Tag Archives: Blood of Jesus

Humbleness in the workplace

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As Christians whether we are the “boss”, in any kind of prominent position ya like a pastor, or just known as a Christian where you work, or part of group, in the community, there is a kind of attitude and humility that is generally part of being a Christian. I like C.S. Lewis’ quote: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” To be sure, we are more Christlike when we are more concerned with the interests of others then our own concerns, our own agenda. Believe me it is a struggle for me.

What’s that fine line between who is in charge and how that looks and thinking of others. To be sure Father Frederick Nkwasibwe’s observation that: “Humility occasions commitment to conquer all conditioning’s and biases within oneself. In addition, it occasions combat of individual, institutional and structural discrimination and prejudice.” (Business Courage p 397) Too be sure we need to be aware of our prejudices in many areas of our makeup. Jesus certainly modeled that. Certainly 1st century Israel was a very provincial and prideful people. They were God’s chosen and everyone else wasn’t. There was particular acrimony between them and Samaritans, in Jesus’ interactions with Samaritans He showed as much charity to them and other non-Israelites as He did to anyone. He also dealt with those who were prideful in no uncertain terms. In terms of humility, it is being focused on what is important, are we truly acting in a way that brings glory to God. Sometimes you have to hold people accountable and Jesus did that with His own followers and with those in the Jewish leadership. But He did not let another’s ethnicity or as it were “paganism” be a barrier. Jesus treated the Roman centurion with respect, the Syro-Phoenician woman, and the Samaritans. He served them all even though they were very far from knowing who Jesus was and what He was all about.

“Demonstrating humility in leading, interpersonal communication, developing human skills, learning, implementing corrective action and giving feedback among others constitute a big advantage of practicing and living healthy mature-faith-focus workplace spirituality. This highly impacts productivity. For example, a humble and contrite heart of the boss does not accept to live luxuriously at the expense of the staff and endeavors to bridge the disparity in top-up allowances of benefits that exists between himself and the staff. The courage of leadership typified by the virtue of temperance is, for example, required by the highly paid CEOs or MDs at an S&P 500 company or other organizations making over 100 times more than a typical worker receives. Similarly, a humble and contrite heart of the follower is always cautious and prudent yet tight-lipped when it lacks evidence to speak… Humility makes leaders unashamed to behave in a manner that is not a popular workplace fashion yet a righteous one….Humility makes it easy for leadership to establish credible and altruistic workplace structures that can effectively and ethically moderate tempers and mediate between competing workplace discords.” (pp 397-398)

This is a genuine concern of mine, in my own experience I’ve seen too many “leaders” make decisions that were based on pride and/or popularity. It is certainly instructive to me. As a still, relatively, new pastor, I’ve had to learn the hard way about leadership decisions, that might have been more about perception, then an actual act of pridefulness. How to assert authority, but still do it in a way that isn’t prideful, abrasive, or at least even perceived that way? Jesus could certainly do it and impact even His enemies. We watched Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ again last night. Doing this blog and the movie being fresh in my mind, at least in the movie, even in defeat/crucifixion, Jesus left a discernible mark on those who witnessed His “defeat”. Certainly the Roman centurion’s witness at the crucifixion: “Truly this man was the Son of God”. (Mark 15:39) Even in the degradation and torture of crucifixion, Jesus was still perceived having strength and dignity. Was it Jesus’ true concern for those who were there, for all humanity, that showed through and influenced their perception? As a Christian leader we balance the good of the organization, our authority and need to do our job with genuine concern for those stakeholders we serve. We know stakeholders are management, shareholders, peers, employees. Yea, it’s a lot, we trust in Christ to guide us through these situations too.

We meet at the coffeehouse at the corner of W King and Beaver Sts, no cost (yea, I’ll even buy your first cup of coffee), no obligation, come on down, break up the day and join in some good discussion about being Christian in the workplace. Wednesdays 10am, parking is open right behind the church 140 W King.

How the Irish were born again, an example for us

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How the Irish were born again

March 16, 2014 First St Johns Church, York, Pa

A Celtic Benediction: “The vitality of God be mine this day, the vitality of the God of life. The passion of Christ be mine this day, the passion of the Christ of love. The wakefulness of the Spirit be mine this day, the wakefulness of the Spirit of new birth. The vitality and passion and new birth of God be mine that I may be fully alive this day.”1 We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father…who have a new vitality, a new passion and have been born into new life in Christ said … AMEN.

Cead Mille Failte a hundred thousand welcomes, it is truly right and salutary that we should remember the Saints, and of course today who else but St Brendan? ah mean St Bridgett? ahhh ok St Patrick, there got it. So many of the saints we know and don’t know were led to dedicate their lives to bring God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ into places that were spiritually dark. Our Old Testament lesson today is about Father Abraham, Yahweh tells Abraham, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s “house”, the Hebrew word tyIB; meaning not just a house, our world today is so transient, I’ve lived in 14 different houses in my life, they were buildings to live in. In the Hebrew it usually has the meaning of the paternal household, probably a place that’s been lived in by the same family for generations. A place that could almost be a family museum, a place where there would be many nuclear families, all dependent on each other, a very familiar place. Unlike us today, we need a bigger place, we need a smaller place, most people would live, raise their families, be with generations of the same family and die at this place. Yahweh, picked Abraham up and moved him out of his family home to start a long journey, that would take him many places and finally put him in the land that Yahweh had promised. This was a land that was unknown to Abraham, a land where they had many different “gods” and practices and Abraham is bringing a new God to them that he himself is new to. York was a new place to Margie and me, still relatively Christian, certainly American, but a place where I was driving by GPS for at least the first year we were here. Much more welcoming a place then Abraham or Patrick encountered.

Greg Tobin writes: “The Apostle of Ireland was not a native of that land, but a Roman Briton, born and educated in the westernmost sector of Britain and Wales. His great-grandfather was Odissus, a deacon; his grandfather, Potitus, was a presbyter, or priest; his father, Calpornius, was a deacon, as well as a decurion, or local magistrate responsible for the collection of taxes. Patrick’s mother … was Concessa, possibly a niece of St Martin of Tours. The family was well-enough off by any standard, for they lived at a villa, or estate… He says in the Letter that in later life, whether figuratively or literally, ‘[I] traded my noble birthright.’”2 Tobin points out also that this was one of the greatest periods of the Christian church, since this was about the same era of Pope Celestine, Pope Leo the Great, St Augustine and St Jerome, also one of the most challenging, because Pelagius who raised many heretical teachings lived at this time. Like Abraham, Patrick claims to have received a divine call. Patrick was kidnapped as a result of an Irish raid in Britain and after years in slavery escaped and returned to his home. He claims his escape was facilitated by angelic direction. From there though he studied at Auxerre in Gaul where he was ordained a deacon, with “…the goal of being appointed bishop to the Irish Christians”. He returned to Britain and had another dream, some have claimed it was an angelic vision: “…whose name was Victoricus, coming it seemed from Ireland, with countless letters. ..I read the first words of the letter, which were: “The Voice of the Irish”. And as I read aloud the beginning of the letter I imagined that at the same moment I heard their voices – … and thus did they cry out as one: ‘We ask you, holy boy, come back and walk among us once more.”3

There was probably a small number of Christians in Ireland, but Ireland was dominated by pagan worship, mostly Druidic and it seems that worship included human sacrifice. It was an evil form of worship. Tobin writes: “Patrick was appointed to succeed Palladius as bishop to the Christians in Ireland in 432. In Ireland he eventually converted the High King, the Ard Righ, … and triumphed in many confrontations with druidic priests.”4 Like Elijah’s confrontation with the priests of Baal another confrontation of the remnant of God against the pervasiveness of paganism.

Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but we are the remnant in what is becoming a very pagan society. I don’t say that to insult, that is what it is and a lot of people who are involved in that will tell you they are pagans. You may have lived in this area all your life, you may not have had any vivid kind of guidance such as a dream or an angel, but in your lifetime, society has moved from being very Christian. So even though you might never have moved, the local culture has and as strange as Philistine to Abraham or Ireland to Patrick, your contemporary society could be as alien to you. Too often though we approach the contemporary culture as if it were like York of years past. Our expectations are that everyone knows and everyone acts he same. We expect everyone to be a certain way for them to be part of the church. George Hunter writes: “The perspective of the ancient Roman Christian leaders (and that would have included Patrick) can be baldly stated in two sentences: (1) Roman Christian leaders assumed that a population had to be civilized “enough” already to be Christianized, that is, that some degree of civilization was a prerequisite to Christianization. (2) Once a sufficiently civilized population became Christian, they were expected in time to read and speak Latin, to adopt other Roman customs, and to do church ‘the Roman way.’” How about if I insisted everyone read Greek in order to be a good Lutheran. The problem is this, because we’ve had a particular understanding through our lives, we think everyone has that same perspective. I can tell you I had to change my life when I became a Christian, it was a challenge, and as the husband and father, I had to disciple my wife and children, as all Christian men should. We live too safely, remember the movie Jaws, the grizzled old sailor, when he realized what kind of shark they were dealing with? He said: “Looks like we’re going to need a bigger boat.” That seems to be our solution, we need a bigger boat/whatever that may be. The boat may be going down, but we feel that we have enough of a life preserver to feel safe and if other people can’t get with our life preserver, too bad for them. We have to put the best face on what other people do. What a new person in church does/doesn’t do is hardly ever disrespect, just unfamiliarity, no one wants to upset anyone, but if there’s no reason to do what they’ve always done differently they will continue to act the same way. Much the same thing can be said about long time Christians. Hunter notes that our idea of evangelism/discipling is one on one, often kind of confrontational, “this is why you need to be a Christian what’s wrong with you?”. I find myself doing a milder version of that a lot. “…Celtic Christians usually evangelized as a team – by relating to the people of a settlement; identifying with the people; engaging in friendship, conversation, ministry and witness… the Celts believed in the importance of the team. A group of people can pray and think together. They inspire and encourage each other. The single entrepreneur, the Lone Ranger is too easily prey to self doubt and loss of vision.”5This is something that we have had to relearn and return to in contemporary Christianity. It is all about the group, the Body of Christ. Jesus is our primary example, using every opportunity as they traveled around Israel to teach His disciples what He expected them to teach their disciples, what it is to be in the presence of Jesus.

When a woman gives birth, it’s a process, a baby takes time to development, so it is with the Holy Spirit, Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born of the Spirit, Jesus refers to “the wind blows where it may”, the Greek word pneu/ma which means wind and spirit. We refer to the study of the Holy Spirit as pneumatology, and so Jesus is referring to the Holy Spirit with Nicodemus. Jesus is saying that it is what Jesus will do, He will be the atonement, the sacrifice for the sins of the world, and that it will be the Holy Spirit who will chose those who will be born again, that they will be born again in the Spirit and because of that we know that we are born into the Kingdom, sons and daughters of the Father. You probably notice that this is in terms of a small group, not just the acts of Jesus‘ sacrifice, but the acts of the Spirit to bring rebirth and the acts of the Father who adopts us as His children through His Son Jesus.

We can chose then to continue to follow the failed model that dates back to the Roman Church which expected people to change and adapt on their own, or we can chose the model that St Patrick established, being in relationship, being part of a group, helping to show people Christ instead of trying to hound them into the Kingdom. Something I have to work on, but I can’t do that as an individual, it requires a group and that is what we are establishing here as Christ’s disciples. It’s not just me that people interact with, it’s not just those who are “supposed” to … It’s everyone, and you, and I, have no idea how the Holy Spirit will use what we do for someone to be born in the Spirit. So we do the ordinary things of life with those we meet, as a disciple of Christ, with those the Spirit brings here or another area of your life and you model to them what a Christian disciple is, don’t get upset with what they do or don’t do, just as Patrick did for the pagans of 5th century Ireland. Take some time now and think about who you can include in what group to disciple someone in Christ, pray study and journal over it.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Shalom and Amin.

1J Philip Newell Celtic Benediction p 53

2Greg Tobin The Wisdom of St Patrick pp 21-22

3George G Hunter III The Celtic Way of Evangelism p 17

4Tobin p 25

5George Hunter p 47

Salting and Lighting your world

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Salting and Lighting Your World

First ST Johns Feb 9, 2014

We Make our beginning in the Name of God the Father, and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who are the salt and the light of the world said… AMEN

Are you the salt of the earth? Reminds me of that great song from Godspell, “You are the salt of the world, but if that salt has lost its flavor, it ain’t got much in it’s favor, you can’t have that fault and be the salt of the earth.” Salt and light were precious commodities back in Jesus’ time. If He was talking to us today He might ask us if we are the petroleum oil and the Amana freezer of our time. Salt and light were valuable, unlike today where, relatively speaking oil and refrigeration are relatively cheap, everyone uses oil in some form and pretty much everyone has a refrigerator/freezer in their home. Tory Borst notes: “Salt is one of those common everyday items we use without thought. We grab the shaker and shake. According to the Salt Institute (www.saltinstitute.org), in the year 2002 over a billion dollars were spent on salt in the United States alone using about 24 ½ million tons of salt.” In Jesus’ time it was more the exception than the rule that you would be able to light your home at night or you would be able to salt your food to preserve it. For the average worker, they would do their work during the day, they would get paid on that day and they would buy what they needed to eat for the rest of that day, they simply didn’t have a way to preserve food for a month, even a few days as most people have today. The phrase “he’s not worth his salt” comes from around that period, Roman soldiers would be paid in salt, if they weren’t performing their jobs properly it was said they weren’t worth the salt they were being paid.

It really goes back to a very fundamental question that we should be asking ourselves all the time. Henry Blackaby‘s devotional raised the issue and he points out what should be a constant reminder to us, are we salt, are we that preserving agent in a corrupted, degenerating world. “Your life is designed and commissioned by God to enhance a community and to preserve what is good and right.” (Henry Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day p 51) Origen writes: “As salt preserves meat from decaying, so also do Christ’s disciples, [that’s you and me, not just the 11 guys with Jesus, we are all Christ’s disciples], do Jesus’ disciples have a preservative effect?” That is do we simply decay and degrade along with the environment, or is there something active in us? That being the Holy Spirit. Chrysostom writing again says “The worldly are less like lamps than buckets, lacking in God, they are empty from above but full from below.” Do we want to be stretching toward what’s above instead of wallowing in what’s below? Those around us in the world deserve the same chance following the leading of the Holy Spirit and help those around you to be full from above.

Blackaby points out when we are focused on God and what He is guiding us to do, are we staying in front of God? This may be a digression, but it’s part of being a soldier of the Cross too. Do I go and worship, restrengthened, yes even rearmed in Christ. Have we been in His presence in worship, hearing the preached Word, strengthened by the Body of Christ, our brothers and sisters? If we haven’t been strengthened by the Body and Blood of Christ, can we truly be prepared to be salt to a world, that is decidedly unsalty and very corrupt and degenerate world. We are regenerated through the things that God gives us, baptism, Scripture, the preached Word and the Body and Blood. We are not only salt in the world, but we are also sufficiently armed to face the spiritual challenges that keep pushing back against everything that is Jesus. Worship, discipleship, the things that we do to serve and worship God give us our saltiness.

Blackaby asks: “How do we test the ‘saltiness’ of our life? Look at our family. Are we preserving it from the destructive influences that surround it? Examine our workplace. Are the sinful influences in our work environment being halted because we are there? Observe our community. Is it a better place because we are involved in it? What about our church?” Chromatius tells us: “Those who have been educated for heavenly wisdom ought to remain steadfast so as not to be made tasteless by the devil’s treachery.”

No one is saying that your environment is perfect, we are always going to live in a fallen world. But because of our saltiness, is the world around us being impacted? When I worked in finance and during my time on active duty, people did come to me, and they did kind of expect a little more from me, and they did want to “talk”. I was a light in my environment that people were drawn to. Chromatius again, says: “ Jesus’ disciples are called the light of the world because they are illumined by One who is the true and eternal light.” If we are in Christ, we cannot help but project His light. No, it’s not like a lighthouse, “hey look at Driskell over in his cube, all lit up”, but it’s a supernatural radiance that the Holy Spirit produces in you that people look for guidance like sailors looking at a lighthouse. I’m not saying that I was just all that, but it seems that I did make an impact. Many of us, who expect whiz-bang results, I can’t say my results were whiz-bang, but I can say that God was using me. Let’s make it a constant recheck, are we affecting our environment for Christ in the way the Holy Spirit is leading us to impact?

Kevin Haug, who labels himself a Lutheran preacher in Texas told a story written by Warren Hudson of Ontario, Canada. He writes, “One night at the end of a special Saturday night worship service a thunderstorm unleashed a bolt of lightning that plunged the church into darkness.” With the congregation seated in total darkness, the pastor felt his way to the kitchen to find some candles. The pastor handed out the candles to everyone present. Persons lit their candles in much the same way as many churches do on Christmas Eve, each person lighting the candle of the person next to them. The worshipers then made their way through the church’s winding hallways to the front door.
“Peering out, we could see the rain coming down in sheets,” Warren remembers. With traffic snarled, people were running for the nearest shelter. Looking around they realized that the entire city was in darkness. “There in the darkness we stood,” Warren writes, “a little band of Christians, each clutching a light, not sure whether to venture out into the storm or stay inside the church in hopes that the storm would soon blow over.”
Isn’t this an appropriate analogy for many of us in the church? We know there is a world out there enshrouded in darkness. A world out there that is bland and in need of spice. Yet, what do we do about it? Do we face the storm and shine our light? Do we add some spice to the world?”

You really can light up your environment and make it a lot more interesting, a lot more compelling and yes, a lot more challenging. But once you are hooked on jumping in and challenging, not in an arrogant way, or obnoxious, but in a compelling way and in a loving way, showing to others the love of Christ. It is exhilarating, you can’t see it, but as Jesus tells us: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” This isn’t to brag on yourself, but by letting your light shine, seeing what God does through you, You glorify God and others see you being glorified by God. God initiates, He raises you up to be salt and light, you become that to others and by virtue of what you’ve done God is glorified to all. It truly is amazing that by being salt and light God continues to raise us up, raise others through us and justly and deservedly brings glory to Himself.

Spend some time this week, get out your journal, I know all of you contribute so much to your church, your family, your associates, but do they see how God is taking something so ordinary as salt and light and using it to His glory, by glorifying you and turning others to Him through you? How can you help others to know that the true source of your spiciness and light is our Father in heaven?

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Shalom and Amin.

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