Show Me!

Missouri is the Show Me State. It is that strong, solid, Midwestern, down to earth, nose to the grindstone, show me ethic that gives us our sensibility and stubbornness. The state animal is the Missouri Mule. So, I think you should have a pretty good idea of what to expect if you ask one of us what it takes for us to believe something. Proof.

Our new study is focusing on the resurrection story and what it took for the Disciples to believe Jesus had risen. If you read the different versions in each of the four gospels it becomes clear that the apostles did not have a common understanding of the event. There are significant differences from one to the next. The individual accounts are probably also colored by the audience for whom they were writing - Matthew's focus on the fulfillment of prophecy indicates a Jewish audience; Mark's fact-based Greek gospel implies non-Jewish Christians, maybe Romans; Luke's writing for the Gentiles; and John seeks to reach all people, expanding from the "what" to the "why" of Jesus. But in each account the witnesses leave the tomb believing in a very unnatural event.

I couldn't help but think they had a big advantage over us. They had been traveling with Jesus for three years, they had seen miracles first hand. I am sure I have seen miracles, but none like those described in Jesus' ministry. Even though they had seen Jesus' work and been told that this would happen, they still just thought the body had been stolen when they found the empty tomb. Despite their own unique experience and understanding, they took a while to get past "show-me." So maybe I'm not that bad after all.

What does it take for us to believe the story? While thinking about just what it takes for us to believe is a very valuable exercise, I think the take-away for me tonight was about the need to differentiate the message. That has been a hot button word in education recently, and it basically means offering material in several different ways, at several different levels, so that it both challenges and advances the skills and knowledge of each student at an individually appropriate level. Differentiation honors that fact that not all students are at the same level of understanding, interest, and ability at the same time and allows them to progress at their own level, at a pace that will allow success.

Sometimes we aren't willing to differentiate The Message as we go out to make disciples. We get an almost OCD-like compulsion, seeing only one way to do things. Our way. And yet, God differentiated the Gospels in order to reach more people. God differentiated the way he reached and reaches out to us, willing to meet us where we are and allow us to progress at our own pace. Why is it so difficult for us to do the same? Not only for others, but for ourselves?

Waving Palms, Lifting Psalms

As we prepare for Easter, remembering the events of Holy Week, it seems fitting that we start out with a study of Psalm 103. This is the epitome of the praise Psalms. You can read it on my favorite online tool, Bible Gateway. Before you click on the link, though, think about the most wonderful, marvelous thing that has ever happened to you. Then compare that to the gift of grace and salvation. How does your experience measure up to God's gift to us?

The Psalmist begins and ends the Psalm with praise and blessing of God. The filling in this praise sandwich tells us just how God saves us, the five (or in some versions six) steps in salvation - forgiving, healing, redeeming, crowning with mercy, satisfying your desires. The actions of God are followed by a description of God that seems to me totally NOT Old Testament. The image is of a loving, forgiving, patient, generous God. Creator of all, Lord of all, Redeemer of all who love him.

So, is this the God that the people saw when they laid down the palms for Jesus? They were expecting a military leader, one who wold overthrow the kingdoms of this world and make their lives better. When he turned out to not be what they expected, they turned on him. I could see them offering up this Psalm on one day, and then cursing him the next. How intolerant and fickle we can be!

If I am honest, I feel guilty when I think about that. I get angry when I don't get the answer I want to my prayers, or when I don't feel any answer at all. I try to remember to be thankful, praise-ful, give up my need for control even though it is really, really difficult. But, I hope like you, I am not perfect. I am not always successful. The good news, and the Psalmist reminds me, is that God is forgiving. God will heal my hurts, in mercy Jesus redeems my soul, and the desires of my soul that are good for my soul will be satisfied. Yours, too.

Water, Water Everywhere

Sorry, no post last week but I heard we started the discussion of the other United Methodist sacrament - baptism. Even though as United Methodists most of us have no recall of our baptism as infants, we do get to relive it every time another baby is baptized, expanding the community of believers. Baptism is so full of hope and promise, not only in the innocent child but also in the sound of the water as the pastor pours it into the font. You have to admit there is something compelling, calming, soothing about just the thought of water. My happy place often includes water - sitting by the edge of the ocean, floating in a warm pool in the sunshine, fishing, waterfalls in the forest. But like communion, I mostly find myself going through the motions, reading and responding in the liturgy, without consciously thinking about what it all means.

We do celebrate infant baptism, as opposed the to believer's baptism which requires the individual to be of sufficient age and reason as to be able to choose to be baptized and profess their faith. We only baptize once because once the covenant is made, the original sin is redeemed, so there is no need to repeat the sacrament. God acts, reorienting the individual's spirit or soul to be more open and welcoming of God's grace. United Methodists celebrate baptism as a public event, within the community of believers because it also require a commitment on the part of the congregation to welcome the individual and support and nurture their spiritual growth. We talked about the United Methodist requirements for communion - that you believe in Jesus Christ and earnestly repent of your sins - and noted the requirements for baptism are 1) at least one sponsor must be a member of the church 2) parents/sponsor must agree to raise the child in the church. No real revelations in any of those points for me, but I did gain a richer, deeper, and actively conscious understanding of the covenant that is made.

What do we do, and why do we do it? Those have been the questions in this study, and they are great questions to consider. Some of us never really learned these things, some of us feel better not thinking about these things, some of us have gone into rote memorization mode and forgotten these things. This study has brought this Learner back to conscious and deliberate participation in our sacraments. More than that, I have discovered that I must have been meant to be a United Methodist because "the church's" tenets fit almost perfectly with my own personal beliefs. Could it be because I was raised in this church? Maybe, but I like to think that during the decades when I fell away from the church, I formulated a personal theology. Some would criticize that, saying we need to follow "the church's" theology, but I come back to Wesley's quote, "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity."