The Downfall of John Kreese
“Sweep the leg.”
That scene from The Karate Kid is as iconic of the ‘80s as Darth Vader’s “I am your father” or The Terminator‘s “I’ll be back.” Three simple words that would unravel John Kreese’s life. When Kreese orders Johnny to do this, he’s given up any pretense at being an honorable man. He instantly loses the respect of his prize student and he stands revealed as the villain we all know he is – a man so consumed with winning he would do anything to achieve it. When Johnny hesitates, Kreese sneers at him, “You have a problem with that?” And Johnny, speechless, simply responds, “No, sensei.” Reinforcing his order, Kreese follows up with, “No mercy,” and sends Johnny back onto the mat. Maybe before this moment you could write off Kreese’s mantra as bravado, as something to pump up his students. But there’s no mistaking it now. These aren’t just words. It’s what he lives his life by. To him, you win or you’re a loser. There’s nothing in-between. Even for something as inconsequential as the All-Valley Karate Championship. Because for Kreese, it’s all about pride. In his arrogance, he never imagined young Daniel LaRusso would have been able to make it this far in the tournament, let alone be up two points to none against his prize student in the title match. His whole sense of self-esteem is built on the backs of his students and to see them fail (and to him anything less than the title is failure) is unbearable. And when he does lose, his entire world crumbles around him. He loses his composure, his sense of self, his sanity, his students, and his dojo. All because of pride.
Pride is the anti-God.
C.S. Lewis, the guy who wrote The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, is also famous for being a great Christian theologian and he describes pride as “…the essential vice, the utmost evil… Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”[1] But is that always true? I’m certainly proud of my daughter, Emma. Is that bad? Can you be a proud parent and not be a tool of the devil? Turns out you can. If you have a Bible or a Bible app on your phone would you find the Gospel of Luke, chapter 18 beginning with verse 9. Luke 18:9. According to psychologists, there are two types of pride – hubristic and authentic.[2] As you can imagine, hubristic pride is the type of pride often looked down upon. It’s the kind that got John Kreese into trouble. Whereas authentic pride is the kind parents feel for their children or friends might feel for each other or that you might feel for something you accomplished.
I have to admit I was pretty darn proud of myself when I completed the Disneyland 5K.
Being both flat-footed and overweight, I wasn’t sure if I would make it ahead of the pick-up cart. The pick-up cart is a little tram-like vehicle that goes behind the runners, and if you fall too far off the pace, you’ll get “picked up” and won’t get to complete the race. I walked/ran (but mostly walked) slightly out of fear of seeing the pick-up cart behind me, but not only did I finish, I never saw the cart at all. I felt a swell of pride! Not because I beat anyone. God knows my time was nothing to write home about. But because I set a goal for myself I wasn’t sure I could complete. And that’s the main difference between the two types of pride – hubristic pride is competitive by nature. It requires you to “beat” someone. It means that others have to be “less than” for you to feel accomplished. C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, put it this way, “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others. If everyone else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest.”[3] Hubristic pride is always felt at the cost of someone else. That’s the lesson we see in the Bible as well.
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” – Luke 18:9-14
If you thought humblebragging was a 21st century thing, the Pharisees thought of it first.
This guy comes up to the temple and belittles the tax collector in front of God. He probably doesn’t know him from Adam (or Eve for that matter). But he feels the need to elevate himself by making the other guy look bad. You can almost sense the insincerity of this Pharisee as he gives “thanks” to God. We all know in reality he’s just trying to make himself look good. He’d be better off just bragging. According to a study done by Harvard, humblebragging is the most despised form of bragging because it is so insincere.[4] People would prefer you just come out and tell us how wonderful you are than try to disguise your bragging as false humility or a complaint. But nobody is fooling God. Jesus tells us in this parable, it is the tax collector who receives forgiveness in God’s eyes. Like most of us, God sees through this humblebragging easily and isn’t impressed.
The problem with hubristic pride is it constantly needs to be affirmed.
The braggart isn’t bragging because he is so self-confident. He is bragging because he is looking for affirmation that he is worthy. His “self-confidence” rests only on the belief that other people are not as good as he is. That’s why John Kreese feels so threatened by Mr. Miyagi and his student, because to lose to a Japanese handyman and his incompetent student would crush his sense of self-worth. The foundation for his sense of self rests on being better than other people. The thing is, if that is the basis of your self-worth, you are doomed. Around the corner there is always someone who is faster than you, stronger than you, a better marksman than you. There is always someone better. That’s the nature of being at the top. Eventually, you aren’t any more. Someone once wrote, “greatness is indeed on loan temporarily from the Gods (or God, but that’s not what was written).”[5] But sometimes, when pride is at its worst and we become so desperate to maintain our belief in ourselves, we will do unconscionable things to keep ourselves there. Cheat, lie, steal, even harm others all in the name of pride.
Instead, God wants us to be confident in ourselves without needing others to confirm it.
A person with self-esteem tends to have authentic pride. They are people who are confident enough in themselves and don’t need to be constantly affirmed by the outside world that they are worthy. They already know they are. Genuine self-esteem is linked to “successful social relationships and mental health,” whereas people who feel the need to constantly promote themselves or bring attention to their achievements are linked to “aggression and other antisocial behaviors.”[6]
To some degree, we are all probably a little bit guilty of hubris.
The danger is in letting that become how you define yourself. If you’re sense of self-worth is only based on how others see you, if you feel the need to compare yourself to the Joneses, if you care so much about being “the best” that you lose your moral compass, you are in real danger of letting the evil in this world overwhelm you. Jesus once said, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul (Matthew 16:26)?” This is how evil works in the world today, by making you feel unworthy unless you have more than everyone else, unless you’re more powerful than the next guy, when we are already loved by God who values the person you already are. In The Karate Kid, Daniel asks Mr. Miyagi what kind of belt he has, and Mr. Miyagi answers, “Canvas. J.C. Penny, $3.99. In Okinawa, belt means no need rope to hold up pants!” After laughing for a bit, Mr. Miyagi says, “Daniel, karate here (points to head), karate here (points to heart), karate never here (points to belt). Understand?” Mr. Miyagi is telling Daniel what God is trying to tell us, to know your own self-worth and not let it be defined by the outside world. God loves you for who you are and simply wants you to be the best version of you that you can be.
[1] C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity pg 51 (Kindle version)
[2] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-squeaky-wheel/201407/the-key-difference-between-pride-and-arrogance
[3] Op.Cit., Lewis, p.52
[4] http://time.com/5095144/humblebrag-bragging/
[5] http://thesportjournal.org/article/when-pride-goes-wrong/
[6] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15298860802505053
Fear is the Mind Killer
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
The Bene Gesserit “Litany Against Fear” from the book Dune.
A powerful reminder that fear, as powerful as it can be, isn’t real. Fear can be conquered. Fear is simply a label we put on a feeling we have when our body is warning us about a possible threat. And that’s the key word – “possible.” We can be fearful of things that pose no threat or danger to us at all. But if our minds perceive it as a threat or even a potential threat, we CAN react with fear. We can take a nugget of information and turn it into a snowball of fear that spurs us to do hurtful, irrational, illogical, and sometimes downright stupid things. When I was six years old, my mom told me that laundry detergent could kill you. Technically, she’s right. If I swallowed a box of laundry detergent, and didn’t get help, it could kill me. But there are 20 steps in-between she failed to mention; the result of which had me holding my breath and RUNNING down the detergent aisle every time we went to the grocery store. I’d stand there at the other end, wondering how in the world my mom could so casually walk down this aisle of death! With my little sister Karen no less! I’d be pleading with my mom from the other end to hurry up and get out of there and heaven forbid she should actually BUY a box of death. I’d be holding my breath any time I was near the shopping cart!
Fear is like laundry detergent.
Its purpose isn’t to hurt us, but to help us. Like the cute little guy in the movie Inside Out, Fear is meant to be our body’s warning system. It puts us on high alert to potential danger so we can respond quickly if something turns out to be an actual threat. But if we let fear drive us, if we let fear consume us, it can become a threat. It can change us and alter the way we look at the world. The internment of the Japanese during World War II is a prime example of fear running amok. Despite absolutely no evidence of any actual threat by any person of Japanese ancestry, our government decided to lock up every person (including my parents and grandparents) of Japanese heritage. They forced innocents to move to remote locations in conditions worse than most prisons without any compensation for their loss. And although we were at war against the Germans and the Italians, people with ethnic ties to those countries were not typically rounded up. It was fear that drove that decision. The same thing happened after 9/11 with the Muslim community. Hate crimes against people who looked Arabic (whether they were Muslim or not) skyrocketed. Abuse, violence, and even death just for LOOKING like someone with Arabic heritage. Similar things have happened in the LGBT community, the Mexican community, and pretty much any group you can think of who have been labeled as “different.” In the “Litany Against Fear,” they describe fear as the “mind-killer” and the “little-death that brings total obliteration.” And that rings true on so many levels. Fear erodes at our being. Fear turns us into the worst versions of ourselves. That person who normally would be kind-hearted and caring, can turn into a rabid hate-monger. It’s the “little-death” because it happens without us consciously being aware of it. It’s a “mind-killer” because it erodes logical thought. We don’t suddenly say, “Today I’m going to be a hate-monger.” Fear gnaws away at our character and we develop prejudices and negative attitudes that don’t align with the truth at all. Instead, we develop our own “truth” and convince ourselves that our actions are not prejudiced or hateful but are done for our “protection” or the protection of those around us. But when you peel away the layers of it all, it comes down to fear.
Fear can be overcome.
It does not have to dictate our actions and it does not have to erode away at our character. In this letter to Timothy, Paul is trying to encourage him to boldly proclaim Jesus to the world. I don’t know if Timothy actually has a fear about doing this, but since Paul is in jail at the time, maybe he was trying to bolster Timothy’s spirits? Most of us would feel scared or downhearted if our mentor who we believed in was captured and put in jail. Paul is trying to encourage Timothy to carry on in his absence. After a few pleasantries, this is how Paul begins his letter.
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. – 2 Timothy 1:7-12
We are not a timid people!
At least we weren’t designed that way. God created us to be bold. He created us to be strong, so that we could endure when life was tough. That we would have the strength to hold on to our faith and our beliefs even when the world turned against us. He wanted us to move beyond our fear – our fear of the unknown, our fear of the unexpected, our fear of rejection – and boldly show the world the love of Christ in tangible ways. Not just the people who make us feel comfortable. Jesus said it himself in Luke chapter 6, 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked....”
But how often do we do that?
How often are we willing to step outside our comfort zone to do what’s right? Too often our fears overcome us and make us timid. We don’t do give as generously as we know we should or even could. We don’t speak up when we someone gets bullied or when people are gossiping about them behind their back. We don’t intervene when we see something wrong happening right in front of us and we allow our fear to convince us that it’s too dangerous to get involved or “not our business.” But that is how evil works – through our fear. It erodes our character, diminishes who we are supposed to be, and convinces us that the cowardly, cruel, and mean things to do are the right ones. God did not create us to be a “careful” people. He taught us to be wary of those things that might cloud our judgment or separate us from God, but God did not create us to be “careful.” We are supposed to be a bold people. The true test of a person is not how he or she behaves when things are good, but when things are at their worst. Do we hold onto our beliefs, or do we give in to fear? When we give in to fear, like we did after 9/11 and during World War II and to the LGBTQ community, we give in to the evil that is in the world. If we stand strong in our faith, we honor the Spirit God gave to us and we create a better world.
There are ways to fight fear![1]
According to Dr. Theo Tsaousides, we first have to respect and understand fear. Knowing our reactions are sometimes based on fear and not on reality can help us make better choices when fear enters into our lives. We need to understand where our fear comes from. Some things we fear are instinctive like giant bears and poisonous snakes. Sometimes fear comes from our own past experiences. If you nearly drown in water, you’re probably far more likely to be afraid of swimming than someone who has never gone through that experience. And sometimes we can stir ourselves up by the stereotypes, assumptions, and prejudices that lie beneath the surface of our minds. We start projecting what MIGHT happen and the fear of the possible drives us into making poor decisions. We need to be aware of what Dr. Theo calls “forecasting.” Just because something is possible, doesn’t mean it’s likely to happen, and we have to learn to differentiate between the likely and the unlikely.[2] Fear can be conquered, but if we don’t acknowledge our fear, if we don’t work toward overcoming it, we are likely to keep heading down a destructive path. And that is true not just for our lives, but our community, our society, and our country as well. We cannot let fear rule us. And we can be certain God did not create us that way.
Today, I can walk boldly down the detergent aisle.
I even buy the stuff on my own. That seems to be such a childish thing because it is. But so is being afraid of people because of the color of their skin. Or because they are gay. Or because they eat different foods than you do. Fear isn’t always rational. And for us to be the people God created us to be, we have to recognize our fear and grow beyond it. We cannot allow for fear to dominate our way of thinking. Fear can be a great tool to warn us, to heighten our senses, but it can also be a “mind-killer” and the “little-death that brings total obliteration.” There is nothing wrong with being afraid. The most brave, courageous people in the world are afraid at times like all the rest of us. The difference is they recognize the fear and don’t let it overwhelm them. Stand up to fear. Use it as the tool it was meant to be, but don’t let it use you. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/smashing-the-brainblocks/201512/7-ways-fearless-people-conquer-fear
[2] Dr. Theo actually has “Seven Ways Fearless People Conquer Fear” but we only cover the first few. Definitely encourage you to read the rest. Very insightful article.
The Easy Way Out
We are wired to take the easy way out.
Sad but true. It’s a side effect of our autonomic system that protects us from harm. Think flight or fight responses. We are wired to favor shortcuts over conscious thought.[1] And while that might help us when a baseball is being thrown at our head, it is ironically those same systems which hold onto stereotypes, make assumptions, and are resistant to change. That’s why we feel good when we eat comfort food or wear our favorite shirt or watch The Princess Bride for the 1000th time. The familiar is easy on our brain. It brings us comfort. We don’t have to think so hard. But if we’re not careful, it may also close us off to new opportunities and new experiences that could make our life even better! Take for example Star Trek. I grew up with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. The Original Series (TOS). When they announced they were making a NEW show with NEW characters, I vowed not to watch. How dare they?! Of course it could never be as good as the original. I didn’t watch the entire first season in protest, despite the praise of the press, the critics, and even fellow Star Trek fans (traitors!). But eventually, I decided to give it a chance. And you know what? It was GREAT! I LOVED it! How stupid I felt for not watching it sooner. I missed out on a whole year of amazing episodes (thank God for reruns). But we are resistant to change. Our minds favor comfort, and unless we make a conscious effort to be open to new experiences, we could be missing out on a lot of what the world has to offer.
“Comfort is your enemy.”[2]
When we think of evil in the world today, we often come up with the most horrible images we can think of. Images that rattle our very belief in the world around us. The Holocaust. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Serial killers like Charles Manson. Humanity in its ultimate depravity. But those are the extremes. Those may be the most vibrant and visual instances of evil in the world, but they are also (thankfully) very rare. Instead, we need to remember there is evil is around us every single day and if we aren’t careful, if we aren’t deliberate, we could be willful participants in it. Comfort is one of the ways evil works in and through us. It might seem weird to think of comfort as an agent of evil, but have you ever been so snug under the sheets you just didn’t want to get up? That nice warm feeling of being in just the right spot all cuddled up with your favorite blanket around you? It feels so safe and so happy that you don’t want anything to change. And that’s how the devil sucks you in. He comes to us in our comfort and says, “You don’t want things to change, do you? It’s all nice and cozy exactly how it is. We should make sure it stays that way.” You get lulled into believing that’s true, that it would be the worst thing in the world to change things up, to do something a bit differently. And you end up in the same rut you’ve always been in.
Even when the alternative is BETTER, we often are blinded by our comfort.
That’s what happens to the young man in our passage today. Leading up to this passage, Jesus has been healing and teaching throughout the region. The Pharisees confront him on the topic of divorce and Jesus has to correct the disciples who are shooing away the children from approaching him. Then this rich young man comes up to him and asks him the key to eternal life. And this is what he says.
16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
18 “Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”
20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” – Matthew 19:16-24
The problem for the rich, young man isn’t money.
It’s comfort. When Jesus says it’s hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven, it’s not because being rich is evil or bad. It’s because having wealth makes you comfortable and it’s hard for us to leave a life of comfort. We’re wired to stick with what works. By all accounts, if we can accept his word as truth, the young man is a pretty good guy by our standards. He keeps all the commandments. He honors his parents. He loves his neighbor. Pretty good guy. But then Jesus challenges him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” And the guy walks away sad, because it would mean giving up the life he is used to living. Familiarity breeds comfort and comfort is the enemy of progress.
Why change what works?
That’s the reason people are so fond of the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But if that were the case, we’d still be using horses for transportation. We’d all be fluent in Morse code. Our houses would be near the river so we could do our laundry every day. Most of us would agree life is better now than it was fifty years ago and better still from fifty years before that. Not only do we have modern conveniences like cars and telephones and washing machines, but Black people are no longer 3/5ths of a person, women are allowed to vote, and children are protected from unfair labor practices. Progress not only makes our lives better but our world better, too. To be sure, not everything we label as “progress” is actually progress, and we’re far from perfect, but overall, the world becomes a better place when we step out of our comfort zone and embrace what is possible.
This tendency toward comfort is dangerous for the church, too.
It’s one of the reasons why churches are shrinking and closing. We are unwilling to embrace ideas that take us out of our comfort zone. But as the world changes, we need to change with it. While the mission and the message stay the same, the way we transmit and deliver it should adapt to the world we live in. Imagine if we were literally delivering the message of God by Pony Express while the world is transmitting in 5G. That’s the danger of staying in our comfort zone. But it happens all the time. One of my friends found this out pretty quickly. He was the pastor of a small and at one time thriving church. They now inhabited a building far too big for the size of the congregation. But my friend is a person who has a passion for outreach and always has an eye for opportunities. He loves trying new and innovative ideas to bring people to Christ, but one of his parishioners complained. This person came up to my friend, his pastor, and literally said he didn’t want the church to grow. He liked it the way it was, and any new people would just mess it up. I wish this was an isolated incident, but it isn’t. Ask any pastor and they will have a story like this in their pocket. For me, it happened after giving a message about the possibilities of outreach. This guy came up to me afterward and asked how big I would want the church to grow, and I responded, “I guess as big as God wants it to grow.” And he responded, “I hope it doesn’t grow too big.” And he wasn’t a bad guy. Quite the opposite. A devoted Christian, always thinking of others, willing to give of his time, talent, and gifts. What he was saying in his own way was he was comfortable with the way things were and didn’t want that to change. And while I completely understand not wanting to lose that feeling, I hope we trust enough in God to know the difference between our discomfort and our disobedience and that we would choose the first over the second.
Psychologically and biologically there are many ways to explain this phenomenon.
But the important thing to know is we can overcome it if we choose to. By intention and discernment, we can put aside our tendency toward comfort and do what is best – for ourselves, for our community, and for the Kingdom of God. Intention – to do something with purpose by keeping our minds open to new opportunities; and discernment – to carefully examine our feelings when we resist. Otherwise, we may miss out on opportunities that can make our lives so much better – like watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. God has in store for you amazing opportunities if only we have the bravery to step forward in faith and embrace it. “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).” Dare to live a life of discomfort; to boldly go where no one has gone before!
[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolelipkin/2022/10/25/our-brains-want-to-be-lazy-heres-how-to-win-the-battle/
[2] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-robinson/comfort-hazardous-to-health_b_957788.html
Craig’s Kitchen: Hawaiian Jello Cheesecake
Yummy on many levels!
This (sort of) no-bake dessert is easy to make but it’s multiple layers will give it great flavor and texture in every bite. You’ll be as surprised as I was that it’s so simple, but it does take time as each layer needs time to set in its own way. I call it Hawaiian Jello Cheesecake because the first time I had it I was told it was Hawaiian and the only place I’ve had it are in Hawaiian fast food restaurants. Other than that, I have no idea what its connection is to Hawaii (so if anyone has insight, feel free to share).
Ingredients
Crust:
- 12 tbsp butter (1.5 sticks) softened but not melted
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or macadamia nuts
- 2 tbsp melted butter for buttering the pan (use only what you need)
Filling:
- 1 small (3 oz) package lemon Jello
- 1 cup hot water
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 8oz. package of cream cheese room temperature
- 2 cups heavy cream (1 pint)
Topping:
- 1 large package of Cherry or Strawberry Jello
- 3 cups of hot water
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Coat 9×13 inch pan with melted butter
- Cream together softened butter and brown sugar
- Add flour and nuts; mix together
- Press dough with your hands into your 9×13 inch pan making sure it is evenly spread
- Bake for 10 minutes or until crust is brown; let crust cool
- Dissolve Lemon Jello with 1 cup hot water and mix thoroughly and let cool
- Cream together sugar and softened cream cheese
- Create whipped cream from heavy cream and fold into sugar and cream cheese
- Add Lemon Jello into mixture and fold until well mixed
- Once crust is no longer hot, pour filling on top and place in refrigerator until solid
- Create Jello topping pouring 3 cups hot water onto Cherry / Strawberry Jello; let cool
- Once filling is solid and Cherry Jello is cool, pour Jello on top and refrigerate until solid
- Cut and serve
Director’s Cut
Buttering the pan – Make sure you butter the bottom well. The sides only need to be buttered about a half inch or so since it only needs to help release the crust. It will make it easier to lift out of the pan.
Chopping nuts – You want the nuts big enough so that you get that texture and crunch when you bite into it but now so big that it’s a big surprise on your teeth. I used chopped walnuts pre-packaged and even then broke it up into smaller bits.
Cooling the crust – One trick my wife taught me was to put the crust in the refrigerator to quicken the cooling process. While the crust is cooling don’t be tempted to cool the filling mixture because it needs to set in the shape of the pan.
Whipped cream dispenser – I know not everyone has one of these but it does speed up the process of creating whipped cream (and saves your wrist, arm, and elbow). It worked so well and so quickly. Of course you can always do it the old fashioned way.
I found the original recipe for this online from a very old blog. The author, Cathy, hasn’t written anything since 2011 but the picture she took looked the most like what I was searching for. I was inspired to try it after having it at The Loft in Cypress – one of my favorite Hawaiian plate lunch places. I’ve also had it at different potlucks at churches with Hawaiian roots. Although I found many similar recipes this was still the closest to what I remembered. Thankfully, it was easier to make than I anticipated. I made it for our “Fruit of the Spirit” Bible Study class and it seemed well received so I took the original recipe and clarified some of the steps and hopefully made it easier to make. It does take time in-between steps but not that much actually. And it’s worth the wait.
The Devil Made Me Do It
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was temptedby the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. – Luke 4:1-13
When the devil tempted Jesus, what do you think Jesus saw?
During Halloween, when I was growing up, I’d see other kids dress up like the devil with the red mask and plastic body suit and it would freak me out! I knew it wasn’t real, but still, you have to wonder what kind of kid picks Satan as his costume of choice. Probably someone you want to avoid. Of course, if the devil showed up in person, I don’t think that’s what he would look like. Too obvious. I like the way Aaron described the devil in the film Broadcast News. “What do you think the devil’s going to look like if he’s around? Come on, no one is going to be taken in by a guy with a long, red pointy tail… He will be attractive. He’ll be nice and helpful. He’ll get a job where he’ll influence a great, God-fearing nation. He’ll never do an evil thing, he’ll never deliberately hurt a living thing. He’ll just bit by little bit lower our standards where they’re important. Just a tiny little bit. Just coax along. Flash over substance. Just a tiny little bit…and he’ll get all the great women.” So, what do you think Jesus saw in the desert during those forty days?
Would it surprise you to know the devil is never described in the Bible?
At least not in a physical sense. There’s no mention anywhere of what Satan looks like in any of the times he pops up. But I think that’s on purpose. Because evil can take many different forms. Like a chocolate chip cookie. Certainly, THAT’S evil. At least to my stomach. But seriously, evil can appear in many ways – temptation, gossip, slander, abuse. Sure, a guy with red skin, horns and a tail might be scary, but scary and evil are two different things. It would make more sense if the devil were just as Aaron described, someone attractive and charismatic who would catch you off guard and compromise your morals.
And does the devil even exist?
Some believe the devil is a physical being. Some believe the devil is a spiritual being. And some believe the devil is the personification of evil in the world. There are a ton of references in the Bible to evil but surprisingly very few specifically about Satan or the devil or any of the other names we’ve come to associate with him. And none of them actually tell us if these different incarnations of evil are the same. But maybe that doesn’t matter. No matter what form you believe the devil takes, we can all agree evil exists and we are called to resist and fight it wherever it crops up. When Jesus was tempted in the desert by the devil, he was challenged in many ways – and none of them by what we would probably think of as “evil.” The devil didn’t torture Jesus. He didn’t attack him. He simply tempted him with rational arguments and promises of an easier life. That is the real trick of the devil – not to come at us directly, but to tempt us in our weakest areas.
Sometimes I think it’s better if we don’t believe in the devil.
At least not as some sort of physical being like we read about in this passage. Not that he does or doesn’t exist. Not that he might be a physical or spiritual being. But for us to stand up to evil in the world, we are better off not believing there is one being orchestrating all of it. Because when we believe in the devil, it becomes too easy for us to relinquish any personal responsibility for the horrors we either allow to happen or don’t do anything to prevent. It is so easy for us to say “the devil made me do it” when (let’s face it) you did it. Or I did it. Or someone else did it. The devil didn’t make you do it. In fact, the devil doesn’t hold any power over any of us. The only way the devil succeeds in his schemes is because we give him the power to do so – either by our actions or inactions. We can justify it any way we want, but it amounts to the same thing – we are complicit in the evil around us.
Humanity loves to avoid responsibility.
Just turn on the news any day of the week and you can watch the circus of blame as people keep pointing fingers at one another. Whether the issue is healthcare, homelessness, or racism, everyone is blaming someone, but no one is getting anything done. It’s like that poem about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done (insert your favorite cause here) and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
Every time there’s a mass shooting, I think of this story.
“Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.” The number of mass shootings since the pandemic has remained extremely high. Last year was the lowest in five years and there were still over 500 events in America alone.[1] A study done in 2023 shows Americans in are in favor of still stricter gun control laws (58% although some as high as 64%) even after the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act which enacted significant gun control legislation for the first time in three decades.[2] And while there is disagreement about how it should get done, there are a couple of issues where there is wide agreement – banning gun sales to those with mental illness and raising the minimum age to 21.[3] And nearly two-thirds of all Americans are in favor of banning high-capacity magazines (66%) and assault-style weapons (64%).[4] Yet it took three decades to pass something meaningful because Congress was afraid. Afraid of the NRA. Afraid of losing power. Afraid of losing funding. Fear has held them back from doing the right thing for thirty years, and even then we did not have the courage to do more when Americans were crying out for more. The words of Jesus echo loudly in my ears, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? (Matthew 16:26)”
Is that the devil’s fault?
Did the devil make them water down legislation that could have done more? Or is evil as simple as good men doing nothing? John Stuart Mill said it in 1867, “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.”[5] We have to be better. We have to do better. For evil to thrive in the world doesn’t have to be the machinations of some evil being manipulating the world from behind. For evil to thrive is simply good men looking on and doing nothing. We all get caught in situations where it would be easier, simpler, less problematic, less hassle, and less headache for us to do nothing. We’ve all been there when we would rather call in sick, skip church, relax and watch a football game. Challenge yourself the next time you are tempted to sit idly by when you could or should do something, to do it. When you think about the injustice in the world, just remember, we can do something about it. The devil only has power over us when we allow it. The devil’s greatest power is in the willfulness of humankind sitting idly by when we could be doing something to stop the evil in the world.
[1] https://www.cnn.com/us/mass-shootings-fast-facts/index.html (A mass shooting is defined as a gun incident where 4 or more people are either injured or killed as a result of the use of a firearm)
[2] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/24/key-facts-about-americans-and-guns/ and https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/26/politics/cnn-poll-gun-laws/index.html ; Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipartisan_Safer_Communities_Act
[3] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/24/key-facts-about-americans-and-guns/
[4] Ibid.
[5] https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/top-10-misattributed-quotations-a7910361.html
Writing With Ink
Betty Nesmith Graham made her fortune because of me.
At least in part. Betty is the mother of Michael Nesmith from the hit 1960’s band The Monkees. But she is probably more well known, if not by name then by her invention – Liquid Paper. Betty worked as an executive secretary and wanted to find a way to more easily fix her typos. At the time, computers were a thing of science-fiction instead of real life and typewriters didn’t have a good way erasing her mistakes. Being an artist, she took the lessons learned from her artistry and applied them to her work. She was quoted as saying, “…an artist never corrects by erasing, but always paints over the error.”[1] She applied that to her work by creating her own paint solution and thus Liquid Paper was born! I still remember the first time at school I was asked to write with a pen. It was exciting! And a bit nerve-wracking. Not being able to erase my mistakes bothered me. If I made a mistake, I wasn’t the kind to just keep going. I would stop. Erase it as best as I could (sometimes ripping the paper I was trying so hard). And make the correction. But with a pen, that wasn’t possible. Until Liquid Paper. What a Godsend that was! Make a mistake? No problem. Just “white it out.” Sure, you’d have to wait a few seconds, but it looked so clean and neat afterward. I can’t remember when it happened, but one of my teachers (I think it was Ms. Logan in junior high) told us she didn’t want us using Liquid Paper. Or erasable pens. Or pencils. She said, if we made a mistake, just cross it out and keep going. Seriously? That bothered me. If you’ve got something why not use it? It just looked ugly crossing things out. The first time I did it, there was this one section where I basically crossed out nearly an entire paragraph. It was actually just one sentence I had to keep re-writing because I kept making mistakes, but it looked like a paragraph it was so long. But I learned an important lesson from her. If I wanted to improve, I had to take the time and be intentional about what I was doing.
Intention provides direction.
Richard Branson wrote, “A day without intention is a day wasted. It doesn’t matter if you want to get some exercise, write an essay, or start a business; without intention, there can be no productivity, and in turn no success.”[2] Living a life of intention helps to guide us and give us a sense of direction, a sense of purpose. It also provides a space between impulse and reckless abandon. How many times have you said something rash or did something out of anger or spite? How many times have you maybe said what you were thinking and wish you hadn’t let that little nugget out? If we’re honest about it, at one time or another we probably have all done that. But wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t? I find my life turns out for the best when I live a life of intention, and I think that’s the kind of life God wants us to lead. If you have a Bible or a Bible app, would you please turn to Philippians 4:8-9? It’s toward the back half of the New Testament. Philippians 4:8-9. Now, that is not to say we have to live a regimented life or a life devoid of spontaneity. One of my favorite lines in the movie The Sure Thing is when Alison tells Walter, “Spontaneity has its time and its place.” But that’s not what I mean at all. You CAN be spontaneous and still be intentional because being intentional means being purposeful. It means directing your life in a certain direction. If all we are is regimented, if all we can do is live by a specific plan, then we won’t know what to do when something surprises us as life often does. Being intentional doesn’t mean we have to plan for everything. Being intentional is a matter of being and of thought. Intentionality is a matter of spiritual discipline.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. – Philippians 4:8-9
Think about such things!
“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” That’s the kind of life God wants for us to lead, to focus on the aspects of life that are good and true and to leave everything else behind. Paul teaches us that when we are able to do that, when we fill our minds with the excellent and praiseworthy, we will have the peace of Christ in our hearts. Paul is writing to the people in the church at Philippi. And to hear these words from him at this time in his life is pretty astonishing. Paul is writing from prison and yet he is full of hope. Instead of seeing failure, he sees opportunity. He talks about how he is reaching the prison guards with the good news of Jesus and anticipates he will be released. But even if not, even if this is where he will die, Paul is satisfied. And that’s the kind of life he is writing about to this church. He encourages them to “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27).”
For us to grow in our faith we have to be intentional.
We have to be intentional in our prayer life. We have to be intentional in our reading of the Bible. We have to be intentional about seeing the world through the eyes of Jesus. Of loving the unlovable. Of reaching those furthest from God. Of looking for opportunities to share the love of Christ. It’s so easy to become “too busy” for God. But that’s what happens when we are not intentional about putting God first. We drift away and pretty soon, we don’t even realize how far we have left the path. The passage we read from Matthew this morning is one that sticks with me constantly. “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them (Matthew 13:14-15).’” It pains me to think that so many people in the world have eyes to see and ears to hear, but neither see nor hear God in their lives. But couldn’t the same be true of us? Aren’t there times we drift away from God and become lackadaisical in our faith? Being intentional is a discipline and one if we aren’t careful to cultivate easily slips away from us.
Intentionality is the key to life.
You’ve probably read those guides to a healthy marriage. Almost every single one says to carve out time for your spouse. Seems obvious. But most marriages suffer because they forget this one simple rule. And from this one simple rule an entire host of problems happens. Lack of communication, feeling lonely, working at odds with one another, feeling unwanted. Which of course leads to even worse problems and which often leads to divorce when we aren’t even looking. But that’s the problem isn’t it? We aren’t even looking. Ferris Bueller said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”[3] We don’t want that to happen to us, especially in the areas of our life that are most important – our spouse, our kids, our faith. But that’s what happens when we let things slip away.
Andy Stanley gave this great example once.
He gave the example that we often sacrifice family time because of work or school or other obligations, but that you can’t ever get those moments back. He was pointing out how important it is to be intentional with your family, to carve out time for them and not let life slip away from you. It’s not like you can gather up your family on Sunday morning and say to them, “Okay, I know I said I’d be home to have dinner with you all week, but I wasn’t able to do it, so here’s what we’re going to do. On the way to church this morning, we’re going to stop by Waffle House and have some pecan waffles and hash browns scattered and smothered! When we’re done there, we’ll drive over to Denny’s and eat the Grand Slam. After that we’ll head over to IHOP and have all-you-can eat pancakes, okay? That will make up for all the meals I missed this week and we can have this great family bonding time and everything will be okay.” It just doesn’t work like that.
If we aren’t intentional, we lose focus, and our lives can become just a long string of events.
In a world of growing choices, it’s easier and easier to drift from one thing to another and not really think about what it is YOU can contribute to the great tapestry of life. It’s too easy to let your gifts become squandered as the little things eat up your time, your money, and your attention. Like we’ve been saying, you have to be intentional in what you do, including and maybe especially your faith. God shouldn’t take a back seat in your life. There was a great line from the very first episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip where these two characters are talking about how topsy-turvy everything is on the set and one of them says, “do we let Jesus be our co-pilot?” And the other one responds, “My mom used to say to me, ‘If Jesus is your co-pilot, you should trade seats.’” Be intentional. About your family. About your marriage. About your job. About your faith. Take time for the things that are important and don’t let time escape you for the things that aren’t. Make sure to avoid the rabbit holes and bunny trails that so easily divert us from what we intend to do. The truth is, none of this is anything you probably don’t already know, but if we don’t remind ourselves once in a while what’s important, we can lose everything of any real meaning. Our lives are not written in pencil. They are written in ink. And there is no Liquid Paper to correct some of the mistakes we make if we are not careful.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bette_Nesmith_Graham
[2] https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/power-intention
[3] Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Judge Me By My Size Do You?
Size isn’t everything. Just ask Yoda.
Yoda is a Jedi Master, a wielder of the Force, and the one who trained Luke Skywalker to become a Jedi Knight. But it took some heavy convincing. Yoda wasn’t sold on Luke to begin with. Too old, too fixed in his ways. But finally, he gives in and Luke actually makes some real progress, becoming more and more adept at wielding the Force. While they were training, Luke’s X-Wing starfighter sinks into the swamp and in distress Luke exclaims, “We’ll never get it out now,” as all but a small part of the wing is below the muck. Immediately Yoda chirps up and says, “So sure are you? Tried have you? Always with you it can’t be done.” After some arguing Luke says, he’ll try and Yoda exclaims, “No! Do or do not. There is no try.” But Luke can’t do it and he tells Yoda that the ship is too big. Yoda tells him, “Size has no meaning. It matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size do you?” Then Yoda does what seems impossible and single-handedly lifts this gigantic starship out of the swamp. Luke looks on in awe and whispers, “I don’t believe it.” And Yoda responds, “That is why you fail.”
Luke’s failure had little to do with the size of the ship.
He fails because he lacks faith. And who could blame him? Faced with such a daunting task, would we believe any differently? His ship is literally made of tons of metal and Yoda expects him to move it with just the power of the Force. Luke says to him, “Master, moving stones around is one thing. This is totally different!” And Yoda responds, “No, only difference is in your mind! You must unlearn what you have learned.” What is it we have learned that we might have to unlearn?
We are a size-oriented society.
In so many ways we equate “bigger” with “better.” In sports we value home runs over singles, the slam dunk over the lay-up, the “Hail Mary” over the slow march down the field. We talk about “Big Business” and “Big Money” and look at the driving influence of such wealthy entrepreneurs as the Koch brothers, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett. Even in the church we talk about the “size” of our congregations. Mega-churches are seen as more “successful” because they have higher attendance, can afford big buildings and newer technology, and have large campuses. But before we buy in to the philosophy that “bigger is better” let’s not forget that Christianity, the world’s “biggest” religion[1] was not started by the rich and powerful, but by a Jewish carpenter and his twelve, normal, everyday followers. We are so quick to believe that a task is too big or a job too daunting because of its scope and size, but the truth is success can happen on any level.
Think back to the early church.
I mean the REALLY early church. The church before buildings and sanctuaries and fellowship halls. Now, they not only didn’t have a regular place to meet, they didn’t have much of anything else either, but the Bible describes this group of people as being completely at peace with one another. We stress out over a lack of money, lack of resources, and lack of people, but the early church didn’t have any of those things either. What they DID have was something available to any church no matter what size they were. As we read this passage, think about the things they did have and how similar or different it is to our churches today.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. – Acts 2:42-47
Did you notice what the church had?
Devotion. Awe. Common belief. Giving spirit. Togetherness. Did you notice what wasn’t mentioned? Money. Buildings. Pews. Programs. None of the things we associate with the modern church. The only time they came close to talking about money was when they mentioned that the followers sold their things and gave to everyone who had need. And still “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Could you imagine if that were true here? Even if the Lord added to our number weekly, we would grow faster than our building could handle. All they needed were these common core attributes – devotion, which they exhibited through worship and study; an awe of God and the work he was doing in the world; common belief in Christ without fighting about the little things; a giving spirit which they showed by doing for those around them; and being together. That word is mentioned three times in this short passage. “Together.” They were together in serving the Lord. When we have those attributes, we are open to the designs of the Holy Spirit, and he can do amazing things with us that we haven’t even thought of.
Size alone is not a measure of worth to God.
If God only cared about size or wealth or prestige or any of the other things the world generally measures “success” by, he never would have chosen Israel to be his chosen people. Listen again to what Moses himself told the assembled peoples of Israel in Deuteronomy, “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). We see in the Bible, time and time again how true this statement is; that God does not pick the mightiest or the smartest or the strongest of people to be his messengers. Often, they are normal, flawed people like you and me. Take for example the story of Samuel. If you remember, God rejects Saul as King of Israel and tells Samuel to go looking for a new one. During his search he goes to meet Jesse of Bethlehem and immediately, he thinks he’s found the new king in Eliab, Jesse’s oldest son, but the Lord hears Samuel’s thoughts and says to him in 1 Samuel 16:7, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at outward appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart.” So in a scene reminiscent of Cinderella[2], Samuel asks to see each of Jesse’s other sons. But as each one walks by, God says “Nope, not the one.” And after all seven of Jesse’s oldest sons walk by and having the Lord reject them all, Samuel asks “Are these all the sons you have?” and Jesse admits, “There is one more, but he’s out in the back tending the sheep.” Tending the sheep! Could there BE any clearer sign for Samuel? It was like the glass slipper fit right on this youngest son’s foot. And when the youngest son walks in, God tells Samuel, “That’s the one.” And so began the reign of King David, slayer of Goliath and long considered the greatest king of the Israeli people. David wasn’t the biggest or the oldest or the smartest nor was he free of sin, but God did say David was a man after His own heart, and THAT’S what was important to God. His heart, not his size.
Craig Groeschel is one of my favorite pastors.
And it’s not because we share the same name, although admittedly it’s kind of cool. And it’s not because he has a HUGE church, because he does. It’s because he had the bravery and most importantly, the FAITH to step out and do what God was calling him to do. Craig actually used to be a United Methodist pastor, but he felt called to start a new church and for whatever reason, the United Methodist church told him “No.” So, he left. Not with a grudge. Not with bitterness. But with a strong sense of what God was calling on him to do. He didn’t have anything to start with that you would think would set him up for success. They didn’t have a big building to meet in. They didn’t have a ton of money. They didn’t have a large children’s ministry. He often tells the story that they were so small that worship consisted of meeting in a garage with an overhead projector run by a guy with a missing finger. The children’s ministry literally met in a closet in the garage, and he likes to joke that they came out of the closet every week. But he felt sure this was what God called him to do. He stayed faithful to it, he dared to do things differently, he followed where God was leading instead of taking the safe route and more people came to Christ. Today that church that started in a garage now has more than 26,000 people every week. But it’s not because his church is big that people are coming to Christ. People are coming to Christ and as a result the church is big. We often confuse the two and make size the goal instead of what we’re supposed to do – transform lives.
Like Yoda said, “Size has no meaning.”
We’ve seen throughout the Bible that God does amazing things with small groups of people. Gideon and his army of 300. David and his slingshot. Jesus and the 12 disciples. As Mark Twain put it, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight. It’s the size of the fight in the dog.” That’s what matters. Are we willing to live up to the core values that Christ taught us? Because there really isn’t anything we can’t do if we are willing to go all out. If we are willing to do what’s necessary to reach people for God, we can make it happen. But are we willing? Because we will only succeed if like those early disciples we are devoted, we are in awe of what God can do in us, we agree on our common beliefs, we have a giving spirit, and we do it TOGETHER. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/04/02/397042004/muslim-population-will-surpass-christians-this-century-pew-says
[2] http://www.asails.freeserve.co.uk/King%20Eliab.htm. Rev. Andrew Sails used the Cinderella reference in a sermon on a completely different subject, but it was such a clever comparison, I wanted to use it.
The Lasting Power of Casserole
What images come to mind when you hear the word “church?”
If you’re like most people, you probably think of a building with a steeple on top and a cross towering high overhead. You might picture stained glass windows or pews or a preacher. Maybe pulpits and potluck dinners. A lot of things with the letter “p.” But none of those things are “church.” Church is another “p” word – people. The church is a people instead of a place. The word “church” comes from the Greek ekklesia or “assembly.” It has nothing to do with a building and it doesn’t have any special definition beyond that….until Jesus gave it one. When Jesus asked Simon who he was and Simon said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” Jesus responded, “…I tell you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my ekklesia… my church…” In that moment, the word ekklesia gathered a new meaning, because Jesus wasn’t talking about any assembly of people. He was talking about HIS assembly – the children of God.
But before you let that go to your heads, think about this.
Being the children of God and acting like it are two totally different things. It goes back to what we’ve shared before, “Being in church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than being in a garage makes you a car.”[1] So what does it actually mean to be the church? When we recite the Apostles’ Creed, we say we believe in the “holy catholic church” and the “communion of saints” but it doesn’t take a long, meaningful look at church history to realize there were plenty of times we didn’t act very holy or saint-like. Those words meant something different when the creed was written. Back then, “Holy” simply meant “sacred to” or “set apart for” and in our case holy means we are people who recognize we are set apart for God. That doesn’t mean God has a gold star next to our name and it certainly doesn’t mean we are perfect. It is just our recognition that our lives are devoted to God and not the other way around. As Adam Hamilton wrote in his book, Creed, the church is holy “when those who consider the church home don’t ask ‘What do we want our church to do for us?’ but rather ‘What does God want his church to do for him?’”[2] The same thing is true for the word “saint.” “Saint” is derived from the Greek hagios which is often translated as “holy.” It simply refers to a person who acts as if their life belongs to God.
That is the work God calls on us to do as his people.
To be devoted to God. We are supposed to be the people of God in the world, but even our perception of “church” has evolved over the years. It’s flipped from its original meaning. Today it’s more about a place than a people. But that’s not at all the way God meant for it to be. Back in the days of the disciples, they didn’t have a regular place of worship unless it was the temple. Interesting note: Today we define a “regular churchgoer” as someone who attends more than once a month but back then they would go twice in one day! First to the temple and then to the gathering of God’s people, usually in someone’s home. God’s idea of church was something inside of us. His ekklesia was wherever they were gathered not in a location as Peter wrote in his first letter to the church.
4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. – 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10
YOU are the church!
Like the words to that classic hymn, “I am the church, YOU are the church, WE are the church together.” And that’s what Peter was trying to make clear to the Christ followers of his time. He told them God was building them up not from the outside but from the inside. He was telling them, yes, God is building his church, but it isn’t a place but a people. The spiritual house God is building starts with Jesus as the cornerstone and each one of us are the brick and mortar of this never-ending structure known as the people of God. In my head, I picture a sort of Winchester House for Jesus, a building always under construction, shaped by the people who comprise it. If you’ve ever been to the Winchester House, you know Sarah Winchester had the superstitious belief that construction on the house must be never-ending to appease the spirits of those killed from the rifles made by her husband’s rifle company. Legend has it that Mrs. Winchester never stopped adding to her house, constantly adding new features, rooms, and adornments throughout her life. That sense of never-ending construction of God’s house is how I picture each of us being worked on all throughout our lives; to become better disciples of Christ and to add to the beauty of the spiritual house we call the church.
Too often church becomes simplified to a building.
And we forget that WE are the actual church. How we act, how we behave, says more than the building itself. When I was in seminary, one of my fellow pastors told us about a congregation he knew of that split over a couch. By all measures, it was an ugly couch. It was lopsided. It had lumps. It was an eyesore to most. But it was donated by a beloved member who had a lot of family who came to that place. For years, no one said anything but finally someone suggested they replace it with a new couch and almost immediately people took sides – those who wanted to keep it and those who wanted to get rid of it. In the end, they couldn’t resolve their differences and they split the church in two. Over an ugly couch. It’s one of the reasons why I am opposed to putting plaques on things. I don’t know why we feel the need to memorialize someone by putting a metal plaque on some object. It just makes it five times harder to get rid of when it’s time. You know the old saying about not naming your food? It’s doubly true for the church. We just can’t let it go if it has a name on it.
For me, church became real in the power of a casserole.
For all the knowledge I had gained about what it meant to be a follower of Christ, it took on new life in a casserole dish. When Cassie gave birth to Emma, the families belonging to our Sunday School group all took turns and brought food to us for the entire week. THE ENTIRE WEEK! And there was always enough for leftovers so I pretty much didn’t have to cook or make anything at all. And they didn’t just bring casserole, but chicken and spaghetti and lasagna and other dishes so we had a variety every single day. And it wasn’t just the main course either. They brought salads, veggies, and even dessert. Pretty much all I supplied was the milk. We hadn’t asked for the help, but that made it all the more meaningful. They anticipated our need before we even expressed it. It gave me more time to dote on Cassie and our new baby girl, Emma. It gave me time to make sure Eve was doing okay and to spend time with her, too. It was just a tremendous blessing to our family. These people not only WENT to church, but they WERE the church. And that’s what I believe God calls on all of us to do – to be the church in the world today.
What we do every Sunday is important.
And it is such a blessing we get to gather in as nice a place as this. Worship is the heartbeat of what we do. It sets the tone for the week. It’s a time to draw closer to God. And if it wasn’t for a worship service that touched my heart, I don’t think I would have stayed around long enough to know the God that loves me the way I do today. Good sermons teased my brain about who God was and gave me the confidence to keep asking questions. Incredible music uplifted my spirit and revealed God to me in a new and different way. Praying, giving, helping out in worship, all of it helped me to know God in a deeper more meaningful way. But it wasn’t the building that did those things. It was the people. The building was simply the place we did it. What we do as a church is important. But never forget this. Jesus didn’t give his life for us just so we could GO to church. He wanted us to BE the church, too.
[1] I wish I could claim credit for that snappy line, but I heard it from someone else and if I ever figure out who, I will give them full credit!
[2] Adam Hamilton, Creed, p. 108.
Happy Puppy Sermon
Jesus can be such a downer.
Not that it’s his fault. He led a pretty tragic life. Died at 32 for a crime he didn’t commit. Executed in the most brutal way possible at the time. Forced to carry the instrument of his own death. Mocked and ridiculed by the very people he tried to save. And even his closest friends abandoned him when things got tough. When a sliver of hope opened up and Pontius Pilate offered the people the chance to free one of the prisoners from death, the crowd chose Barabbas, a man condemned for murder and insurrection. As we come up to the Easter season, we tend to talk a lot about the death of Jesus and our own broken nature. About how horrible we are to one another. About how petty and small we can be. I look at the story about the crowds wanting to stone to death the adulterous woman and Jesus saying to them, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,” and realizing none of us would qualify to do it. I would hope none of us would want to stone another living being but then I’m reminded of the hate crimes against the LGBTQ community, the Muslim community, and the Asian community for just being who they are. Or how Joseph’s own brothers were so jealous of him that they first plotted to kill him and then instead sold him into slavery and profited off his misery. And talking about being petty, I remember the story of the guy in the temple talking about how he is so much better than other people while disguising it as a prayer. And while each week, I hope you walk away feeling inspired and empowered to do amazing things in the name of Christ, it can be depressing to see how hurtful, petty, and selfish we can be. Every once in a while, we just need a reminder we are worthy of being loved. That God don’t make no junk.
Sometimes we need a sabbath day even in worship.
A day where we can simply rejoice in being the Children of God and remind ourselves of the God who loves us. We don’t want church to become a chore or a task – we have enough of those days during the week. The idea of constantly pushing yourself without taking a break is a part of our culture, as if taking time off means we aren’t committed or that we don’t have the same effort as someone else. But would you be surprised that idea isn’t something new? The Romans used to bad mouth the Jewish people for taking a sabbath day, characterizing them as lazy for doing so.[1] But today we know so much more about the idea of rest – rest from work, rest from computer screens, rest from social media[2] – the prescription is clear; we need rest. Normally when we talk about needing a break it usually is a reference to work life, and the statistics are clear. Men who don’t take a vacation are 30% more likely to suffer from a heart attack than men who do.[3] Working long hours in general increases mortality by 20%. There have also been associations between long work hours and type 2 diabetes, weight gain, and increased alcohol use.[4] But we need rest in other areas of life, too. Today’s message is just a happy puppy. It’s a message where the only purpose is to fill you with happiness and love. To remind you of the God who loves you. To walk away feeling as if you were surrounded by puppies.
There are so many inspirational passages in the Bible.
So many stories of hope and encouragement. If you have a Bible or a Bible app on your phones, please go to the book of Acts in the New Testament, chapter 4, verse 8. Acts 4:8. All throughout the Bible are stories of people coming from different circumstances who are given another chance, who are filled with doubt, and who are put into unusual positions. Gideon and Moses both doubted where God was leading them, but when they put their trust in the Lord, he turned them into powerful leaders. Deborah was lifted up as a leader of the Israeli people in a time when women were looked down upon but was so blessed by God even the men in her army bowed down to her. And the story of the criminal who was crucified next to Jesus might be the most inspirational of all. A man who led a life of bad enough to be sentenced to a horrible death, but who recognized Jesus as savior and Jesus offers him salvation. “You will be with me in paradise.” No one is past redemption. And everyone has hope for something better. Then we hear this story about Peter and John. Let me set up the story. Peter and John are passing by the temple telling everyone they meet about the glory of Jesus, and they see a beggar in front of the temple gate. The beggar, who was born unable to walk, asks for money, but instead Peter and John give him something more valuable, they heal him! The priests had Peter and John arrested and thrown in jail hoping to stem the tide of people who are coming to faith in Christ, but word spreads and the number of followers keeps growing. The next day they bring Peter and John in front of the temple leaders and ask them, “By what power or what name did you do this? (Acts 4:7)” And this is what happens next.
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is
“‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old. – Acts 4:8-22
How great would it be to know you are so loved you felt able to do anything!
Here they are, standing in front of the religious leaders who literally hold the power of life and death in front of them. They could have succumbed to pressure and just said or did what the priests wanted. But instead, they boldly proclaim that all they have done was in the name of Christ. And it works. The leaders are trapped. They can’t deny the miracle these two men have performed. The evidence is right there in the room with them. And so many people saw it. The courage of Peter and John inspires those who are witnessing these events, too. In the end, they just let them go. Peter and John were so filled with the Holy Spirit, they were so confident that they had a God who loved them, they were emboldened to do what most people would have been afraid to do. That’s what it is like to know you are loved by God.
I had a friend who thought she was unworthy of God’s love.
Maybe you know someone like that. Maybe you are that person. She thought she had done too much wrong in her life to ever be forgiven by God. And I’m not talking murder, theft, kidnapping or anything she would be arrested for. She just felt she had made too many mistakes in life and there was no hope for her and my pastor at the time reminded her, as I am reminding you, that you are worthy of God’s love. That you are worthy of God’s forgiveness. And that we all have a chance at redemption and salvation. When we realize this is true; when we understand deep in our hearts that Jesus loved us so much he gave his life for us, when we internalize the great love of God, we become as confident and bold as Peter and John.
Sabbath means rest, and we can all use that from time to time.
Even in church. As Ferris Bueller said at the end of his movie, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” In a way, that’s true in church, too. We need to stop occasionally and just reflect on how much God loves us. And how much we love God. It’s a different kind of sabbath but an important one. Not every message needs to remind us what we could be doing better or challenge us to do more. Sometimes we need to step back and simply know we are loved. And if you need a reminder, go hug a puppy.
[1] https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/the-quiet-revolution-of-the-sabbath
[2] https://summer.harvard.edu/blog/need-a-break-from-social-media-heres-why-you-should-and-how-to-do-it/#content
[3] https://www.howwegettonext.com/the-ideal-workweek-according-to-science/
The Blind Spot
Did you know you have a blind spot?
I don’t mean the area of your car you can’t see in your side view mirrors. I mean a literal blind spot right in front of your face. Apparently, everyone has one in each eye. It’s the spot where the retina and the optical nerve are joined together. Normally, you don’t notice because your other eye fills in the information to your brain, so you think you’re seeing everything, but literally there is a blind spot right in front of your face. You can find a simple experiment online so you can see this for yourself.[1] There are two spots on a piece of paper, a dot and a cross. If you cover your right eye and focus on the green dot and move your face toward the screen, there’s a certain distance where the red dot simply vanishes! Move just a centimeter closer or farther away and it reappears. Go to that one particular spot and the dot disappears. Because your mind can’t “fill in” the information for you, it appears white like the color surrounding it. Even though you KNOW it’s red, it fills it in with white. Your mind makes the best guess possible given the information it has. Even when reality is staring us in the face, there are times when we can’t see reality for what it is but instead what we perceive it to be.
We all have blind spots. And not just in front of our eyes, but in our hearts and minds as well.
If we can have literal blind spots, is it hard to believe we can have intellectual and emotional blind spots as well? Most of us have had a friend or family member who was dating someone they shouldn’t have. We could see it. Everyone around them could see it. But no matter what was said or done, they were blind to it. The same thing with ideas. I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea that Pluto is no longer a planet because that’s the way I grew up. It just became part of “the things we know.” There are nine planets in the solar system – not eight! When we believe in something – whether it’s a person or an idea, it’s tough to let it go, even if the evidence is staring you in the face. We will defend it even beyond reason, and faith is one of those hardcore beliefs. At some level, we realize how hard it is to convince people to abandon their faith in favor of another. Hinduism and Buddhism both began long before the birth of Christ and their vision of faith is radically different than our own. People of Islamic faith are a little bit closer. We at least share some of the same fundamental roots of our faith, but there are foundational differences where we can see why it would be hard for someone to suddenly believe Jesus was their Lord and Savior. But Judaism? What happened there?
Why didn’t Jews believe in Christ?
Of all the religions we’ve looked at, Christianity and Judaism have the most in common. In fact, we believe in the same God, we have the same ancestors, and up through the Old Testament, we even have the same Scripture. So why did the people of Israel not believe Jesus was the Son of God? First, we have to dispel that notion because obviously many of them did. There would be no Christianity if the Hebrew people didn’t believe in him. In fact, Hamilton estimates that 1/3rd of all Jewish people during that time came to faith in Christ. 33%! When you think how we were just talking about how hard it would be for someone to change their mind about faith, it’s a miracle in itself so many people believed Christ was the promised savior.
Put yourself in the shoes of an average, everyday Jewish person at the time of Christ.
You are not a free people. You have been conquered by the Roman Empire. And if it wasn’t the Romans, it would have been somebody else. Over the course of the history of your people, you have been conquered time and time again. Your kings have often failed you. But the one hope you cling to is God’s promise that one day…ONE DAY…your people would lead a Golden Age of the world. The prophets speak about a savior who would come and raise the banner of Israel high! He would lead them to become the powerhouse of the world! One day the people of Israel would defeat every enemy and all the people of the world would recognize that only Israel followed the one true God. In your head, you’ve grown up with the image of a savior who was this charismatic, brilliant, military leader, so when this young carpenter comes to your temple in Nazareth, reads the words of the great prophet Isaiah, and proclaims that the Scriptures are fulfilled in him, you’re probably thinking, you’ve got to be kidding! Isn’t this Mary and Joseph’s son? Who does he think he is? He doesn’t seem to be some brilliant, charismatic military leader. He’s just a carpenter’s son. Even if you had kept up with the goings on of Jesus, even if you had heard about some of the miracles, you probably would have dismissed them as being made up unless you were there. Think about the feeding of the 5,000. It’s not as if people saw this mountain of bread and fish fall from the skies. If you were in the crowd, you probably would have just seen these baskets being passed around and just assumed they had more than you thought. Only a very few saw the water turn into wine. Only those present saw Lazarus was actually dead and rose again. Sure, Jesus was a great teacher, but THE savior? He couldn’t even save himself! We often talk about the radical nature of Jesus’ ministry, but this is how radical it was. It defied nearly everything they believed in. Their understanding of good works, their understanding of the law, their understanding of God, and most importantly their understanding of their savior. Nearly everything Jesus taught was different from what they believed.
As if that wasn’t enough, his disciples began accepting Gentiles into the faith.
If Israel was God’s chosen people, then what does it mean when you let in a group of people who don’t follow the law, who aren’t circumcised, and who don’t study the Torah? The passage we’re about to read takes place after the Roman centurion Cornelius sends for Peter to come visit him. Cornelius is a man who despite being a Gentile was a devout follower of God. He obeyed God’s commandments and lived a life that honored God. So God sent an angel to Cornelius’ house to share with him how his actions have proven his faith and he tells Cornelius to send for Peter the Apostle. So he does. He sends two servants to ask Peter to come to his house. Before Cornelius’ messengers arrive at the place Peter is staying, Peter receives a vision from God making it clear that only God has the right to judge what is pure and impure. So when the messengers arrive, Peter who normally would refuse to be in the company of Gentiles agrees to go with them. When he gets there, it’s obvious why God sent him and he begins to tell Cornelius about the truth of Jesus. This is where we pick up in our reading this morning.
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. – Acts 10:44-48
For us, when we hear this message, it seems obvious that God is reaching out to the Gentiles.
But this was a huge revelation for Peter and the other disciples. This was groundbreaking. It meant Jesus had come not just for the Israelites, but for the entire world. God’s message of salvation was meant for everyone. Even among the Jews who were followers of Christ, this was astonishing because it went against everything they had believed for so long. Jesus did not herald a Golden Age for Israel the way they imagined it. He did not raise the banner of Israel as they expected. And now God was telling them salvation was meant for everyone? As Hamilton pointed out, this likely alienated most of the Jewish community. If there was a chance of some of them being brought to Christ, this would have shoved them the other way. So, when we wonder why it is that the early Jewish people didn’t all believe Jesus was the Savior, this can explain it. Jesus upended their entire concept of salvation. He came for a spiritual conquest not a military one. He defeated his enemies with love instead of a sword. And Jesus promised salvation in Heaven, not on Earth.
We all have blind spots.
They just take different forms. Even today there are some bizarre ones that stand out. At last count there were still 420 people who belonged to the Flat Earth Society, including the famous rock musician Thomas Dolby.[2] As late as 2009, between 6% of Americans still believe the Apollo moon landings never happened.[3] That would be over 20 million people. Twenty million people who believe we never landed on the moon. And there are actually people who believe that the Holocaust never happened. You and I live in a world where these things are a reality. We can prove the Earth is round. We can prove we landed on the moon. And we even have first-hand accounts of the horrors of the Holocaust. How people can live in such a state of denial is unfathomable. So, to think there are people who didn’t and still don’t accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior isn’t a stretch of the imagination. But that doesn’t mean we should stop trying to share God’s love with them. All roads do not lead to the same God. Some roads don’t lead to God at all. But most people are trying to find answers to life’s deepest questions – Why is there suffering? What’s the meaning of existence? Who am I and do I matter? I want to challenge you to go deeper into your own faith and find these answers for yourself. Come to one of our Bible studies. Pick up one of the books we offer. Pray daily and ask for answers. But actively engage in your faith. We become the best witnesses for Christ when we know what and why we believe. As Peter writes, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15).”
[1] https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/blind-spot
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth_Society
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_landing_conspiracy_theories
Craig's Corner 