Tag: Commitment

The Way of the Cross – The Path of Obedience

During the first week of April we will observe the last week in the life of Jesus. One of the most poignant passages we will read during this Holy Week is from St. Paul’s Letter to the Church at Philippi:

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. – Phil. 2:5-11

I am struck by the description of the depth of Jesus’ obedience “to the point of death – even death on a cross.” His journey, especially during the days leading up to the Crucifixion, was a journey of obedience. That gets right to the heart of Holy Week, doesn’t it?

We know that the journey was not without its moments for Jesus. He prayed about it until he sweated blood. The temptation to take another path, to escape, to avoid the cross, was always there. But he knew his mission and was obedient to the One who had set this path before him.

By his obedience to that higher vocation, Jesus was able to overcome his inner conflict. By his commitment to the mission entrusted to him, he was able to remain steadfast until he fulfilled it. By his discipline in the midst of confusion, he was able to discern the way forward toward his redemptive objective.

In the story Ninety-three, Victor Hugo tells of a ship caught in a violent storm. When the storm was at its height, the frightened crew heard a terrible crashing below. A cannon they were carrying had broken loose and was banging into the ship’s sides, tearing gaping holes with every smashing blow.

Two men, at the risk of their lives, managed to secure the cannon again, for they knew that the loose cannon was more dangerous than the storm. The storm could toss them about, but the loose cannon within could sink them.

So, too, the outside storms and problems of life aren’t the greatest danger. It’s the terrible destructiveness of a lack of obedience to the highest, best, and noblest dimensions of life that can send us to the bottom.

The cross could have destroyed Jesus. But it didn’t because in humility he submitted himself to a discipline that kept him within the Divine Will. We could use some of his obedience in our own lives. Maybe some will rub off on us as we walk with him in the Way of the Cross during Holy Week, through the Crucifixion, into the Tomb, and into the glorious Resurrection on Easter. Let’s do it together!

March 29, 2012
Faithful Stewards

A little over twenty years ago, a leading authority in the field of church administration advised clergy not to use the word “commitment” around baby boomers. He warned that it would drive them away because commitment in any area of life frightens them. Five years later, the same leading authority reported that baby boomers were attending high expectation, high commitment churches in disproportionately large numbers. Those churches were growing. We discovered that low expectation, low commitment churches like The Episcopal Church were declining. While we were soft-peddling commitment, our members were leaving us for churches where it is required. I resolved at that time that I would never soft peddle commitment again.

When George Rupp was President of Rice University, I heard him say, “There is no life without community and there is no community without commitment.” Think about it. Without commitment, families, organizations, athletic teams, work groups, companies, and nations fall apart.

One task of an interim pastor is to challenge the church community in transition to clarify its present identity in preparation for a new pastor. One way to foster that new sense of identity is to ask the members to measure their level of commitment in light of our Church’s teaching that, The duty of all Christians is to follow Christ; to come together week by week for corporate worship; and to work, pray, and give for the spread of the kingdom of God. (BCP, p.856)

I realize that some people may be as allergic to the word “duty” as they are to the word “commitment.” But most reasonable people will acknowledge that fulfilling our duties is a necessary aspect of keeping our commitments in daily life. In fact, the phrase “relieved of duty” carries negative connotations. And why would anyone think that duty to God is any less important than duty to family, team, country, etc.? Throughout history, many people have expressed the conviction that duty to God made it possible for them to fulfill all the other duties of their lives.

I invite you to examine your commitment to your Christian duty. Make this an opportunity to take the next step in your faith journey. Is there a way to follow Christ more closely? Can you join your fellow Christians in worship more often? Is there a place of service to which you are being called? Is there room for improvement in your prayer life? How about your giving? Is it time to move up another step toward the spiritual discipline of tithing?

Do yourself and your church community a favor and reflect on those questions as you prepare for Commitment Sunday. At The Church of the Good Shepherd, commitment cards will be distributed during the services. We’ll complete them together and bring them to the Altar as an act of worship. Make this time of transition a time of renewed and increased commitment. Ask God to use you in new ways to help the Church be all God wants it to be.

September 29, 2011
Collaboration and Community

When I started the car and the radio came on, an interview was already underway with the author of a recent book about the significance of civil discourse at every level of our lives. I was unable to get the name of the author or of his book. However, in the course of the interview, he made this statement about the statutes, ordinances, policies, guidelines, and customs which govern us: "These are the structures we have set in place to make it possible for us to collaborate."

I'd like to add that followers of reveal religions like Judaism and Christianity believe some of those structures are God-given. The Ten Commandments come to mind. They are given to us as a revelation of God's desire for the children of God to live together in ways that advance God's vision for creation.

Because human beings are by nature more or less suspicious of authority, if not defian of it, we tend to resist rules that are imposed upon us. And, yet, the author's words remind us that we need such things to make it possible for us to work together toward common objectives and shared visions. If our human structures for collaboration are ineffective, then we have structures to guide us through an orderly process of improving them. We have been given higher order thinking ability to move us past our fears and mistrust into collaborative behaviors.

Theologian and University President George Rupp wrote a book about community and commitment in which he points out that there is no life without community and no community without commitment. God created us for community. We have been placed in families, tribes, nations, societies, nations, and organizations. Jesus' first act in his public ministry was to form a community when he called his disciples. The call to follow Christ is always a call to life in community with others of his followers. Continuation of community requies something of us. We need each other!

In our life together in the Church, the nation, or the global village, we accomplish more together than apart. We live in an increasingly interdependent world. At the same time, we are more aware of the differences that threaten us. In light of that interdependence and diversity, perhaps effective collaboration is more critical now than at any point in human history. Our world and our progress as God's children requires that we devote ourselves to working together in effective ways.

The Baptismal Covenent in The Book of Common Prayer of The Episcopal Church contains two questions that invite us to commitment to civility, collaboration, and community:

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?

Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

Our answer to these questions is, "I will, with God's help." Those of us who have given such an answer to these or similar questions are in the best possible position to become specialists in civil discourse and collaborative behavior in pursuit of our Creator's vision of healing and advancement of human life on "this fragile earth, our island home." God help us do it!

February 10, 2011