 Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.
-1 Chronicles 16:11 I grew up in a family that loved music. We often sang a prayer before meals. The song that we sang the most often had been handed down through my mom's family. And the first line was, "Be present at our table, Lord... God is love, God is love." Asking God to be present is really just a human way of reminding ourselves to be present to God, isn't it? Because most of us believe that God is always present already. If we believe anything about what Jesus taught us, it's that God isn't coming in and out of our lives like a neighborhood mailman, quickly dropping a few things off here and there and then maybe seeing us again tomorrow, if the timing works out just right. God's very name,Yahweh, is often translated as "I am who I am." Jewish rabbis like to point out that Yahweh is literally the sound of the breath that we take in and out... the constant moment of life coming in and out of our body in the present. And Jesus, in the best moment of in-your-face, grammar school! in the New Testament, tells the Pharisees, "Before Abraham was... I Am." It wasn't just a declaration of Jesus' shared identity with the Father. It was a reminder that God's very nature is always present tense. So, yes, God is indeed present at our tables. It's actually us who may not be. To put it in more culturally relevant terms: It's me. Hi. I'm the problem, it's me. It can be challenging for me to live in the present moment these days. Do you feel that too? It's so easy to have our minds and attention on anything other than what is right in front of us. It requires us to move beyond the worries in our heads, or the hurts of our past, or the endless narratives scrolling on our phones. Some neuroscience suggests that the human experience of the present lasts exactly 4.4 seconds. Beyond that section of your consciousness, you enter a world that that does not yet exist (future). And anything that occurred before the 4.4 second segment that you're currently in is now stored in a different spot in your brain (hippocampus) as short-term memory. You literally started reading this article in the past. You are now in a new present. Whoops, now you're in a new one already again! But you're still thinking about that past one aren't you? Please, keep up. You're living in the past. Just kidding. But as disciples, learning to be present is crucial, particularly in the place and time we find ourselves in right now. The beauty of an ever-present Jesus is that he does not live in the past, the future, or far away in the distance. And he reminds us of the pitfalls of them all. Jesus teaches his disciples that worry is just a poorly imagined future and accomplishes nothing toward what's real: trusting God in the present. That's where God is and it's what God is doing. The risen Jesus also tells Peter, who had decided that his past was destined to define him (failure, wounds, denial), that the present moment was one of reconciliation and hope. There was fresh work to do, and Jesus isn't one to hold grudges. So he snaps Peter into the present to get on with the work of the kingdom. I bet that when Jesus asked Peter, "do you love me?" on that beach, that Peter was completely present in that nail biting, life-changing 4.4 second "now" that was occurring over and over again during that conversation. Now was the time to step into his next calling, not sulk in the shadows. Living in the 4.4 seconds of the present with God and others is scary and dangerous, because it requires us to step into trust. We can't control the future, and we cannot hide in the past. But this is what makes us most capable of love and connection. How many times have we missed God-given opportunities to love and care because we are not fully present to what's in front of us? There is much going on in our world. Some of it you can have influence over. Much of it you cannot. You might be tempted to live in fear (future-oriented) or in resignation (past-oriented). But in the coming week, let's live well with a humble ear to the Spirit--every four seconds or so-- and an eye to see the people and moments in front of us. In doing so, may we meet God and follow Jesus in truth and in love. Jesus, keep me present to my own breath and Yours this week. Peace, Keith
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 Know this, my dear brothers and sisters: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to grow angry.
-James 1:9 I enjoyed sitting and listening to my friend Rachel preach this past week on a famous story from John 9, where Jesus heals a blind man. He puts mud on the man's eyes and tells him to wash in the pool of Siloam. This was an historic pool at the end of a water tunnel built 700 years earlier by King Hezekiah. Rachel made a quick mention of how the tunnel was made, and I've been reflecting on it and learning more ever since. The Siloam Tunnel (or Hezekiah's Tunnel) was one of the greatest engineering marvels of its time. You can still walk through it today (my father-in-law has!). As the Assyrians were gaining power and getting closer to invading Jerusalem, this 583 yard tunnel was dug as a way of securing a water supply into the city from the Gihon Spring. It dropped a mere 12 inches from top to bottom, just enough to keep the water running from the spring over a quarter mile away. And it was dug into pure rock. That itself is amazing, but the way it was built is even more remarkable. The tunnel was built by two teams working at opposite ends at the same time, in order to get it done more quickly. I cannot imagine how complicated it must have been (I get this image of a prisoner secretly tunneling underground from his cell for years to escape, only to finally emerge from the ground and realize that he's still in the middle of the prison yard. Like a reverse Shawshank. That's where my sense of direction would take me). How on earth did two teams meet as they chiseled through a quarter mile of rock? Apparently as they got closer, the teams would pause and listen for each other's sounds of chiseling. Then they would adjust and move toward each other. Each pausing, each listening, each moving toward a place of connection. Hmmm. All I can think about is that it takes a lot of listening if we want to be the people of Jesus. It takes a lot of listening if we want to move toward one another. It takes a lot of listening if we want to make avenues for living water to flow in our communities. James, the brother of Jesus, encouraged the early church in Jerusalem to take a posture of listening at all times. He absolutely would have known about the tunnel Hezekiah built. I wonder if he ever used the tunneling story as a teaching metaphor for his church, to help them move toward one another? About 130 years ago, a Hebrew inscription was discovered in the rock near the end of the tunnel that told of the process. And it records the joy of the two teams meeting as they completed the tunnel and living water ran freely between the two teams. A special excitement passed through those doing the work as they finally heard “the voice of a man calling his neighbor” and saw a crack develop in front of them. You may feel like moving toward other people is a tunneling-through-rock sort of a process these days. Connection is really hard in busy and isolating lives. Plus, humans don't disagree or listen that well (particularly Americans, from what we've seen in the last decade!). But I can't help thinking about that living water touching the feet of the workers thousands of years ago as they slowly, carefully, made their way toward each other. Living water that reminding them of what they were accomplishing. And 700 years later, their careful listening and movement toward each other would create holy spaces where people could be cleansed, be healed, and be refreshed by Jesus. Where can you pause and listen better today, so that you can move toward others in love and care? Can you imagine future generations being blessed because you walked with the Spirit toward other people today? Can you imagine the impact of making tunnels that bring life and goodness, even when there is a siege happening overhead? That's what happens when we walk with Jesus and practice listening and reconciliation. When I meet people today and tomorrow, I'm going to try to listen carefully for the chiseling taps of the Holy Spirit, helping me move toward that person with love and attention. Perhaps we'll find springs of living water bursting through the rock. Want to join me? Jesus, in all my interactions today, help me be quick to listen, slower to speak, and slower still to become angry. Peace, Keith  Jesus stopped and called for the man to be brought to him. When he was present Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”
He said, “Lord, I want to see.” -Luke 18:40-41 There's this story in the gospels where Jesus is walking down the road and a blind guy nearby has heard about him. He begins shouting and trying to get his attention. Other people try to shut him up, but he is undeterred. Finally, Jesus hears him and invites him forward. Now, I know we have movies where some guy meets a girl for a date and only realizes an hour later that she is actually blind, and it's a big reveal moment and we get to find out if they're actually going to keep dating and all that. Yeah, that is nothing like the reality of the 1st century. No sunglasses. No subtleties. When this guy is brought to Jesus, there is zero chance that Jesus didn't know he was blind. The guy would have been led by others through the crowd, likely living in quite a bit of poverty because of his condition. There is also zero chance of any confusion as to why the man was calling out to Jesus. Jesus is becoming famous for his healings. That's literally the biggest reason the crowds were following him. A man who is blind hears that there's a man who heals people nearby. And he cries out... "Lord, have mercy!" Everyone is on the same page here. And we, as the reader, we can sense what's about to happen. So then, why on earth does Jesus ask the most obvious (and insensitive) question: What do you want me to do for you? Option one: Jesus doesn't know. Gonna go with FALSE for that one. Option two: Jesus is super irritated at the man, and gives one of those ugh what do you want?!?!? kind of statements. Again, feeling like his body of work doesn't match up with being irritated at people who are disabled. Option three: Jesus found it important that the man give words to his longing for healing. Hmmmmmm. Jesus knows that there is value in putting into words to what we think is obvious. There something powerful and necessary about telling God what we desire. There is value in giving words to our need that opens us up to the next stage of our healing. It's like a cracking open of sorts. We speak it, and we may actually believe it ourselves. We speak it, and we may actually start looking for it. It doesn't matter if it seems obvious. I mean, how much damage has been done over the years because people don't ever say, "I love you," because it seems obvious? Speaking stuff out loud is transformative. And sometimes, it's the only way we can start to imagine our healing. I know this is true of myself, and I've seen it in others. There's this temptation to spend so much time dwelling on pain points or on how challenging certain areas of life are, that all the energy and focus is on wallowing with Jesus rather than voicing hope of wholeness and life. It's almost as if Jesus might be sitting there thinking... It seems like what you actually want is for me to commiserate with you. Ok, but if you want to move toward healing, you're going to have to actually name it. Of course there are times for Jesus to simply comfort us in our pain and lament. But there are also times to respond to that simple, searing question... what do you want me to do for you? More often than not, we may not actually have the clarity on that that we assume. Jesus knows your heart, but wants you to know it too. Do you want to be healed? Do you want to walk away different? Dare you give words to real hope? Yes, Jesus says. You should dare. So go ahead and say it. Maybe today, as you are doing your neat and tidy prayers praying for neat and tidy things, Jesus is walking up to you and saying, "Honestly... what is it that you want me to do for you? Where is your brokenhearted longing? What is the healing you are hoping for? Tell me. I'm here and I'm listening." Pray it. Journal it. Even share it with others. Let Jesus lead you into some fresh faith, fresh healing, fresh transformation. What do you want? Jesus, help me be honest with myself and with you, to let you guide me toward healing. Peace, Keith  “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
-Jesus (Matthew 16:15) I'm currently enrolled in an eight week course that is training me as a coach. It's not training me for coaching sports teams (I do that), but for helping people in their personal growth. I've worked with people in this capacity for years in pastoring, but this is the deepest dive I've ever done as a learner. And it's wonderful to see things in a fresh light. There is so much to be learned in life, if we keep our eyes open. One of the primary goals of the program is to form coaches who are skilled at asking the right questions. The idea behind this is that we are each the greatest expert on our own lives. Most often, the way that we are transformed is not through getting advice from someone else, but by realizing something within ourselves. Similarly, the best way to be moved to action is not by being told what to do, but for us to answer for ourselves what we are sensing is the right next step. That doesn't mean we get there alone. It happens most often when we are asked questions that draw us into the deep places. We need people who are curious about us so that we can be curious about ourselves, with a shared ear to the Holy Spirit. And that is exactly what happens when we sit with a well-asked question (and a gentle questioner). Jesus knew this. He was a master question-asker. Asking questions was a primary way for Jewish rabbis to communicate deep truths, and Jesus was extraordinary at it. His questions invited people to search their own mind and heart, exploring what was under the surface. He had such a curiosity about people, and when they came to him to get a direct answer, he often refused to offer it to them. Instead, he invited them to think more deeply about what was within them. “Why do you worry?” (Matt 6:28), “Why are you so afraid?” (Matt 8:26), “Why do you harbor evil thoughts?” (Matt 9:4), “Who do you say that I am?” (Matt 16:15), “What are you looking for? (John 1:38), and "What do you want me to do for you?" (Mark 10:51). These questions aren't ones that can be quickly answered, nor are they intended to be rhetorical. They are invitations to dive deeply into the motivations, mindsets, and methods for pursuing the good life. I find that far too often I don't allow myself to sit quietly with God and a good question. And equally often, I want to help others so much that when they share challenges with me, I'm quickly trying to think of a helpful solution to offer. In doing so, I risk not listening well. I risk bypassing the Holy Spirit. And I risk assuming that I'm the expert on someone else's life. There are certainly times to share insights, skills, and information with others. But the fact remains that our question-asking muscle is pretty weak without regular training. So this week, I'm inviting you into a two-fold discipleship practice. First, let Jesus be curious about you. He already is. Sit with a question or two that Jesus asks in the gospels, and do some journaling or reflection about your response, and why. Invite Jesus to meet you in the conversation and walk with you in fresh ways. Secondly, take some new steps to be curious about those around you. Choose to ask meaningful questions rather than talking about yourself or sharing your opinion. Use Jesus as your example to show genuine interest in the people you encounter. And if someone shares a struggle or a decision they are trying to figure out, offer your care by asking a deep question. You may just find that God uses you not through your amazing insights or opinions, but through the Spirit's presence in and through your own. Jesus, help me live in a reflective way today, curious about how you are working within me, and in the lives around me. Peace, Keith   You give glory to my Father when you produce a lot of fruit, and therefore show that you are my disciples.
-John 15:8 I had an interesting conversation with my father-in-law about grafting various fruit branches onto the same tree early this week. We both wondered aloud about what limits existed to this process. I understand that you might be able to graft two varieties of apples onto the same tree, but could you really add a cherry branch onto that? My gut says no. And then yesterday I randomly learned about Sam Van Aken, an art professor from Syracuse who has cultivated one tree.... that has 40 different types of fruit on it! I'm not joking. He cultivated a tree that produces apricots, peaches, plums, nectarines, almonds, cherries, and more. We shall call him "the fruit whisperer." The Fruit Whisperer said that it takes nearly a decade for each tree. He originally intended it be an art piece, but now enjoys all the delicious fruit as well. He grows each branch in its own tree, designs exactly which branches will hold which species, and carefully grafts branches into his central trunk as the years pass. Van Aken wanted people to notice the beauty of different blossoms blooming at different times and different colors. He planted them where people would wander upon them, pause in the middle of their normal days, and be disrupted by the unexpected sight. He wanted people to ask why, and be delighted. And in the summer, he wanted people to see that what they thought was a peach tree was also producing plums. And say, "huh!" In the New Testament, one of the primary metaphors for becoming like Jesus is "producing fruit." Fruit of a life in Jesus is shown by new characteristics emerging in our life as we experience more of the Holy Spirit. In Galatians, Paul gives a list of what he calls the "fruit" of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self-control. That's not the only list. Conviction, humility, compassion, generosity, a listening ear-- there are many varieties of fruit of a life with Jesus. God's work in us is to keep cultivating our lives with new fruit, gently and patiently. It will take time. We may naturally produce one or two types. But a big way that God works through us is when we surprise the world with unexpected new varieties emerging. A man who is willing to be vulnerable with other guys? That's unexpected and disruptive. An exhausted parent who continues to be patient with a rambunctious kid? Beautiful fruit. Someone who has experienced deep loss but lives with joy? A person who has clear convictions and can lovingly listen and dialogue with people who disagree? What sort of uniquely cultivated life are we looking at? Our invitation from Jesus is simply to remain rooted and postured to receive the sunlight God provides. As we do so, Jesus will keep cultivating our souls to bring new fruit, year by year. Let us not assume that just because we are naturally one thing (good at patience) and not another (lacking generosity) that this is the way that we will always be. I've found that even in discipleship, we are quick to assume that we won't actually be changed in surprising ways. Remember, it's the things that we don't naturally produce that can impact the world around us the most. Nobody is shocked to find an apple tree in the orchard. But when there are pears hanging there too, people will notice that something special is going on with that tree... something "super" natural. God's fruit in our lives will lead to joy and vibrancy. But we'll also be able to share with others the supernatural ways that Jesus is cultivating our own souls over time. Our little tree will be a witness to the Kingdom of God. Don't be afraid of your own transformation, friends. It's hard. But open yourself to it. There are surprising branches to be grafted into your life. And fresh fruit will emerge. Your job is simply to remain open and available, because you have an expert Fruit Whisperer delighted to be cultivating your life each day. Jesus, keep me open to the surprising transformation you are working to bring into and out of my life. Peace, Keith |
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