Presby-Musings

The other day I had a conversation with a church member, who told me that she had become hopelessly convicted to do something to help refugees.  She told me that she had begun to feel "uncomfortable" about her feelings, and that she couldn't shake them.   She told me, "I really feel like this is something that Jesus wants me to do."   I replied, "That pesky Jesus... always showing up and wrecking our lives."  We laughed, but not the kind of laugh that you would laugh at a joke or a video of someone falling into a pool.  It was a knowing laugh, tinged with a bit of trepidation.   It was the kind of laugh that you laugh when you are about to jump off the side of a cliff into a lake or a river.  Even if you are scared out of your mind, you can hear yourself giggling madly in those moments right before you step off the edge.   So, my church member and I laughed together about how Jesus was messing with her, and I think we both knew that thi...

I am drinking my coffee this morning out of a mug that is emblazoned with the following inspirational manifesto:  "All I need today is a little bit of coffee and a whole lot of Jesus." For all you non-coffee drinking folk out there, this pithy statement probably doesn't ring all that true--at least the first half of it.  But trust me...if I didn't get my coffee this morning, it would take a whole lot of Jesus to make me bearable.  At any rate, that little phrase got me thinking.   I wholeheartedly agree with the fact that I need Jesus. If you asked me, I would unequivocally say that I need to experience Jesus in the world.  I would tell you how I need the example of Jesus to follow in order to live more fully into my true humanity and be the person God has dreamed for me to be.  I would share how I need Jesus because I need to be rescued from the prison of my willfulness and pride.  I would affirm my need for Jesus because I long to be re...

Jesus' disciples were washouts.  They were not even has-beens.  Each one of them was a never-was.   They were a motley crew to be sure.  While the Bible is clear about the occupation of some of the disciples, scholars can only guess at the background of some of them. Peter, Andrew, James the Elder, & John were all fisherman, according to Scripture.  Philip, Thomas & James the Younger were most likely fisherman as well.   Nathaniel was described as a Seeker of the Truth, a perpetual student, who never graduated (and also probably a fisherman).  Judas, Thaddeus, Simon were all Zealots, conspiracy theorists, who hated the Romans, and who were most likely violent Jewish nationalists.   Matthew was a Tax Collector, one of the most reviled of all vocations in Israel.   These guys were nobodies.  In the Jewish tradition they lacked the skills to be scholars, religious leaders, rabbis.  They'd flunked out of the rabb...

"Keep knocking and the joy inside will eventually open a window and look to see who's out there." - Rumi (11th century) I've been thinking a lot lately about what it takes to be a sold-out, bet-the-farm, wild-eyed follower of Jesus.  And by sold-out, bet-the-farm, wild-eyed follower, I don't mean someone who is mean, angry or belligerent.  I also don't mean someone who is off his rocker--at least not in a bad way.  Although, I've learned over the years a little bit of crazy can be a good thing when you want to follow Jesus properly.  What I mean is that it takes passion and desire to be a Jesus-follower.  That's the difference in being an admirer of Jesus and a follower .  An admirer lacks the passion and desire that permeate a follower.  A follower of Jesus gets up, acts and moves, putting one foot in front of the other as they follow (often stumbling) in Jesus' footsteps.  An admirer, will pretty much stay on the couch where it's saf...