Author: Wick

It is not uncommon to ask a pastor where they have lived in the past 10 years, and have 2 or more states listed off.  There are as many reasons for this occurrence as there are pastors.  One reason may be wanting to follow Christ in some understanding of “the son of man has nowhere to rest his head” (Matt 8:20).  Pastors follow the call of God to stay move-able.  Some may even think the putting down of roots to be making oneself unavailable to the future calls of God.

But what if in remaining move-able, we pastors have also missed out on leading God’s people in the important work of “place-making”?  Walter Brueggemann says this of what he calls our problem of “placelessness”:

“That promise concerned human persons who could lead detached, unrooted lives of endless choice and no commitment.  It was glamorized around the virtues of mobility and anonymity that seemed so full of promise for freedom and self-actualization.  But it has failed….It is now clear that a sense of place is a human hunger that urban promise has not met….it is rootlessness and not meaninglessness that characterizes the current crisis.  There are no meanings apart from roots.” – Brueggemann, The Land

With unemployment rates rising, we see huge benefits to websites offering to match jobs from the east with workers from the west.  To the availability and affordability of u-hauls, light-weight furniture, and new employment that includes paid moving expenses.  But what it also does is keep the “greener grass” mentality forever before us.  “Yes, I will live here and raise my family here.” is spoken with “..until something better is found, or my needs force me to look elsewhere.” being said under our breath.

I obviously has very little ground to stand on here.  I’m 30, and have changed addresses at least 6 times since turning 18.  But I think it’s important for us to recapture “place-making” as an important part of our faithfulness to God.  Ever since humanity was “displaced” from the Garden because of sin, God and His people have been working toward a return to implacement together.

So what does all of this mean?

It means that “home-making” is more of an important theological act than we’ve ever really given credit to.  It means figuring out how to stay in one place, and transforming that place by our extended presence and life with God may be more important than moving to where the gold rush of “success” is being promised.  That living this way may actually limit us, and force us to live more simply than if we were free to move based on whatever greener grass we thought would be inherently good for us and our great-grandchildren.  Caring for the structures of our aging homes, tending to the plant and animal life in our yard, and building long-term community with the people around us – have eternal value as these things are by nature done as liturgy, the “work of the people.”

Is it bad to move?  No.  There are plenty of good reasons to make the decision to follow God’s call to another place of residence.  But most of us don’t live in a culture where that’s the question being asked.

May that encourage us this week as we pull another weed, repaint the bedroom, mow our yard, feed our squirrels, hang new curtains, talk to our neighbors, and fix that board that keeps coming loose…

The story of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee who both went to pray, is found in Luke 18.  The Pharisee thanks God that he’s not wicked like other people.  The tax collector won’t even look up, beats his breast, and prays for mercy – confessing his sinful and undeserving state.  Jesus tells his listeners that the tax collector goes home “justified” here.

Usually when we hear this story, it’s a reminder that we need to approach God with more humility, recognizing our need for His mercy, etc.  It’s true, even in our daily walk, those of us who have grown up in Church-life automatically “look down” on others bound by certain sins – usually without even realizing it.

There is even more to this story than a call to humility, however.  I think those of us familiar with this story, may sometimes be experiencing lukewarm prayer-lives.  Wanting to model ourselves after the tax collector, we approach God with all the appropriate humility, and like the tax collector – “not even look up to heaven”.  These words seem to speak of expectation.We pray, but who are we to ask something of God?  He’ll choose whether or not to do it, and “your Will be done” is our “get out of expectation free” card.

But this story is open-ended.  We don’t hear of the tax collector getting hit by a donkey cart on his way home.  He’s not dead.  He went home justified.  Different.  The next time he approaches God in prayer, it is as a new person.  Not that he becomes like the Pharisee, but perhaps next time he will actually “look up” in expectation.  Still humbled before God, aware of his sinful estate, but also knowing He has been justified and stands in the presence of a God who invites His prayers.  Maybe that’s a big “perhaps”.  (I recognize that Jesus’ story was not actually an illustration regarding prayer.)

But still…I believe, and have been reminded that God desires his people to be “of prayer”.  Not in a way that brags “I prayed for ___ hours this past week.”…but in a way that honestly says “Praying is like breathing or eating to me…it’s necessary for my life.”  For us to pray with expectation that we speak in the presence of a God who hears and is with us.  A God who’s nature and will is New Life and transformation.

For us to be silent, with the expectation that the presence we are silent with, will respond where we give room.  May he continue to reveal how we should pray…and may we respond as people who are receiving His nature…

..after all, our kids are becoming homo orans, or “beings who pray”, right along with us.

For a long time the people of God met and worshiped together on the 7th day of the week.  This made sense, because the concept of “Sabbath” (rest) had been patterned by God.  Given to us as a gift, God knew we needed a regular reminder to slow down, pause, and re-orient our lives around thankfulness to Him.  An entire day to exist differently, that it may be our regular “time tithe” we offer to God.  The sabbath was also, in a way, a celebration and affirmation of God’s act of Creation, because on the “7th Day” of that creation, He sabbathed.

Fast forward thousands of years.  The people of God and all of creation experience and bear witness to the beginning of “New Creation” with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We don’t believe Jesus simply “came back from the dead”, as if his blood simply began flowing again.  We believe Jesus was given His resurrection body ahead of all of us (“firstborn from among the dead”), and stands as God’s firstfruits of New Creation.  In the life of Jesus, his actions and words were all about bringing Heaven and Earth together.  In His resurrected body, we see it is not only occurring as event, but exists as being.

With the birth of “New Creation” on the first day of the week (the resurrection), we were transformed to “1st Day Sabbath” people.  This is a large part of why we worship on Sunday’s now, proclaiming that we people who are being made new.  We desire New Creation, and look forward to the resurrection of all people, and coming together of Heaven and Earth that has already begun, and will be completed someday.

All of that to say – Easter is a big deal for us Jesus-followers.

It seems like a bit of a let-down to have a period of 40 days (Lent) leading up to Easter; only to wear our bonnets and find our eggs, go out to brunch, and wear a new tie for a day.  It surely can’t only be about inviting new people to church that Sunday, and sitting with friends and family who haven’t been to church since Christmas.  That’s not much of a celebration.  Even if we tag on an Easter ham waiting back at home.

Since our family is pretty low on home-made pyrotechnics, and the yacht we ordered still hasn’t come in – we’ve been celebrating“Easter Week” in our home.  There are 5 people in our home, and 5 weekdays.  Each person gets to pick a day, and insert something special to celebrate Easter that day.  (Happy Easter Thursday, by the way!!)

So far this week: we’ve built an awesome blanket fort that we camped overnight in, we’ve gone to the zoo, we ordered stuffed crust pizza, went to Claire’s to pick out some fun cheap jewelry, and made “Get Well” cards for a neighbor.  And it’s only Thursday!!!  Looking forward to what is yet to happen this week, and I want to challenge you to give another burst of celebration this week to the amazing fact that New Creation has begun!!!