Someone or something tapped you on the shoulder this week.

Perhaps you heard a voice, read a word, or got a glimpse of something really memorable.

And in that experience something otherworldly was communicated. It may have brought you peace. It may have brought you rage. It may have brought you an ‘aha.’  But it awakened you. And as pleasant or painful as it was, it made a lingering impression. Can you name it?

And what are you doing about it? Was it so grand you can’t get it out of your head? Was it so subtle you’ve nearly forgotten it? Was it so troubling you won’t revisit it?

We know God is speaking. We know it comes in countless forms. And we know the spiritual life is about welcoming it. How are we doing so?

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Reading

Learning to Dream Again- Samuel Wells

Alexander Hamilton - Ron Chernow

Killing Jesus - Bill O'Reilly

In the tech world, the word ‘disruption’ is used a lot – and often times inaccurately because it is kind of hip these days to say your business is disrupting something.

In his book, The Innovator’s Dilemma, Harvard professor Clay Christensen defines disruption this way, ‘A disruptive product addresses a market that previously couldn’t be served by the incumbent because it would be unprofitable given the incumbent’s business model.’ So Coursera’s massive, open, online classes are disrupting higher education because a traditional university wasn’t built to make money that way, while Tesla’s electric cars are not disruptive because GM or Ford are already making electric vehicles.

Reading this Sunday’s Gospel it’s tempting to say Jesus is out to disrupt. What else do we make of sayings like this: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword?”

However, it may be more productive to see Jesus less as a disrupter and more of a reformer who was actually out to point us back toward what we already know, show us how we are missing it, and tell us how we might move forward.

When Jesus talks about loving God more than a person (even if it’s your mom) he’s simply echoing the first commandment. When he says that only those people who take up the cross and follow him are worthy of him, he’s harkening back to the Israel’s radical commitment to, ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and body.’ In other words, the only way Jesus can be seen as a disrupter is if our lives are so far removed from these convictions that this kind of dedication totally rocks our worlds.

And I don’t think it does. If you’re like me, your prayers often contain the sentiment, ‘Take me Lord, take this situation, take these people around me, and may your will be done.’ I think what Jesus is looking for is a people who will remember who they are and realize that the call to stay rooted in God is our challenge - which is actually quite sacrificial and counter to much of our instinct and environment.

The questions this brings up, then, have to do with how much you and I are giving ourselves to God. Are we generous to those in need? Are we attentive to those who inconvenience us? Are we looking out for the concerns of others before ourselves? This will be more disruptive to some people and not so much to others. My prayer is that we would increasingly find ourselves in the latter category.

Reading:

Learning to Dream – Samuel Wells

Shaping the Prayer of the People – Wells/Kocher

If You Meet George Herbert on the Road, Kill Him – Lewis-Anthony

The streets and storefronts of Hailey, Idaho are getting ready for a celebration.  Ever since the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from his Taliban captors in Afghanistan, his hometown has been dressing up for his imminent return. The posters, balloons, and ribbons tell the world that Bowe is loved, his life is significant, and he is not alone as he faces the tough journey ahead.

This is just what people do for those who may be feeling unloved, insignificant, and lonely.  And this is what God does.

This Sunday is Pentecost. It’s God’s, and the Church’s, festive commemoration of Our Lord’s grand statement that we are loved, significant, and do not walk alone. The choreographed pageantry is intentionally designed to communicate, in majestic style, the breadth and depth of God’s care for us. We wear red, sing songs, and baptize babies not simply to commemorate the historic event of tongues of fire coming upon the heads of the disciples  – but to remind ourselves of some incredibly important truths.

After all, if you’re like me, when was the last time you felt insignificant? Or wondered, ‘What’s the point?’ or ‘Who really cares?’  These are not only the most pervasive, but perhaps the most debilitating thoughts you and I can entertain. God knows this. God knows how fragile and capricious we are. God knows how insecure and fearful we can get. And this is why we’ve got this grand celebration on the calendar. This is why you and I are being asked to start looking at our lives, and at our relationship with God, as substantive, important, and significant. Pentecost asks us to look up at God, then over at God – who is no longer simply a presence in the sky to be awed, but now a companion and leader walking beside us, right here, right now.

What’s it gonna take for you and me to get God down off the pedestal and start cultivating a deeper, more personal relationship? To level with God? To understand that God really is here, walking with us, and in every circumstance giving guidance, comfort, and praise? God is no longer far away. God is right here, loving and walking with us. There are few better reasons to party.

Reading

Drops like Stars – Rob Bell

Preaching in an Age of Distraction – J. Ellsworth Kalas

If You Meet George Herbert on the Road, Kill Him – Justin Lewis-Anthony