One after another, bad news continues to come in the form of one tragedy after another. The remembrance of September 11th comes again and we still are left trying to answer and respond to that tragedy.  At the same time, we are trying to figure out how to respond to the tragedy of chemical weapons being used against people in Syria.  It is hard to make sense of all this tragedy, some have become famous others go unrecognized.  During these times many people ask “where is God?” or “How can a good and loving God allow this to happen?”  In knee jerk response to these tragedies we look to find blame for someone, something, or this group or that group; that is our human sinfulness.  Before hands were brought together to pray for these events, fingers were pointed and blame was being spread.  Many books have been written on the subject of how to answer these tough questions and surely people will debate them but as a person of faith answers are not always clear.


As I am writing this, a friend posted an article relating more violence against the Christian community in Egypt.  Fortunately for us, we do not live in this type of persecution.  Unfortunately for us, we often do not take advantage of the freedom we have to draw people closer to God in the midst of these tragedies.  September 16th 2001 was one of the most highly attended church days in recent history in America.  People came in droves looking for an answer to the recent tragedies of the week that affected our entire nation on September 11th.  The following Sunday many did not return.  Why?  Was the answer given from the pulpit insufficient or is answering the question really insufficient in the first place.
 

As a person of faith and one who is often asked to answer these kinds of difficult questions there are a few things that comfort me.  Jesus gives two promises in the gospel of John....”In this world you WILL have trouble, but take heart for I have CONQUERED this world so that you MAY have peace (John 16:33-34).” Jesus continues to point his disciples to the cross even, and especially, in the midst of suffering and tragedy.  Jesus does not wax philosophical about answering the questions  that come from tragic events he suffers with us.  This is what separates Christians from all the other religions in the world.  We worship a God who lives and breathes and suffers alongside of us.  Not only for us but with us.  Christ’s saving act on the cross is God’s answer to these tragic events - because Christ is present in our suffering....BUT Christ does not remain there, Jesus conquered this suffering by rising from the dead.  This is our share in answering tragedy.

In the ancient Christian Liturgy, Christians throughout time have proclaimed the mystery of faith - “Christ has died!  Christ is Risen!  Christ will come again!”  Past, present, and future...God is with us (Emmanuel) in our suffering and with those who suffer now because of these tragic events.  More than that, God is bringing healing, light and life into the darkness of these tragic events.  The Word made flesh, a light in the darkness.  Our response is not to give a satisfactory answer for those with questions but to give witness to the mystery of our faith....to point to the light, Jesus the Christ, who suffers with us, brings victory through this suffering and will make all things new when he comes again.  As we continue in the days surrounded by tragedy (all days) let us nail to the cross the finger pointing and endless talk of who is right and who is wrong, this group versus that group.....it is all human sinfulness.  Let us instead trust in the mystery of our faith.

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:

   “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 8:31-39

Praying attention, again -Pastor Andy

I haven't been to a concert in years.  Tuesday I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Mumford & Sons concert at the Marcus Amphitheater.  It truly was a religious experience.  Mumford, being a pastor's kid, laces lyrics with lots of grace and deeper aspects of God showing up.  They are not a christian rock band but probably the most grace filled and religious songs I have heard in a long time.  The concert itself was somewhat of a worship experience.  There is something to be said about being in the same room with people who appreciate the same music…..but in a greater sense, there was something sacred about being 'in concert.'

At first, the guy in front of me really was an annoyance coming off as arrogant and a know it all while seeing ignorant about lots of stuff.  I laughed at him and really wondered where he was from.  But over time, I got to know him formed some dialogue in the in between times of this concert and really appreciated his humanity.  Not sure that would happen anywhere else.

The opening acts were somewhat entertaining but we all waited with great anticipation for the main attraction.

Then, it all came together but it was different than I had thought.  This was no performance.  This was a communal event.  12,000 people were now engaged in this incredible band leading us in song together.  It was that way because everyone in the room knew every lyric and every note.  I thought it would annoy me to hear everyone else singing these songs together.  Yet, I was surprised at the event that unfolded. In concert was allowing us to be a part of the heart language that gathered all of us in.  And this was a diverse crowd to be sure, thirty something parents with and without kids, some older folks who have incredible music taste, teenie boppers coming on a school night, twenty somethings and college folks, hipsters and band geeks, we all gathered for the time being to be gathered into one event.  the heart language shared brought about a sense of community that can't be forced.  Because we were in concert we shared a commonality that reached beyond conventional boundaries.

In concert might be a better way of speaking of how we attune our hearts to God's love language.  This, as I said, was a worship event….and yet sometimes, somehow, our worship events seem more performance than 'in concert.'  We would sometimes allow the boundary lines to be drawn and the annoyances of people who sit in front of us separate who we are when we are in concert with the God who loves us and created us for a community much like this one.  As a church we share this commonality to be in concert in worship with a Lord who invented the music that moves our hearts.  Preparing our hearts to receive the Lord in concert is to sing along with how the Lord leads our own songs.  Praying attention- Pastor Andy

It’s time to go back to school.  Many of us might hear this phrase and admit that we are ‘too cool for school’ or that we did our time and school is something of the past.  However, God never wants us to graduate from God.  It is true that during worship, part of what we do is to expound on God’s teachings each week.  But our learning about God is more about a day to day relationship than a once a week reception.

Scripture teaches us:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. -2 Timothy 3:16-17

I’m not sure how these verses move you, but I will claim that it is time for all of us to go back to school. The hope that these versus give to me is that God’s people are equipped through scripture to live faithful lives in the world.  God’s word is God’s promise to us. But how many of us know the scriptures that have been placed in our hands?

Back to school is not just a slogan to admit that summer is over or that Kohl’s is having a sale on everything, it is a recognition that we need to crack open our Bibles and hear God’s voice in daily living.  The Bible is to the Spirit what food is to the body.  You have to eat, so too, you have to be fed.  The verses above describe that Scripture helps teach or reveal who God is, rebuke or offer correction to our living, and trains us in righteousness or loving how Christ loved.  In this way, the promise to us in going back to school is to be equipped for every good work.  Just as school equips students for the world they enter, we are equipped to change our lives, our minds and our communities with the God’s promises.

Faith formation is not about head knowledge but about relationship.  Going back to school is signing up for lessons with the master craftsman, to be the student of the savior.  Going back to school is rededicating our lives to the one who has given us life, abundant and eternal. - Praying Attention - Pastor Andy