We do things better together!!!

Here I am sitting down at a table with 16 or so other 'iconographers' and I have never had a paint brush in my hand.  I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that I may have made a horrible miscalculation in thinking that I could approach this topic from the creative side as opposed to the appreciation side.  I spent the first three hours making parallel lines, curves and squiggles.  But something marvelous developed over the days of this seminar--I never felt alone.   From the very beginning people were reaching out to help me technically and help me feel that I belonged.   Marina, who was from Brazil, was my table partner and she lovingly taught me how to clean my sable hair Russian brushes, mix my lead white paint without poisoning myself, and graciously offered all of her supplies as belonging to 'Us' not her.   She taught me to begin each day with this prayer:  

O divine mater, fervent maker of all creation illuminate the vision of your servant.  Take custody of my heart.  Rule and govern my hands so that worthily and perfectly your image can be portrayed.  For the glory, joy and beauty of your Holy Church, Amen.

It seems to me that his isn't a bad prayer to begin each day with whether or not one is writing icons.  To see through the light of God and to ask God to have custody of my heart as well as ruling my hands seems to me to be a great prayer for daily Christian life.

Here's something else, each brush stroke you make is accompanied by this simple prayer:  "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."  The result of saying this prayer is a focus and a confidence that comes not from within but from above.  This too is a common prayer in the Orthodox tradition and one that I plan to incorporate in my daily life.  I would challenge you to use this simple 'Jesus' prayer as you are sitting in the care driving, or waiting in line, or working intently on a project.  See if you too don't find a sense of focus and spiritual nurture as you invoke the name of Christ and confess your need for his mercy.

Community and prayer:  These really are at the heart of living a faithfilled life.  I will have more to say about community in my next post.  Here are two pictures of my Icon in process.  The picture up top are three of many pages of squiggles--enjoy.  Here below is my starting the board with the prototype of John the Baptist.  More to come...

Stranger in God's house

It's very good for pastors to go out and worship in places where they have no idea what is going on.  I learned an important lesson about worship here at St. Tikhon Monastery--one that we should all remember.  Now first of all this is not a criticism, anymore than it's a criticism of every house of worship which suffers from the same fate--how is a guest to know what to do?    Let me describe my experience the first morning at worship and then share a tip at the end manifested through my new friend Jenny.

6:45 am and the monks are already gathered preparing for 7am matins.  As you enter the church it is dark, there are lots of icons on the walls and four predominately placed icons near the center of the worship space.  Some folks when they enter go first to either one, two, three, or four of the icons in the middle and show adoration, others just come in and stand. There is a wall with a gate and two hidden panel doors that separates the altar (and the choir, officiating priest, etc...) from the rest of us.  There is a single row of chairs along the back and side of the worship space.  I entered in to hear very fast single voice chanting of several petitions for God to have mercy and be present, this lasted for about 15 minutes.  People seemed to make the sign of the cross about 50 times or so during the hour and a half.  I couldn't figure out when you were supposed to except the very obvious naming of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).  During the service we all stood, except half of the folks would sit occasionally then get up quickly--again I couldn't figure it out so I just decided to join the "always standing" group.  Then there were times when folks went to the floor in a sphinx like position (it was connected to the consecrating of the elements, but I decided to to stay standing as piously as possible).  There was a chanted announcements that "all Catechumates should leave" it was said 3 times to get out if you were a catechumenate...I'm baptized so I decided to stay, but wasn't sure.   Then when it came time for communion, I knew by Orthodox theology I wasn't welcome at the table, they were communing via a spoon dipped into the wine by the presiding priest and placed in the mouths of the Orthodox baptized.  Then there was a monk with a pitcher of wine set up in the back and with a basket of bread. 

Now I knew the bread was 'blessed' for those of us who didn't commune to feel welcome, but the wine evidently was just for those who had already communed so I just stayed away from the whole thing, not wanting to offend, and not sure what was proper.   Finally at the end there was a line to move forward and kiss a cross and receive a blessing/benediction from the presiding priest.  I wasn't sure what part of the cross you were supposed to kiss, nor did I know the protocol, so I just stood in the back and then left after it was apparent the service was over.

OK...was it worshipful...absolutely.  Was the Holy Spirit present, of course.  Was I completely clueless, lost and feeling like a dupe---You bet!!    I didn't have a play book.  I didn't know the rules.  It was like playing with the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland where you are never quite sure of the rules and always afraid you might do something costly or at least stupid.  But I left out one important detail.

Thank the good Lord for my friend Jenny.   As I stood in the back during communion, not quite sure what to do, she grabbed a piece of blessed bread for each of us (this is not the host of communion, but a blessed bread that all can consume) she came by, smiled and gave me the bread.  It was a small gesture, probably just natural for her to be hospitable and kind....but it was the light of Christ to me!  Her simple act spoke volumes...I was welcome in this house of the Lord.

We might have beautiful worship, but if folks don't reach out with that human connection folks will just feel lost and confused and probably won't come back.   Think about worship at Our Savior's and then then about those things that might be confusing to a new family or guest.   Go out of your way to talk to guests in worship and not just after worship....but before and DURING!!!  If someone doesn't seem to have a bulletin go up and offer them yours.  Do they have children and aren't sure what to do for children's sermon, go and tell them what is about to happen.   Do they understand what communion is?  Do they know where the nursery is?  Do they know where the bathrooms are?  Do they know how to get to the patio for coffee and donuts?   I as your pastor and worship leader will do the best I can to instruct and help folks, especially new folks feel welcome and informed, but you have to do your job too.  You must  be like Jenny!  Reach out and don't assume that folks know what we are doing or why we do it.  If nothing else smile and let them know how glad you are that they are with us in worship.   Shame on us if we don't help people feel like they belong in the house of the Lord!

PS...Icon writing/painting is VERY VERY Hard!!!  More on that to follow.

Seriously out of my comfort zone...a good place to be

I have meet many spiritual people in my life, I've meet some good people, faithful people, loving people; but I'm not sure I've every met as authentically holy a person as Xenia Pokrovskaya.  She is an octogenarian (80 and above) who growing up in the Soviet Union as a Biophysicist, secretly leaned the art of the Iconographer--The making of new Icons was against the law in the Soviet Union.   She has a humble spirit, a brilliant mind, a love of the church, the passion to teach, and a light that radiates from her as it does the incredible icons she creates.   I think I'm a better person for having been in her company.   (By the way when I say holy...don't think pious...she sat on the floor outside the dorm we are staying in smoking a cigarette while others of us drank a beer or two and discussed the days events).

But why mention this at all?  There is here in the Orthodox tradition a search, a yearning, and even an expectation of the holy that we are missing in the western church.  Holiness is something that one tries to enter into through the world of iconography--the images are meant to be windows into heaven.   The images are venerated, not worshipped.  They are prayed 'through' not 'to.'  All of this is very curious to us in the western church who have elevated Word as the primary means by which we come to know the Gospel.  In the Orthodox tradition Icon equals Gospel--that is, the image itself is a pure and true proclamation of the Good News of Jesus.  This is a very foreign idea to us in the western church--and a foreign idea to me as well.

So I find myself a theological foreigner in this land of iconographer.  Not only that, I am completely unskilled at anything artistic. I have never picked up a brush to paint nor have I ever graduated past stick figures with my pencil.   But something from the very beginning has made me think there is something important, even good to be discovered here.   And if my first encounter with a very hospitable set of people, and one extraordinary Russian Grandmother is any indication it should be quite a ride.

Matins here is at 6:45 am...so no complaining about 8:30 worship at Our Savior's!!!   Go to worship and keep an eye out for the holy...I'm sure it's at OSLC too!!!  

Happy Father's Day

I'm sitting here in Scranton, PA...and no I'm not visiting the regional office of Dunder Mifflen ala "The Office."  I'm about to begin a one week workshop on creating icons.   Now you might wonder why on earth I would do such a thing...so just to prove my orthodoxy let me quote from the Acts of the 7th Ecumenical Council 784 AD (Impressive I know)  “Pictoriality is inseparable from the Gospel narration, and, vice versa, the Gospel narration is inseparable from pictoriality. What the word communicates through sound, the painting shows silently through depiction.”

(I'm also going to b joining the monks of St. Tikhon monastery in daily worship, which will be quite an interesting experience coming off the National Worship Leaders Conference.  St. Tikhon is the oldest Orthodox monastery in the United States).

Image has always been controversial in the church...is it idolatry, is it modest enough, is culturally sensitive...but it has also been seen as a way into the holy.   In fact in preliterate times it was the vehicle of choice, but in the literate age the preference shifted toward the written word of ideas and concepts, over and against that of images.   For example, let me explain to you the theology behind the Icons of Mary and Child, the icon is supposed to help us visualize the love of God for humanity.  Here is Mary (us) and Christ which represent the love of God choosing to become intimate with humanity, it is a visual expression of a rather complex theological truth.  

My question is how can we reclaim image today?  What images can help us understand God more fully? 

Let me put it one last way.  Read the following words:   HAPPY FATHER'S DAY.    Do you understand what I just wrote?  Do you comprehend the meaning?  Of course you do.  No do me a favor let me explain to you something I just saw at the airport.  Two boys ages probably 10 and 12 running up to their father who just emerged from the beyond the gate.  He wraps his arms around them, and the boys are shouting, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy."  Now imagine I took a picture of that seen (I wasn't smart enough to do it)  Imagine that picture in your minds eye.   OK which gave you a better understanding of Father's Day...the Words HAPPY FATHER'S DAY or the Image I shared with you. 

So I'm about to explore an ancient way of producing image to help inform faith.   I'll let you know how it goes!  In the meantime Happy Father's day.

National Worship Conference Albuquerque 2010

I'm writing this from the airport in Albuquerque and still have my mind swimming with both the good (at times great) and the not quite as good of the past few days attending the National Worship Leaders Conference.   First the good...some incredibly talented musical artists...Tommy Walker and Israel Houghton were incredible, inspiring and lots of fun.  Many of the workshops were very helpful in looking at the many different nuances of worship and brought forth a lot of questions in regards to the age old worship quandary...how to be faithful but also accessible to current culture.  The people too were great, lots of good conversations and I even meet a few other Lutherans who dared to venture into a predominantly Evangelical conference.   I find it good to attend conferences outside of my Lutheran Tradition.   It helps me gain perspective on other parts of the church and appreciate the gifts they bring.  

(There was one workshop--a small break out session with about 25 folks--which I think the sub theme could have been...how bad can we bash the mainline--Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians--say scandalous things about their pastors, and make sure we all know that the Holy Spirit never visits their churches)   I didn't walk out...just listened, tried to understand the critique, but I found it tired, untrue and uninformed).   But it brought up something that I have encountered every now and again in my career.  Folks from other traditions that have no understanding of the Lutheran church and thus make stereotypical and negative comments.

Here's a few things for the record:  And you can use them when you encounter someone who questions how you worship.

Altar Calls---we have one every week, it's called Holy Communion.  The people of God come forward to meet their Lord in the meal that he promised to be truly present in.  

Holy Communion:  It's Biblical!  It was a part of every worship service in the early church, the sharing of Bread and Wine.  Grape juice hadn't been invented yet, it was wine.  Jesus drank wine...deal with it.  Also Saint Paul tells us that he passed on what he had heard from Peter and the others, "In the night in which he was betrayed our Lord Jesus took the bread....."  These words of institution accompany the Holy Communion as a way to connect us to the earliest days of the church.  It's not optional.

It is our purpose to lift up CHRIST:   Hear this carefully, I love the Bible, I immerse myself in it every day, I take it seriously and see it as the source and norm of my life and faith...I do not worship the Bible.  The Bible is meant to point me to Christ.   You might have half the Bible...Oh, let's say the whole Bible memorized, and that will not, does not, can not save you.  You are not more saved if you worship with your hands in the air--or less saved if you do.   Our worship is to lift up the good news of God through Jesus Christ.     

Finally...The Holy Spirit is not synonymous with darkened rooms, mood lighting, and frenzied crowds.  Now, don't get me wrong, the Holy Spirit can certainly be there, but the Spirit can just as likely be present when 5 people receive mass at a little church in Prague, or when we grieve at a funeral, or when two friends hold hands in prayer, or when we think deeply about God's world.   More to follow....        

News Paper Article From our Visit to Germany...with translation

This little article was on the front of the local section of the "Mittle Deutche Zeitung" (Middle Germany Newspaper).  Great picture of Pastor Holger Holtz, Kelly and myself.  It was surprising how many people read the article and recognized us.   Here is a translation...thans to my sister who had a colleague translate it much better than I could!!

"Will a Church become a place of Pilgrimage?
Pastor Holger Holtz receives Pastor Jeff and Kelly Frohner from California in the church at Gatersleben.

It is really a shame that Martin Luther never came to Gatersleben.  Then this place would be as well known as Eisleben or Wittenberg, said Pastor Holger Holtz and looked at his long time friend Frohner.  He (Jeff Frohner) closes his eyes and tries to make sense of what he has just heard.  Holtz helps him and translates from English.  Frohner shakes his head.  He is of a different opinion.  "I does not matter if Luther was in Gatersleben or not.  It is nevertheless exciting to observe how a congregation brings the church alive daily.  And does that in an historical building."  Jeff Frohner visiting from California is very impressed.  "Especially the paintings and stained glass windows are beautiful. There is nothing like this in the US.  The church where I preach is only 50 years old." 

Holtz and Frohner came to know each other in the seminary in the state of Washington.  "I invited him to visit Germany," Holtz said and then received after some time an email from his colleague accepting the invitation.  Frohner having visited Germany 25 years ago wanted to visit another time.  On his first visit he only visited the Western part of Germany.  "I've come for the first time to Sashsn-Anhalt.  That land is famous.  That is the land of the Reformation," said Frohner.  He will use his two week stay in Gatersleben to make various day excursions together with his wife Kelly to visit Halberstadt, but also Dresden, Erfurt and Prague.

"It is a continuing education experience," Holtz declares, who likes to play the tour guide.  "I observe everything especially the people," Frohner states.  Differences definitely exist in the way the worship service is conducted.  At home churchgoers wear shorts and flip flops and instead of playing the pipe organ we have a live band."  The time Frohner will visit he will want to bring some members of his congregation.  The exact date has not yet been decided but it will be at the latest in seven years.  That will be the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.  "This is already a big theme in the US," tells Pastor Holtz who asks his colleague to lead the worship service on Pentecost Sunday.  "Jeff will conduct the service and I will translate."

Pastor Jeff Frohner will conduct the worship services on Pentecost Sunday May 23 at 10:30 am in the church at Gatersleben and at 2:00 pm in the church at Schadeleben.

Flickering Pixels, image and reformation

I am currently reading 4 books...well actually I just finished one, one is half way through and the other two I am seriously looking at!!!   Flickering Pixels, by Shane Hipps; An Anthropologist on Mars, by Oliver Sacks; Hidden and Triumphant: the underground struggle to save Russian Iconography, by Irina Yazykova; and The Reformation of the Image, by Joseph Koerner.   All these books have something to do with the power, history or physiology of image...the visual.   Images have the power to evoke feelings and are not neutral.  What we see and the media or medium we use to show it are equally a part of the message.  Advertisers have learned long ago that Image has the ability to trump the rational part of our brain and sends us acting on nothing more than intuition or feeling.   Take the Carls Jr. Teryaki Burger commercial featuring the bikini clad swimsuit model...is there really any connection between a young women in a bikini and a burger...No.  But I'm willing to bet that sales of Teryaki burgers have gone up. 

We are rapidly moving away from being a print based culture to being an image based culture.  Not so long ago Sunday sermons were at least an hour long.  In fact the Great Awakening--a huge spiritual revival in America--was fueled by 2 hour sermons.  People not only found it easy to listen for two hours, but spiritually moving as well. (And trust me the sermons were deep, heavy, not exciting and full of intricate theological thoughts and ideas)  Today we no longer have the patience for hour long sermons, but we want our spiritual food wrapped up in a tight little package, preferably with an image or two that can stir our feelings more than our minds. 

Ok..so why does this matter.  This shift has a big impact on faith.  Shane Hipps reminds us that increasingly people of faith in America are not interested in right belief (thinking, reasoning, discerning between good and bad theology, interested in sound doctrine) as they are in doing, following and being.   There is a shift from right belief (this is the work of the left side of the brain and the stuff of print culture) to right following or right ethics (this is the stuff of the right side of the brain and fed by image culture).    Have you met people who have been influenced by this reorganizing of their neural pathways?  Sure you have!!  "It's not so important what you believe as how you act."  "What Would Jesus Do"  not "What Would Jesus Believe."   We resonate toward right actions because of the new dominance of image and what it does to our brain.  In the Reformation--the dawn of print culture--Luther and others stressed right belief!  What you believed was the most important, this was a product of the print culture.

Here's a little quote from Shane Hipps:  "The shift from emphasizing our intellectual beliefs to the ethics of following is a direct consequence of the influence of images.  A belief is located frimly in the realm of the invisible and abstract.  A belief is something that happens in teh mind.  But following is located in teh world of the visible and concrete.  Following is what happens in daily life."   Here's the kicker... "We are what we behold."  Your TV, the very screen you are using right now, the media used to share this with you...is reorganizing your neural pathways to value feelings and intuition over reason and dicernment.   So what your church 'believes' isn't nearly as important as their having an exciting youth group or entertaining preacher.

Heavy stuff!!!  And you thought Sabbatical was easy!!

What do you see.....image and worship

Across the town square in Prague (Czech Republic) near the tower of the old city hall are 27 white crosses in the pavement.  They mark the site where 27 Protestant nobles, merchants and intellectuals where beheaded in 1627 and ultimately putting an end to Czech autonomy for 300 years. Jan Hus (1369 - 1413) who lived a hundred years before Luther was himself burned at the stake for his desire for Reformation--that the people be allowed to receive both the cup and the bread and communion and be able to read scripture.  It is said that Hus on his death foretold a 'bigger goose who would come in a hundred years whose body you will not be able to fry!"    Why mention this?  Walk across the Charles bridge to a baroque church founded by the Jesuits in 1703 and you'll find one of the most ornate, gold encrusted, gaudy churches in Europe--St. Nicolas.  It is a wonderful example of high Baroque architecture which is over the top--intentionally.  Like the statues on the bridge there is an implicit counter-reformation agenda.   Take a look at the photos of the statue of the Jesuit leader crushing the man underneath with his books.  To get a sense of how big these statues are look at the one next to it with Kelly standing below for scale.  The image in this place of worship is "The Church knows best and will crush anyone who gets in the way!"  And given the historical reality of the time...Protestants (and Lutherans) beware...God does not like you and you will be stopped.

Now come with me to Wittenberg and look at this altar piece painted by Lucas Cranach in 1547.  This is in the church where Luther often preached and ordained reformation pastors.  Luther is on the right, the people of Wittenberg on the left and Christ crucified is in the center.   Luther is pointing to the crucified Christ with one hand, the Bible is open on the pulpit.  If you came to worship every week and looked at this picture, what would it tell you?  Now let me be honest and say there is certainly a REFORMATION AGENDA at work in this piece of worship art.  And although I'm more in tuned with its message, it sends a message nonetheless.   As Lutherans in America we constantly underestimate the power of the image.   What do you see at Our Savior's Lutheran Church on Sunday morning?  What don't you see?  What images (images aren't always art...sometimes they are placement of people or even empty walls or other symbols) are unconsciously presenting ideas to you?   What images should be there?  Are their images that might be important but don't really belong in a worship space?   Image and worship.....more to follow.

Luther site pictures

Kelly and I in the city church in Wittenberg Germany. Behind us is a famous altar piece painted by Cranach. In this church Luther often preached and ordained reformation pastors. And no that is not a 'man purse" I just had a lot of stuff to carry!!








Here you will find me standing between the beer barrels that are in the basement of the Luther home in Wittenberg.  They drink a lot of beer (and eat a lot of sausage in Germany!!!)

Here is the very room where Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German.  This was a against the law and carried a death sentence.  He did this at the Wartburg Castle in Eisenach Germany

Kelly is standing inside the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt, Germany.  That is the very gate that Martin Luther went through as he joined the order.  His friends tried to stop him...he had a promising career ahead of him in law..but his vow in a thunder storm compelled him to become a monk

Walking with Luther--500 years later

If Lutherans believed in purgatory and got time off for visiting 'holy' sites I think I would have gained quite a bit of credit these past two weeks.   I have visited Eisleben where Luther was born and died (even got a chance to see up close and get photos of the burial shroud put on his coffin and then given to his wife Katy.  It is on display at the house where he died and they were taking it out to prepare it for a transfer and new home in the new site that will open in two years.  On the day I visited it was out of the case and stretched out on the floor with paper underneath it.  The experts who were examining it seemed undaunted by my presence and even allowed some photos); Mansfeld where he grew up and went to school (saw the house, school and home church), Erfurt (where he entered the monastery and was ordained a priest); Eisenach (where he translated the New Testament into German and was held safely in the castle Wartburg); Wittenberg (where he is buried and posted the 95 theses on the castle church door); Leipzig; Magdeburg, etc..etc...  ( The picture above is from Luther's house in Wittenberg where you can with many other interesting things see Luther's Larine...I kid you not!!!). 

But the little city that made it all clear was a place called Halberstadt.  Here there is a Lutheran church that has the unusual distinction of owning quite a collection of "relics."  What are relics?  The very things that drove Luther mad!!  People were taught that to venerate (give sacred honor) to these relics would help them gain salvation and get to heaven.  Relics are pieces of bone or other body parts of important Biblical people or saints, items used in Biblical stories, or odds and ends that were used by holy people.  In Halberstadt I saw a finger of St. Nicholas (Don't tell the kids that Santa's finger is on display); one of the stones used to put Stephen the first Christian martyr to death, and a gold covered display case of wood that contained a body part fragment from each of the twelve apostles, John the Baptist, Paul, an authentic piece of the cross of Jesus, and one of the thorns from the crown he was forced to wear!  Holy cow...er Holy Relics think of how much time I could have gotten out of purgatory if I only had the right attitude about this.  (You know just in case there's something to that whole purgatory thing).   To be fair these relics date from the 1200's and are quite an interesting window into the piety and practice of medieval Christianity---but could people really have believed that these things were real?

No, I don't think most people did...but here's the clincher....bowing down to a piece of clavicle bone that supposedly belonged to John the Baptist or a tooth from Saint Paul was a whole lot easier than living out the great commission or loving my neighbor as myself.   Luther came to understand that the purpose of the Gospel was to free us from sin, death and the devil and allow us to live out our faith each and every day in love.  Christian faith is contextual and lived out in community--it is not about living in fear or in search of personal salvation.  What do I mean by that?  You as a baptized child of God have been bought by the blood of the lamb--you belong to Jesus!  Or, do you like the medieval indulgence sellers suppose that Christ's sacrifice on the cross wasn't enough and you have to add your own piety to the equation?  No, Christian faith is not about trying to make sure I'm saved, it is living in the confidence of Jesus Christ that I AM SAVED by his perfect grace and free now to live out that faith in love and community.  But let's face it...that's hard.  Easier to join 5 different Bible Study groups, subscribe to the approved Christian magazines,  read all the blogs that lament the current status of Christianity, and attend at least two personal growth retreats a year.   

Here's the point...whether venerating relics (bowing to pieces of bone and skin) or becoming obsessed with the latest Christian books, groups and movements...they both are inherently self centered and turn Christian faith inward and reduce it to a quest for personal immortality.   Here's the good news that Luther rediscovered 500 years ago--you are saved by CHRIST!!!  Christ has done what you never could!  Christ has reconciled you to God through the blood of the cross.   Now....stop letting the Evil one rob you of what Christ has given.   You are free now to live out your faith for the sake of the world.  To actually live your Christian faith.    Salvation having been taken care of we can now concentrate on loving each other as Christ has loved us; loving our enemies, forgiving those who have trespassed against us, being cheerful givers, feeding Christ's sheep, repaying no one evil for evil, sharing what we have......Holy Cow.... it would be a lot easier to just pay a few bucks to venerate some pieces of bone and wood, or for that matter commit myself to a regime of personal piety.   Well, yes it would.  But that wouldn't be living as disciples of Jesus. (Picture above is Luther's grave marker which is located right below the pulpit in the Wittenberg Castle church). 

In each and every generation we need to fight against the impulse to make Christianity all about me.  Acts of personal piety and growth are not bad....in fact I encourage them....but not to the exclusion of actually living out your faith in the world.   And how do we do that?  Be a good and faithful spouse, a good and loving son or daughter, a good and loving parent, a good and loving friend and neighbor.  See you life as being on loan from God and its purpose to share the love of Christ in all that you do.   And for CHRIST'S SAKE (not used in vain, but in praise, prayer and worship) don't obsess with your own salvation--that's the good news, God has already done that.

Worship in Germany

I am writting tonight from Prague, Czech Republic, just a 4 hour train ride from where we are staying in eastern Germany.   Prague is a beautiful city full of great history, food and culture.  We stopped in to worship today at a small catholic parish here in the city, about 5 or 6 people there for worship.  No granted it is a Monday and most folks don't worship on Monday...but still 5 or 6.  On Sunday we worshipped in Gronningem Parish, a little church that has been around for about 400 years and there was a great celebration of 6 baptisms.  It was a great worship, lively song leading, interactive for the kids, a mix of pipe organ and guitar, the pastor was good and engaging---did I mention that besides the 6 to be baptized there were about 12 others of us at worship.   Now numbers aren't everything, but we kid ourselves if we think worship attendance isn't important.  We need to know that we stand with a community, that others share our values and understandings (or are at least open to the same struggles and questions that we all have).   Now was God present on both last Sunday and today in Prague---of course.  But where were God's people?  That is the question that we so desparetly try to address in our own chuches without turning to gimmicks and fluff.   I don't want to have a petting zoo at Easter, or advertise that we serve 'krispy kream' donuts.  Humbug!!  That seems so wrong.  And yet....I don't ever want to lead worship with the anticipation of only 6 or 7 showing up.   Come to worship.  Come to worship to glorify God and to keep our communities strong.  Forgive us if we aren't always cutting edge or speaking just to you.   For myself, I promise to always try and make worship a place where you feel welcome and have an opportunity to connect with Christ both in word and sacrament. 

Worship in Nortre Dame

Sometimes dumbluck is more imporantant than planning and skill.  Such was the case for our first visit to the famous Nortre Dame Cathedral in Paris.  We arrived on a Sunday so after taking in the Louvre for a few hours we decided to take a break and head over for a sneak peak of Nortre Dame (We were going back the next day as a starting point for a city walk that would also take us to the Cluny museum on the left bank).  As we arrived we had to decide which line to enter in....visite or messe?   Well Messe was the winner and we found ourselves in the nave of the great cathedral with a full house preparing for an evening mass.   So, being a preacher and feeling guilty for not having gone to worship previously we decided to settle in for worship.  First thougthts---it was LOUD!  The pipe organ was being played with all it's intensity and I had to chuckle at the comments I imagine the priest would get about the music being too loud!  Ah, the more things change the more they stay the same.  Next there was a beautiful children's choir that sang in the ancient style and truly sounded angelic.  Then there was a lot of standing, A LOT of French, several readings, etc.... your typical mass in the Western Rite, and of course communion of which it was offered to us only in one kind (bread only).    Here in this beautiful cathedral every sense of the human body was employed.  And somehow I think that is an important part of worship--engaging ourselves bodily and spiritually.   So often we think of worship as only a spiriual affair, but the body also needs to be intune.   But here is my insight...not all at once.  There were times that I needed to shut my eyes and just listen.  Other times when I was oblivous to the sounds but transfixed on the sights--the glass, the columns, the statues.   I don't understand a word of French...but it was still worship, it was still relevent, it was still inspiring.   Maybe because I didn't expect to be able to understand anything, I allowed my other senses to be open to the possibilities of encounting God.

Two great churches....faith taken for granted

Today we spent the whole day walking around London and visiting its famous churches and historical landmarks.   What fun it is to walk into the same pub that people like Charles Dickens, Teddy Rosevelt and Tennyson--not to mention Twain--all stopped in for a pint.  But what was so interesting was touring the two great churches of England:  St. Paul's the fourth largest church in the world and Westminster Abbey which is like a walk in history book.  Two experiences that stuck out.  At St. Paul's (again the fourth largest Christian church in the world) there was a group of about 25 of us that celebrated communion together.   There were thousands of visitors, but only a handful that heeded the call to come and eat the meal of Jesus. The good Lord knows we were on tight schedule, but it seemed almost oxymoronic to be in such a place and not take time for Jesus.   I think the same can be said for life in the world.

Second insight, I've never stepped on so many famous dead people in my life!!  In Westminster Abbey I stepped on the likes of Charles Darwin (I chuckled at how many Christian fundamentalist would have loved to have had the chance!), Chaucer (Cantebury tales), Lewis Carroll, T.S. Elliot, Handel (He wrote the Messiah), Isaac Newton (he actually is buried under his statue...but I might have gotten a hand or at least a finger.   But again here was the amazing thing...people were just WALKING right over these great folks of history, literally walking on top of their grave markers that dot the floor of this great Abbey.  And frankly most never as much gave any of these great men even a "oh it's you."   I wondered if these folks now dead and buried ever thought they would be reduced to flooring.   I personally stopped at as many as I could, tried to step around as much as possible and whispered a prayerful 'thank you.'   Again, I imagine I should probalby do that for the living as well.   Thank you!

London...what hospitality

What a beautiful city filled with friendly folks.  We have just been hear for half a day but have been overwhielmed by the kindnesss and goodwill of the locals.   Spend the evening walking Kennsington Park and Palace, then dinner at a pub--meat pies-- near the Bank of London  (Rick Steves suggestion.  Had a nice talk with a local policman and couldn't be more pleased with how our first day on the ground went.   Now the fun really begins!

Tagging along on Sabbatical....

Today is the day that Sabbatical begins.  Nothing to share now accept the last minute running around trying to make sure all the proverbial ducks are in a row!  Good news....one back back each!!  We are traveling light.  Tomorrow we head to London via Chicago and Copenhagen!  Stay tuned.

Merry Christmas

Here is wishing everyone a very Merry Chirstmas.  I have been thinking about my Christmas Eve sermon.... Mostly it is my job to get out of the way of the songs, the story, the lighting of candles and just help keep things smooth.  Yet, it is still a time to proclaim the word, to give a sermon to some who may not have been in a church for years.   What do you say?  What do you not say?   Here's a Christmas challange to anyone reading this blog...take a few minutes to think about what your Christmas Eve message would be.  What would you want to include, and what message would you want the people to take away from worship?

Feel free to let me know what you come up with!  Peace! pj

Day 42: FINAL DAY, October 24, 2009, Acts 28

Day 42: FINAL DAY, October 24,  Acts 28

My commentary appears below the text:

Acts of the Apostles 28

28After we had reached safety, we then learned that the island was called Malta. 2The natives showed us unusual kindness. Since it had begun to rain and was cold, they kindled a fire and welcomed all of us around it. 3Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, when a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man must be a murderer; though he has escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.” 5He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6They were expecting him to swell up or drop dead, but after they had waited a long time and saw that nothing unusual had happened to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god. 7Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8It so happened that the father of Publius lay sick in bed with fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and cured him by praying and putting his hands on him. 9After this happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. 10They bestowed many honors on us, and when we were about to sail, they put on board all the provisions we needed.

11Three months later we set sail on a ship that had wintered at the island, an Alexandrian ship with the Twin Brothers as its figurehead. 12We put in at Syracuse and stayed there for three days; 13then we weighed anchor and came to Rhegium. After one day there a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14There we found believers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15The believers from there, when they heard of us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. 16When we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.

17Three days later he called together the local leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, yet I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. 18When they had examined me, the Romans wanted to release me, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. 19But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to the emperor—even though I had no charge to bring against my nation. 20For this reason therefore I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is for the sake of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.” 21They replied, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken anything evil about you. 22But we would like to hear from you what you think, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.”

23After they had set a day to meet with him, they came to him at his lodgings in great numbers. From morning until evening he explained the matter to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets. 24Some were convinced by what he had said, while others refused to believe. 25So they disagreed with each other; and as they were leaving, Paul made one further statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah, 26‘Go to this people and say, You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. 27For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn— and I would heal them.’ 28Let it be known to you then that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”

30He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, 31proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.


Commentary:    Why is it that some believed and others didn't?  This will be a question that Paul will struggle with and try to answer in Romans 10 - 12.  Ultimately for Luke, this should not surprise us, for he has Paul quoting Isaiah 6.9-10. Even the prophet who lived long before Paul (Some 500 years) spoke of the reality of what is happening in his day--it is the age of the Gentiles, an age of inclusion beyond the house of Israel, and as Luke has already showed us in Acts we shouldn't be surprised that many in Israel didn't get it--that is the lesson of history.

Why do you think Luke ends the Acts of the Apostles without the martyrdom of Paul.  Our best historical evidence suggests that he was beheaded outside of Rome and we don't know if he ever got a chance to actually witness to the emperor.  There is also a disturbing report in a letter known as 1st Clement which is a part of the early Christian tradition, but not in the Bible.  In this letter Clement suggests that it was the envy and ill will of fellow CHRISTIANS that ultimately led to Paul's execution.  Isn't that ironic, that having been 'saved' from so many enemies and situations, it was ultimately his fellow Christians that brough about his death.   I think Luke has a reason for not telling us about the martyrdom of Paul--it's because Paul is not the subject or main character of the story.  The main character of the story is the Holy Spirit!  The Holy Spirit continues 'unhindered.'  That is how Acts ends...with that word, "unhindered." 

So in a sense, the story is continuing wih you.  The story has no end, because the Holy Spirit is not finished.  James may have died at the hands of Herod and Paul at the hands of Rome, and many others have come and gone, but the stories power remains in what the Holy Spirit is still doing today, unhindered in the life of the church.

Where do you see the Holy Spirit evident today?

Day 41: October 23, 2009, Acts 27

Day 41: October 23,  Acts 27

My commentary appears below the text:

Acts of the Apostles 27

27When it was decided that we were to sail for Italy, they transferred Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort, named Julius. 2Embarking on a ship of Adramyttium that was about to set sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 3The next day we put in at Sidon; and Julius treated Paul kindly, and allowed him to go to his friends to be cared for. 4Putting out to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5After we had sailed across the sea that is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy and put us on board. 7We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind was against us, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8Sailing past it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea. 9Since much time had been lost and sailing was now dangerous, because even the Fast had already gone by, Paul advised them, 10saying, “Sirs, I can see that the voyage will be with danger and much heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.

12Since the harbor was not suitable for spending the winter, the majority was in favor of putting to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, where they could spend the winter. It was a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and northwest. 13When a moderate south wind began to blow, they thought they could achieve their purpose; so they weighed anchor and began to sail past Crete, close to the shore. 14But soon a violent wind, called the northeaster, rushed down from Crete. 15Since the ship was caught and could not be turned head-on into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven. 16By running under the lee of a small island called Cauda we were scarcely able to get the ship’s boat under control. 17After hoisting it up they took measures to undergird the ship; then, fearing that they would run on the Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and so were driven. 18We were being pounded by the storm so violently that on the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard, 19and on the third day with their own hands they threw the ship’s tackle overboard. 20When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest raged, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.

21Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul then stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and thereby avoided this damage and loss. 22I urge you now to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23For last night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before the emperor; and indeed, God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you.’ 25So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26But we will have to run aground on some island.” 27When the fourteenth night had come, as we were drifting across the sea of Adria, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. 28So they took soundings and found twenty fathoms; a little farther on they took soundings again and found fifteen fathoms. 29Fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 30But when the sailors tried to escape from the ship and had lowered the boat into the sea, on the pretext of putting out anchors from the bow, 31Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat and set it adrift. 33Just before daybreak, Paul urged all of them to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been in suspense and remaining without food, having eaten nothing. 34Therefore I urge you to take some food, for it will help you survive; for none of you will lose a hair from your heads.” 35After he had said this, he took bread; and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat. 36Then all of them were encouraged and took food for themselves. 37(We were in all two hundred seventy-six persons in the ship.) 38After they had satisfied their hunger, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea. 39In the morning they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned to run the ship ashore, if they could. 40So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea. At the same time they loosened the ropes that tied the steering-oars; then hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach. 41But striking a reef, they ran the ship aground; the bow stuck and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the force of the waves. 42The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none might swim away and escape; 43but the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, 44and the rest to follow, some on planks and others on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.

Commentary:   I can't help but see in this tale of shipwreck and trouble on the sea a metaphore for the life of faith.  Indeed early Christians often portrayed the church as a 'boat.'   Here we have Paul in preaching a message of salvation to all those on board the ship, or at least a message of deliverance from death.   But the message of deliverance has its opponents as well.  First it is the sailors who will abandon the ship, then it is the soldiers who will kill the prisoners--but neither of these, nor the tempest and storm that rages about them can stand in the way of the work of God through Jesus Christ.  Paul will get to Rome, but the journey is certainly not without its perils.
 
What about us?  What about our faith journeys?  We too are at risk by circumstances out of our control and by the plots and plans of those who can work us woe...yet like Paul in the midst of it all, we gather to break bread, to be strengthed for the journy and to move forward in hope--even when all hell seems to be breaking loose!

Day 40: October 22, 2009, Acts 26.1-32

Day 40: October 22, Acts 26.1-32

My commentary appears after the text below.


Acts 26

26Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself: 2“I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, 3because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews; therefore I beg of you to listen to me patiently. 4“All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem. 5They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I have belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee. 6And now I stand here on trial on account of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors, 7a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship day and night. It is for this hope, your Excellency, that I am accused by Jews! 8Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? 9“Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. 11By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.

12”With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13when at midday along the road, your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. 14When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.’ 15I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. 17I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ 19“After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance. 21For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22To this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place: 23that the Messiah must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”

24While he was making this defense, Festus exclaimed, “You are out of your mind, Paul! Too much learning is driving you insane!” 25But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking the sober truth. 26Indeed the king knows about these things, and to him I speak freely; for I am certain that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner. 27King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” 28Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?” 29Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am—except for these chains.” 30Then the king got up, and with him the governor and Bernice and those who had been seated with them; 31and as they were leaving, they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” 32Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to the emperor.”

Commentary:   "Paul stretched out his hand."  This is the stance of an orator, someone who is about to give reason and logic to his audience...instead Paul tells a story, his story.  Ultimately I am convinced that outside of some great movement of the Holy Spirit, it is OUR story that is the best presentation of the Gospel.  Paul tells Agrippa his personal story, what Jesus has meant to him, and who Jesus has changed his life.  What I love about Paul's story is that nowhere does he say that his life was empty without Jesus. On the contrary he had a passion and a purpose without Christ.  The difference is that in Christ he has found a 'better way!"  What would be your story?  How can you present it?
 
Festus calls out:  "Your out of your mind!  Too much learning has made you insane!"  Agrippa on the other hand, whether out of sarcasm or wisdom understands exactly what Paul is doing:  "Are you so quickly pursuading me to become a Christian?"  Paul's answer is clear:  Yes, I would hope so for you and for everyone here!   The message of what Christ is doing must be shared, however, it often times will fall on deaf ears--Festus and must often on "undecided ears" like Agrippa.   We never hear about Agrippa again.  What happened to him?  Did the faith take hold or was it always just a curious little conversation that seemed to have some light in it, but not enough to change Agrippa's life or turn him toward Christ.   The Agrippa's of the world may in the end be the most dangerous to the faith, even more dangerous than the enemies of Christianity, for Agrippa seems to dismiss Christianity as 'nothing deserving death' but of course that is exactly what Christianity should be---dying and rising.

Day 39: October 21, 2009, Acts 25.1-27

Day 39: October 21,  Acts 25.1-27

My commentary is below the text:

Acts of the Apostles 25

25Three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem 2where the chief priests and the leaders of the Jews gave him a report against Paul. They appealed to him 3and requested, as a favor to them against Paul, to have him transferred to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, planning an ambush to kill him along the way. 4Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and that he himself intended to go there shortly. 5“So,” he said, “let those of you who have the authority come down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them accuse him.” 6After he had stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea; the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 7When he arrived, the Jews who had gone down from Jerusalem surrounded him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove. 8Paul said in his defense, “I have in no way committed an offense against the law of the Jews, or against the temple, or against the emperor.” 9But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and be tried there before me on these charges?” 10Paul said, “I am appealing to the emperor’s tribunal; this is where I should be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you very well know. 11Now if I am in the wrong and have committed something for which I deserve to die, I am not trying to escape death; but if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can turn me over to them. I appeal to the emperor.” 12Then Festus, after he had conferred with his council, replied, “You have appealed to the emperor; to the emperor you will go.”

13After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to welcome Festus. 14Since they were staying there several days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man here who was left in prison by Felix. 15When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me about him and asked for a sentence against him. 16I told them that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone before the accused had met the accusers face to face and had been given an opportunity to make a defense against the charge. 17So when they met here, I lost no time, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. 18When the accusers stood up, they did not charge him with any of the crimes that I was expecting. 19Instead they had certain points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. 20Since I was at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wished to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges. 21But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of his Imperial Majesty, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to the emperor.” 22Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he said, “you will hear him.” 23So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then Festus gave the order and Paul was brought in. 24And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish community petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25But I found that he had done nothing deserving death; and when he appealed to his Imperial Majesty, I decided to send him. 26But I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write— 27for it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner without indicating the charges against him.”

Commentary:     Politics is corrupt.  Felix wanted a bribe, Festus wants to ingratiate himself to the subjects he is going to rule over.  Whether or not Paul is innocent or guilty has little effect on the cold hard reality of politics.  It seems that Festus, seeing no use of Paul for himself is willing to hand him over to the Jewish leaders.  We know that the year is about 60 AD, during the rule of Festus there will be much agitation by the Jewish Zealots who will agitate the townsfolk and kill anyone who is a Roman sympathizer.  The elite of Jerusalem are still 'dealing' with the 'Jesus' problem as we'll learn from the historian Josephus that the high priest will have James the brother of Jesus put to death around 62 AD, so the fact that they are still concerned about Paul is most plausible.   What will Paul do, will he go back to Jerusalem?  NO!  Why?  Because the Gospel is to be preached to the whole world, the Gospel, personified in some ways now with Paul, must reach Rome. 
 
What has been set up here may seem simple; but it is amazing.  It will be lived out in the next chapter.  Paul representing the Kingdom of Christ will have his say, first with Agrippa and then with the Emperor himself representing the empires of the world.   Make no mistake, Luke in Acts understands that there can only be one king, one empire, on faith and he does not believe that Casesar is the legitimate holder of such. 
 
This is still our tension as followers of Jesus:  How can we be in the world and not of it?  How can we love the world and not be seduced by it's sins.  How can we serve the world and not fall victim to the powers that be?

Day 38: October 20, 2009, Acts 24.1-27

Day 38: October 20,  Acts 24.1-27

My commentary is below:

Acts of the Apostles 24


24Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney, a certain Tertullus, and they reported their case against Paul to the governor. 2When Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: “Your Excellency, because of you we have long enjoyed peace, and reforms have been made for this people because of your foresight. 3We welcome this in every way and everywhere with utmost gratitude. 4But, to detain you no further, I beg you to hear us briefly with your customary graciousness. 5We have, in fact, found this man a pestilent fellow, an agitator among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 6He even tried to profane the temple, and so we seized him. 8By examining him yourself you will be able to learn from him concerning everything of which we accuse him.” 9The Jews also joined in the charge by asserting that all this was true.

10When the governor motioned to him to speak, Paul replied: “I cheerfully make my defense, knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation. 11As you can find out, it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem. 12They did not find me disputing with anyone in the temple or stirring up a crowd either in the synagogues or throughout the city. 13Neither can they prove to you the charge that they now bring against me. 14But this I admit to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our ancestors, believing everything laid down according to the law or written in the prophets. 15I have a hope in God—a hope that they themselves also accept—that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. 16Therefore I do my best always to have a clear conscience toward God and all people. 17Now after some years I came to bring alms to my nation and to offer sacrifices. 18While I was doing this, they found me in the temple, completing the rite of purification, without any crowd or disturbance. 19But there were some Jews from Asia—they ought to be here before you to make an accusation, if they have anything against me. 20Or let these men here tell what crime they had found when I stood before the council, 21unless it was this one sentence that I called out while standing before them, ‘It is about the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’”

22But Felix, who was rather well informed about the Way, adjourned the hearing with the comment, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” 23Then he ordered the centurion to keep him in custody, but to let him have some liberty and not to prevent any of his friends from taking care of his needs. 24Some days later when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak concerning faith in Christ Jesus. 25And as he discussed justice, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the present; when I have an opportunity, I will send for you.” 26At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul, and for that reason he used to send for him very often and converse with him. 27After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and since he wanted to grant the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

Commentary:  Here is great irony, for two years Paul has been kept in custody.  (I wonder what happened to those men who swore they would neither eat or drink until Paul was dead!).  For two years, Felix would chat with Paul about "the Way" and virtues and religion.  But the real motivation was that he wanted Paul to offer him a bribe!  For whatever reason, Paul seems very content to be in Caesarea, have some liberties and be able to see his friends while being under a type of house arrest.  
 
Patience.  Things will unfold, Paul will get to Rome; but the orders of the day call for patience.  It may not be today or tomorrow.  So it is with us in the Christian faith.  We know that this is God's world, we know that Christ has claimed all that is as his own; yet we still deal with evil, death and sin.  Patience.  Patience.  It's not a virtue I claim as one of my own.
 
Have you every had to be patient and just let things unfold?  Is it frustrating to you or can you see God's hand in the waiting?