Welcome to Pastor Jack Buckley's weekly blog and podcast.
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Monday, April 25, 2005
Divine Sleight of Hand
The psalm praises God for hearing a fervent prayer and answering it well.
Not exactly "We interrupt this program" bulletin fodder, is it? I mean, prayer assumes that God is interested in our joys and concerns, and will listen closely and answer us.
But bear with me.
I'm talking about Psalm 34:1-10, yesterday's sermon text. The superscription says King David wrote it.
"I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.... This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble."
What a great encouragement to trust in God, to turn our worries into prayers. No great eloquence required. Even a blurted out "Help, for God's sake!" will do if that's all you've got.
Someone has said, "Prayer moves the hand that moves the world." If so, then praying is an awesomely powerful act.
I've read reports of controlled studies in medical centers, where patients' health improved noticeably when someone prayed for them. Even when the patients didn't know about the prayers. Naturally, these studies have been challenged as scientifically marred. So be it. Coincidental answers to prayer don't worry me.
I've read other reports, from a small prayer group in our church. They list very specific answers to prayer during a year's worth of weekly prayer meetings:
*A new job here, a new house there.
*Volunteers stepping up to help an important project get going.
*Successful surgeries on some tired old bodies.
*A beloved dog healed.
*A shelter for women and children at risk stabilized by surprise funding.
But let's get back to David and that psalm.
The introduction to this song says he composed it after he acted crazy to get away from the guys threatening his life.
I love it! "I prayed... God answered... [by inspiring me to make believe I was nuts!]." It freaked out his enemies so much they turned and ran for shelter.
Across-the-miles answers to prayer are great attention grabbers. So are through-the-hospital-room-transom ones. But I believe most of our prayers get answered when we pay attention to what we can do about the problem.
You care enough for someone to say a prayer for them. That they'll be encouraged, say, in a difficult situation. After the "amen," you call them on the phone. Or you write to say you love them. You've answered your own prayer... or God has done it through you.
Not quite jumping around acting like a crazy king. Much better, though, don't you think?
The hand that moves the world turns out to be moving you.
posted by Jack Buckley at
3:17 PM
Monday, April 18, 2005
Praise the Lord Anyway
The bank teller smiled, handed me a receipt, and wished me the proverbial nice day.
On the way to my car the last line jumped out at me.
"Thank you, Jesus," it said.
"Wow!" says I, "What an enlightened bank, to let an employee customize his sign-off any way he wants to." Then again, on second thought, "What chutzpah, for him to be so assertive about his religion when given half a chance."
As a professional Christian I'm really interested in the ways garden variety disciples express their faith. Who knows what new trick I'll learn looking over their shoulders?
By now it's old news that the initials WWJD are a sly tease into considering "What would Jesus do?" Talk about your reality check. Christians aren't the only ones who'd benefit from at least a few minutes' reflection on that moral puzzler.
Of course, it's all too easy to riff for laughs on this initials thing.
Comedian Stephen Wright says he dreamed he met Jesus wearing a cool tattoo: WWID! And I saw a bumper sticker the other day: What Would Jesus Bomb?
Even so, why not pique a client's curiosity by praising the Lord on your teller receipt? Especially if your boss okays it.
Next time I went to that teller's window, I glanced at his name badge. It wasn't easy to keep from laughing out loud. The handsome young Latino man's name was -- Jesus!
They say you see what you're looking for. Thank you, Jesus, both of you, for the prod to speak up more often about my faith.
posted by Jack Buckley at
10:36 AM
Monday, April 11, 2005
Grateful Praise
I was at Yoshi's last Saturday night. The band was Andy Bey's quartet.
Bonnie Raitt was in the audience. More importantly, although Andy didn't know it, so was I.
He and I went to high school together in Newark, NJ. Please don't ask what class -- but he did say he's now 42. Heh heh, he said, just a joke. (You get to be our age, anything under 60 is hilarious.)
Anyway, Andy's quite the piano player. And his voice... So smooth, with a fantastic range from high tenor notes way on down to a rumbling basso. He and the band have a kind of love affair going on, and the audience oohs and aahs like witnesses at the hippest of weddings.
When we were high schoolers Andy was featured on a Manhattan TV show called "Startime Kids." He and his sisters also appeared regularly at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. At the ripe age of 19 he settled a while in Paris to perform with jazz locals and touring American musicians. And now, here he was in my own back yard.
On Sunday morning Andy became my sermon. I couldn't think of a better way to prolong my pleasure with his music, nor a more fitting application of my preaching point.
The Psalm was #148, a call for every person and critter in all creation to sing together in praise of our Creator. The companion text was Paul's letter to the Colossians 3:12-17, his call to live like Jesus with each other. Surprisingly, he says one great way to do that is by singing together.
Reading those Bible texts again, all I could think of was Andy Bey. (Whose name suggests "Muslim." But that's how my mind works.)
The connection was Andy's transparent joy in using his musical gifts. I mean, the man was doing incredible things with 88 keys and those Cadillac vocal chords! And loving every one of the ninety minutes he was doing it.
I have no idea about Andy Bey's spiritual life. But what happened between us there was definitely a religious experience.
While Andy gave and gave us his musical bliss, his three mates and about 289 of us in the audience just gave it right back to him with about 29% interest. Every critter in that room was performing a part in a cosmic hymn of praise -- gratitude for good gifts being put to use with the most amazing grace.
posted by Jack Buckley at
12:50 PM
Monday, April 04, 2005
The Good Book
The pope died as I was preparing a sermon on the Bible's role in our Presbyterian way of worship.
An interesting coincidence.
For his tradition and mine take sharp turns at just that intersection: where Bible Way meets Worship Boulevard.
Now, all Christians agree that Christ is the center of salvation history. In Jesus we see the fulfillment of the Hebrew scripture's prophetic hopes, and the Christian scriptures unfold his meaning in God's plan for the ages. So the Bible is our common source book for faith and faithful living.
But Catholics and Protestants follow two distinctly different Jewish worship traditions. Catholicism focuses on the Temple's system of prayerful sacrifice and penitence. Protestantism centers on the Synagogue's pattern of scriptural reflection and prayer.
When the Protestant Reformation broke out in 1500s Europe, the Latin liturgy and Bible were displaced by worship and Bible translations in everyday language. Church tradition's supreme authority was dismantled by the give-and-take of thoughtful Bible interpretation among the masses.
The bottom line for faith and faithful living, on Sunday morning and every day in between, is the Bible as God's word. What does it say? What does that mean? What difference does that make in how I think, believe, and behave?
The idea is not so much that you're free to read and understand the Bible for yourself; instead, reading it you sense that the Bible knows and understands you.
Mark Twain supposedly said, "It's not what I don't understand in the Bible that bothers me, but what I do understand!"
And W. C. Fields told someone he was reading the Bible very carefully to see if he could find a loophole.
It's an awesome book. A library, actually, of 66 different books written in about 2000 years by some 40 authors. And its one basic theme catches us by spiritual surprise -- the Good God knows us just the way we are, and loves us enough to help us become all we're meant to be. Jesus embodies the way that actually works.
You probably have dozens of questions, even arguments, at this point. Almost 2000 more years have passed since the Bible's last book was written. How relevant can it be, then, in today's world? What's binding truth, and what's time-bound practical sense?
I know. I know.
Yet I invite you to pick up any Gospel, watch Jesus closely and listen carefully to his words. At some point you'll feel as if your soul is being x-rayed. Known fully as you really are. Loved enough to be moved toward who you're meant to be.
posted by Jack Buckley at
3:37 PM
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