The Qualified and The Ordained

1Timothy 3:8-10

Deacons likewise must be serious, not double-tongued, not indulging in much wine, not greedy for money; they must hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them first be tested; then, if they prove themselves blameless, let them serve as deacons.

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I'll learn to work the saxophone
I play just what I feel
Drink Scotch whiskey all night long
And die behind the wheel
They got a name for the winners in the world
And I want a name when I lose
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues

"Deacon Blues" by Steely Dan

So what does it take to lead the church? Paul says it's about behavior and attitude. To be serious does not mean to be dire, but it means to be attentive. It does not mean not to be fun-loving, but it does mean that there is a time and place for being intent to the job at hand.

Lying, cheating, and stealing are bad. Paul makes this clear. As for drunkenness, that's out. He isn't saying a glass of wine with dinner is bad though. Wine with meals was ordinary so he wouldn't stand against that. Making a living is one thing, being greedy another. Paul would not despise the rich, just those whose riches come on the backs of others.

Here's the fun one, holding fast to the mystery of faith with a clear conscience. One of the concepts of the mystery of faith is that our understanding ends up opening up an even more glorious depths of mystery. The more we know the more there is to know. We should seek God, and we should share what we know and what we learn; and it should always be done with the firm and certain knowledge that God is more than we could ever imagine.

In the end though, the Dan shows us that there are none among us without sin. There are folks who take drunkenness behind the wheel to dire consequences. Paul says "if they prove themselves blameless, let them serve as deacons." The Dan says there are those who pass the test and those who fail. I say that because of the mystery of faith, there are those who fail the test and will be ordained, they become deacons.

By grace and through the Holy Spirit the work is still redeemed. God bless Deacon Blues.

The Wealth of Value

Psalm 52:6-7 (NRSV)

The righteous will see, and fear,
and will laugh at the evildoer, saying,
“See the one who would not take
refuge in God,
but trusted in abundant riches,
and sought refuge in wealth!”

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Your everlasting summer and you can see it fading fast
So you grab a piece of something that you think is gonna last
Well, you wouldn't know a diamond if you held it in your hand
The things you think are precious I can't understand

"Reelin' in the Years," written by Walter Becker and Donald Fegan recorded by Steely Dan from "Can't Buy a Thrill"

All that glitters is not gold. Fool's gold is another way to say this. Where do you place your trust? This is a question to be answered.

It's easy to place trust in wealth, with wealth it would seem that everything else could be much, much easier. But scripture and anecdotal evidence of lottery winners say different.

There are scores of stories about lottery winners who took their new found riches and promptly ruined their lives. The old tale of the lotto winner who declared bankrupcy is known nation-wide. Professional athletes and entertainers who sign huge contracts and become bankrupt overnight are a sad truth. Stories of people who are swindled by offers that are too good to be true are all over the news. The latest internet swindle is only a mouse click away.

Between irresponsible spending, poor investments, and trusting people who had no earthly reason being trusted; these stories happen all too often. And they happen to people who place too much value on wealth--instead we need to place more wealth in value.

The value we must trust in is the grace and peace of the Lord. We are to trust in what God creates and not in what we collect. Frankly, there are too many times when we human beings have trouble discerning what is good for us and what is not. As The Dan sing, "you wouldn't even know a diamond if you held it in your hand." What we consider precious often is just fool's gold.

Our refuge is in the Lord. The Lord alone is all that will last.

Kings and Kingdoms

John 18:36-37

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

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No marigolds in the promised land
There's a hole in the ground
Where they used to grow
Any man left on the Rio Grande
Is the king of the world
As far as I know

"King of the World" by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen recorded by Steely Dan on "Countdown to Ecstasy"

Steely Dan often wrote in odd and exotic metaphor. Written in the early 1970's, this song was the Dan's vision of what could happen if the cold war suddenly got very, very hot. It's a post-Apocalyptic, post-Nuclear-Holocaust vision of what's left of the American Southwest.

It's a bleak and desolate place, there are few people and no marigolds. Just to make this more convoluted, marigolds historically represent Mary the mother of Jesus and Queen Elizabeth I. Being the Virgin Mary and England's Virgin Queen, marigold in this sense represents virginity. That's what they mean by no marigolds, no virgins. What they mean is the world is a place of extreme violence where no innocence survives. There is nothing short of rape and murder left in the world.

As for the hole, it represents the bomb crater, or worse.

Is it any wonder Jesus says he is not the from this world? Is it any wonder Jesus tells Pilate that he is not the King of this world? He's a king, he's just not the king of a world that is willing to blow itself up several times over or willing to kill God just to maintain the way we've always done things.

This is the horrible, violent, graceless sort of a world that only a human being can create. God made the world, but what has been made of the world is something else entirely.

Jesus says that those who belong to the truth listen to his voice. The next verse has Pilate asking "What is truth."

Truth walked the world. Truth shared not just his words and his works and his wisdom with the world, he shared his entire self with the world. The truth is that there is no sacrifice to small, no sacrifice too large for God. God seeks relationship with creation. God seeks the reconciliation of the world. This is the truth. God does not want the end that is oh so easy to see coming down the road from the early '70's.

Our Lord is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. The kingdoms that we create are not the kingdoms God would have us create. That is not what God wants for this world. Don't worry though, this is not the Kingdom God established. This is the truth Pilate could not see. This is the truth we must seek.