There is that intriguing story of temptation that both Matthew and Luke treat with some detail, and Mark simply acknowledges that it happened. Jesus Himself is facing the wrath of Satan, apparently because Satan understands well that this is the final showdown. If he loses the battle with Jesus (not just this particular incident, but the whole Jesus story) he loses it all.
One of Satan’s efforts with Jesus (third in Matthew’s account, second in Luke’s) is to show Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and say, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:9, NASB) Jesus is quick to reply, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord you God, and serve Him only.’” (4:10)
Embedded in that exchange of course is the reality that at some level, Satan is tempting Jesus to be the kind of Messiah the people of Israel want. It seems that most important in the minds of Israel’s leaders was a Messiah who would not merely run the Romans out of Judea, but that the world would finally be focused on the power that exuded out of Jerusalem. Satan is putting it all in front of Jesus – and it is His for a mere bit of idolatry.
Think about how much “easier” it would have been for Jesus had He given in! I’m guessing that would have eliminated the whole cross event – and He could have the world just for the worshipping, to modify our “just for the asking” routines a bit. Just a little idolatry is all Satan is asking.
But . . . God demands that we worship Him, and serve only Him. Jesus avoids doing what religious people wanted out of Him by reminding the enemy that the exclusive worship of God meant that He couldn’t be that in any way. He took the road of the cross rather than the road of fame – and His sense of what it means to worship God is a key ingredient.
Most of the time when you and I are tempted – well, actually all the time – we aren’t quite faced with the stark realities that are before Jesus. So there is a sense in which if the worship of God was an answer for Jesus, just imagine what it could do for us.
In Small Faith – Great God, N.T. Wright says “idolatry knows no cultural or temporal barriers. We have four-wheeled idols whose worshipers spend all their effort and money polishing them and driving them faster and faster. We have three-bedroom idols, whose devotees have to keep them spotlessly clean in case visitors should come. We have square idols with silver screens. Some of us have well-bound idols with pages and dust jackets. And like all idols, we worship them because we get pride out of them. We put ourselves into them, in fact or in imagination, and then worship what we see.” (page 28)
Jesus was offered “all these things” if only He would worship the wrong thing. Somewhere in all that there seems to be a reminder that we find answers to much of what causes us to struggle by learning what Jesus knew and modeled “you shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.”
So the question for me during this season of Lent, as I’m trying to be clearer and clearer about “how things ought to be” is “What things am I worshiping that might ‘offer the whole world’ but tear me away from God?’”
We are way too sophisticated for little statues made of gold and silver – but that hardly suggests we don’t have some idolatry issues. For me, it’s time to get rid of the idols!
21 March 2012
07 March 2012
Something Has to Happen
There is, inherently present in a life of following Jesus, the stark awareness that none of us quite measure up to the standard. When we think about that reality, we are prone to celebrate God’s grace and the free gift of life eternal. But we can ill afford for that celebration of God’s grace to convince us that God isn’t interested in seeing a difference in our lives because of our faith.
1 John 3:3 is one of the plainest statements of that reality to be found anywhere in Scripture. Here’s what John encourages late first century believers to do: “And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” Apparently God is most willing to welcome us “just as we are” when we come to the Kingdom, but expects us to never again be satisfied with “just as we are” again! There is a kind of holy dissatisfaction to the Christian life that isn’t psychologically disabling, but is an ever present reminder that the standard is the holiness of Christ.
If you read through this short epistle, you discover early on (in chapter 1:5-10) that we move from darkness to light by means of the cleansing of Christ’s blood. But apparently we have some responsibility in our lives to “purify ourselves, just as He (Christ) is pure.” Grace celebrates the gift of cleansing through the blood of Christ; holy dissatisfaction accepts the responsibility of showing God our gratitude through living pure lives.
The motivation for such an approach to life is hope. Hope is one of those difficult- to-describe New Testament words that deserves some attention on our part. We use that word in so many different ways that often its meaning is discounted to almost nothing. I might buy a lottery ticket and hear the cashier say “I hope you win!” But the truth is, my chances of winning are so slim that it is almost always the waste of a dollar to buy a ticket. I may not crack the books all semester, take the final exam, and say to the professor, “I hope I passed!” But chances of that happening are not unlike buying a lottery ticket.
So what is hope? At some level, at least in the context of this portion of 1 John, hope is confident assurance that one day we will see Christ face to face, and among the results of that is that we will have a body like His. While John seems unwilling to try and describe that body – even though an eyewitness – He is confidently assured that one day he will have the same kind of body.
It is that hope – that confident assurance – that makes the challenge of “purifying ourselves as He is pure” more than merely worth the effort. It isn’t that our efforts to purify ourselves somehow earn a status with God, but that our efforts to purify ourselves model our gratitude for the status we already have. “Now we are the children of God . . .” is how John introduces this idea!
The days of Lent are a great time to get back in the habit of purifying ourselves. I hear the critics of Lent remind us all the time that “repentance, prayer, and fasting” should be a part of our lives all the time, not just during Lent. I couldn’t agree more – but am not so sure of my own efforts to “purify myself as He is pure” that I don’t appreciate this forty day reminder every year leading up to Easter.
When all is said and done – whatever we can do that makes “something happen” after becoming a child of God is a good thing and I pray that each of us would let our confident assurance motivate us to model a kind of gratitude that expresses itself in pure lives.
1 John 3:3 is one of the plainest statements of that reality to be found anywhere in Scripture. Here’s what John encourages late first century believers to do: “And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” Apparently God is most willing to welcome us “just as we are” when we come to the Kingdom, but expects us to never again be satisfied with “just as we are” again! There is a kind of holy dissatisfaction to the Christian life that isn’t psychologically disabling, but is an ever present reminder that the standard is the holiness of Christ.
If you read through this short epistle, you discover early on (in chapter 1:5-10) that we move from darkness to light by means of the cleansing of Christ’s blood. But apparently we have some responsibility in our lives to “purify ourselves, just as He (Christ) is pure.” Grace celebrates the gift of cleansing through the blood of Christ; holy dissatisfaction accepts the responsibility of showing God our gratitude through living pure lives.
The motivation for such an approach to life is hope. Hope is one of those difficult- to-describe New Testament words that deserves some attention on our part. We use that word in so many different ways that often its meaning is discounted to almost nothing. I might buy a lottery ticket and hear the cashier say “I hope you win!” But the truth is, my chances of winning are so slim that it is almost always the waste of a dollar to buy a ticket. I may not crack the books all semester, take the final exam, and say to the professor, “I hope I passed!” But chances of that happening are not unlike buying a lottery ticket.
So what is hope? At some level, at least in the context of this portion of 1 John, hope is confident assurance that one day we will see Christ face to face, and among the results of that is that we will have a body like His. While John seems unwilling to try and describe that body – even though an eyewitness – He is confidently assured that one day he will have the same kind of body.
It is that hope – that confident assurance – that makes the challenge of “purifying ourselves as He is pure” more than merely worth the effort. It isn’t that our efforts to purify ourselves somehow earn a status with God, but that our efforts to purify ourselves model our gratitude for the status we already have. “Now we are the children of God . . .” is how John introduces this idea!
The days of Lent are a great time to get back in the habit of purifying ourselves. I hear the critics of Lent remind us all the time that “repentance, prayer, and fasting” should be a part of our lives all the time, not just during Lent. I couldn’t agree more – but am not so sure of my own efforts to “purify myself as He is pure” that I don’t appreciate this forty day reminder every year leading up to Easter.
When all is said and done – whatever we can do that makes “something happen” after becoming a child of God is a good thing and I pray that each of us would let our confident assurance motivate us to model a kind of gratitude that expresses itself in pure lives.
02 March 2012
The Problem is Not Birth Control
The politicians have once again baited the religious among us. The religious among us have swallowed the bait, “hook, line, and sinker” as the southern way of describing the overly gullible might sound. It is amazing to me that this game keeps being played, right now over birth control, but the subject hardly matters, we keep playing the game!
What frustrates me about “the game” is that it inevitably has those who have taken the mantle of speaking for Christians sound as though they expect the federal government to do the job that God gave the church, not government. A reasonable reading of Paul’s comments in Romans 13 would suggest that citizens of the kingdom of God ultimately understand that “Rome is not the answer.” The emperor was quite guilty allowing (and probably participating in) lots of atrocities – slavery, abortion, infanticide, sexual perversions, to name a few – but Paul apparently believes that the gospel is a more effective change agent than marching on the Roman senate.
While I recognize that we live in a different culture with a different kind of government than Paul and the believers in Rome faced, when we play “the game” that is currently being played out on the evening news, we sound as though we have no confidence in the gospel and lots of confidence in “Rome,” that is, government. Do we really think that the federal congress, a state legislature, or local city government is more powerful that “the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation” as Paul describes it in the opening chapter of Romans? How else can the opening of Romans be read other than as a “laying down the gauntlet” to the Emperor Nero, that the gospel, not the emperor, is the power of God?
Of course our government not only allows, but encourages us to be involved in its deliberations. People my age can remember the turbulent 1960s, when leaders of the Civil Rights Movement did just that – and the result was bringing about all sorts of changes in the way Americans should do business. People younger than I find it hard to believe that there was a day when the color of your skin determined which water fountain you could use! Despite that progress, surely no one would argue that the passage of federal law actually stopped anyone from being racist. At their very best, governments can only make behavior legal or illegal – they can never transform individuals into the people God is calling them to be. Governments can “buy time,” but only the gospel can “transcend time.”
The current debate about birth control isn’t even one of those topics where orthodox Christians tend to agree. On one side of the argument, we hear people quoting “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28) as a divine and eternal mandate to keep having babies. But if that is an eternal mandate that would make any attempt at birth control sinful, how is one to explain Paul’s word to the Christians at Corinth that it is sometimes best not even to be married – which of course from a biblical perspective would mean no children. Could Paul have said that if God’s expectations are that each person should get married, be fruitful, and populate the earth?
Honestly – neither of those samples from biblical testimony prove one way or the other whether birth control is acceptable or not. That’s why among orthodox believers, you don’t always get the same answer. Could it be that God actually expects us to use the grey matter between our ears and some sanctified common sense? And that having done that, we faithfully practice our own convictions without any expectations that others have to follow our lead?
It is hard for me to grasp how we allow an issue that Scripture itself isn’t all that clear about to become a wall of separation among believers and fodder for politicians pimping for our votes! Truth be known, if I believe that birth control is unacceptable, it is the job of the church, not the government, to teach its members that part of the faith. Even though I think Paul’s comments in 1 Corinthians 7 make it difficult to think that the “be fruitful and multiply” of Genesis was a divine and eternal mandate, I’m perfectly fine with others thinking that it is. I just don’t want those folks thinking that I’m inferior in some spiritual way because I don’t see the issue the same.
I understand that the political conversation right now is wrapped up in election year bantering and that we can hardly have elections without debating the church/state relationship – but can’t understand why any believer would trade “the power of the gospel unto salvation” for some policy of the federal government. I’m not sure the government is forcing anyone to practice birth control and if my convictions are that birth control is wrong, then I should be working on bringing others to Christ and teaching them that, one at a time.
I also understand the “but they are making the church pay for birth control . . .” part of the conversation. But I would remind you that very similar conversations could have been developed among the Roman Christians about their government. But Paul tells them, “pay your taxes.” Paul seems to think that “government is government” and we ought to seek to live beneath its radar screen and preach Christ. At some level, government is irrelevant for citizens of the Kingdom of God as we eagerly await the reappearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:20, 21)
The problem with “they are making me pay for something I don’t approve of” argument is that once that can of worms is opened, we never get them back in! No doubt more Christians disapprove of all the military interventions we have going on at the moment than disapprove of birth control. What if I don’t approve of how the food stamp program is implemented? Or some medical practices that keep elderly people alive at all cost? Or . . . that list is endless!
That’s just how it is with government – we will never approve of all it does. Paul surely didn’t approve of much of what Rome did, but could still say, “pay your taxes.” How could that be? Government is irrelevant, and when compared to the gospel, rather impotent.
So, let’s quit allowing the politicians to bait us! We have much more important stuff to be doing. We aren’t here just “to buy time,” but “to transcend time.”
What frustrates me about “the game” is that it inevitably has those who have taken the mantle of speaking for Christians sound as though they expect the federal government to do the job that God gave the church, not government. A reasonable reading of Paul’s comments in Romans 13 would suggest that citizens of the kingdom of God ultimately understand that “Rome is not the answer.” The emperor was quite guilty allowing (and probably participating in) lots of atrocities – slavery, abortion, infanticide, sexual perversions, to name a few – but Paul apparently believes that the gospel is a more effective change agent than marching on the Roman senate.
While I recognize that we live in a different culture with a different kind of government than Paul and the believers in Rome faced, when we play “the game” that is currently being played out on the evening news, we sound as though we have no confidence in the gospel and lots of confidence in “Rome,” that is, government. Do we really think that the federal congress, a state legislature, or local city government is more powerful that “the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation” as Paul describes it in the opening chapter of Romans? How else can the opening of Romans be read other than as a “laying down the gauntlet” to the Emperor Nero, that the gospel, not the emperor, is the power of God?
Of course our government not only allows, but encourages us to be involved in its deliberations. People my age can remember the turbulent 1960s, when leaders of the Civil Rights Movement did just that – and the result was bringing about all sorts of changes in the way Americans should do business. People younger than I find it hard to believe that there was a day when the color of your skin determined which water fountain you could use! Despite that progress, surely no one would argue that the passage of federal law actually stopped anyone from being racist. At their very best, governments can only make behavior legal or illegal – they can never transform individuals into the people God is calling them to be. Governments can “buy time,” but only the gospel can “transcend time.”
The current debate about birth control isn’t even one of those topics where orthodox Christians tend to agree. On one side of the argument, we hear people quoting “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28) as a divine and eternal mandate to keep having babies. But if that is an eternal mandate that would make any attempt at birth control sinful, how is one to explain Paul’s word to the Christians at Corinth that it is sometimes best not even to be married – which of course from a biblical perspective would mean no children. Could Paul have said that if God’s expectations are that each person should get married, be fruitful, and populate the earth?
Honestly – neither of those samples from biblical testimony prove one way or the other whether birth control is acceptable or not. That’s why among orthodox believers, you don’t always get the same answer. Could it be that God actually expects us to use the grey matter between our ears and some sanctified common sense? And that having done that, we faithfully practice our own convictions without any expectations that others have to follow our lead?
It is hard for me to grasp how we allow an issue that Scripture itself isn’t all that clear about to become a wall of separation among believers and fodder for politicians pimping for our votes! Truth be known, if I believe that birth control is unacceptable, it is the job of the church, not the government, to teach its members that part of the faith. Even though I think Paul’s comments in 1 Corinthians 7 make it difficult to think that the “be fruitful and multiply” of Genesis was a divine and eternal mandate, I’m perfectly fine with others thinking that it is. I just don’t want those folks thinking that I’m inferior in some spiritual way because I don’t see the issue the same.
I understand that the political conversation right now is wrapped up in election year bantering and that we can hardly have elections without debating the church/state relationship – but can’t understand why any believer would trade “the power of the gospel unto salvation” for some policy of the federal government. I’m not sure the government is forcing anyone to practice birth control and if my convictions are that birth control is wrong, then I should be working on bringing others to Christ and teaching them that, one at a time.
I also understand the “but they are making the church pay for birth control . . .” part of the conversation. But I would remind you that very similar conversations could have been developed among the Roman Christians about their government. But Paul tells them, “pay your taxes.” Paul seems to think that “government is government” and we ought to seek to live beneath its radar screen and preach Christ. At some level, government is irrelevant for citizens of the Kingdom of God as we eagerly await the reappearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:20, 21)
The problem with “they are making me pay for something I don’t approve of” argument is that once that can of worms is opened, we never get them back in! No doubt more Christians disapprove of all the military interventions we have going on at the moment than disapprove of birth control. What if I don’t approve of how the food stamp program is implemented? Or some medical practices that keep elderly people alive at all cost? Or . . . that list is endless!
That’s just how it is with government – we will never approve of all it does. Paul surely didn’t approve of much of what Rome did, but could still say, “pay your taxes.” How could that be? Government is irrelevant, and when compared to the gospel, rather impotent.
So, let’s quit allowing the politicians to bait us! We have much more important stuff to be doing. We aren’t here just “to buy time,” but “to transcend time.”
22 February 2012
Ash Wednesday Homily - Point University
In what I think is my favorite story in all the gospels, Luke tells us about an invitation to dinner Jesus received and accepted. The story is found in Luke 7, beginning with verse 36 and I never read it without marveling at the power of Jesus to turn everything on its head and remind us of why He came.
The invitation itself was from Simon, most often I refer to him as Sanctimonious Simon. He was a Pharisee, which among other things meant that he was fairly confident that he never messed up, was even more confident that He and God were best friends, and that this want-to-be rabbi from Nazareth was little more than we might describe as “poor white trash.”
So Simon invites Jesus to dinner – not so much to befriend Him as to test Him; not so much because he was impressed with Jesus, but because He wanted to make Him look foolish. It appears that Simon had a few of his friends with him and Jesus brought along His disciples. It was quite a gathering for this dinner.
Out of nowhere it seems, Luke says “an immoral woman” came into the dining room. In his ever astute sense of appropriateness, Luke doesn’t tell us who the woman was – just that she had a reputation. My guess is that everyone in town – including Sanctimonious Simon – knew this woman and knew how she made a living.
She comes to Jesus and begins to wash His feet with her tears, dries them with her hair, and anoints Him with an alabaster jar of perfume – perhaps the only thing she has as a possession that connects her to her family – who surely are depressed and disappointed about how her life has turned out.
In the kingdom of the world we are prone to wish we were like Simon – apparently rich, living in a nice house, respected, and uber-religious. In the kingdom of the world we are prone to dismiss this rather slutty woman with an attitude of “it is what it is.”
But not so in the kingdom of God. Jesus seems to always turn things upside down in ways that shock us. The real hero of this story is this “immoral woman.” She is a hero not because of who she is, but because of who she wants to become. Simon isn’t the hero at all – he is so impressed with himself and his self-perceptions about his righteousness, that all he can see is “who he is,” with no idea that there is a different Simon that he could become, and who would be a welcome guest at the banquet table of God.
Jesus is simply never content to leave people as they are! For Simon, that means he can’t find contentment in his overly religious approach to life. For the immoral woman, that means she can find hope in a new life – one in which she is empowered through her faith and love to walk away from the sin that has so easily and seemingly completely entangled her.
All year we have been talking about “the way things ought to be.” As one of our chapel speakers earlier this semester noted, it is a challenging thing to think in terms of “ought” instead of “are.” What I know about myself better than anyone is that there is some room in my life to make things more “how they ought to be,” and that the temptation to say “it is what it is” is an alluring and powerful force.
When you leave today, you are going to be given a little silicon bracelet with the phrase “How Things Ought to Be” imprinted on it. I plan to identify one of those areas in my life where I haven’t reached “ought to be status” yet and focus on that for these days of the season of Lent. It may require that I give up some things – but it may not. The key is that I want to identify an area – and commitment myself to working on that for Lent.
I’ve been praying for administrators, faculty, staff, and students since early January that you will join with me in that adventure. Think of the impact on this campus community if we all simply worked on one thing and managed to bring it closer to “how things ought to be” than it is right now.
One thing is for sure – this story from Sanctimonious Simon bears it out – Jesus is never comfortable with “it is what it is.” I want that idea to be in the category of “no more” for me. I hope you do as well.
The invitation itself was from Simon, most often I refer to him as Sanctimonious Simon. He was a Pharisee, which among other things meant that he was fairly confident that he never messed up, was even more confident that He and God were best friends, and that this want-to-be rabbi from Nazareth was little more than we might describe as “poor white trash.”
So Simon invites Jesus to dinner – not so much to befriend Him as to test Him; not so much because he was impressed with Jesus, but because He wanted to make Him look foolish. It appears that Simon had a few of his friends with him and Jesus brought along His disciples. It was quite a gathering for this dinner.
Out of nowhere it seems, Luke says “an immoral woman” came into the dining room. In his ever astute sense of appropriateness, Luke doesn’t tell us who the woman was – just that she had a reputation. My guess is that everyone in town – including Sanctimonious Simon – knew this woman and knew how she made a living.
She comes to Jesus and begins to wash His feet with her tears, dries them with her hair, and anoints Him with an alabaster jar of perfume – perhaps the only thing she has as a possession that connects her to her family – who surely are depressed and disappointed about how her life has turned out.
In the kingdom of the world we are prone to wish we were like Simon – apparently rich, living in a nice house, respected, and uber-religious. In the kingdom of the world we are prone to dismiss this rather slutty woman with an attitude of “it is what it is.”
But not so in the kingdom of God. Jesus seems to always turn things upside down in ways that shock us. The real hero of this story is this “immoral woman.” She is a hero not because of who she is, but because of who she wants to become. Simon isn’t the hero at all – he is so impressed with himself and his self-perceptions about his righteousness, that all he can see is “who he is,” with no idea that there is a different Simon that he could become, and who would be a welcome guest at the banquet table of God.
Jesus is simply never content to leave people as they are! For Simon, that means he can’t find contentment in his overly religious approach to life. For the immoral woman, that means she can find hope in a new life – one in which she is empowered through her faith and love to walk away from the sin that has so easily and seemingly completely entangled her.
All year we have been talking about “the way things ought to be.” As one of our chapel speakers earlier this semester noted, it is a challenging thing to think in terms of “ought” instead of “are.” What I know about myself better than anyone is that there is some room in my life to make things more “how they ought to be,” and that the temptation to say “it is what it is” is an alluring and powerful force.
When you leave today, you are going to be given a little silicon bracelet with the phrase “How Things Ought to Be” imprinted on it. I plan to identify one of those areas in my life where I haven’t reached “ought to be status” yet and focus on that for these days of the season of Lent. It may require that I give up some things – but it may not. The key is that I want to identify an area – and commitment myself to working on that for Lent.
I’ve been praying for administrators, faculty, staff, and students since early January that you will join with me in that adventure. Think of the impact on this campus community if we all simply worked on one thing and managed to bring it closer to “how things ought to be” than it is right now.
One thing is for sure – this story from Sanctimonious Simon bears it out – Jesus is never comfortable with “it is what it is.” I want that idea to be in the category of “no more” for me. I hope you do as well.
Ashes
Today is Ash Wednesday, an important day in the Christian Calendar and one that we who come from more informal fellowships ought to note. It is easy to note that Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent aren’t mentioned in the New Testament – but then neither are church buildings, but most of us find that acceptable!
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent – a forty day period (not counting Sundays) leading up to Easter. In most traditions, Lent is a time of repenting and fasting. It is an attempt on the part of those participating to recognize both our unworthiness before God, except for His grace; and a time of reminding ourselves that we truly can learn to control our physical bodies. Lent focuses on moderation and can be an extraordinarily important part of our spiritual discipline.
While Ash Wednesday is not mentioned in Scripture, the use of ashes as a sign of repentance is found. I 2 Samuel 13:19, Tamar, having been violated by Amnon, “put ashes on her head.” In Esther 4:1, Mordecai, learning all that was being done around him, “put on sackcloth and ashes.” After Satan “smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head,” (2:7) the righteous man Job was found “sitting among the ashes.” (2:8) The prophet Daniel gave his “attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.” (Daniel 9:3)
When our Lord denounces cities where He had performed miracles but there was no repentance, He declares that even Tyre and Sidon, had they seen what these cities had seen, “would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” (Matthew 11:21)
Whether or not we choose to note Ash Wednesday as an important day in our own personal Christian Calendars, the simple truth remains that the idea of repentance, prayer, and fasting is an important part of any person’s desire to be more like Christ. Who among us can look in the mirror of our own hearts and not think, “I need to do better”?
Few passages of Scripture are more compelling when it comes to the biblical idea of repentance and cleansing than the words of King David in Psalm 51. Here is a portion of what he said:
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving kindness;
in your great compassion blot out my offenses.
Wash me through and through from my wickedness
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you only have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight.
And so you are justified when you speak
and upright in your judgment. (Psalm 51:1-5)
It’s true that ashes on our forehead once a year are but a symbol. Of course it is true that sometimes symbols are just that – symbols, but not the real thing. But it doesn’t have to be that way – that symbol can become the reminder that we all need that we are called to be the holy people of God.
I don’t know about you – but I have some work to do in order to live up to the grace that has called me to be a child of God. Ash Wednesday can be a step in the right direction!
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent – a forty day period (not counting Sundays) leading up to Easter. In most traditions, Lent is a time of repenting and fasting. It is an attempt on the part of those participating to recognize both our unworthiness before God, except for His grace; and a time of reminding ourselves that we truly can learn to control our physical bodies. Lent focuses on moderation and can be an extraordinarily important part of our spiritual discipline.
While Ash Wednesday is not mentioned in Scripture, the use of ashes as a sign of repentance is found. I 2 Samuel 13:19, Tamar, having been violated by Amnon, “put ashes on her head.” In Esther 4:1, Mordecai, learning all that was being done around him, “put on sackcloth and ashes.” After Satan “smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head,” (2:7) the righteous man Job was found “sitting among the ashes.” (2:8) The prophet Daniel gave his “attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.” (Daniel 9:3)
When our Lord denounces cities where He had performed miracles but there was no repentance, He declares that even Tyre and Sidon, had they seen what these cities had seen, “would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” (Matthew 11:21)
Whether or not we choose to note Ash Wednesday as an important day in our own personal Christian Calendars, the simple truth remains that the idea of repentance, prayer, and fasting is an important part of any person’s desire to be more like Christ. Who among us can look in the mirror of our own hearts and not think, “I need to do better”?
Few passages of Scripture are more compelling when it comes to the biblical idea of repentance and cleansing than the words of King David in Psalm 51. Here is a portion of what he said:
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving kindness;
in your great compassion blot out my offenses.
Wash me through and through from my wickedness
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you only have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight.
And so you are justified when you speak
and upright in your judgment. (Psalm 51:1-5)
It’s true that ashes on our forehead once a year are but a symbol. Of course it is true that sometimes symbols are just that – symbols, but not the real thing. But it doesn’t have to be that way – that symbol can become the reminder that we all need that we are called to be the holy people of God.
I don’t know about you – but I have some work to do in order to live up to the grace that has called me to be a child of God. Ash Wednesday can be a step in the right direction!
08 February 2012
Boxing the Air
The epistles text in the lectionary for this coming Sunday is 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. That brief little paragraph seems to summarize much of what Paul has been saying since the beginning of chapter eight and sets up what he will say in chapter ten. When one reads through 1 Corinthians 8-10, he or she is nearly, if not completely, overwhelmed with some of the implications of declaring Christ as Lord.
In the summary found at the end of chapter nine, Paul is focused on making it clear why it matters about meet sacrificed to idols (chapter 8), the danger of abusing our freedom in Christ (chapter 9), and finally the danger of spiritual arrogance (chapter 10). What makes those kinds of issues important is not so much the issue itself, but the “imperishable prize” that is before us – and potentially before those with whom we have the opportunity to exercise influence.
At the heart of keeping that prize before us is Paul’s exhortation that we “run in such a way that you may win.” (9:24) The present imperative form of “run” would suggest that Paul is urging the Corinthians believers with the idea that they need to continue to run. He has affirmed that they are “on the foundation” (3:10-15) and to be on that foundation means that it is imperative that we “run.”
But much of Corinthians digs down into the nitty-gritty of how pagans are transformed into the body of Christ. Sometimes that can be a bit ugly. I often wonder how welcome members of the church at Corinth would be in many “conservative, Bible-believing churches” in our own neighborhoods. Paul certainly is not condoning their way of dealing with some of the “ugliness” of transformation, but he clearly hasn’t written them off as a lost cause.
Thus it isn’t just an imperative to run, but “run to obtain the imperishable prize,” and that caveat is applied to his own sense of running when he says, “so that after preaching to others, I (emphatic) will not become disqualified.” (9:27) One of Paul’s great “lessons in preaching” is certainly on exhibit here – it never seems to be “one thing for others” and “something different for me, the apostle.”
Self-control seems to be the key term to describe how we run this race called the Christian life. That principle seems to be on display throughout 1 Corinthians 8-10. Self-control means that you and I will be sensitive to the weaknesses of our fellow believers (chapter eight), that we will sacrifice our freedom and be slaves in order that others can come to Christ (chapter nine), and that we will seek the good of our neighbor, not ourselves (chapter ten).
None of that is particularly the norm for us when our lives have not been given to Christ. Our unredeemed nature would suggest that we need not care about the weak among us; that we get more freedom, not less; and that our own good is always the first priority. Only self-control can possibly create an approach to running that stands in contrast to what seems to be the prevalent approach to living in our own culture.
All one needs to do is visit the magazine section of a modern bookstore. See if you can find a cover story on a magazine that suggests that we really ought to be willing to sacrifice our own rights in the name of a weaker brother, or that we really ought to be willing to even become a slave so that others can know Christ, or that we ought to always be more concerned about the good our neighbor needs than we are our own.
Paul might suggest that there is a whole lot of “boxing in the air” these days among believers. His reminder to the believers at Corinth, troubled folks that they were, is a good reminder to us as well – run with self-control, there is way too much at stake.
In the summary found at the end of chapter nine, Paul is focused on making it clear why it matters about meet sacrificed to idols (chapter 8), the danger of abusing our freedom in Christ (chapter 9), and finally the danger of spiritual arrogance (chapter 10). What makes those kinds of issues important is not so much the issue itself, but the “imperishable prize” that is before us – and potentially before those with whom we have the opportunity to exercise influence.
At the heart of keeping that prize before us is Paul’s exhortation that we “run in such a way that you may win.” (9:24) The present imperative form of “run” would suggest that Paul is urging the Corinthians believers with the idea that they need to continue to run. He has affirmed that they are “on the foundation” (3:10-15) and to be on that foundation means that it is imperative that we “run.”
But much of Corinthians digs down into the nitty-gritty of how pagans are transformed into the body of Christ. Sometimes that can be a bit ugly. I often wonder how welcome members of the church at Corinth would be in many “conservative, Bible-believing churches” in our own neighborhoods. Paul certainly is not condoning their way of dealing with some of the “ugliness” of transformation, but he clearly hasn’t written them off as a lost cause.
Thus it isn’t just an imperative to run, but “run to obtain the imperishable prize,” and that caveat is applied to his own sense of running when he says, “so that after preaching to others, I (emphatic) will not become disqualified.” (9:27) One of Paul’s great “lessons in preaching” is certainly on exhibit here – it never seems to be “one thing for others” and “something different for me, the apostle.”
Self-control seems to be the key term to describe how we run this race called the Christian life. That principle seems to be on display throughout 1 Corinthians 8-10. Self-control means that you and I will be sensitive to the weaknesses of our fellow believers (chapter eight), that we will sacrifice our freedom and be slaves in order that others can come to Christ (chapter nine), and that we will seek the good of our neighbor, not ourselves (chapter ten).
None of that is particularly the norm for us when our lives have not been given to Christ. Our unredeemed nature would suggest that we need not care about the weak among us; that we get more freedom, not less; and that our own good is always the first priority. Only self-control can possibly create an approach to running that stands in contrast to what seems to be the prevalent approach to living in our own culture.
All one needs to do is visit the magazine section of a modern bookstore. See if you can find a cover story on a magazine that suggests that we really ought to be willing to sacrifice our own rights in the name of a weaker brother, or that we really ought to be willing to even become a slave so that others can know Christ, or that we ought to always be more concerned about the good our neighbor needs than we are our own.
Paul might suggest that there is a whole lot of “boxing in the air” these days among believers. His reminder to the believers at Corinth, troubled folks that they were, is a good reminder to us as well – run with self-control, there is way too much at stake.
25 January 2012
Authority
The gospel text for this coming Sunday is Mark 1:21-28. The story is about the visit Jesus made to the synagogue in Capernaum, including an exorcism. Mark introduces his frequent reminder that Jesus is determined to control His identity by telling us that Jesus told the demon, “Be quiet!”
As interesting as the whole idea of demons, possession, and exorcism is, what interests me even more is the impact Jesus had on people – even people who were not particularly prone to be overly impressed with Him. Before the demon story is ever told, Mark tells us, “they were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” (1:22)
In his recently released translation of the New Testament – The Kingdom New Testament – N.T. Wright translates that phrase like this: “They were astonished at his teaching. He wasn’t like the legal teachers; he said things on his own authority.”
So who were these legal teachers or scribes? At least at some level, they were teachers in Israel who were prone to say something like “this text means this, because some rabbi said it means that.” Really good ones might be able to go back a generation or two in noting what others had said about the text.
On the other hand, Jesus just stands up and teaches! And the end result of that is “they were amazed.” The word Mark uses appears only 13 times in the New Testament, primarily in the gospels and primarily to describe the reaction of people to Jesus’ teachings. Gospel writers typically use a different word (see 1:27) to describe the response to His miracles. Mark’s word literally means something like “to strike out of one’s senses.” At some level, it suggests a kind of amazement that overwhelms.
Most often that idea is describing His teaching, not His miracles. (Matthew describes the response to the Sermon on the Mount with the very same word.)
While I recognize that none of us who preach and teach in the kingdom of God are given the same kind of authority as Jesus had, I still think there may be a lesson here for us. The contrast this word often sets up may be as simple as Jesus appeared to know what He was talking about and the scribes knew what others were talking about and made it their own.
The challenge for preachers and teachers in our age is that it is so easy to find what someone else has said about a text and pretend as though it is our own. One can randomly pick about any text he or she wants, do a Google search, and probably find something we’re willing to say. The problem with that is that even if we find something “right,” it isn’t ours and it often sounds like “it isn’t ours.”
Interestingly, this story in Mark comes shortly after Mark’s brief mention of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. (1:12,13) That was a time when, to get to the heart of it all, Jesus had to decide whether or not he would be the kind of Messiah God sent Him to be, or the one religious people wanted – the razzle-dazzle, miracle a day keeps the devil away kind of Messiah.
Could it be that the forty day trial in which Jesus had to determine His commitment to mission was the foundation upon which a kind of authority that overwhelmed His listeners was built?
Obviously there is a place for listening to what others have said about Scripture. But that place, whatever it is, can never replace our own wrestling with the text of Scripture to the point that it becomes a part of who we are. Only then can the Word of God exhibit its authority in our preaching and teaching in a way that overwhelms.
Somehow I don’t think Jesus would have downloaded His sermons from an internet site He found by using Google. When we do that, we sound much more like scribes than Jesus! No wonder the church struggles in our day with its own identity. Wrestling with the text allows us to at least sound like we know what we’re talking about – and that’s not a bad thing.
As interesting as the whole idea of demons, possession, and exorcism is, what interests me even more is the impact Jesus had on people – even people who were not particularly prone to be overly impressed with Him. Before the demon story is ever told, Mark tells us, “they were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” (1:22)
In his recently released translation of the New Testament – The Kingdom New Testament – N.T. Wright translates that phrase like this: “They were astonished at his teaching. He wasn’t like the legal teachers; he said things on his own authority.”
So who were these legal teachers or scribes? At least at some level, they were teachers in Israel who were prone to say something like “this text means this, because some rabbi said it means that.” Really good ones might be able to go back a generation or two in noting what others had said about the text.
On the other hand, Jesus just stands up and teaches! And the end result of that is “they were amazed.” The word Mark uses appears only 13 times in the New Testament, primarily in the gospels and primarily to describe the reaction of people to Jesus’ teachings. Gospel writers typically use a different word (see 1:27) to describe the response to His miracles. Mark’s word literally means something like “to strike out of one’s senses.” At some level, it suggests a kind of amazement that overwhelms.
Most often that idea is describing His teaching, not His miracles. (Matthew describes the response to the Sermon on the Mount with the very same word.)
While I recognize that none of us who preach and teach in the kingdom of God are given the same kind of authority as Jesus had, I still think there may be a lesson here for us. The contrast this word often sets up may be as simple as Jesus appeared to know what He was talking about and the scribes knew what others were talking about and made it their own.
The challenge for preachers and teachers in our age is that it is so easy to find what someone else has said about a text and pretend as though it is our own. One can randomly pick about any text he or she wants, do a Google search, and probably find something we’re willing to say. The problem with that is that even if we find something “right,” it isn’t ours and it often sounds like “it isn’t ours.”
Interestingly, this story in Mark comes shortly after Mark’s brief mention of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. (1:12,13) That was a time when, to get to the heart of it all, Jesus had to decide whether or not he would be the kind of Messiah God sent Him to be, or the one religious people wanted – the razzle-dazzle, miracle a day keeps the devil away kind of Messiah.
Could it be that the forty day trial in which Jesus had to determine His commitment to mission was the foundation upon which a kind of authority that overwhelmed His listeners was built?
Obviously there is a place for listening to what others have said about Scripture. But that place, whatever it is, can never replace our own wrestling with the text of Scripture to the point that it becomes a part of who we are. Only then can the Word of God exhibit its authority in our preaching and teaching in a way that overwhelms.
Somehow I don’t think Jesus would have downloaded His sermons from an internet site He found by using Google. When we do that, we sound much more like scribes than Jesus! No wonder the church struggles in our day with its own identity. Wrestling with the text allows us to at least sound like we know what we’re talking about – and that’s not a bad thing.
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