What I Am Doing On My Summer Vacation or A Life-Changing Encounter with Jesus

With Summer right around the corner, you may be starting to think about what fun experiences you might engage in over the next several months. I know that around May 1 I always try to get a schedule of all the weekend festivals, concerts in the parks, and Farmer’s markets in our local area, and there are lots of them. In fact, I’ll share my list tomorrow on my Wednesday post. (This is my Sunday post, only 2 days late.)

Our first Summer adventure will be a weekend at the M Lazy C Ranch “…where you step into the boots of a cowboy and ride in the old west the way it used to be.” It’s

not a “dude ranch” so we won’t be working, we will be relaxing. But we will enjoy some of the activities the ranch has to offer; nightly campfires and s’mores, a horseback ride in the Colorado mountains west of Pike’s Peak, observing owners caring for their horses, and much, much more. We will also use the ranch as our home base as we see some of the sights west of Colorado Springs.

My reason for sharing our plans is not to brag about what we get to do. We are so grateful and it is only because of God’s grace and provision that we are even able to consider taking this time away together. I also do not want to stir feelings of jealousy or envy within you. Rather, I trust that you are making plans to do some things this summer that resonate with you. We are so blessed, as Americans, to have options for recreation, relaxation, and restoration, all of which are important to the health of our body, mind, and soul. So get out there and do something new this Summer for a day, a weekend, a week; whatever you have been blessed with in terms of time and resources.

Speaking of something new, I had a brand new experience this past Sunday that has given me much to think about, which is part of the reason I haven’t written my post until today. In fact, my experience has actually shaken me to the core. When I write, I try to share everything from the mundane to the profound. I hope to make my audience think, laugh, relate, and even question. I believe all of those things are healthy and might I even say, fun. What happened to me on Sunday unexpectedly caused me to do all of those things.

Friends, I attended a Catholic Mass for the first time in my life. Our friend’s daughters were taking First Communion and we decided to go out of love, honor, and support of them. I really had no idea what to expect, except that I knew I would hear some Latin, stand and sit a lot, and that the Priest would likely be in a robe. The rest was up for grabs. I’ll be honest and tell you that I did not know if I would have a worshipful time, but I remained open to it. I cannot begin to tell you what is stirring inside of me as I am reflecting on my experience.

All of my life I have heard of and spoken of the fact that Jesus is alive. I have experienced the presence of Christ in my life. I have understood as best as I could, the love of God. I have tried to have a healthy respect, or what the Bible calls “fear” of God and have engaged in acts of worship, defined as “an expression of reverence, honor, and adoration for God the Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.” Not only have I thought I understood all of those concepts, but I have also been employed as a Worship Leader for much of my adult life. I have also believed that the Word of God, which we know as The Holy Bible, is alive (Heb. 4:12 NIV), vibrant, and carries the power of life and transformation. I believe the Bible is true, all-sufficient, and penetrating. The Word of God is active in the spirit and soul of a Christ-follower, and thus, alive and active in me.

May 16 was Ascension Sunday according to the Liturgical calendar, a calendar that follows a cycle of readings based on events and Scriptural themes. The Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy summarizes the meaning of the liturgical celebrations of the Church this way:

“Holy Church celebrates the saving work of Christ on prescribed days in the course of the year with sacred remembrance. Each week, on the day called the Lord's Day, she commemorates the Resurrection of the Lord, which she also celebrates once a year in the great Paschal Solemnity, together with his blessed Passion. In fact, throughout the course of the year the Church unfolds the entire mystery of Christ and observes the birthdays of the Saints. (no. 1)”

It is not only the Catholic Church that follows the Liturgical calendar. Many Protestant denominations follow it, some closely and others loosely. I have been familiar with it, having had a course in High School and in College on church history. I also served in a Presbyterian church, which historically uses the Liturgical calendar. However, it was loosely observed in my church, probably because of my lack of familiarity and lack of practice with it. Ascension Sunday means that the theme of the Mass centered around the places in Scripture where it talks about Christ leaving the Earth in bodily form and “ascending” into heaven. It’s a story from the life of Christ I am familiar with and includes reference to 3 of the 4 gospels (Mark, Luke, and John), as well as the Book of Acts and others. The experience I had on this particular day will forever change my relationship with Christ.

The first point of reflection from this experience is the reverence and respect for the presence of God. I observed this in the parishioners crossing themselves and some bowing or nodding to representations or icons of Christ. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta said “We cannot separate our lives from the Eucharist; the moment we do, something breaks…When you look at the crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host you understand how much Jesus loves you now.” While I said that I have a healthy respect for God, the parishioners at St. Mark’s gave an outward showing of the respect that seemed to be inwardly sincere.

Another action in the worship service was the burning of incense, which I had never experienced as part of worship. The smoke of burning incense is interpreted by many churches as a symbol of the prayer of the faithful rising to Heaven. This symbolism can be seen in Psalm 141:2 as well as other places in Scripture. The act of preparing the incense and releasing the smoke appeared to be an extremely respectful act on the part of all those that preformed the ritual.

Respect was also shown by parishioners in the physical act of standing at certain times and by some in the act of kneeling at certain times. What was unique about this here compared to other churches I have worshipped in is that nobody was invited or told to stand. It was as if they were doing so because they knew at certain points in the worship service standing or kneeling was an appropriate posture, not just something they do. This could just be my perspective based on the newness of the experience for me, but that is how I interpreted it.

The next point of reflection for me leads to me closer to the most profound parts of the service. What I heard in the Mass was the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news that God sent Christ to die for our sins and rise from the dead, proving His power over sin and death. Jesus later ascended into Heaven, where He is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for us. The Priest, in his homily, reminded parishioners that Christ, though physically in Heaven, would also be present with us in a very real way “very shortly.” While the Priest described this as one of the mysteries that we are unable to understand, it is true. However, the presence of Christ he was referring to was something much different than the presence of Christ I know and understand to be Biblical.

That leads me yet closer to reflecting on the profound. The worship service ended with what some call the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, or Communion. This is the practice of remembering Christ’s death and resurrection with the eating and drinking of bread and wine. It is something that Jesus asked His followers to do and has been a practice of Christians for centuries. As Christ explained, the bread represents His body that was broken for us and the wine represents the blood that was shed for us. Christ-followers are to eat and drink in remembrance of Him and in a manner worthy of proclaiming the Lord’s death. 1 Corinthians 11 goes on to say “Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his death. Is that the kind of “remembrance” you want to be part of? Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe (1 Cor. 11:27-28 TM).  

Here is where Catholics and Protestants differ. Most Protestant denominations and certainly Evangelical churches consider the elements of the Eucharist to be symbols of the body and blood of Christ. The Catholic Church believes in what is called Transubstantiation. Oxford defines this as “the conversion of the substance of the Eucharistic elements into the body and blood of Christ at consecration, only the appearances of bread and wine still remaining.” Here began my profound experience.

The Priest had been talking about the fact that Christ had left Earth at the Ascension, yet was periodically present with us. His description of the presence of Christ referred to the sacrament of the Eucharist. It is the belief of the Catholic Church that Christ is present with His people at the moment the bread and the wine are consecrated and, though it still appears to be bread and wine, it is actually Christ Himself in the presence of His people. This is why devoted Catholic parishioners take communion at any and every opportunity. It is the moment when Christ is literally with them. As a non-Catholic Christ-follower, I understand the words of Christ and those who wrote the Scripture to explain that Christ is always with us, not only at certain times on certain occasions. It is at this moment in the service that the difference in theology was most evident, yet deeply sacred, moving, and mysterious at the same time.

I sat in my pew so intently focused on the Priest as he was preparing the elements for Communion. I’m not sure if I blinked or moved a muscle. There was a very real sense that something special was taking place and I did not want to miss it. My reflection regarding this act of worship in the service has changed my thinking forever. The reverence with which the sacrament of the Eucharist was performed was beyond remarkable. The seriousness and care in the preparation of the elements was something incredible to watch and one could clearly observe the weight of responsibility the Priest felt as he prepared for the Lord’s presence. I wonder how many Priests take extraordinary care with the Eucharist as the Very Rev. Gregory W. Bierbaum, V.F. Those that received communion, including our neighbor girls, were required to come forward and receive it from the Priest or one whom he had appointed. The Priest went so far as to say that the bread and the wine had to be consumed right before them in order for them to observe the consumption out of “protection of our Lord.” Were Parishioners to walk away with the bread and not consume it, but instead let something else happen to it, it would be an offensive treatment of Christ’s body. Again, I reflect on the instructions given in 1 Corinthians where Paul says “Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his death. Is that the kind of “remembrance” you want to be part of? Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe (1 Cor. 11:27-28 TM). What I observed and experience and observed was “holy awe.”

While I do not personally believe in Transubstantiation, my life and my worship will be forever changed for this reason; if Catholics believe that in the sacrament of the Eucharist Christ is fully present, and act with such reverence and “holy awe” towards Christ in the moments of preparation, fulfillment of Communion, and subsequent cleaning up (which was another amazing ritual to behold), with how much more reverence should I conduct myself believing that Christ is always with me, every moment, waking or sleeping. I can easily say that I rarely conduct myself in a manner before Christ with the same posture of worship as was demonstrated by the Priest, his appointed assistants, and even the Parishioners of St. Mark’s Catholic Church on Sunday.

The final piece of profound insight I wish to reflect on after having worshipped in the Catholic church on Sunday is that in this specific Catholic church, the gospel message was unequivocally clear, precise, and for those who were listening, could NOT be missed. It was not a false gospel. There was no heretical twisting of scripture. Those who say that Catholics are not Christians or that they do not know or preach the gospel are as wrong as those who say every person that steps foot in a Protestant church is a Christian. In fact, I believe that many Evangelical Christians need to repent of their divisive attitudes towards others who may practice worship differently than they do. Friends, there are people who claim to be Protestant Evangelical Christians that have never heard the gospel because they have not chosen to listen. I will concede that just as there are Protestant churches and pastors that do not present a clear telling of the gospel, I’m sure that there are Catholic churches and priests who fail to do the same. However, anyone who attended Mass on Sunday at St. Mark’s in Highlands Ranch, if they were paying attention, heard the full gospel preached by Father Bierbaum and could have responded, if they had chosen to. Once again, I was convicted of the tendency of Protestant Evangelical Christians to not only be judgmental but to communicate judgment loudly and perpetuate division amongst people. That is something I do not want to have a part in. While I do not agree with all of the Catholic theology (things like the necessity to pray to anyone but the members of the Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) I also do not agree with all of the Protestant Evangelical theology and may actually have problems with more points of it than that of Catholic theology (a blog for another time). Outsiders looking in on any specific group of worshippers can easily find faults, hypocrisy, and maybe even heresy if they are looking for it. I believe the main thing God is concerned with is what we do with His Son. In that church on Sunday, Jesus was treated with holy awe! Christ-followers, let’s stop going after the differences and judging and condemning those that are not like us and let’s celebrate the thing that truly matters; the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as a result of the reckless love God, our Creator has for us!

Friends, I encourage you to try something new this summer. Go for a hike on a trail you have never been before. Order food from that restaurant you have been wanting to try. Rent a boat and go for an afternoon cruise on the lake with your special person. Go to a church that is different from the church you attend every week. Share your thoughts with the rest of the readers of this blog. We will be glad you did. You will be glad you did.

Thanks for reading,

 

The Croods, a UFC Fighter, and Nothing is Wasted

Yesterday I watched a movie from 2013 I thought I had seen before. I remembered it was great and there is a sequel coming out soon. Now I am not so sure I had ever seen it before yesterday. It could just be that my 53-year-old brain erased it to make room for other things, like the hundreds of passwords necessary to survive in 21^st century. At any rate, I thought it was a fun, entertaining movie with a great message worth sharing. The message was this; Tomorrow does not have to be like yesterday, it can be so much more.

This stone-age family, the Croods, followed their husband and father, Grug, voiced by Nicholas Cage, in his rules for survival, believing there is no safer place than their cave. Grug’s mantra was “never not be afraid.” New things posed a threat to their very existence, except in the curious mind of Eep, the somewhat rebellious teenage daughter (Emma Stone). As the story unfolds, Grug learns through a series of life experiences, failures, adventures, and a young man named Guy (Ryan Reynolds), that any hope for freedom will come by learning from the past, living out a new calling and a new future that is bigger than his fear.

In the Bible, the Book of Acts, chapter 7, verses 20 -37, the author Luke retells part of the Old Testament story of Moses. In a time where life-expectancy was a whole different economy of time than now, Moses lived to be 120 years of age. In the span of his life, we see that the way we start is not the way we have to finish. We see that with God, there is nothing wasted!

Have you ever thought “I’ve just wasted that day, or weekend, or season of my life?” Have you ever thought, like I have that “I have wasted my entire life?” All I must do is look at my 3 kids to know that there are at least 3 ways that I did not waste my life. But like you, I sometimes lose perspective and do not realize that God has such a different idea about my life.

Moses was born in a troubled time, a time when firstborn sons were to be killed and he was the first-born. Scripture tells us that Moses was no “ordinary child (Acts 7:20 NIV). Friends, the reality is that you were no “ordinary child.” Neither was I. Neither was anyone. You see, in God’s economy, nothing is “ordinary;” nothing is wasted. In fact, humans are the only species that produces waste; which divides waste and recyclables. You can look beyond humans and notice in all the rest of nature that nothing is wasted. Forests clear and regenerate themselves. Dead animals become food for other animals and insects thus providing life by their very death. The oceans, full of aquatic life, do not also become a vast sewer. What you and I consider waste may actually be fertilizer.

Moses’ Hebrew mother felt it safer for him to be placed outside, in a basket in the Nile River, surrounded by Crocodiles and other predators, than to be raised by her in her home. He was eventually found by the daughter of the very Egyptian Pharaoh who enacted the edict demanding the killing of babies. As he grew, being raised and educated as an Egyptian in the house of Pharaoh, he discovered he really had no identity; he wasn’t Egyptian, yet he wasn’t Hebrew either. Moses was an outsider.

Do you feel like you are an outsider, that you do not fit, that your struggles and failures exclude you from a free and full existence? God’s perspective is so much different than ours. You see, since with God nothing is wasted, our wounds, our scars, our failures, and disappointments all shape us into who God needs us to be. Maybe you are an outsider because other outsiders are who need you the most!

Ever since I identified a calling to live my life for God’s work, I thought my calling was specific to helping other Christians know, understand, and relate to God by facilitating their worship of Him. Yet my entire career, apart from a few breathtaking seasons, I have also felt like an outsider. As I said earlier, there were even times when I felt like I had wasted my life. I carried hidden wounds, secret scars, colossal failures, overwhelming disappointment, oh, and fear that rivaled Grug Crood’s desire to stay in the cave. I have lived the life of never not being afraid.

When Moses was a third of the way through his life (40 years old), something happened that changed his life. The Hebrew people were enslaved by the Egyptians and had been for many years. In defense of an Israelite being mistreated by an Egyptian, Moses killed that Egyptian. He thought that this was God’s way of using him to rescue “his people,” though an outsider he was. But word had spread, not of Moses’ heroic act of rescue, but of his lawless act of murder and for 40 years he fled to yet another land, again being an outsider, living aimlessly, likely feeling like his life had been wasted.

It was another 40 years after that when Moses encountered a bush on fire in the middle of the desert, a hotspot in his disappointing life, that God reached to Moses and called him to something new and specific. In verse 36 we see that “He (Moses) led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness.” It was Moses who initiated the eventual freedom of an entire nation of outsiders, the children of Israel, the very ancestry line of the ultimate rescuer, hero-redeemer, Jesus Christ.

These people whom Moses led out of Egyptian captivity were a stubborn people. These outsiders wondered in the wilderness for 40 years, ironically the same amount of time Moses had just spent exiled as an outsider. However, in this final third of his life, Moses walks in God’s calling as a leader, a rescuer, right where God wants him to be. It is not counted against him that he floated in the Nile as a 3-month-old. It is not counted against him that he was raised in the home of a perpetrator of genocide. It is not counted against him that he was a murderer. It is not counted against him that he felt like an outsider and that his life had been wasted. Believe me, when you have had a life similar to Moses’ life, the negative press is overwhelming. The things people say and do to you are unbelievable. “Who made you ruler and judge?” “I’m not sure if you’re truly a child of God.” “I can’t eat in the same restaurant as you. I’m leaving.” “Oh, you’re in this aisle of the grocery store. I’m going to go to another aisle.” “I wanted to talk to you but I’m not allowed to.” “You’re not welcome at this wedding.” The list goes on and on. Outsider…? Can you begin to see how one might think their life was wasted? If you are only listening to those who oppose you, you are not learning anything. But if you are only listening to the people who agree with you, you are not learning anything either.

I was pleased to discover that at least one other person, other than my wife and my mom, read my most recent post, “Christians Can Be Democrats and Still Be Respected.” It was the most political piece I have ever written, yet it was wrapped in my beliefs about faith. The reader pointed out that I may be looking to the government and political ideology to meet the needs of families rather than looking to the Church to be the Church and care for the widows, the orphans, the marginalized in our society, including the poor. The reader questioned whether my points would be better served aiming them at the Church rather than the government. I had to admit that indeed, I had failed to include the Church in my thinking regarding the issues I addressed in that post. Since chewing on the reader’s response, I have had some interesting conversations, complex thoughts and ideas, and will continue to formulate and digest the topic, likely to be discussed in a future blog. I appreciated the interaction and “As iron sharpens iron” so does listening to people with differing opinions than you. We could all do more thinking about walking in the other one’s shoes. If we only listen to those who agree with us, I believe we stunt our own growth.

We now see with Moses and should recognize within us, that God sends us to “school,” the school of hard knocks, the school of life, in order for us to make a difference in the world. The tuition has cost us nothing and yet has cost us everything. Moses had plans. He had an idea of what his life was supposed to be. He knew there was no one to blame and it was out of his control when he went into a self-prescribed exile for 40 years. His life was unmanageable.

But God…the 2 greatest words a story could ever include. But God…stepped in after 40 years to call Moses to do amazing things. But God…said, “leave your past in the past and let Me create a new future for you.” Friends, do not settle for less. Maybe all that “waste” of the past was the exact “fertilizer” that is needed for your growth and maybe even the growth of an entire nation.

Michael Chandler is a professional mixed martial artist who has been fighting for over 10 years. Michael was a former three-time Bellator MMA lightweight champion with a 22 – 5 record before going into his UFC debut last night. Chandler, 34, defeated number 6 ranked Dan Hooker with a first-round TKO that surprised the UFC world. Michael recognizes that “the fight” is not only about his skill as a mixed martial artist, but that all of us are fighting every day for our families, for our friends, and for our faith. He strives to carry himself as a man of God and an example of strength and discipline as he uses his platform to reach people for Christ.

Last night was my 2^nd exposure to UFC and mixed martial arts. Unlike the boxing of Mohammed Ali and Mike Tyson that I can recall, MMA includes a mixture of boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, and jiu-jitsu. There’s grappling and submissions, the ground game, and the standup game. There are knockouts and there are decisions, just like boxing. Oh, and did I tell you their gloves are quite thin, and 3 to 5 round bouts usually involve blood from one or both competitors? I had enjoyed my introduction to the sport with my son a few years ago, and my daughter’s boyfriend, Caleb, invited me to this social-distancing event, complete with hot wings and ribeye and unlimited Diet Coke. This is where I learned about Michael Chandler, who was not fighting in the main fight of the night but was one of the earlier fights on the card. He is now becoming Caleb and my favorite fighter. I do not have many to choose from.

As a high school athlete, Chandler went to the state championships every year. Every year he fell short. In his senior year, he thought his wrestling career was going to be shattered because he was not a state champion. Then came college. “You’re just thrown into the fire in college wrestling, and college wrestling has very much made me the man I am today.” Chandler described that part of his career as being stuck in a pressure cooker of a situation where it is dog eat dog, and it’s may the best man win. The competitors were all state champions and Chandler felt he was a failure. He worked very hard, and he was not that talented. He did not have those accolades. He did not have those gold medals. He did not have those state championship rings. He did not have those pictures of him on the podium, and he wasn’t the big man on campus. He felt like an outsider; a waste.

To tell you that I am surprised to learn that a committed Christ-follower would also be an MMA fighter is an understatement. I know that George Foreman calls himself a Christian. Even Mike Tyson claimed Christ at one time. But this sport is even more violent than boxing. Chandler relates to my surprise and is often asked, “How are you a Christian and you’re going to beat people up?” Chandler states, “If I can reach people by doing what I do — even though what I do might not be the way that you look at a Christian or the way that you think a Christian man should act or the kind of activities that a Christian man should engage in — who are you to look at that and say, ‘I’m doing something wrong’ when thousands and hundreds of thousands of people are being impacted…I was being called in this direction to be able to be put on a platform to reach people.” God wants to use each of us “unordinary” people to make a difference in the world. We all have ways God wants to use us. In Chandler’s case, it was some young person acting on God’s calling in their life that impacted Chandler’s life and opened his eyes to Christ. “Like most of us who go to church, we got invited by a friend… somebody that we trusted… someone that we knew or that we liked.” Now Chandler is acting on God’s calling in his life and making an impact on others. “I can’t tell you how many messages I get, how many people come up to me, face to face, how many people I meet that say, ‘Man, I love the way you carry yourself. I love that you are a warrior and a fighter, but you are also a man of faith, and you’re also a devoted husband and devoted father.’”

So often God uses people other than “Sunday School perfect” people. Chandler considered himself an outsider, at least in the sport that was his passion. He had the choice to be part of the Crood family and let fear, doubt, and thoughts of a wasted life rule his survival or step into God’s calling and experience freedom like never before. Through that freedom and the “school of hard knocks,” Chandler is now on the rise on an international stage. The sport of mixed martial arts has grown tenfold in the last 10 years. It is the fastest-growing sport in the world. It’s on big networks like Fox and Fox Sports 1, and they’re still doing million pay-per-view buys.

Chandler says, “So if I can be a husband and a father and a Christian man and have a platform to be able to reach people, and then also take that platform and use it inside of a cage in front of millions of people and see how the ups and downs and the wins and losses and the pain and the anguish and the triumph of this crazy MMA career can reach people…[it’s] and opportunity.” That is what I am talking about. No life is wasted. Ups, downs, wins, losses, pain, anguish, and triumph, these are not wasted. They are exactly what God uses in you and me to reach other outsiders like myself.

So ask yourself, are you Grug Crood and are you never not afraid? Are you really just an outsider whose future has no chance of redemption? Or are you Michael Chandler, or even Moses, who has a heroic story yet to be written because nothing in your life is wasted?

By the way, I will be watching more UFC fights and soon I will talk about how those fighters leave nothing for the next fight and neither should we. I want to again direct you to Mosaic.org and Erwin McManus. His messages are located there. Just click “watch.” They are now streaming so you can watch them at any time. Today’s message provided fodder for my thoughts.

Until next time, thanks for reading.