Obadiah: Family Matters

I think 99% of people glance by Obadiah in the Bible, but for me it's always been intruinging because I was part of a children's musical about this very book of the Bible. Now that I read it...I'm trying to figure out how they made the subject appropriate for children!

The whole book is a scathing prophecy about the Edomites who, essentially, are a group of Israelites. The Edomites are the descendents of Esau...the same hairy Esau who lost the battle of wits with Jacob for the birthrights of the eldest son in Genesis.

The Bible is a funny book in a lot of ways, because you would think that the trickster Jacob would get punished. After all, he is the one who sticks his hand out of the womb so that he'll "really" be first, and then tricks his older brother out of his birthright. But it's Esau who ends up being the bad guy..the sap. The Edomites are looked upon in modern vernacular as "losers."

The scathing prophecy about the Edomites concerns their revenge, having helped the Babylonians through the backdoor and wipe out the Israel army, resulting in the exile of the Israelite leaders.

At the core, it's a family feud. It's a family member who has been scorned and wants revenge. This isn't what God ever commands. The laws of the Old Testament are meant to serve as a calming factor so that emotion doesn't run over, and Jesus strictly commands against revenge.

Why? Because God claims us all as family. We are to love and support each other as we would our own blood relatives, and revenge has only one aim, and that is to prove you are better than someone else.

The Edomites aren't punished for being who they are...they are punished for their hatred of the people that put them there.

The Bridge Boot Camp - What are We Training For?

I got an e-mail today that I'd been waiting on for 2 weeks. It was the first e-mail that I'd received questioning my usage of the military training known as "boot camp" as a metaphor for Christian discipleship training...as well as the entire idea about using military references in general in worship.

I always appreciate e-mails (positive or critiques) and figured this would come, because as soon as I put on a military outfit to go preach...I wondered if I was being authentic. I will admit I don't believe there is anything that is a Christian war or deserves holy battle in this world. There are some wars for good causes, but no war that I believe God jumps for joy at. And as Christians, we ought to realize that as well. That when we are serving in the military we are serving a country. We are not blowing stuff up for God.

However, when we came up with the idea of boot camp in Bridge Planning Team I loved the metaphor. I've studied the work ethic, devotion and blood, sweat and tears that military recruits go through to become part of the marines, navy, air force or whatever and I'm envious that our churches don't do the same thing. The devotion of a soldier is something to be admired for certain. I would love for people to be craving so bad to be a church member that they would do ANYTHING to get in...because they want to celebrate the love Christ has for them so much!

Fortunately, Christ's love doesn't cost us anything. It's a free gift and that's why churches typically don't make people box each other or run the mile in under 8 minutes to get in. We ask you to commit, try to encourage you, try to follow up and hope that we can facilitate your own faith growth through sermons, care, fellowship, study, service, etc.

We can't be a military boot camp. It's just not the way Christ was.

But Jesus demanded a lot. So did Paul and all the early Christians. Do you know that it was a 3 year process just to get baptized at one point?

So that's what we're doing in The Bridge Boot Camp. We're training you, building disciples from the ground up so that we'll be ready for all that life has to offer us and stay strong in our faith. It's a changing of mind-set, similar to the military, to thinking about the we and refocusing your view of the world. From a me or world point of view, to a God point of view.

So if you're confused...don't worry. We're not sending you out to battle. We're sending you out to make disciples and be disciples. Some might call that a battle. I simply call it joyful service.

The battle has been won. We're simply telling everyone.

What about now?

I was recently driving back from Oklahoma City, and just after turning east on Hwy. 82 off of I-35 I noticed a church advertisement... "this is the church that started at Pentecost." Obviously the intent was to say that they are full of the Spirit or they are not caught up in modern day church bureaucracy (or so they say...).

I will admit that the church that exists in 2nd chapter of Acts is appealing and I'm certain a glimpse of the Kingdom of God that we can aspire to. However...what if it stopped there? What if this church on Hwy. 82 really is just exactly like that church...would they know what we know from the Pastoral Epistles? From Romans? Would they have missed out?

So often we idealize the past as "golden ages" or "the good old days" because things seemed so much simpler. Even in the sermon series I did on Acts recently I kept talking about the Apostolic model of church as our goal, but if we stopped somewhere in the journey of Acts, we'd miss out on so much. We might miss out on Peter's vision that God has made all things clean, so we are free from dietary laws of the holiness codes of old. We might have missed out on all of the church conflict in Corinth, so we might not know how to handle our own conflict.

Even further, we would not have experienced the saints who have come before us and gone on who perpetuated the faith and love we know from God.

I believe we look to the past for great stories and examples that guide our wisdom, but who is to say that wisdom stops? In the same vein, who is to say that God stops? I really believe that we think the past is better because we already know what happened and we can find the positive. Even in the Great Depression era we praise the people of America for their spirit of togetherness and never-say-die attitude.

It seems that the present day and even worse the future are unwritten. It seems as though unpredictability and uncertainty are our biggest fears, so we long for the past...even in the Church.

But if we take resurrection seriously, with Christ's final coming, isn't the future more glorious than anything that happened on Pentecost? They both share wonderful things, but this is the final chapter and a life of peace on earth with Jesus is at hand...what's not to love about that?

So what about now? Why can't today be great and why can't God be doing some of His best work in us today? I invite you to listen for it amongst the noise, and if you need help, I'd invite you to listen to it amongst the silence. Today is the day the Lord has made...rejoice and be glad in it.

For those who want one more hour in the day...

I was notified that I hadn't updated my church blog in a while, and I might add by one of the least likely readers. Although, I'm glad it's been useful, or as he put it...interesting. And if he is reading this, thanks!

I'd say the biggest reason why I do not blog as much anymore is lack of time. I originally aimed for once a week, but that has turned a little more like once a month now. It's not that I'm not full of extremely intelligent, articulate witty things to say (we all KNOW that to be true), it's that I haven't made the time to do it.

So what's the difference in making time and having time?

1) We all have time for whatever. God gave it to us. There is exactly enough time in the day for what we need to do.
2) Making time refers to you creating. Creating is the image of God. What you choose to make of your day is your gift to God. Having time is almost recognizing the time as an entitlement instead of God's gift.

I think many of us could give good excuses for not doing things such as blogging, cooking more, exercising...worship?...and other things of note (ok...not so much blogging), but in reality I could blog every day if I were more disciplined. And no, I'm not asking someone to come beat me or put me in time out when I don't blog.

Discipline means ordered, committed. If I am disciplined in my life, I will make the time for what is important rather than listening to my latest whims. Trust me, I'm not the most disciplined person in the world...far from it...but if I didn't have any discipline I would have a closet full of ipods, ipads, imacs, tv's, video games and all of the other latest and greatest that I can't live without.

As it turns out...I only have two of those things. Because I know if I had them I'd never communicate face to face with anyone. I know they would suck me in. Doesn't mean I don't want them...just means I don't need them.

What in your day do you need and what do you need to let go of? You are the maker of your day with God giving you the time to do so. What important aspects of life are you missing out on by feeling like you don't have enough time.

You have enough time. It all depends upon your priorities.

Wait, Is that a Christian?

Reading through Acts in preparation for the sermon this week I stumbled upon a passage that I hadn't noticed before. Acts 2:7 comes after the Holy Spirit has swept through the room and the crowd has started speaking in many different languages, and a great crowd has gathered to hear what the thunderclap and light show was all about. But an interesting comment is made by the awed crowd, "Aren't these all Galileans?"

In essence..."they shouldn't be talking to me" or "why can I suddenly relate to them?"

Beforehand the disciples had selected leaders and community members from amongst those they trusted and who had been around the whole time with Jesus, but all of a sudden God has given the ability to speak to anyone and everyone in a way they can relate to. (And to think people thought they were just drunk)

I really wish there were people who were stopped in astonishment anywhere in the world and said, "Wait...aren't those Christians?" I would love to hear of more surprising, shocking acts of love, proclamation and mercy, and even acts of holiness and piety in everyday life that would stop people in their tracks and wonder if those are the same Christians who meet in the building down the street and self perpetuate themselves.

I remember in high school watching one of my friends drink a Coke (with full caffeine) and having another one of our friends comment, "Aren't you Mormon?" And another time in college while hanging out with a Muslim friend who uttered a certain four letter word, only to have a Christian (who regularly used those words) comment, "aren't you a Muslim?" out of astonishment. Wouldn't it be great if people were surprised by our behavior, our message and our acts of love, instead of Christians simply blending in to cultural norms? I'd love to be seen as bizarre in this world. I think I'd have good company in scripture and Christian history. What's the quote, "well-behaved women rarely get remembered." I think culturally conditioned Christians rarely get remembered.

Spiritual Disciplines in Dodgeball

I've long questioned why in the world we play dodgeball in churches. It's violent, there's usually someone that gets angry...I haven't quite worked out how we're working for justice, mercy, peace or making disciples.

But...it does get people in the door. In this way I've found it to be valuable and just a good time.

Tonight, however, I found it to be spiritually helpful.

Our team got whooped...and I mean whooped bad. Games are timed to last 45 minutes. We lost 7 games and there was still 24 minutes on the clock. Lost 7 games and won 2 in a little over 20 minutes. I'll accept that the other team was probably more athletic, threw harder and maybe a little more organized than ours...so I wasn't upset about losing, I was upset at one of the other players.

Sports brings out the best and the worst in humanity. Lately it seems that the worst, however, has been glorified as competitive, gamesmanship, call it what you will. Tonight, I needed the holy spirit and got it.

Another player on the opposing team may have been just goofing off, but got a lot of our players really upset when he would point his finger at our players and taunt them or yell or whatever else he would do, and I'll admit that the pastor, me, was infuriated with this young man. I lost control of rational thinking. Typically I would have made excuses for him, but I just wanted to pelt him with a dodgeball to make him be quiet and leave the game, but something strange happened.

As I retrieved a dodgeball from the back wall and went up to throw I felt compelled to not throw at this young man, but to throw at one of the other players, so I did. What's strange about that is that I wasn't in danger of being hit by them or they weren't available targets to hit...I simply felt like I couldn't throw in anger. The holy spirit disciplined me.

The word discipline is not like you hear in the principles office. It is not a punishment. It is withholding action that is detrimental so that one's life will be lived more righteously. When we talk about the spiritual disciplines of fasting, praying, giving money and others we are typically describing behaviors that involve going out of the way of what we WANT to do, in order to do things we NEED to do for the health of our spirit. When we abstain from food, Facebook or cell phones we are showing that God is really all we need. We we pray, we are setting aside valuable time and showing trust in the God who listens and responds.

Had I thrown the dodgeball out of anger I believe I would have been sinning. I would have lost control of myself and played sports to defeat my opponent and shame him at the same time.

Sports is not about defeating your opponent. Sports is about accomplishment, doing it right, having fun and playing the game correctly. Victory in dodgeball or any other sport requires discipline, knowing how to play the right way as to not detriment yourself or your team.

Had I lost control and thrown the ball out of anger I would have given in to selfishness, pride, anger and other attributes that turn a fun game/life into a disaster in the making.

As it happened...we won that game, and I got the other guy out on that throw. Turns out my own agendas aren't quite as important as the team's after all. I wonder if our lives with God are the same way?

The Problem with "Free"

April 15th was crazy. Not because I hadn't filed my taxes yet but because of the masses of free and discounted stuff being given away! Unfortunately my daughter was sick, but as we were leaving the doctor's office I noticed a coupon for a free hamburger at Scotty P's just down the road. This would be capatalized on, as would the free pizza from Mr. Jim's and the free coffee from Starbucks.

All in the name of tax day relief. I'm glad these businesses have my back, I always knew they cared.

It was crazy, we waited almost an hour for a 5 dollar hamburger, just because it was free. Even crazier, we had food going bad at home in our refridgerator that we had worked hard to prepare and was probably healthier. And truth be told, in college and other places, I've seen crazier and more dangerous behavior done for free stuff.

After waiting 30 minutes for my free small (very small) pizza, which was...okay...I got to thinking about the nuttiness that offering something for free will get you 20 times more visitors than any normal day. Did these businesses simply care about me this one day because I was ever so stressed about my taxes? Probably not.

But they have an advantage that the church does not. The church has to offer grace for free, there's no other way to do it. Grace for us comes at a cost that we don't have to pay, because God already declared it done through Jesus Christ. It's hard to claim that you are serving God and make people pay for grace at the church.

Businesses make people pay for their stuff every day, which I suppose in our world adds value to the importance of the product. If I have to pay for it, then I'm more invested in it. When the good is given away, it's amazing, because what once cost $5 is now nothing...what a deal!

And I think...

We're giving away grace, love, peace, justice, hope every day, all day FOR FREE!!! And I wonder why people are chomping at the bit to get in the door. Some people claim the church demands too much money, which we ask for 10% of income as a tithe. That's 90% that is spent on hamburgers and coffee. Some people claim the church is invalid in today's society, which will never be the case, but I hope that will not come in the minds of the world. I say never because the church is the body of Christ and will eternally be linked with the eternal one...and I'm guessing that'll last a lot longer than Mr. Jim's pizza.

So the only two reasons I can think of are:
1) Churches aren't doing a good enough job communicating the free stuff
2) We haven't invested enough as individuals in the churches we love, for the church to truly make a difference in our and other's lives.

They say there's no such thing as a free lunch. Perhaps there is no such thing as free grace either. Perhaps when you receive the free grace of God, with no strings attached, there is nothing you can do but go out and serve God with your whole being.

The problem with free...it messes up comfortable in this case.

Timing is Everything

I believe the number one self-stated problem for Americans is, "there's not enough time."

Everyone has said this, I have, you have, everyone. Whether it is nearing crunch time for a deadline at work, trying to clean the house after the kids have gone to bed, but before the next day when the parents visit, or trying to balance your career, family, personal health and social volunteerism...oh yeah....that faith, church thing too.

What gets cut out of your life?

See, the secret to having enough time is to whittle down the commitments you say "yes" to, and learn how to say "no" to those things that are not as important. But again, what gets a "no" in your life?

As a pastor who is also a people-pleaser I tend to fill my calendar up quickly with requests to attend a Bible study, preach at a training session, attend a meeting, plan an event, and I set aside time to be with my family. But inevitably, Friday comes and I haven't gotten half of my "to-do's" actually done, and I can't remember what I have done in my time. It's as though there is never enough time. You know the feeling...no matter what you do.

But a wise-man once taught me, "there is a perfect amount of time, no matter how humans have defined it. God made the earth to perfectly go around the sun, creating day and night, so time is a gift from God...not a burden that there is not enough of. So, what I'm telling you is...there is plenty of time, you are simply filling it with too much."

Have you ever thought about God creating the day perfectly? Scientifically, the earth is the perfect distance and rotates perfectly for life to exist, so why would the amount of light and dark be imperfect? We are supposed to get 7-10 hours of sleep, which is close to the amount of darkness there is...perfect?

Including myself, perhaps we need to simply say no to certain things. This might be the hardest thing for many people, as there are many, many, many good things to say yes to. But believe me, someone will take the slack. You can almost argue that people who are engaged in too many things are enablers of laziness in society. What's the old adage, "10% of the church does 90% of the work." I wonder if we intentionally let things slip through the cracks if our own work would be better done, and if more people would step up to serve and lead the church because there is a need.

Of course the problem becomes time again. People often do not fulfill leadership roles, or even consumer roles in churches because they are too busy with their jobs or their kids' sports or other activities that are important as well. But this argument could go two ways.

1) all of the people who typically say yes to church stuff, are usually very busy people, because they say yes to everything. This is not a good thing for them, and possibly not for the church body.

2) what is more important?

If there is a perfect amount of time and you do not have time to fill your spiritual needs, your social needs and your need to serve (all three I believe are things we crave and need to be healthy in our lives), then what is taking that time? What is not important, but we make important?

In the season of Lent, as we are to be refocusing ourselves on the death and resurrection of Christ, perhaps it's time we take a look at our time priorities.

Here's the challenge:

-print out your schedule for the month and add up the total number of hours you are engaged in certain activities.

-chances are, your job will dominate - that's expected

-what is second? How many hours is that compared to your job?

-where is anything faith/service related, percentage wise?

-how much of your schedule benefits someone else or even, benefits the world as a whole?

You Try and Explain This

One of the most often talked about subjects with congregation members is Baptism. It's an intruinging topic, and it delights me to know that people are thinking about it. I think it's so intriguing because of the mystery behind it all. You can't REALLY explain baptism.

It's kind of like trying to explain "art" as a concept. You can't know what art is...you simply have to...know.

Baptism does have a United Methodist explanation, and that is (in my own words), "Baptism is a means of grace. It is the ritual performed to dignify God's grace working on and within an individual, as God's grace comes before any action or choice that we make. This is true for infants or for adults, and is an acceptance by the congregation that this person is a child of God."

Does that tell you what baptism is? For some, yes, for some, no. It describes it as a ritual experience, it tells of God's grace, but how do you describe an internal action or feeling? How do you describe God's grace at work on an infant who can't tell you about it like an adult can? It's simply baptism, acceptance into God's grace.

Some people...have a problem with this conception of baptism. To some, baptism is the moment in which you are saved, your sins are washed away, because baptism is the choice you make, allowing God's grace to come to you. It is no longer a recognition of God's action, it is an invoking of God's action.

In both cases, God's grace is available to all, but in one, God acts first and you dignify that and accept it, and in the other case, you act first and God then rewards you. Like I said...it's a tricky subject, but fun.

I think baptism gives us a good look at the way God works in our lives. We know it's happening to us or another person (perhaps our kids), but we can't totally put words to it. We can try, but we know there will always be more.

So the next time you see a baptism, embrace the mystery and celebrate that God is so awesome and works so many wonders...that we can't explain all of them as well as we'd like to.

Heaven: Is it just therapy?

After a lively discussion this morning's Bible study focusing around the first 4 chapters of Romans, I realized how much of the conversation had centered around who and who doesn't get to heaven. This stemmed from Paul writing about God's wrath, judgment and righteousness in the first 3 chapters of Romans (yes, an uplifting start that gets better).

Interestingly enough, we got on the topic of heaven when someone asked "do we get judged now or later?"

We then sprung into talks about Haiti, 9/11 and other events that people have blamed on God, but the overwhelming consensus was that we are judged later, when we die and have the opportunity to experience heaven.

One person spoke of how comforting this feeling was, that they were going to heaven, that it was a weight off of their shoulders that they did not have to fear death.

Believe it or not, a lay person at Stonebridge UMC was right in line with statements made by Martin Luther, Paul, John Wesley and many of the great theologians from the past. They too were afraid of death and not being in the presence of God, and God's grace allowed them to be relieved and be at peace.

But is the promise of heaven just a therapeutic tool for us? Is it something to give us comfort when things are bad...that things will eventually get better? What is heaven?

Christianity is not the only faith that holds an idea of a "heaven", as Muslims for sure hold the idea of a paradise, and even Buddhists and Hindus have an idea of Nirvana or a spiritual essence that takes you out of materialism. Christians, however, have not always been consistent with their ideas of heaven...causing me to wonder if it is just therapy now or if it is true deliverance.

According to the Gospels, Jesus talks about preparing a place for us with The Father in heaven. Jesus, however, does not talk about streets paved with gold, sitting on clouds playing harps, or even a bodiless existence.

Paul, I do not believe, talks about heaven specifically, but does offer salvation through Christ. So saved from what and to what?

It is possible that heaven can be an extra-bodily existence after we die, in which we are in perfect union with God and at peace...and after that, no one can tell you what heaven is like. We can't even say that's for sure.

But the earliest Christians saw salvation as occuring within this world that they knew. Even Revelation, by many scholars, is about freedom in this world and making this world new. When resurrection of the body is talked about, Paul adamantly argues that our physical bodies and not just our souls are resurrected from the dead, and that we will walk with Christ on this earth.

Is it possible that heaven really is on Earth?

Maybe Belinda Carlisle was right...Let's make heaven a place on Earth.

I believe this takes heaven out of the realm of therapy, although I do enjoy the comfort of knowing my friends and family are in heaven when they die. However, reading scriptures, salvation and heaven are so much more than a retirement community. Heaven seems to be that state on Earth where we are in perfect union with Christ and His mission, and that can only happen when Christ returns and the faithful are resurrected (mentioned in Paul's letters).

But I don't think heaven is the end of the story. It's not the final comfort, but the beginning of an exciting journey where we experience what life with Christ is truly like. When we are so in tune with the will of God that there is no war, hate, violence, suffering, poverty. Where we are shaped perfectly by God.

Donald Miller writes, "The point of a story is never about the ending, remember. It's about your character getting molded in the hard work of the middle."

Maybe heaven is here and now, and in the beyond. Maybe it's both at the same time. The point is, that we'll never know what heaven is like, except that we'll be with God. But heaven is so much more than being reassured that we are special and that we are safe. Heaven is a call to transformation and a call to a life lived with God. Heaven is supposed to mold us here and later, so that in Christ's final victory we might be made perfect, not for a outer-wordly realm, but for Christ's reign on Earth.

Feel free to disagree. I don't know what heaven is, but I know I'm excited about it. But I tend to think that God likes this place, why else would he have created it? I tend to think Paul is right that our bodies are not just jailhouses for our souls. So if we're rethinking bodies, souls and the earth, perhaps heaven ought to be at the front of our minds as we transform these other things.

Stonebridge UMC's Response to Haiti

Hey Stonebridgers (or anyone else that reads this and wants to help),

For the next two Sundays (the 17th and the 24th of January) we will be asking for and collecting health kits and/or donations for health kits to send to Haiti and the thousands of victims of the earthquake there. We ask that you go over and above your normal giving to send hope and love to people who already had very little to begin with, and now their very health is at stake. As God has blessed us, let us bless others.

One of the great things about UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief is that all donations or goods donated go 100% to the people who need them. Local churches, like Stonebridge UMC, give money out of our budget to cover administrative costs, so that UMCOR can focus on rapidly and efficiently helping those that need help.

Below are three ways to help out:

1) Health kits.
Put the supplies listed below into a 1 gallon storage bag, seal it, and bring it to Stonebridge UMC or any other United Methodist Church. We will make sure it gets to the right place. All health kits need to be brought to the church by Sunday, January 31st.

1 hand towel (15" x 25" up to 17" x 27")
1 washcloth1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket-sized)
1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
1 bath-size bar of soap (3 oz. and up)
1 toothbrush (single brushes only in original wrapper, No child-size brushes)
1 large tube of toothpaste (4.5 oz. or larger, expiration date must be 6 months or longer in advance of the date of shipment to UMCOR Sager Brown)
6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages

Place these items inside a sealed one-gallon plastic bag.

Important: Please do not include any religious, political or patriotic notes or emblems in any kit. Thank you for your donations. You are helping to make a difference in people's lives.

2) Donate $15 towards a health kit. Checks can be made to Stonebridge UMC, with a memo line of "Haiti Relief". If you go to another UM Church, and tell them it's for Haiti relief. They will know to go through UMCOR.

3) Go to this website and give directly to UMCOR through the United Methodist Advance program:
http://secure.gbgm-umc.org/donations/umcor/donate.cfm?code=418325&id=3018760

Thanks for your commitment to the work of Christ. We know that Christ is the comforter, and the body of Christ is the hands and feet of Jesus.

Peace.

Do You Believe in Miracles?

As part of my sermon series "Unbelievable", I've been realizing that one 12 minute sermon is in no way adequate enough to cover the topics that we're covering. After all, when you're trying to tackle the doctrines that people deem as unbelievable...it takes some argument and convincing. Plus, most of them are so multi-faceted that it's hard to cover all the questions. That being said, here is the supplementary blog if you are looking to dive into your faith, and not afraid to come out on the other side with more questions and more answers at the same time.

This week: Miracles of Jesus

I'm only covering the miracles of Jesus because Jesus is the one person in the Bible that uniquely is God incarnate. We established that we believe in the virgin birth and the incarnation last week, so I want to stick with the person of Jesus as God. The other miracles of the Old Testament and the apostles can more easily be written off as "speculation" or "perspective" than can the miracles of Jesus. Because, if the miracles of Jesus are proven to be unbelievable...then why believe in just an ordinary guy with good ideas? Are the miracles themselves not a proof of divine authority? So...can you believe in miracles?

The argument against:
The argument against and for miracles really comes down to one thing, your belief in the authenticity of scripture. Do you believe every word as sacred, or do you think people corrupted it as it was written? Do you think that God guided every thought, but gave the writers free will, or do you think the writers were simply trying to record a story with an intent behind that process? Whatever you choose, the miracles are going to take on a different meaning.

John Shelby Spong, known to be a demythologizing theologian (meaning that he takes the myth out of the story to find what he feels is the meat) claims that in the Jewish midrash (wisdom/commentary) tradition that all important events in the present must be venerated by great events in the past. This is like saying that all things we hold dear must be grounded in tradition and experience. Not absurd in the least bit. However, when taken in the context of Jesus, who was Jewish and lived in a Jewish world, and in the context of Jewish writers (Matthew, John, Paul) the idea prooves dangerous to those who hold every word as literal. What Spong means is that the parting of the waters of the Jordan River when Jesus is baptized are related to the myth/story of the parting of the Red Sea that was so dear to the identity of Israel's formation as a nation. The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 that were no where near a market or their homes relates back to the miraculous feeding of the Hebrews in the wilderness by God. If I read this as a non-believer I would say that they made this up about Jesus to give him power. From a believer's perspective it means to me that Spong thinks maybe this stuff didn't actually happen, but there was something about Jesus that was special enough that the writers had to venerate him with history. So the miracles would then just be a literary technique to prove a point.

The other opposing argument would be, "what have you shown me lately?" Miracle healings are not exactly a dime a dozen these days, at least not by someone spitting in the mud and putting it on someone's eyes or touching someone. There are denominations that believe strongly in laying on of hands, annointing with oil or praying over someone...but they are not always successful. So why, when we are told we have the power, do we not have the power?

Some say that the person needing healing doesn't have enough faith, which is probably true, but dangerous to say when a drug dealer is shot and miraculously lives because the bullet hit his fat stack of cash. Others would say that God needs others more than the ones that die...which might be true, but I'd like to think that the child who dies in child birth did not get killed by God to serve as a momentary function or lesson for the grieving parents and doctors.

So the question remains..."why isn't the power of Jesus present today in healings and walking on water and stuff?"

The argument for miracles:
First of all, the argument for miracles goes to the same thing that Spong says...perspective. Millions of people over the centuries have claimed miraculous things to have happened, only about an eigth of which are bodily healings. They think they see Jesus in a Cheeto (and subsequently auction it on ebay) or the virgin Mary in an oil stain on a wall. Others claim to have talked to a stranger that led them to another place, only to never ever see the stranger again, but in the other place find a way to help another family or to find healing themselves. Others claim to sense God's presence as their plane was going down or in other accidents and realize that God caused them to be safe.

All of these are miracles in the eye of the beholder, it is usually sceptics that do not agree.

The biggest issue, if we're going to make a case for miracles, is why some people experience them and others do not.

1st answer :: We don't know. No matter who claims to know what God's will is, no one really knows. It's the mystery we have to live with. Although, I would claim that I do not believe that God's will is for some people to suffer at God's hands, in order that they or others would learn. It doesn't match up with the God of love everyone talks about, or else that lesson REALLY needs to be learned. However, despite me saying this...I don't know how God thinks ultimately.

2nd answer :: we need to redefine miracles.

This can include the spectacular of "the car just stopped without me pushing the brake right before I got hit by a train", but I feel that miracles need to be looked at for what the definition is, "an extraordinary event that manifests divine intervention in the world." By this definition miracles can be as small as a calling by God towards a certain school or job, or as large as a miraculous healing of cancer.

This is the best argument I have heard about the existence of miracles, to redefine our expectation of miracles, because so often we miss God's intervention in our lives while we look for what we want to see. I can completely understand why someone would want the result to be the cancer to go away, but sometimes the miracle is the reconciliation that happens between people when one is dying and life gains a whole new perspective. Sometimes the miraculous scene of a car crash, when someone claims that "God was watching over them" truly might have been a miracle...but not that no one was hurt. If God was watching over them, then heaven is an attractive offer. But the miracle might just be the transformation that occurs after that. If we're honest with ourselves...it might have been dumb luck that you walked away. But it is no accident that you believe God was involved and your life changes after that. God often shows up in the accident, not before it. God doesn't cause them...God heals them...and often not in the way we want, but in the way he wants.

I believe that life in a whole sense is more important to God than life in a biological sense, and ought to be for Christians too. It is said by Jesus that someone who gives their life for a friend is the greatest, and that is a physical giving, but there is something behind there I believe that dedicating one's life, allowing your whole person to be in line with one cause is the greatest. Sacrificing makes one the greatest.

Obviously God thinks organs and blood and life is important, and as Christians, I don't think bodily resurrection would be important to us if we didn't think God thought this was important too. However, would God want a bunch of people who are alive...or would God want a bunch of people who are living life to the fullest? I think the latter. Miracles I believe are ways in which God directs us and intervenes in our lives to guide us towards a more full life, which includes reconciliation, compassion, kindness, generosity, prayer and relationship. Many times the blood may go out of us and we don't get the healing we look for, but we take the time to love the dying person or the people around us as we are dying and we get the healing that we need. We revert back to the image of God that we were intended to be. And that is miraculous.