ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 21, 2023 Today, a number of folks from Cypress Creek Christian Church will be at the Woodlands Pride event. I walk into this event thinking about the scripture for tomorrow’s sermon, John 3:16. There we find the familiar words, “For God so loved the world…” In that gathering today, we will try to make clear the belief that God’s love is unconditional, unlimited and relentless. That’s what we try to do, wherever we are. So many people that we will meet today will have heard that they or someone they love is an abomination, sick, or dangerous. Of course, I am currently a sinful person as I am wearing a shirt made of two different materials, which, according to Leviticus 19:19 and Deuteronomy 22:11, is an affront to God. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you claim about the Bible, all of us are joining every person throughout the history of faith in trying to determine what is sacred, life-giving, joy-producing, and justice-making. And even the words toward the end of John 3:16 have been interpreted in so many ways, sometimes in ways that exclude many. The word “believe,” as I have shared before, was understood by many in the early church to be less of an intellectual exercise and more an act of the heart, often interpreted as belove or behold. How I enjoy the eternal life, not simply after my death, is to love God and follow that love to its faithful conclusion, which is to love my neighbor. In my opinion, we have caused so much damage and hurt in this world in an attempt to use the Bible as a tool of power and control without any sort of acknowledgement of the Living Word, who is Jesus, the Resurrected One—the One who continues to invade every moment through the Spirit. And outside of those who used the systems of oppression in the name of God, Jesus didn’t condemn anyone. He just loved them! And I’m doing my best to do the same. For all the places where we are blessed to walk alongside another, O God, we ask for your assistance as we attempt to make real your love, kindness, and holy affirmation. Amen.
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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 20, 2023 “Do you think God loves...?" It might surprise you, but I get that question a lot. After the “…,” there are many different groups or individuals that might be referenced, but the question is almost always asked with great sincerity, often emerging from a discussion they had with someone who seemed very adamant that a certain person or group was outside of God’s love. Or, in a recent case, it was about a daughter who was divorced. Clearly, there was great pain and a bit of trepidation in asking the question, “Does God love...?" I don’t pretend to have an answer to every theological question that I am asked, and even some of the answers I have might be wrong. I’m willing to name that in writing. At the same time, the preponderance of scripture seems to point to an easy answer to that question. The answer is YES. You’re thinking to yourself, “But he didn’t name the person or group.” I know! That’s sort of the point. God makes it simple, not leaving us to navigate the challenges of determining a person’s value or goodness or worthiness. It doesn’t matter who or what follows “...?" the answer is always YES. We so often complicate the simplicity of faith and oversimplify its complexity. Gracious God, allow me to let go of what isn’t mine to determine and to embrace the challenging tasks you have put before me. In faith, I believe you love everyone and have called me to do the same. This I can embrace, yet I recognize that believing something and living into it are two very different things. So help me! Amen. ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 19, 2023 This Sunday, we are going to play around with one of the best-known texts in the Bible, yet one that remains full of new life and new insight. I am speaking of John 3:16, the passage that begins with those well-used words, “For God so loved the world…” As I have said before and will mention again on Sunday, the Greek word we translate as “world” speaks to something a bit larger. The Greek word is kosmon (κόσμον), which is a derivative of the word kosmos, from which we get our English word: cosmos. People my age and older will remember Carl Sagan, who was best known for the line “billions and billions" when referring to the stars. Of course, if he were speaking today, he might need to adjust and say, “Trillions and trillions.” In fact, some say there might be as many as 200 sextillion (which is a billion trillion) stars. Sagan was also the one to introduce many of us to the notion of the cosmos, as it was not only the title of a book he wrote but also a series on PBS in the 1980s. The word cosmos, which really describes all the pieces of an ordered system, is much greater than simply saying “the world.” Though first-century people had a very limited understanding of what was meant by the cosmos, the use of that word was not entirely geocentric (earth-centered) and definitely not human-centered, as we have so often wanted. The church’s censoring of Galileo was, in part, its attempt to keep the earth and human beings at the center of God’s attention. Yet some of that narrowness comes from a very limited understanding of love. Too often, people have perceived God’s love as a finite resource that has them defining narrowly who a worthy recipient might be. Maybe I’m wrong, but the scholar poet who wrote the preface to John’s Gospel, which included the language of the Eternal Word taking on flesh and living among us, appears to magically and beautifully magnify that idea by speaking of a love that ventured into the world as the same love that continues to love even the furthest regions of the universe. This love, according to the first companion letter of John, is inescapably tied to God, for God is love (I John 4). And if God is love, then love is eternal. Of course, if that is true, then the idea of such a love embracing the entire cosmos and everything within it is pretty easy-peasy for the One who is the Source of that love. Good and Gracious God, you are beyond any measurement, outside any attempt to define or delineate. And any gift you choose to share, including your love, will reflect who you are. In our insecurities and our incapacity to comprehend, we find comfort in shaping you in our own likeness. In doing so, we have depicted you as one who is not capable of transforming the world. In faith, let us release you from this narrow vision for the purpose of glimpsing what was never restrained by our vision in the first place. Amen. ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 18, 2023 Donna and I started watching a new series on AppleTV entitled Lessons in Chemistry. It is set in the early 1950s, and a chemist by the name of Elizabeth Zott finds that her gender seems to disqualify her from being taken seriously among other chemists. In fact, she is a lap tech whose only jobs are to get coffee and clean up the lab. When a somewhat aloof chemist recognizes her skills, he is stunned by the fact that she won’t be considered an equal. It is a fun moment in the episode as this brilliant chemist has an awakening to something so common in the 1950's, something called sexism. It got me thinking about what areas of my life do I find myself sort of oblivious to reality, yet I’ve been able to enjoy my ignorance because it does not appear to impact me. There are moments when a realization can be uncomfortable or slightly embarrassing, leaving people to make silly excuses that might keep them from ever really embracing the realization. I think about all the different reactions Jesus received from his teaching and healing, much of it being ignored or discredited because the incorrect assumptions made by others were the way things had always been. It sometimes appears as if the very religion that was birthed from a certain wandering preacher who invited people to step across uncharted thresholds and grasp new ideas and insights is the religion that has become the guardian of that threshold. In the end, many people have incorrect and even damaging assumptions maintained by the religion that carries the name of the risk-taking, threshold-breaking teacher, Jesus. By your grace and wisdom, O God of the Universe, continue to open the eyes and minds of people through new experiences, even in those moments when one’s initial reaction is discomfort. Let us release any grip we might have on unhealthy and backward assumptions. This will forever be difficult, but we trust you to guide us. Amen. ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 17, 2023 I have not written about the violence in Israel and Gaza since the events of October 7, in part because I have not really known what to say. In my prayer on Sunday, I spoke of hope for a third way, but I will confess to you that my usual hopeful attitude has been waning in this situation. In the past, I’ve been called naively hopeful, but I belong to a group that claims, among other things, that a dead guy walked out of a tomb. I was just watching one of the Star Wars movies, and there is a line from Leia about hope. She says, “Hope is like the sun. If you only believe it when you see it, you'll never make it through the night.” And then there is Rey, another character, who said, “Rebellions are built on hope.” And though the rebellion she was referencing was one centered in violence, I think about Jesus, whose very life was a rebellion against the violence and destructive power of this world. Instead of the usual way, he chose a way of love and mercy. Of course, that way left him hanging from the Roman tool of execution, but God allowed for Sunday to suggest that Rome’s way would have no final victory. Now please understand that I recognize a nation needing to protect its citizens, and killing anyone, in my opinion, is immoral, but especially unarmed civilians. At the same time, we have witnessed this moment many times in history, and though there might appear to be a short-term defeat of one group, it tends to be nothing more than a momentary pause from which another group in another place emerges with the same old tactics of violence. It’s ok if you call me "naive." It won’t be the first or last time, but I am going to continue to pray for something other than the usual because I naively cling to hope, a hope that God’s power of love can and will break the cycle of violence, creating a space for something never previously imagined. You gave us free will, Creator and Redeemer of All, and it continues to be one of the great sources of joy but also one of the greatest sources of suffering. No matter what one may think to be the best response in this current crisis, I pray for everyone to keep open the possibility of something other than what appears to be the only way forward. It is through grace that I offer this prayer. Amen. ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 16, 2023 Prayer for the Week: Holy God of Heaven, why did you make your key teaching on love so difficult? Why did you create so many cumbersome restrictions and complicated precepts to regulate how I am to love my neighbor? Oh wait! Never mind...that was us humans. Allow for your forgiveness to be my inspiration, pushing through all that inhibits my capacity to know, enjoy, and share your limitless love made real in Jesus. May this new day of existence provide me with an opportunity to more fully embrace your life-shaping, life-transforming gift. I offer this prayer with gratitude for your amazing example of love, Jesus Christ. Amen. ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 15, 2023 Donna and I made our annual Estimate of Giving for the church’s work of Putting Love First, specifically thinking about the ONE who has been at the center of our conversations the last month or so. I am sure there are many emotional reactions to a church having a Stewardship Program in which it invites those who are committed to the mission to make an Estimate of Giving. In the last hundred years or so, churches have gone back and forth on whether doing an annual Program where people prayerfully consider how they can contribute to the mission and work of the church is a good thing or not. Some have said that such a program demonstrates a lack of faith, yet does faith require us to leave behind all our skills and knowledge? Stewardship is also putting before people the WHY, not in some sort of fear-based or guilt-engaging way, but as a reminder of the impact we have and hope to continue to have. And at the end of the day, I do not feel uncomfortable talking about stewardship and inviting people to make a commitment, as I not only believe in what we are doing, but Donna and I also make a commitment and give monthly to the work we are doing. In 1 Peter 4, we read: “Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.” As my family acknowledges often, we are immeasurably blessed by the grace of God. One of the ways we offer our gratitude is in our support of organizations that help bring that gift of grace to any-ONE and every-ONE, though we have a special fondness for Cypress Creek Christian Church, and the work of Putting Love First In All Things. With gratitude burning within us, Lord God, we seek to celebrate and honor you by finding every good way to bring alive your love for all. Amen. ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 14, 2023 Today, along with a handful of you all from the church, I will be listening to Rev. Bruce Barkhauer do a workshop at Kingwood Christian Church. Though the topic might not excite everyone, I believe more and more folks need to hear about Demystifying Stewardship. Stewardship has become one of those righteous-sounding Christian words, but I am pretty sure folks from other religions, alongside atheists, would all be positively impacted by a greater appreciation of stewardship, specifically what it means to be a good steward. As I said a few weeks ago, how we define ‘good’ is going to be different from one person to the next. But stewardship is utilizing all that one has, which includes money, power, resources, wisdom, spiritual gifts, etc., to support what a person values. However I choose to use my gifts—who I am and what I have—will point to what I truly value. Jesus talked about how a person cannot have two masters, even though many pretend as if it is possible. When I think about my own life, there are things that beckon me away from what I claim to value. Though not quite ready to make the full leap, I understand why Jesus said to his disciples, “In the same way, none of you who are unwilling to give up all of your possessions can be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). Maybe I’m off, but I hear those words as less of a demand and more of a caution. That verse of scripture continues to echo inside my head and heart, challenging me on how I value my stuff and how my stuff is used to honor what I value. Lord God, I seek to put you and your vision for creation at the center of who I am and what I do. Give me eyes to see how the things I possess can be best leveraged for your Kin(g)dom of love, compassion, and justice. Amen. ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 13, 2023 This week, I got called for jury duty. I have a strong emotional reaction to the idea of jury duty. Part of it is the drive downtown early in the morning and the challenges of making sure I find parking. Of course, like so many things, it was easier than I might have expected. I also have a more fundamental conundrum around serving on a jury. I love the system, but I do not know if I could ever find someone guilty. As one who is passionate about justice for all people, especially those who too often feel powerless, I still struggle with the idea that I can judge any situation or person adequately. I applaud others who can reasonably and thoughtfully do this, so in no way is this intended to come off as being critical of those who feel comfortable with the work. Yet, one of the things I have found in ministry is a need to listen to people without judgment. I assume the best of people, and I probably make too many excuses for them. We need accountability partners—those who will call us out when we need to be called out. But I know myself well enough to say that I am NOT that person. I will do my best to continue to affirm a person, making clear the love of God, no matter what I’ve heard. Of course, I am often asked about my love for the victim in a situation. Yes, that is where the “conundrum” really intensifies. With all this said, I was quite impressed with the people the county had working in the jury process. From the moment I waited outside before the doors opened to the check-in process to the explanations, I found everyone to be kind, gracious, and upbeat. It was early in the morning, but these folks were either well caffeinated or were just the special people who are joy-filled before the sun rises. The judge and bailiff were equally awesome. This was my first time ever going downtown for jury duty, and like a lot of folks, I was feeling a little anxious. It is a good reminder to be aware of how other people are feeling in a moment. Just because something is predictable and routine to you does not mean it is for others. Grace and understanding, along with a little humor, always help in these moments. And I think about this in regard to church, specifically folks visiting Cypress Creek Christian Church for the first time. I have been wandering into our church building for more than eleven years, and most weeks, it has been five or six times each week. There is a comfort that can leave me making assumptions about someone else who is feeling confused, anxious, or even eyeing the door for the first chance at exiting. I hope each of those people experiences some kindness, grace, and even a little humor. It helps bring down the worry or concern, making space for conversation, connection, and a sense of belonging. For all the gifted people who can create a comfortable and safe space, I am thankful, Good and Gracious God. Such people represent you. Continue to inspire the work of Cypress Creek Christian Church for anyone who desires a place of true belonging. Amen. ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 12, 2023 Yesterday, I referenced the importance of keys, the focus of my sermon on October 1, and a central part of our Stewardship Campaign: “We Do This Work For The One Who Has Been Told…” Too often, people have been told outright or in more subtle ways that they are not smart enough to draw insight from the scriptures without “the educated” telling them what to believe. Clergy, in some churches, might even say something like, “I was doing some exegetical work on a specific pericope…” Like any profession, there is insider language that very few outside the profession know. I don’t know how many times, especially since moving to Texas, I have been talking to a group of engineers and I have interrupted the conversation to say, “Pretend I’m a third grader as you explain to me what you are currently discussing.” Of course, with that statement, I might have insulted a number of third graders who could have easily explained it. Whatever the case, the purpose of Christian ministry is not to make folks feel stupid, inadequate, or subjugated to the “professionals.” This is one of the places where I am proud of Cypress Creek Christian Church. We are not alone in this approach, but in a time of heightened tension and disagreement within our culture, there is a hunkering down among some churches when it comes to how they approach communicating the ideas of faith. It becomes more dogmatic, unbending, and more of a lecture in which people are told what to believe. In my years at Cypress Creek Christian Church, I have preached a handful of what some might call “controversial” sermons. On more than one occasion, people have assumed that what I preached is what they had to believe. Within our tradition, that is not true. My hope is that people will be challenged by what I say, even if they disagree. Even more importantly, if the people disagree, my hope is that what I have said pushes them to clarify why they disagree. It is within well-thought-out convictions that good discussion and growth can occur. No one’s mind might change, but in the sharing of diverse ideas rooted in diverse thinking on the nature of God, a space is created where understanding and deepening of conviction can occur within everyone. Sadly, on more than one occasion, I have been told by someone, “You’re wrong!” When I asked for clarification, the response has been something like, “I just know” or “because the Bible is clear.” I understand passion and conviction around our beliefs, but I had a professor once say, “Is it really a belief if we cannot explain why we have come to the belief?" It’s ok to say, “I believe because of my faith,” but that should probably be undergirded by the capacity to point to a scripture, some theological concept, or something specific from one's experience. Each of those is legitimate, but we should always recognize how someone might have a different starting place. Understanding that the starting place in ourselves and others creates a greater opportunity for appreciation and coming to a place where we can agree to disagree in a healthy way. For all the grace and compassion you have shown me, Lord God, I pray for the capacity to bring such gifts to all my conversations. I desire to grow in my own convictions and understand the core idea of influencing others. Amen. |
AuthorRev. Bruce Frogge Archives
May 2024
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