Seeking What God Has For Us

1John 4:1 (NRSV)

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well they say that time loves a hero
But only time will tell
If he's real he's a legend from heaven
If he ain't he was sent here from hell

"Time Loves a Hero" by Little Feat

Faith is a sticky thing. We are called to do as the Lord tells us, but since the Lord has yet to send email as an answer to prayer, it can be tough to discern which way is right sometimes.

We have to remember that the greatest heretics of the Church were just men (yes, at the time it was only the men who made great heretical history) who thought they had it right and they were doing the will of the Lord.

Only time will tell they say. If he's real he's a legend from heaven, if he ain't he was sent here from hell. While it is true that time will tell, we don't have the witness of history when we seek to do the will of the Lord in our lives. So we need something more than the rear view window.

Seeking the Lord is how we test the spirits. Do the spirits bring the fruit of the Spirit? Galatians reminds us that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are the fruits of the Spirit. There is no law against such things. If the spirit brings these things, then it passes the test.

By extension, things that do not pass muster, indiscretion, gossip, sloth, stinginess, gluttony, these things don't come fromt the Lord and bring no good. Times when it seems that hate is the right thing to do, there must be another way, and there is.

Listen to the Lord, test the spirits, seek the Holy Spirit.

Death, Law, and Grace

1Corinthians 1:54-57

When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So where to now St. Peter
If it's true I'm in your hands
I may not be a Christian
But I've done all one man can
I understand I'm on the road
Where all that was is gone
So where to now St. Peter
Show me which road I'm on
Which road I'm on

"Where to Now, St. Peter" by Elton John

Elton John's music often flows between beautiful, haunting melodies and lyrics that betray those lilting sounds. Here's an example. The glorious sounds of the piano melody and the story of a soldier dying on a foreign battle field mix like oil and vinegar. Like oil and vinegar, when they mix they make something more than when they stand alone.

The problem with the lyric, from a Christian point of view, is that this soldier has done all one man can. It's a problem because there is nothing we can do to earn a way into heaven. When we try to justify ourselves through the law, we cannot. When we stand before God, or as the popular image, St. Peter, and we seek to justify our lives, according to the law all we would hear is "Really, that's all you got?" The power of sin and death is in the law, so when we try to justify our selves and our lives through the law we lose.

But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. When we lie on our respective battlefields, when our perishable bodies put on imperishability, and our mortal bodies put on immortality, then what is written is fulfilled, death is no longer death. Death has been swallowed up in victory.

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? Death is no longer an issue because it has been beaten. So where to now St. Peter? If we try to justify ourselves by the law we live in death. When we rely on the grace of our Lord, when we accept the gift of new life purchased with his death and redeemed with his resurrection then we live.

That leaves one more question, what road are we on?

The Strangle of Greed

Monday after Easter


Matthew 27:4-5

He said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But [the Chief Priests] said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The road I cruise is a bitch now
Ya know ya can't turn me round
And if a house gets in my way
Ya know I'll burn it down

You ran the night that you left me
You put me in my place
I got you in a stranglehold baby
That night I crushed your face

"Stranglehold" From 1975's "Ted Nugent"

If you want to peg one of the seven deadly sins on Judas Iscariot, it would be impossible. Everyone on earth has been hooked by all seven of them at one time or another, and Judas' sins are probably the most public of sin since the Original. Was he deceived by envy? Was he prideful? Was he greedy? Scripture certainly pins greed squarely upon his chest.

Judas took thirty pieces of silver to betray the Lord and he did it with a kiss. It didn't take long for "Judas Kiss" to enter the language as a term of betrayal.

Forgiveness comes from the Lord. If no sin is unforgivable, then this sin wouldn't be unforgivable. What scripture tells us is that Judas did not even seek forgiveness from God. Instead he went to the temple elite. The same men who paid him to betray Jesus would not offer him absolution from the sin they asked him to commit. Pilate washed his hands of Jesus' death, but it was the temple leadership that washed their hands of Judas.

Sin had a stranglehold on Judas, and on the leaders who exploited him. Judas was not able to live with his sin. Based on the silence of scripture, evidently the leaders were. Judas tried to receive absolution by returning the payment for his betrayal. The leaders were not willing to take it back, afterall, it was blood money.

They provided the silver that fed his sin, but were not willing to accept his repentance. Of course, they weren't able to either.

Pardon my French, but let's just say the road Judas cruised was a bitch. His own sin and the sin of the men who tempted him put him in his place. In the end it was sin's stranglehold that took Judas to the noose.

What if Judas had sought forgiveness from the Lord instead of the temple elite? Sure, he wouldn't have been worthy but none of us are worthy. Would it have changed Judas' life? I have to believe that yes, it would have changed his life. I believe that absolution is as close as the kiss from Jesus, but most of us wallow in our own version of the Judas kiss. If Judas can find absolution in God, then who are we to say our sins are too big?

I would like to imagine when Judas received his eternal reward, Jesus kissed him again. Jesus forgives. Jesus knows what happened and why it happened. Sin had a stranglehold on Judas, strangling that ultimately went to his throat. It is the Lord who releases the hold of sin on our lives, even the life of Judas.

Ted sings, "Some people think they're gonna die someday, I got some news you never gotta go." Here's what's funny, Jesus proved that even God can die. He also proved that God can overcome death. When death is defeated, all other bets are off. So while Ted may be right, we know that only with God, all things are possible.