It is Stampede time and country music lovers are in town for
a good time. I was really worried about
them during the storm that came through.
We were in the middle of our closing party enjoying ice cream and
popcorn. And people come up to me and
show me on their phones and then I got a call of warning. So I told people about the storm and they
disappeared. Several people told
me: “Boy, you know how to clear a room!”
I did not have the
opportunity to learn to like country music.
But I know important music is for them and for all people
everywhere. I see in the Stampede so
many longings for music, meaning, community, and hope for this world. Part of it is a search for those
things. I know that it is a temptation
of the church to sit in judgment on the Stampede. And yes, some do get carried away doing very
dangerous things. But the other side is
important to look at too.
People are seeking truth and meaning. I also do not care for a lot of contemporary
Christian music because it seems to push a message rather than following truth
wherever it leads.
This week I read a book about U2 by Gregg Garrett. While not Country music, U2 shows the power of music. All of us have heard a song that moved us
deeply. Millions of people have been
moved by their music. The band was very
involved in a church-related group in Dublin called Shalom, and how they left
because of all the unreasonable rules.
It was a classic struggle between law and freedom. The band has given millions to help
others. The concerts have a quality of
people being gathered up in a purpose to connect each person to the rest of the
world. Their songs are about people on a
journey, learning how to find meaning together.
Their themes are very much like the themes for VBS this week…being
neighbors, good neighbors, giving neighbors, bold neighbors, and forgiving
neighbors. U2 music might not always
sound Christian, but what could be more Christ-like than what they do for the
poor. Their songs encourage people to
put their faith into action for the sake of the poor.
The young people at the lake, like all of us are asking
questions:
What can we
know about God?
With whom
can we share our spiritual journey?
What will
make me a better person?
How can I
help make the world a better place?
When the songs of this band talk about the journey, I am
certainly with them.
I believe
when the kingdom comes
Then all
the colors will bleed into one
Bleed into
one
But yes I’m
still running.
You broke
the bonds.
You
loosened the chains.
You carried
the cross of my shame.
You know I
believed it
But I still
haven’t found what I’m looking for.
Those are the same as my questions. From the beginning of the Bible to the end,
those are the questions we are to live.
Young people are saying: don’t claim to have all of my answers, before
you know me. Let’s learn together what God
is saying in our day. Almost every day I
thank God that we have here in the church younger and older together. It is happening in churches less and
less. And I am certain it is God at work
here and I am so grateful.
I am also sad that many of those persons at the lake do not
believe that the very things they are seeking can be found in a church. They are certain that the church has nothing
to offer them in their search. I am also
equally sad that one response the church makes is that we do not want
them. I hear in U2 music a teaching of a
message that will make the world a better place.
When Penny and I were in Ireland, the tour bus drove us by
Bono’s house. Bono is a celebrity
redefining what a rock star can be. He
is not known for his trashing of hotel rooms or creating scandals. His work is more toward motivating us to do
something about world hunger or fighting malaria.
One biblical theme of U2 is that if want to find God, one
place to look is the needs of your neighbors.
The love of God for us, our love for God, and love for neighbor
connected in a close bond. Yes, we
learn a great deal about God in Bible Study, Sunday School, hymns…but can
serious talk about God’s values come from a rock star? I would say, “Yes!”
One story of VBS was the Good Samaritan. Jesus told the story to someone on a journey,
seeking truth and hoping to score points.
“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus asked him “What is written in the law?”
That story is like the joke in which the Gentile complains: “The trouble with
you Jews is that you answer my questions with other questions? Says the Jew: “Why not?” He answers that the purpose of life is to
love God and neighbor as your self….great answer! And Jesus answers back: “Do that and you
will live.”
William Sloane Coffin, Jr. once said that the Priest and the
Levite did not stop and help the man injured and robbed because they were in a
hurry to attend a meeting on how to increase the safety of travelers on the
road. Love alone is the expression of
being free and alive.
This week the Bible stories taught us showed to define
neighbor the way Jesus did.
The person to whom Jesus told the Good Samaritan story was
certain that the idea was to love other Jews, not Samaritan. Jesus made the despised Samaritan the
hero. I feel sorrow every day when
racism declares something at the expense of someone else. Jews and Palestinians are our neighbors. It is a fact that no one’s heart is as wide
as God’s love.
Chad Bunger of our church is alive because of Good Samaritan
in the form of fellow runners. Chad was
out running with a group of runners a week ago yesterday. He was running and all of sudden his heart
stopped. With the help of those who
stayed with him and gave him CPR, he is alive.
One of the amazing ironies of his amazing journey is that for 10 years
he taught CPR and taught others how to teach CPR. It is quite possible that someone he directly
or indirectly taught saved his life.
The early church had Jewish Christians and Gentile
Christians. The Jewish Christians were
tempted to return to all of the rules of the law. Paul reminds them that the law was the tutor
or teacher…until the power of goodness of Jesus Christ brought freedom.
Another image of what Jesus has done for us is one taken
from the Peanuts cartoons. Charlie Brown
is all disturbed. He is grumping…”I
can’t do it. I can’t do it.” Lucy comes and offers advice. “What is wrong?” “What can’t you do?” CB says, “I want to build things and I need a
workbench. But I cannot build a
workbench because I don’t have a workbench to build it on.” Jesus is that starting point upon which we
can rebuild ourselves first and then the world.
Jesus is the liberator that gets us unstuck and keeps us free and
responsible.
I close with an event that happened this week with
Christopher Shanklin. During the children’s
moments last week, Brady was whispering to me that his brother was going to the
Kansas City Royals game. And then I got
to hear the story of how Christopher got, not one, but two foul balls. Some people go for years and do not get
one. And what did he do? He shared it with another kid who did not get
one.
There is a U2 Song, One: We’re one but not the same/We get
to carry each other. One life/with each
other/Sisters/Brothers/one life/But we’re not the same/we get to carry one
another.
I close with the Message by Eugene Peterson. It is the same text but beautifully
written:
“Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take you stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of
slavery on you.
It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free
life. Just make sure that you don’t use
this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your
freedom. Rather use your freedom to
serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is
summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom.”
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