What's Your Distraction?

Do you ever get anxious and/or distracted? I’m sure we all are anxious and/or distracted at one time or another. Maybe we are anxious more than we’re not or maybe we’re distracted most of the time. Maybe we have our priorities all turned around.

As Jesus was on the road to Jerusalem with his entourage of disciples and followers he decided to stop by Martha and Mary’s place. As was customary Martha set about preparing to feed all these folks. That’s what it meant to be hospitable in their culture. So whether it was Jesus and the Twelve or Jesus and the 70 he sent out to the villages and towns where he was going, it was going to take a lot of preparation to get a satisfying meal put together for all these hungry travelers. Martha may have been stressed out because she didn’t have enough of anything to prepare a sumptuous banquet for the Lord and his band of followers. Why was she alone? Where was her sister, Mary?

Mary was in the other room sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to him teach. Why didn’t she feel compelled to be in the other room helping her sister? Surely she knew the unwritten law that it was necessary to care for and provide hospitality for any guests or visitors who came to your door.

We can certainly understand why Martha came into the room and asked Jesus to tell her sister to come help with the meal preparations. But then the guest, who is really the host, turns it all around, “Martha, dear Martha, you're fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing.”

Was what Martha was doing wrong? Was it wrong for Mary to be sitting at the feet of Jesus as he taught? Neither was wrong. How were they to know what was the best things to do? How are we supposed to know what to do?

I believe the message for us today is that spending time at the feet of Jesus is important. Providing hospitality for those who come to our homes is important too. Being distracted and anxious all the time about doing and not focusing on the being can lead us away from the One who seeks to teach us about God and his kingdom.

This lesson isn’t about Martha and Mary and one being better than the other. It’s about choosing to let go of our distractions and anxieties and understanding the importance of sitting at Jesus’ feet so that we can be filled with his Spirit and Wisdom.

I think it’s a good exercise to every so often, maybe even daily, to look back at our day, or week, or month, and note how we used the time God gave us. How much time did we spend doing, feeding God’s children, and how much time did we spend being with Jesus? And how much time did we spend being anxious about not getting enough done? If we put it all in a pie chart what would be the biggest slice? Would they be equal in size or would our worrying and anxiety and distractions take up the lion’s share of our time?

I think that is what Jesus was trying to teach all of us. He had just told the lawyer that we should love our neighbor. He told the seventy that hospitality was important but now he is telling us that we need to be careful that we don’t make these our priorities. Our priority is to allow ourselves to be taught by the Master, Jesus. Our priority is to take time to be with Jesus before we go out into the world and do what we are called to do.

Mary chose the essential thing. What will we chose today and tomorrow and the day after? If we believe that we’re too busy to take time to sit at Jesus’ feet maybe we need to check our priorities. Maybe we need to reread today’s lesson in Luke’s gospel.

Let’s see where we spend our time this week. Let’s commit to spending more time at Jesus’ feet. Let’s get filled with Jesus’ love and Spirit before we go out to do his work. Let’s ask Jesus to remove our anxieties and distractions so we can focus on the essential thing.

Thanks be to God for his amazing grace and love. Amen.

I'm No Prophet

I’m no prophet but things don’t look too good for the world we live in today. There are the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There’s the New Horizon oil rig explosion. It was bad enough that 11 people died in the explosion but now the whole Gulf Coast is suffering from the oil that is washing up on their shores. There’s the genocide in Rwanda, Darfur, and South Africa and religious persecution in Myanmar, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, and China. There’s the border fence and people coming into the US illegally because they can’t support their families at home in Mexico or Columbia, or wherever they’ve come from. There are the shootings in Omaha everyday.

Friends, our world is hurting. People are hurting. Countries are hurting. We are hurting. We’ve been beaten, robbed of our possessions, and left for dead by the side of the road by, whom…?

Our world is hurting and there doesn’t seem to be any Samaritan, good or bad, who is willing to stop and bind up our wounds. There aren’t any prophets like Amos who are answering the call from God to hold those in power accountable for what’s happening to our world. Everyone who could help is angling across to the other side of the road. At least that’s what it feels like.

I’m no prophet. I’m just a tool and die maker that God has called to preach here in Walnut. Sometimes I wonder what I’m doing. I worry that sometimes I might say something that will upset people. I don’t have answers to these problems in the world but I have quite a few questions, why, how, what, when.

God called Amos to speak for those who were being oppressed by the kings of Israel and Judah. He wasn’t a prophet either. He was a farmer who cared for sheep and he trimmed trees. He knew nothing about prophesying but still God spoke to him in visions and sent him to prophesy.

He wasn’t liked by the leaders. In fact one of them told him to pack it up and go back home. They didn’t appreciate the Message God had given him for them. Sometimes what God calls us to do is just not very popular with the rest of the world.

Jesus’ parable, of the man who was left lying by the side of the road by robbers and who was cared for by the Samaritan, wasn’t well received either. When the lawyer asked him who his neighbor was I think he expected Jesus to answer that his neighbors were his Jewish brothers and sisters. Wrong. The neighbor in Jesus’ story was the one who stopped and helped the man lying on the side of the road. The man who showed mercy to the stranded traveler was one who had himself probably suffered rejection and ridicule because of his heritage. He wasn’t the one the lawyer would have chosen for his neighbor.

I’m no prophet but I believe the Message for us today is the same as it was when Jesus was asked by the lawyer how he might achieve eternal life. We all know the answer, Love God with all our power and being; love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves.

Two short but very powerful sentences love God and love our neighbors. It’s not so easy to love the Supreme Being when we have never seen Him. Some people aren’t sure God even is. The second commandment to love our neighbors sounds easy but the world hasn’t done so well keeping it either.

Friends, I don’t know what else to say. We, the human race, have made a mess of things. Our world is in pretty bad shape and I wonder if it will ever be made right. I really believe that there is nothing any human being can do to fix the things that are wrong.

So, what should we do? I believe that we need to admit that we are at a loss for answers and take it to God in prayer. We need confess that we have made a terrible mess of it all and we need God’s help. We need to go to our knees in prayer and ask God to use us however he wills to do his work.

As Paul told us in his letter to the Romans, “Who in the world do we think we are to second-guess God? Do we for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? (Romans 9:20)

The Message for us today is to remember everyday what Jesus commanded, “Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you love yourself.” (Luke 10:27) Treat those we find lying on the side of the road with kindness and mercy even if they aren’t like us, even if they might be our enemy.

Thanks be to God for his amazing grace and love. Amen.

What's On Your Doorstep?

What’s on your doorstep? Did you go outside this morning to see if there was something new outside your door?

The seventy disciples Jesus sent out in pairs were to tell those they were sent to that ‘God’s kingdom is right on your doorstep!’ Did these people the disciples visited know what that meant for them? Did the disciples understand what Jesus meant?

What does it mean to us that ‘God’s kingdom is on our doorstep?’ Do we understand what that means any better than the people in the countries of Judea and Samaria? It’s hard for us to imagine what a kingdom is since we don’t live in a country someone in power rules. Jesus knew what it was and so did the people where he lived and taught.

The kingdom where they lived wasn’t so great. Someone always wanted more of their income to support the infrastructure and, maybe, line their own pockets. Men were conscripted into military service fighting for something they didn’t believe in against people they had no beef against.

Wait a minute! That could almost be us today. Someone always wants some more of our income to support the programs implemented by those we’ve elected into office. Sometimes we wonder if some of it isn’t going into their bank accounts.

Is God’s kingdom on our doorsteps? If it was would we know what it was? What is God’s kingdom?

Don’t feel bad if you don’t have an answer. Theologians have been debating that very statement for longer than you and I have been around.

The people of Jesus’ time were waiting for a savior, someone who would finally give them some respite from their oppressors. Jesus said that the kingdom of God was right on their doorsteps but things didn’t seem any different to them. Not much was changing. The Romans were still there, they still had to work very hard to scrape up enough money to support their families. After Jesus was crucified and resurrected was the world any different than before. It didn’t look or feel any different.

If God’s kingdom is here on our doorstep have any of you seen any difference? It doesn’t seem any different to me. There is still the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and Korea, and the Sudan. People are still without work and some aren’t able to provide shelter or food for their families. The oil spill still isn’t cleaned up. People are still homeless. So what’s it mean that God’s kingdom is here today?

Does the fact that God’s kingdom is here today, right in our midst, make any difference to us? If we believe that God’s kingdom is here now why do we believe? If we don’t believe that God’s kingdom is here now why not?

Jesus said God’s kingdom arrived because he was here. Paul said that God’s kingdom was here because of God’s gift to the world in Jesus the Christ. What does it take for us to know and believe?

I think that in order for us to know the kingdom of God is right here, right now, we need faith. We must believe in God. We must believe in Jesus the Christ as God’s Son, the Savior of the world. We must believe that God sent us his Spirit to be our Advocate and our Interpreter. We must believe.

Believing in God requires faith. And faith comes from God. So what do we do if our faith is weak? Can we make our faith stronger by ourselves?

Friends, there is nothing we can accomplish on our own. But through Jesus as our intermediary we can do anything. Our faith can be made stronger when Jesus intercedes for us before the Father. God’s kingdom is on our doorstep.

If we go looking for it we might miss it but if we listen to Paul’s words and follow his advice, then we might catch a glimpse of God’s kingdom here on Earth.

1-3 Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law… 4-5Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.
6Be very sure now, you who have been trained to a self-sufficient maturity, that you enter into a generous common life with those who have trained you, sharing all the good things that you have and experience.

God’s kingdom is on our doorstep. But we might not be able to see it because we’re too focused on our own needs and wants. Naaman didn’t want to do what Elisha told him to do because it was too simple, not elaborate enough for him. He expected a show.

God’s kingdom is on our doorstep. In order to truly experience it we must be willing to share God’s love and peace with everyone, the illegals, the foreigners, people who aren’t like us at all, and those we can hardly stand to be around. We must be willing to stoop down and help those who aren’t able to help themselves. Even when we believe they should be able to.

Friends, God’s kingdom is on our doorstep. We have been sent to minister to the world and we are to begin right here in Walnut, Iowa. By caring for those God sends to us and trusting in his providence for us and them we will see the kingdom of God on our doorstep.