New Year's Day

Psalm 131

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time on and forevermore.

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All is quiet on New Year's Day

"New Year's Day" by U2 by Bono and U2 from the album "War"

This is a time of year of stillness and quiet, a time of reflection. Some plan New Year's resolutions and how to use new exercise equipment. As for me, in my teens I made that resolution to quit making resolutions and so far so good. Jaded, but it's an easy one to keep and it comes up only once each year.

As I take this moment, as I have calmed and quieted my soul on this New Year's Day, there is only one thing I know with absolute certainty, my hope is in the Lord from this time on and forevermore.

People hope and trust in all manner of things. For some it's money, cash and assets will buy them security. For others the answer is guns, power and might save the day. To some information is power where for others hoarding information is power. For others the only value of information is for the value of sharing it to harm others, whether by malice or snark.

Our hope is in something more, in something different. Our hope is in something greater than what can be created by human hands. Our hope is in the Creator of human hands. Our hope is in the one who created things so great and so marvelous that it is futile to occupy my time with trying to see how great and wonderful they are.

Oh, it doesn't stop people from trying, it sure doesn't stop me. I just have to remember that when I do imagine my thoughts are so far from the truth that it's like a drop in a glorious sea.

So in this time, in this time of stillness and reflection. In the quiet of this New Year's Day, let us remember our hope is in the Lord from this time on and forevermore.

The Blessing of "And"

Genesis 32:24-30

Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.”

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Jacob wrestled the angel
And the angel was overcome.

"Bullet the Blue Sky" by U2

Jacob got his name because he was born holding on to his twin brother's heel. Jacob also means "He supplants." That's not the kind of name you want in this life. You'd always wonder if he was coming to supplant you next. And that's what got Jacob into trouble with Esau. Jacob had supplanted Esau taking his older brother's birthright and his father's blessing, and it almost got him killed.

So years later, Jacob went to meet his brother, sending before him a generous gift. He was hoping this gift would help his brother forget. The night after he delivered his gift, and the night before he met his brother, Jacob wrestled with the angel. Did he grab the heel?

This was when Jacob became Israel. This is when the birth of the nation truly began. This is when the people of God started to become the people of God, this is when the reign of God took the face of a people. Not with a great battle, but with a limp.

The clip is from the movie "Rattle and Hum" and at the beginning of this clip Adam Clayton says something I strongly agree with, "There are people who would say that you shouldn't mix music and politics, or sport and politics, or whatever; but I think that's kind of bullshit."

On the side bar of this blog I am a bit more diplomatic saying, "It is said that there is a difference between the sacred and the secular, the holy and the profane. As for me, I say those are false separations. If we believe that all things come from the Lord, we must believe all things come from the Lord."

Everything comes from God. The power of a people, the power of a nation. There is separation between church and state in America, but there is no separation between God and God's people. This is what must be remembered. We must strive to be a nation of "and" not a nation of "but." In eternal life, a life we can embrace on earth, there is more than enough for all.

Jacob has striven against God and won, for that he was blessed. Imagine what can happen when sport and politics and art and God come together for something greater? That will be a blessing.

Seeking and Being Sought

Psalm 37:7

Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him;
do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
over those who carry out evil devices.

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I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2

Wanting in and of itself isn't a bad thing. It's how advancements are made. Necessity is the mother of invention. If you're happy with everything then there's nothing else you want. But this life is not all that there is, and as people of Christ we want more. Of course as creatures infected with sin, there's more stuff we want that's not good for us than what is good for us.

The evil in our society always seem to have more and better stuff. But we are still called not to fret over their success. So that leaves the rest of us wanting and wondering. We seek the better things yet we strive to live a better life than a robber-baron. We might shake hands with the devil, but we are also called to tell him that we don't want any. The tongues of the angels are more of what we are to seek, these keep us warm at night. U2 has this part right.

U2 also has this part right which comes from the end of the song:

I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colors will bleed into one
Bleed into one
But yes I'm still running

We know what we believe in. We know the source of our salvation. We know salvation comes by grace through faith. But still we run. What do we run from? More U2 shows us:

You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross
Of my shame
Oh my shame
You know I believe it

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for

Our only answer is to be still and know that as we are seeking what we are looking for, God seeks us at the same time. God seeks us from the cross cast in our sin and shame that breaks our bonds and looses our chains. So we do need to seek, we need to seek the face of God. The Good News is that God seeks us too.

Who Dies for a Righteous Person?

On the anniversary of the death of the Rev. Martin Luther King


Romans 5:6-11

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

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Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

"Pride (in the Name of Love)" by U2

There's the question, "Who dies for a righteous person?" Well, Paul had it right in the letter to the Romans, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person. It seems all too obvious from the witness of scripture that the righteous person ends up dying for the unrighteous. It's always the most righteous who die for the unrighteous. That's the way is has always been and will continue to be. There's no sign this trend is changing.

When we look at the martyrs of the ages, the apostles, Stephen in the first century, even the reformers-they were all willing to die for two things-God and that people would know Him. The martyrs were willing to die for God and the people. So too with Martin Luther King, Jr.

King and the martyrs died not so that their names would be remembered by history, but so that Our Lord will be known in the world. This is what they boast, this is their pride-that we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. This is what they boast, this is their pride-that we boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

And all this while sinners.

Thank God for MLK, more than for what he did which was formidable, but in whose name he did it, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is worthy of boasting. This is worthy of pride.

Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, free at last.

The War at Home, The War in the Streets

Luke 12:52-53

From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:

father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

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The worst things in the world
Are justified by belief

"Raised by Wolves" by Adam Clayton, David Evans, Larry Mullen, Paul Hewson, recorded by U2 on "Songs of Innocence"

The words of Jesus are doing something interesting here. Conventional wisdom says his coming will cause people to pick sides and Holy War will follow. I want you to consider something else...

Consider Jesus is just telling a simple truth here. Nothing wild and wooly. Nothing broad and theological. Nothing deep and intellectual. This isn't PhD stuff. Jesus is just telling a simple truth. When you pick him, not everyone's going to like it. Some will really hate it.

In fact let me add this little gem, if your people follow one way and you decide to follow another, you'll become the enemy. Islam plays this out with the Shiite and the Sunni. The Irish played this out with Catholics and Protestants. This song is based on four bombings in Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland on May 17, 1974. Three bombs exploded in Dublin during rush hour and a fourth exploded in Monaghan almost ninety minutes later killing 33 adults, one unborn child, and injuring over 300. A friend of Bono's named Guggi was there. The experience never left him. It led him into a life of pain and addiction.

Killing over God? No. Killing over the trappings of what we put forth in front of God. The things that pit father against son and son against father and so on.

Why is it when we read this it seems so stupid? It seems so logical that we need to stop doing this? Maybe that's just the next level of our Lord's warning. Sin is stronger than we are, but grace is more abundant than sin. Grace is greater than sin. Guggi is better. He's an artist now in Dublin. He's married and has five children. Praise God...and beware the wolves. Look for the truth in Christ, the simple truth is some of the best.

Blood

Hebrews 9:22

Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

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How long?
How long must we sing this song?
How long?
How long?

"Sunday Bloody Sunday" by U2

Purified in the blood. That's the way of the Old Testament. Blood Atonement is also a way for Mormons. In fact, when Utah legalized death penalty again in 1976, the first execution was of Gary Gilmore who chose firing squad over hanging in accordance with the Mormon concept of blood atonement.

The lamb of God, this is one of the titles Jesus is known by. He was the paschal lamb slaughtered for the sins of creation. He was the paschal lamb whose blood makes all clean again.

The U2 song "Sunday Bloody Sunday" isn't exactly based on the Bloody Sunday of 1920 or of 1972, it is based on both and on so much more. It's the lament of a man crying "How much violence must we endure? How much violence must we inflict? How long must this continue? How long must we sing this song? How long?"

In a world where sin lives and breathes, the answer to this question is forever. But in the world of the resurrection, in a world where Jesus has won victory over the grave, it happens bit by bit. Bono knew this writing this song, he sings:

The real battle yet began
To claim the victory Jesus won on...
Sunday, Bloody Sunday

The battle is won in Christ. What we have to do now is believe it and start living like it.

Follow, I Will Follow

John 1:35-39

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.

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If you walkaway, walkaway
I walkaway, walkaway
I will follow

"I Will Follow" by U2 lyrics by Bono, music by U2, from "Boy"

According to U2 legend, Bono wrote these lyrics about his mother who died when he was a teen. The song is about a mother's unconditional love. In Rock and Roll Devotional this could be the obvious choice, but some choices are not always so obvious.

John the Baptist was a Teacher, a Rabbi. By the people in the temple he was considered a weirdo-in-the-wilderness, but he had followers. One day, Jesus was walking along a ridge and John cries out, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” John had been preaching about the coming of the Lamb and what he would do. The work of the Lamb was so impressive, so important, that two of John's disciples left to follow Jesus. One of these was Andrew and the other was unnamed in scripture.

They must have followed at some distance. Jesus noticed them, of course and asked the big question, "What are you looking for?" They asked their question, "Where are you staying?" I can only imagine a coy smile and maybe a cock of the eyebrow as the Lord said "Come... and see." There they stayed. They stayed together until the crucifixion and until the ascension.

Jesus walked. They followed.

When they followed their world opened up. They lived the greatest story ever told, and went on to tell it themselves. Andrew is known as the great evangelist, and the first person he brought to the Lord is his brother Simon, the man who would become Peter, the Rock upon whom Christ would build the church.

Jesus walked. They followed.

On that first day and on every day until that last fateful day before Pilate, Andrew, his brother Simon, and all of the rest except for Judas followed. They traveled over all of Judea. They went throughout the nation of Israel. They didn't have a home base much less a home. They stayed with friends. They stayed with family. They stayed where someone longed to hear the word. And after the ascension, the kept following.

Jesus ascended. They kept following... they followed where the Spirit led.

Bono wrote "I Will Follow" as an expression of a mother's unconditional love. No matter how far a child strays, the mother follows. That's the difference between a mother's love and the love of God. No matter where we stray, there is no where the love of God is not already there to meet us and meet us with unconditionally.

May Your Dreams Be Realized

Martin Luther King, Junior Day


Romans 8:18-21

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

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Sleep, sleep tonight
And may your dreams be realised.
If the thunder cloud passes rain
So let it rain, let it rain
Rain down on he.

"MLK" recorded and composed by U2 from "The Unforgettable Fire"

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Within all of us there is a dream of freedom. This is the dream Martin Luther King, Jr. had for all African-Americans, all Americans, and all humanity. In King's words, "Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring—when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children—black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics—will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" (Excerpt from King's "I Have a Dream" speech delivered on August 28, 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.)

King's dream comes a little closer every day for the Children of God. King's dream slips away a little bit every day for the children of the fall. Of course these two groups are not exclusive, actually they're identical. We are all born of sin and redeemed by God. This is what makes the yearning for King's dream more difficult. We are instruments in the hands of God for Christ's everlasting kingdom on earth; and we are prisoners of our own demise.

On this day, on the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior, we remember the sufferings. We can remember fire hoses directed at protesters. There were fights. There were arrests. There were lynchings. The ultimate price was paid by many in this war so fought so that truly all people could live like we were created equal. The battle is not won yet either.

As great as the sufferings are; freedom, peace, and liberty for all God's children is worth the high price. Many have paid such a high price for freedom. Christ too paid a price for our freedom, and it's the price Christ paid for our freedom and our salvation. Now it is up to us to do something with that salvation given to us by God's good grace through faith.

Both prices are so very high, so let us act and live and work in ways that honor those who have purchased our freedom at such great costs.

Looking in the Wrong Places

John 14:8

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

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You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross
Of my shame
Oh my shame
You know I believe it

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" bu U2

Philip wants to see the Father. If you think "Doubting Thomas" was a tough nut to crack, Philip wants to see the Father. So what has Christ done? By this point of John's gospel Jesus has done a good deal.

He has healed the Royal Official's son. He has healed the man at the pool called Beth-zatha. He has fed the 5,000. He walked on the water and healed the man who was blind from birth. That's just a sample of the miracle stories.

He has also answered the many challenges of the rich and the powerful. He has touched the untouchable. He has brought Lazarus back from the dead and he has entered Jerusalem triumphantly. After all of this, Philip wants to see the Father. When is "enough" enough?

This is actually a harsh judgment on Philip, because we still ask this question everyday. We want proof. Our society, with instant internet and news access from all over the world, we want to see the proof for ourselves. It is no longer enough to hear the testimony of those who know, people want to experience it for themselves.

Jesus has broken the bonds and loosed the chains. Sin and death have no claim on us because he has carried the cross of our shame as only he can. Only Jesus can do this, Jesus who walked the Earth as God in flesh and bone. Jesus has done what we cannot, and still we want to see the Father. We want proof. Why? Because we still haven't found what we're looking for.

Our problem is that we tend to look in the wrong places. People treat their bodies like trampolines. People look for solace and salvation in a needle and bottle. People hide inside of caves and cloisters looking for something within themselves that was never there. It is when we look to what is there, when we look for Christ, then we will see the Father at work in the world and in our lives.