Leprosy Didn't Have to Kill Him

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I recently watched the directors cut of Kingdom of Heaven and found myself completely absorbed in the story. What a difference Ridley Scott’s extra hour of footage makes. The sad plight of Jerusalem’s king is one of the most tragic figures I’ve seen in film recently. Disfigured by leprosy in it’s final stages, the king wears a silver mask and bandages to minimize the greater distraction his wounds would cause.

It left me thinking on some of leprosy’s ironies – particularly the realization that the cure has always existed (it’s a fairly simple antibiotic). It just took us centuries to find it. Think about that. I’m willing to venture that Jerusalem’s king died within reach of that cure, if he had only known the necessary combination of the necessary substances. Right now other cures are possible for what ails us, too, but we haven’t figured those out yet, either.

All of that leaves me wondering how many of us are limited only by our knowledge and imagination not by the extent of what is actually possible around us. Are our limits around us or inside us? Are we limited by what’s possible or simply by the knowledge of how to make it so? At any rate, I didn’t intend to take this illustration where it’s going, so let me get back to my outline.

One of my passions has always been to find a way to reconnect pulpit and pew, sanctuary and sidewalk. Pastors often lock themselves away in their studies surrounded by books and unseen promptings and they cook up a sea of words for Sunday – all kinds of advice about a life they no longer live – the life on the other side of the platform – the life you live right now. It can be all too easy to speak only from the world you know. But I’ve always suspected that other great cures and breakthroughs can be made from new combinations of what we already have. In my case, I’ve always assumed it could come from listening. I greatly desire what no book can tell me as I’m locked away in my office – and that’s what you’re actually thinking, facing and doing.

So what’s it like to be you? What’s the most moving spiritual experience you’ve ever had? What doubts do you struggle with? What’s it like to attend church? What’s the single greatest ongoing contributor to your spiritual growth? What questions hold you firmly in their grasp? What is the hardest part of Christianity to accept or believe or practice? What’s the most moving part of our faith? And what are the things that seem to matter most to the people you live and work beside? What do your conversations with them entail? If you could say one thing to the entire world about what you believe, what would it be?

By the way, I didn’t ask any of those questions rhetorically. All you need to do is hit “reply” and I’ll receive it. This devotional is read by a little more than 300 people each week and I would love to have a little more than 300 replies to go through in prepping for our next series which starts September 10th. Imagine a platform touched by 300 voices. That’s the kind of living research you can’t pull from the shelf of some book store.

I think the Kingdom exists best in the mix of a single book (the Bible) and a sea of great conversations between people trying to “figure their stuff out”. Imagine a pulpit in close connection with all that! Give me the other part of this equation – your part – and I’ll do my best.

Starting September 10th, we are endeavoring to connect directly with the people you live and work beside. We’d love it if you can bring someone. And if not, we’re taking steps to make it possible for you to bring it to them in better ways. You can connect me to that world by simply hitting reply and stabbing at a few of those questions. What you write down won’t seem profound to you because you live with it all the time. But, then, the stuff that became the antibiotics that cured leprosy didn’t grab our attention until less than a hundred years ago, either…

I hope to see you there – and I hope you bring someone with you.

CSW

LAST SUNDAY
We’ve received a lot of feedback from last Sunday as we looked into the unexpected side of giving. Make the switch from consumer to producer. Hear how and why on our Podcast.

TAKE A STEP
Two weeks ago, we talked about how you don’t need to be a hero – you just need to take a step. This past Sunday, we talked about what a step could look like. It doesn’t take a few hero’s doing huge things to get it done. Hero’s a few and far between. It takes a thousand people doing simple things they really mean – like shaking a hand or tearing down the speaker stands. Listen to our Podcast to hear why giving doesn’t just give away. It may simply be another kind of getting.

STARTING SEPTEMBER 10
See devotional above.

LABOUR DAY
Join us for a slightly shorter 1 hour service and then take someone to lunch.