Month: July 2009

Recently I wrote about my extremely brief theater career when I played the lead in my high school musical. I had the role of Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha. It was a glimpse into the future about how I would become a skinny, occasionally delusional old man with impossible dreams. 

You may know that the play is based on Miguel de Cervantes’s seventeenth century novel Don Quixote. The musical unfolds as a play within a play, performed by Cervantes and his fellow prisoners as he awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition. Cervantes takes on the character of “mad knight” Don Quixote and he assigns roles for the other prisoners. In my earlier post I wrote about one spiritual takeaway from the play.

How the gentle “knight errant” viewed the harlot Aldonza was the subject of that article. Quixote saw a lady and gentle spirit buried deep beneath the hardened and bitter exterior. Eventually she believed what the Man of La Mancha said about her and she left her old identity behind. Don Quixote was an agent of grace in her life.

One of the most powerful scenes in the play can also be applied to our Christian journey. The family and acquantances gather to consider how the “mad knight” can be quietly put away. He has become an embarrassement to them even though his efforts were harmless. They plan to stop him while singing how they are “only thinking of him”. The plan is to confront him in a room of mirrors so he can see who he really is. That he is not a courageous knight but a foolish old man. Here is a bit of that scene.

Look, Don Quixote. Look in the mirror of reality…
              and behold things as they truly are.
              Look, Don Quixote.
              Look in the mirror of reality.
              Look! What seest thou, Don Quixote?
              A gallant knight? Naught but an aging fool.
              Look, dost thou see him?
              A madman dressed for a masquerade.
              A masquerade!
              Look, Don Quixote. See him as he truly is.
              See the clown.
              Look, what seest thou, Don Quixote?
              Look! Dost thou see him?
              A madman! Look, Don Quixote!
              See him as he truly is.

The accuser in the play was called the Knight of Mirrors.

Don’t most of us have that fear of being exposed for what we really are to God and to others? We have an accuser in our life as well. Satan is that accuser and he could play the Knight of Darkness to my spiritual knight errant. Whenever I begin to trust and grow in grace he holds the mirror of accusation. If I rewrote the scene above it would look something like this.

Look, Dave Burchett. Look in the mirror of reality…
and behold things as they truly are.
What do you see? A saint? A righteous man?
Naught but a sinner. A man who desires to do the right thing but does the opposite.
How can you love this God and still fail so miserably?
Look! You are a loser dressed for a masquerade called church.

For too many years I believed the accusations. I am learning to look into the mirror and see someone that I accept by faith and not by my performance. I see a saint. That’s right. Many (maybe all) of Satan’s accusations are true. But what I now see is a man who is a saint. I found twenty-nine references to the “saints” in Paul’s writings. I am pretty sure from the content of his writings that they were not always behaving like saints. They were saints because of Christ and not by meticulously following the law.

God sees those who trust Jesus as holy. No matter how many accusations are thrown at me God sees me as holy. Amazing.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.  God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1, NLT)

That is my (and your) identity. Holy and without fault in His eyes. I will be accused again and probably sooner than later. But I am learning to simply say this to myself.

“That is not who I am anymore. I am a saint who sometimes sins. I am holy because of Christ.”

I pray that is what you see when you look in the mirror of the accuser.

 

 

For reasons I still don’t understand I was cast as the lead in our high school senior musical many, many years ago. I had never acted and I was not a trained singer. That stellar resume got me the lead role of Don Quixote. Go figure. The play was called Man of La Mancha and I realize almost forty years later how daring that choice was for small town Chillicothe, Ohio. Man of La Mancha was pretty edgy for that era. You may know that the play is based on Miguel de Cervantes’s seventeenth century novel Don Quixote. The musical unfolds as a play within a play, performed by Cervantes and his fellow prisoners as he awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition. Cervantes takes on the character of “mad knight” Don Quixote and he assigns roles for the other prisoners. The musical is best known for it’s signature song “The Impossible Dream”.

I did not realize until recent years how you could draw a spiritual allegory from the play. The gentle and naive Don Quixote sees the world through eyes of grace. He sees what people can become and not what they are at the moment. One of the characters is a self-proclaimed whore named Aldonza. But Quixote sees her as a lady and treats her with respect. He calls her Dulcinea, a name that is more befitting of a “lady”. But Aldonza lashes out with fury and hatred toward Quixote. All of her past junk pours out. A mother who did not know which of her many lovers was Aldonza’s father. Men who had used, abused and abandoned her. And now this man calls her a lady and gives her a new name and identity. Throughout the play Aldonza reacts with anger and fear. She hates what she has become but she is afraid to change. At least her identity as a strumpet is familiar. Don Quixote patiently sees her as a soul created with value who can be redeemed.

As the play goes on Aldonza sees that Quixote is real. His attention is not another ploy to use and discard her. And gradually she begins to believe what the old man says is true about her. That she does have value. At the end the “Quixotic” world of the Man of La Mancha is destroyed and he draws his final breath. Quixote’s faithful squire Sancho turns to the grieving woman and calls her Aldonza. She looks at Sancho and gently corrects him as she says her new name.

Dulcinea.

Her identity had been changed by an agent of grace. A parallel can be drawn to what happens to those who place their trust in Christ. Jesus gives us a new identity and He calls us by a new name.

Saint.

We also tend to fight back and remind God of what we used to be and all that is wrong about us now. But Jesus patiently reminds us of our new identity. He tells us that we have been changed. That our spiritual DNA has been rewritten. That we are a new creation in Christ. That we are Holy. When you believe what Jesus says is true about you it will change how you live your life.

I often quote what my friends at Truefaced.com say.  If you are a Christian then God is not interested in changing you. You have already been changed. God is interested in maturing you into what is already true about you.

Paul writes about this mystery to the Church at Corinth.

So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (NLT)

So we are a new person. Righteous. That is not an “impossible dream” but a theological truth. Christ has imputed His righteousness to us. Paul continues in his letter to the Corinthians.

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

If I may borrow from the Impossible Dream lyrics…

This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far

To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause

And I know if I’ll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I’m laid to my rest.

My quest is to communicate the liberating message of grace till I’m laid to my rest. And that is a very possible dream.

Thirty-five years ago today (July 17th) my beautiful bride to be “pledged her troth” to me. To a recovering hayseed that sounded mildly naughty but I learned it meant that she promised her fidelity to our relationship. She meant it. Today we celebrate well over three decades together. Hard to believe.

Just for grins I went back and took a look at some of the top music in the year we got married. There were some hits that did not make the cut for the solo at our modest wedding. For example, Paul Simon’s “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” was axed. Go figure. Joni rejected The Captain and Tenille’s moving rendition of “Muskrat Love” without allowing debate. I felt like Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” would be a great crowd warmup. Rejected. “Shake Your Booty” by KC and The Sunshine Band was summarily dismissed.

But one song from 1976 that was not wedding solo worthy still describes how I feel about the lovely Mrs.Burchett.

Orleans had a hit with the song “Still the One” and the lyrics describe exactly how I feel thirty three years after exchanging our vows.

We’ve been together since way back when
Sometimes I never want to see you again
But I want you to know, after all these years
You’re still the one I want whisperin’ in my ear

You’re still the one that makes me laugh
Still the one that’s my better half
We’re still having fun, and you’re still the one

You’re still the one that makes me strong
Still the one I want to take along
We’re still having fun, and you’re still the one

Changing, our love is going gold
Even though we grow old, it grows new

You’re still the one that I love to touch
Still the one and I can’t get enough
We’re still having fun, and you’re still the one

You’re still the one who can scratch my itch
Still the one and I wouldn’t switch
We’re still having fun, and you’re still the one

You are still the one that makes me shout
Still the one that I dream about
We’re still having fun, and you’re still the one…

I thought of the journey that Joni and I have traveled. I am fortunate in one thing. I married my trophy wife first and saved the hassle. But when our wedding pictures are dragged out I have to laugh. There I am with bad 70’s hair and my baby blue Dumb and Dumber tuxedo.

And there is Joni looking gorgeous with her beautiful blue eyes and infectious smile. The reaction is the same for nearly every person who views those photos. A thought bubble rises over their heads with the question…”What was she thinking?”.  I have no idea. I am sure she has asked the same thing. But she has hung in with me and trusted God. She has never tried to change who I am but she has always challenged me to develop my unique design in partnership with the God who loves me. She has prayed for me and our boys more than I can even comprehend. When our marriage monitor flat lined a few years ago she did not give up.

And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become “one flesh.” This is a huge mystery, and I don’t pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife….   (The Message, Ephesians 5)

It is a mystery. I am grateful for the journey. I am grateful for the potholes and the detours and the times of smooth traveling. I am grateful I chose not to exit or turn around when the journey got tough. We exchanged very inexpensive rings as a symbol of our commitment to each other on that July day in Florida. There is another symbol that I cherish. It is called the Cross. And I would suggest that what happened there is perhaps the biggest reason that Joni and I are still together in this mysterious and wonderful journey.

(For the record…the song selected was “The Wedding Song…There is Love” by Paul Stookey.)

 

(Published earlier at Worldmag.com)

OK, I admit it. I like country music. I also like rock, Motown, jazz, pop, folk, gospel, and classical music. But I once tried to distance myself from country in an ill-fated attempt to be sophisticated. To quote an old family idiom, that effort was like putting earrings on a hog. I am a small town boy and my roots are in the hills of Kentucky. So I no longer deny that I have a few banjos and some fine squirrel recipes in my genetic pool.

In addition to my chromosomal predisposition toward Nashville, I am developing a deep appreciation for the honesty of country music. It is one of the few safe places to discuss God and country and marriage and old-fashioned values without fear of politically correct busybodies getting their undergarments twisted. We all laugh at a few outrageously titled country tunes, but there are many songs that reflect exactly who I am: a proud father, a husband who married way up, a patriotic American, and an unabashed follower of Jesus. Not exactly attributes that would make me an A-lister at elite inside-the-Beltway parties.

On the walk yesterday a song from country duo Montgomery Gentry popped up on the iPod. I had used their song “Some People Change” in an earlier iPod devotional post on my blog. As dog friend Hannah and I walked, I was amazed at how many of their songs lead me to spiritual thoughts and meditation. So here is today’s Montgomery Gentry devotional.

The title track from their CD Back When I Knew It All resonates with me. The lyrics describe the passage for many of us:

Back when the world was flat and Mama and Daddy didn’t have a clue / That was back . . . back when a pitcher of beer and a couple shots made me bulletproof / Back when God was a name I used in vain to get a point across when I got ticked off / Lord I’m learning so much more . . . than back when I knew it all.

I realize now how little I really knew about being a man and about walking with Jesus when I started out. I had bad theology and bad motives, so it should come as no big surprise that I was a bad Christian in how I lived out my faith. I was judgmental because I knew exactly what those “sinners” should be doing. I didn’t know their circumstances or challenges but that did not matter. I didn’t care enough to pray for them or come alongside them to help. I just knew they were wrong and I was better than them. At least I felt that way back when I knew it all. Here is another part of the song:

I’ve learned that love is a woman that will settle you down / a Sunday sermon can turn life around / Man I can’t believe all the answers I’ve found / since . . . back when I knew it all.

Paul wrote these words to the church at Colossae:

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness (Colossians 2:6-7 NLT).

I am grateful for how much God has taught me even after I “knew it all.” The first step was realizing how untrue that feeling was. Now I am amazed at how much I don’t know. The second step was seeking the source of real truth. The journey I am on right now is to really trust that truth and not just know it. I am overflowing with thankfulness that God was patient during the time that I thought I knew it all.

I am learning slowly that trusting truth really does transform you. Especially after you “know” it all.

My bride and I will celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary in a few days. I wish I could say it has been 33 years of wine and roses. Or,  for my legalistic friends, 30 years of Welch’s and practical cut flowers. But it has not always been easy. Neither one of us came into this little nuptial adventure with any idea of what we were doing. So I was a little disturbed to find an article that would have told me everything that women wished that men knew. How helpful that little bit of intel would have been in 1976 instead of 2009. But I decided to proceed to see if I had figured anything out by trial and consitent error.

The survey was a joint effort of Woman’s Day Magazine and AOL. The title of the article is “What we wish men knew”. Here are some of the findings with my totally objective self-evaluation of my beginning marriage grade and current grade.

When you tell him you’re “fine,” what you really mean is…

   I want to talk about what’s bothering me, even if I say I don’t: 43%
   I’m not fine, and no, I don’t want to talk about it: 34%
   I’m good, thanks for asking: 23%

It only took me 27 years or so but I did figure this one out. On the guy curve that makes me slightly above average.

1976 grade –  D
2009 grade – B+

You can tell your husband is listening when he…

   Looks me straight in the eyes: 42%
   Does the talking. Then I know he’s listening: 20%
   Nods his head in agreement.    11%

My wife knows that my nodding my head in agreement only indicates that my head is still attached. Even looking her straight in the eyes does not necessary mean I am residing on the same planet at that moment. I think I have lots of room for improvement in this category.  

1976 grade – F
2009 grade – D-

What’s missing most from your relationship?

   Physical intimacy—holding hands, kissing: 35%
   Conversation. He thinks communication happens during halftime: 27%
   Time alone. We’re in desperate need of a vacation—sans children: 22%
   Nothing. I couldn’t ask for a more fulfilling relationship: 16%

First of all, the conversation phraseology in this question is slanted. Every thinking man knows that communication can also occur during commercials and replay challenges. But I digress. Hard to grade this one. 

What household chore would you most like your husband to help with?

      Just take out the trash!: 31%
      Cooking. He makes a mean hamburger: 30%
      Laundry. How hard is it to put a load in?: 23%
      There’s no way he can make the bed the way I like it. I’d rather do it myself: 16%

It is not hard to put a load in. It is a little harder to get the clothes back out in the same color and size. My current grade on this topic is definitely better. We do disagree at times on the need to dust. Joni can spot subatomic particles while I need a dust-ball to be the size of a chihuahua to notice. For that area of needed growth I give myself a B + .

You would rather marry a man who…?

   Makes you laugh like Will Ferrell: 54%
   Has more money than Bill Gates: 21%
   Is mysterious like Robert DeNiro: 15%
   Has washboard abs like Matthew McConaughey: 10%

Thank God that Joni was in the majority here. I could make her laugh and she somehow did not notice the rest of the presentation. I did not score any points for money, mystery and especially for washboard abs. Still my abs can be described by a laundry room item. They, unfortunately, are Downey Soft.

 After a bad day, you’d like him to…

      Give me a hug: 54%
      Listen to my problems—without trying to solve them: 21%
      Offer to make dinner and put the kids to bed: 18%
      Fix me a drink (a cold Nehi Orange for my legalistic friends): 7%

Getting better. It took awhile to learn the try not to solve the problems part. It is hard for men to understand the concept of talking without having to reach a conclusion. Weird.

1976 Grade – C
2009 Grade – B +

The survey reported that 64% said they would rather be with a man who is poor and attractive than rich and unattractive.

I wish I could believe that. My anecdotal experience tells me the percentages are likely reversed.

Another ladies magazine (Ladies Home Journal) used to run a feature called “Can this marriage be saved?”.  I suspect if we had been honest with the therapist during our early years the prognosis would have been bleak. But we had two things going for us. We believed that the commitment we made on July 17, 1976 was binding. So we had to choose to make it work or choose to be miserable.  

Second, we both had a commitment to our faith in Christ. Jesus was clear that the plan was for a marriage to stay together.

But God’s plan was seen from the beginning of creation, for `He made them male and female.’`This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one,  let no one separate them, for God has joined them together.”  (Mark 10,  NLT)

Apart from Jesus I suspect that Joni and I would not have made it. That should be the story of more Christians and not that the divorce rate is not much different for Christians than the general populace. That is just unbelievable to a cynical, watching world. This is not about making anyone feel guilty. I know that sometimes a marriage simply cannot continue. But I suspect that many could have been saved.

I am so grateful that we stayed together. I am so grateful that Joni was patient enough to allow me to figure some of this stuff out. These surveys are fun and can even be instructive. But for me trying to learn how to love my bride like Christ loves His church is even better than taking the garbage out. I still have a long way toward that goal. The loving her like Christ loved the church one. It should be keep me busy for the rest of our nuptial adventure.