John Wesley records what has become his famous “Aldersgate experience” in his journal on May 24th, 1738.

In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading [Martin] Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.

What stands out to me the most in this passage is the first line… “I went very unwillingly.”…

… Where is God inviting you to put yourself in the path of grace this week, even if you have to go very unwillingly?

Nobody’s perfect.

While this may be a comforting sentiment when we make mistakes, it can also easily become an excuse to live our lives however we choose because we know that God loves us for who we are. “You do you” has become almost a motto of our society. It is a well intentioned expression of tolerance, acceptance, and individual expression, all of which are valuable. We should be comfortable being ourselves without fear of judgement and criticism. We all have unique personalities and gifts that we should freely express and share. But being comfortable with who we are doesn’t mean settling for less than who God intended us to be. God loves us as we are, but the same God loves us far to much to leave us the way we are…

… There are many periods in history in which we might identify our own struggles and learn from our ancestors in the faith. For this season, as the United Methodist Church faces it’s own decline and divisions, I believe we may have the most to learn from our own heritage in the Wesleyan Revival which ultimately gave birth to the people called Methodists.

Like many people today, Wesley grew up in a religiously divided home and society. His parents were Anglican and his grandparents were Puritans, but rather than choosing sides, John listened carefully and learned the value of each. He came to realize a middle way, or “via media” in which loving alike was more important than thinking alike. His life was shaped by his mother’s emphasis on caring for the souls of her children and by his father’s perseverance in the face of tremendous suffering.

As we begin this journey through the early Wesleyan revival, we begin with these three themes, the care of souls, listening to one another through our disagreements, and perseverance in the face of suffering and struggle. No matter what conflicts and resistance Wesley and his family faced, these core values kept the flame of Christ’s love alive in their hearts and their home, and shone forth as a beacon of hope to a lost and weary world.

May God rekindle in us the fire of our first love, Jesus Christ, and send us forth with humility the humility to spread that love abroad to friend and enemy alike, that God’s kingdom may be fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven.

Revive us, O Lord! Revive us again!

…If we are truly in Christ, we do not have the option to crawl back into the womb of our pre-resurrections life, where everything was routine and comfortable and familiar. We must learn to live with an eternal perspective. Our very lives must proclaim the hope of resurrection and the power of Christ over death and the grave.

There are two versions of the resurrection story. One is the story of the disciples, who struggled for weeks and even months with fear and uncertainty as they embraced hope and waited upon the Holy Spirit while trying to figure out the implications of Jesus’ resurrection for their lives. The other is the story of fear and hiding, the story in which we go on with our lives as normal, as if the body was stolen and we just have to move on.

Which story does your life tell?

Hosanna to the Son of David. Hosanna to the humble king riding on a donkey. Hosanna to the Prince of Peace…

…”Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were…”

Wait! What?

I thought this was a peaceful protest. I thought Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey stood in contrast to the military might of Roman authority. What happened to the peace?

In Matthew 5:9 we read, “Blessed are the peacemakers” and then in Matthew 10:34 Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace…” What’s going on here?…

For all of our bold claims about how God is in control, it is interesting how often we make excuses when we are the ones called by God to do the impossible. We encourage and sometimes even expect others to have more faith, to trust God with whatever circumstances they are facing. We remind them that God can do miracles and that God will work everything out for the good. But when it’s our turn to face the impossible it doesn’t matter how many miracles we have seen, we tend to hesitate and imagine all of the things that could go wrong….

We love sitting around the table talking about Jesus and even talking with Jesus in prayer. We sometimes feel like the disciples, members of Jesus’ inner circle, having the privilege of traveling and dining with our Savior and soaking in all of his wisdom along the way.

What happens though when Jesus gets up from the table, takes off his outer robe, and kneels down to wash our feet? If Peter is any indication, my guess is we would become very uncomfortable. It would probably feel a lot like a dinner guest getting up in our home to do the dishes. That’s not their place. They are the honored guest…

With conspiracy theories flying around on every side of every issue in our contemporary culture, Pilate’s question, “What is Truth?” is as poignant now as it ever was. We rightly encourage people to “speak their truth” by honestly sharing their experience and perspective, especially when their stories have been sidelined, ignored and marginalized for so long. On the other side, those in power tend to fear such stories and do whatever they can to undermine their credibility. In a world where everyone’s version of the truth is contradictory to someone else’s version of the truth, it would seem the idea of absolute or objective truth has gone the way of the dinosaur. Or perhaps truth is a more mythic creature like the unicorn that never really existed at all except in our own minds.

And yet Jesus is clear. “I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life” (John 14:6). “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32)…

…“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds with a summation of the law of Moses and what has become known as “the greatest commandment”, to love God and to love your neighbor. It’s not nearly as complicated as we so often make it, but the lawyer is not fully satisfied. He wants to read the fine print on the contract to make sure certain this promise of eternal life is guaranteed. Like any good researcher, he wants Jesus to more clearly define his terms and so he asks, “Who is my neighbor?”

The implication here is that the man assumes there are some people who don’t fall under the “neighbor” umbrella…

… Wonder and fear begin with the same question… “What if?” Wonder comes when our what-if’s consider the possibilities. What if there is something great at the end of this highway? What if that roller coaster is really fun? What if I really like this new food? What if I am actually good at this new thing I’m going to try? We could also phrase these questions as statements of wonder. “What if this turns out great?” is like saying, “I wonder what goodness and beauty is out there for me to discover?” This is the spirit of adventure and exploration and drive that motivates a child to crawl or take their first steps, and it is the spirit that brings out the best in us throughout our lives.

Fear is also a game of “what-if?” What if something bad happens? What if something goes wrong? What if I’m not enough? Instead of wondering at the possibility of something good, we immediately turn to the possibilities of something bad. In the garden, Adam and Eve’s fear began when then asked, “What if God is holding something back from us?” or “What if God is not telling us the whole truth?” or “What if God is a liar?” Of course we don’t see such fears stated so explicitly, but these are the kind of questions that lead them to entertain the possibilities suggested by the serpent…