Click on the title for the link to my new blog or paste this link (http://kingdomseeking.wordpress.com) into your web browser.
- Rex
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Liberty or Tyranny?
If I was to declare that God is more than one, it would be obvious to all Christians how false such a belief is and thus would be rejected. However, if I took a more subtle approach, say, by appealing to your emotional senses, such a fear and happiness, that peace and happiness is found in financial security, I then could lure some Christians into the practice of making money their god (even if they would not acknowledge this in such language).
For sometime a similar phenomenon has been occurring with the use of the term “freedom.” A recent article “Has The Jihadist Movement Temporarily Peaked?” (Outreach to Muslims 12, July/Aug/Sept 2007) suggests that the difference between liberty and tyranny rests within the powers of people, nations, and political structures – in this case, between the West and the Middle East. The article discusses the responsibilities of national leaders in regards to Muslim relations and then states, “Our well-being is wrapped up in the success of their efforts” (p. 6). I contend that this is but one of many examples taking place in our culture that subtly denies part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We would be deeply troubled by any Christian who dared to suggest that our faith allows for two Lords, two salvations, two hopes, etc… But when it comes to “freedom” we have become quite comfortable in declaring the existence of two or more freedoms.
Jesus himself declared the very nature of the good news of God’s kingdom. Quoting from the prophet Isaiah, Jesus described his mission saying:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4.18-19, TNIV)
The very core of the Christian faith believes that all people have become slaves to the evil and sin of a fallen world (tyranny) and are redeemed only by God’s offering of his Son, Jesus on a cross (liberty). The scriptures only know of one freedom which originates from God and has already been made a reality only through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Without Jesus we will always be slaves to tyranny. In Jesus we have true liberty. Let’s never forget that the difference between liberty and tyranny is not dependent on the things of this world but instead is holistically dependent upon God who sets us free into a new world that can never be penetrated by tyrannical forces.
For sometime a similar phenomenon has been occurring with the use of the term “freedom.” A recent article “Has The Jihadist Movement Temporarily Peaked?” (Outreach to Muslims 12, July/Aug/Sept 2007) suggests that the difference between liberty and tyranny rests within the powers of people, nations, and political structures – in this case, between the West and the Middle East. The article discusses the responsibilities of national leaders in regards to Muslim relations and then states, “Our well-being is wrapped up in the success of their efforts” (p. 6). I contend that this is but one of many examples taking place in our culture that subtly denies part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We would be deeply troubled by any Christian who dared to suggest that our faith allows for two Lords, two salvations, two hopes, etc… But when it comes to “freedom” we have become quite comfortable in declaring the existence of two or more freedoms.
Jesus himself declared the very nature of the good news of God’s kingdom. Quoting from the prophet Isaiah, Jesus described his mission saying:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4.18-19, TNIV)
The very core of the Christian faith believes that all people have become slaves to the evil and sin of a fallen world (tyranny) and are redeemed only by God’s offering of his Son, Jesus on a cross (liberty). The scriptures only know of one freedom which originates from God and has already been made a reality only through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Without Jesus we will always be slaves to tyranny. In Jesus we have true liberty. Let’s never forget that the difference between liberty and tyranny is not dependent on the things of this world but instead is holistically dependent upon God who sets us free into a new world that can never be penetrated by tyrannical forces.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
When All is Gone!
What if one day we lost everything? What if life as we know was one day taken from us, leaving us to continue on with the painful memory of loss and the confusion of trying to make sense in a strange new set of circumstances? On another blog (click on the title for the link), Donna poses a similar question. The following was my comment and I though I would post this on my blog too.
The death of a son was enough to tear down the foundation of my faith. After the death of my son, the only thing I was sure of was that there had to be a God or else this life was nothing but a cruel joke that made even less sense then a life originating from God yet contains immense human suffering.
At the moment of realizing you are not sure about anything in terms of religious faith, it becomes quite a lonely world. You may still "go to church" but you have no adequate words to express the present crisis of faith.
For me, eventually I began to read scripture again. I read it with an open mind but also with a mind-set that was not sure if I would find what I was looking for. I didn't but I also did. I didn't find just another manual with a set of instructions on how to adhere to another religion nor did I find the answer to why human suffering exists. What I found was a witness to life and hope. I understood at that moment why these pages of scripture were described as Divine Revelation. I understood why those who read these scriptures before have passed them down. For in them I not only found my own story setting and conflict, I also found the climax and resolution -- the promise that a crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ is the reality of hope -- a hope that says the present suffering is not the end of the story. This was truly a liberating moment and still is.
The death of a son was enough to tear down the foundation of my faith. After the death of my son, the only thing I was sure of was that there had to be a God or else this life was nothing but a cruel joke that made even less sense then a life originating from God yet contains immense human suffering.
At the moment of realizing you are not sure about anything in terms of religious faith, it becomes quite a lonely world. You may still "go to church" but you have no adequate words to express the present crisis of faith.
For me, eventually I began to read scripture again. I read it with an open mind but also with a mind-set that was not sure if I would find what I was looking for. I didn't but I also did. I didn't find just another manual with a set of instructions on how to adhere to another religion nor did I find the answer to why human suffering exists. What I found was a witness to life and hope. I understood at that moment why these pages of scripture were described as Divine Revelation. I understood why those who read these scriptures before have passed them down. For in them I not only found my own story setting and conflict, I also found the climax and resolution -- the promise that a crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ is the reality of hope -- a hope that says the present suffering is not the end of the story. This was truly a liberating moment and still is.
Friday, September 14, 2007
God or Other?
God or the Other… To most of us, that seems like a simple choice. We choose God. Do we really? I know we like to think we choose God but then there are so many ways in which that choice can be construed. God or riches, God or fame, God or career, even God or family… The list goes on and on. What would our choice be? We want to choose God but the alternative can be so enticing that we can become lulled into believing it is the better choice.
I am reminded of a story in the Gospel of Luke about a “rich man” who met Jesus one day. The man appears to be very religious, as religious as anyone of us. But Jesus found one facet of his life that was keeping him from truly choosing God – his wealth. When Jesus confronted the man, Luke tells us, “When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy” (Luke 18.23, TNIV). The story never actually tells us that this man failed to choose God. Instead, it only implies the failure to make the correct choice. What Luke emphasizes is the sadness. That is the part of the other never advertised.
Today I came across a story about a man named Jack Whittaker who won a $315 million dollar lottery several years back (Shaya Tayee Mohajer, “Is Powerball Win a Nightmare or Fantasy?,” Associated Press, 2007). Today, according to the article, Mr. Whittaker claims sadness. He says that becoming rich has left him without any friends, became a source of trouble that has left his family and marriage in disarray and for all the money he has, he is not able to buy a cure to his daughter’s cancer. In the end, Mr. Whittaker is quoted saying “I'm only going to be remembered as the lunatic who won the lottery… I'm not proud of that. I wanted to be remembered as someone who helped a lot of people.”
I don’t know what Mr. Whittaker religious convictions are. I do know that for most of us, we have and will continue to face the choice of God or Other. There may be a lot of things about the other choices that appear attractive but in the end, there is sadness when that choice becomes a choice against God.
I am reminded of a story in the Gospel of Luke about a “rich man” who met Jesus one day. The man appears to be very religious, as religious as anyone of us. But Jesus found one facet of his life that was keeping him from truly choosing God – his wealth. When Jesus confronted the man, Luke tells us, “When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy” (Luke 18.23, TNIV). The story never actually tells us that this man failed to choose God. Instead, it only implies the failure to make the correct choice. What Luke emphasizes is the sadness. That is the part of the other never advertised.
Today I came across a story about a man named Jack Whittaker who won a $315 million dollar lottery several years back (Shaya Tayee Mohajer, “Is Powerball Win a Nightmare or Fantasy?,” Associated Press, 2007). Today, according to the article, Mr. Whittaker claims sadness. He says that becoming rich has left him without any friends, became a source of trouble that has left his family and marriage in disarray and for all the money he has, he is not able to buy a cure to his daughter’s cancer. In the end, Mr. Whittaker is quoted saying “I'm only going to be remembered as the lunatic who won the lottery… I'm not proud of that. I wanted to be remembered as someone who helped a lot of people.”
I don’t know what Mr. Whittaker religious convictions are. I do know that for most of us, we have and will continue to face the choice of God or Other. There may be a lot of things about the other choices that appear attractive but in the end, there is sadness when that choice becomes a choice against God.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
The Best Life Now... For Who?
Click the title of this post to be redirect to the blog of Jordan McCall for which I am making this post. Jordan, a young wife and mother of two, is battling cancer. As she battles cancer, she also sits in a Sunday-School class studying the book “Your Best Life Now” by Joel Osteen. She sits and listens to Christians speaking about how God wants them to have a “blessed life” (materially abundant life without struggle) while she prays that God will just heal her body and allow her to see her children grow up.
I must admit that I have not read the above mentioned book. I have read enough reputable reviews to know I don’t want to waste my time or money on the book. I am not sure how Churches and Christians can read their Bibles and yet believe and promote a “health and wealth” gospel. I never believed such a gospel before the death of my son. After the death of Kenny, the health and wealth theology became outright insulting. What is more troubling is the fact that contemporary trends in Christian rarely encourage and foster an environment for open grief and lament before God (try finding a song of lament in any church hymnal).
In the collection of Psalms, we read, “I cry aloud to the Lord, I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble” (Ps 143.1-2, TNIV). This is just one of many laments found in the Psalms and throughout scripture. If we are going to be a Christian community shaped by the words of scripture, then we must recognize the place of lament in our communal life. Just as we express our praises throughout worship, people who suffer must be allowed to express their faith – a faith of pain and lament – to God as well. Then we become a community for both the happy and sad, the blessed and afflicted.
I must admit that I have not read the above mentioned book. I have read enough reputable reviews to know I don’t want to waste my time or money on the book. I am not sure how Churches and Christians can read their Bibles and yet believe and promote a “health and wealth” gospel. I never believed such a gospel before the death of my son. After the death of Kenny, the health and wealth theology became outright insulting. What is more troubling is the fact that contemporary trends in Christian rarely encourage and foster an environment for open grief and lament before God (try finding a song of lament in any church hymnal).
In the collection of Psalms, we read, “I cry aloud to the Lord, I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble” (Ps 143.1-2, TNIV). This is just one of many laments found in the Psalms and throughout scripture. If we are going to be a Christian community shaped by the words of scripture, then we must recognize the place of lament in our communal life. Just as we express our praises throughout worship, people who suffer must be allowed to express their faith – a faith of pain and lament – to God as well. Then we become a community for both the happy and sad, the blessed and afflicted.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Towards a Working Purpose for the Church
When we consider the entire story of scripture, we realize that God’s redemptive plan is already complete in one sense but not yet fully realized. This is the paradox within Christian eschatology. The final or last events of history, the goal of God’s redemption, have already been established. Yet these events are still to come – future to present history. The church, the community of redeemed people, is called to live the reality of this history while also living in anticipation of this history. I can think of no better passage that describes this reality than two passages of scripture from Paul’s letter to the Colossians.
To save space, I will not quote these passages but you can read them for yourselves. Here I will just provide a brief synopsis. In Colossians 1.15-23, we learn that the fullness of God dwells within Jesus Christ who is the first born from the dead. We, who were once alienated by sin, have been reconciled by God through Christ and are now called to stand firm within this new reality called the gospel. In Colossians 2.9-15, the new reality is described in terms of Jesus Christ head over every power and authority of which he has triumphed over them through the cross. We, who once belonged to the old and dead reality because of our sin, became a part of this new reality in Christ through our baptism by being raised into Christ.
It is important in these two passages to keep in mind that Paul is speaking about the Church. In my past I have read these passages with myself in mind. While these passages certainly are true for me as well as every other individual Christian, the passage is talking about the reality for the church as a whole – every Christian throughout history. Coming to this conclusion has helped me reflect more clearly (and even rethink) what it means to be church – what the purpose of existence is for the church. Out of this I have developed my own working definition for the purpose of the church:
The church is the future community existing in the present world as the representation of God’s finished work of redemption.
If I am correct or at least on to a correct ecclesiology, which I believe I am, then it makes all the more sense why the writers of the New Testament put so much energy into their writings regarding the moral/ethical conduct of Christians, the way Christians relate to one another and the outside world, and how the church serves as a living testimony to the world for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Given this purpose for the church (the future community existing in the present world as the representation of God’s finished work of redemption) and given the reality that the New Testament is comprised of occasional writings which help us understand “how” to be church in our own cultural contexts but do not always specifically address every issue we face, I wonder how this purpose should shape us as a church in our own cultural context. First, we must ask what exactly it means to represent God’s redemption. What does that look like? Secondly, with a few generalizations, how do people who are generally affluent and educated (compared to the entire world) and who live in a free-democratic society express this redemption? Thirdly, what did it mean for other periods of Christianity who lived this purpose out to be moral and ethical and what does that imply for us? Fourth, how do we express our fellowship with one another in our culture (i.e. church buildings, house churches, other…)? And lastly, how should this purpose inform the preaching and teaching of the church for both the Christian and the non-Christian seeker?
I do not have all the answers to the list of five questions that I proposed in the last paragraph. I have some ideas and thoughts but am also still working those out (I suppose I always will be to some extent). However, I am convinced that it is these questions that the church as a whole will need to wrestle with, answer, and live out if we wish to be and have hopes at being salt and light in the emerging world that is really already upon us. What are your thoughts?
To save space, I will not quote these passages but you can read them for yourselves. Here I will just provide a brief synopsis. In Colossians 1.15-23, we learn that the fullness of God dwells within Jesus Christ who is the first born from the dead. We, who were once alienated by sin, have been reconciled by God through Christ and are now called to stand firm within this new reality called the gospel. In Colossians 2.9-15, the new reality is described in terms of Jesus Christ head over every power and authority of which he has triumphed over them through the cross. We, who once belonged to the old and dead reality because of our sin, became a part of this new reality in Christ through our baptism by being raised into Christ.
It is important in these two passages to keep in mind that Paul is speaking about the Church. In my past I have read these passages with myself in mind. While these passages certainly are true for me as well as every other individual Christian, the passage is talking about the reality for the church as a whole – every Christian throughout history. Coming to this conclusion has helped me reflect more clearly (and even rethink) what it means to be church – what the purpose of existence is for the church. Out of this I have developed my own working definition for the purpose of the church:
The church is the future community existing in the present world as the representation of God’s finished work of redemption.
If I am correct or at least on to a correct ecclesiology, which I believe I am, then it makes all the more sense why the writers of the New Testament put so much energy into their writings regarding the moral/ethical conduct of Christians, the way Christians relate to one another and the outside world, and how the church serves as a living testimony to the world for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Given this purpose for the church (the future community existing in the present world as the representation of God’s finished work of redemption) and given the reality that the New Testament is comprised of occasional writings which help us understand “how” to be church in our own cultural contexts but do not always specifically address every issue we face, I wonder how this purpose should shape us as a church in our own cultural context. First, we must ask what exactly it means to represent God’s redemption. What does that look like? Secondly, with a few generalizations, how do people who are generally affluent and educated (compared to the entire world) and who live in a free-democratic society express this redemption? Thirdly, what did it mean for other periods of Christianity who lived this purpose out to be moral and ethical and what does that imply for us? Fourth, how do we express our fellowship with one another in our culture (i.e. church buildings, house churches, other…)? And lastly, how should this purpose inform the preaching and teaching of the church for both the Christian and the non-Christian seeker?
I do not have all the answers to the list of five questions that I proposed in the last paragraph. I have some ideas and thoughts but am also still working those out (I suppose I always will be to some extent). However, I am convinced that it is these questions that the church as a whole will need to wrestle with, answer, and live out if we wish to be and have hopes at being salt and light in the emerging world that is really already upon us. What are your thoughts?
Friday, July 13, 2007
About Annie
Tonight I met Annie. I was driving in Ithaca and there at the intersection was a young woman holding up a sign that read “out of work and hungry, please help.” This woman, or should I say girl, was young and looked less like she was homeless (I hate that – do the homeless actually have a look) and more like someone who had ran away from home. So I pulled my car into the nearest parking lot and walked over to talk to this woman.
Her name is Annie and she is from Wisconsin. She came out to Ithaca to stay with a friend but the friend is poor as well and had two children to worry about feeding. So there was Annie asking for help.
We struck up a conversation that was mostly about her circumstances. What struck me was her humble demeanor flavored with gratitude. I only had five dollars on me and I offered it to her.
She asked me if that was all I had and I said “yes!”
She said “what I mean is… you only have a five dollar bill and not any singles… because I don’t want to take your last bit of money.”
I replied “this is all I have on me but you are not going to take my last dollar by taking this."
Now I normally make it a rule to refrain from giving out cash for the obvious reasons. However Annie did not have that Crack or Meth addiction look to her. She just looked like someone who ran into some hard times, maybe made some bad choices.
As we continued our conversation, I told her that I was a minister and gave her my card. I said that we might be able to help her in some more substantial ways, as several of our members work in the social-work field. I then told her that I did not believe God created any of us to live in need to the point that we are left to worry about how we are going to eat.
Annie responded “I believe in Jesus but I also believe that sometimes we make mistakes that we have to live with.”
I am not sure what those mistakes were for Annie and I did not feel it was my right to ask either. However I did respond.
“Annie, I believe in Jesus too" I said. "And I believe Jesus came to show us grace and mercy rather than to make us suffer the consequences of our past mistakes. If I had to suffer the consequences of my past mistakes, I would not be standing here talking to you right now.”
At this point I stopped as I could see her bottom lip start to quiver. I am not sure how Annie arrived at the point of life she is in now but I am quite sure she longs for something better.
When I meet the Annie’s of this world, I am always frustrated because I feel so helpless. I hear echoes of Jesus telling his disciples before the crowd of five thousand “You give them something to eat.” So I try and do what I can. Maybe that is enough. Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fish and turned them into enough food to feed the entire crowd. I guess I just need to trust God to turn that five dollar bill into enough doe to help Annie stay off the street corners of Ithaca.
Her name is Annie and she is from Wisconsin. She came out to Ithaca to stay with a friend but the friend is poor as well and had two children to worry about feeding. So there was Annie asking for help.
We struck up a conversation that was mostly about her circumstances. What struck me was her humble demeanor flavored with gratitude. I only had five dollars on me and I offered it to her.
She asked me if that was all I had and I said “yes!”
She said “what I mean is… you only have a five dollar bill and not any singles… because I don’t want to take your last bit of money.”
I replied “this is all I have on me but you are not going to take my last dollar by taking this."
Now I normally make it a rule to refrain from giving out cash for the obvious reasons. However Annie did not have that Crack or Meth addiction look to her. She just looked like someone who ran into some hard times, maybe made some bad choices.
As we continued our conversation, I told her that I was a minister and gave her my card. I said that we might be able to help her in some more substantial ways, as several of our members work in the social-work field. I then told her that I did not believe God created any of us to live in need to the point that we are left to worry about how we are going to eat.
Annie responded “I believe in Jesus but I also believe that sometimes we make mistakes that we have to live with.”
I am not sure what those mistakes were for Annie and I did not feel it was my right to ask either. However I did respond.
“Annie, I believe in Jesus too" I said. "And I believe Jesus came to show us grace and mercy rather than to make us suffer the consequences of our past mistakes. If I had to suffer the consequences of my past mistakes, I would not be standing here talking to you right now.”
At this point I stopped as I could see her bottom lip start to quiver. I am not sure how Annie arrived at the point of life she is in now but I am quite sure she longs for something better.
When I meet the Annie’s of this world, I am always frustrated because I feel so helpless. I hear echoes of Jesus telling his disciples before the crowd of five thousand “You give them something to eat.” So I try and do what I can. Maybe that is enough. Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fish and turned them into enough food to feed the entire crowd. I guess I just need to trust God to turn that five dollar bill into enough doe to help Annie stay off the street corners of Ithaca.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Church and the Next Generation
At the Christian Chronicle website there is an article titled “Are We Loosing Our Young People.” Here are some quick thoughts I have:
The problem is not in how many young people we retain or how evangelistic we are (or are not). The problem is a paradigm shift in the way the upcoming generation thinks. For most Churches of Christ, church is a 3rd person entity that is done from a building with a chapel that imposes a complete set of rules on how we worship, fellowship, and minister: We must all sit in pews, we must have worship leaders who always do so from the stage and they must be male, We must follow the scripted worship order planned by someone else, fellowship is a Sunday School class or a bridal shower at the building, ministry is a VBS at the building or a clothing drive at the building, etc... Though there is nothing inherently wrong with this model, it has a number of limitations in allowing a new generation to express their worship and faith in God in the 1st person which is what being church is about. In the worst forms, there are some who believe this model of being church (3rd person) is biblical and therefore unchangeable.
We must come to grips with the reality that for the upcoming generation, church will not be a 3rd person entity done from a building. Church will be a 1st person reality and acted out in ways that will not fit into our mold. Worship, fellowship, and ministry may be practiced out in a house church, by a small group at a coffee shop who will never see the inside of a church building, in a city park among the company of the publics most disenfranchised, and many other forms that is even difficult for my mind to fathom. The upcoming generation will care little about what gender does what when worshiping. They will care little about whether their singing is with or without instruments (if they meet in a coffee shop, they may not even sing but instead encourage each other just through the communal reading of scripture). From my viewpoint, these shifts have nothing to do with being or not being scriptural. I realize that for some, there are biblical issues at stake. Regardless, unless we can learn to start allowing expressions of being church that are beyond our traditional box called a building we will only continue to experience the frustrations already being felt.
The problem is not in how many young people we retain or how evangelistic we are (or are not). The problem is a paradigm shift in the way the upcoming generation thinks. For most Churches of Christ, church is a 3rd person entity that is done from a building with a chapel that imposes a complete set of rules on how we worship, fellowship, and minister: We must all sit in pews, we must have worship leaders who always do so from the stage and they must be male, We must follow the scripted worship order planned by someone else, fellowship is a Sunday School class or a bridal shower at the building, ministry is a VBS at the building or a clothing drive at the building, etc... Though there is nothing inherently wrong with this model, it has a number of limitations in allowing a new generation to express their worship and faith in God in the 1st person which is what being church is about. In the worst forms, there are some who believe this model of being church (3rd person) is biblical and therefore unchangeable.
We must come to grips with the reality that for the upcoming generation, church will not be a 3rd person entity done from a building. Church will be a 1st person reality and acted out in ways that will not fit into our mold. Worship, fellowship, and ministry may be practiced out in a house church, by a small group at a coffee shop who will never see the inside of a church building, in a city park among the company of the publics most disenfranchised, and many other forms that is even difficult for my mind to fathom. The upcoming generation will care little about what gender does what when worshiping. They will care little about whether their singing is with or without instruments (if they meet in a coffee shop, they may not even sing but instead encourage each other just through the communal reading of scripture). From my viewpoint, these shifts have nothing to do with being or not being scriptural. I realize that for some, there are biblical issues at stake. Regardless, unless we can learn to start allowing expressions of being church that are beyond our traditional box called a building we will only continue to experience the frustrations already being felt.
Monday, June 18, 2007
A Wonderful Day
Yesterday was a great day. Monday is technically an “off” day but I do wind up engaging in some ministry tasks usually. Yesterday was no different.
Monday seemed routine until around two O’ clock in the afternoon. I went to visit one of our members at the community center where she works. She is working through a couple of issues and so I thought I would stop by for a chat. It was a wonderful conversation and very encouraging for me as well. While there, she had a phone call to take. During her phone call I wound up talking to another lady who volunteers at the community center. This lady told me about growing up in a violent New York City neighborhood where negativity is a normal everyday experience. We wound up talking about God’s grace that helps us all overcome the challenges of a fallen world.
From there I stopped by my favorite coffee shop, Gimme! Coffee, on Cayuga St. The girl serving me coffee asked me what type of work I do. This gave me the opportunity to give her my business card and tell her about my mission and ministry with the Ithaca Church of Christ. She has a friend who just received her M.Div and now serves with a Lutheran Church in Albany. I invited this girl to visit us sometime. I don’t know where she is at in life but it is always nice to have conversations with people in the community where God becomes part of the subject.
Later in the evening I attended the Evangelist / Elders meeting. Our meeting began with prayer and ended with prayer. It is so nice to have elders who actually believe that God is acting through his Spirit as we pray. The meeting was very encouraging also as we talked about our developing mission. It is nice to have elders that are concerned enough about Kingdom business that they are trying to force themselves to think outside the box.
After this I came home and took the dog for a walk. While on my walk I met Rob. Rob is a homeless man who travels around camping out at different music festivals. After talking about the upcoming Grass Roots Music Festival in Ithaca, we started talking about life. Rob asked me if there was something good that he could do for me. Dumbfounded, I just said “pray for me.” Then I told him I was an Evangelist and said I would pray for him as well. Rob told me that he tries to do at least one good deed to everyone he meets. He said that the world would be a much better place if everyone tried to do at least one good deed to everyone they meet during the day. I think he is right.
Well, I proceeded home and on the way I saw a woman that plays on my softball team. We talked for a bit. She used to come to the Ithaca CoC. I am not sure why she stopped coming but it is nice to build connections again.
At last I came home and there was my beautiful wife and daughter. My daughter keeps me laughing and my wife keeps me on right paths, always encouraging me in so many ways.
This is a wonderful day for me. First, my day was wonderful because it was spent with people in the community. Though office work is a necessary evil, mission and ministry is about going where the Lord goes and the Lord always went to people. Secondly, my elders are encouraging to me. They make me want to even work harder and remind me once again of how glad I am that God brought my family and I to Ithaca. Last but certainly not least, I can and do come home to my family. As much as I love church ministry and mission work, I could go on without being a paid evangelist. But my family… I need them and love them. God has been and continues to be good to me.
Monday seemed routine until around two O’ clock in the afternoon. I went to visit one of our members at the community center where she works. She is working through a couple of issues and so I thought I would stop by for a chat. It was a wonderful conversation and very encouraging for me as well. While there, she had a phone call to take. During her phone call I wound up talking to another lady who volunteers at the community center. This lady told me about growing up in a violent New York City neighborhood where negativity is a normal everyday experience. We wound up talking about God’s grace that helps us all overcome the challenges of a fallen world.
From there I stopped by my favorite coffee shop, Gimme! Coffee, on Cayuga St. The girl serving me coffee asked me what type of work I do. This gave me the opportunity to give her my business card and tell her about my mission and ministry with the Ithaca Church of Christ. She has a friend who just received her M.Div and now serves with a Lutheran Church in Albany. I invited this girl to visit us sometime. I don’t know where she is at in life but it is always nice to have conversations with people in the community where God becomes part of the subject.
Later in the evening I attended the Evangelist / Elders meeting. Our meeting began with prayer and ended with prayer. It is so nice to have elders who actually believe that God is acting through his Spirit as we pray. The meeting was very encouraging also as we talked about our developing mission. It is nice to have elders that are concerned enough about Kingdom business that they are trying to force themselves to think outside the box.
After this I came home and took the dog for a walk. While on my walk I met Rob. Rob is a homeless man who travels around camping out at different music festivals. After talking about the upcoming Grass Roots Music Festival in Ithaca, we started talking about life. Rob asked me if there was something good that he could do for me. Dumbfounded, I just said “pray for me.” Then I told him I was an Evangelist and said I would pray for him as well. Rob told me that he tries to do at least one good deed to everyone he meets. He said that the world would be a much better place if everyone tried to do at least one good deed to everyone they meet during the day. I think he is right.
Well, I proceeded home and on the way I saw a woman that plays on my softball team. We talked for a bit. She used to come to the Ithaca CoC. I am not sure why she stopped coming but it is nice to build connections again.
At last I came home and there was my beautiful wife and daughter. My daughter keeps me laughing and my wife keeps me on right paths, always encouraging me in so many ways.
This is a wonderful day for me. First, my day was wonderful because it was spent with people in the community. Though office work is a necessary evil, mission and ministry is about going where the Lord goes and the Lord always went to people. Secondly, my elders are encouraging to me. They make me want to even work harder and remind me once again of how glad I am that God brought my family and I to Ithaca. Last but certainly not least, I can and do come home to my family. As much as I love church ministry and mission work, I could go on without being a paid evangelist. But my family… I need them and love them. God has been and continues to be good to me.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
A CashCall of Injustice
I was sent to this website by CashCall loans by another blog (www.kendallball.com) where this loan company CashCall charges 99.25% interest (that is right, 99.25%) for a $2,000.00 dollar loan to people who cannot secure loans elsewhere. This, and businesses like them, are an injustice who most likely seek to take advantage of the poor. We should do whatever we possibly can to expose such injustice and that is what I want to do.
Monday, June 11, 2007
If They Only Knew...
The city of Ithaca is a very politically charged town and I am so accustomed to hearing people discuss political issues that I rarely even think about it. Political discussions are just a part of the every day background noise.
However the other day something did catch my attention. Two people were discussing their frustrations with the nations participating in the G8 Summit. One of the people commented on what it would be like to actually be a part of a nation that actually cares about people rather than preservation of political power. I could not help think to myself, "If they only knew that there is a kingdom (though not a physical nation) that actually is concerned about the well-being of all people rather than protecting its power base." Of course I was thinking about the Kingdom of God which Jesus proclaimed was breaking into this world, the same Kingdom (reign) of God which Jesus demonstrated in his very own life and called his followers to do so after him.
If people only knew that there is a kingdom that is more concerned with justice and compassion for all, based upon self-sacrificing service rather than self-centered preservation of power. Then again, I must admit that many people do not know of such a kingdom because too many Christians (and their church congregations) have failed to proclaim this kingdom and demonstrate in their very own lives. Instead of proclaiming and demonstrating the Kingdom of God, too many of us have been more focused on proclaiming and protecting what makes our local Christian communities different from another Christian community. On the other side, too many Christians and their local churches have been focused on reducing the nature of God's kingdom to the politically correct cultural expectations of a fallen world. And other Christians have simply placed other loyalties (often politically related) above the Kingdom of God and their confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. Is it any wonder why so many people see Christians as simply part of the world's problems?
I believe God created this world and created life in this world to be lived in an equitable and just manner. Unfortunately, the selfish actions of humanity (sin) have destroyed such a life. But God in his grace is trying to redeem us (save us) from this pitiful mess we have made for ourselves. God therefore revealed himself to us in his Son, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus demonstrated to us how God intended for humanity to live and did this consistently throughout his life. Of course the powers that be felt threatened and so they killed Jesus. But this was all part of a plan of God, who raised Jesus from death so that the world would know that life beyond the powers of evil and death could be lived. God made Jesus both Lord and Savior, not so we could just get a "ticket to heaven" but so that we would surrender our selfish ways (baptism) to God's way and find real life where selfish pride and living is relented in exchange for service and self-sacrifice for the sake of others. Jesus is our model, thus our Lord. The resurrected Jesus is our promise of this new life, thus our Savior. God gives us his Holy Spirit as a promise of this new "eternal" life which frees us to live a life of service and self-sacrifice for the sake of others without fear. Therefore we can proclaim and demonstrate the Kingdom of God in our living.
If they only knew that there is a kingdom (though not a physical nation) that actually is concerned about the well-being of all people rather than protecting its power base!
However the other day something did catch my attention. Two people were discussing their frustrations with the nations participating in the G8 Summit. One of the people commented on what it would be like to actually be a part of a nation that actually cares about people rather than preservation of political power. I could not help think to myself, "If they only knew that there is a kingdom (though not a physical nation) that actually is concerned about the well-being of all people rather than protecting its power base." Of course I was thinking about the Kingdom of God which Jesus proclaimed was breaking into this world, the same Kingdom (reign) of God which Jesus demonstrated in his very own life and called his followers to do so after him.
If people only knew that there is a kingdom that is more concerned with justice and compassion for all, based upon self-sacrificing service rather than self-centered preservation of power. Then again, I must admit that many people do not know of such a kingdom because too many Christians (and their church congregations) have failed to proclaim this kingdom and demonstrate in their very own lives. Instead of proclaiming and demonstrating the Kingdom of God, too many of us have been more focused on proclaiming and protecting what makes our local Christian communities different from another Christian community. On the other side, too many Christians and their local churches have been focused on reducing the nature of God's kingdom to the politically correct cultural expectations of a fallen world. And other Christians have simply placed other loyalties (often politically related) above the Kingdom of God and their confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. Is it any wonder why so many people see Christians as simply part of the world's problems?
I believe God created this world and created life in this world to be lived in an equitable and just manner. Unfortunately, the selfish actions of humanity (sin) have destroyed such a life. But God in his grace is trying to redeem us (save us) from this pitiful mess we have made for ourselves. God therefore revealed himself to us in his Son, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus demonstrated to us how God intended for humanity to live and did this consistently throughout his life. Of course the powers that be felt threatened and so they killed Jesus. But this was all part of a plan of God, who raised Jesus from death so that the world would know that life beyond the powers of evil and death could be lived. God made Jesus both Lord and Savior, not so we could just get a "ticket to heaven" but so that we would surrender our selfish ways (baptism) to God's way and find real life where selfish pride and living is relented in exchange for service and self-sacrifice for the sake of others. Jesus is our model, thus our Lord. The resurrected Jesus is our promise of this new life, thus our Savior. God gives us his Holy Spirit as a promise of this new "eternal" life which frees us to live a life of service and self-sacrifice for the sake of others without fear. Therefore we can proclaim and demonstrate the Kingdom of God in our living.
If they only knew that there is a kingdom (though not a physical nation) that actually is concerned about the well-being of all people rather than protecting its power base!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Cindy Sheenan, the mother who became a war critic and crusader for peace after her son Casey died in the Iraq war, had this to say as part of her reason for no longer fighting for peace.
"Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives."
While there are certainly exceptions (and I have met people who would not fall into the accusation of Mrs. Sheenan, there seems to be a lot of truth to this statement. Regardless of your beliefs about the war in Iraq (and I do have mine), she tells the truth about a nation fattened by its own excess, power, and greed.
"Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives."
While there are certainly exceptions (and I have met people who would not fall into the accusation of Mrs. Sheenan, there seems to be a lot of truth to this statement. Regardless of your beliefs about the war in Iraq (and I do have mine), she tells the truth about a nation fattened by its own excess, power, and greed.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Rochester College Sermon Seminar and Friendship
I am attending the Rochester College Sermon Seminar this week in Rochester Hills, MI (suburb of Detroit). The seminar theme is on the Gospel of John. So far I have heard some wonderful presentations. However, last night I heard an excellent presentation by Dr. Gail O'Day who is Associate Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs and A.H. Shatford Professor of Preaching and New Testament at Candler Seminary, Emory University.
At the beginning of her lecture she said that she was going to show how the idea of "friendship" is a motiff threaded throughout the Gospel of John. I will admitt that at first I was skeptical, believing she would really need to do some stretching to acheive this goal. But as I listened, she not only acheived her goal while remaining responsible with the use of scripture in John but it had a powerful impact on how I think of Christian discipleship.
She began by showing how throughout Greek Philosophy there was an understanding that true friendship was demonstrated not by grabbing a bite to eat with other friends but instead by being willing to lay one's life down for another friend in times of crisis. Jesus acknowledges this prevailing philosophy of friendship in John 15.13 saying "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" (TNIV). The difference between Jesus and the others is that Jesus not only "talked" about true friendship but also "did" true friendship (recall that in John 10, Jesus insists that no person takes his life from him but rather Jesus lays his own life down). This is the good news: Jesus is our true friend because he is the one who lays his life down for us.
But here is the icing on the cake when it comes to discipleship. If we look at the immediate context of John 15.13 we see that in v. 12 Jesus says "My commandment is this: Love each other as I have loved you" (TNIV). Then, as mentioned earlier in this post, Jesus described what true friendship is -- the laying down of one's life for another. Immediately following John 15.13 Jesus says in v. 14 "You are my friends if you do what I command" (TNIV).
Jesus is calling us to follow his example and become true friends to the world we minister too and serve among. Such friendship is characterized by love. Not the often cheap definition of love that is so often portrayed in the vocabulary of contemporary culture but instead, a love demonstrated by the willingness to lay our life down for someone else. Is that not a challenge to the conventional ways of how we often think of being a disciple of Jesus ought to be?
At the beginning of her lecture she said that she was going to show how the idea of "friendship" is a motiff threaded throughout the Gospel of John. I will admitt that at first I was skeptical, believing she would really need to do some stretching to acheive this goal. But as I listened, she not only acheived her goal while remaining responsible with the use of scripture in John but it had a powerful impact on how I think of Christian discipleship.
She began by showing how throughout Greek Philosophy there was an understanding that true friendship was demonstrated not by grabbing a bite to eat with other friends but instead by being willing to lay one's life down for another friend in times of crisis. Jesus acknowledges this prevailing philosophy of friendship in John 15.13 saying "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" (TNIV). The difference between Jesus and the others is that Jesus not only "talked" about true friendship but also "did" true friendship (recall that in John 10, Jesus insists that no person takes his life from him but rather Jesus lays his own life down). This is the good news: Jesus is our true friend because he is the one who lays his life down for us.
But here is the icing on the cake when it comes to discipleship. If we look at the immediate context of John 15.13 we see that in v. 12 Jesus says "My commandment is this: Love each other as I have loved you" (TNIV). Then, as mentioned earlier in this post, Jesus described what true friendship is -- the laying down of one's life for another. Immediately following John 15.13 Jesus says in v. 14 "You are my friends if you do what I command" (TNIV).
Jesus is calling us to follow his example and become true friends to the world we minister too and serve among. Such friendship is characterized by love. Not the often cheap definition of love that is so often portrayed in the vocabulary of contemporary culture but instead, a love demonstrated by the willingness to lay our life down for someone else. Is that not a challenge to the conventional ways of how we often think of being a disciple of Jesus ought to be?
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Graduated
Well, it is official. On Saturday, May 5, 2007 I received my Master of Divinity degree from Harding University Graduate School of Religion (HUGSR) in Memphis, TN.
For those of you who know anything about the Master of Divinity degree... The eternal program is no longer eternal. However, I did take classes in all fields of theology, Bible, missions, and ministry. I guess that makes me a "jack of all trades, master of none." At least that is how I feel.
All kidding aside, I am glad that it is over and done with. Yet, I would do it all over again if I could go back in time. As I was finishing undergraduate school, I was dead set on attending Abilene Christian University Graduate School of Theology (ACUGST). I also briefly looked into Fuller Seminary and Cincinnati Bible Seminary. But only seriously pursued ACUGST and HUGSR.
For reasons I won't go into now (nothing bad), I wound up choosing HUGSR. I have no regrets about this choice. HUGSR is a whole different atmosphere than Harding University in Searcy, AR even though they are both under the same leadership. As they say at HUGSR, there is a mighty big river between Memphis and Searcy. AT HUGSR I was challenged to grow in my faith both spiritually and theologically, I was challenged academically while always being encouraged to think for myself, and always reminded that true Christian faith is exhibited in the humble service to God and others.
I am sure that the above description could be said about any of the seminaries I looked into. But there is one other reason I am greatful to HUGSR. Three weeks before begining graduate studies, my son, Kenny, passed away. A year later my younger brother also passed away. By this time, I was emotionally and spiritually shattered. While I never intellectually stopped believeing in God, I think I was on the brink of emotionally and spiritually loosing my faith. There are too many events that took place at HUGSR through which God worked through to rebuild my faith, but I will forever me greatful to one of the yearly themes "Spiritual Transformation." Through several speakers and chapel devotionals (which I attended regularly)based upon that theme coupled with what I was learning in classes, I began to see how God was working for his redemptive purposes even in a world where so much suffering and pain exists. The end result was that I learned to trust in God once again even though I did not have all of the answers to every real life question (and still don't).
Thank you HUGSR. Thank you to all of my professors, the staff, and my fellow students, who all made my experience over the last four years an unforgettable time that shattered all previous expectations.
For those of you who know anything about the Master of Divinity degree... The eternal program is no longer eternal. However, I did take classes in all fields of theology, Bible, missions, and ministry. I guess that makes me a "jack of all trades, master of none." At least that is how I feel.
All kidding aside, I am glad that it is over and done with. Yet, I would do it all over again if I could go back in time. As I was finishing undergraduate school, I was dead set on attending Abilene Christian University Graduate School of Theology (ACUGST). I also briefly looked into Fuller Seminary and Cincinnati Bible Seminary. But only seriously pursued ACUGST and HUGSR.
For reasons I won't go into now (nothing bad), I wound up choosing HUGSR. I have no regrets about this choice. HUGSR is a whole different atmosphere than Harding University in Searcy, AR even though they are both under the same leadership. As they say at HUGSR, there is a mighty big river between Memphis and Searcy. AT HUGSR I was challenged to grow in my faith both spiritually and theologically, I was challenged academically while always being encouraged to think for myself, and always reminded that true Christian faith is exhibited in the humble service to God and others.
I am sure that the above description could be said about any of the seminaries I looked into. But there is one other reason I am greatful to HUGSR. Three weeks before begining graduate studies, my son, Kenny, passed away. A year later my younger brother also passed away. By this time, I was emotionally and spiritually shattered. While I never intellectually stopped believeing in God, I think I was on the brink of emotionally and spiritually loosing my faith. There are too many events that took place at HUGSR through which God worked through to rebuild my faith, but I will forever me greatful to one of the yearly themes "Spiritual Transformation." Through several speakers and chapel devotionals (which I attended regularly)based upon that theme coupled with what I was learning in classes, I began to see how God was working for his redemptive purposes even in a world where so much suffering and pain exists. The end result was that I learned to trust in God once again even though I did not have all of the answers to every real life question (and still don't).
Thank you HUGSR. Thank you to all of my professors, the staff, and my fellow students, who all made my experience over the last four years an unforgettable time that shattered all previous expectations.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Living in the World of Scripture
Mike Cope had this to say in his blog (www.preachermike.com):
"Here’s perhaps the biggest change in my understanding of preaching through the years. I used to think that I was supposed to make scripture relevant. It’s an old book speaking to a modern world. Now, however, I see that this is too low a view of scripture and too high a view of our “modern” world. Now I see my job as inviting people to enter into the world of scripture — a world that is hauntingly familiar and yet mysteriously dissimilar. The key is imagination. I think I’m to help people (including, of course, myself) imagine what a truly human life might look like in light of Easter. What might a gospeled life look like? I used to flatten scripture, I think. It became a sermon source of rules and regs. It was full of insightful points waiting to be made. Now as I get to live inside the story world of the Bible, I realize even more why one could say that the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword. I cannot agree enough. I too want to live the life imagined in the world of scripture – the life which Jesus perfectly demonstrated. I want to help others learn how to live this life as well."
But living this life and calling others to do the same is hard. Sometimes it seems almost impossible. I would say it was impossible but I know that Jesus lived this life in the flesh showing the world that it was possible.
The more I learn about this world imagined in scripture, the more I learn about the life which my Lord, Jesus the Messiah lived, the more difficulty I find being comfortable in this world. This must be why the apostle Peter encouraged the Christians of Asia Minor to live out their lives as “foreigners” (1 Pet 1.17).
But the biggest struggle I have is the regret. The more I come to know the life of Jesus and this life called for in the scriptures, the more I realize how counter-culture my living and preaching must become. Sometimes I almost wish I did not know what I do now know (the regret) because then the path of discipleship would be so much easier.
And there it is... The truth comes out. I want salvation, I want hope, I want the comfort of knowing that God’s Spirit dwells within me, and I want it all without the radical cost of discipleship. I want all the perks of being a Christian without the struggle of true discipleship.
“Then [Jesus] called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me’” (Mark 8.34, TNIV).
"Here’s perhaps the biggest change in my understanding of preaching through the years. I used to think that I was supposed to make scripture relevant. It’s an old book speaking to a modern world. Now, however, I see that this is too low a view of scripture and too high a view of our “modern” world. Now I see my job as inviting people to enter into the world of scripture — a world that is hauntingly familiar and yet mysteriously dissimilar. The key is imagination. I think I’m to help people (including, of course, myself) imagine what a truly human life might look like in light of Easter. What might a gospeled life look like? I used to flatten scripture, I think. It became a sermon source of rules and regs. It was full of insightful points waiting to be made. Now as I get to live inside the story world of the Bible, I realize even more why one could say that the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword. I cannot agree enough. I too want to live the life imagined in the world of scripture – the life which Jesus perfectly demonstrated. I want to help others learn how to live this life as well."
But living this life and calling others to do the same is hard. Sometimes it seems almost impossible. I would say it was impossible but I know that Jesus lived this life in the flesh showing the world that it was possible.
The more I learn about this world imagined in scripture, the more I learn about the life which my Lord, Jesus the Messiah lived, the more difficulty I find being comfortable in this world. This must be why the apostle Peter encouraged the Christians of Asia Minor to live out their lives as “foreigners” (1 Pet 1.17).
But the biggest struggle I have is the regret. The more I come to know the life of Jesus and this life called for in the scriptures, the more I realize how counter-culture my living and preaching must become. Sometimes I almost wish I did not know what I do now know (the regret) because then the path of discipleship would be so much easier.
And there it is... The truth comes out. I want salvation, I want hope, I want the comfort of knowing that God’s Spirit dwells within me, and I want it all without the radical cost of discipleship. I want all the perks of being a Christian without the struggle of true discipleship.
“Then [Jesus] called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me’” (Mark 8.34, TNIV).
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Reflections on Matthew 1
As I read the beginning of Matthew’s gospel account in chapter 1, I encounter the genealogy of Jesus. This genealogical record of Jesus reads fairly easy with quick repetition until I come across v. 16. Here lies a problem: Jesus is not the offspring of Joseph. This person named Jesus of Nazareth, whom we confess as God’s anointed (Messiah/Christ), appears to be one born from an illegitimate relationship.
Without a doubt this was a scandal for the headlines and seems to be the reason why Matthew begins to explain Mary’s conception of Jesus in vv. 18-25. In these particular verses, we learn that Joseph regarded Mary as an adulterous woman until the angel of the Lord explains to Joseph that Mary has conceived a child from the Holy Spirit. If Joseph originally regarded Mary as unfaithful, I can only wonder what the town folk must have thought. I can only imagine the accusations that could come forth from the court of public opinion.
Also in vv. 18-25 Matthew tells us two important facts about Jesus. First, he is to be called Jesus because he will save people from their sins. Second, Jesus is also Immanuel which means ‘God with us.’ It seems that Matthew wants us to know that our fundamental problem as people is sin. But as bad as that news is, the even greater news (the gospel) is that God has made his presence among this world in Jesus to save us from our sins.
Back to the scandal that surrounds this story. I ask myself why God would choose such a scandalous way at making his presence among this world. But then as I come to grips with the reality of my sin and the realization that God is seeking to redeem me from my sin through the presence of Jesus, I begin to understand why. My whole life, your whole life, and every one else’s whole life is one big scandalous realm of sin. He came to save those whose life is filled with the scandal of sin, so why not make his presence among us through a scandalous event. But what a wonderful God we have who loves us enough to make his presence among us, even at the risk of shame and scandal, in order to save us from our sins.
Without a doubt this was a scandal for the headlines and seems to be the reason why Matthew begins to explain Mary’s conception of Jesus in vv. 18-25. In these particular verses, we learn that Joseph regarded Mary as an adulterous woman until the angel of the Lord explains to Joseph that Mary has conceived a child from the Holy Spirit. If Joseph originally regarded Mary as unfaithful, I can only wonder what the town folk must have thought. I can only imagine the accusations that could come forth from the court of public opinion.
Also in vv. 18-25 Matthew tells us two important facts about Jesus. First, he is to be called Jesus because he will save people from their sins. Second, Jesus is also Immanuel which means ‘God with us.’ It seems that Matthew wants us to know that our fundamental problem as people is sin. But as bad as that news is, the even greater news (the gospel) is that God has made his presence among this world in Jesus to save us from our sins.
Back to the scandal that surrounds this story. I ask myself why God would choose such a scandalous way at making his presence among this world. But then as I come to grips with the reality of my sin and the realization that God is seeking to redeem me from my sin through the presence of Jesus, I begin to understand why. My whole life, your whole life, and every one else’s whole life is one big scandalous realm of sin. He came to save those whose life is filled with the scandal of sin, so why not make his presence among us through a scandalous event. But what a wonderful God we have who loves us enough to make his presence among us, even at the risk of shame and scandal, in order to save us from our sins.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Isaiah 11:1-9 - The Branch of Hope
The following is a sermon I preached on 3.11.07 at the Ithaca Church of Christ. I have made a few modifications for a print format:
_____________________________________
I’ve been preaching a series of sermons called the story we live in. The story is about God who redeems. That statement (the story is about God who redeems) is a pretty big statement. First, the statement makes a claim on the existence of God. Secondly, the statement claims that God cares enough about humanity to help humanity. Well, it should make such a claim because the claim is true. God created us and even after our decent into the pit of sin and evil, he is still reaching out to save humanity from its fall. So it’s true, God cares enough about humanity to redeem humanity.
There’s a problem however. Many people who believe in God feel as though God is both cold and disinterested, caring nothing about humanity. Or they feel that God is just unable to do anything to help humanity. After loosing a son, my wife and I went through periods where we shared both feelings. Such feelings are not the product of irreverence. These feelings come from the real experiences of pain in this world. There is real pain and suffering in this world because it’s a place of injustice. There are too many things happening in this world that are not right. Isaiah prophesied at a time when Israel had experienced the injustice of this world. It is the late part of the 8th century and Israel has been led into captivity by the Assyrians. The prophet Isaiah describes the state of Israel in 1.7 saying, “Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.” (All scripture quotations from Today’s New International Version)
Do we understand what is going on here? For centuries Israel has rested on the promise of blessing that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And now it appears that this promise has been forgotten.
The year was 1944 as Elie Wiesal recalls. No one in his Jewish community feared the Germans because the Allies were making great advances into Europe. In fact, they believed it would only be a matter of days before the Russians forced the war front to their community in Transylvania. In his book Night, he describes the day the fascist soldiers placed all of the Jews into the ghettos, robbed them of their belongings, and took from them every political right they had. But the Jewish community kept telling each other that everything would be all right. Then the orders came that all the Jews must vacate the ghettos and board a train bound for a work camp. Nevertheless, they kept telling each other that everything would be all right. They were loaded into cattle cars while being savagely beat with batons but held out faith that everything would be all right. The train took them to a place they never heard of, called Auschwitz. Elie Wiesal describes that night, as he writes:
An SS came toward us wielding a club. He commanded: “Men to the left! Women to the right!” Eight words spoken quietly, indifferently, without emotion. Eight simple, short words. Yet that was the moment when I left my mother. …And I walked on with my father, with the men. I didn’t know that this was the moment in time and the place where I was leaving my mother and [my sister] Tzipora forever.
They kept telling themselves that everything was going to be all right. But it wasn’t all right. As smoke rose from the furnace chimneys and the smell of burning flesh filled the air, something was awfully wrong.
The horrors of what happened in the Holocaust remind us that something is very wrong. Whether it’s the evil of humanity that can murder roughly sixteen million people in one decade or it’s a tsunami or hurricane that devastates a community and wrecks havoc on the poorest and most vulnerable people of society, we know that our world is a place where suffering is real and justice seems more like a dream than reality.
Isaiah understood this world. And amidst injustice, Isaiah was called to speak truth to the suffering hearts of Israel. He began in 11.1 proclaiming, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” These words of Isaiah used became common prophetic terminology to refocus Israel back to the promises of God to raise a king from the line David who would bring about the blessing that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Isaiah goes on to describe this Branch beginning in v. 2:
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord – and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
The Branch for which Isaiah speaks about is one who understands. He is one who delights in the ways of God and not the ways of the evil that consumes this world. Instead of evaluating people based upon their wealth, power, and stature, He will view the world through the eyes of God whose image people have been made in. Politicians, talk show hosts, news anchors, and all sorts of other people use language and propaganda to characterize people into various stereotypes, but the Branch will not evaluate people based on what their words. That is why he will come with righteousness to restore justice to this life of ours.
What Isaiah is trying to get Israel and all others who have experienced the injustice of this world to do, is to look beyond the present suffering. Isaiah wants Israel to look beyond their present captivity. He wants to remind them of the promises God made in the past. Upon these promises, he reminds them that God will be faithful. Because God will be faithful, Israel can not only look to the past promises but can also look to the future with a realized hope.
And there is hope. But it’s not just hope for Israel. It’s hope for the entire world – all those who have experienced the hand of suffering and injustice. Again the proclamation of Isaiah in v. 4 is, “…with righteous he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.”
It’s not just hope for Israel, its hope for the needy – the poor of the earth. But Isaiah is not just speaking of the physically poor, though the physically poor are certainly included here. Isaiah is speaking about those who are poor in life. That is, those who have been short-changed through suffering and injustice to the way of life that God created them to live.
Though we are only looking at one small passage in Isaiah, this prophet will go on to flesh out the glorious hope the world is longing for. But here in this passage, Isaiah uses some of the most vivid imagery to paint a picture of how this hope is imagined. Isaiah announces in v. 6:
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like an ox. Infants will play near the hole of the cobra; young children will put their hands into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
This is what life will be like when the Branch comes with righteousness and restores justice to the life that God gave breath too.
It seems almost too hard to imagine. Wolves and lambs, leopards and goats, bears and cattle, children and vipers, all together and neither injury nor death will result. It seems almost too hard to imagine. As long as we live in a world where people will kill each other and neglect each other, it is hard to imagine. As long as we live in a world where people who think like Adolph Hitler, it is hard to imagine. As long as we live in a world where Tsunami’s destroy homes and lives and all the while the money that is sent from around the world is selfishly swept up by the local hands of power, it is hard to imagine. As long as we live in a world where a hurricane can produce nearly a million refugees and yet people from other cities are more worried about their own self rather than receiving the refugee as a fellow human being, it is hard to imagine. It must have been hard for Israel to imagine as well. But as hard as it was, Israel looked beyond the present. Instead they looked into the past promises and acts of God, which gave them the confidence to hold out hope for the day when the Branch would restore justice.
The four Gospel’s of the New Testament were written to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophesies regarding the person from the line of David who would bring about this new dawn of hope. Jesus of Nazareth is the Branch which Isaiah speaks about. When Jesus began his ministry, he declared the appearance of God’s kingdom. He was declaring that the rule of God was being restored to this world, that righteousness and justice would once again be a reality. Of course, this message threatened the principalities and powers of this dark world as it always has and always will. So the powers that be killed Jesus and buried him. But God raised Jesus up and declared victory over evil, over every power of this world, and even over the last enemy – death. Jesus promises a return where the in breaking rule of God that began with his birth will be made complete. And so we live amidst two worlds colliding: The old world which is dying and the new in breaking world of God’s kingdom rule which is and is to come. It’s the light pouring into darkness. Right now we see glimpses of this light as it shines through and overtakes the darkness. But when Jesus comes again and finishes this restoration project, all of the darkness will be driven out never to be seen of or heard of again. So we cry out Maranatha – Come, Lord!
This is the story we live in. It’s a story about God who is saving a suffering world. One day the old world of suffering and injustice will no longer be. Now God is offering us an invitation to join the in breaking world where his kingdom is the rule. It’s the world where Jesus is King and Lord of all. No more principalities and powers of darkness. No more unrighteousness and injustice. It’s a life lived with the reality of the future breaking into the present. It’s a life that calls us to be about the kingdom business of Jesus by sharing in the work of restoring righteousness and justice to this world. It’s a life lived in the pursuit of righteousness and justice. The only question that remains is whether we will embrace God’s story and be part of the future among the present.
_____________________________________
I’ve been preaching a series of sermons called the story we live in. The story is about God who redeems. That statement (the story is about God who redeems) is a pretty big statement. First, the statement makes a claim on the existence of God. Secondly, the statement claims that God cares enough about humanity to help humanity. Well, it should make such a claim because the claim is true. God created us and even after our decent into the pit of sin and evil, he is still reaching out to save humanity from its fall. So it’s true, God cares enough about humanity to redeem humanity.
There’s a problem however. Many people who believe in God feel as though God is both cold and disinterested, caring nothing about humanity. Or they feel that God is just unable to do anything to help humanity. After loosing a son, my wife and I went through periods where we shared both feelings. Such feelings are not the product of irreverence. These feelings come from the real experiences of pain in this world. There is real pain and suffering in this world because it’s a place of injustice. There are too many things happening in this world that are not right. Isaiah prophesied at a time when Israel had experienced the injustice of this world. It is the late part of the 8th century and Israel has been led into captivity by the Assyrians. The prophet Isaiah describes the state of Israel in 1.7 saying, “Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.” (All scripture quotations from Today’s New International Version)
Do we understand what is going on here? For centuries Israel has rested on the promise of blessing that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And now it appears that this promise has been forgotten.
The year was 1944 as Elie Wiesal recalls. No one in his Jewish community feared the Germans because the Allies were making great advances into Europe. In fact, they believed it would only be a matter of days before the Russians forced the war front to their community in Transylvania. In his book Night, he describes the day the fascist soldiers placed all of the Jews into the ghettos, robbed them of their belongings, and took from them every political right they had. But the Jewish community kept telling each other that everything would be all right. Then the orders came that all the Jews must vacate the ghettos and board a train bound for a work camp. Nevertheless, they kept telling each other that everything would be all right. They were loaded into cattle cars while being savagely beat with batons but held out faith that everything would be all right. The train took them to a place they never heard of, called Auschwitz. Elie Wiesal describes that night, as he writes:
An SS came toward us wielding a club. He commanded: “Men to the left! Women to the right!” Eight words spoken quietly, indifferently, without emotion. Eight simple, short words. Yet that was the moment when I left my mother. …And I walked on with my father, with the men. I didn’t know that this was the moment in time and the place where I was leaving my mother and [my sister] Tzipora forever.
They kept telling themselves that everything was going to be all right. But it wasn’t all right. As smoke rose from the furnace chimneys and the smell of burning flesh filled the air, something was awfully wrong.
The horrors of what happened in the Holocaust remind us that something is very wrong. Whether it’s the evil of humanity that can murder roughly sixteen million people in one decade or it’s a tsunami or hurricane that devastates a community and wrecks havoc on the poorest and most vulnerable people of society, we know that our world is a place where suffering is real and justice seems more like a dream than reality.
Isaiah understood this world. And amidst injustice, Isaiah was called to speak truth to the suffering hearts of Israel. He began in 11.1 proclaiming, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” These words of Isaiah used became common prophetic terminology to refocus Israel back to the promises of God to raise a king from the line David who would bring about the blessing that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Isaiah goes on to describe this Branch beginning in v. 2:
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord – and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
The Branch for which Isaiah speaks about is one who understands. He is one who delights in the ways of God and not the ways of the evil that consumes this world. Instead of evaluating people based upon their wealth, power, and stature, He will view the world through the eyes of God whose image people have been made in. Politicians, talk show hosts, news anchors, and all sorts of other people use language and propaganda to characterize people into various stereotypes, but the Branch will not evaluate people based on what their words. That is why he will come with righteousness to restore justice to this life of ours.
What Isaiah is trying to get Israel and all others who have experienced the injustice of this world to do, is to look beyond the present suffering. Isaiah wants Israel to look beyond their present captivity. He wants to remind them of the promises God made in the past. Upon these promises, he reminds them that God will be faithful. Because God will be faithful, Israel can not only look to the past promises but can also look to the future with a realized hope.
And there is hope. But it’s not just hope for Israel. It’s hope for the entire world – all those who have experienced the hand of suffering and injustice. Again the proclamation of Isaiah in v. 4 is, “…with righteous he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.”
It’s not just hope for Israel, its hope for the needy – the poor of the earth. But Isaiah is not just speaking of the physically poor, though the physically poor are certainly included here. Isaiah is speaking about those who are poor in life. That is, those who have been short-changed through suffering and injustice to the way of life that God created them to live.
Though we are only looking at one small passage in Isaiah, this prophet will go on to flesh out the glorious hope the world is longing for. But here in this passage, Isaiah uses some of the most vivid imagery to paint a picture of how this hope is imagined. Isaiah announces in v. 6:
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like an ox. Infants will play near the hole of the cobra; young children will put their hands into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
This is what life will be like when the Branch comes with righteousness and restores justice to the life that God gave breath too.
It seems almost too hard to imagine. Wolves and lambs, leopards and goats, bears and cattle, children and vipers, all together and neither injury nor death will result. It seems almost too hard to imagine. As long as we live in a world where people will kill each other and neglect each other, it is hard to imagine. As long as we live in a world where people who think like Adolph Hitler, it is hard to imagine. As long as we live in a world where Tsunami’s destroy homes and lives and all the while the money that is sent from around the world is selfishly swept up by the local hands of power, it is hard to imagine. As long as we live in a world where a hurricane can produce nearly a million refugees and yet people from other cities are more worried about their own self rather than receiving the refugee as a fellow human being, it is hard to imagine. It must have been hard for Israel to imagine as well. But as hard as it was, Israel looked beyond the present. Instead they looked into the past promises and acts of God, which gave them the confidence to hold out hope for the day when the Branch would restore justice.
The four Gospel’s of the New Testament were written to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophesies regarding the person from the line of David who would bring about this new dawn of hope. Jesus of Nazareth is the Branch which Isaiah speaks about. When Jesus began his ministry, he declared the appearance of God’s kingdom. He was declaring that the rule of God was being restored to this world, that righteousness and justice would once again be a reality. Of course, this message threatened the principalities and powers of this dark world as it always has and always will. So the powers that be killed Jesus and buried him. But God raised Jesus up and declared victory over evil, over every power of this world, and even over the last enemy – death. Jesus promises a return where the in breaking rule of God that began with his birth will be made complete. And so we live amidst two worlds colliding: The old world which is dying and the new in breaking world of God’s kingdom rule which is and is to come. It’s the light pouring into darkness. Right now we see glimpses of this light as it shines through and overtakes the darkness. But when Jesus comes again and finishes this restoration project, all of the darkness will be driven out never to be seen of or heard of again. So we cry out Maranatha – Come, Lord!
This is the story we live in. It’s a story about God who is saving a suffering world. One day the old world of suffering and injustice will no longer be. Now God is offering us an invitation to join the in breaking world where his kingdom is the rule. It’s the world where Jesus is King and Lord of all. No more principalities and powers of darkness. No more unrighteousness and injustice. It’s a life lived with the reality of the future breaking into the present. It’s a life that calls us to be about the kingdom business of Jesus by sharing in the work of restoring righteousness and justice to this world. It’s a life lived in the pursuit of righteousness and justice. The only question that remains is whether we will embrace God’s story and be part of the future among the present.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Thoughts About the "Identity Crisis" Among Churches of Christ
The Christian Chronicle, a news journal associated with the Churches of Christ, has recently published a series of quotes from ministers within the Churches of Christ addressing the question of whether or not there is an identity crisis within the fellowship (click on the title for the link access to the full article). I am not interested in discussing right now whether or not there is an identity crisis. What does bother me is some of the comments made by certain individuals. One such quote come from Phil Sanders, Preacher for the Concord Road Church of Christ in Brentwood, TN. Here is his response in full:
Phil Sanders, minister, Concord Road church in Brentwood, Tenn.: I believe some Christians and some churches know who they are and others don’t. You can’t expect the nearly 13,000 congregations among us to be carbon copies of each other any more than the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2-3 were alike. Some were strong in faith, weak in numbers. Some were strong in heritage and without heart. Some were prominent in their society and lukewarm. Some have open doors and some have closed.
Many churches know the Book and stand for what we have historically held, while others are trying to turn the church of Christ into a bad substitute for a denomination. These mindsets are polarizing, and in many communities fellowship has ceased among brethren. Those who believe we must not become denominational will not join hands with those who feel we must progress beyond the Scriptures. In not a few communities the impasse seems inescapable.
I believe one of the greatest needs in the church today is for members to know what it means to be a New Testament Christian, saved by grace through faith and fully committed to the cause and teaching of Christ. Some have taken up padded crosses, convenient Christianity, and a synthetic faith. They don’t know what they believe or why.
I would like to point out one part of Brother Sanders comment. He says, “Many churches know the Book [Bible] and stand for what we have historically held, while others are trying to turn the church of Christ into a bad substitute for a denomination.” His comments assume that those of us that fall into the “others” category, like me, are leaving the pursuit of New Testament Christianity. That is hardly the case, it is just that some of us, like me again, believe that some of the conclusions about the Bible and Christianity reached by those among the Churches of Christ of the previous generation were incorrect.
Those conclusions were reached by honest Christians seeking to pursue Christianity with great integrity. Nevertheless, I believe some of their conclusions were based on a problematic hermeneutic and some faulty assumptions in regards to the intended function of scripture.
But please, if you disagree with me, don’t just label me as if I am just trying to pervert Christianity. Far from it, in my own weakness and limited understanding, I am trying to help the universal church and Churches of Christ be what it should be: The Body of Christ living out her life just as her head, Jesus of Nazareth, lived out his life.
Phil Sanders, minister, Concord Road church in Brentwood, Tenn.: I believe some Christians and some churches know who they are and others don’t. You can’t expect the nearly 13,000 congregations among us to be carbon copies of each other any more than the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2-3 were alike. Some were strong in faith, weak in numbers. Some were strong in heritage and without heart. Some were prominent in their society and lukewarm. Some have open doors and some have closed.
Many churches know the Book and stand for what we have historically held, while others are trying to turn the church of Christ into a bad substitute for a denomination. These mindsets are polarizing, and in many communities fellowship has ceased among brethren. Those who believe we must not become denominational will not join hands with those who feel we must progress beyond the Scriptures. In not a few communities the impasse seems inescapable.
I believe one of the greatest needs in the church today is for members to know what it means to be a New Testament Christian, saved by grace through faith and fully committed to the cause and teaching of Christ. Some have taken up padded crosses, convenient Christianity, and a synthetic faith. They don’t know what they believe or why.
I would like to point out one part of Brother Sanders comment. He says, “Many churches know the Book [Bible] and stand for what we have historically held, while others are trying to turn the church of Christ into a bad substitute for a denomination.” His comments assume that those of us that fall into the “others” category, like me, are leaving the pursuit of New Testament Christianity. That is hardly the case, it is just that some of us, like me again, believe that some of the conclusions about the Bible and Christianity reached by those among the Churches of Christ of the previous generation were incorrect.
Those conclusions were reached by honest Christians seeking to pursue Christianity with great integrity. Nevertheless, I believe some of their conclusions were based on a problematic hermeneutic and some faulty assumptions in regards to the intended function of scripture.
But please, if you disagree with me, don’t just label me as if I am just trying to pervert Christianity. Far from it, in my own weakness and limited understanding, I am trying to help the universal church and Churches of Christ be what it should be: The Body of Christ living out her life just as her head, Jesus of Nazareth, lived out his life.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
How Could This Ever Be...
Vincenzo Ricardo was found dead today from natural causes in his home. Unforunately, Mr. Ricardo died a year ago and his remains were found mummified in front of the television.
I am not sure how something this tragic happens but it never should have been. We were created to be in community. Unfortunately, our own predicament of sin has destroyed the communal nature of our creation. Nevertheless, God is redeeming us back into a communal relationship with him and each other. Tragically, there are still people who must suffer alone.
I don’t want to leave this world alone. I am reminded of the line from Elvis Presley’s song Where No One Stands Alone, “…But I don’t know a thing in this whole wide world that’s worse than being alone…”
May we always be people who are drawn into community, learn to live as community, and welcome others – even the stranger – to the community.
I am not sure how something this tragic happens but it never should have been. We were created to be in community. Unfortunately, our own predicament of sin has destroyed the communal nature of our creation. Nevertheless, God is redeeming us back into a communal relationship with him and each other. Tragically, there are still people who must suffer alone.
I don’t want to leave this world alone. I am reminded of the line from Elvis Presley’s song Where No One Stands Alone, “…But I don’t know a thing in this whole wide world that’s worse than being alone…”
May we always be people who are drawn into community, learn to live as community, and welcome others – even the stranger – to the community.
Same Blog, New Title, New Link
I have changed the title of my blog to "A Kingdom Seeking Saint" and the new sight is located at...
www.kingdomseekingsaint.blogspot.com
www.kingdomseekingsaint.blogspot.com
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