Faith Venture

I’m sitting on a private balcony overlooking the famed Doral golf course in Miami, Florida at daybreak. The fountains provide soothing background music. A few birds are beginning to speak. It’s peaceful.

No, it’s not Spring Break for me. It’s business. I’ve been meeting with people all day for two days discussing information technology relating handing over a new petrochemical plant (for example) from the engineers and contractors to the owner/operators. 8 am keynotes always mess up my schedule and my spiritual practices.

In the peace of the moment, my mind flits from quiet to hyper. I plan out everything in my mind. I’m thinking about checking out, getting a taxi to the airport, getting to the airport early enough to check baggage (I don’t usually, but as an Elite customer, my bags fly free and I don’t want to worry about overhead space), finding my way in a strange airport, where’s the United Club–you know the whole trip thing.

It’s silly. Jesus said to not be anxious. I fly probably 20 times a year. I know the routine. My stuff is organized for getting through security efficiently.

Then I thought–you ever wonder what Jesus was thinking this week? Did he plan things out? Or at least play scenarios in his mind going over various alternative outcomes? He knew if he died, then his followers would be saved from certain slaughter as the Romans cracked down on the movement. He knew about resurrection, but he’d never experienced it. So he was facing a new experience. Did he remember his advice about not being anxious?

We don’t get any first person narrative from Jesus in the Gospels. Except for the 40 days in the wilderness following his baptism, every other thing recorded was witnessed by someone and reported in third person descriptions.

But I still wonder what he played in his mind as the events of the week unfolded. And then how he could face the authorities with calm, assurance, confidence.

OK, this was poor scholarship. I didn’t write the name and author of the podcast talk I was listening to. I didn’t find the name of the person quoted. But a couple of months ago I noted in my pocket notebook (where I capture ideas whenever they occur):

“If my people understand me, I get their attention. If they trust me, I’ll get their action.”

This works in so many areas. It works with us individually as leaders–whether in business, in the church or in our families. It works with businesses as they build a brand–if you trust the brand, you will be more likely to buy their products. It works with churches if you are trying to lead the people somewhere. And it works with your relationship with God.

Trust? It means doing what you say you’ll do. Your words and your actions are congruent.

Paul, writing in Romans, says, “But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.” He’s writing here about Abraham (and people like him who followed) who trusted God first without trying to use following laws or doing rituals as a way to please God.

Trust takes a long time to develop but can be lost in an instant. Abraham found God to be trustworthy. He trusted God and God was worthy of that trust–He did what He said. In like manner, Abraham was trustworthy.

As inheritors of that faith, do we find God trustworthy? And are we to be trusted? To be trusted with leadership is an awesome burden, but worthy of a follower of God.

A study group the other day discussed the passage from Matthew 6 where Jesus says to store up treasures in heaven rather than storing up treasures on earth. This is from a long list of “wisdom sayings” gathered in what we call the Sermon on the Mount.

I’ve heard this passage hundreds of times, but this week I’m meditating on the verb “store up.” I suppose from the first time I ever heard this, my mental image was that of a barn out on the farm that is full of things made from precious metals. Somehow this image didn’t really relate to me.

Consider the verse if we used a term common in today’s Western society and even growing in use globally–invest. What are you investing in? For there, we know what your goals and interests are.

Do I personally invest in the growth and health of my body, mind and soul? Or, do I invest in schemes to get rich quickly? Am I accumulating wealth out of worry and fear of the future? Or, do I share from my good fortune when I have some with those in need?

This idea works corporately, too. As a family. As a local church or fellowship gathering. Take for example your local church. Where does it invest its wealth? Does it emphasize maintaining the status quo–attractive building, pastors whose job is to nurture members, save for a rainy day? Or does it invest in helping others, reaching out to others, building a community center, help an unemployed single parent?

For, where you choose to invest your wealth reveals the depths of your heart. Invest in things that are timeless, not in the things that pass away.

Thanks to Seth Godin for compiling these quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr. I saw King in person just once—at a chapel service at Ohio Northern University. There were also the farmers at a downtown Ada breakfast spot who joked about running him off the road as he made has way from the airport out to the University through rural roads. We’ve come a long way since then—but there are still miles to travel.

These apply to our lives in many ways:

“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent.”

“On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, “Is it safe?” Expediency asks the question, “Is it politic?” And Vanity comes along and asks the question, “Is it popular?” But Conscience asks the question “Is it right?” And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right.”

. . .

“We must rapidly begin the shift from a “thing-oriented” society to a “person-oriented” society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.”

. . .

“The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.”

Well, I’m traveling for Christmas. Anticipation of playing with the grandkids. Flying this year. Surprisingly few people flying out of Dayton today.

Mary traveled at this time, too. Don’t know exactly when she traveled and exactly when she arrived in Bethlehem. But she probably walked and rode a donkey, I suppose. Wonder how many of us could make that trip today given our reliance on luxury cars and airplanes?

And she was full of anticipation, too. But even more so. She was about to give birth. She knew the dangers of childbirth, but given the circumstances of her pregnancy, she must have felt confident. She had a clue about this special child she was carrying. Could she have had any premonition of what was to come during then next 32 or so years?

I’m not a woman, so I’ve never experienced all the emotions surrounding pregnancy and childbirth. I can imagine to a degree based on observation and being around it. We know that Mary pondered many things. She must have been quite meditative as the event approached. Talk about anticipation. She must have tested her patience to the extreme.

Today, I’m pondering the excitement, fear, anticipation, trepidation, joy, wonder that she must have experienced. But she grew into being a strong mother–of that I’m sure. And she brought up a strong man.

A full jar is of no further use. An empty jar is ready to be filled.

This is an ancient teaching. If you want the Spirit to enter your life, you must empty yourself in order for there to be room for the Spirit to reside.

It’s just a few days before Christmas. It’s usually a hectic time for Christians in today’s world. Presents to buy. Dinners to plan. Trips to plan. If your mind is constantly filled with all these thoughts, then where is the Spirit to enter?

To use Advent to prepare to celebrate Jesus’ entry into the world, it is useful to find time every day to stop. Stop the busy-ness. Stop the planning. Stop the worries. Just stop. Rest. Empty your mind by focusing on your breathing and allowing thoughts to drift away.

Now you can meditate on some part  of the Christmas story such as I have been exploring this month. Now you are letting the Spirit fill you. Now you can complete your tasks with a new outlook on life. You can plan that dinner in the Spirit of God rather than out of obligation. You can choose and give gifts out of love rather than simply tradition.

Stop now. Take a few deep breaths. Calm yourself. Focus on Mary preparing the manger to receive her baby.

Luke begins with the stories of two women. Elizabeth and Mary. Both became pregnant. Neither was supposed to. Zechariah, Elizabeth’s husband, fits in the story because he saw the vision that foretold Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Joseph is barely mentioned. Joseph is mentioned in Matthew’s Gospel only say that God informed him of what was happening so he wouldn’t bail out.

So, we have two women. Pregnant. Expecting, we call it. When we say that Advent is a season of preparing for the coming of the Messiah in anticipation, expectation, these two had it—in spades, as they say.

Those nine months had to be an agonizing experience. On the one hand, there was the promise each had received of God. On the other hand, childbirth was a scary experience. No doctors, nurses, drugs, hospitals. Could be fatal. It was wonderful anticipation of God redeeming, but also wonder and uncertainty about what it all meant.

For Elizabeth, it meant that the small-town gossips were quieted. She could have a child. She wasn’t a pariah of God. For Mary, on the other hand, it could well have started the small-town gossips to start up. Mary, you remember was supposed to be a virgin (well, we know she was, but you know how people are…).

Have you ever experienced these emotions? You know change is coming. But will it be positive and exhilarating; or will it be pain and suffering? Or, both? Well, either way, if that change is Jesus in your life, you will be able to bear the burden and overcome.

Luke must have liked Hebrew songs. For, in the first chapter of his book, he records another song. This one is from Zechariah, the father of John called The Baptist.

Let’s think about this one a little. Can you imagine Zechariah going home after his tour of duty at the Temple? Remember, he was chosen by lot to go into the Holy of Holies in the Temple to burn incense and offer prayers and sacrifices to God for the people. Instead, he saw an angel sitting there who told him he was about to become a father. Zechariah had some disbelief, so the angel struck him “dumb” that is, he couldn’t speak.

So, he goes home. Then he tries to tell Elizabeth, his wife, that they need to do what it takes to make a baby because God told him to. But he can’t speak. That must have been interesting. See, Elizabeth was most likely past child-bearing years. An American woman would just say, “Oh, right…” (well maybe not, but I could see that on a TV sitcom in my mind anyway).

However it happens, Elizabeth becomes pregnant. But Zechariah has to stay quiet for nine months. Then when the baby is born and is properly named, Zechariah can suddenly speak. All of this is miraculous and the people around are all amazed.

So does Zechariah say, “Wow, you’d never believe what happened to me in the Holy of Holies.” No, he sings a song. When you’ve had a deep spiritual experience, it’s difficult if not impossible to express it in mere prose. I’ve tried it. Just doesn’t happen.

Zechariah’s song is much different from Mary’s. He first recognizes God for fulfilling his promises given since Abraham to his people. Then he announces what the angel told him–that John will become the Prophet of the Most High announcing the forgiveness of sins. Then he announces the coming Messiah who will “give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

I wonder if he, like Mary, went around singing that song as John grew up. After all, somebody remembered it so they could tell Luke. And songs are written to encourage memorization. But only with repetition. And, when you are in the Spirit, you sing truth you didn’t realize you knew.