More chances to lose

Today the North Carolina "Education" Lottery marks its second anniversary by adding yet another twist to the arm of its poorest and most easily suckered residents. Additional "Pick 3" drawings will target the lottery's steadiest customers, the same ones who may buy three cigarettes out of a pack to go with their fifty cent or one dollar lottery ticket.

It turns out that these are among the most faithful lottery supporters, but they'll have to make more trips to the convenience store to buy more tickets in order to be eligible for every additional drawing.

A News & Observer story illustrates the muddied thinking of the folks who willingly submit to this state-sponsored leech, citing the example of a woman who plays the same three numbers five times a day, six days a week. The woman makes about $75 a day as a babysitter and spends $90 a week on a game whose top payout is $500. She says she'll up that by an additional $30 when the new drawings become available.

"I'm just trying to hit some money," she told the N&O. "You know, I got three boys."

You know, she also has a very poor understanding of basic math. Despite spending more than 20 percent of her income on lottery tickets, she admits that she's never won the "Pick 3," and apparently doesn't realize that by simply saving the same amount of money she plans to spend on lottery tickets starting today, she'd have more than the top $500 prize every month to spend on her three boys -- $500 that is now used to fund exorbitant salaries to lottery executives and pay out winnings to the lucky few, while sending a much smaller amount than promised to support education in North Carolina.

The North Carolina lottery started amid a scandal that has yet to be resolved. A court case regarding the illegal means by which former (and now disgraced) speaker Jim Black rammed it through is heading for the state Supreme Court.

In the lottery, North Carolinians -- like those in every state that sponsors lottery style gambling -- have been sold a bill of goods, a "voluntary" tax that preys on its poorest and most gullible residents and passes itself off as an aid to education.

We certainly need better education. Some of our lawmakers need a remedial course in ethics, and those who spend their grocery money on lottery tickets need a basic course in math.

I doubt, however, that the North Carolina "Education" Lottery will be footing the bill for those programs.

[The graphic, believe it or not, is from the N.C. Lottery official site, where it warns of telephone solicitors and others who try to work an additional scam on top of the state lottery's official con game.]

Set the date, I'll be there

Leaders and planners of the New Baptist Covenant celebration held Jan. 31-Feb. 2 recently announced that another large event will be held in 2011, "in the historic Baptist pattern of triennial meetings."

Historic is right -- as in way back in the early 1800s. A periodic meeting of Baptists in America, gathered mainly in support of missions, began meeting in 1814. Meetings were held every three years. Though some called it the "Triennial Meeting of the Baptist General Convention of the United States," it's generally referred to as the "Triennial Convention" because representatives met every three years.

The Triennial Convention lasted just 40 years: in 1845 many Baptists in the south split from their northern brethren and formed the Southern Baptist Convention, leaving the remainder to form the Northern Baptist Convention, now known as the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. Acceptance of slavery was not the only issue leading to the split, but it was unquestionably the major issue. Since then, a number of other denominational groups have formed, many of them among African American Baptists.

The New Baptist Covenant was inspired, in large part, by an effort to bring white and black Baptists together again for fellowship and perhaps coordination of efforts toward much-needed social ministries. Spearheaded by former president Jimmy Carter and coordinated under the umbrella of the North American Baptist Fellowship, the meeting generated lots of excitement among the 15,000 or so who attended.

As we left, one of the top questions in many minds was "When will we do this again?" It was widely agreed that an annual meeting was probably too much, and five-year meetings might be too far apart. So, it was no surprise that organizers would hark back to the Triennial Convention and opt for a three-year plan, while calling for continued cooperation and local relationship-building in the meantime.

In the history books of future years, much will be written about Baptist life during the past 30 years, and much of that will speak of dissension and division. Being a part of the New Baptist Covenant movement gives us a chance to contribute positively toward efforts at greater Baptist unity.

Following a historic three-year meeting pattern is one thing: making history is another.

Politicians and prayer

While Democratic presidential candidate Barak Obama has taken a lot of heat for his church connections -- and has been praised for his insightful response -- fellow contender Hillary Clinton said little about it at first.

In an interview published March 25, Clinton did assert that she would have left the church if her pastor had been inclined to speak with the same hard-edged rhetoric as Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. "He would not have been my pastor," she told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend."

Clinton may be about to get a dose of her own religion-related criticism, however. While I've heard no one suggest concern about her affiliation with the United Methodist church, the blogosphere is buzzing over reports that Clinton has been closely involved, over a long period of time, with a little-known Capitol Hill prayer group called "The Fellowship," which some apparently know as "The Family."

I haven't seen the group accused of anything sinister -- the big surprise is that it consists mainly of strongly conservative Republicans. According to the reports, Clinton first joined a prayer group of senator's wives in 1993 (small "prayer cells" are apparently segregated by gender). That group seems to have been a strong support to her after her husband's much-publicized infidelity was publicized. After her election to the U.S. Senate, we are told, she began to participate in the Senate Prayer Breakfast, a related but more exclusive group.

Various pundits will no doubt suggest that Clinton's involvement with the group has been motivated more by politics than prayer, and others will express concern that she has been unduly influenced by a particularly fundamentalist brand of Christianity. Some apparently prefer to cast not-so-subtle rhetorical aspersions by emphasizing the group's "secretive" nature and highlighting the terms like "The Family," as if it were a spiritual mafioso, and "cell," as if to compare "prayer cells" to terrorist cells.

I can't speak for Clinton's motives, nor do I have any basis for judging in what ways she might have been influenced by praying regularly with political opponents who may or may not have mixed motives of their own.

It's all too easy to be cynical in an election year. If bloggers and others consider it to be news that for 15 years Clinton has been sharing her heart and praying with people who have different political views but a similar faith in Christ, then I count it as good news, and worthy of respect.

Don't forget Easter evening

Christians tend to get really excited about Easter morning, and for good reason. In the long run, however, what Jesus' followers saw and did on Easter evening may have had greater long-term significance for the future of their faith.

For those who might be interested, I offer an "Easter evening" look at Luke 24:13-35, a story that is unique to Luke's gospel, but at the heart of the church's faith.

Two confused disciples (vv. 13-16)

The account begins late in the afternoon of the first Easter day. Two disciples were walking away from Jerusalem and toward Emmaus, their apparent home. They had been present with the others when the women came to report that the tomb was empty and that angels had proclaimed Jesus alive. Peter and John had gone to confirm their story. They found the empty tomb, but not Jesus. Perhaps this was the last straw for these two disciples. With the loss of Jesus' body, their hopes were vanquished. They decided to go home.

One of these disciples was named Cleopas (v. 18). Some writers have suggested that he is the "Clopas" mentioned in John 19:25 (a variant spelling for the same name). This Clopas was the husband of Mary, who stood with Jesus' mother at the foot of the cross. Some have imagined that it was Cleopas and his wife Mary who were walking that dusty Emmaus road. The exact location of Emmaus has been lost, but Luke tells us it was 600 stadia from Jerusalem. Since a Greek stadion was about 600 feet, the distance was about 6.8 miles.

Whatever their identity, the two disciples were engaged in a heavy conversation about the crushing events of the previous week (v. 14). They had placed their hope in Jesus, and their hope had been decimated by his betrayal and crucifixion. The curious story of the empty tomb seemed to confuse them more than to encourage them. Luke portrays the two as being so engrossed in their conversation that they did not notice when Jesus began walking along with them (v. 15).

When they became aware of Jesus, they did not recognize him. This is in keeping with other post-resurrection appearances, in which Jesus remains incognito until he chooses to reveal himself. Luke does not suggest that the travelers were not paying attention, but that "their eyes were kept from recognizing him" (v. 16). Perhaps Jesus wanted them to think through their theology without being distracted by the knowledge of his identity. Like Thomas, he wanted them to believe in his word, even when they couldn't see his face.

Two surprised reactions (vv. 17-27)

Jesus' question: "What are you discussing with each other?" means literally, "what are you throwing back and forth to each other?" (v. 17). The disciples were surprised and amazed that Jesus seemed unfamiliar with the events of the past few days, for he had also come from Jerusalem. Incredulously, Cleopas replied: "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?" (v. 18). Again, Jesus pressed for more, asking them to express their own understanding of what had happened. Only then could he help them to grow in their discernment of his purpose.

The travelers responded with a quick review. The events concerned Jesus of Nazareth ("Jesus" was a common name, so the phrase "Jesus of Nazareth" was often used to set Christ apart from others). They understood Jesus to be a prophet who had demonstrated himself to be powerful in word and deed before God and all the people (v. 19). Only with God's approval, they reasoned, could this Jesus have done the mighty works that characterized his life and made such an impression on the people.

Others had not been so pleased with Jesus. The chief priests and rulers (a reference to the Jews' ruling body, the Sanhedrin) perceived him as a threat, and had engineered his death (v. 20). The following contrast is emphatic: "But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel" (v. 21a). Faithful Jews expected a Messiah, but they commonly expected him to be a military messiah, one who would deliver Israel from the power of Rome. The death of Jesus had put an end to their hope that he was the promised one.

Even the evidence of the empty tomb had done little to encourage them. The travelers spoke with amazement concerning the women's report (vv. 22-24), but they did not speak with conviction. They were not yet convinced that Jesus was risen--or that he was the Messiah.

Jesus responded to their news with absolute amazement, as if he could hardly believe they had misunderstood the scriptures--and his own teaching--so thoroughly. His response was surprising for one who appeared to be a new acquaintance: "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?" (vv. 25-26).

Like most of their contemporaries, the two disciples had been quite selective in their study of the Hebrew scriptures. They preferred to skip over the parts that suggested the Messiah would suffer. Shifting into a "rabbi mode," Jesus offered his own interpretation of the scriptures that spoke of a suffering Messiah. The Hebrew Scriptures are divided into three parts: the Torah (the "Law," or "the Pentateuch"), the Nevi'im ("Prophets," including both the historical books and the more classical prophetic books), and the Kethuvim ("writings," containing the Psalms, wisdom literature, and a few other books). Jesus began with the Law and moved through the Prophets (v. 44 also mentions the Writings), helping the confused disciples to perceive the real truth about the Messiah.

The gospel record does not name the passages Jesus used, though we can imagine some that would be appropriate. From the Law, he might have used what has been called the "protoevangelicum" of Gen. 3:15, or the scapegoat ceremony of Lev. 16:1-34. In Deut. 18:15, Moses (who suffered greatly) predicted the coming of another prophet like himself, which Acts 3:22-23; 7:37 identifies as Christ.

Several texts from the Prophets could have been appropriate. Jesus may have quoted from the last two "Servant Songs" of Isaiah, for these predicted a coming servant of God who would suffer willingly, and vicariously, for his people. Though cut off from the land of the living, he would rise to see life again (Isa. 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). These texts, more than any other, are quoted elsewhere in the New Testament to show why it was necessary for Christ to suffer. Jesus may also have referred to Zechariah, who spoke of a king who rides a donkey (9:9), a pierced victim (12:10), a wounded friend (13:6), and a smitten shepherd (13:7).

The Book of Psalms belongs to the Writings. Jesus may have referred to Ps. 69:21 ("for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink"), or from Ps. 22, which speaks of one forsaken by God (v. 1), who is mocked by the crowd and taunted to pray for deliverance (vv. 7-8) as others cast lots for his clothing (v. 18). Jesus' own cry of dereliction from the cross is widely regarded as a quotation from Ps. 22:1. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Two amazing events (vv. 28-35)

As the travelers drew near to Emmaus, the author suggests, Jesus continued walking as if he planned to go on, but his companions insisted that he stop for the night and lodge with them (vv. 28-29). Jesus agreed, and they were soon reclining about the dinner table. Since the "stranger" had taught them like a rabbi on the road, the disciples invited their guest to offer the blessing. In traditional Jewish fashion, he took a small loaf of bread, broke it, and passed it to the others while reciting the traditional blessing. An old blessing still used today goes like this: "Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who bringeth forth bread from the earth."

In that moment, "their eyes were opened, and they recognized him" (v. 31a). Was it the sound of those familiar words, or did they saw the nail prints when he passed the bread? It matters not. The Lord had veiled their eyes before, and now he had uncovered them. No doubt, it is significant for Luke (and the early church) that Jesus became known through word and sacrament, as Jesus expounded the scriptures and broke the bread.

Luke's story takes on a sudden and unexpected twist: in the very moment that the amazed disciples recognized Jesus, he disappeared (v. 31b; literally, "he became unseen").

In retrospect, the two disciples were amazed that they did not recognize him earlier. "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?" (v. 32). Memory plays an important role in understanding, and now the two disciples were beginning to understand.

A part of being a faithful disciple is the willingness to share what one has learned of Christ. Thus, the two friends immediately got up and hurried back across the seven miles to Jerusalem and shared the good news with the other disciples. They discovered that the Lord had also appeared to Peter, and he had convinced them that it was true: the Lord was risen (vv. 33-34). Cleopas and his companion then shared with them all they could remember of their conversation with Jesus on the road to Emmaus.

This text is a charming story, but it is more than charming. We cannot underestimate the importance of this report: much of the early church's understanding of Christ, and thus, much of our own theology, may have had its roots in what the gathered disciples learned on that first Easter night.

That awkward name

On "Good Friday," I often contemplate the name we have given this day, a day one would think we might call "Black Friday" or something equally bleak. At least one explanation is that the name evolved from a Germanic version of "God's Friday," much as "goodbye" evolved from "God be with you."

And, I often recall a visit to "Gordon's Calvary," the place many people believe Jesus died. It sits just north of the Damascus gate leading into the city of Jerusalem, no more than 100 yards from a beautiful garden that contains an ancient tomb with a rolling stone that recalls the burial place of Jesus.

The hill in question is a rugged outcropping of crumbling rock that bears the unmistakable shape of a skull in its weathered, cliff-like side. The top of the hill is covered with a cemetery of Muslim tombs going back to the 15th century. In the late 19th century, a British general named Charles Gordon declared this to be the site of Golgotha, “the place of the skull,” where Jesus was crucified.

If you've ever wondered why we call it both "Golgotha" and Calvary," it's because Golgotha is the Aramaic word used to describe the "place of the skull." In the Vulgate translation that dominated the church through most of its history, the Latin term is "Calvarius."

If you visit the site of “Gordon’'s Calvary” today, you will find that a large terminal serving a fleet of tour buses operated by an Arabic company sits within a few yards of the rocky cliff: just below the hollowed eyes of the ancient skull formation, asphalt steams in the Judean sun and buses idle, their exhaust drifting over the hill where Jesus may have died.

To the modern Christian, the urban scene seems somehow sacrilegious, and when I first saw it, the sight bothered me considerably.

Upon reflection, however, it occurred to me that the scene was most appropriate: Jesus died for this — for a world of people who do not know him, and who treat his memory as shamefully as the ancient Jerusalemites treated him in life.

On this Good Friday, perhaps we would do well to ponder whether our actions show any more respect for the One who died an ugly death so we might experience a life both beautiful and eternal.

The sweatered crusader

On March 20, I'm wearing a sweater. There seems to be an unwritten expectation at Campbell University that school administrators and divinity school professors must wear suits and ties every day, but on March 20, I'm wearing a sweater -- even if the weather turns off warm.

The sweater is in memory of Fred Rogers, the famous "Mr. Rogers" of Public Television fame, a man who became both friend and "Fred" to me and to Jan in the years following our daughter Bethany's death in 1994, and preceding his own untimely demise in 2003.

March 20, 2008 would have been Mr. Rogers' 80th birthday, so the folks at Family Communications, the production company and children's resource center he started, thought it would be a good idea to encourage others to wear a sweater on March 20 to honor not just Mr. Rogers, but the deep values of kindness and courage that he demonstrated. I think it's a grand idea, too. You can hear David Newell, who played "Speedy Delivery" man Mr. McFeely on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and is public relations director for Family Communications, put in a plug for the day here.

Heroes come in many varieties. When I was a boy, my heroes were astronauts. When I was in seminary, some of my professors became like heroes to me. As my children grew in the middle of this mixed up world, however, I came to admire Fred Rogers as a man who had impeccable priorities and an unfailing love for all the children of the world. I made a habit of watching his program with my children as often as I could, and even before he extended personal friendship to my family, I began to think of him as a model worth emulating, as a hero who wore a sweater rather than a cape.

On March 20, I'm wearing a sweater. I hope you will, too.

Easter sermon ideas here ...

Some months ago, the Biblical Recorder added a new feature I wish I'd thought of ... on the home page, there's a running list of "Today's Most Read" stories. I noticed back in December that a Christmas monologue I had put in the Recorder several years ago had popped up as the most-accessed story. Last week, I noticed that a Palm Sunday sermon I had published in 2003 was also showing up in the top spot.

I say that not to brag, but to observe that there must be a lot of pastors out there who are doing more of their research and hunting for sermon ideas on the web rather than in old standbys like Hershel Ford and Charles Spurgeon.

And, I remember how stressful it could be at times to find a new angle on very familiar stories such as those proclaimed at Christmas and Easter. Finding a new approach to a story most parishioners have memorized is not unlike finding a particularly well-hidden Easter egg.

So, for those who might be looking for an idea this year, I offer the following Easter sermon, which is based on this year's text from the liturgical calendar. I don't claim it's a model sermon or even an excellent one, but it may include a useful story or idea for a busy preacher. I included the opening illustration in an editorial for the Recorder a few years back, but not the remainder. Folks not looking for a sermon may want to hit the next button on your "favorites" list, but if there's someone out there in need of an idea (or two) for Sunday, read on.

The Rest of the Story

Matthew 28:1-10

The Eostre Story ...

It happened every spring. Long, long ago, on the day of the vernal equinox, the beginning of spring, the Celts who inhabited the British Isles would call upon the goddess of the dawn to bring an end to the cold and forbidding winter. Led by their priests, who were called Druids, the Anglo Saxon men and women would gather for a festival of feasting and prayer. Together they would erect public representations of the nature goddess’ symbol, and they would teach their children to honor the goddess who restored life to the earth each spring. It was a joyous and happy time, and it happened every spring.

When Christian missionaries moved into the British Isles in the second century, A.D., they quickly noticed that the Celtic festival to the dawn-goddess occurred very close to the time they traditionally celebrated the resurrection of Christ. Since these early missionaries were no fools, and didn’t go out looking for persecution, they clothed their Christian holidays in the robes of local custom, and thus their celebration of Christ’s resurrection included some elements from the Saxons’ worship of the dawn goddess.

In 325 A.D., the Council of Nicea, by authority of the Roman Emporer Constantine, declared that Christ’s resurrection should be celebrated each year on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox, which occurs on March 21. That is why the date can range from as early as March 21 to as late as April 25. By that time, the number of Christians in Britain had grown so much that the Celtic celebration of spring was largely forgotten, though certain of its customs continued in the Christian celebration of Christ’s resurrection.

The name of that celebrated dawn-goddess derives from the word aus, meaning “East,” because that is where the sun rises. The goddess’ name was Eostre, and her personal icon, so I have read, was a very fertile and lively, spring-like animal ... yes, the rabbit. A favorite symbol of new life then, as in other cultures, was the egg. So, when your children ask you what bunny rabbits and eggs and the name “Easter” have to do with the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, you can give them at least a partial answer, because now, you know something about the rest of the story ...

... or do you? As fascinating as it is to learn something about the origins of our Western Easter traditions, the truth is that they have little to do with the origin or the significance of this special day that bears the name of a Celtic goddess, but carries the weight of eternity.

The Easter Story ...

Today we look at this day of all days through the lens of Matthew’s gospel. You will notice if you read them carefully that none of the gospels agree in every point about the events of that blessed morning when Jesus rose from the dead. They do not agree about the number of women who were present, for instance, or what they saw, or where they went and what they said afterwards. Details such as this will vary from gospel to gospel.

There is one thing, however, on which all three gospels agree: when those devoted women came to the tomb, Jesus was gone. He wasn’t there. No cold body stretched out in the niche so carefully cut into the limestone. No smell of death or decay. No sign of the one they had so carefully laid in the tomb just thirty-six hours before.

The gospels agree that the tomb was empty, and they also agree on one other amazing fact: everybody was surprised. The women almost passed out when they saw the tomb empty. Mary had a crying fit when she thought someone had stolen his body. When they told their story to the male disciples, not one of them believed it was true. Despite the fact that Jesus’ entire ministry had been about life and not death, despite the gospel witness that Jesus had clearly predicted not only his death but also his resurrection, despite the many ways Jesus had already demonstrated his power over death and evil, nobody expected him to walk out of that tomb.

If you read the gospels with care and with faith, then you know that the tomb cannot be anything but empty, but if you had been there living the gospels, it would have been a different story altogether. We would have been just as lost, just as frightened, just as overwhelmed as the others. We would have been just as skeptical and just as surprised when the women came running back with the news that Jesus was no longer dead.

But, the important thing is not whether we would have believed them--the important thing is that that they did come running back talking gibberish, because Jesus did arise from the dead. This central truth is the heart and soul of our Christian faith. The resurrection of Jesus is the convincing proof of the truth that God in Christ has conquered death, and that we can, too.

Look again at the story: After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men.
5But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.' This is my message for you”
8So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me" (NRSV).

Such a familiar story this is ... and such a powerful one. And yet, every time we read it and let it take hold of us, it tells us something new. You may have noticed something interesting here: twice in this short story, Jesus sends word to his disciples that he has gone ahead of them to Galilee, and that they should follow him there if they expect to see him.

The Galilee Story ...

Why is this comment so important that Matthew spells it out two different times to keep us from missing it? Why didn’t Jesus just go and drop in on the disciples’ pity party in Jerusalem? Why go to Galilee, and why call the disciples there?

One could argue that Galilee was the closest thing Jesus had to an earthly home. Though born in Bethlehem, he was raised in Nazareth, a small town in northern Galilee. Though he sometimes visited Jerusalem, the bulk of his ministry was spent in the rugged hills and lakeside towns of Galilee. The scriptures say that foxes have holes and birds have nests, but Jesus had no home as others do. After calling his disciples, Jesus appears to have spent time in Capernaum, where Simon Peter lived, hard by the north shore of the sea of Galilee.

The Galilee of Jesus’ day was an international community. There were Jewish towns and villages such as Nazareth and Capernaum. There were Hellenistic cities such as Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee, and Sepphoris in the central hill country, and Ceasarea Maritima by the Mediterranean Sea. There was the entire region of Samaria, where a large population of Samaritans lived in towns like Sychar and Sebaste.

Jesus’ ministry stretched far beyond the narrow confines of Judaism, and so he did not stay around Jerusalem, but symbolically, he went into Galilee, for Galilee was a symbol of the larger world he had come to save.

But Jesus was not content to go there alone, for he had business yet to accomplish with his disciples. That is why he said to the women: "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." This was, in a way, a test of the disciples’ faith--and an opportunity for greater learning.

The disciples needed to see Jesus at home, and to know that the larger world was also their home for as long as they walked on the earth, and to know that he would always be with them through the presence and the power of his Spirit.

If you look for Jesus, don’t look in any tomb in Jerusalem. He won’t be there. He hasn’t been there since that first Easter morning. If you want to see Jesus, you can find him in any corner of the world, for wherever you find people in need, you will find the Savior who loves them and died for them and rose to give them victory over the grave. "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

Jesus wanted his disciples to know from the beginning that he lived and he died for a purpose, and that purpose would be lived out in his disciples’ willingness to follow him into the world. It was when his disciples went into Galilee, Matthew says, as Jesus had directed them, that Jesus met them on a mountain and said to them: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (NRSV).

Jesus wanted his followers to know that they had a mission, that they had a friend, and that they had a home. “The end of the age” goes beyond the finite lives we live in this world, but Jesus has promised to be with us even to the end of the age.

One of the best pictures of resurrection I know is not a Christian picture, but a Jewish one. Outside of Jerusalem, on a high hill called Mt. Hertzel, is the Yad VeShem, the Israeli Holocaust Museum and Memorial. When you go there, the first thing you notice is a long walkway lined by a row of trees. The walkway is called the “Street of Righteous Gentiles,” and each tree was planted by a Gentile person who assisted the victims of the holocaust in some way.

Just a little way up the Street of Righteous Gentiles, you come to the Children’s Memorial. It seems to be largely underground. The entrance is designed to look like the long, narrow entry to the gas chambers through which one and a half million Jewish children passed on their way to death at the hands of the Nazis. Over the entrance, there are large stone candles of varying lengths, each one snuffed out prematurely.

Visitors go through a tunnel into a darkened room where pictures of the innocent victims flash upon the walls, then move into another room that is totally dark except for six candles that burn at all times. The room is filled with mirrors, however, so that the candles are reflected from walls and ceilings like so many stars. A quiet voice in the background recites the names of those who died: “Janina Kuzma, age 14, Warsaw; Madia Novak, age 3 ...” As the narrator calls out the names, the reflected light of the candles reminds the visitor that the light of these children’s lives has not gone out of the universe.

As one leaves the Children’s Memorial, he or she finds the exit to be just as broad and wide as the entrance is straight and narrow. The exit opens onto a vista filled with hundreds of new high rise apartments where thousands of Jewish children live and play with their families. “This is our revenge,” the guide will tell you. “The Nazis thought they could exterminate us, but here you see where many thousands of Jewish children run and play. This is our resurrection.”

But Jesus taught us of another resurrection ...

There is another home he has for us. We read about it in John 14, where Jesus said:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (NIV).

If we want to see Jesus, we go where he is. In this world, to see Jesus, we go into our own Galilee and find where people are hurting, and there we will certainly find him. We generally don’t have to look far to find people who are hurting. We can find them in our own church, but that is not the only place.

If we want to see Jesus, we go where he is – not just in this world, but in the next one, as well. The scripture declares that he has gone ahead to prepare a place for us, even as he went ahead of the disciples into Galilee – and into eternity.

The questions we ask on Easter – the questions that this text demands we ask – are these: Do we believe that Jesus lives, as the disciples did? Are we willing to obey him by going out into the world to meet him there? Do we have assurance that, when this world’s journey is done, we will know the way to find his eternal home?

You may remember that Thomas asked “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” And Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”

“I am the way!” Jesus doesn’t just show us the way – he is the way. And he has gone ahead of us, into Galilee. And he bids us to follow after him – if we want to see him – if we want to see that he lives – if we want to share his life.

Now that, my friends, is not only the rest of the story, but it can be the story of the rest of our lives. He bids us follow him into Galilee – into eternity – so may it be!

More see wrong in the right

I'm fascinated by an emerging trend of disillusionment with the religious right and a willingness of some conservative Baptists to buck the denominational pontificate and speak for themselves.

Regarding disillusionment with the religious right, I still find it amazing that anyone could have ever bought its illusion to begin with. But millions did, swallowing the line that America's future freedom depends on electing officials who are indebted to Christian fundamentalists. A growing number of former fans have distanced themselves from the political movement, recognizing that its religious guise was a calculated farce for some leaders and an ego trip for others, with a few inhabiting the Twilight Zone of self deception.

Rob Boston's "Theocracy Rejected: Former Christian Right Leaders 'Fess up," like other similar articles, makes fascinating reading, and shows how one-time superstars like Frank Shaeffer, John Whitehead, and Cal Thomas have recognized and rejected the hollow hubris upon which the religious right was based.

Meanwhile, some Southern Baptists have shown a willingness not only to admit that global warming is real, but to stand up to the denominational titans who have sought to squelch any statements that wouldn't pass muster with the Republican Party. Jonathan Merritt, a student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and son of former SBC president James Merritt, has managed to grab all sorts of headlines by speaking up for the environment, including a report by Time Magazine on "The Greening of the Baptists."

Showing a little hubris of his own, Merritt called his proposal "A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change," and garnered the signatures of 44 Southern Baptists of varying prominence. Signers who would be widely known included current SBC president Frank Page, former presidents Jack Graham and James Merritt, and educators such as SEBTS president Danny Akin, Beeson Divinity School dean Timothy George, former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary president Ken Hemphill, and Union University president David Dockery.

Conspicuously absent was current SWBTS president Paige Patterson, and curiously absent was the name of Malcolm Yarnell, a professor at SWBTS, which initially appeared on the statement but was later removed from the signatory page at creationcare.org.

Another notable absentee is Richard Land, head of the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Land issued a statement of his own begging off any responsibility for stating his own view, claiming that his job is only to express "the consensus of Southern Baptists on public policy matters as determined by the SBC meeting in session each year." Last year, the SBC passed a watered down resolution on the environment that cast doubt on whether climate change is real.

Land's response is particularly interesting, since being limited to "the consensus of Southern Baptists on public policy matters as determined by the SBC meeting in session each year" has never stopped him from expressing any number of opinions on Larry King Live and other TV and radio outlets.

Does the split response over the environmental statement suggest a potential divide in Southern Baptist ranks, as some have suggested? There are divisions, certainly, and bound to be more, though the next great Southern Baptist divide will more likely be over Calvinism than climate change.

Whether it's the machinery of the religious right or the power-brokers of the SBC, any group that contains so many people who are so dead certain of themselves can only cover the cracks for so long.

How conservative can you get?

A professor at Cedarville University may get to keep his job after being fired for apparently pressing for a more conservative agenda than the extremely conservative position officially held by the Baptist college in southwestern Ohio.

The school's doctrinal statement declares a firm belief in the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture, along with the affirmation of a literal six-day creation. An additional statement adopted by the college trustees in August 2006 underscores a belief that objective truth not only exists but can be known by humans with absolute certainty.

It appears that professors David Hoffeditz and David Mappes were more absolutely certain than some of the other professors, creating dissension among the faculty. A faculty panel judged the university's position to be that "Hoffeditz insisted that his colleagues adhere to doctrinal positions that are not in the [university's] doctrinal statement," according to a report by Baptist Press that cited a March 7 article in the The Chronicle of Higher Education, which requires a subscription for access.

Hoffeditz and Mappes, both graduates of Dallas Theological Seminary, considered themselves theologically more conservative on the issue of truth than other professors in the department, according to The Chronicle. Hoffeditz appealed the non-renewal of his contract, and won a split-decision from a faculty panel, which cited "administrative missteps."

A posting on the university website explains what administrative steps were taken and notes that one of the professors declined to meet with administrators. The professors' activities had diverted too much attention from the university's primary focus, according to the statement, and their termination was designed "to return the department of biblical education to its heritage of collegiality and academic dialogue."

What's amazing to me is that a biblical studies department whose professors are uniformly committed to biblical inerrancy and a literal six-day creation could have a problem with colleagues pressing for even more conservative positions. What position can be more biblically conservative than literalistic inerrancy?

I'm not sure I want to know -- but I am fairly confident that absolute certainty about God, the Bible, or ultimate truth cannot be obtained without a substantial measure of self-deception. Neither quality is helpful in the setting of a Christian university.

Bonzai guys -- and gals

Now that I'm back in chilly North Carolina, I'll share just a couple more thoughts and photos from sunny Hawaii.

On the North Shore of Oahu there are many beautiful beaches and a few really dangerous ones. Perhaps the most notorious is both beautiful and dangerous: just west of Ehukai Beach Park is Banzai Beach, and just offshore is the infamous Banzai pipeline, a surfing hotspot I remember reading about more than 40 years ago.

A large flat-topped reef near the shore causes ocean swells to stand up tall and curl over themselves like a giant pipe, and surfers with the appropriate mix of skill and daring can "shoot the curl" by surfing beneath the rolling crest of the wave.

Good photographs are hard to get without taking a waterproof camera into the water and floating along side the surfers. I wasn't that adventurous, but I did manage to get a few shots of successful surfers. Those who wiped out were largely invisible, for the collapsing tube pushes them under, where the greatest danger is from sharp corals and several lava spikes in the area.

I've never tried surfing, and I am fairly confident that I never will.

I did, however, serve as a church pastor for 26 years, so I know something about the rush of riding the wave as well as the fear of it's collapsing underfoot and more than one contact with hidden dangers.

I have rejoiced with several of our students as they experienced ordination to ministry. I haven't been invited to speak at one of those services yet, but if I am, it will be tempting to conclude the message by shouting "Banzai!"

For more blogs from the BWA Executive Committee meeting in Honolulu, see: BWA hit by falling dollar, I kinohi hana ke Akua, Peace in the Valley, Holy Hula, and For Foodies Only.

BWA hit by falling dollar

I've said a lot about various activities associated with the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Executive Committee meeting in Honolulu this week, but little about the meeting itself. So what did they do? Here's a synopsis of things I found to be particularly significant (or interesting):

New leadership: The March 2-5 meeting was the first one held under the leadership of new General Secretary Neville Callam. Callam streamlined reports from BWA departments to allow more time for open discussion and questions, a change that several representatives said they appreciated. Callam also introduced a system by which committee members were given green, red, and yellow cards to hold up if they approved or disapproved of a motion, or if they had a question.

EC to shrink? The Executive Committee learned about a proposed restructuring that could reduce its size from 69 to 24 in future years, sparking earnest debate among committee members. The proposal, which capped several years of study by a 20-member “Implementation Task Force” commissioned by the BWA General Council, also suggested that the number of vice presidents be reduced from 21 to eight.

Task force co-chair Wanda Lee, executive director of Woman’s Missionary Union, said a number of persons on the current Executive Committee rarely attend meetings. Some of the current positions are honorary, while others are designated by position on a committee or within one of the BWA's six global regions. The goal is to make the committee more representative globally and with respect to age, gender, and ethnicity, Lee said.

The reshaped committee would meet twice per year in addition to the Annual Gathering (November and March), rather than once.

Task force members said a smaller and more representative committee could function more efficiently in providing governance. Some committee members, however, expressed concern that shrinking the committee might cause a lowered sense of ownership and support from regions or bodies that lose seats on the Executive Committee.

Since the task force was commissioned by the BWA's larger General Council, Executive Committee members did not vote to approve or disapprove. They were encouraged to study the report and discuss it in their regions prior to the 2008 Annual Gathering in Prague, the Czech Republic, where the General Council will act on the report.

A BWA center in a Muslim country? Members discussed a possible ministry presence in Jordan. As president David Coffey reported on a visit to Israel, Palestine, and Jordan last September, he spoke of a surprising offer. While meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan, he said, Jordanian officials offered to provide BWA with a plot of land near Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the traditional place of Jesus’ baptism. BWA would then be expected to build a center where Baptists could come and be baptized.

The committee voted to explore the feasibility of accepting the offer.

Falling dollar hits hard. U.S. economic woes could sink plans to hold the 2009 Annual Gathering in Amsterdam, where BWA hoped to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of the first Baptist church and piggyback onto the close of the European Baptist Federation meeting. The decline in the value of the dollar has made it prohibitively expensive to hold the meeting in Amsterdam, Callam said.

While negotiations continue in hopes of holding the meeting somewhere in the Netherlands, committee members were asked to approve a backup plan to meet in Kuala-Lumpur, Malaysia, if those efforts fail. Baptists there have offered to host the meeting at a reduced cost.

The U.S. economy could also impact the BWA-sponsored 15th World Youth Congress in Leipzig, Germany, July 30-Aug. 3. Youth Department director Emmett Dunn said the high cost has put a damper on registrations from North America, which had expected to be a major source of funding for the event.

Budget report: Committee members heard relatively good news on the budget front. Income for 2007 was a hair above budgeted expenses of about $2.5 million. The 2008 budget calls for spending of about $2.8 million. Members were encouraged to promote direct giving to BWA so the organization will not have to rely so heavily on investment income, which is subject to stock market fluctuations.

Other matters: Committee members heard encouraging reports from various ministry departments and regional bodies, along with reports of pastors and other Christians who continue to suffer persecution or imprisonment in countries like Azerbaijan and Myanmar. Members also talked about hiring a full-time director to deal with freedom and justice issues, and how to effectively use the BWA's positive relationship with the United Nations to promote religious liberty throughout the world.

The 2008 Annual Gathering is scheduled for July 20-25 in Prague, the Czech Republic. It will be followed immediately by the seventh Baptist International Conference on Theological Education, to be held July 26-29 on the campus of the International Baptist Theological Seminary.


For more blogs from the BWA Executive Committee meeting in Honolulu, see:
I kinohi hana ke Akua, Peace in the Valley and Holy Hula, and For Foodies Only.

For foodies only

For those folks who wonder why it took me awhile to mention food this week, it's not because I didn't enjoy it. I ate some interesting things, but few that were quite weird enough to inspire a picture.

The Sunday night celebration put on by Hawaii Baptists featured kalua pig (basically, chopped whole hog barbecue with a salty flavor) and lots of home-cooking dishes. I sampled several, and took special delight in the salads and the wide variety of noodles.

For breakfast, I avoided the hotel's $17 buffet and walked up to a local 7-11 store, where I tried manapua and what locals call pork hash (Chinese pork dumplings) most days, though once I opted for a bento box containing scrambled eggs over rice with tocino (a sweet flavored cured pork) and longasino sausage (I don't know what was in it, but it was pretty good). Manapua (above) is a Chinese favorite, a steamed or baked white bun with meat filling. I had teriaki chicken and char siu (chopped pork in a flavorful red sauce), both in steamed buns.

My favorite place was a hole-in-the-wall local spot called "L&L Hawaiian Barbecue" in Waimanaloa. There are several around the islands. I ate some outstanding teriyaki chicken, mahi mahi, and shrimp. There, as at most other places, food comes with rice and a scoop of macaroni salad, heavy on the mayonnaise but delicious.

When I wasn't involved in some sort of banquet related to the Baptist World Alliance (where the food was fine, but not unusual), I enjoyed the "Poi Bowl" at a nearby food court. I wasn't carried away with their beef curry, but the kalua cabbage was outstanding. A simple dish, kalua cabbage is just boiled cabbage with kalua pork mixed in. Greasy, flavorful, and satisfying.

I'd had none of Hawaii's famous pineapple until the final day, when I solved that problem by making a brief stop at the Dole Plantation for some pineapple whip ice cream, along with a bowl of fresh cut pineapple. From there I drove up to the North Shore, where I imbibed a feast for the eyes in the tropical beach scenes and bought freshly harvested and cooked shrimp from the back of a truck, which seems to be the thing to do in Kahuku.

A food odyssey ends, a diet begins.

For previous blogs from the BWA Executive Committee meeting in Honolulu, see:
I kinohi hana ke Akua, Peace in the Valley and Holy Hula.

I kinohi hana ke Akua

The Hawaiian language has the shortest alphabet in the world: just seven consonants (h, k, l, m, n, p, and w) and five vowels (a, e, i, o, u). The preponderance of liquid sounds gives it an almost ethereal quality that makes it a joy to hear, or even to read, whether one understands it or not.

Here are a few verses from the Hawaiian Bible, with illustrations from Oahu that are at least semi-appropriate. The text, of course, is Genesis 1:1-10.

1 I kinohi hana ke Akua i ka lani a me ka honua.
2 He ano ole ka honua, ua olohelohe; a maluna no o ka hohonu ka pouli. Hoopunana iho la ka Uhane o ke Akua maluna o ka wai. 3 I iho la ke Akua, I malamalama; a ua malamalama ae la.
4 Nana ae la ke Akua i ka malamalama, ua maikai: a hookaawale ae la ke Akua mawaena o ka malamalama, a me ka pouli.
5 Kapa mai la ke Akua i ka malamalama, he Ao, a kapa mai hoi ia i ka pouli, he Po. A o ke ahiahi a me ke kakahiaka, o ka la mua ia. 6 ¶ I iho la ke Akua, I aouli mawaena o na wai, i mea hookaawale i kekahi wai me kekahi wai.
7 Hana iho la ke Akua i ke aouli; a hookaawale ae la ia i ka wai malalo o ke aouli, me ka wai maluna o ke aouli: a pela io no.
8 Kapa iho la ke Akua i ke aouli, he Lani. A o ke ahiahi a me ke kakahiaka, o ka lua ia o ka la. 9 ¶ I iho la ke Akua, E hui pu na wai malalo o ka lani i kahi hookahi, i ikea ai kahi maloo: a pela io no.
10 Kapa iho la ke Akua i kahi maloo, he Aina; a kapa iho la oia i na wai i hui pu ia'i, o na moana:a nana ae la ke Akua, ua maikai.

For other blogs from the Baptist World Alliance Executive Committee meeting in Honolulu, see Peace in the Valley and Holy Hula.

More to come.

Holy hula

Hawaiians are passionate about preserving remnants, at least, of their culture, and few things are more important than the hula. For Hawaiian Baptists, the ancient dance is more than a cultural memory, however: the hula can be holy.

I suspect that when most of us think of the hula, we imagine a bevy of scantily glad women gracefully moving their arms while rolling their hips in a mesmerizing motion. Steel guitars, perhaps, are playing in the background.

That's the sort of thing you might see at a commercial luau in the islands, but it's more of a caricature than the real thing. Listen to some folks, and you get the impression that hula is not just a dance, but a way of life.

Hula, essentially, is designed to tell a story in artistic and appealing fashion. The fluid motions of hands, arms, and body are not designed to be beguiling, but instructive: they recount legends from the past and communicate hopes for the future.

For many Hawaiians, praising Jesus without hula is like throwing a luau with no kalua pig. Through hula, worshipers can portray praise with eloquence, or appeal for response in touching fashion.

A ho-olaulea celebration that brought together Hawaiian Baptists with Baptist World Alliance members from six continents included large doses of hula.

During a time of fellowship and activities, some participants took hula lessons (above), with mixed results.

While an award-winning Hawaiian gospel group called Kaukahi sang and played, a woman interpreted the words through hula. During a song about loving Jesus and loving one's neighbor, worshipers were invited to follow along and hula (with their hands, at least) while celebrating their love for God.

Who would have thought it?

Hula can be holy.

Peace in the valley

I write this after almost 23 hours of wakefulness, almost 14 of them spent in airplanes and airports.

But I also write with gratitude.

I'm in Honolulu, of all places, for a meeting of the Baptist World Alliance Executive Committee and other associated committees (I'm in the latter category). The meeting just happened to occur during Campbell's spring break, allowing me to attend. It's being held here to facilitate planning for the BWA's next world congress, to be held in Honolulu in 2010 (mark your calendars now).

I arrived just in time to be gifted with a lei made of kukui nuts, and cheerfully whisked directly from the airport to the middle school of Hawaii Baptist Academy. The school was originally founded in 1949 by Baptist missionaries who had been forced out of China. The school intentionally admits many students who are not from Christian families, and unapologetically exposes them to the gospel message. Between 150 and 175 of the 1,000 plus students make professions of faith in a given year, according to Dick Bento, president of the school. The middle school is just two years old, a marvel of environmentally friendly engineering.

BWA visitors were treated to a Ho'olaulea, which translates roughly to "big shindig with lots of music and food." The music was excellent, and in a later post I'll say more about the following worship service, which included my first extended exposure to holy hula as a means of praising God.

First, though, I thought I'd share a couple of images taken immediately behind the school, where the school has a small but well-tended park area along the Nuuanu stream that runs from the mountains to the ocean.

A few minutes of quiet solitude in the rich beauty of the place was healing for my tired soul. I can't share the verdant air or the lingering fragrance of blossoms on the volcanic stone stairway, but the photos were too good to keep.