This past Sunday I had the privilege of sharing the pulpit with three great ministers for the 180th Anniversary of Madisonville Presbyterian Church. I spent nearly seven years as a Stated-Supply Pastor, meaning I am not ordained Presbyterian (Ordained in the Baptist tradition), but commissioned to do the work of pastor. I thought those years would be short. Five years ago when we had the 175th I was positive that would be the last celebration. The average age of the church was 80.4, there were no younger couples or kids, and we had a “crowd” when 25 were in worship! However, as I kept waiting for it to fade away, it remains today.

At Just Love we believe that the Spirit is moving the Church out of the walls of the institution and back to the heart of the people. Jesus’ work was outside the walls of the Temple and that has not changed. I celebrate the 180 years of Madisonville Presbyterian Church. In those 180 years I am positive that many lives were changed and made whole. I do mean it when I say I hope that it lives on for another 180 years. The question is what does that look like? Does it look like the same old bones, with dusty hymnals, broken microphones, and faded carpet? Or is it out in the streets, neighborhoods, and byways? Those we encounter on the road, at the grocery store, or walking down a perilous street that is where the Spirit is moving us.

And I celebrate this. Not what seems to be the downfall of the Institution of the church in America, I celebrate how God is breaking the hubris of our denominations and humbling us to see the least of these in our own midst. We can reflect on all that is wrong and there is much there, but I will celebrate the opportunity to do something new.

My friends, imagine 180 years into the future and Madisonville Presbyterian Church is still making an impact. Not because it is a historical landmark that continues to worship in between tourist visits, but because it chose to follow God down a new, yet uncomfortable path. A path that will end in its physical demise, but continues in the lives made whole in this fragmented world. Consider it a joy and celebration, my brothers and sisters, and imagine the possibilities.

Zac

“So I find that, as a rule, when I want to do what is good, evil is right there with me. I gladly agree with the Law on the inside, but I see a different law at work in my body. It wages a war against the law of my mind and takes me prisoner with the law of sin that is in my body. I’m a miserable human being.”

Saturday morning was great. I woke up at 5:30 am, put on my coffee, and fired up the Pit Boss. It was going to be an epic day of beer, football, and food…and it was! I saw some teams lose and my favorite team win. It should have been almost a perfect set up, but yet I was not happy with myself by the end of the night. 

Why, you may ask? Football makes me irrational. No, I mean stupidly irrational. That part of me that knows this is only a game and tomorrow the world will still be here if we lose, just vanishes into thin air. I lose all sense of self and place. Awareness of surroundings becomes meaningless as I may chunk a cup or flip over a table in a New York minute. Let one thing go wrong and bam! It’s over.

You lose yourself and you feel like a fraud. Not everyone has that sense, but most do. Our “feeling” like a fraud probably has to do with how we see ourselves. We may “think” this is how we are supposed to be, act, or do and when actions our do not reflect it…that fraud feeling comes over us again.

Sometimes it is a war within ourselves that we just cannot seem to end. The quote above is from Paul in Romans 7:21-23. This is the famous, “I do not do what I want to do, because I do the thing I hate.”

Obviously, Paul is not quoting this as a constant reminder to never end your guilt trip or shame fest. No, it reminds us that we all may see ourselves this way and that is okay. The point is you are not alone in this. Even Paul’s next few sentences remind us that there is grace available for all. No exceptions!!!

Give yourself grace, my friend, and you may see the only fraud was the thought.

Zac

There was one fear that really grabbed our nation and world in the 80’s.  I remember sitting in the gym of elementary school as the entire school watched a movie.  This was a made for tv movie about a boy with AIDS.  You may even remember the movie.  Honestly, I could not tell you the name, but I remember the talk around the movie.  After the film our PE teacher told us that we are to never come in contact with AIDS patients.  They were like the lepers of Jesus’ time.  People were afraid to play sports with players with AIDS until Magic Johnson broke down those barriers.  Everyone was so afraid of AIDS that people even feared drinking from public water fountains.  

Fast forward to 2013.  I, being a green chaplain, began working in a city that, per capita, has the 3rd highest HIV/AIDS population in the USA (with Baton Rouge being the highest in the nation!).  Most of my time was spent with Oncology and Trauma patients and families, but one of my other units was the Infectious Disease unit.  90% of the people in that unit were HIV/AIDS patients.  Sometimes we can’t help who we are or where we came from and those early childhood images of AIDS crept through my mind constantly when on that unit.  Until one day, the suffering of humanity overcame my fear.

I remember it very well.  The patient was a 30ish year old African-American male.  I’m sure at one point in his life he was healthy and full of life, but on this day he was a shell of a person.  He was entering the final days of his life.  He was completely emaciated with yellow eyes from lack of liver function and did not have the power to say a word.  I felt complete empathy for him.  No one was in the room and no family was coming. He was all alone. I walked in as part of normal rounds and sat down in a chair near his bedside. I looked at him and tears began to run down my face. I could only reach for his hand and hold on to it.

In our passage, Mark uses a technique called “bracketing” or “sandwiching”  which is the idea of using two different stories in order to tell one story.  There is, however, a class and gender contrast between two of the main characters in our story.  Jarius is an elder in the local synagogue which would make him a very important person in the area.  

The woman, which we receive no name, has been stricken with this illness for twelve years, spent all of her money, and most importantly has been ostracized from the community because she would be considered ritually unclean.  She was, essentially, a leper; the bottom of the class barrel if you will.  Her story is heartbreaking and it gets lost in the story of Jarius’ daughter being raised from the dead.  She deserves the spotlight today.  

What is interesting about this story is the way it is told.  The woman’s faith was so strong that she believed that if she could only touch his garment she would be healed.  But Jesus, being pressed and touched from the crowd, asks the seemingly absurd question, “Who touched me?”  The disciples gave him a frustrated response that, in modern terms, would be, “What are you talking about?  Hundreds of people are here, they all want to touch you!”  But something was different about this touch.  Something was divine.  The woman did not run, although most would have, because not only was she ritually unclean and not supposed to be there, she made everyone she touched ritually unclean including Jesus!  

Jesus did not respond the way the reader would think, but he called her daughter.  Jesus’ daughter. Jesus made her clean and restored her life.  That, my friends, is the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Even the unfortunate seem to be fortunate!  

Could you imagine being her family?  People who could not associate with her due to her ritual uncleanliness, which she had no control over; now she shows up after twelve years of pain, disappointment, and social isolation to declare that she is healed and been made whole again.  She tells them of this Jesus, who was being told that a girl of a rich man was sick, but he took the time to be with me!  He was interrupted from “work” of healing a sick girl who was near death.  However, as a teacher recounts to Herni Nouwen in his book Reaching Out, “You know...my whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I discovered that my interruptions were my work.”  

Jesus knew this very well, my friends.  She was an interruption, but it was proof of who this Jesus was.  Jesus was not only there for the rich, he was there for the unfortunate of society as well.  Jesus was making the ritually unclean, clean.  Jesus was giving the blind sight.  Jesus was casting out demons in people who were on the margins of the city.

That’s who Jesus is.  He is there for the unfortunate, those that are on the margins of society.  Those that are culturally unclean in our modern times, Jesus is calling us to make them clean. I remember that day in the hospital room and I wonder if that young man’s story will ever be told. He was cast off by society and his family. Maybe he used up all his chances, whatever that may mean, but I hope in those final moments he knew that God was with him and would not leave him to suffer alone.

Zac

“The End is my Beginning”, are the words of T.S. Eliot’s poem and we have reached the end of the matter for the Teacher. The end of the matter is the beginning for us. The Teacher experienced life in all its ways. He pushed the limits of knowledge, only to find it leads to much vexation. The Teacher indulged in all the worldly pleasures one could have and it led to emptiness. The Teacher even went further and went into moral perversity and madness. It too led to nothingness. All has led to hebel.

In our final passage from Ecclesiastes the Teacher has given way to the editor. The Editor began our book with verse one of chapter one and added these final lines of wisdom. There are many take-aways from these few verses.  We will focus on two.

Firstly, the Teacher is giving us wise and truthful words. The words of the wise are like a goad. Goads are sticks with spikes or nails sticking out. This keeps the cattle or other livestock in a straight lines. These goads annoy and stick in each and everyone of us who listens to the words of the wise. The wise words are fixed in our memories. The nails of the wise are fixed on us like nails one uses to place a picture on a wall. However, notice that the Teacher is not necessarily talking about himself, but someone in particular: the Shepherd. It is the truthfulness of the Teacher’s words that are attributed to the Shepherd. Psalm 23 tells us that the Lord is our Shepherd and for the Teacher this is no different.

The words of the wise, which are, again, attributed to the Shepherd, the LORD, offer us wisdom. Wisdom from God is the answer to life for the Teacher. You want to live in the beauty of truthfulness? Follow the Lord. But we are too foolish for such nonsense. We must continue to learn more apart from God. The Teacher could anticipate this. In making many books there is no end. In searching for the meaning of life, there is also no end. One will never find the meaning of life on their own terms. But we still struggle to accept the Teacher’s advice.

Humanity has been looking for all the answers for many centuries. We desperately want to know the truth. We live no room for such superstitious beliefs, i.e. God. There must be a “logical” explanation. In C.S. Lewis The Great Divorce, perfectly illustrates humanity's fixation on finding meaning without God. The scene is set on the borders of heaven. A searcher is being invited into heaven. The Searcher is told, “I can promise you…no scope for your talents: only forgiveness for having perverted them. No atmosphere of inquiry, for I will bring you to the land not of questions but of answers, and you shall see the face of God.”

The Searcher replies, “Ah, but we must all interpret those beautiful words in our own way! For me there is no such thing as a final answer. The free wind of inquiry must always continue to blow through the mind, must it not?…the Spirit answers, “Listen! Once you were a child. Once you knew what inquiry was for. There was a time when you asked questions because you wanted answers, and were glad when you had found them. Because that child again: even now.” For we know to be child-like, is to follow God with all our being.

However, the Searcher responds, “Ah, but when I became a man I put away childish things.” No argument would work, even with God there with him. Nothing could satisfy him. Lewis goes on to say the Searcher left heaven and went back to his book club in hell in order to learn more.

The point is in our searching for answers, we blow right past it: God is the answer.

That brings us to our second point, the end of the matter. The Teacher gave us this long treatise on life under the sun. He finishes with the modern equivalent of: That's it! I've said everything I needed to say. At this point it is as if the Teacher is in his classroom and is beginning to pack up his things when a student raises his hand and ask, "So, what is the Meaning of life?"

Fear God and keep God's commandments. That is the whole of humanity's duty. The point is that this is not all there is to life. The Teacher is vague about what commandments, although he has mentioned some throughout the book. The whole of our duty is the opposite of hevel: Fear of God and God's commandments are something we can hold on to, unlike hevel. Of course, the fear of God is not being in a constant state of being afraid. Fear in the Old Testament becomes faith in the New Testament. We are to have faith in God and we have more of the story than the Teacher because Christ came and showed us the way.

The Shepherd above is Christ our Lord. In Gospel of John chapter 10, Jesus says that he of l is the Good Shepherd and through him life is given abundantly. My friends, this is the end of the matter but our beginning. Have faith in God alone. Trust in God in all our ways. There are many other things competing for our allegiance and trust. Only one is worthy.

Zac

“Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus:

‘Though he was in the form of God, he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit. But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings.”  Philippians 2:5-7a

You ever been so full that you feel extremely uncomfortable? We go on a food bender while mindlessly watching television or surfing the internet. Then, we feel nothing but regret when we are trying to relax and our stomachs are so full we feel like we need a great emptying. Usually afterwards in when we promise ourselves we will start a new diet and exercise plan tomorrow!

Feasting is about abundance and in God’s good kingdom there is abundance. However, there are times where we must fast to empty ourselves. Many times in life we find ourselves in a bad season, as James KA Smith calls it (when are we?). We are walking through the wilderness tempted by the evil one like Christ. Afflicted on all sides, we hunger for more and we know when we mix hunger and frustration: you become hangry! However, if we empty ourselves of our wants and needs and attune our hearts and minds to what the Spirit is doing in the world, we can see where God is going in this chaotic world.

The great Spiritual Leader, Fr. Richard Rohr says, “People who empty themselves in the wilderness always meet a God who is greater than they would have dared to hope.” (Simplicity, 25). Where are you? Are you in the wilderness, feeling like an exile in your own world? Are you safe and secure without any worries? Wherever you are, God is there as well. Let us learn to empty ourselves so we may hear God’s voice speak as we move to love our neighbors as God has loved us.

Zac

“There is nothing better for human beings than to eat, drink, and experience pleasure in their labor. I also saw that this is from God’s hand.” -Ecclesiastes 2:24

How often do we stop to think about these words? We always here the secular form of the saying, “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die!” What if we stopped and said our rest is as, if not more, important than our labor? What if we quit fragmenting time to become more efficient and productive machines, and instead focused on kindness, rest, gentleness, and loving the world in which God created? Labor Day weekend is one of those favorite weekends. College Football kicks off (sorry, LSU fans) and we know Fall is around the corner. We stop to rest and enjoy the toil of our labor, for there is much laboring.

Labor is not only about our physical, backbreaking labor. That type of labor is from another time. Labor is mentally laborious for many of us. We feel we must always be on for others, as if we can do it better than God. Yet, if God does not answer immediately, the faithful understand and wait in patience. However, if we called, texted, or emailed someone, all the sudden the patience is gone! I need an answer now!

I saw someone tweet this as their email signature and it struck me as wise. See what you think”

“It is normal for me to take 2 days to read my emails and 2 more days to reflect on the matter and respond calmly. The culture of immediacy and the constant fragmentation of time are not very compatible with the kind of life I lead.”

Some of you may gasp! “How dare they! People are waiting on them!” Others probably said, “I need to give this a try!” If think it is fair to expect people to respond, but I think it is not necessary that we expect immediacy.

My friends, let us rest in God. That is where we find our strength and hope. If God’s expectations of us were to immediately get things done right, well, we are up the wrong creek without a paddle! But God is patient and kind. Let us practice those same virtues so that the fruit of patience may shine brightly in this over-productive world as we remember to rest from the toils of our labor!

Zac

“Here is another thought for you that is very controversial: I don’t see any point in making anything but controversial statements. There is no other way of getting any attention at all. I mean, you cannot get people thinking until you say something that really shocks them, dislocates them.” Marshall McLuhan

Marshall McLuhan was known as the “media Prophet”. In the 70’s he coined the famous “global village” and the often misunderstood “the medium is the message”. He was called a prophet because he saw a world that was to come more than most of his contemporaries of his time could possibly imagine. He was mocked and called a fool for his predictions…and yet, here we are. We are almost desensitized by so-called “controversial” statements in the media. We hear our politicians say one controversial thing after another and it works! It gets people’s attention. It may not be good attention, but as it is said, “bad publicity is better than no publicity”. I think the Teacher in Ecclesiastes did an excellent job with this kind of controversial statements. I also think it is clear that Jesus was very good at this as well.

However, why do controversial statements matter if they are not truthful? The truth hurts, we all have received some truth that shook us to our core. The term “gaslighting” has come into vogue thinks to non-truthful/bad faith actors. They say something controversial, but we know it is not the truth. Yet, they will stick to it regardless. It’s the same when Levi, my argumentative middle child , will tell me the sky is green when I mention what a beautiful blue sky it is! We can see the obvious truth, yet…

Jesus was the best at this. When people had an expectation that he would say what the other Rabbi’s were saying, Jesus would flip it on its head. When asked about the Greatest Commandment, Jesus answers rightly for the Scribe. However, when he was tested with, “And who is my neighbor?”, Jesus response was very controversial. They expected the Priest and Levite to be the “good guys”; the only true neighbors. However, Jesus subverted their expectations and gave them the so-called bad guy: the Samaritan.

What if preachers and pastors spent more time saying the truth rather than maintaining the status quo? Many would be fired on the spot for sure, but we must ask ourselves, if we really want to be good neighbors we must be willing to face the truth. The truth hurts, but it is the truth that sets us free. We follow the Truth, my friends, and in this fragmented world of bad actors, we know the Truth will lead us into God’s green pastures.

Zac

It is that time of year again or should I say it is a never ending time of year now. Election season is upon and I am beginning to wonder who burned out we are on the constant nagging and shouting from both sides. It is not only politics that are fragmented, but people and communities. Look around and observe. What do you notice when you are out and about? Do you see people? You may say, “What a silly question, Zac. Of course I do.” I mean, do you really see people? There is a great Central African why of greeting one another. In America, we say, “How are you?” of some variation. The local tribespeople when they meet one another say something that is inspiring to me when translated into the English: “I see you”. It means that I recognize you for who you are. I see you and your struggle. I see you and your joy, pain, happiness, depression, and so on. Do we see others? This is an integral part of being with Just Love Your Neighbor. We must see others as fellow travelers in this fragmented, modern world. When we do see one another, think of how much empathy we can have, which will lead to compassionate people doing the work of the Gospel. Loving one another is the only way we can escape this fragmentation. So, let us see others as friends and love as Jesus loves us.

Grace and peace!

- Zac

I do not know if I ever really left school! It is just one of those feelings, right? When summer comes around and you see kids all over, you begin to wonder, “When does my summer start?” Then, you remember you are an adult and must work during the summer! Oh, the humanity! However, summer ends. Like all good things, they seem to come to an end. My friends, that is the beauty with God. Jesus says he came to give life and life abundantly. Our Scripture from yesterday was John 6. Jesus feeds the 5,000 and they were looking for more. Jesus says, “I am the Bread of Life”. Those that eat of him shall never hunger again. We feed people physical food because Jesus met physical needs. We also offer Spiritual food, which Jesus offers in abundance. Come and join us on Wednesdays or go to your local worshipping community and receive the food that Christ has to offer. Summer may end, but the love of God cannot be stopped!

Grace and Peace!

-Zac