Thanksgiving, A Final Stronghold

Posted on November 26, 2009 by Robert Franklin

[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=thanksgiving&iid=7136094″ src=”e/0/4/e/President_Obama_Pardons_b351.jpg?adImageId=7858833&imageId=7136094″ width=”380″ height=”258″ /]Since I did not grow up with knowing of the Liturgical year, my Christian holiday experience is limited (by experience) to Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving. I “ranked” the holidays in just this order through my childhood and early adult years. Each was important, each had its place in the holiday pecking order.
My first son, born in late October, facilitated Thanksgiving bearing a deeper meaning. It seems that holding a newborn in your hand changes a lot of things. I got to thinking about holidays that year and my appreciation of Thanksgiving increased by the month.
That first Christmas was incredible, but the day necessitated a discussion as to how we would protect the significance of the celebration as years rolled by. The first Easter, quite frankly, was a chore as the boy was old enough to require extra attention and preparation to make the varied events of the day. Yet another discussion was required as to how keep the resurrection the focus against the silliness of bunnies and prodigious amounts of sugar treats.
Thanksgiving stood alone. In America it is the last remaining distinctly Christian holiday and now is my favorite bar none. Until we begin to call it something different from “Thanksgiving,” the day begs the questions, “Thankful to whom?” and “Why be thankful at all?” I love it!
Since becoming a pastor, I have exerted much effort to allow the Christmas holiday to roll along without making the Church yet another participant in creating a ridiculously overbearing season. I have tried to reclaim Easter as a Resurrection Day celebration and rid it of unrelated baggage. Thanksgiving stands alone, inviting us all to get beyond gluttony and to grasp the rare treasure of gratitude. What a day to celebrate!
There is so much to talk about at Thanksgiving, so many ways to recognize the grace of God in our lives from day-to-day. This day, this one day, our culture stops and responds, mostly in ignorance, but responds none-the-less to the immensity of the largess God has placed in our hands. It is my prayer this day that in the midst of the pain and disappointments and financial devastations of this past year, we humbly bow and truly thank the God who is still giving to us in spite of our complete lack of merit.
Thank you Father, Savior, Friend, Provider. You are good and because of you I know what good is.

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Stripped

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Robert Franklin

[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=embarrassed&iid=5084362″ src=”5/5/5/a/Boy_69_covering_ab29.jpg?adImageId=7753874&imageId=5084362″ width=”380″ height=”253″ /]

Once upon a time not so long ago, the very discussion of being naked in public could horrify even the brashest of souls.  I remember sitting in the locker room raptly listening to the story of “Steve” who was the year before duct taped to the pillar in the girl’s locker room…naked.  I watched my teammates grimace and “ooh and ahh” as my gifted peer related the narrative of “Steve’s” cries for mercy, and the entrance of the girl’s volleyball team and the subsequent roll call of students who had been suspended or expelled.  Many thought the event funny, but even the hardest of hearts felt sorry for “Steve” and secretly rejoiced that it hadn’t happened to them.

The years have rolled by and we have lost our dignity.  Now, for the sake of infamy, we film such degradations and serialize the experience on MTV or, even worse, post it on YouTube.  Many will do anything for their moment of fame (our attention spans are much too short for fifteen minutes anymore).

The unfortunate corollary to this cultural movement is the loss of awe of Jesus.  The Bible says that Jesus voluntarily released his position of eminence, his authority, the viewpoint from which the galaxies could be perused and entered into the darkness we invited to rule us when we rejected the light of God’s rule.

This upcoming weekend my friends at Main Street will begin a new series I titled “Stripped.” As we look forward to celebrating the Advent, we will count the cost of our joy.

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What if Jesus Had No Feet?

Posted on November 18, 2009 by Robert Franklin

What if Jesus had no feet?  I mean what if he didn’t really walk the dusty roads of Palestine or the traverse the stormy Sea of Galilee.  What if he never climbed a mountain in the wilderness or trudged on to the next town because the last town wouldn’t receive him?  What if no one ever washed his toes with her tears or what if he never stumbled under the weight of the cross?  What if he never confidently strode from the grave or travelled the road to Emmaus?

 

If Jesus had no feet, then he is irrelevant as they say he is.  All the nonsense about loving the neighbor, doing good to those who hate you, giving without expectation of return, and giving up of one’s own life for the sake of the good news would be empty of meaning or import.

 

If Jesus had no feet his claim to “Savior” would be scurrilous.  The best place for Jesus would be on the philosophy shelf directly under Plato, Camus, and Marx for they would be his superiors.  They all had feet.

 

 

“…whoever says he abides in him [Jesus] ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:6, ESV)

 

 

 

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Did I Do That?

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Robert Franklin

“For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'” (Matthew 25:35-40, NLT)

In my opinion Matthew 25 is one of the most frightening portions of Scripture.  Considered to a composition of Jesus’ words without interruption, the content chills me every time I read.  The “main point” is simply the a command to be ready for the return of the King by living our lives in such a way that it matters not when Jesus returns for he will find us about his business.[picapp src=”0224/a1547572-0068-44bc-a110-c0f6b9ba34cd.jpg?adImageId=7523768&imageId=228159″ width=”234″ height=”156″ /]

I find myself so often distracted by meaningless activity and pursuits that I wonder if I will be counted amongst the foolish.  There is this great tension between living in this world and living for this world.

Yet there remains hope, thank God.  There are those sheep, those blessed and oft ignorant sheep, who receive the compliments of their Sovereign and Judge.  These sheep busied themselves with the business of the Kingdom and when confronted with their acts, they are surprised.

Did I do that?

My friends at Main Street will be talking about this topic this week. 

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Obsessed

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Robert Franklin

“We are consumed by safety. Obsessed with it, actually. Now, I’m not saying it is wrong to pray for God’s protection, but I am questioning how we’ve made safety our highest priority. We’ve elevated safety to the neglect of whatever God’s best is, whatever would bring God the most glory, or whatever would accomplish His purposes in our lives and in the world.”—Francis Chan, Crazy Love, pg. 133.

Obsessed is one of those words which depend entirely on context for meaning. Being obsessed can either bring one fame and fortune or land one in jail. Our culture often makes fun of those whose obsessions are more evident than others. Take, for instance, the USA show, Monk, which is built around the neuroses of a man suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (and several other named psychological maladies?). Mr. Monk solves one crime after another using the powers of his able assistant as well as his superior deductive skills which arise, we are told from a lifetime of being OCD.[picapp src=”e/3/1/1/ACTRESS_TRAYLOR_HOWARD_5343.JPG?adImageId=7273196&imageId=7009109″ width=”234″ height=”281″ /]

If we are truly honest with ourselves and others, each one of us has something which consumes us at one level or another. Rarely do our obsessions result in anything of lasting value. Fantasy Football, a clean house, vehicle maintenance, relational peace, Vera Bradley bags…objects of obsession are as varied as the humans which hold them.

Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a song [click] some years ago regarding an obsessed relationship with Jesus.

This is everything I want
This is everything I need
I want this to be my one consuming passion
Everything my heart desires
Lord, I want it all to be for You, Jesus
Be my magnificent obsession.

The call of God in Christ Jesus is the magnificent obsession. When the rule of the Holy Spirit reigns in our hearts and minds then all we do is centered on the character and nature of the God we serve. He drives us, moves us, restores us and rewards us.

Living with such an obsession makes for a great lyric, but promises a difficult life. My friends at Main Street will consider this obsession during this upcoming week.

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Depraved Indifference

Posted on November 6, 2009 by Robert Franklin

I read the Washington Post article series “The Damage Done” by Caitlin Gibson [click].  Although the piece was well researched and well written, the bottom line query is simply the wrong question: “What would cause a wealthy, white, young adult from a two-parent home become a heroin addict?”  The following was presented as a tragic end to one young woman’s life.

For the first time, she went alone. She turned into a rundown neighborhood lined with chain-link fences and dilapidated brick rowhouses off Gwynns Falls Parkway. She found her usual source. The transaction was quick.

Behind the wheel, parked in a seedy neighborhood, Anna shot up, then started home. She made it two blocks, to a red light, before the rush overcame her. She slumped forward.

Forty-five minutes passed in the middle of an intersection in an open-air drug market, with Anna’s foot mercifully resting against the brake pedal. Her car was rifled through, her purse dumped out and the money in her wallet stolen. All four car doors hung wide open when police found her, unconscious, face down on the steering wheel, the engine running.

[picapp src=”8/1/f/9/Bali_Nine_Drug_d016.jpg?adImageId=7156983&imageId=1632183″ width=”234″ height=”334″ /]I believe it to be incredibly tragic that an individual who has all the privileges life in the United States may offer exchanges the opportunities of a lifetime for the temporary pleasures of a needle.  I find it far more tragic, however, that we have incubated and delivered a society in which a young woman may die in the middle of an intersection without the comfort of a caring neighbor, or that another young woman may die in her bedroom while her boyfriend frets over the potential loss of his own comforts refusing to make even the slightest attempt to assist his “love.”

I struggle often with faith.  I wonder if God is real and if Jesus is who he said he was, the one who his disciples worshipped enough to die for and preached far and wide.  Then I remember that Jesus told a story about depraved indifference [click] when he walked amongst us.  The end of the story is a command that bears import and authority to this day, “Go and do the same.” [click]  In two thousand years, with all of our so-called advancement, we are still as wretched as the characters walking down a deserted road.   The one and only solution remains.

Thanks be to God for this indescribable gift!

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