Cry For Her

last Sunday a family from my church were making their way home from service when at a busy intersection they noticed a lady kneeling down in the middle of the road. Cars were passing and no one was stopping. I am not sure the full story, but this family stopped their car, the wife got out and joined the woman in the middle of the road. She convinced the woman to walk with her across the street to the gas station. They spent some time with the woman and eventually it became evident that she was addicted to drugs. The family called the paramedics and waited until they arrived.
They continued their family drive to Subway but the daugther was visibly shaken. As the daughter and father stood in the parking lot. She told her father, "I just think this woman needed someone to cry for her."

How many addicted to drugs and alcohol? How many lost and abandoned? How many hurting and hopeless? Just need someone to cry for them. We may not can free them from their addiction or release them from their abandonment but we can cry for them. Compassion comes from the Latin word that means "co-suffering." We are told in the Bible that God is full of compassion (Psalm 86:15). Jesus seeing the multitudes of people "was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd" (Matt.9:36).

Compassion starts by being willing to "co-suffer" with the other person or as the teenager from my church said, "be willing to cry for the other person." It starts in simplicity: Smile, say a kind word, offer to do a chore or run an errand, or just be willing to listen. What does compassion mean to you? Have you been shown compassion? Have you had the opportunity to show compassion? Share your thoughts here or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/jamey.prickett)

Grace-Beggars

A few years ago I preached a sermon at Metro State Prison in Atlanta. Metro is a state penitentiary for women. I had been going to the prison once a week counseling with two women. One was a drug addict and the other was a murderer. I had heard the stories of some of the other women through my colleagues. After the sermon I helped serve Holy Communion. I would say the words that we have become familiar with as I gave the bread, “The body of Christ broken for you.” The first lady up was a lady who was a former prostitute who was addicted to crack cocaine. “The body of Christ broken for you,” I would say. Another lady had murdered her husband out of rage after years of abuse. “The body of Christ broken for you.” The lady behind her had sold her children in order to buy more drugs. “The body of Christ broken for you.” Some where down the line was a twenty year old who as a part of a gang initiation that had murdered a member of a rival gang. “The body of Christ broken for you.” Behind her was someone who was formerly part of a white supremacy group that had terrorized portions of the Southeast. “The body of Christ broken for you.” What better can the church offer such people other than grace?

Dr. Tom Long, homiletics professor tells a story: “A student of mine went jogging with his father in their urban neighborhood. As they ran, the son shared what he was learning in seminary about urban ministry, and the father, an inner city pastor, related experiences of his own. At the halfway point in their jog, they decided to phone ahead for a home delivered pizza. As they headed for the phone, however, a homeless man approached them, asking for spare change. The father reached into the pockets of his sweat pants and pulled out two handfuls of coins. ‘Here,’ he said to the homeless man. ‘Take what you need.”

The homeless man, hardly believing his good fortune, said, “I’ll take it all,” scooped the coins into his own hands, and went his way. It only took a second for the father to realize that he now had no change for the phone. ‘Pardon me,’ he beckoned to the homeless man. ‘I need to make a call. Can you spare some change?’ The homeless man turned and held out the two handfuls of coins. ‘Here,’ he said. ‘Take what you need.” We are all grace-beggars extending the grace of God to other vagabonds. Homeless without the grace of God. Hopeless without the grace of God.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found – Was blind, but now I see.

Living As a Fatty

My mom makes a special dessert for me on every birthday and every Christmas. I say it is for me because no one else eats it. It is a rich dessert that works like magic on the taste buds. It is called “magic cookie bars.” Now this past Christmas as before I was privileged to take the whole pan home. I can devour a whole pan of that stuff in two days.

The Center for Disease Control estimates that 64 percent of adults age 20 years or older are considered overweight or obese. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has found that approximately 14 million Americans – 7.4 percent of the population – meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse. A 1998 Purdue University study found that religious people are more likely to be overweight than other Americans – too many potlucks! Gluttonous is attributed to food and alcohol but it would be a mistake to consider those the only culprits of this vicious sin.

Glutton is all about excess. It is the urge to overindulge in anything: owning 60 pair of shoes,buying a house too big for your budget, buying a large car that is not necessary. It is not only the overindulging in food but also the obsession with losing weight. We are daily confronted with ads for bacon cheeseburgers and soda and beer. And on the other hand, we’re confronted with losing weight and keeping up appearances. A glutton consumes without considering the consequences. He eats too much, talks too much, and demands too much. Around a thousand years ago, Thomas Aquainas taught that at the center of gluttony is the concept of “too,” as in “too soon, too expensive, too much, too eager, and making to much fuss.” The glutton never gets enough to fully enjoy and in the end kills the very pleasure it seeks. Lonliness can be attributed to the sin of gluttony. Lonely because they don’t care about the needs of others and that has left them shallow on the inside. For the gluttonous it is all about me and what I can get out of life. The person dealing with gluttony is so consumed about themselves that they use others for their own gain. They are surface people not caring about the feelings of others. They are too immersed in themselves to know how their words really affect others outside of themselves. Gluttony kills the soul first, and eventually the body follows.

How do we get ourselves out of this “too much, too soon, too eager, too expensive, too much fuss” side of life? The Wisdom writers of Scripture believed that by using the mind that God gave us we could find a better alternative. Proverb 23:19 begins, “Hear, my child, and be wise, and direct your mind in the way.” The danger of gluttony is that it dulls the minds ability to reason and decreases the ability to guard against temptation. Gaining all the pleasure you can from one object has consumed your mind at the expense of your soul. We live beyond the deadly sin of gluttony by being mindful of what is before us. Temperance helps us to realize that pleasure is found through greater awareness, not necessarily greater consumption. When you think of temperance what comes to mind? “Oh no they going to take away my pleasures!” Or a movement to take away alcohol. Or that grumpy neighbor who never laughs, always looks depressed, and we think is out to stone us at the least little move we make. While temperance can involve a degree of restriction, the early Christians associated temperance with gaining freedom and joy. How could they not? Was it not Jesus who turned water to wine at a wedding feast? Was it not Jesus who was accused by the Pharisees or being a “glutton and drunkard?” Jesus seemed to enjoy good food and good wine. What Jesus, his disciples, and early Christians knew that we have forgotten is that there are ways of eating, drinking, and consuming life that actually goes against gluttony.

The goal is being mindful of what is before us. Mindfulness is the discipline of being as fully aware as possible of what is before you – be it food and drink, or any other material good, or even another person. When we are fully attentive, we avoid the danger of over consuming and we enjoy freedom and pleasures of life more. The challenge before us this morning is becoming more conscious of what we consume: in regards to our means of living, food, alcohol, activities such as iPods, TV, internet, or sports, or other people. As you become more mindful you begin to struggle with the “why” questions of life. “Why am I eating?” Is it to fill some lonliness inside. “Why do I need bigger house?” Is it an ego thing? “Why do I watch so much TV?” Is it because I am lazy and don’t want to challenge myself? Being mindful is a frightening thing but it leads to greater freedom.

Comfort Zone or Danger Zone

Comfort is getting in the car and driving five minutes to Publix when you realize that you are out of the chocolate ice cream that you have been craving. Comfort is sleeping in a pillow top mattress. Comfort is adjusting the settings on your thermostat to provide cool air in the summer and warm heat in the winter. Comfort is knowing that I get two weeks of vacation a year. Comfort is coming home to a good meal every night. Comfort is being able to pick up the phone to let your children talk to their grandparents whenever they want. Comfort is living in a house that is not to big that I can’t clean and not too small where I can send my kids to their room.

We all have things that make us comfortable. What is your comfort zone? The couch? Your job? Your family? Your income? Your car? The word comfortable means “cozy, snug, sheltered, and homelike.” Sounds good. Sounds relaxing. Sound like being at ease. When we get into our comfort zone we don’t want to be messed with. The husband who has been working all day comes home and flops in the recliner with a beer in one hand and the remote in the other. The wife knows he is in his comfort zone. Sitting out by the pool with a good book in her hand mom is in her comfort zone – don’t disturb. Do you want to see how devoted we are to comfort? Walk into the average American home and hide the remote control, and watch what happens. Life without the remote control is unbearable.

Comfort can be and usually is an obstacle to living life to the fullest. Life is an adventure to be lived. It is a journey. Most would rather have their comfort than the blessings that come from living life to the fullest. Life will never be discovered in the Lazy-Chair. Make a commitment to not live the "when-then" game. When I have more courage, then I’ll try using this gift. When I get a new boss that is more supportive, then I’ll express fresh ideas. When I retire, then I’ll get involved in volunteering. When my spouse becomes more appreciative, then I’ll start acting like I care. We will play the “when-then game” so long that the only thing left will be the “if only” game. If only I had loved more. If only I had listened. If only I had followed God’s dream for my life.

What decions do you need to make today? What steps do you need to take? What actions do you need to act on? So that you will not have to look back and one day say, "If only . ."

Looking Stupid

My father and brothers should have been cavemen. If they don’t catch it or hunt it and kill it they don’t eat it. Well maybe not that bad! But we have had wild turkey for the past three Thanksgiving meals. One day in off-season they set out to capture bears on video. So early in the morning they hid in some tall grass. They waited. Finally a mother bear and her cub begin walking through the tall grass field. With the video running my brother was able to capture the bear and her cubs in there natural environment. What my brother didn’t suspect though was somehow he and my father came between the mama bear and her cub. Mama wasn’t happy! She let out a growl and the chase was on. On video all you see is tall grass falling and two feet moving at the speed of light.
Besides the image of four legs knocking down grass, the video is really cool as it shows a bear in its natural habitat. There is an important lesson in this video. It takes courage to look stupid and to be successful we have to be willing to look stupid. So go ahead and do something that makes you look stupid. Take ball-room dance lessons even if you can’t dance. Sing along with karaoke even if you can’t sing. Ask that person out on a date even if you think she is out of your league. Be willing to be wrong, to fail, or to make a mistake and you might just learn to succeed. And if not, at least you have made the world an entertaining place.

The Fox and The Hen

My great-grandmother lived in Cleveland, Georgia. She was a beautiful woman. She was a wonderful storyteller. Her house was a converted barn with a wood stove that sat in the middle room. There were two doors at each end of the house that stayed opened most months unless the weather outside was too much. We would visit her almost weekly on Saturday’s and as a child my brothers and I loved to explore all the wonderful things on the farm. She always had chickens that roam the yard, not only the yard but the house. They would walk in one door and strut through the house as though they lived there and eventually making there way out the other door. It was always a funny site. Sometimes those chickens would have chicks. And those chicks would always follow close behind. Wherever mama went the chicks were sure to follow. If the mother hen sensed danger she would squat, spread her wings and by instinct the little chicks would take shelter under the mother’s wings. All the mother hen had to provide in the form of protection was shelter. In that position she became most vulnerable. Spread out, hard to move, and yet the chicks felt as though they were hiding under a boulder of love. The scene reminds me of a passage from Scripture, “For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent” (Psalm 27:5).

If Jesus would have grown-up in my house he would have gotten his mouth washed out with soap a few times. He was not afraid to call people names. In Luke 13 Jesus calls Herod a fox. Our children books paint the picture of a fox as a sly, sneaky, and dangerous animal. We focus on the threat that the fox brings to the ones it is pursuing. Jesus and the Hebrew listeners had a slightly different view of the fox. By calling Herod a fox Jesus is not saying necessarily that Herod is sly and sneaky. He implies that the way that Herod conducts business is under the table. Jesus was commenting on Herod’s inability to control. Herod was an outsider with no power. In the eyes of Jesus he was ultimately powerless. He does not mess with those who are of equal or greater power than he has instead he picks on the most vulnerable. The fox preys on the chicks. The most vulnerable.

The modern day fox does the same. He exploits the immigrant. He takes advantage of the widow. He robs the innocence of children. The modern day fox prowls around offering great promises under the disguise of destruction. He takes away a woman’s self-worth. He judges based on color. The modern fox preys on those who are vulnerable because in reality he has no power. His power comes by means of dominance over others. If you took away his control over those lesser than he, you would be left with nothing. There is no soul, no heart, and no love. His main objective is to destroy or else he may self-destruct.

Jesus offers protection from the fox. It is not a protection that guarantees our complete safety. We may have to suffer. It is a nurtured protection: a protection that speaks to the reality that foxes exist in the world trying to rob us of our love. And yet at the same time extends to us an offer of inner peace, grace, and hope. The stretched out arms of Jesus speak to us as an offer of undeserved love. He extends an offer to receive a peace that passes all understanding, a peace that remains through the fears of life. Living in His Kingdom gives hope that the fox will not have the final word. A better day is dawning. God’s justice will flood the streets. Jesus desires, long, and seeks to provide nurture for all our weary souls.

Barbara Brown Taylor gives us further insight in this idea of the fox and the hen when she says, "In some way we are all vulnerable. Even the fox. We are all little yellow chicks running around chirping for security and a sense of meaning. We are all in need of something. You may be the chick that feels disconnected. You look different than the rest and that makes you stand out uncomfortably. You may be that little chick that tries to cover up her insecurity with a sense of self-pride. Only to see your true self when you look in the mud puddles of life. You may be that little chick that was born last. The runt of the litter. You may be the little yellow chick disguised as a fox. You took on that disguise because you have been living with the foxes for too long and that is the only way you know how to survive. But instead it is becoming the death of you.

If the fox wants the chicks, he will have to kill the hen first. Which he does, as it turns out. He slides up on her one night in the yard while all the babies are asleep. When her cry wakens them, they scatter. She dies the next day where both foxes and chickens can see her -- wings spread, breast exposed -- without a single chick beneath her feathers. It breaks her heart, but it does not change a thing. If you mean what you say, then this is how you stand."

Barbara Brown Taylor teaches at Piedmont College in Demorest, Ga. This article appeared in The Christian Century, February 25, 1986, page 201; copyright by the Christian Century Foundation.

Trusting God

There was a man who got lost in the desert. After wandering around for a long time his throat became very dry, about that time he saw a little shack in the distance.
He made his way over to the shack and found a water pump with a small jug of water and a note. The note read: "pour all the water into the top of the pump to prime it, if you do this you will get all the water you need". Now the man had a choice to make, if he trusted the note and poured the water in and it worked he would have all the water he needed. If it didn’t work he would still be thirsty and he might die. Or he could choose to drink the water in the jug and get immediate satisfaction, but it might not be enough and he still might die. After thinking about it the man decided to risk it. He poured the entire jug into the pump and began to work the handle, at first nothing happened and he got a little scared but he kept going and water started coming out. So much water came out he drank all he wanted, took a shower, and filled all the containers he could find. Because he was willing to give up momentary satisfaction, he got all the water he needed. Now the note also said: after you have finished, please refill the jug for the next traveller.” The man refilled the jug and added to the note: “ Please prime the pump, believe me it works”!

Is not that where we are all at? We are all standing at a crossroads reading a note asking ourselves, “Is it trustworthy?” The serpent in the Garden of Eden is a facilitator of possibilities. The serpent is anything in God’s creation that forces us to question God’s ability or God’s goodness. We have been given a piece of knowledge, an apple has been placed in our hand, what will we do with it? You know what I have discovered? Sometimes it is easier to trust God with the things we cannot control- things like our health, the future, or the decisions of others. Those things are out of our control anyway so we just let God deal with them. It is easier to trust things that we cannot control than it is with the things we feel that we have some control over. I can trust God with my future but my finances – I don’t know. I can trust God with my future but my career – I don’t know. It is easier to trust God with things that are out of my control than it is with the things that I think I can somewhat control.

What in your life do you need to trust God with? What is one thing that you are trying to control that you need to turn over to God?

Proverbs 3:5-6 (New International Version)
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

My Most Serious Injury

In summer of 1983 we had driven up to Vogel State Park for a family reunion. My father was working so it was my mom and my two younger brothers.Family reunions can always be interesting. Going to my family reunion is like being at a casting of Hee Haw or at the very least a Hank Williams Jr concert. Courtney Cox did not invent the term "cougar" for older women who like to date younger guys. She got it from visiting my family reunion.

I was eight years old that summer. After lunch my cousins and I went to play in the creeks. I don't remember how it happen but one moment I was standing on a bridge that ran across the creek and the next I was laying face down in the creek with blood gushing from my head. Somehow I had slipped through the side railings and fell into the creek hitting a sharp rock below. Blood was pouring from my head when my mom arrived. She took a table-cloth stained with fried chicken, macaroni & cheese, and green beans and wrapped it over my head to stop the bleeding. We drove to the nearest hospital. It was determined by the staff that unless a plastic surgeon did the sewing up that I would be left with a large scar. There was not a plastic surgeon on staff. So they temporarily patched me up and sent me down to Gainesville, Georgia to Northeast Georgia Medical Center. They pulled my skin back over my brain and all that remains is a little scar in the center of my forehead.

Dogs like to leave there mark for other dogs by peeing on rocks. At my family reunion I decided to leave my mark by bleeding on the rocks and the fried chicken.

Bullying is Wrong

Jenny McCarthy tells Ellen Degeneres that being bullied led her to get a boob job. Bullying makes people do things to their bodies and lives that are damaging and life-threatening. In January, Phoebe Prince, 15yrs old, hanged herself after she was bullied by six teenagers at South Hadley High School in western Massachusetts. Her family had recently moved from Ireland. On April 9, 2009 an 11yr old middle-school student hanged himself after bullying from classmates. The boys mom pleaded weekly with the school to address the issue. Tyler Clementi, 18yr-old freshman at Rutgers University, jumped off the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River after being humiliated by a roommate.

Bullying comes in the form of physical/verbal altercations on the school grounds and through cyber-bullying. What should be the response of a person who follows Jesus to bullying? Gay advocate groups want to legislate laws against bullying that is specifically targeting homosexuals. Some evangelical Christians are cautious to support such legislation in that the law may lead to the approval of a lifestyle that they believe the bible disapproves.

I believe we need to set aside all ideologies and remind ourselves that God values human life. In Proverbs 31:8 we are told to "speak out for those who cannot speak." As those who have been reconciled by God we are called to the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18 - 19). This means we must confront all that is contrary to the reconciling presence of Jesus Christ. Bullying devalues a person whom God loves. As a follower of Jesus that is unacceptable. The faith community is called to follow the Prince of Peace and this means take a stand against violence.

Use this as an opportunity to pray for all our youth and get involved as a mentor in a big brother/big sister program or in your church's youth group.

Atheist Are Smarter Than Christians

"I gave my daughter a bible. That's how you make an athiest," Dave Silverman, president of American Atheists, tells the New York Times. In a recent poll published by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, atheists and agnostics scored highest when it comes to religious knowledge. When it came to core beliefs and important people and places of religious history, the atheist out-scored Protestants and Catholics. On average, the survey says, Protestants correctly answered 16 of the 32 religious knowledge questions and Catholics averaged 14.7 right answers. But atheists and agnostics average 20.9 answers correctly, which was close to what Jews and Mormons got correct.

America is one of the most religious nations in the world and yet we know nothing of the religion we profess. This is more serious than knowing where the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den is found in the bible. It is about allowing Glenn Beck to be the spokesperson for evangelical Christianity when Glenn Beck himself is a self-professed Mormon. Mormons profess the belief of Joseph Smith who taught that God was a man who achieved divinity, came to earth, fathered Jesus and his brother Satan (www.lds.org).

In an era where post-modern spiritualism has muddied the waters of religous beliefs and doctrine it is difficult to know what one believes. Daniel Dennett, Philosopher at Tufts University, argues that what the poll suggests is "many of those who have thought long and hard about religions - and hence know the answers - don't actually believe the doctrines that they rightly identify as belonging to the church they are affiliated with" (www.nydailynews.com). This creates a crisis in faith for many. What are your thoughts? Why have we become a nation of the religious ignorant? Why do athiest no more about matters of religion and faith than those who profess?

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God's Story

I am skeptical of anyone who turns scripture into principles. It is true that certain principles can be gleaned from scripture. But there can only be so many sermons that speak to three ways to raise a child, five points on a godly marriage, or three steps to a stress-free life that one can exegete out of the pages of the bible.

Instead I approach the scripture as a story. By calling scripture a "story," I am not implying it is fiction. It is affirming that God meets us in history and speaks to us as one who has been involved in history. Narrative theology affirms that God really became involved in our world and that God continues to work in our world. Often, people approach scripture with the impression that God has presented us with a set of ideas and if we can just push aside the story we can get to the real meaning. The story is the real meaning. God's story intersects with our story. The gospels are not primarily a set of ethical principles. Instead it is an encounter with God in Jesus upon the lives of individuals. God in God's infinite wisdom used the narrative form to allow the reader to see the story from God's perspective in hopes that we may get caught up in the story and live our lives from God's perspective.