Foot washing

John 13 is what I’m thinking about this week. It’s where Jesus assumes the role of the lowest servant, washing the feet of his closest followers. They are too proud to take on the role.

Peter, probably embarrassed, protests the move. Jesus challenges him.

"Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

Could it be the key to our service is allowing Jesus to serve us, surrendering and submitting to him every area of our life?

Peter does not want Jesus to wash his feet, and I think sometimes we are the same.

Jesus desperately wants to wash your feet, and you say, "Lord, you’re not going to wash my feet; I can take care of it."

We carry burdens around like suitcases full of bricks, and Jesus says, "Let me take those from you." We say, "No, I can carry it; I’m strong. I can take care of it."

We carry worry, stress and struggles around, and Jesus says, "If you are weary and are burdened, come to me; I’ll take that from you." We say, "No, I can carry it; I’m strong. I can take care of it. I’ll wash my own feet."

We carry sin around, and we let it control our lives. Jesus says, "I’ve paid for those sins, and I can take them from you." And we say, "No, I’ll just try a little harder to be a little better, and then maybe they’ll go away on their own. I can wash my own feet."

"Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

The Last Gift

This week I am reliving someone’s death. He was a friend and it’s not easy. My grief is nothing, however, compared to his mother’s. His death was sudden, totally unexpected. No time for final words or good-byes. That’s so hard for those of us left behind.

I remember a few years ago being at a funeral home with a very distraught man. His brother had died suddenly in tragic circumstances. The man came to me in tears saying, "the last words I had with my brother were words of hatred in a heated argument and I never apologized."

These sorts of things happen all the time. Maybe they happened to you. Relationships left ripped apart by death are irreparable in some ways. Yet I believe that we should do our best to repent or forgive, hoping, imagining that the other person would respond appropriately.

What we can do, since we are still alive, is avoid those situations. Henri Nouwen speaks of making our death a blessing, a gift to others. Listen carefully.


"How do we make our deaths gifts for others? Very often people's lives are destroyed, harmed, or permanently wounded by the deaths of their relatives or friends. We have to do whatever we can to avoid this. When we are near death what we say to those who are close to us, whether in spoken or in written words, is very important. When we express gratitude to them, ask forgiveness for our shortcomings and offer forgiveness for theirs, and express our sincere desire that they continue their lives without remorse but remembering the graces of our lives, then our deaths can become true gifts."

Since life is so uncertain, then it is best to be at peace with all, to the best of our ability.

Pleasing God

Can we please God?

We often, rightfully so, focus on the grace of God, saying that we are not worthy of it nor able to earn it. Very true!

Sometimes, though, I wonder if we come away from all this with the idea that we cannot please God. From there is it a short journey to a short question. Why try?

This leaves us with what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called cheap grace.

"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession . . . Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."

The truth is we can please God and should strive to do so. It’s the right response to his grace.

Here are just a few, of many, verses that speak of pleasing God.

Ephesians 5:8-10 — You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what PLEASES the Lord.

Colossians 1:10 — We pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may PLEASE him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God . . .

2 Corinthians 5:9a — We make it our goal to PLEASE him . . .

That’s a good goal, one deeply rooted in God’s amazing grace.

Crash Landing

Did you see the story about two eagles that got into a midair fight? In their fight they locked talons. As they plummeted toward the ground, they did not separate.

With locked talons, they were out of control and ended up crashing onto the tarmac at Duluth International Airport. They survived and were found by a concerned citizen. He wrapped them up and put them in his truck to take them to an animal rehab center.

On the way one eagle got loose and flew away. The other one, receiving a little more damage, is now in a raptor rehab center.

As I read the story, it didn’t take me long to start thinking about people. When we lock into conflict, digging our talons into one another, it is not likely to end well.

I wonder if those eagles were too stubborn to let go?

"I’ll crash us to the ground before I’ll let go!"

Mistaken Identity

A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer.

The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I’m very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the ‘What Would Jesus Do’ bumper sticker, the ‘Choose Life’ license plate holder, the ‘Follow Me to Sunday-School’ bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."

Kindness

God is kind.

I’ve been thinking about that this week. His kindness is woven throughout Scripture and is seen in those who have his heart.

Here are a few interesting verses about it:

Ephesians 2:6,7 — And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his KINDNESS to us in Christ Jesus.

Titus 3:4-6 — When the KINDNESS and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.

The kindness of God challenges our complacency, apathy, and hard-heartedness, calling us to change, to turn back to God.

Romans 2:4 — Do you show contempt for the riches of his KINDNESS, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s KINDNESS leads you toward repentance?

Luke 6:35,36 — Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is KIND to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Repentance, turning back to God, is a turn toward kindness. It’s a turn toward being kind with others. All of them.

Wise Words

Proverbs 15:8-10 (The Message)


God can’t stand pious poses,

but he delights in genuine prayers.

A life frittered away disgusts God;

he loves those who run straight for the finish line.

It’s a school of hard knocks for those who leave God’s path,

a dead-end street for those who hate God’s rules.

Pray it

Jesus, a long time ago, said:


"This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.’

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

Suffering and Joy

The sole survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He cried out to God to save him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but he only got depressed. He eventually built a small hut and put his only possessions in it.

One day, after hunting for some food, he came back to his hut to find it had gone up in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. He was devastated and disappointed with God.

"Why?"

Early the next day a ship drew near the island and rescued him. He couldn’t believe it. When he came on board he said asked, "How did you know I was here?"

"We saw your smoke signal."

When Paul writes the Romans, he talks, in chapter 5, about access to God. Imagine that – having access to Almighty God. This thought leads Paul in progression of thought that includes suffering as a part of joy.

How can those two thoughts, suffering and joy, connect? Because one often leads to the other, thanks to God and his way working in our problems. Let’s stay aware of this wonderful idea as this week unfolds.

Romans 5:2-5


. . .We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Seek Direction

I found this. There is probably a lesson in it about being lost and seeking direction.

As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper’s cemetery in the back country.

As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn’t stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight.

There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late. I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn’t know what else to do, so I started to play.

The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I’ve never played before for this homeless man.

And as I played ‘Amazing Grace,’ the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head hung low, my heart was full.

As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, "I never seen nothin’ like that before and I’ve been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."

Pleasant to Bitter and Back

Pleasant.

Naomi means pleasant. Life has a way at times of changing the pleasant, not simply to unpleasant, but to bitterness. It happened to Naomi in the Story of Ruth.

Naomi lost her husband and her two sons to death. As a result, she changed her name, holding God responsible.


"It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD'S hand has gone out against me! Don’t call me Naomi, call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."

Mara means bitter. The once pleasant Naomi has become bitter, bitter about life, bitter toward God.

She doesn’t lose her faith, however, and God, working through the people who surround her, doesn’t give up on her. He keeps blessing and she keeps seeing it. The bitterness slowly goes away.

Before the story is over Mara becomes Naomi again.

It took a while. Seems like it usually does.

God can use anyone

This week I’m working on a sermon from the Book of Ruth. It’s such a powerful story and worth taking the time to read.

Probably the most famous words in the book are found in chapter 1, when Ruth refuses to leave her mother-in-law, who is about to travel back home. Ruth is urged to stay put, but she won’t.


"Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."

These words take me back to my wedding, nearly 30 years ago. They were a key part of our ceremony and a key part of our marriage still.

The larger picture of Ruth, for me, is God’s redemptive work, where he makes good come from bad. Ruth, who is a Moabite, becomes a believer in the God of Israel.

Moabites were pagans and the enemies of God’s people, yet God brings Ruth into a relationship with Him, using painful and difficult circumstances to do it. In the end, Ruth gives birth to Obed, who fathers Jesse, who fathers King David.

When Matthew, in his first chapter, records the genealogy of Jesus, guess who is there? Ruth the Moabite. She is an important part in the plan of God, which may be surprising.

It shouldn’t be really, though, because God always uses flawed people to accomplish his will.

He can use anyone who will turn his/heart to him, including you and me.

Friends

If you know me, then you know I am a big fan of Henri Nouwen. His books are worth reading and reading again. His insight into life is remarkable, helpful, and practical.

He often talks of simple things, like friendship. In friendships we often discuss details of what is happening in our lives. That’s normal and good. Nouwen adds,


"But often we want to hear something else. We want to hear, ‘I've been thinking of you today,’ or ‘I missed you,’ or ‘I wish you were here,’ or ‘I really love you.’ It is not always easy to say these words, but such words can deepen our bonds with one another. Telling someone ‘I love you’ in whatever way is always delivering good news. Nobody will respond by saying, ‘Well, I knew that already, you don't have to say it again’! Words of love and affirmation are like bread. We need them each day, over and over. They keep us alive inside."

Thanks, Henri. Again.

The Example

A lot of people are facing a lot of challenges as this new week begins. I find the following words from Peter to be helpful.

They remind us that whatever we face is an opportunity to identify with, and draw closer to, the one who saves us.

1 Peter 2:21-25 (The Message)

This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step.

He never did one thing wrong,
Not once said anything amiss.

They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you’re named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.

All I Need

A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible - Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters a month to learn the chapter.

Little Rick was excited about the task - but he just couldn't remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line.

On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Ricky was so nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, "The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know."

Listen

The late Erma Bombeck tells about a time when she was tired of listening. She had listened to her son tell in minute detail about a movie he had just seen. Then she had received several telephone calls filled with mindless chatter.

She was relieved to tell the last caller she had to rush off to the airport. She got into a taxicab, and the taxicab driver spoke incessantly about his son’s accomplishments. She got the airport and was excited to have a few minutes to herself. She opened her book and began to read.

"But no sooner had I opened my book, when an elderly female voice said to me, ‘I bet it’s cold in Chicago.’ ‘I suppose,’" Erma replied without looking up from her book.

"I haven’t been in Chicago for 3 years," the woman said. "My son lives there."

"That’s nice," said Erma politely. Then the woman continued, "My husband’s body is on this plane. We were married for 53 years. I don’t drive, you see, and the funeral director was so nice. He drove me to the airport today."

Erma recalls, "Her voice droned on. Here was a woman who didn’t want money or advice or counsel. All she wanted was someone to listen. And in desperation she had turned to a total stranger with her story."

Bombeck adds, "She continued to talk to me until they announced that we were boarding the plane. We walked onto the plane. I saw her sit down in another section. And as I hung up my coat I heard her say to the person next to her, ‘I bet it’s cold in Chicago.’"

Love Gives

Love ever gives.

Forgives, outlives,

And ever stands

With open hands.

And while it lives,

It gives,

For this is love’s prerogative—

To give, and give, and give.

— John Oxenham