St. Matthew Lutheran Blog

Surrendering to the Master of the Board

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:59:00 -0700

This past Sunday at St. Matthew we used this theme of surrendering to the master as the perfect context for focusing on themes indigenous to the celebration of All Saints. We rang the bell of remembrance, we read the names, and we watched dancing angels collect roses associated with the twenty-four St. Matthew members that passed on to be with the Lord. It was a solemn event almost scripted for what it means to surrender to the master. Death, is the great act of surrender. In our sermon series "When the game is over it all goes back in the box" death is the box. But surrendering to the master is more than just a consideration of how we die or how we anticipate death in the way we live. There is a natural conflict at work in the world. Two principles at cross-purposes define the basic conflict of every human life to varying degree. The first is natural to the human condition the second is natural to the order of the universe. The first principle is the natural human tendency to exert our control over our surroundings. This effort to control explains why wealth and power are such addictive substances. If we get enough of them we can be in charge and call the shots. We will be able to place demands on the efforts of others and reserve for ourselves a formidable defense of all that matters most to us. In John Ortberg's book (which shares the title of our sermon series and is the basis for them and the small group material being used in the church) he uses the Dr. Seuss story of Yertle the Turtle as the example for this desire to control. Yertle is the king of the Turtle pond and he uses his power to literally stand of the backs of his subjects to get a better view of the world. He asserts his control and his subjects dutifully comply, but it took only one turtle with some indigestion to bring King Yertle down to size. Life changes for Yertle pretty quick, and that brings us to the second principle. The principle that is basis for the universe and life itself: change. In a world of constant change is control really possible? Or is it just an illusion, or a good public relations scam? Bernie Madoff was the darling of Wall Street. If you could get in on his game you could almost guarantee a 20% return on your investment; well, until it all came crashing down. We live between change and control. And Christians don't escape the tension. It over simplifies the challenge to just say control is bad for Christians. Next week's sermon implies that true. Pastor Dave, on Sunday, will preach on the topic of making you move. It is fair to say that without some sense of control we would never get out of bed in the morning, but how do we know where to stop, and when does our will becomes an object of abuse and self deception, and how does the will and purpose of God fit into the equation? We have a world within which God has set us. God commanded us to "subdue the earth and have dominion over it," the question is how does that command fit into the context of belonging to the will of God, and expectation of faithful stewardship. What is the balance? For comparison's sake Ortberg places this question in the context of a complete humanistic world view. Near the end of his chapter entitle "Resign as Master of the Board" he quotes Joan Didion's book The Year of Magical Thinking (p. 68). Ms. Didion experiences the tremendous loss of both her husband and her child, and it put her into a despair that nearly engulfed her life. She says, "I had myself for most of my life shared the same core belief in my ability to control events. Yet... Some events just happen. This was one of those events. You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends." The change in her life was unexpected and without a view of God's presence it was entirely arbitrary. How does an eternal perspective change the manner in which Christians deal with crisis? We belong to a story that defines our world. When we speak of surrendering to the master of the board the point is not to "give up" on the world and our place in it. Maybe better language would be "giving in" to the Lord, and placing our dreams, ambitions and efforts into the broad context of blessing God and the world into which he sent us . by Pastor Jim

Chapter 2 - Keeping Score by Paul Lyda

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:43:00 -0700

WHEN THE GAME IS OVER IT ALL GOES BACK IN THE BOX

The Set up: Keeping Score

In his chapter on Keeping Score, John Ortberg acknowledges our natural tendency to keep score - not just with games, but with life - and challenges us to reconsider the futility of our scorekeeping approach to faith.

The line that stood out to me was this: "The problem with spending your life climbing up the ladder is that you will go right past Jesus, for he's coming down." (p.45)

Since keeping score is typically all about figuring out who is leading or winning the game, a life devoted to giving ourselves in loving service to others is often dismissed as being weak. However, God, in Jesus, introduces another way to "keep score" by turning the whole things upside down. You see, in his leaving heaven to come down to us and humbling himself by becoming a servant and then being obedient to death - even death on a cross, Jesus was modeling another way of being in relationship with others. (Philippians 2:5-11) To do what Jesus did takes strength, not weakness; it takes being courageous, not being fearful.

Jesus wasn't just looking out for himself; it wasn't about him winning for the sake of being the best, but to redeem the world - to save us - because we couldn't do it on our own. Jesus came down to bring heaven to us..."once for all." And because of his life, death and resurrection, we are made more than conquerors. Ultimately, we are winners because of Jesus' victory over sin and death, and not our own best efforts

In light of this new approach to keeping score, what are some ways we can "live to give," instead of "living to get?" Is it possible to turn our acts of service into just another form of scorekeeping and end up right back in the same mess? Should the risk of getting it wrong ever stop us from following after Jesus and trying to live in love? Or, should the fact that what matters most is God's grace and redeeming love change the score?

Whatever your "game" experience has been in life, we'd love to hear about how God's new approach to keeping score is at work in your life.

Chapter 1 by Dave Farley

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:53:00 -0700

WHEN TH GAME IS OVER, IT ALL GOES BACK IN THE BOX

John Ortberg, a pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church

Chapter One

Blog from Pastor Dave Farley

"..while we often take ourselves too seriously, we can hardly take our souls seriously enough." C.K. Chesterton

By quoting Chesterton in his introduction, Ortberg notes that the game of life is moving toward a goal. That goal is..."the absolute necessity of arranging our life around what matters in light of mortality and eternity."

John Ortberg is a master storyteller. His first chapter, Learn Rule #1 connects and contrasts the game of monopoly with the game of life.

I can think of just a few recent publications that are as relevant to living in our success oriented society and rapidly changing economy.

In Monopoly, the aim of the game is to accumulate more money and real estate than any other player. Eventually, the game ends when the winner holds a Monopoly on the assets of the game. Losers of the game are either players who have too few resources with which to play, or participants who become bankrupt.

Ortberg challenges us to define what really matters in life.

"We all want God, Annie Lamott writes, but left to our own devices, we seek all the worldly things-possessions, money, looks and power-because think they will bring us fulfillment."

But this turns out to be a joke, because they are all props, and when we check out of this life, we have to give them all back to the great prop master in the sky. They are just on loan. They're not ours."

They all go back in the box.

Blog Introduction

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:13:00 -0700

Please staff tuned to this site.

Within the next few weeks we will begin discussing:

John Ortberg’s new book,

“When the Game is Over,

All the Pieces Go Back in the Box”.