Blog Archives

Building Altars (Gideon Extra #2)

2/20/2013

by Steven Norris

So, another thought that didn’t make it into this past Sunday;s sermon on the call of Gideon (Judges 6-7). Remember, these are initial reflections and are not fully developed, but I pray that you may find something that sparks your imagination and deeper engagement.

The story of Gideon gives frequent allusions to other characters found in the Hebrew Bible. Some of these are obvious (Moses, Elijah, etc.) but some are not. It is common to find in the Hebrew Bible that when a person had a significant encounter with God, they would set up some kind of monument or altar to remember the experience. Abraham set up more than one altar (Genesis 12:7, 8; 13:18). Isaac set up an altar (Genesis 26:23-25). Jacob set up a pillar (Genesis 28:18-19). These were important places of remembrance, places that they could return to over and over again to remember the Divine Presence and to reaffirm the Divine Call on their lives.

Gideon turns the stone where his offering was consumed into an altar for the Lord. The flames that had consumed the bread and the meat had no doubt marked the stone in a real and tangible way. It had been a confirmation for Gideon of God’s Divine Call, so it became an altar – a place he could return to in times of doubt and discouragement; a place where he could remember when the call was clear and undeniable.

You see, it’s not enough to just tear down pagan altars. We need to build altars to the Lord. We need to stake out those places where we have heard the voice of God clearly and have been changed by God’s call on our lives. I wonder, where are the altars in your life? Where are the holy spaces where you’ve heard God clearest? How have you set up a memorial to remind you of that call and comfort you in times of doubt and struggle?

originally posted at www.stevennorris.com

2 Comments

"First Things First" (Gideon Extra #1)

2/19/2013

1 Comment

by Steven Norris

So, this past Sunday I preached on the call of Gideon (Judges 6-7). It is such a rich story and we had only a short amount of time to spend on it, so I thought I would share a few of my additional thoughts and insights here. Obviously, they are merely initial reflections and are not fully developed, but I pray that you may find something that will further your reflection on, and interaction with, the scripture.

God had called Gideon to deliver the Israelites from the oppression of the Midianites. According to the scripture, this oppression had come as a result Israel’s disobedience and worship of other gods. Therefore, Gideon’s first step was to tear down the altar to Baal and the Asherah that were right there in his father’s field. To fulfill God’s call in our lives begins with removing all the other distractions that compete for our allegiance.

I would venture to bet that there are not many of us who have stone altars in our backyards to pagan deities, but we do have idols. We have things that hold us back and keep us from giving ourselves fully to God. We have things that consume our time, energy, attention, thoughts, money, and resources. There are things that bring anxiety and fear. These may not be bad things, necessarily, but if they are keeping us from fulfilling God’s call for us, they may qualify as idols. Look at your own life. What idols need to get torn down so that you can fulfill God’s call for you with whole-hearted abandon?

1 Comment

Buechner on Vocation

2/15/2013

1 Comment

by Steven Norris

Since we’ve been talking about the call of God and vocation this month at Ecclesia, I thought I’d share this reflection on vocation – one of my all-time favorites from Frederick Buechner.

Vocation

It comes from the Latin "vocare," to call, and means the work a man is called to by God.

There are all different kinds of voices calling you to all different kinds of work, and the problem is to find out which is the voice of God rather than of Society, say, or the Superego, or Self-Interest.

By and large a good rule for finding out is this. The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work (a) that you need most to do and (b) that the world most needs to have done.

If you really get a kick out of your work, you’ve presumably met requirement (a), but if your work is writing TV deodorant commercials, the chances are you’ve missed requirement (b). On the other hand, if your work is being a doctor in a leper colony, you have probably met requirement (b), but if most of the time you’re bored and depressed by it, the chances are you have not only bypassed (a), but probably aren’t helping your patients much either.

Neither the hair shirt nor the soft berth will do. The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.

What do you think? How does this strike you and how does it line up with your experience?

Source: Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC by Frederick Buechner

Originally posted at www.stevennorris.com

1 Comment

Testimony Envy

2/10/2013

2 Comments

by Steven Norris

This month at Ecclesia, we have been looking at call stories from the Bible and what they might say to us about our unique calling and vocation. After delving into the story of Moses from Exodus 3-4 this week, I got to thinking about one of the excuses Moses gave to God about why he couldn’t/wouldn’t follow God’s call.

Under the excuse, “What if they don’t believe me,” I suggested that many of us suffer from a condition I like to call “testimony envy.” We may not have the kind of life story that keeps people on the edge of their seat, riveted, hanging on our every word. We may not be the drug dealer turned pastor; murderer turned peace activist; terrorist turned evangelist; homeless person turned businessman; and so on. We hesitate to tell our story because it seems . . . well . . . so . . . boring.

Maybe we grew up in a Christian home, had good parents, went to church whenever the doors were open, and can’t remember a time that we didn’t love Jesus. Why would anyone care to hear about that story?

I remember a friend in seminary that had one of those gripping stories. He had traveled all around the country telling his story to teenagers and churches that wanted to hear more and more. I remember him telling a group of us one day, “I wish I had a story like yours. I wish mine was boring. I wish I hadn’t gone through the things I did and hurt the people I hurt. I don’t want this story, but it’s what happened to me so I’m stuck with it.”

There’s something more, though. The reality is that, regardless of the specific details, all of our stories are caught up in a bigger story. Who I am really doesn’t matter. Who you are doesn’t really matter all that much. What matters is that there is a story that was spoken into existence at the beginning of time. This story has been flowing like a stream throughout time and space. It will flow on until that day that it pours life-giving water from the heart of the city of God.

It is a story of a God who creates masterpieces by a mere word uttered. It is the story of a love so grand that God would go to any lengths to express it. It is a story about a promise so faithful that nothing can get in its way. It is a story about a family so open that all are welcomed, a table so big that all have a seat, an embrace so wide that everyone can feel the warmth of God’s affection.

Our story has power and credibility, not because of any merit it possesses on its own, but because our story has been caught up in THE Story. The richness of the current that finds its source in Eden is the same one that nourishes and animates our life. The spring that quenches our daily thirst is the same spring that bubbled up from the ground at the dawning of time.

We need not have “testimony envy” because all of our stories are part of a much larger story that God is telling and we have the privilege of letting it flow right through the center of our lives. We don’t have any control over where it came from or where it is going. We only have the privilege of getting caught up in the flow and being carried along for the ride. I don’t about you, but for me, that sure takes the pressure off.

originally posted on www.stevennorris.com

2 Comments

Building Altars (Gideon Extra #2)

"First Things First" (Gideon Extra #1)

Buechner on Vocation

Testimony Envy

Ecclesia Writer's Consortium

Archives

Categories