Transformation

One of my favorite stops during our recent Italy trip was at the San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John Lateran) Church in Rome.  The church is dedicated to John the Baptist and John the Evangelist and is the first among the four major basilicas of Rome.  Beautiful on the outside, the inside is breathtaking.  Huge sculptures of the apostles stand beneath reliefs from the life of Jesus and oval paintings of Old Testament prophets.  Each of the apostles have some symbol that speaks of their role or death – Peter and his keys, Simon the Zealot and the saw by which he was martyred, the Apostle Paul and the sword symbolizing his execution as a Roman citizen.  All of these were impressive, but I found myself going back over and over to the sculpture I have pictured here, that of Matthew (Levi) the tax collector.

Matthew’s story is told simply in Matthew 9:9-13.  He is sitting at his tax collectors booth, likely charging the exorbitant  taxes for which such collectors were notorious.  Though viewed as traitors for working with the occupying Romans, they were often very rich as they filled their own money bags with whatever amounts they could get above that promised to Rome.  We read that Jesus simply came up to Matthew and said, “Follow me,” and Matthew got up and followed.  Of course, that was not the end of it – Matthew later in the day had a party, a dinner in honor of Jesus who loved those known as outcasts and sinners.  Already Matthew is seen collecting something more important than money – he is collecting followers for Jesus.  Some of the religious legalists of the day did not like it and complained about Jesus associating with such sinners.  Our Lord’s response was direct – “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’  For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Whether Matthew previously viewed himself as unhealthy I do not know, but obviously there was something about Jesus’ message that changed his life and altered his eternity.  The mercy extended through Jesus began its transforming process, first evidenced by his attempt to introduce his friends and co-workers to Jesus, and then his dedication to following Jesus as one of the twelve apostles.  The statue pictured here shows Matthew standing with his foot on a money bag – certainly a symbol of the bags of coins that had possessed him in the past.  Because of Christ, the coins had lost their value.  In his hands is a Bible, a symbol of his determination to tell others about Jesus, most evidenced by the Gospel of Matthew.  What began as a simple calling changed his life, his career, his treatment of others, his life message.  Surely this is what transformation looks like.

There were other tax collectors who manifest great transformations, the most famous being Zacchaeus in Luke 19.  Once living only for himself, Zacchaeus was transformed into a generous man, suddenly aware of the injuries he had caused and determined to do something about it.  The change in his life was apparent to all.

Of course, Matthew challenges us to reflect on our own lives and the priority shifts that come as a result of our relationship with Christ.  Surely Jesus wants to be more than just an added dimension to our lives – He wants to be life itself.  When that happens transformation takes place and it becomes increasingly evidenced as we who are sick become increasingly healthy, as we who tend to think only of ourselves and cling to our bags of coins (or whatever else we value greatly) respond to such mercy by the dedication of our lives to Jesus and our compassionate outreach to others.

I wonder, if a sculpture was made of you, what would your foot be on?  What would be in your hands?  Would transformation be evident?

I ask the same of myself.

 

The Dash In-between

I have started a series of sermons on faith in the life of Abraham, and this past Sunday I asked folks to write down two dates.  The first was the date of birth (I did give permission to cover the date if people didn’t want their neighbor to see it!)  I then asked those present to put a “dash” after the date, and then the numbers two, zero, and a question mark.  It would be something like “1978 – 20?”.  The second date would be the date of death, an unknown for the most part.

I pointed out that we have no control over the first date.  We didn’t ask to be born, ready or not we came because of the actions of others.  And the second date, the date of death, is a date we have little control over as well.  But the dash in between – that is the place of choices, decision making, where we can decide what we will do with our lives.

Abraham at age 75 responded to God’s call and it changed his life and ours.  Our choices are important as well.  What we do with the “dash in-between" will speak of adventure and faith and the embracing of promise – or of boredom, waste, unrealized potential, unfulfilled longings. 

In this context I quote Gregg Levoy from his book Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life.  I continue to find this quote challenging, and I wanted to share the challenge and discomfort with you:

To sinful patterns of behavior that never get confronted and changed,
Abilities and gifts that never get cultivated and deployed –
Until weeks become months
And months turn into years,
And one day you’re looking back on a life of
Deep intimate gut-wrenchingly honest conversations you never had;
Great bold prayers you never prayed,
Exhilarating risks you never took,
Sacrificial gifts you never offered
Lives you never touched,
And you’re sitting in a recliner with a shriveled soul,
And forgotten dreams,
And you realize there was a world of desperate need,
And a great God calling you to be a part of something bigger
than yourself –
You see the person you could have become but did not;
You never followed your calling.

A powerful and troubling quote indeed – and through Abraham, a reminder that whatever age we find ourselves, we can respond to God’s call to find purpose, life, authenticity, and hope in following Jesus.  We can get up out of our recliner and be a part of something far bigger than ourselves.

I hope that will be your choice today and every day as you live out your dash in-between.

The Best Thing About Italy

It has been a while since I have blogged, a fact my son reminded me about by placing a link to my blog on his updated website.  I have no excuses, not really.  I find it challenging sending my musings into cyberspace, uncertain as to who might read what I say and if it will make any difference at the end of the day. As a pastor I have this strong urge to be pastoral in some way, and since the blog is connected to the church website, I guess I should.  But I also have the desire to speak more personally about what I am thinking, how I process things, how I interact with God.  On top of that, it is always a lot more fun reading my kid’s blogs than writing my own.

Back in March 2010 the First Baptist Church of Rolla honored our twenty years of service to the church (I am now in the 22nd year – crazy!).  They threw a party, said a lot of nice things, and gave Holly and I a trip to Italy.  Our daughter Alyssa and her husband Paul had been to Italy before, and they immediately said they wanted to be there with us, serving as our tour guides.  The time of Christmas was set (cheaper, more days for your money, a beautiful time in Italy, etc.) and finally it came.

It was a tremendous trip, one that we will always remember.  We were in Florence on December 23rd through Christmas morning, then headed to Rome from Christmas to New Year's Eve.  Not being world travelers, my wife and I were uncertain about a number of things, but we couldn’t have asked for anything better.  My son-in-law, with a Masters in Antiquities, was a splendid guide, taking us to all the places tourists go and then to places tourists would pay a high price to see.  I enjoy Renaissance art and saw original works by Michelangelo, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Bernini, Caravaggio – you get the idea.  We visited museums, saw churches larger than any I had ever seen, enjoyed Italian cuisine, were amazed at ancient ruins, silenced by age-old catacombs.  We walked 8-10 miles a day, traveled by subway, bus, train and taxi.  I loved every minute of it – well, we did get lost in Florence on Christmas Eve and got soaked to the bone – but I almost forgot that in the midst of all the good things.

I have been asked the question several times, “What was the best thing about your trip to Italy?”  I can name several, sharing the time and the sights with my wife and children, reflecting on ancient Christian origins, overwhelmed by masterpieces of art.  But I think the best thing is simply the fact that First Baptist Church of Rolla gave us this gift in the first place.  They didn’t have to – a card, a plaque, a gift certificate to a restaurant would have expressed appreciation.  But this went way beyond all that, lovingly extravagant, expressing love and care for Holly and myself in a splendid way.

So very much a gift of grace, like those our Heavenly Father gives us on a regular basis through His Son Jesus.   Merciful, extravagant, prodigal, amazing grace.

The picture is of Alyssa, Paul, Holly and myself standing before the ruins of the Emperor’s palace in Rome and Circus Maximus – as my son-in-law says, “Think Ben-Hur.”