the first supper

Back in the days when San Diego had a stadium and a team to play in it, I was new to the area and trying to make my mark in it, read survive with my family.  I was involved in a Bible study at ORW with Howard Hughes the owner, and a few other businessmen.  It was just after Christmas, and the topic of the Super Bowl playing at Jack Murphy Stadium was discussed.  With the leader, Don, thoroughly disgusted with the local treatment of it, at least to the poor.  To make America’s Finest City appear as such, the homeless were pawns, moved and hidden from public view, and those he worked with were suffering even more while the rich got richer.  Because he was known within downtown circles as a mover and shaker, really a truth talking troublemaker, he was invited to the Mayor’s Super Bowl breakfast.  Big money, and big risks at stake, as the Super Bowl brings in big bucks to the sponsoring city.  And San Diego was ready, or so they thought.  They hadn’t dealt with Don.....

It upset him so that he used his political connections to lease for a nominal sum, a major hall in Balboa Park to show the Super Bowl on TV.  For free to the homeless and downtrodden, and those moved by A’sFC for political purposes.  Setting up 28 foot screens, he invited everyone, and fed over 3000 people a spaghetti dinner made from scratch.  Which my family and I attended, meeting many who were on the street, some new in town and lonely, and some just trying to get by.  A room of hookers, bikes, junkies, homeless, vagrants, pushers, and all colors, red and yellow black and white.  All precious in God’s sight, and we had a blast!  My young sons playing with homeless kids, and eating with a guy from Texas living in his car, unable to find work.  I guess a license plate number is not an address.  Somehow Don had pulled it off, and somehow no one was arrested, no police presence, and all had a good time.  It seems homeless people like football too, they like spaghetti, they like a safe environment, and they like to be loved.  Not my first Super Bowl dinner, but the one I remember best.  A Super Bowl Sunday I know Jesus would have attended......

When Matthew met Jesus he was hiding in a tree.  Being a tax collector he was among the most hated in society, yet Jesus sees him, and calls him down, and into ministry.  No seminary, no license to preach, no denominational backing, just get down here and start a new life.  So he did, and Jesus even attended the farewell party for him.  Imagine all the other tax collectors, all their peer group, other social outcasts, sinners, homeless, all right in front of God and everybody.  Wine and beer flowing freely, and there the Pharisees found Jesus.  We are never told if they were invited or were just curious, or even wondering how they missed being invited, but they used the opportunity to chastise Jesus.  This man who represents God creating scandal, and from all indications it was obvious he was their friend.  So being the caring men they are, they approach the disciples, avoiding Jesus.  “Doesn’t he know who these people are?  Doesn’t he know what he is doing?  Doesn’t he care what people might think?”

So ever the truth teller, and master negotiator, Jesus agrees with them.  These are the lowest in society, the scum of the earth.  They are leading immoral lives, and are filled with evil.  The are mentally, physically, and spiritually sick.  But where else would you put a doctor except for where people are sick?  Reminding them he came to call the sinners, not the righteous.  He had called out the self righteous Pharisees, ministered to the sick and hurting, and no preaching, no collection plate passed, and all were welcome.  For all suffer from the disease of sin....he reminded them that people are more important than prejudice, how the sick need a physician, and how foolish a righteous attitude can be, when revealed to God and his standards.  The sick knew they were sick, they had no illusions about themselves.  Do you?  Whose table would you be found at?  And would you be welcomed, or even welcoming?

It took God years later to remind me, on a trip to Ogden, Utah, deep in LDS country on my way to a Christian rally to see his point.  With not a cloud in sight, nor an exit, it started to pour, and I got mad.  “God what are you thinking putting a Christian rally in the heart of LDS land?  What’s going on?”  And his answer, was the same as Jesus to the Pharisees, “can you think of a better place to build a hospital than where people are sick and dying?”  You see, we all have a bit of the Pharisees in us, at the first dinner spoke of that Jesus attended, he made it clear why he was here.  Would Jesus be found at your dinner table, would he even be welcomed?  What if he asked to bring a friend?  What if you were that friend?  At the Last Supper Jesus asked “to do this in remembrance of me.”  I wonder how many remembered that night with Matthew and his friends?  Better yet, what do you remember?

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

sheep, goats, Harleys, and selfies

Normally I wouldn’t have gone, but it was my friend Nick’s first time.  After doing crowd rides and biker based charities for years, I have seen how they have evolved into an “all about me” ride for too many, and this final ride confirmed it.  The flyers boasted a projected attendance of over 500, real count out of the driveway at Bigg’s was 197.  Still a lot of noise, but not even close.  Oh, and the ride I am talking of is the Bigg’s Toy Invasion ride, done yearly in December to get toys for kids in Rady’s Children’s Hospital, done thoughtfully, allowing the kids to pick their own gift.  While mixing with the bikes and bikers, making for a good time for all.  Sadly Nick’s comment to me when we arrived said it all, “now I know why you ride alone.”  He had hit it.

I had warned him to keep distance between you and others, back, front, and side, and as the lesser poser types revved their motors, weaved in and out of traffic, generally breaking rank, it can be scary.  Three women riders ahead of me kept me praying, anticipating the crash as one kept stalling, her apes taller than her, another missing shifts and almost running up the back of those ahead of her.  Sadly to many in the HOG groups and others, who cannot ride alone, this is normal.  This is not why I ride!  But this year was the year of the selfie, as we were held up many times while well wishers had to take their own picture, so proud of the cause they were riding for.  Sadly one turned on me when I told her about the stickers on the kids saying no photos.  And no she didn’t offer to take a selfie with me.  But the one thing that made this my last crowd ride was at the hospital, where in the past the kids were all around the bikes in the drive.  This year they had us all park in the street, some 200 feet of driveway between us and the kids.  With only the last selfie of the organizers taken on the driveway.....

So an event that used to take over two hours was done in less than 45 minutes, with many leaving early.  After mingling with some kids and their families, we took off, with Richard another veteran of many Rady’s rides with us for lunch.  Shaking our heads as to what happened......he had seen the same as we did, the HOG Group standing by themselves, CMA dusting off a guy who had been invited, he ended up talking to me, wrong guy, no make that right guy to ask about them.  Confirming what he saw.  The women riders stayed in a group, and it seemed all the groups left together.  With us stragglers left to our own schedule.  Keeping in mind the free lunch back at Bigg’s some 45 minutes away.  For some 45 minutes was too long, too much to ask of them, for a worthy cause.  I’m sure their take is different than mine......

It is no secret that Jesus drew a crowd.  From over 10,000 the day he fed the 5000, forcing him to preach from a boat, to the many lined up receiving him on Palm Sunday, he drew a crowd, and many lives were changed.  By him, not the crowd, or its organizers.  I wonder if a poll taken at the Rady’s ride would have told us more of why those who showed up did, but I have found actions are long remembered after the words fade.  Nothing new, as Jesus confronted the crowd in Matthew 25, the church, asking them why were they there.  He talks of separating the sheep and the goats, believers vs. non, or posers.  They brag how they cast out demons, and brought glory to themselves, all for him, but somehow circumnavigating Jesus.  So he tells them the story, and they don’t know they are the goats, the poor, who really need a savior.  The ask “when did we see you naked, thirsty, hungry, or cold?”  They too were the selfie crowd, the scions of the church who looked holy, but were rotting inside.  Eaten up by their own form of Christianity, Jesus was not part of it, and like the Pharisees ended up calling to “crucify him.”  But his answer is telling, and one we need to consider about us.  He says whenever you see someone hungry, thirsty, naked, in jail or sick, and minister to them, you are doing it unto me.  And ministry is more than a ride pin, more than showing up for the cameras, it goes on daily, mostly unseen by the world.  But God sees all....which ought to make a few of us sick to our stomachs.  Revving your engine says nothing about Jesus, nor does taking selfies.  No vest of run pins matter to God, for he sees the heart underneath.  His key words to the crowd, you didn’t help me.  Them.  And find themselves condemning themselves to hell forever.  They have made themselves their God of choice, stepping over the needy for a selfie shot, then heading off for a free lunch.  Feeling good about themselves.....never knowing what the rest of us see.  Or what God sees, that really matters.....

So I went, saw some old friends, introduced Nick around.  But it was on the way to lunch we saw Jeff, one of my flock, and took him to lunch.  Living on less than $800/month, this Christmas lunch would have been impossible, but God brought us together.  You see Jeff is medicated for a mental condition, but still sought God’s love and was saved.  He understands what Jesus meant to the crowd that day, as he needs ministering too.  And of all those I saw and visited with that day, it took him, to remind me.  Us.  And no selfies were taken, although we will remember this tender moment for a long time.  Ministry, seeing a need then meeting it.  No preaching, no tracts to hand out, no club to join or dues to pay.  No colors to wear telling the world you are a Christian, they are deceived by themselves, not knowing what God and others see in them.  With a harsh reality, the goats go to hell.  The sheep to heaven, God not impressed by their actions on behalf of themselves.  No follow up meeting telling themselves “oh what a good boy am I.”  If only a selfie of their hearts cold be seen.....

Crowds don’t get saved, but crowds of people do.  Individually, one on one with the spirit.  On the way to your next crowd ride, ask yourself how any Lazaruses you step over, gotta get there before it starts.  I am done with crowd rides, I got more blessings at lunch and with Jeff.  Ask yourself, “when do you see Jesus?’  Knowing he sees you.  Just might change the way you ride....forever.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthw25biker.blogspot.com

another choice at the fork in the road

It was the summer of 1973, and the aroma of Woodstock was still in the air.  So a mini-Woodstock, a big event today was planned, and BH and I decided to ride up to it after work.  Billed as the Summer Jam, it was to take place in Watkins Glen, New York, home of the fabled and famed auto racing.  A beautiful area to ride, the show was to consist of The Dead, The Band, and The Allman Brothers, all for $10.  I still have my Ticketron ticket to prove it, as we got close, but never quite made it.  But that is another story.  The story today is about a man on a BMW like mine who we met at the fork in the road.  And we decided to take it, to stop and help a fellow rider who had a flat tire.  But first  let’s set the scene...

The small and windy two lane roads perfect for gentle riding are jammed for miles.  Dozens of miles, and the sun is setting.  Coming upon a fork in the road, we see a blue BMW motorcycle parked under a tree in the fork.  Others more fortunate than he were hanging out, taking a respite from the crowd, so we stopped.  His rear tire was flat, and had no idea how to use the excellent BMW tire patch kit and pump.  So being experienced, I helped him get the tire off, broke it down, patched the tube, and we took a breather.  Hot, in the nineties both heat and humidity, we sat under a tree and talked.  No hurry, as the traffic was saying “you ain’t going nowhere fast tonight,” when suddenly a big car came rushing towards us.  As we watched in shock, it swerved to avoid us, narrowly missing everybody, but running over the rear tire I had just repaired.  Bending it into a V shape, and unusable.  As fast as the car had appeared, it vanished into the night.  How I still cannot figure, but it was here and gone that quick, our new found friend would not be so fortunate.  His ride was over, and we parted relieved and sad, we had stopped to help, only to be eventually disappointed by an errant and careless driver.  It seems when you come to a fork in the road, you have more than two choices, and this time the driver chose the road less travelled.  And with apologies to the poet, “the BMW rider’s life has never been the same.”

Yes and no answers are often hidden by a maybe, requiring no commitment, or action.  Wait for the other guy to make his move, and when he fails, sweep in and claim victory.  For us that night it was the fork in the road, but for one Samaritan, it was coming upon a wounded man on a dangerous highway.  It seemed the two religious men found plausible excuses within their religion to not stop and provide assistance, turning a blind eye and even crossing the road to avoid him, hoping they wouldn’t be seen in their sin, a far cry from the worship they demanded when walking the streets.  But we see a hated Samaritan, a half breed, not only pick him up, but put him on his donkey while he walks, and sets him up at an inn.  Having such a good reputation that the innkeeper trusts him to pay any moneys owed when he returns on behalf of the injured man.  A man of questionable heritage, but not one of questionable morals, and today his actions still speak louder than words, as does the two religious men.

In the Samaritan we see a heart after Jesus, willing to stop and assist when no one else will.  Ministering to the hurt and less fortunate can be demanding, but Jesus never lets us down.  As I watch fine men of religion brag hiding from behind a pulpit, I see the down and out just outside, some even within view, who are neglected.  Society can be cruel, but when the church turns it back on the needy, they neglect the words of Jesus, “anyone who helps the lesser ones is really doing it to me.”  Maybe put a better way, how many Lazaruses did you step over today?  We don’t have to go looking for people to minister to, God puts them in our way, yet we see them as in our way.  Jesus sees it different, and yet we claim to be like him?  Keeping a safe distance, never taking into account we were once like the ones, maybe not in social appearance, but lost and without God.  When you come to a fork in the road, do you choose Jesus or the easy way out for yourself?  Don’t lie, we may know you better than you want us to.

And so that night after doing all we could, we left the BMW rider.  We had gone as far as we could, and we felt bad leaving him, but knew it was the right thing to do.  Someone else would come along with the truck needed, maybe a better way to see it is in Paul’s advice to the Corinthians.  “Paul planted, Apollos watered, but it was God who provided the growth.”  Simply put, just do what the spirit shows you to do in the situation.  You may not be a doctor, but can provide first aid.  You may not be an evangelist, but you can show the love of Christ.  You may not be a mechanic, but can help by not helping.  Or knowing who to call.  Some 45 years later I still feel bad about leaving the guy, we did all we could, and it was time to go on.  There were two men who came to the fork in the road that night, one stopped and helped, the other damaged and sped off.  You see in between the fork is the area we spend most of our lives, the in between times.  And where your life in Christ is witnessed.  Jesus will always leave the choice up to us, the rich man chose to step over Lazarus.  But later begged him from hell for a drink.  Maybe God said it best, when David wept over Absalom whom he loved.  When Absalom was found dead, he acknowledged God by saying, “I can go to him, but he cannot come back to me.”  Jesus came for us so we can go back with him.  You reap what you sew, but also what you don’t sew.  Some are still learning to eat with a fork, some coming to one.  Only God still provides the growth.  Only by his spirit will you know for sure.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

truckin' got my car turned in...

GM and Ford have announced they are getting out of the car business.  Although they sell hundreds of thousands of these vehicles each year, somehow they are not desired by the public, passed over by SUV owners, or too expensive to produce, per GM.  After May of next year, such iconic names as Taurus, Impala, and some Cadillac models will be gone.  It seems 75% of the vehicles sold are trucks, with the market for cars shrinking.  It seems that Ford has chosen to be smart and is keeping the Mustang, but an SUV model is rumored.  A Mustang with a usable back seat?  Also no word on the Camaro, although its sales are dipping too.  No word from FIAT who owns Chrysler and is selling all the Jeeps it can make and is bringing out its own small truck in the spring, as is Ford, bringing back the Ranger.  Even my wife the Mustang convertible driver said if looking for a new car, er vehicle, would want to sit up, but won’t give up her Mustang.  So maybe a hint for you car owners, think ahead, in 20 years your sedan of today will be collectible for no other reason than they don’t make them anymore.  How will you explain to your grandkids you used to drive a car once?  “Grandpa, what’s a trunk?  They really had one of those?”  Are we witnessing the ending of our horse and buggy era? 

But still want a car, with a trunk to hide things, Toyota and Honda have assured you they are staying in the car business.  “Oh what a feeling” may only come from across the pond anymore, as American made will mean trucks and foreign cars. Now I have had a few trucks in my time, for cutting wood, and what motorcycle owner can do without one, but still like a car.  Maybe showing my age or ignorance, pulling up in a sports car on convertible on a warm summer night, top down, and V-8 growling, gets my attention.  Trucks are still a truck to me, but then I ride motorcycles, and cannot fit any of my bikes in the trunk of the Mustang.  So without being practical or agreeing to disagree, we need cars.  They are our heritage, our history, and I hope still in my future.  But maybe some names may give you an insight as to who they are, as opposed to what they are.

Harley Davidson, Ford, and even GM are all Motor companies, says so right in their names.  Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and the Motor Company.  They just make forms of transportation, and at the heart of it all I quote Alfred P. Sloan, who was the architect of GM, and its CEO and President in its heyday.  “GM is not in the business of making cars, but in the business of making money.”  And there you have it.  Finally, it is all about the money, and if they can make more money on trucks, you get trucks.  When looking your choice is what is on the lot, and trucks it is.  Go to a Toyota store, it’s car, then trucks.  Same with Honda.  Looking for an economy car, for our economical needs....start thinking used.  So much for Henry Ford who said “it is a poor company that makes only money.”  But poor companies don’t make it.....

So as we are encouraged to jump on the truck bandwagon, it is harder to tell the brand apart.  They all begin to look alike, with exceptions like the Raptor, that sell for $20-30 thousand over list, no dickering, or the short wheelbase work truck.  Shopping for a four door, look at a new sedan truck.  With one thing missing, the trunk.  Oops, and the don’t fit in the garage, too tall.  Which in So Cal doesn’t matter, no one uses their garage for cars anymore except me.  You ought to hear the comments....another anachronism right before our very eyes.  So vehicles choices soon will not include cars, only in religion will we find more choices....

There was a time when it was either Gentile or Jew.  With no other choices.  Then religion came along, using the word Christian to describe it, and it was either Catholic or Protestant.  But today with dozens of denominations reaching out with their version of God, in too many cases he is not available.  Churches have become a place to make a political or social statement, neglecting Jesus.  It is hard to go by a strip mall without some new fellowship popping up, promising to do it better that those that came before, as they pass the collection plate.  Seems some things are just to hard to give up.  But how God sees things is more telling, and his truth will set you free, if you let him.  God loves us all equally, while still sinners he sent Jesus to die for us, but he sees us as saved or unsaved.  No middle of the road.  In him you get everything, in religion you only get what they offer.  So why is it so hard to make the right choice? 

Jesus came to separate the sheep from the goats.  Not to unite us with each other, but to reunite us with God in heaven.  As I get the bulletins via email, most asking for money, some advertising selling trees, or other holiday goodies, I wonder where Jesus is?  But then remember he is at the right hand of God, the most favored position, but he left his spirit, who is readily denied.  But with the only power and ability to reunite us.  The Bible tells of a day when the lion will sit down with the lamb, we get the Lions playing the Rams.  But Jesus tells us churches are to be judged, as are the individuals in them.  It will not be what the market bears, but who Jesus is and who they choose to serve.  You may live and breath a religion, a denomination, or even a belief, only knowing Jesus will get you to heaven.  Yet in a market driven economy, how popular is it to be a Christian?

AAA may tow your car, the dealer may honor a warranty, but who will you honor and honor you on judgment day?  Cars change, who would have thought driving a truck would be fashionable?  Not June Cleaver, who had a fit her boys rode in one.  Is what you drive more important than whom you believe in?  Consider Jesus today, there was a time when there was no substitute for cubic inches, or no replacement for displacement.  But there has never been a replacement for Jesus.  He is the still the way, no matter what you drive or the size of your payment.  Forgiveness never goes out of style, or does mercy and grace.  The only choice we don’t have is that we will all take our last ride in the same vehicle, a hearse.  But who is behind the wheel and where it is going will make all the difference. Who drives you makes all the difference.  And no, the disciples were all in one accord, not stuffed into one!  With apologies to the Grateful Dead, “truckin’, got my chips cashed in...” 

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com