Welcome to Pastor Jack Buckley's weekly blog and podcast.
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Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The Way To Pray
Psalm 85; Luke 11:1-13
"Rave on, John Donne," sang Van Morrison, a master raver in his own right. And Donne, the 17th century British poet, certainly did rave at times -- as when he called on God to "batter my heart... ravish me"!
But Donne was also a non-raving preacher in the ever so dignified Church of England. His sermons were predictably articulate; they were also surprisingly realistic about everyday life.
In a famous funeral sermon, he described how difficult it can be to stay spiritually focused when you pray...
I throw myself down in my chamber, and I call in and invite God and his angels thither; and when they are there, I ignore God and his angels for the noise of a fly, for the rattling of a coach, for the whining of a door; I talk on... sometimes I find that I forgot what I was about, but when I began to forget it, I cannot tell. A memory of yesterday's pleasures, a fear of tomorrow's dangers, a straw under my knee, a noise in mine ear, a light in mine eye, an any thing, a nothing, a fancy, a chimera in my brain, troubles me in my prayer. Lutheran pastor Peter Marty uses that candid confession to begin his own reflections on prayer in general and the Lord's Prayer in particular ( The Christian Century, July 13, 2010; page 21). He goes on to suggest that, when Jesus' disciples asked him to teach them a prayer, they weren't really interested in a literal script or a physical posture. They already knew lots of holy words and spiritual poses. Instead, he thinks they were hungry for the intimate relationship with God they saw so clearly at work in Jesus' words and actions. "Behind their simple request," he says, "was a longing: 'Lord, teach us how to love and trust the Father the way you do, that our prayer lives would increase in fullness and honesty.' Technique wasn't their problem, confident faith was. If you want to get better at prayer, it's a good idea to work on the central relationships in your life." For more on the Lord's Prayer in that context... posted by Jack Buckley at
5:40 PM
Friday, July 23, 2010
When Our Foundation Is Shaken
Psalm 97; Acts 16:16-34
Our guest preacher, Sarah Reyes, had us in the palm of her hand from word one all the way to the last "amen."
The Rev. Dr. Reyes is about 5 feet tall, containing in that tiny frame the compacted energy of a 7-foot giant. Which her chosen Bible text absolutely called for if she was to have us really understand it.
It's the story of Paul and Silas in the city of Philippi. Sarah began by asking us to name the chief characters in the story. (I just gave you two of them.) Someone added in the jailor. But nobody seemed to remember the woman whose behavior so dramatically got the story going. (Hmmm.)
From there, Sarah was off and running. Pointing out how easily some people get overlooked, forgotten, dismissed out of sight and out of mind. Reminding us how relatively easy it can be to keep the first commandment: Love God; yet how hard and complicated we often find it to keep the second commandment: Love people.
You shoulda been there.
Well, you actually can be there, kind of, through the miracle of MP3. All you need to do is...
Listen to the GODcast!
posted by Jack Buckley at
11:16 AM
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Not Your Normal Neighbor
 Psalm 82; Luke 10:25-37
One of America's all-time most beautiful landmarks is the Golden Gate Bridge. I get to glimpse it almost every day, and I can never get enough of it. Start with its unique shade of orange paint, such a perfect complement to the blue sky above, the aqua water below, the grassy hills on either end. Then take in the two majestic Art Deco towers and the graceful arc of the cables that hold the roadway in place. Absolutely breath-taking.
Blame it on my ministerial mind, I guess, but I can't help thinking of God's Law when I see that bridge, or vice versa for that matter. Bridge / Law; Law / Bridge. But, how so?
Well, take Luke 10.
A scholar of God's Law asks Jesus what it is that's absolutely essential in the nasty here and now if you hope ever to live in the sweet by and by. Jesus turns the question back on him, says "You're the expert; how do you read the Law?" And the guy answers, "Two things: Love God with everything you've got; and Love your neighbor the way you love yourself."
"Bingo!" says Jesus. "Do that, and every other detail of life's decisions follows as a matter of course."
Think Golden Gate Bridge... Those two towers hold the whole bridge together; call them "Love God" and "Love People." And the entire system of cables, suspended between and beyond the towers, could be named "Don't kill," "Don't lie," "Honor God's name," "Pay an honest day's wage for an honest day's work," and all the other ways that loving God and people happens in everyday life.
Now, imagine you're driving across that Golden Gate Bridge, sort of mulling over God's Law at 40 mph, and your eye drifts to the medallion staring back at you from that RV just ahead of you. "Good Sam," it says, over a smiling face that's crowned with a shiny halo. It's the logo of a national RV owners' club dedicated not only to bargain deals and good fellowship, but also to helping stranded drivers who could use a helping hand.
Talk about loving your neighbor. The Good Sams are on the job, and good for them!
But back to Jesus and the legal scholar... The man just won't leave things well enough alone. He presses Jesus one more time, one more way.
"Great. Love God, love your neighbor. But -- who, exactly, is my neighbor?" He doesn't want to waste his good will on any people who don't need, or want, or quite deserve it. How sweet is that?!
And Jesus answers him, "Your neighbor? Good Sam!" For the rest of the story...
Listen to the GODcast!
posted by Jack Buckley at
5:00 PM
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