The Pretty White Pickup Truck
Thursday, January 26 2012
I have a neighbor with a really pretty white pickup. As my dog and I were on our daily walk we passed his house and a man was in the driveway. I assumed it was the owner so I stopped to comment on the pickup. “No,” the man said, “I’m a repairman. That’s not my truck.” Now the truck was unusually dirty. It was covered with salt and sand – winter road grime. So I said, “It’s a shame to have such a pretty truck be so dirty.” The repairman laughed and said, “If you think the truck is dirty you should see the inside of the house.” Oops. I guess it’s true we shouldn’t judge a book (house) by its cover.
One of Jesus’ more powerful metaphors is found in Matthew 23. He thundered, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”
My temptation here is to do some thundering of my own about television evangelists who are constantly begging for money and promising outrageous things. Last night I heard one say if some poor soul out there would send him money their mortgage would be canceled. But I will resist the temptation to go there and instead focus more on us normal people. Society expects us to be polite. We really shouldn’t go around revealing all our inner nastiness. Instead we need to become inside the way we project ourselves outside. We can do that. Paul promises us that Christ will strengthen us and help us clean house. Let’s do it.
One of Jesus’ more powerful metaphors is found in Matthew 23. He thundered, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”
My temptation here is to do some thundering of my own about television evangelists who are constantly begging for money and promising outrageous things. Last night I heard one say if some poor soul out there would send him money their mortgage would be canceled. But I will resist the temptation to go there and instead focus more on us normal people. Society expects us to be polite. We really shouldn’t go around revealing all our inner nastiness. Instead we need to become inside the way we project ourselves outside. We can do that. Paul promises us that Christ will strengthen us and help us clean house. Let’s do it.
Saved From the Mailman
Wednesday, January 25 2012
The only sound I hear this evening is my dog snoring. It’s not a harsh raspy snore. It’s a very soft gentle sound that says, “I like it here. I feel safe here.” She is curled up about a foot or so from my desk and her snore is music. It’s a totally different sound than when the mailman comes. I don’t know why she hates the mailman. She hears his truck two mailboxes away and starts to growl. By the time he arrives she is often in a frenzy that instantly dies the moment he pulls away. She looks at me as if to say, “There. I saved you one more time.”
I have heard those words before. I have heard them innumerable times from Jesus. “There.” He says to me, “I saved you.” (He doesn’t say “one more time.” He doesn’t rub it in.) The problem isn’t Him throwing me out of the Kingdom. It’s me drifting away and suddenly waking up to my need to come home again. Then it is that I hear, “There. I saved you.”
Will He ever stop? No. The issue is me making Him say it. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to leave you with the idea that He is capricious. He is so stable. I also don’t want to give the idea that heaven has a revolving door. Not at all. It’s a solid place. I don’t believe every time I disappointment Him He throws me out. He would be a horrible Savior if that happened. It isn’t a matter of individual acts. It is a condition of my not caring and my getting so focused on other things that I am the one who opened the door and left. The wonder is, like my dog, He is always there to save me from the mailman.
I have heard those words before. I have heard them innumerable times from Jesus. “There.” He says to me, “I saved you.” (He doesn’t say “one more time.” He doesn’t rub it in.) The problem isn’t Him throwing me out of the Kingdom. It’s me drifting away and suddenly waking up to my need to come home again. Then it is that I hear, “There. I saved you.”
Will He ever stop? No. The issue is me making Him say it. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to leave you with the idea that He is capricious. He is so stable. I also don’t want to give the idea that heaven has a revolving door. Not at all. It’s a solid place. I don’t believe every time I disappointment Him He throws me out. He would be a horrible Savior if that happened. It isn’t a matter of individual acts. It is a condition of my not caring and my getting so focused on other things that I am the one who opened the door and left. The wonder is, like my dog, He is always there to save me from the mailman.
Really? Yeah. Really.
Tuesday, January 24 2012
In his letter to the Philippians Paul wrote, “For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Really? Really? What about the day he was stoned and left for dead? What about the night they secreted him out of a city by lowering him in a basket? There were shipwrecks and finally prison. Maybe the key to this statement is the word “learned.” Perhaps he wasn’t so content the day a snake bit him. What about the disagreements he had with Peter and some of the other brethren? This has to be something he learned and I am guessing it was later in life.
He also says two verses later, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” None of us are born this way, especially when he was Saul running about the country killing Christians. The truth is Jesus made an enormous change in his life. The change was so great we don’t even call him Saul any more. He is Paul, the man who grew in Jesus.
If Jesus can do that for someone so impassioned we need to take heart for ourselves. If we think life isn’t working for us Jesus can change our perspective and teach us contentment. Do we think we aren’t getting the recognition and appreciation for how great we do our job? Surely one of the most difficult arenas is getting along with stubborn people who continually irritate us. We wish we didn’t have to be near them and yet we do. Jesus can teach us contentment. And just how is this possible? Jesus will strengthen us for the challenge. We can do all things. Really? Really? Yeah. Really.
He also says two verses later, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” None of us are born this way, especially when he was Saul running about the country killing Christians. The truth is Jesus made an enormous change in his life. The change was so great we don’t even call him Saul any more. He is Paul, the man who grew in Jesus.
If Jesus can do that for someone so impassioned we need to take heart for ourselves. If we think life isn’t working for us Jesus can change our perspective and teach us contentment. Do we think we aren’t getting the recognition and appreciation for how great we do our job? Surely one of the most difficult arenas is getting along with stubborn people who continually irritate us. We wish we didn’t have to be near them and yet we do. Jesus can teach us contentment. And just how is this possible? Jesus will strengthen us for the challenge. We can do all things. Really? Really? Yeah. Really.
If I Were a Bell
Monday, January 23 2012
When I was very little before we moved to the country I loved Sunday mornings. One of the local churches rang the bell in their steeple to call people to worship. It was so beautiful as it echoed through the neighborhood. I have loved church bells ever since. Sometimes while waiting for a traffic light in town church bells begin. I quickly open the car windows to get the full effect. Bells can be pealed for joyous occasions such as a wedding. Bells can be tolled for sad occasions. One of the famous lines in literature is by John Dunne, “Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” Or bells can be rung just to tell us it is noon.
If I were a bell I would peal instead of toll. On occasion I hear sermons filled with gloom and doom. Instead I would peal the love of our Jesus and the transforming power of His grace to make us better people. We have so much to peal. Why burden people with bad news? They get loads of that from CNN, NBC and FOX. Sometimes we wonder why attendance at church is low. Could it be that people come weary and leave even more so? The Gospels are the GOOD NEWS.
Recently I read an interesting article about ten ways the world can come to an end. It covered everything from volcanoes to nuclear war. However, the best way wasn’t mentioned. So let us peal it out loud and clear. Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
If I were a bell I would peal instead of toll. On occasion I hear sermons filled with gloom and doom. Instead I would peal the love of our Jesus and the transforming power of His grace to make us better people. We have so much to peal. Why burden people with bad news? They get loads of that from CNN, NBC and FOX. Sometimes we wonder why attendance at church is low. Could it be that people come weary and leave even more so? The Gospels are the GOOD NEWS.
Recently I read an interesting article about ten ways the world can come to an end. It covered everything from volcanoes to nuclear war. However, the best way wasn’t mentioned. So let us peal it out loud and clear. Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
The Hypocrite
Friday, January 20 2012
I was sitting in a waiting room this morning that had one of the machines that makes almost instant hot coffee. You take a small container and insert it in the top, close the lid, press a button and almost instantly coffee flows out. A very tall old guy came over to use it and my wife said to him, “Pretty amazing machine.” To which he responded, “They are wasteful. They are not good for the environment and contribute to the destruction of our world. That is one expensive cup of coffee.” He then made himself a free cup of hazelnut flavored coffee. If I had been up for a confrontation I would have, should have, called him a hypocrite.
We shouldn’t be allowed to have it both ways. If we want to complain about something we should live accordingly. Jesus certainly had words for such people. Matthew 23 is full of Jesus’ indignation over such. Here’s a sample. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are liken unto whitewashed sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”
One of Shakespeare’s most quoted lines comes from Hamlet. “The lady doth protest too much.” In psychology we call it a reaction formation. It is defined as when a person is guilty of something and yet strongly crusades against his or her problem. Preachers need to be careful about denouncing something over and over because it soon becomes apparent they have a related problem. While we should not fear to call out sinful behavior that is harming someone, we also need to understand ourselves and why we are saying what we are saying.
We shouldn’t be allowed to have it both ways. If we want to complain about something we should live accordingly. Jesus certainly had words for such people. Matthew 23 is full of Jesus’ indignation over such. Here’s a sample. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are liken unto whitewashed sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”
One of Shakespeare’s most quoted lines comes from Hamlet. “The lady doth protest too much.” In psychology we call it a reaction formation. It is defined as when a person is guilty of something and yet strongly crusades against his or her problem. Preachers need to be careful about denouncing something over and over because it soon becomes apparent they have a related problem. While we should not fear to call out sinful behavior that is harming someone, we also need to understand ourselves and why we are saying what we are saying.