Parables along the Way

September

Istruggled for many years with the difference between prayer, meditation, and contemplation. My Orthodox and Roman Catholic brothers and sisters seemed to have a stronger and more active prayer life. They discussed contemplation, of being close to God, and I found myself envious. What was wrong with me? As a Protestant, I worked hard regrading communication with my Savior. Prayer meetings, prayer marathons, prayer workshops, community prayer, prayers for the sick, prayers for help and hope, I knew how to pray, so why did I feel like something was missing?

Again, I was doing prayer. I was talking and shouting at God but not listening. I was great at sharing the needs, the wants, the fear and joys of my church, me, my family, but I never stopped talking. Then I took fifteen months of my life for some directed spiritual direction. In fact, I got a spiritual director and started listening, which makes for good relationships. (Now I know some of you are saying, no kidding. But you see, that’s the thing. We know what it takes; we just don’t take the time.)

September is a great time for us to look forward and inward, to take the time. With fall comes, the changing colors of the leaves and the days draw shorter. An opportunity to think about our lives, to enjoy moments of silence that can draw us toward God. So…take the next few weeks to sit in silence, to focus and listen. I know you will be surprised by what happens. As John Skinner states, Once we have heard this silence, we thirst to find it again.

Did You Know?

I sat beneath a bodhi tree.

An odd phrase to say for one who,

Is no Buddha or will ever be.

But silence moved me to this spot,

In the cool and the shade of God’s canopy.

While I sat there contemplating this I heard,

"Did you know you can hear a leaf fall when set free?

Not when it releases only as it travels,

Does something sacred come to be.

Which is a chorus of sound as it tumbles down.

Brother and sister, leaves tremble at the passing,

Almost with glee.

Some strike, some resist, some push the leaf on its way,

But always there is a moment of brushing, a fulfillment of need.

A companioning of leaves.

This is the moment the leaf knows, the story is complete,

Time to be set free.

To gently come to rest in and on the ground,

To recognize what life is meant to be.

Yes, you really can hear a leaf fall."

Breaking Apart

Scripture Reading

Then Yahweh put out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me: There! I am putting my words into your mouth. Look, today I am setting you over nations and over kingdoms to tear up and to knock down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. (Jeremiah 1:9–10)

As a pastor, even after all these years, when reading this passage from Jeremiah, for just a moment, I freak out. I mean, this scripture seems to invite the prophet (and us) to share in the Creator’s work. The point being that when the Word gets spoken, things happen. The prophetic word being that some things must be torn down, as well as built up since Word and deed go together. Charles de Foucauld prayed, Father, I abandon myself into your hands. Do with me what you will. Whatever you may do, I will thank you. I am ready for all; I accept all. Let only your will be done in me, as in all your creatures. And I’ll ask nothing else, my Lord.

Take a moment and think about the words, Tear up and to knock down. What does that mean for you today?

Is there some negative thinking you need to deal with?

A habit that has been and is getting between you and God? Just maybe that behavior is messing with your family relationships as well.

Pause right now and ask for God’s assistance.

Need to call a spiritual director or counselor?

Make the changes you need today so you can move toward what God has prepared just for you.

Dear God, give me the strength, courage, and wisdom needed to do the radical work for my brothers and sisters in Christ and to keep me on the path. Amen.

Scripture Reading

If the LORD had not been on our side-let Israel say—if the Lord had not been on our side when men attacked us, when the anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away. Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 124)

This portion of Scripture from Psalm encourages me to face the reality of where I am and where I have been because of my God. If I had ignored the call of God upon my life, I would not have worked with the Hmong and brought hundreds of refugees to the United States or started the first Hmong American Baptist Church in the nation. I would not have been pastor of a congregation that accepted the opportunity of bringing medical teams to Thailand, China, Laos, and Myanmar. My daughters would not have met the men they married. If the Lord had not been on our side, I would be a different man. In his rule for monastic communities, Benedict of Nursia wrote, Such a follower of Christ lives in reverence of him and does not take the credit for a good life but, believing that all the good we do comes from the Lord, gives him the credit and thanksgiving for what his gift brings about in our hearts. The apostle Paul makes a similar statement in 1 Corinthians 15:10, But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them-yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

Take the time to do a spiritual autobiography and looked at the I am what I am of your life. (At the end of this book, you will find some guidelines for this endeavor.)

Read over it, share with another, and rejoice at the places you’ve seen God at work.

Keep a prayer journal. Write down those you are praying for the date and time. I guarantee you will look back over the months and years and be renewed when you see where God has answered your prayers, but…being human we forget. The prayer journal is a real faith builder.

Give thanks for who you are the person God has molded.

Lift someone up today by telling them they matter. Help another along the path today.

Faith

Scripture Reading

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

When in seminary , I was given the opportunity to be the director of a home mission project. This site was in a small town called Wolcott, about twenty-five miles northwest of Kansas City, Kansas. Why did they need a mission station? Because in the summer months, this town of twenty-five people would swell to over two hundred migrant families that came to the river bottoms to pick radishes, cabbage, and other produce. Subsequently, their needs included health care , a safe place for the children to go, and of course, there was no longer a church in the valley. When I took my wife to see the abandoned church building we were to use, she couldn’t believe her eyes. The doors were off their hinges. Various creatures were using the sanctuary for a hideout and other things (you can guess what). Plaster was falling off the walls. There was no glass in the windows and, man, did it smell. I could see by the look in her eyes, she was disappointed. This was our first church, and I had brought her to a place of dirt, loss, and obvious poverty.

That experience along the river was one of the first that brought me into contact with this realization: Disappointments in life can make us feel like, I guess that’s all there is. I’ll have to settle for less. But over the years, similar encounters also pushed me into faith to look past the disappointments and to look for God’s promises within the disappointment. That faith breaks us out of our routine. Faith pushes us to make a difference for God. Dear God, I have some disappointments in my life that are a challenge right now. So please, dear Savior, break me out of my routine and send me out into the world with the confidence and knowledge that You have already taken care of the problem and even now you are watching over my future. Through Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

Watch Out!

Scripture Reading

By faith Abraham, even though he was past age-and Sarah herself was barren-was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. (Hebrews 11:11)

That little mission in Wolcott was taken from a dump and exchanged for a place of worship. Why and how? Well, we felt that God wanted us there which also meant something needed to be done in the process. This was God’s place, and so things needed changing. Volunteers were recruited, and they cleaned, scrubbed, and shoveled garbage. We laughed and shouted with joy at the retaking of holy ground. The people in the town watched and then came, as well as giving thanks for renewal. But let’s be honest. There are at least two common attitudes that can push the hope of God out of our lives as believers. Watch out for these! They tend to be, I’ll have to settle for less and/or I’ll have to get it myself! Just because we struggle, just because it takes longer than what we want, it does not mean that we can’t have the hope, purpose, and joy that God has promised us. But it does require some patience which translates to faith. Abraham and Sarah are good examples for us in our day-to-day living.

As you think about the Scripture reading, ask yourself, Am I accepting less when God has promised more?

Or…have you decided if it’s to be its up to me?

Are you trying to make something happen when inside, you know there must be a better way?

God has already made some promises to you, so relax!

Share what you have learned today with another.

By the way, right now would be a good time to breathe! Take in a breath and then just let it go. Calm yourself, prepare yourself for prayer for your day.

Anthony de Mello in his book of spiritual exercises, Wellsprings, notes, My relationship with my body powerfully affects my life for good or evil. The finest way to heal, or deepen, the relationship is dialogue. So…do a body check today as you breath. Where are you holding the anxiety, the pain, and the resentment? Be honest. Have a dialogue with yourself and with God about your spiritual, emotional, and physical being (Psalm 139:1–5).

Ouch!

Scripture Reading

The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times. (Luke 22:61)

Iwas rereading Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life by Donald P. McNeil, Douglas A. Morrison, and Henri J. M. Nouwen. I came across a paragraph that I had underlined in red then apparently had went on my merry way and didn’t think any more about the statement. This is what I had taken special note of: We cannot suffer with the poor when we are unwilling to confront those persons and systems that cause poverty. We cannot set the captives free when we do not want to confront those who carry the keys. We cannot profess our solidarity with those who are oppressed when we are unwilling to confront the oppressor. Compassion without confrontation fades quickly into fruitless sentimental commiseration. Ouch! If Jesus were to gaze on my life today, what would He see and hear? What have I been doing lately? Have I just silently, quietly started to commiserate? Am I just a talker and never a person of accountability?

Why not pause and ask yourself a similar question: what Jesus see when He looks at me? Take a deep breath and visualize, no, expose yourself to His gaze. Just sit there for a few moments and listen.

Now gaze inward and express what you see. Sadness, joy, compassion, and love?

This is your opportunity today to do something with your insight gained. Why not look at someone with the same look of love as Jesus has for you.

What Do You Mean Gone?

Scripture Reading

Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Opposition arose. (Acts 6:8–9a)

As you recall, my first church was a small mission station outside of Kansas City. The place was in shambles, but we were able to bring that little building back to a place of worship. But there was one thing in that tiny mission, which remained precious to my wife and me. It was the solid oak pews. For some reason, when the original church left and built a new building, they abandoned the old-fashioned seating. Yet after a good cleaning and polishing, the wood shined in the sunlight, and every person who came into that tiny sanctuary would say, Oh, how beautiful. Look at the pews!

One Monday afternoon, I drove up to the mission, and something looked different. The door was open! I had put new locks on, so why would they be hanging open? With some nervousness, I moved into the church, and it hit me. The pews were gone. The sanctuary was empty, not a single piece of oak was in sight. As I stood there, one of the neighbors came in and said, "Pastor, the people from the original congregation are