What is resurrection anyway?

Happy Easter!!  You might be wondering why I'm wishing you a Happy Easter, now that we are four days out from Easter Sunday.  Well, that is because Easter is not a day, but a season!  If you remember, the season of Lent, a time of preparation and reflection, lasted for forty days (not counting  Sundays); well, it doesn't make sense for Lent to be longer than Easter, given that our God is a God who brings bounty, peace and life!  So Easter needs to be longer--50 days, to be exact.  We will be celebrating Easter this year from March 27 until May 15, which is Pentecost Sunday.

And of course, during the Easter season we are celebratory and engage in studying resurrection.  What does it mean, after all, that Jesus rose from the dead?  Obviously that means he was walking around again, interacting with his disciples, even after he had been long killed; but what is resurrection really?  What does it look like?

In English we will often use several words almost interchangeably to describe a state of life after death.  The first is describing someone as "coming back to life".  This is probably best used to describe Lazarus, Jesus' friend, whom he raised from the dead after falling ill.  Lazarus was dead, and Jesus brought him back to life (John 11:44); but this wasn't exactly a resurrection.  One really important distinction about resurrection is that when we are resurrected, we will no longer experience death in any way.  Lazarus cannot properly be described as "resurrected" because he died again.  Similarly, when doctors bring patients back to life after a few minutes of no heartbeat, they are not "resurrecting" their patients; they are bringing them back to life.  They remain mortal, and in no better shape than they were before their brush with death.  In resurrection, we become immortal and eternally God's own.

Another term used mistakenly is "reincarnated".  This is a term used with prevalence in the Hindu religion to describe a spirit who, after death, possesses a new body based on the karma, or good/bad works, that the spirit acquired in the previous life.  This term "reincarnated" does not at all describe what we mean by resurrection; when Jesus was resurrected, he did not come back in an entirely different form, but rather he reappeared in a way that was recognizable to others.  Mary Magdalene, for example, recognized Jesus pretty quickly once she saw him (John 20:11-18), which would have been impossible if Jesus had undergone some sort of radical change, like turning into an animal.  Furthermore, Jesus' body continued to bear scars from his crucifixion which helped the disciple Thomas to identify him later (John 20:24-28).

Resurrection is unique.  In fact, it's only ever happened once before in history, with Jesus Christ--the rest of us are waiting for his return for our turn!  So everything we know about resurrection is based on the testimony from those who saw it with their own eyes and had it recorded for us to read.  And based on that Scripture, we know that resurrection leads to eternal life (immortality); a resurrected person is somehow recognizable to others; and thirdly, there is a profound change in the individual who undergoes resurrection, but this change does not render us unrecognizable.  In the gospels we read that Jesus' body did not respond normally to the laws of physics, as he is apparently able to enter into locked rooms without trouble (John 20:19, maybe again in Luke 24:36-37).  The disciples understandably think Jesus is a ghost of sorts, given that they had personally witnessed and confirmed his death, but it is likely that, due to their surprise in both of the above stories, Jesus is not making noise in the same way when moving around either.  Whatever the case may be, there is little room for doubt that something new is generated when the body is resurrected, and the body receives new qualities that are currently unbeknownst to us.

In brief: resurrection is God's work to take something which is old and lifeless and makes it into something new and eternal.  Resurrected people bear the old image of God originally bestowed but then also are given new properties such as immortality.  In effect, the resurrected body is by far superior to the old, and all of the wounds from the previous life are healed in full.

This of course has a lot of implications for us, not only in the next life, but in this one.  You see, it is quite obvious through Scripture that God's intention is to heal, restore and flourish humanity, not only for the future in heaven, but right now for us on earth.  We don't preach a Gospel of Jesus' healing that only comes in the future; we understand God's commandments to lead us as his disciples to start now in reaching out to a hurting world and bring them into God's fold.  As Christians we affirm the resurrection of the body (the whole body, including the mind, the spirit, etc.) as a true, historical event which has occurred and will occur again; but we also affirm God's work towards resurrection each day in our current lives, and through us to those all around us.  Resurrection, then, is not purely a theological concept limited to the raising of Jesus Christ, but is a word that appropriately defines all of God's works in our fallen world, that defines God's will towards creation, and describes God's heart and viewpoint when he looks upon us and takes delight.  

Happy Easter to you all.

Maundy Thursday sermon

It is Holy Week 2016 and for this blog I am pasting a full-text written copy of my sermon, delivered for Maundy Thursday (March 24, 2016).  As always, my written sermons do not reflect the differences that come when a sermon is spoken; so the version preached will be a little different.

For centuries now the church around the world has typically observed Maundy Thursday, which commemorates the final day Jesus lived as a free man prior to being turned into the Roman authorities by Judas Iscariot.  The term “Maundy” comes from a Latin word that refers to the great commandment that Jesus gives in our Scripture, that we would love one another.  It’s interesting how this day, which is filled with such sorrow and torment, would be named after some of the greatest words to ever come out of Jesus’ mouth.

        In fact, this whole story from Scripture is anything but ordinary.  It seems that the closer Jesus gets to the end of his earthly life, the stranger he acts and the more mystifying his actions become.  Our Scripture from John 13 tells us about these final hours, which apparently were filled with activity and drama.  In this chapter, we learn about Jesus washing the disciples’ feet; we hear how Jesus predicts his betrayal; and we are given this, the great commandment, which I will quote now from 13:34: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”  This part of Jesus’ story is not new to us sitting here today; we’ve all heard about foot washing, and some people have even experienced it in other churches.  But one thing sticks out to me as very unusual: what do foot washing, the great commandment, and betrayal have in common?  It appears rather obvious to us that Jesus was fully aware of his future, and therefore it makes sense that he would have been very intentional in those final hours with his disciples, teaching and leading them in a profound way.  But what is this connection between foot washing, betrayal, and the great commandment?

        So Simon Peter is the disciple who first gets his feet washed, under protest of course.  Why should his Lord do something so dirty, so gross, so demeaning, as wash his feet?!  To which Jesus provides a cryptic response, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.”  So then Simon Peter, thoroughly rebuked, asked for a full scrub down!  But then Jesus gives another difficult response: “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean.  And you are clean, though not all of you.”  And of course Jesus is referring to his betrayer as not being clean, and the Scripture goes into greater detail of how Judas is identified by dipping bread into wine. 

        What I find interesting is the careful choice of words that refer to removing dirt: wash; bathe; and clean.  Jesus uses the term “wash” with the task at hand with the disciples’ feet; Jesus uses the term “bathe” as a past action; and “clean” is a term used to describe a state of being.  And even more cryptically, Jesus claims that having bathed leaves you entirely clean, but you still need to wash your feet.  If this isn’t confusing at all, then you’re way ahead of me on this one!  Because this situation with foot washing is really complicated, and the language is being used very subtly to describe several different pieces of the puzzle.

        Most commentators agree on what’s going on here.  Jesus is using the term “bathe” to refer to baptism and repentance, a one-time action which cleanses us of our sins.  Jesus is then using the term “clean” to refer to salvation and membership in the kingdom.  Finally, the term “wash” is used to refer to dirty feet, a body part which, before the days of fancy closed shoes, would become dirty in a very short period of time after leaving the house even if you had just bathed a few moments ago.  If you had bathed in the river, for example, you would have been entirely clean, but you’d still be tracking mud everywhere.  And if you’ve spent time at the beach before, you still experience this.  When I lived in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, I lived three blocks from the beach, and even though I hadn’t even gotten in the (highly polluted) water, I would track sand into the apartment, regardless of whether I was wearing flip-flops or tennis shoes. 

        As we look deeper into the narrative, we see that the task of washing feet is not limited to Jesus.  Jesus is first to wash feet in this scenario, but then he commands the disciples to wash each other’s feet as well.  And not only are the disciples called to wash one another’s feet, but Jesus reminds them that they are already entirely clean.  It sounds contradictory, that you could both be “entirely clean” and need washing at the same time; but of course, Jesus is speaking in parables, and isn’t talking about tracking sand and mud into the house.

        But when applied to the spiritual realm, this parable makes sense and presents a great challenge to us, who are Jesus’ disciples.  Even though we have already been bathed by repentance and baptism, even though we are entirely cleansed from our sins, we continue to commit sins in our daily lives.  Due to having bathed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we are eternally cleansed and no longer bear the burden of sin, the heavy weight of brokenness.  Like the donkey in the procession into Jerusalem, which we discussed on Sunday, we have been permanently and unabashedly declared clean by our Lord, which is good because only God himself could declare us clean and follow through with it.  And while we continue to commit sins in this life, these sins do not erase God’s declaration upon our souls, that we have been bathed and cleansed for eternity.  No amount of stumbling around in this soiled world is ever going to jeopardize our status.

        But we still track mud wherever we go.  We still pick up bad habits, we treat others poorly, and we turn a blind eye to persecution.  We are no longer in need of bathing, but we continue to require washing of our feet, that our sins from day to day would be washed away so that we don’t track our dirtiness everywhere we go.  This is why we ask for God to forgive us our trespasses in the Lord’s Prayer, because we continue to trespass on others, soiling our feet.

        But don’t forget, that Jesus called upon the disciples to wash one another’s feet as well.  Foot washing, apparently, is not a job left solely up to God.  Bathing and being declared clean is God’s job alone—only through calling upon Father, Son and Holy Spirit are we baptized, and only through God’s grace are we eternally forgiven.  But it appears that we have also been granted the authority—no, a command—to forgive one another as well for the daily sins we continue to track.  This is why the Lord’s Prayer also says, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”.  Interestingly, Jesus doesn’t command us to wash our own feet—that is something we must do for one another out of love and a spirit of sacrifice.

       

        Jesus’ final hours tells us about what kind of God this is we’re dealing with.  Despite the fact that Judas Iscariot is about to trespass rather gravely against Jesus, Jesus is teaching his disciples to forgive one another their sins.  Presumably, some people are going to have feet that are dirty, but not too badly so.  And presumably, other people are going to have cracked, sore, and blistered feet which will take much more time, attention, dedication and care to wash.  We are dealing with a God who is both willing and capable of bathing and cleansing us head to toe—but still, when we stumble and get dirty out there, he enlists his disciples to help one another to overcome these earthly obstacles.  No matter how gruesome the sin, God has cleansed us once and for all, and we are called to forgive one another.

        And then Jesus gives us his final advice, his great commandment, which again I read, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  This is the thread which binds together the whole story: that love and forgiveness are two sides of the same coin.  If you have love, you can forgive; and if you can truly forgive, it is due to God’s love.  As Jesus’ disciples, we are commanded to love and forgive one another, washing each other’s feet as we go along the way. 

        Isn’t this fascinating?  Jesus knows that he’s about to be betrayed by one of his own flock, yet he spends his last moments urging us to forgive one another as we have been forgiven?  Even though he faces certain torture and death, the only thing on Jesus’ mind is to get his message of forgiveness across in a radical way by getting on his hands and knees to wash the feet of his closest friends.  And all of this he does during supper, according to verse 2, his final meal which he shares with his disciples, where he invites them to partake of the bread and cup, to accept the forgiveness of sins by the covenant of his blood.  And it is to this very same table that Jesus invites us all tonight, to partake of this bread and cup, that we would be forgiven, and that we would be empowered to forgive one another.  

Forgiveness and Guilt

Last Sunday we read Psalm 32 in conjunction with the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  While we focused on Jesus' parable, today we'll focus on this Old Testament Scripture and what it says about forgiveness.  There is some confusion among those who read the Bible who believe that the Old Testament is somehow incompatible with the New Testament, or perhaps no longer relevant after Christ's teachings.  But Christ's teachings, in fact his entire life story, are fully compatible with the Scripture from the Old Testament.  In his day, there was no "New Testament" to speak of at all, but he taught the Scriptures both in the Temple and to his disciples.  

So it's interesting how we as Christians today flock to the New Testament and the Gospel stories to tell about God's great forgiveness, about his desire to erase iniquity from our lives.  And this is absolutely true; Christ came to earth for many reasons, one of which was to offer himself fully as a love-sacrifice for his Father and for all of humanity, drawing us back to God.  But forgiveness is not unique or novel in the New Testament; God has been in the business of forgiving for a LONG time!  Psalm 32 presents this fact to us in a rather direct way:

"Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.  While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.  Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' and you forgave the guilt of my sin.  Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them." (Psalm 32:1-6, NRSV)

Does this passage seem familiar to you?  Does the story here sound like anything in our world today?  If I didn't know better, I would have said that this is a brief evangelistic message, encouraging people to come to God for the first time, bringing all of their burdens and infirmities with them, all at no cost.  This psalm sounds a lot like an altar call, a beckoning to a broken world, offering peace and forgiveness to any who call on God's name.  It sounds a lot like Jesus' words, repeated over and over, offering forgiveness for sins to both Jews and Gentiles, to anyone who is willing to simply accept it.  Who says the Old Testament is irrelevant or outdated for our faith today?!

Interestingly, however, the psalmist is almost certainly not talking to people outside of the faith.  This song would almost certainly have been sung and/or performed among faithful Jews.  It's a reminder to us that God's message of forgiveness does not end at a supposed moment of salvation; it is a forgiveness that permeates the rest of our lives and is offered to us for all of eternity.  As human beings, even though we experience forgiveness one time or two times before, we tend to forget things quickly and we fall back into our old patterns of living, ideas, emotions and habits.  And one of the most poisonous habits we love is dwelling in our own guilt.

It's bad enough that we feel pressure from the world outside, even when the world isn't concerned with us or even aware of what we're doing. It's like we imagine someone constantly over our shoulders judging us and due to this pressure we believe that each time we slip away from grace, we ought to pay for it with some sort of punishment or the like.  I'll tell you the truth, which is that rarely does anyone look over your shoulders to judge you.  (Yes, people are watching you, and your children learn from you, but rarely are people judging you for those things which lead to your greatest insecurities.) YOU are your greatest enemy, as the psalmist declares with poignance in verse 3: "while I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long".  

There are even some churches that teach about a God who is all-judging and constantly filled with anger towards us and our behavior, demanding a perfectly straight moral path (conveniently compatible with their specific and narrow interpretation of Scripture).  But the truth is that our God in heaven does no such thing.  The pity is that so many people outside of the church in America have left the church because the church has taught that God is so hateful and judgmental.  The truth is that the opposite is true: that God loved us long before we even recognized our sinful depravity, that he forgives us with even the smallest excuse to do so, and that we are ourselves responsible for perpetuating judgment, guilt, and holding sin against ourselves.  We as Christians are called to forgive others regardless of their sins; but in order to do this, we must first begin inside, allowing God's forgiveness to penetrate at the center of our hardened, broken hearts.  

God's heart does not carry a burden of sin like our hearts do.  There is no sin imaginable which God cannot forgive should we desire forgiveness.  God's love is freely given to all without any condition, but we continue to reject it by clenching so tightly to our self-loathing and self-pity.  

God loves you and forgives you already; now turn to the Lord and accept that forgiveness so that you may live richly and in true freedom from your past!  What are you waiting for?

Politics and Christian Life

Today I felt the need to speak in a bit of a different direction after seeing some of the unpredictable political news stories over the last few days.  Election 2016 is certain to be interesting and engaging in our country, and will be followed around the world.  This week was Super Tuesday, when many primary contests are scheduled in the same day, but it appears as if the election cycle is nowhere near its completion.  

With this in mind, I'd like to reflect on the role of the Christian in politics, specifically in our country (as governments and politics vary greatly across the world and during the years).  Now please realize that many books have been written on this topic, and there is a lot of disagreement among Christians as to how and to what degree we ought to be involved in politics.  The following will be some generalizations I make, informed by our tradition of Scripture and our Methodist heritage.  But also know that my views will not perfectly match others' views.

1. This leads straight into my first point.  Christians do not agree on how and to what extent we ought to be involved in politics.  And that disagreement is not a deal-breaker for us.  Some Christians believe in having very little to do with politics, even to the point of not voting.  There are many Christian groups, such as Mennonites, who disavow military service entirely, as one example.  At the same time, there are other Christians who believe it is our sacred duty to participate in politics so as to build a world that is fertile for God's Kingdom.  This of course looks a lot different based on who you ask, but the sentiment is the same.  But I find that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be witnessed both inside and outside of the political arena.  For some, they love politics and get really involved in their local and national community.  For others, they cannot or will not tolerate the political scene whatsoever, but will engage in their world through other avenues.  We are the church because each of us has been gifted a unique set of abilities and a one-of-a-kind temperament.  Let us be the salt of the earth and a light into our world, whether we participate in the political parts of that world or not.  

2. In the democratic world, whether in a high school contest for Student Body President or for a seat in the US Senate, there are usually multiple candidates for whom you could vote, and for whatever reason(s) you choose.  That means that politics are inherently competitive, where two or more people are facing off to woo the votes of their constituents.  In this way, politics are no different from televised sports--two teams, for example, rally together, practicing for years, in order to defeat their opponent in the same skills they have rehearsed for those years.  The only difference between sports and politics is that athletes are competing with their physical and mental prowess, whereas politicians are competing with speeches, organization and fund-raising!!  And just like with football or basketball, politics is a spectator sport where we cheer for our "team" to win against the other(s)!!Since the political world is a competition, and we voters are invested in our "team" to win, we must recognize that can generate poor sportsmanship between people on different teams.  Put in other terms, when we participate in politics, we must be weary of our capacity to be boastful winners and sore losers.  As Christians, we are taught by Scripture to love our neighbors, giving them the shirt off our back if only it is needed by another.  Regardless of which team we have joined, we must respect and treat one another with loving kindness, and not judge others whose views seem deplorable in our eyes.

3. Now even in America's two-party system, the primaries are a time when we potentially have many choices in the presidential race.  For example, the Republican Party had no fewer than five names listed on the primary ballot in Tennessee, and indeed all Super Tuesday states.  How do we determine whom to support?  Simply put, we vote for the candidate who best exemplifies what we imagine a president to look like, with the characteristics, beliefs and agendas that most closely align with our values.  So far, this is a bit obvious!The problem lies when we assume that our personal vantage point is the center of the universe!!  With our limited vision, we quickly cobble together an impression in our minds for the candidates on the ballot, but far too often we then assume that our favored candidate is the only "right" candidate to choose, and therefore all others candidates are "wrong".  The truth is there are no "right" candidates and no "wrong" ones, because all candidates and all political parties are full of human beings!  No one is perfect, and yet God loves all of us, even those who reject God.  Your preferred candidate is a preference based on your unique view of the world; that doesn't discredit your viewpoint, but it also doesn't discredit your neighbor, who sees the world quite differently.  When we understand political preferences to be associated with viewpoints, we no longer view one another as "wrong" in our choices, but rather we can respect one another for having a different perspective on life.

4. And as you may have guessed, Christians do not all have the same viewpoint!  In fact, we should view it as strange that so many people believe that a particular candidate, or even a whole political party, could speak for us as a faith!!  Christians are too diverse to be represented by a single politician or political party.  This makes sense, because God loves and reaches out to all of us and that means a great diversity of viewpoints and understandings.  And while that diversity is represented right here in the United States, imagine how that diversity is magnified when we think about the viewpoints of Christians on all six continents around the world!!So it is important for us as Christians to recognize that our faith is much larger and broader than any politics we could imagine.  God is much bigger than political ideology, political parties, convention speeches, etc.  And that's why most political parties will have Christians present.  Do not be deceived into thinking one party or one person is the clear "Christian" candidate!

5. This final point I'm making (although I could probably type all night) is about self-identification of Christian faith.  The fact is that Christians far too often judge whether or not political candidates are Christian, when this is not something that we are at liberty to do!  Whether or not somebody believes in God and puts his or her faith in Jesus Christ as Lord is not something anybody else can correct, judge, determine or decide.  Please let us never question someone's faith, because professing Christ publicly is a powerful act that, in other places of the world and throughout history, could easily be a death sentence.However, Scripture does tell us about spiritual fruit, and how Christ as the gardener (Luke 13) is interested in helping us bear that fruit, even if we are unlikely trees!!  There are many passages that directly talk about spiritual fruit (Galatians 5), but don't consider these to be exhaustive lists.  In fact, when we think about fruitfulness as disciples of Jesus Christ, we look to the whole example of Christ's life and ministry on earth.  Fruitfulness is living in Christ's shoes, and being in solidarity with the poor and poor in spirit.  So if you want to think about political candidates in terms of Christianity, your best bet is to think about how much their lives mimic Jesus'; and odds are, you won't find much in common, as Jesus was economically poor, politically inept, without any political power, and lived in a world devoid of democracy.   

I encourage you to vote this election season if you are led to do so.  And I encourage you to vote for whom you will vote.  In our church alone, we probably have every major candidate in this election represented by at least one supporter, and yet we are bound in Christian love for one another and our community.  Our political participation, unless we successfully run for state or national politics, is unlikely to cause radical change in our world.  Our perspectives will remain the same, and others will continue to vote and see the world as they do.  Among Christians, politics all too often functions as a tool of division.  I encourage you to prayerfully consider how, in this election year, you will move forward and encounter others in a way that does not divide, but unites through love.  With all of the issues at stake in each election, our debates can become resentful in a heartbeat.  But no matter the issues, whoever the candidates may be, and in whatever direction our nation heads, our God is bigger than all of it, and has the whole universe in his loving hands.  There is no politician that can save our world, for Christ has already come for that purpose; and there is no politician who can destroy us, because we are inheritors of eternity.   

Misuse of Scripture

On Sunday we talked about the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness from Luke 4:1-13.  In this story, the devil tempts Jesus, who is weakened from fasting for 40 days, three separate times.  One very interesting point of this story is how the devil uses Scripture against Jesus in a very convincing way.  Essentially, he uses Scripture out of context and applies it to a situation where he is then able to manipulate it into a sinful action.  Here is part of the text from Luke:

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you' and 'on their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"

We discussed in the sermon how this third and final temptation was the temptation of glory, that if Jesus threw himself down and allowed angels to take him on, it would be a very visual spectacle to the Jews at the temple that he in fact was the chosen Messiah.  Jesus of course refuses this temptation to glorify himself, because, although he is worthy of glory, he comes to earth as a human to give his Father in heaven glory, inviting us as his disciples to do the same.  Jesus resists the human temptation to glorify ourselves, and instead seeks to glorify God.

But for our post today, let us examine the way that Scripture is being purposefully misused and abused in order to create an argument that encourages sinful behavior.  In the story, the devil quotes Scripture in such a way as to convince Jesus that his only option is to glorify himself according to Scripture.  However, when we read the greater context of that Scripture, we see that nothing of the sort is implied.  The Scripture that the devil is quoting is from Psalm 91, the full text of which follows here:

You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress; my God in whom I trust."  For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.  You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day, or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday.  A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.  You will only look with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.  Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.  For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.  On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.  You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.  Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name.  When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble.  I will rescue them and honor them.  With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.

The words quoted by the devil in Luke 4 are in italics above.  When you read the entire passage, what do you see God is saying to us?  What is the situation it emphasizes?  I think about protection within a trusting relationship between God and us.  I see that regardless of the chaos around us in our world, God is a steady hand and a sure bet.  The dangers of this world are powerless before this God, who has our back!  And God is with us through eternity.

...what part of that psalm made you think about jumping off of a cliff to see if angels will really pick you up and into the sky?!  There is nothing here that indicates that God is literally and physically going to save us; rather, the imagery of physical dangers helps us to understand the greater message, that God will guide and lead and be with us through it all.  I know that I don't worry about adders very often--but I do have real concerns in our world today, true dangers that threaten our church, our families, and our society.  No, we shall not fear the politics or terrorists or corporations of this world; we will not allow economic and spiritual poverty stand in the way between us and God, for God will deliver us and in the end, God shares his eternity with us.

But, if you read the italicized verses out of this context, the devil's words are very convincing.  This is known as "proof texting".  It is the practice of using Scripture outside of its intended context to situations unlike those found in Scripture.  Unfortunately, proof texting is really common in American Christianity, and indeed all over the world and through history.  This coming Sunday there will be far too many preachers who fail to read the full context of Scripture and will quote their favorite verses, often twisting and stretching them until they have lost their intended content.  This is not to say that we cannot quote individual verses of Scripture; but we must have a robust understanding of their true message, and make every effort to apply that sentiment when quoting. 

Anyone who is literate can read the letters of the Bible; but as disciples we are called to understand the spirit of the text as a whole.  The Bible is wholly good, and is our first source of inspiration as a baptized people.  But it can be wielded for both good and evil.  There are many people, both within and outside of Christianity, who will utilize Scripture for the wrong reasons and handle it entirely inaccurately.  Sometimes this is accidental!  None of us will ever perfectly interpret Scripture, and we don't need to worry about that!  But we should seek proper avenues for our education and formation as Christians rather than buying any flashy book you might find in the bookstore.

And still others will intentionally use the Bible as a weapon.  These include non-Christians who are hostile to the faith, or self-proclaimed Christians who have a particular agenda that supersedes God's plans.  (We see this in politics frequently, as an example.)  The forces of evil and the principalities of this world are going to use multiple avenues to convince us that the Bible is not an inspired book, that its contents are outdated or irrelevant, or that it just plain isn't true.  And that has been going on for more than 2,000 years. 

Yet, the church grows.  Christianity is experiencing some of its most explosive growth worldwide in recent years, more than ever before.  The Gospel cannot and will not be extinguished as a result of improper interpretation, because God has resolved to draw good out of evil.  However, if we want to be faithful disciples and salty witnesses here in our local communities, we must reject proof texting and instead be formed by the whole message of God.  We must insist that our spiritual leaders, whether preachers, teachers, or other leaders in the church, should hold to this faithful reading as well.  No two people are ever going to fully interpret Scripture in the exact same way, but sometimes bad interpretation is just bad interpretation.  At least, Jesus thought so--and as a result, he refused to bring glory unto himself at the pinnacle of the temple at Jerusalem.  His life journey is our aspiration and inspiration--as told by Scripture, a place where we can enter into God's story and be safely and securely brought closer into his everlasting arms.

Why do we observe Lent?

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.  And technically, Lent doesn't begin until sundown on Ash Wednesday, one of many facts about Lent I'm going to discuss in this week's post.  What is Lent, and why do we observe it?  What about all of those details around Lent?  And what is fasting?

One misconception about Lent is that it is a Roman Catholic practice.  This is true to an extent, because it is in fact practiced by Roman Catholics all over the world.  But the tradition of Lent dates back long before Roman Catholicism; we have evidence that Lent was observed at least as far back as the fourth century, when Christianity was more widely practiced in the Middle East than in the city of Rome.  In fact, most Christians observe Lent.  Eastern Orthodox Christians; Catholics; and some Protestant groups, including Anglicans/Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Methodists.  I even know of many Baptist churches who observe Lent, such as Liberty Road Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC!  But since many American Protestant churches do not observe Lent, and Methodism has only recently began to re-kindle its observance, the common misconception is that Lent is a "Catholic" thing.

Lent has been observed in different ways around the world and in history.  Modern practice typically includes the idea of fasting, which is an ancient religious practice of self-denial for the sake of growing spiritually and in discipline.  Fasting is discussed explicitly in the Bible.  One such instance is Matthew 6:16-18, during Jesus' Sermon on the Mount: "And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting.  Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.  But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."  The variety of fasting that Jesus is talking about is fasting from all food, which can make one rather weak, and this would be visible on the face.  It is understood that particularly holy Jews at the time would show of their fasting as a way for people to know that they were religious, pious and even holier-than-thou.  His rebuke of making fasting public emphasizes the true purpose of fasting, which is to grow in relationship with God rather than making an impression on others.

But this has led to another misconception about Lent: that fasting must be done completely in secret.  This is simply not the case, and is impractical.  There is a big difference between public, showy display of fasting and informing those close to you who need to know what you're doing so as to be able to help support you.  Imagine that you were fasting from a certain food, such as pizza.  If you were to keep that a secret, but the rest of your family wanted to order pizza for dinner, it would help if they knew so that either they could eat pizza elsewhere, or at least order you something else!  The spirit of this passage is that we are to fast with God as our goal; if our fast becomes something we do for ourselves, placing our holiness at the center of attention, then we might as well not do it.  Fasting isn't about you, it's about God.

And this brings up another detail I want to clarify.  Fasting does not need to be from all nourishment.  Sure, there is a time and place for such fasting, but generally speaking, Christians will fast from specific foods, activities or other pleasures.  A prime example is how most Roman Catholics will fast from eating meat (not including seafood) for the duration of Lent; furthermore, most will also give up one or more additional things to make their fast more personal.  Whatever you choose to fast from ought to be something that you actually enjoy and will long for!  And every time you wish you had access to that thing, you can instead think about God, who is the true object of our desires.

Lent is a season of 40 days that ends with Easter Sunday.  Lent has long been a time of preparation for Easter, for the single greatest day in the Christian calendar.  But if you count the calendar days from February 10 to March 26, you will get 46 days!!  Why is that?  Well, that's because we do not generally fast on Sundays, which is the Lord's day, each one a mini-Easter.  Traditionally Lent excludes Sundays, and unless your fast is particularly difficult to re-start one day out of seven, you are actually encouraged to partake of whatever you've fasted from each Sunday!  This helps to train and discipline ourselves to look forward to Sundays as days that God has set aside for rest, relaxation and rejoicing.

Also, the way we count days is different in the post-industrial world than they were centuries ago.  In Judeo-Christian practice, the beginning of a new day is at sunset, not sunrise.  Therefore, we are allowed to break our fast on Saturday night at sundown, but we must resume our fast Sunday night at the same time.  If you have an easier time thinking of a day in terms of your clock, from midnight to 11:59PM the next evening, that's fine!  But it's important to know that this tradition is brought from centuries into the present, so if you have friends or family who break their fasts on Saturday night, you now know why!!

Ultimately, Lent is a season of disciplined growth in preparation for the cross.  Together we travel in this world with our Lord Jesus Christ, who taught us the importance of self-denial in the life of discipleship.  Lent is this season when we embark together once again giving special attention to this crucial aspect of our faith.  And as always, the center of our ambitions should increasingly become God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God in three and three in one.

Blessings and peace to you during this Lenten season.

God's Wisdom and Society

This week we're going to continue with our theme discussing the Wisdom of God, but will take it for a new turn as we delve into discussing the wisdom of our society.  It is no secret to Christians that the wisdom of this world is unlike the wisdom of God; and through the Book of Proverbs, we are given many admonitions to live in certain ways contrary to those around us, contrary to the ways in which we'd prefer to live ourselves, left to our own devices.  Let's use Proverbs 3:27-30 to help us understand how God's wisdom is so different from the ways of the world around us.

Here is the text (NRSV):

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it"--when you have it with you.
Do not plan harm against your neighbor who lives trustingly beside you.
Do not quarrel with anyone without cause, when no harm has been done to you.

These verses are talking primarily about relationships with our neighbors.  When Scripture, particularly the Old Testament, uses the word "neighbor", it is not referring strictly to people who live within three or four properties of your residence.  The term "neighbor" describes people who live in such proximity to you that you encounter them.  In ancient times, your neighbor would have been someone who lived and worked fairly close to you, since transportation was obviously more difficult; but "neighbor" also describes others with whom you would interact in places such as the temple or the marketplace.  So in Jerusalem, for example, a fairly major city in ancient times, you could describe your "neighbor" in similar ways as we do in modern America.  Our neighbor is anyone who lives in our proximity such that we encounter them, whether they live next door or halfway around the world (such as a colleague in Germany or India).

Our world in 21st-century America emphasizes the idea of doing no harm to others.  You may have seen the popular Gadsden Flag, which has been used in recent years as a symbol of libertarian thought:

The words on this flag, "don't tread on me", represent an attitude in our society that we ought not to do harm to one another, lest we violate one another's freedoms and liberties.  And this is certainly compelling!  I don't want people to come and attack, pillage or overtake my household!  And therefore I ought not to do this to others.  Doing no harm is certainly important when we think of how to treat our neighbors; I don't want you thinking I believe otherwise!!

But in Proverbs 3, Scripture has a different set of expectations for us in our relationships with our neighbors.  Verse 29 reflects the "don't tread on me" attitude, affirming the goodness of doing no harm; but verses 27-28 take this idea much further.  Verse 27 talks about withholding good that is due when it is in our power, and verse 28 talks about giving to a neighbor when it is available.  Rather than simply living in a world where no one hurts anyone else, Scripture wants us to go further and be part of a society that seeks opportunities to bless others.

As Christians, we are called to live and serve sacrificially to those around us, whomever we encounter in our daily routine.  When our neighbor is in need of something that we possess, we are not to merely defer assistance to the next day, hoping that by then someone else will provide, or the need will no longer be there, or, as in most cases, hoping that our neighbor will give up asking and not come for any more.  No, as this proverb and so many other passages of Scripture assert, we are called to help provide for one another in this society as far as we are capable.  This is very different from the attitude of "don't tread on me", which focuses on the well-being of the self, and then stops there.  The proverbs suggest that we are to focus on the well-being of others, who in turn will help focus on our well-being.  Of course, this is an ideal situation, but we see it happening every day in (some) churches around the world.  [Note: I'm not suggesting we don't take care of ourselves; I'm suggesting that our focus is on others, because as humans we become inwardly-focused so easily.]

What would our society look like if Christians took this proverb to heart?  What does it mean for us as a church to grow into this calling more each day?  I mean, no one is going to perfectly live selflessly, but what if we worked hard to retrain our thinking and actions to be part of a community where we take responsibility not only for ourselves, but for the well-being of others?  Does that sound like anyone you know...?