Let It Go

Let It Go

November 24, 2024
1 John 1:8-10, Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 73:1-28

If we claim, “We don’t have any sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from everything we’ve done wrong.  If we claim, “We have never sinned,” we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

1 John 1:8-10

Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

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It is far to easy to be overwhelmed by the evil in the world around us.  Hatred, greed, fear and suffering of every kind seem like they are only getting worse.  We wonder why it seems that “bad people” seem to get away with everything while those who are genuinely striving to do what is right so often end up at the bottom.  Our cries are not new.  Even the Psalmist cried out to God asking why the wicked seemed to prosper (Psalm 73). 

As we approach Thanksgiving, let me offer two truths and a way forward regarding this pressing question.  First, God is not blessing the wicked or cursing the righteous.  Things happen, for good or bad, to all people regardless of how “good” or “bad” they might be.  The rain falls on the just and the unjust.  Furthermore, Jesus shows us in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5) that those who do not seem very “blessed” by the world are already blessed by God. 

Secondly, we should approach the question of good things happening to bad people or even bad things happening to good people with a healthy dose of humility.  John writes that if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves (1 John 1:8) and Jesus himself says that no one is “good” (Mark 10:18).  The idea that good things or bad things should happen to people based on our merit is a foolish notion because at the end of the day, none of us are truly “deserving.”  God’s love is not something that can be earned, but a gift freely given to all, to those who deserve it the least, and to those who mistakenly think they deserve it the most.

There is no easy answer to the injustice in our world and the seeming lopsidedness of blessing when it comes to those who gain power and wealth through evil means vs. those who suffer for doing what is right.  There is, however, a way we can begin to reframe our perspective and build resilience in the face of suffering and injustice.  It is the simple act of giving thanks. 

When life feels unfair, gratitude keeps us grounded and allows us to focus on God’s faithfulness rather than the fleeting circumstances around us. Gratitude opens us to see God’s blessing in places we might not have otherwise noticed.  And gratitude humbles us to realize that though there are many who unfairly gain blessings on the backs of others, it is also true that God is already blessing the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek and merciful, those who hunger & thirst for righteousness, those who are pure in heart, the peacemakers, and even those who are persecuted. 

Gratitude won’t solve injustice, but it will open our hearts to hope, peace, love & joy even in the darkness.

The Sin of Certainty

The Sin of Certainty

Reflections on the Wesleyan Quadrilateral - Experience
September 8, 2024


1 John 1:1-3, Romans 8:16

see also:
John 5:39-40, Matthew 7:15-23

We announce to you what existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have seen and our hands handled, about the word of life.  The life was revealed, and we have seen, and we testify and announce to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us.  What we have seen and heard, we also announce it to you so that you can have fellowship with us. Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:1-3

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“We announce to you what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have seen and our hands handled, about the word of life.”  In other words, what we proclaim to you about God is what we ourselves have seen, heard and touched.  Or to put it another way, we are sharing with you our “experience” of God.

Some have said that we cannot trust our experience because we are fallen human beings tainted by sin.  While there is certainly truth to the ways sin skews our perspective, it is equally true that we cannot know  anything except through the lens of our lived experience.  There is no idealized form of any object that can be described apart from the way one perceives it.  If ten people were to describe a particular tree, for example, there would certainly be similar elements such as color, parts like bark, leaves or branches, perhaps certain textures, etc.  And yet each description would be so unique in other ways that one might wonder if they are all describing the same tree.  One person might notice tiny holes from bugs that were eating at it, and another might notice the moss along the base.  Still another might zero in on a birds nest or a particular knot where a branch seemed to grow in an unlikely direction.  All of these details say as much about our experience of the tree as they do about the tree itself.

If each person would notice different aspects of a tree, how much more will each person have their own unique experience of God.  Even scripture is not “immune” from the impact of experience.  The Biblical writers to not have an objective source of information about God that is universally accepted as scientifically tested and verified fact.  Rather, they each write through the lens of their own experiences of God in their lives.  Abraham encounters God in the visitation of three strangers.  Moses experiences God in a burning bush.  Elijah sees God in the all consuming fire, hears God in the silence, and is nourished by God through bread and rest under the broom tree.  

People experience Jesus differently too.  The lepers and the tax collectors, for example, have a very different perception of who he is than the Jewish leaders who put him on trial.  Everything we know about God is mediated through someone’s experience and more likely, through the culmination of many people’s experiences throughout the centuries including our own.  In his letter to the Romans, Paul says that we “...received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children. With this Spirit, we cry, “Abba, Father.” The same Spirit agrees with our spirit, that we are God’s children.  (Romans 8:15-16). 

God sent the Spirit so that we could fully experience his loving presence and share that experience with others along the way.

We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are

~ Rabbi Shemuel ben Nachmani, as quoted in the Talmudic tractate Berakhot (55b.)

God Can't...

God Can’t Prevent Evil Singlehandedly

Where is God when… ? - Part 2

Sunday, November 12, 2023
1 John 4:7-16, John 4:24, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

God is love, and those who remain in love remain in God and God remains in them.

- 1 John 4:16 (CEB)

God is Spirit, and it is necessary to worship God in spirit and in truth.

- John 4:24 (CEB)

 Love doesn’t force itself on others.

 - 1 Corinthians 13:5a (The Message)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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In his book, God Can’t: How to believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse & Other Evils, Tom Oord tells the story of his friend Jayne, who endured sexual abuse at an early age, followed by years of trauma and destructive patterns that nearly led to her taking her own life.  Jayne describes her long and painful process toward healing, which began, she says, on “the day I realized I had choices.” 

“God did not control me on the cliff;” she writes.  “I chose to turn and live.  But so did all those who hurt me.  We all had free will.  And I don’t need to say nonsensical things such as, ‘God allowed my abuse to build my character.’”

Far too many people suffer deep emotional, mental, and spiritual scars from the idea that God’s predetermined plan included their abuse or other traumatic event in their lives for some greater mysterious purpose.  In recognizing her own free will and the free will of her abusers, Jayne came to see God not as an all-powerful overseer who watched the evil happen to her, but as a loving God who is never coercive or manipulative and who by nature, cannot take away someone’s freedom even if they use their freedom for evil. 

“The God who controls could not be my anchor,” she says, “but the God who loves me, comforts me, brings me support by prompting the good actions of others, and guides my choices most certainly can.”

It is difficult to imagine that there are things beyond God’s control, but Jayne realized that a truly loving God who has the power to prevent evil and harm but chooses not to is not very loving at all, at least not in any sense of the word “love” we could comprehend. 

Michael Fortier, who served prison time after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, was not directly involved in the attack, but he was convicted because he knew of the plans ahead of time and did not alert the authorities.  In other words, even our imperfect human justice system acknowledges that all people have a responsibility to prevent evil and harm to whatever degree they are able.  If we say God is in absolute control of everything and has the ability to prevent evil but chooses not to, surely God would be just as culpable if not more so than any human who fails to do what they can to prevent such a horrendous tragedy. 

This does not make God weak or powerless, and we will see in the coming weeks how God uses the persuasive power of love to work in cooperation with humanity to squeeze the most possible good out of every situation.  God moves people to act with compassion and boldness to help prevent evil, but the power of Love cannot be coercive or forced.  Jesus shows us a God who is fully present in our suffering, not a God who sits by and allows otherwise preventable evil to go unchecked. 

God is Love and Love never fails.

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For a more in depth reflection on the questions around God’s goodness and love in the midst of suffering and evil, check out God Can’t: How to believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse & Other Evils.