May 31, 2016

“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,  “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat;  therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.  They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,[a]and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.  They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long.  They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues,  and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi.” Matthew 23:1-7

Ahhhhhh…..this is the last of my Coffee Shop related devotions, at least for now. I most likely will revisit the idea in a different context. Anyway, I have heard about a variation of the iced latte, known as the “bootleg latte”, “ghetto latte”, or “poor man’s latte”. This coffee drink is an iced espresso ordered in a larger than normal cup and then filled up with free milk from the condiment station. The drink has spawned debate at coffee shops where an iced espresso is considerably cheaper than an iced latte. Here is a comment posted by one of the famous coffee shop baristas on a blog:

“The “ghetto-latte” is ordering any size Iced Americano, with no water and half ice (This….drink is an Iced Venti, no water, half ice, Americano). (You) then take the drink and go to the condiments bar and add (your) own half and half. Now my problem with that is… these 2 drinks cost $4.82 (entered as iced grande and venti americanos) The EXACT drink… (with all the shots and milk) are called Iced Quad Venti Breve Latte and an Iced Triple Grande Breve Latte. Venti (and Grande) Americanos come with 4 and 3 shots (respectively) of espresso and then water (and ice). Lattes are 2 shots (and 2, respectively) espresso, milk and Ice. Additional shots are $.55. Half and Half (breve) is also an additional charge. The cost of those 2 drinks (as Lattes) is $10.24 or so!!!!”

You can see how someone who works at a coffee shop may be just a little miffed at someone who knowingly is trying to cheat the system. Now, I am the first to lament the cost of drinks at my local coffee establishments, but it is not just the “well known” national shops – some of the local shops are just as expensive.

As I look around our churches today, I wonder why people think they can cheat the system when it comes to being a follower of Jesus. There are too many people who think if they come to church “once in a while”, or who mail in a check occasionally, that this is enough to call themselves a “Christian”. It is true, to call yourself a Christian, you need only proclaim faith in Jesus. But to be a follower requires more than cursory attendance, the occasional contribution, and the letter of membership. I am sorry to tell you this, but if you cannot remember the last time you went to church, then you are a “Bootlegger Christian” – someone who is trying to circumvent what Jesus wants most – your time. And, actually, why would you want to avoid Jesus? He will remember you – so why don’t you “remember him” and honor him with your presence?

Pastor Dave

May 30, 2016

“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Matthew 9:9-11

In my coffee shop devotions I have talked a lot about “shots of espresso”. In my conversations with various baristas I have learned that there are three kinds of “shots”. There is the regular shot – just a regular amount of coffee and a regular amount of hot water – whatever “regular” means. Then there is the “Ristretto” which is a short shot of espresso coffee made with the normal amount of ground coffee but extracted with about half the amount of water. And finally there is the “long shot”. As the young man explained to me, the “long shot” is taking the regular amount of coffee but drawing water through it for a longer period of time, so that the result is something more akin to an Americano than a shot of espresso.

Of course, when we talk about long shots, we usually come up with another idea. There have been lots of long shots in the world, especially the sports world, and this year, the world of soccer saw one of the longest of long shots ever. Out of nowhere, the 5000-1 outsiders Leicester City won the Premier League soccer title. To put their 5000-1 odds in context, the Philadelphia 76ers—who were Vegas’s pick to finish dead last in the NBA this year—were still only 350-1 outsiders. And in 2013, bookmakers thought the rock singer Bono of the band “U-2” had a 1000-1 chance of being the next Pope. Without exaggeration, Leicester’s season spent leading the league is one of the unlikeliest, most shocking events in the history of sports.

And in deciding who his disciples would be, who would be in the “inner circle” of disciples, when it came time for Jesus to pick the big twelve, Matthew the tax collector would have been another long shot. But when called, Matthew immediately left everything to “follow him”. And soon enough, Jesus is dining in Matthew’s home. There is an immediate connection between Jesus and Matthew – one that goes beyond just being another fringe disciple. Actually, if you think about it, most of the disciples were long shots. These men who were fishermen, who were poor, who were uneducated, and who lacked the qualifications, none of them would have been on anyone’s short list for leaders in Jesus’ school of theology.
And that, my friends, is good news for you and me. We often think we do not have the qualifications to serve our churches – to serve either on congregation council, to lead a bible study, or even to participate in the ministries. We forget that Jesus selected his disciples from people who had no qualifications, no resume, and no letters of recommendation. Jesus was just looking for people who would follow him. I think you and have that qualification, don’t you?

Pastor Dave