Essays
Acts 6:8-7:60 // He Saw the Son of Man
We take a look at the martyrdom of Stephen and ask, "What can we walk away with?"
Karma? Nah... Grace!
“Karma’s a bitch.”
Did that get your attention? 😏
I am sure it did. Pastors are not supposed to use that kind of bad language.
This little sentence is something that we hear often in our world isn’t it? It points to this sense that “what we put out into the universe will return to us.” If we do bad things, then we get bad things in return, so the thinking goes.
Karma can be useful as an answer to the age old question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Well, you did bad things in a previous life and those bad choices are being visited on you in this life, so the thinking goes.
Karma can also challenge us to do better. If we believe that any bad action will ultimately be returned to us in some way, we will likely try to choose the better.
In a nutshell, karma argues that every action has consequences.
That resonates, does it not?
We like the idea that when a bad person does a bad thing that they will face consequences of their bad action. But, what do we do when we are that bad person? Most of us don’t really think we are bad. We are able to see how those people have bad karma, we don’t really see how we deserve it.
I think this is something that I love about grace. It breaks us out of the karma cycle.
A real and true grace is not cheap. A real and true grace has two key components. First, it acknowledges the bad. Grace is not naïve. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes in his seminal book, The Cost of Discipleship,
“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
Grace needs a cross. What wrong has been done must be dealt with. If you offer a cheap grace it is not truly grace, it is simply looking the other way. Cheap grace, a cross-less grace, is nothing more than ignoring one’s bad actions for the sake of avoiding conflict. Grace necessarily engages conflict because it refuses to ignore brokenness.
Second, a real and true grace deals with the bad. What do I mean by this? I mean that a grace that simply acknowledges the bad but doesn’t actually deal with the consequences of that bad is no grace. This is often why we find so many public acts of confession to be hollow. Their words are nice, but we see no resulting action that supports the words. Grace is costly precisely because it demands a cross. It demands for justice to be restored.
At the core of our bad actions we ultimately become purveyors of injustice.
When we hurt another in word or deed we are practicing injustice by demeaning the image of God in them. Too often there is a doubling down by not redressing the issue. Then finally, we try to pretend as though we were maintaining our moral uprightness.
Grace seeks to set this right.
Unllike karma that is ultimately retributive in nature, grace goes a different way.
What we see God do through Christ is to deal with the bad at its most fundamental level. For justice to be restored the bad ultimately has to be dealt with. At the deepest level, injustice is an affront to God. What we see throughout the Scriptures is that separation from the divine presence is the ultimate consequence for the bad. In the cross, we see God through God’s own self-sacrifice meet the requirements of separation but then overcomes it in resurrection.
The cross and the resurrection of Christ not only restores justice at the most fundamental level but also opens the door for all of creation to be redeemed, restored, and reconciled.
This costly grace frees us from the consequences of our bad actions and intentions.
But more than this, it frees us to live as agents of the very same reconciliation!
Grace is amazing because it frees us. We no longer look over our shoulder. There is a freeing to follow in the self-sacrficial-loving way of Jesus.
Grace drives us beyond our ego and self-concern. Karma locks us into primarily worrying about self.
Acts 6:1-7 - They Weren't Perfect
We continue our exploration of the book of Acts. We take a look at the surprising calling of Stephen and six others. Originally recorded at Peace Presbyterian Church in Flint, MI.
Amazing Grace? Oh, OK
I remember sitting in the living room of my friend, mentor, and pastor, Bob Smart. There were about ten of us sitting in a circle for a Koinonia Group. Koinonia is the Greek word that is roughly translated as “fellowship” in English. He asked a simple question, “What is grace?”
I answered quickly because I knew the answer!
“Grace is unmerited favor, Bob!” I said.
“What’s so amazing about that?” He said.
I sat dumbfounded. Silenced by a simple question that demanded more of me than an intellectual response.
Bono of U2 once wrote about grace this way,
Grace
She takes the blame
She covers the shame
Removes the stain
It could be her name
Grace
It’s the name for a girl
It’s also a thought that
Changed the world
And when she walks on the street
You can hear the strings
Grace finds goodness
In everything
Grace
She’s got the walk
Not on a ramp or on chalk
She’s got the time to talk
She travels outside
Of karma, karma
She travels outside
Of karma
When she goes to work
You can hear her strings
Grace finds beauty
In everything
Grace
She carries a world on her hips
No champagne flute for her lips
No twirls or skips between her fingertips
She carries a pearl
In perfect condition
What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings
Because Grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things
Grace finds beauty
In everything
Grace finds goodness in everything
This paints a picture well beyond something cold like, “unmerited favor”. I am struck by the emotion of what Bono has written.
At the time that I responded to that question by my friend, Bob, I don’t think that I understood that emotion. Grace hadn’t made it down from my head to my heart.
Why?
There’s an ancient story that resonates deeply in my soul.
One of the Pharisees asked him over for a meal. He went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down at the dinner table. Just then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of woman this is who is falling all over him.”
Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Oh? Tell me.”
“Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker canceled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?”
Simon answered, “I suppose the one who was forgiven the most.”
“That’s right,” said Jesus. Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, “Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.”
Then he spoke to her: “I forgive your sins.”
That set the dinner guests talking behind his back: “Who does he think he is, forgiving sins!”
He ignored them and said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” (Luke 7:36-50, The Message)
For a really long time I thought of myself as good. If I’m really honest with you, I thought of my self as being really, really good. So, while in some sense I knew that I needed grace, I was much like Simon in the story above. I didn’t realize that my shadow, my sin, my own brokenness was deep.
I don’t really know when it happened that I began to get it.
Perhaps it was with the birth of our first child and I began to see the deep seated selfishness that reigned like a tyrant only to be demolished by a toddler tyrant supreme?
Perhaps it was beginning to see how I responded to various stressful situations where my go to was anger and rage (heck, that happened yesterday!)?
Perhaps it was acknowledging that my sin-sickness was not somehow less than any other person’s?
As my own need for grace moved from head to heart it stopped being an intellectually rooted concept. It became something else.
Grace had become the thing that “makes beauty out of ugly things.”
What is grace? Grace is the fundamental reality that we are loved, accepted, embraced, reconciled, and cherished by a sovereign and good God because we simply are.
There’s nothing that we do to earn the love. There’s nothing we can do lose the love.
The only thing we bring is ourselves and God loves us.
God chose to love us by lavishing a grace on us that is overwhelming when begin to think about it.
It truly is amazing.
Acts 5:12-42 - Respond in Grace
We continue our look into the Book of Acts by taking a look at the time that the Apostles got arrested.
Acts 4:32-5:11 / Wait? What Now?
We continue our look at the Book of Acts with the crazy story of Ananias and Sapphira, folks, it gets a little weird.
The Breastplate of St Patrick
I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through belief in the Threeness, Through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.
I arise today Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism, Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial, Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension, Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today Through the strength of the love of cherubim, In the obedience of angels, In the service of archangels, In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward, In the prayers of patriarchs, In the predictions of prophets, In the preaching of apostles, In the faith of confessors, In the innocence of holy virgins, In the deeds of righteous men.
I arise today, through The strength of heaven, The light of the sun, The radiance of the moon, The splendor of fire, The speed of lightning, The swiftness of wind, The depth of the sea, The stability of the earth, The firmness of rock.
I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me, God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me, God’s shield to protect me, God’s host to save me From snares of devils, From temptation of vices, From everyone who shall wish me ill, afar and near.
I summon today All these powers between me and those evils, Against every cruel and merciless power that may oppose my body and soul, Against incantations of false prophets, Against black laws of pagandom, Against false laws of heretics, Against craft of idolatry, Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards, Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul; Christ to shield me today Against poison, against burning, Against drowning, against wounding, So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through belief in the Threeness, Through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.
On Rest
As I meditate this morning on rest I am struck by the fact that I don’t do it well.
My inclination is distraction. To turn on the television and watch something. To fill my ears with sound. To give my mind a distraction away from whatever is happening inside it. Some turn to drugs or alcohol, for me it’s shows.
Distraction and rest are not the same.
Rest, a true rest, I’m learning is a quieting of the mind and an unburdening of the soul. This can’t be done, for me, with the screen running. I am learning of my need to be present to my story and not simply getting lost in the telling of another’s.
It is amazing what happens when I turn to the quiet the numerous thoughts that fill my mind. The weight of my calling comes fully to bear and a near sense of panic drifts in. If I can press through the initial moments of this and then turn my attention toward the Divine and offering the weight of life to the Divine.
It is in the offering that I experience rest.
Acts 4:23-31 - When the Bad Thing Happens
How do we respond when the bad thing happens? We explore that in this week’s episode.
Life Must Be Lived Forward
Do you ever read something or hear something that you just know is true? I bumped into a quote today from the Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, “Life must be lived forward, but it can only be understood backward.(Rohr, Richard. Wondrous Encounters : Scripture for Lent (p. 32). Franciscan Media. Kindle Edition.)“
I have been meditating on it all day.
It’s just stuck my mind like a splinter in the brain. It’s like I can’t escape it.
Life must lived forward…
We can’t stop it. Life is going to do what life does regardless of what want. There are times when my adult children are home and I walk into their rooms and they are sleeping and as I look on their faces I can seethe child that they once were. Perhaps this is the desire many of us have to slow time. We can’t slow it down.
It’s not possible.
Life will be lived. As Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park says, “Life always finds a way.” We cannot slow time, we cannot stop time, life must be lived. The sooner we accept the reality that life is moving forward the sooner we can embrace it.
Life can only be understood backwards…
In the midst of the living and the ticking of the clock we will struggle to find understanding and meaning. Instead of trying to find the meaning in the moment we might want to consider seeking to live fully in the moment first.
I wonder, what have I missed in my life by trying to perceive the meaning in the moment as opposed to living into it? How much joy have I robbed myself of?
Life is understood backward. As we look back on life with the perspective of time and experience we are able to see the meaning of the past moment.
I so desperately want to free myself from demanding meaning in the moment. I want to embrace it for itself. I want to be right here and right now as fully as I can be.
Perhaps this is the way to learn to be content in every situation?
Life Must Be Lived Forward
Do you ever read something or hear something that you just know is true? I bumped into a quote today from the Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, “Life must be lived forward, but it can only be understood backward.(Rohr, Richard. Wondrous Encounters : Scripture for Lent (p. 32). Franciscan Media. Kindle Edition.)“
I have been meditating on it all day.
It’s just stuck my mind like a splinter in the brain. It’s like I can’t escape it.
Life must lived forward…
We can’t stop it. Life is going to do what life does regardless of what want. There are times when my adult children are home and I walk into their rooms and they are sleeping and as I look on their faces I can seethe child that they once were. Perhaps this is the desire many of us have to slow time. We can’t slow it down.
It’s not possible.
Life will be lived. As Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park says, “Life always finds a way.” We cannot slow time, we cannot stop time, life must be lived. The sooner we accept the reality that life is moving forward the sooner we can embrace it.
Life can only be understood backwards…
In the midst of the living and the ticking of the clock we will struggle to find understanding and meaning. Instead of trying to find the meaning in the moment we might want to consider seeking to live fully in the moment first.
I wonder, what have I missed in my life by trying to perceive the meaning in the moment as opposed to living into it? How much joy have I robbed myself of?
Life is understood backward. As we look back on life with the perspective of time and experience we are able to see the meaning of the past moment.
I so desperately want to free myself from demanding meaning in the moment. I want to embrace it for itself. I want to be right here and right now as fully as I can be.
Perhaps this is the way to learn to be content in every situation?
The post Life Must Be Lived Forward first appeared on Daniel M Rose.
Life Must Be Lived Forward
Do you ever read something or hear something that you just know is true? I bumped into a quote today from the Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, “Life must be lived forward, but it can only be understood backward.(Rohr, Richard. Wondrous Encounters : Scripture for Lent (p. 32). Franciscan Media. Kindle Edition.)"
I have been meditating on it all day.
It’s just stuck my mind like a splinter in the brain. It’s like I can’t escape it.
Life must lived forward…
We can’t stop it. Life is going to do what life does regardless of what want. There are times when my adult children are home and I walk into their rooms and they are sleeping and as I look on their faces I can see the child that they once were. Perhaps this is the desire many of us have to slow time. We can’t slow it down.
It’s not possible.
Life will be lived. As Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park says, “Life always finds a way.” We cannot slow time, we cannot stop time, life must be lived. The sooner we accept the reality that life is moving forward the sooner we can embrace it.
Life can only be understood backwards…
In the midst of the living and the ticking of the clock we will struggle to find understanding and meaning. Instead of trying to find the meaning in the moment we might want to consider seeking to live fully in the moment first.
I wonder, what have I missed in my life by trying to perceive the meaning in the moment as opposed to living into it? How much joy have I robbed myself of?
Life is understood backward. As we look back on life with the perspective of time and experience we are able to see the meaning of the past moment.
I so desperately want to free myself from demanding meaning in the moment. I want to embrace it for itself. I want to be right here and right now as fully as I can be.
Perhaps this is the way to learn to be content in every situation?
Acts 3:11-4:22 - In The Name
We explore the aftermath of Peter and John healing the man at the gate called Beautiful. Originally recorded at Peace Presbyterian Church in Flint, MI.
Starting Again
Over the last few years I have become more interested in engaging with the seasons of the Church calendar. I know that as a child our church followed a regular liturgy that included a focus on the seasons. Advent, Lent, etc…were all times of the year that meant something.
I didn’t really notice.
Yet, as I grow older and look around our world, I think there is something critically important to mark the rhythms of life with these seasons.
This year my younger brother, Dave, asked about Lent sharing that he wanted to intentionally engage with it. We are three days in and I’m sitting here pondering the readings from the week and the prayers that I’ve been meditating on and I’m struck with an overwhelming sense of gratitude.
I’ve been feeling restless since the Fall when my house was emptied of children. I needed to start again.
Lent, is providing a touchstone for starting again.
Many Christians this past Wednesday went to worship and received ashes on their foreheads. These ashes were from the palms of last year’s Palm Sunday worship. It is a reminder of the death and resurrection of Christ.
I’m struck that Lent is a time to start again.
When we start again, we start with the acknowledgement of death and the fragility of life. I suppose that’s why many give something up during this season. But, I’m finding that I’m more inclined to start something.
I’m starting a new intention of reading and praying and meditating on Scripture. I’m starting a new intention of being more present with my family.
As I meditate on the death of Christ my mind is almost immediately drawn to the resurrection and the hope of starting again.
Acts 3:1-10 - From the Fringes
This week we continue exploring the story of people in the book of Acts. Dan challenges us to consider restoring dignity and removing shame from those in the fringes. This was originally recorded at Peace Presbyterian Church in Flint, MI.
Acts 2:42-47 - Scripture, Fellowship, Prayer, and Food
In this episode we explore together Acts 2:42-47. This message was recorded at Peace Presbyterian Church in Flint, MI.
Acts 1:12-26 - The One Next Thing
The early church is left in a state of bewilderment and shock. Now what do they do?
It’s A New Year!
I’ve been thinking about the New Year, a bit. In so many ways we often start the New Year thinking about shortcomings.
It’s the “I‘m nots…”
So, we make resolutions to try and “fix” whatever it is we are “not.”
I read a book last year about habit forming, Atomic Habits, and one of the things that has really stuck with me is the importance on setting my mind on the kind of person that I desire to be. But not with an “I hope…” or an “I should…” but with an “I am…”
What if this year we chose not to make resolutions but to identify one or two aspects of who we are?
Here is what I’ve been thinking about as I stare into the face of 2023:
“I am the kind of person who takes care of his body.”
“I am the kind of person who is present in the lives of others.”
Yes, those statements are broad. But, they help make hard choices easier. The pursuit of these “I am…” statements are beginning to create in me a desire “for” and “to be”.
Do you have any “I am” statements that drive you toward a sense of becoming?
The post It’s A New Year! first appeared on Daniel M Rose.
It’s A New Year!
I’ve been thinking about the New Year, a bit. In so many ways we often start the New Year thinking about shortcomings.
It’s the “I‘m nots…”
So, we make resolutions to try and “fix” whatever it is we are “not.”
I read a book last year about habit forming, Atomic Habits, and one of the things that has really stuck with me is the importance on setting my mind on the kind of person that I desire to be. But not with an “I hope…” or an “I should…” but with an “I am…”
What if this year we chose not to make resolutions but to identify one or two aspects of who we are?
Here is what I’ve been thinking about as I stare into the face of 2023:
“I am the kind of person who takes care of his body.”
“I am the kind of person who is present in the lives of others.”
Yes, those statements are broad. But, they help make hard choices easier. The pursuit of these “I am…” statements are beginning to create in me a desire “for” and “to be”.
Do you have any “I am” statements that drive you toward a sense of becoming?
It’s A New Year!
I’ve been thinking about the New Year, a bit. In so many ways we often start the New Year thinking about shortcomings.
It’s the “I‘m nots…”
So, we make resolutions to try and “fix” whatever it is we are “not.”
I read a book last year about habit forming, Atomic Habits, and one of the things that has really stuck with me is the importance on setting my mind on the kind of person that I desire to be. But not with an “I hope…” or an “I should…” but with an “I am…”
What if this year we chose not to make resolutions but to identify one or two aspects of who we are?
Here is what I’ve been thinking about as I stare into the face of 2023:
“I am the kind of person who takes care of his body.”
“I am the kind of person who is present in the lives of others.”
Yes, those statements are broad. But, they help make hard choices easier. The pursuit of these “I am…” statements are beginning to create in me a desire “for” and “to be”.
Do you have any “I am” statements that drive you toward a sense of becoming?
Patience
Patience is hard work. It demands an expectancy and an effort that brings about change and transformation.
The post Patience first appeared on Daniel M Rose.