What We Find in the Desert, Part 1

The desert is a harsh place. The landscape is bare. Resources are limited. The flora and fauna are exotic and often dangerous. Consider these words from our own Bishop Huie after her recent trip to the Holy Land:

“Experiencing the geographical and cultural context that shaped the witness of the Old Testament and New Testament opened new dimensions of appreciation for me. In particular, I enter this Lenten season with a more profound grasp of what it might have been like during the forty days that Jesus spent alone in the Judean wilderness. Unlike the lush forests, coastal prairies, and green hills of the Texas Annual Conference, the Judean desert is a forbidding and barren place.  Some areas reminded me of the rock escarpments of the Texas Hill country. However, with an average rainfall of about two inches per year, there is virtually no vegetation on these rocks—just more sand. In the summer, the daytime heat is scorching. At night, it is cold. There are few signs of life. Existence is reduced to its essentials—food, water, shelter—and the presence of God.”

It’s little wonder Jesus didn’t relish the notion of going into the desert. In Matthew and Luke the Holy Spirit leads him there.  Mark goes further, telling us the Spirit drives Jesus out into the desert. In addition to the harsh conditions, Jesus knows who awaits him. For forty days the devil puts Jesus to the test. We read of three of these temptations in Scripture:

1. Turning stones to bread – So what’s so wrong with this? God made bread appear from nowhere and water flow from a rock in the book of Exodus. Bread is about what is needed to get by, not about some selfish, gluttonous desire. Jesus recognizes this test not as a temptation to do something wrong, but rather as temptation to let something good distract him from something better. We tend to think temptation is about an attraction to do something wrong or bad. Not so. We can equally be tempted by good things away from that which is best. I wonder if we “good” people succumb to this temptation far more than we realize.
2. Throw yourself down and let God catch you. How often do we put God to the test? Had any if/then conversations with God lately? “God IF you will (fill in the blank), THEN I will (fill in the blank).” What about self-justification when it comes to faith? How many reject faith altogether or only halfheartedly play at it because (fill in the blank). We profess to believe in a God who loves us unconditionally. Do we ever stop to consider whether or not we have returned the favor?
3. Worship me and I’ll give you the kingdoms of the world. According to the book of Revelation, God’s end-game is that the kingdoms of this world become his own (Rev. 11:15). How often do we allow good ends to justify questionable means? “I know I shouldn’t have (fill in the blank), but I only did it so that (fill in the blank).”

But there is another, greater, more fundamental test Jesus faces in the desert: “If you are the Son of God.” Twice Satan calls into question the voice Jesus had heard just before entering the desert, the voice from heaven that affirmed who he was and whose he was. Time in the desert can lead us to question who we really are, who God really is, and how it all fits together. This can be unpleasant, but I tend to think it is necessary. Only after wrestling with these difficult questions in the desert does Jesus begin his ministry.

These forty days of Lent, leading up to the celebration of the resurrection, serve as a signpost in our Christian journey. They remind us ours is a desert faith. It is a faith nurtured by our wrestling with the difficult questions. You may think you can avoid the desert in your life of faith, but I would caution you: you will spend time in the desert…life will put you there even if you try to avoid it. Most of us have experienced this in one way or another. If our faith isn’t ready for the desert, we’ll be lost when life drags us there. Also, an unavoidable truth of Scripture’s story is the fact that Jesus goes into the desert, and if you want to follow him, you must go there, too.

Which Path?

Check out the video from Sunday’s conversation: stairs or escalator?

Most of us prefer things as quick and easy as possible, from turn-by-turn gps navigation, to gourmet microwave meals, to phones that can do everything but tie our shoes (don’t worry, they’re working on an app for that). Often, the only way we’ll choose the road less traveled is if we perceive it to be more fun. Many of us prefer our faith the same way. But what if there are elements of the faith of Jesus that simply aren’t easy?

Prior to beginning his ministry Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness of the desert. We read about this in Luke 4:1-13 on Sunday morning. It was  time of preparation for what was ahead, as well as a time of testing. It was a difficult time. Traditionally, Christians have reflected on Jesus’ time in the desert during the season of Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter. It is a season set aside for self-reflection, for asking hard questions and wrestling with ourselves and with God. It’s a time of repentance, a turning away from actions and attitudes which separate us from God and turning toward those things which draw us closer to Him.

Will you do the hard work of Lent? Will you follow Jesus into the desert?

Into the Desert: Lent with the element

Join us here throughout the season of Lent as we journey together into the desert.

flip

Last Sunday we discussed Matthew 5:1-12 (sorry for the delayed post and podcast issues), a passage better known as the beatitudes, but one that might also be considered the preamble to Jesus’ manifesto of the Kingdom of God. Those who grew up in the church have likely heard this passage taught or sermonized many times, but we were challenged to look at it a little differently.

If the collected central and primary teachings of Jesus to his disciples we know as the sermon on the mount in fact do serve as a discourse on the Kingdom of God, the immediacy and availability of which was the good news (gospel) Jesus came to proclaim, then we might consider how these opening lines serve to distinguish how the values of the Kingdom of God differ from those of the world. The paradigm offered for wrestling with this passage was “two kinds of people, one choice to make.”

FIRST: Two kinds of people – those who experience poverty of spirit (v. 3) and those who, by way of implication, do not.

We often hear that to be poor in spirit is a good thing. After all, Jesus called them “blessed.” (The Greek might better be translated as “happy,” thus the term “beatitude,” which comes from the Latin for “happy” – I know, clear as mud) What if poverty of spirit is not so good? In any other context we consider someone who has a broken spirit (another way of saying poor in spirit?) to have been hurt by something, to be a victim of abuse. What if, in offering an alternative view of reality (the Kingdom of God), Jesus is saying that in this world you will find people who benefit from the realities of this world, and those who are crushed (thus, they are poor in spirit) by the world.

How do you know if someone has been broken by this world? Look at the next two beatitudes. The first is mourning. Crying is good, cathartic, even healthy. But crying is not mourning. The latter is an ongoing condition, a deep depression, a true brokenness … such as you might expect to find in one who has been broken by the world. The second is meekness: if we consider meekness in terms of humility, surely it is a good thing. But can meekness be a bad thing? The image offered was that of an abused dog. How do you know if a dog has been abused? She or he cowers every time a voice is raised or hand lifted, or they attack violently, regardless of the context. Isn’t this another form of meekness? Is this not how broken people respond?

Thus, according to this reading of the passage, Jesus tells us there at two kinds of people in the world: Those who benefit from the way things are, and those whose lot in life is different

NOW: One choice to make – what will you do on behalf of those whose spirits are broken?

The next beatitude speaks to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. We often think of this as a personal hunger (i.e., I want to be a righteous person). But if you consider another translation for righteousness is “justice” you begin to see that this is a much bigger concept. To hunger and thirst for righteousness/justice is to long for things to be the way they should be (the way they will be in the Kingdom of God). It is to hunger and thirst for those whose spirits have been broken to be made whole. More than a desire, it is to work toward that end. It is to act in mercy, with a pure heart, for the goal of peace. The Biblical concept of peace is much richer than our own. Better expressed in the Hebrew word “shalom,” it has to do with things being as they should be, whole, complete, and full. Martin Luther King, Jr. captured this with his comment: “True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” This is what it means to live a Kingdom life. It is what the Kingdom of God is all about. It is a reality that flips “the way things are” on their head.

The final beatitudes offer a caution. When you chose to pursue the Kingdom, when you seek after the welfare of those whose spirits are crushed by the world, you will meet opposition. There are those who benefit from the way things are, and don’t particularly concern themselves with how this way hurts others. There are others who see nothing wrong with the way things are. They will resist, sometimes even violently, those who try to flip the systems which benefit them on their head. The Kingdom of Heaven, according to Jesus, belongs both to those who continue to seek God’s righteousness in spite of this opposition and to the poor in spirit on whose behalf they seek this righteousness.

1. In what ways do the values of the Kingdom of God reverse the values of the world? Can you think of specific instances?
2. Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness? Does this hunger and thirst express itself in action on behalf of the poor in spirit?
3. Have you ever faced persecution, or in some other way had to “pay the price” for your faith?

first steps

after six weeks of preparations at re:fresh, the element kicked off this morning, surpassing all expectations in terms of attendance. what an amazing morning at st. peter’s all around … full congregations at both hours in the sanctuary, sunday school classes overflowing, and standing room only at the element…all good problems to have to deal with. god is at work.

our conversation this morning was based on jesus’ words in matthew 7:24-29. (sorry, the recording didn’t work this morning, so there is no accompanying podcast) where he speaks of the significance of solid foundations (or, in our case, good beginnings). “these words” referred to by jesus in verse 24 may apply generally to the sum total of jesus’ teaching, but more specifically point to the extended discourse of matthew 5-7, of which they are the concluding phrase. these three chapters are often referred to as the sermon on the mount.

a few misconceptions about this passage:

1. the sermon on the mount wasn’t a sermon. forget the romantic notions of crowds lining the hills listening to jesus dramatically preaching (or for that matter, monty python’s take on the event – definitely not for the little ones, mom and dad). the text itself presents the passage as a more intimate interaction between jesus and the disciples (see matthew 5:1). while the crowd may have listened in, they were not the intended audience.
2. it’s doubtful this discourse ever happened exactly as it is recorded. rather, what the gospel writer has most likely done is to compile jesus’ central teachings to his disciples in one place. far from diminishing the authority of the passage, this understanding only highlights the significance of these chapters as a pure, distilled collection of what jesus most often and with the greatest emphasis taught the disciples. these words, according to the gospel writer, are the core of jesus’ teaching and can be seen as representative of the whole.

we’ll spend the next several weeks talking about “these words,” not a bad place to start as we seek to build a community centered around christ. in preparation I invite you to read matthew 5-7 daily for the coming week (it won’t take long). listen for what jumps out at you. what surprises you? what seems to agree with or conflict with jesus’ words elsewhere? what seems too hard to swallow? it will be a great few weeks as we seek to be formed by “these words” of jesus.

questions for further reflection:

1. picture some firsts in your life, either your own or those of a loved one. what was the sense of anticipation leading up to each one? what was the significance of the event itself? was it a disappointment?
2. “you never get a second chance at a first impression.” “put your best foot forward.” what do you think of these cliches? have you ever had to overcome a bad first impression? describe that experience. how did you feel?
3. what are the foundational elements of your life? what convictions, beliefs, values or commitments form the very core of your being and doing? how thoroughly can you articulate these?
4. has your foundation ever cracked? describe that experience. has it been repaired? what was involved?

growing up in mississippi, the land of yazoo clay (i was 23 years old before i saw my first true basement), i’ve always known the problems cracked foundations lead to. repair is always expensive and seldom permanent. what if those foundations never cracked, if they had been built on solid ground, or if technology to overcome the challenges of yazoo clay were available? wouldn’t that be nice? wouldn’t it be nice to build on a solid foundation from the beginning?

welcome to the elemental blog

welcome to elemental blog, hosted by the element, an alternative worshiping community at st. peter’s united methodist church in katy, texas. on this blog you’ll find continuing conversation from sunday mornings, questions for personal or group study, and other information of interest to the community. the element gathers sundays at 11 a.m. we hope you’ll join us soon. for more information, visit our website at theelementonline.org