Day 080: A Ministry

"For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"  Hebrews 9:13-14

This is a great explanation about the greatness of Jesus and his sacrifice for us.

Just on the surface, Jesus has made so much of a greater sacrifice than all the priests before, for he offered his life for all of us.  He took all of our sins and went to the cross so that we won't have to.

Going further with this, I like to think about what the blood of Christ really is.  As God says in the Old Testament, the life is in the blood.  Christ's life is in his blood.  But the neat thing is that the blood of Christ is so much more than just blood.  For communion, it is nourishment that sustains us, day by day, healing us and bringing us closer to one another.  I also like to think that the blood of Christ is his teachings, for he lives in all of us through his many teachings.

We have so much to learn from the Gospels.  We learn how to handle living on earth.  We learn how to live with one another.  We learn how to get closer to God.  We learn about what God really is.  We witness the glory of God through Jesus' earthly ministry.  And, through Jesus' earthly ministry, we have been gathered together.  Jesus has gone out in every direction to bring us together and prepare us as a worthy offering to God.

During this Holy Week, make it a point to read more about Jesus and to pray to Jesus.  Ask Jesus for guidance during this week.  Ask for revelations.  Ask for direction.  And praise God for the salvation that we receive through Jesus. 

Day 056: Recognizing and Using Spiritual Gifts

"There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.  And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.  But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all."  1 Corinthians 12:4-7

Isn't it interesting that in nearly two thousand years of the ministry there still looms the same problem?  I find that this issue has been growing from two different angles: a failure to recognize spiritual gifts, and a failure to accept our own gifts.

What I have come across quite a bit lately (and this is probably an offshoot the collective frustration and anger with the political landscape in the USA) is people talking down other people or other practices as not being good enough or not being "correct".  A church that uses an iPad for the Gospel is unholy.  This kind of singing is detrimental to the congregation.  The use of this language deters a certain population.  This liturgical activity is not liturgical.  I could go on, but that would bring much more negativity into this post than there needs to be (if you haven't figured it out yet, there is plenty negativity out there to satisfy your needs).  But what does Paul say?  He explains that there are so many different gifts out there, and that they are all out there for the benefit of all.  And that's how we can understand what is a spiritual gift and what isn't.

Think about this: if a congregation does the Eucharist in Rite II with Prayer C every Sunday, and the entire congregation is participating, how does that affect you, who come from a different congregation where you use the 1920 BCP?  Obviously, one prayer works for one group, and another for the other.  On the contrary: if a worship team has an organ and a choir of six singers where you can only hear the six voices during a congregational hymn, there might be a slight discrepancy.  The same can be said for the converse, with a worship band of soloists and no participation from the congregation.  In the end, though, the things that benefit the congregation are the ones that are bringing more and more people to God.

The other issue is that there are many of us who are too lazy to recognize our own gifts.  In the Episcopal Church, especially, we like to use the formula, "I'm discerning..." as an excuse not to put our gifts to work.  Even more of us like to complain that we aren't good enough to bring forth our fruits to the altar.  We like to compare ourselves to many saints who we say have lived perfect lives.  But, what does Jesus say?  Does the phrase "Follow me" ring a bell?  Jesus is ready to use us.  God is ready to work all in all.  The Spirit is burning within us in a way that will drive us to do great things.

Make Lent be a season where you can use your gifts.  If you have any fears our doubts about your gifts, practice them, and do it sincerely.  It is one thing to show off the same riff on the guitar that you've played for ten years, but it is another to listen to more music, practice diligently, and cultivate your musical skills.  If you have doubts about how you could use your gifts, consult your priest, or any other outside opinion.  The main thing, though, is to go out and do.

Day 035: Tests

So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know."  And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  Matthew 21:27

This is one of those passages where I say to myself, Jesus was pretty sassy.  The neat thing, though, is that there is no malice behind what Jesus says or does here.  The leaders are trying to test him, and Jesus makes them think anew.

Today, we have an issue with our pride.  With the availability of so many resources, we start to appoint ourselves as great leaders.  Some of us will just go far enough to answer questions during lunch or during down time at work or even before or after the youth group meeting.  However, some will go as far as becoming self appointed/ordained ministers.  We will take all of the matters into our own hands.

Yet, things start to fall apart when times get tough.  Jesus is there to keep us in check when we are going crazy.  Jesus, the man with all the wisdom and the most impeccable timing as an orator, is speaking to us constantly, always to encourage us.  However, Jesus encourages us to go in his direction.  He has a ministry that he has established a long time ago, and he is calling all of us to join him.  Through his earthly ministry, he taught us all that we need to know in order to be initiated in this journey.  However, just as he described in the Gospels, sometimes the journey isn't exactly what we want it to be.

We want for things to go just our way.  We want to have our names in big letters, removing the cross or Christ from our storefronts or billboards.  We want all the credit to go to us.  But, then Jesus will ask us, "Is this your goal, or ours?"  Indeed, we can pursue whatever we want to, but if we are not doing what Jesus is calling us to do, we will end up destroying ourselves.

So, what's the best way to ensure that we know what we are doing during the test?  Study!  The issue with the leaders in the above passage is that they were asked a question where they could only answer "we don't know" so they could keep up with their own beliefs.  We have the textbook, we have the methods, and we definitely have the means to pass our spiritual tests.  We just need to keep in constant conversation with our instructor, Jesus Christ.

Onward!

Today's readings show two road blocks in Jesus's ministry.  The first is when the pharisees question Jesus for forgiving sins.  The second is when Paul is shown a prophesy against him, where a prophet said that he would be bound by his own belt, to which he replied: "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." (Luke 21:13)
Sometimes we face persecution from our own kind.  Rather than receiving encouragement from our own advocates for our rights, many times they question us LGBT Christians, saying, "why are you a part of an organization that's against us?" It is these "authorities" that can and have proliferated a negative image of Jesus Christ.  In response, let us go onward, serving in the church, preaching the good news.  Sing a hymn, such as "He Touched Me," or "Total Praise." Just as how Jesus and Paul continued on their ways by preaching as radicals to those who didn't want to believe, we must go onwards living our lives as a prayer answered, a breathing gospel.

He Touched Me:
http://youtu.be/5m--ptwd_iI

Total Praise:
http://youtu.be/Vv9-WlymKg0