Anglican Priest takes blame for Sandy!

Last night in the midst of the storm a friend posted a FB warning against people of God pointing fingers at who is to blame for this storm. He warned many will say it is our country or another, it is a political group or over sexual orientation or marriage....the list goes on.

I will save you all. I confess. It was, and is, my fault.

This is not a "doom and gloom", "turn or burn" plea....

I am human, descended from Adam. My ancestors killed for greed, land, sex, power and pride.

We have stripped the land and paved it over. We have stopped God's cycle of regeneration of his land and water and air and people. 

We have run our own lives, all of us, apart from God. All have fallen short.

Was Sandy and act of judgement directly against an action? I cannot tell you, but I can say with full assurance that it was because of my family tree the land is very, very broken. 

So as the winds blew last night and I prayed protection for my house, my children, my friends across the country I looked around at my good but feeble attempts to stop the wind and the waves.

I had a few sand bags, generator, extra food and water. When you look at the images of NYC it looks rather silly.

This is me saying up front, I get it. Uncle, or rather Abba. Jesus spoke to a sinful generation and called them to repent. Do you really think we are any better? Honestly?



 

oh, this will get me into heaven for sure!

Mary and Martha have always intrigued me. I mean really Jesus, if I just stop washing dishes and being busy I'll  be safe with you?

Yep, he did. Check out this verse in Matthew 23:25-26.

“You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something."


If there is one thing Jesus can't stand it's fake, superficial religion. 

Do your spiritual dishes stack up in the sink? Do dirty pots and pans spill over into your lives? Yes, it's good to pursue holiness, but Jesus is very, very clear on how to do it. 

Enter into his presence. Period. 

This is where cleaning really happens. We can't clean ourselves on our own.

Jump in the dishwater. Immerse yourself in the presence of God. You will find dirt, yes, but it will come off and you will be be squeaky clean. 

So why don't we do this? We believe the lie of Satan and are afraid of the cleaning waters of God. Oh, that scouring pad is harsh! Ouch, the water is hot! Oh dear! Lies, lies, lies. 

The Bible tells us that the normative of living in the spirit of God is peace, love, joy, patience, long-suffering....

Come jump in. 

between the devil and the deep blue sea

We are all between the devil and the deep blue sea.

This is the fine line where two hull planks meet. It is a precarious spot, a focal point that holds the tension between disaster and glory, sink or swim.

Most of us most of the time are simply adrift, idyllically bobbing up and down to the gentle sway of a safe harbor.

But as we venture out into deeper waters, and more and more cargo and passengers climb aboard we feel the weight shift and  the hull creak.

Oh to be back in the safe harbor.

I feel like this today and if you are honest you will say you are with me. There is so much going on. We feel as if we are going to sink.

I was born most like a flat-water canoe, one designed for lakes and ponds. It can handle a bit of rough water but it doesn't respond very well. I am a West Hartford kid. My dad worked for the Hartford Insurance Group. I played lacrosse and we barely went to church.

But it seems as if I've been pushed out to sea and sent down class V white water. I've gotten involved in working against human slavery here in America, battling malaria and drought in Tanzania, helping restore lives in Oakville. Twice my wife and I have been on our knees in prayer as different friends at different times were evacuated out of violence. I'm a pastor and have preached across the states and in Africa.

The list goes on and on.
I feel like my boat is overloaded. I am about to sink. I have no free board left. My waterline has disappeared.

I am a flat water boat, but God has other plans for me.

We were not created for flat water...but neither were we made for non-stop white water.

Scripture tells me to be still and know that God is God. It reminds me that in returning and rest I will be saved.

Join with me; kick on your bilge pump. Off load some ballast.

Jesus calls us to place our burdens on him. He means it.

What is consuming your thoughts and status updates these days? Lay them down for awhile.

Your waterline will grow, your hull will plane out, you will float again. 

If Jesus met Jaws...no boat needed

 

"Jesus now called the Twelve and gave them authority and power to deal with all the demons and cure diseases. He commissioned them to preach the news of God’s kingdom and heal the sick. He said, “Don’t load yourselves up with equipment. Keep it simple; you are the equipment.

Well played Mr. Spielberg, well played. Most of America stayed out of the water (salt and fresh) for an entire summer if not for ever. You tapped into our box of fears; of the unknown, the dark places, death, vulnerability. 

In the end the big mechanical shark is forced to choke on a dive tank after which Brody shoots while sitting in the crows nest of the sinking ship proving to us all that yes, man is greater than the boogie man. 

But if we read the texts from the Book of Acts  and Luke we get this; 

"Jesus called  Broady, and Hooper and Quint and gave then authority and power to deal with the shark...don't load yourself up with dive tanks, a boat or guns. Jump in the water and tell it to die."

Now I'm not saying that Christians are to start jumping into shark infested waters to prove their faith. I am saying that most folks who claim to trust God load themselves up with all kinds of gear. Don't we? 

God commanded his followers to jump into deeper waters and face bigger sharks. Bare-handed..but not really. 

 Don’t panic. I’m with you.
    There’s no need to fear for I’m your God.
I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you.
    I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.  Isaiah 41:10

"Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

The fact is Jesus faced a bigger threat than a Great White. He more than kill it. He brought back to life all those innocent he ate. 

He didn't rely on equipment, just His father; 

"Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.
He has destroyed it by enduring it.
He destroyed Hell when He descended into it.
He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.

Isaiah foretold this when he said,
"You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below."
Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with.
It was in an uproar because it is mocked.
It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.
It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.
It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.

Hell took a body, and discovered God.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.

O death, where is thy sting?
O Hell, where is thy victory?

Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!

Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;
for Christ having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!"
                                                                       St. John Chrysostom Easter Homily 
 
 

death is only sleep

Those who have teetered on the precipice of despair understand that Jesus is the God of the lost causes and the desperate. These are the ones who see the next step and know beyond all doubt it will not hold their weight.

 Those who say He is a crutch have never lived here. This is the land of resuscitation, not recuperation. The dead cannot learn to use a crutch.

Jarius was such a man. His daughter lay dead, lifeless. A crutch would do her no good. She needed more, she needed the One who made to her to heal her. She needed Jesus. And her daddy knew it.

Please excuse me to for being blunt for a moment but we all need to understand what actually happened here. Two parents had a very sick little girl, tried all they could do (not stated, but obvious) and to no avail. If you have ever spent time with the parents of a child who is suffering from cancer, or any other illness you have seen what was etched deep into their faces.

Unless you have held a child who has died in your arms, your own child, you cannot understand the chasm that Jesus was being asked to breech.

But to Jesus, it was a nap.

"While he was still talking, someone from the leader’s house came up and told him, “Your daughter died. No need now to bother the Teacher.”

Jesus overheard and said, “Don’t be upset. Just trust me and everything will be all right.” Going into the house, he wouldn’t let anyone enter with him except Peter, John, James, and the child’s parents.

Everyone was crying and carrying on over her. Jesus said, “Don’t cry. She didn’t die; she’s sleeping.” They laughed at him. They knew she was dead.

Then Jesus, gripping her hand, called, “My dear child, get up.” She was up in an instant, up and breathing again! He told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were ecstatic, but Jesus warned them to keep quiet. “Don’t tell a soul what happened in this room.” 

Luke 8:49-56

It is hard to enter into this story. I makes your throat tight, your hear quicken, your stomach sick and your eyes wet. 

We don't want to think of dead children, especially our own. This is a very natural. 

But if we refuse to feel the desperation, we cannot see the miracle nor the joy. 

She woke up! Jesus has destroyed death. He has brought Hope.

Dead men can't use crutches.

God of the possessed and the perfect

In my daily readings Christianity proved itself to be the most inclusive of all religions when it comes to dispensing grace, healing and mercy.

Jesus appears to and claims a man named Saul as his own. He is akin to an Ivy League, Summa Cum Laude Rhodes Scholar from a blue-blood-family who also happened to be killing Christian men, women and children.

“I said, ‘Who are you, Master?’

“The voice answered, ‘I am Jesus, the One you’re hunting down like an animal. But now, up on your feet—I have a job for you. I’ve handpicked you to be a servant and witness to what’s happened today, and to what I am going to show you.
“‘I’m sending you off to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God. I’m sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven, and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in me.’

Acts 26:15-18 

And Jesus also appears to and claims a named who calls himself Legion as his own. He is a akin to a a man possessed by five hundred demonic spirits who lives in a cave outside a cemetery because that is what he was when Jesus met him.  

"Those tending the pigs, scared to death, bolted and told their story in town and country. People went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had been sent, sitting there at Jesus’ feet, wearing decent clothes and making sense. It was a holy moment, and for a short time they were more reverent than curious. Then those who had seen it happen told how the demoniac had been saved.
Later, a great many people from the Gerasene countryside got together and asked Jesus to leave—too much change, too fast, and they were scared. So Jesus got back in the boat and set off. The man whom he had delivered from the demons asked to go with him, but he sent him back, saying, “Go home and tell everything God did in you.” So he went back and preached all over town everything Jesus had done in him."

 Luke 8:35-39 

Power over demons, healing of possession, lover of the discarded and feared, the elite and the invisible. This is the character of God. He came to claim his own, to heal them and make them whole. 
The least likely and the most likely are all given the chance. 

It just always seems that the mostly likely depart while the least likely claim the new life

rubberbands in the hand of Love

We are stretched and pulled in many directions. Our time, our finances, our votes, our patience.

Often we feel we are pulled in so many directions at once we fear we will break...and often we do.

The results can be deviating, to us and those around us.

Is this why we fear being pulled and challenged by God in ways we cannot control?

The Psalmist asked God how he could pulled in opposite direction;

Alongside Babylon's rivers we sat on the banks; 

we cried and cried, remembering the good old days in Zion. 

   Alongside the quaking aspens we stacked our unplayed harps; 

That's where our captors demanded songs, sarcastic and mocking: "Sing us a happy Zion song!" 

 Oh, how could we ever sing God's song in this wasteland? 

Psalm 137:1-4

Jesus said when we are opened to the truth that there is something more to life than what we wear, eat and sit (see Matthew 6:25ff) we will be stretched, especially to the point of breaking.

If you grasp and cling to life on your terms, you’ll lose it, 

but if you let that life go, you’ll get life on God’s terms.

Luke 17:33

If you have been given the gift of faith, it must be used. 

Lamps don't belong under baskets, do they?

Voices cannot remain silent, should they? 

A rubber at rest does nothing but sit.

 

seedy Christians, dirty faith

I am part Hobbit, I suppose. I love growing things. I also am rather "furry" and a tad short. Nevertheless, I am a seedy Christian and I love to live in the dirty places.

Faith needs dirt to grow. The more rotten stuff under us, the better.

Where are you growing? Is it clean? Are you in a pot? Are you in a field? Are you on the side of a cliff?

I was sown years ago and have been around for many seasons. I have seen flood, drought and early frost threaten my roots but the Master Gardener prepared me well.

He has wrapped me in his burlap when the storms hit.
He has fed me in due season.
We has watered my soul when the land was dry.

The seed is completely dependent, as am I. The life I have been given came from another.

I am growing at his pace, in his time, for his purpose, for his glory.


Luke 8:1-15

ordained to die

I love the story of my life, because it has nothing to do with me.

God has used me to do ridiculous things and all I had to do was yield to his call and love, and then hang on and try to keep in step.

I was born in middle-class suburban Connecticut with all the flavor of most folks. We had ups and downs. Along with the rest of the world put the "fun" in dysfunctional.

I played lacrosse, was a land-locked-surfer-wanna-be, and had a fair helping of insecurities and fear. I had undiagnosed learning disabilities, did not finish high school until after graduation, went to college and was dismissed five times because of grades.

I loved the dead, dabbled in drugs, almost drank myself to death (thank you New London Hospital),  became a "real" surfer and rode huge hurricane swells, climbed rocks coast-to-coast and loved to get my freak on.

Then for no reason other than love God called me to himself.

The ride has really become interesting.

To make a long love story short, by the grace of God I found my way to what has become my home-away-from-home; the red earth patch of Heaven called Tanzania.

This mis-fit knelled before an Anglican Bishop and with absolute adoration to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords said yes. I willing laid my life down for His Glory. He ransomed me from death. I will go where ever he wants, speak His words, and do his will.

Beloved, if you are baptized into Christ, you have been given the same ordination as me. You have been called, separated and sent.  What is holding you back from living into your piece of the Universal Priesthood? What is keeping you from experiencing the fullness of life you have been given? 

To die is to gain!

dirt yachting

Suffering is hard to understand when we claim that there is a loving, merciful God residing over us. 
"How could thus-and-such happen?" 

Waters kill innocent thousands
Disease wastes away children
Drunks walk away while while wives are buried.

The world-view of the Bible says that horrific acts are allowed effects, not desired effects. 

Suffering is the result of humankind's desire to replace love with pride;

"..for when you eat of it you will be like God.."

Genesis 3:5

The arrogance led to the destruction of  relationships...

between people and God

     between people and people

          and between people and the earth

So we kill each other, our land that once watered itself is slowing wasting, the sun will burn out, the earth breaks, babies die, old people die...

Now if the earth (think floods) brings harm, we can pray
If others bring harm (think abuse) we can jail and pray
If we bring harm, we can repent and seek forgiveness and pray

"Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,

    because the Lord has a charge to bring

    against you who live in the land:

“There is no faithfulness, no love,

    no acknowledgment of God in the land.

² There is only cursing,^[a] lying and murder,

    stealing and adultery;

they break all bounds,

    and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

³ Because of this the land dries up,

    and all who live in it waste away;

the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky

    and the fish in the sea are swept away.

Hosea 4:1-3

We can't jump on the wagon and yell "our nations  sin is causing this to happen!" because, well we don't know. Sure a nation can become so self-absorbed (read prideful) that God has and does at times use what he has at his disposal to let us look at what we are doing and stop in much the same way self-destructive abuse brings sickness that forces us to stop lest we die. 

But we must not say "since we don't know" we are not going to seek God's face for healing No, this is not the old-school "god is messing with us" like the Greeks and Pagans thought because we know that Yahweh desires us to turn to him and live. He does not take delight in any death or pain. We know this because he himself bore our death. 

So are we stuck in a game? No. 

God desires to heal our land, our lives with each other and our relationship to him... but it needs to be in the reverse order. 

I would lay good odds that those who find this most offensive are the ones who are most stubborn to try it out.We are yachting in the dirt when we live on our own will and pride. What a shame when the Waters of Life are staring us in the face saying jump on in.

Would you die for me please?

I met these kids four years ago while I was working with a mobile medical clinic in a remote area of Tanzania. I was 20,000 miles from home because God had sent me there for three reasons; to keep babies alive, to share the message of Jesus, and to show me that He himself had gone to the end of time for me.

My work in Africa is very personal;
My first trip I had learned that babies and children die because when they are sick and contract the mortality rate is huge. A three dollar net can help cut this down. My wife and I had lost our son in childbirth three days after seminary. It was a no-brainier...I would give my life so that mom's and dad's would not suffer what we had.

I have also been given a passion to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ...the real Good News: God loves you to the point of offering up his own life. In Him is hope, joy and power even in the midst of hell. Following him is a sacrificial life but it is full beyond words.

Lastly, God wanted to show me the distant he traveled and what he endured to get back his beloved children.

These three boys were Muslim but if you look around the next of the one in the middle he is wearing a charm given to him by the local witch doctor. This is very common. If praying doesn't work try something else. They were by my side all day long and before I left we shared an orange and I sat and told them of the God who traveled farther than I did to see them, and spent more money than I had. I told them his name was Jesus, and that he had come to free his people from death, and pain and bring them a full abundant life. I told them he was killed so that his children would not.

I gave them crosses to remind them of the story. They were elated but began muttering. My friend who was interpreting for me told them that they would be beaten for having the cross. I asked if they wanted to give them back, they said no.  They would be beaten.

Do you see? Jesus was beaten so that we would not?

Will you give up control of your life for the God who gave up his life for you?

 “But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I’m completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there. I do know that it won’t be any picnic, for the Holy Spirit has let me know repeatedly and clearly that there are hard times and imprisonment ahead. But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God."

Acts 20:22-24