Consider the Lilies

(originally published in Release Magazine ©1991 by Rich Mullins)

Did I forget to tell you that He loved lilies? It is well-known and much overlooked fact of His life--as known and overlooked as the lilies He loved. And it's a puzzling fact, too. Why lilies? Why especially lilies?

Maybe He loved lilies for being white, the way many people love roses for being red. Maybe it was because of the brilliant green of their long, slender stalks or the glorious, darker green of their leaves. Maybe He loved them because their blooms looked like trumpets and their leaves resembled swords. It could have been their simplicity, it might have been their commonness. It may have been because of all of that and it just as easily could have been because of none of that at all. But it seems like He loved them.

In the Sermon on the Mount--a sermon that predated the birth of Christianity, a sermon so profound and timeless that it would endure throughout the history of Christianity and would (in fact) shape and distinguish the character of everything Christian--Jesus pointed to lilies as examples of a splendor superior to that of Solomon's. He considered them to be better dressed than kings--lilies, that is (and a lily is one of the most naked flowers known to us). He did not apparently blush or stutter when He commanded His flowers to consider them. He gave that command with the same authority that He gave the command to "let your light so shine" and the command to "turn the other cheek." It is an astonishing command maybe because lilies are astonishing flowers or maybe given because Jesus was an astonishing man.

After all, He had a certain fondness for sparrows and did not consider their care and feeding beneath the dignity of God--though God's care and dignity (Jesus would assert) is beyond the comprehension of men. It was God's Spirits that led Him into the wilderness where He fasted and spent forty days (Mark tells us) "with the wild animals." It is easy, considering this attitude about lilies and sparrows, to imagine (and yes, this is imagination and certainly not revelation) that He spent that time romping with those creatures, not cowering from them and thus in His person, partially fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy about a "peaceable Kingdom of the Branch."

If this was the whole picture of Christ, we could easily write Him off as the nature lover with a heavy Hebrew orientation. But this is where the love of lilies throws us a curve--He loved men. It was to the end that they might be saved that He came. This man who looked at flowers and loved them, also looked at an arrogant young human and loved him. He who romped forty days with the wild animals, spent and worked three years with yet a more savage and brutal species--man. He who rejoiced in God's providence for sparrows miraculously fed a crowd of 5,000 people on one occasion and 3,000 on another. His attention and affection was not won by the attractive and the beautiful--His glance and His love made things and people attractive and beautiful. The touch of His hand would give sight to the blind and from the hem of His garment flowed healing.

And even if someone would (and why should they) doubt the accounts of His miracles, I can testify myself I had never seen a lily until He showed me one. I had never heard a sparrow until His voice unplugged my ears. I had never known love until met Him...and He is love.

So, all those things He did that we call "miracles" became believable to us because Christ, who performed them, operated out of love--and love (His love at least) has a height and depth and breadth and length that reach beyond the dimensions of mere reason. And while reasons my be found within His love, no reason would be able to contain His love. It is possible that He loved lilies because He is love and that He feeds sparrows for the same reason. It is possibly that the evidence of His divinity lies in that love--that in light of love, miracles seem sort of unremarkable. If God can love me, the rest will follow. And Jesus Christ is, for me, the evidence of God's unreasonable and unsolicited attentiveness, His unearned favor, His incomprehensible love.

Did I forget to mention that He loved lilies?

four simple steps (to building community)

Four Simple Steps.
Tim Beck, New Church Start Team Chair, East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church
Youth Pastor, Christ United Methodist Church, Louisville, Ohio

Everybody needs somebody. Everyone wants to belong. Everyone wants to be wanted. It’s plain and simple, isn’t it? We all know that. We’ve all felt that. At the end of the day acceptance is what mankind desires most. People want to be a part of something but more importantly, people want to be a part of something greater than themselves. People want and need community.

That begs the question: what is community? In short, community (among other things) is a group of people with common characteristics or “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.”

If we want to live up to the expectation to ‘build up the church’ and advance the Kingdom, then we have to start with community. We have to enable people to be a part of something. We have to be the connection, the glue, that binds us all together, with Christ at the center. Creating an environment for people to interact with each other and with God might be the single most important building block of the church.

We must not forget what Christ did best: He built community and established relationships with ‘the least of these’; He discipled the disciples, loved the unlovable and reached the unreachable. How can we do the same? I propose an ethos of four simple steps that each of us can take - with hopes of building genuine community that compels people to follow the way of Jesus.

love.
create.
share.
respond.

Love God and people (Matthew 22:28-40). No exceptions. It’s the greatest commandment, after all.

Create and inspire others to connect with God. Made in the image of God, man can use creativity to inspire and help others connect with God through interactive, out-of-the-box methods. Because of creativity, we are made new (Ephesians 4:24).

Share your story and God's story. The Good news should be shared through words and actions. St. Francis said 'Preach often, if necessary, use words.' Whatever the method, share your stories with others and along the way share God's story of love and redemption. Help others see the connection between their story and God’s story. May our stories inspire generosity and genuine community as we share the truth of the cross.

Respond to the needs of others and to the call of Christ. Ecclesiastes 4:9-1o says 'pity a man who falls and has no one to help him up.' Strive to become aware of the needs of others. Remember that Jesus said 'whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done to me and whatever you have not done to the least of these, you have not done to me.' Aim for selfless, not selfish community.

This is what I hope the Spirit of any community will be. Now comes the challenge to 'live it out.' Take the steps. Build community. Grow the church.

What are you passionate about?

as part of my summer Sabbatical i am reading a number of books dealing with youth ministry and the like. one of the books i am currently reading is Practicing Passion written by Kendra Creasy Dean.
While reading, i was compelled to ask some youth i know the following question:

What are youth passionate about?

Here is there reply. you'll see some common themes.

~love? we all seem to be chasing after it

~Hanging out with friendsss... Forr suree.

~trying to fit in. thats definitely a big one i think.

~For me it's making a difference in the world.

~Having fun! without fun, you're not a true teenager.

~Figuring out what we want to do with our lives

~love

~i get passionate about things i hold close to me getting hurt i show real passion in the protection of these things


~I am passion about my family.I have a huge family that cares about me and loves me for who I am.

~Defining who we are and what we're about.

~Figuring out who we are and what we stand for!

~We are passionate about finding ourselves, loving ourselves and loving others.

~I think it's a lot about fixing ourselves. As strange as that sounds, people just want to feel whole. And as teenagers, we're constantly trying to fill our lives with... pretty much anything and everything... to figure out how to be complete.

~I think teens in general just want to stand out in their own way yet fit in with others and just have fun in a good way. I think that everyone is just passionate about finding themselves and who they really are and what they want their lives to look like and how to make it happen if, that makes sense?


~love. Being loved, loving others, loving God.

~teens want to stand out and fit in. They want to love and know that someone loves them back. They [well i] want to make a difference in the world or just where they [i] live.

---

what themes are presented?
love/being loved. finding one's identity . to stand out (originality) and fit in (conformity). completeness. acceptance. making a difference. having fun.

when you look at the list - in some respects it's not much different than 'adult' passions.

but what is at the heart of their comments:

to be made whole. to be complete. as one of them wrote: we're constantly trying to fill our lives with... pretty much anything and everything... to figure out how to be complete.

all of the passions listed are things they 'want'.
want to be loved. want to fit in. want to stand out. want to love others. want to make a difference. want to have fun.

these students, it appears, feel that if these wants are achieved - then they will be… satisfied.

where does that root of satisfaction come from? i suggest it comes only from a deep connection with our Maker… with God. this can and will happen through Christ alone.

it is because of Christ's passion for all humanity (including teenagers) that we can find fulfillment through our passionate connection with Him.

but all to many teens (and adults alike) perhaps 'settle' and fill their emptiness… their holes with faux-passions that lead to deeper emptiness.

But mankind - at the heart of it all - is a lover and a dreamer. we (generally) believe (and hope?) that the next thing just might bring us satisfaction. we are hopeful people. that is why we are willing to give love and longing and searching multiple chances.

we want satisfaction. we are hard-wired to need it.

will man seek the One who can provide us with Hope Eternal? will teens discover the passion of Jesus is worth living and dying for? will youth take the necessary steps to find passionate satisfaction?

what are you most passionate about?

A Sweet Story

Years ago, my future-wife-to-be and I would be walking through the food court of the mall, where we would often find ourselves drawn to the smell of the freshly baked cinnamon rolls at Cinnabon®. Soon, we would mysteriously find ourselves waiting in line to purchase a $6 dollar cinnamon roll that was bigger than 'a bean bag chair'*. We'd soon be found kindling our new romance, sharing the delights of the Cinnabon® Classic.

mmmmm... instant gratification.
Cinnabon®. How sweet is that? (literally)

after consuming said sticky bun, we'd no doubt feel instant shame - in need of a moist towelette to clean off the stickiness on our hands and face.

the funny thing is, most people waiting in line for a Cinnabon probably pray that there is no line. they don't want to be seen purchasing 12 thousand calories of sticky mess. Jim Gaffigan* talks about this. [view clip here] Perhaps they could have some sort of dark curtain to hide those who seek such an indulgence.

the point is, Cinnabon's are sticky... and it's certainly hard to get rid of it's aura. hands and mouth are all syrupy. the smell gets onto your skin and clothes. and then there's your newly expanded waste line. It covers you.

Kind of like sin. Some often refer to desserts and comfort foods as 'sinfully delicious'. i could go down the cheesy route and rechristen Cinnabon as 'Sin-abon' but i fear that might show up on some church sign. i can see it now: 'Nothing is more sticky than a Sin-abon' [see my church sign creation here].

You get my point, though.

Sin is sticky... messy... hard to clean off... at least by our own measures it is. We can't hide our sin. We try... really hard - but sooner or later our sins find us [Numbers 32:23], bind us and blind us. Mankind has been hiding in shame of their sins since the beginning. Adam and Eve hid after they disobeyed. Remember?

We seemed to have learned this at an early age. How many of us had secret hiding spots - under a bed; in the basement; in a closet or whatever - that we would hide in when we knew we were in trouble with mom or dad? We hide. That's what we do. We try our best to hide the stickyness... the shame... but no matter, the residue of sin is still upon us.

Remember Fun Dip? As a kid we'd all devour those packets of colored, flavored sugar. The dipping stick would be long gone before the good stuff ran out... so it'd wind up all over us - on our fingers, faces... all over. The residue of Fun Dip covered us.

But that was not what we were designed to be. Covered with sticky shame? Not God's plan.

Ephesians 1 states 'the plan'... that we might be one with the Father through Jesus Christ.
⁴For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

Chosen and designed to be blameless.
So we have been chosen - but it is ultimately our choice to accept this chosen-ness - and to then reciprocate the message of the Cross. What is the message of the Cross? Read on.

⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.

Through Christ - we receive grace... we don't get what we deserve. We deserve death. Sin = death. Work hard at sinning and your payment is death. [Romans 6:23] We get freedom from sin. (but we have to repent... a verb... to feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing or sin).

What are things we redeem? Coupons. Gift cards. etc.

I got an iTunes gift card for christmas. $25 worth. I logged on to the website - entered the code on the back of the card and REDEEMED my reward. Bought and paid for by someone else - i reaped the benefit. it was a wonderful gift (that's why they call it a gift card, duh!)

Christ loves us - no matter what we do. As the late Rich Mullins once wrote "There is nothing you can do to make God love you more and there is nothing you can do to make Him love you less." Love is freely given to us.

Because of that unconditional love, when we repent, our sins are traded in; cashed in - to the detriment of Jesus - for our benefit. With His sacrificial gift we redeem the gift of life... new life. Full life. [John 10:10] That is the plan! No more stickiness. No more mess. No more sin-residue. Freedom. Cleanliness. Washed whiter than snow. [Psalm 51:7]

and now, instead of sticky, smelly, sin and death - your aura is soft and smooth love and life. and there's certainly no shame in that.

Redemption. How sweet is that?







parts of this post were preached at Breakfast Club - Feb 7, 2010 titled "Sticky". Breakfast Club is a youth worship service. www.alienuth.com

used with Nooma 10: Lump
















sponsored by: Little Chocolate Donuts

sitting on the back porch on a rainy day, thinking about grace.

the other day it rained. after the rain, came the mist and that smell. you know, that smell that comes after it rains? it's a musty and yet fresh smell.

there i was... sitting on the back porch. letting it all sink in.

thinking about how grace comes down - under pressure from the clouds - and rains upon us... when we are hot... and in need of a cooldown. grace comes when we need it.

like the gentle summer rains that come in the late afternoon - leaving behind a stillness. a beauty. a sound and a smell.

birds slowly come out from hiding. making music that compliments the stillness. drips of water slowly come down, one at a time, off of every tree branch and leaf. falling to the ground. so that the saturated earth can regenerate itself... regenerate life.

and grace falls down and re saturates our state of being, regenerating life along the way, if we let it.

grace abounds. and covers me. whether i think i need it or not. i don't deserve the rain. but it comes anyway. i don't deserve my thirst to be quenched. but quenched, i am.

grace like rain. capture the moment.

virtue reality

God has called us to be lovers and we frequently think that He meant us to be saviors. So we "love" as long as we see "results." We give ourselves as long as our investments pay off, but if the ones we love do not respond, we tend to despair and blame ourselves and even resent those we pretend to love. Because we love someone, we want them to be free of addictions, of sin, of self -- and that is as it should be. But it might be that our love for them and our desire for their well-being will not make them well. And, if that is the case, their lack of response no more negates the reality of love than their quickness to respond would confirm it. ~ Rich Mullins (Virtue Reality, July-August, 1994)

We don't need to be saviors. we need to be lovers.

we don't need to see results. we need to see those who need love.

we don't need to offer the 'feeling' of love. we need to offer the virtue of love.

we don't need to use love to buy good behavior. we need to love as God loves.

we are not called to save or to change others. we are called to love with real, genuine love.

love is not dependent upon someone responding to it.

Salvation is possible because real love is there. True love flows from God to those who know Him - and truly live and walk like His Son, Jesus.

Please, Let's Try Again (again)

the second chance. it's beautiful isn't it?
think when your a kid... "just one more time... just one more time."

for his birthday, my son got a nerf basketball hoop that now hangs on the back of front door in the foyer. He couldn't wait to play it... and to play it with someone. it took him a while to get the hang of it, being that the rim and net are a good 7 feet off the ground... pretty high for a boy who's 3 and a half feet tall. he kept trying and trying... wanting to play more and more. it was time for dinner and he kept saying "just one more time... just one more time."

beautiful. the second chance. the do-over. if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.














i was thinking about the image from the Sistine Chapel created by Michelangelo, commonly known as The Creation of Adam. You can see God's hand stretched far - with his finger, reaching out to connect with Adam... and yet Adam lazily reaches back.
"I'm too tired... I've got things to do. I don't have time..."
And God continues to reach... again and again. "Just one more time... Just one more time."

He longs for us to unite with him.

when we're united - we're tied to Him.

switch around the letters though... move the 'i' in united and you get... untied.
united. untied.
when i move... the bond is broken... but God's hand is outstretched as if to say "Please, let's try again."

My son's joy wasn't complete until he made that final basket before dinner. 'one more time' brought great gladness to his face, heart, mind and soul. Satisfaction.

The Father says to us "one more time" because he knows what will bring about joy and satisfaction. it's a relationship with the One who loves us so much, searches for us lost sheep and celebrates our homecoming.

Paris Je T'aime

well i have to thank my sister for giving me a gift subscription to Netflix for christmas. our third Netflix film (after Away From Her * and Somersault **) arrived yesterday and we watched it last night.

Paris Je T'Aime is a creative idea for a movie in and of itself. it features 18 5 minutes vignettes directed by 18 acclaimed directors and featuring an ensemble cast of well known domestic and foreign actors. Each vignette takes place in a different part of Paris and in small ways, each short is connected to the others.

Paris Je T'Aime (Paris, I Love You) is basically a movie about love... our longing for love, the chasing after, childhood innocence, passion for deep connections with others, dealing with love and loss, circumstantial love, the love of pain (and vice versa), love through sacrifice, and just plain joy brought about by a genuine love of love. This movie is resonating with me so much. I think in the end I realized how connected everything is. After all it's the hope of love that is ingrained in our very being (a gift from God, accepted and rejected) and that hope connects us all. We all want it, search for it endlessly and always mange to muff it up in the process - but it is that pursuit that keeps us alive. when we lose that desire to pursue love - life, i believe, is lost.

Patis Je T'Aime (website, trailer) is a wonderfly beautiful film... pleasing to the eyes, ears, heart and mind. It also features a nice soundtrack and a wonderful closing song by Feist (in which i found an mp3 download here). As the trailer says, fall in love again 18 times...

There was truly only one of the 18 that i didn't really like (Porte de Choisy: about a hair product sailsman trying to sell to a beauty salon in Chinatown)- and even that one was visually stimulating, i just didn't get it. It's hard for me to pick a favorite segment... but Tuileries directed by the Coen brothers and starring Steve Buscemi was a highlight... as was Bastille and Parc Monceau filmed entirely in one continuous shot.

See this movie. See the different faces of love. let your heart be filled with joy... again and again.



(further reading: review... wiki... but honestly - just see it first - then read more about it.)

*Away from Her (3 out of 5 stars... great beginning... then... meh)
** Somersault (4.5 out of 5 stars... this Aussie film has gotten better in my mind as i've thought more about it and discovered truths found within)

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