty and happiness.  He would channel his talents and dreams toward worthwhile causes than striving to appease an insatiable ego.  In many ways, Absalom’s unbridled desire for vengeance conjures memories of Herman Melville’s immortal character, Captain Ahab, who recklessly risk the lives of his crew in order to extract revenge upon Moby Dick for biting off Ahab’s leg.  Given Ahab’s prior success in sailing, imagine the considerable fortune that awaited him from whale oil and other commodities from the sea.  He conceivably could have owned his own shipping line at some point.  However, the bitterness and rage in his heart ate away at his dreams and goals each day.  He subordinated them to his primary purpose of finding the great whale and killing him in exchange for the loss of his leg. Likewise, Absalom develops tunnel vision as he schemes to make Amnon pay for his rape of Tamar.