Religious Words

Adoption

The Westminster Shorter Catechism says (in question 34) that adoption is "an act of God's free grace, whereby we are received into the number, and have a right to all the privileges, of the sons of God." That means if there's a fancy amusement park in heaven, we will get in for free because God's the owner and we're part of his family.

Belong

I wear a silver cross on a thin chain around my neck. When I'm playing tennis and it slips out of my shirt, it flings around and pings me in the face. It's a wonder I've not chipped a tooth. When I left the seminary for my first call, Jeff Kellam gave me this simple cross because, he said, I'd need reminding from time to time "what it's all about." Jeff was right. And it has. This cross which I wear under my shirt reminds me who I am and whose I am. I belong to God. (So do you.)

Cadillac

Jesus probably wouldn't choose to ride in a cadillac or other flashy car because it might send the wrong message. He was into identifying with the poor. I picture him instead taking a bus or train. But if you needed him and you didn't live on the bus line, it's not a hard stretch for me to imagine him accepting a ride in the most expensive cadillac made in order for him to make the drive to see you. There's no thing that would keep him away.

When it comes to things in life, we should use them to help us help others. That's true of fancy cars and every other thing, things such as our ability to strum a guitar or write corny poems. Use things to serve God, and keep those things in good shape. If one of those things is a cadillac, keep it shined.

Catechism

A theological statement of faith written in a question and answer format. There are three catechisms in the Presbyterian Book of Confessions: (a.) The Heidleberg Catechism, (b.) The Westminster Shorter Catechism, and (c.) The Westminster Larger Catechism. Because Presbyterians value education so much, we also have a study catechism and a child's first catechism. That's a lot of catechisms for somebody that didn't even know what one was this morning. But there you have it. They are yours.

When my mother was a girl, she recited the whole Westminster Shorter Catechism from memory for her pastor on the Saturday morning before she joined First Presbyterian Church, Newport News, the next day. It would take a miracle for me to memorize a whole catechism since I have trouble remembering the number to my cash flow card. I did memorize that my favorite catechism, The Heidleberg Catechism, is divided into three parts: (1) My sin makes me miserable, (2) In Christ, God washes my sins away, (3) My response is gratitude.

One of the things I really like about catechisms is that they value the questions as much as the answers.

Communion

Communion is a visible sign of God's invisible grace. Sometimes the ladies at our church who prepare communion set out the bread and juice the day before. When this happens, the bread is stale and the juice has begun to turn sour. I know a lady who once accidentally used prune juice instead of grape juice; communion on that Sunday was a bizarre taste experience. Holy communion is a reminder that God sustains us---and in the case of mix ups and stale bread, holy communion reminds us that God sustains us with food that never spoils. The truth is, only God can fill our deepest hunger; there's something about this small meal that helps us remember this big fact.

I'm glad that the morsel of bread and the sharp juice I get on communion Sundays is a symbol of God's provision for me and not the real thing. Of course, what can be more real than God's love mediated through the hands of those ladies working like bees on Saturday morning ironing the table cloth and carefully arranging such tiny servings of cubed bread and juice?

Confirmation

A time to wonder about, test, and be critical of the faith in God your parents, pastor and church are trying to give you. Confirmation wants you to ask this question: do you want to store this faith in a trophy case as a keepsake, or, do you want to plant it in the garden of your heart and let it grow?

Congregation

(1) The people with whom one sleeps during the sermon; (2) Those people who attend a church; (3) The people at your church who help you grow in the faith and with whom you worship, play, pray, learn, and serve God. (4) The strangers you see only on Easter and Christmas Eve . . . The way you live your life and the things you choose determine which definition has the greatest hold on you.

Dear

The late Robert McAfee Brown would probably say that his granddaughter MacKenzie embodied the word "dear." God might say the same thing about his son. Something or someone dear brings a high price, which is yet another of many proofs that God loves us. His son overcame brokeness on the cross, won the cosmic battle, and paid the debt we owed for all our sins---past, present, and future. This is a high falutin' way of saying that love is God's first and last word to us, his dearly beloved. Who is dear to you and when's the last time you told them you thought so.

Enjoy

The Westminster Shorter and Longer catechisms ask what's our purpose in life. I find the answer so wonderful: to glorify and enjoy God. I need God, I try to serve God, I am often acutely aware of God's presence with me, I argue with God, I thank God, I pray to God, I talk about God with others, and every now and then I actually pretend to be God. All of that comes naturally. Enjoying God, however, takes some work. But not only does the catechism suggest I should enjoy and glorify God, it says that it should be at the very top of my list. Numero uno. The big kahuna.

My friend Gordon wrote us a Christmas card every year. On the Christmas before he was killed, he wrote that Rachel and I should "enjoy, enjoy, enjoy." He underlined each word twice. He really meant what he said. Enjoy each other. Enjoy the kids. Enjoy our work. Enjoy life. Enjoy God. The Apostle Paul puts it like this: "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice."

Enjoying God in a world that is so tense and unstable and violent seems crazy. Maybe that's all the more reason to do it. If we don't, the pressure might crack us like an egg.

Freedom

A singer once sung that "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose." She was wrong. Freedom is when you have everything to loose and you sing out anyway. You sing so others may be free, because until they are you aren't. It's complicated but true.

Friend

Scott Paul-Bonham is a friend because he celebrates me and, occasionally, tells me the truth even when (especially when?) I don't want to hear it. Dan Jungkuntz is a friend because he listens to me. Rachel Matthews is a friend because she likes to have fun with me. Ron Blade is a friend because he trusts me. John Warren is a friend because we share lots of history. A friend is somebody who brings out the best in you. A friend is somebody you can be real with. A friend is someone who values you, and whom you value. A friend is a gift from God.

Gift

A real gift is something we give somebody with no strings attached. I sometimes give my wife a compliment as a way of buttering her up when I want something from her like a back rub or for her to make dinner. That's probably more a bribe than a gift. When we give from the heart, we give a little bit of ourselves with the gift. That's the best gift of all. When I look at the furniture my dad made for me or the cross-stitched pictures my mom sewed, I see the hours and love and effort they put into their gifts. I'm a little sad when I think about it, because I don't deserve such generosity or love. But I'm also grateful. I'm grateful that, though I'm not worthy, they loved me enough to give me such cool stuff anyway. And then I realize it's not the stuff at all that matters. It's the love. Come to think of it, that's how I feel when I think about the cross, too.

Good Friday

Good Friday is the day we remember Jesus' execution on a cross. It's really an awful day and crucifixion is a terror-ible thing to remember. The only good thing about Good Friday is what happens two days later: Easter. Easter is the big day on the Christian calendar. But Good Friday is vital, too. We could have Good Friday without Easter, but we cannot have Easter without Good Friday.

Heaven

Heaven is pie in the sky, our future home with golden streets of which we've gotten a foretaste from Jesus, a hope, a promise from God. It's a big word. C.S. Lewis says it about as good as anyone. He imagines that when we die and finally see God, we will not say, "Lord, I could never have guessed how beautiful you are." Rather, we will say:

"So it was you all along.
Everyone I ever loved, it was you.
Everyone who ever loved me, it was you.
Everything decent or fine that ever happened to me,
everything that made me reach out and try to be better,
it was you all along."

Hectic

Hectic is what happens to your life when you have major projects from three classes due on the same day, a mid term test, a best friend who is going through a crisis and needs to talk, a soccer tournament all weekend long, parents who have finally said you can't do anything until your room is clean and chores done, and a new family puppy who's so adorable but has kept you awake three nights in a row. Whether you're 14 or 94 life sometimes gets hectic. Things pile up and you feel the aching weight of it all.

Good thing you know about God. Find a still moment to say a slow prayer. Close your eyes and imagine yourself warm in God's light. Imagine looking into God's face; instead of seeing someone rushing around and busy, you see God's kind face break out into a smile. God is smiling because (why else?) God's looking at you. You bring God joy. You make God smile. You're loved and delighted in just because you are you. If you don't accomplish everything on your hectic schedule God will still love you and be there for you. For 30-seconds imagine something like that. Your hectic life won't go away, but you might feel a little more centered, a little more able, a little less crazy. Then, dive in!

Hell

Hell is when you're headed in the wrong direction at the farthest place imaginable from God. If you're in hell and want to find God, turn around and keep walking.

Journey

I've heard it said that it's not the destination that's important, it's the journey to get there. I agree with that in theory, but when I'm driving to Texas, after about the first six hours, all I care about is arriving. But special things do happen along the way, like diving for pennies at the bottom of a hotel pool, eating vanilla ice cream cones dunked in chocolate at 4 in the afternoon just because, talking with really big truck drivers at Texacos, buying finger nail polish and sandwiches at a Wal-mart near the Texas border in a town called Orange, playing that golf tee game at the Cracker Barrel, breaking out in riotous song on I-20, and driving through all manner of gorgeous country in all sorts of weather.

Martin Luther is alleged to have said, "This life, therefore, is . . . not being, but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it; the process is not yet finished, but is going on; this is not the end, but it is the road." He was probably thinking of our journey of faith. It applies to all journeys, though, and I'll keep it in mind next time I pull out of my driveway for the 40-hour round-trip to visit my in-laws in Austin.

Mouth

God touched Jeremiah's mouth as a means of making it holy. God had a lot for Jeremiah to say. God has a lot for us to say, too. And sometimes we say it best when we keep our mouth closed and our ears open. Chances are, when you've really been upset what you needed most was somebody to listen to you. It's amazing how much we can say without opening our mouth. When it comes to opening your mouth, don't be afraid to do it. Just ask God to touch your lips first.

Prophet

When you talk about God's love in a place where everybody talks about God's love, you are going along with the crowd. And, depending on the crowd, that can be a good thing. When you talk about God's love in a place where nobody talks about God's love, you are a prophet. When you find yourself in such a place, speak up. And don't expect any applause.

Responsibility

"You asked for my hands
that you could use them for your purpose.
I gave them for a moment
and then withdrew for the work was hard.
You asked for my mouth
to speak against injustice.
I gave you a whisper
that I might not be accused.
You asked for my eyes
to see the pain of poverty.
I closed them
for I did not want to know.
You asked for my life
that you might work through me.
I gave you a fractional part
that I might not get involved.
God, forgive me for calculated efforts to serve you only
when it is convenient to do so,
only in places where it is safe to do so.
Creator God, forgive me, renew me,
and send me out as a usable instrument,
that I may take seriously the meaning of your cross."
---(from the annual meeting of the United
Methodist Women's Caucus, 1976)

Sabbath

Sabbath is holy rest. It's doing something out of the routine which serves to reacquaint one with life's deeper patterns. Some people work such long hours, for example, they leave home before the sun comes up and they return home after it's gone down. God gave us the sun to delight in and we should do so.

Sabbath time is meant to be taken regularly. The Old Testament notion of sabbath keeping has to do with a weekly rest once every seven days, plus various other festivals and periods of rest and feasting throughout the year. Jesus models taking daily breaks from the grind in order to refocus on God's word without distraction. God uses sabbath time to refresh us and re-create us. With regular sabbath focused on God, God makes us whole. God can't use our sabbath time, however, if we never take any.

Secret

It's okay to keep things private, but secrets are bad. Privacy and secrecy are different. Privacy is a way we keep personal things personal. Secrets are things that probably need to be shared for your own good or somebody else's. Secrets are personal things that if kept to ourselves may eat us up from the inside. If something like that is bugging you, share it first with God. Then listen. God uses the ears of counselors, teachers, parents, friends, and significant other adults as EOE (Ears On Earth).

Sermon

This is the part of a worship service when people fall asleep. Older people are pretty good at acting like they are praying when they are really sound asleep. The snoring gives them away. Little kids have the right idea: they just lie down, put their heads in the nearest person's lap, and don't even pretend they are listening. This is the more comfortable approach, but adults look silly stretching out in a pew when the sermon starts. Besides, it takes up way too much space.

A lady once told a preacher his sermons were never remembered. The preacher asked the lady if she remembered what she had for lunch 15 years before on Thursday. The lady did not know, of course. The preacher asked her what she had for lunch last Thursday. The lady couldn't remember. Exactly the point, the preacher said. Even though you didn't remember the meal, the meal still nourished you.

Maybe the same thing is true of sermons. God uses sermons (and other means) to water our souls and otherwise nourish us for our Christian walk. One thing is for certain: when you're sitting quietly in a worship service and the preacher begins to preach, even though you might not learn anything or be inspired in any way, it's nearly a perfect time for a little nap. And that can't hurt. If you stay awake and keep your ears and mind open you just might learn something or be inspired. That can't hurt either.

One more very important thing: the best sermons are the ones we preach not with our words but with our actions.

Soul

Your soul is the thing in you that aches whenever somebody else aches. Your soul is that which connects you to others and to God, which must be watered with play, prayer, service, and reflective study. When somebody has got 'soul' it means they are cool because they are in touch with what matters.

Teenager

A wonderful time of life with one's "inner child" and "inner adult" often argue about what time curfew is.

Wisdom

Michael Weller, a seminary classmate of mine, is a missionary in Ethiopia, one of the poorest nations on earth. He's not doing anything to build up much of a retirement plan. He doesn't own a house. He has little to 'fall back on.' His last letter reports that he's hanging onto a motorcycle that hardly works. He walked it through a rain storm recently, up and down muddy hills instead of chucking it in the nearest ditch. He spends weeks at a time away from his family who live in the capital city. He sleeps in a tent outside of far away villages. He drinks water that is brown and rejoices that the new filtering system seems to be working fine.

Why does he do this? He says it's because God has called him to do work there. Michael even laughs about it. Says you've got to look for the humor in it.

I'd say he's a fool.

Or, a very wise man.

Worship

Kierkegaard thought of worship in terms of a play. The people in the pews are the actors. The pastor, choir, and other worship leaders are the support crew helping the actors perform better. And God is the audience. This is a helpful image. We can worship in a church or on a tennis court. The key thing is to focus on God and not your backhand. God, who sits in the audience, can tell the difference.

Another image for worship is that our worship is a launch pad: after we sing and pray and learn and preach and think and thank God in worship, we liftoff into the world, back into the grind of another week at school, back into our imperfect relationships with friends and parents and siblings and teachers and coaches. Our job is to carry the love of God we celebrate in worship out into the world. Our job is to live the prayers we've been praying. Worship is a time to check the cosmic seat belt before blast off.