Hurricanes and Walking on Water

This morning as Hurricane Gustav made it to the U.S. mainland, many television reporters took their traditional places on the streets of the towns that were being bombarded by the storm (New Orleans and Baton Rouge to be specific). One reporter in particular, was standing on a brick wall clinging to a light post. He reported, "I do not want to let go as I will be forced into the Mississippi River directly behind me." And he was right, he gave his whole report clinging to that post, shouting into his microphone in order to give the best description of the conditions as if the picture was not enough. I never quite understood the lengths that reporters would go to cover a story.

I certainly do not want to downplay the disaster that a hurricane brings and I understand the newsworthy need of this storm given that this is the first presence of a major hurricane since Hurricane Katrina tore apart Louisiana and Mississippi three years ago. But what I kept coming back to today was how much attention we give to the storms we are going through personally. As individuals we experience loss, grief, pain, challenges in our relationships, finances, jobs, etc ... we can say we go through storms.

When Jesus invited Peter to come out onto the lake and walk on water to him, Peter only began to sink his attention turned from Jesus and onto the storm. If our time is spent worrying (oh man do I do that well) and stewing about the difficulty we face, we may never see the solution that could be right there in front of us. When Peter cried out because he was sinking, there was hand there ready to pull him up. Is life about the lack of hope we feel or the gift of hope in front of us? We need to keep thinking about that thing called hope and unpack that even further in our dialogue.

Pain, Suffering, and Hope

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance produces character; and character produces hope." (Romans 5:3-4)

100 years of misery. That’s what is being said this year about the Chicago Cubs as it is the 100 year anniversary of their last World Series Championship. 100 years is a long time. Think about the radical change of our country and the game of baseball over the last 100 years, but also the number of world events over that span as well. When they last won, Henry Ford was producing the first Ford Model T. Orville Wright was demonstrating the first “flying machine” , and we hadn’t seen a world war yet. I will say this just once: “this is the longest championship drought in modern sports history.” In fact the NFL, NHL, and NBA were not even in existence in 1908.

100 years, a couple of world wars, a cold war, a shifting in American culture, the creation of technology and plenty of cars and airplanes later ,Cub Fans remain faithful. To be a Cub fan also means you believe in curses. They have not been in a World Series since 1945, the year a Chicago tavern owner brought his Billy Goat to a world series game and he and his goat were denied entrance to the park and he in his anger stated, “Never again will the Cubs play in a World Series.” And we Cub fans believe it because of the black cat in 1969, the ground ball in 1984, Steve Bartman in 2003, and I am sure this article now will provide further jinxing upon the franchise I so dearly love. By the way, the Cubs name means a small bear, though many of you “other” fans believe it means (C.U.B.S) Completely Useless By September.

When Paul wrote to the community in his letter to the Romans, the doubt, the blame, the disconnection ran much deeper than any Cub Fan. Living at Ground zero of the world, at the vortex of political storms, situated as a lightening rod for everything that went wrong in the Roman Empire, these early Christians had every reason believe they were cursed, wondering why they could never experience hope or glory or if there was a way out of all of the evil done to them and wondering if they could ever ultimately triumph. Interesting enough, Scripture says hardly anything about winning. Jesus teaches us that loss is gain and being last means being first. St. Paul writes letter from prison emphasizing a life that gives glory to Jesus Christ over wins and losses.

I hardly find it a curse that my father made me a Cub fan or that I have instilled that in my children. Because suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character and character, hope. Wait til’ next year (the Cub motto) is perhaps the most positive expression of hope in sports. Life is not without disappointment. But hope helps us not only look to brighter days ahead, but to take joy in the life we live or the game we play day in and day out. That takes character, that takes hope.

Two Way Street

I used to hate one way streets. Galesburg, where I grew up (did you know that?), had two one way streets in the whole town. I just stayed away from that side of town. When my sister came to U of I in the late 1980's, I remember my dad getting frustrated with the the one-way streets around C-U. Sometimes one way streets are easier to live by.

When I first started preaching, I was approached by someone who did not like my preaching style because I did not tell her what to believe on the hot topics of our time. I told her that my job was to help her find the tools to discern her faith rather than just tell her what to believe. She disagreed. Her one way road moved on.

This past Sunday in fusion we dived into scripture to talk about heaven and earth. One of the interesting things we discerned is that Modern theology focuses our lives on getting to heaven when we die while scripture keeps telling us that God is coming to us. "See, the home of God is among mortals." "You are the Lord's Temple." "The Word became flesh and lived among us." We spend our lives trying to get to heaven for eternity, God is spending eternity trying to be at home here on earth with us.

Christian living is not one way. Christianity is not just about saving souls. Heaven is just not a place we go when we die. But Christianity is a life long process that includes living in a way that embraces God's realm now as heaven crashes into our earth more often than we think.

I think two way streets are much more difficult when I am trying to meet up with God. My concern is that I can be so focused on my agenda and my will and my direction (thinking that I am on my way to another world) that I will just pass God on God's way to meet me.

Give Me a Sign!

I need a sign, God! Have you ever said that? There is a great scene in Bruce Almighty where Jim Carey's character, in a moment of personal crisis, is driving down the road and beginning to offer up prayer for the first time in a long time. And he says, "just give me a sign God," as he is literally driving behind a Department of Transportation truck full of signs reading Stop, Yield, and Do Not Enter.

We have asked God for a sign when we are desperate for a sense of direction in our lives, whether it be in our careers or relationships. We have asked God for a sign when we were desperate to believe in Faith in the aftermath of a loss. We have asked God for a sign when we didn't know how to handle certain situations. Yet, I know there are times that we think God is sending us a sign. Yesterday, a wounded deer ended up outside our office windows and decided to rest under a tree on the front lawn of the church. A friend asked me if this was some kind of sign from God. Like what ... that Faith is a good place to die or that maybe this was the beginning of the end for my career (Oh My!). Could be?!?! Or it could be that the deer got hit on Prospect Avenue and stumbled over to our lawn.

Church "leaders" through the years have tried to interpret events as signs from God. The 1993 Mississippi flooding was interpreted as God's disapproval of riverboat gambling; Hurricane Katrina as God's wrath on New Orleans and the French Quarter; or the 9/11 events as a sign from God that America was full of sin. I guess this is where we start to feel that your God is not my God, because I can't imagine a God of love committing acts of such devastation upon life.

Interestingly enough, when the people prayed for a sign from God as they did throughout the Old Testament, God instead sent a Son. Flesh. Blood. Breathing. Living. And that Son, lived grace, love, peace. One of my favorite post modern theologians Leonard Sweet writes: "God's greatest sign, God's greatest miracle, isn't a symbol -- it's a person. Here is the work of God required of us all: are you in a believing, trusting, affirming relationship with this heaven-sent Son of Man, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God?"

God's sign is not found in a symbol of a dying deer or a hurricane of devastation or a mistake someone makes towards you .... it is found in a relationship of peace and grace.

This is Faith ... This is Life

I love this picture. I was struck when I came across this image for the first time in early 2007. I have since gone back to this image several times in reflecting upon this year and the many life changing events that have taken place for me.

If you were to analyze this picture, I’m guessing as you leave the stable, flat ground and move across that bridge, you don’t have a clue as to where you are going. Because we have seen Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, many of us would not even venture out on a bridge like this, without a clue as to where this bridge is even attached as it just disappears into the clouds. And the only thing you see beyond the clouds are very jagged peaks and no sign of a stable surface.

Is this faith? Yes, but not that we go blindly but faith in many ways is giving up control. There are lies that we have in our mind that tell us if we do this, then this will happen. It is a part of our control. If we eat healthy, and exercise, then we will live long. That if we are good parents and follow the parenting classes, our children will turn out fantastic. That if we develop a good dating relationship with positive courtship, then there will be a good marriage to follow. But it doesn’t always go that way. That the journey of life is this: plans – that you think will go the distance but don’t – is us putting God in a box, we have to rethink our fundamental understanding that life is a journey, that life is changing. And that God is a part of that evolving into us. There may not be an answer today or tonight. When we’re on the journey, we don’t always know where tomorrow’s provision will come from. I have to keep reminding myself that when we leave control for faith, faith is not the end destination – faith is the journey. Walking out into uncertainty is walking out into faith ... it is walking into life.

But what we do know is this: we are not alone in that cloud ahead. Maybe it’s time for some of us to surrender. There are circumstances that we have tried to control, but haven’t submitted them to God. Perhaps there is some built up anxiety about tomorrow, perhaps that 6 year plan has not fallen in place in our time frame, or under our control. And so maybe as we sit and reflect in this moment, we need to say, “God, I give you my future.” To just let go. Perhaps there is an attitude of control or manipulation that we need to leave behind, because that cloud ahead in this picture? That’s God. Inviting us into God's plan. Faith is not the destination. Faith is the journey.