Out of the Dust

 

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground.  He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.  Genesis 2: 7

You’ve heard (perhaps many times) the words of Adam and Eve’s punishment after their sin in the garden of Eden:

“…in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”  Genesis 3:19 ^KJV

This was, of course, God speaking the awful words of consequence following humankind’s disobedience.  And thus the die was cast, that we all follow the same path, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. 

We hear those words at funerals, and there is nothing so sobering and thought-provoking, primarily because it brings our own human fragility into full view.  The statistic on mortality has always been one birth = one death, separated by a few years. 

There is nothing quite so disturbing and humbling as seeing a friend or family member with whom you spent time, joy, laughter, toil, and tears, lying lifeless, unmoving in the casket before you, devoid of spirit; just a shell of dust.  The hushed whispers of gathered mourners adds to the surreal otherworldliness of such moments.  Frankly, it makes the hair on the back of one’s neck stand up, rigid.  Or it should! 

But the problem with such scenes isn’t the hushed whispers, or the weak attempts to frame a maudlin, creepish moment with funny stories of better times.  Our dilemma facing the funeral bier is that we spend too much thought on the dust, and not enough on what’s missing from the dust.

When God created humans, from dust into man’s body, then bone to woman’s body, the only things visible were flesh, bone and blood, re-formed dust!  We tend to trust our senses, and so we recognize each other first by the physicality of our being.  But notice Scripture declares that Adam did not become a man, nor Eve a woman, until God breathed the breath of life into them.  It is the gift of God that transforms dust into being.  And without that we are but piles of dust waiting for the vaccuum cleaner…unknowing, unmoving, unthinking, and un-being.

Considering that unmitigated fact, isn’t it rather odd that we invest so much in developing and maintaining our physical, or dustly bodies, and so little in the growth of spirit?  Many families spend a thousand dollars or more a month on health insurance, and (if they give at all) find it hard to let go of a $10-bill to the offering plate.  We work out an hour a day with Nordic Track, but pray only when trouble hits.  We spend time in intense psychotherapy with the counselor, but can’t find ten minutes a day with the Wonderful Counselor.

For You Today

When I find my priorities a little out of order I call a time-out.  I then call a family meeting of me-myself-and-I to the table and do a little taking stock of where I went off the track. 

The meeting always ends the same…repentance instead of excuses, and prayer for God’s strength to get this dusty pilgrim back on track with the Spirit God breathed into me.

Is it time for your family reunion of dust and Spirit?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!   

---

[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

Chariot of Fire

 

Friday, May 22, 2020

2 Kings 2:1-12

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal.  And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Bethel.”  But Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you!”  So they went down together to Bethel.  The group of prophets from Bethel came to Elisha and asked him, “Did you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”  “Of course I know,” Elisha answered. “But be quiet about it.”  Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Jericho.”  But Elisha replied again, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you.”  So they went on together to Jericho.  Then the group of prophets from Jericho came to Elisha and asked him, “Did you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”  “Of course I know,” Elisha answered.  “But be quiet about it.”  Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to the Jordan River.”  But again Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you.”  So they went on together.  Fifty men from the group of prophets also went and watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha stopped beside the Jordan River.  Then Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the water with it.  The river divided, and the two of them went across on dry ground!  When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.”  And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.”  “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah replied. “If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request.  But if not, then you won’t.”  As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire.  It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven.  Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!”  And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his clothes in distress. 

Every leader who cares about the flock they’re charged with leading looks down the road to the next leader of that flock.  There are many moving parts to transition.  In Elijah’s case, his “assistant” Elisha made it an easy choice.  Elisha was, as this account shows, fiercely loyal and unselfish; he would not leave Elijah’s side.  It is an encouragement every leader needs to have an Elisha. 

As the story unfolds it becomes obvious the successor decision isn’t Elijah’s, it is God’s.  Elijah’s last words…if you see me taken your request is granted…has nothing to do with Elijah’s will or Elisha’s, it is the prophet pointing to the sovereignty of God’s will.  His final sentence assures that, But if not, then you won’t.  Elijah was not presumptuous where God’s will was concerned.  When Elijah’s propheting days came to a close, whether or not he wanted his protégé, Elisha to fill his shoes as prophet in Israel, was of little importance; it was always going to be God’s choice.

As it turned out, it was God’s will for Elisha to serve, and do many more miracles than his mentor.  That may refer to Elisha’s request to inherit “a double share of spirit” of Elijah’s kind.  When God honors something you can count on meticulous attention to detail.

The tribe in which I serve (Methodists) has a longstanding tradition of clergy serving at the discretionary choice of bishops.  A bishop, in consultation with his cabinet (of District Superintendents) sends me a notice once a year as to where I will serve in the coming year.  My current charge as local pastor to two churches, is about to enter its ninth year.  I have in served in pastoral roles to ten different churches over the last 39 years.  In each circumstance, upon leaving, I always had that chariot of fire image moment, wondering if I’d left too soon, not left soon enough, or if I’d been obedient as God’s servant in that spot.  From this perspective I now see that as a largely non-productive exercise.  It is enough to know that in each place I served, and the people with whom I served, my heart’s desire was to be obedient.  It is God who chose successors to follow me, just as God put me in those places, following someone else.

It is always interesting, though, the way God does all that; it is a magnificent thing to watch the unfolding of thoughts and ways that are much higher than mine[1].

Let’s Pray

Father, help us to NOT kick at the changes in our lives.  Help us to be loyal, like Elisha, ready for however your Spirit will work in us.

For You Today

Changes cause us to evaluate, adjust the sails, and get busy with the journey.  When God sends a chariot of fire to your group, family, or ministry, it could be a sign a double-share  of His Spirit and power are also on the way.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO

Title Image:  By Giuseppe Angeli (Public Domain) via Wikimedia Commons

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For another post on Elijah’s leadership see When Kings Must Bow

---

[1] Isaiah 55:9

Trans-Creation

[1]

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground.  He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person. 

Genesis 2:7^(NLT)

The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.”  But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit.  What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later.  Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven.  Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man.  Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man. 

1 Corinthians 15:45-49^(NLT)

There are images from your childhood which never leave.  One of those is a Dennis the Menace cartoon.  Dennis learns in Sunday School that Adam was formed from the dust of the earth, and that we all return to the dust.  Later that afternoon we find Dennis peeking under his bed and calling out to his parents:  Hey…there’s someone either coming or going under here!

“Created from the dust” is a phrase that is remembered, and has been debated for millennia.  Just how God did that has been, is, and always will be part of the debate.  We want to know not only from whence we came, but how we got here.  We are curious.

The fact remains it is by faith…not necessarily by sight…that we simply must accept God at His word.  But what is vitally important about how Adam got here is that part of creation which you cannot dismiss – the trans part…when the dust began to breathe.  For Adam and Eve, and you, and me, breathing began when the breath was placed in us by God, the Creator; this is when we became something other than re-arranged dust.  Again, this is something accepted (or rejected) by faith, because it is not scientifically-provable (or dis-provable).  This is the basis for the argument between creationists, theologians, scientists, and the agnostic/atheistic among us; you either accept God as causative, or not!  I choose to believe the all-knowing One put me together; it was not a chance conglomeration of accidental lottery results in an environmental morass of genetic possibilities; I believe in intelligent order, design, and purpose.  I believe in God.

Once that faith-issue is settled, God’s Word can open our understanding about God’s intelligent design for movement in the human program – trans-creation.  Paul’s letter to the Corinthian Church opens the trans shift from flesh (not within flesh as in trans-gender). Rather Paul shows us God’s plan and purpose in moving from within flesh to life in the spirit; we are purposed for heavenly existence.  And we are being fitted for that experience by these baby-steps of human, earthly (dusty) three-score and ten years, more or less, walking in and on the dust of our planet.

So what is that purpose?  What is the meaning of life in the here and now?  And…why?

Well, I’ve got less than 150 words to finish today’s thought, so let’s get to it:  God!

That’s it?  Yup!

The dust from which we were taken may be eternal, and we are simply a newer model of arrangement, to be returned to the compost bin after the warranty runs out; however, the spirit (breath) has no such expiration.  The whole idea of trans-creation means that we are more like God than the trees, bugs, birds, fish, and animals which surround us.  And one day this dusty body is going to wear out completely.  But not so the spirit that resides within.  It will trans-the-creation all the way to the Creator!

For You Today

Another thing the Creator put inside us dusty creatures is knowledge of the eternal, that we are going to live forever.  And included in that is the reality that we are accountable to Him for the way we treat the dust…both that dust in which we walk…and those dusty others around us with whom we walk.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day. 

Go to VIDEO

---

[1] Title Image:  Courtesy Pixabay.com

Radiation Retrospect - Part 2

[1]

Monday, September 18, 2017

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God.  Mark 11:22^(NLT)

We are wading through the idea of submitting to God’s power, voluntarily giving the Lord control over who we are, what we do and say, even inviting Him to change what and how we think.

In Part 1 we introduced Wilson, the mask-warden that kept me in place while the power of radiation attacked the cancer in my throat.  Like the tree of knowledge of good and evil in Eden, that powerful radiation is neither good nor evil until it is pointed at something.  It is in the mind of the one who points the force that either healing or destroying is born.  This brings us to the next issue of collateral damage.

Now, nearly a week after the radiation is done, my throat (inside and outside) is raw and peeling off bits of burned flesh.  My oncologist explained that the target for his machine included not only the cancerous tumor, but most of the voice box area.  While that powerful machine was healing me it was also destroying some of the surrounding tissue to make sure they got everything.  The innocent, healthy tissue was collateral damage.  This immediately reminds me of Jesus’ warning about the collateral thinking of surgery:

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands.  Mark 9:43-44^(NLT)

I get it about the priority of going to heaven over hell.  I also draw the parallel between cutting out a tumor that, if unchecked, could send me to one of those places a lot sooner than necessary.  But I also know that surgically removing a hand will cause my entire body to ache, just as my body is now sympathizing with my throat’s trauma.

So here’s the point:  that radiation beam will destroy whatever’s in its path.  And if we’re comparing that raw power of the divided atom to the power of God…and we’re suggesting we open ourselves willingly to God applying that power to destroy or heal, there’s almost a 100% certainty that sometimes there will be the pain of collateral damage; THAT takes a lot of trust!

Consider the statement of Jesus when he was describing for his disciples the effect his presence and power in our lives would have:

‘Father will be divided against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’”  Luke 12:53^(NLT)

For the past two months I’ve willingly driven to the cancer center in High Point, climbed onto a cold slab, much like the morgue’s exam table (it’s even in the hospital basement), allowed a team of techs to pin me to that table, and aim harnessed lightning at my throat.  The effect has caused an incredible uproar of complaining in my whole body because of the decision my brain and throat made.  My joints ache; my voice is kaput; I can hardly swallow, and the fatigue makes me drag myself around like a snail crossing the Grand Canyon.  This is the collateral damage of radiation.

And yet, I chose to do it!

Why I made that choice is profoundly simple.  The tumor that grew in my body over a period of years was a threat to the whole body; it was a threat to life.  My body is a conglomeration which includes soul and spirit.  An attack on the vocal cords is an attack on all of Russell.  So my whole body had to participate in the effects of healing.  The joints said “yes” and the throat said “go for it” and all the muscles that can barely drag this carcass from the bedroom to the couch whined:  “If it’s gotta be, get on with it!”

For You Today

When it comes to sin in our lives, and what to do about life and eternity, the effect of what God will do when you submit your body, soul, and spirit to His power will seem like an awful lot of collateral damage sometimes. 

It’s a small price for an eternity in glory!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

---

[1] Title Image: Russell Brownworth (own work)

Snakes In a Grassfire

   John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?   Bear fruits worthy of repentance.  Do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.  Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." 

    And the crowds asked him, "What then should we do?"  In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise."  Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?"  He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you."  Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?"  He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."
    As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."  So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

This day is traditionally called "Gaudette Sunday." It means "rejoicing Sunday," from the Latin word, gaudere, to rejoice.  The text doesn’t start out that way – rejoicing.  It starts with John calling his congregation a bunch of slithering vipers.   He says that in coming out to him for baptism they remind him of what happens when there is a grass fire in the wilderness; the snakes take-off in all directions, hoping to avoid becoming serpent-barbeque. 

Now, had I been there I could have told John that’s not the recommended opening for a sermon about good news!  And, if you want to keep your job as pastor to the First Wilderness Jerusalem Church, you need to let up on the leadership just a little! 

However, keeping his job held little interest for John.  What drove the man who wore rags rather than “Botany 500” was being true to God’s calling on his life – making certain his generation understood genuine faith and power.  There have always been a lot of mistaken ideas about that.

What constitutes genuine faith and power?

For John the answer to what produces genuine faith and power was without question the fruit of personal repentance, not in a person’s pedigree or position!

NOT PEDIGREE

John knew that the average person standing in the crowd awaiting baptism had been misled to believe that because they were born into Abraham’s lineage, born a Jew, they were “chosen” and, because of that heritage, they had their ticket punched for the heavenly train.  John told them they were wrong.

He said (v.8), don’t even begin to tell me that…don’t even go there…that you’re alright with God because your great, great, great Grandfather was Abraham.  John was trying to help the crowd understand that they were staking their eternity on the dusty records of who begat whom.  The Baptist told them that if they depended on their family tree to get them to heaven, they’d missed the point – the sharp axe that would make that tree a non-issue was already chopping up a cross for Golgotha.

What constitutes genuine faith and power?  Don’t trust in your pedigree.  Faith and power are not found in the records of your family tree.  People say proudly, well, OUR family….  You may have a nice family; they may have settled here eight billion years ago and run the whole county, been president of the world and grand Poohbah of the ladies’ auxiliary to the governor’s cleaning crew – it’s a nice fact of history, it has no power of faith in heaven; absolutely zero!  Your family tree cannot put you in right-standing with God!

NEITHER CAN POSITION

John also pointed to positions of power (the rich, elected officials and military leaders), and he said:  humble yourselves!  He said, stop hoarding, stop oppressing and stop your extortion!

Now, you may be thinking…hey, I’m not a player like that.  I’m one of the “little guys” here.  I’m not rich, elected, and I don’t even look good in a uniform.  Friend, it is all relative here – everyone is in a position to hoard, oppress or extort someone.  Your ability to do those things may be relatively small, compared to Donald Trump or President Obama, but all of us are both capable and likely to “play the position card” if we have opportunity. 

Genuine faith, and the power it brings to trust God, bless others and stand strong in an evil generation, is the fruit of repentance, not position – not pedigree.  Helping, even in the smallest of ways, to build a more generous and just world, where compassion for the powerless overflows and power is used for good rather than personal gain – this is John the Baptist’s picture of repentant people.

John said your repentance will lead to fruit worthy of true humility; that means your life changes in the ways of which God approves…repentance brings right-standing with the Lord.

Unpacking “Repentance”

What does repentance mean?  Metanoia (repentance) comes from two words in the language of the Bible.  “Meta” means change, and “noia” means mind.  It is closely related to "metamorphosis", like what happens to a butterfly.  So the kind of change John is calling for is a radical change, a transformation.  He was saying change your souls in the same way that a caterpillar is totally transformed, inside-out, to become a butterfly.

How?  The caterpillar doesn’t change itself….there is a process that takes over…the bug simply weaves the cocoon and waits.  Our cocoon of new birth is repentance.  We place ourselves in God’s hands when we repent of our sins, and God brings about the changes in us to make us reborn – new creatures, ready to walk with God; or to follow the analogy of the butterfly, to fly with the Lord! 

He changes us; we don’t change ourselves.  He only waits for the repentance in us – admitting that we are sinners, bound for an eternal hell, unable to save ourselves and dependent on Him!  That’s the cocoon, He makes the change!  He makes us right with Him.

Questions and Expectations

     Now, we all bring some questions and expectations to the table when we talk about getting right with God.  John’s preaching was crystal clear; with John you found yourself on one side of the fence or the other. 

This morning, let me be just as clear as John the Baptist.  This prophet, in proclaiming the good news told us not to trust in our pedigrees or positions.  John taught us two realities about the Good News with his sermon that day; two facts that are answer to why we don’t trust in our pedigree or position:

we have SOMETHING GREATER than pedigree or position

Every one of us human beings on planet earth knows deep-within that there is God…something, some-One greater than us – a person in control of history and the universe.  There is someone who drives this bus of life and eternity. 

John’s finger points in the direction of the one coming over the hill, one coming after him.  He is pointing to Jesus, Messiah, the Christ; he points to the One who is our heart’s desire, the “something greater” for which we look.

we have SOMETHING SURER than pedigree or position

Every one of us human beings – in light of the undeniable knowledge within that there is God – wants to be certain that this God is loving and kind, and that we are OK with Him.  We want to be certain that we are placing our faith in the right place.

John said you folks are coming to me for baptism with water; I’m telling you that you would do better to look for the One who will baptize you with the Spirit and fire!  The people of John’s day were trusting in ceremonies of purification and certificates of pedigree.  He told them they needed the Christ of Power. 

Ceremonies are good.  They help us celebrate and remember and dedicate…all good things.  But they are not God; neither are they the entry way to God.  They are tools, aids to help us in our expression of faith and community. 

The only entry way to God is Jesus Christ.  The baptismal ceremony He wants you to have is with the Spirit of God and fire.  We aren’t talking about fire, as in burning a stack of wood; fire is the Bible’s way of describing the Spirit of God taking over your life and leading you in those sure ways you’ve been searching for all your life.  This is why John pictured the Pharisees and Sadducees as a brood of vipers scattering – to them having the Spirit of God take over was too scary; they wanted nothing to do with the real God who will lead you into uncharted waters.  You have to let go in order to let God!

Spirit and fire – these are the genuine marks of the “something surer” for which you are looking.  And the truth is…you ARE looking for that, even if it scares you to death.  We are all part Pharisee or Sadducee…Spirit fire is dangerous!

PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE

The Luke passage said John “proclaimed the good news” to the people.  Proclamation is like a king’s messenger reading a statement, a decree from the king’s own hand.  It demands attention and response.  It means you don’t just hear it and go on your way; it means you do something about it.

So, what do you do about Spirit and fire?  Accept it! 

Friends, this was a hard thing for Israel to hear; it may be harder today for us – good folks of The United Methodist Church (et al) to hear:  insiders must change also!  Sometimes we can become so enamored with our “mainline-mantle” (as if we are the new insiders; pity the poor folks who haven’t yet arrived) that we forget the fruits worthy of repentance never grow on proud trees.  What you DO find in proud trees are broods of vipers. 

Today I must ask us all in preparation for the coming of Messiah…will we come down from our lofty places of pedigree and position and take the humility of repentance, from which grows good fruit? 

If so, it is good news, joyful news, indeed!