The Height of Humility -- FPC sermon excerpt

They thought they were exceptional, those scribes and Pharisees. Religious role models. Spiritual superstars. Paragons of piety. God’s own Dream Team.

Nothing made them happier than having the place of honor at banquets, the best seats in the synagogues, and the respectful greetings of people in the marketplace. They were kind of like the politicians sitting in the seats of honor at both the Democratic and Republican conventions.

The scribes and Pharisees sat on the seat of the great prophet Moses, dressed as wise teachers of the law, with broad phylacteries and long fringes — the religious bling of first century Judaism. They stroked their beards and beamed with pride when people called them “rabbi.” (Matthew 23:1-7).

They were the height of arrogance. Flying high. Completely out of touch.

And Jesus wanted to bring them down.

“Do whatever they teach you,” he says to his followers, and to us; “But do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach” (v. 2). The scribes and Pharisees are hypocrites — people who talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk. “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others,” says Jesus; “but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them” (v. 4). As exceptional men, they believe it is their duty to offer the gift of moral clarity to others. But as for practicing a little charity? That’s someone else’s problem!

In place of arrogance, Jesus recommends inserting some humility. “You are not to be called rabbi” — which literally means “my great one” — “for you have one teacher, and you are all students,” he says to the crowds and to his disciples (v. 8). “Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah” (v. 9).

And then Jesus surprises everyone with a statement that turns the entire social structure upside down, sending the arrogant down to the boiler room and the humble up to the presidential suite. “The greatest among you will be your servant,” he predicts. “And all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted” (vv. 11-12).

This is a grand reversal of fortune. Call it the height of humility.

The ConLang Confession

Anxiety.

It “weighs down the human heart.” That’s what the Bible says, in Proverbs 12:25. But “a good word cheers it up.”

But what if you can’t find a good word?

That’s the problem that 28-year-old Sonja Kisa faced when she was working as a translator in Toronto. She was feeling depressed and overwhelmed, and none of the words she knew in French, English, German or Esperanto were giving her any relief.

So she created her own language, something simple to ease her mind and clarify her thoughts.

According to The Los Angeles Times (August 24, 2007), she called it Toki Pona — “good language” — and gave it just 120 words.

“Ale li pona,” she said to herself. Good words meaning “Everything will be OK.”

This new language helped to ease her mind, and then, much to Sonja’s surprise, the language took off. There are now more than 100 Toki Pona speakers — people who sing Toki Pona songs, write Toki Pona poems, and chat with a Toki Pona vocabulary.

Maybe someday there will be a Toki Pona Bible.

This is all part of a strange and surprising surge in new languages. Back in the day, only Star-Trek-loving Klingon imitators and J.R.R. Tolkien fans got excited about invented vocabularies. But now constructed languages are flourishing on the Internet and creeping into the real world. A website called Langmaker.com lists over 1,900 made-up languages, and it gives credit to more than 1,000 language creators.

Not surprisingly, these inventors have created a word for what they do: ConLang. It’s short for “constructed languages.”

Matthew 16 is full of invented vocabulary, including the words that Simon Peter speaks to Jesus in a ConLang Confession: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (16:16). From start to finish, this passage presents a fresh language for faithfulness, one that can continue to give us the new words we need.

The Race for the Religious Center -- USA TODAY, August 11, 2008

To read the popular press these days, one would think that the world of religion was divided quite comfortably into two camps: The religious right and the insurgent religious left. For those Americans — most, in fact — standing squarely in the middle, the perception has never quite fit reality.

On Saturday, the presumptive presidential nominees will appeal directly to this religious center, and they'll do it on the same stage. The visit by Barack Obama and John McCain to Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in California isn't your typical stop on the campaign trail. Although presidential candidates are usually focused on liberals or conservatives, these two have discovered that there are votes to be gained by wooing the moderate middle — and that includes the sizeable religious middle.

At Saddleback, Obama and McCain are expected to appear together, at least briefly, and will be answering questions on AIDS, poverty and the environment — areas of special concern to Warren, an evangelical pastor and author of the best-selling book The Purpose-Driven Life.

Co-sponsoring this event is a multidenominational religious group called Faith in Public Life, whose Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders will be helping Warren devise his questions to the candidates. These religious leaders, along with the two candidates, are keenly aware that an issue such as the environment, for instance, can no longer be painted as a stereotypical liberal concern. The Pew Forum's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, released in February, found widespread support for stricter environmental laws and regulations among members of evangelical churches (54%), mainline churches (64%), historically black churches (52%) and Catholic churches (60%).

A central force

In a year in which one state or another could tip the election, every demographic can play the spoiler, and the religious center is no exception.

Candidates have already seen the danger of being associated with the religious fringe. Obama has famously rejected his far-left former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, and he's veering right while courting evangelicals, the first Democrat since Jimmy Carter to dare go there. Meanwhile, McCain has distanced himself from far-right televangelist John Hagee, who had endorsed him. He's also moving ahead without the blessing of James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family and an influential leader of the religious right.

So why the shift away from the poles? I raised this issue with my parishioner George Barker, a Virginia state senator and Presbyterian elder. He told me that "while many voters want a candidate with religious convictions and core values, most Americans do not want leaders whose absolutist beliefs diminish openness to others' views."

He's right. Indeed, Americans want to hear religious talk from their candidates, because faith provides a window on personal values and integrity. But voters don't want someone with an extreme religious position. After all, the American president has to represent people of all faiths — or of no faith.

Rabbi Jack Moline, chair of the board of the Interfaith Alliance, a national organization committed to protecting the integrity of religion and democracy in America, says both candidates recognize that "the price of embracing the extremists is the loss of the middle in this election."

And again, the sweet spot in November will be the middle.

The youth vote

A generational shift also is at play in this election, and I'm not just talking about the rush to register and the record number of young voters weighing in during the primaries. Many young Christians are slowly shifting toward the political center, and savvy politicians are following them there.

"Evangelical young people are concerned about a broader range of issues than their parents," says Eric Sapp, a partner in the consulting firm Eleison Group, which works with Democrats and progressive groups to improve outreach and communication with American faith communities. He tells me that mission trips — which have become increasingly popular, with 1.6 million people taking such trips in 2005 — expose young Christians to a much wider range of issues. These experiences contribute to a broadened world view for young evangelicals, one that includes concern for global poverty, HIV/AIDS, malaria, the environment and a range of other issues.

"They don't have the fortress mentality of their parents," says Sapp, "but are looking at the moral responsibility of power."

This is by no means to say that cultural issues — abortion, gay marriage and such — no longer have sway with certain voters on the left and right, of course. But it's likely that as more moderate voices begin to drive the debate while forcing the nominees to follow course, such intractable issues become a mere part of the dialogue rather than the defining issue in any dialogue. It's hard to imagine McCain or Obama making same-sex marriage a defining issue in this election, much as it was in 2004.

What's also clear is that much to Obama's credit, the religious conversation is now largely an American one, rather than an increasingly ideological one. He has put Democrats back in the faith game, embracing elements of President Bush's faith-based initiatives while speaking comfortably of his own spiritual life. In part because of his deft public testimony, Republicans no longer own the God vote. That's good for Democrats and Republicans — and it's particularly good for the faithful in the middle.

For his part, McCain's outreach to the faithful has at times felt forced. "It would help if he were able to talk comfortably about his faith story," notes Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. "If I were advising him, I would say, 'Be authentic, stay within your comfort zone, don't go beyond it.' "

The Arizona Republican knows, though, that his campaign's Straight Talk Express will lose considerable steam without the religious vote.

In a country where 96% of Americans believe in God or a higher power, and 70% feel that it is important that the president has strong religious beliefs, a candidate for the White House can't spell "Inauguration Day" without G-O-D.

And the only way Obama or McCain will get there is by securing the votes and confidence of the country's growing religious center.

2K Paul -- FPC sermon excerpt

Need an excuse to throw a party?

Harry Potter’s birthday was July 31, and fans celebrated with wizard-themed parties involving costumes and games. National Friendship Day was August 3 — that’s an often overlooked holiday, established by Congress in 1935. In her book Domestic Bliss, Rita Konig suggests that you throw a party for the first day of autumn on September 22.

But what about right now, in the middle of the dog days of summer?

How about the Jubilee of Saint Paul?

Woo-hoo! Par-tay!

Q: Do you know why Paul told Timothy to take just a little wine for the sake of his stomach?
A: Because it was Paul’s bottle.

2008 is the year of Paul’s Jubilee, a celebration of his birth 2000 years ago. Travel agencies are helping tourists reach the places where Paul preached the Gospel and established the first Christian communities: Ephesus, Philippi, Corinth, and Rome. Vatican archeologists are excited about the possibility that they have found the sarcophagus of Paul under the main altar of St. Paul’s Basilica. Paul was killed in Rome in the middle of the first century, probably by losing his head, and this church was built three centuries later on the site of his burial.

Now, Pope Benedict XVI has announced a special jubilee year, inviting modern Christians to imitate Paul’s missionary energy and spirit of sacrifice. The pope wants the year to be ecumenical, since Paul himself was committed to the unity and harmony of all Christians. “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free,” wrote Paul to the Galatians, “for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (3:28).

Paul was not a party animal, but he knew how to gather people together.

So it’s good to remember this 2000-year-old man — call him “2K Paul” — although we don’t have to rush out and buy apostle-themed costumes. I’m not recommending a toga party. But a celebration is certainly in order, because Paul rocked the religious world like no one else on the first-century evangelistic scene. Second only to Jesus Christ himself, Paul shaped the Christian faith that we practice today.

Fourth and One -- FPC sermon excerpt

The football season is upon us, and the Washington Redskins are playing in the Hall of Fame Game, against the Indianapolis Colts.

What will they do if they find themselves in a fourth and one situation? Fourth down, with one yard to go.

Well, if history is any indication, they’ll punt.

Last fall, the Redskins were playing the New York Jets. With just over five minutes to play, they found themselves on their own 23-yard line facing a fourth and one situation.

The Redskins, who were ahead by just three points, chose to do what teams normally do in such a situation: They played it safe and punted, instead of trying to go for the first down.

Well, the Jets stormed back and kicked a field goal, tying the game and sending it into overtime. It took another field goal, a 46-yarder by the Redskins kicker, to enable Washington to emerge with a victory.

Which brings me to the question: What should they have done on that fourth and one?

According to The Washington Post (November 5, 2007), an economist at the University of California has come to believe that football teams are far too conservative in fourth-down situations. In an extensive analysis, he found that teams that take the risk, and go for the first down, end up winning more often than losing. His recommendation would be for teams to regularly go for it, instead of punting. The numbers indicate that this is the optimal path to football victory.

Unfortunately, football teams tend to play it safe, even when this hurts their chances for a win. And so do many of us. We may say we have a goal and are willing to do everything we can to achieve it, but then our behavior departs from the best path to achieve that goal.

Instead of going for it, we punt.

In Genesis 32:22-31, Jacob wrestles with a mysterious divine being next to the Jabbok River. It’s a fourth-and-one situation for Jacob, but he doesn’t punt. No, he wrestles with the mystery man until daybreak, and he receives a blessing.