Why Would Jesus Call a Woman a Dog?

    Don’t you just love people who talk about Jesus as such a wonderful, inclusive teacher who broke down all sorts of barriers.  He embodied love and showed love to everyone regardless of their status.  He never turned anyone away but welcomed everyone unconditionally without a second thought.  Don’t you love it when people talk about Jesus in this manner?  You may.  I don’t because it shows that they really aren’t talking about the Jesus revealed to us in the Bible.  Instead, they are talking about a Jesus of their own creation.  And while people are perfectly free to construct their own personal Jesus, doing so is a far cry from coming into contact with the Savior and Lord of the World.  In fact, I would submit to you this morning, if you build your own personal Jesus, you will never be challenged, never grow, and never truly enter into a relationship with the God who created this universe.

    Let’s turn to this rather interesting snippet from the Gospel of Mark found in chapter seven.  Here, Jesus encounters a woman; a Greek; a Gentile, and the encounter doesn’t go as we might expect.  In fact, some argue that Jesus is taught a lesson by this woman, and His notion of what His ministry is supposed to be about is changed.  I don’t think so.  Jesus does what He does all throughout Scripture.  He challenges and then bestows grace.

    The text begins in rather innocuous fashion.  After Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisees and scribes and teaching that it is not what comes from outside that defiles, but what comes from inside, Jesus takes His disciples to Tyre for a period of rest.  Jesus’ choice of Tyre is rather interesting.  How so?  Well, let me read to you this snippet from one of the commentaries I consulted this week.  I don’t think I could say this any better:

    Tyre (modern Lebanon), which lay directly west and north of Galilee, was a Gentile region with a long history of antagonism to Israel.  The region of Tyre (formerly Phoenicia) had been the home of Jezebel, who in Elijah’s day had nearly subverted the Northern Kingdom with her pagan prophets and practices.  During the Maccabean Revolt in the second century B.C., Tyre, along with Ptolemais and Sidon, fought on the side of the Seleucids against the Jews.  The prophets decried the wealth and terror of Tyre.  Josephus concludes opprobriously [scornfully, don’t you love the wordiness of commentaries?] that the inhabitants of Tyre were “notoriously our bitterest enemies.”

    Now, this is an important detail that we should not overlook because it has a direct link to what happened right before this and what will happen momentarily.  Remember, and again, I stress, Jesus had just taught that it was not anything from outside that defiled a person, but what came out of the heart that defiles.  After teaching this, He takes His disciples into Gentile territory–a taboo for the Pharisees and scribes; and not just any Gentile territory–into Tyre where resided some of the Jews’ bitterest enemies.

    Why would Jesus do such a thing?  Well, we do know that He was purposely trying to get away.  We do know He entered a house and didn’t want anyone to know that He was there.  Perhaps by heading into “enemy” territory, He knew that all the crowds would not follow Him.  He knew they didn’t want to go into enemy territory.  He knew He could sit with His disciples and instruct them while recovering from all the work that they had done.   But it was not to be so.  Word of Jesus’ miracles had even spread into Tyre.

    As Jesus is in the house, a woman comes to see Him.  This is not just any woman.  Verse 26 describes what kind of woman this is: “26Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin.”  I’ve got to once again read a quote from one of the commentaries.  It’s very enlightening and somewhat entertaining.  Verse 26 “reads like a crescendo of demerit.”  You may ask how this is so?  Read this with first century Jewish eyes instead of our Western Enlightenment eyes.  For you see, this was first a woman–a second class citizen in the eyes of the Jews; she was Gentile–unclean and defiled; she was Syrophonenician–an enemy of the Jews.  Three strikes, and you are out.  This woman is beyond contemptuous to most any Jew.  She’s low on the Jewish totem pole–really not even worthy of a spot in it.  And she has the audacity to interrupt Jesus’ time of rest because her daughter is possessed by an unclean spirit.

    Now, again, because we look at this with Western eyes, we see a desperate mother with great concern for her daughter.  We see a mother willing to risk herself to get care for her child.  But we need to keep looking with first century eyes.  Remember, children in that day were not seen like they are today.  Children were basically considered chattel.  They were property.  They were your insurance policy.  They were your elderly care.  Sure, people loved their kids, don’t get me wrong.  But there was not the same attitude toward children in that day that we have in this day.  Don’t let yourself be too carried away by this mother’s desperation.  There’s quite possibly other things at work here.  Yet, there is no denying this woman’s persistence.  She wants to have her daughter healed.

    Jesus responds in a way that is quite shocking to most of us.  I’m going to re-work His statement just a little bit to add some of the connotations of the original Greek.  Jesus says to her, “Let the children first have their fill (or be satisfied), for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the little puppies.”  It is no coincidence that the same word for be filled or satisfied is the same word that Mark uses to talk about the multitude that was fed on the hillside after Jesus fed them with five loaves and two fish.  It is also no coincidence that Jesus refers to this woman, and her people as little puppies.  For our ears, it is harsh.  For our ears, this seems to contradict what Jesus’ purpose is in redeeming the world.  For our ears, this doesn’t seem to loving or grace filled.  But, as I said earlier, this isn’t our own personal Jesus, this IS the Jesus of scripture.  So why does He say these things to her?  Why does He say the children should be fed first and then compare her to a little puppy dog?

    I think there are a couple of things going on here.  First, Scripture is very clear that salvation comes through the Jews.  Jesus’ mission first was to the Jewish people.  They were to be the ones who received it first.  That doesn’t mean that the Gentiles wouldn’t be included later, but the Jews, as per the covenant with Abraham would first receive the blessings of God, and then they would take that blessing into the Gentile world.  These are the children who must first receive their fill.

    But why talk to this woman and compare her to a little puppy dog?  Why be so condescending?  Maybe you have pets.  Maybe you have had to deal with puppies.  What do they do when they get around food?  What do they do when they sense that there is something good to eat at the table?  The camp out and wait for a bite.  Their puppy minds are solely focused on getting a morsel of food.  All they care about is the food.  All they want is the food.  Do they give a flying flip about you as the owner, as the care-taker?  No.  Not at all.  And if you drop a piece of food, they will go all postal making sure they get to keep it.  They will even bite you to keep you from taking the food away from them.  They have ceased to care about you as the owner and are totally focused on the food.

    Do you get where I am going here?  Jesus is confronting this woman with something deep within human nature.  Jesus is confronting her with her own selfishness.  “Are you coming to me just to get what you can out of me?  Are you coming to me for your own benefit?  Are you simply like a puppy dog that is consumed with getting food instead of caring about the master’s provision?”

    You see, embodied in Jesus’ confrontation is a confrontation of all of our selfishness.  How many times do you know of people who are suddenly confronted with a tough situation in life?  They haven’t gone to church in forever or maybe ever.  Suddenly, they show up to worship hoping that God will somehow intervene and make everything in their lives better.  Are they there for God, or are they there to receive the things God can provide.  Which is more important to them?  Or, how often do we cease to find time to pray, and then suddenly something about ourselves or our property comes in danger.  Oh how our knees get worn out during the crisis.  But once the crisis is gone, do we continue in fervent prayer?  Or if the crisis consumes our property or our being, how do we think of God then?  We get angry because we didn’t want God.  We wanted the things God could give us.  Were not interested in pleasing our master.  We’re more interested in the things our master can give us.  We’re like little puppies waiting for crumbs.  Jesus will have none of it.  He is not interested in a heart that is consumed by our wants and our desires.  He is interested in a heart that thirsts for Him.

    And the Syrophonecian woman gets it.  She does not argue with Jesus.  She accepts His condemnation of her state.  And she submits to His will with her response.  Again, I need to do a bit of work with the translation here because it’s important.  For, in the Greek, the woman does not say, “Sir.”  In the Greek, the woman says, “Lord.”  This is the only person in the entire Gospel of Mark who calls Jesus Lord.  She is the only person who is willing to give this title to Him.  She realizes that she is completely and totally at His mercy.  She realizes He is to be the object of her attention.  She realizes He is the only one who can save not only her daughter but her as well.  And she furthermore shows her understanding of His mission to Israel.  It’s rather amazing.  “Lord, even the puppies under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”  Lord, even we who are consumed with other things, other wants, other desires, are meant to receive blessing from the children.

    Remember last week when I said that the Pharisees and scribes had nullified the commands of God through their insistence on being pure?  Remember how I said they had nullified God’s original intent of the covenant–that they were blessed to be a blessing?  The Pharisees and scribes forgot they were blessed to be a blessing.  This woman–this Gentile–this enemy of the Jews understood that she was meant to be blessed through them.  She got it. She understood.  She grasped God’s intent.  She could only be blessed through the promise of the covenant.  She knew she didn’t deserve it. She knew she didn’t warrant it.  She knew she was solely at Jesus’ mercy.

    And Jesus says, “For saying this word, you may go.  The demon has left your daughter.”

    So many times, we are unwilling to be as humble as this woman.  So many times we are so convinced of our righteousness.  So many times we are convinced that we don’t need to change a thing about ourselves.  We are okay just the way we are.  God made us this way and we don’t need to change a blasted thing about ourselves.  And we simply cannot see that we try to get things out of God without having a humble heart and a humble spirit. 

    Then we encounter Jesus who, instead of giving us what we want, confronts us with our sin.  He confronts us with our selfishness.  He confronts us with our desire to grasp the things of God instead of wanting to grasp God Himself.  And we get mad at Jesus.  We get mad that He won’t give us what we want or do what we want Him to do.
We get mad because we lack humility–a humility that comes from submitting to Jesus and calling Him, Lord.

    But here is the kicker.  You can’t just say, “I’m going to be humble.  I’m going to submit to Jesus.”  Here you are trying to do it all on your own again.  You are trying to seize control of your own life.  It doesn’t work that way.  The true submission of a heart only comes in response to someone giving you something you don’t deserve.  True humility comes when you receive something you don’t deserve.  True humility comes when you realize you are unworthy of any sort of gift, but it is given to you anyway.

    And that’s exactly what Jesus does for each and every one of us on the cross.  That’s exactly what Jesus does when He takes our sin upon Himself and dies in our place.  That’s exactly what Jesus does by reconciling us unto God when we were far from Him.  He confronts us with our brokenness and refuses to be the Jesus we want Him to be, and then He loves us with a love that surpasses our wildest imaginations.

    Do you know how broken you are?
    Do you know how unworthy you are?
    Do you know how undeserving you are?
    And do you know how loved you are?
    Do you know how accepted you are?
    Do you know the healing that is already there for you?

    When your heart comes to know the Gospel; when your heart gets captured by what Jesus accomplished for you; you grow in true humility; you submit to Him as Lord; and you find more than crumbs–you find satisfaction.  This is God’s desire for you.  This is why He sent Jesus:

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be save through Him.  Amen.

A Deep Struggle

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ¹⁰‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. ¹²I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” ¹³But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’  Luke 18:9-14

It is a deep struggle to live by grace.  A deep struggle.

As I move through this Holy Week, several things are on my mind, and they have weighed heavily:

1. I received a phone call from a local nursing home.  The activity director was, as kindly as she could possibly do it, ask me to give up part of my afternoon on Easter to lead a worship service for the residents.  Another congregation scheduled to lead worship canceled on her.  "I know it's short notice, but..." 

"I will do it," I responded.

This is not the first Easter this has happened.  Once before this same congregation had canceled on this same nursing home.  The last time it happened, I was asked again.  I remember the occasion vividly as I was lovingly and gently reminded of my calling.

You see, I was quite angry last go round.  I was quite angry that the other congregation canceled.  I was quite angry about giving up my time.  I was quite upset that I felt obligated to go and preach.  There was quite a bit of righteous indignation on my part.  My heart was not exactly in the right spot because it was all about me.

And then one of my congregation members came up to me to visit.  I told her about my impending afternoon.  She smiled at me, and she said, "Someone needs to tell those people the good news, especially on Easter."

I was floored at that moment.  I won't say that my anger completely left or that I proclaimed the Good News of Jesus' resurrection out of a joyful heart that afternoon, but I did (and do) realize the Absolute Truth of my congregation member's words.  "Someone needs to tell those people the good news, especially on Easter."  Especially since many cannot get to church.  Especially since many have indeed spent their lives worshiping.  Especially since many of their families cannot bring them to worship.  They need to hear the Gospel!  They need to hear that Christ is risen!

There was no hesitation this year when I was asked.  "They need to hear the Good News.  I will do it."  I am looking forward to it, this time with joy.

But there is still a smidgen or more of anger toward that other congregation.  There is still a bit of righteous indignation.  Am I like that Pharisee pounding his chest and saying, "Thank God I am not like that tax collector."?  Perhaps I am, and it is not good.  Not good in the least.  For I have no room to boast like that.  I have no room to think that I am doing better or my congregation is doing better.  I am not.  We are not.  It's hard not to get angry.  It's hard not to be in contempt.  It's hard not to be self-righteous.  This morning on my walk, I asked God for forgiveness, for I sorely need it.

2. A friend posted a link on Facebook to a prominent blog by Mark Sandlin.  Without going into all the details, I will let you know that I disagree most vehemently with Mr. Sandlin.  It's not the first time. 

But I was and am very curious about how well the theology Mr. Sandlin promotes is accepted in my own denomination and in my own synod.  I asked for feedback on our syond's Facebook page.  The commentary was intriguing as I found a great many of my colleagues wrestling with the idea of why Jesus had to die on the cross. 

I am a proponent of the sacrificial atonement understanding of the crucifixion/resurrection.  This understanding of the cross permeates through the New Testament writings. 

It is Matthean.
It is Markan.
It is Johannine.
It is Pauline.
It is deeply ingrained in the book of Hebrews.
It is Petrine.

The idea of Jesus' atoning sacrifice on the cross seems, in a very real way, to tie all of the biblical witness together.  From Genesis 1 to Revelation 21, the entirety can be understood with extreme clarity by looking through the lens of the cross: that Jesus lived the life we should have lived, that He died the death that we deserved; He placed his perfect righteousness upon us that we may stand before God as accepted failures--blameless though we have sinned.  This is the reason we are justified by grace through faith in Christ Jesus.  Many of us who are Protestant can recite that particular verse from memory.  Yet, what follows?  What did Paul add right away?  These words: ²⁵whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. (Romans 3:25).

As I wrestled with Sandlin's article and the responses given by my colleagues, my heart ached.  For it seemed as if we lost the centrality of that which gave us our core identity as a church--the Theology of the Cross; God's great act of salvation.  And once again, the wellspring of contempt and anger began to rise.  The wellspring of self-righteousness that "I've got it and you don't" began rearing its ugly head.

Ah, but I have no room to boast.  For I have spent the bulk of my ordained ministry failing to proclaim the Gospel.  I have spent the bulk of my ordained ministry failing to point to Jesus.  I have spent the bulk of my ordained ministry thinking Christianity was mainly about me and my actions and the actions of those who call themselves Christian instead of mainly about Jesus and His actions.  I am one, like Paul, untimely born.  I do not deserve to wear the collar or the stole.  How can I be contemptuous?  Because my heart isn't there yet.  My heart still has the Old Adam trying to pull it away from Jesus.  I asked for even more forgiveness.

For grace does not allow contempt.  Grace does not allow self-righteousness.  Grace shows definitively and demonstratively that all have sinned.  All have no right to claim moral superiority.  All have missed the mark.  All have corrupted and warped hearts.  No one is exempt.  Even those who proclaim the Gospel and know the Gospel and have a relationship with Jesus.  This is why we need a Savior.

This is why Jesus had to die.  We cannot escape being in bondage to our sin.  Someone has to free us.  Someone has to make things right.

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ.

In one way, it makes things so much easier.  I do not have to worry about justifying myself.  I do not have to worry about fulfilling the Law.  But it also makes things much harder--it means I must love those who are different from me in understanding and practice.  It means I must look at them as accepted failures as I am an accepted failure.  It means I cannot be contemptuous or self-righteous even if I believe I am right.  Indeed, it is a deep struggle.

Have mercy upon me, O Lord, a sinner!

Amen.

Intriguing Questions

Yesterday, I received some very intriguing questions from a congregation member.  They made me think quite a bit.  I answered as best as I could, but thought I'd share with you as well.  There is a lot to chew on, I think.   The questions and comments by my member are in italics--copied by permission.  My answer is in regular print.

Pastor: I just finished a book “Holocaust Survivor”. It’s a book about a young man who became a Rabbi before he was 20 years old. That was during the early part of WWII. Being a Jew he later was put into concentration camps where he was severely punished. He said that the only thing that kept him from giving up was that he believed that one day those who were dishing out the punishment would eventually be punished. He told of once when they were transported from one prison camp to another. They were put in overcrowded boxcars, shoulder-to-shoulder, standing room only. One night a lady gave birth. The baby was crying because of hunger and the severe cold. When they arrived at their destination they were hurried out of the boxcar and the baby was crying even more. One of the guards took the child by its feet and slammed its head against the side of the boxcar and that stopped its crying.

More and more I’m buying into what you are preaching. I can understand that Jesus died for that guard who slammed the child’s head against the boxcar, too. But I also believe there has to be repentance. 

For years and years we used the (ALC Service Book and Hymnal) and during the public confession part the pastor would say, “As a minister of the Church of Christ, and by his authority, I declare unto you who do truly repent and believe in him, the entire forgiveness of your sins.

“On the other hand, by the same authority, I declare onto the impenitent and unbelieving, that so long as they continue in their impenitence, God hath not forgiven their sins, and will assuredly visit their iniquities upon them, if they do not turn from their evil ways and come to true repentance and faith in Christ, ere the day of grace be ended.”

The repentance part is deeply engrained in me and it’s hard for me to understand otherwise. Most of the people I know believing like the Rabbi about the eventual punishment for our sins.
 

The repentance one is the most difficult, and I am going to have to give you a slightly nuanced answer to it.  Remember first, that we are not saved by any work that we commit--that includes repentance.  You cannot turn repentance into a work.  You just can't.  Jesus' action even overcomes our un-repentance.  My evidence: Jesus' own words from the cross, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do."   Forgiveness for an unrepentant sin.  

That being said, is the wording from the previous confession service wrong?  No.  Not in the least?  Why?  Remember, God does not condemn us to hell.  It is God's desire to save everyone.  Only those who choose separation from God receive it.  If you do not repent of your sins as someone who has been exposed to Jesus and His action, then you are purposely choosing to separate yourself from God and remain estranged from Him.  Thus, you are condemning yourself and still in your sin.  This means the confession and forgiveness spoken in the previous hymnal is only, only mind you, for those who have professed to follow Christ.  This cannot be pointed at those who are not Christian. 

(This was the end of my emailed reply.  I have a few further thoughts.)

I do believe we will somehow be held accountable for our actions, although I do not know exactly how this will take place.  I don't know if we will be made to relive the event and then feel the pain we caused.  I do not know whether or not we will stand before the Father in judgement and feel a deep sense of shame--so deep that it will inflict a terrible pain upon our hearts.  I just don't know.

But what I do know is that the punishment we deserved fell on Jesus.  That's one of the radical claims of Christianity.  We proclaim:

 "But he was wounded for our transgressions,
   crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
   and by his bruises we are healed."  Isaiah 53:5

Just as that little baby's head was crushed, so was Jesus'.  Just as the German guard deserved to have his head crushed in return; Jesus took that punishment for that guard so that the guard would receive forgiveness and be reconciled to God.  

This may be hard to accept because we like to say that one sin is greater than another.  We like to think our smaller sins do not measure up to someone bashing an infant's head against a train car, but remember, Jesus equated anger with murder!  Anytime we become angry with another, we commit murder!!

Why would Jesus equate the two?  

I think it is because they have the same root cause: a sense of superiority.  That German soldier believed he was superior to the Jews and that little baby.  Whenever we become angry, we believe we are somehow morally superior to the one who we are angry at (I would never do something like that to anyone!).   Whether it is moral, mental, or physical, the idea that we are somehow superior to another person leads us to anger, contempt, frustration, and the like.  If we have no sense of humility or shame, atrocity follows.  

This underscores the importance of grace and what Jesus did for us on the cross!  For as I have proclaimed in my sermons--passed down to me from others--the Gospel does not allow you to have any sense of moral superiority at all.  All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  All need Christ's redemption on the cross.  Big sin.  Little sin.  No matter.  It is the heart that counts, and all hearts are messed up in some way, shape or form.  

Thanks be to God for Christ's work which redeems us all! 

Also: In confirmation we were taught that gambling was a sin. Today it seems that gambling is so common place, raffles, football pots, scratch offs and casinos that most folks no longer regard that as being sinful. Where do we stand on that?

Secondly, gambling.  I do not believe the ELCA has a position on this.  I know our congregation does not.  I personally do not regard gambling as a sin as I do not believe there is any biblical law speaking out against it.  Are there other things to use one's money toward which are better than gambling?  Absolutely.  Would it be a sin for a person to gamble instead of putting food on the table?  I believe so, strongly.  Is it right for the state of Texas to have a lottery given that mostly poor people buy tickets?  I don't think it is.  There are better ways to get funds.  Again, there are no biblical prohibitions or admonitions here, but I think I would be on firm theological ground here.

Moral Superiority and Social Media

As I was reading a particular Facebook post yesterday, it occurred to me to read said post through the eyes of a complete stranger who just happened upon the conversation.  I was struck by how I read the post with such eyes--even if those eyes were a sort of guess.

I thought to myself, "Man, this poster and several of those who are responding sure do come across as holier-than-thou."  Of a possibly more fascinating note, the particular poster and many of those who responded to the post oftentimes decry "fundamentalist" Christians who believe they are somehow more morally superior than others.  Yet, I do not believe they would see themselves as being morally superior by their own actions or words.

Yet, they were.  No doubt in my mind.  And it got me thinking--particularly about many of my own posts and blogs.  And I shuddered.

I mean, I don't think, I KNOW, that many of my postings and blog posts come across in exactly the same way.  I know that of the several times I've posted on message boards, I've come across in exactly the same way.  There is no doubt in my mind I have come across thinking I am morally and intellectually superior than others.

I apologize.  I won't say it wasn't intentional, because as I think back, I am sure it was.  I wanted folks to think I was right.  I wanted folks to think I was intelligent.  I wanted folks to think that I had moral insight and superiority.  There was and still probably is a lack of humility on my part.  Again, I apologize.

But please don't think that I am backing off of any claims of truth that I have made.  I do not believe a person can live without making some sort of truth claim.  I mean, if no one makes truth claims, then all really and truly is relative.  All really and truly is socially constructed, and right and wrong is simply a matter of what society chooses it to be at any given moment in history.  If a society decides killing off a particular race or religious group is okay, there is nothing to appeal to other than brute force to stop such behavior--unless there is a truth claim honoring the basic human dignity of another.

Truth claims are important to make.   They govern our behavior, but the problem as I see it with much of social media and even blogging is a lack of humility when posting about our truth claims.  I've done it.  Someone will probably think I am doing it now.  Maybe I am.  I hope not.  I don't feel morally superior or intellectually superior to anyone while writing this post.  In fact, if we were sitting down visiting with one another, I think you would discover that very quickly.

But, we are not sitting down talking to one another.  You are reading this post.  I am writing it.  We are separated by a huge gulf.  Instead of seeing my facial expressions, reading my body language, and hearing the inflection in my voice, your brain is left to add all that stuff in.  Depending upon your mood, how you understand my stance, and your assumptions about my character, you will read this post perhaps in a very different manner than I personally intended.

This is one of the major problems with social media.  Even though it claims to connect us, it only does so superficially, and I have yet to figure out how to make truth claims without coming across as morally or intellectually superior.

I do know, in the deepest part of my heart, that coming across with any kind of moral superiority or intellectual superiority is contrary to the Gospel.  For if we are indeed saved by grace, then we cannot feel morally or intellectually superior to another.  It's an impossibility.  We know we cannot save ourselves by our morality or our intellect.  We are helpless to do so.  We are totally and completely dependent upon God for salvation.  This leads directly to humility, but that humility is so, so difficult to express through words on a screen--140 characters on Twitter--even in the short amount of space in this blog post.  Even in large tomes read over e-readers or on old-fashioned paper humility is hard to see.

I am not sure what the answer really is.  In this digital age with the entrapment of social media, I wonder if we are left to divide ourselves further and alienate one another more and more because of an inability to come across humbly AND the way our brains intentionally fill in information that cannot be seen.  I wonder if it is possible to entertain claims of truth over social media without coming across as morally and intellectually superior.  I just don't know.

It is my hope, after seeing the things that I saw, that somehow, my words presented on Facebook and through blogging may express my convictions without coming across as haughty.  My apologies if they do. 

Striving for Perfection

    As per the church-wide email I sent out this past week, I need your help this morning as we begin into this sermon.  I asked everyone to consider what a perfect congregation might look like.  What are its character traits?  What are the things it does?  If you would, please share some of your thoughts this morning.  Those of you who did not get this email, please, off the tops of your heads, share your thoughts about what character traits the “perfect” church has and what things such a church would do.

(Other notables from the first service responses: freedom to express one's view without judgement; people pray for each other [response from a 9 year old], people listen to the contributions of youth; outreach oriented; no quarreling)

    O.K. So, these are the character traits and actions that those of us who are gathered here this morning see in a perfect congregation.  There might be a few more that we could add, but let’s say that this indeed represents a perfect congregation.  Now, let me ask you this: if this represents a perfect congregation, are there such things as perfect congregations around?  Has there ever been a congregation which in actuality meets this vision?

    Did you say no?  I’d be flabbergasted if you said yes.  You and I know there is no such thing as a perfect church or a perfect congregation.  You and I know that sin pervades every aspect of our lives here on this planet and is inescapable.  You and I know perfection is an unattainable reality until we pass the threshold of death.  This is something we cognitively know.  And so I must ask, if we know that we cannot reach perfection, why do we have a vision of it?  Why does such a vision even exist?  I mean if we can’t attain it, why even bother to think about it?

    Last Sunday, our Gospel lesson began with these words from Matthew Chapter 5, Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.”  Jesus then shows what it means to be more righteous than the scribes and the Pharisees.  “You have heard it said to those of ancient times, you shall not murder.  But I tell you if you are angry with a brother or sister, you are liable to judgment...You have heard it said to those of ancient times you shall not commit adultery.  But I tell you if you look at a woman with lust in your heart you have committed adultery with her.  You have heard it said you may write a woman a certificate of divorce.  But I tell you if you divorce a woman you cause her to commit adultery and if you marry a woman who has been divorced you commit adultery.  You have heard it said do not swear falsely, but I say do not swear at all, by heaven, by earth, or by Jerusalem.  Let your word be yes, yes or no, no.  Anything else comes from the evil one.”

    Today, Jesus finishes out His sayings about true righteousness.  It doesn’t get any easier.  “You have heard it said an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth, but I say if someone strikes you on the right cheek, offer them your left also.  Give your shirt as well as your cloak.  Go the extra mile.  You have heard it said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say love your enemy and bless those who persecute you so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven.  Be perfect even as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

    There you have it.  This is true righteousness.  Perfection.  Just as God is perfect, you be perfect as well.  This concludes Jesus’ vision of what it means to be truly righteous.  As I said last time, true righteousness consists of having one’s heart in complete and total alignment with God’s heart.  True righteousness is a heart condition for out of one’s heart comes anger and lust and failure to commit and fear of saying simply yes, yes or no, no.  Out of the heart comes the desire for revenge and retribution.  Out of the heart comes the desire to hate one’s enemy.  Only a changed heart can defeat such things.  Only a heart that is completely and totally oriented toward God and toward what is good can accomplish what Jesus says in this Sermon on the Mount.

    And as I said last Sunday, so I say again.  We cannot do it.  We cannot willingly make ourselves good.  There is a part of us which seeks our own self-interest.  There is a part of us which continually seeks to take care of our own selves and those closest to us at the expense of others.  There is a part of us which puts our own ego; our own righteousness over others and sees others as less than us.  This part is constantly in rebellion against God and is constantly unleashing all those things Jesus warns us against.

    You know this.  You see it all the time.  You participate in it.  We all do.  None of us can escape it.  So if this is the case...  If we know we continue to have these things come out of our hearts despite our best efforts...  If indeed our righteousness cannot ever exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees and then therefore we cannot ever enter the Kingdom of heaven...then what’s the point?  If we cannot achieve perfection, then why does Jesus set it as the goal?

    I think there are at least two very good reasons for this.  The first reason is one I have articulated before, and it comes from sports.  The record holder for the highest career batting average is held by Ty Cobb.  His career batting average was, get this .366.  This meant, he got a hit generally 1 out of every three times he came to bat.  Mind you, he didn’t hit a home run every time he came to the plate–even though that would be the ideal.  He didn’t get on base every time he came to the plate to bat–even that would have been awesome.  He didn’t even get on base half the time he came to bat.  36% of the time he came to bat, he got on base.  And he’s in the baseball Hall of Fame.  Can you imagine giving a child a pat on the back for making a 36 on a test?  Yet, that’s what folks did with Ty Cobb.  They applauded him for his efforts.

    Now, do you think Ty became disgusted with the way he played by batting .366 for his career?  Do you think he became disgusted with himself because he couldn’t hit a home run every time he came up to bat?  Do you think he thought of quitting baseball because he wasn’t able to get on base every time he went to the plate to face a pitcher?  No.  Of course he didn’t because there was always the chance to hit the home run.  There was always the chance of achieving a little piece of perfection.  There was the goal, dangling out there begging to be reached.  Generally, we can approach humankind in a couple of fashions.  We can set the bar low, and believe me, folks will reach it and then stop.  Or, we can set the bar high and just see how close people come to reaching it.  One of these ways will unlock greater potential.  One of them won’t.  I’ll let you decide.

    The other reason for setting perfection as a goal is a little different.  It isn’t about unleashing potential–it’s about keeping a person humble.  You see, if God is the only one who can be perfect, and perfection is the only way to achieve true righteousness–true holiness, then I can never be holy on my own.  I can never be righteous on my own.  I will never reach the pinnacle of perfection.   Every time I try to reach it, I will fail.  By my own efforts I can never achieve it.  If I realize this, where does this leave me?  Where do I end up if I know I cannot achieve what is required of me?  Well, I will probably give up.  If it is something I want badly enough, I will probably get depressed and angry.  I will probably shake my fist and have tears well up in my eyes because I cannot get what I desire so badly.  And then I resign myself to my failure.  At this point, and only at this point am I willing to acknowledge my need for help.  At this point, God usually reveals to us something wonderful:

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that the world may be saved through Him.

    My achieving righteousness does not depend upon my work but on God’s work.  My holiness does not come about because I am superhumanly good, but it comes about because Christ is superhumanly good.  My salvation depends not on my righteousness but on Christ’s righteousness.  Only in my humility can I recognize this. 

    When perfection is the goal, when the bar is set high, we reach for it and are challenged by it.  When perfection is the goal, we are humbled by it and recognize our need for grace.  We may never be perfect people.  We may never be a perfect congregation, but we need that vision before us to challenge us, to humble us, and to help us live God’s Word daily. Amen.

Religion Versus Grace

    When I was in first grade, I didn’t have any of my closest friends in my homeroom class.  This made life particularly difficult at lunch since I didn’t have anyone really to cut up with and talk to at the lunch table.  I longed for a friend to share that time with.  I don’t know if Jimmy picked up on my desires or if it was something else, but one day, as he sat across from me, he said, “Kevin, I will be your friend...if...if you give me your dessert.”

    You see, when I was in first grade, I wasn’t necessarily enthusiastic about eating in the cafeteria too often.  My mom fixed me a lunch most of the time.  There was always a sandwich and some chips, and for dessert, I usually had one of the several varieties of Little Debbie snack cakes.  For the early months of first grade, this was usually enough to satisfy my hunger easily, and to begin with, I felt like I could spare the calories.  I wanted a friend, badly, so I gave up my dessert.

    Each day, I’d give Jimmy my dessert, and each day he’d proclaim his friendship of me.  But then there came a day...  Yes, then there came a day when my stomach cried out in hunger.  I was a growing boy, and I had played to my heart’s content at recess, and I wanted to eat my dessert.  “Jimmy, I am really, really hungry today.  I really, really want to eat my dessert.”

    “But then I won’t be your friend.”

    “But I’m hungry.”

    “I won’t be your friend.”

    I thought for just a few moments.  I desperately wanted a friend, but I was hungry.  As I thought, I also came to the conclusion that I was tired of giving Jimmy my desserts. 

    “I’m going to eat my dessert.”

    “I’m not your friend.”

    And so it is with much of life.  For the most part, if we want to receive anything, we have to pay a price for it.  If we want a particular item in the store, we have to pay money.  If we want a good paying job, we have to pay to go to school or spend years climbing the corporate ladder.  If we want to be respected by others, we have to accumulate wealth or wisdom.  If we want to be loved, we have to show love to another.  There always seems to be strings attached–with a price tag–for things and for relationships.  Some even extend this particular aspect of human life to our relationship with God.

    The thinking goes, “If I want God to love me, then I have to be obedient to Him.  If I want to get God’s attention, then I have to do the things He commands me to do.”  This is what is at the heart of what many people in our society today consider religion.  If I am obedient, then I will get the blessings. 

    If I believe enough in God and trust God enough, He will bring me wealth.

    If I pray a certain amount each day, my sickness will be healed.

    If I put enough in the offering plate, the Lord will multiply it 10 fold.

    If I work hard enough for justice, the Kingdom of God will come to earth.

    If I use my prophetic voice and speak against wealth and privilege, then people will see how radical faith is and flock to church.

    If we do the right things, then we will experience the blessings.  Do you see how this supposedly works?

    In many congregations today, our first lesson will be read, and many will pick up on the final verse read.  I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this verse repeated by colleagues who are focused almost completely on the concept of justice, “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”  Micah 6:8 This is what the Lord requires of us, and we have to do it!  All the focus and attention will go here, and many will begin proclaiming their vision of what it means to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.  Many will talk about feeding the hungry, combating systemic poverty and racism, and treating others with kindness and respect.

    These are not bad things in and of themselves.  In fact, these things are indeed part of the Christian walk.  These are things we are called to do, but because our society today is so biblically illiterate, they come to think that this is what faith is all about–they come to think faith is about what we do, and they miss something so precious, so central, so important to what it means to be a believer in God and a follower of Jesus Christ.

    So much attention will be drawn to Micah 6:8 that Micah 6:3-5 will oftentimes be overlooked.  “O my people, what have I done to you?  In what have I wearied you? Answer me!  4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.  5 O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised, what Balaam son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the Lord.”

    What is going on here?  Why are these verses so important?  They show us God’s actions toward Israel.
They show us what God has done for the people:

    1. He delivered them from Egypt and the house of slavery.

    2. God sent them leaders who gave them law and order.

    3. God delivered them from King Balak when Balak ordered Balaam to curse them.  God appeared to Balaam and prevented this from happening. 

    4. God gave them the land from Shittim to Gilgal and helped them conquer it, aiding Israel against their enemies.

    In each of these instances, God blessed His people.  God freed them, supported them, guided them, and established them.  God showered His blessings down upon them time and time again, and it is only after the blessings that the words are uttered, “what then does God require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.” 

    The blessings come first, obedience follows.

    That is the tremendous difference between religion and grace.  Religion says, “Do this and you will be blessed.  Be obedient, and you will receive blessings.”  Grace says, “You are accepted, now do this.  You are blessed, then be obedient.”  Religion requires someone to work toward God and emphasizes our actions.  Grace celebrates what God has done and then asks for a response to what God has done. 

    And what has God done?  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but so that the world may be saved through Him.

    The grace and mercy of God was poured out for all of us on the cross where Jesus hung and died to redeem us from our sin.  On that cross, God paid the price for healing broken relationships, and three days later, God showed us the promise of eternal life.  Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has opened the kingdom of Heaven to all who are brought to faith by His Spirit.  God has revealed and given His blessings to each and every one of us, and He didn’t even ask for even as much as our dessert before giving it to us. 

    These are the blessings of God showered down each and every one of us.  Grace.  Pure and simple.  And how will we respond?  Will we seek obedience?  Is God’s mercy and grace and sacrifice enough to cause us to seek to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God?   Sure.  At least it should be.  And it is definitely a part of how we Live God’s Word Daily.  Amen.

Being Humbled

One of the most influential videos I have watched recently is a speech Timothy Keller gave on doing evangelism in a postmodern/post-Christian context.  Amongst the many important things he says in his presentation, a very important topic arises at the 1:01:00 mark: humility.

Keller argues that for Christians to truly make an impact in our society today, we must be humbled before God so that God can actually use us.

Keller draws from Jonah and then again from St. Paul--God's power is made manifest in our weakness.  Essentially, it boils down to one particular facet: we will not be effective communicators of the Gospel if we think we somehow are morally, intellectually, faithfully, or what have you better than others.  If we somehow think we are Super-Christians, we will not be effective in doing effective evangelism in this day and age.

Sure, I know there is a strain of Christianity which gets a lot of attention--the prosperity gospel folks--you know, the folks who teach that if one is faithful enough; gives enough; does just the right amount of things; then God will bless them with health, wealth, and wisdom.  These folks get plenty of air time because they have the funds available to get their message out there, and their teaching garners plenty of attention.  Yet, in all reality, they are very much a minority in the Christian landscape.  They attract a number of people, but not an overwhelming amount.  There are always folks attracted to "Superpreachers."

But those numbers will dwindle.  When those "Superpreachers" are shown to have clay feet, their flocks disperse.  It has happened before.  It will happen again.

But it's not just with the "Superpreachers."  It's also with the "SuperChristians."  When I post this label, I am caricaturing--which is not necessarily helpful, but somewhat necessary in this case.  What do I mean by "SuperChristians?"  Those Christians who willfully try to tell everyone just exactly how to live their lives; what everyone should do; what everyone should say.

Yours truly was there not too long ago.  In some ways, I'm still there, although I've received a major jolt--although I'm not sure whether or not it was God's way of humbling me completely.  There may still be more to come.

Before I went through burnout, I thought it was my job to tell folks what they should be doing.  "You've got to be a disciple!  You've got to make things happen in your life!  You've got to treat your neighbor in a certain fashion!  You've got to walk a certain moral standard!  You've got to try and implement the teachings of Jesus!  You've got to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God!"  Yeah, I did that.  I even tried it, and I failed.  My clay feet crumbled when I had worked diligently to lead my congregation through a decision made at the national church level.  I wanted to avoid losing members over the ordeal.  I wanted to keep folks from feeling like they couldn't worship with others who disagreed with them.  I tried to carry the congregation through it and keep them together.  Didn't work.  Within a short period of time, we lost several folks who I had spent a lot of time and energy working with.  The effect brought me to my knees. 

It's taken quite a bit of time to find healing, and that healing coincided with a hefty dose and reminder of the reality of grace. 

I know now it is not my job to hold a congregation together.
It's not my job to make people behave.
It's not my job to make people do the things Jesus called us to do.
It's not my job to make people put money in the offering plate.
It's not my job to tell people what they should or should not say.

It is my job to proclaim the Gospel.
It is my job to tell folks what God has done for them.
It is my job to imitate Christ to the best of my ability--even though I fall far short.
It is my job while imitating Christ to show His love to others even when I disagree with them.
It is my job to stop trying to think I have more wisdom, more morality, more insight into what it means to live the perfect life and instead simply know Christ crucified.

If people hear the Gospel and understand God's love for them, then the rest follows.  I do not believe people will hear the Gospel if I stand before them and say, "Be like me.  I'm doing it right." 

I do believe people hear, "I'm broken.  Don't look to me.  Look to Christ.  His grace is sufficient for you just like it is sufficient for me."

Do You Have Itchy Ears? (Like Me?)

    There is a story I have told in a sermon before, but I believe it bears repeating in light of our lessons this morning:   

    A retired preacher went back to visit a town in which he once served.  Sitting down in the local café, he recognized on of his former parishioners.  The preacher called out, “Hi, Bob, how are things at the church?”

    Bob recognizing the preacher from years ago replied, “Hello Reverend.  Actually, I don’t know how things are at the church anymore.  I don’t go there.”

    This surprised the pastor.  Bob had been a pillar of the congregation when he left.  Bob had served as congregation president; he taught Bible study; he was a mentor to several youth; he attended almost every single Sunday; and he was a steady and generous contributor.  The fact that Bob no longer went to church there rocked the pastor to the core.  “May I ask what happened?” the pastor said.

    Bob didn’t hesitate, “Well, Reverend, I hate to say it, but Satan raised dissension in our midst.  Some folks just stopped believing the appropriate things, so half of us got up and started our own church.”

    The pastor replied, “I am truly sorry to hear that.  How are things going at that church?”

    Bob replied, “I don’t know.  You would think that we would be able to agree on everything, but it didn’t happen.  Satan’s reach is long, and before you know it, a group of us had to leave again.  About six couples started gathering in our homes to listen to God’s Word.”

    The pastor then said, “And did you find peace in that small group?”

    “No,” Bob said.  “Before long my wife and I had to leave that group as they were not true to the Word or to doctrine.  We began worshiping together on Sunday’s alone.”

    The pastor replied, “I take it then, that this has brought you spiritual peace?”

    And Bob said, “Nope, before long, things went south again.  I worship on the east side of the house, and my wife worships on the west side.”

    Yes, it is funny, and it probably is funny because it has a bit of truth within it.  For in many ways, this story illustrates the religious backdrop that is the United States of America–particularly the church.  We literally have thousands of denominations in the U.S. and hundreds of thousands of churches, and many of them have come about in exactly the fashion this story presents to us.  They have split over disagreements and doctrines, and more often than not, our second lesson which we heard this morning is used as justification for those splits.

    In case you missed it, I’d like to refresh it in our minds.  Please take a listen to what St. Paul tells Timothy: 16All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: 2proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. 3For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, 4and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.

    Usually, folks use this text as a weapon to basically say, “All scripture is inspired by God, and you are not taking scripture seriously. You have itchy ears and are leaving sound doctrine.  We have no choice but to break away and hold onto the right, pure doctrine.”  It’s always the other person who has the problem.  It’s always those people out there who are wrong.  It’s always the other guy who has itchy years, and it’s definitely not me.

    Of course, that’s the attitude; however I think it’s mistaken.  In fact, I’d submit to you this morning, my brothers and sisters, that each and every one of us have itchy ears.  I’d submit that each and every one of us have our own particular understandings and core convictions, and we like those things affirmed and stroked.  I’d submit that each and every one of us do not like having those convictions challenged, and we are often content to surround ourselves with people who believe exactly as we believe and do the things we like to do.

    That’s an extremely easy thing to do in our technological age.  I mean, how many of you have ever deleted someone off your Facebook list because they embrace a particular ideology and keep harping on it?  Guilty as charged here.  In this day folks are more than happy to announce their particular philosophy and theology, and many of them put this stuff on Youtube.  It’s easy to search around on there until you find folks who agree with your point of view and keep listening to them and have them reinforce your beliefs instead of being challenged by others.  It’s easy to frequent certain websites who give a particular slant to the news and avoid others which give you a different perspective on an event.

    Before you know it, you can end up completely isolated–never challenged.  And if you are challenged, say for instance, you don’t like what I say in the sermon this morning, you can head out of here turn on the television or get on the internet.  In a matter of moments you can find another preacher like Joel Osteen who will tell you the things you want to hear.  It’s that simple.

    And of course, such isolation leads to division.  We have only to look at what happened the past few weeks in Washington D.C. to see evidence of this.  Two sides which are completely entrenched decide to play games with the American people.  They are completely isolated and refuse to consider a different point of view.  Not only does it divide the capital-it divides the nation; and, instead of a place that seeks to be different from society, the Church oftentimes reflects society.  We become embroiled in division as well.

    And what do we fight about?  Interestingly enough, when you sit down and think about it, we don’t often fight about sound doctrine.  Instead, we fight about what we are supposed to DO; how we are supposed to live out the Christian faith.  How does this look?  Well, it can be a battle over what color to paint the building.  Some churches fight over whether or not it is okay to put artificial flowers on the altar or if real ones need to be used.  Churches fight about who can serve as a pastor–if a certain gender is allowed or not or if a person of a particular sexual orientation can serve.  Some fight about how a church cares for the poor–should they help without question or should someone work before they eat.  Others fight about how the church engages politics–should they lobby government and force government to promote Christian values, should the church remain separate and apart from government completely, or somewhere in between.

    All of these battles are focused on the law.  They are not focused on doctrine.  Now, the law is very important.  There is no doubt about that.  It helps us tremendously in teaching us how we ought to live.  It serves as a guide as to what is right and what is wrong.  It also teaches us and confronts us with our sinfulness.  Most of you know the Big Ten, and I’m not talking about the football conference.  You know the 10 Commandments: I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before me; you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, honor your father and mother, remember the Sabbath and keep it holy, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet your neighbor’s property or his wife and so on.  You know Jesus’ commands, “If you look at a woman with lust in your heart, you have committed adultery.  If you have anger toward your brother, you are committing murder.  When you fed the least of these my brothers, you fed me.”  We need the law, but we cannot follow it completely.

    And that is important.  Very important.  None of us can completely measure up to what the law demands.  None of us can follow every detail.  It’s an impossibility.  If we were able to follow it, we wouldn’t need a Savior.  Jesus would not have had to die.  As that most famous quote from the Gospel of John says, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world may be saved through Him.”

    We call this grace.  And in my estimation, this is the sound doctrine from which we turn away from.  When we focus on the law, we divide ourselves to exclusion; however, if we focus on grace, a very different dynamic occurs.  When I realize that I am totally dependent upon God for my salvation, I am humbled.  I no longer see myself as the be all and end all when it comes to knowing and practicing the faith of Jesus.  And when I look at another person, I come to understand that other person needs Jesus just as much as I do.  Therefore, I cannot see that other person as an enemy, as an opponent, or someone doomed to hell because he or she does not believe as I believe.  Instead, I see that person as a brother, a sister, a member of my family–whether I like that person or not.

    And when a group of people gather together inspired by grace, they can come together regardless of differences and work and worship together.  In this manner, they change society instead of mirror it.  And that, my brothers and sisters, is Living God’s Word Daily.  Amen.

Where is Grace?

(Trying the video thing once again.  For those who wish to simply read, continue below.)

    During my senior year of college, my roommate and I went camping in Perdernales Falls State Park.  We enjoyed a couple of days of hiking around and enjoying the hill country scenery.  On the second morning of our stay, we hiked around one of the “mountain” trails–actually, it was more of a hill.  As we hiked along the main trail, I saw a narrow pathway heading toward the woods.  On a whim, I took this branch.  My roommate wasn’t exactly thrilled about getting off the main trail, but I said, “Let’s just see where this leads.”

    We walked around a few cedar trees and came upon a small creek.  As this creek made its way down the hill, it had eroded into three small waterfalls.  The falls had eaten into the rock and formed three pools a couple of feet deep each.  The clear, cold, spring water had turned various shades of green, blue, and dark blue.  The red and white of the rock added further color to this sight.  The color and chuckling of the water made the place overwhelmingly peaceful, and we sat there for several minutes before carrying on.  We actually traveled up the creek, and in about 75 yards, we intersected the main trail once again.

    At this point, I wondered to myself, “Why is it the main trail diverges so far away from this little piece of heaven?  Why isn’t that little side trail marked on the map?  Aren’t people being deprived of seeing this little piece of beauty–especially if they simply stick to the main path?”

    I mean, I know there is something to be said for staying on the main path–taking the same road everyone takes–following where the crowd has gone before.  For the most part, it’s safe.  For the most part, there are others traveling along the way who can help you out if you get in trouble.  For the most part, the path is usually the easiest to follow as it is well marked and generally avoids the most troublesome spots.  There is nothing necessarily wrong with following the well marked path.

    But the marked path does not always lead you to the places of utmost beauty.  The marked path does not always lead you to the places of tranquility and peace.  The marked path may get you to the end faster, but it does not always guarantee you arriving in the state which is best for you.

    Jesus makes no bones about the fact that Christians are not called to walk on the main path.  We are not called to go through the wide door.  We are to intentionally seek out and find the more narrow paths–the more narrow doors as we grow in faith and seek to serve God.

    In our Gospel lesson, Jesus is asked, “Will just a few be saved?”

    Jesus responds, “24‘Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. 25When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, “Lord, open to us”, then in reply he will say to you, “I do not know where you come from.” 26Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” 27But he will say, “I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!” 28There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. 29Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. 30Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.’”

    In some ways, this teaching is very troublesome for certain people.  Jesus here makes no bones about the fact that some people will be left outside the door knocking and begging to come in.  There will be some people seeing the great saints in the Kingdom of God, and they will weep and gnash their teeth while seeing them.  Even more frustrating to those who are left outside is the fact that they knew the Lord.  “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets!”

    And the Lord’s reply is curt and cuts to the bone, “I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!”

    Now, the temptation here is to try and label those who are the evildoers.  The temptation here is to find a group that fits that description.  And of course, when we label that group, it will not include us.  It will be them and those people who have the problem.  It will be that group that has to worry about what Jesus is saying.  It certainly can’t be us–no, not at all.

    I would caution us very strongly against doing such a thing.  Because whenever we label ourselves as the “in” group and those others as the “out” group, we find ourselves butting up against Jesus’ next statement, “Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God.”  And listen to this, “Indeed some who are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

    Some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.  Whenever we start labeling such things and putting ourselves first, we might just find ourselves bringing up the rear.  We might just find ourselves on the outside looking in.  We might just find ourselves weeping and gnashing our teeth.  It’s not a pleasant thought.  Not at all.

    At this point, at least with me, the question then becomes–what is the narrow door?  What does it mean to seek out the narrow door?  How is it possible to enter through that door, and where is grace in this whole process?

    I believe the concept of grace is important here–very important. I think we must remember that Jesus didn’t speak these words in a vacuum.  In fact, these words are surrounded by others which I think help shed some important light on this teaching and help us understand it much, much better.

    I would like to invite you to turn in your Bibles again this morning to Luke chapter 14.  In our gospel lesson, Jesus ends with those who will be eating in the Kingdom of God, and just a few verses later, He fleshes that out more fully.  Let’s begin reading Luke 14 verse 7

    7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’
    12 He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’

    Notice the humility Jesus calls his followers to display.  Notice the narrow door He sends them through.  No one would have thought to act in this manner during the time Jesus spoke these words.  Everyone wanted prestige and self-aggrandizement, but Jesus says, don’t seek it.  Instead, be humble.

    This is a consequence of grace.  For if we believe that God is responsible for our salvation–that it does not come from anything we do–then we do not become self-righteous.  We do not think that we have all the answers.  We do not think we are above everyone else.  We do not think we have any sort of special privilege because we know Jesus.  Because Christianity isn’t necessarily about knowing Jesus–those left out of the door knew Jesus–Christianity is about being known by Jesus.  And those who are known by Jesus do not point to themselves and the way they act or behave.  Instead, they point to Jesus.  Because it is in Jesus that we find Grace.  It is in Jesus that we find mercy.  It is in Jesus that we find the narrow path and the narrow door.  Amen.

The Opposite of Faith is...

I'm really starting to get sick of this postmodern world we live in.

Really.

I mean, it has become perfectly acceptable to redefine years of history and tradition and meaning in regards to particular words, phrases and beliefs simply by using rhetorical sleight of hand.

I've pointed out one such dastardly redefining in regards to those who proclaim "The opposite of love is not hate but apathy."  No.  The opposite of love is hate.  Period--no matter how one tries to argue to the contrary.

The latest: The opposite of faith is not doubt but certainty.

There's a (ahem!) wonderful article seeking to argue just this trite little snippet in this month's Lutheran Magazine.  I'm not sure what's worse--the article, or the fact that the magazine chose to print it.  Now, the author does indeed provide an argument which sounds nice and sweet and sappy: the idea that seeking certainty in doctrine and practice has caused division and strife, and if we would just set all that aside and focus on loving one another, all that stuff would just go away.

Well, what does this guy base this assertion on?

He bases it on the certainty that loving one another will cure such ills--but that is actually beside the point.  There's a deeper theological issue at stake--the author's interpretation of Hebrews 11:1:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Pertinent quotes:

That seems to allow some leeway on the finality on many of our opinions.  I add to this God's words in Job 38 and following.  "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?...Who has the wisdom to number the clouds?"  Then God's comment is one we need to take to heart, "Surely you know."

It ranks with Jesus' "You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times...but I say to you..."  (Matthew 5:33-34).  The ancient prophet states it this way: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord."  (Isaiah 55:8)

Is this not a call to humility?  Don't these approaches to our rigidity encourage us to lighten up in our certainties?  A theologian has boldly stated, "The opposite of faith is not doubt but certainty."  When we speak as if in ultimate certainty, we are proudly declaring, "I'm right, you are wrong."  We then should remember God's words to Isaiah and to Job and Jesus' words to the Pharisees.

Aside from the horrendous removal of context of these words from Scripture to prove an ideological point, let's first deal with the assumption that Hebrews 11 allows us "some leeway on the finality on many of our opinions."

First off, I don't read opinion in the statement from the writer of Hebrews.  Not at all.  In fact, I see vastly different words:  assurance and conviction.  Assurances and convictions are much more than opinions.  If I have an opinion that God exists, then such a statement is simply a matter of choice.  Believe or not believe--there is little difference between one who does and who does not.

But this is not the case--at all.  A conviction is something much more than an opinion.  It is something much deeper which resides within one's heart and soul.  It is something that links to the core of one's identity and being.  It is not easily renounced or given up.

In Hebrews 11, Christians are encouraged to live with the assurance and conviction that God exists, that Christ is risen from the dead even though they have no visible proof or evidence of such matters.  They are to live their lives following Christ with conviction and hopeful assurance that though the surrounding culture acts one particular way, they are called to a different way of life--a way of life that may face ridicule and even persecution.  This is no simple matter of opinion--it is a matter of living with the certainty of belief in Jesus Christ--a belief and faith which has consequences in life.

Perhaps the quintessential text in showing this is Jesus' meeting with doubting Thomas found in John 20.  In this resurrection story, Thomas doubts that Jesus is raised from the dead.  Jesus eventually reveals Himself to Thomas and saysto him, "Do not doubt but believe."  Now, knowing just a smidge of Greek is important in this matter.  The Greek for faith is pistis.  Funny thing about Greek is that when it wants to show the opposite of something, it simply adds an "a" in front.  So, the opposite of faith in the Greek is apistis.  So, let's do a little bit of word play with this particular saying of Jesus--please remember the context of the statement in John 20.

Jesus says to Thomas, "Do not have certainty, but believe."

Does that even make the slightest bit of sense given the context?  I didn't think so, but there are more than a few who will buy this "wonderful" argument regarding certainty as the opposite of faith.

It's not surprising given the world we live in which seeks relativism instead of Truth.

Oh, but the whole right/wrong thing.  Yeah.  That's really what the author is trying to get at.  The idea that certainty leads to self-righteousness.  Well, let me put just a slight bug in this guy's ear.

If he were really certain that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, the resurrected Lord, the second person of the Trinity, then all he need do is point to just a few of Jesus' statements:

Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:4)

All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.  (Matthew 23:12)

I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’ (Luke 18:14)

Or this little snippet or two from Paul:

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. (Romans 12:16)

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)

Dealing with right/wrong does not necessarily lead to self-righteousness.  Certainty does not necessarily lead to self-righteousness, especially when actually following Christ's commands and the teachings revealed in Scripture.  In fact, when implemented, they actually lead to humility.

Yet, despite this, there are those who wish to push for redefinition and further movement from orthodox Christian faith.

I am beginning to detest this postmodern world.

Missing the Mark

I will return to the questions raised in my blog posts the last two days sometime next week.  For today, perhaps something a little lighter.

I have become a dead shot.

I do not say this as a statement of pride or arrogance.  In fact, until very recently, I wasn't exactly the most confident shot or a very good shooter at all.  There are probably a lot of reasons for that which I will not go into here.  But after purchasing a new rifle, equipping it with a pretty good scope, and firing a whole lot of rounds through it, the results are coming in:

With an appropriate rest, I can put a bullet where it needs to be with very little variation.  The last four times I've gone pig hunting, I've managed to drop three pigs each shot right behind the ear.  Previous to this, I hadn't hit a pig right in the head like that at all.  Something has happened to help me hit the mark and hit that mark on a regular basis.

I think the biggest thing is becoming consistent.  When practicing, I finally found a method which allows me to consistently hold the gun in exactly the same manner, aim in exactly the same manner, and pull the trigger in exactly the same manner.  I don't think I've always been so consistent.   And now that I have figured out how to bring the same method of the gun range into the deer stand, the results are fabulous!

Well...

Almost.

You see, I've pulled the trigger on four pigs and bagged three.  Last night, I missed the mark.

I saw a monster boar.  He weighed anywhere from 350 to 400 lbs.  When he came out, I figured he was going to head to the feeder, and I'd get a shot at him there, but I was wrong.  He started circling well behind the feeder, and he turned to head toward the woods at the far end of the property.  I didn't want him to get away, so I steadied my gun, rested it perfectly, aimed, and the pulled the trigger.

BOOM!

I saw dust kick up right behind the pig and a very startled pig take off running like a bullet.

"WTH?" I thought to myself.  "How did I miss that?  Is my gun off?  Did I jump?"

The pig ran off toward another stand at the place where I hunt, so I jumped out of the blind and headed to the other stand.  After several minutes, I arrived only to see another group of pigs heading back toward my previous spot.  And, since I saw no sign of the giant boar, I headed back to the previous stand. 

I came out into the clearing and there were nearly 30 pigs under the feeder!  I was 30 yards from the stand, and I thought, "They'll probably see me and take off."  But they didn't.  I managed to get back in the stand.  Set up my shooting bag, and get perfectly situated to get off another shot.  There was only one problem: with so many pigs running around, I couldn't get a very good head shot.  I had to wait 2 or 3 minutes before finally getting the right shot.

BOOM!

Pig down.  Walking up to it--dead shot right behind the ear.

Nothing wrong with the gun.  Nothing wrong with the scope.  Nothing wrong with the rest.  Nothing wrong with the shooter.  Why did I miss earlier?

As best as I can figure, the darn pig ducked his head just as I was squeezing off the trigger.  The bullet just sailed over his head, and I missed the mark.

Now, for some theology:

One may think one is doing everything correctly.  One might think one is a dead shot.  One might become arrogant and overconfident that one hits the target every time.  But no one hits it every time.  All sorts of circumstances come into play which lead one to miss the mark.  And it really doesn't matter whose "fault" it is for missing.  One still misses.  There is no such thing as perfection.

But it is demanded.  Luckily, I am not in a situation where I needed the meat from that first pig, but if I were, I just lost the opportunity to feed me and my family for a while.  I just lost the opportunity to rid this area of another animal which has become a major nuisance.  Missing is unacceptable.

Just like sin.  One of the traditional understandings of sin is to miss the mark.  It's something we all do no matter how much of a dead shot we think we are.  Sure, we might think we hit the target perfectly from time to time, but sometimes we just think we're doing well until we find ourselves in a situation where there are quite a few things out of our control.  Then, we miss the mark.  And if we live in a world where things are always changing--where there are things that are always out of our control, we will miss the mark often and a lot.  Even if you think you are a dead shot, you'd better be humble because you will miss--guaranteed.

And this is why I am thankful for God's forgiveness and grace.  Missing isn't the end of the world.  There's another chance to take aim and fire.  And perhaps this time, you'll hit dead center.

"They Glorified God Because of Me"

    Paul was no friend of the early church.  He freely admits this.  In fact, Paul admits that he violently persecuted the church.  We have further witness of this from Luke’s account in the book of Acts when Luke tells us about the first martyr of the church, Stephen.

    Stephen proclaimed the gospel, and he upset quite a few folks.  Rather than backtrack on what he proclaimed, he pushed the envelope, and he was stoned.  There was a young man who looked after the cloaks of those who were stoning Stephen, and that young man was named Saul, who would later become Paul.  This same Saul had obtained permission to head to Damascus and arrest Christians there when an extraordinary event took place that changed his life, but more about that later.

    Paul grew up as a Pharisee, and by his own account, he was a very good one.  He was the modern day equivalent of the churchman who went to church every Sunday rain or shine; who gave 10% of his offering to the church; who went to Bible study on Sunday and Wednesday night; who contributed to every fund-raiser and who served on the church council.  But I think perhaps it went even further than that because Paul calls himself blameless according to the law.  This means, Paul ate the right foods, washed his hands at the right times, wore the right clothing, prayed at the right times and associated with the right people.  The Jewish faith was not something Paul simply talked about and practiced when it suited him; no.  The Jewish faith was something he lived to the nth degree.

    Paul was so absorbed into the Jewish faith that it literally was his life.  And he was not happy about anything that would threaten his beloved faith.  When word started being spread that a group of people dared to say that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah who was raised from the dead, Paul knew this posed a threat.  It was obvious to him this was a lie.  The Jewish people were not free from their enemies.  Rome still occupied Israel.  God had not reestablished the Jewish monarchy as no descendant of David sat on the throne.  And indeed, no one could be raised from the dead.  Once a person was dead, that person was dead–no return from that state.  Despite all the evidence, this movement was attracting followers.  His fellow Jews were converting and becoming Christian, and this was troubling.  How could people follow this lie?  How could people desert the truth of the Jewish faith and say Jesus is the resurrected Lord and Messiah?  It did not make sense to him.  It was obviously false...and a threat.  The movement had to be countered.

    And Paul was all to happy to oblige.  The same drive that made him work to perfection drove him to persecute the early church.  He strove to find followers of Jesus and have them arrested.  His zealous pursuit and defense of the Jewish faith won admirers in high places, so when Paul heard about the church taking root in Damascus, he asked for and received permission to persecute the church there.  Armed with arrest warrants, he headed out.

    And that is when his life was changed.  In an instant.  In the blink of an eye.  A light appeared, and a voice spoke, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

    “Who are you?” Saul responded.

    “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.”

    Paul had encountered the Living Lord, and it was a life-changing event.  I spoke not to long ago how this event completely shattered his worldview and forced him to rethink everything he thought he knew.  It turned Paul’s world upside down, and after all was said and done, he went from zealous persecutor of the Church to ardent missionary and proclaimer of the Gospel to the Gentiles.

    Most agreed, the transformation was amazing.  The one who persecuted the Church with zeal now became one of its strongest supporters and one of the most obsessed evangelists that ever existed.  Paul says as much in our second lesson this morning as he recounts all of these episodes in his life.

    He says, “20In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie! 21Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, 22and I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; 23they only heard it said, ‘The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy.’”

    And then we come to a very fascinating statement in verse 24, “And they glorified God because of me.”

    Think about that statement for just a minute.  “They glorified God because of me.”

    I began to wonder if I had heard such a statement in the entire time I’ve been serving as a pastor.  I began thinking about all the thank you notes I have received.  I began thinking about all the thank you notes I have seen published in church newsletters.  I began thinking about all the correspondence I’ve received from other religious institutions and such.  I began to think about all the comments I’ve received on my sermons and the comments I have given to others who have preached.  And to the best of my recollection, I cannot ever think of hearing anything similar.

    Usually, the things churches and pastors get say this or something similar:

    Thank you for your words of comfort at the funeral.
    Thank you for sending a donation to help us in our mission and ministry.
    Thank you for officiating at our wedding and helping us enjoy our special day.
    Thank you for helping our family out during this financial crisis.

    Now, these words aren’t bad.  There is nothing wrong with them, so if you are in the process of writing a thank you letter or what have you, please do not think that I am somehow slamming you.  I’m not.  But contrast these words with what Paul says:

    They glorified God because of me.

    While many people thank us, the early Christians were glorifying God because of Paul.  This leads me to ask why are people focusing on us instead of giving God the glory?

    I have to ask that question because I think it gets to the heart and soul of the purpose of the Church in society.  I think it gets to the heart and soul of what our mission and our purpose as Christians is in this world in which we live.

    Let me try to be as clear as possible without being too offensive: it is not the church’s job to call attention to itself.  It is not the church’s job to simply do good things and get recognized for that.  It is not the church’s job to get as many people to join as possible so that we can keep the lights on, the building air conditioned, run a few programs that keep kids entertained, hold a few fund raisers and benefits for those in need, and other such things.  It is not a pastor’s job to work hard to get compliments on what he or she preaches or teaches or does at a funeral or wedding.  Now, we certainly do all of those things, but this is not our primary purpose.  It is not our primary job.

    Please listen closely: our primary job is to introduce people to and point the way to the God who makes all of these things possible.  Our primary job is to lift up the awesomeness of our God and what He did in taking on flesh, dwelling among us, and reconciling the world unto himself.  It is our primary job to keep God as the focus, as the center, as that which our lives revolve around.  We do not want people to see us!  I know that may be hard to get your head around, but I assure you, I think it is absolutely true.  We do not want people to see us; we want them to see God.

    And so, we must ask ourselves: are people seeing us or are they seeing God?  Are they thanking us or are they thanking God?  Are others glorifying us or are they glorifying God?  And if they are focusing on us instead of God, why is that the case?

    Let us pray.  Heavenly Father, the early church glorified you because of your work.  Sometimes we get things backward today and strive to lift up ourselves instead of you.  Give us the strength, courage, and desire to set ourselves aside so that others may see you and give glory to you because of us.  Amen.