A Dangerous Meeting

aslan.jpg C.S. Lewis wrote in  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,

“Is he—quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver. “If there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or just plain silly.”

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver, “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king, I tell you.”

He dangerousworship.gifis good and He is the King and he most definitely is dangerous. Next Sunday morning I’m willing to bet you will sing the praises to the first two but how often have you considered the third?

 I’ve been reading Mark Labberton’s new book The Dangerous Act of Worship for the past couple of weeks. Well, maybe reading is too active a verb. Savoring, contemplating, worshipping, repenting; these are far better descriptions of how a reader will encounter these pages. The book is constructed on the idea that we have lost the danger of worship by turning it into an hour of safety and complacency rather than a way of life. Labberton reorients our thinking to worship as life and how our recognition of God and His place in life must translate into a renewed concern for biblical justice.

I’m going to post further on this book in the days to come. I would encourage you to pick up the book and read it. Join me in a conversation about its ideas and together we’ll kneel at the altar of justice and danger.

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The Words That Cannot Be Spoken

Scot McKnight again asks an important question at Jesus Creed, “Can anyone tell me why Mary is so often neglected when it comes to talking about women in ministry?”  The answer obviously has a number of complexities based on the nuances of belief that one brings to their practice of following Christ but in its simplest form, I think the answer is fear.

For the same reason that Mary is often a subject of irrational fear in Evangelical circles, the topic of women in ministry is often cloaked in apprehension as though the very discussion of the topic is heretical. Mary suffers from the Catholic bias in Protestant thought; because she plays such an important role in Catholic practice, the evangelical unreasonably avoids her contribution to the gospel outside of the birth event. After spending a few months reading The Real Mary, meditating on her appearances in the Scriptures, and coming to realize the enormous role she plays and commenting upon it, Mary is no longer an object of fear. 

In the same way that Mary is avoided or involved in heated debate, the topic of women in ministry is a flashpoint that either is shunted or argued vociferously. As a believer in the leadership of women in the Church, I have come to the belief through careful study and prayer that just as God calls men to positions of leadership, he is also sovereignly free to elect women into those same positions. If God gifts a women to lead and preach, who are we to throw up patriarchal tradition roadblocks?

Perhaps a discussion about Mary as a minister and leader is just the thing to tear down the curtain that hides our need to reconsider the equality of women in ministry. The risk we run in not carefully considering this topic is the same risk we run in avoiding Mary; we miss what God was and is doing through our sisters and we are poorer for it.

 

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Higher on the Hillside – Lent Meditation 22

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

Jesus radically commands that aim our eyes upward onto Him instead of constantly focusing on our daily existence. Put your faith in the Father to know and care for your daily needs while you aim your sights on the things of the kingdom. He calls His followers to a higher way of living; to deny it is sin.

Have mercy on me, a sinner.

I fail over and over to lift my eyes. I often think my sacrifice on behalf of ministry is all that God calls me to do and it is often more than I can handle as a man. I think that until I look at the cross and know that it is a cup that I could never drink.

 

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Rockin’ In The Free World…

The USO is struggling to find top line acts to entertain those in the line of fire. The Wall Street Journal reports on some class acts that are willing to step up, like Henry Rollins. One of the more interesting names is Charlie Robison, a great Americana artist, who is also married to Emily of the Dixie Chicks. How do suppose that conversation went? Enjoy some Charlie…

California is to Blame!

The dam has overflowed and the truth is out, Californians are to blame for all the ills of the western United States (and probably the rest of the world as well.) While this may come as news to some, those of us who have come from California and relocated elsewhere have been bearing the brunt of this accusation for years. Even after living in Colorado for twenty years, the mere mention of my previous home is like putting antlers on your head during Elk season. It’s bloodsport and open season on the Californios. 

Saul Bellow once wrote in Seize the Day “Someone had said, and Wilhelm agreed with the saying, that in Los Angeles all the loose objects in the country were collected, as if America had been tilted and everything that wasn’t tightly screwed down had slid into Southern California.”  It’s true that all those drifters, dreamers, and the otherwise-not-pinnned-down, made their way to California only to run into the Pacific and decide that, having burned up their options from East to West, decided that California is where they would stay.

My own clan made their way in a variety of ways to the Golden state. Upon returning from the service in the orient, some decided that it was a more favorable locale than the snows of New England. Another group evacuated the dustbowl and followed the other rusting trucks to the promise of Los Angeles.  Even more recently, newer parts of my family made the decision from the other side of the globe that California would be their target for immigration. It makes for a mix that is unique in the country.

Are Californians responsible for all that is wrong in the world? Probably, but then again, it’s tough to put the top down in Coeur ‘ D aLane! Sing Randy…

Higher on the Hillside – Lent Reflection 21

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

Jesus speaks to a forgotten part of the Radical Christian’s life when he speaks to our desire to serve both God and Money. We want to serve God, to walk with Jesus, as it is convenient but many times we are conflicted because it conflicts with our desire for comfort and a middle class lifestyle. Lent is the season in which we traditionally sacrifice something as a part of our discipleship but what are we really giving up? Is it truly costing us something – really costing us – to sacrifice. How does our idea of sacrifice align with the Lord’s words in Luke 14:33: “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”

The Radical Lord does not call us all to asceticism, simply to proper prioritization. We must serve God and Him alone without conflict. In one week, our reflections turn to the agony and the glory of Passion week. Where will our hearts and minds be?

 

 

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Fifth Sunday in Lent: God Does a New Thing

The readings for this Sunday are found in Isaiah 43:16-21 and Psalm 126. God is indeed doing a new thing! Forget about what is past and look forward to the great things that God is working out. Just like he freed to the captives into Zion, he frees us from our bondage and releases us into a new life.

The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy.

Christian Exhibitionism: Lent Reflection 20

Higher on the Hillside with Radical Jesus: Lent Reflection 20

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Does Jesus give a more radical warning against Christian exhibitionism than this and the previous passages? Our practice of sacrifice during the Lent season can so easily lead us into following the hypocrites in their displays of discomfort and chest pounding. It is so tempting to seek approval and admiration for our sacrificial behaviors, marking our holiness with the looks and words of those who notice our fasting or that our knees are like the camel’s.  When we seek any other notice than that of our Savior, he asks “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

Instead, lets comb our hair and wash our face this morning and let the joy of the love and acceptance of the Lord shine in us. Lets fight the temptation to display ‘our righteousness’ and allow the knowledge of our security in the ultimate sacrifice to be displayed in every moment of our day. Our reward lies with the King, not with the world. Radical, isn’t it?

 

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