What Does It Mean To Follow Jesus?

Jesus never says to worship him, but repeatedly he invites any who hear his message to follow him. We spend a lot of time, and I in particular contemplate often, how we can best praise the Almighty. Certainly we can bear spiritual fruit by experiencing powerful moments of reverence and devotion. Yet, all the worshipping can distract us from following. Over the next six days let everything else fade away. Ponder the central question of Holy Week and all of our lives: “What does it mean to follow Jesus?”

John’s Gospel account invites us to enter into this journey to the Passover feast following after Jesus. When hearing this character-packed story we tend to put ourselves in the place of one or more of the characters. We, as human beings, have a great gift to put ourselves in the place of someone else. We can sympathize, empathize, and even project what a potential outcome would be if we were in another’s place. So with what character do you most identify? Who are you? What does this say about how you follow Jesus?

As John brings us to Bethany we first hear of Lazarus. How does Lazarus follow Jesus? Almost immediately preceding this reading Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. This is one instance in which we might have a difficult time empathizing with a character for who among us has ever tasted death and come back to talk about it. And yet, in our lives we experience many small deaths. The death of someone we love, the death of a job, or the death of a dream are three examples. If we find ourselves in Lazarus’ place, then following Jesus means dying and allowing the Word of God to bring us through this death.

We do not hear of the Chief Priests until late in this passage, but they concern themselves with forcibly standing against Jesus. The Chief Priests react towards this Galilean Rabbi. They not only do not follow him, but they desire to wipe away any evidence of his life and ministry, even seeking out Lazarus to put him to death once more. While we may sharply deny our hostility towards those with different beliefs, yet this Holy Week ask when we have found ourselves in the place of the Chief Priests? When have we not only been dead in our following of Jesus, but also attempted to kill someone’s attempt to follow him?

These questions bring us fittingly to Judas. The Narrator in John’s account lets us know that Judas will betray Jesus and he has even taken money from the common purse lying of his intentions to give something to the poor. The pain that this disciple of Jesus inflicts may prevent us from putting ourselves in his place. Still honestly we must admit that we fail Jesus. We do the right action for the wrong reason. We teem with jealous of others’ seemingly higher favor with Jesus. We betray Jesus because things do not go as we plan. Strangely those not named as Jesus’ disciples are the ones we do best to emulate in following Jesus

Martha went out to meet Jesus when her brother had died. She actively looked for him as he approached the lifeless Lazarus. Then on this night, Martha served those gathered to dine with Jesus. Her sister Mary went even further.

Mary spent a year’s worth of earnings to buy a pound of nard. This substance typically used to make incense, perfume, and medicines so filled the house that no one could deny Mary’s devotion to Jesus. Unlike the Chief Priests who wanted to wipe away the memory of Jesus, Mary wanted to wipe Jesus’ feet in a display of pure devotion. Mary’s self-sacrifice, giving up a large sum of money to purchase the nard, and her show of dedication, cleansing Jesus’ feet, presupposes Jesus’ own show of service washing his disciples’ feet. Clearly, we must look to the sisters Martha and Mary for the epitome of following Jesus.

This Holy Week lose yourself in the story of Jesus. Wonder who you are in this story. Courageously place yourself in the sandals of the Chief Priests and Judas and at the feet of Jesus rubbing off the nard with your hair. For we are not simply one character or another. We have a choice in following Jesus. What does it mean to follow Jesus? How do you follow him?

6,574 Hours

10,000 hours that is the amount of time that Malcolm Gladwell cited in his book for someone to become abundantly proficient at some talent. Bill Gates spent 10,000 hours programming and became the computer genius that we know him as now. The Beatles spent 10,000 hours performing together in Hamburg, Germany before they became the best rock band in history. This is a fact by the way that the Beatles are the greatest rock ’n’ roll ever.

Consistently working at something tends to be the way that human beings go from good to great to phenomenal to world-class. Sure one must start from somewhere and it is hard to think that someone 5’2” would ever play professional basketball or someone born without rhythm would ever work to be a great drummer. Still we are given a certain set of gifts that hopefully we will discover, cherish, and use to bring great joy and healing into this world. This is the story of most vocations (callings) and even our pastimes and non-stipendiary passions. Yet what about spending 6,574 hours being someone?

6,574 hours (9 months) is the amount of time a mother on average spends being pregnant. And, since today is the day when we celebrate the Annunciation we have only 6,574 hours until we will be celebrating Christmas. (Have you gotten all your shopping done?) Mary spent 9 months not working on any particular set of skills, but rather she was called into being a most important servant of God.

Mary was surely given a set of skills from God that enabled her to answer the call from God. And yet, the story of Mary saying, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” has little to do with working hard and everything to do with a calling we all hear. No, I am not saying we are all called to have children. I can never spend nine months in pain and agony impatiently waiting to bring new life to this planet. Rather, what I mean is that each and every one of us has the opportunity to respond in the same way as Mary to our Christian vocation in an evangelistic way.

OH NO! I said a word that I should not have said in an Episcopal Church. I am sorry. “Evangelism” has a tendency to make us squirm does it not? We have heard too many people standing on the street corner screaming. We have witnessed too many headlines with a televangelist absconding with a pile of money and a pretty, young thing. I do not know about you, but I tend to recoil at these images. Yet, not when I think about Mary.

Mother Mary meek and mild bore the ultimate good news into this world. She was the one who was able to first herald assuredly in a surreal state to her betrothed that she was to bear the Son of God. I do not know how well that conversation went, but Joseph agreed to stick with Mary. For nine months she carried within her God’s own Son. Then for years to come she nursed, swaddled, taught, protected, disciplined, and mostly loved the God Incarnate who was also her child!

Sometimes I can get caught up in saying or typing or preaching the right words, which good evangelists typically try to do. Words are so very important. Yet, on this day when we recognize the Annunciation when Mary began this journey with Jesus, I am struck by the reality that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. She would call him, as Isaiah foretold, Immanuel, which means God with us.

We all have different gifts and talents that bear witness to God’s power working in us. Each of us has the opportunity to find how what we can do will bring healing and joy into this world. Some of us are musicians. Some of us are great at tax preparation. Others might be able to help others in need. This is to be discerned, practiced, and celebrated. Yet, we all have a call that sometimes makes us squirmy. We are called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with everyone we meet.

Mary helps me to know that this does not mean carrying around a Bible with which we beat others. Rather, we are to bear Christ into the world in the humanly ways that we know so well. We are to break bread together, to resist evil, to repent, to seek and serve Christ in others, to strive for peace and justice among all people, to respect the Dignity of every human being. Basically, the way that we bear Christ into the world is to see the God within every person whom we meet and in ourselves too. I thank God for choosing Mary the Mother of God and for her witness that we all carry God within us. How will you share God with those whom you meet?

Brack-ra-mental Theology

While these are my picks, I promise they won't all be right!

Let the MADNESS BEGIN! Of course, if you have been a dutiful Lenten pilgrim you have already been engaging in holy madness for a month now by participating in Lent Madness. With all due respect to the play-in games and Lent Madness, today a nation-sweeping, productivity-ruining madness starts as the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament gets underway. How many games into the tournament will your bracket remain flawless? How much money will the United States economy lose due to workers watching these games over the next three weeks? ($134 million in the first two days alone?) Will anyone pick every game correctly due to selecting their favorite mascot, team color, or the most attractive coach? What does any of this have to do with our relationship with God or each other? Wait, what?

I hear the groans and sighs all the way through the internet, as you are thinking, "Why do you have to turn everything into something related to God? Can't you just let a basketball tournament be a basketball tournament?" In short, NO! Sorry friends, but even in the mundane I tend to find the magnificence of the Divine. March Madness is no exception.

Before going any further though, I need to attempt to operationally define the word sacrament.The good ol' Book of Common Prayer states, "The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward
and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace" (BCP, 857). Bread and wine are not just signs of Christ's Body and Blood respectively, they are the way that the people of God receive Christ's Body. It is all very trippy because in that moment Christ's Body (the Church) is receiving Christ's Body (the Body/Bread and the Blood/Wine). As one of my professors from seminary would say, "RAD!" And, yes, it is rad. Yet, let's keep going.

Most good Protestant Christians will quickly site two Sacraments that Jesus passed on to us in his earthly ministry: Baptism and Communion. Most good Catholics will add on five additional Sacraments: Confirmation, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders (Ordination), and Matrimony. Some Protestants still believe these "extra" five are sacramental, even if they are not strictly seen as Sacraments. This gets me to the kicker... er, since we are in basketball season, the shooter. If these outward and visible signs are signs and means of grace, what is to stop us from thinking about other things in life like this? Jesus never had a cup of java, but isn't sharing coffee and a muffin with a good friend somewhat sacramental? The Jewish people have a tradition of saying every table is an altar. All meals can thus be seen as sacramental. Taking a walk, calling a dying family member, seeing a baby born... the sacramental moments in life are countless. Maybe it even extends to filling out these dumb March Madness brackets.

A lot of people will not be working today. A lot of business analysts will say this is a very bad thing. I tend to see the grace in the lack of productivity. For a few days we all have something in common, we all have something to talk about together. Whether we are picking the teams with the prettiest colors or are trying to use advanced metrics to select the winners we are all glued to our computer screens hoping that our brackets do not bust too much. And yet, it is not really about who wins the office pool to me. I am much more interested in seeing the grace that we receive by having something that brings us all together to see just how much we all have in common with one another. Yet, do not just stop by seeing your brackets as sacramental (brack-ra-mental) push further to find that every ounce of life is dripping with the presence of Our God. March is not just about Madness it's also about Holiness.

The Days Are Coming

Album art from My Morning Jacket's Circuital 

During seminary my friend CJ Meaders kept on raving about this band My Morning Jacket (MMJ). I could not for the life of me get into them. Often CJ's recommendations quickly became new favorite bands, but as hard as I tried I could not get into MMJ. I listened to their albums, watched old concerts, and even read positive reviews, but none of this did the trick. I had to experience a concert in person.

In the fall of 2011, I went to hear MMJ perform at the Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival at Zilker Park in ATX. Standing among many thousands of people and actually being in the presence of these performers made all the difference in the world. Their music sprang to life in a new way. They brought up the Preservation Hall Jazz Band from New Orleans to help with a few numbers. I left the concert a convert. Soon I was playing MMJ's sixth album "Circuital" on repeat.

Some of the songs on that album like "Victory Dance" and "First Light," pushed me beyond the point of liking MMJ's music and into a place in which I wondered, "Is this band writing prophetic rock music for the 21st Century?" There is a fancy word that gets thrown around in seminary to talk about God's return and our ultimate fulfillment in that moment, and that word is eschatology. If I had to classify MMJ, I might categorize them as an Eschatalogical Rock Band.

"The Day is Coming" the second track on the aforementioned album links so fittingly with Jeremiah 31:31-34 that I have a hard time not hearing it when I start reading, "The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah." We all have different ways of approaching that day when all things will be fulfilled. My hope as a Christian stems from my belief that Jesus initiated this new covenant and that we get to take part in it not teaching one another to "Know the Lord," but that we already know God.

What will the end look like? What music will be playing? Can we know any of this ahead of time? I am not so sure. We can certainly have hope in the all encompassing love and redemption of God through Christ. Yet, I think that it is like a really good band that you cannot quite get into by just listening online or reading reviews. To truly know the fulfilling of all things we have to experience it. The days are coming, but rest assured in the New Covenant the law is written on our hearts and we are God's people!

Wonders and Signs

Wonders can be distracting from the signs that direct us.

John 4:43-54 inspires this homily.

A couple of weeks before I was ordained a priest (a little over a year ago) my sister Elin called to check in with me. Elin is my only sibling, eight years older than me. She is married to a wonderful man, they have three beautiful children, and she is an Episcopalian of the high church variety. When she and I get together we typically get into trouble. Our mother has actually forbid us from going to any future Ash Wednesday services together because one year right before my sister led the singing of the Psalm at that solemn liturgy, I said to her, “Remember you are but dust and to butt dust you shall return.” So when she called me to talk about my ordination, I hoped there was more to the call than just some questions about the service.

She asked me, “Well, what am I supposed to call you once you are ordained a priest?” Good Episcopalians like my sister call their priests either “Father” or “Mother.” I could hear my sister smiling through the phone, but I was not sure what she should call me. Then, she questioned, “Am I supposed to call you Father Brother?” I burst out laughing. She continues to call me Father Brother. Of course, the silliness of this encounter paled in comparison to what my mother said a couple of days later, “Well, I would like to call you Father Son.” “What?” I replied, “You are not going to call me that.” My mom continued, “Of course, it would be great if you could find a girl named Holy Spirit, then I could introduce you as, ‘Father Son’ and ‘Holy Spirit.’” When my family joked with me in this way I realized just like Jesus that ministers, like prophets have a hard go of it in their own country, within their own community, and especially with their own family.

It is not easy ministering to people who changed your diapers, washed your mouth out with soap, or picked fights with you over who got to ride shotgun. Someone asked me if I would ever want to go back to work at my home church. I immediately thought, “NO!” They may love me now, but what kind of expectations exist for home-grown ministers? Christ himself performed his deeds of power, taught ferociously, and showed signs of God in Galilee and Jerusalem rather than in his hometown of Nazareth.

So what? Are we supposed to escape from the foolishness of our youth by moving away from home so we can show how great we are to people who do not know us? Do we ignore the things that our children do that make us think of the Divine? Are we never to notice God’s presence in those who are right next to us?

We may struggle with seeing God in those closest to us for many reasons. We might think we know who she really is. We may believe that God could not possibly work through him. We could be holding astronomically high expectations for anyone and everyone who claims to be a servant of God.

Jesus said, “Unless you see signs and wonders you do not believe.” We can so easily fall into this trap of searching for signs and wonders from those around us and even more so from God. Maybe you have said prayers, as I have, like “Father, let my team win” or “God, help my enemy to change his mind” or even “Jesus, help me find my keys.” Our prayer life can devolve into directing God to do exactly what we want God to do. This is not praying though, this is demanding. Jesus says to us too, “Unless you see signs and wonders you do not believe.” Are we only interested in the wonders or are we looking where the signs are pointing?

A couple of years ago I began again a practice I had learned about during my time undergraduate studies at Sewanee. Almost every day I practice Centering Prayer. In Centering Prayer one rests in the presence of God dwelling in quiet for twenty minutes or so. The purpose is not getting rid of thoughts or pushing away any activity in one’s mind, but to familiarize ourselves with God’s first language of silence. We do not ask for anything. We just look within at where the signs are pointing. Our life of prayer and our Faith cannot hinge upon God answering all our prayers just as we think best. Rather, we must learn that God constantly speaks in and with us yearning to be in deeper relationship with us.

We can take our concerns to the Jesus as the royal official did, for Christ always listens. And yet, our Faith grows, as we learn not just to speak, but also to listen for God. The Divine is all around us in the people nearest and dearest to us AND in the people who we typically walk passed. Are you too busy looking for the wonders to see where the signs are pointing?