The last few days before a mission trip are a whirlwind of activity. So much to do. Here’s a heads-up on a couple of blog-related things.

• While we are on the trip from June 21-29, I will be posting updates provided I can get service.

• The BookTrek for The Reason for God will come to a premature end. I have had too much going on to get to the book. I should have guessed that one. Lesson here is that one should finish a book before posting a series on it.

• It’s going to be hot next week in Mississippi. Click on the picture below to read the forecast.

Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they saidto test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
— John 8:2-11 (ESV)

I fell asleep last night just after reading this passage. In that instant between being awake and being asleep, I had the glimmer of a thought. Or more of a glimmer of a question.

Why the older ones first?

Certainly, reams have been written on this detail of a story that some Bibles qualify with the statement that the passage is not found in the earliest manuscripts. In those reams of paper, reason upon reason has been offered as to why the older men left first. I’m certainly not scholarly enough to know who makes the best argument or not.

Instead, I was thinking metaphor.

What if the woman caught in adultery represents each one of us at the moment when we come face to face with our own depravity? Or better yet, when we realize that we are sinners falling at the feet of God?

What if the men of the story represent our sinful past? The older men are those sins of long ago. Maybe it’s the time that you dug around in your mother’s purse or rode your Big Wheel down the hill backwards in direct defiance of your parents. Maybe it’s any number of childhood infractions that are minor. Sinful, yes, but minor in light of your more recent sinful activity. Like the old men of the story, these older sins can be forgotten quickly. We readily understand and accept forgiveness for them.

But the younger men. If we follow the same line of thinking, the younger men represent the vices to which we have become slaves as we grew older. I don’t have to enumerate them. You know yours even as you read this sentence. These are the ones that we can’t forget. These are the ones that stand ready to condemn us …

… in our own mind.

In a voice that carries above the condemnation, the Savior asks where they are. He doesn’t see them. We look around. We don’t either. We slowly begin to see ourselves as the Lord does … forgiven and standing in the promise that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.

It’s one of those days. I’m so full of anticipation for things that are coming up that it is hard to live in the present moment. I’m doing the things I need to do at work, but I’m looking ahead to the things I will be doing next Tuesday at this time. I’m taking care of things at home, but I’m thinking of the people for whom we will be building a home. I’m trying to write a blog post, but thinking about all the posts I’ll be able to write next week when really exciting things are happening.

And I forget the really exciting things that are happening today.

I wonder if that’s not another shade of meaning to the words of the writer of Hebrews, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Today, Jesus is giving me strength just as he will be on the work site next week. Today, Jesus has covered me in his grace as he will next week. Today, Jesus has given me some skill at stringing words together that he might be glorified now and when I post next week.

Let’s not concentrate so much on the forever that we forget about the now.

If you took note of the Twitter updates last week, you will note that I made the bold assertion that I live in a gorgeous part of the world. Today, I offer photographic evidence of the claim. Click on images to see larger versions.

“Next to the word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world. It controls our thoughts, minds hearts, and spirits….a person who…does not regard music as a marvelous creation of God…does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs.”
-MARTIN LUTHER (quoted on Fee’s blog)

I don’t know if curiosity counts as an emotion, but here’s one curious feline.

Technorati Tag: PhotoHunt

This cardboard testimonies video (ht: Gman) is beautiful. Image after image of lives changed by Christ, written on just the space of a piece of cardboard. Certainly this is something that could be replicated in our youth groups. If you do, it might be a good idea to show the video as well. There’s a high level of honesty and vulnerability in the video which I would love to see my teens emulate in a similar exercise.

Note to self: If I ever take on a weather gig, remember not to wear green.

If you are reading this post, this likely didn’t happen … unless you plan to blog the end of the world.

It’s been quite some time since I offered advice on how to spend eMusic downloads. No theme this time. Just some notes on how I ran through my 40 downloads … and a few spares I had received from customer service after a downloading problem.

Evil Urges by My Morning Jacket. This is actually the first MMJ album I have downloaded. I guess I just missed the bus on these guys the last couple of times around.  I listened to the whole thing on their MySpace last week so I knew I’d want it. I haven’t yet had the chance to listen to the whole thing again. Favorite tracks so far: Evil Urges, I’m Amazed

The Smithereens: Live in Concert - Greatest Hits and More! I totally forgot how much I loved The Smithereens about 15 years ago. This live set is stunning. You’d swear it was done in a studio except for the occasional crowd noise. It has all my favorites — A Girl Like You, Blood and Roses, Beneath the Wall of Sleep. Good stuff.

Day&Nightdriving by Seven Mary Three. I just stumbled upon this one. Last Kiss is a great summer song. Slide back the sunroof, put down the windows and enjoy.

The Church is Responsible for So Much Injustice

In this chapter, Keller addresses the issue of the Christians — both individually and corporately — who have called the faith into question in the minds of non-Christians by their actions. In doing so, Keller draws out three issues: character flaws, war and violence and fanaticism.

The question that forms the foundation for the discussion of character flaws is this: “If Christianity is all it claims to be shouldn’t Christians on the whole be much better people than everyone else?” Keller notes that the very reason anyone can do any good is through common grace; that is, every good act is empowered by God. In addition, Christian theology teaches that our own moral efforts can’t earn salvation. We are seriously flawed human beings who, solely through the grace of God, are maturing and growing in character even as we grow in Christ.

As to violence, Keller acknowledges that there have been horrific episodes in history which grew out of religion whether that religion be Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism or any other world religion. Yet, there have also ben horrific episodes in history that grew out of active rejection of religious principles. The conclusion? While Christianity must own up to the violence that has been committed in its name, the reality of war and violence in society is not an argument against religious.

Finally, Keller turns to the issue of fanaticism, calling it the “biggest deterrent to Christianity for the average person today.” Generally, this argument is based on supposing Christianity to be a series of moral regulations designed for self-improvement. The antidote, then, would be to rightly see the essence of Christianity as salvation by grace.

When confronted with these challenges to the faith, the answer is not to abandon the faith, but to turn to Biblical models as a means of course correction. For example, Christianity was the dominant religion in the nations involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade yet it was absolutely essential in the movement to halt that trade.

YM Focus:

Grace. If we aren’t helping our students to grasp the concept of grace, we will leave them with a weakened faith, susceptible to the challenges that will come their way at college or in the workplace. We are messed-up human beings. Our students are messed-up human beings. Everyone they meet is a messed-up human being. The only common factor is that God’s grace is available to all.

Let’s not forget to teach our students about the role Christianity has played in such historical episodes as the abolition of the slave trade, the  fall of Communism and the civil rights movement. We can’t assume that such foundational faith is being communicated in the average classroom. Maybe through periodic biographical studies in our youth groups our students can find what one of my favorite teachers called “a dead mentor”; that is, a role model of faith that the student can follow.

I love mission trips. I don’t love the chaotic pace that inevitably precedes them. For us volunteer youth workers, we have to find time around (and sometimes in) our paying gigs to make the arrangements while keeping up with teaching and all the usual chores of life. Thankfully, I was smart enough this year to enlist a couple of other people to help with organization

The-Oh-By-The-Way-Youth-Ministry-Tip-of-the-Day: If there is a travel agent in your congregation, make sure you ask them if they would be willing to help. They have access to wonderful things that might take an average Jane like me hours to find.

If you are looking for somewhere to do some great work, check into the place we are going. When Hurricane Katrina came ashore, her winds and waters all but wiped out the town of Lakeshore (located near Waveland and Bay St. Louis). Nearly three years later, the number of homeless people is increasing and, despite the efforts of ministries like that at Lakeshore Baptist Church with whom we are partnering, there’s a daunting amount of work yet to be done. Check out this video from their pastor, Don Elbourne, and consider joining the work.