Welcome to Pastor Jack Buckley's weekly blog and podcast.
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Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Truth Theology
Psalm 1; John 17:6-19
When Jesus prays one last prayer for his disciples, he focuses on The Truth above everything else. What truth is that? And how do we know that it's true?
Listen to the GODcast!
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In 1950 the little city of Hot Springs, New Mexico decided to change its name. They were sick and tired of being second-best to the famous resort in Arkansas, to say nothing of standing last in line behind 30 California towns with "hot springs" in their names. So the local citizens voted to become Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico.
They were hoping to cash in on the popularity of a television quiz show by that name, hosted by Ralph Edwards. And the TV folks equally hoped to cash in on the free publicity from any city willing to do such a silly thing. In the end, everybody cashed in as tourism and ratings both skyrocketed.
In 1991 rock diva Madonna shifted the focus a bit (understatement duly noted) with her movie "Truth Or Dare." The black and white documentary followed Madonna and her entourage on one of her national victory tours, zeroing in on a running guessing game they played offstage. Who was telling the awful truth about themselves, and who was faking it with bold-faced lies?
In both cases, the truth was just one part of a bigger game.
It's interesting that when Jesus prayed one last prayer for his disciples he put the emphasis on God's Honest Truth above everything else. In that case, the truth was anything but a game!
He went so far as to say that the truth is the one sure thing that can protect his followers from total destruction in the rough and tumble of real life in the real world.
In 2006 another movie, "The Da Vinci Code," has raised challenging questions about what's really true about Christianity. One great fringe benefit for Christians is that the image of God's "chosen vessel" is familiar once again. Whether you think of the Holy Grail or St. Mary Magdalene, either way it's a vivid picture of a consecrated container for God's grace in the midst of the real world. Into that vessel God pours out goodness and mercy, grace and truth.
That word picture symbolizes every person's call to be a carrier of the Holy Spirit, to serve and represent God's truth in the same way Jesus did. Imagine what a difference we'd make if every morning we recommitted ourselves to be available for God's purposes for just one more day. To trust God to guide and protect us so much that we're willing to let God lead the way throughout our day. To let God tip us a little here and there, pouring out some good blessing with a true word, an honest action, in a gracious spirit.
So, the truth does turn out to have some crucial consequences. I dare you to look diligently for The Truth, and to accept it when you find it. And then to let it do its good work in your heart, in your mind, and in every part of your life.
posted by Jack Buckley at
10:38 AM
Monday, May 22, 2006
Friendship Theology
Psalm 98; John 15:9-17
We baptized twin baby brothers. It was sheer unadulterated joy! Then, during the sermon, other babies present cried, still other babies coughed, and a couple of ambulances screamed past our open doors. The pastor lost his concentration and his place. By God's grace he pulled it together and finished strong. Hallelujah! But you really don't want to hear the recording of all that.
No GODcast this week!
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During the year 1992 the letters FOB took on a whole new meaning.
Having nothing to do with the price of an automobile, they now stood for Friends Of Bill. Supporters of Bill Clinton's campaign for the presidency. Personal friends of the candidate, they gladly contributed their money, whatever influence they could bring to bear, and their advocacy for his proposed policies. Through thick and thin, Bill knew he could count on his Friends!
In time, of course, being an FOB became awkward and fraught with liability. Rumors, innuendos, scandals, the grueling process of impeachment all took their toll. Even so, most of the FOBs stood strong and true to the very end. That's what Friends are for.
It's a tremendous privilege to be the Friend of a Very Important Person. An awesome responsibility, too. Most of us turn out to be their Servants instead.
That was the case with Jesus' disciples. For three years they served under his Master Teacher leadership. They dutifully listening when he spoke. They carefully watched what he did and how he did it. Then they tried their best to score A's on all his lab assignments. Apprentices. Trainees. Servants one and all.
Imagine their overwhelming joy, then, when he told them, "I'm not calling you servants anymore. No, now you are my friends."
FOJs!
Jesus was promoting them to a position of honor and absolute trust. They'd always known implicitly that they could count on him for security, knowledge, and direction. But now he would be counting on them -- for loyalty, dependable support, and readiness to step up when he needed help.
Every single follower of Jesus Christ shares that same position of privileged responsibility. Friends Of Jesus. Wow and o boy!
If you're like me, you tend to pick and choose your friends. People who agree with us. Who think we're smart, funny, nice. Who like our company. Our kind of people.
But in our hearts we know there's more to friendship than that.
For instance...
If you're an FOJ, and I'm an FOJ, then whether we know it or like it we're friends of each other too.
A pastor I know had an epiphany one Sunday during Holy Communion. As elders passed the trays of bread and juice among the congregation, and the organ played familiar hymn tunes, he sat at the Table in silence. This one time he began scanning the faces of his congregation, slowing down enough to really focus on each person.
Among them he saw one person on whose support he could always depend, and he silently prayed, "God loves you!" Continuing on, he noticed a couple he'd wept with in a counseling session not long ago, and repeated his silent prayer. One after another, he silently blessed his church family with God's unconditional love.
Then he stopped at a person who'd more than once let him know the error of his pastoral ways. He swallowed hard -- hurt feelings and pride went down, down, down. Then, staring long and hard, he said it again. "God loves you!"
At last, all the people present were served the bread and the cup. And all were silently blessed by their pastor for being FOJs. And, at last, that minister understood: Every last one of them was his friend, too.
posted by Jack Buckley at
10:32 AM
Monday, May 15, 2006
Vineyard Theology
Psalm 22:25-31; John 15:1-8
Once again Jesus upsets the traditional applecart, this time calling himself God's "True Vine." That metaphor was a centuries-old popular symbol of Israel, God's chosen people among all the nations of the world. What's his point this time?
Listen to the GODcast!
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Our church has a resident wine maker, up and coming in knowledgeable circles for his reds and whites alike.
That's ironic, to say the least, since we continue to serve only pasteurized grape juice for Communion.
Matt Smith was recently written up in the Alameda Journal. I loved the last paragraph:
"'I've seen his confidence level skyrocket, personally and professionally,' [his wife Kathy] said. 'He's so sure of his ability to make good wine, and he really loves the whole process, from pruning to blending. He discovered his passion, which most people aren't fortunate enough to find.'"
And that's exactly what Jesus is talking about when he grabs hold of the "God's Vineyard" image and applies it to himself. He's talking about God's great passion, from pruning to blending the sweet product of his abundant harvest.
For centuries the Jews understood themselves to be God's "vineyard" planted in the midst of all the nations, to give the whole wide world God's gifts of beauty, nourishment, and satisfying pleasure. Like an excellent glass of wine at the world's very best banquet.
Prophet after prophet said so. Jewish coins picked up the metaphor, stamping a lush grape-filled vine on each one. The Temple's holy place was decorated with the image of a fruitful grapevine, and benefactors gladly contributed gold grapes as memorial gifts to decorate that image.
Now Jesus boldly claimed, "I am the true Vine!"
Then he developed the word picture to emphasize that not national or religious identity mattered, but a personal relationship to God through Jesus.
How would that work, you might ask.
Like a vine and its various branches, he says.
Every branch, if it's true to its purpose, will bear a ripe cluster of grapes. To do so, it has to remain firmly connected to the vine. Life juices, the water of life, will then course through the branch and -- voila -- the fruit of the vine!
But if a branch goes dry, somehow losing its vital connection to the vine -- it's cut off and thrown into a bonfire. Jesus builds into his story a stern warning. "Abide in me," he says, "And I will abide in you." Otherwise...
I think of two important applications.
1. Every one of us, if we're serious about Jesus' way with the world, needs to work at staying closely connected to Christ. Refocus daily on his place and meaning in your life. Read a bit of the Bible, say a few sentences of prayer, and set your mind on Christ's real presence as you make your way through each day. (Most of us aren't very mystical, able to pulse effortlessly with the lifeblood of Christ in our hearts. So, we'd better work at it in practical steps.) Otherwise...
2. All of us together, if we each do #1 above, grow more closely connected to each other as we each stay close to Christ. That means we're more available to know, love, trust, and support each other in achieving #1 above.
I think of the genius of the 12 Steps programs. A newcomer to the addiction recovery process is matched up with a sponsor, a veteran who's now available to be your coach. This person has been through essentially everything you're now facing, and has prevailed so far, working the program and achieving day after day of mini-victories. When the going gets rough you can call out for help and know that you will get it!
At the heart of the 12 Steps is an utter realism about life's difficult struggles. And I'm convinced the church vibrates best with spiritual vitality when we know each other well enough to be honest about our struggles. To tell each other the truth. To love and accept each other as we really are. To give and receive the help of fellow strugglers.
For I believe it's when the hard times come that God's great passion for his Vineyard comes most clearly into focus. Like our friend Matt, God loves everything about a healthy, fruitful vine -- "from pruning [discipline in the midst of trouble] to blending [fruitful harvest yielding pleasant wine]."
Imagine that. God's greatest passion turns out to be our best blessing -- a gold-medal vintage of spiritual fruit!
posted by Jack Buckley at
11:04 AM
Monday, May 08, 2006
Shepherd Theology
Psalm 23; John 10:11-18
The most famous and favorite chapter in the whole Bible has to be the 23rd Psalm. God as the Good Shepherd! There's tremendous comfort, hope, and security there. So what was Jesus up to when he took that name for himself?
Listen to the GODcast!
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Once we left Dublin the air grew more and more (how shall we say?) aromatic.
When our rented car rounded a curve in the Irish country highway we understood why. There, spanning the road from shoulder to shoulder, and all bunched up shoulder to shoulder, trudged fifty or more sheep.
Not a care in the world. And not one reason to hurry along. All in the care of their shepherds fore and aft.
And so it was as Joanne and I toured our way through the 40 shades of green that idyllic summer of 1991. Ireland seemed to belong to the sheep.
Driving along one day in the west country we spotted down below a cove with a bit of beach. Sun bunnies that we are, we turned onto a winding lane to find and enjoy that beach. We found ourselves close behind a slow-moving panel truck. Its rear windows were steamed up, and then I noticed why. Several sheep faces were staring me right in the eye.
Now that's what you call VIP service!
The 23rd Psalm calls God Israel's Good Shepherd, who provides much more than a van ride down a bumpy road. Green pastures and still waters. Food and drink, and healing balm in the bargain. Protection from marauding beasts. Rescue from dangerous side tracks. And all of it for time and eternity.
Jesus once dared to declare himself the Good Shepherd, upsetting his religious listeners more than a little bit. Then he compared and contrasted his kind of shepherding with that of a Hired Hand in God's sheepfold.
Think Brokeback Mountain.
Jack and Ennis crossed a line when their confused desire for each other broke out in a torrid love affair out there among the sheep they'd been hired to tend. Instead of posting one or the other up with the flock overnight, they began staying in the tent together down by the river's edge.
That put them across another line. One morning they found up on the hill a bloody half-eaten carcass where a real live sheep had stood at sunset. The hired hands had let their own preoccupations get in the way of taking care of the sheep.
Hired hands come and go, doing their jobs more or less efficiently. But they have no ultimate stake in the security of the sheep.
Not so the shepherd.
Jesus puts it bluntly. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
He'll lay down his body at the entryway to the sheepfold all night long, to keep at bay a hungry wolf or worse. He'll go hungry if necessary, to make sure the sheep are fed and watered. He'll put aside his own safety to go search for a stray, until he finds it and brings it back whole to the fold.
A city boy born and bred, I take this all on faith. What do I know about sheep?
But I'll bet you every cent I've got that the wooly critters in that Irish minivan had nothing on me when it comes to the care of a Good Shepherd. I take that on faith as well. Well-proven faith that has stood the test of a lifetime.
posted by Jack Buckley at
12:09 PM
Monday, May 01, 2006
Easter Faith Meets Real Life
Psalm 4; Luke 24:36-49
We relive the first Easter one more way in this message about Jesus suddenly appearing in the upper room at the end of that long, long day. How many more shocking surprises can the disciples take? How would you have handled it all?
Listen to the GODcast!
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"He showed them his hands and his feet."
I'm so glad Luke included Jesus' feet in the show-and-tell report. Otherwise, it might just be some kind of magic trick going on in that locked room on Easter Sunday night. "Nothing in my hand, nothing up my sleeve. Now you see it, now you don't."
The disciples had to be exhausted. They'd been holed up and freaked out all day long. One after another, their friends came bursting in with weird reports about Jesus being raised from the dead.
Soon after dawn, some women swore they'd seen an angel at the empty tomb... Then Peter and John, scratching their heads, said the tomb was definitely empty, so maybe the women weren't hysterical after all... Then, at the end of the day, two guys came pounding on the door, saying they'd spent time on the road with Jesus until he up and vanished right in front of them!
Even as they talked that one over, wham-o, there stood Jesus in their midst.
You can see why they thought he was a ghost. "No, no," he said. "See my hands and my feet, complete with nail holes. Ghosts don't come with those."
Then, driving home the nail of reality, he asked for something to eat. And ghosts don't do that, either.
I mean, the drill would be something like: Open mouth, insert fillet o' fish, and -- plop on the floor it falls!
But here he downs a slice of mackerel, licks his fingers, and turns "real life" all upside down and inside out.
For, if Jesus really did bounce back from death, then you have to re-examine everything you thought you knew about the way the world works!
If the resurrection happened, then death is no longer the last thing. Life trumps death. For ever. Amen.
And that's what St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15. Because Christ is alive beyond death, complete with a flesh and bone body, then every body is no longer perishable, but imperishable; no longer mortal, but immortal; no longer physical, but now spiritual.
If that sounds something like stepping out of your skin into some ethereal realm of the spirit, listen to what Paul says next.
What happens in resurrection is like what a seed goes through between the day it's planted and harvest time. Down in the ground it goes, dead as a doornail; but inside its dry hard skin already lives what will be a bumper crop of new life.
One thing this all means, to me, is that every person we meet and every thing we do in this life is going to matter for all eternity.
That awesome thought could make your knees knock and your brain go numb, with an overwhelming sense of responsibility. Talk about performance anxiety!
But instead, I find in it the seed of serenity.
For one thing, I don't have to do anything perfectly, or all at once. Every modest effort is a small part of God's never-ending story. Important, vital, to be sure; but just one paragraph or chapter helping to move the plot forward.
So, for example, I can give you my full attention while we sit and talk a while, hearing you out carefully, answering you honestly. This one episode we share is a timely investment in our eternal well-being. Its outcome won't be the end of the world. But it can definitely help the world to end better.
I don't know. Maybe reaching out our hands to each other, sitting at a table together, to share a bit of fish and bread, would be just the way to help it all go down better. From this Easter story, it seems we'd be in the best of company!
posted by Jack Buckley at
4:45 PM
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