Wade’s Words

The flame imagery is prevalent throughout Scripture. We get images of flames with Moses standing at the burning bush. At Pentecost, the flames show the presence of God in the form of the Holy Spirit, ready to change the world. We use the language of flame and fire in Advent to describe the hopeful and inevitable appearance and victory of God – ‘the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.’

And yet, perhaps the most pervasive images of flames are those that terrify. The three men being put into the fiery furnace for their faith is one of those images. This is not often a story we tell to our children or that we emphasize in our own faith journeys. It isn’t nice. It is about the cost of faith, and the distance that some will go to in order to profess their faith, even in the face of the power of government and popular sentiment. It is a story that forces us to reflect on how far we would be willing to go for the sake of the Gospel. The fire was so hot that it struck dead instantly the men who opened the furnace. The fire is supposed to purify the empire by removing these three men who do not believe as the state mandates. The fire, the flames, are the end of life. They are purification and punishment all at once. Read the rest of this entry »

            I have always wondered what it would be like to be king. To have people do all of the basic things in life for you. Not having to wait in lines, having a net worth the size of small countries, and having people bow and salute me would all be wonderful. Living in a palace, with a staff to keep the place clean, to do the grocery shopping, and the little stuff of every day life would be very nice – especially on Sunday afternoons. Not worrying about the checkbook balance because it has more zeroes than fit in the silly little checkbook, heck, having a private shopper to keep track of that stuff would all be superb.

And then I take a reality check. Because I am pretty sure I would not like the security following me everywhere. I know that I’d be in jail for killing at least 50 paparazzi. I’m pretty sure that seeing my picture in the paper wouldn’t be nearly as much fun, or as rare an experience as it is now. The loss of any sort of what I now think of as a private life would be devastating to me. At the end of the day, I’m not sure that it is good to be king. Read the rest of this entry »

            I remember the tree in the sanctuary at my home church. It wasn’t a Christmas tree, it was a Chrismon tree. All that we hung on the tree were these symbols, like the ChiRho on the front of the bulletin that stood for Christ. As I got older, I understood two things – one, not everybody did this, and two, this was a very ‘60’s thing to have in the sanctuary – not too surprising in a church started in 1968.

            At Christmas everybody seems to know who Jesus is. After all, isn’t that the whole point of Christmas? Jesus is the little baby born. Jesus is the soon of Mary, and well, sort of, of Joseph. Jesus is the child that is promised to save the world. Jesus is the one Isaiah told us was coming. Jesus is the one that angels announce, both his conception and his birth. Jesus is the one that the world was waiting for to save it. For Jesus, the stars, or one star in particular come out, and the magi travel to greet the one whom the shepherds have knelt before. Read the rest of this entry »

            Again we delve into that book that people don’t seem to want to deal with – Revelation. John’s view of things often terrifies people. It usually confuses them. It is filled with signs and symbols and numerology. There are animals out of Dr, Frankenstein’s laboratory contained therein. It is not an easy book to read, harder to understand, and so it tends to gather dust at the end of the Bible. Yet it contains words of comfort as well, words of hope, and words of joy.

            Ultimately, that is what the Alpha and Omega that Jesus names himself means. It is supposed to be a source of comfort. It speaks out against the fear that dominates our world today. It speaks out against our nation’s fixation on youth and beauty, and our fear of age, infirmity, and death. It speaks out against the certainty that what we have here is what matters. It speaks out against the common understanding that it is what we do that matters more than anything. The Alpha and Omega states what Scripture tell us clearly, with no questions asked – this and everything else starts and ends with God. Read the rest of this entry »

            So, yesterday I read the new Harry Potter book. And you won’t believe what happens. I couldn’t believe that….

            And this is when folks really want to see the divine hand of God at work directly in their lives. Those of you who are Harry Potter junkies are hoping to see God throw down a nice lightning bolt before I reveal anything. Relax, I have not desire to tempt the wrath of God or of rabid Harry Potter fans. Read the rest of this entry »

            The lion is perhaps one of the most obvious Christian symbols. It isn’t used too terribly much, or talked about too much, but it is a nice strong, powerful symbol. In these recent years it has gotten great attention in the Harry Potter era, particularly as the Christian world has attempted to respond by responding with the fantasy works of C.S. Lewis, which invoke Aslan, the lion, as a Christ figure.

            The lion is big, the lion is strong, the lion is the king of the jungle. The lion is fierce. Nobody who has any brains messes with a lion.  Hence, Judah and his tribe are named to be like lions. They are strong, royal, in charge, powerful, and mighty. And indeed, this is the plan for Judah, and for the house of Judah that is related later on in the story of Scripture. It will be the hours of royalty, it will be the house out of which salvation comes for the people, it will be the house of legend. Read the rest of this entry »

            Lambs are cute and fluffy. Mary had a little lamb, after all, and its fleece was white as snow. It followed her everywhere that she would go. Yet somehow, when Christians start to talk about lambs, we want them to stay like the lamb that Mary had. But our story doesn’t use lambs in quite that way, does it?

            Our first passage today refers to a lamb. But this is not an ordinary lamb. This one has seven horns and seven eyes – Bible Study folks, is there any significance to the number seven? And, this lamb looks like it was slaughtered. This doesn’t quite sound like Mary’s little lamb to me. Read the rest of this entry »

            Please take a look at the communion table this morning and know that those who prepare communion here at Cottonwood have not screwed up. I requested that they not prepare the elements as they normally do for this morning’s service(s).  I wanted you to see the elements that we use for communion in the same light and in the same way that the people who heard and saw Jesus responded to his words in the sixth chapter of John’s gospel that we just heard.

            The bread and the cup don’t look like much do they? The wrappers, the labels, and the plastic make them look everyday and ordinary. They look much like Jesus looked to the people who were questioning him. “Hold on now, isn’t this the son of Mary and Joseph? Don’t we know this guy? Who is he to be talking like he is something special?” The bread and the cup don’t look extraordinary. But then, neither did Jesus to the people around him. Yet they all are. Read the rest of this entry »

            To be completely honest, the God as shepherd comparison has always rankled me. I understand that it is a very comforting image. I like the 23^rd Psalm. I like the cute, Normal Rockwell-esque pictures of the Good Shepherd protecting his flock.

And yet, it still drives me up the wall. I think, I really do, that I just don’t want to be one of the sheep. After all, sheep really aren’t that smart. They are a herd animal, and very few will lead anywhere, but when one gets up and goes, boy, do they all follow, even to their own demise. You see, Lord, if you love me, don’t call me stupid. Read the rest of this entry »

            In the early days of the church, the sign of the fish was the secret code by which Christians recognized each other. When it wasn’t safe to be a Christian, they had to have some way to talk to each other, to find out if this place had a Christian community, and to find out what was going on. So, the fish, for its shape, and the fish for its spelling, that spelled out the first letters of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior, became the sign of the early church.

            Obviously, the sign of the fish hasn’t vanished completely. It still adorns the back bumpers of drivers, get swallowed by fish with legs, and then in turn, have bigger fish eat the fish with legs. Yet I wonder, with the prevalence of, as well as the seeming irrelevance of, the sign of the fish (have you seen how some of those people drive?), what the sign of the church should be today. Read the rest of this entry »