High Hopes

New Oxford Harvest Day

We had a fun day this past Saturday.  It was the Harvest Festival in the town of New Oxford (one of our church’s local  communities).  It was a full day of activities: a craft fair in the morning, a parade in the afternoon, and a block party at night.

New Oxford doesn’t have a whole lot of events where the community comes together throughout the year, so we were not about to miss this one.  We didn’t do much, just set up a booth on the square, rented a popcorn machine, handed out bags of popcorn and lemonade, and chatted it up whenever we could with folks passing through.  Most of them had never heard of our church, and most of them we’d never met before, so it was a good round of introductions.

It was a great time…unexpectedly!  The weather forecast for Saturday was rain and more rain.  But somehow, New Oxford missed most of the downpour while surrounding areas got hammered.   I’d practically written the day off early Saturday morning, but by day’s end, I was quite thankful for the nice time of simply being a part of the community and getting to know our neighbors a bit.

We kept the booth up through most of the morning and afternoon then just hung out  for the parade.  The parade lasted perhaps 40 minutes or so, and half of that was floats from the big church in town.  So there’s some room to grow there I think.  We split for dinner and then I brought the girls back over for some wild dancing at the block party.  Yes, our girls love to “get down” and do so quite enthusiastically.  They take after their mother.  :)

The Strange Prayers of Proud People

I often find myself wishing I prayed more and that my prayers didn’t seem so shallow…or pagan even (“God make it rain”). I’ve callously brushed off my weaknesses with affirmations from fellow strugglers (“Yeah, don’t we all wish we prayed better”) or the notion that some people are just made to be “prayer warriors”…and it’s okay that I’m not one.  The dirty residue though always left me a bit uneasy.   I would self-justify to feel better, but then wonder, is there a better explanation, a solution even?

I’ve been reading Eugene Peterson lately, who seems to know me…

Poverty is the condition in which we do not have what we need to live adequately, to discover our urgent need for God, and so acquire energy to learn the language of prayer.  Wealth is the opposite condition: we have far more than enough, and in the process of building a barn that can handle the “more than enough” our language is emasculated of the personal and relationship.  We lose our basic sense of neediness, God – neediness, and lose both interest and fluency in the language of prayer.  (comments on Luke 12:13-21 in his book, Tell it Slant)

I don’t like the way poverty feels.  The idea seems less-than-human to me.  We’re not talking finances here necessarily.  Poverty is simply the notion of not having what it takes.  I lust after affirming words and self-conjured reasons for avoiding such a thought.

It doesn’t take us long to realize that we are set down in a world prodigious in wealth…With all this wealth in and around us, who needs God other than in a conventional way, a beneficent figure to whom we are taught to give thanks, like children receiving gifts from their grandparents, to make sure that the gifts will keep coming?

So the ever pressing question is, how does the God who supplies life to “fallen-short people”  fit in with a world full of people trying to block out the notion of fallen-short? Is He just someone who makes sure our end of life is accounted for?  Is He a shot in the arm that lands us back on that track of personal success when times get tough?  Is He someone who cleans the slate (of past failures) so we can start over with the business of “making it” in life?

We do not become less needy, less dependent when we pray; we become more needy, more dependent – which is to say, more human.  When we pray we dive ever more deeply into the very human condition from which sin alienates us and Christ saves us.

Jesus dying under the penalty and curse of sin.; Jesus beating that curse and bringing to this world new creation; Jesus sending His Spirit to indwell, daily relate with, change and make new; all this is daring the world (Christians included!) to see present humanness very differently.  It implies there is brokenness that needs a lifetime to be healed.  It suggests there is neediness and poverty that can be supplied only by someone who has beaten the bankrupting curse.  I think the reason prayer seems so strangely shallow to me is because the real Jesus is a tad painful to look at.  I’m cautious about deeply relating with Christ because I know that means bringing my emptiness to Him for fill, confessing “insufficient!” so that His life and power would fill me day by day.  Sure, I’ll do that for a brief while in the morning, or perhaps when something way out of my hands comes to mind (i.e. a friend’s illness).  But to sense that the core of my humanness is a broken dependence on new life enjoyed in relationship with Christ’s Spirit…?

Pastors think people come to church to hear sermons.  They don’t; they come to pray and to learn to pray.

Sweet Sounds of Philly

So much worth posting about when it comes to the Phillies.  I’ll simply ask a question though: Is it wrong that my most sentimental moments thus far in the playoffs have been the times Manny Ramirez steps to the plate at Citizens Bank Park and the crowd breaks forth in beautiful harmony: “You Took Steroids” clap, clap, clap-clap-clap?

An Addendum

Okay, I confess, I’m a talk radio junkie.  See, the problem really is that I have an uncanny knack for falling asleep at the drop of a hat.  It’s a blessing and a curse.  The curse comes into play on long car rides, which for some reason, seem an endless ingredient in my life.   Music induces the “drowsies” while talk radio keeps me awake.  Don’t ask me why or how, it just does.  Perhaps it’s the affect it has on my blood pressure.  Regardless, because of my junkie-ness, I can’t escape thinking about all the political debates/discussions out there.   For better/for worse I posted a few thoughts on the healthcare debate a short time ago.  I’ve since been thinking a lot about the difficult question of health care and Christian ethics.  It actually was spurred by a secular liberal radio host I was listening to on my way through D.C. recently.  I want to add a brief addendum here to my earlier post.

Put simply, I wanna say that if we as Christians are wanting the government to make America a “Christian nation” or at least do the best it can to preserve it’s Christian-ness, then wouldn’t we want them to make sure sickness and disease receives available treatment?

Now, why would I say that?  Part of reason is that as I listen to all the conservative criticism of the health care proposals, what I don’t hear is anyone applauding the liberals for being concerned about the health and well-being of individuals.  Plenty of name calling, dubious spinning of the issues, etc., (by both sides actually), but no one giving praise where praise is due.  No matter our opinion of their actual proposals, as Christ-followers, we absolutely have to share their concern for people who may not be receiving adequate health care…for whatever reason.  That seems to me an obvious point given the admonitions of Jesus (cf. Matthew 25), James (2:15-16), and others.  Even apart from proof-texting the issue, we can’t rightly say we have Christ’s love for others if we don’t care about their well-being.  Christ is the example par excellence of sacrificial, pro-active loving resulting in genuine compassion and care.

So in my opinion, one thing Christians can definitely contribute to the whole debate is a willingness to say, “Whether or not we agree on the solution, good for you in seeing the need to address the issue.  We share your concern.”  I haven’t heard any commentator come close to saying something like that.  It’s as if we’re so bent on portraying opposite parties as destructive enemies that we don’t dare give any credit or point out merit where it is due.  Christian speech needs a different objective and flavoring.

Getting back to my original thought, if as a Christian I want my government to preserve Christian ethics and even force the American populace to conform to that ethic, then why wouldn’t I want the government to take care of the sick (ala the ethic of Matthew 25)?  When people hear Christians say they want the government to prohibit same-sex marriage and at the same time say the government shouldn’t be in the business of providing for people’s health care, I can kinda understand why they scratch their heads and charge the Church with hypocrisy.  We gotta face up to that and come up with a consistent response.  And we shouldn’t take our cues from Rush Limbaugh who, to my knowledge, isn’t a part of any Church.  Not that I disagree or agree with the guy.  I just have to approach and answer the issues differently as a Christ-follower.

Now, it just so happens, I don’t think it’s the job of the government to make America a Christian nation.  I think that’s the job of Jesus Christ and His ambassadors.  And in fear of opening all sorts of political controversies on this blog…that’s all I have to say about that  (though I’m sure I could be cajoled into letting a bit more slip).

My intent here was simply to add an addendum to that previous post.  I wouldn’t want any reader to walk away with the impression I don’t care about the health care problem in our country… and the world for that matter.  I do… and suggest the heart of a Christ-follower should break at the thought of any of God’s image suffering from lack of accessibility to available health treatment.  I take my cues there from the cross.

Grilled Cheesesteak Stromboli

A major hardship of moving out to New Oxford has been cheesesteak withdrawal.  We’re well beyond the radius of reliability when it comes to getting a quality steak from a local pizza joint (though, I have a few recommendations I have to follow up on yet).   I didn’t anticipate this beyond such a difficulty as I figured I’d be able to make my own.  However, a cheesesteak is only as good as the roll it’s made on.  And out here, I’m struggling to find decent rolls.  Amoroso doesn’t sell their rolls past the Susquehana.  And apparently, Philadelphia water has a unique level of acid (and who knows what else), producing bread that can’t be duplicated anywhere else.

My best attempt at a solution:  grilled cheesesteak strombolis.

If you don’t make your own pizza dough, you can usually pick up some at the grocery store or local pizza shop.  You roll that out into semi-thin squares and prep it for the ingredients.

Ideally, you would ask the meat guy at the grocery store to chip up some nicely marbled rib eye for you.  The Giant I go to has no meat slicer.  Go figure.  So I typically settle for your run of the mill steak-ums (thin slabs of “steak” packaged together in the freezer section).  Fry and chop a bunch of those up (depending on how much you want) on a skillet.  When the pink is gone, take it off and pile it on half the dough square (on the diagonal).

Next comes the cheese, American or Mozzerella will do (cheese wiz for the really adventurous).   Top it with a bit of tomato sauce and whatever other veggies you may be inclined towards (friend onions, peppers, etc).

Fold over the unused half and double back along the edges to seal everything in.

While all this is going on, get your charcoal set up and laid out to one side of the the grill.  Because dough tends to be delicate, I only use a dozen coals or so.

Make sure the grate is heavily oiled.  I even oil up the stromboli.  Then place it over the coals.  It’ll only take a few minutes per side to get things nice and crispy.  If you need to let it cook a bit, just move it to the section of the grill without coals underneath and cover the grill.

Serve with some extra sauce and Utz potato chips.  Not nearly as good as the real thing, but it’s holding me over somewhat ’til my next trip to Geno’s.

Micah and Health Care

I’ve generally steered clear of too much political talk here (aside from the opportunity to cynically mix in talk about baseball).   Recent comments on the prophet Micah though have had me thinking through much of the week, especially as I’ve been preparing this week’s sermon.  So in the name of sermon study, here are some wholly uninspired thoughts related to ancient Micah and the current health care debate.

I venture Micah would likely frame the discussion under the category of covenant life.  He’s a covenant prosecutor on God’s behalf (1:2, 6:2).  So whether he’s going after greedy land barons who are oppressing the less fortunate (2:1-2,8), or crying “unjust” as crooked magistrates turn a blind eye (3:1-4), the issue is always that God’s people are being robbed of the covenant life their shepherd-king intended for them.  The land was a means of nurturing the life God intended them to enjoy as His people (2:2).   That’s why it is called an inheritance.  It was given by God for His purpose…not acquired by men for theirs.   Micah portrays God, among other things, as the militant father, taking up the arm of justice in defense of His people.

It’s a relatively safe bet that Micah would expect modern states to safeguard life, to preserve the life God gives to His people.  Now, as it relates to health care, it’s a whole other debate as to whether he would think it the state’s job to actually provide the care or to simply safeguard the system from injustice so that people could maintain without fear the life God provides.  Personally, I find it hard to understand fully what is Micah’s job description for state officials.

It’s interesting that he never really goes there.  Where he does go is into “the latter days” (4:1)  – when Zion will be lifted up, the nations streaming to it for instruction and then going out to live according to it’s paths (4:2).  The results are quite dramatic:  weapons of war becoming vessels for cultural improvement (4:3), a realized peace, and a safe enjoyment of God’s covenant blessings (4:4).

Without stirring up too much “end times” excitement, it’s hard to read the New Testament and not conclude that Zion (the place where God dwelt with His people) was indeed lifted up… in the lifting up of the incarnate Son of God.  To that temple (cf. John 2 and 4)  all men are now being drawn (John 12:32).  And from there – from Christ Himself and the church gathered to Him – instruction and renewal is going forth (Matt. 28:19-20).   There’s certainly much more to say there, but that’s for another post perhaps.

The more important point here is that Micah’s vision of just renewal is intimately related to God’s people embracing His Word and intentionally walking according to it’s paths (4:2).   And this is exactly what Micah summons His people to do, even though the future isn’t realized at that point.  Even though it may seem utterly strange to the surrounding nations with their cultural practices, perhaps even those within Israel’s gates who’d adopted such practices, Micah defiantly sets his course (4:5).

So what does this have to do with health care?  Well, when it comes to these important “life” and justice issues, the Church need not wait on the government to solve the problem.  She can take initiative, step out in the victory of Zion and the bright promise of His consummation, and prayerfully pursue that which Micah expected to see when God’s people were “walking” in His paths.  I fear that when it comes to “life”, the church equates “walking” with casting a ballot.  We vote for politicians who dangle the carrots of Roe V. Wade reversal, full-fledged war on poverty, or public options for health care…and then take a much needed rest from our long day’s walk.  Pheww!

Imagine if the church traded popular cultural values and embraced the values of the cross – sacrificial surrender for the life of others.  Imagine if the sick were treated, the unborn rescued, the poor considered, not because the government finally came to their senses and claimed Jesus as Lord, but because the Church celebrated without abandon His life and death in mercy, giving, compassionate care.  Imagine the renewal of justice Micah dreamed about.  Imagine how clear the image of a sacrificial Savior might become to a world lost in a cloud of meaningless values.

Wherever the government finally lines up on these issues, the Church has a most sacred opportunity, not just to vote right or left, but to be the body of Her sacrificial savior, and witness the streams of renewal that flow from Him (John 19:34 cf. Ezek. 47:1-12).

A Most Spiritual Night

Sunday night was a first for our young church…and for me…our first baptism service.  It was a great night.   The “family” gathered late afternoon at a local state park (with a nice lake!).  We sang and prayed together, read from Ezekiel 36, heard a wonderful testimony from a young woman who started coming to our church a little over a year ago, and then headed down the bank to the lake (turning the eyes of a few casual picnic-ers as we went).  Upon a reaffirmation of her faith in Christ as her sole redeemer, she entered and rose from the water, effectively receiving God’s covenant sign of affirmation.  After singing a stanza of Amazing Grace (her favorite hymn), it was back up the hill for some fried chicken, fruit salad, and hoagies.

As it was my first such experience as a pastor, I’ll say it was quite humbling to “officiate” this very Spiritual and grace-filled celebration.  Baptism is such a neat thing in that it tangibly and very visibly conveys a powerful spiritual reality…that God through Christ has purchased this individual to be part of His relentlessly loved, forever-cleansed bride.   Grace was operating in this event.  It was operating in the life of Barbie…and in the family that watched on the shore.  Standing in the water, noticing God’s beautiful arena, seeing the smiles gazing back, hearing Jesus embraced, knowing the Spirit was “placing the ring on the finger”, I was struck by how dynamic an event this is.  I hope our whole family caught sense of that.

The rest of the night was filled with good conversation, Kayak rides out to the bridge and back, the usual banter on our respective sports teams as we chucked the football around, and kids enjoying the setting together.

After everyone headed home, Amy, the girls, and I camped out for the night and spent the next day further exploring the lake (via Kayak) and park.

Enjoying…

Two music groups I’ve been enjoying recently:

The first is a Norwegian jazz/avante garde group named Trygve Seim.  Stumbled on them via Pandora.com.  Good stuff for anyone who enjoys soaking in various shades of sound and thinking about their music a bit.

The second is Derek Webb, former lead vocalist for Caedmon’s Call.  Admittedly, it’s taken me a good while to come around to Derek Webb.  I’m not a die hard fan of his particular style, but lately his lyrics have hit a nerve while driving around town (his cd “She Must and Shall Go Free” has been in the changer for months).  Some stirring songs about the church and her bridegroom.

Sites of the Day

Here are two quick websites I enjoyed today.

The first shows the latest in video game technology.  The X Box’s Project Natal.  Unbelievable.  I’m not the biggest video gamer, but there’s just enough youth pastor left in me to be awed by some of this stuff.   If you have time to kill, watch the front page demo but then also scroll down and catch the “Lionhead” demo in the gallery.  It’s unbelievable…to me anyway.  And hey, if you’re not into it, you can thank me for pointing you onto the coolest up and coming Christmas gifts (though I imagine ones with a hefty price tag).

The second is a blog posting that lists quite a few prayers of confession.  Over the past year or so, I’ve really come to appreciate the richness of prayers like these (see also “Valley of Vision“).  They have led me in some humbling times of personal confession and then wonderful celebration of Jesus Christ.  They also are great guides in putting together prayers for leading the congregation  during worship (we pray a corporate prayer of confession each week).

So yeah, video games…and prayers of confession.  I hope there’s not a connection there…