CCC Blog

Second Chances

Do you really believe everyone deserves a second chance?  That question was posed to me by a congregant in the Friendship Center following worship this past Sunday.  I had just preached on the Demoniac in Mark 5 who was given a second chance at life by Jesus when his demons were exorcised from him.  And I even used the phrase, “In the kingdom Jesus is building, everyone deserves a second chance.”  It seemed natural that someone might want to raise this question.  Especially this man, who had spent a career in law enforcement and admitted that he had “seen too many things” to think that everyone – literally everyone – deserves a second chance.

We chatted briefly, our conversation most amiable, and in just a few moments we acknowledged several things:

• Preaching can be a difficult event for the both preacher (who can’t cover every possible question a listener might be thinking) and listener (who can’t really respond, as preaching is very much a one-way communication experience)
• When we say “second chance” we should be clear about whether we truly mean a second chance or the repeated giving of chance after chance after chance.
• There are truly heinous acts that fall under a different category (as outlying cases should do)

But I believe his question deserves a bit of a longer answer than a quick back-and-forth after worship can afford.

“Second chances” – whether we are talking about our earthly relationships with one another or our relationship with God – are about exactly that.  Relationships.  And in relationships there is always a role for accountability in addition to the grace and forgiveness of a “second chance.”  Giving too many chances without any kind of accountabitly in return can lead to enablement of undesired behavior.  Conversely, too much accountability without a chance to live anew is abuse and oppression.  For the relationship to be such that the individuals in it have the opportunity to live up to their potential, there must be a balance between grace (“second chances”) and accountability (a change in behavior).  Jesus said this very thing in John 13:34  I will give my love to you (grace), he said, and the expectation in return is that you love another (accountability).  In this respect, I would have to say, I don’t believe in giving a “second chance” without some kind of change in behavior in return.

Yet, this thought alone misses a larger point.  “Second chances” – whether extended by God or among people – are about faith.  The reason we grant grace to one another is because we believe the recipient of that grace is capable of producing something good for others; something that will improve relationships and community.  When we fail to grant grace – or when we are hesitant to give a “second chance” to someone – it is because we doubt their ability to do this.  So perhaps the better question is not “Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?” but rather “Does God believe everyone is capable of producing something good for others?”  To this I would respond “Yes.  I believe God does.”  This is why God grants grace to us – not just a “second” time – but again and again and again.  Such is God’s faith in us to produce good for others. 

Navigating the waters of “second chances” and accountability – in our families, in the workplace, and in every conceivable way in a wider society – will always be difficult.  Only when we seek to find the balance between the two will we truly thrive.  And only when we are motivated by God’s faith in us – and by God’s grace to us – can we hope to find it.        

5_23 E-Votional

This Sunday our focus in worship will be Psalm 23.  Not only is this the favorite passage of our congregation (based on the surveys you submitted to me over the past few weeks); not only are the opening lines of this psalm the most easily quotable by Americans of all the passages in scripture; we tend to prefer hearing or reading Psalm 23 from the King James Version of the bible – “…yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”

When James ascended to the throne in 1603 he was the sixth King James of Scotland but the first King James of a United Kingdom (England, Ireland and Scotland).  His attempt was to unify this kingdom and the religious strife taking place within it.  Over the previous 50 years, there were disputes among Catholics (those who were still sympathetic to the pope); Anglicans (those who favored an English church independent of the pope’s influence); and Puritans (radicals who wanted a complete and total break from anything that looked or sounded “catholic”).  There were also different versions of the bible being used by each group.  Catholic sympathizers favored the Latin Vulgate; Anglicans the “Bishop’s bible;” and Puritans the “Geneva bible” of John Calvin. 

One of the first things James did was commission over 45 scholars to prepare a new version of the bible that would help unify the kingdom and the religious understandings and practices therein.  What resulted was what we now call the King James Version, written over the years 1604-1611.

When the Puritans first settled in America in 1620, they brought with them their favored “Geneva bible.”  But by the 1700s, when the colonies were under the complete control of England, the bible primarily used was the King James Version.  No printing of bibles was done in the colonies, rather all bibles were shipped over from England, which by this time was exclusively printing the KJV.  In the 1770s, with trade disputes between England and the colonies reaching a high point, bibles were hard to come by with shipments from England being delayed or even stalled.  Colonists received permission to print bibles on our side of the Atlantic and the version permitted was, of course, the King James Version.  Over the next few decades, the KJV became known as the “bible of the revolution” by Americans and from that point on, it was the most popular version in America, with settlers taking it with them as they continued to travel further west.

I have always been intrigued that Psalm 23 is so popular at funerals.  Of the more than 170 I have officiated in my 20-year ministry career, only once have I not been asked to read Psalm 23.  But even more, I’m fascinated how, though we never read from the KJV in our regular Sunday services, when church members are planning funerals, they often request the KJV for the reading of Psalm 23.

I suppose there may be three reasons for this, though this is merely conjecture on my part.  First, as described above, the KJV is deeply intertwined with the development of our nation.  Second, the KJV is truly a work of poetic art, as it was designed from its inception to be something that was not merely communicating God’s word, but also pleasing to the ear.  Simply put, the KJV sounds different from the way we speak in our everyday communication.  It sounds other-worldly and mysterious, and therefore, perhaps subconsciously, we deem it somehow worthy of God.  Finally, from a personal standpoint, it may have been the bible our grandparents used.  As they taught us the faith, we associate this version with our deepest spiritual roots and thus have an emotional connection to these words which are awakened at significant times in our lives such as funerals.

This Sunday, I’ll be shifting back and forth from the KJV and newer translations, which are likely more accurate in terms of capturing the meaning of the original language of biblical Hebrew.  Regardless of how it is translated, however, the meaning of Psalm 23 is powerful and I hope you find that to be communicated in worship this Sunday.  Hope to see you there! 

4_12 E-Votional

If anyone had reason to feel defeated it would have been Peter.  Here he was, on the first Easter, just days removed from denying Jesus three times after vowing that he’d rather die than desert and abandon Jesus.  Capable of great promise and potential on the one hand, and great disappointment on the other, he had given up everything to follow Jesus but ultimately watched Jesus die and be buried.  What was it all for?  Where was the meaning in all that he had experienced?

That’s why he returns to his home after learning that the tomb was empty but not finding Jesus.  Because what else do you do when your dreams are dashed and your confidence crushed?  You go home.  There’s nothing more worth looking forward to “out there” in the future.  You might as well go back to the only life you knew before.  If anyone had reason to feel defeated it would have been Peter.   

 And yet, God spoke hope into Peter’s sense of defeat.  God gave a clear sign of hope to Peter.  It was right there in front of him and the fact that he didn’t understand it at first didn’t make it any less real or true.  In fact, God goes out of the way to speak words of hope to us.  Did you know that the word “defeat” only shows up three (3) times in the New Testament (and one of those is positive use of the word: in Rev 12:8 when the archangel Michael defeats the dragon and casts him out heaven).  But… the word “hope” shows up 75 times!!!!

We will be exploring this in more detail this Sunday, as well as hearing more powerful testimonies from church members.

I hope to see you at 8:00, 9:00 or 10:30!!! 

 Blessings -- Michael 

2_8 E-Votional

February 8, 2018

Dear all,

This past Sunday our focus was Psalm 48 and we noted that the arc of that Psalm follows the flow of the worship we experience every Sunday.  First we gather.  We process into the worship space and festive music leads us in.  Psalm 48 is a Psalm of Ascent and would have been chanted (or sung) as worshipers climbed the hill on which the temple was built as a way of preparing for worship.  As they did this they offered Psalms of praise to God.  Next, we meditate on God’s Word.  Similarly, the heart of Psalm 48 is v. 9, which says that we “ponder God’s love in the midst of the temple.”  Once the worshipers arrived in the temple there is a different focus.  “Pondering,” or reflecting, meditation on, etc…  In our worship today we experience this as the anthem, scripture reading, sermon and communion.  Finally, Psalm 48 ends with the people being sent back out for the purpose of telling others that God will be our guide forever.  We, too, are “sent out” with a benediction at the close of each service. 

As our men’s bible study was reflecting on this Psalm again this past Tuesday, we noted that we do a good job of focusing on the first two of those three things – the gathering and the meditating.  But how well do we do the third?  The “going out” and telling others, in word and action, of the God we experienced inside the sanctuary?  We agreed that this “telling and sharing” of the greatness of God is the opportunity we are not taking advantage of as well as we could be.  

Children don’t have near the inhibitions that adults do.  This is a well-known fact.  Which is why we can usually learn something from them, especially as it relates to faith.  For going on six years now, I have helped lead weekly chapel services for the children of our preschool.  We gather for 15-20 minutes every Wednesday in the friendship center and Don and I lead them in singing and Tina or I lead them in an object lesson and prayer.  But we always – and I mean always – conclude chapel with a singing of “This Little Light of Mine.” 

There’s a beautiful phenomenon that occurs during every – and yes I mean every – singing of that song, no matter the week, season or year.  The song’s first verse (“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine”) starts out reasonably well.  Probably a mezzo-forte as the children are getting warmed up a bit.  Most of us are have our “lights” in the air (index finger pointing to the sky) and we’re starting to wave them back and forth while we sing.  But it’s the second verse that really gets things going.  The words are “Hide it under a bushel? No!  I’m gonna let it shine.”  As we sing this verse, we cup our off hand and place it over our “light” while we sing “Hide it under a bushel?”  On the word “no,” the cupped hand is lifted off so the light can shine again. 

Now… the amazing thing is that every – and again I literally mean every – we sing this verse, the children scream “NO!” as the uncover their light and let it shine again.  The word “No” resonates and reverberates throughout the friendship center.  They scream it with great gusto and all the energy they can muster.  It is a Pavarotti-esque fortissimo!!!  It is truly the high point of the song.  Week after week.  Season after season.  Year after year.  It’s as though the children instinctively know and understand the sending out portion of Psalm 48.  We are given the light of Christ in worship not to hide it inside our hearts, families and close circles of friends, but so the world may know and experience the love of God in Jesus Christ that we do.  The thought of not sharing it – of hiding it – is so antithetical to faith and discipleship that you simply have to scream “No!” at the mere mention of it. 

Michael E. Karunas, pastor