What We Seek

Hebrews 11:4-7

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and “he was not found, because God had taken him.” For it was attested before he was taken away that “he had pleased God.” And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.

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I asked Bobby Dylan,
I asked the Beatles,
I asked Timothy Leary,
But he couldn't help me either.

They call me the seeker,
I been searchin' low and high.
I won't get to get what I'm after
'til the day I die.

"The Seeker" written by Pete Townshend, recorded by The Who, released on "Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy"

The heroes of the faith not only had faith, they were faithful. They treated their faith as a noun, a thing to be had; and as a verb, a thing to do.

By faith Abel offered a more acceptable sacrifice. Even after his death, his faith still speaks. Enoch's faith pleased God such that he did not experience death. Noah was warned by God that of the oncoming flood to build an ark because of his faith. By Noah's faith, a world condemned was saved.

While attributed to Enoch, this could be true of all of these heroes of the faith, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

So who should we ask, what should we seek. Evidently it's not Bob Dylan, or the Beatles, or even Timothy Leary. Whenever we seek the advice of someone here on earth, we get their words, their opinions, their instructions. There are some wise men in this world, but none is without sin. Even Abel, Enoch, and Noah. These three remind us to seek who they sought, God.

Roger Daltry sings that he won't get what he seeks 'til the day he dies. Well, this much is true. It is when we meet our maker that the grand questions are answered, but there is still time before the end of time. This was shown by Abel, Enoch, and Noah.

Of course it isn't always easy and fun. Abel was murdered and Noah was mocked. But by their faith they are still honored by God and their names are still remembered. Have faith that in seeking God alone that the answers to what we seek will be answered. Able, Enoch and Noah received blessing, reward, and vocation by their faith. So too will we.

Who Do You Say That I Am?

Matthew 16:15

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

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I know there's a place you walked
Where love falls from the trees
My heart is like a broken cup
I only feel right on my knees
I spit out like a sewer hole
Yet still receive your kiss
How can I measure up to anyone now
After such a love as this

"Who Are You" by The Who from "Who Are You" (1978)

This may be the first question we ask. As the doctor takes us from the safe and warm place we call home and our mothers call their womb, before language the first question we ask is "Who are you?"

This question repeats itself as we become more aware of the people we see on this earth. We will ask it of parents, siblings, family, classmates, friends, and lovers, "Who are you?"

Even as we begin to wonder about our very existence and start asking questions about life and our place in it, we look to the mirror and ask one more time, "Who are you?"

This may well also be the first question we ask of God. "Who are you?"

There was quite a buzz about Jesus at this point of Matthew's gospel. The 5,000 had just been fed with five loaves and 4,000 more with seven loaves. So as Jesus entered Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

They started giving Jesus the answers to his question, like any good student will respond to the Rabbi. John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets; answers abounded. Sure they were all wrong, but the breadth of their answers showed how wildly the crowd was buzzing.

Jesus then turned the question on them. "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter, the first guy to boldly go where angels feared to tread, responded saying, "You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God."

I was once asked if the cup was half-empty or half-full. I said the cup is broken. I said it out of rage, knowing the cost of sin. Sung by The Who, this answer makes a different sound.

My heart is like a broken cup
I only feel right on my knees

Life is broken, but we are reminded of where we can go when there is no where else to go. We are reminded of the grace of being invited to take our broken cups to the throne of God's glory.

I spit out like a sewer hole
Yet still receive your kiss
How can I measure up to anyone now
After such a love as this

In no uncertain terms, our sin-soaked lives are a place where it would seem God wouldn't want to come. Humanity has taken creation, the garden, and turned it into a sewer hole. And still, we receive the kiss of God's grace--not the Judas kiss we more likely deserve.

It's true, if we could only come before God when we are clean enough, we would never ever dare approach. But God doesn't love us despite who we are, God loves us because of who we are, even when who we are is a a mess. We can't measure up to this love, but that doesn't stop God from inviting us. That didn't stop God from sending the Son to invite us. That didn't stop the Holy Spirit from coming and dwelling within us even today.

Such grace, such peace, such love, it makes me ask "Who are you?" And it makes me as glad there is an eternity to lovingly discern the answer.

See Feel Touch Heal

James 5:14-16

Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

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See me
Feel me
Touch me
Heal me

"See Me, Feel Me/Listening to You" from Tommy by Pete Towneshend recorded by The Who. This version recorded at Woodstock

There are times when some of the liturgy of worship may seem like so much voodoo. Healing is one of them. We ask ourselves just what can oil do? What kind of oil should be used in this anointing? Prayer as healthcare?

Tommy screams these words as a prayer to the world, a world he can hardly sense at all. The deaf, dumb, and blind kid has few senses left. He has little way to communicate. Language must be very difficult for someone who cannot process it by any sense. I can't know. But in The Who's rock opera, Tommy screams for contact. See me! Feel me! Touch me! Heal me!

James reminds the elders to anoint with oil. Olive oil, the oil of the day, does help sooth and clean wounds. Burns would be salved by this oil. The feel of the oil would be cool to the touch helping to heal a wound.

Prayer is surely a communication with the Almighty, but in this case it is also a communication with the afflicted. The person who is ill has someone or a whole crew of someones caring for them. Seeing, feeling, touching, and healing. There is care in contact that is lost when we keep our distance. Being close helps heal. Even when our touch does not have the skill of the surgeon, being close helps heal.

And when we have hurt one another, whether physical, psychological, or emotional, confession makes healing begin. So as James directs, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. Only when we acknowledge our pain, and the pain we have caused can healing begin.

Prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

Deception

Galatians 6:7-10

Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.

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Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

"Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who"

You reap what you so, what a sentence. Simple isn't it, what you plant you harvest. What you do will come back to you with dividends. The thing we miss about the reaping and sowing is that when we plant one seed, we get more than one seed in return, we get dozens and hundreds.

Plant an grain of wheat, the head will have tens of seeds on it. Plant a grain of corn, the cob will have hundreds of seeds. Plant an apple tree and thousands of apples can follow. Plant an olive tree, a tree that can live for a thousand years, and you will get millions of olives. What we plant will be reaped in droves.

So if we plant evil, we will get evil back again and again and again. It's easy to do what's not good for us, and the fruit can be tasty, but it will leave a sour stomach and a tremendous hangover. But if we sow to the Spirit, we will reap eternal life from the Spirit. What we receive is life worth living.

This shouldn't be news. In one way or another we all know this is true. Some learn it when they are young at their parent's knee. Some learn it again in Sunday School and in church. Some actually learn it in school-whether in class or playing at recess. Some learn this lesson in the streets where the pain of the lesson leaves physical scars. Then again, some who learn this lesson at home come away with scars that can't be seen with the naked eye. Some of us don't bother to learn it until it is learned behind bars. Even worse, some will never learn on this side of glory.

One thing hasn't changed though, the boss. The Creator is the ultimate judge. Humanity was created to be in relationship with God and with one another. We are called to a life of peace and joy. The Lord is our God. The Lord is the boss. Christians testify to the God in Three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit- the Blessed Trinity. Living together since before the beginning of creation, this is the new boss, just the same as the old boss.

It is by through the boss that we have an opportunity to work for the good of all, especially for those of the family of faith. So plant the good seed of faith in relationship with God and with one another. This is seed worth growing.

Love Rains-Love Reigns

Today the Church celebrates Baptism of the Lord Sunday.


Mark 1:4-11 (NRSV)

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you withe the Holy Spirit.”

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

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Only love
Can bring the rain
That makes you yearn
To the sky
Only love
Can bring the rain
That falls like tears
From all high

Love, Reign O'er Me, by Pete Townshend, from Quadraphenia by The Who

A love greater than anything we could ever hope to imagine or understand. Love that comes from the one The one who is more powerful than anyone who has ever walked the face of the earth. The love that makes you yearn to the sky.

In the water there is birth, and in the water there is rebirth. In the water there is life and in the water there is death. In the water there is the warmth of being washed and in the water there is the peril of being washed away.

This is the water, this is the sacrament Jesus ordains when he participates as he is baptized in the waters of the Jordan

Yet if you ask “why does the fully human, fully divine Son of God and Son of Man need a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins?” This good question has a very good answer; Jesus does not need this baptism for himself. Jesus chooses this baptism not for his needs but for ours. In his baptism, Jesus identifies himself with the Church, the church which he is the cornerstone. Being fully human, he knows we need this baptism, being fully divine, he ordains it for our sanctification.

Tears fall from on high; these tears are the waters of our baptism. These are the waters John bathes us in while we are confessing our sins. These are the waters of our birth as we leave the womb, just like the fully human fully divine Jesus left the womb of his mother Mary. These are the waters of the tomb, the death and new life we come to in the water, at the cross and in the resurrection.

As God's love rains, God's love reigns.