A BLOG by Pastor Ken Rickett

“Behold I make all things new. . . “ 

I find myself intrigued, awed, and appreciative of Rick’s series on a “Hokey Pokey Lent”: so simple, yet so profound! Rick has utilized an imaginative but apt application to Christian life and thought. And after all these 40 plus years as a minister, it never once occurred to me that there were Lenten truths hidden in an old song and dance which several folks enjoyed at wedding receptions that I attended!

During the sermon on “Shake It All About” (March 27th), one became immediately aware that moving deeper into discipleship and following Jesus Christ requires an almost constant “shaking it out, shaking it off, and shaking it up.” And what is “it” that we shake out, shake off, shake up? “It” is our topsy-curvy world, the subtle and not so subtle “oughts” of church life, our changing society, our pundits (who can be both wise and not-so-wise), shifting trends and fads, etc. which so easily control our thoughts and actions every second of every day. Indeed, there is a need to shake it out, shake it off, and shake it up in order to keep trudging toward discipleship under the Lordship of Christ. I couldn’t help but think of the times I have had to “shake it out, shake it off, and shake it up.”

Among my earliest experiences of having this kind of traumatic “shaking” was the day I started school. My community had no kindergarten, so I started the first grade as my first “school” experience. No wonder Moms and grandmas get teary-eyed, and kids cling, scream, and sometimes pitch tantrums. A BIG shaking is taking place. For me, gone were my favorite toys, the comforts of home in the daytime or (for some, daycare routines), the afternoon snack made by Granny, and the myriad of options for both morning and afternoon playtime (ie, backyard swings, playing with the dog, climbing trees, etc.) For my grandmother who reared me, gone were the days of having to keep a watchful eye on me during school days!

Entering school calls for a new kind of discipline, a new kind of awareness, a new role. In order to BECOME a student, this little ol’ first grader (me) on the first days of school has a lot of shaking to do: shaking out old routines, shaking off fears, and separation from family, and shaking up my way of thinking about life over the next 12 or more years. Instead of knowing how a child’s day is going, Moms and Dads have to ASK, “how was your day?” For my grandmother, it was a time of seeing the teacher as an “alma mater”, the other mother. A shake-up indeed!

I graduated from college and went immediately that fall into the seminary. Technically, nothing new. I was still a student, and I was still preparing for a career. With a year to a year and a half left to finish the seminary, Della and I married on a cool but sunny November day, soon to be 50 years ago! What a huge shake-up! Not that there were “problems” but there had to be a profound change in how I saw myself and in how Della saw herself. We both were becoming something new. We were leaving behind the life of a single person and becoming a couple who had to learn to consider each other’s personality, needs, and hopes. O, so easy to become one—except when it wasn’t so easy!

All throughout marriage, we have had to shake it out, shake it off, and shake it up; and that “shaking” does not mean lots of anger and turmoil. Of course, at times, those emotions surface. But we had to–and still do–shake it out by sharing our different perceptions, shake it off by letting some things go for the sake of both of us, and shake it up by trying new behaviors and new habits (sometimes with success cause preacher’s families are the only dysfunctional units around).

To be truthful, in regard to any marriage, growing together as a couple as well as maturing as a couple is a product of “shaking it all about.” Even amid the “settlement and sameness” of a long marriage, the new is always emerging. Grandchildren come along. Sometimes great grandchildren. Sometimes downsizing happens. And always, there comes those times when one loses family members and friends by death or by moving out of town. Medical issues arise, often requiring great adjustments. Finances can shift without warning. The most stable of marriages is never constant but always being shaken all about. The “new” constantly emerges.

When I graduated from the seminary, and took my first pastorate, WOW! What a learning curve! I had moved quickly and suddenly from a student into a new being–that of a career or professional person who answered a call to serve. It was, in a way, being a pastor was a mantle that I was pleased to wear and yet, a mantle that I wore with “fear and trembling.” Talk about being “shaken all about”, that describes my experience as a minister. With skin “as tough as an elephant’s hide”, I had to learn to shake out a lot of my feelings when I heard something as criticism, to shake off the human-ness of people whose words and actions were. . .well, just being people with all the frailties and limitations of human life, and to shake up my self-image when I learned something new about myself from others. Leadership entails “shaking all about” as pastor and congregation shake out new proposals (with both support and concerns), shake off “we’ve never done it this way before”, and shake up visions of ministry and life together as a people of God.

Nothing moves a congregation forward like being “all shaken up” and nothing hinders a congregation like being “all shaken up.” After serving six Disciples of Christ congregations in 40 years, I have gotten used to shaking it all about, never knowing what new thing is coming through the next open door or through the next person I may see. And for any of us, in any career, trade, or job, being “shaken all about” is characteristic of any work experience. When I hear folks at work say, “I’ve been around the block a few times” they are saying, “I have had to shake out, shake off, and shake up more times than I can count.”

Amid the sameness of everyday work, the new is just across the next aisle or with the incoming employee, or the exiting long-term staff, or new policies, or a merger. . . the experience that truly left me all shaken up was retirement. As I reflect on my career, many things that happened were people just being people and family being family. When one’s life has been connected with the church as my life has been, congregations will ebb and flow as they are shaken all about. That’s normal. But I must confess, there are a couple of things that happened in which I would give anything if I could just go back and take a different approach or say something that conveyed the same basic message but worded very differently. Why do I say this? Because there are few other careers than a minister in which the expectations are so varied and the risks of being misunderstood are so high. BUT, by far, the warmth of relationships that I still share with people across all congregations I have served, the many memories of special events and community involvement in each congregation and town in which I have lived, and the joy of seeing faith in Jesus Christ accepted and multiplied are often dancing through my mind. But upon retirement, I had to “shake it about.” I had to shake out my goals for retirement years, shake off the roles (pastoral, etc.) that I once held, and shake up my daily routines! I had to shake out my vision of being a church member rather than a minister, I had to shake off a few health limitations and accept what is, and I had to shake up my world of being “on call” 24/7 and learn to sleep late!

It was in retirement that the “new” came rushing in like a mighty flood. After living a lifetime in parsonages, there was the purchase of my own home, and there was the learning of a new community and a new church at Central. WHEW! Granted, most people will not move to a new community nor buy a new home in retirement. Most people will not have to make new friends in strange places after retirement. Most people will not have to change medical personnel or familiarize themselves with new grocery and drug stores. And yet, for those people, the “new” still comes rushing like a mighty wind–and the streets of town won’t be quite like they used to be, and the hills and fields we once ran and played will not hold the same fascination for us, and the words “I used to…” will be said with the smile of a marvelous memory and not the regret of change. In retirement, the “new” does not always come with loss and regret, but with the joy of seeing a glimpse of the future as we watch the grandchildren play and see the flow of life moving ahead in spite of the changes. Retirement leaves us “shaking it all about!” And with the deepening awareness that “time is short” yet we all delight in the emerging newness of life that will continue as long as time shall last..

Didn’t God say, “Behold, I make all things new.” That should not surprise nor amaze us. Why? Because all our lives we have been “shaking it all about” because that is how the “new” has emerged in our daily lives. God created life with the expectation that a person can grow and mature–not just once in a lifetime, but throughout one’s entire lifetime. And when the golden bells ring and the trumpets blare as we take our place among God’s faithful for all eternity, in a twinkling of an eye, we shall all be made new…into an eternal body. And a God who makes all things new will not allow eternity to become a complacent place. . .but rather, God will continually be leading us into the most profound riches of God’s own Being and Presence.

His Hebrew name was Saul, and his Greek name was Paul.  I’ve been reading his letters in the scripture for as long as I can remember.  My relationship with him is complicated.  I can’t really blame him.  Part of the frustration I have with Saul/Paul is that every letter of his is partial, and fragmented.  We have his answers to questions we don’t have a record of.  He also didn’t write his letters with the intent of writing scripture.  He spoke to specific people at specific times and places, and although the principles behind and through everything he wrote can have application to us…the times are different and so are the problems.  In the end, though, people haven’t changed all that much.

The other day I was reading about the beginning of Paul’s life and his miraculous encounter with Jesus and subsequent change of heart.  I saw something I hadn’t paid attention to before.  His work; seeking out the “People of the Way” within the synagogues, and brutally overseeing their banishment, torture, and even deaths, was all because of his radical beliefs.  He was doing it in the name of God and the Church.

On this day, as I read the story of Paul (at this point called, “Saul”) on the road to Damascus, doing the work of the Church (the heads of the Church commissioned him specifically) when he is blinded by a light, falls to the ground and hears the voice of Jesus,

“Saul, why are you persecuting ME?”

For all the times I have read this story it really never sunk in that Saul/Paul was persecuting those called Christians, according to HIS (Saul’s) reading of the scripture, the belief of HIS (Saul’s) heart AND with the full teaching and authority of the Church, which was persecuting their very reason for existence: JESUS.

So, even today, can the Church and Jesus be at odds? 

Many people in this place and time have left the organized Church.  Ask them why.  The polls clearly show that many leave because they are tired of the dogma, the judgmental attitudes, the outdated liturgy, the over-produced “Broadway-style” presentation called “worship”, OR overly-symbolic, outdated, tradition that has no relevance to them.

However, many of those who have left the Church still feel as though they have become hyper-spiritually sensitive.  It’s not God they’ve left, it’s the Church, because the Church doesn’t seem to represent the God they understand speaking to them.  There is the other camp, those who say they grow weary of “Church-bashing” because after all the Church is the “Body of Christ” and you can’t have Jesus without the Church (the Groom without the Bride).

Personally, and those of you who worship with me know this, I am somewhere in the middle. My “passion” (to use an over-used term) is for the restoration of the Church.  I grieve for the “lost” also but, as Paul himself states, there is NO EXCUSE for not recognizing God where He is.  Most of the “lost” are looking for a Home, a place where they find people who love them, and accept them and their belief. Home should be the Community of Faith, where Jesus sits in the big chair.  There, people who are seeking a home find unconditional love from the community.  When they question why people love them, they are introduced to the Head of the community.  But if the Church doesn’t have it together to begin with, then “the lost” are up a creek called “you-know-what”, without a paddle.

So, once again, can the Church and Jesus be at odds?

Of course it can!  I picture tonsils (yes, tonsils).  Tonsils are placed by God at the gateway to our physical bodies to protect against the onset of viruses and germs.  Sometimes they get so overrun with poison that they not only can’t protect the body they turn against and poison the body, and thus have to be removed.  And so it can be with any group of people who organize themselves according to their like beliefs and preferences and call themselves a “church”.  They, and we, run the risk of turning from the very thing that should guard and protect the way to Restoration, and become the poison itself.

Yes, the Church has always been built of human stones, humanity is imperfect and the scriptures continue to tell us that the Church won’t be perfect until the Day of the Lord and the Age-to-Come. But is THAT an excuse to just let it go?  Far from it!  The world is filled with Believers & Followers doing the wrong thing because they are listening to themselves rather than to Jesus.  They follow their own logic based on a limited idea of God’s plan and behave according to what they believe the right thing is, thus creating God in their image: the big mistake of the Church leaders during the time Jesus walked in our flesh.

As soon as we individually (or the Church, corporately) rely on our own self-will, stubborn reliance on dogma, or reluctance to open our minds to the “living and active” scripture-beyond-the-page, we will fail as the Body of Jesus the King.  It is faithful, sincere, humbling, and desperate, adherence to the heartbeat, voice, and hand of Jesus that brings us to the purity that is His own community of faith.

The Church’s own Road to Damascus will happen when a congregation treats the scripture like a book of charms, treats tradition like Truth, and behaves as if Jesus was their own “metaphysical Santa Claus”, forgetting that He and He alone is the WORD OF GOD.  It will happen when a congregation seeks out the “thing” THEY label as “sin” while overlooking their own transgression against God and miss the very Light of God in EVERY breathing soul.  It will happen when a community of faith believes they are the ONLY community of faith and behave accordingly.

There will be a day, and already has been for many a congregation, when the Light will blind, and the voice will say, “Church, Church, why do you persecute Me?”

Can the Church and Jesus be at odds? 

Yes.

Can the Church be restored by the “Groom”?

Yes, and She will be, either by the choice of true Believers & Followers, or by a crisis. And when the Church blindly puts Jesus behind their own human construct (their religion) a crisis will surely come.  The Good News is, we have the power to make the choice, with the help of the Spirit who leads us into ALL Truth…and, we can avoid being blinded, by simply opening our eyes to the Light.

I was a small boy who could barely read when my mother began instilling in my little brain the idea of memorizing things: phone numbers, addresses, scripture, poems.  She was an advocate of memorizing long passages of prose; speeches and monologues, a passion she got from her mother, the teacher.

Also, my grandmother (who passed before I was born) was, as someone who lived through the wars, convinced the scripture would someday be taken out of the hands of the faithful and should be memorized as much as possible.  She herself could recite at least 4 books of the Bible, in scorching King James English (so mom said.) 

As was often the case, being the child of the “Church script writer”, I was “cast” as the child with the longest (and I’m sure, the most dramatic) monologues and Bible verses to recite.  I was at my hometown church one day when mom and dad were there doing something else, and I decided to go to the sanctuary and see how scary it was to stand up on the platform and deliver to the rows of empty, blonde wood, pews.  I started the walk up to the front from the back when someone popped their head up from below one of the pews.  It was Mr. R., the father of some of my friends at church, he was fixing something in one of the pews…he smiled and said “Hi”.  He then asked what I was doing and I told him I was going to practice my “monologue”.  He then asked me a question that confused me because I had NEVER heard the term before. 

“Do you know it by heart?” 

It’s funny how some things stick with you.  I couldn’t have been more than 6 or 7 years old and yet, I can see the pews, see his 40-year-old face, hear his voice and see the surprise on his face when learning I had never heard that term before.  He explained that having something memorized was often referred to as, “knowing it by heart.” That could refer to things like what I was learning and delivering…but also to things, truths, that need to be “kept in our heart.” 

“Do you know that your mom and dad love you?”

“Yes.”

“THAT is something you know by heart.”

“Do you know that we all love you?”

“Yes.”

“Keep that in your heart.”

“Do you know that God loves you?”

“Yes.”

“Then, there are the most important things you can know…by heart.” 

Again, if an angel had broken through the walls, stood beside Mr. R. with a flaming sword held high I couldn’t have been more impressed (for more than 50 years or so) with that moment in time…it has stayed with me.

The term comes from the Greeks, who had no separation, in their culture and philosophy, between logic and emotion, considering the organ of the heart to be the seat of knowledge.  To “know something by heart” was to remember in the deepest part of you and COMMIT to remember it.

I recently concluded a performance of a Shakespeare script.  I didn’t have a large role, but it was significant: as a storyteller.  The words and phrases, even in this comic play, were sometimes stunningly beautiful and crafted as only a brilliant writer can do it: using language as a painter uses brushes and oil, and as a sculptor uses chisels, hammers, and polishing cloths.  Although these words are difficult for a 63-year-old mind to remember…I was, and am, DRIVEN to remember them because they contain “truth”…and I want to commit them “to heart.”

What do YOU commit to heart?  

Jesus is constantly reminding us that there are some things we have “memorized by heart” that perhaps we should forget: worry, or past indiscretions He has forgiven, and the times someone else hurt us, as some examples.

We may not WANT to commit those things to our hearts, but we do, and we memorize every hurt and say it, play it, over and over again.  Jesus reminds us that the things we keep in our hearts tell everyone (including Himself) what we truly “treasure”.  (MATTHEW 6:21) 

YET, as humans we are prone to forget the GOOD things, the beautiful things, the true things…and the writer, Paul, reminds us to actually to commit those things to heart (PHILIPPIANS 4:8).  God asks that we remember what He has done for us, so our faith can be strengthened by those things.  Psychologists teach that training the mind to remember good events, strong events, actually will change the way our mind works .People who know by heart all the bad things in their lives, and “play them” over and over again (as a recording) will change…you and I have seen it happen, and we experience those kind of people every day.  But those who remember when God delivered, when God loved, when God provided, also have change in their minds…you and I see a few of them every day as well.

What do YOU commit to heart?

Choose carefully what you learn, what you memorize, and what you know by heart.  It will change you…change isn’t bad, change is life.  But HOW you change is up to you.

“Go to your bosom; knock there and ask your heart what it doth know.” SHAKESPEARE

“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”  ROMANS 12:2

MATTHEW18: 22- 35 (about forgiveness)
Jesus said, “I say not unto thee, until seven times; but until seventy times seven, therefore, the kingdom of heaven is likened unto a certain king who would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one servant was brought to him who owed him 10,000 talents. But he could not pay, and his lord recommended him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
The servant therefore fell down and worshiped him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and released him, and forgave the debt.
But that same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him a hundred pence, and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, ‘pay me what you owe me.’
And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and begged him, saying, ‘have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not; but went and cast him into prison until the debt was paid. So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry and told their lord all that was done.
Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, ‘O, you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt, because you desired me (to do so), Shouldn’t you also have had compassion on your fellow servant, even as I had pity on you?’
And his lord was wroth (angry), and delivered him to the tormentors until he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise, shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if you from your hearts forgive not every one of his brothers their trespasses.

It is the time of the year for separating out a huge pile (or stacks upon stacks?) of receipts and filing taxes by using accounting practices that match the requirements of both federal and state laws. Then all the forms must be filled out, or, if you are like me, a CPA really saves a few headaches and worries.

Financial accounting practices are called upon, not only at tax time, but in budgeting and spending income so that both groceries and the mortgage gets paid, not to mention insurances and medical bills. Such accounting is a huge part of life. To be sure, sometimes the IRS forgives a huge debt to those who have fallen upon hard times. To forgive a debt is to erase it as if it never existed.

The New Testament has several parables and stories about financial accounting practices. In one story, a king forgives a man of a debt that he could never repay “if he lived to be 100 years old.” This same man, forgiven of such a great debt, throws another man in jail who only owed a debt easily payable if given enough time. Upon hearing of this travesty, the king ordered the man whom he had forgiven to prison. Yes, this is a financial story, but it is far more: it is a story about good accounting practices. In other words, those who have been forgiven of a great financial debt should be gracious to those who can’t pay a piddling debt on time. Truth be told; the implication of this biblical story goes far beyond the financial transactions or lack thereof; it reaches deep into the human heart with a message about forgiveness that cannot be ignored, namely, each one of us has received a gracious forgiveness that stands in sharp contrast to our stinginess in overlooking the faults of another person.

Good accounting practices go far beyond mere finances. A judge may grant leniency toward a person who has the fortunate letters of recommendation that describe compassionate and generous behavior in the defendant’s past. A judge hears the particulars of the misdemeanor or crime in court, with such commendatory letters from

reputable people a judge can see an accounting of a person’s motivations and influence within a community.

Good accounting practices go far beyond mere finances. The difference between factual data and hearsay/assumptions is based on giving a full accounting of all pertinent information. As a member of a genealogical society, I needed to prove that one of my ancestors lived in that county between 1792 (the county’s establishment) and the 31^st of December, 1800. My ancestor, William Kyle, moved there in 1792 and was named a juror and an overseer of building a road in that county by 1795. I descend from his son Charles Kyle who also had several records in that county. But I had to prove that Charles was the son of William. I could NOT use DNA tests, family genealogy charts, a biographical sketch, etc. I had to have a legal or an acceptable document that actually stated or gave evidence “beyond reasonable doubt” that Charles was the son of William. I had no Bible record, nor a deed in which the son purchased land from the father or the son inherited land from the father, I had no will of William Kyle that mentioned any of his children. That genealogical society certainly demanded good accounting practices. 

What was I to do? I found online the history of Tabernacle Methodist Church established in 1837; the church was located near the old Kyle property. So I read it. Lo and behold, it stated that Charles Kyle had donated three acres of land for the church at the cost of a dollar. It named Charles as one of the nine sons (no daughters) of William Kyle, so I sent that page. I was surprised to find that my application proving that I descended from a first family (William Kyle) was accepted, so I emailed the society, asking them what document made the difference. I was told that I had this church record on the very bottom of all my documentation, and they were about to reject it, when this church history record was finally viewed. Church records are considered primary records! It turns out that several descendants of the Kyles were members of the church and they used data that had been passed down to them. Facts have to be established by good accounting.

Good accounting practices go far beyond mere finances. Rarely in our lifetimes have we witnessed the challenge to factual data because of information and misinformation about covid, vaccinations, prior elections, etc.

What is fact? What is assumed or alleged? Or whether it be local gossip, court trials, family lore, or mind-boggling mysteries, there is always a desire and a need for good accounting practices to establish truth. As for our own day and age, at some point in the future, good accounting practices will allow us to sort out, decipher and interpret what we hear and read so that truth may become the center of life in our community, nation, and world. 

Good accounting practices go far beyond mere finances. In fact, the Bible speaks of each person making a final accounting before God of our life on earth. AH! If the truth be told, none of us could “pass muster” and none of us shall be called “good.”

But a Righteous and Holy God has placed in the hands of the Son, Jesus Christ, the power to be gracious and merciful to those who proclaim faith in Him, the Son of God. Thus, in Him and through Him, we will be forgiven of a debt that we can never repay.

Back to the story of a king who forgave a great debt, but the one forgiven could not forgive a minor debt. What is the real message here? Is it saying something about the nature of forgiveness? Certainly. But perhaps the real point of this parable is this:
In Christ, we have received a GIFT.
Does that GIFT obligate us to Jesus? Certainly.
But more so, that GIFT obligates us to our neighbors. 

But more than anything, that GIFT obligates us to the people to whom we have the power to make their lives miserable or blessed. It takes good accounting practices to handle this power! No matter what role a person finds himself or herself (parent, profession, family life, etc.), there is this power to make life miserable or blessed. Such power belongs to all of us, and each of us probably hold some deep regrets about those times we have made life miserable for someone, whether intentionally or inadvertently, even if it was only a short period of time. It is difficult to keep in mind the times that we have benefited from the graciousness of others and “pay it forward.” You see, good accounting practices demand that, upon reading this parable, that we discover that we think of the ways that we identify with the man who didn’t erase a small debt of a fellow servant. To ignore the power of that man to make life miserable or blessed for his fellow servant is to ignore the power that we ourselves hold.

It is easy to demand financial accountability; not so easy to demand accountability of our powers to make life miserable or blessed.

LENT: the sacred observance in preparation for the Easter Season and Easter Sunday specifically.

LENT, in the early church, was the time that new members prepared themselves for baptism into the membership (on Easter Sunday) through fasting, study and prayer.  It is a traditional time, in most mainline churches and some evangelical circles, for the recognition of our sins and our mortality; to move closer to God and sacrifice our physical wants for our spiritual needs.

I can remember, from early memory, seeing people on Ash Wednesday with ash on their foreheads and thinking (since it was generally just a few people) that they had bumped into something or accidentally gotten something wiped on them.  Kids at school would sometimes be dismissed from lunch and come back (obviously from noon worship services) with ashes on their foreheads, embarrassed and a little reluctant to speak about what happened at noon.

When I moved to Seattle, as a college student, I remember being downtown on Ash Wednesday one year, and seeing a slick-looking businessman carrying his briefcase, off to a meeting somewhere…with a smear of an ashen cross on his forehead.  Somewhere behind him in a crowd was a young mother with two small children, each with an ashen cross.  There was an older Hispanic man and his wife, a Chinese woman, a young black man working as a messenger on a bike, all with the ashen crosses that day.  And I saw, for the first time, the many faces of the children of God, all blessed with HIS cross on their foreheads.  People who didn’t know each other, and if they did, may not get along as we would hope but all of them under God’s care at that moment in time; the cross binding them together.  And as he hung on the cross, dying, Jesus saw them all…and more.

Let’s remember, this Ash Wednesday and each day, that the faces, attitudes, ages, races, orientations, personalities, gifts, needs, and wants, of those who Believe & Follow Jesus, are numerous.  But all BELIEVERS & FOLLOWERS sing together in harmony…not unison.  We sing the same song, but in a variety of parts.  We are many voices in the same choir…with one Director.  We may not see eye-to-eye…but we will be face-to-face with the one who created us all…from dust, covered by the cross that signifies the price paid for our admittance to the feast. 

Let’s at least try, for 40 days (if not more) to treat our fellow BELIEVERS & FOLLOWERS of Jesus, and ALL humans, as fellow members of the same loving family with the same loving Father…if we do nothing else this Lenten Season…that would be enough, and it might change the world.

A BLOG by Pastor Ken Rickett

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image; in the image of God created him; male and female God created them.

Genesis 1:31a
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

Luke 11:42- 43, 46
But woe unto you, Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs and pass over judgment and the love of God; these you ought to have done, and yet not leave the other undone.
Woe unto you Pharisees! For you love the uppermost seats in the synagogue and greetings in the marketplace.”
And he said, “Woe unto you also, you lawyers! For you heap upon men burdens grievous to be borne, and you yourselves will touch their burdens with a single finger! 

Are we human beings who are in search of becoming more spiritual beings? OR, are we spiritual beings on a quest to become fully human as God intended at creation? I must warn you, Reader, that these two questions are not meant to be tricky, but to clarify.

God created human beings “in God’s image”. What does it mean to be created in the image of God? Let’s eliminate what it does NOT mean. To be created in God’s image does NOT mean that we have three characteristics of God:

1) Everlasting Life as a human being,

2) and it does not mean that human beings have a physical likeness or physical image of God, and

3) we are not created with the capacity to live our lives with perfection (without sin).

Centuries after creation, we have the story of the coming of God’s salvation in the Person of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead, through whom human beings, by faith, can join with God and therefore receive these three attributes in eternity that we were NOT given at Creation. It is only after the death of the human being that followers of Jesus Christ may experience a resurrection like Jesus.

Because believers are resurrected, then we share in the Everlasting Life with God, receiving a spiritual body (not physical) in the likeness of God that lives forever, and then we human beings, transformed in resurrection, live throughout eternity without sin. I repeat: while we human beings were not created in a physical likeness of God, through resurrection, human beings are given a new body, eternal in the heavens, in a spiritual likeness of God that will exist forever. And finally, in the Last Supper that the Disciples shared with Jesus, Jesus took the cup and declared that the cup was for forgiveness of sins. Mind you, this was a unique Greek word for forgiveness, namely, that all sinfulness of human beings who, by faith in Jesus Christ and who, share in a resurrection like his, our sin will be removed as if our sin never existed. Therefore, human beings may, through grace, enter Everlasting Life, have an immortal body, and live without being troubled by sinfulness.

The question demands an answer, “what is the image of God that we are given as human beings created by God?” I shall begin with a story. Several years ago, as I was preparing a sermon on the Creation of Humankind, I went to a farmer, a member of the congregation, and asked for a favor, and he said “if possible, I will do it.”

I said, “For my sermon this coming Sunday I need a bucketful of the richest, blackest dirt that you can find on your farm.”

On Saturday, he called me and said “I have your dirt, what do I do with it?”

to which I replied, “I have a small folding table set up in the front of the sanctuary, just bring the bucket of dirt with you to church tomorrow and sit it on that table.”

During the sermon that Sunday, I read the scripture and started the sermon by reading a portion of James Weldon Johnson’s poem where God exclaimed “I’m lonely. I’ll make me a man! And He scooped up the clay.. . . “ Then I went to the bucket of black dirt, took out a double handful and showed the congregation how loose and light that dirt was. Then I reached into the bucket, got a big handful of dirt and squeezed it. Immediately, it formed a ball in the shape of my hand and did not fall apart when I opened my hand. How revealing: even the gaps between my fingers could be clearly seen as ridges in that molded dirt! I asked the congregation to note that fact when I walked around, showing them that molded dirt. I then continued my sermon by saying,

“This black dirt is no ordinary dirt. It is humus, the root word from which we get the name ‘human’ and humus was the dirt God used in the creation of Adam.”

So back to the two questions. Are we human beings in search of becoming more spiritual beings OR are we spiritual beings in search of becoming more fully human?

When God created Adam from humus, God knew that human beings were creatures and they would not have Everlasting Life on earth, they would not be in a physical image of God, and they would not be perfect. BUT human beings would have different gifts and abilities. God did create human beings with the expectation that they would live harmoniously with one another, draw from the gifts and abilities of one another, and honor the sanctity of life for all people. Furthermore, Jesus taught us the actions and mindset that describe a “fully human” person.

In Jesus’ condemnation of the Pharisees and lawyers (who sought to be seen as persons who had searched for and reached a spiritual pinnacle), Jesus told them that they had ignored the love of God for all people and they had refused to touch other people with a single finger! In essence, their drive to be “spiritual” had blinded them to the necessity of loving and helping other human beings. Jesus also taught us to turn the other cheek in confrontation, to be a friend to the stranger, to restore those overtaken in a fault, to respect the bodies of each other as a “temple of God”, to seek the wholeness (healing) of one another, to live in hope (rather than despair), and above all, to become “fully human” is to recognize that all other people are human beings in need of love and encouragement and support.

Jesus never taught that becoming fully human was “perfection,” but rather he argued for living as fully as possible with the best attributes or characteristics of human life for which God had created us. Indeed, we would not be in the image of God perfectly, but if there was any truth and virtue, we were to think AND act on them.

The problem for us today, theologically, is the history of the Church in which, by the Medieval Ages, placed great emphasis upon the imperfections of sinfulness in human beings who were considered without worth and merit except by salvation. Therefore, human beings were in constant search of spirituality, and only by “finding” this spirituality in God through salvation could human beings have value. Unfortunately, this predominant view never answered this question, “why would God create human beings ‘in the Image of God’ if there was nothing spiritual placed within us at Creation?” There is, within all of humanity, an image of God; the Scriptures declare it!

What is that Image of God which we all share?

We must recognize that even the worst among us have done that occasional good deed. Abraham Lincoln once said, “There is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us that it behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us!” What if the Image of God within us is an ability to love one another as ourselves, a desire to engage in a quest to live harmoniously, and a willingness to live in community by seeking the well-being and common good of all? Is this the very description of the Image of God within us, the description of becoming “more fully human but not perfect?” 

Yes. I find it difficult to describe the image of God within us in any other manner. We who are parents know that young children are taught to move from selfishness toward community. We teach them to share, to respect persons regardless of differences, to understand that items belonging to others may not be taken without permission, etc. Children yearn for inclusion, for acceptance, for affirmation of their uniqueness, etc. I want to suggest that it is parental guidance (and that of teachers, grandparents and family, neighbors, etc.) to bring forth the best that already lies within every human being. Is the “best that lies within” also the Image of God with which we are created? This can certainly be interpreted as the Image of God.

Historically the Church has described salvation as “saved from sin” and I have no quarrel with that concept. But I want to ask, “what are we saved FOR?” Obviously, we are saved for the mission that Jesus has sent us, namely, to love one another to the point that we feed the hungry, uplift the fallen, seek peace, and live harmoniously with one another in the Church and in the world. The very mission of the Church is to invite the Image of God within us to flourish. When the Image of God is allowed to flourish, we move toward becoming more fully human in the sense that God created us with the capacity as human beings to find joy and enrichment in living together, loving others as we love ourselves.

What if the role of Jesus Christ who intercedes for us and grants us eternal life is declaring before God that we have indeed honored the image of God within us, however imperfect that our lives may be? Indeed, our purpose as believers in Christ, is to bring the Kingdom of God to fulfillment on earth which, in other words, is to discover and expand the Image of God that lies within all of us. Jesus, who intercedes for us, also grants us the three things that would make the creature “like God”; namely, to live forever and become Righteous (without sin). So, yes, if God created us in His Image, then we are spiritual beings in search of becoming more fully human. There is absolutely no way that God intended for human beings to live unto self; God meant for humans to strive together for the common good of all; this is the Image of God within us. And by faith in Jesus Christ, we can live more fully human lives through which the Resurrected Jesus, then, will intercede for us and bestow upon us Everlasting Life, a new body that lives forever, and Righteousness (sinless).

As a minister I worked with people caught up in all kinds of chaos and pain and anguish, I (Ken) have wondered if the “achilles heel” of the Church as we know it today lies in its inability to understand “creature-ness”, that is, human beings, as creatures with the Image of God, are not made to be “God” with all powers and characteristics of God.

St. Francis of Assisi wrote around the year 1225 these words:
“All creatures of our God and King Lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia!” He dared to call us “creatures!” And we creatures sing “Alleluia” because we have the Image of God within us that seeks to worship and praise God.

So, are we human beings on a quest to develop spirituality in our lives or are we imperfect spiritual beings on a journey to become more fully human? I submit to you that this question reveals both sides of the same coin, namely, that a Christian life includes both the quest for a deeper spirituality AND a journey to become more fully human, yet never attaining perfection as human beings. We seek to develop a deeper spirituality because the Image of God within us is always reaching toward growth in the Christian life, AND we seek to become more fully human for the basic reason that we shrink in horror at the inhumanity that fills our airwaves, newscasts, social media, and sometimes our own eyes.

Early in my ministry I served a church for several years. In that town, each September, was a town festival, and a carnival came and provided all kinds of rides and events; arriving on Tuesday, setting up, and Wednesday through Saturday night, the carnival was crowded with people of all ages. The owners were an older couple, and he was a few years older than his wife. While in our town, he became suddenly ill, hospitalized, but he did not survive. Because the carnival had iron-clad contracts, they needed to move on, so it was imperative that they have a funeral before they left town and forwarded the body to the family cemetery in Florida. I met with the wife on Saturday morning and learned that they were Christians and seldom had a chance to worship as they were on the road most of the year. So, through the wee hours of Sunday morning, the carnival “broke down” and loaded up, ready to roll. At 9 AM, at the funeral home, I conducted a service before the worship service at my church at 10 AM. I stood up and looked across the sea of faces who made their living working with the carnival. Can you imagine that scene? Tattoos. Dyed hair. Unique clothing. Body piercings. Teary eyes. Attentive. Human beings seeking an Image around which they could center their lives. After the service their comments to me were sincere, kind, appreciative AND affirming that their beloved owner had taught them much about what it means to grow as a human being!

To be honest, they were. . . creatures with the Image of God within.
To be honest, they were. . . creatures with a desire to grow as human beings with the capacity to live in community together as they traveled.

Just like me…

…and you.

I’ve learned some things about myself during these past few months, or so: I don’t enjoy being an adult, a middle-aged man with “more-than-middle-aged” insides.  I really just want to wrap up, watch TV and have someone else take care of all the issues.

Of course, I’m overstating (surprised?)and the cold is sometimes more of an adventure than anything else, even kind of fun…sometimes.  However, as a person whose job it is to look for life-lessons and push through to “get to God” in the center of things…I’ve observed some other lessons during the cold, cold months so far.

When the world is cold, your world gets smaller. Personally, I’m not prone to get “cabin fever”, I don’t just enjoy, but actually relish time spent in my house.  But after a few days, even I notice that being cooped up in a confined space actually starts working on my body.  I don’t stretch as much, I don’t move as much, my “world” is limited to ME and MY SPACE. Even with the internet, television and wi-fi…enough is enough.  I crunch up, I don’t spread out.  I walk, I don’t run.  I hibernate.  I “cocoon”.

I know that this kind of world is what many feel like ALL THE TIME.  When the outside world gets “colder”, their world gets “smaller”.  It’s happened to me, and it may have happened to you.  Something in the world is unexpected, rude, and hurtful, when the world is “cold.”

So what is one’s natural response?  I know that I crawl into a space that is my own: steady, friendly and safe.  The outside world becomes something that can observe without having to experience it.  However, slowly my “body/mind/soul” become cramped, atrophied, and begin to take the shape of someone who has never run, stretched, fought or soared!

The scripture has the wise concept of, “IN the world, but not OF the world”, this isn’t a specific verse, but a concept from John 15:19.  It is an accurate concept, when looking at ALL of the other teachings of Jesus (who pushed us to live our love for HIM by loving each other,  being invested in each other and even those who are against us).  This requires being IN the world, and not sequestered IN ourselves.

I also find that when I stay too long in my own world, the rest of the world gets defined by my own “quarantined” life. And wow, doesn’t that define everyone who is “narrow-minded”, “entitled” and “judgmental”?  And I ask myself, how do people acquire those above-mentioned attributes?  I think that I’ve glimpsed a part of the reason.  When one separates oneself from the world, the good AND the bad of it, then one starts to define the “rightness” of the world according to their own self-controlled (and not God-controlled) environment.  Just like someone who has, for most of their lives, lived alone and likes to do things a certain way, have knick-knacks arranged in a certain order, and who is uncomfortable with “change”…anyone who separates themselves, from those who are NOT like them, will find a world not defined by God the Creator, but by themselves and their narrow confines.

“Cabin Fever” is an accurate term, I believe, to define those who “wait alone” for a better day… they “wait FOR the Lord”, but they don’t “wait ON the Lord” (as in “service to”) which is done by loving God through loving people (even to and including the “least”).  Those who choose to be separated from people, through fear OR comfort, and just observe the chaos from within their controlled environment find their world isn’t the real world.

I believe that “cloistering” isn’t a bad thing in moderation.  Everyone needs time to themselves, to listen to their own hearts and minds…because the more we honestly learn about ourselves, the more we learn about God.  But, like everything, too much of that skews the reality of God and what the world is.

Don’t let the “cold world” (no matter the actual temperature) scare you into hiding.  The world can be cruel, even in the midst of warmth and beauty.  And we, as lovers of God, are sometimes (often) more quick to be offended by Godlessness than we should be.  Godlessness and chaos should not surprise us, instead we are here to present the other side while treating even the Godless like the child that God sees when He looks at them. 

Stay warm, pray for the Spring to come, and be IN the world…so that the world might be changed by God in you.  

A few years ago I traveled back to my hometown in The Tri-Cities, Washington to bury my father’s ashes.  I wasn’t feeling like my best self.  Suddenly, with my Mom gone as well, and being an only child, I felt like the “last survivor.”  I questioned my life, my worth, my “self” – I was depressed.

While there, I got to visit my former High School, thanks to some gracious teachers, I got a tour; walking around familiar halls and passages, remembering things I had long forgotten.  It was a new school when I attended, it didn’t look so new now.

I walked around feeling old, which didn’t help with the current opinion of myself at the time, getting a little more depressed with each corner, looking at the children who wandered the halls and wondering if I ever looked that young.

I turned into the familiar MUSIC BUILDING and walked into a new hall that led to the familiar CHORUS ROOM, where I spent many hours.  A girl I assumed was a student, was looking at a painting on the large wall.  I turned also to look and to my amazement, it was a song I wrote, “SCARLET & GOLD”.  

Because the school had been new when I attended, there were some things the building and school didn’t have when we started attending.  Each graduating class would “gift” something back to the school – and at that time, the gifts were things not included in the original building budget.  My class, the class of ’76 gave an electronic scoreboard for the gym.  The next class commissioned me, already a songwriter, for an ALMA MATER, which the school didn’t have yet.  There on the wall was my song.

I started feeling a little better about myself as I looked at the wall painting of my lyrics and melody.

The girl turned to me and said (since she saw I was a visitor)

“This is our ALMA MATER.”
“Thanks, yes, I saw that,” I replied, “but there’s a mistake in that part of the lyric.” I said as I pointed down to the lower part of the painting where the error was.
“Really?” she asked (with a look that said, “Who do YOU think you are?”) “How do YOU know?”
I said, indicating the name on my VISITOR BADGE and my name on the wall,

“I wrote it.”

Her expression was what I would have if I had suddenly run into Abraham Lincoln; pleasantly shocked, but mostly because I thought he had been dead for quite some time.

Then she whispered reverentially, “Really?”
“Sure enough.” I said.
“Well I suppose you ought to know.  Wow, we sing this all the time and would’ve never thought I would have met, or talked to, the writer!  That makes a lot of difference; knowing the writer and not just the song.”  

Then, she said, “I’m still not sure that’s a mistake.” Pointing to the lyric we were looking at.  She then smiled, gave a little wave, and books in arms, moved on.

What?!

She was standing beside the writer, who pointed out the lyric and the mistake…THE WRITER, ME…who remembers hand-writing the song, who has sung the song, who KNOWS (if anyone would) what is wrong and what is right with the song.  I wasn’t at all angry, just stunned.  At that moment, she felt her OPINION carried the same weight as the “TRUTH”. 

I’ve told this story before, in a BLOG, but the last time I told it I left out her final comment because it wasn’t part of the lesson…however, recently this memory has returned to me WITH her “last line”.  I’m seeing, and reading, SO MANY people who also believe their OPINIONS (non-credentialed) carry as much weight as easily verified facts and truth.  

It’s like saying, “Since I disagree with this it must not be true.”

I suppose this is where our current time and place has gotten to…but God has been dealing with this for all time.  I thank Him for HIS patience and mercy.

A recent conversation with yet another person voicing a “non-credentialed” opinion about a “credentialed truth” made the frustration-futile-anger level in me to rise…and then I heard the quiet, calm, voice of the Spirit.

The Spirit of Jesus took me back to the very beginning of today’s story – the part where my OPINION of myself was low.  That whole time, when I was low, THE SPIRIT was trying to break through.  In every corner of that trip the SPIRIT was showing me how loved I was by my parents, friends, family, and community – showing me that my life mattered…I, of course, didn’t want to listen…my opinion of myself was standing in the front. 

Then THE SPIRIT said, “My TRUTH carries more weight than YOUR OPINION…especially when it comes to your view of yourself.” 

I find when it comes to self-knowledge, self-identity, and self-esteem, humans sabotage their lives.  We forget that GOD creates by “fiat” – He speaks it, and it is made. He speaks and IT IS so.  He speaks and when He says, “You are MY child.  You are loved.  You are worth dying for.  You are the greatest creation I have made.”  those words aren’t His opinions, they are fact.  They are truth.  And our OPINIONS do not carry the same weight against His facts, and His TRUTH.

It’s not an easy lesson to learn, especially during these times, we are tested every moment of every day.  But if no one says it to you today…listen to the SPIRIT of TRUTH:

You are God’s child.
You are loved.
You are worth dying for.
You are the greatest creation He has made.”

…and, thank God, your non-credentialed opinion doesn’t have the weight to stand against HIS Truth.

Several years ago, a good friend of mine accepted a Music Director’s position at a church in Punxsutawney, PA (yes, THAT Punxsutawney – home of “Phil the Groundhog”).  He asked me to come up one autumn weekend and lead a choral workshop, as his choir prepared for the upcoming church year. I had been to Pennsylvania before and so was looking forward to seeing its beauty in the fall – and it didn’t disappoint.

The weekend was filled with laughter, music, singing, and much, much eating (those people know how to cook!).  One morning, after our session and before our evening event, my friend asked if I’d like to meet “Punxsutawney Phil”.  What? See face-to-face the most famous groundhog in the U.S., and perhaps the world?!  Of course.

Now before we go further, I want to let you know that the town of Punxsutawney doesn’t look like the Punxsutawney in the famous (and favorite) film, “GROUNDHOGS DAY”.  That film was shot in: Woodstock, Illinois, Carey, Illinois, and Hollywood, CA.  The truth is, the actual Punxsutawney is a little isolated and not quite filled with the “character” which was needed for the film. In the real Punxsutawney, “Gobblers Knob” (where Phil is taken to see or not see his shadow) is a field out in the middle of nowhere (as opposed to the Town Square in the film) and when not performing his duties, Phil lives in the town library.

We went to the library to see Phil.  Phil lived in luxury in a large pen with a picture window looking out (and so that humans could look in, when the library was closed).  He shared this beautiful home with his wife, Philomena, and he was, quite possibly, the largest, slowest, groundhog I had ever seen.

Born in captivity (and descended from former “Phils”) he had known nothing of the outside world, he had been generously fed things that tasted good but weren’t necessarily nutritious: the children of the town were given marshmallows to feed him, and his wife, when visiting. And he had very little exercise.  Not surprisingly, he had to be kept inside because he wouldn’t have survived in the outside world…which was, ironically, his natural habitat. 

As my friend and I observed this “lumbering king-sized pillow of fur” slowly make his way through a human-made habitat of water, foliage, and concrete rocks, my buddy turned to me and said something very significant: “It reminds you of some Christians, doesn’t it?” 

Knows nothing of the outside world.

Generously fed things that taste good
but aren’t necessarily nutritious.

Very little exercise. 

When it comes to “the world” Jesus reminds us that we (as newly created in Him) we are “not formed from the world/or OF the world” (JOHN 17:14-16) but that we have connection to the world by loving our neighbors as ourselves (MARK 12:31), which infers that we actually know them.  We provide what is needed and by BEING AWARE of what is needed in the world.  Each time Jesus’ disciples, or the leaders of the church, tried to get Jesus to speak about the age-to-come, He brought them right back to the age in which they live, and the people that surrounded them, telling them they should concentrate on the “here and now”. 

Some people see the community of faith, in whatever form their “church” exists (traditional, contemporary, house-church, etc.) as a place where “they are fed”.  In fact, we hear that phrase all the time.  You and I also hear from people who have left their communities of faith because they are “being fed” things that don’t taste good to them…they want “good-tasting food” (sometimes marshmallows). At times that “good-tasting” food they crave is a lie, and if one has marshmallows as a steady diet, then salad isn’t going to taste so good to them, even though that’s what they need. So there are also times when THE TRUTH doesn’t taste so good to them, and they deem it ”bad”.  Sometimes people WANT to hear/digest only what they agree with, whether it is the Truth or not.  Sometimes people just want to relax in the oasis of love and good teaching/food – be fed and “fat and happy” in their Church.

But the entire POINT of “feeding” (teaching from the scripture and the Spirit) is like that of the human body.  Food that comes into our bodies is there to work with the oxygen which also comes into our bodies (like the breath of The Spirit in our communities of faith) so that we can MOVE, so that we can SHARE, so that we can EXERCISE our faith with the work that brings joy: lifting the fallen, speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves, a cup of water for the thirsty, clothes, visits, hugs…love-in-action to those Jesus has placed in our paths. 

Like Punxsutawney Phil, some Christians aren’t able to function outside their communities of faith. But be reminded: The Church’s role is not to sequester and hide people away from the world but to prepare, and yes FEED, them to be IN the world.  We should be knowledgeable about the needs of the world, connected to those around us, and help people to see the differences of a life “conformed to this time & place” and a life “transformed by Jesus” (ROMANS 12:2).

The point of reading scripture, of listening to the voice of God through the Spirit, and of continuous prayer is NOT so that we get overweight with the “good food”, but so that our “food”, combined with the breath of the Spirit, will give us a strength we don’t have on our own…to live the glorious life of service to others, love to others, that Jesus wants us to live…so that we will be happy, it’s what we were created to be. 

The ”Phil” I saw passed on, and another took his place.  He just passed, his heart, surrounded by fat, just stopped.  He never knew the joy of his natural habitat, the joy of providing for himself and those he loved…he lived in a “church” that separated him from the “Phil” he was created to be.

That should be a lesson to us all: is the meaning of our lives simply to be aware of our own shadows, or is it to “live” as Jesus created us to live?

Years ago, I played percussion in my local Symphony Orchestra.  I thought about that the other day while searching for some music.  As I was looking for something else, I came upon an old “percussion” part that was tucked into something else.  A flood of memories came as I looked on it, saw my teen-aged pencil marks and notes – and I suddenly remembered what it was like to participate in a large orchestra – standing in the back, soaking in the music and counting, counting, counting.

I don’t know if you have ever seen an orchestral “part” before, but the magic in it is that it is a PART and not the SCORE.  In other words, there is one line, and (especially in the case of a percussionist) many, many measures one doesn’t play, but those measures need to be accounted for, so that you know when to come in and play your part.  For the percussionist, it’s not unusual to have hundreds of measures to count before possibly playing just one tap of a drum or roll of timpani.  Then it’s back to counting until the next part.

Many times, no one person in the orchestra (except for the conductor of course, God willing) knows what the piece sounds like; they only have their part to see and until EVERYONE plays together, it may not make too much sense.  In that case, it’s up to the player to concentrate, count, and watch the conductor for the cue to come in at the right time and place.

One player may have several “roles” to play within one piece.  Sometimes the player is the “oomp” part of the “oomp-pah-pah”.  Sometimes they are the “pah-pah” part of the “oomp-pah-pah“.  Other times a player, by themselves or in a section with others playing their same part, may be harmony, sometimes counter-melody and sometimes MELODY.  Depending on what the composer wrote, everyone has a “part” to play to make sure that the listener’s ears are intrigued.  Every-once-in-a-while the player gets a SOLO; playing the main phrase or melody alone amongst the other players.  At that point, the conductor will look directly at the player and give a direction that says, “Play out, so that all can hear you.”  It doesn’t happen often for any one player (unless you’re a woodwind) but it happens enough that you need to be ready when it does. 

What if everyone played believing that every line they played was their own personal SOLO?  What if everyone played believing that they always had the harmony and should stay in the background.  What if no one believed their part was important enough to even come in at the right time and therefore didn’t count OR watch the conductor.  Well, one thing I know for sure, that orchestra wouldn’t have an audience for much longer.

In a symphony orchestra, as in The Kingdom of God, every part is very important TO THE WHOLE.  The composer has written something with a specific task in mind, the conductor takes that and coordinates with all the players so that the audience gets a sense of the journey.  Although many times the conductor may see or hear other possibilities in the song and change the tempo a bit, or the balance, it is only to enhance the piece – sometimes discovering things even the composer themselves didn’t see or hear.  But the task of the player is to know when they are supporting, when they are harmonic, when they are counter-melody and when they are melody…AND WHEN THEY ARE SOLOISTS…and to be prepared for each.

In The Kingdom, there are many who would like to be the soloist ALL THE TIME, without the sense that, like a piece of music, it is important for the world to hear all the player, and the entire piece, not just a part of it, but the whole of it. God calls us (the players) to be ready for anything and everything.  Sometimes we support each other, sometimes we play in unison, sometimes we play the melody…and every-once-in-a-while, it’s our turn to take the solo (I Corinthians 12:14-20).

What happens if an orchestra player doesn’t practice because they don’t believe they’ll ever play a solo?  I’ll tell you what happens, because I’ve seen it happen: The solo part comes and they are not prepared, and that player is swiftly replaced with someone who is prepared.  And so it is with life in The Kingdom (John 15:2).

Jesus asks us to be happy with each other and ourselves.  Doing what we need to do to “play the piece” and communicate it to the “audience”.  We are not always going to be the soloist, we are not always going to be the support, and most of the time we are handed a part that has lots and lots of rests – during which an entire song continues on.  Our part in the song may not be evident until we play our part and then see how it fits.

Trust yourself.  Trust conductor….and trust the “Composer”.