5.29--Dirty Feet Evangelism Part 2: Welcome

Two weeks ago, we talked about how we are called to be dirty feet evangelists. We talked about how we are called to go out into the world and share the Good News of Christ’s victory over sin and death with everyone we meet. We talked about how this is the true work of the church in the world, a work that was commissioned by Jesus Christ Himself as Saint Matthew records at the end of his Gospel. We talked about how the church is defined by this and should be known by this—that true work of the church is not found in the budgets, or membership, or style of worship, or the building, but is instead found in the authentic outpouring of God’s love and grace into the world. And we talked about how this call means that we must get up out of our pews and into the world, where we cannot be afraid to get our feet a little dirty.

This week, we are going to continue the conversation. We’re going to talk about what happens once we have gone out into the world and have invited people to the church.

Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me!

"If you are angry, let it be without sin. The sun must not go down on your wrath; do not give the devil a chance to work on you."--Ephesians 4:26-27


Last year, sometime in late April, I downloaded an app to my iphone that I have sadly not used nearly as much as I should. The app is the Divine Office app, which offers the prayers, hymns, readings, responses, and blessings for each of the four prayer services that many Roman Catholic laypeople and clergy engage in daily. There is a morning, daytime, evening, and night prayer service. Sometimes, I go through the entire prayer service, taking time to offer up the prayers, quietly sing the hymns (if I know them), and do the readings. Most of the time, though, I just take the minute or two to read the Scripture lesson for each prayer time. Then, hopefully, throughout my day I will ponder upon them. 

What Am I Seeking? (AKA Riding the Wave of Life)

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all of these things will be given to you as well."
-Matthew 6:33

I have often felt--and said to many people--that my life is just one long surf after another. I just ride through life without ever really taking the time to figure out exactly where it is that I am going. There seems to be a master plan, and why fight it when I can instead enjoy the ride?

This has been used especially between one close friend of mine and myself to talk about my work ethic and educational drive. Because of my attitude about most things, it can easily come across like I do not work hard for my grades in school, that I tend to have great job opportunities fall from the sky, and that I do not really do anything to earn or deserve the good that comes to me. And while part of this is true--I am very blessed, beyond what I or anyone else realizes--I do work very hard and try to earn my place in both education and vocation.

5.15--Dirty Feet Evangelism Part 1: Go

His feet were always filthy. My brother Tomas ran Cross Country Track all four years of high school, and he was good. He went to state a number of times, both individually and as a part of a winning team, and although he rarely brought home the gold, he was still one of the fastest runners in Texas for a couple years. Running Cross Country is a dangerous endeavor, though. The course is not on a track, but instead goes up and down hills, over fields, down sidewalks, and pretty much anywhere else you can imagine. It is 3.3 miles, or 5 kilometers, of running, and the course can be as evil as the coach that maps it out. When it rains, the courses are muddy, and with everyone running over the same patches of ground, it gets churned up and the mud goes everywhere. It was not uncommon for Tomas to finish the course and be covered from the waist down in mud.

Hence the danger. With practices early every morning and meets every Saturday, it was a regular occurrence for Tomas to track an inordinate amount of filth into the house and the car on a regular basis. You knew when Tomas was home and where he was in the house because you could follow his trail from the back door. Mom would be furious, and after a while, she started making Tomas hose off his legs in the back yard before he was allowed in the house.

Celebrating Justice While Remembering To Love

I’m a big James Bond fan. I always have been. When I was little, I would pretend that I was a 00 Agent in Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and I would strut around my house, routing out the bad guys, thwarting terrorism at every turn, and trying to act as suave as possible while doing so. I had a small suction-cup dart gun that I would keep tucked in the waist of my pants so that any time an evil-doer came looking for trouble, it was trouble he found. I even tried to talk with a British accent—or Scottish one, depending on which Bond movie I had most recently seen—so I could be more like Bond.  By the way, Sean Connery is and will always be the greatest Bond. None of the others come anywhere close.

It wasn’t until recently that I realized just how violent James Bond really is. As Jess and I were watching one of my favorites, Thunderball, my lovely wife pointed out to me that Bond is ruthless! He even uses women as body shields! I thanked her for forever marring my conception of one of my childhood heroes, but I had to admit that she was right. James Bond is suave. He’s cool. But he leaves a long trail of bodies in his wake in every single movie.

And as a child I celebrated every single kill.