God has not given us a Spirit of timidity or fear, but of power and love and sound judgment.[1] That’s really great news, but it’s a lot better than we might
Sunday, September 02, 2018
Nothing can stop You
Monday, April 09, 2018
"Come and have breakfast."
Joy Tabernacle
2501 N. Chevrolet Ave.
Flint, Michigan 48504
Sunday School
April 8, 2018
Appearance of the Risen Lord
Lesson: John 21:1-14
This morning in Sunday School we didn’t
get to talk about my favorite part of our text!
We talked about Jesus’ tender, playful
reintroduction of Himself after His resurrection to His disciples and
especially to Peter, who after all his boasting about how he was ready to die alongside
the One he himself had recognized first as the anointed Son of the living God,
had completely failed the test!
Despondent, probably wondering whether the mess he’d made could ever be cleaned
up, Peter decided to go fishing (v. 3).
Whether it’s fishing, or biking, or
walking, or working with your hands, or going off by yourself to pray, the way
Jesus did, we agreed it’s good strategy to have a way to process things when
difficulties come and problems need to be worked out.
In a gesture of loving solidarity,
knowing however badly they felt, Peter must have felt much worse, his friends went fishing
with him.
Jesus wanted to lovingly reinstate Peter
and relaunch the ministry that was now destined to become greater than any of them
could have imagined. Because He did not have Facebook, Jesus could not post a
message saying, “You and Jesus have been friends on Facebook for three years,”
with a video of their first encounter in Luke 5, back when He first told them
they were going to be “fishers of men.” So He had to reenact the whole affair!
“You guys got any fish,” Jesus asks
(v.5), playfully reminding them of just how much they were capable of apart
from Him (John 15:5), much as He did with you and me when He first called us:
“Say, Jord,” He queried, “how’s that ‘doing things on your own’ thing working
out for you? You getting a lot of mileage out of ‘taking control of your own
life,’ are you?”
Out of control as usual, Peter dives
overboard as soon as he realizes it’s Jesus (v. 7). We agreed if Peter had been
from Flint he would have been dead or in prison long before this. And yet,
Jesus turned him into one of the great leaders of the church! Jesus’ message in
this to you and me is, “Jord, you may be crazy, but I worked with Peter, and
you ain’t as crazy as Peter! I can work with you, too.”
And then the big finish, those tender
words spoken by your Friend and Savior, Who from the very beginning of time has
enjoyed nothing more than spending time with the likes of you and me (Proverbs
8:30-31). This is what it’s going to be like in Glory: you’ll wake up, to the
smell of bacon and coffee, in your new body. All the men will be built like
LeBron James, but those who are first will be last, so LeBron himself will have
to get a job delivering mail, because those of us who don’t start for the
Pistons will start for the Cavaliers. We’ll lightly spring up to get the blood
circulating and gently brush the ceiling of the mansion Jesus has prepared for
us (John 14:2-3) with the tops of our heads.
Down in the kitchen, Godfrey will
ask, “Jesus, will You give me a hand with these eggs?”
“Bro, I only do fish and bread.”
Then He’ll go to the bottom of the stairs and holler up, “Hey, Aaron, just
because it’s Heaven don’t mean you can sleep all day! Come and have breakfast!” (v. 12)
Monday, February 19, 2018
Reflections on Presidents Day
It’s impossible for me to generate much enthusiasm for our presidents
this year, having learned from writers like Ta-Nehisi Coates (Between the
World and Me) and Randall Robinson (The Debt) how many of them have
contributed to the plundering of African Americans (a story I’m embarrassed to
have not learned long ago), but when it comes to certain groups being excluded
from the full protections and benefits of citizenship it seems to me the really
colossal failure lies with the church. Unbelievers are only being true to their
creed when they win at all costs, when they step on other people to get to the
top. They don’t expect Anyone to provide for them. For them, it’s every person
for themselves. The church claims to be different, but where is the evidence?
Western Christians simply amass wealth against the uncertainties of the future,
living a life of fear, just like everyone else. The first thing we ought to do
is take some of that wealth and buy groceries, and begin having dinner with the
downtrodden and the marginalized. I don’t
mean serving them dinner! That only maintains the clear delineation between
the haves and the have-nots, makes the haves feel better and deepens the
resignation of the have-nots. I mean sitting down with them, looking them in
the eye and listening to their stories. When I have dinner with you and learn
your name and the names of your children and what they’re studying in school,
your welfare ceases to be a matter of indifference to me. I become aware of
what has been true all along: you cannot suffer without me also suffering; you
cannot benefit without me also benefiting. My well-being is integrally
connected to yours. What marginalized people need is not money or food, it’s exactly
the same thing all of us need to confront the exigencies of life: the personal
resources – like courage, support and opportunity – that come from friendships
with people who are integrated into the community. This is the work of the
church!*
*This is what
Serve the City has been doing in Lisbon, Portugal, and other European cities,
since 2010. The City of Lisbon said years ago that it changed the way they deal
with homeless people. (Video)
**The best thing anyone’s ever said to me wasn’t actually said to me, it was said to my son-in-law when I happened to be over at his house: My daughter was modelling for him a new blouse she had bought for herself, wanting his opinion. “Did you show your father? What does he think?” he asked.
“He’s my daddy,” she explained, in a tone indicating there was no sense asking. “He thinks I’m beautiful."
Exactly.
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Chickadees
Last September I moved from South House to a house that belongs to my
church, Joy Tabernacle, and is located two doors north of the church building. I
share the house with four other men from the church and I rent a small – 10
feet x 11 feet – room. Like a good German, I’ve engineered the space for
efficiency. There’s a loft bed; I think of it as an upstairs bedroom. Beneath
the bed there’s a library, consisting of desk, chair, file cabinet and book
shelves. The library is separated from the kitchen by a curtain my mother made
me. Another curtain separates the kitchen from the dressing room/closet.
Beneath the window sits a tiny round glass table and a chair. Here I take my
meals.
Outside the window chickadees light on the neighbor’s bushes as if to
cheer, amuse and keep me company. Dozens of them. The other morning, sitting
down to coffee, I was disappointed to find them missing, but within seconds the
miniature maelstrom fluttered in, as if delayed by air traffic. They seem to
respond to my movements. This afternoon I went over to the window to see if
they were there. At first, it appeared they were not, but then they slowly
emerged, blinking, from the bushes’ leafless interior. Oddly, they all faced
forward, like a legion of tiny soldiers presenting arms, in little grey helmets
with black visors and filigree chain mail bibs. I counted twenty-seven. We
stood facing each other, rather than giving each other the side-eye, as we
usually do, though presumably this meant they weren’t looking at me at all.
They reminded me of my students, who sometimes appear attentive though their
minds are far away. Other times, they appear distracted while gauging every
move. Why attend to chickadees? “Nothing touches your life but it is the LORD
God Himself speaking to you,” claims Oswald Chambers. “Upon the head of the righteous [Christ is our righteousness], blessings rain down,” says Solomon.
Chickadees are a blessing.
People ask me why
I’m in Flint. The answer, first of all, is to be within chore-distance of my
parents, who live 60 minutes away in Midland. Secondly, according to scripture,
there’s much to be learned from the downtrodden (for example, Proverbs 28:11,
Luke 6:20-21) and much to be gained in their service (Proverbs 19:17).
People ask me how
my parents are doing. They’re 82 and have been married 62 years. Last week,
rather than enjoying our standing Tuesday dinner date at their place, we went
to their church, St. John’s Episcopal in Midland, for their pancake supper. Afterwards,
on our way back to their home, we all agreed the pancakes had been very tasty. “Yes,”
opined my mother, “but all that frying makes your clothes smell.”
“Well I would say
to you,” returned my father, who moves with the speed of an energetic snail, “as soon as
you walk in the house, throw off all your clothes.”
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