BUZZARDS IN THE BALCONY

There they sit . . . all in a row! They’re hiding in the shadows, but you can’t miss their  red leathery, featherless heads and necks sticking out of black and white plumed shoulders. Beady black eyes scan their surroundings, inches behind claw-like beaks meant for ripping and tearing flesh?

But . . . they shouldn’t be inside, roosting in the balcony of the church -- these carnivores snuck in by their human counterparts. These vultures would smile, if their menacing beaks allowed it, for we mortals are fowlers to these pests; our pets, a reflection of our own hungry hearts.

What are they waiting for, these custodians of death and decay?

I was pondering a reference to these birds of prey in a story by Jesus . . . then an earlier mention of them in a obscure story about Abram from the book of Genesis.

Jesus was sermonizing about a tiny mustard seed. Intended for healing and flavoring food, this small bush grows to tree size where the birds of the air come and roost in its branches. (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 13) This is no feel good parable by St. Francis of Assisi where God takes pity on songbirds by growing them a nesting place. This was Jesus' choice of birds -- predatory in nature -- same reference to the birds whom gobble up the seeds a sower was spreading in a different teaching story. By comparing the kingdom of heaven with the mustard seed, Jesus was warning that which was designed to be something of healing and flavor to the nations will grow up to be something governmental – agenda driven – with all sorts of ravenous fowl roosting in it’s branches.

Vultures roosting among Christ-followers in the future? What could they be waiting and watching for?

NOW Abram’s encounter with Father-God in Genesis 15 began to make sense. In this little-known story about the father of the Jewish people, God made some incredible promises to a wandering sheepherder and his barren wife. Unable to wrap his head around them, Abram asks how God was going to pull them off. He was given instructions to prepare a series of sacrifices, lay them out in parallel and wait for God’s return visit.

Obedient to the minutest detail, Abram sat down to wait when the fowls (vultures) started gathering, ready to enjoy the easy buffet laid out before them. Faithful to his instructions, Abram drove them away . . . the original Hebrew says he “puffed them away with his breath.” As dark fell, sleep overtook Abram. He awoke to find a column of fire and smoke (the shekinah-glory presence of God) and a lamp (the mind of God) passing through the sacrifices.

I got me to thinking of all the times . . . I confess the majority of the time . . . as a Christian, I have attended gatherings with other Christ-followers where something was missing other than regimented social routine. We told ourselves we were meeting to worship a living, powerful, risen-from-the-dead, supernatural God . . . there was beautiful music, moving audio-visual presentations, even a challenging sermon or mass.

But . . . but . . . where was the Kingdom of Heaven on display? There had been activity, skilled activity, on the stage, yet a barrier of sameness, status-quo, deadness denied dynamic transformation in the pew. What had happened to our sacrifices of praise?

 Perhaps, like Abram, in our spiritual grogginess we allow the roosting vultures Jesus referred to in his parable to gobble up our time and attention. Allow me to suggest five of these pests we accommodate and coddle.

Worldly-wise Buzzard of Trust Yourself – From our cradles we’ve been bombarded with the obsession of how we look, how we are perceived, comparisons of status and intellect, ad infinitum. We impose the same standards on our worship, our ability to sing, play or express ourselves. Churches look for a talent pool to stock the music and platform. After all shouldn’t we be offering the BEST to God? How seductive the World-system’s -- the harder you work the better you produce.

The praise and worship is designed to showcase the skills, talent and abilities of those on stage – while “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.”  (1 Cor. 1:27) Worship becomes how well we can perform, how perfect the music is practiced and how polished we are. The result? We experience a disconnect between the music, the message and the ministry time.

Buzzard of Comparison -- The World is infatuated, makes its stock and trade each day, by passing judgments about other people. Humor is often a disguised attempt to criticize, denigrate, or compare yourself with someone else. While it is expected in the World, this vulture should leave a stench in our nostrils and minds. Even when unspoken, comparisons with others will disrupt our attempt at worship.

Vulture of Anxious Thoughts – If you listen, it doesn’t take long to learn many Christ-followers seem to build a personal theology based on the perceived failures of God in their lives. Most preface statements about Him with “I feel . . .” or “I think God . . . “ Transferred to the sanctuary, these fledgling fowl feast on our feelings: Fear  - There’s not enough. Fear – I’m not going to be taken care of.  Fear – Of betrayal. Fear – My circumstances are bigger than God can handle.

What does that tell the God we are about to worship? We don’t trust Him . . .  He’s not enough.

Predator of Annoying Thoughts: Since nibbling on the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, humanity thinks it is his God-given right to be . . . right! We have a NEED to be right. Out of our vanity and pride flash a comparison with others even before our mouths are set in motion. Our elevated sense of self-worth has no place on the level ground where we are sinners drawn and redeemed by the One who chose to drop His heavenly self-worth, lower himself to our level, and die for us, while we were still in our arrogant ignorance.

Anything of these sound familiar? I wonder what would happen if next meeting time, dialogue balloons popped up above everyone’s head, filled with the thoughts actually tumbling over in their minds. Either there would be a rapid exit of folks and/or a determination to shoo the buzzards out of the balcony.

We have to, like Abram, drive away these vulturous thoughts. They have no place in personal or public worship. To chase these buzzards away there are some key attitudes that  are guaranteed to ruffle the fowls’ feathers and put them to flight. They are good to practice individually, but more effective when full congregation can in unity say “YES!”

Rest in The Rest of God: Fear and doubt give off a stench of death that draw the vultures to a feeding frenzy. The presence of these PREY birds indicate our living in UN-rest with God rather than the REST in God He intends for us. Our present reality says we must work harder for Him . . . He wants us to rest in His ability, power and plan. Our part is to see and hear what is the reality in His Kingdom.

An Authority of God: Buzzards are among the wild birds are protected by state and federal laws. You cannot shoot at, trap, poison, or otherwise kill, capture or possess one without a permit. In the spirit world they have no such safeguards. Each Christ-follower has been given the authority to speak to these vain vultures and they must submit to our will. They do not have to be tolerated or placated. Their appetites are never sated. Speak to them, out loud if necessary . . . it will be the spiritual gunshot to pry them from their perch.

An Expectation of God: For years I went to church to see what was going on in relationships between people, to hear a message, watch the platform performance, but no anticipation that something dynamic was going to happen in the pew in the supernatural power of God. My schedule, what’s for lunch, how’s my week look, and how good I thought the message was, jockeyed for my heart’s distraction. When was the last time you anticipated God showing up with supernatural power. Like the anticipation of welcome company, it’s easier to fight off distractions in our minds when we have an expectation God is going to show up – my attention shifts from management of my little world to His eternal kingdom realized in this world.

For most of my life I’ve gone along with the dry ride. Call it obligation . . . social interaction with people of like belief system . . . habit . . . a place to belong. Those God Memorials gatherings were so formulated it made little difference if He were there or not. If He had shown up, it would have been as shocking as a corpse sitting up and speaking at it’s own funeral.

As I see it, it’s time for the dead to rise up and scare those vultures away. When Abram did the glory (shekhinah) of God showed up as confirmation of what God had promise to do in his life.